The Wizard of Truth: Starting with Analyzing All Things

After returning to the academy after completing his mission at the observatory, Lowe's life seemed to have been plunged into a stagnant pool that appeared calm on the surface but was actually turbulent beneath. The surveillance network of the Discipline Tower tightened even further.

The shackles of Level Two supervision were like invisible chains. The twice-monthly reports became increasingly detailed and aggressive, with questions no longer limited to energy states and daily activities. They began to delve deeper into his understanding of ancient runes, his subtle perceptions of space, and even occasionally dabble in vague concepts like "information sedimentation" or "ancient knowledge carriers." Elder Anderson personally intervened more frequently, and each time his eyes, seemingly capable of piercing the soul, swept over Rowe, Rowe felt a burning sensation as if he were being magnified.

Doubling the dosage of the "Heart-Tracing Potion" brought not only a stronger sense of soul attachment and monitoring pressure, but also a subtle, slow erosion of his mental vitality. Luo Wei had to expend more energy maintaining his inner facade of "calmness," which significantly reduced the time he could dedicate to truly deep meditation and research. He felt like a sapling crushed by a boulder, struggling to draw even a sliver of nourishment from the cracks in the rock.

Their activities were strictly confined to the core area. Even going to the first floor of the library to consult the most basic texts would result in a butler "accidentally" appearing nearby. Contact with Barton and Lilith was almost completely cut off. Brief encounters in public required extreme caution, even eye contact, let alone passing items. The "Silent Heart" beacon had to be kept hidden and dared not be used.

Current status: Rowe (Late-stage Intermediate Apprentice)

•

Strength assessment: The realm is stable, and the precision of energy manipulation is passively improved under high pressure, but the actual cultivation progress is almost stagnant.

•

Situation: Under the high-pressure supervision of the second level of the discipline tower, their space for activity and channels of communication are greatly restricted.

•

Psychological state: Highly depressed, feeling like walking on thin ice, but with an increasingly resilient will, secretly seeking every possible breakthrough.

•

Development focus: Maintaining camouflage under extreme surveillance, deepening covert communication with the stone slab, and finding subtle vulnerabilities in the surveillance network.

However, extreme pressure can sometimes breed extreme resilience. The invisible cage constructed by the Tower of Discipline, though sturdy, was being silently explored by Lovi, like mercury, through his increasingly refined "information weaving" and his affinity for the void.

He no longer attempted large-scale information gathering or spatial manipulation, which would be tantamount to self-destruction. Instead, he contracted and concentrated all his senses, focusing on a tiny area around himself to "listen" and "observe" the omnipresent surveillance network itself.

Through day after day of intense focus, he gradually discerned some extremely subtle patterns. The Discipline Tower's surveillance was neither uniformly distributed nor perpetual. The intensity of the "Heart-Scarring Potion" mark that enveloped his soul varied with his own energy fluctuations and mental activity, being most acute during deep meditation or periods of intense emotional upheaval. Furthermore, the invisible detection arrays in the environment also exhibited periodic, subtle fluctuations in energy flow, particularly during large-scale public events at the academy, the periodic recharging of the energy tower, or specific times at night, resulting in extremely brief, almost imperceptible "blind spots" or "decreased sensitivity."

At the same time, he began to delve deeper into the mysteries of the gray slate. In the dead of night, taking advantage of the brief but dangerous "monitoring inefficiency period," he more frequently immersed himself in communicating with the slate. The experience at the observatory seemed to further activate the slate, and his synchronization rate with it slowly but steadily increased.

[Synchronization rate with gray slate: 55%... 58%...]

[Information visualization model optimized... Number of resolvable Keystone Runes increased...]

[Deduced a simplified "energy signature simulation" technique (incomplete)... which can be used to very briefly disguise one's own energy fluctuations...]

[Related to rune groups for 'Anti-Prophecy' and 'Presence Diminishment' detected...Analyzing...]

The information relayed by the stone tablet remained profound, but its direction was becoming increasingly clear: it was guiding Luo Wei to master a series of rules and techniques for "concealment," "disguise," and "counterattack." These techniques did not directly enhance combat power, but they were key to survival and counterattack under this surveillance network. Luo Wei studied and deduced with great eagerness, simulating their application countless times in his mental world, although he dared not attempt them in reality. This, however, accumulated valuable theoretical knowledge for him.

Darkmoon Academy World Encyclopedia: Edict Surveillance Network

Controlled by the Discipline Tower, this vast surveillance system covers the core area of ​​the academy. Its core consists of three parts: 1. Soul Imprint Monitoring: Using methods such as "Heart Mark Potions," marks are implanted on the souls of specific targets, allowing real-time monitoring of their energy state, location, and intense emotional fluctuations; 2. Environmental Array Scanning: Invisible detection arrays distributed throughout the area can scan for unauthorized energy activities, spatial anomalies, and fluctuations from high-risk items; 3. Personnel Patrols and Reports: Daily patrols and intelligence gathering by Discipline Tower deacons and informants. These three layers of monitoring complement each other, theoretically making them virtually impenetrable. However, their operation consumes enormous amounts of energy, and they have detection thresholds for extremely weak or highly convincingly "normal" abnormal fluctuations.

The turning point came on a seemingly ordinary afternoon. Lowe was allowed to dine at the public dining room, "accompanied" by a butler. In the noisy crowd, he quite by chance brushed past Lilith, who was also dining there. In that instant, without any eye contact, Lilith's fingers twitched extremely slightly. A faint, almost imperceptible stream of information, carrying a specific mental frequency, was masked by the background noise of the crowd and reached Lowe's keen senses.

