So... the Aquarius Secret Technique was hopeless, but perhaps the Taurus Secret Arts could work?
Upon hearing the Taurus Director's promise, Leon couldn't help but feel a surge of joy. The Taurus Secret Arts seemed far more precious than the Aquarius Secret Technique.
He remembered that the Director had said that the Purification Bureau's Twelve Secret Techniques were ranked, with the Aries Secret Technique, known as "Anomaly Obliteration," ranked first, and the Taurus Director's "Anomaly Forge" ranked second. As for the Aquarius Director's "Aberration Generation," it was only ranked eleventh.
However, it seemed that this ranking was not based on combat power, but on the significance to the entire Purification Bureau. The Aquarius Secret Technique was ranked so low mainly because its methods were extreme, the material requirements were too high, plus it somewhat relied on luck, and the controllability was low, potentially resulting in no gains after massive material investments.
In contrast, the Taurus Secret Arts were not only stable and controllable but, after ten generations of simplification and weakening, could even be used to train craftsmen for forging anomalous objects. This resulted in the production of a large number of stable anomalous objects that could be used by mid to low-level cleaners, making it immensely significant for the entire Purification Bureau. This was why it was ranked second.
Even if the ranking was somewhat inflated, it was still genuinely the second secret technique!
Not to mention the ability to forge anomalous objects, if he could truly learn this secret technique and become a so-called "Reserve Taurus Director," his status in the entire Purification Bureau would rise significantly. Even if he still held the position of a Level Three incident handler, he would likely have a say in many matters!
*Indeed, wealth still required taking risks! By facing off with the Aquarius Director and taking the risk of being eliminated directly, was it time to reap the rewards now?*
As Leon's face showed his excitement, the Taurus Director, seated among the board's members, slightly closed her eyes. Then, just like when the Solar Wheel appeared before, the headquarters of the Purification Bureau dimmed once more, and the external walls became transparent again.
However, this time the top of the headquarters did not split open again. The area that changed was the "rolling wave" section where the Taurus seat was located. A virtual image of a bull, based on more than a hundred stars and connected by meteor-like arcs, rapidly materialized from nothing.
"This is the full view of the Taurus Star Palace."
Looking back at the star palace apparition behind her, the Taurus Director, staring at the massive bull poised to charge with its head bowed, nostalgically recounted,
"The Taurus constellation lies between Aries and Gemini. It's the one with the most stars among the Zodiac constellations, composed of a total of 125 stars. However, there aren't many bright stars, only one first-magnitude star and two fourth-magnitude stars, making the remaining stars rather dim and difficult to distinguish.
So, when the previous Taurus Director was teaching me how to sense the Star Palace, he specifically told me that if you can't find the location of Taurus, look for the constellation penetrated by the Ecliptic, the Celestial Equator, and the Silver Path lines together... I'm passing on this piece of advice to you in hopes that you'll find it useful in the future."
After briefly explaining how to locate the Taurus constellation, hinting at his expectations for Leon, the Taurus Director slightly beckoned behind her. The mighty giant bull apparition then "leapt" from the wall of the headquarters, transforming into an ancient compass nearly as tall as a person.
"Just touch this section here."
After pointing to the angle between one o'clock and two o'clock of the compass part extending outward from the center, the Taurus Director, with eyes filled with expectation, said,
"I can only summon a part of the Star Palace here; the other positions belong to apparitions of other Star Palaces, and you can't touch them... Come on, Leon, I hope you can surprise me and everyone else.
But don't feel too pressured, even if there's no significant outcome, it's no big deal. I can still offer you some other reward... Go ahead, feel it!"
The Taurus His Excellency was indeed affable, resembling a kind-hearted elder. No wonder even the usually rebellious Director of my office was always respectful and behaved in front of her... It appeared she had no arrogance of an authoritative figure, patiently explaining without complaint and kindly encouraging him. Leon felt a warmth in his heart, letting go of minor tricks, and nodded before reaching out to touch the Taurus Star Palace.
[Name: Star Vault Compass Fragment-Zodiac-Taurus (Star Palace, Solar Wheel, Law Bestowal)]
[Appearance: An ancient compass crafted from semi-transparent obsidian, with hand-drawn star chart images of the eighty-eight constellations on the front, while the back is covered with minor damage such as chisel and axe marks, weathering, burial stains, freezing, and fusion, with even bizarre marks from sharp teeth bites present]
[Ability: Star Palace Shift, Radiance of the Ecliptic, Law Bestowal]
[Cost: The user's divinity will continuously erode]
[File: A secret treasure relied upon by the initial members of the Purification Bureau during their escape from the Old Soil. Shattered by one of the Supreme Four Pillar Gods, the fragment of the Star Dome Compass was later gathered by the first Taurus Director and reforged into eighty-eight Star Palaces. These were placed on the solar trajectory, nurtured and refined using the power of the Solar Wheel, with hopes of restoring it to its original form, continuing until now]
[Evaluation: One of the most crucial backups of the Purification Bureau, a doomsday ark usable only by humans of Old Soil origin. If an apocalypse-level crisis occurs someday and even the protection of the Watcher's Palace is destroyed, then it serves as the last hope for humanity]
[Contamination Value: Indeterminate, increases with the user's level]
Even though he knew before reaching out that this object was undoubtedly extraordinary, as both the Eighty-Eight Divisions and Twelve Directors were named after Star Palaces, which must be incredibly significant to the Purification Bureau.
But after seeing... experiencing the true "face" of the Star Palace, Leon's mind buzzed, overwhelmed with the information he had just received.
Guardian of human progeny... escaping from Old Soil... a hidden card of the Purification Bureau... a doomsday ark usable only by humans...
When all these pieces of information pieced together, the Star Palace seemed less like an anomalous object and more like a spaceship, and perhaps a solar-powered one at that!
*Humans are the outsiders in this world, fleeing from someplace called Old Soil, possibly having their spaceship—the Star Palace—destroyed by those Supreme Four Pillar Gods. That's why they crash-landed in the current world... Truly...*
*I just wanted to touch the Star Palace and see if I could sneak in and learn the Anomalous Smithing Secret Techniques. How did the plot suddenly turn into science fiction?*
Seeing Leon's unbelievably shocked expression, the Taurus Director glanced over in surprise and asked with some puzzlement,
"Leon, what did you sense? Why does your expression look so odd?"