"Dear Ji Jue,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been granted permission to participate in our standardized advanced training program at our hospital. Enclosed is a list of required books and equipment.

The program is scheduled to begin on November 1st. We await your reply before October 31st.

Hope Hospital Medical Services Director, Infectious Diseases Attending Physician

Yan Xueqian respectfully."

In the workshop's living room, Ji Jue stared blankly at the letter in his hand, quickly skimming over miscellaneous items such as 'three plain white work robes' on the second page.

He read it three times over.

When he came back to his senses, he couldn't help but break out in a profuse sweat.

Especially when Professor Ye, sitting across from him on the sofa, leisurely picked up his teacup for a sip and cast him a meaningful look...

Ji Jue hadn't expected this at all—freakin' hell, he'd just taken a two-day break, been through hell at the Time Ruins, subjected to one physical exam after another at the Security Bureau, and had barely managed to take the kids to the beach for a trip. And now, the moment he returned to the workshop, he was confronted with this godforsaken thing.

"Well, I didn't expect that after just a few days off, you'd come up with some new scheme," Professor Ye remarked. "To have Hope Hospital vying for a castoff like you... it puts me, your teacher, in quite a flattering light too."

"Teacher, this is a trap! It's a setup!" Ji Jue crumpled the invitation into a ball, shouting loudly, "I'm wholeheartedly devoted to Tide Sound Workshop, Teacher! You're the only sun in my heart!"

Saying so, he shot Ye Chun a look as if signaling for rescue, "Right?"

"Oh! That's not necessarily the case~"

Ye Chun, who enjoyed watching the drama unfold, sat behind the desk, stroking Xiao Jiu's metallic feathers, and sighed wistfully, "I know you've been up to something outside. With the protection of the Security Bureau and the Tong family, you don't need a friend like me. But now you come to me and say, 'Ye Chun, help me out'... What did I ever do to earn such disrespect from you?

You don't even bother to call me 'senior.'"

Fists clenched tight.

Ji Jue glared at Ye Chun, who was taking pleasure in his misfortune, without any further concern—thirty seconds East River, thirty seconds West River, don't bully the young and the poor—he suddenly reached into his backpack and pulled out a stack of freshly printed documents:

"Teacher, I took some time during the last few days to write a paper on 'A Brief Discussion on the Spiritual Operations Related to the Division of Corpus and Essence.' I'd appreciate your insights.

Oh, and did Senior Sister submit her thesis? I remember it was being revised last time I checked..."

Instantly, Ye Chun's smile froze on her face, staring venomously at the sneaky dog.

Auntie's mocking gaze heading his way stiffened his fists too, firmly kicking the dog while it's down, incessant malicious chatter: "Auntie, don't be fooled by him, he's trying to shift the focus!

Quickly kick this double-dealing turncoat out of the apprenticeship! Otherwise, if this villain grows stronger, you won't be able to erase the stain on your reputation in the educational world!"

"Enough, enough."

After enjoying the weekly fixture of 'Dumb Clucks Pecking at Each Other' at the workshop, Professor Ye took the paper, gave it a casual nod, and set it aside.

"I heard about what happened at the Time Ruins from the Security Bureau. You did well. Those unsavory scoundrels from the Evil Cult are mediocre, but good enough for a warm-up.

Don't worry about what happens to me. I'm a teacher, not a nanny. I can't control everything you do once you're out of the workshop. As long as you know the difference between what's important and what's not, it's fine."

And just like that, with a stroke of her pen, she brushed aside all the trouble with seemingly no care at all. Yet, when she picked up the once-sealed envelope from the table, the sight of the hospital's emblem elicited another cold chuckle from her, "As for those neurotics from the Vortex System at the hospital, you don't need to worry. My apprentice isn't someone they can easily covet."

She said, "Rest assured, I've already declined on your behalf."

With her teacher's nonchalant words, something semi-transparent and blurry seemed to slowly materialize in the sparse drizzle outside the window, vanishing just as quickly.

The blood red slowly drained from its face in the wash of the rain, and only a half of an arm, washed pale, dangled back and forth in the air.

Just like that, with the sound of chewing, 'crunch crunch', it disappeared.

Gulp.

Ji Jue swallowed hard and hesitated for a moment—Teacher, I mean, isn't your way of declining a bit too direct?

But then, as Professor Ye looked over, he instantly straightened up.

As docile as a chicken.

Subtle, so very subtle, truly the grace of a great master all the way!

"Those guys at the hospital, they're like adhesive glue, difficult to shake off once they stick to you. Remember that and be direct when you need to be so that they can't take further advantage of you."

Saying this, Professor Ye flicked the envelope, and a card fell out, "Here, take this. It's for you."

Ji Jue curiously took it and examined it closely. There was just a phone number on it, the card was crystal clear with a big heart drawn on it: "What's this?"

"A diamond VIP card from the hospital."

The professor stated indifferently, "If one day you feel like you're about to die, call them. The hospital will unconditionally prepare a specialist consultation for you, though of course, the fee is still payable.

So, take care of yourself. Sometimes, being alive but unable to pay off debts can be worse than death."

Ji Jue's hand trembled, almost dropping the card.

What the heck is this thing?

It felt like an ominous talisman, as if it were inviting trouble, akin to some fool voluntarily lying down on the operating table of the embers.

But he put it away carefully, nonetheless.

After all, it was a promise from the hospital, and even though the side effects and price were hard to estimate, it was still a lifesaver.

It seemed that the items he had entrusted to Old Zhang were at least somewhat practical and innovative. If they could be applied in the future, it would be a small consolation to the doctors in the Time Ruins, wouldn't it?

