Chapter 1876 - 963: Seeking Guidance

Ten minutes later, Ji Jue knocked on the workshop's door and sat properly in front of the teacher.

He sat upright with meticulous care.

Even though he had just indulged in hot pot, crayfish, barbecue, milk tea, ice jelly, and spicy noodles, not a single odor remained on him, and his collar and cuffs were as spotless as new.

However, under the teacher's scrutinizing gaze, his throat rumbled, and he couldn't help but want to burp... Sensing Ye Xian's eyes on him, he awkwardly smiled.

"You must have been starving outside, after all."

Ye Xian shook his head slowly, "There's no need to be embarrassed, even if Tide Sound is struggling, it shouldn't be to the point where students can't afford to eat.

It's just, even when being so carefree, you're still so healthy, which makes me, as a teacher, wonder how you managed to cause those troubles and messes."

"It's all, cough, cough… uh, ooh…"

Ji Jue hesitated, coughed incessantly, and wiped a cold sweat.

So close!

Almost blurted out praise for the teacher's good teaching.

Though he had been up to lots of mischief lately, it hadn't yet reached the level of raising the teacher's blood pressure. After all, the bond between teacher and student is so precious, and also, he feared the teacher might personally deal with him…

"Alright, no need to be overly courteous."

Ye Xian waved off Ji Jue's carefully prepared compliments, giving no room to perform: "If there's a matter, just get to it, I assume you didn't come to Tide Sound just to show me your appetite?"

"Cough, cough, it was all Ye Chun's idea, I only ate a little, um, a tiny bit…"

Instinctively wanting to pass the blame, Ji Jue sensed Ye Xian's gaze lacked trust, sheepishly smiled, and ultimately took the box from under the chair, placing it on the table.

"Besides some confusion regarding Jing Zhen, there are also some issues in studying the Nine Forms that I'd like to ask for your help with."

When the box was opened, it was empty inside.

Yet it caused Ye Xian's eyebrows to raise slightly.

It was as if she was caught off guard.

Soon, she extended her hand, and before Ji Jue could react, she had already gripped the 'invisible item' inside the box, lifting it slowly.

With her palms facing upward, she cradled the invisible edge, gazed down upon it, and with a flick of her finger, a strand of resonance burst forth from the air, reverberating softly, ceaselessly.

When Ye Xian's hand finally lifted, approaching the desk lamp, at the boundary where light met shadow, a faintly visible straight outline emerged, fleeting, ever-changing.

This is Cheng Ying.

Or, as named according to Ji Jue's habit, [Cheng Ying Prototype v.91]

Throughout this lengthy study, among the eleven prototype swords created from blank to finished, it was the closest to completion.

Unfortunately, it still fell short of expectations.

When Ye Xian finally infused her own spiritual essence, the fluctuating blade finally solidified into a tangible edge and outline.

But in the eyes of the two, the scene they saw was completely different.

In Ji Jue's eyes, it appeared as a silhouette in utter darkness, while in Ye Xian's hands, it shimmered brilliantly, filled with rising Illusion Light, reflecting Ye Xian's face like a mirror on the blade's ridge.

Even behind her, there were enormous and menacing spiritual creations, those ominous signs slumbering in the shadows.

And when the blade reflected Ji Jue, it clearly showed a burnt, fragmented face, with countless sparks of fire still changing, and just as it was about to delve further, the blade emitted a mournful cry, and the reflection disintegrated.

The blade's outline flashed rapidly; the tiny strand of spirituality within had been damaged, but it quickly stabilized again under Ye Xian's spiritual essence.

No further illusions were simulated as she had already returned Cheng Ying to the box and made her judgment:

"Not bad."

"...Huh?"

Ji Jue stood there, stunned, speechless.

Honestly, he was prepared to take the test home for a scolding, ready to endure the teacher's merciless criticism and reprimand. Unexpectedly, such a lackluster thing received a "not bad" evaluation from Ye Xian?

Could it be that he had already fallen into the illusion created by Cheng Ying?

Is the world inside Infinite Moon Reading that overly pleasant?

He instead felt nervous!

After all, the aspects related to mirrors and Heart Core in Cheng Ying were precisely his weakest points.

The true Cheng Ying is achieved through the transformation between reality and illusion, integrating various materials that turn truth into falsehood and falsehood into truth, existing between presence and absence, and changing at will.

Once accomplished, it can manipulate the opponent's five senses at will, and at advanced levels, even the intuition of a White Deer cannot distinguish it. Moreover, after completely causing the opponent to lose themselves, their soul and consciousness get permanently absorbed into the sword's Illusion Realm, even becoming Puppet-like NPCs.

Although it's just a prototype, not using the best materials and the Blessing Chain is only a basic version, the level is what it is. If not for asking the teacher for guidance, he probably wouldn't dare show it.

