Chapter 251: Blessing Chains

Even among all matrices, taking into account every specialized requirement, variant, and outright bizarre design, Pacifier still ranked among the most unusual of them all.

As a tool painstakingly devised by the scheming Onyxists, its very existence was like a gun aimed at the heart of the Empire, a shovel meant to undermine its foundations, and a guillotine built to sever the Emperor’s head.

Across the four realms of Resonance, Metamorphosis, Rebirth, and Transcendence, each realm possessed a chain formed from three distinct blessings. Once the Transcendence Realm was complete, all four blessing chains could merge into one, which would trigger yet another qualitative transformation.

Even more terrifying, it could interact with and complete the matrix known as Universal Love. And that was without even mentioning Divine Creations such as Celestial Ghost, Universal Harmony, and Fatebreaker, which had been created specifically to complement it.

The smaller the workshop, the more recklessly they tended to pile on the good stuff. And the Onyxists were madmen who had staked their lives on opposing the Emperor. They crammed ‌every potent material they could get their hands on into Pacifier, and whatever would not fit was simply made into Blessed Creations, sacred artifact matrices, or even artifacts of the Supreme Benevolences to be used alongside it.

The tools and weapons created specifically for Pacifier were practically endless. And somehow, on top of all that, the matrix had ended up in the hands of a freak like Ji Jue, someone carrying the inherited legacy of a Sage, with nine Supreme Benevolences looming over him and who knew how many Great Abominations coveting what he possessed.

Ye Xian did not even dare imagine how much chaos Ji Jue could cause one day if he truly went off the rails.

What Ji Jue was displaying now was the blessing chain formed by Flawless Craft, Spirit Primacy, and Axis of Dominion, the finest and rarest sequence among all of Pacifier’s blessing combinations!

The Onyxists of old had named it “Resonance” in accordance with the four great realms. Its meaning was simple: everything within reach of Pacifier’s hands would become part of the wielder himself. Thus, all things resonated and answered his call!

Flawless Craft gave him exquisite control, while Spirit Primacy allowed him to imbue, reinforce, and guide spirit matter. Axis of Dominion then spread and linked those effects together. Combined with Pacifier, this allowed Ji Jue to bypass the usual prerequisites and directly transmute and reshape anything under his control. How powerful the effect became, and what form those refinements and transformations took, depended entirely on the user’s own mastery of alchemy.

But among those lunatics of the Onyxists, who had risen from the ranks of craftsmen, anyone favored enough to receive Pacifier was hardly going to be incompetent. And that was without even mentioning someone like Ji Jue, who was proficient in Fluid Alchemy, Modern Alchemy, and Aberrant Alchemy alike.

He was still holding back in front of his teacher. Who knew how many utterly deranged tricks he had yet to reveal?

Back when people fought Onyxists wielding Pacifier, all they had to worry about was whether some craftsman had casually planted a bomb beneath their feet, how much deadly poison was mixed into the next breath they took, or whether flames or frost would suddenly materialize in front of them.

Ji Jue’s enemies, on the other hand, had to contend with mechanical monstrosities brought to life through Deus Ex Machina, then further enhanced through alchemy. These were creatures that never tired, never felt fear, and certainly didn’t dread death.

Right now, things were still relatively manageable. The maximum effective range of Deus Ex Machina was only a little over a hundred meters. At worst, his opponents merely had to wonder whether they would get spectacularly unlucky and find themselves in a warm embrace with a fuel tanker turned suicide bomber.

Once Ji Jue became capable of extending his power even farther, his opponents would have to start praying that no airplane happened to be passing through the troposphere that day. Just imagining it made Professor Ye feel a rare flicker of sympathy for whatever poor bastard Ji Jue set his sights on next.

At the same time, her stomach ached faintly at the thought of how much blame she, his teacher, would end up having to shoulder. More importantly...

