The Wizard of Truth: Starting with Analyzing All Things

The pale golden seal of law, like an exquisite birdcage, imprisoned a fingernail-sized black crystal fragment within, emanating a chilling aura. Even through the seal, Luo Wei could sense the chaotic whispers and pure malice that seemed to erode his very soul. This was no ordinary remnant of the abyss; its purity and activity far surpassed any contamination he had encountered in the Tower of Slumber or the Shattered Star Mountains. It was more like a core fragment peeled from the very body of some abyss lord…

The Discipline Tower made him analyze this object; his intentions are despicable.

Luo Wei took a deep breath, adjusting his state to the extreme. Deep within his soul, the concepts of "stability" and "flow" in the foundational runes were fully activated, constructing an inner defense line; the cool, warm fluctuations emanating from the gray stone slab in his arms acted like a stabilizing force, protecting his mental clarity; the extremely fragile "energy signature simulation" disguise layer, which had undergone countless simulations and practices, was also activated to its current limit, allowing the energy fluctuations he emitted to be as close as possible to the "tranquil runes" in the workshop that were used to maintain a constant temperature and emitted faint elemental fluctuations.

He cannot afford to fail, much less expose himself. This is not only a matter of life and death, but also a matter of whether he can transform from a pawn into a player in the game of the Discipline Tower.

He carefully separated a strand of spiritual energy, thinner than a hair, and like the most precise scalpel, slowly probed towards the pale golden seal. This process had to be extremely cautious; any excessive energy disturbance could trigger a counterattack from the seal or alert the monitor. His spiritual energy "lightly" glided across the seal's surface, searching for the extremely tiny "gaps" or "nodes" where the power of the Law naturally flowed and where energy fluctuations were relatively calm.

This was an extremely demanding process that tested both patience and precise control. Time ticked by, and fine beads of sweat appeared on Luo Wei's forehead as his mental energy rapidly depleted. He could clearly "feel" the mark of the "Heart Mark Potion" on his soul, like a cold eye, watching his every move and analyzing every fluctuation of his mental energy.

Finally, on the verge of exhaustion, he found a suitable "entry point". His mental tendrils, like mercury, silently seeped into the seal and came into contact with the "space" at the edge of the black crystal fragment.

boom--!

Even with mental preparation, a torrent of information far more violent and distorted than imagined, mixed with endless negative emotions, still surged forth like a flood bursting its banks, crashing through the mental connection! It wasn't just simple images or sounds, but countless chaotic fragments of rules, blasphemous whispers of knowledge, and the most primal desire for destruction! This fragment itself was a miniature, active source of abyssal information!

"Hold on!" Luo Wei roared inwardly. The "Heart of Analysis" operated at an unprecedented speed, and the light of the gray stone slab shone brightly in his sea of ​​consciousness, forcibly diverting and filtering the impact. He could not retreat, nor could he be corrupted. He had to maintain absolute calm in this torrent and "see" its internal structure clearly.

In his unique perception, the interior of the black crystal was not a physical entity, but a complex energy network that was constantly being created, destroyed, and twisted. Countless dark red, blood vessel-like energy lines intertwined and rotated in a way that defied common sense, forming an extremely unstable and destructive energy circulation system. At the intersections of these networks, there were brighter, more unstable energy nodules, which seemed to be the source of power for the entire structure, as well as its most fragile points of equilibrium.

[The Book of Truth] is being frantically recorded and analyzed...

[High concentration of abyssal rule contamination detected... Information structure exhibits highly 'entropy increase' and 'disordered aggregation' characteristics...]

Seventeen key nodes in the energy pathways were identified… three of which are structural vulnerabilities…

[A faint trace of 'Law Seal' energy was detected near Node Seven... suspected to be traces of earlier exploration...]

[Warning: Node 3 exhibits abnormally active energy, suggesting it may possess information perception capabilities. Probing it carries the risk of backlash!]

The Discipline Tower had indeed tried to investigate before! The residual Lawful Energy near Node Seven is proof of that! They may have encountered difficulties or dangers, which is why they wanted to use him as a "guinea pig"!

