The Superior has twelve, the clock is divided into twelve hours, and beneath the Heavenly People, the Chosen Ones are also divided into twelve stages.

In the realm beneath the Heavenly People, Chosen Ones are divided into twelve ranks, encompassing four major domains: Summoning, Transformation, Rebirth, and transcendence. If laid out on a clock face, each would correspond to a sector every three hours.

Each stage represents an advance toward the Superior, while each domain signifies a drastic, horrifying change unlike anything before.

According to Ji Jue's knowledge and speculation, Sister Wen must be an absolute transcendent powerhouse—an expert among experts, whose actual level Ji Jue couldn't discern in the slightest. Old wretch Lawrence, on the other hand, was likely in the domain of Rebirth, somewhere between the sixth and ninth rank, having shed all mortal weaknesses, able even to instantly heal if crushed into bits.

Unfortunately, focused as he was on breaking through to the transcendent domain with Dragon Blood, he met Wen Wen, who was even more unreasonable, and was completely vaporized by Dragon Thunder, physically and spiritually.

And Ji Jue... he was still a level 1 newbie without even a Matrix.

The newbie amongst newbies, the freshest of the fresh.

Like someone who's just created an account and is scouring the internet for the strongest professions.

For someone like Ji Jue, who suffered from severe obsessive-compulsive disorder, nothing was more uncomfortable than a progress bar that wouldn't budge no matter how hard he pushed.

Not leveling for a day could be excused by accumulating good karma, but not leveling every day...

That's why he was particularly anxious.

But anxiety was useless.

Within the three ranks of the Summoning domain in the first realm, everything was centered on the development and breakthroughs of the Chosen Ones' personal abilities; in all other respects, they're no different from ordinary people. They'd get an upset stomach from eating leftover braised pork rice, and a gunshot to the head would just as readily kill them.

The realm where one could strike Lawrence with fists and kicks, where one could destroy Lawrence with Dragon Breath, seemed impossibly distant.

According to Ye Chun's explanation, at this stage, he was supposed to diligently develop his abilities until he grew to a certain point, seek new blessings from the Twelve Superior, and then successfully level up.

Yet, he had gotten stuck right at the beginning, an ordeal so absurd that no one would believe it. If they did, they'd likely laugh—and after laughing, maybe even write him into some ridiculous book.

It was worse than calling out miserably for help.

Moreover, the Matrix, a crucial foundation for Chosen Ones to advance further, was still out of his reach.

There are 221 Matrices registered in various places, all potent enough to transform one into Heavenly People. Aren't they all highly desirable, each one guarding its own precious spot?

Perhaps the spot came first before the turnips filled them.

Want one?

You're either a direct member of a major organization, or you've signed a contract more restrictive than indentured servitude, selling your blood, organs, and youth just to get a place in line.

Chosen Ones are commonplace.

Over the years, not to mention the rarest Chosen Summon, the number of autonomous awakenings due to accidental events and the Upper-level Summonings caused by soul contamination from contact with certain artifacts is countless.

But Matrices, those treasures forged from countless pioneers who underwent trial and error, only to be set in place by the Superior, are not plentiful.

Essentially, the slightly better ones are all monopolized by the major organizations.

To the left is the Federation, to the right is the Empire, in the middle Central Earth, with the distant Chongguang Church, the nearby Taiyi Ring, and even the Desert Market at the far end... If one doesn't have the credentials or prefers to keep out of the spotlight, they might as well throw themselves into places like the Dragon Sacrifice Ceremony or Nirvana.

There are too many Chosen Ones who want to progress but find no way forward.

One less wouldn't matter.

So, for the time being, Ji Jue wasn't in a rush, even if he was stuck or couldn't level up.

After all, isn't a craftsman's progress bar always moving?

Just work at what you can handle, right?

Besides, he was doing just fine, wasn't he?

He had survived a terrifying incident and had become Professor Ye's apprentice, a turn from misfortune to fortune, at least not unlucky anymore, no need to fear being hit by a car the moment he stepped outside.

How wonderful!

Ji Jue lay sprawled in bed, feeling utterly relaxed.

Things were looking up since Lawrence had died; everything was getting better.

In the future, as the kid becomes an accountant, I'll become an Alchemist, and that dog Lu Feng will continue fixing cars. We'll all have a bright future.

With these disordered thoughts, he closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

A dreamless night.

Under the same night sky, others remained sleepless.

"That kid, there's a big problem."

In an office building beside an elevated highway, a photo taken this afternoon was pushed to the front of the table, and the tracker who had just returned firmly stated,

"He's definitely got a problem."

The photo on the table showed a young man on a scooter, twisting the throttle in the glow of the setting sun, leaving behind a trail of laughter with the girl riding pillion.

Youthful and vibrant.

"What do you mean?"

The elder behind the desk paused, then frowned, "Are you saying, he really has some connection with that woman?"

