"My aunt has been busy with the military project and doesn't have time to supervise you for now, but all the materials and textbooks are ready. You can study on your own."

The next morning, Ji Jue arrived at Professor Ye's workshop to find three cabinets filled with various documents and books, and, at the very back of the factory, a warehouse that Ye Chun had opened, and inside, a mountain of scrap!

God knows how many years it had been since anyone sorted through it.

Inside, items of all sizes were too many even for the shelves, with various boxes almost piled up to the ceiling.

This included but was not limited to all kinds of obscure machinery and parts, three bronze giant trees as tall as Ji Jue, hundreds of swords that looked like they could chop down ten Ji Jues without dulling, weird pottery jars that oozed blood from their cracks, sinister masks that seemed to move their eyes, incomplete pieces of armor, copper statues that had melted into pools, and a countless number of various fragments...

Just two steps into the room, Ji Jue was choking on dust.

To his side, Ye Chun, who looked rather pleased with the situation, said, "Auntie said that you can practice with anything in here. If you don't understand something, look it up yourself, and if you have questions, she might be back between five to six in the afternoon, and you can ask her then.

Don't worry, even though these are all discarded materials and scraps, they have been processed to be completely harmless. They're perfect for a newbie like you to practice with.

According to Auntie, when you manage to use up all this stuff, that's when you'll be ready to stand on your own."

But the scale of it all was simply...too exaggerated!

Holding his breath, Ji Jue peeked inside and was shocked by the terrifying amount that could drown him ten times over. At this rate, would he spend his entire life here?

The first big challenge facing Ji Jue was the bronze book he had seen yesterday.

Not thick, once you remove the covers, there were only twelve pages...twelve Superior Emblems!

All related materials and indices were in the cabinets.

Ji Jue's first step in learning alchemy was to re-engrave these twelve Superior Emblems onto any given material within a month.

This not only meant he had to start from scratch with a basic understanding of the Twelve Superiors but also that he had to meet the standard in his ability to engrave on various materials and all basic techniques.

Yesterday was EASYMODE, learning to sing and dance to rap, but today was Hell difficulty, fighting the Flame King!

Life has become unbearable.

"Wait, isn't it recommended for beginners to start with basic runes and Spiritual Circuit engraving?" Ji Jue found himself dusty and disheveled after flipping through books all morning, realizing something was amiss.

Why the sudden increase in difficulty?

He immediately felt a headache coming on, "If this keeps up, won't I work to death without finishing?"

"Ah, the youth these days, always trying to avoid hard work..."

Ye Chun lay on the sofa, watching the fun and putting on an aged sigh, shaking her head as if weary with the world, "Back in my day, we didn't have these conditions.

Don't you know how fortunate you are, Ji classmate? Most apprentices out there are working while taking out loans and paying to learn. In some places, even learning to cook requires as much effort as the stars themselves. You're getting all this for free without paying a dime, something to study, a class to take, and even scrap materials to practice with— consider yourself lucky!"

All Ji Jue wanted to do was roll his eyes, "I get the idea, but can you not talk like an elder?"

"Don't you understand? Elders are as parents. By rounding up, am I not half an elder to you?"

Ye Chun stood up in a huff, clutching a cat pillow as if comforting it, "I know, you've become the Chosen One, you have a bright future ahead, and even Auntie thinks highly of you, but you won't even call me 'senior sister'... Go on, fetch me the chips by the fridge!"

Ji Jue rolled his eyes and grabbed two bags of chips, unceremoniously splitting half and casually taking a chilled soda from the fridge. After a stern drink, he turned and walked back towards the center of the workshop.

A massive Melting Furnace, still silently operating, stood before him, with thousands of Spiritual Circuits emanating from it like a vast network, overlapping, converging at his feet.

This was the tool he was to practice with.

There were countless methods to process materials and objects in alchemy; Fierce Flame and temperature were just the most common and broadly applicable.

Most materials, under high temperatures, have their properties activated and their spiritual affinity further enhanced, making them more suitable for alchemical operations.

As a beginner like Ji Jue, he really wasn't suited for such a high-end model, but apart from the simple probe set he used yesterday, which was only good for beginners and not much help for skill improvement, the workshop only had this high-end set that Professor Ye normally used.

So high-end that Ji Jue could not understand the majority of its functions and dared not touch it, even though most settings wouldn't open for an apprentice who hadn't passed the spiritual verification. Just the basic functions were enough to keep Ji Jue occupied for months.

The Grandmaster-level Reaction Furnace was too luxurious for a newbie like him. Even more lavish were the scrap, remnants, and refuse that Professor Ye had long since processed and discarded.

Even the refuse was of such a sort that it could be sold for a tidy sum, and the majority of discarded material was only thrown away when it didn't meet strength or functional standards or had some imperfection.