"Anything else? Anything else?"

Ji Jue, brushing the irrelevant stuff aside, rubbed his hands together, his eyes lighting up when he looked at Professor Ye.

The real highlight...

"..."

Professor Ye glanced at the impatient appearance in front of her and couldn't help but shake her head slightly, sighing silently. When she was a student, she had never heard that a teacher's duties included appraisal responsibilities.

There weren't so many muddled objects back then, let alone such eeriness.

Every item brought back made her doubt whether modern alchemy was on the verge of extinction.

She stretched out her hand and knocked on the tabletop.

In an instant, a bone knife over forty centimeters long appeared from the depths of the Tide Sound Workshop's secret rituals, returning to Ji Jue's presence.

The blade, like glazed glass, shimmered with fluorescent light as if it were a dreamlike illusion.

"...A creation of heaven indeed."

Ye Xian looked down and sighed softly, feeling the itch in her fists growing stronger; she was tempted to hammer a certain Ji family's craftsman apprentice a couple of times—how could this darn kid be so lucky?

You actually stumbled upon this?!

Or maybe, there's no use in doing research in the workshop; should she also go out one day?

But why would someone lying comfortably at home unexpectedly receive a gift from the Time Ruins, accompanied by such fortune?!

At this moment, she picked up the bone knife, gazing at the flowing fluorescent light and the utterly flawless union, and despite her critical standards, within her heart, there was only one verdict—Creation of Heaven.

A genuine work made by heaven.

From Ji Jue's description, she had come to understand what had happened at that time.

By chance, forces of both Superior and Evil Foolish converged, founded on the principle of Non-attack in creation and interference, transforming and merging within the Time Ruins...

The blessings of Ascension, the essence of the Absolute Abyss, contamination from the white halls, the witness of Embers, and the persistent compassion of a doctor—all merged into one. After undergoing the four stages of Ascension, Purification, extraction, and Integration, it finally materialized in the hands of Ji Jue.

The Time Ruins as a crucible, and Heavenly Destiny as the craftsman.

With Ji Jue's own spirit as kindling, all demanding conditions intersected, dictated everything, and, ultimately, produced this bone knife.

Impossible to replicate, impossible to reproduce, nor could its profound essence be comprehensively explored through any means.

Utterly unique.

Throughout the process, the presence of the craftsman was not even indispensable.

However, the crucial point is that during the process, being the hub where the Superior, Evil Foolish, blessings, and spiritual forces intersect, the changes felt, the essence circulated, the experience gained, and the understanding brought about were enough to drive any craftsman mad.

Each heavenly creation advanced the craftsman's skills and capabilities dramatically, transforming them beyond recognition.

Outrageously, the opportunity that countless craftsmen dream of but can never attain seems as common as cabbage in Ji Jue's hands!

Including the prior minor creature, this was his second time!

And what's even more outrageous is that Ye Xian felt that such occurrences would definitely not diminish in the future... Could this be overly sinister?

By comparison, even the bone knife seemed normal.

"There are no downsides or side effects to worry about, rest assured. For you specifically, it is completely harmless,"

Professor Ye handed over the bone knife, "Apart from you, it will not respond to anyone else's commands or calls, not even to spiritual forces."

This was the most regrettable point.

Otherwise, with the quality and achievements of the bone knife, getting rated as a Heavenly Artisan would be a cinch.

An apprentice without even an official license had personally completed a work of a Heavenly Artisan? What fun it would be to use it to slap the faces of the worthless ones out there.

In Ji Jue's hands, the bone knife, having been briefly parted, vibrated warmly, with no gap or resistance whatsoever. Amid the flowing phosphorescence, the Glazed Blade seemed increasingly ethereal, barely there.

As if a bubble, just an illusion.

The remnants of evil within, originally part of the pure spiritual composition of the Abyss Divine Essence, and the lingering, faint, undying obsession for Transformation from the physician, combined to transform this bone knife into an existence straddling both material and spiritual realms.

Half-material, half-spiritual.

As such, it was capable of dissecting and damaging both material and spiritual entities, while also possessing a strong inhibitive effect on all living organisms.

Simultaneously, while holding the knife, the exchanges of spiritual energy would grant access to the departed doctor's wealth of knowledge, experience, and instincts, turning the holder into a top-tier surgeon.

It was the natural enemy of all Vortex System creations.

If imbued with sufficient spiritual energy, even when facing old Zhang in his fully activated Golden Body state, there's a chance it could create a hold. However, before that happens, Ji Jue might have been completely drained.

If used for killing, it would be regarded as a divine weapon!

Unfortunately... it was limited to being used by Ji Jue and thus could not unleash any substantial Destructive Power.

Moreover, it could not kill anyone.

Yes, that's right, this knife couldn't kill!

Not just people, it couldn't kill any living thing...

It would actively resist all lethal actions, and even if Ji Jue were to thrust the knife into someone else's forehead and stir it around for an extended period, the ethereal blade would not inflict any harm.

Even when piercing through the soul, aside from necessary operations, it would not leave any damage... It was completely a surgical knife that could only be used for healing, removing contamination, and emergency surgeries!

"I have already tested it."

Professor Ye informed him, "Its recognition and judgment are very flexible, so don't bother trying to find loopholes or exploit it. Just honestly accept its limitations and use it as a supplementary tool.

Although it might not resist if you use it forcefully, deliberately wielding it to inflict harm might damage its essence and spirit, which would not be worth the consequence."

Upon hearing this, Ji Jue was astonished for a long time.

"Is there anything else?"

He curiously asked, "What did you mean by 'limitations' just now?"

Limitations?

Didn't notice any.

Aren't these all advantages?

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