"Perhaps, it's possible."

The middle-aged man with a stubbly face, Qi Qin, smoking a cigarette, said in a muffled voice, "In the past half a month, coinciding with the Chosen Summon, the biggest event in Cliff City was the chaos stirred up by the Dragon Sacrifice Ceremony.

Out of all the survivors, he was the one most closely connected to that woman surnamed Wen...

That woman has been tight-lipped about the whole operation, speaking vaguely. Is it possible she's trying to conceal the existence of a Chosen Summoner within the operation?"

"... Are you out of your mind?"

The elderly man, Jiang Jin, was taken aback and then suspiciously asked, "Are you serious?"

After decades, the sudden occurrence of the Chosen Summon had thrown the entire Hai Province into an uproar; these days, countless rewards had been offered in search of any trace of the Chosen Summoners.

Likewise, it had raised the alertness of many others.

Even if Wen Wen never mentioned a word, never talked about anything related to Ji Jue, those repeated visits couldn't possibly escape the surveillance of those covertly watching.

In fact, it wasn't that no one had suspected Ji Jue might be the Chosen Summoner.

Because anyone suspect was picked out and scrutinized thoroughly, none with suspicions were missed, including Ji Jue. But soon, after deeper investigations, the first to be ruled out was him.

"Get it straight, he's a Cursed!"

Jiang Jin exploded in anger, "You want me to take this stuff and make excuses to them? Have you gone mad? Do you think anyone would believe such nonsense?"

"If something as absurd as the Chosen Summon can happen... wouldn't the idea of a Cursed becoming the Chosen also be acceptable?"

Qi Qin pondered for a moment, scrutinizing the old man's expression, and said determinedly, "Besides, even if this man called Ji Jue isn't the Chosen One, he must have some kind of relationship with that woman surnamed Wen, right?"

Jiang Jin was slightly stunned, not sure what he was getting at.

"Until yesterday afternoon, I personally saw them riding the same motorcycle around Tianmen University. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have thought that woman could even smile."

Qi Qin lit another cigarette, took a deep drag, "Is it possible she's fallen in love?"

"..."

Jiang Jin's eyes twitched more spasmodically than before.

Qi Qin continued, "... To tell you the truth, that young guy looks like a pretty boy, I don't know how many girls he's tricked. Plus, even iron trees bloom in spring, right?"

Jiang Jin's expression subtly changed.

Even if it was absurd, what if it was true?

If that was the case, then there could be more opportunities to exploit from that young man.

After all, there are many in the Security Bureau who would love to see Wen Wen's downfall.

Furthermore, if they could grasp something incriminating about that calamity, the difficulty of making a living in the Northern Mountain District would certainly lessen for everyone.

More importantly, what does 'they' imply?

"You may leave now."

The old man Jiang Jin said composedly, and Qi Qin immediately stood up to leave.

Long after he stepped out, a voice from behind the door said, "Come in."

The elderly man in the office hung up the phone, his expression changing, after a long time, he said, "Proceed as you said, investigate... Dig thoroughly, and make it clear to me."

He paused, a stern look crossing his face, "If there turns out to be something, eliminate it, got it?"

If it's a lucky pretty boy who could hook up with Minerva and be used somewhat to our advantage.

Many are reluctant to see Wen Wen gain a firm footing in the Security Bureau; her having an Achilles heel will give everyone more peace of mind.

But if she managed to cultivate a strong Chosen Summon as an ally... no one knows what kind of trouble that could stir up!

"Don't worry, boss."

Qi Qin flashed a grin, showing off teeth stained yellow by smoking, "I'm a professional."

With that, he made a bold promise, thumping his chest.

And then...

His days behind bars began.

Let's set aside what kind of explosive information those lurking in the shadows intended to dig up from Ji Jue; merely following around an academic crammer who'd forsake his own life for grades, papers, and scores was undoubtedly not a rational decision.

Especially when this crammer, not even graduated, was leashed and dragged off to become a research student...

It would get even more intense.

The false daily life of a research student: Pretending to be busy in a brightly-lit, well-equipped lab, shaking test tubes with a mysterious liquid inside and nodding with a smile at the camera along with colleagues.

The true daily life of a research student: Collecting garbage, doing menial work, and wiping off dust.

Depending on the circumstances, one might even have to babysit for the supervisor, take part in middle school technology competitions where great scholars are as common as dogs, do cooking, laundry, and possibly sacrifice one's chastity and body.

Fortunately, Professor Ye had never married and had no children; his only niece was his school senior. Apart from a pure interest in Ji Jue's body, mind, soul, and abilities, wanting to throw him into the furnace or onto a dissection table, he had no other needs.

Therefore, on the first day of his new job, the alchemy apprentice Ji Jue, besides running errands for the supervising senior such as buying milk tea, delivering lunch, playing games for rank-ups, and chatting about gossip, spent all his remaining time...

Doing hard labor!

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