As the saying goes, “When people encounter happy events, their spirits soar[1].” There was also the saying, “When golden autumn winds meet jade-like dews, it surpasses countless moments in the mortal world[2].”

On such a festive and joyful day, no matter how much Ji Jue disliked Young Master Lou, he still felt the urge to go up and ask, Hey. How did you know I just obtained the sage’s inheritance, the Pacifier matrix?

Unfortunately, Young Master Lou clearly had no interest in offering him a cigarette and casually asking if he knew a good fishing spot. Rather, it was already quite a feat that he was restraining himself from turning this bastard into slices of human jerky by hand.

It was not that Lou Feng lacked upbringing, nor that he lacked patience. The Lou family’s teachings did not go so far as to preach compassion for all beings or unity with everything, but at the very least they never fell short when it came to proper etiquette, rules, and social conduct.

As one of the Chosen Ones of this generation, Lou Feng was not without scheming ability and refinement. Yet no matter how deep his composure and self-control were, they fell apart when faced with someone like Ji Jue.

Imagine this were you. If ‌some idiot looked down on you and snatched your prize every time you struggled tooth and nail, you’d suffer several mental breakdowns. Not to mention the lingering psychological trauma brought by that Fecal Suction Truck Attack incident...

The frenzied spirit matter permeating the rift realm seeped in through breath and fluctuations, dyeing everyone’s eyes with a layer of blood-red, as if ready to devour anyone in its path.

“You again!” Lou Feng barked through gritted teeth, staring straight at Ji Jue. His gaze swept over the bulging haul piled on Horsey behind him, and then settled on the most striking difference about Ji Jue, whose hands were covered in intricate, interwoven totemic tattoos.

Additionally, the spirit fluctuations about him were completely different from before...

“Is that really Pacifier?!”

Lou Feng’s pupils shrank for a brief instant, then flared with blazing heat. He could no longer look away. Even though he had gone through unspeakable hardship to gather so many materials along the way, everything paled in comparison to what Ji Jue held in his hands. It wasn’t even worth comparing. The very thought of doing so was an insult to intelligence and reason.

Pacifier was a Celestial-Being-level matrix passed down from a sage. For a matrix, along with its inherent effects, what mattered was the crucial inheritance embedded within it. After being nurtured and refined by the spirit matter of successive generations of users, not only was its usability worlds apart from a freshly created matrix, but it could also unleash its power to the greatest extent possible.

Once its wielder ascended to the level of a Celestial Being, the matrix would undergo a metamorphosis, evolving from the essence of its woven structure and imprinting traces of either the Law of Creation or the Law of Doomsday. If used well, inheriting the power of creation or destruction was not impossible!

Leaving aside whether it still contained techniques left behind by the sage, or whether it could recreate the theories of Mercury’s long-lost Fluid Alchemy, simply restoring a Celestial Being’s matrix lost to history was already a discovery capable of shocking the entire world. Not even a master could refuse such glory!

A brand new matrix meant a completely new lineage, a family line that could endure for centuries, a new power that could not be ignored...

Within the heritage of the Lou family of Tide City, there were four different matrices, spanning the domains of Ascension, Entropy, Mirror, and Ruins. All of them had the potential to reach the Celestial Being realm. The emergence of every new Celestial-Being-level matrix would elevate the family’s influence to an entirely new level!

With such a burden placed before him, the scales in his heart had already tipped. He had to seize this prize, not just for himself and his teacher, but for his family as well.

This was no longer a matter of preserving the Lou family’s face or safeguarding his own life. No, even if he were to die here, it would not matter. Even if he would be utterly defeated, he still had to try! He’d fight even if nothing was left of him.

“Mr. Ji...”

Lou Feng took a deep breath, restraining his emotions and forcing himself to remain calm. Even if Ji Jue were to conjure a hundred thousand fecal suction trucks and run him over right now, his expression would not change in the slightest.

“This isn’t just important to me. It’s equally important to the entire Lou family. You can name any price. I have full authority to decide. As long as the Lou family can fulfil your request, there won’t be the slightest hesitation. I’d like to have a talk with you. No, so long as you’re willing to give us Pacifier, anything is open for discussion. Divine Creations, inheritances, beauties, wealth, or status, we can give you anything you want.