After closely studying the texts for a while, Ji Jue sadly found that if the 'trash' stored in the warehouse were in good condition and put on the market, he wouldn't even be able to afford a set with all the blood and organs he could sell.

But on the bright side, should he be lucky one day and become a Grandmaster, wouldn't he be able to live luxuriously for years just by selling scraps?

With this thought, his motivation surged once again.

Thinking about student loans, the miserable employment environment in Cliff City these past years, the rising prices, and the daily chicken meals for his little lamb, he was more than ready to work around the clock over the furnace.

With such good circumstances and luxurious equipment, if he didn't put in the effort, he really would be cursed by the heavens!

Thump!

After a muffled sound, Ye Chun lifted his head from the sofa and saw Ji Jue's disheveled appearance, sighed, and looked away without surprise.

Just this afternoon, there had already been countless failures.

An alchemist's work is delicate. While it doesn't consume much spiritual energy, unfortunately, Ji Jue, a pure newbie, had failed so many times in just a few hours that he was nearly drained dry.

Gritting his teeth, he donned a fireproof suit and used tongs to pinch the copper piece out of the Melting Furnace. Only after it cooled down did he realize the issue…it was virtually the same as most of his other failures.

Spiritual conflict.

Forging a Spiritual Circuit in the metal and inscribing the Superior Emblem is a skillful task.

Once the absolutely isolated theoretical environment in the Crystal Ball was lost, practice brought about a host of problems. Every detail was a potential pitfall, and one misstep could mean total defeat.

One's own willpower, control over spiritual energy, and even emotional fluctuations all had to be kept within a certain range. Staying absolutely stable and focused was essential, as was understanding how to deal with changes in material properties and different statuses.

This was a hands-on experience that required pure perseverance; there were no shortcuts.

"If only it could be extracted," Ji Jue collapsed on the sofa, sighing from exhaustion.

"Huh?" Ye Chun was puzzled.

"I mean, if only the other spiritual substances or impurities could be extracted before the spiritual conflict, it wouldn't be so troublesome," Ji Jue said.

"...Have you listened to the nonsense you're spouting?" Ye Chun wasn't sure whether to laugh.

"Is it difficult?"

"..."

Ye Chun sighed, got up, and picked up the small blackboard again. After adjusting his flat glasses, he spoke seriously, "First, you need to understand that spiritual substance is a very complex and variable thing. Although its properties are generally similar, there are nearly hundreds of main categories, and the difference between each can sometimes be greater than that between a human and a pig.

In theory, absolutely pure spiritual substances free of conflicts come mostly from Time Sand, something beyond the reach of your current level.

Secondly, even absolutely pure spiritual substances will undergo different changes after being processed due to the physical interference.

It's like adjusting paint, dipping your brush in it, and then painting on a canvas. Before you make your stroke, you have to understand the consequences of blending different colors and brush strokes, not after you've finished painting and then regretting, wishing to peel off every drop of turpentine and every molecule of pigment you just applied on the canvas.

To extract it after spiritual fusion of materials would require such an incredible level of control; it's not to say that there is no theoretical possibility, but in practical terms, it is a fantasy.

Even for contemporary Great Grandmasters like the Heavenly Furnace, such an inconceivable task might be impossible."

Before putting down the blackboard, she concluded, "Instead of dwelling on this, it would be more realistic to dream about every person in the Federation giving you a dollar, making you rich overnight."

"That much...out of the question?"

Ji Jue stared blankly, trying hard to keep calm.

It wasn't the difficulty that stunned him, but rather the shock at his recent discovery... If just separating the reacting spiritual substances from the carrier was so difficult, then after he had been completely eroded by Dragon Blood, the fact that he could still recover to his original form was as preposterous as reversing time?

He slowly lowered his head and looked at his watch, which continued ticking as if it would never stop.

To precisely strip away all the Mutated structures and parts after he was nearly Mutated without leaving any repercussions was miraculous...what on earth was it?

No wonder Wen Ji looked like she'd seen a ghost when she found out he could reverse the Mutation!

He might have had an easier time believing he could actually reverse time.

Faced with such an outlandish issue, it was a wonder Wen Ji didn't immediately kill him without a second thought for research; she truly had a heart of great compassion!

Ji Jue couldn't help but think to set up a longevity shrine for her at home.

However...

He looked down intently at the time, and the more he looked, the more he felt this watch was no ordinary item. It might be even more astonishing than he initially or currently believed—PLUS much more.

Then came the question, if the watch alone was this incredible, how preposterous must its creator be?

After much thought, he finally mustered the courage. Glancing sideways to gauge Ye Chun's expression, he casually inquired while she was browsing on her phone, "Senior Ye, do you know of the Sky Rail?"

"I do."

Ye Chun nodded without hesitation.

As she spoke, she nibbled on chips, her cheeks puffing out, like a hamster.

A hamster that could scare Ji Jue stiff with terror.

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