Dan Lei let Jing Yuan enter first, and Jing Yuan did not stand on ceremony. He strode straight into the interrogation room.
After they took their seats, Jing Yuan did not waste any time either. He got straight to the point.
"Although we already know each other, this is still our first formal meeting, so I'll introduce myself. I'm Jing Yuan, the current General of Luofu.
"Dan Lei, regarding whether you can salvage memories on Luofu after becoming a Memokeeper, I'd like to hear your thoughts first."
Dan Lei knew that Jing Yuan had surely already discussed his problem with the Ten Lords' Commission. They had probably come up with several solutions already, and now they were waiting to see how he performed before deciding which one to implement.
Since they had reached the stage of bargaining over terms, Dan Lei did not hold back. He began by demanding the solution most favorable to himself.
"General, as for my thoughts, naturally, I think it should be enough to register it.
"I have no interest in investigating Luofu's secrets. Besides, salvaging memories from the Sea of Memories requires delving deep into Memoria, and what you pull out is entirely a matter of luck. The randomness is extremely high.
"The chances of uncovering Luofu's secrets are probably even lower than the odds of winning the grand prize in the IPC's Cosmic Grand Lottery.
"That's why Memokeepers prefer to target a specific person's memories directly instead of randomly fishing around in the Sea of Memories without a purpose.
"Besides, Luofu isn't Penacony. Entering the Sea of Memories is actually quite troublesome here, so there's no way I could salvage memories very often."
Everything Dan Lei said here was still the truth. He genuinely had no interest in investigating Luofu's secrets, because he already knew many of them.
As for the Cosmic Grand Lottery, Luofu had not truly closed itself off from the rest of the universe. A major scandal involving the IPC like that had long since spread through various channels.
After all, Borris Meli, the spokesperson for that lottery ticket, had died under mysterious circumstances. The grand prize was supposedly redeemed, but only the IPC itself knew whether anyone had actually received it.
The Luofu authorities were also happy to have their citizens remain wary of the IPC to prevent its infiltration. As a result, the scandal became common knowledge, and all of Luofu's current lottery grand prizes had to be publicly awarded.
Finally, Dan Lei's actual frequency of salvaging memories was zero. Saying that he could not do it very often was naturally the absolute truth.
A statement that omitted key information while remaining completely truthful would leave no flaw for even someone as meticulous as Jing Yuan to find. Thus, he could only emphasize the most crucial issue.
"Dan Lei, I naturally believe that you have no intention of investigating Luofu's secrets. After all, anyone who wanted to steal classified information would go to the archives, wouldn't they? Who would instead find an empty plot of land and start digging, hoping to uncover an ancient tomb or ruin that contained the secret?
"But that brings us back to the same problem. You said so yourself: the chances of you digging up Luofu's secrets are extremely low, but they aren't zero.
"Moreover, your talent for excavating memories may be far stronger than you imagine. The Ten Lords' Commission asked the few Memokeepers imprisoned in the Imprisonment Court about it. What did they think of a Memory Destiny walker who had only just been glimpsed by Lord of Brightness salvaging, within two years, a memory containing a cultivation technique—and a Light Cone as well?"
Jing Yuan deliberately paused after saying this, wanting to see Dan Lei's reaction.
Unfortunately, Dan Lei had lived through three lifetimes while carrying his memories. With focused control, he could still keep his emotions from showing on the surface.
As for the Light Cone, all the Memokeepers had kept their mouths shut. In any case, the Xianzhou Alliance was still incapable of reading a Memokeeper's memories.
Therefore, Light Cones were the last thing Dan Lei feared causing trouble over. Jing Yuan absolutely could not trick him on that subject.
As for salvaging memories, Penacony already sold Memory Bubbles as commodities. Complete salvaged memories definitely were not unique cases.
Thus, Dan Lei put on an expression that seemed to say, "Go on, I'm eager to hear your evaluation," leaving Jing Yuan with no choice but to continue.