This is a new communication method developed by Lilith! It utilizes extremely subtle mental vibrations to simulate environmental background fluctuations, enabling ultra-short-range, one-time information transmission! The message is extremely brief, yet it sent a profound shock through Luo Wei:

"Analysis of the observation station's samples has yielded results; they exhibit a weak common energy characteristic with the 'Heart Trace,' suggesting it might be... the 'Key'... Extremely dangerous... Silence..."

The communication ended there; Lilith was already far away. A storm raged in Luo Wei's heart! Lilith had actually analyzed the dust samples brought back from the observatory and found energy characteristics identical to the "Heart-Scar Potion"? She even mentioned a "key"? Could it be that a certain component or energy signature of the potion used by the Discipline Tower for monitoring was related to the observatory, which served as the "information receiving terminal"? What did this imply? Was the observatory controlled by the Discipline Tower? Or did the Discipline Tower's technology originate from the study of ancient ruins? And what did the "key" refer to? Was it a key to unlocking some secret, or… as Elena had said, a key to "binding"?

This information was both terrifying and crucial. Like a bolt of lightning, it cleaved through part of the mist shrouding the Discipline Tower, but also brought a deeper chill. The waters of the Discipline Tower ran deeper than imagined.

He dared not show any emotion, forcibly suppressing the turmoil within him, and continued eating with a blank expression. But a daring plan began to sprout in his mind. The information Lilith had risked her life to convey pointed to a possibility—the surveillance technology of the Discipline Tower might not be flawless; it might share the same origin as the power of the ancient ruins. Then, the more fundamental power of "rules" derived from the stone tablet might be able to find its weaknesses!

That night, during a low point in the surveillance, Luo Wei took a risk and made a deeper attempt. He was no longer satisfied with merely constructing a disguise within the inner layer of his soul, but began to try to use the "energy signature simulation" technique derived from the stone tablet, carefully adjusting the frequency of the energy fluctuations he emitted, trying to make it infinitely close to... the most "harmless" background energy noise produced by the ordinary apprentices in the restaurant during their daily practice.

This process was extremely dangerous, like adjusting his heart rate on a knife's edge. He had to ensure that the simulated fluctuations blended perfectly into the environment, without the slightest abruptness. Several times, he felt a slight tremor from the "Heartmark Potion" mark, as if cold tentacles were about to awaken, which frightened him so much that he immediately stopped and maintained the original state.

Failure, adjustment, failure again, adjustment again... Just when he was almost exhausted and ready to give up, in an extremely brief moment—perhaps only a tenth of a breath's time—he succeeded! He felt that the monitoring "gaze" that enveloped his soul seemed to have been "ignored" by a tiny bit, as if his existence had briefly blended into the background noise and was no longer so "conspicuous"!

Although its duration was negligible, it proved the direction was feasible! The stone tablet's guidance was correct! The Discipline Tower's surveillance network could potentially be "deceived"!

This seemingly insignificant success brought immense hope to Lowe, who was in dire straits. He found direction, even though the road ahead remained long and perilous.

However, just as he caught a glimmer of light, the shadow of the Discipline Tower descended once more directly.

Several days later, at a routine briefing, Elder Anderson did not appear; instead, he was received by the stern-faced prospective wizard deacon. The briefing was unusually short, and after it ended, the deacon stopped Rowe, who was about to leave, and handed him a new, darker gray talisman.

"Apprentice Lowe, given your recent 'stable' performance, Elder Anderson has granted you special permission to adjust your supervision level to Level Two (Relaxed). From now on, your monthly reports will be reduced to once a month, and the dosage of 'Heart Scar Potion' will return to the standard. However," the deacon's tone shifted, his eyes sharpening, "you will need to assist the Discipline Tower in completing a 'Knowledge Organization' task."

Luo Wei's heart skipped a beat as he accepted the talisman. The supervision seemed "relaxed," yet there was more "work"? Was this a reward, or a new test and control?

"These are rubbings of some fragmented runes from the ancient observatory," the deacon said, pointing to a thick stack of parchment on the table beside him. "Your task is to use your 'Spatial Awareness' talent to attempt to analyze the parts of these runes related to energy guidance and spatial stability, and then write an analysis report. This is an important research project for the Discipline Tower, and your performance will directly affect your future oversight assessment."

Luo Wei looked at the stack of rubbings; they contained the ancient runes he had seen at the observatory! The Discipline Tower truly valued the observatory! Now, were they going to use his abilities to decipher its secrets?

This is blatant exploitation, and a trap laid bare. Acceptance means being formally drawn into the secret research of the Discipline Tower, becoming even more deeply bound to their cause. Refusal, on the other hand, could immediately incur severe punishment.

Luo Wei was silent for a moment, then raised his head, his face showing an appropriate expression of flattery and caution: "Thank you for your trust, Elder and Deacon. I will do my best."

He accepted the task. Rather than passively accepting it, he decided to take the initiative and, within the enemy's rules, seek opportunities to retaliate. At least, this gave him a legitimate reason to access ancient knowledge related to the stone tablet.

As he left the Disciplinary Tower carrying the heavy stack of rubbings, Luo Wei felt the pressure on his shoulders increase even further. But in his eyes, a calm flame burned.

The Iron Curtain has fallen, but the glimmer of light still flickers. He will dance a silent dance on the most dangerous blade. And the final chapter of the dance may be quietly rewritten by the cold stone slab in his hand and his increasingly proficient power of "rules".

The road ahead was still a dark prison, but he had found the first, perhaps invisible key that could pry open the lock.