Above Destiny

Chapter 556 I avoid his edge?
The starry sea is vast, its shimmering light dazzling.

Countless glimmers of light danced lightly among the spiritual crystals, like fireflies, and as if out of curiosity, landed on the outsider's shoulders and hair, touching them gently.

Even before this, Lou Feng and Lou Yanyue had subconsciously restrained their spiritual energy. On the one hand, it was a family tradition to avoid abnormal spiritual energy fluctuations damaging the precision instruments. On the other hand, these tiny spiritual lights were too fragile; even a slight touch could shatter them.

Ironically, after countless fragments of light converged, the subtle flow of spiritual energy between them subtly formed a breathtakingly magnificent complex.

Unlike the active fragments of light, the complex itself seemed to be in a state of slumber and chaos, not yet fully revealed. The mere flickering of countless tiny lights constituted a vast and magnificent breath and rhythm.

The moment I gently reached out to touch it, I heard a hallucinatory meowing sound in my ear.

It was like accidentally stumbling into a giant cat house, with kittens crawling all over the place before they even opened their eyes, climbing up your feet, pant legs, shoulders, and heads.

"Hey, this little gadget is pretty cute."

Lou Yanyue's eyebrows danced with excitement as she quickly sensed the faint chirping of these spirits. Like spirits naturally born from thunder and flames, she skillfully scattered a handful of thin spiritual essence, immediately attracting a large number of meow spirits to gather around, dancing like fireflies.

As for Lou Feng, he had already begun to instinctively analyze the phenomenon before him.

A thief isn't stealing, and looking down isn't looking. What's wrong with looking? You, surnamed Ji, took the initiative to call me over, and even flirtatiously invited me to drink sweet soup.

The Lou family's inherited techniques for shaping spiritual matter and related technologies, as well as his own research on the qualitative changes and transformations of spiritual matter, are all sufficient for him to analyze and understand all of this.

"Lord of the Flies" is just a general term.

What you see before you is a whole comprised of countless tiny spirits of creation, a race... and within it, there are four 'classes' or 'categories'.

The highest and largest of all is undoubtedly the Lord of the Flies, which is composed of all the intelligences united as one.

Below Lord of the Flies, the most complete entity consists of various 'adult cats' that have undergone some kind of transformation and have been implanted with certain functions. Like the security cats I had seen outside, they can accept commands and complete tasks. Although their intelligence is not high, they are more than sufficient, even far beyond, as tools.

If we were to draw an analogy, they would be roughly equivalent to worker bees and soldier bees in a bee colony, making up about 20% of the colony's population.

Below the adult cats are the newborn kittens, whose intelligence is still developing. They have not been domesticated or raised and lack experience and skills. They need the guidance and instruction of older cats or direct instruction from them. They can be called the reserve force, with great potential and a promising future, and they make up about 30% of the population.

The remaining 50% consists of tiny spiritual seeds still being cultivated, like seeds floating in the spiritual matter, growing slowly and drifting with the current.

No, it should be said that it was suppressed and forced into a deep sleep.

Given limited resources, reckless development and increased demand will only lead to complete decay after all resources are exhausted... But the question is, when the subject lacks consciousness and only exists on instinct, who is controlling everything in such meticulous detail?

The Lord of the Flies' greatest weakness is its lack of self-awareness, and its greatest strength is the same. However, given the internal chaos, to maximize this power, one must have decisive domination and coordination, a comprehensive understanding of the overall situation, and the multi-threaded processing ability to overwhelm any human brain.

In other words, besides the Lord of the Flies, there exists another crucial entity!
That bastard Ji Jue is still hiding!

The moment he noticed, Lou Feng couldn't help but glance at Ji Jue and let out a cold snort.

"What's wrong, Brother Lou?" Ji Jue laughed. "After this frank and open discussion, have you gained anything?"

"Heh, it's just so-so."

Lou Feng, hands in his pockets, nonchalantly mocked, "Raising a litter of cats, coming all the way to call people over, I thought they could do backflips."

He looked away without a second glance, "Nothing special."

Ji Jue remained silent, smiling without saying a word, simply looking at his hand.

Old Deng from Tianlu was right after all; a craftsman's words are nothing but lies.

But a craftsman's hands don't lie, don't you think? Young Master Lou, who's secretly pinching and rubbing a kitten between his fingers?
Until Lou Feng's thick skin and the craftsman's curiosity ran out of steam, Lou Feng finally reluctantly let go of the craftsman's hand...

