Above Destiny

Chapter 787 The Self-Transformation of All Things
"Truly, it's a fine piece of jade."

Fernand gazed at the broken yet reformed face, murmuring softly, making no attempt to hide his admiration, nor to conceal his contempt and disdain.

He knew that Ji Jue was experimenting and making mistakes.

He repeatedly tried to climb the peak before him, using himself as an enemy, and even Ji Jue himself...

Even if it falls and shatters countless times.

But right before his eyes, Ji Jue, who was originally powerless to fight back, broke through his inherent limits time and time again, and lasted longer and longer.

The heights they climbed gradually exceeded the limits of theory.

This has nothing to do with talent.

Rather, it is a more hidden, deeper, and more steadfast obsession, a single-minded devotion, as firm as iron and stone. Isn't this the essence of so-called embers?

Even when faced with a dead end, they still cannot shake off their arrogant and self-righteous hearts.

But so what!
Who isn't?
Just as Fernand never refused Ji Jue's repeated futile challenges, Ji Jue also did not completely destroy the last vestige of his divine foundation.

This is not pity, but a duel that stakes on life, soul, and even the dignity of the craftsman.

In the never-ending struggle, victory and defeat slowly reverse the score; through endless trial and error and infinite possibilities, all chances of luck are exhausted.

In countless battles and defeats, only the true victors, the true winners, and the truly stronger craftsmen can stand until the end.

The capable rise to the top!
The so-called craftsman is such a freak: he prides himself on being rational, yet rationality is never important to him. He values ​​talent immensely, but sometimes, he doesn't even care about talent.

Some even deliberately wallow in the mire.

Even if you fall to the bottom of a stubborn rock, you must still struggle and resist against your own limitations!

"Stop daydreaming, Ji Jue!"

The sound of grains sloshing echoed once more. Fernand waved his hand indifferently, and the foot-long mallet shattered the mangled body before him into fragments, for who knows how many times.

"The limitations of talent cannot be overcome by so-called obsession and determination. You have achieved success because of this, so how can you deny yourself?"

The lie of truth denies the three-phase flow, and the alchemy from Fernand instantly penetrates, calmly breaking through one by one, dissolving the body that has just been reconstructed once again.

Eliminate and attack simultaneously.

This caused Ji Jue's rise to fall once again.

It was all in vain.

"really."

Ji Jue sighed regretfully, looked down at the reborn form that was already nearing its limit.

Chun Jun's repeated warnings indicated that the soul was nearing its limit. If this continued, the unstoppable materialization would likely erode the soul, assimilating Ji Jue's sense of self, joy, resentment, and hatred into a cold, emotionless mind devoid of any fluctuation.

Barry is only half of 90.

It is a mountain nine ren high.

Even though it has created many incredible miracles, it is now difficult to make progress. No matter how much it tries and explores, the feedback brought by Tianxingjian is gradually weakening and can now be completely ignored.

Fernand could sense it, and so could Jijue.

At this moment, Ji Jue has reached the limit that a stubborn rock can achieve. At most, he has only reached three-fifths of the level that the former Ji Jue was at.

The existence of talent and ability has cruelly determined the lower limit and the upper limit.

It's no longer possible to continue with just obsession and determination.

What's needed is more accumulation, a huge amount of time, and countless futile attempts.

Just like the master Duan Mu of old, he endured his own stubborn talent, suffering day after day, chasing the illusion of late-blooming success.

Until they truly break through their own limits, or... before that, they are burned to ashes.

How cruel is the gift of embers!
Ji Jue sighed regretfully and did not draw his sword to challenge him again.

Let’s stop here.

"Is game time over, Ji Jue?"

Fernand asked indifferently, "You can come again. I'll give you a chance. As long as you still have the courage, you can challenge yourself as many times as you want."

"No, it's not very meaningful anymore."

Ji Jue sighed softly, smiled slightly, and nodded gratefully to the senior before him: "Thanks to you, I think I understand now..."

他 说:

"—The so-called self-transformation of all things!"

Fernand's pupils suddenly contracted.

The heaven and earth shook violently.

In the night sky, the magnificent sun formed by countless fireflies suddenly expanded to its limit and disintegrated...

The Crimson Sky is gone.

Instead, countless stars rise like embers.

The celestial furnace overturned, and creation became mediocre.

The stagnant, decaying firefly light quickly dimmed, and the embers of supreme good reigned supreme here!
Beams of burning light converged from the dome, like an endless waterfall, sprinkling down upon the mortal world and upon Ji Jue.

Right before Fernand's eyes, the radiant glow of blessing flowed, manifesting from Ji Jue's soul, completing the final link in the rebirth rank. This was the recognition and blessing from the embers.

All things transform themselves!
Under that faint ray of light, the stain of depravity vanished, the stubborn rock shattered, and a brilliant, pure radiance reappeared from the cracks.

Everything that Ji Jue had lost has returned, and even more so than before!

The world before my eyes is so clear, the changes of all things are so distinct, and the flow of everything is so beautiful... It's like having a different pair of eyes, a different body, or even a different world.

But Ji Jue felt that all he had done was lift his eyes from the well that had once been closed, and naturally see the sun and moon in the sky.

The vastness of the sky and the brilliance of the sun and moon have never changed or diminished because of people; they have always been there, you just haven't noticed them.

"Just as you said, Fernand, game time is over."

