98: Chapter 99 The Person Who Takes Over

As soon as the gray-red light pattern deep within the Main Stele lit up, the Frontline Fire Platform sank sharply by an inch. The master control flag whipped in the wind, but the black-red fire line beneath it suddenly froze—instead of expanding outward, it was as if it had been tightly gripped by an invisible hand from deep within the Main Stele, pulling all six nodes taut.

The master control loop, formed by connecting the six points—Grey Stele Post, Outer Fire Well, Rift Gate Fire Bridge, West Outer Ring Blood Road, Main Stele West Anchor, and Frontline Fire Hall—burned a narrow, faint shadow of an old gate beneath Lu Jin's feet.

Qiao Ye had just caught his breath, but immediately stood up, propping himself on his shield, and cursed hoarsely, "Again?"

Wen Zhao clipped the Line-Marking Nail back into his leather pouch, his expression so dark it seemed ready to drip water. "It's not an external team."

Wu Fu, clutching the unrepaired Night Wing, felt the fine hairs behind her ears stand on end. "There is fire below, and it's pulling our flag!"

Grey Pupil raised his hand and struck his staff against the edge of the Fire Platform. The Sacrificial Fire at the head of the staff crashed down, stabilizing the edge of the thin sheet. "The inner ring gate is recognizing the master control."

Instructor Han Tiecheng's projection had not yet dissipated. He glanced at the gate shadow, his voice harder than cold iron. "Do not touch the gate."

Lu Jin looked up, dark flames burning in his black eyes. "Not entering?"

"Even if we enter, now is not the time." Instructor Han Tiecheng's tone allowed no room for argument. "The master control authority has just been established, the Outer Gods Fine Bone has not been handed over, and the Pei Family's school flag is still stuck right there. If you smash open the inner ring gate now, the Military Court, the Temple, and the great families will immediately pin all the blame on you."

Qiao Ye frowned. "Then what do we do? It's lit up right in our faces!"

Instructor Han Tiecheng's gaze locked directly onto Lu Jin. "Check the records."

Lu Jin did not answer immediately. He knew clearly in his heart—Instructor Han Tiecheng was not talking about ordinary battle records. The Three-Survey Fire Slip, the Inspector Seal Type Seven live buckle, the warning "Do not trust the collection order," and the Grey Fire Well thin sheet—all these things were pressed into his Frontline Fire Platform. The master control authority was not meant to let him rush in, but rather to give him a pretext to pry open the old sealed pages.

The next second, Lu Jin raised his hand, and black fire landed precisely on the tail of the master control flag. His voice was cold and firm. "Check the post-battle collection records for the No. 7 Rift Zone."

As his voice fell, the fire patterns on the western forecourt of the Main Stele dimmed in unison! Pei Chengxu suddenly looked up, the Temple Inspector turned sharply, and the Black-Armored Recorder's pen froze in mid-air. Inside the Frontline Fire Platform, the text on the surface of the Three-Survey Fire Slip lit up once more—Do not trust the collection order.

As soon as those words emerged, the Inspector Seal Type Seven live buckle beside it turned gently, like an iron buckle that had been silent for many years, finally pried awake from the dead ashes.

The Temple Inspector immediately spoke up to block him. "Collection records do not fall under the purview of peripheral master control authority!"

Instructor Han Tiecheng didn't even lift his eyelids, his tone filled with mockery. "The Outer Gods Fine Bone appeared beside the Grey Fire Well thin sheet. The sheet is in Lu Jin's Fire Platform, and the six nodes are also under the control of his vanguard line. It is compliant for him to check the related sealed pages."

The Inspector's face darkened. "The old case involves post-battle containment. According to regulations, it can only be opened after Temple verification, Military Court review, and the avoidance of conflict of interest by the great families!"

"By the time you finish saying that, the Grey Fire Well could grow legs and run away itself." Instructor Han Tiecheng sneered, took a step forward, and the iron fire order in his projection pressed directly above the Fire Platform, almost touching the black-gray thin sheet. "In the name of the No. 7 Rift Zone Military Court garrison, I authorize him to check the peripheral related sealed pages!"

The Inspector still wanted to argue, but Instructor Han Tiecheng pointed to the Sealing Gray Box. "If you want to verify the Outer Gods Fine Bone, you must first know how this fine bone managed to reach the edge of the Fire Platform. Blocking the record check is blocking the verification."

