"What's it like to mess up on your first day as an apprentice, only to have your salary and subsidies for the next four years completely deducted?"

Poor Ji Jue, before he could hide, could only say that those who knew, knew all too well.

Professor Ye's workshop was relatively humane, even apprentices had formal wages and subsidies, and even occupational injury insurance.

However, such humane treatment wasn't really applicable when it came to someone like Ji Jue, who seemed almost human-like in how he messed things up.

Nevertheless, he hadn't planned on making any money there in the first place. Rounded up, it was just a loss of something he originally knew nothing about.

At most, he would lose a couple of "Little Pearls" in his dreams when he went home.

Thus, at Professor Ye's request, he demonstrated his abilities once again with machinery that had already been scrapped.

Ever since the Heavenly Destiny Summon, having become an official Chosen One, his abilities had soared, breaking through his original shackles. He no longer needed to touch machinery to issue commands and communicate with it.

He could instantaneously connect with any target within ten meters without any gap.

Faster, stronger, and more mana-draining.

Unfortunately, even the briefest meeting of golden wind and jade dew surpasses the endless encounters in the human world... Now that Ji Jue had made his breakthrough, he no longer had the infinite mana supply from Teacher Lawrence.

The Vortex Planting Technique really was a good thing!

If only he had stopped Wen Wen back then, not let her finish the job so neatly, and left some remains to plant a couple of Teacher Lawrence in the ground. Relying on his Regeneration abilities, grow one, pull one out; wouldn't he be able to mass-produce spiritual batteries?

No, it was a pity even to consider... When would he have such a valuable opponent come along again?!

Just as Ji Jue's thoughts were sliding down a slippery slope, Professor Ye, who had observed the whole process, adjusted her glasses and sighed with understanding, "So that's how it is."

Through those glasses that could penetrate the flow of spiritual quality, she had observed the entire process.

On the surface, it seemed to be a control-type ability related to Tian Yuan.

But the essence was completely different.

If it were just about controlling machinery, then the flow of spiritual quality would be too frequent and too vast.

If it were merely about giving orders, there should not be such massive consumption when the target has its power supply, right? Skilled Chosen Ones with control-type abilities could use them dozens or even hundreds of times a day. Even the Heart Core Chosen One would only need to say a word when controlling ordinary people.

And Ji Jue... one-fifth of the spiritual quality flowed out, and less than half returned, with the majority being lost.

It would be normal if he were just another useless Chosen One.

But is that all the Heavenly Destiny Summon has to offer?

Her brows furrowed.

Something was amiss.

There were certain aspects that didn't quite add up...

Spiritual quality doesn't appear out of nowhere, nor does it vanish without a trace unless it has "worked" and transformed. Then—Professor Ye suddenly turned around, "You just mentioned you could talk to them, right?"

"Yes, but most of the time, they don't say much," Ji Jue replied. "So far, the ones I've encountered have been quite agreeable."

"..."

From the silence, Professor Ye suddenly asked, "Is it possible that those speaking are not 'them'?"

"Huh?"

"Ordinary substances do not possess thought, Ji Jue. Without spiritual quality, there's no premise for thinking, nor is there personality or preferences," she explained. She tapped the casing of the workbench, and in an instant, the machinery slipped from Ji Jue's control and fell silent:

"For instance, this workstation here, assembled by my own hands, shouldn't have overlooked such interference and possibility if I haven't grown so senile that I'm blind.

But since it lacks will..."

She turned and questioned, "Then, in that moment you communicate, who is it that you are speaking with?"

Ji Jue was completely dumbfounded.

If it wasn't the machines talking, who else could it be? Could it actually be... holy shit, wait, could it be himself?

Damn it, was he developing multiple personalities?!

He had been discharged from the hospital; he didn't need to go back, did he?

No, that can't be right; the doctor said he was healthy!

Only then did he hear what Professor Ye was saying.

"If I'm not mistaken, the essence of your ability is to bestow your spiritual quality onto other objects, temporarily animating them," she said. "As for the conversations in your mind... they are most likely the result of the objects' history, experience, and accumulation combined with spiritual quality, temporarily forming a semblance of a personality.

They will respond spontaneously, operating on their own according to your instructions."

From her reflection, she concluded decisively: "Such an ability, if advanced further, could truly bring machinery to life and even allow it to alter its structure to serve you."

Ji Jue stood there, gaping.

She had hit the nail on the head with just a single observation, understanding it even more deeply than he did. And without knowing about the emergency survival protocol from his cousin brother, she had already deduced Ji Jue's 'Double Transformation' that he had only used once.

In the instant that realization struck, she extended her hand and pulled out a spherical object from her pocket, handing it to Ji Jue.

"Try this."

The object felt crisp to the touch.

The fist-sized spherical object had an intricate and gorgeous pattern on its surface, exquisitely carved, with nine coin-sized holes. Looking inside, one could see another sphere, a size smaller and identical in complexity and splendor, nestled layer upon layer, nine layers in total!

It was said that, in ancient times, craftsmen used ivory as a material to painstakingly create such marvels with incredible workmanship.