To be fair, such spiritual beings are not actually uncommon.

After all, the aggregation of matter and spirit is a natural law, and there are always surprises and miracles in the fusion of transformation and desolation.

Similar groups include stone worms growing in the earth's veins below, and spirits growing in thunderclouds and volcanoes above. There is even a spiritual species called parasitic moths among the disasters, which like to lay eggs in people's souls. After they have eaten people up, they take over the nest and begin to develop abnormally. In the end, what is born from flesh and blood is the existence known as the abnormal spiritual disaster, the Mothman.

Compared to those things, Ji Jue's stuff is nothing.

But is that the key point?

Lou Feng was just saying it casually, and Ji Jue could just take it as a joke. If either of them believed it, then the one who did was the real idiot.

Regardless of its potential, its true terror lies in the complete whole formed after the swarms come together, like the Fly King created by reverse engineering a worm.

Not only can it reproduce and grow like other spiritual creatures, but it is also a natural artifact spirit that is compatible with the vast majority of alchemical creations and can be adapted to the vast majority of devices.

One or two individual tools are not worth worrying about, but when all the whole is combined and converges under the totality of Lord of the Flies, it will constitute an independent and complete system.

It builds a bridge between inanimate objects and living beings, and even constitutes a complete mechanical life.

And all of these... were mechanical souls that Ji Jue cultivated from the fragments of Huang Liang's remains, using the souls of all the victims as mining machines and their consciousness as computing power.

Its potential is terrifying, and its future is promising.

But the required investment and resources... are also a terrifying story!
Lou Feng finally understood why Ji Jue had dragged him over – he was addicted to finding suckers to pay the bill!
He sneered, showing no respect whatsoever, "Such a large clan, once it spreads out, the spiritual energy and resources it consumes every day... How much money do you have in your account, Mr. Ji? Enough to burn for several days?"

No, it must already be spending more than it earns.

Is he here to ask for a loan, or is he trying to get something out of the Lou family's spiritual crystal business?

"What are you saying, gurgling?"

Ji Jue rolled his eyes. "Go cook me two dishes and bring me twenty tons of spirit crystals. Forget about money, I don't have any!"

Before he could even finish listening, Lou Feng's fist was already hard:

"You bastard, surnamed Ji—"

"Twenty percent."

Ji Jue held up two fingers: "I want all the supporting equipment and all the products from the next two expansions of the Spirit Array, as well as the cost price of the Spirit Crystals produced by the Lou family, and then half off."

"The product of Lord of the Flies, registered as a separate company, will give you a 20% share."

"Twenty percent?"

Lou Feng was so angry he laughed, his face turning ashen: "I'll provide the basics, I'll provide the inputs, I'll provide all the spirit crystals, and then you expect me to just give you some leftovers after you've eaten your fill?"

"Hey, don't say such harsh things."

Ji Jue smiled and waved his hand: "I'm giving you a way out. There's absolutely no risk, and the profits are so high. You don't even need to take risks for wealth. Just invest in a sure-fire business that makes money. 20% is already quite a lot."

"Nine percent!"

Lou Feng retorted decisively: "You expect me to work for you for free just by making empty promises? Do you think I'm a beggar? Don't overestimate yourself, Ji Jue. You're 90% too low. We can do it ourselves without you!"

"You can't handle it."

Ji Jue shook his head decisively, snapped his fingers, and a thick stack of patent certificates immediately rose from the flowing mercury on the ground, all stamped with the seal of the Taiyi Ring and the signature of Chairman Gustav.

Even a completed and submitted paper, "A Brief Discussion on the Composition of Spirit Clusters," has already received an A- rating from the association on its cover!
Following the previous work, "Blood Sacrifice Purification," here is the second A-level research paper!
Damn it, that bastard just got the first gold ribbon, and you're telling me this? The second gold ribbon is already reserved?!

The reason it's only described as 'fast booking' is because it suffers from the classification issue—if this research direction weren't so niche and obscure, and if the applied aspects weren't discussed at all, it would at least deserve an [A+]!
Dog! There's a dog!!!
Lou Feng looked like he'd been bitten by a dog, and couldn't help but glare at Ji Jue: You're still secretly ripping me off!

"I'm sorry, the nature of the Fly King is unique in the world, and I have already registered all the patents, from the theory to the application of related products."

Ji Jue shrugged innocently and whistled: "If you want to do it, no problem. I can even give you the spirit seed for free. But... shall we talk about patent licensing fees?"

