Translator: AnubisTL
Through his "interrogation" of Otto—which was essentially Jieming's unilateral application of pressure, causing Otto to tremble and spill everything—Jieming gained a rough understanding of what had transpired in his territory over the past fifty years.
The reality aligned closely with his expectations.
Having been absent for so long—far exceeding half the lifespan of a mortal—many of the original servants had come to believe their god-like master had perished in some unknown realm.
The second and third generations, born after his departure, had never personally witnessed the terror and grandeur of wizards and their associated beings.
The legends of their "master" passed down through generations gradually lost their awe.
Over time, the human population within his semi-isolated territory had autonomously established a new social order.
After recounting these basic facts, Otto abandoned all pretense of kingly dignity, scrambling down from his throne to prostrate himself on the cold stone floor.
His forehead pressed against the icy flagstones, his body trembled violently with fear.
In a voice bordering on pleading, he defended himself:
"Great Master! I... I initially followed your instructions faithfully, managing the human population as you commanded! But later... as the population grew, the food you provided became woefully insufficient..."
"I... I was left with no choice but to take a risk. I led a group of people into the surrounding forests to find edible plant seeds and had them cultivated..."
"Over time... the newly born humans, grateful for the food, began to... began to revere me as their king..."
"Master, please believe me! I never intended to betray you! Please... please forgive my transgressions!"
Meanwhile, the soldiers who had finally recovered from Jieming's oppressive pressure and stormed into the grand hall were stunned to see their once-imposing king now kneeling on the ground like a lowly worm.
His mind went blank, utterly unable to comprehend the scene unfolding before him.
Jieming remained noncommittal to Otto's explanation.
He knew, of course, that the man was still concealing his true motives—the pleasure derived from wielding power, the tacit acceptance of his descendants forgetting his existence, and so on.
Yet, judging by the faint resonance of their soul contract, Otto's words were largely truthful.
Moreover, the results spoke for themselves: Otto had managed things reasonably well.
After all, Jieming had originally planned only a "business trip" of a little over ten years, intending to return once he'd accumulated enough Mortal Dust Qi.
Before leaving, he had prepared resources and arrangements based on a twenty-year timeframe.
Who could have foreseen the unexpected encounter with a "living plane"? This unforeseen task had kept him occupied for over fifty years.
This precinct was essentially Jieming's private territory.
Without his permission, no other wizard would dare intrude upon another's territory for investigation.
As a result, Jieming's territory had developed only through the most primitive natural processes.
When Jieming first took in these people, his plan was to subject them to multiple rounds of genetic and soul refinement, quickly transforming them into "qualified" humans of the wizard world.
Therefore, he didn't establish a racial contract binding the entire group. Instead, he only signed individual servant contracts with the first generation.
Given the passage of time and the absence of bloodline contract restraints, such changes in their descendants were to be expected.
However, two questions still lingered in Jieming's mind.
He brushed aside Otto's humble explanations and asked directly, "What's the situation with the elf and dwarven races? Why did the conflict erupt? I can understand the humans' short lifespans and rapid reproduction, allowing their descendants to escape the contract's constraints."
"But the elves and dwarves have long lifespans. The original first generation should still be alive, shouldn't they? What happened to them?"
When the elves and dwarves were mentioned, Otto's aged face became utterly blank, as if he knew little about the matter.
He cautiously raised his head and began to explain:
"Master, I don't know the exact details of what happened back then. All I know is that about twenty years ago, the elves and dwarves who managed the core of the Golden Garden suddenly announced that our human population had grown too large and was consuming too many resources. They declared they could no longer provide us with enough food."
"Left with no other choice, I led most of the surplus population out to cultivate our own land and seek a way to survive."
"But soon after we left, the elves and dwarves suddenly sealed the Golden Garden, trapping us completely outside!"
"Later... for reasons unknown, the elves and dwarves fell into conflict, erupting into fierce fighting. The dwarves then forcibly left the Golden Garden, taking their entire clan and a core 'resource converter' with them, establishing a stronghold in the mountains on the other side."