"Stop overthinking."

In Ji Jue's mental overload moment, he heard Ye Xian's voice: "As a teacher, don't I know where your weaknesses and shortcomings lie?

The reason I said it's 'not bad' is because, for you, to reach this level and made significant progress in such a short time, it already counts as exceeding expectations."

"..."

Ji Jue hesitated, but eventually mustered the courage: "Isn't there any flaw or area for improvement?"

"Everywhere, wherever you go, there's a whole bunch of them, but you yourself know very well that there won't be much improvement in a short time.

No sudden enlightenment, Ji Jue, and no shortcuts to take."

Ye Xian glanced at him indifferently: "The reason I said it's not bad is because, for you at the moment, it's already sufficient.

If you don't wish to further your studies, and are only aiming to master Jing Zhen, then your current study on Cheng Ying is already enough, and you can start focusing on Gongbu and Taia next."

"So soon?"

Ji Jue was momentarily surprised: "Isn't it a bit... too hasty?"

"..."

Ye Xian fell silent, looking at the student in front of her, feeling like she had just heard a cold joke.

Is there ever a time when you aren't in a hurry for quick success?

"I remember telling you, not everyone has the time, energy, and talent to maintain such a large investment in the Nine Forms as you do, including me as a teacher.

Just judging from your accomplishments in Pan Ying and Chun Jun, you have already surpassed me."

Ye Xian said slowly: "The prerequisite for starting with Jing Zhen is completeness, not specialization; as long as you have completed the most basic mastery in the Nine Forms, you can begin, it's not that difficult.

If your obsessive compulsion acts up and you still want to dig deeper, you can go back and make up for it slowly."

She paused for a moment, her tone becoming strict: "But, as a teacher, I must remind you, Ji Jue, that a craftsman's energy and areas of expertise are limited,

if you seek to do everything, you'll only end up suffering... don't forget, the cautionary tale from You Sui."

Suddenly, Ji Jue had nothing to say.

As for that cautionary tale, there's no need to elaborate.

Who else could it be?

Jian Yuan!

Wasn't Jian Yuan like this back then?

Always seeking completeness, by any means, without regard for consequences.

If it had been someone else, they might have been constrained by themselves, retreated when the going got tough, but somehow that talent and gift were so astounding that it made the arrogance and pride unstoppable. Intoxicated with pursuing so-called omniscience, he plunged into Zhi Fu without looking back.

"I understand."

Ji Jue nodded solemnly, hesitated for a moment afterward, and finally began to ask: "Besides, there's one more question..."

"About Jing Zhen?"

"Perhaps not only."

Ji Jue thought for a while: "But indeed, it was discovered during the study of Jing Zhen..."

It's just that he's used to the old habit of reverse engineering.

Whenever there's a new thing at hand, Ji Jue instinctively wants to reverse it, wants to deconstruct it. In the past, this routine was simply magical against his peers, but now, when it's on his own teacher, Ji Jue starts to feel stumped.

Even if the results are right in front of Ji Jue, once he leaves the guidance of Ghost Craft, he's at a loss.

Even if he understands the principle and essence, it is still difficult to imagine how, under what circumstances, it was perfected from scratch to its current level.

Gan Jiang and Mo Ye, two matrices even if birthed from the same source, their coordination and operation are still too perfect, too smooth, as if their nature is not at odds at all.

Evident convergence, evident achievement.

Flowing like breathing, effortlessly.

Ji Jue estimated that if it were him, even if he foresaw the outcome in advance, with the support of Heavenly Movement and All Things Self-transform, trying to complete and perfect its principles, it would likely be a long and despairing process, maybe taking ten or twenty years without reaching the end.

One could say that without the aid of Ghost Craft, even with principles and essence laid before Ji Jue, it's unknown how long it would take for him to truly comprehend.

Thus, Ji Jue initially experienced repeated defeats, feeling at a loss. He doubted if he had taken a wrong step, fallen into a trap, or misunderstood, until he repeatedly revised and continuously checked before finally gathering the courage to confirm one point.

It's not that he learns too slowly.

But it is inherently supposed to be this difficult!

Indeed, it should have been harder... so hard that perhaps it could only be fully appreciated in the domain of the Heavenly People.

It's just that Ye Xian, in an incredible way, simplified those high and unfathomable intricate changes to a level he could understand.

"Is it about the blessing of Heavenly Destiny?"

He curiously inquired.

Ye Xian was silent for a moment, looking at him, her eyes slightly lifted at the corners.

As if surprised.

Although she had been prepared, realizing it so quickly was indeed beyond her expectations; it could only be said that such a student with instinct too keen is hard to manage, often achieving leaps and bounds, rendering her prepared teaching plans frequently into waste.

Yet somehow, it always brought joy.

She laughed.

"That's right."