Ji Jue had only seen such intricately crafted artifacts in history textbooks, but inside this one lurked a fierce and heart-palpitating aura.

Even more intense than what he had seen in Lawrence's possession, the "Night Darkness"!

"Is this a... Ghost Work Ball?"

He held it in his hand and examined it closely, subconsciously inputting a bit of spiritual quality, trying to feel its material, when suddenly everything in front of him went dark.

In that fleeting perception, his spiritual quality feedback revealed countless branches, intricate like integrated circuits, esoteric spiritual quality channels, and hundreds of rune imprints complex beyond his understanding...

Spread out, the fist-sized Ghost Work Ball would likely cover an entire vast factory area and even extend into the sea.

And when Ji Jue's power acted on it, it felt like a bottomless pit, sucking in Ji Jue's spiritual quality as if gulping it, voraciously devouring, yet giving no signal in return!

Even after Ji Jue had completely drained his spiritual quality and was nearly collapsing on the spot, he heard only a satisfied voice: "Thanks, bro, I'm good now."

From then on, the Ghost Work Ball was impervious to persuasion.

Its demeanor was downright terrible!

Ji Jue's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets: No good, give it back to me!

Alas, the Ghost Work Ball had no further response.

In fact, it deliberately detached from Ji Jue's palm as if drawn by invisible cables, returning to Professor Ye's hand, spinning leisurely, gradually enlarging, showing Ji Jue its frighteningly intricate inner structure, as tame as a loyal dog.

"See?" Professor Ye said slowly, "Learn your lesson after being taken advantage of, and don't stick yourself to anything that comes your way."

"Some items possess their own Spirituality, which enables them to automatically identify friends and foes and permissions," she continued. "Under such circumstances, unless your power is formidable enough to completely rewrite the item's foundational circuits and commands, it won't respond to your demands.

However, once you can make alchemy items and become a formal craftsman, you should know how to modify the foundational commands."

She paused, revealing a smile laced with subtle malice: "You could even make it turn on its original master on the spot."

Imagine when your opponent confidently brings out their trump card and activates it at any expense, only to find their weapon has become the enemy's ally.

It must be a nightmare for any enemy, especially for an Ember Chosen One steeped in this field. Such ability is the nemesis of alchemy items! No weapon or equipment would be effective against Ji Jue, as if they were stripped bare.

Moreover, it wasn't just that...

Even now, after a series of shocks, Professor Ye once again felt a certain realization...

About the terror of the Heavenly Destiny Summon!

It wasn't a matter of talent or courage, but a fundamental difference in essence!

Any apprentice in a workshop could recite in their sleep the essence of Alchemy: imbuing matter with a soul, ordinary things with miracles, and talented individuals with transcendent skills.

Extracting gold from ironstone, blending the Superior with spiritual quality, until reaching a state of boundless wonders!

Could it be that a Chosen One's basic ability could encompass all four essential elements of alchemy — Ascension, extraction, Purification, Harmony?

It was simply too bizarre.

Even more absurd was the fact that Ji Jue mysteriously knew the latter techniques while he lacked the foundational knowledge.

Like a castle in the sky, no, a living sky courtyard... An ability with no foundation in Ji Jue was forcibly elevated to an absurdly high level!

An eighty-year-old illiterate grandmother imparting the secrets of nuclear fusion, a farmer at the village gate unwittingly aligning their farming with the parameters of a curvature engine—the epitome of punk and rebellion.

She had never seen such an absurd situation in her life.

Even doubting more than once if she had fallen into a Mirror's Illusion Technique or was ensnared by the Heart Core's bewilderment.

Troublesome, cryptic, and extraordinary.

But... how fascinating!

From her pondering, her smile grew dangerous and unhinged.

Superior Embers, the domain they governed, were about creation, transformation, and innovation... Any Chosen One who truly embarked on this path was a technical maniac obsessed with research.

Coming across a Mutated Creature or a Mutant on the road, they couldn't help but dissect it to understand.

Now, such a bizarre material had actively presented itself before her?

Her hands were itching to begin.

Purely in terms of research value, the Chosen Summoner was truly an embodiment of treasure.

In itself, it possessed a distinct affinity with the corresponding Superior, not to mention Ji Jue's resonance with nine Superiors, the applications were just too vast.

Blood and marrow could be extracted for concocting potions, bones and flesh could be ground or processed for cultivation, the soul split and forged into Heavenly Artisan creations, even the spiritual quality could be slowly drawn out to enhance material fusion.

From head to toe, their very abilities had nearly endless possibilities!

Unfortunately, her expertise lay in engineering and Purification; if she were a craftsman focused on living spirits, she probably wouldn't have waited to toss this lad straight into the furnace, right?

That piercing gaze sent shivers down Ji Jue's spine.

He felt an urge to call the police and instinctively shifted back a little, trembling.

"Get ready, Ji Jue."

Beneath the ghastly white light, Professor Ye slowly revealed a 'friendly' smile: "Your graduate research program starts tomorrow."

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