The Inspector's face turned ugly in an instant, but Pei Chengxu said indifferently, "Commander Han, rules are not just for show."

"And rules are not coffin lids either!" Instructor Han Tiecheng's tone was resonant, and the power of the iron fire order intensified.

Pei Chengxu stopped arguing and just stared at Lu Jin, his gaze as cold as ice. "Lu Jin, old cases are not battlefield nodes. Even if you have the master control, you may not be able to suppress what lies behind it."

Lu Jin pressed his hand onto the master control fire line. Black fire surged, and his tone was arrogant yet calm. "Then let the things behind it come out."

Boom—a low sound came from inside the Fire Platform. The fire lines at the six nodes suddenly retracted inward, and page after page of dark red sealing patterns floated up from beneath the ground of the Main Stele's western forecourt. These were not paper; they were old shadows pressed within the Main Stele's fire network for many years. The edges of every page were scorched black, containing not only Military Court battle records, Temple verification numbers, and great family joint seals, but also large swaths of blank space that had been scraped by knives.

Lu Jin stared at those blank spaces, the dark fire in his eyes burning brighter—scraped too clean, so clean that it seemed as if someone had long anticipated that one day, someone would hold the master control authority and come to flip through this page of old accounts.

Wen Zhao squatted by the Fire Platform, his fingertips flying as he quickly recorded the numbers of the floating sealed pages. "No. 7 Rift Zone, West Outer Ring post-battle containment, page thirty-seven." Flipping to a certain point, his fingers paused, and his voice sank. "Four pages are missing."

The Black-Armored Recorder immediately looked up, and Instructor Han Tiecheng ordered in a deep voice, "Read!"

Wen Zhao's voice was not loud, yet it clearly reached everyone present. "Page nine, Supplementary Marker Team withdrawal verification; page thirteen, Inspector Seal Type Seven verification; page twenty-one, Fire Cylinder return to storage; page thirty-two, collection order sub-page."

Qiao Ye cursed aloud on the spot. "The important ones are all gone?"

Grey Pupil stared at the edge of the sealed page, the tip of his staff lightly tapping the blank space. "They aren't gone; they've been covered up to a deeper level."

Lu Jin pressed his black fire directly onto it, but the blank page not only failed to light up, it sank downward, and a layer of cold white mirror light emerged from the bottom of the page, forcefully blocking his black fire.

Ning Yanqiu, who had been standing behind Lu Jin, furrowed her brows slightly, and the frost-white feather patterns behind the Master Crow's shoulders trembled slightly. "Cold Mirror Seal."

"The Ning Family's?" Lu Jin turned to look at her.

Ning Yanqiu did not answer immediately. She raised her hand, drawing the Cold Mirror Auxiliary Seal from her sleeve and shining it onto the blank page. As soon as the cold light landed, fine cracks immediately appeared on the blank page—those cracks did not spread out, but rather acted like a lock, tightly fastening from the inside.

Ning Yanqiu's fingertips turned slightly pale, and the Master Crow lowered its wings, emitting a faint warning sound. Lu Jin immediately raised his hand, pressing down on the mirror light she was trying to push forward. "Will it hurt you?"

"I can open it a little." Ning Yanqiu stared at the lock. "But my current Auxiliary Seal is incomplete; forcing it will cause it to crack."

Lu Jin did not let go, his tone brooking no argument. "Then don't force it."

Pei Chengxu spoke slowly from the side, his tone filled with provocation. "The Cold Mirror Seal belongs to the old records of the Ning Family. Lu Jin, are you going to let Ning Yanqiu pry open her own family's mirror vault in public?"

Ning Yanqiu looked up, her tone flat yet sharp. "This is not a mirror vault."

"If you use a Ning Family seal, it's a Ning Family record." Pei Chengxu did not yield an inch.

"If you use fire to bury someone, is it all considered a cremation?" Ning Yanqiu's words left Pei Chengxu speechless.

Qiao Ye grinned. "That was a good one!"

Pei Chengxu's face darkened instantly, and the cold white mirror light rose again. Ning Yanqiu's Auxiliary Seal was forced to emit a faint sound—it wasn't her prying the lock; the lock was biting back at her! Lu Jin's black fire swirled, instantly protecting the edge of the Auxiliary Seal, forcefully blocking that backlash.

