Chapter 100: Blessings and Techniques |
“Got it?” Professor Ye asked with a smile.
“I think I understand a little.” After musing for a moment, Ji Jue asked cautiously, “The characteristic of the Mo Ye matrix should be… isolation or repulsion?”
It was neither the telekinesis of the Origin Path nor a magnetic field. Rather, it altered material properties so that designated substances became mutually insulated, like electrical non-conductors. It severed all communication and interference, preventing any reaction from occurring.
Under this effect, even if strong acid and alkali were poured into the same cup, they would remain completely separate, never mixing.
If Ji Jue’s spirit matter adaptation could not keep up with the professor’s countermeasures, then Pacifier would never be able to take effect. Even further, this effect could be intensified into full incompatibility, forcing mutual rejection.
Just a brief thought was enough to reveal its infinite applications. In forging and creation alone, it could not only freely separate impurities from materials, but also prevent them from merging before a designated moment, allowing complete control over reaction timing.
Professor Ye nodded in approval. “Smart.”
What a bright kid. Just a little hint and he already grasped most of Mo Ye’s effect after a brief moment of contact and analysis. A student like this deserved a proper reward.
“Smart kids like you need some tough love,” she praised him.
The world tilted again. Ji Jue was grabbed like a rag and flung effortlessly to the ground. He landed with a dull thud, and he was so dizzy that he was unable to get up.
“The blessing you obtained should be from Ember,” Professor Ye added. Though it was clearly just a guess, her tone was certain. “If I’m not wrong, it should be… Flawless Craft, right?”
Coughing and gasping, Ji Jue nodded weakly. There was simply no other explanation for the near thought-to-creation alchemy speed and the absurd efficiency of material-property adjustment.
From the moment he obtained this blessing, his hands were essentially blessed by the heavens.
Strength, reflexes, stability, precision, and even all kinds of complex, almost incomprehensible techniques, anything that could theoretically be achieved by human hands could absolutely be accomplished by a Chosen One with this blessing, as long as they trained a little.
In short, this blessing could be regarded as the absolute limit of a craftsman’s hands. Given enough time to practice, one would surely learn it. Once learned, there would be no possibility of error.
Even if Ji Jue were suddenly told to pickpocket at the docks without preparation, given a morning to adapt, he could still become a legendary master thief renowned across the harbor within a month.
If Pacifier represented the craftsman’s hands becoming an infinite field of possibilities, then this blessing represented the fastest possible way to realize that potential. It not only massively accelerated the operational speed of Pacifier, but also raised its lower limit to a level far beyond ordinary people’s reach.
Even machinery is subject to the mother machine effect[1], but Chosen Ones are not. As they grow and their blessings evolve, the power this blessing brings would only become greater.
With tools in hand, a Chosen One would become the machine itself. But with Pacifier, Ji Jue didn’t even need the machine anymore. In a sense, he had already become a universal creation engine. Even if thrown onto a deserted island, given two months, he could build his own ship and sail away.
Unfortunately, Ji Jue had not been a Chosen One for long. His experience and skill as a craftsman were still only at the entry level, preventing him from fully utilizing this completely transformed power when combined with Pacifier.
As Professor Ye saw it, he was simply too inexperienced. He needed more practice. If Professor Ye had been the one to obtain this configuration, she could defeat Ji Jue in under ten moves without even using any other alchemical tools.
Ember’s spirit matter manipulation already included built-in alchemical adjustments to one’s own body. When applied to oneself, it was far more convenient and faster than using external objects.
Through special spirit matter circuits, one could construct the Supreme Benevolence emblem, achieving targeted enhancement of one’s own spirit matter. However, the effectiveness of this emblem also depended on each craftsman’s depth of understanding of Supreme Benevolence.
Pacifier’s ability to directly manifest effects outside the workshop elevated this convenience to an almost terrifying degree. On top of that, he applied a technique like Fluid Alchemy, an art where improving one’s essence alone could cause physical properties to align and evolve in tandem. As the soul was strengthened, the body became stronger as well. It was basically a triple buff.
So progressing this quickly was only natural. In fact, if he hadn’t improved this fast, Professor Ye might as well have just found a rope for Ji Jue and told him to hang himself. The account would be ruined, anyway. Might as well start over. At this point, staying alive would only be embarrassing.
As for Flawless Craft, Professor Ye had already understood it in a brief moment of contemplation. This truly was the most fitting blessing for Pacifier, and also the most crucial one.
