Chapter 453: The Deconstruction of Knowledge (Two in One)

"Did I see that wrong..."

Ning Wei muttered to himself, figuring he was overthinking things.

He rarely took shifts in the Desolate Forest, let alone crossed paths with those elusive Wizards.

Ever since he started this shift, he had barely seen them at all.

"Forget it. Time to pack up and eat."

He headed toward his dorm.

Pushing open the door barely wide enough for one person, he stepped into his familiar room.

The room was tiny, barely a dozen square meters. A bed and a desk made up the bedroom area; further in was the kitchen, separated from the bathroom by a sliding glass door.

First Level staff like him could generally only afford a place this size.

Any bigger, and the higher-ups' housing subsidy wouldn't cover the rent.

Of course, there were other ways to get a larger room, such as applying for a special talent subsidy.

That was an allowance usually reserved for elite personnel with specialized skills.

In the Great Prison, having special skills was a massive advantage.

Ning Wei had a few special skills of his own.

But for certain reasons, he couldn't report them.

So for now, he had to make do in this cramped space.

Tossing his clothes onto the bed, he sat down in the chair wedged between the bed and the desk and took out today's "loot."

A small cloth bag.

Opening it, he found a handful of multicolored ores inside.

These were mined resources from the Desolate Forest. Naturally, just like Strange Gold, they could be exchanged for points.

Ning Wei poured the ores out, picking them up one by one to admire.

Whether as refined as gemstones or as coarse as fossils, the ores possessed a unique aesthetic appeal. Their heavy weight in his palm was incredibly satisfying.

Before they were converted into an intangible balance of points, Ning Wei decided to enjoy the tactile thrill of handling them.

Suddenly, his gaze fixed on something lodged between a few of the ores. It looked like a slip of paper...

"What is this?"

Desolate Forest.

Deep within a hidden stretch of jungle.

Orange-red firelight flickered faintly through the gaps in the leaves. The members of the Wizard Tribe huddled together around a campfire, quietly listening to the instructions of their new "King."

After just one afternoon, everyone was entirely convinced by the man before them, their eyes even burning with fanatical zeal.

Right now, the King was showing them "knowledge."

"Don't move."

Yan Jing held a Paintbrush that exuded an eerie aura. He looked at the bashful young Wizard sitting across from him. "Move again, and the drawing will be ruined."

Perhaps because of the heat from the campfire, the young Wizard's tanned cheeks were flushed red. She sat on the ground with her legs tucked to the side like a mermaid, her hands gripping her knees so tightly that her palms were sweating.

Only when Yan Jing nodded did she let out a long breath, quietly waiting for his "oracle."

Yan Jing had already demonstrated this process more than once.

Looking at the canvas before him, Yan Jing spoke slowly. "Your background can hardly be called a good one."

"Your mother was a Wizard. After a family tragedy in the Wizard Continent, she was sold into slavery. Later, she took the fall for her master's crime and was sent to the Great Prison."

"Your father was an apostle of the Dark Pathway. While completing a mission, he forced himself on your mother, which resulted in you."

"But he left shortly after."

"As you grew up, you fell in love with a boy from a tribe under one of the leaders we killed today. You thought the feelings were mutual, not realizing he was only playing with you—and at such a young age, you had a child..."

Under the stunned gazes of the crowd, Yan Jing accurately recounted everything about the young Wizard's past.

Of course, he had warned them beforehand: anyone willing to receive an "oracle" had to be prepared to have their past laid bare.

Hearing those painful memories, the girl's eyes turned red. Kneeling on the ground, she moved her hand between her forehead and her chest, her lips trembling. "Lord Deity, please show your mercy and compassion. Please tell me how I should walk the path ahead."

"Please save me."

"I already told you," Yan Jing said, his voice turning cold. "There is only one reason."

"You are too weak."

Hearing this, the crowd collectively prostrated themselves. "Please show us the way, my Lord."

Yan Jing looked over the crowd and spoke softly. "Everyone, raise your heads. Look at me."

Once they looked up, he continued, "Becoming stronger boils down to a few key aspects."

"First is power. It is the foundation of survival."

"Before I enter the God Storage Land, I will teach you every day. How much you can comprehend will depend entirely on your own talent."

"Next are resources."

"Who is responsible for managing the tribe's finances?"

"Th-that would be me, my Lord." A white-haired old man raised his hand from the crowd.

Yan Jing nodded. "If we converted the tribe's current assets into points, how many would we have?"

"Roughly a little over three thousand points."

The old man looked ashamed.

A little over three thousand points—divided among everyone, it came out to barely ten points per person. Let alone funding everyone's cultivation, even affording basic daily food and clothing was sometimes a struggle.

Yan Jing nodded. "It's fine. I expected as much."

With that, he sliced open a Rift in the space in front of him.

Hundreds of fingernail-sized pieces of Strange Gold tumbled out of it, leaving the crowd completely dumbfounded.

He had asked Xiao Xin to fetch this from the Heavenly Kingdom that afternoon. In the Peace Heavenly Kingdom, one piece of Strange Gold of this size was worth about a thousand eerie silver, which was equivalent to 500,000 surface coins.