Just then, a narrow mirror shadow suddenly fell above the western forecourt of the Main Stele. It had no killing intent, no sharpness, like a silver label pulled from a filing cabinet, steadily pinning itself to the edge of the sealed page. All the biting sounds of the Cold Mirror instantly fell silent.

A cool, aloof woman's voice came from the mirror shadow. "Yanqiu, release your right hand by an inch."

Ning Yanqiu looked up, the coldness on her face softening for the first time. "Aunt Huaixue."

In the mirror shadow, a figure gradually became clear—wearing a gray-white long robe, no heavy armor, no divine fire, cuffs tightened, a string of old silver keys hanging at her waist, holding a scroll of mirror records in her hand. She stood there as if she were in a quiet internal affairs room, but the moment she appeared, both Pei Chengxu and the Inspector instantly fell silent.

Ning Family garrison internal affairs layer, Ning Huaixue—Ning Zhaochuan's elder sister, the person who held a portion of the old Cold Mirror records and the mirror vault key seals.

Instructor Han Tiecheng narrowed his eyes. "Someone from the Ning Family?"

Ning Huaixue nodded slightly, her tone calm yet weighty. "Ning Family garrison internal affairs, Ning Huaixue. I have come only to deliver the index for the old records, not to participate in battlefield merit assessment."

The Temple Inspector immediately spoke up. "Ning Family mirror vault key seals must not be used on Military Court sealed pages without authorization!"

Ning Huaixue looked at him, her tone carrying a rhetorical question. "I am delivering the unlocking key seal for the Ning Family's old seal. Whoever covered the Military Court sealed page with the Cold Mirror Seal should be the one to explain first."

The Inspector was instantly speechless. Pei Chengxu spoke again. "Ning Huaixue, are you sure you want to drag the Ning Family into this page of old accounts?"

Ning Huaixue did not look at him, her gaze landing on the Auxiliary Seal on Ning Yanqiu's wrist. "The Ning Family has already been inside for a long time."

Ning Yanqiu gripped the Auxiliary Seal, her knuckles tense. Ning Huaixue lowered her voice. "On the battlefield, use official titles."

"Internal Affairs Ning." Ning Yanqiu replied in a low voice.

Ning Huaixue nodded. "Keep your hand steady; now is not the time for you to pry open the entire mirror vault."

As her voice fell, a half-finger-long silver-white key seal fell from the mirror shadow—it did not fly toward Ning Yanqiu, but landed on the master control fire line beneath Lu Jin's feet. As the fire line burned, an old character emerged on the surface of the key seal: Zhao.

Ning Yanqiu's eyes flickered, and Lu Jin also saw it clearly—it was the "Zhao" of Ning Zhaochuan, not her own name.

"This key seal is the secondary key mark that Ning Zhaochuan left in the mirror vault back then." Ning Huaixue said. "The primary key is not in my hands, but the secondary key can prove that this Cold Mirror Seal was not added by the Ning Family in recent years."

Lu Jin was straightforward. "How far can it open?"

"It can open enough to reveal the original number on the sealed page. It is enough for you to check the executor of the collection order, but not enough for you to move the entire set of old records away."

Qiao Ye whispered. "That's enough! Catch the person first!"

Wen Zhao, however, was more cautious. "Whose account is the key seal recorded on?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Ning Huaixue looked at him, a trace of approval flashing in her eyes. "Record it on mine." She looked at Lu Jin again. "I will bear the Ning Family's account; for the Lu Family's account, you must collect it yourself."

Lu Jin was silent for a half-breath, then raised his hand to press onto the key seal, his words heavy as a thousand pounds. "Open!"

Black-red master control fire, cold white Cold Mirror Auxiliary Seal, silver-white mirror vault key seal—three forces landed simultaneously on the scorched sealed page. The sealed page did not explode; it just slowly flipped upward, like an old piece of paper pressed at the bottom of a box for many years, finally revealing its corner.

When the first line of text emerged, several Black-Armored Recorders simultaneously gasped—No. 7 Rift Zone post-battle collection order, sub-page Yi-Three. On the edge of the sealed page, there was also an dark buckle pressed down: Inspector Seal Type Seven.