“This is one of the earliest works produced by the Empire’s legendary workshop, the Clock Tower. It isn’t a Blessed Creation, but its historical significance makes it extremely valuable. At the last auction, it sold for twenty-one million.” Expressionless, she lifted her teacup and offered him a friendly reminder. “You’d better be able to put it back exactly the way it was.”

Ji Jue’s smug smile froze on his face, and he swallowed nervously. “Th-that expensive?!”

Ye Xian took a sip of strong tea and said calmly, “I didn’t pay for it. I just happened to steal it. But if you can’t restore it, then some lucky fellow who’s made quite a bit of money lately is going to end up bankrupt.”

Click!

At its master’s command, the brass leopard immediately darted back to its original position and restored itself to its former shape with not a single detail out of place. Even under a magnifying glass, there was not a single flaw to be found. The metal had been reforged and reshaped, with every component restored to its original state.

This was not merely due to the qualitative transformation brought about by Deus Ex Machina. Ji Jue’s own mastery of alchemy and precision control were equally evident.

Good. He had passed this test, which saved her the trouble of checking his work separately.

Ye Xian set down her teacup. “Now that your Resonance blessing chain is complete, the next step should be Metamorphosis.”

Unlike the Resonance Realm, where Pacifier had to draw on blessings from various Supreme Benevolences to complete itself, every blessing it gained during the Metamorphosis Realm belonged exclusively to the Ember Path. After all, Pacifier was an Ember-type matrix.

In fact, it made no difference who the user was or how skilled they were. Anyone who used it would receive the same three blessings. They corresponded to the three most crucial aspects of a Chosen One and three equally vital transformations in one’s life, mind, and soul.

They were, respectively, Furnace Blood, Everlasting Fuel, and Divine Spirit. Each completed blessing marked a fundamental transformation, taking the user beyond mortal limits and one step closer to the Rebirth Realm. Completing all three transformations was like crossing three crucial thresholds, each one bringing them closer to the doorway of the Rebirth Realm.

Each of the three was a blessing that followers of the Ember Path could only dream of obtaining. At the same time, they were also brutal trials that had shattered the ambitions of countless craftsmen, leaving them no choice but to abandon the path in bitter regret.

The first blessing had to come before the second, and the second blessing had to come before the third. If a craftsman could not obtain Furnace Blood, then Everlasting Fuel and Divine Spirit would never answer their summons or pleas.

The method of obtaining Furnace Blood was very simple. There was no need for elaborate schemes nor to beg favors from anyone. All a craftsman had to do was their job and grind hard.

Day after day, night after night, they had to work and refine their craft before the furnace. Through that process, the craftsman would gradually comprehend the true essence of alchemy. Through years of working with the essences of countless Supreme Benevolences, transforming and refining them again and again, their body would slowly begin to change as well.

After countless years and untold works of creation and refinement, tiny traces of those essences would seep into their blood little by little, accumulating until, one day, they finally triggered a fundamental transformation.

Thus, Furnace Blood would be born. From that moment onward, the craftsman’s blood would burn like fire within a furnace, its temperature rivaling molten lava. During creation, even the slightest infusion of that blood into one’s work could trigger extraordinary changes, greatly enhancing both the quality and effectiveness of whatever was being forged. When fully activated, it could even be used as fuel.

With each one completed, the baseline quality of everything the craftsman created would rise dramatically. By the time all three were attained, even something made casually could possess extraordinary properties.

In theory, with such a straightforward method, craftsmen should have flocked to pursue it. In reality, after countless people exhausted themselves and gave up halfway through, everyone had come to understand what the process truly entailed. For an ordinary craftsman, it was a lifelong ordeal they might never see through to the end.

If a craftsman spent their entire life working only with scraps and low-grade materials, then even several centuries might not be enough for them to meet the requirements for Furnace Blood. The further down the path they went, the harsher the requirements became, demanding creations of ever greater quality and rarity.

At the very end, the prerequisite for one to acquire Divine Spirit was to follow the Divine Mandate when the right opportunity arose and complete a true Divine Creation. Among craftsmen, not even one in a hundred could complete Furnace Blood. Of those, perhaps one in another hundred could obtain Everlasting Fuel. As for the final Divine Spirit, its rarity could no longer be meaningfully expressed in numbers.