"Since then, the tensions between the three races have only deepened, leading to constant friction. And now... things have reached this state."
Jieming nodded expressionlessly after hearing Otto's explanation.
He had already suspected as much. The problem, it seemed, lay within the Golden Garden itself.
"Get up and follow me," Jieming commanded Otto.
Ignoring the petrified soldiers in the hall, he shot out of the fort and soared toward his Golden Garden at expressway speed.
Though aged, Otto was still a second-tier legendary warrior, capable of walking on air through his own power.
Now that he was certain Jieming wouldn't kill him, he breathed a sigh of relief and immediately mobilized his dwindling qi to take flight, trailing closely behind Jieming.
Soon, the Golden Garden, built around Jieming's official residence, came into view.
But the sight that greeted him made him sneer.
The entire garden was completely covered by several massive, emerald-green shields that shimmered like jade-glazed glass.
Natural energy flowed slowly across the shields, radiating a powerful repulsive force.
Behind the shield stood a group of elves, armed with magic wands crafted from vibrant flowers, guarding the barrier with unwavering vigilance.
Clad in armor woven from vines, their faces were etched with suspicion and hostility, clearly mistaking Jieming and Otto for intruders.
Jieming completely ignored their hostility.
Instead of demanding they lower the shield, he simply raised his hand.
Though he hadn't advanced in rank over the years, Jieming had never ceased accumulating knowledge during his fifty years on the Flamefrost Plane.
Especially in the late stage, due to a shortage of assistants, high-level wizards were forced to post missions directly in the camp, tasking logistics wizards with processing the massive amounts of data and theories they had recorded while studying the living plane.
Through this meticulous data processing, Jieming gained a deeper understanding of his own knowledge, and the high-tier insights he gleaned proved immensely beneficial.
As Mentor Clark had put it, Jieming now finally resembled a true "wizard," no longer just an "apprentice" who relied solely on brute mental power and violence to solve problems.
Fifty years ago, facing these layers of powerful natural energy shields, Jieming might have needed to unleash a massive energy blast to shatter them by force. But now...
He only needed to use the most basic analysis art.
Jieming extended his index finger and gently pressed it against the emerald-green shield.
Buzz—!
An invisible wave of mental power surged outward from his fingertip, spreading instantly.
Assisted by his formidable mental power and analysis art, the shield before him was rapidly dissected.
Its complex energy structure, flowing circuits, and energy nodes were instantly analyzed with perfect clarity.
Then, manipulating his mental power like the finest surgical scalpel, he effortlessly pried open several of the shield's weakest energy nodes.
Under the stunned gazes of the elves, the green shield beneath Jieming's hand shattered like a brittle, dried-out biscuit as he applied slight pressure.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
A series of crisp cracking sounds echoed as the multiple layers of powerful defensive shields instantly fractured into spiderweb-like cracks. With a final, thunderous crash, they shattered into countless green motes of light that dispersed into the air.
Behind the shattered shield, the dozen or so elf guards still tried to raise their wands in resistance, but suddenly, an urgent voice rang out from behind them:
"Stop! Show proper respect to the master!"
An elf rushed frantically from the depths of the garden, shouting orders at the guards as he ran.
When he saw Jieming's familiar yet terrifying face, the color drained instantly from the elf's face.
Without hesitation, he dropped to both knees and performed the highest honorific gesture of the elf race toward Jieming.
"Great Master! Please forgive me!"
Jieming recognized the elf who had hurried over.
He was quite familiar with this elf; he was one of the three administrators Jieming had appointed to oversee the elf race, named Alvin.
Alvin remained utterly deferential, burying his face in the grass, too afraid to look at Jieming's face.
However, the young elves he had forced to kneel beside him clearly felt differently.
Though they knelt out of respect for Alvin's authority, their movements were stiff and perfunctory.
Jieming could clearly see that one of the leading elves wore an expression of defiance and contempt.
Judging by Alvin's initial position when he arrived, the defiant elf was likely the leader of this guard squad.
(End of the Chapter)
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