You dog!!!

Lou Feng instinctively started shooting at Ji Jue at zero frames per second, ready to begin his morning exercises, if his aunt hadn't already turned on the camera behind him...

But what good would scolding do? Besides, how could he not know that although the association had extensive technical expertise in spirit material refining, the leading figure in this field was still sitting right behind Ji Jue!
Who else could it be besides his teacher, Ye Xian?

That son of a bitch has obtained so many patents, but they're all just for show, because the main patents and monopolistic technologies... are all in Ye Xian's hands!
This is Ji Jue's biggest backer and protector.

This master and apprentice duo have monopolized the entire category! The master has blocked most of the academic patents and unique secrets of spiritual alchemy, while the apprentice has blocked the most convenient application techniques and development directions with fluid alchemy.

Over the years, although the Lou family has made considerable progress in entropy systems and evolution, their accumulation in the area of ​​embers can only be described as barely adequate. Moreover, they have focused on the qualitative changes in the properties of spiritual matter and the utilization of energy. Without Master Ji, let alone meat with hair, they probably wouldn't even be able to see a pig.

Even though Lou Feng clearly understands how big Ji Jue's current deficit is and how much he needs to attract investment, he doesn't have much bargaining power when he's right in front of Ji Jue.

Putting everything else aside, don't you know where your ranking of craftsmen came from?
I just can't muster any backbone.

Fortunately, the Lou family's spiritual industry ranks among the top in the entire Federation. Only the Xu family, who specializes in spirit servants, can rival them. However, the Xu family is located far away in the East City and has never had any dealings with Ji Jue. Moreover, their reputation is not good; at the very least, they are hated by gods and ghosts. They are the kind of people who would kill someone and then monopolize everything. With Ji Jue's brains, he is not worried about this bastard going to seduce them for the time being.

Fortunately, the meat is still in the pot; it's just a matter of finding a more expensive bowl to put it in.

Lou Feng waved his hand and sighed: "I can't make decisions about the Lou family's affairs. Ji Jue, you've come to the wrong person."

"Your second uncle manages the spiritual industry; you should talk to him."

But how long has it been?
A year and a half?

In just a year and a half, the once newly initiated apprentice Yu Jin has become an equal who can sit at the same table and talk with the entire Lou family.

Looking at myself, apart from a little progress, I have accomplished absolutely nothing.

Lou Feng couldn't help but sigh.

Then, I heard Ji Jue's voice.

"If I wanted to talk to the Lou family, why would I have called you here?"

Ji Jue leaned against the crystal pillar, looking at him with a half-smile. Lou Feng was stunned for a moment, his heart stirred, but he couldn't believe it. Then, he heard Ji Jue's voice.

"—Any interest in starting your own business and becoming your own boss, Mr. Lou?"

Lou Feng's pupils contracted for a moment, then he became even more vigilant and annoyed.

I was so angry I laughed... So you're not just after my money, you're after me too!

"It's impossible for me to solve the problem of the Lord of the Flies' complete development on my own. You must know what gaps are needed."

Ji Jue frankly stated without any concealment: "I do not want to lose my leadership. The best way is to develop it together in the form of a joint workshop."

You are the most suitable partner. If you join now, not only will you receive the patent license related to Lord of the Flies, but the theory of fluid alchemy is also open to discussion, and all modernized adaptations of the techniques will be available to you.

Aside from a few inheritances that I am not qualified to decide, I can share most of the skills I have learned with you; I will speak frankly and without reservation.

"That sounds nice! I'm still working for you!"

Lou Feng could easily see through Ji Jue's scheming: "Not only do you want me to bring my own food to work for you and take the blame if anything goes wrong, but you also want me to be your lackey in the association and cheer you on, right?"

Is the Lord of the Flies good? It certainly has a promising future, but does Lou Feng really lack that little bit of money? Is fluid alchemy good? It is indeed good, but Lou Feng has Master Kong of the Lou family backing him up. Does he really need that little bit of inheritance to make a living?

They acquired fluid alchemy in the past to enrich their family's foundation and resources, but now that they've taken the bait, they'll be led by the nose by Ji Jue.

Within the association, there are indeed many 'joint workshops,' which are often formed by several workshops collaborating closely while maintaining their independence, after limited cooperation and communication.

