I reign supreme in the Western fantasy world for eternity.

The banquet continued, and the interplay of light and shadow from the clinking glasses flowed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, but Ji Tian had already lost interest.

The laughter and chatter of the nobles, the flowing skirts of the ladies, and the insincere banter under the crystal chandeliers could not compare to the breaths and rustling of fabrics he inadvertently captured behind a few neatly trimmed holly bushes while exploring the garden. That was the scene that left the deepest impression on him throughout the entire banquet.

The main reason was that he had always thought that semi-official banquets like this wouldn't have a party, but he had underestimated the enthusiasm of the nobles in the capital for "secret pleasures".

Ji Tian took the inner courtyard visitor badge, which was stained with his nascent soul essence blood, out of his sleeve and held it in his palm.

A few days ago, while waiting for the other apostles to come to him, Ji Tian did not idle down his cultivation and took the opportunity to refine the badge.

He handed it to Elena, saying, "Keep this amulet and wear it close to your body. I have some things to take care of."

Elena took it and looked down at the silver-white badge with a very fine gold pattern around the edge. She didn't ask him what he wanted to do, but simply held the badge in her palm and pressed it against her chest. "Be careful."

Ji Tian nodded, activated his Concealing Breath Technique to its maximum, and turned to disappear into the shadows at the edge of the crowd.

He did not wait for the banquet to end.

The old inventor was still talking animatedly with someone in front of the French windows, having already gone through several glasses of champagne.

Meanwhile, the nobles who had been marked by Ji Tian—the count who had won the most land at the card table, an elderly viscount, a newly promoted middle-aged viscount, and an ambitious young baron who had just arrived in the capital—had already left after paying their respects to the prime minister.

The car drove past the fork in the road and onto a tree-lined avenue without lights.

Ji Tian landed directly in the carriage and used the "Immortal's Touch" technique to lull the Earl to sleep before he could even look up.

Soul Search.

Memories flashed by like a revolving lantern: the clinking of glasses at the banquet, the triumphant calculations of winning land in the secret room, the brief pleasure with his mistress behind the holly bushes in the garden, the flattery of the prime minister in parliament, the fervent anticipation of the profits that the enclosure bill would bring... He was just an aristocrat who was addicted to power and wealth.

Ji Tian withdrew his hand, and the time reversal was quietly activated.

The count's momentary lapse in concentration was erased, and the carriage continued on its way. He didn't even realize that he had lost a piece of his memory.

Ji Tian quietly withdrew, stood by the roadside, and watched the carriage disappear into the night.

Second, third, fourth.

The elderly viscount's memories are filled with worries about the enclosure law and his ailing wife; the middle-aged viscount's mind is filled with factory profit statements and how to acquire more land under the new law; the young baron's memories are simpler—how to please the prime minister's daughter and how to gain a foothold in the capital.

Without exception, none of them had any connection with the Order of Light.

After dealing with the last one, Ji Tian stood on the empty official road. The night wind lifted the corner of his clothes, dispersing the lingering spiritual energy at his fingertips.

The lights in the banquet hall gradually thinned out in the latter half of the night.

The old inventor left the manor with the last group of guests, boarded an inconspicuous carriage alone, and headed towards the northern part of the capital.

The carriage finally stopped at the dimly lit alleyway. The old man got out, pushed open the door, and entered an old warehouse filled with blueprints and wooden models.

The old man turned on the magic crystal lamp, sat down, and began sketching something on a new drawing, completely unaware that someone had appeared behind him.

Ji Tian raised his hand and delivered a supermodel-like chop to the back of the other man's neck. The old man's body slumped onto the table, the pen tip leaving a long ink mark on the drawing.

Start with Soul Search again.

The old man's early life was unremarkable. He had mediocre magical talent and barely maintained the level of a mid-level mage thanks to the legacy of his family. However, he was exceptionally persistent in his love for mechanics.

Until eight years ago, he met the "great inventor" Doron by chance, a scene that remains exceptionally clear in his memory:

In a dilapidated workshop in the North, under the dim light, a middle-aged man with a haggard face and sunken eyes was drawing at a table.

His fingers were long and slender but covered in calluses. He would pause for a long time after drawing each line, as if listening to some unseen guidance.

The old man's voice back then carried a hint of caution, "Master Doren, the position of this crankshaft..."

Doron looked up, his eyes filled with an almost frenzied focus. "It was the light that told me."

The old man didn't know that the "light" the other person was talking about was not the "holy light" of the church. At first, he thought the other person was crazy. The church's doctrine said that the holy light equally and mercifully affects all living beings. How could it possibly tell a noble family that had fallen on hard times any knowledge?

However, the intricate structure and clever linkages on the blueprints are indeed unprecedented masterpieces of genius.

Yes, Toron must be a favorite of the Holy Light, and his faction is the true orthodox church.

From then on, the old man became a follower of Doron, and he helped promote the blueprints, contact factories, and navigate the social circles of the nobility.

One by one, Doron's "inventions" became roaring machines, and factories sprang up like mushrooms after rain in the North.

The old man was unaware of the power behind Doron, only knowing that every time he met Doron, the other would say, "The light gives us wisdom, and we repay the light with devotion."

He had no memory of the title "Apostle of Light," only a fanatical worship of Doron, who was the key figure.

Ji Tian withdrew his divine sense and used Time Reversal to restore the old man's memories to their original state, even erasing the pain from that palm strike. The old man yawned, rubbed his neck, thinking it was from sitting at his desk for too long, and continued sketching on the drawing.

Ji Tian left the warehouse, his white robes disappearing into the night as he flew towards the northern border.

Under the moonlight, the chimneys of the northern factory complex looked like swords piercing the sky.

Ji Tian landed on the roof of the largest factory building and probed downwards with his divine sense. Deep inside the factory was a converted office with its iron door tightly closed and its windows covered with a thick layer of dust.

A figure was sitting at the table, engrossed in writing something on a huge blueprint; that was Doron.

Ji Tian silently slipped in through the window crack and stood behind the man.

Doron was about forty years old, with gray hair, a thin face, and deep-set eyes, which overlapped with the image of the mad inventor in his memory.

His magical energy circuits had indeed collapsed, and there was no magical energy fluctuation in his body; he was just an ordinary person.

Ji Tian didn't rush to make a move, but reached out and patted him on the shoulder.

Doron looked up abruptly, his pupils contracting sharply.

He saw the other person emerge from the darkness without his noticing.

He tried to call for help, but found he could no longer speak loudly. He asked in terror, "Who are you? How did you get in?"

Ji Tian pulled up a chair and sat down opposite him, tentatively speaking in Chinese, "Odd changes, even remains the same."

Doron froze, his bewilderment genuine. "W-what are you talking about?"

Well... after all, it's a Western fantasy world, so it still needs to be in line with international standards.

Ji Tian didn't explain, but asked again, "How are you?"

Doron's brow furrowed even more. "Who are you? What are you talking about? I don't understand you... Are you from the church? Or the Mage's Guild?"

They're most likely not from the same hometown.

With his last guess settled, Ji Tian said no more and placed his hand on Doron's head.

Directly search their souls!