Luo Wei sneered inwardly, but his movements became even more cautious. He avoided the potentially dangerous third point, focusing his main efforts on analyzing the structural vulnerabilities and the overall flow of energy. He carefully guided his mental energy, sketching out the energy patterns inside the crystal in his mind, as if drawing a map.

This process was like walking a tightrope over lava. He had to constantly resist the erosion of information pollution, maintain the disguise of the energy signature, and accurately complete the reconnaissance. Several times, he felt that the cold monitoring "gaze" seemed to become sharper, as if it had noticed something, which frightened him so much that he immediately stopped moving and kept his mental energy fluctuations in the most "normal" analytical state until the gaze slowly moved away.

After several hours of intense mental exertion, Luo Wei felt as if his soul was being drained, but he finally completed the scan of most of the crystal's "safe areas." He obtained enough information—a fragmented but crucial energy network diagram, especially highlighting the three most obvious structural weaknesses.

It was time to "submit" his findings. But he couldn't hand in a real, complete map, as that would expose his true perceptual abilities. He needed a "reasonable" assignment that was valuable but not overly impressive.

He began to "write" a report. In the report, he "described" how he "laboriously" perceived the "fuzzy and chaotic" energy flow inside the crystal, and how he "luckily" discovered "a" area where the energy flow seemed "not quite smooth" (he deliberately chose that relatively minor weak point), and "speculated" that this might be one of the unstable points in its structure. The entire report was written cautiously, full of uncertainty and speculation, perfectly fitting the image of a mediocre apprentice who "performed exceptionally well" under pressure but was "limited in ability."

When drawing the diagram of the energy channels, he deliberately made the lines distorted and blurry, and the key nodes were slightly off-center. The overall structure looked ambiguous, but experts (such as those from the Discipline Tower) could see a certain logic and value in it, especially the "vulnerability point" that was pointed out, which was indeed real and effective.

After completing the report, he immediately severed his mental connection with the crystal, slumping back in his chair as if completely exhausted, his face pale and his breath weak. This wasn't entirely a pretense; the immense exertion was real.

Shortly after, the prospective wizard deacon came to collect the report and the crystal fragment. He carefully read through the report, then picked up the crystal fragment and sensed it. His gaze lingered for a moment on the "vulnerability" that Rowe had pointed out, a barely perceptible hint of surprise flashing in his eyes before returning to its icy expression.

"Hmm, while there are shortcomings, we have indeed made some discoveries. This item is unstable and needs to be returned to the sealed vault immediately." The steward put away the item, glanced at the poorly dressed Luo Wei, and said calmly, "You've exhausted yourself; you can rest early today. We'll notify you of the next mission later."

After the deacon left, the studio returned to silence. Luo Wei slumped into his chair, but there was no relief. He knew he had temporarily passed the first test, but the Discipline Tower's probing would not stop. The surprise in the deacon's eyes meant the information he provided was indeed valuable, which might make them "value" him as a whetstone even more.

Current status: Rowe (Late-stage Intermediate Apprentice)

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Strength assessment: His realm is stable, and his precision and resilience in controlling his mental power have been greatly improved after this battle. He has gained a preliminary understanding of the characteristics of abyssal energy.

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Psychological state: Highly exhausted but vigilant, successfully survived a fatal temptation, and gained a clearer understanding of the Tower of Discipline's intentions.

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Situation: Still under Level 2 supervision, but may face more dangerous tasks due to their "value".

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Harvest: First-hand data on the internal structure of abyssal contaminants was obtained, verifying its own anti-contamination capabilities and information processing capabilities.

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Risk: Increased "interest" in the Discipline Tower may lead to stricter surveillance.

However, the real gains went far beyond the false report. During his investigation, thanks to the protection of the stone slab and the power of his "Analytic Heart," he not only discerned the energy pathways but also gleaned several crucial pieces of information:

1.

