The Wizard of Truth: Starting with Analyzing All Things

The "Tracing the Source Corridor" test was like a death dance performed on a knife's edge. Although extremely dangerous, it honed Luo Wei's abilities to a higher level of refinement and sharpness under extreme pressure. The experience of surviving amidst a deluge of information and spatial distortions allowed him to reach a completely new level of understanding of the nature of energy and the application of its rules. Although his cultivation level remained stuck at the peak of the intermediate apprentice stage, his actual combat strength, especially his ability to handle complex and bizarre situations, was now vastly different from before.

The Discipline Tower's assessment—"passed"—brought no tangible reward, but rather served as a ticket to an even more dangerous area. Elder Anderson didn't summon him personally again, and the prospective wizard deacon disappeared without a trace after delivering the "purifying potion." But Rowe could clearly sense a subtle change in the surveillance network surrounding him. The omnipresent, oppressive scrutiny remained, but there seemed to be a faint...gap in the observation? It was as if the monitors had taken a slight step back, giving him a tiny stage for their "performance."

This is a more sophisticated and dangerous form of control. The Tower of Discipline is telling him: We know your worth and have given you limited freedom of movement. Now, show us more, let us see your true potential, and... your secrets.

Current status: Rowe (Peak Intermediate Apprentice)

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Strength assessment: The bottleneck in the realm has been stabilized, and the ability to adapt to actual combat, understand the rules, and withstand pressure has been greatly improved. Information weaving has become a core means.

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Situation: The initial stress test showed no significant improvement in the monitoring level, but the monitoring level was given very limited "breathing room" and the situation is now in a more complex observation period.

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Psychological state: Highly vigilant, calmly planning, preparing to use limited freedom to conduct a reverse investigation.

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Development priorities: consolidate the gains from the corridors, attempt to break through bottlenecks, and cautiously utilize new spaces to investigate the connection points and the intentions of the Discipline Tower.

Lowe did not act rashly. He knew that this "limited freedom" was essentially a lure. He first needed time to fully digest the gains from the corridor trip and to restore himself to his best condition.

He took the "Heart Cleansing Potion." The potion was remarkably effective, gently soothing the exhaustion of his mental energy and the hidden wounds caused by the information overload. However, its ingredients still contained that familiar monitoring energy, which originated from the "Heart Scar Potion." Luo Wei carefully guided the potion's power while maintaining the information disguise layer, concealing most of the actual recovery process within.

In the days that followed, his life seemed to return to a certain "normal" track. When he went to the first floor of the library to consult the basic books, there were no longer any butlers who would "accidentally" appear. When he ran into Barton and Lilith in the public areas, the feeling of being locked on was also reduced, and he was even able to have a few short conversations that did not involve sensitive topics.

He took advantage of this hard-won space and began to act in a planned manner.

First, he quietly made another approach to the secluded bookshelf section where Carlson's notes were located. This time, he was more cautious, employing his full information-weaving techniques to ensure there were no signs of recent exploration before quickly perusing the notes' scattered discussions on "information nodes" and "network connections." Although the notes didn't directly mention "tracing corridors" or "connecting points," their conjectures about the existence of "natural or artificial 'transmission nodes' in information sedimentation layers" and "the formation of temporary information channels between nodes through resonance at specific frequencies" remarkably matched his findings in the corridor! This further confirmed that his direction was correct.

More importantly, on the last page of the notebook, he found a line of extremely messy, almost worn-out, tiny notes, which appeared to have been hastily written by Carlson in his later years:

"...The key to the Star Speaker...may bypass the 'Barrier of Lawful Language'...but the 'Star Language' is extinct, so where can the 'key' be found?...

The Key to the Star Speakers? The Barrier of Law? A profound shock ran through Lovi. What were these "Star Speakers"? A profession? A race? Could this "key" bypass the defenses of the Discipline Tower (the Barrier of Law)? Was Carlson searching for it?

This was a brand new, crucial clue! He memorized those words.

Meanwhile, he had a very brief, clandestine conversation with Lilith, ostensibly to select materials for the potion. After confirming that the surrounding surveillance was exhibiting low-intensity, periodic fluctuations, Lilith conveyed two pieces of information to him in an almost inaudible voice:

1.

Her research on the homology between the "Heart-Scar Potion" and the observatory's energy has made a breakthrough—she successfully isolated that unique energy "signature" and discovered that its fluctuation frequency has a slight harmonic relationship with the decay frequency of a long-lost "Red Horn Star" in ancient astrology! This suggests that the technology of the Discipline Tower may be related to an ancient civilization that has long been extinct and associated with stars!

2.

Using the description of the echo characteristics of information within the corridor previously provided by Lowe, she reverse-engineered and improved the "Silent Heart" beacon. When the new version of the beacon is activated, its energy fluctuations can simulate a common "background starlight radiation" noise, greatly increasing its stealth, but its effective range and duration are still limited.

Red Horn Star? Star Speaker? Starfall Observatory? These clues seem to point in the same direction—the stars! The Discipline Tower, the stone slab, the ancient ruins—their secrets all seem to be intricately connected to the starry sky!

Lowe subtly revealed the information about the "Key of the Star Speaker" to Lilith, hoping that she could use her knowledge of potionology to find clues from ancient celestial phenomena or rare materials.

