Professor Ye’s efficiency and decisiveness were honestly jaw-dropping.
That very afternoon, she took care of every single procedure with a single phone call before the administrative office closed. The so-called officials who used to make Ji Jue run back and forth dozens of tis just to register an electric scooter didn’t even dare let out a peep now. They ekly did the paperwork as requested, then politely told Ji Jue to just drop by and sign it when he had ti.
Even though he already knew Professor Ye’s true status had to be far beyond that of an ordinary teacher, actually experiencing it firsthand still made Ji Jue sigh at how convenient power could be.
anwhile, Professor Ye, who had been sitting on the sofa watching the whole thing coldly, simply lifted her teacup and said casually, “The largest alchemy research institution in the world, and the guild for all craftsn, the Taiyi Ring, is one of Tiann University’s shareholders. If you manage to get your craftsman license before graduation, they'll smile at you brighter than they do at their own dads.”
“For real?”
Ji Jue was stunned. Not because of how powerful the Taiyi Ring was, and not because he was curious whether the school leadership would really act that humble toward him in the future, but because he seriously doubted the premise.
Before graduation? A craftsman license? Professor, are you serious?
He was a junior this year and would be a senior next year. That ant he only had two years. Even if Professor Ye exempted him from all his major coursework, he still had only two years. That wasn’t enough ti, even if he didn’t eat, sleep, or rest at all!
After getting a basic understanding of alchemy, Ji Jue had already been overwheld by its complexity, its countless branches, and its unbelievable techniques. Forget whether he could ever reach Professor Ye’s level, attain the Scarlet rating and beco so big shot everyone fawned over one day, just getting started was frustratingly difficult enough.
Good positions were like certain diseases—you could only get them through bodily fluids or inherit them from your parents. The Taiyi Ring’s official certification, in a way, was way rarer and more coveted than those jobs.
Plenty of people started working hard from the age of twelve and were still at it by forty. It was just as common to spend most of your life as an apprentice, running errands and doing the grunt work for soone else. The reasons were pretty clear: truly good teachers were rare, sure, but the standards themselves were brutally strict and only getting tighter every year, so much so that they’d beco like a chasm swallowing countless would-be crossers.
To et the required rating, you needed precise control of spirit matter, mastery of the twelve Supre Benevolence emblems, the ability to inscribe hundreds of foundational runes, identify thousands of spirit circuits, and independently create a complete Grade B alchemical item.
The thought alone made Ji Jue feel like he was going to go bald from the stress.
The runes and the emblems of Supre Benevolence especially frustrated him. Runes, as the vessels and carriers of divine blessings, required craftsn to have a deep understanding of those blessings, and each one basically ca with its own separate experience bar.
The emblems of Supre Benevolence that each craftsman inscribed reflected their personal understanding of that path even more directly. That was pure, accumulated skill built over ti, and there was absolutely no way to fake it.
“?”
Ji Jue pointed at himself, completely bewildered. It felt like he’d suddenly been shoved toward a fork in the road. On the left, there was a monkey leading a horse, with a bald guy riding it, followed by a fat dude and a bearded guy. On the right, there was so four-ard, twenty-fingered freak sitting on a throne of bones[1].
“Relax, I have faith in you.” Professor Ye set the lid back on her teacup. When she looked up, there even seed to be the faintest trace of a smile on her cold, stern face. “You won’t disappoint , right?”
Ji Jue nodded frantically, but he didn’t dare say a word.
It wasn’t until they were almost ho that, with a pounding headache, he finally couldn’t help but tilt his head back and let out a long sigh, a stark contrast to the cheerful, excited girl in the back seat.
“Did you have fun at school?” Ji Jue asked curiously.
Lu Ling was practically glowing with excitent. “Yeah! My advisor and teachers are super easygoing, and a bunch of senior girls heard I’m good at sports and won awards at my high school ets. They were all fighting to recruit into their clubs. Everyone’s so rich, too. The jewelry and bags they wear are all brands I don’t even recognize, but they don’t look down on for being poor or anything.”
“Don’t get tempted by luxury. Just because they’re rich doesn’t make them special. If you get along, then just hang out with them. And if anyone bullies you, tell , got it?”
