Wang Yue had become increasingly obsessed with Lilith’s body lately.
It wasn’t for that reason—it was for… ahem, research purposes.
For instance, just a moment ago, Lilith had performed a series of air slashes. In a single second, she executed sixteen distinct cuts. There was no reliance on complex techniques; it was purely the result of her formidable joints, ligaments, and muscles working in explosive harmony.
It was simply incredible.
Her physical form was perfect.
Hmm…
Wang Yue rested her chin in her hand, her eyes shining with curiosity.
Lilith stopped her movements, her breathing light and steady. Her heart rate didn’t even fluctuate, proving that this level of exertion was nowhere near her limit.
“This blade is amazing. You’re the best artisan I’ve ever met,” Lilith praised.
Wang Yue gave a bashful smile. In truth, her bladesmithing relied entirely on Mystic Arts. She used an excess of materials to forge a relatively oversized blade, then used her Mystic Arts to precision-cut the metal, compensating for her lack of traditional craftsmanship.
Following that, Wang Yue forged a wakizashi and a shortsword as well.
Holding the longer blades made Lilith’s hands look particularly elegant. Her fingers were long and slender, devoid of any polish, yet her nails looked like delicate cherry blossom petals. Her skin was unnaturally pale—so white it was almost blinding.
While Lilith headed to the training grounds to test the weapons in live combat, Wang Yue took the Sealing Box and the Crow Raiment to the “Lead Chamber.”
The Lead Chamber was one of the many laboratories built by the academy, reserved exclusively for upperclassmen. Wang Yue had managed to secure special permission through her connections with the Explorers’ Guild.
The function of the Lead Chamber was specific: any mental pollutant of Grade 3 or lower would be heavily suppressed inside. The mental distortion field would be compressed until it was nothing more than a thin layer clinging to the object’s surface.
As long as one didn’t touch the object directly, they wouldn’t suffer any Mental Pollution.
The walls of the chamber were made of composite material panels with a half-meter-thick lead core. One had to pass through a two-to-three-meter-long corridor and a heavy vault door to enter.
Wang Yue had applied for four hours of research time. She waited for the previous senior to finish her session before taking over.
After walking through the passage and using her wand to unlock the second vault door, she entered a hundred-square-meter room. The walls and floor were covered in a seamless, enamel-like glaze, pristine and white.
She placed the Sealing Box on the lab bench. For safety’s sake, Wang Yue retreated to the corner of the room, putting as much distance between herself and the box as possible.
Holding a pollution-monitoring device in one hand, she used her wand to carefully pull the locking pin from a distance. The Sealing Box unfolded in four directions, revealing the Bronze Eye.
The monitoring needle didn’t budge.
The suppression effect of the Lead Chamber was exceptionally stable and reliable.
Only then did Wang Yue feel safe enough to approach and attempt to activate its abilities. For such delicate operations, she usually preferred her slender shuttle wand.
This wasn’t her first time dealing with the Power of Rules. During the previous Lesser Lord invasion, she had been hit by “Incinerating,” and the experience had been… unforgettable.
Before applying for the Lead Chamber, Wang Yue had consulted a vast amount of data in the library. She was mostly self-taught now; the standard teaching pace was far too slow for her needs.
According to the records, the Power of Rules was a type of transcendent force. Its generation required a “generator”—usually a construct made of countless energy strings entwined and attached to curled-up dimensions. These constructs functioned through vibration and entanglement, possessing a complexity that was almost beyond imagination.
One could view it as a program that couldn’t be written without the proper programming tools, or perhaps the technology of a higher civilization.
Witchcraft consisted of mimetic spells, whereas Rule Power was a form of quasi-magic, bearing a closer resemblance to “true” spells than the former.
Take “Incinerating” as an example.
During the battle at the tower, Ed-Bear’s body—composed of stitched flesh—had a diameter of over five meters. His impact force was equivalent to a speeding train, and the high-speed whipping of his dozens of tentacles could produce the effect of a bomb blast.