Since the birth of Modern Alchemy, only a scant handful of people had ever achieved it. Because of that, craftsmen generally knew their limits when attempting the path. Even if they could obtain nothing more than Furnace Blood, it was still well worth the effort. Besides, there were plenty of blessing chains associated with Furnace Blood, so they could always change course later.

Pacifier, however, was different. It had only one path forward, with no alternatives whatsoever.

That was the consequence of the Onyxists pouring far too much ambition and thought into its design. If its crucial Metamorphosis could not be completed, there was no point even thinking about the Rebirth Realm or the Transcendence Realm that came afterward.

The path of Pacifier was destined to be difficult. The mediocre would fall behind, and the incapable would never even reach it. Only the rarest of the rare, like a Chosen One in the truest sense of the word, could truly master its essence.

And now, that trial had arrived before Ji Jue, yet the bastard was still grinning like an idiot, as though he had no idea what awaited him.

But that was impossible. There was no way Ji Jue could be unaware of something this basic. He was simply used to it. Or perhaps it had never once occurred to him that he could fail.

Ye Xian sighed. The arrogance of an Ember-type...

“Ji Jue.”

Ji Jue immediately perked up. He straightened his back and sat upright, waiting solemnly for his teacher’s instructions.

“You don’t have to be so serious.” Seeing that he was about to slump back into his chair, Ye Xian quickly stopped him. “No, actually, forget that. You’d better stay serious. There’s something I need your help with. This isn’t an order, and it won’t necessarily come without consequences.”

She paused, then sighed softly. “It may even have an irreversible impact on your life. This goes well beyond what can reasonably be asked within a teacher-student relationship. To be frank, I’m asking a lot of you. So I want you to think about it carefully.”

Ji Jue froze. He had never seen Professor Ye act this cautious before. The unease he had only just put aside immediately came rushing back.

He asked nervously, almost on instinct, “Professor, you’re not planning to send me back to that old bastard Jian Yuan, are you?!”

Absolutely not! If that was the case, he was packing his bags and running for his life!

Professor Ye gave him her usual “are you an idiot?” look.

Ji Jue immediately felt much better. Good. Apparently not.

“Could it be...” He remembered Lü Yingyue’s visit earlier that morning. Lowering his voice, he leaned a little closer and drew a finger across his throat. “You’ve got a bit of a problem with Xu Chaoxian too, just like I do?”

Professor Ye’s frown deepened.

Right. Apparently it’s not that either. Then what the hell could it be?!

Ji Jue’s eyes lit up. “Could it be—”

Before he could finish, Professor Ye raised a hand and, with a pinch of her fingers, clamped his mouth shut from a distance. If she let him keep talking, the two of them could end up charging into Central City and trying to seize the president’s damn seat next.

Seeing how unserious he was, she decided it was better not to tell him yet. It would only give her a headache.

“I’m not even sure yet whether you’ll be qualified to take part. For now, all you need to do is prepare yourself. When the time comes, think it over and give me your answer. But before that, there’s something else you have to do, whether you like it or not!” She paused. “How long have you been with the workshop?”

“Uh...” Ji Jue counted on his fingers, going over it again and again before finally asking uncertainly, “F-four months?”

He had joined the workshop as summer gave way to autumn, and now autumn had already turned to winter. Counting it all up, four months sounded about right.

Those four months had been more eventful than the first twenty years of his life combined. It seemed like he had gotten into a ridiculous amount of trouble! How exciting!

As for just how outrageous it was to go from the Resonance Realm to the Metamorphosis Realm in only four months, that thought had never even crossed his mind.

“Mm. You’re about ready. You’ve built up enough theoretical knowledge and practical experience. There’s still time to register for the final round of examinations this year.” Professor Ye thought for a moment, then finally nodded. She raised her hand, pointed at Ji Jue, and told him, “Go get yourself a craftsman license.”