In other words... this title is practically equivalent to a faction!
Once Lou Feng accepts the joint workshop led by Ji Jue, everyone will regard him as a member of Ji Jue's faction. To put it nicely, they will advance and retreat together, sharing both glory and fortune. To put it bluntly, they will be like grasshoppers on the same rope, sharing both loss and gain!
If Ji Jue, that unlucky bastard, causes any trouble in the future, he'll be caught red-handed when the reckoning begins, and he won't be able to escape!
"Besides me, do you have a better choice?" Ji Jue asked calmly. "Besides the King of Flies, is there any project more suitable for us?"
Or are you really not planning to take it any further?

Lou Feng fell silent.

Everyone has the desire to improve and transform; as craftsmen, who doesn't dream of becoming a master?
Admittedly, it was Ji Jue who took the initiative to extend the invitation, as he needed Lou Feng's help. However, invitations are mutual. Young Master Lou could refuse or scoff at the idea, but Ji Jue could simply grit his teeth and do it himself. Even if he couldn't finish the meat all by himself, he could just let it rot in his own pot.

In that case, Ji Jue is still Ji Jue.

As for Young Master Lou... he'll probably just have to stay Young Master Lou!

"Lou Feng, I used to envy you a lot."

Under the illumination of countless illusory lights, Ji Jue gazed at the silent craftsman and frankly told him, "Ever before I first met you, when I saw your car, I began to envy it."

Lou Feng was taken aback. He looked up at him but saw no mockery.

Just calm.

"When I saw the Guangyuan you parked in front of the teacher's workshop, my first reaction was to lie down on the ground to look at its chassis and study its structure... I even dared not dream of whether I could own one someday."

For me at the time, even paying off my student loans seemed like a distant dream.

Ji Jue sighed softly: "The family that supports you, the wealthy and comfortable life, the nonchalant and extravagant demeanor, the confident and high-spirited attitude as if you can hold everything in your hands—you were born with everything I want, and it's all taken for granted. Why shouldn't I envy you?"

"What's going on here?"

Lou Feng's expression gradually turned indifferent, revealing neither joy nor anger: "Mr. Ji, now that you've become so powerful, are you starting to reminisce about your glorious past with me, a second-generation rich kid who's stuck in the same place?"

Of course he knew that wasn't the case; of course he knew Ji Jue wasn't that bored.

He just...

Suddenly, I didn't want to listen anymore!
“No, I just want to tell you when I stopped envying you.” Ji Jue slowly told him, “Even before I first beat you, it was after I first met you.”

"Ji Jue—"

Lou's face turned ashen. He gritted his teeth, unable to bear such humiliation. Just as he was about to turn away decisively, he heard Ji Jue sigh softly.

"Because it wasn't until I shook your hand that I realized we were the same. We both have two eyes and one nose, we are both apprentices, we are both embers, we walk the same path, there is no difference between us."

The gap between us isn't as insurmountable as it seems, is it?

Ji Jue finally smiled, not mocking or contemptuous, but solemnly telling him, "To this day, I still think this way."

The starting line is always right under your feet.

Both being embers, what makes this spirit of change and ascension different?
The difference is, I've already run a part of the race, now are you going to catch up, Lou Feng?
Lou Feng remained silent.

"Although I don't think that others have to agree to my suggestions, I think it's a good thing for both of us."

Whether or not we cooperate is a matter of great importance, and there's no point in forcing you to make a decision hastily. The specific agreement and the future development prospects of the project are all here. I hope you can consider it and then reply to me. Everything is negotiable.

Ji Jue handed over a thick stack of documents that had been prepared in advance.

Lou Feng hesitated and did not reach out.

Hesitating whether to accept the invitation or simply wave it off, laugh coldly to the sky, and say, "Thirty years I've crossed the Yangtze River to the south, thirty years I've crossed the Yangtze River to the west. We'll see."

Ke Jijue remained unwavering, simply waiting quietly.

Only after Lou Feng reached out and gripped his hand tightly did he slowly release it.

Ji Jue laughed.

"The matter concerning the craftsmen has been settled."

He asked, "Now, can old friends go for tea together?"

Lou Feng sighed.

nod.

Then, I regretted it.

...because the tea was absolutely terrible!
The tea is indeed good tea, but even the best tea will spoil if it's not stored properly and left in this awful weather in Haizhou! What do you, Ji Jue, who just brews everything in a big enamel mug, know?

The tea was bitter and astringent, and the bitterness lingered in his throat until night. Lou Feng lay in the guest room prepared by the coast, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. Thinking about how that bastard Ji Jue pretended to make tea, he couldn't help but get up and want to curse.

