The Oracle-grade experts who had just arrived were furious.

The Oracle Hall held a position of supreme honor within the Eternal Empire. It was one of the pillars supporting the dynasty and the gathering place of its greatest cultivators. No one dared create disorder inside its sacred grounds, much less attack one of its members.

Yet Daniel had just wounded an Oracle-grade expert in front of them.

Daniel faced their anger with open disdain.

"The Oracle Hall calls itself a sacred institution, yet the first thing it does to a newly appointed inspector is arrange such a shameless trap. If this matter becomes public, will the hall still have the dignity to call itself holy?"

His gaze sharpened.

"What now? Do the rest of you intend to arrest me?"

One expert’s face turned dark with rage.

"You attacked a member of the Oracle Hall. Why shouldn’t we seize you? I do not care who you serve. Anyone who harms one of our experts must answer to the hall. Even an imperial prince would be judged, much less a minor sixth-rank official like you."

Daniel calmly took out a crystal sphere.

It was an image-recording artifact capable of preserving everything that had occurred around it.

"Is that so? Then what will happen if I reveal this recording to the entire empire?"

A cold laugh escaped him.

"High-stage Oracle-grade experts can reverse spacetime and observe the truth directly. They will know exactly what happened here. When that moment comes, who will be judged?"

Daniel stepped forward.

"Or perhaps I should ask a different question. Who ordered you to create this incident and damage the reputation of the Oracle Hall? Are you still certain you want to take me away?"

The experts fell silent.

Daniel had reversed the situation with a few questions. They had acted according to a plan and knew they possessed no legal or moral advantage. Their only accusation was that Daniel had genuinely wounded the man on the floor, but the attack had occurred only after an obvious attempt to frame him.

If the dispute reached the upper levels of the Oracle Hall, a powerful expert could reconstruct every moment through spacetime. The truth would be impossible to hide.

The group began communicating through Divine Sense.

"What should we do? His argument is difficult to refute. If this becomes a major investigation, the high-stage experts will discover everything immediately."

"Are we really going to fight him to the end over this? It does not seem worthwhile."

"We should stop here. Continuing will only expose the people behind us."

They reached an agreement quickly.

Without another word, they helped the injured low-stage Oracle-grade expert to his feet. Before leaving, they glared at Daniel, but their retreat resembled that of defeated dogs.

Daniel had predicted the outcome correctly. If the incident expanded, the Oracle Hall itself would lose prestige, while the conspirators would face severe punishment for abusing its name.

Elsewhere in the secret realm, the confrontation was being observed.

Inside a secluded cultivation residence, a noble young man stood before a wall of light. The scene of Daniel intimidating the Oracle-grade experts played across its surface.

Beside the young man stood a masked powerhouse.

Prince Lucian waved his hand and erased the image.

"Teacher Luen, what do you think?"

Luen’s voice was low and thoughtful.

"Whatever his true combat strength may be, his intelligence is no weaker than mine. I cannot determine which future era produced such a figure."

Lucian smiled bitterly, envy visible in his eyes.

"Dorek truly possesses extraordinary luck. He somehow obtained the assistance of a man like this."

He began listing Daniel’s achievements.

"Daniel brought Dorek safely back to the Imperial City and placed him near the center of power. He established contact with the Fated Human Race and secured their support. He planned the restaurant incident that brought Dorek directly into Father’s sight. Now he has single-handedly suppressed the Tribulation-Ash Army of the Heavenly River Starfield."

Lucian sighed.

"Every action proves his ability. His importance to Dorek is almost equal to your importance to me."

Luen shook his head.

"The high-stage Oracle-grade realm-crossers who descended into this era are all suppressed by the local Great Dao. We can display only a fraction of our true power. Even under those conditions, Daniel has performed extraordinarily well."

He paused.

"To eliminate the Tribulation-Ash Army alone would require a substantial price even from me."

Lucian’s expression became grave.

"If he continues strengthening Dorek’s faction, they will become one of our greatest rivals. How should we deal with them?"

Luen gave a helpless smile.

"Honestly, I have not found a reliable method. Instead of concentrating upon eliminating Dorek and Daniel, we should increase our own foundations. Only when our faction forms an unstoppable trend will we cease fearing individual experts."

He explained his reasoning carefully.

"Daniel and Dorek do not make obvious mistakes. They do not merely survive crises; they transform danger into profit. The more schemes we launch against them, the more opportunities we create for ourselves to fail. A direct confrontation would benefit other princes."

Luen turned toward Lucian.

"For now, improving your strength is the correct path. Alvin has already brought much of the Holy See under his influence, while Dorek has begun penetrating it through his own network. We can imitate them, recruit powerful officials, and expand our control instead of wasting resources on reckless attacks."

Meanwhile, Daniel continued deeper into the Oracle Hall.

After intimidating the conspirators, he followed the mountain path without further obstruction.

Then space around him suddenly reversed.

The hall vanished.

In the next instant, Daniel found himself standing in a vast wilderness filled with life. Spiritual beasts ran among green hills. Rare herbs and divine plants swayed beneath a gentle wind. White clouds crossed a clear blue sky, and a faint fragrance filled the air.

Before him floated an enormous transparent chessboard.

Two forces occupied it.

One represented tribulation ash. The other represented living beings.

The Tribulation-Ash side controlled most of the board. The living side had been pushed to the edge and was only a few moves away from complete corruption and defeat.

It was now the living side’s turn.

Daniel did not immediately study the pieces. He focused upon the world around him.

"Where is this?"

He had been inside the Oracle Hall only a moment earlier.

Golden light flashed through his eyes as he examined the laws of the region.

Soon, he saw the truth.

"This entire place is an illusion."

The illusion was far beyond ordinary Sacred Arts. Only a high-stage Oracle-grade powerhouse of at least T7 could have created such a complete false world.

Daniel looked toward the chessboard again.

Who within the Oracle Hall possessed both the power and authority to bring him here without warning?

The answer was already beginning to form in his mind.