If every matrix represented a unique combination of blessings, then Flawless Craft was absolutely the core of Pacifier’s skill set. Even across the Ember Path, very few people could obtain such a precious blessing at the very first stage of advancement.
If, during the Resonance Realm, one could first obtain the blessing of Flawless Craft, then according to the optimal path, the blessing indicated by the second matrix should be the Ascension Realm’s Spirit Primacy, and the third should be the Origin Path’s Axis of Dominion. After that, during the Metamorphosis Realm…
Ye Xian suddenly felt a headache coming on. No, something’s off! It just feels like things are getting more and more wrong!
After so many years of retirement, was she actually going to end up spending a fortune again just to raise another Titan for that bunch of Onyxists?
If she had known, she should have just made do and given him Gan Jiang[2] outright. She never should have set her expectations so high. That would’ve cleanly cut off their hopes. Everyone would have gone their separate ways. Why keep dragging things out like this?
But would that really have been enough?
She looked down at Ji Jue, who was struggling to push himself up from the ground, and couldn’t help but sigh. Even if she arranged everything perfectly, would this stubborn fool really spend his life quietly as a reclusive craftsman?
She was probably going to have plenty of headaches in the future.
Forget it. Just look at how hopelessly stubborn he is…
“Ms. Ye, I’m ready,” Ji Jue said, gasping for breath as he straightened himself once more.
“You’re quite bold, huh?” Ye Xian’s mockery was as casual as ever. “I thought you’d seize the chance to lie flat, play dead, and never get up again.”
“Actually, I’ve got one more move. It’s still only an idea, though. I wanted to get your opinion on it.” Ji Jue wiped away the fresh nosebleed and offered a shy smile. “I’m just not sure if it’s appropriate.”
That look in his eyes… Yeah. He still needs a few more beatings.
Ye Xian said nothing more. She simply raised her hand slightly in a calm beckon. “Come.”
A low, heavy sound erupted from the silence deep underground, like distant war drums. It was…
A heartbeat.
Ji Jue’s pupils turned crimson in a flash. Countless blood vessels spread across the whites of his eyes from the center while dark purplish patterns emerged on his face like a spiderweb. The nosebleed that had just stopped began flowing again, thick and unceasing.
His body temperature increased rapidly, climbing to over forty degrees Celsius and still rising, while his limbs flushed an alarming red, like overcooked shrimp. Beneath that crimson surface, layers of spirit matter circuits unfolded and extended across his body. More than forty Supreme Benevolence emblems emerged from his joints and vital points.
Ruins strengthened his bones, White Deer reinforced his muscles, Swarm enhanced destruction, Origin coordinated integration, while Ascension maintained rationality. Within the surging flow of spirit matter, an intricate structure completed itself in an instant. And then, Ji Jue vanished from where he stood.
With a thunderous roar, he came rushing forward, as if he had transformed into a speeding locomotive with a velocity comparable to a racing vehicle despite his seemingly unremarkable body. In the blink of an eye, he crossed twenty-six meters, and wind screamed in his wake. His five fingers came together like a blade, piercing straight forward.
Whether one called it a spear-hand, a thrust, a straight punch, or a bull charge, within that instantaneous motion, traces of many technique prototypes could be discerned, manifesting as something natural and fluid.
Built upon the purest principles of mechanics, he maximized the use of his own strength and unleashed it toward his opponent in a destructive strike. All paths of combat originated from this very point.
A whistling blow as hard as iron came straight at Professor Ye’s face, whipping up her hair and revealing the faint curve of her lips. At last, she could take things a little more seriously.
Boom!
The dome above and the earth below shook violently. Countless fragments of spirit light rose like dust, spreading outward before fading into nothingness.
Ji Jue’s thrust came to an abrupt halt.
Under Professor Ye’s restraint, she once again grabbed his wrist just like before, borrowing his momentum to redirect his force. She twisted his wrist and flung him away, slamming him toward the ground, but Ji Jue showed no sign of losing balance midair. With his other hand, he slashed sideways toward her neck, forcing her to defend in that split second.
The moment Professor Ye released her grip, he had already used the collision between them and his remaining momentum to launch himself away, rolling through the air and landing on all fours. It looked awkward beyond words, yet unnervingly stable.
Unfortunately, he was not given another chance to attack. This time, Professor Ye finally moved. She stepped forward, and she was already right in front of him in the blink of an eye. Her fingers spread and casually pressed toward his head.
But she missed. Ji Jue, who lay on the ground, suddenly sprang up, legs high in the air. Supporting himself with both hands on the ground, his waist twisted rapidly as his legs swept in a spinning arc.
