Forge a path to success.

Chapter 118 Emotional Elements
"Isn't it great to have three options? Each one is suitable for you," Chu Hengkong said with a smile.

"It's not about whether it suits you or not..." Ji Huaisu muttered, "It's about feelings... feelings..."

Chu Heng recalled his casual conversations with his partner about the similarities and differences between the three paths. The path of unification was the simplest, entirely dependent on oneself. With extraordinary skills, one could advance to the skillful hand; with a strong physique, one could advance to the unyielding bone. By training each part one by one, one would eventually achieve an indestructible golden body, becoming invincible under heaven.

The Path of Floating Light is heavily reliant on resources. Its initial foundation is extraordinary items, and every step thereafter revolves around upgrading that "foundation." By polishing stones into "staffs" and optimizing them into even more advanced "weapons," one can then develop even more bizarre and wonderful gadgets, much like an inventor from another world.

And the path to supreme power...

Few can clearly explain this path. Those who play with elements seem to disregard principles, focusing only on talent and "comprehension." It seems that if you comprehend, understand, and experience it, you're qualified for advancement, while those who can't comprehend it will be in vain no matter how hard they try. But Ji Huaisu has always been a recognized genius; this kind of problem shouldn't be happening to her.

“What you want to protect will give rise to light. What you want to destroy will give rise to shadow. Positive emotions rise and sublimate into pure fire, while negative emotions sink and condense into turbid tears…” Ji Huaisu sighed deeply, “So if I want to break through, I have to exhaust my emotions, either by exploding into a huge torch or by lying in a corner in a gloomy mess.”

Chu Hengkong imagined the torchbearer Ji Huaisu from Huilong City and the police force's overgrown child Ji Huaisu, and amused himself: "Why not go to Wudingchen?"

“The worst kind of dust is the rootless duckweed, drifting aimlessly without direction. Only those who are lost and confused about their future become dust blown by the wind.” Ji Huaisu crumpled up the quilt and hugged it to his chest like a pillow. “But if I keep wavering like this, I really will become dust…”

She looked somewhat dejected, completely unlike her usual self. Chu Hengkong noticed undried water stains by the bedside, indicating that she had secretly tried to make ice again. Premature exposure to the power of the turbid tears would surround her with negative emotions, which was why she was so gloomy and self-pitying.

He didn't quite understand why Ji Huaisu was in such a hurry. The clues about the knights were already in hand, and the promotion was no longer a distant hope. Logically, she should have been excited and unable to sleep all night. But the reality was quite the opposite. She grumbled and threw a tantrum, like an insecure senior college student trying every possible way to avoid an interview.

Thinking of this, Chu Hengkong suddenly understood: "...How long have you been stuck at point 2?"

Ji Huaisu remained silent. He suspended his tentacles around the girl's waist, making a silent threat.

"You're so annoying." She swatted the tentacle away with one claw. "Dad said that when he found me, I was already a particle 2... They were afraid I would go berserk, so they sealed me away for more than ten years until I grew up."

No wonder.

He recalled what Ji Qiufeng had said about those geniuses who stagnated for too long, those young people who lost their edge. A period of suppression can be a driving force for progress, and temporary confusion can ignite an indomitable spirit. But when stagnation extends from one year to ten, and from ten to twenty, the situation changes.

It was like a fairy tale he had read before, about a traffic jam that lasted for decades. At first, both the cars and the people complained, but over time people adapted to life in the cars. When one day the traffic jam miraculously eased and the cars started moving again, people became uneasy, and even the cars resisted moving forward.

When stagnation becomes the norm, moving forward turns into an unknown fear.

Suddenly, the tentacles descended, wrapping around the ticklish spots on both sides of her waist. Ji Huaisu jumped up with a start, her face flushed and her laughter trembling: "What are you doing! What are you doing! You're being a pervert!"

“This way suits you best.” Chu Hengkong withdrew his tentacles. “Why hesitate? If all else fails, just be Wudingchen and be a free girl.”

He tickled her as he spoke, making the blonde laugh incessantly. Ji Huaisu gritted his teeth: "I've changed my mind. I'm going to become the Pure Fire... The first thing I'll do after I ascend is burn away your despicable tentacles!"

She leaped up and pinned Chu Hengkong to the bed, attempting to repay him in kind. Vande, awakened by the commotion inside, groggily looked up to ask who was demolishing a house. Turning his head, he saw the blonde girl straddling someone, her clothes disheveled, and the man's tentacles wrapped around her waist.

Van de la slept soundly, closed his eyes, and shoved himself into his sleeping bag, thinking to himself, "My eyes are really cursed. I got up early this morning to watch Animal World, and they were showing a golden retriever hunting squid."

·
Half an hour later, in the western part of Jinye City.

A public water cart stopped at Xitai Station. Elderly men and women who got up early to buy groceries slowly got off the cart, and finally, a trio munched on sandwiches and mini candies.

Chu Hengkong swallowed his breakfast and a golden pill-like Fu Li Xin and Dan, preparing for today's action.

