<em>As if it has nothing to do with you!</em>


    <em>It''s as if everything was in your control! Everything outside exploded the moment you mentioned the night had only just begun!</em>


    <em>Moreover, even the weakest level transcendental being can definitely sense the discharge of aether from the surging sh. Don''t act as if you don''t know what''s going on!</em>


    Fitch couldn’t help but scream internally, nearly saying it out loud, but ultimately held it in.


    After all, just looking at that seemingly innocent face only reminded Fitch of how he had been sequentially led to a trap by Lin Jie. Not only had he been yed like a fiddle, his own presumptuousness was mercilessly shattered in the end. This was simply a devil who liked toying with people''s hearts and spreading fear.


    Lin Jie gave a shrug, genuinely disying his innocence.


    While he did appear to be somewhat of a jinx (such as how he said things would get better for everyone when Doris came to visit and half the street got blown up by a gas explosion the next day), these sorts of things didn''t usually happen, so he assumed that the previous incident had just been a freak ident.


    “While sometimes I can be quite a jinx, this... lightning is purely a weather phenomenon. The lightning this time round was entirely due to a meteorological phenomenon. Moreover, we are miles away from wherever it struck. You can''t just pin the me on me because of what I said; otherwise, I could sue you for defamation."


    Whatever words Fitch wanted to say got stuck in his throat, and he followed up with a sheepishugh. "Sorry... You are right, but it was all a little too coincidental, so I made an offhand joke..."


    <em>Looks like... Mr. Lin here enjoys manipting from the shadows while conveniently making calctions.</em> Fitch felt like he shouldn''t be bothering him any further.


    <em>Of all the hidden talents at the A16 Manor banquet, why did I have to run into him? </em>Fitch couldn''t help but cuss at himself for being nosy.


    “It''s alright, I never expected such a coincidence as having a lightning strike just as I finished my sentence as well. Fortunately, I''d only said something about the night and not cursed instead." Lin Jie gestured with waving arms.


    Surveying the surroundings, he noticed the appearance of several men in ck amidst the fadingmotion. "But after this little episode, I believe that Mr. Ji should be making an appearance soon. This is the perfect time to show himself as the host of this banquet."


    "Indeed..." Fitch nodded in agreement when a brte in a long red gown came by them and whispered, "Lightning? Do both of you really think that it was lightning?"


    <em>Obviously not, no, if that was lightning, we would damn well have a problem, </em>Fitch contemted.<em> But if this owner of an ordinary bookstore in front of me says it''s lightning then it goddamn is lightning.</em>


    To show where he stood, Fitch retorted with a few rhetorical questions, "What could it be if it wasn''t lightning? Don''t tell me it is one of those massive battles between super-powered beings like the sort we see in television shows and movies?"


    He deliberately made grandiose gestures, apanied with whooshing sounds. “Like this?”


    <em>Mmhm... It would be better to keep my identity hidden first.</em>


    While Fitch''s current goal was to locate other transcendent beings to join the ranks and find a faction of organization he could belong to, he couldn''t predict what sort of transcendent beings he might encounter, so he reckoned he''d observe carefully before acting, lest another ''Lin Jie'' situation urred!


    The brte snickered, then caught herself and hid her smile. Trying her best to put on a serious expression, she replied, “But I saw it clear as day, that sh of ‘lightning’ shot up from the ground into the sky. And it was straight as an arrow, which seems quite unlike lightning and more like... a sword light?”


    Frowning, she continued on, "It was only for a split second, but I''m certain that I''m not mistaken. Furthermore, there was a concurrent tremor. The two events were definitely rted.


    "While it might not necessarily be a... battle of super-powered beings," she paused, a slight grin appearing, "cough cough, but it definitely was unusual."


    <em>This woman is quite sharp, but the frequent so-called ‘gas explosion’ cases in Norzin had always been caused by transcendent powers. Looks like it''s keen eyewitnesses like her that noticed such things</em>, thought Fitch to himself.


    His interest was piqued, and he wondered how transcendental beings would deal with the situation he was in.