Lu Jin stared at that dark buckle, his eyes suddenly narrowing—the live buckle from the old fire cylinder and the dark buckle on this page had patterns that matched perfectly. It wasn't just similar; they were struck from the same lock!

Grey Pupil whispered. "The Fire Cylinder was not dropped by mistake."

"It was evidence removed from this page by someone." Lu Jin's tone was certain.

The sealed page continued to light up, text emerging line by line, and then being swallowed by old ash line by line. Wen Zhao watched while using the red-hot Line-Marking Nail to quickly press the images: "Collection targets: No. 7 Rift Zone West Lower Layer Supplementary Marker Team remnants; three accompanying Fire Cylinders; one Royal Court old lock thin sheet; Inspector Seal Type Seven, pending review."

Reading to this point, his voice paused. Qiao Ye was anxious. "Continue!"

"The part below has been burned through." Wen Zhao looked up, his head covered in cold sweat.

Lu Jin reached out, his black fire pressing directly onto the burned-through spot, and old fire drilled in from his fingertips—deep within the sealed page, something responded gently. It was not the familiar fire of his father, but colder, harder, carrying the smell of ash from the post-battle containment. A signature floated halfway up from the burned-through spot: Order Receiver, Duan Jun.

As soon as the name appeared, Instructor Han Tiecheng's projection paused noticeably. Lu Jin turned to look at him. "You know him?"

Instructor Han Tiecheng frowned, as if recalling an old roster. "An old captain of the Military Court's Battle Collection Division. He died on the roster—three years after the old line of the No. 7 Rift Zone collapsed, the Battle Collection Division reported battle losses, and Duan Jun was among them."

"His living registry has not been canceled." Ning Huaixue suddenly spoke, and everyone looked over instantly. She flipped open the mirror record scroll in her hand; on the page, there was only a tiny red fire seal. "The Ning Family's mirror vault does not manage Military Court living registries, but the old Cold Mirror records will keep the field fire seals of those who have been in contact with the Advance Marker Camp. The name Duan Jun still has Grey Fire supply seal echoes within the last three months."

Qiao Ye's eyes lit up. "He's still alive?"

"At least his Divine Fire registry is still alive." Ning Huaixue said.

Grey Pupil nodded. "Divine Fire registries are not easily forged."

"Even if it could be forged, someone would have to feed fire for him, so it still counts as a live line." Wu Fu added.

Instructor Han Tiecheng cursed, his voice sounding like iron scraping against stone. "Very well! A captain who died on the roster has been living until now, holding a Grey Fire supply seal!"

Lu Jin stared at the two characters "Duan Jun," his expression unchanged. He showed neither wild joy nor demand for his whereabouts, instead looking toward the bottom of the sealed page: "My father's column."

As soon as he spoke, the sealed page suddenly dimmed, as if being pulled shut by an old seal from deep within. Ning Huaixue's mirror projection flickered slightly: "Lu Jin, don't just stare at the name, look at the page edge."

Lu Jin immediately looked at the corner of the sealed page—there was a marginal note as thin as a scratch, the characters extremely small. It wasn't in the main text, appearing as if someone back then hadn't dared to write it into the main file and had hastily carved it before the sealed page was closed: After the West Lower Layer was recovered, the Supplementary Marker Team's main fire wasn't fully verified. The fire seeds under Observer Lu Chenyuan were escorted separately.

The lower half-line was burned away. The black fire in Lu Jin's eyes jumped violently, and the Frontline Fire Platform trembled in response. The fire patterns on the seven layers of the Multi-Nest Layer Divine Domain tightened simultaneously! Qiao Ye's expression changed abruptly, and Wen Zhao also stopped his pen.

Ning Yanqiu did not try to persuade him, merely pushing the Cold Mirror Auxiliary Seal forward by half an inch, using its cold light to press down on the half-line of charred, gray edge. The gray edge contained no complete characters, only a few remaining strokes: 'Secondary,' 'Not Entered,' 'Inner Ring.'

Lu Jin stared for a long time. Each remaining stroke was like a nail driven into his palm—after his father went missing, there was a second record! The collection order wasn't a closure; it was moving the person, fire seeds, evidence, and responsibility all into a deeper place.

Pei Chengxu spoke up at the right moment, his tone mocking: "Fragmented characters cannot serve as evidence. Half a page of old notes, a few burn marks, a deceased captain—if you dare to charge into the Inner Ring, you will only be bitten back."

