One day dragged into the next with no end in sight.

The same relentless cramming continued, enough to make Ji Jue’s brain boil, along with round after round of forging. The demands remained exacting, and the punishments were brutally severe. 

Ji Jue had once worried that he wouldn’t live to see the next day, or that he just wouldn’t be able to keep going. By now, however, he had gradually grown accustomed to this seemingly endless torment.

No, more than accustomed. He was thriving in it.

Perhaps Jian Yuan had been right. The moment Ji Jue stopped concealing his hatred and malice and began releasing them of his own accord, he had crossed the threshold into true mastery and gained firm command of the craft. 

No longer did he care whether that hatred was directed at someone else or at himself. If he wished to forge a true Divine Creation blade, why should he fear being cut by a double-edged sword? On the contrary, the colder, sharper, and more vicious its gleam became, the more delighted he ought to feel.

Jian Yuan did not care in the slightest whether Ji Jue slacked off, cut corners, or attempted some futile resistance. 

After the ritual at the furnace, Ji Jue’s progress in alchemy took off again. He was improving so quickly that it felt as though...