(1 eerie silver = 10 eerie points = 100 Eerie Coins = 500 surface coins, based on the Peace Heavenly Kingdom exchange rate.)

But here, a single piece of Strange Gold this size was worth about 500 points.

That meant this pile amounted to exactly 50,000 points.

It was over ten times the amount the entire tribe had managed to save up over the years.

Everyone was utterly speechless.

The surprise was so massive that no one dared to believe it.

It was like someone who had been impoverished their entire life suddenly winning fifty million. Their first thought wouldn't be how to spend it, but whether it was actually real.

Yan Jing sighed helplessly and tossed a gold coin at Wu Qiu's face.

Wu Qiu carefully cupped it in her hands, turning it over to inspect it from every angle. Finally, she used the most primitive method to verify it—she put it in her mouth and bit down.

With just a light bite, her eyes grew moist. She nodded to the crowd. "It's... it's real... It's a blessing bestowed by the Lord Deity!"

The crowd erupted in cheers, with many hugging their heads and sobbing.

This exact scene had already happened once this afternoon after Yan Jing executed two Seventh Rank experts, yet their current cheers were no less enthusiastic.

For these poor wretches, a day like today was something they wouldn't have even dared to dream about.

Yan Jing, however, maintained a calm expression. "But if..."

The moment he spoke, the cheering came to an abrupt halt.

Everyone immediately fell silent, not even daring to breathe too loudly as they looked at him with utmost reverence.

"If this money isn't multiplied by five within two months, every single one of you can get lost and go back to wandering."

"Do you understand?"

"U-understood!" Although they had no confidence in achieving this, none of them dared to answer too slowly, terrified of angering the Wizard Progenitor before them.

"The final point is authority."

Yan Jing said, "Social nuance is absolutely necessary. If you don't understand it, go learn."

"Tonight, I will deconstruct its most basic concepts into knowledge and teach it to you. You will need to comprehend it yourselves."

"Yes!" the crowd answered loudly, their expressions devout.

Then, Yan Jing began explaining some of his own insights regarding worldly wisdom. They might not have been entirely perfect, but they were definitely more than enough for these timid, slow-witted people to learn from.

There was no need to worry that they wouldn't grasp it. Just as Yan Jing had said, this wasn't "teaching" in the traditional sense.

It was the deconstruction and transmission of "knowledge."

This involved the greatest secret of the Wizard Tribe.

In Wen Xu's memories, everything in the universe—whether it was a Transcendent Tier Pathway or the natural laws of existence—could be deconstructed into a single thing in the eyes of a Wizard.

That thing was knowledge.

This knowledge was composed of a fundamental ancient language, something only Wizards could touch upon and learn.

And the deconstruction and transmission of knowledge was the simplest and most universal method the Wizard race used to expand.

High-tier Wizards would deconstruct the things they knew and their own abilities into foundational fragments, which low-tier Wizards would then absorb.

The efficiency of this transmission and the final outcome depended on both the difficulty of the knowledge being passed down and the deconstruction techniques used by the high-tier Wizard.

Different Wizards might deconstruct the exact same subject into completely different combinations of fragments.

A truly powerful Wizard could deconstruct a concept into a process as natural as eating and drinking, allowing any Wizard who observed them to learn it rapidly.

Many of the abilities Yan Jing had displayed today were derived through this exact method.

This included the Freeze Frame Moment he had used during the battle earlier, as well as the Paintbrush he had just deconstructed and simulated with knowledge—Luo Sheng's brush, which allowed him to see a person's past.

Originally, that Paintbrush could only trace roots and origins when used under Luo Sheng's identity, but now, Yan Jing had completely analyzed it.

This was exactly why Yan Jing had been determined to acquire Wen Xu's identity.

This body was far more powerful than anyone could have imagined. The only reason its original owner couldn't perform similar feats was that he had suffered constant mental and physical torment for years, keeping his strength far too low.

Moreover, his consciousness had long been pushed to the brink of collapse.

By the time Yan Jing finished transmitting his knowledge of worldly wisdom, it was already late into the night.

The crowd sat cross-legged on the ground, slowly digesting the content they had just received. None of them showed the slightest intention of going to sleep.

Yan Jing called Wu Qiu over and asked her, "Have there been any newcomers to the tribe from the outside recently?"

"Yes, my Lord."

Wu Qiu kneeled on the ground, resting her forehead against the dirt.

After accepting his identity, the entire Wizard Tribe followed the same rule: unless Yan Jing gave the order, no one was allowed to look directly at his face.

To do so was considered an extreme act of disrespect toward a Deity.

"Over the past six months, three groups have arrived, totaling thirteen people. Eleven are still alive today."

"How many came in with this body of mine?"

"There were three."

"Were there any radicals among them?"

When Yan Jing asked this, Wu Qiu froze. She carefully pondered his meaning before whispering, "Do you mean..."

"The type who came in and immediately cursed you all out like I did, thinking you were too cowardly..."

"I'm sorry, my Lord. We were too useless..." Wu Qiu, assuming Yan Jing was scolding them again, immediately apologized in a low voice, her body trembling slightly.