Homogeneity and Mutation: The energy essence of this abyssal fragment shares a high degree of homogeneity with the abyssal imprint deep within his soul! However, the fragment's energy is more violent and disordered, while the imprint is relatively "dormant" and "controlled." This confirms Lilith's conjecture that the Discipline Tower's "Heart-Scar Potion" likely utilizes some kind of "processed" abyssal power!

2.

The traces of the seal: the residual Lawful Energy near Node Seven, its fluctuation frequency is extremely similar to Elder Anderson's power! This indicates that those who previously came into contact with and attempted to analyze this fragment were likely the higher-ups of the Discipline Tower! Their level of attention to this object is beyond imagination.

3.

The Echo of Information: In resisting the torrent of information, he vaguely caught a faint trace of legal information, not originating from the fragment itself, but rather like a "label," clinging to the depths of the fragment. The content of this trace was encrypted, but its very existence seemed to mark the "origin" or "number" of this fragment!

These fragments of information, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, slowly pieced together in his mind. The Discipline Tower wasn't just researching Abyssal power; they might also be collecting, classifying, and even attempting to control specific Abyssal creations! This fragment might just be one of their "collections"! Could Master Elena's ritual and the Gray Tower's conspiracy also be related to the Discipline Tower's dangerous "collecting obsession"?

Thinking of this, Luo Wei felt a chill run down his spine. He felt as if he had touched the tip of a huge iceberg, and the darkness hidden beneath the iceberg was enough to devour the entire academy.

The next few days passed peacefully. The Discipline Tower didn't immediately issue new tasks, seemingly assessing the previous results or preparing for a more dangerous trial. Luo Wei was happy to have some peace and quiet, focusing on recovering his mental strength and digesting the gains from this adventure. He had gained a more intuitive understanding of the characteristics of Abyssal energy and insights into how to resist information pollution, which greatly benefited his control over the imprint within his body. At the same time, he had new inspiration for constructing "energy signature simulation" and "information camouflage layers," especially after sensing the high-frequency fluctuations of the Lawful Word Seal and Abyssal energy; his simulation of energy frequencies became much more accurate.

He buried these gains deep within himself, maintaining outwardly the image of a low-key, obedient, and occasionally weary supervised apprentice.

That night, as he was deep in meditation at his residence, consolidating his cultivation, the gray stone tablet in his arms once again emitted a clear pulsation. This time, it wasn't a flow of knowledge or a guiding resonance, but rather an extremely brief fragment of information carrying a strong warning:

In the clip, the cold, aspiring wizard deacon is reporting to a figure whose back is to the screen and who is enveloped in golden light of law (undoubtedly Elder Anderson):

"...The analysis results of the target 'Sample 7' have been confirmed. Although rough, the accuracy of key points exceeded expectations by 17 percent... Its resistance to abyssal information and its sensitivity to perception have been upgraded to 'Upper Grade'... It is recommended that it be included in the candidate observation sequence of the 'Source Tracing Project' for the next stage of stress testing..."

The message ends here.

Luo Wei suddenly opened his eyes, his back instantly soaked with cold sweat.

"Source tracing plan"? "Candidate observation sequences"? "Stress test"?

The Discipline Tower clearly had a bigger scheme! They weren't simply using him to study the artifacts; they were using him as an observation subject for some plan! They were testing his adaptability and perception of the Abyss's power! The previous missions were all just tests!

What will be the next "stress test"? More dangerous abyssal items? Or... will he be directly thrown into some kind of extreme environment?

A profound sense of crisis washed over him like a bucket of ice water. But he forced himself to calm down. Panic wouldn't solve anything. The stone slab's warning at this moment served both as a reminder and as an indication that it acknowledged his potential to cope.

He took a deep breath, his eyes sharpening once more. The Disciplinary Tower wanted to use him as a guinea pig; let's see who uncovers whose secret first, and who succumbs to the other's "test" first!

He gently stroked the stone slab in his arms, feeling its unique coolness. In this perilous game of death, it was his only, and greatest, support.

The night was deep, and Luo Wei's gaze seemed to pierce through the walls, looking towards the cold and menacing direction of the Discipline Tower. The next round of the contest was about to begin. And this time, he would not simply passively take the blows.