Ji Jue wasn’t really worried about Lu Ling getting picked on. The girl had been sharp as a tack since she was little. She always had a smile on her face, and her smooth talk was sweeter than honey. Half the good reviews for their auto repair shop were because of her. The other half, though, was all thanks to Ji Jue’s charm. Still, he was too embarrassed to let anyone know he’d been coasting on his looks.
As for Lu Feng, he was always lying on the mat with that “I’ll fix it if I feel like it, otherwise tough luck” attitude. Just seeing him made Ji Jue’s blood boil, and all he did was slow everyone down.
Ji Jue shook his head and sighed.
“Ji Jue, you seem kinda happy today,” Lu Ling said.
“Huh? What? Did you see smiling?” Ji Jue looked confused. He leaned toward the rearview mirror and adjusted his expression. The corners of his tightly pressed lips twitched a little, but there wasn’t the slightest hint of a smile.
How could she tell he was happy?
“It’s not that.” Lu Ling shook her head and rested her chin on his shoulder with a giggle. “You always look like this every ti you’ve got exams or run into trouble. You seem serious and kinda scary, but the corners of your eyes crinkle, and your eyes shine, like you’re not afraid of anything.”
“Really?”
Ji Jue leaned closer to the mirror and looked left and right, but couldn’t see the crinkles next to his eyes that she was talking about. As for his shiny eyes, what, were they light bulbs? If anything, they felt dry from the wind. There was nothing bright about that.
Lu Ling was smiling so wide her eyes curved into little crescents.
“I already asked about it today,” she said in a serious tone. “So of the seniors managed to pay off their loans just four or five years after graduating. My interest rate is even lower. As long as I work hard, get a few more certifications while I’m still in school, things will be easier for Mom in the future too.
“In a few years, once I’ve gained so experience and passed the senior accountant exam, I can join a big company and support the family! By then, I can help you pay off your loans, Mom can retire, and Third Bro and the youngest can transfer to better schools. Maybe their grades will improve too.”
“What about Feng?” Ji Jue asked curiously.
Lu Ling rolled her eyes. “Forget about him. He can go run an auto repair shop!”
Ji Jue burst out laughing. “Deal! When the ti cos, I’ll buy a proper Mustang and have him fix it for . If he screws it up or doesn’t give special treatnt, I’ll give him a bad review!”
“Yeah! Let’s do it!”
Amid their laughter, the little scooter’s throttle twisted, puttering forward as it carried them off into a sunset that sohow felt more beautiful than usual.
Their laughter drifted through the air as the streets remained bustling with traffic. Cliff City was as lively and noisy as ever.
Click!
At that mont, with the clear snap of a shutter, everything seed to freeze.
***
Late at night, the half-chewed television sat there in its miserable state in the shabby living room. The culprit, covered in dirt, was sprawled on the floor. It rolled around, its two wheels kicking as its body twisted nonstop.
At the front, the plastic shell between the two turn signals had opened up, revealing a bizarre, indescribable mouth with a plastic tongue drooling eagerly.
“Sit! Sit still!” Ji Jue barked orders again and again.
The little scooter imdiately straightened up like a person, “sitting” obediently on the floor in front of him. Its two wheels spun slightly, and it panted with its mouth open. It looked exactly like a dog... but also not like one at all. It was completely baffling.
“Alright, open up. Slow down, eat slower. I’m not gonna steal it from you!”
Ji Jue took a fresh chicken drumstick he’d packed from Mrs. Lu’s place and tossed it into the scooter’s mouth. The tongue even snuck in a lick, saring grease all over his hand.
He watched as the drumstick he’d snatched from the youngest earlier got swallowed whole, bones and all. As the scooter crunched loudly, Ji Jue couldn’t help but sigh.
For this family, the youngest had sacrificed too much. Then again, his math grades had been pretty bad lately, so sacrificing a bit more wouldn’t hurt.
Kids who don’t study well have to learn the hard way! At the very least, no chicken drumsticks for him! Still...
Ji Jue rubbed his chin, staring at the little scooter happily spinning in circles after finishing its snack, completely confused. “So... what exactly are you?”
The scooter blinked its clueless high beams twice, clearly not understanding what Ji Jue ant.
Logically speaking, this thing should’ve been a product of Ji Jue’s ability. But after his ability ended, everything else had turned back into scrap tal. Thanks to the dragon blood, only this one, this weirdly dog-like little scooter, had sohow accidentally beco... alive.