Ji Jue sighed softly, turning his gaze from the sky to his opponent before him, and said, "Now, it's your turn to challenge me—"

Fernand remained silent, his face expressionless. Only cracks ran across his face, outlining the contours of his anger.

"Come on, I'll give you a chance!"

Just like Fernand before him, Ji Jue spread his arms wide and generously made a guarantee: "No matter how many times!"

A new game has begun.

You can do it as many times as you want, I'll play along until you give up, until you choose to admit defeat!

Fernand remained silent, speechless, but raised his hand once more.

The short stick in his hand suddenly shattered.

The one-foot-long stick rapidly expanded, and two conflicting illusory lights collided continuously, operating at full power, causing unprecedented paradoxes and distortions, locking onto Ji Jue!
Sixty-four times in the blink of an eye!

Sixty-four parallel infinite decompositions, in the blink of an eye, landed on Ji Jue. In the blink of an eye, Ji Jue disintegrated and then reassembled, completely intact.

In fact, it's completely useless!

The first strike of the sixty-four infinite decompositions all missed. Just as the lock was being locked and the decomposition was about to begin, Ji Jue took the initiative and disintegrated himself.

The first strike landed in empty space, and the subsequent infinite chain attack all struck nothingness, which was countered by Ji Jue and all missed.

Then, right in front of Fernand, Ji Jue slowly extended his hand toward him.

Dissociation Technique: Jing Zhen!
Snapped!
The small cloth bag, rattling with the sound of grains, shook in vain, but Ji Jue's body only trembled slightly, without even suffering any injury...

Because there were no injuries to begin with.

Just before the grain-making sound took effect, Ji Jue replaced all the parts of his mechanical body.

Just like the paradox that Fernand once told Brisman—the Ship of Theseus.

If a ship is completely replaced from start to finish, is it still the same ship?

After Ji Jue's body has undergone a complete renewal, what injuries could have accumulated to this point that you could detonate now!

In the final moment, when the Truthful Lie shone brightly, attempting to erase the foundation of Ji Jue's alchemy, it discovered that more than three alchemical techniques were constantly running in parallel and switching between each other within Ji Jue's body.

It's not just about the three phases flowing together, but also about the repeated leaps between classical and modern alchemy, and even the necromantic transformations originating from the deepest abyss.

If one part is denied, another part remains.

When they tried to completely dismantle the foundation of this practice of using multiple alchemy techniques simultaneously, they discovered that Ji Jue had mastered more than one of these techniques!
Even if one part is negated, the other parts will naturally compensate and make up for it, just like an extremely tight whole that doesn't care about the missing parts of any corner.

Damn it, everything transforms itself!
Fernand gritted his teeth, refusing to back down, struggling in vain. All he could do was watch helplessly as that hand pressed down on his face, inch by inch.

And then...

Jing Zhen!

Fernand exploded with a deafening roar!

In the blink of an eye, countless pieces of flesh and ghostly light converged from the void once more, and under the protection of the Foundation of Heaven and Man, Fernand was once again restored to wholeness.

When he looked up, he saw Ji Jue still standing in the same spot.

Waving to him, she extended a warm invitation:
"Come again!"

And then, once again, Jingzhen!
Without even using any artifacts, completely disregarding the Nine Forms and even abandoning the convenience of the Image Mirror, he firmly suppressed Fernand solely through his own skills.

Jing Zhen repeatedly destroyed his body, only to allow him to rebuild and regenerate.

Then, he challenged himself once again.

Now, as Ji Jue looked at Fernand once more, the ethereal figure behind Fernand, like a candle flickering in the wind, let out its final lament.

As fragile as a dream or a bubble.

It's as if Ji Jue could completely erase it with just a breath.

See you again!

But he didn't do that. Instead, he was incredibly considerate and left him one last gap, one last foothold.

Fernand remained silent, as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

For the first time, I experienced what is called fear.

It's not because we'll lose, it's not because we'll die, it's because we can't understand it, we can't figure it out, we have absolutely no idea what happened!
Clearly, the blazing sun above his head—the celestial weight transformed from the Crimson Banner—had long since vanished completely, leaving no trace.

But why is the pressure I feel increasing so dramatically?!

Even with all his resources, he could no longer sustain it!

While Ji Jue's every move seemed to flow smoothly and effortlessly, he was already trapped in a cage, completely unaware of the source of this pressure.

It was as if the whole world was against him, and even breathing became a sin... He couldn't even preserve the dignity of being a craftsman and a master.

Or rather, they would rather give up something that is utterly insignificant than not want to understand it!
Where did this change come from?!
"What on earth are you..."

He swallowed his humiliation, lowered his head, and earnestly asked a junior for guidance: "Please tell me, what exactly did you do?"

"If I had to say, I probably didn't do anything, right?"

Ji Jue thought for a moment, then smiled indifferently:
"I just let go."

This is the answer.

It's like a joke.

Fernand's contracted pupils slowly and uncontrollably widened.

That cracked face gradually lost all color and expression, as if frozen.

This is not mockery or a lie, but comes from the heart.

Even the source of the words was not just Ji Jue's mouth, but the natural movement and manifestation of all things, as if everything in sight was singing loudly in response to Ji Jue's words.

The so-called "all things transform themselves"!
Now, Fernand finally understood where the vanished sun had gone.

The sun is always there, and its omnipresent radiance is always before our eyes.

The reason he was able to ignore it was simply because he never imagined that he had already been swallowed up by it!
(End of this chapter)