“There’s no irreconcilable hatred or conflict between us. As for the minor misunderstandings from before, I don’t care about them. Even if you want me to kneel and apologize, that’s fine. I swear on the Lou family’s thousand-year legacy that every promise I make to you can be bound to the Lou family through an Origin Contract, so long as you’re willing.”

His wording could not be called anything but humble and sincere. When Lou Feng yanked off his necklace and raised the emblem of his family, the faint glimmer it emitted was proof of the truth of his words. No member of the Lou family would ever dare to joke about such a thing. Even if Ji Jue told him to get on all fours and bark like a dog, he would drop to the ground without hesitation and keep barking until Ji Jue told him to stop.

And yet, it was precisely this attitude that gave Ji Jue a headache.

Damn it, this spoiled rich brat is actually serious now...

He had only just picked up this new matrix and hadn’t even had the chance to show it off before it was already being targeted by a thief. In this situation, he was supposed to play along on the surface, or at least probe for information or grasp the other party’s true situation before making a decision from a position of maximum advantage.

Even if it only bought him time, that was still a good plan. Ji Jue should have been very good at this sort of thing, yet for some reason, he simply did not want to say the right words.

It wasn’t just because of Lou Feng, who had cast aside his dignity and self-respect in pursuit of his goal. It was also because of everything Ji Jue had seen in that old dream, his own wishes and ambitions, his teacher’s orders and instructions, and even the gaze of the Seer beside him.

And then there was An Ran, standing nearby, waiting for him to make a choice. He had to set a good example for the kid, right?

No matter how many excuses Ji Jue came up with, the truth was the same. He was unwilling, so he refused. Even more so, he had no intention of bowing his head to someone who thought that just because he was willing to lower himself and make a deal, others should naturally negotiate with him. He hated such attitudes.

So...

Ji Jue shook his head. “Sorry, Mr. Lou. If you’re willing, everything on the scooter behind me is yours to pick from. But this one thing is non-negotiable.”

Lou Feng fell silent. He stared at Ji Jue intently. The blood-stained Homecoming Knights behind him gradually grew cold and menacing. They raised their spears slightly, their spectral warhorses neighing as they stomped against the ground, producing a heavy, metallic rumble.

“Have you really thought about the consequences, Ji Jue?” Lou Feng asked at last.

Consequences?

Ji Jue almost laughed.

“Young Master Lou, everything has its order. Why force it?” he asked with a sigh. “Before, we at least kept things polite out of respect for our teachers. Now that it’s time to turn against each other, you don’t seem to care about that at all.”

“You think I haven’t been restraining myself this whole time?!” Lou Feng cut him off, gritting his teeth. “I don’t want to waste any more words. For Master Ye’s sake, hand over Pacifier, and my offer still stands. Otherwise, I can’t guarantee what happens next.”

Ah, yes, yes, yes, this is more like it!

The atmosphere turned tense. Ji Jue found it invigorating. There was no longer any need to wear hypocritical masks. This was the most direct approach.

“Sorry, you know the rules.” Ji Jue brushed his bangs back, giving one last mocking smile before beckoning. “If you want it, come and take it yourself—”

A piercing howl tore through the air as an attack aimed toward his face. It was a strike meant to impale him the moment Lou Feng flicked his finger without any buildup or pause.

The blade of condensed spirit matter had been created in the darkness from the very beginning of their exchange, and it was refined and forged by Exquisite Work into an invisible, formless spear. The moment it manifested, it was already right in front of Ji Jue.

And then, it stopped.

The shapeless blade, passed down through the Lou family’s legacy, sharp enough to cut gold and jade and rival divine weapons, was actually caught right between Ji Jue’s fingers.

Ordinary eyes could neither see nor distinguish it, but Lou Feng saw it with perfect clarity. The full-force strike he had poured everything into had been halted by Ji Jue’s simple grasp.

As those five fingers tightened, the blade curled like soft clay, collapsing and breaking apart. In the end, it dissolved into a paste, dripped to the ground, and quickly evaporated into nothingness.

