Chapter 557: Admonition

Upon hearing this, Lu De instantly broke out in a cold sweat.

However, he remained calm and said, "My job requires a lot of contact with Crystal Beasts. Is there a problem?"

Walong stroked his chin and said, "Hmm... requires a lot of contact? I remember you're actually in charge of equipment procurement. Why would you have contact with Crystal Beasts? Oh, right... wait, I remember now, haven't we met before?"

Lu De's expression stiffened slightly upon hearing this, but he still nodded, "Yes, I have indeed met Young Master Walong. It was about half a year ago, when I was still competing with you for a position beside the Senior Instructor."

Walong suddenly understood, clapped his hands, and said, "Oh!!! Right, right, right, that's it, I remember now. At that time, you and I took the written test three times, and both of us got full marks all three times. Then we used a practical test, and you lost, right?"

"Yes, Young Master Walong is not only knowledgeable but also very skilled in application, unlike me who only knows things from books. It's only natural that you're stronger than me..." Lu De said with a forced smile.

Walong waved his hand, looking indifferent, and said, "Let's not talk about that, it's all in the past. Just answer my question first: why do you come into contact with so many crystals when you're procuring equipment?"

"Procuring equipment, many things can't be solved with money; they all require crystals for transactions. So I often deal with crystals, that should be the reason," Lu De explained.

Walong nodded slightly, then said, "Hmm, that makes sense. By the way, since Student Lu De can access large quantities of crystals, how about helping me out? The circulation of crystals in the market is limited; any sudden increase or decrease can be felt. Recently, a large number of Crystal Beasts outside the city have died, but no crystals have flowed in, so there must be something fishy. Could you help me keep an eye out, student? After all, since you're responsible for procurement, you must have your own connections, right?"

Lu De nodded repeatedly and said, "If Young Master Walong has a request, then I certainly can't refuse. I will pay attention, but once I have news, how should I inform you?"

"Just tell Jin Laoshi, and have him relay it to me. Here's some remuneration, take it," Walong said, handing over some money.

Lu De hesitated for a moment.

But he still reached out and accepted it, then smiled and thanked him repeatedly.

Walong said nothing, gave a polite smile, and then turned and left.

After watching him leave, Lu De's expression darkened.

Then, he gripped the stone and said, "Instructor, how did he smell it?"

The stone explained in a voice only he could hear, "It's a modification, I can feel that his nose seems different from ordinary people. It should be your unique technique, hmm... enhanced physical senses, which caused a complete destruction of a part of the human body's inner world... such a foolish method. Don't learn this; if you do, your future will be ruined. He's already an artificial cripple."

After half a year of study, Lu De had gained some understanding of the many strange terms that suddenly popped up from the stone, knowing that the Instructor seemed to look down on this method greatly.

He made no comment, but instead walked away, saying as he went, "Instructor, do you think I can beat him now?"

The stone honestly evaluated, "As I said before, you are now invincible among apprentices. Your cultivation is much deeper than his; they barely cultivate at all. All their Daoist Art are temporarily pieced together; it's simply impossible for them to be your opponent."

"That's good," Lu De nodded.

A few days later, Lu De submitted a report to Jin Laoshi, asking Jin Laoshi to pass it on to Walong.

It recorded some strange aspects of the crystals, with some places having more and others fewer crystals in circulation. This change could be seen through the price of the crystals.

Crystals could be exchanged for money at any time, but it was very difficult to buy crystals with money.

Walong received the report and began his investigation.

The investigation proceeded smoothly, and the capital's newspapers and various news channels began to praise the Duke's son, Young Master Walong, for his wisdom, intelligence, and ingenuity in analyzing the flow of crystals from various clues.

On the seventh day, he had already found the mysterious hunter and declared that he would personally capture him, causing a stir among the crowd. He instantly became a prominent figure in the capital.

On the tenth day, Young Master Walong's body was found in the sewer.

A Senior Instructor appeared to examine his body and found that he died from a completely different Daoist Art, with almost no resistance, suggesting he was killed by a trap.

The trap was only at the apprentice Rank, but the problem was that no traces of the trap could be found.

Even the Senior Instructor couldn't figure out what happened.

Walong was instantly killed by a Daoist Art, indicating there was no combat. According to apprentice-Rank combat, they would need at least three seconds to chant a spell, which would be enough time for Walong to activate his various defensive equipment.

The environment at the time was very cramped, and Walong's ability to detect Daoist Art was very strong, so a sneak attack was impossible. Therefore, aside from a trap, an instant kill was basically impossible.

Some also theorized that an apprentice had the ability to cast instantly and was deeply trusted by Walong, killing him at close quarters.

But this theory was immediately overturned because Walong could also cast instantly. However, instant casting... though called instant casting, it actually only compressed the casting time of the Daoist Art. In reality, it still required preparation time, perhaps a few tenths of a second.

Compared to chanting that took three or four seconds, this was already considered instant casting.

However, the Daoist Art that killed Walong was faster, much faster.

This speed, apart from a pre-set trap, had no other explanation.

But the problem was...

Where were the remnants of the trap?

No traps were found at the scene, not even by the Senior Instructor, which meant there were none. There was no Daoist Art in the world that Senior Instructors couldn't detect.

This was a completely unsolved mystery, just like the missing crystals.

The capital was in an uproar; the more Young Master Walong was praised before, the more awkward the atmosphere became now.

The Royal Capital Guard took on the investigation of this matter, including the crystal investigation.

And the instigator of all this was currently taking the Royal Capital Guard exam, hoping to obtain a formal position.

And he succeeded.

The exam went smoothly; his strength and knowledge made passing the exam very simple, and he obtained a formal position with a relatively high status, becoming a Daoist Art consultant within the Guard. He only needed to handle consulting work and basically didn't need to go out for external affairs.