"I have a name." Lu Jin's tone was calm, yet carried an unquestionable confidence.

"Names can also be framed."

"Then I'll find the person and ask."

Pei Chengxu looked at him for a moment: "You think you can find him?"

Lu Jin did not smile, his black eyes filled with certainty: "Since he still receives Grey Fire, he must have a Fire Well."

Grey Pupil nodded: "Fire Wells can be tracked."

"Where does the fire supply signature come from? Can the nest line be bitten?" Wu Fu's eyes lit up.

"Don't bite randomly!" Wen Zhao immediately stopped her, "The Grey Fire supply signature is connected to the Military Court's old lines. If you touch the wrong one, the entire Fire Platform will be counter-investigated."

Wu Fu curled her lip: "Then let someone who knows how to bite do it." As she spoke, she looked at Lu Jin.

Lu Jin didn't give an order immediately, turning his head to look at Ning Huaixue: "Can the Mirror Repository still track the signature?"

"No." Ning Huaixue was crisp and decisive, "Passing this key seal has already crossed the line. To track further would be the Ning Family's Internal Affairs Layer openly investigating the Military Court's active registers."

Ning Yanqiu looked at her: "You will have trouble."

"There has always been trouble; it was just locked in a cabinet before." Ning Huaixue paused and looked at Ning Yanqiu, "Yanqiu, don't return the Cold Mirror Auxiliary Seal in your hand to the Mirror Repository—it wasn't raised by the Ning Family's current Mirror Repository. It connects to the Royal Court's old workshop's main mirror base. When you reach the Inner Ring, it will recognize older seals."

Ning Yanqiu looked down at her cuff. Under the reflection of the gray-red door crack, the auxiliary seal revealed a circle of tiny, crafted tooth marks—it wasn't a Ning Family direct-line patrol mirror seal, but rather looked like a marker from the old craftsmen under the bridge.

Lu Jin looked at those tooth marks, suddenly recalling the rat-shaped craftsman seal beneath the Grey Stele Post—the Ning Family's Cold Mirror old lines, the Royal Court workshop, his father's Supplementary Marker Team, the Inner Ring Grey Fire Well. These threads stretched from all directions, twisting tightly together in the front field of the Main Stele in the No. 7 Rift Zone.

"Duan Jun is only the first active thread; don't treat him as the end." Ning Huaixue reminded him.

Han Tiecheng snorted: "You Ning Family Internal Affairs people, do you all love leaving half your sentences unsaid?"

"It is not I who leaves half unsaid." Ning Huaixue flipped open the mirror book, "I only pass out the half that can be passed out."

As soon as she finished speaking, the sealed page suddenly turned scorching hot. The gray-red door crack deep within the Main Stele widened, and a dark red forbidden-reading seal flew out from the crack, slamming down onto the sealed page!

"Inner Ring Forbidden Seal!" The Black-Armored Recorder's expression changed drastically.

Han Tiecheng's iron fire order immediately pressed down, and Ning Huaixue's Mirror Repository key seal simultaneously pushed up—the two seals collided. There was no loud noise, only a muffled sound of paper tearing. The sealed page split down the middle, and the handwriting on the collection order began to burn!

"Save the name!" Wen Zhao gritted his teeth, the Line-Marking Nail pressing down three shadows in succession.

Qiao Ye raised his shield to block in front of the Fire Platform, refusing to retreat even though he knew he couldn't block such an archive-level forbidden seal: "Who is burning the page?"

The Sacrificial Fire in Grey Pupil's eyes churned: "It's not a person standing here burning it; it's behind that door."

Pei Chengxu and the inspector remained motionless; their silence was the best answer.

Lu Jin no longer hesitated, driving the master control fire line fiercely into the sealed page—the seven layers of the Multi-Nest Layer Divine Domain supplied fire simultaneously. The Main Nest layer stabilized the central axis, the Priest layer pressed against the forbidden seal, the Craft Nest Layer mended the cracks, the Sky-Sweep layer had the Night Wing cast shadows to fill in the line numbers, the Post Station battle map layer locked the position, the Outer Fire Well layer gathered the fire, and the Frontline Sub-Nest layer sent fine marking lines.