It was stopped, controlled, and erased all within the span of a finger snap, like a laughably overconfident joke.

Lou Feng’s pupils shrank to pinpoints in an instant as he instinctively refused to accept what he just saw. He waved his hand again, and a massive hammer of spirit matter descended from the sky. It came down like lightning, whipping up a storm, its massively increased weight crushing everything in its path. But the storm dispersed once more before any thunderous crash could be heard.

That all-out spirit hammer had collapsed and vanished, just like the sword from earlier.

During all this, Ji Jue had not taken even a single step. He merely raised a finger lightly and met the descending lightning hammer. With a gentle tap, the lightning turned into a breeze, and that overwhelming weight dissipated into thin air.

The Lou family’s secret art, Spirit Morph, collapsed like it was nothing, rendered completely ineffective.

Ji Jue smiled. “Sorry. I might not have told you before, but any move that’s been used once won’t work on me a second time. Unfortunately, I’ve already deciphered every technique passed down by the Lou family.”

As silence fell, even the Homecoming Knights froze for a moment, disbelief etched across their faces.

Cold sweat beaded on Lou Feng’s forehead. He couldn’t understand it, not at all. For a split second, he almost believed Ji Jue’s offhand nonsense and panicked. Soon, realization struck, and his gaze snapped toward Ji Jue’s hands, where the matrix tattoos glowed faintly.

The chill in his eyes deepened.

Pacifier!

Without hesitation, he raised his hand. Spirit light flared from the bracelet at his wrist, unfolding into a bow without a string. The blessing of flames flowed through it, gathering into a spirit arrow that shot out in an instant.

Boom!!!

With a deafening explosion, scorching winds spread outward. The spot where Ji Jue had been standing was blasted into a deep crater, and charred marks scattered as ash rose into the air.

Perched atop the scooter that was rapidly backing away, Ji Jue clicked his tongue in annoyance. “Tch!”

This time, he had ultimately chosen to dodge. Not many sane people would try to tank an explosive arrow made of pure energy. He hadn’t expected his casual bluff to fool the other side for long, but having the trick exposed so quickly still felt a bit irritating.

After all, this was the Lou family, with a thousand years of legacy. It wasn’t as if they had never encountered situations where their abilities or techniques were countered. Their reactions were swift, their strategies abundant, and their experience undeniably rich.

Even so, no matter how much probing they did, that unsettling unknown still lingered. As long as Ji Jue wasn’t foolish enough to go around explaining the effects of Pacifier, Lou Feng would have no way of figuring out exactly where his abilities and techniques had gone wrong.

From this point on, Lou Feng would have to endure torment within the shadow Ji Jue had cast over him. He’d be trembling with uncertainty, probing as if walking on thin ice, racking his brain with endless speculation, scratching his head in frustration, all in pursuit of that distant, unreachable answer hidden within the unknown.

“Time to go to prison, Mr. Lou!” Ji Jue grinned and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

Bang!

1. “人逢喜事精神爽” is a well-known Chinese idiom. It means that when someone encounters joyful or celebratory events, their mood becomes pleasant and their spirit is uplifted. It is often used to describe someone looking radiant and pleased when things are going well. The phrase can be traced back to the Ming Dynasty novel Journey to the West by Wu Cheng’en, and it also appears in Feng Menglong’s Stories to Awaken the World. It is often paired with the line “The moon is especially bright at the Mid-Autumn Festival,” together describing a state of comfort and beauty. ☜

2. ‘金风玉露一相逢，更胜却人间无数’ comes from the Song Dynasty poet Qin Guan’s ci poem Magpie Bridge Immortal: Fine Clouds Play Tricks.

It means that the meeting of the Cowherd and Weaver Girl on the night of the Qixi Festival, amid the autumn wind and dewdrops, is more precious than countless couples in the human world who stay together all year yet live emotionally distant and indifferent lives. The line praises deep, sincere, and faithful love, expressing the idea that the quality and emotional truth of a relationship matter far more than mere physical togetherness or outward appearance. ☜