Chapter 130: Surveillance, Divination, and Anomalies

Elosia City, the heart of the kingdom, was bathed in the afternoon sunlight.

Within the towering city walls, the wide cobblestone streets bustled with streams of people and the clamor of carriages.

The vibrancy and prosperity stood in stark contrast to the disheveled exhaustion of days spent trekking through the wilderness.

The mansion bestowed upon Jie Ming by King Ottolek III was located in the mid-tier noble district of the capital. Though not extravagant, it was expansive, complete with pavilions and ornate structures.

The mansion’s gates were tightly shut, appearing calm, but in hidden corners, several pairs of eyes peered through nearly imperceptible surveillance arrays, closely monitoring every movement within.

These were the king’s dispatched watchers.

To them, this “Lord Jack” was a mysterious figure with extraordinary abilities. Though the king showered him with praise, he never let his guard down.

“The target’s behavior remains normal today,” whispered a surveillant clad in a standard robe, his gaze piercing through the illusion in a crystal orb, observing Jie Ming’s figure in the study.

In the crystal orb, Jie Ming sat at a desk in his bedroom, one hand propping his chin, the other idly tossing a few copper coins.

The coins flipped through the air, clinking crisply before landing precisely in his palm or scattering across the desk.

The rhythmic metallic clinks lulled even the surveillants into a sense of boredom. After all, since arriving at the mansion, Jie Ming spent time each day on this “tedious” activity.

“It’s been nearly a week. All he does is fiddle with those coins, read books, or take a stroll,” grumbled another surveillant, yawning from the monotonous task.

“Is he being too cautious? Or is this just how beastman spies operate? Fresh in a new environment, not daring to make a move?”

“Who knows? His Majesty said this Jack’s origins are unclear—possibly a beastman spy. Five legends fell at Golden Harbor, yet he managed to bring those nobles back alive. That alone is suspicious,” the first surveillant said with a frown. “Better safe than sorry. Even if he’s just an ordinary adventurer, a powerhouse of his caliber warrants our attention.”

“Ugh… so boring,” the younger surveillant complained, his eyes still fixed on the surveillance feed, though their focus began to waver unnoticed.

Meanwhile, Jie Ming, deemed “boring” by the surveillants, gazed at the scattered coins on his desk, a faint, barely perceptible smirk curling his lips.

He gathered the coins into his palm and tossed them again with a light flick.

The coins clinked as they fell, forming an obscure and intricate divination pattern.

“The art of divination… quite useful in an environment like this,” Jie Ming mused inwardly, his fingertip brushing a coin as a complex glint flashed in his eyes.

With his interest in the cultivation civilization, Jie Ming had naturally studied the unique art of divination. Though he hadn’t delved deeply, he considered himself proficient enough.

Back in the Noren 13th Plane, he rarely used such cultivator techniques.

The Noren Plane and its workshops belonged to the wizard civilization, where ninth-rank wizards were overwhelmingly powerful.

The contract signed upon enrolling at Noren Academy wasn’t just with the academy. Beyond military service obligations, a significant portion of the contract forbade any form of betrayal against the wizard civilization.

This mandatory contract, signed at the start of cultivation, was a cornerstone of the wizard civilization’s ability to wage war across multiple planes.

To ensure wizards captured by enemies couldn’t be coerced into revealing secrets, these contracts were directly linked to ninth-rank wizards.

Thus, theoretically, every wizard had an indirect karmic connection to a ninth-rank wizard.

This left Jie Ming in a bind.

The art of divination, though profound, was deeply entangled with causality. A single misstep could trigger the karma of a ninth-rank wizard—a sure path to self-destruction.

Moreover, divination relied on manipulating a world’s origin. In a new plane with unfamiliar rules, it was nearly impossible to execute.

In many cases, hiring a fate-aligned wizard for a reading was far more direct and effective.

But now, under the scrutiny of internal and external surveillance, the art of divination proved uniquely convenient.

To outsiders, he was merely idly playing with coins—nothing suspicious.

Back in Golden Harbor, Jie Ming had begun meticulously sensing and studying Elosia’s planar rules, spiritual vein patterns, and the chaotic energies within the mortal faith network.

Through two months of research, he had gained a deep understanding of this world’s rules, finally enabling him to employ this covert divination method.

Just moments ago, using divination, he had pinpointed the mansion’s sole surveillance blind spot.