This was not a battle, yet it was more dangerous than capturing a flag—if you lose a flag capture, you can fight again, but once this page burns, the old case will sink completely, and there will never be a day to overturn it.

Lu Jin's black fire pressed to the deepest point, and the hidden catch of the Inspector Seal A-7 inside the sealed page was finally forced to flip over halfway. On the back of the hidden catch, a line of small characters clearly emerged: Seat A-7, Temporary Execution, Duan Jun, Currently Assigned to Grey Fire Well Field Suppression.

Wen Zhao pressed these lines into the Line-Marking Nail in one breath. After seeing them, Han Tiecheng's expression turned extremely ugly: "Reported dead in the register, active file assigned to the well—this is no ordinary concealment of a person!"

Ning Huaixue's mirror projection was already fading to the point of dissipation, clearly unable to hold on much longer. Ning Yanqiu stepped forward: "I will take your key seal."

"No." Ning Huaixue immediately refused, "If you take it, the Ning Family can push this matter as you privately prying open the Mirror Repository on the front line. I have stayed in the Internal Affairs Layer for so long not to let a junior carry my debt."

Ning Yanqiu's lips were pressed tight, stubbornly refusing to retreat even half a step.

"Internal Affairs Officer Ning." Lu Jin suddenly spoke, looking at Ning Huaixue, "Record the debt under your name for now; I will find the person."

Ning Huaixue looked at him for two breaths, her tone solemn: "Lu Jin, after you get the name, don't rush to hand over the knife. For Duan Jun to live until now, there must be someone behind him who continues his fire—the old case is sealed so tightly not because one or two people are bold, but because each person only manages a small section, and every section looks compliant."

She raised her hand to point at the burning sealed page: "The Battle Collection Division manages the collection, the Temple manages the side verification, the noble families manage the co-sealing, the Military Court manages the review, and the Mirror Repository manages the archiving. Everyone can say they followed the rules. Once the person is gone, the fire is gone, and the evidence is gone, the responsibility is gone too."

Lu Jin stared at the sealed page, his tone firm: "That is why I must find the living person first."

"Correct." Ning Huaixue nodded, "Living people get scared. Once they are scared, they will leave new traces."

The fire on the sealed page grew more intense, and fine cracks appeared on Ning Huaixue's key seal. Lu Jin looked at Wen Zhao: "Is it enough?"

"The name, old position, and current Fire Well assignment are all pressed down; just the bottom line is missing!" Wen Zhao was covered in cold sweat, the Line-Marking Nail in his hand already glowing red from the heat.

Lu Jin didn't say more, pulling out a wisp of black fire and pressing it fiercely into the very bottom of the sealed page. As soon as the fire entered, a low echo came from deep within the Main Stele, like someone at the bottom of a well hitting the well wall with an iron chain. The Grey Fire Well thin sheet suddenly lit up, and the well diagram on the black-gray sheet was fully displayed before everyone for the first time—the well walls were grayish-white, the well core black-red, and three Royal Court old locks pressed on the well mouth. On the edge of one of the locks, there was actually a small piece of Cold Mirror Workshop tooth marks.

Ning Yanqiu's auxiliary seal lit up in response. Ning Huaixue looked at those tooth marks and whispered: "So it was here."

"What?" Ning Yanqiu pressed.

Ning Huaixue did not answer, merely pressing all the remaining mirror light toward the bottom of the sealed page. Lu Jin's black fire followed closely behind, the fire and mirror light sandwiching that nearly invisible old annotation.

"Don't burn your hand to waste!" Qiao Ye pressed down on Wen Zhao's shoulder.

Wen Zhao didn't even lift his head: "If this one is wasted, there's still the other one!"

Grey Pupil suddenly held his staff horizontally, the Sacrificial Fire burning in a circle around the old annotation, his voice low: "Respect the old fire, let it finish speaking."

That circle of Sacrificial Fire didn't compete for space or touch the mirror light, only protecting the residual ash around the old annotation. At the bottom of the sealed page, the charred corner finally curled up, revealing a line of half-fragmented characters—the first half of the line only had broken strokes, which Lu Jin managed to decipher as "Must not enter public battle evaluation," and the second half only had eight characters: Transferred to Inner Ring Grey Fire Well.