Walking along the main road from the station, you'll find a high-end residential area built against the mountainside. Further north lies Jinye City's only small mountain, where Mayor Jinye's residence is situated. After getting off the train, Ji Huaisu took out a small, light blue flag with a chubby little dragon on it, its claws outstretched. She closed her eyes and calculated for a while.

"Set up the formation closer to the foot of the mountain; the area here isn't enough." The small flag was a multi-functional relic personally crafted by Youyou; it could serve as a temporary defensive position and a "keep out" demarcation line. In yesterday's chaotic melee, Chu Heng could spend most of his time rescuing people, but if things got serious, they might not have the capacity to care for civilians. Preparing early is fulfilling a responsibility of an ascendant.

“These are roughly the four directions. Once you get there, just charge and activate the Light Shield.” Vande pointed at the map. “But I think you guys are a bit too tense. Is visiting a mayor really necessary to act like it’s a war?”

Chu Hengkong handed it a newspaper: "As for Jin Ye, there's something wrong with him."

It was a handmade clipping, with brief deductions written in pencil around the printed article. Golden Leaf City's level of informatization was barely adequate; thanks to the local magical network, intelligence could be gathered even within the inn.

The newspaper described Jin Ye as a frivolous young man. Fan De read the reports in chronological order and found that Jin Ye's reputation had fluctuated wildly over the decades.

When Golden Leaf City was first established, Golden Leaf was a well-loved and respected mayor. He single-handedly oversaw the city's basic urban planning, including transportation, drainage, and the magic network, most of which are still in use today. However, just a few years later, the citizens began to complain because of his extreme and ambitious nature. He always forced the promulgation of poorly drafted bills and could not tolerate any dissenting opinions.

Perhaps the citizens' protests had an effect, because Jin Ye withdrew from politics in the following years and returned to his old profession of magical arts. When air routes were open, he enjoyed holding new product launches in the city, inviting knowledgeable visitors to comment on his work. From the most objective perspective, his new inventions were all too far-fetched, so naturally they did not receive much recognition.

So Kin-yeo argued with the visitors, and his presentations always ended in chaos. This life of a great inventor ended nineteen years ago when Kin-yeo spent a fortune building an underground factory, proclaiming that he would create a masterpiece that would amaze mediocre people. But three months after the factory started operation, it suffered a major loss due to a dust explosion, resulting in the deaths and injuries of many workers. The factory lost its manpower and had to shut down in disappointment.

Chu Heng placed the report about the accident in the center of the clippings. The headline featured a young man weeping bitterly, half of whose interview with the reporter described "blood everywhere." The young man looked somewhat familiar.

“This man looks like that Tearful One,” Van der said. “You suspect his powers are related to this incident?”

"What do top students think?"

"There don't seem to be any reports of the Iceman before. If it only came to light after twenty years, the progress of this pollution is a bit too slow," Vande muttered. "Not sure, let's wait and see."

Shortly after the factory accident, Huilong City was besieged by outsiders, severing the island's sea routes to the outside world, and Jinye's invention games fell into complete silence. After that, he became an eccentric old man, building a rather luxurious mansion in the mountains. For twenty years, he rarely appeared in public, only occasionally sending workers to transport specially made instruments into the mountains. Yet, he stubbornly remained in the position of mayor, controlling this small Dust Island with his skills, status, and subordinates.

"What a pathetic man!" Van der sighed. "He's spent his whole life struggling without ever knowing what he wants."

What was said in jest was taken seriously by the listener. Ji Huaisu snatched the newspaper: "What do you mean?"

"If he wanted power, he would have been a dictator for decades; if he wanted a clean reputation, he could have retired gracefully after accomplishing his task, and people would still remember him fondly; if he wanted to pursue academics, he could have focused on his research, but instead he held grand press conferences and caused accidents due to his eagerness for quick success. He was dabbling in one thing and doing another, and in the end, he pleased no one and became a disgraced old man. What was the point?" Van der pointed and commented.

"It's only human nature," Chu Hengkong said.

Van der glanced sideways: "You're even speaking up for the old man now."

"I'm just telling the truth. People's thoughts are always changing, and what they want changes without them even realizing it. Very few people can see themselves clearly." Chu Hengkong picked up his spear. "Jin Ye obviously has other plans for the last twenty years, so this visit may not go smoothly."

They erected four small flags at the foot of the mountain to disperse the surrounding people, and then ventured deeper along the only mountain path. The mayor's mansion was hidden on the shady side, its golden dome concealed among the trees. Although it had a courtyard, it was unattended and overgrown with weeds.

Chu Heng entered the abandoned courtyard and knocked forcefully several times on the gate of the mansion. The sound of his knocking penetrated the door, and the echoes revealed the furnishings inside. The mansion was filled with luxury goods, followed by books, but not a single living creature could be found.

No one is empty.

“There’s an elemental aura,” Ji Huaisu suddenly said. “A very high concentration of earth element.”

Chu Hengkong acted decisively and broke down the door.

He saw an ugly statue.

(End of this chapter)