    At this point, Fitch heard Lin Jie speak. "No, no, no. As I had been about to say, this isn''t anything unusual. There’s no need to be rmed.”


    Slightly puzzled, the brte faced this seemingly courteous andposed young man. “Oh? Why do you say so? Many people saw it..."


    Lin Jie shook his head, knowing that he now needed to simplify the exnation. While he might not have researched much about meteorology, he still knew a thing or two about this basic phenomenon.


    “Under usual circumstances, lightning does indeed strike from the sky and toward the ground, but this is not the case for all types of lightning,” he exined, slightly smiling. “In certain special circumstances, lightning may shoot from the upperyer of thunderclouds to the ionosphere, generating what we call a ‘reverse lightning.’ It’s exactly as we have just observed: lightning which appears to be shooting upward from the ground.


    “Additionally, this type of lightning is more powerful than ordinary lightning. It releases a high energy charge and thus looks like a straight beam of light being shot out, unlike normal lightning which tends to fork.”


    Lin Jie gave a shrug. "Though such phenomena don''t really exin a whoosh battle of super-powered beings... All it proves is the imminence of a storm, and one ought to start moving their clothes indoors."


    Fitch and the brte were both bbergasted.


    <em>Ahh, this...</em>


    While they both had a definiteck of knowledge regarding this, the confident manner and tempo in which Lin Jie exined only made thempelled to agree.


    An analogy of this would be young kids listening to a teacher''s exnations in ss with absolutely zero doubts about the validity of the information given.


    Moreover, the logic in this theory was rather sound.


    There was a lump in the brte’s throat as she started to dete. Still, she attempted to refute, "What… what about that earthquake..."


    “That’s another simple exnation. For the aforementioned reverse lightning to ur, the storm definitely wasn’t at its early stages. Instead, it must’ve been a superstorm that has gone on for quite some while, and the heavy rainfall seeping into the ground possibly caused a change in geological structure, loosening the shallow crust of the earth and causing the tremor…”


    “…” The brte was nowpletely speechless. She remained silent for a moment before giving a begrudging smile and sighed. “You are well-learned indeed, and it''s no surprise you are here at an A16 Manor banquet. While I don’t understand all of it, whatever you just said seems rtively reasonable.”


    She extended a hand to Lin Jie. "Yedda Eleanor, you can just call me Yedda."


    Lin Jie shook the outstretched hand. “Lin Jie.”


    Fitch casually threw in his own name, eliciting slight surprise and a double take from Yedda. Evidently, the title of ''Wandering Genius'' finally had some use.


    As the two continued their exchange, Lin Jie learned that Eleanor was from a n that produced exorbitant silverware; the sort that would serve nobles for generations. Of course, in recent times, they had moved into crafting intricate metal essories, ornaments, and collectibles as well.


    Today, she was attending the banquet as representative of her n in ce of her ailing mother.


    Midway through their conversation, the chatter all around them eventually subsided.


    On the left spiral staircase at the front of the main hall, a middle-aged gentleman in a ck suit was sauntering down. His age was showing, with streaks of white in his ck hair, but the steel gray eyes, the same as his daughter''s, were sharp as he observed everyone from above.


    The banquet''s host, owner of A16 Manor, the wealthiest man in all of Norzin, and the head of Rolle Resource Development Corporation—Ji Bonong had finally made his appearance.


    Facing the crowd, he calmly ambled to the center front of the great hall. “Apologies for the extended dy, I’ve just received some news. Everyone, please remain calm.” He beamed.


    He lifted his staff slightly and pointed it afar. “A storm is currently making a ruckus. My team of meteorologists managed to catch a rare phenomenon that was never recorded before, and it shall thus be named ''reverse lightning.'' Concurrently, this thunderstorm had caused some minor ground faults, resulting in the tremors we just experienced.


    “The banquet will proceed as per normal. Enjoy yourselves, everyone."


    As Ji Bonong’s voice was drowned out by the sound of apuse, Fitch and Yedda were dumbfounded instead.