Chapter 49 — Questions and Answers

Holding the intact crystal, Gao Yang pondered how he should test it. This involved his own secret, so he could not casually hand it to anyone to use. Although for the natives of this world, suddenly seeing an overhead view like a thermal image would probably reveal nothing to them, he feared that among the natives there might be someone of outstanding wisdom who could later deduce some truth from those overhead views.

Therefore he had to find someone sufficiently reliable, and make sure that even if the other party succeeded in the test on the spot, nothing uncontrollable would happen.

Actually, Gao Yang's worry here was somewhat superfluous. Given the worldview of the vast majority of people in this world, they simply had no concept of satellites becoming spirits, landing, and being reborn. If they rashly saw a map of the land through a crystal, the only thought they would probably have was merely "this thing is a divine artifact, it comes with a level-ten-thousand-plus Eagle Eye spell." But who could help it if Gao Yang's thinking had not yet finished merging tracks with this world?

So he mulled it over randomly for a while, then slowly raised his head and looked at Miss Amber, who was standing beside the desk and staring off into the distance.

The half-elf girl felt a sudden chill run down her body. She turned her head and saw Gao Yang's fixed, unblinking stare, and instantly goosebumps rose all over her: "You... what are you trying to do?! You've finally revealed your noble nature and are preparing to make a move on your own guard, haven't you..."

This one wouldn't do—disobedient, unreliable, and sly as a monkey. Let her run the test and who knew how much chaos she would stir up.

Gao Yang quickly dismissed the idea. Just then, someone came in to report that Rebecca, who had gone out to survey the land, had returned.

Gao Yang's face lit up with joy: "Have her come over right away!"

Rebecca soon came running hurriedly into the tent. She had been running around outside for most of the day, yet showed no sign of fatigue at all; instead she seemed full of spirit and vigor. She thought Gao Yang wanted her to report on the situation, so as soon as she came in she quickly spoke up: "Ancestor! You probably won't believe how much good land there is around here. I thought this side of the Dark Mountains was all barren, desolate, undevelopable land, but following the map you gave me, I actually found..."

"It's fine, that matter can wait," Gao Yang waved his hand to cut Rebecca off, and handed her the crystal in his hand. "There's something I need you to do."

He looked with a smile at the great-great-granddaughter before him, feeling that she was simply the other extreme from Amber.

Obedient, reliable, and with a head that had been caught in a door.

Rebecca blankly took the crystal Gao Yang handed her, not knowing what the Xuanmai Sect had in mind: "And then?"

Gao Yang thought carefully about how he himself had established contact with the satellite, and began directing her from the side: "Then you just imagine that somewhere very, very high up—higher than the clouds—there is something that can look down over the land. Now try hard to establish a connection with that thing."

Rebecca blinked: "Oh, oh, you mean the Eye of Mystery?"

The Eye of Mystery was a term used by mages. They believed that everyone gifted with the ability to master magic possessed a pair of eyes transcending their own bodies. These eyes floated above the whole world, steeped in the "Ethereal Sea," observing for the mage the essence of the world and the flow of magic. And the quality of these eyes determined each mage's talent in the course of study and advancement. Mages could not directly perceive these eyes, but the process in which their souls meditated in the subconscious was the process of communicating with these eyes.

What Gao Yang meant was of course not that: "No—somewhere higher than the Eye of Mystery, and far more concrete. Something that actually exists, a thing like a magical artifact."

Rebecca strained hard for a moment, then offered a faintly apologetic smile: "But I didn't see anything at all."

Gao Yang then tried several other methods of guidance, yet the crystal in Rebecca's hand showed not the slightest reaction.

It seemed, then, that the question of whether Duke Gao Yang Cecil had used a full-map cheat seven hundred years ago could not be confirmed after all.