On the other hand, Barton's progress was even more rapid. Having endured the life-or-death ordeal in the corridor and the subsequent period of reflection, his aura had become more profound and restrained. The intense heat and explosive power within his battle qi had been honed to a level he could control with ease, firmly establishing him at the pinnacle of a quasi-wizard, only one step away from condensing a true core of sorcery. He told Rowe that Master Walter had hinted that the academy might soon offer a spot for a practical trial in a demiplane where certain elements were active, and he was actively vying for it. If successful, this would be an excellent opportunity for him to break through.

Lena's senses seemed to have become more acute after that group experience. She can now vaguely "smell" extremely faint spatial or informational "traces" on different people, which has played an unexpected role in warning of potential dangers.

Each member of the team grows in adversity and silently accumulates strength.

However, Lowe's most important gain came from his deep communication with the gray slate. As the synchronization rate broke through the 60% mark, the information fed back by the slate was no longer fragmented knowledge, but began to show some coherent and clearly directional guidance.

Synchronization rate: 61%...

[Host has been detected to have come into contact with a 'secondary information node' (tracing corridor connection point)...]

[Analyzing the node imprint structure... its correlation with the foundational runes 'Resonance', 'Channel', and 'Coordinates' is as high as 73%...]

[A simplified method for "node resonance" has been deduced (incomplete)... It requires a specific frequency "key" to activate the temporary information channel...]

[WARNING: Forced activation or incorrect frequency may cause node crashes or other unknown risks...]

[Note: Key information may remain in the node's historical information echoes...]

The Node Resonance Technique! Requires a specific key! The stone slab's guidance is crystal clear! The Discipline Tower sent him to explore the corridor, perhaps to use him to find these nodes, or even… crack the key! And the key's information might be hidden within the vast echoes of information within the corridor!

A sudden realization dawned on Luo Wei. The Discipline Tower had given him "limited freedom," likely hoping he would continue exploring these nodes and pave the way for their success! He, on the other hand, would use this opportunity to reverse-engineer the nodes' secrets, and might even find a way to bypass the Discipline Tower's monitoring and directly connect to that ancient information network!

Could the "Key of the Star Speaker" be some kind of "key"?

He suppressed the urge to try immediately, knowing that without sufficient preparation and shielding measures, any probing of the node could be detected by the Discipline Tower. He needed a more comprehensive plan, and even more so, he needed... a clue to that "key".

Just as he was racking his brains trying to find clues to the key, an unexpected "opportunity" came knocking.

That day, while Luo Wei was consulting a book of miscellaneous notes about ancient astronomical instruments on the first floor of the library, a petite girl with flaxen curly hair and clear blue eyes timidly approached him and asked in a low voice, "Excuse me... are you Senior Luo Wei?"

Luo Wei was wary, but outwardly remained calm as he raised his head. The energy fluctuations emanating from the girl were very weak, only at the level of a beginner apprentice. Her eyes were clear, yet tinged with a hint of nervousness, unlike those of a spy from the Discipline Tower.

"I am. And you are?"

"I... I'm Annie, and I'm a trainee administrator in the historical documents section." The girl seemed a little shy as she handed over a yellowed slip of paper. "I found this while organizing old files. It was tucked inside a book called 'Anecdotes of Astrology and Divination' that hadn't been touched in a long time. Your name is written on it."

Luo Wei's heart skipped a beat, and he took the note. The note was made of ordinary material, the handwriting was delicate yet unfamiliar, and it contained only a short sentence:

"Where the whispers of stars linger, a crimson horn points the way."

Star Language! Red Horn!

These two keywords made Luo Wei's heart skip a beat! Was it a coincidence? Or...?

He suppressed his excitement and looked at Annie: "When was this book published? Who borrowed it?"

Anne shook her head: "The records are incomplete. The borrowing records for the last fifty years are all blank, and the earlier ones... can't be found. I found it strange, so... I brought it to you." After she finished speaking, as if she had accomplished something important, she hurriedly bowed, turned around and ran away.

Luo Wei clutched the note, watching the girl's departing figure, his eyes deep in thought. Was someone using this unassuming trainee administrator to pass on a message? Or was it truly just a coincidence?

In either case, this note is like a key, pointing to the next mystery. Where the whispers of the stars linger? Where the crimson horn guides the way? Is it an instruction, a location?

"Red Horn" undoubtedly points to the Red Horn Star discovered by Lilith. And "the place where star language lingers"... could it refer to the place where "star talkers" were once active? Or is it the location of some kind of star language-related phenomenon?

The Discipline Tower's surveillance network, like an invisible spiderweb, trembled slightly, seemingly reacting somewhat to this brief contact, but quickly returned to calm. Perhaps, in their eyes, it was just a trivial incident.

Luo Wei put the note away and continued reading with a calm expression, but his heart was in turmoil.

Limited freedom, the faint glow of starlight, ancient keys, mysterious notes… countless clues begin to intertwine. He seems to stand at the entrance to a vast labyrinth, with the Tower of Discipline observing from the shadows, and deep within the labyrinth, there seems to be both deadly traps and the true hope of breaking free from the cage.

His gaze once again fell upon the depths of the library, where the historical documents piled up like mountains and ignored by everyone.

Perhaps the answer lies hidden in the dust-covered piles of old papers. He needs more "chance encounters," and he also needs to actively create them.

The eye of the storm seemed to have calmed down for the time being. But Rowe knew that he had to find the hidden path leading out of the storm within this calm.