Chapter 121: Probing and Acceptance

**Chapter 121: Probing and Acceptance**

The night draped “Dawn Manor,” the once-noble villa, in a veil of black velvet.

By day, Jie Ming, under the guise of “Jack,” leisurely roamed the bustling streets of Golden Harbor, gathering mortal aura amidst the crowds and issuing high-reward tasks for Hundred Flowers Dew.

When night fell, the villa became his true battlefield and place of cultivation.

The lavish rewards for Hundred Flowers Dew, coupled with “Jack’s” ruthless display at the Adventurer’s Guild, sent shockwaves through Golden Harbor’s underworld.

Some coveted the hefty gold coins, dismissing this “newcomer” as merely a brute.

Others, unable to swallow the humiliation of “Hammer” Carl’s public lesson, sought to reclaim their pride.

Driven by greed and resentment, people began testing “Dawn Manor” under the cover of night.

One evening, two thieves skilled in stealth slipped into the villa.

Their movements were agile, like specters in the dark, attempting to evade patrolling guards and potential magical traps.

Yet their actions were laid bare before Jie Ming’s eyes.

The garden, seemingly empty, was laced with a network of Dimlight Eyes.

Various models and types of Dimlight Eyes were intricately arranged, detecting the slightest changes in airflow or the faintest traces of life force, none escaping Jie Ming’s “discerning gaze.”

As the thieves infiltrated the garden, searching for a breach, Jie Ming snapped out of his research.

“Two rats,” he sneered.

For these greedy intruders disturbing his work, he showed no mercy.

“Well, I happen to need test subjects for studying the divine faith network. These two delivered themselves.”

His figure blurred, leaving only a faint afterimage.

One thief felt a chill at the back of his neck before his vision darkened, losing consciousness.

Jie Ming pinched his neck silently, dragging the unconscious thief into the shadows without a sound.

The second thief only then noticed his partner’s absence. His hair stood on end, and as he instinctively moved to sound an alarm, a surge of force struck from the side.

Jie Ming’s hand struck like a blade, hitting the thief’s spine. With a muffled groan, the thief collapsed in agony, unable to move.

“You came at the right time,” Jie Ming said coldly, looming over him, a faint glow flickering at his fingertips.

Terror filled the thief’s eyes, but his paralyzed body could do nothing.

Under the man’s fearful gaze, Jie Ming read his memories, identifying their backer.

With a flick of his finger, the two thieves’ bodies flew toward the basement entrance, while the ground and walls smoothed over, leaving no trace.

In the nights that followed, the probes grew bolder and more varied.

Some attempted to cast curses around the villa to weaken “Jack,” but the casters vanished without a trace before the curses could take hold.

A group of burly men tried to force their way through the gate, only to be blasted back by a single kick from Jie Ming behind the door, their bodies bursting into blood mist midair.

An adventuring party even used crude magical tools to deceive Jie Ming, but their shoddy tricks only enriched his stock of test subjects.

Within days, “Dawn Manor” gained infamy in Golden Harbor’s underworld.

Anyone who approached vanished like mud into the sea, as if the villa were a man-eating abyss.

The once-arrogant thugs reined in their claws, and adventurers eyeing the high rewards fell silent.

Golden Harbor’s nights grew quieter, all because of that villa.

Finally, this reputation, built on death, drew out the true “decision-maker.”

On a sunny morning, a squad of guards in fine armor escorted a portly merchant in silk robes, cautiously stopping before “Dawn Manor.”

The merchant, Lane, was a heavyweight in Golden Harbor’s underworld and the boss behind “Hammer” Carl.

He represented the interests of most local nobles, making him an ideal spokesperson.

Behind him, two guards dragged a battered “Hammer” Carl, looking like a dead dog.

Carl, with a deliberately broken leg, trembled, his face twisted with fear and humiliation, fresh wounds evident—a clear sign he’d been taught a harsh lesson.