Ji Jue tried blowing air at it, and it didn’t react at all. It didn’t seem like a real dog either, but it was way too dog-like! Especially after discovering that Mrs. Lu was basically the ancient Greek goddess in charge of white-cut chicken, it couldn’t help but shake so hard that sparks were practically flying from its mudguard even when sitting right under Ji Jue.
Good thing Mrs. Lu didn’t notice!
He probably should’ve shown it to the professor, but this thing involved dragon blood, and he’d promised Wen Wen to keep the dragonification a secret. He still didn’t really understand what dragons even were, but a promise was a promise. It was best to make sure she didn’t get connected to anything dragon-related.
For now, it didn’t seem to be causing any problems anyway, so might as well just raise it. After all, who wouldn’t want a little scooter that could hit over 300 km/h on the highway without needing fuel or charging?
“C’re, c’re! Who's the best little scooter in the whole world? Of course it’s you, isn’t that right?” Ji Jue patted the scooter’s “head.” “Every good dog needs a na. Shouldn’t our little scooter have one too?”
The little scooter got even more excited, its “head” bobbing wildly.
“Hmm, let think...” Ji Jue stroked his chin, pondering for a mont. His gaze landed on the worn-out logo on its shell. He could still barely make out the faded gold lettering underneath: Workhorse Motorcycles, Your Choice.
His eyes lit up. “How about... Horsey?”
“¿¿¿”
In that split second of stiffness, it felt like a hundred thousand question marks ca through his ability feedback... upside down, too!
The mont it heard it was going to be called “Horsey,” the scooter started protesting. It twisted its body like crazy and shook its handlebars wildly before blasting high beams straight into Ji Jue’s eyes, demanding a different na. It didn’t want to be called sothing so la!
Then what should I na it? No way am I gonna na it Pal[2] or sothing!
“What’s wrong with Horsey? What’s so bad about it?!” Ji Jue felt like his genius had been insulted and said earnestly, “Sothing called ‘Little Lamb[3]’ might not actually be a lamb, but sothing called Horsey? That’s definitely a workhorse. Think about it, isn’t a horse stronger than a sheep? Bigger, too! Why are you complaining?”
“Beep beep beeeeeeeeep!”
The little scooter, now forcibly renad Horsey, mashed its horn in protest. Unfortunately, resistance was futile, as the decision had already been made. At last, Ji Jue made up his mind.
“Alright, quit it. You’ve got work tomorrow, so behave. I’ll reward you with a drumstick tonight.”
Ji Jue waved his hand to dismiss it and headed upstairs. After washing up, he lay down on his bed and, as usual, glanced at the watch he had taken off his wrist.
Mr. Watch was as stable as ever. Aside from carrying Ji Jue hard when necessary[4], it never caused any trouble. It didn’t even need to eat white-cut chicken! Honestly, it was basically the easiest employee in the whole family to deal with.
Too bad... The watch face was still completely motionless.
After Ji Jue beca a Chosen One, that 0 had finally turned fully gold, and “1” had made a promising start. But aside from that tiny progress in the beginning, it was like so flop novel that hadn’t updated for over a year and finally dropped a few chapters, only to run out of steam imdiately after.
For more than half a month straight, no matter how Ji Jue used his ability, how he accumulated spirit matter, how he experinted over and over again, that 1 that barely started getting filled up just... didn’t make any progress at all.
Finishing off the 0 was hard, but finishing off the 1 was even harder[5]. So far, Ji Jue’s ability hadn’t developed in the slightest.
1. This is a reference to the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West, in which the protagonist, the monk Tang Sanzang, along with his disciples, faces a seemingly endless series of trials and tribulations on their pilgrimage to retrieve sacred Buddhist scriptures. ☜
2. Pals are the eponymous creatures of the ga Palworld. ☜
3. In China, scooters are referred to as 小绵羊 “little lambs.” ☜
4. For the non-gars, the term “carry” is often used in team gas, referring to a situation where one person literally “pulls” the whole team to victory. ☜
5. The raw is “做0难，做1更难。”, which also has a double aning of “fucking a bottom is hard, but fucking a top is even harder (referring to top (1) /bottoms (0) in gay relationships). I did my best to translate this part, but thought I’d add in a footnote to explain the double-aning which might get lost in translation. ☜
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