Chapter 279.1: Thunder and Gentle Rain Part 1

Time passed swiftly. Soon enough, another black rain arrived.

Once people pushed themselves to the limit, they tended to not notice the passage of time. That was especially true for Ember craftsmen, who so enjoyed dealing with their peers. Whenever they had to keep a close eye on one another, they somehow managed to produce astonishing levels of efficiency and creativity.

In a sense, they were advancing together. As Jiang Tongguang put it, the Association was truly thriving!

So when a chime finally rang out, quite a few lower-ranked participants secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Finally!

If it had taken any longer, they genuinely did not know whether they could have held out. On one hand, there was the tension and anxiety of the coming duel. On the other, there was the constant fear inspired by the environment itself.

Ever since the last black rain, the deterioration of Leafway Island had accelerated so much that it might as well have strapped itself to Ji Jue’s manned spaceflight stunt and shot upward on a rocket.

The outside world had become contaminated to an appalling degree. Gray-black mist often drifted through the air. Heavy clouds blanketed the sky, and flashes of lightning flickered from time to time, yet no thunder could be heard.

Those fleeting bursts of light illuminated a world that grew more sinister by the day, and the slightest lapse in concentration could make it seem as though vague black shapes were lurking in the corners of one’s vision. They were like horrifying hallucinations torn straight from a nightmare, except those hallucinations were not necessarily false. If someone failed to guard their mind and remain calm, delirium and visions could cause them to give form to some nonexistent evil spirit from within their own heart.

Only now did everyone finally understand what the Lightless Calamity truly meant. The light of the Supreme Benevolences had dimmed, while the corruption of the Great Abominations ran rampant.

Ascension sank toward the Absolute Abyss. The Ruins dissolved into the Maelstrom. Ember decayed day by day into Putrefaction. The illusory light of Mirror revealed shadows of darkness. Aether turned into Blightborn, while Entropy grew as cold as Shadowfrost. Origin had vanished entirely, leaving only the distant shadow of a broken tower. White Deer had lost control, revealing the savage brutality of Wolf[1].

From the spreading aberration contamination, the embryonic form of the End Times had begun to emerge. By now, the whole of Leafway Island seemed to have fallen beneath the Maelstrom and into chaos.

Freaks like Ji Jue, who could stroll through an environment like this as casually as if he had come home, were ultimately few and far between. Most people simply could not tolerate living as though they were swimming butterfly laps through a cesspit.

Although that old geezer Jian Yuan’s cram course had practically been forced on Ji Jue, at least the lessons had been packed with useful material. There had not been a shred of filler.

While most of the others were still suffering under the erosion of aberration, Ji Jue’s workshop had transformed once again. It extended toward the surface from underground and now occupied more than half the mountain.

After layer upon layer of aberration had been allowed to settle and then purified, he still maintained absolute stability and control within the workshop. If necessary, he could even open the septic tank and let his opponent experience what it felt like to go diving through a cesspit.

Of course, a move that despicable was practically an offense against heaven itself. More importantly, it would be terrible if word got out. Ji Jue still cared deeply about his reputation as a member of a respectable orthodox school! He was, after all, a certified great philanthropist of Haizhou recognized by the Radiant Church, and one of the Association’s rising young pillars. How could someone like him resort to such underhanded methods?!

More importantly, showing off his highly accomplished Aberrant Alchemy right under the judges’ noses would be flirting rather enthusiastically with death. Winning through sinister methods was one thing, but if he won in a way that was too shameless and humiliating... Even if he took first place, Professor Ye probably would not mind adding a few extra spirit matter combat training classes to teach Ji Jue some proper life lessons.

Sure enough, a true victory had to be achieved through friendship, passion, and the bonds between comrades. That was the only proper way to do it!

And so, Ji Jue rubbed his hands together as he watched the figures shift within the flowing light before him. His heart was bursting with anticipation.

Finally, his opponent for the third round appeared. The man had a lush beard, long braided hair, tattoos covering his entire body, and both arms bared. He looked less like a craftsman and more like someone from the Swarm Path.

But that aura... A Soul-Hunting Knight?

Realization dawned on Ji Jue. He had never assumed that his victory in the first round meant he could count on getting lucky again, but he still felt a faint twinge of disappointment. He had originally thought he could get the chance to clash with the second-ranked contestant right away. It seemed that, in the judges’ eyes, the time had not yet come.

The opponent was the sixth-ranked Frederick Cosgum, representing Northwind Workshop. The moment he saw Ji Jue, his pupils dilated. There was no trace of fear on his tattoo-covered face. Instead, barely restrained excitement surfaced.

He pressed a hand to his chest and nodded slightly before resting that hand on the short sword at his waist as he waited for Ji Jue’s response.

This was how a formal challenge was issued in the polar north. In that snow-covered world of bitter cold, disputes within the tribes were not judged by right and wrong, nor by morality. There were only the decrees and treaties laid down by the Great Lords. Beyond that, any conflict could be settled through a duel. Even craftsmen had long since grown accustomed to such brutal and straightforward contests of life and death.

And now, Frederick was formally issuing a challenge. Without hesitation, Ji Jue nodded.

The phantoms of both sides vanished, leaving only thunder booming across the sky. Amid the violent black rain, a bone-chilling wave of cold swept over. A beast’s roar echoed through the storm.

At the sound of a whistle, the phantom of a giant wolf emerged from the spreading frost. It bore the likeness of the fur-clad craftsman, but the once-dormant tattoos across that mirrored figure’s face now blazed with searing light. They constantly shifted across the skin, taking the forms of iron helms, enormous beasts, bones, and more.

The thunder of iron hooves rolled across the ground. From the swirling frost and icy mist, Soul-Hunting Knights charged, followed by the newly forged Berserkers, bellowing as they surged ahead.

That was not all. Earthshaking booms cut through the air like the footsteps of something enormous. One towering figure after another, each several meters tall, emerged from behind Frederick. The giants, fashioned from ironwood and stone, marched as if alive. Beneath their armor, their bodies were covered in intricate runes formed from spirit circuits.

Eleven war giants advanced toward the workshop, dragging massive weapons far too large for ordinary men. They came on like an advancing wall of iron, or a tidal wave bearing down on everything in its path.

Unlike most workshops, which remained independent and aloof from worldly affairs, Northwind Workshop was an integral part of the northern territories. It had remained loyal to successive Great Lords, obeying their iron laws and decrees, and throughout history had more than once aided tyrants in waging war.

Northwind Workshop had taken part in all four Battles of White River, and had even stood at the heart of those conflicts. That was precisely why it excelled at large-scale invasions, raids, and warfare.

Even as the giants emerged, Frederick did not pause. He removed a pouch sealed with spirit matter from his waist, drew out handful after handful of seeds, and scattered them across the ground. The instant they fell into the soil, they took root and sprouted. Drawing upon the spirit matter and nourishment stored within them, they grew at astonishing speed.

Burly, skeletal figures surfaced like the dead rising from their graves. Their withered bodies rapidly regenerated, while light returned to their hollow eyes. They possessed a liveliness and intelligence that surpassed most other creations, and even emerged fully equipped with weapons and armor. Every blade gleamed with a chilling light that set the heart racing, while every suit of armor was covered in the grime, gouges, and scars left by years of battle.

1. The author is listing the Supreme Benevolences and their counterpart Abominations here. ☜