The Frontline Fire Platform fell into instant silence, even the sound of the master control flag suppressed and distanced. Lu Jin stared at those eight characters, instantly understanding—no wonder the Grey Fire Well thin sheet was hidden at the bottom of the old fire cylinder, no wonder the door crack deep within the Main Stele lit up after he acquired master control. This wasn't a resource point; it was the final destination where the collection order transferred people and evidence back then!

"Lu Jin." Han Tiecheng spoke in a deep voice.

"I see it." Lu Jin did not turn back, fire burning in his black eyes, determined to obtain it.

Ning Yanqiu withdrew her auxiliary seal but did not step back: "The Inner Ring gate is about to open."

"Yes." Lu Jin nodded.

Ning Huaixue's mirror projection was about to dissipate. She looked at Ning Yanqiu: "I will block your father's side for a while."

"Does he know?"

"He will guess, and he will be angry, but he owes you an opening that allows you to move forward."

Ning Yanqiu nodded gently, asking no more.

Before the mirror projection dispersed, Ning Huaixue looked at Lu Jin: "Do not write Duan Jun's name in full in the public battle records—let the living hear the wind first."

Han Tiecheng frowned: "You still want to hide it?"

"It's not hiding; it's leading the trail." After Ning Huaixue finished speaking, the mirror projection completely dissipated, and the silver-white key seal shattered into cold light, sent by the master control fire to be pressed beside the Cold Mirror Auxiliary Seal.

"When you need to use it, take it then." Lu Jin said to Ning Yanqiu.

"Aren't you afraid the Ning Family will come to you for it?"

"Coming to me is always easier than coming to you."

Ning Yanqiu looked at him for a moment: "Not necessarily."

Lu Jin finally tugged at the corner of his mouth, his tone arrogant: "Then let them line up."

Qiao Ye felt his teeth ache listening to them: "Can you guys talk about serious business, and not like you're splitting loot?"

Wu Fu said seriously: "Splitting loot is quite good. The key seal goes to her, the living person goes to us, and the Grey Fire Well goes to the Nest."

"The Grey Fire Well is not a feeding trough." Grey Pupil glanced at her coldly.

Wen Zhao put away the secret notes, his voice hollow: "Stop arguing. The Inner Ring Forbidden Seal burned the page just now; they already know we've flipped to here. There isn't much time."

Han Tiecheng nodded, looking at the gray-red door crack deep within the Main Stele—it was brighter and steadier than at the end of the previous chapter, like an eye that had been closed for many years, now having opened a crack.

Lu Jin pressed the three investigation fire slips, the Grey Fire Well thin sheet, the rubbing of the Inspector Seal A-7 hidden catch, and Duan Jun's secret notes all into the innermost layer of the Frontline Fire Platform. The Multi-Nest Layer Divine Domain contracted inward in response—it wasn't retreating, but twisting all the threads into a rope capable of breaking the door.

"Commander Han." Lu Jin looked up.

"Speak."

"I want to open the Inner Ring gate."

Han Tiecheng was silent for a moment, sweeping his gaze over Lu Jin and his group—the smoking Line-Marking Nail in Wen Zhao's hand, the cracked edge of Qiao Ye's shield, the unrepaired Night Wing in Wu Fu's arms, the fading Sacrificial Fire on the tip of Grey Pupil's staff, and the slightly moving auxiliary seal on Ning Yanqiu's cuff. This vanguard line that had just taken the outer master control had just pried a forbidden old case out of the Main Stele's archives.

"I'll give you half a quarter of an hour to organize the lines." Han Tiecheng commanded in a deep voice, "Half a quarter of an hour later, the master control fire will connect to the Inner Ring gate."

"Commander Han!" The Temple Inspector's expression changed drastically, wanting to stop him.

Han Tiecheng interrupted directly, his tone sharp: "If you want to conduct side verification, then watch along; if the Pei Family wants to assist in the investigation, watch along as well. But whoever dares to burn another page of the files, I will burn their order first!"

The whole place fell into dead silence; no one dared to say more.

Lu Jin looked down, staring at the sealed page that only had its bottom edge left—the name, old position, and active file had already been taken away by the secret notes. The remaining strokes under his father's name were only traces, and at the very bottom, only that half-burned annotation remained.

Transferred to Inner Ring Grey Fire Well.

Half a quarter of an hour later, it would be the Inner Ring gate, and the next truth of the old case.