As the Fu family's elders worked together to examine the exploded Star Matrix, Fu Qian gathered several of the injured and began divining them, checking their state at the moment the Star Matrix exploded.
If someone had truly sabotaged the Star Matrix on purpose, a few divinations would easily reveal the culprit without breaking a sweat, but...
"Hm? Everything's normal?"
Fu Qian busied himself for quite a while, but after dozens of divinations, the results were all the same—everyone had used the Star Matrix properly.
And yet, the Star Matrix had exploded.
"Patriarch, every single component of the Star Matrix is intact with no sign of outside interference—it was a chain reaction caused by internal components."
As one of the elders confirmed there was truly no sabotage, Fu Qian became even more confused.
However, if there was no sabotage, that raised another question—why was it that their own patriarch couldn't foresee such an event, while an outsider did?
No one spoke, and no one could explain it, since this was something they had never experienced before.
"First of all, the issue isn't about who did it, but that I personally divined a result of an auspicious omen, yet reality proved otherwise." Fu Qian said solemnly. "On the other hand, the outsider's divination about our Fu family actually came true..."
At this, everyone nodded in agreement.
More than the Star Matrix explosion itself, what truly bothered them was how their patriarch could be wrong in his divination.
===
As the next day came, Fu Qian left early in the morning to take his post at the Divination Commission, and while at it, he also planned to consult the Master Diviner for answers.
"Patriarch, that's the young man from yesterday, the one who told the young lady she faced a bloody disaster."
As Fu Qian was on his way to the Divination Commission, his attendant, who was one of Fu Xuan's escorts yesterday, pointed to a customer at a roadside breakfast stall.
Fu Qian followed his attendant's gesture and saw a handsome black-haired young man leisurely eating his breakfast.
"Hmm, not bad-looking. Doesn't seem like a fraud either. And he eats noodles with garlic—clearly someone with taste..." Fu Qian remarked softly, then walked straight over.
In the next moment, as Lucian was happily enjoying his breakfast, a shadow suddenly blocked the sunlight.
Turning his head up, Lucian saw a middle-aged man with pink hair and a pink mustache, giving him a slightly funny look.
From his striking appearance alone, Lucian instantly knew who this man was.
"You need something, uncle?" Lucian asked calmly.
Fu Qian chuckled and sat down across from him.
"Nothing, I just thought your looks were on par with mine, so I came to take a closer look." Fu Qian replied casually, then pulled out an astrolabe and placed it on the table.
Right here in front of Lucian, he began a divination, but almost immediately, his brows furrowed.
He couldn't help it.
He saw no result from his divination.
It was as if this young man was cloaked by some mysterious power, beyond the reach of his sight.
Fu Qian was now convinced that this young man's origins were definitely not simple—either he had some special means to prevent divination, or some powerful figure was shielding his fate.
"Young friend, who's your master?" Fu Qian put away his astrolabe and asked with a friendly smile.
"Master?" Lucian wiped his mouth and smiled as well. "Sorry, but that's a secret. No comment."
"Well... I've heard you also dabble in divination..." Fu Qian said, not discouraged as he shifted the topic. "Could you perhaps read my fortune for today?"
He had a daily habit where every morning, he would divine his own fortune, and today's result was minor luck, where he would be rewarded at work.
Now he wanted to see what this young man would say.
Lucian, upon hearing Fu Qian's request, chuckled inwardly, guessing that last night's bloody incident had definitely left this man unsettled—and now he wanted to test him.
"Well then, I'll give it a casual try."
Lucian immediately activated Sham Diviner, moving his left thumb back and forth—the gesture, the aura—it carried the air of a true master, making even Fu Qian sit upright, waiting seriously for the result.
Lucian quickly arrived at one—in his mind, the result showed that Fu Qian would receive praise and be rewarded at work.
However, given that Sham Diviner's effect was always wrong, it meant that Fu Qian would instead run into trouble at work, or nothing at all would happen—one way or another, no praise or reward awaited him.
"Not looking great. Later at work, you'll run into some issues." Lucian said lightly, with an indifferent air, as if it was none of his concern. "Maybe nothing serious will happen, but you definitely won't be rewarded."
Upon hearing this, Fu Qian frowned slightly.
'Huh, that's it? Looks like I was overthinking it...' Fu Qian thought inwardly, feeling disappointed with Lucian. 'Hmm, his divination result is completely opposite to mine. How could that be correct?'