Professor Ye nearly laughed. The move was utterly chaotic.
What even is that? Where did that street dance come from?
Bang!
With a completely unrestrained kick, he actually broke through her guarding hand. In terms of pure strength, Ji Jue had surpassed her spirit matter reinforcement at this moment.
But at what cost? What was the price?
After rolling and flipping upside down, Ji Jue landed on his feet again. The blood leaking from his nose and mouth scattered into the wind, but he showed no sign of slowing down, nor did he care.
As if the punch that had just landed squarely in his abdomen had been nothing more than an illusion, even the spasms and convulsions of his internal organs were simply ignored.
He attacked again. Marks appeared across the ground, each step nearly stamping out a footprint. The dull impacts came one after another as he released a relentless barrage of punches that neither breathing nor hesitation could interrupt, suppressing Professor Ye’s movements in continuous, unbroken pressure without pause.
Each punch was delivered with such stable force that it felt as if the strength values never changed. Every movement maintained the exact posture of the military combat technique Lu Feng had taught him. It wasn’t off in the slightest; instead, it was textbook-perfect down to the last detail.
Under this storm-like barrage, if the one standing here were not Professor Ye but some kind of target dummy or sandbag, it would have already been shattered to pieces. Even a steel training post would have been battered beyond recognition.
In the blink of an eye, Ji Jue had transformed from a craftsman who was not suited for close combat into a machine of destruction. Ye Xian honestly wanted to see what other surprises Ji Jue could still bring her.
Unfortunately, if this went on any longer, it would become dangerous.
Smack!
The moment Ji Jue’s swinging punch was deflected by Ye Xian’s elbow strike, her hand slipped out from under her elbow, shooting forward. Three Yin Finger[3] struck the Ruins emblem on Ji Jue’s upper arm precisely, instantly dissolving and shattering it. Her fingers slid along his arm, passing over the White Deer and Swarm emblems, erasing them without resistance. All spirit matter circuits were swept away in an instant.
Ji Jue’s right arm could no longer be lifted. It swelled and drooped.
Then came the left arm. The moment he lost the strength of both arms, Ji Jue instinctively raised his knee, but he was immediately suppressed by the professor, who pressed it down. In that split second of confusion, he finally realized that he had already left himself wide open.
It was over. The moment that thought surfaced, he heard Ye Xian take a deep, steady breath. Both her hands returned to the centerline and clenched tightly, then aimed directly at Ji Jue at point-blank range.
She unleashed the Sun Character Straight Hammer[4], honed through countless repetitions. A storm of pure devastation followed.
1. The “mother machine effect” usually refers to a core principle in the industrial field involving machine tools (industrial mother machines), also known as the “Motherhood Principle.” It means that the precision of a workpiece produced by a machine tool generally cannot exceed the precision of the machine tool itself.
The machine that manufactures other machines (the industrial mother machine) determines the upper limit of the products it produces, as its manufacturing level, precision, and technical performance directly set the ceiling for all output.
Because mechanical manufacturing is a physical process, any errors in the machine tool’s own components are inevitably transferred to the workpieces it produces. For example, to build a more advanced robot body, high-precision industrial mother machines are required to process its core components such as bearings and gears. Because of this foundational role, industrial mother machines are often referred to as the “foundation of manufacturing.
2. Gan Jiang is a famous swordsmith from ancient Chinese legend, said to have lived during the Spring and Autumn period. Together with his wife Mo Ye, he forged the world-renowned pair of swords for King Helü of Wu: the Ganjiang Sword and the Moye Sword. Gan Jiang is often regarded as one of the greatest weapon-forging masters in ancient Chinese mythology, and his story reflects both supreme craftsmanship and a tragic undertone.
3. “Three Yin” usually refers to the three Yin meridians of the hand (Lung, Pericardium, and Heart) and the three Yin meridians of the foot (Spleen, Liver, and Kidney) in traditional Chinese medicine. Together, they are collectively called the Six Yin Meridians, which run along the inner sides of the body surface.
4. The “Sun Character Straight Hammer” (also known as the Sun Character Straight Punch or Ziwu Hammer) is a signature technique in Wing Chun. It is named after the Chinese character of sun, “日” because the structure of the strike resembles that shape.
This technique emphasizes linear force generation, control and protection of the centerline, and rapid, tightly linked successive strikes. It not only focuses on explosive power from smaller muscle groups, but is also commonly used in combination with advancing stance footwork. Its defining characteristics are simplicity, directness, and practical effectiveness.
