Ye Xian waved his hand dismissively.

"Whether she believes it or not is none of my concern. As a teacher, I've made my stance clear. She won't be targeting you anymore. But what about the others? Do you think she's the only clever one in the whole world?"

Just as Ye Xian said,

Ji Jue brought this upon himself.

The incident in Spring City was too huge, too chaotic. Even if nobody knew who was on the Doomsday Special Train when it ascended, Ji Jue's record was still too dazzling and terrifying.

Ye Xian's student, the sole inheritor of Fluid Alchemy skills in the world, recipient of the Supreme Virtue Medal from the Chongguang Church, a genius apprentice of the Embers lineage.

As an apprentice, he joined the Cliff City exploration team, followed Tong Shan deep into Spring City, and even managed to hide his identity right under Jian Yuan's nose to pull off tricks, rescuing Lou Yanyue, and then escaping fully intact.

It was Jian Yuan who was at a loss, not publicizing the event, and nobody dared to make inquiries over the phone.

And there was Tong Shan in front of him, who took the initiative, hogged all the limelight alone, and covered up many records related to Ji Jue in the reports.

He may have guessed something, but he would definitely not speak out. Regardless of whether Ji Jue was or was not, he was a friend of the Tong Zhiwu and Tong Hanhan, and thus a friend of the Tong family.

That was enough.

But what about the others? Even if suspicions existed, wouldn't anyone take action?

One must realize that even with the Chosen Summon, and a promising future head, he was not one of the Heavenly People, and except for yet-to-be-fulfilled potential and talent, he was not different from any other person.

It could happen that some madman might think, "Wow, a Chosen Summoner, how impressive, so badass, let's try killing him!"

Ascension would want to extract his soul, the Heart Core lineage would want to control his will, Tian Yuan would want to use him as a tool, and the Embers lineage... his whole person could be thrown into a furnace and burned for amusement... His entire being screamed potential and talent.

Of course, today's Ji Jue was no longer the same as before.

He had the power to barely protect himself.

He could step forward and actively embrace the glory and heat that belonged to him, then dive headfirst into the storm's vortex, becoming a dazzling master of the tides.

But at what cost?

What would the cost be?

All that he now possessed, his many vulnerabilities, could they withstand the ravages of the storm? Could his abilities indeed deter those creatures with ulterior motives?

Of course, he could also keep his head down like an ostrich, stay out of everything, never reveal himself, and live a mediocre life squandering time...

But if Ji Jue still wanted to achieve something after this, if he wanted to keep moving forward, then it was inevitable he would attract more and more attention, provoke more and more enemies and rivals, and spark an increasing amount of skepticism.

A registration form by Ye Xian was no longer enough to guarantee Ji Jue's secure life.

Unless...

Find a big enough organization willing to vouch for Ji Jue's record, to prove that he became a Chosen One over a year ago!

For example, the largest alchemy research, development, and management organization in the world, the union of all craftsmen, the behemoth of the Embers lineage where their word was law.

—The Taiyi Ring!

So, how could the Taiyi Ring be willingly convinced to vouch for Ji Jue?

"I don't like to lie, especially lying for others, as it's both boring and uninteresting, unless—the lie has a value that satisfies me."

Ye Xian watched him, his face tormented with frustration, and after enjoying the sight, she slowly said, "My apprentice Ji Jue could have autonomously awakened over a year ago and could have joined my workshop to study alchemy as a senior apprentice. I have no objections, nor do you need anyone else to believe.

As long as... those fools from the Taiyi Ring who think so highly of themselves believe it."

As she spoke, she placed her hand on a form and slowly pushed it forward.

It was now before Ji Jue's eyes.

"Taiyi Ring Alchemy Skills Practicing Certificate Examination Registration Form"

"The craftsman examination takes place once every three years, and the deadline this time is this Friday, with the examination scheduled to begin next week.