Then, I heard...

Bang!
The door was kicked open.

The good news is that Ji Jue didn't take a risk and lull himself into a false sense of security before revealing his true intentions and trying to turn him into a talent as well.

Bad news: it was his aunt who kicked down the door.

He was also carrying a bottle of liquor he'd bought somewhere, chugging it down with great enthusiasm: "Hey, I have to say, this little thing is really good!"

"Have you been drinking?" Lou Bian's expression changed drastically; he was starting to get scared.

"Sigh, it's just homemade rice wine, it has no alcohol content, you can just enjoy it in the breeze."

This is clearly not a problem that can be solved by just blowing a breeze!
But Lou Yanyue casually sat down in his chair, crossed her legs, and clicked her tongue in amazement: "You're still hesitating? Isn't this a good thing?"

Whether it succeeds or fails, I won't lose anything.

"It's not a question of whether it will work out or not."

Lou Feng sighed, shook his head, hesitated, and then had nothing to say.

What else can be said?
It's nothing more than resentment, injustice, and discontent; it's narrow-minded and only makes people laugh if you say it out loud.

"You guys, Yu Jin, are such a pain in the ass! I don't understand! Bai Lu is much more straightforward; she can just say 'What are you looking at?' and start the fight right away." Sparks were sizzling between Lou Yanyue's fingers as she considered giving this guy an electrotherapy treatment, but after burping, she suddenly laughed.

"But when you think about it, there's not that much difference, is there?"

She leaned closer, her eyes shining: "It's just a matter of the strong preying on the weak and the capable rising to the top. If you're unhappy, why don't you just go and fight him? Whoever wins will get to decide what to do, right?"

"That's nice to say!"

Lou Feng rolled his eyes. The way his aunt's muscle cells seemed to have entered her brain was so bad that even a dog would shake its head at her, let alone Ji Jue.

But when Lou Yanyue looked over, her eyes, though hazy with drunkenness, were clearly sharp.

It seemed to penetrate to the very marrow of my bones, revealing everything I knew.

"Can't beat it?"

She grinned, as if mocking, "Or are you saying you're too scared to fight?"

"Don't dare? I don't dare?!"

Lou Feng was furious: "They're all craftsmen, what's there to be afraid of? How many gold ribbons does he have? I'm afraid of him?! I'm afraid he'll die!"

"Good boy!"

Lou Yanyue grinned and slapped Lou Feng on the forehead, then ruffled his hair: "Auntie, I didn't misjudge you. You may be a bit nagging, but at least you have backbone!"

With that, she jumped up from her chair. "Let's go!"

Lou Feng let out a scream.

Because Lou Yanyue didn't let go; she was still pulling on his hair!
She was almost dragged off the bed, and stared blankly at the local twin-tailed girl under the bed. Forgetting about disgust or resistance, she asked in bewilderment, "Where are we going?"

"—Issue a challenge!"

Lou Yanyue grinned, pulled out her necklace, breathed on the stamp-like pendant, wiped it, and infused it with spiritual energy, transforming it into a crystal seal.

This is proof that she, as a key member of the Lou family, can act on behalf of the Lou family!

It's rare for my nephew to do something like this, how can I, as his aunt, just stand by and do nothing?
Let's wager on the relative importance of each side and challenge Ji Jue to a duel!

"Let's settle this fairly and squarely!"

Lou Yanyue laughed loudly, grabbed the dazed Lou Feng, and kicked the door open again.

It's rare to feel this way; my blood is boiling!
then……

Then, things seemed to get out of hand!
Two hours later, in the middle of the night, Second Uncle Lou Xian was woken up by a phone call from his younger sister. Before dawn, Third Uncle Lou Guan arrived by airship.

At six o'clock, Master Kong's car stopped at the entrance of Coastal Industry.

At seven o'clock, Ye Xian was already sitting in Ji Jue's office chair, pouring the 'good tea' that Ji Jue had offered with both hands into the trash can.

At 7:30, Tong Ting, an Ether Chosen One who happened to be passing by Xinquan, brought his own dried fruit and came to ask for melons!

Amidst the bustling activity of celebrating the Lunar New Year with lanterns and decorations, only Ji Jue and Lou Feng, both looking completely bewildered, stared at each other, hesitant to speak.

Sigh... Is reconciliation even possible?
But now it seems that we have no choice but to fight!

(End of this chapter)