FALLEN ORACLE

**Chapter 5: Meeting the Headmaster Again (1)**

During these days, in the intervals between reading and practicing magic, Chen Yi would go out to the villa's balcony to stretch his body and briefly clear his mind.But his brain seemed designed for thinking. Even when he tried to empty it, he still noticed something unnatural:When Chen Yi gazed from the balcony, most of his attention naturally focused on his homeland – the blue planet, the lower realm.Yet after months of observation, he found that whether by day or night, no matter how time passed, he could always clearly see the continent of Alpha, and it always appeared in the same fixed position on the blue planet.In other words, the two planets, upper and lower realm, were relatively stationary to each other. Neither side ever saw the other's far side.When observing the upper realm from the lower realm, this was not so obvious. But from this side, looking down on familiar places, he quickly noticed it.Furthermore, Chen Yi noted that if the blue parts of the planet were the oceans surrounding the continent of Alpha, then a fair distance away from the continent there seemed to be a smaller landmass.He could not help wondering: "Are there people living on that landmass? The mana‑powered ships of the continent have never sailed so far. When all this is over, perhaps I should go and see."---Five months after arriving in the upper realm, Chen Yi felt that though he still lacked a full understanding of this world, he was fundamentally prepared. So he set out for his destination – the Lower Realm Management Office.As in the lower realm, the upper realm's Star Gate was located in the capital city of the Suss Federation: Chaos City.While the people of the lower realm regarded the upper realm as "gods," the people of the upper realm had their own faith – the Chaos Cult.This cult held that magic was created by the God of Chaos. Though that god had since fallen and could no longer perform miracles, the fact that he had created magic remained unchanged.The Celestial Race believed that their faith was fundamentally different from that of the Demons – *their* god had truly existed; the widespread use of magic today was proof that he had once walked among them.Coincidentally, both the upper and lower realms regarded the creator of magic as *their own* "god."To honour the great deeds of the God of Chaos, the upper realm named its capital Chaos City, and its most prestigious magical academy, Chaos Academy.Of course, unlike in the lower realm, the Chaos Cult did not wield power over the federal government. Since the God of Chaos had fallen, the cult was largely commemorative, and its believers were not fanatical. Only a few mages of considerable ability explored the unknown and mysterious presence through the study of esoterica.Because the God of Chaos could bring them no tangible benefits, most Celestial citizens were atheists.They went about their daily lives using magic, dealing with practical problems themselves rather than appealing to an ethereal deity.---Through his investigations, Chen Yi learned that the Suss Federation government – and its supreme authority, the Council of Elders – was located in Chaos City.The Lower Realm Management Office was a department under the ministry known as the Magic Net Department.Whether to learn more about the lower realm, to uncover the truth behind the goddess's imprisonment, or simply because he could now transform into an employee, the Lower Realm Management Office was Chen Yi's best target for further investigation.The Magic Net Department's building stood on Redblade Avenue in the city centre, a street lined with towering buildings. Redblade Avenue was wide enough for eight carriages to run side by side, and most of the buildings on either side housed various government offices. In effect, Redblade Avenue was the political heart of the upper realm.Consequently, the avenue was heavily guarded at both ends; anyone with malicious intent would find it impossible to enter.Given that anyone truly looking for trouble would not approach by the main road, the entire avenue was enclosed by an immensely powerful protective barrier, leaving gaps only at the entrances.Anyone trying to reach Redblade Avenue by flight or any other route would be mercilessly reduced to dust by this barrier.Of course, because the avenue was the nerve centre of the upper realm, the volume of foot traffic was never small. The strain on the security personnel can be imagined.To improve the efficiency of the security checks and the safety of the various institutions, the staff rotated every three hours, ensuring they were always in the best mental state for their tedious yet vital work.---Though Chen Yi had previously investigated some aspects of the Magic Net Department, he was still taken aback when he actually arrived at Redblade Avenue.In front of the enormous blue barrier, over a dozen queues, each a hundred metres long, were ordered in rows – like a dozen caterpillars scrambling for a single sweet fruit.Inside the barrier, tall buildings stood shoulder to shoulder. Chen Yi could see from afar that even on Redblade Avenue, the Magic Net Department building, over sixty storeys high, stood out like a crane among chickens.In his previous understanding, the Central Church in Catlerai was already a marvel of majestic architecture, but compared with these incredible skyscrapers of the upper realm, it seemed quite modest.Chen Yi speculated that if the Fallen Race had once been able to build such structures in their glorious past, then even after three thousand years, some traces would surely remain.He had once read a saying among the Demons in that ancient fragment cherished by the academy: *"Humans fear time, but time fears the pyramids."*If only some ruins from that glorious age still existed, perhaps the Fallen Race would not have fallen so completely under the Celestial Race's deception.Considering the upper realm's breakthroughs in magical research over the millennia, the preparation of that Demon material, "reinforced concrete," was truly a remarkable achievement.Though the Demons were long gone, did that building "feared by time" – the pyramid – still exist?If Tiya had not been unjustly imprisoned, she might have already cracked teleportation magic, enabling inter‑stellar travel, and perhaps Chen Yi could have seen that miracle with his own eyes.---Faced with such long queues, Chen Yi, still disguised as the balding middle‑aged man, was in no hurry to enter.He was now infiltrating the enemy's heart; he had to be cautious in everything. To that end, he needed to find his targets in the crowd first.Because the queues of people waiting to enter during peak hours were immense, it took Chen Yi four full days to spot his targets – Lynde and Mary – and secretly place Psionic Locks on them.Fortunately, these military‑turned‑civil servants were not highly accomplished mages. They remained blissfully unaware of Chen Yi's covert actions.Having done this, Chen Yi chose a day when most people were off work – a rest day – and joined the queue at the entrance of Redblade Avenue.Thanks to the Psionic Locks, even if Lynde and Mary suddenly decided to come in to work on their day off, Chen Yi would know in advance and could slip away, avoiding an unexpected encounter with the real staff.