He lightly shook his head, then spoke up.
"Haha, not quite." Fu Qian chuckled heartily, then got up. "My reading says minor luck, and I'll be rewarded at work today. Young friend, you still need more practice."
Leaving these words behind, he quickly left, his attendant following silently behind him.
Seeing Fu Qian's disappearing figure, Lucian only smiled, calmly watching him go.
Whether it was minor luck or not, they would soon find out.
He had already formed a theory about how Sham Diviner worked, and according to this theory, even if Fu Qian claimed minor luck, it was futile.
First of all, the first line on Sham Diviner's description, which stated 'mastery over all forms of divination,' was true—he really could divine accurately in any divination arts, producing results equal to or even exceeding those of experts like Fu Qian.
As for the second line, which stated 'not only will the divination result always be wrong,' it wasn't saying he misread the result, but that the conceptual ability itself would twist the outcome, ensuring the divination result would never come true.
However, the third line was the key—'forcibly alter reality.'
It meant that whenever Lucian activated Sham Diviner, it would always directly interfere with the reality of the future, making the foretold outcome impossible.
"Tsk, tsk... this isn't divination but a future modifier..." Lucian remarked softly. "My result matched his exactly, but because I used Sham Diviner, minor luck became impossible since it straight up altered reality."
Needless to say, this was far more powerful than divination.
Diviners predicted the future, but Lucian changed the future.
Maybe the only drawback was that, without using Sham Diviner, he had absolutely no clue how to divine—completely clueless about it.
When he used it, though, it was as if divine inspiration filled him, making him akin to a god of divination, allowing him to read the future flawlessly.
He had roughly figured out how Sham Diviner worked, but of course, he still needed more tests to confirm his theory—and the first test would be to see what would happen with Fu Qian today.
===
Xianzhou Yuque, Divination Commission.
As Fu Qian arrived at the Divination Commission, he immediately checked in for work.
Even patriarchs of prestigious families were required to serve in the Divination Commission, contributing to the Xianzhou Yuque—mainly because it was also this post that gave their families political power.
However, the moment Fu Qian stepped through the door, the Master Diviner's order suddenly arrived.
"Fu Qian, there's been a serious oversight in your assigned project. Under the Master Diviner's order, you are hereby suspended for three days pending review."
A stern-looking man wearing a tidy gray robe and scholarly glasses informed Fu Qian of the Master Diviner's order while waving a stack of documents in his hand.
"What...?"
Fu Qian froze mid-step, his face stiffening.
It couldn't be right.
In his eyes, the project he oversaw had always been steady and flawless, given that he personally reviewed it every single day.
How could there suddenly be a problem today?
"Wait, let me see! You must have made a mistake!" Fu Qian exclaimed, his deep frown intensifying as he snatched the documents from the man's hands.
In the next moment, his frown deepened even further as he read.
'No... Impossible...' Fu Qian thought inwardly, rubbing his eyes in disbelief. 'How could all of this be wrong...?'
He could swear one hundred percent that there had been no issues before.
"I want to see the Master Diviner! I demand to verify it face-to-face!"
Fu Qian demanded sternly, causing the stern-looking man to shake his head before leading him to the Master Diviner's Chamber.
===
Half an hour later, Fu Qian left the Divination Commission with a dark expression, his head lowered.
Earlier, while reviewing the project he oversaw together with the Master Diviner, there had indeed been a mistake.
However, the mistake itself was strange.
He clearly remembered checking the project yesterday, and there had been no mistake—yet today it simply existed, as if reality itself had shifted.
"My divination clearly showed smooth work today... How could this... Hahh..."
Fu Qian sighed, his expression downcast, wondering what had gone wrong with his fortune today, when an image suddenly surfaced in his mind—the image of a handsome young man eating noodles with garlic.
—"Not looking great. Later at work, you'll run into some issues."
—"Maybe nothing serious will happen, but you definitely won't be rewarded."
Recalling the young man's words, Fu Qian froze.
"No way…" Fu Qian muttered, disbelief written across his face. "Could he really be the disciple of some hidden master wandering the world? Or maybe he's an ancient monster who has lived for thousands of years, hiding his true strength?"
In the next moment, he hurried back home, hoping to encounter that mysterious young man once more along the way.
===
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