It wasn’t truly a blind spot in the array’s design—professionals wouldn’t make such a mistake.

Rather, it was a visual blind spot for the surveillants.

At specific times and positions, the watchers would subconsciously overlook certain points due to various factors.

“The timing… is about right,” Jie Ming’s eyes gleamed.

Seemingly bored, he stood and left the bedroom, heading toward the study on the other side.

His movements were natural and fluid, indistinguishable from his actions over the past few days.

As he passed through the corridor, his hand flicked subtly.

In the surveillants’ crystal orb, Jie Ming remained under observation, entering the study, picking up a book, and sitting down to read.

But within the mansion, a reckless grin spread across Jie Ming’s face.

Moments earlier, he had used his wizard artifact to weave a sophisticated illusion over the study area.

The mansion’s surveillance spells were varied and numerous, making individual tampering difficult.

Moreover, the servants in the mansion doubled as informants, rendering direct interference with the surveillance pointless.

Thus, using an illusion to simulate his activities in the study was the most convenient and discreet approach.

Servants wouldn’t dare enter the study without his permission—books, in this world, were valuable property.

To the surveillants outside, Jie Ming appeared to continue his routine of reading, walking, or playing with coins within their “sight.”

Glancing at the surveillance points now shrouded in illusion, Jie Ming smiled as the door softly clicked shut.

He could finally act freely.

From his spatial expansion pouch, Jie Ming retrieved various materials—shimmering rune stones, parchment scrolls imbued with elemental aura, and even a few metal components refined through special techniques.

He carefully arranged these materials in the center of the room and began assembling them according to the instructions.

…

…

Days later, as night fell, the royal palace glowed with brilliant lights.

A grand welcome banquet was underway, hosting delegations from the beastmen, elves, and dwarves.

As the “Kingdom’s Special Advisor,” Jie Ming, dressed in a well-fitted noble suit, moved through the clinking glasses and mingling crowds.

He wore a polite smile, occasionally engaging with nobles, ministers, and clerics, gathering information from various sources.

“Advisor Jack, your heroic deeds have spread throughout the capital. You’re the kingdom’s hero!” a portly duke raised his glass in praise, his eyes tinged with awe and curiosity.

“Thanks to His Majesty and your generous esteem,” Jie Ming replied with a smile, his heart unmoved.

Surveying the scene, Jie Ming’s eyes narrowed slightly.

The nobles’ desires and emotions swirled into a chaotic aura of mortal dust, silently absorbed by the talisman seal in his dantian.

At that moment, his body stiffened almost imperceptibly.

Perhaps due to his frequent use of divination recently, his senses had undergone a subtle shift. He suddenly detected several anomalous auras.

These auras blended seamlessly with their surroundings, yet they carried a fluctuation that instinctively felt threatening.

For them to evoke such a sense of danger, these individuals’ strength likely surpassed that of second-rank beings.

Yet, the banquet hosted only a handful of legends, each in highly visible positions, none matching the areas Jie Ming sensed.

Most intriguingly, despite the threat, Jie Ming felt an inexplicable premonition.

He wasn’t sure what it signified, but it didn’t feel dangerous.

Driven by curiosity, Jie Ming’s gaze discreetly scanned the crowd, locking onto the sources of these auras.

The first was a dazzling female elf from the elven delegation.

Her stunning beauty and graceful demeanor drew countless noble gazes.

Her smile was flawless, yet Jie Ming sensed a sharp edge beneath her noble aura, like a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

On the other side, a burly beastman warrior from the beastman delegation was devouring meat and boisterously laughing.

His speech was crude, his demeanor brash, exuding raw wildness.

Lastly, within the dwarven delegation, a boisterous female dwarf was guzzling from a barrel, her prominent beard the only notable feature, otherwise unremarkable.

All three hailed from foreign delegations.

“Strange…”

Jie Ming observed them discreetly for a while. Wary of alerting them, he didn’t probe too deeply but found no apparent connection to himself.

“Divine it? Nah, better not court death.”

This world had gods, and beings capable of threatening him at the first-rank stage likely had divine ties.

If his divination touched a god’s karma, he’d be signing his own death warrant.

“Tch, better just watch and wait.”

Meanwhile, the nobles stirred with excitement. Jie Ming glanced aside, his heart quietly marveling:

“The sage’s disciple? Didn’t expect such a figure to attend this banquet…”

Shaking his head, Jie Ming donned his smile and blended back into the festivities.