In an instant, Fluid Alchemy enhanced resilience, hardness, and elasticity to the max!

Then came the incessant sounds of cracking, as Mercury scattered like rain. The [√] sign welder's mask, which had been smiling crookedly, shattered at the sound.

And just as Professor Ye's palm was about to push against Ji Jue's chin, completely disrupting his balance and stance to topple him to the ground, it was narrowly grasped by Ji Jue's right hand!

A sharp friction noise erupted.

It was like a nail scraping against glass, reverberating wave after wave.

Professor Ye let out a cold laugh.

While Ji Jue and she were mutually restraining each other's arms, both had simultaneously used a skill inherited from the same lineage—the Dissociation Technique!

Yet, it landed on nothing.

Ji Jue's arms were still protected by the Mercury Armor, while Professor Ye's wrists were enveloped by the repulsive force field of the Mo Ye Matrix.

Alas, this contest of sheer strength was fleeting.

Ji Jue hadn't even come close to finding a way to break through the Mo Ye repulsion when the hardened Mercury Armor was effortlessly torn apart by Professor Ye, with the Spiritual Circuit and Superior Emblem all collapsing, unable to hold for even a second under her unraveling.

Armor exploded.

Spiritual energy surged forth, about to flood Ji Jue's body and completely dismantle his last possibility of resistance.

But at that moment, Ji Jue finally let out a sigh of relief.

Ye Xian's complexion suddenly changed.

Without any warning, he tilted his head, and a lock of faintly graying hair stirred as if blown by a non-existent wind.

And Ji Jue was thrown back amidst the loud noise!

Holding nothing back, without hesitation, mercilessly striking hard.

First, he disrupted the Matrix with the Dissociation Technique, instantly severing the blessing and spiritual link; then, his hands, strengthened by Material Enhancement, thrust forward in a straight line, clenched into fists.

Just a slight tremor of the shoulders, and within that short distance, an unimaginable terrifying force was unleashed.

Pushed out!

First blown back, then tumbling over, and finally sliding to a halt, the nearly suffocated Ji Jue lay prone on the ground by the edge of the arena.

Almost crashing into a wall.

Utterly, unable to rise.

Every part of his body ached, his lungs could hardly contract and expand freely.

Yet even so, his face flushed with red, then quickly paled, couldn't help but reveal a smile.

So triumphant.

Coughing, he asked, "Teacher, does this count as... a surprise?"

In the brief silence, Professor Ye stood still in the original posture for a long time before finally exhaling.

Seemingly dispirited.

Was she actually scared by a student during class?

If it wasn't for her quick reaction, reverting her hand back to a fist at the last moment, she nearly went through the motions of the material processing routine...

"It counts, how could it not count."

She turned around and answered solemnly: "There is no better surprise than this."

Her gaze dropped, looking towards Ji Jue's hands.

And beneath the right hand, within the shadow cast by those five fingers, something seemed to move slightly; then it lifted, passing through his flesh and limbs, upward.

A translucent five fingers unfolded, clenched, and relaxed freely.

That was a hand...

—— The third hand!

From the very beginning, the changes in Fluid Alchemy, the armor, four hands, everything was a disguise, traps to draw attention. The myriad attacks and strategic constructions were merely to convince oneself that besides these, there were no other methods left.

In the moment of mustering all effort to thoroughly take down Ji Jue, this Spiritual Hand, which had been hidden until now, finally pierced through and launched a surprise attack

Striking at her face!

Sadly, it was still not enough, or perhaps, there was no expectation from the start that this literal "hand" could determine the victor; at best, it was a desperate counter like a fish caught in a net.

Regrettably, there was still some adherence to their identities, preventing any adoption of more covert and vicious methods of ambush; otherwise... one could now more justifiably gives him a couple more punches for a lesson.

If he wasn't already dead, that is.

"Not bad."

Professor Ye reached out, pulling him up from the ground, and naturally a wheelchair rose from beneath the workshop floor, cradling him.

"Learned in the Time Ruins?"

"Yep."

Ji Jue nodded, "While the Soul Summoning Bell was forming the Saint's Shadow, I suddenly had a revelation, copied it as it was, and surprisingly, it worked.

It's like a further application of Non-attack, I guess."

A further application?

Far more than that!

Professor Ye's right hand, held behind his back, clenched slightly, while his left hand rested on Ji Jue's shoulder, examining intently—he naturally saw two entirely different blessings.

As they became increasingly solid, a fluctuating Spiritual Light emerged on the blessing of Heavenly Skill, as if coated with a layer of magnificent crystal transformation, while the Spirit First seemed to be enveloped in a Spiritual Fire, its form becoming clearer and more complex.

In just a few days, a thorough qualitative change had been completed!

In the Time Ruins, after various operations on patients, reshaping the Ghost Fetus, bestowing a vessel to the Saint's Shadow, and finally, using the Merciful Bone Knife to complete the spiritual and flesh separation of patients with Undying Disease.

Totally immersed, practicing and experimenting without any reserve, Heavenly Skill had broken through its former bottleneck, mastering the specialty in spiritual operation, while Spirit First's assistance and augmentation of spirituality and will also ascended, reaching a higher level through the feedback and blessing of Ascension.

Thus, such an incredible achievement was possible.

Perfectly adapted, bearing the power of the Non-attack matrix and all other blessings... the Spiritual Hand!

The inspiration and reference, without a doubt, was the spiritual manifestation of the Saint's Shadow, emulating the posture of the Mercury with its myriad wings, eyes, and hands.

Alas, that Invisible Hand that governed the movement of all things for the Saint, in Ji's hands, with all his capability exhausted, could only be replicated with spirituality as its base, manifested as a tangible hand.

Unlike before when the power was only present as an aid during creation in the Melting Furnace, the mere presence of this one tangible hand was enough to boost the power of Non-attack by a third, or even more!

Not to mention the many strategies that could be added in response...

Although compared to the original's unfathomable, Creation of Heaven powers, it's a significant step backward, a vast chasm apart, hardly presentable.

But that's only depending on who the standard is, what Rank it's at!

Who else can grasp such skills applicable at the Rebirth Rank in the Summoning Stage?! What about all the prerequisite skills?

Just skipped over, huh?!

When Ji Jue reaches the appropriate level, he will naturally turn the tangible into intangible, at which point, a significant portion of Non-attack's Creation will already be in his hands.

The other half could only wait anxiously. Because worry is useless, one must wait and see when he has the spare time and mood to catch up—if not in the mood, then some other day!

"Mercury really loves you," Ye Xian shook his head, sighing sentimentally.

"Uh..."

Ji Jue hesitated, instinctively glancing around to ensure the workshop was sealed from spying, and still, in habit, lowered his voice: "To be honest, I didn't feel much difficulty when summoning the Saint's Shadow. And, Mercury's Shadow seemed to have its own Spirituality."

Ye Xian's step faltered, glancing back at him, and instead of sharing his astonishment, he asked:

"Otherwise?"

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