“Lord Jack!” Lane halted three meters from the gate, his face wreathed in a humble smile.

He bowed deeply, his voice tinged with a faint tremor. “I, Lane, have brought this fool to apologize to you!”

He kicked Carl savagely, forcing the already pale man to contort further and kneel before Jie Ming. “This idiot dared to offend your majesty! He deserves death! Please, my lord, calm your anger and deal with him as you see fit!”

Lane’s tone was harsh yet laced with deference to Jie Ming.

Carl lay prostrate, trembling, not daring to utter a word.

He knew his life depended on this young man’s mood.

Jie Ming stood on the villa’s porch, sunlight casting shadows behind him, obscuring his expression.

He silently observed the scene, sensing Lane’s fear and Carl’s despair.

He understood this was the local nobles’ concession.

Having Lane apologize showed their sincerity without losing face, indirectly signaling their acceptance of Jie Ming’s “foreign power.”

The nobles’ message was clear: let’s keep the peace.

If he were “Jie Ming,” he’d teach these locals a lesson about “might makes right.”

But as “Jack,” there was no need to burn bridges.

Besides, a stable Golden Harbor suited his interests.

In truth, Jie Ming had orchestrated this from the start.

Though unspoken, he’d deliberately projected the image of a noble’s “black glove” since entering the city.

Compared to other adventurers, he naturally attracted more scrutiny.

But once his strength was confirmed, the nobles would back off and even treat him as one of their own.

It was an unspoken rule among nobles.

After all, a dragon doesn’t crush a local snake unless provoked—but only if the dragon is truly mighty, not a mere eel.

After numerous probes, both sides had established their “ecological niches.” For the sake of noble “dignity,” they wouldn’t push further.

“I accept your apology,” Jie Ming said flatly, his voice devoid of emotion. “As for this one, I don’t want to see him again.”

Lane exhaled in relief, as if a weight had lifted.

He knew this mysterious, powerful “Lord Jack” had accepted the apology, ending the matter.

Jie Ming gained “immunity from disturbance,” while they preserved their dignity.

Carl suffered, but at least he’d live.

“Thank you, my lord! Thank you for your mercy!” Lane bowed repeatedly, signaling his guards, who swiftly dragged Carl away, retreating from “Dawn Manor’s” domain.

From that moment, Golden Harbor’s underworld knew “Dawn Manor” and its master, “Jack,” were untouchable.

…

…

Inside “Dawn Manor,” after securing his “immunity,” Jie Ming rarely left except to collect Hundred Flowers Dew every few days, immersing himself in his research.

Unknowingly, two months had passed since his arrival in Golden Harbor.

The spacious basement, expanded by spatial techniques, had been transformed into a temporary laboratory, lined with runic carving tools, alchemical vessels, and testing equipment.

“Ugh… relying solely on biological experiments to study the divine faith network is far from enough!”

At the operating table, a disheveled Jie Ming looked up, sighing deeply.

“I really want to capture a deity for research… Damn it! If I’d known, I’d have gone easier on that Blood Angel.”

After two months studying the divine faith network, Jie Ming increasingly understood why wizards coveted deities.

They were veritable treasures of the wizarding world.

Each deity embodied the essence of a plane’s rules, representing over eighty percent of its total value.

Even with crude equipment and limited materials, studying the divine faith network in this plane had yielded immense insights in just two months.

The research could be broken into subtopics: energy transmission, information transmission, energy conversion, and more.

“I’ve only scratched the surface of the energy transmission system, but even so, applying these findings to myself could boost my Great Radiance Form by over thirty percent… Damn! I want to capture a deity even more now!”

Such yields in such a crude setup made Jie Ming yearn for what he could achieve with a real deity on his operating table.

“Sigh… I’m just daydreaming with my current strength.”

After indulging in fantasies, Jie Ming returned to reality.

With a sigh, he waved his hand, cleaning the chaotic experiment table, and shuffled out of the basement.