However, the moment he touched the Iron-Flow Giant Stag, he was swept by an energy ripple generated by a Rule Construct that possessed the properties of both “High Temperature” and “Disintegration.” He was destroyed at the molecular level, leaving no room for resistance.
The Bronze Eye carried the Rule of True Vision. “True Vision” was a general term for a category of rules; this ritual vessel of the Star-Gazing Insectoids contained three distinct abilities: Gaplight, X-ray, and Heart’s Eye.
Back when she was leeching power, the Heart-Net Worm had been stingy, only granting her the Finger Eyes, which possessed X-ray vision.
Unfortunately, even though that worm had kept an extra “eye” out, it hadn’t escaped being slaughtered. Ultimately, the powers of the Gaplight Eye and the Heart’s Eye were both acquired by Wang Yue.
Wang Yue attempted to inject mana into the Bronze Eye.
A Rule Construct was merely a structure; to make it run, it needed “fuel,” much like an engine needed gasoline.
Upon injecting her mana, an invisible orb of energy bounced out. Her vision shifted violently, and a third-person perspective appeared on her visual interface.
Since her brain had been upgraded, she didn’t suffer from any 3D motion sickness.
This new third-person view was controllable. She could manipulate this camera-like entity to glide along surfaces. Looking up, she realized the perspective was originating from the smooth, glazed surface of the ceiling.
With a thought, the energy orb shot straight to the floor, immediately producing an information stream looking up from the ground toward the ceiling.
This was the Gaplight ability—moving and spying through the smooth surfaces of objects. It was incredibly stealthy and worked over long distances.
The second ability was Finger Eyes, the X-ray vision she had used many times before, so it required little explanation.
Finally, there was the Heart’s Eye—as the name suggested, the ability to peer into the hearts of others.
Humans rarely engage in long strings of internal monologues unless they are reciting a text. For example, when someone sees an adorable anime character, they usually just look with obsession and focus, or perhaps imagine some lewd scenarios; they don’t have a structured internal speech. That would be abnormal.
Most psychological changes occur in the form of associations—like hooks that precisely pull out corresponding memories. For instance, when one is hungry, the physiological reaction leads directly to the thought of food, which then leads to thoughts of home or a restaurant.
Heart’s Eye could only monitor fragments of a person’s real-time thoughts; it couldn’t enter the brain to read long-term memories.
Next, Wang Yue took out a resin block base and used thin wooden boards to create a mold. She placed the Bronze Eye inside and poured in hot-melt resin. This resin material had the property of blocking and weakening mental pollution.
Wang Yue’s plan was to suppress the Bronze Eye’s pollution by two grades. This would allow her to use it outside of the Lead Chamber.
Once the resin solidified, she trimmed it down. Now, she could hold it directly in her hand without issue; Grade 1 Mental Pollution had zero effect on someone of the Purity realm.
Next, Wang Yue brought out the Crow Raiment.
Medeili’s suggestion had given her an idea—perhaps these two items could be used in tandem.
She commanded a single crow to detach from the raiment and fly over to the resin block. Then, she bestowed the “True Vision” ability upon the crow.
Caw!
A slit opened on the crow’s forehead, and a slimy, glistening eyeball bulged out!
A third eye.
Similar to the Finger Eyes, the crow now possessed X-ray vision, along with the other two abilities.
A linked monitoring network formed by three hundred enhanced crow sentinels… Wang Yue thought for a moment and decided to call it the “Three-Eyed Crow System.”
***
At the training grounds.
Lilith leaned forward and sprinted at incredible speed, her figure flowing through a dozen hanging thick ropes like liquid!
Swish! Swish!
The kodachi in her hand spun and slashed, severing the thick ropes one by one.
Finally, she came to a halt in a single step, her graceful body trembling slightly as beads of sweat flew off her like tiny flashes of light.
Lilith turned elegantly, flicking her blade in two beautiful arcs before sheathed it with a satisfying click.
Clap, clap, clap!
Applause sounded from the side.
“That was wonderful!”
Gymnopédie praised her, a bewitching smile playing on her lips.
