The flashing message was brief and direct, yet it was like a stone cast into still water.
Candidate Screening Protocol? The Purifying Source Core clearly referred to the Purifying Source Crystal on Neji, while the individual with Chaos Energy characteristics... undoubtedly referred to the Chaos True Essence Neji cultivated.
This Lighthouse, or rather, its creators, could actually identify such unique energy attributes and had even preset a corresponding response protocol.
Xuan stared at the line in astonishment, then looked at Neji. "Captain, this..."
Neji's gaze remained calm as thoughts raced through his mind. Hidden protocol, candidate screening... It did not sound malicious, but more like a preset selection or testing mechanism. Perhaps it was connected to the Unified Council's core force against Source Devouring.
"I'll go take a look. Keep reviewing the available information and stay alert." Neji made his decision. Opportunity and risk went hand in hand. Since he had already been identified, avoidance was not the best choice.
He turned and walked toward one side of the hall. There, a new doorway silently slid open in the once-smooth crystal wall. Behind it was a spiraling crystal staircase leading to the Lighthouse's second floor.
Keeper Seven remained standing quietly at the first-floor entrance, showing no reaction to any of this, as if he were merely a puppet executing a fixed program.
Neji stepped onto the stairs. They wound upward, surrounded by translucent crystalline tower walls. Through the semi-transparent material, he could see the hall below gradually shrinking, as well as the eternal darkness outside the tower and the steady silver light radiating from its peak.
At the end of the staircase stood another closed crystal doorway. As he approached, it automatically opened inward.
Beyond the door was a small circular room, roughly a hundred feet across. There was no