Yan Jing sighed. "Just answer what I ask."

"Understood." Wu Qiu finally realized what he meant. She quickly racked her brains, and suddenly, she paused. It seemed she really had thought of someone.

"My Lord, there wasn't anyone like that in your group, but two people who arrived a month prior fit your description."

"Bring them to me," Yan Jing ordered.

"Yes, my Lord."

Soon, a rather young-looking man and woman were brought before him.

Unlike the other Wizards, as the pair stood before Yan Jing, their faces showed not only fear but also a faint, underlying sense of excitement.

"My Lord, you called for us."

The man was named Wu Ta. He had a pinched, ape-like face, and his skin was noticeably paler than the Wizards who lived in the Great Prison year-round.

Unable to help himself, he looked up at Yan Jing, his eyes burning with fanatical thrill.

But his fervor was distinctly different from that of the other Wizards. It secretly harbored a sense of greed and envy.

"Yes."

Yan Jing nodded, then looked at the woman beside him, named Wu Li. She was exhibiting much the same attitude.

Taking it all in, he spoke softly. "I would like to bestow an oracle upon you."

"Do you consent?"

"Well..."

The two of them reacted differently from the vast majority of the crowd. Instead of agreeing immediately, they actually hesitated.

Yan Jing's expression didn't change. "You can refuse, of course. But I hope you're prepared to accept the consequences."

"We... we..."

While Wu Ta was still wavering, Wu Li grabbed his hand and boldly answered, "We consent, my Lord."

"Very well."

Yan Jing nodded and began sketching their portraits.

For some reason, compared to the previous oracles they had witnessed, this process felt exceptionally long.

Only when the two were nearly drained of energy, their bodies trembling, did Yan Jing finally halt his right hand and retract his Brushstroke.

"I have seen your past."

Yan Jing said softly, "A pair of desperate lovers. You both possessed considerable talent since childhood, displaying an astonishing aptitude for knowledge deconstruction in your home village."

Hearing Yan Jing's praise, the two involuntarily puffed out their chests.

After all, in their eyes, they were nothing like these idiots around them.

And Yan Jing had most likely summoned them to the front because he recognized and admired their potential.

Yan Jing continued, "Unfortunately, Wizard cultivation requires resources. You lacked them, so you targeted your own families. Since they couldn't afford to send you to the Wizard Alliance, you planned to steal your family's belongings and pawn them."

"First, you set your sights on Wu Ta's mother. It was said she had a chest of dowry from when she got married."

"But you didn't expect to be caught by her while making your move..."

"And then..."

"You killed Wu Ta's mother."

Hearing their dark history dug up, the two merely looked somewhat embarrassed. There was no sign of true remorse on their faces.

"It was an accident," Wu Li spoke up. "His mom mistook us for thieves, so—"

Before she could finish, Yan Jing interrupted, "After Wu Ta's mother died, you two decided you had no choice but to keep going down that dark path. You ransacked the house but failed to find the supposed dowry."

"With no money to run away, it was a dead end. So, you went to Wu Li's house next."

"Wu Li's parents had left the village long ago. The only one there was her elderly grandmother..."

Yan Jing paused, as if skipping over a section of the story. "Exchanging the gold bracelets for money, you went to the big city."

"Unfortunately, it wasn't as wonderful as you had imagined."

"The steep cost of living drove you to run honey trap scams..."

"During one of these honey trap scams, you discovered the man you'd hooked was an illegitimate son of a Wizard Clan who looked remarkably like Wu Ta. And so..."

"Relying on Wu Ta's new identity, you amassed wealth, bullied men and women alike, and thrived for quite a while."

"If it hadn't been for Wu Ta wanting to marry another woman and attempting to ditch you in the end, you probably still wouldn't have been caught."

Saying this, Yan Jing raised his eyes to look at the two and murmured, "You really are different from these idiots."

"You know how to kill. You possess both courage and cunning."

The pair had initially been nervous at Yan Jing's cold tone, but hearing his praise, they lit up with joy. "Thank you, my Lord! Thank you!"

Wu Li was even bolder. Taking a step forward, she said softly, "My Lord, I have always wanted to do something for you, but..."

"Rest assured, my Lord, I can definitely serve you better than Wu Qiu."

Yan Jing's expression was an ambiguous half-smile. "You made two mistakes," he said softly.

"Do you know what they are?"

Hearing Yan Jing's words, Wu Li's heart lurched. She turned and tried to flee.

But the moment she spun around, her body was sliced cleanly in two at the waist.

"First, you lied to me. When I asked earlier whose crimes weren't severe enough to warrant the Great Prison, you two stood up."

Wu Ta was already trembling like a leaf. He had always been the type with wicked intentions but no real guts; otherwise, Wu Li wouldn't have been the one leading everything.

Yan Jing wasted no more words on him. With a light point of his finger, a bloody hole was pierced straight through the center of Wu Ta's forehead.

The rapidly cooling corpse staggered and collapsed to the ground.

All that remained was Yan Jing's soft sigh: "Second, you killed Wen Xu."

"That is why I came in."