Chosen: Beyond Fate

That made him a friend of the Tong family as well, and that was enough. But what about everyone else? Even if they only had their suspicions, was it really possible that no one would act on them?

After all, even if Ji Jue had undergone Fate Summoning and had a brilliant future ahead of him, he was still no Celestial Being. Aside from potential and talent that had yet to fully manifest, he was no different from anyone else.

There was always the chance some lunatic would think, Wow, someone chosen during a Fate Summoning. That’s incredible. Wonder what happens if I kill him?

Someone from the Ascension Path might want to extract his soul. Someone from the Heart Core Path might try to control his will. Origin might want to turn him into a tool. And as for the Ember Path, they could simply toss his body into a furnace and see what came out. From head to toe, Ji Jue practically screamed prime material.

Of course, Ji Jue was no longer the person he had once been. By now, he was at least capable of protecting himself to some extent. He could certainly step forward, openly claim the attention and glory that belonged to him, and throw himself straight into the heart of the storm, shining brilliantly at its center.

But what would it cost him? What price would he have to pay? Could everything he had now and all the vulnerabilities that came with it really withstand the ravages of that storm? Was he strong enough to deter all those lurking in the shadows with plans for him?

Sure, he could also keep his head down and pretend none of it concerned him. He could stay out of everything, avoid drawing attention, and spend the rest of his life quietly accomplishing nothing. But if Ji Jue still wanted to achieve something, if he still intended to keep moving forward, then he would inevitably attract more and more attention, make more and more enemies and rivals, and invite ever greater suspicion.

A registration form signed by Ye Xian was no longer enough to guarantee him a peaceful life, unless they found an organization powerful enough to willingly vouch for Ji Jue’s history and certify that he had already become a Chosen One a full year earlier. They needed an organization like the Taiyi Ring, which was the largest institution in the world dedicated to the research, development, and regulation of alchemy. After all, it was the organization that served as the guild of all craftsmen, and the undisputed colossus of the Ember Path.

So how could they get the Taiyi Ring to willingly vouch for Ji Jue?

“I don’t like lying, especially not on someone else’s behalf. It’s tedious and pointless, unless the lie has enough value to make it worthwhile.” Ye Xian took her time enjoying Ji Jue’s troubled expression. Only after she had seen enough did she continue. “My apprentice, Ji Jue, could very well have self-awakened a year ago and joined my workshop as an experienced apprentice studying alchemy. I have no objection to that, and you don’t need everyone else to believe it. You only need those arrogant idiots at the Taiyi Ring to believe it.”

She placed a hand on a form and slowly slid it across the table until it stopped in front of Ji Jue. It was the Taiyi Ring Alchemical Craftsmanship Professional Qualification Examination Registration Form.

“The craftsman examination is held once every three years. Registration for this round closes this Friday, and the examination begins next week. Until now, the widely recognized record for the shortest time from becoming an apprentice to obtaining a professional qualification has been five months. No one has managed to break it.

“So if you pass the qualification examination, the nearly one year you were listed as my apprentice will effectively be validated as well. And once that happens, if you self-awakened a year ago, what would you possibly have to do with the Fate Summoning that happened six months later?”

“Holy shit.” Ji Jue stared at her, dumbfounded. At last, everything clicked, but he still couldn’t believe it. “You can actually do that?”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be able to?”

“Wait, Professor!” Ji Jue spotted the problem. “You just said the fastest record was five months! I haven’t even been doing this for four!”

A brief silence followed as a conflicted look crossed Ye Xian’s face. After a long moment, she sighed softly. “Actually, the fastest record was one month.”

𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

“What?!”

“One month,” Ye Xian repeated. “Because the guy who set that record took a leave of absence right after becoming an apprentice so he could sit for the Imperial civil service exam. He spent more than three months trying and failed. Only then did he remember his leave was over, come back, and start studying alchemy again. According to him, the craftsman exam was much easier than that inexplicable civil service nonsense. As long as you have a brain, you can pass it on the first try.”

Ji Jue was at a complete loss for words. He felt his entire body go numb, the sensation spreading from the top of his head all the way down to his toes. After a long while, he finally asked in a hoarse voice, “Who the hell was that ridiculous?”

“Just a hypocritical old bastard with a head full of absurd ideas who loves putting on airs.” Ye Xian sneered. “Everyone else seems to think he’s some peerless genius who can do anything, enough to revere him as the foremost of the Three Grandmasters of this era. Mhm. You’ve probably heard his Supreme Benevolence title before. Divine Furnace.”

Divine Furnace. Most people would never have even heard of these two simple words, but what craftsman could hear that name and remain seated?

The Three Grandmasters of the present age were Scavenger, Ploughsmith, and Divine Furnace.

Their titles were all different, each reflecting their own style and defining traits. They were not names bestowed by other people. Rather, when a craftsman reached the very pinnacle of their craft, Ember granted them a Supreme Benevolence title.

For the past thousand years, every grandmaster had been the same. One did not become a grandmaster through the acclaim of disciples or the recognition of the masses. A grandmaster was recognized by Ember itself.

There was only one exception. Only the title Divine Furnace had been passed down from one generation to the next. And what it signified could not have been more straightforward. It signified three simple words: Ember’s strongest craftsman.

Divine Furnace was the pinnacle of all creation under Ember, a creator favored by the Divine Mandate standing above every craftsman in the world, and the undisputed number one under the entire heaven!

Ji Jue couldn’t even make a sound. He barely even seemed to breathe. It was as though something inside him had shattered. For the first time in his life, he finally understood what it felt like to be compared to “someone else’s kid.”

No, wait. This isn’t someone else’s kid. This is someone else’s goddamn ancestor! It’s one thing to push your student to excel, but you can’t use some freak of nature who exists completely outside the norm as the standard, Professor! Are you freaking serious? This isn’t motivating at all. All it does is crush my confidence!

Professor Ye reached out and patted him on the shoulder, earnestly saying, “Don’t worry, Ji Jue. I believe in you. More than anything, I believe in your extraordinary talent for causing trouble, courting disaster, and doing everything you possibly shouldn’t. You’ve somehow survived this long despite all that, so you must have some potential in you. It’s only a license. You’ll manage. I’ll be looking forward to that day.”

For once, she gave him a warm, almost kindly smile. “If that old bastard ever finds out his record was broken like this, I imagine the look on his face will be quite entertaining.”

Ji Jue trembled. He no longer dared to say a word.

Just like that, the matter was finally settled. He drifted out of the study like a walking corpse. After collapsing onto the sofa and wailing miserably for a good long while, he reluctantly dragged himself back up under Ye Chun’s repeated urging, wiped away his tears, and shuffled out the door at a snail’s pace to submit his application at the association office in Cliff City.

Twenty minutes later, he was seated in an elegantly furnished office while waiting for an answer. Behind the desk, the woman in charge adjusted her glasses and studied his application form for a long while before shaking her head regretfully.

“I’m sorry, but according to the regulations, you can’t apply.”