"They all said, 'What kind of ridiculous luck is that? He salvaged a memory containing a cultivation technique in just two years. Even beginner's luck doesn't work like that.'"
After hearing this, Dan Lei immediately put on an expression that said, "Haha, I'm really amazing," using it to conceal the long sigh of relief in his heart.
Dan Lei was not the sort of unscrupulous merchant who could lie without batting an eye. His attempt at concealment was still far too clumsy in front of Jing Yuan. The fleeting change in his pupils and the relaxation of his body had all been observed by Jing Yuan.
Jing Yuan did not point it out, however. Instead, he judged inwardly, This kid is cunning and knows how to act. He's a talent. Then he continued.
"So, your abilities are this strong. Regardless of whether it's luck, salvaging memories on Luofu must come with monitoring and restrictions. I hope you understand."
Seeing Jing Yuan say this, Dan Lei knew that the crucial part was coming. He therefore asked,
"Monitoring and restrictions? What would that look like, specifically?"
Jing Yuan answered directly.
"Judge Hanya recommended that you become a [Wen] Intern Judge. The Ten Lords' Commission has certain methods for reading memories. Moreover, after becoming a judge, even if you salvage classified information, most of it will be information you already have authorization to know. That eliminates the risk."
Upon hearing this, Dan Lei decisively refused.
"No. I don't want to be a judge. I explicitly refuse!"
Jing Yuan was not surprised by Dan Lei's answer. If a young Vidyadhara who was not even two hundred years old had a choice, there was no way he would be willing to spend the rest of his life in the Imprisonment Court.
Thus, Jing Yuan nodded and said,
"Hmm, I also think that would be inappropriate. Someone so young who possesses four Destinies shouldn't waste his youth in a place like the Imprisonment Court."
Dan Lei was stunned when he heard this. Where did I get four Destinies from? In the order I obtained them, Abundance, Remembrance, and The Hunt make only three.
Then, the next second, Dan Lei nearly slapped his thigh. The fourth Destiny must be Equilibrium. The other Destinies were all glimpses, and I've even met Equilibrium's true form—or a clone? But why don't I feel anything at all?
Jing Yuan had not expected his offhand remark to have such an effect. When Dan Lei heard that he possessed four Destinies, he had clearly gone through the process of shock, doubt, realization, and finally a return to calm in an instant.
Clearly, among Dan Lei's four Destinies, he had encountered a special situation: he had experienced a process that would inevitably grant him a certain Destiny, yet afterward, he had not realized that the Destiny had already taken root in him.
That was very interesting. If someone could not sense their own Destiny, it meant they had no conscious intention of walking that path at all. The Destiny had been forcibly imposed on them by an Aeon.
Normally, only the Aeon of Joy, Aha, would do something like that. Yet the fourth Destiny Jing Yuan sensed in Dan Lei was Equilibrium.
Jing Yuan had originally thought that the Equilibrium Destiny within Dan Lei was a path he had chosen for himself to balance the chaotic energies in his body.
Indeed, as an Emanator of The Hunt, Jing Yuan could sense that Dan Lei's body was practically a hodgepodge: unclaimed Imaginary Energy that did not belong to any Destiny, Imaginary Energy belonging to Destinies, and a type of Life Energy whose properties he did not fully understand. Three kinds of energy circulated together, giving people the impression of weeds growing wildly—yet growing huge and exceptionally robust.
The reality, however, was that Dan Lei himself had no idea when he had embarked on the path of Equilibrium.
Aeon of Equilibrium, Xa, had actually taken the initiative to bestow the power of Equilibrium Destiny on an ordinary person without that person even knowing it. Jing Yuan had lived this long and had never heard of such a thing.
One had to know that there were not many people in the universe who had entered the Equilibrium Destiny in the first place. Xa also rarely glimpsed mortals, because it knew very well that the restoration of the cosmic scales could not be shaken in the slightest by worldly theatrics.
If Dan Lei could receive Xa's active attention, that proved that, in Xa's eyes, he at least had the potential to directly influence the balance of the universe in the future.
Before you continue