This was the advantage of the institute. Compared to those rough individuals who practiced martial Dao... oh, who practiced knightly martial arts, the apprentices of the institute were rare and precious.

The term 'martial Dao' was something he learned from the stone; the stone referred to them as martial Dao practitioners.

Before this, he had always called these people 'knights.' They produced a special power by training their bodies and condensing their willpower. This power was different from any Daoist Art and was very mysterious.

However, now he also adopted the stone's way of speaking, because he felt that the stone was a Senior Instructor, so the terms from its mouth must be quite high-end.

Another year passed.

This year, Lu De graduated from the institute.

Because he passed the qualification for 'Apprentice Instructor,' from now on, he was no longer an apprentice.

This greatly puzzled the stone, who often grumbled about it, constantly saying, "What's going on... there's no Rank nine, so how is he an instructor? Is the power quantification in this world so lenient?"

But no matter what, an Apprentice Instructor was still an instructor, and Lu De had become a true upper-class person.

It was also at this time that he gained the qualification to 'rebuild the stone's body.'

He brought up the matter almost immediately, hoping the stone would tell him how to do it.

However, the stone told him not to rush.

In Lu De's office, the stone said to this emerging young Genius, "Before we talk about this... I want to tell you about an organization. This organization... is called the 'Triangular Eye.'"

"Triangular Eye?" Lu De frowned in confusion.

He had never heard this name before. Was it some secret organization?

"Yes, this is the organization I belong to. It's an organization that can stand shoulder to shoulder with all nations," the stone said.

Lu De rose from his desk and walked to the window.

His office was bright and clean. In just one year, with the help of the stone, a Senior Instructor, he had achieved almost all his goals. In just one short year, he had experienced many incredible things, completed numerous adventures, and challenged many impossible tasks.

He also met several beautiful and unique girls during this process, though he currently had no particular feelings for them.

He was now a young Apprentice Instructor, with a high status and a promising future.

While all of this was inseparable from his efforts and perseverance, the ultimate source of it all still came from the stone in his chest.

Walking to the window, he held the stone and said, "What kind of organization can stand shoulder to shoulder with nations? Impossible. If such an organization truly exists, why wouldn't it occupy a nation itself? Why hide?"

"It's not hiding, but concealing ourselves. We are the manipulators behind the scenes. We are not kings, so why should we stand at the forefront?" the stone retorted.

But Lu De was clear-headed. He knew that a hidden force could not possibly exist for long, so he asked again, "What's the meaning? If an organization wants to achieve its own goals, it naturally needs to step forward. Always hiding and concealing, though called 'hidden,' what's the difference from not existing at all?"

"For a large organization, hiding is the most foolish thing. It can neither spread its ideals nor attract a large number of talents, nor can it control land and resources. Even if the initial members are very strong, over time it will surely weaken or even be forgotten. I don't understand, if this Triangular Eye truly exists, what is its meaning?"

Lu De's questions left the stone speechless.

Indeed, everything Lu De said was spot on.

Why did the boss create this Triangular Eye?

But at this point, he couldn't just blurt it out. So, the stone pretended to be profound and said, "The organization's philosophy, I can't tell you yet, but this thing truly exists. Now, it's about time for you. In a few days, I'll take you to get in touch with the organization."

"Be careful, the organization isn't peaceful. I need you to protect me, lest my current weak state be exposed."

Since the stone said so, Lu De calmly nodded, "I understand. Is this why you were unwilling to contact this organization earlier, Instructor? Is someone coveting you?"

The stone replied, "This world is like this; you must also be vigilant when dealing with strangers."

"I understand," Lu De nodded, then fell into deep thought.

Another night passed.

This time, the stone re-established contact with Li Shiwei.

As soon as the connection was established, the stone eagerly said, "Boss, I have a question."

Li Shiwei, on the other end of the Daoist Art, seemed to be copying something and replied distractedly, "Huh? What is it? Tell me."

The stone asked, "I just want to know, why is the Triangular Eye a secret organization? What's the purpose of this secrecy?"

Li Shiwei casually replied, "Huh? No purpose, it's just really cool, don't you think? A mysterious organization hidden deep within civilization, secretly manipulating everything! Don't you think that's awesome?"

"It's... that simple?" The stone was stunned.

"Otherwise? What other profound meaning could there be?" Li Shiwei looked indifferent.

But the stone said, "But there's a problem. I hadn't thought about it in detail before, but this young man I'm in contact with here, he said some things that I'll relay to you."

Li Shiwei interrupted the stone, "Huh? An aboriginal talked to you? And you listened? No, aboriginals are incredibly stupid; they don't even understand basic cultivation. What could they possibly figure out?"

"Boss, please let me finish," the stone said.

Li Shiwei heard this and replied, "Then speak."

Then, the stone relayed Lu De's questions to Li Shiwei verbatim.

After speaking, he asked Li Shiwei, "Boss, when you made these plans, did you not consider these things? Or did you think they were aboriginals, so you didn't pay much attention? Did you think you could just fool them and it would be over?"

On Li Shiwei's end, there was a moment of silence.

But the stone didn't wait for her to think and continued, "Boss, I've always thought you were very smart, but... after coming to this foreign domain, you seem a bit off."

"I think we can pause the collection of civilization history for a bit. To truly understand the information contained within civilization history, the first thing is to treat them as civilizations, not games. Boss, think carefully, I think... if you continue like this, you probably won't understand any civilization history."

"I'll say something you might not like, Boss: if you were to swap places with them, would you have your current status? I've heard that the world calls itself civilization and also refers to these worlds as civilizations."

"The whole world is like this, so what about you, Boss?"

After speaking, the stone cut off the Daoist Art.