Before this, the universally recognized fastest record from being a novice apprentice to obtaining a practicing certificate was five months, which to this date has not been broken.

This means that as long as you pass the practicing certificate examination, then my registration of you as an apprentice for nearly a year will also be recognized.

At that point, what does it matter if you autonomously awakened a year ago and the Chosen Summon half a year later?"

"Holy shit?"

Ji Jue stared, dumbfounded, finally realizing, yet incredulous, "Can it really work like that?"

"Of course, it can. Why not?"

"But wait, Professor!"

Ji Jue suddenly realized the problem, "You just said, the fastest record is five months! I only have less than four months!"

After a brief silence, Ye Xian's expression became complicated, and after a long time, he sighed softly, "Actually, the fastest record is one month."

"What?!"

"One month."

Ye Xian said, "Because the guy who holds the fastest record, after becoming an apprentice, took a leave to take the Empire's civil service exam. It wasn't until he spent over three months failing the civil service exam that he remembered his leave was up and turned back to start studying alchemy...

According to him, the craftsman exam was much simpler than the nonsensical civil servant exam, if you had a brain, you could pass it on the first try."

Ji Jue fell silent, unable to speak.

His body numb from head to toe, after a long while, he asked with a rasp,

"...Who is so preposterous?"

"Nothing but a hypocritical old fool full of absurd ideas and fond of putting on an act."

Ye Xian let out a cold laugh, "Others always think he has unparalleled talent and can do anything, and they revere that kind of guy as the foremost of the Three Grandmasters of our time. Hmm, you should have heard of his title of Superior... called [Heavenly Furnace]."

Heavenly Furnace.

Just two simple words, most people have never heard of it, but if you're a craftsman, who could remain seated upon hearing these two words?

The Three Grandmasters of our time.

Carrion Eater, Plowsmith, Heavenly Furnace.

Each with a different title, all originating from their own style and characteristics, not given by others, but bestowed upon reaching the pinnacle by the Embers' acknowledgement as a title of Supreme Virtue.

For a thousand years, every Grandmaster has been recognized this way, the basis of their status as Grandmasters not reliant on disciples or popularity, but on the recognition of the Embers.

And amongst them, there's one exception.

Only the title of Heavenly Furnace, the Superior title, is passed down through generations.

Its meaning is straightforward, clear in four words.

——Embers' Strongest.

The pinnacle of creation by the Embers in the world, the creators ordained by Heavenly Destiny, standing above all craftsmen.

Undeniably, the best in the world!

In silence, Ji Jue stopped speaking, wasn't able even to breathe, as if...

As if he had gently shattered...

For the first time in his life, he finally realized what it felt like to be compared to 'someone else's child'... no, that's someone else's revered ancestor!

It's bad enough to have parents push their kids, but you can't use a freak of this caliber to push me, can you, Teacher!

Are you serious?

Other than crushing someone, it doesn't have any encouraging effect, does it?!

"Don't worry, Ji Jue, I believe in you."

Professor Ye reached out, patted his shoulder, and told him earnestly, "I particularly believe in your ability to do evil, to rebel, to wreak havoc and bring disasters.

The fact that you've lived till now means you must have some potential in you.

It's only a license, nothing to worry about."

"I'll be looking forward to that day."

Rarely, she revealed a smile, so warm, "If one day it turns out that my record has been broken by someone else, that old fool's expression is bound to be interesting, right?"

"..."

Ji Jue trembled, no longer daring to speak.

So, that was that.

He floated out of the study like a zombie, lying on the couch wailing and crying for a while, then, very reluctantly, got up at Ye Chun's urging to wipe away Little Pearl and dragged his feet out the door to go to the association office in Cliff City to submit the application form.

Twenty minutes later, he sat in a richly decorated and tastefully elegant office, waiting for a response.

Behind the desk, the bespectacled person in charge held the application form, pondered for a long time, then shook their head regretfully.

"Sorry, according to the rules,"

she said, "No."

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