“Hey, what do you think you’re doing?!
I’d rather die than submit!” Lin Qiye had never expected Zhao Kongcheng to drag him into a love hotel.
Zhao Kongcheng gave Lin Qiye a speechless look, booked a room with a king-sized bed, and dragged Lin Qiye inside under the female receptionist’s suggestive gaze.
“This is a safe house.
What kind of strange hobbies did you think I had?” Once inside the flamboyant room, Zhao Kongcheng offered a quick explanation.
Unfortunately, the bizarre facilities scattered throughout the passionate love suite did little to make his words convincing.
Locking the door behind them, Zhao Kongcheng sat down on a nearby sofa and glanced at Lin Qiye.
Seeing the boy standing stiffly, he burst out laughing.
*Now this feels like a high school student.
Unlike Lu Ming—that guy doesn’t act like a high schooler at all.
It’s like an adult soul crammed into a teenager’s body.* “Alright, don’t be nervous.
We’re just going to talk.” “What do you want to talk about?” Lin Qiye sighed.
“I just want to talk about you, and those eyes of yours…
Have you met Michael?” …
Half an hour later, Lin Qiye understood the source of his power, learned the name of the angel on the moon, and received all sorts of information regarding the mist and mythical creatures.
He also learned that the golden pillar of light that had erupted from his body yesterday was called a Forbidden Realm—a miraculous power that had a chance of appearing in children born after the mist arrived.
It was a lucky individual’s supernatural domain, categorized into six distinct realms of cultivation.
Zhao Kongcheng’s presence effectively opened the door to a new world for Lin Qiye.
After explaining the three ways to acquire a Forbidden Realm, Zhao Kongcheng’s expression turned exceedingly serious.
“The last method I mentioned is a gift from a deity—which is your case.
A god bestows a portion of their power to a chosen human, making them their proxy to act on their behalf.
Yours is a Divine Realm bestowed by Michael.” “Lin Qiye, what orders did Michael give you?
Which side do you belong to?” Lin Qiye looked completely bewildered.
He understood that Zhao Kongcheng was asking whether he belonged to the Church of the Ancient Gods.
But in reality, before today, he didn’t even know what a Forbidden Realm was!
Back then, he had merely locked eyes with Michael before fainting completely, knowing nothing of what followed.
It didn’t seem as though Michael had given him any orders at all.
Zhao Kongcheng fell into deep thought.
Although Michael was considered a neutral deity in the eyes of the Nightwatchers, a god wouldn’t just bestow a Divine Realm for no reason.
Clearly, Lin Qiye carried a mission he wasn’t even aware of.
Under these circumstances, Lin Qiye needed to join the Nightwatchers even more—both to keep this power from spiraling out of control and causing greater harm, and to prevent him from being targeted by the Church of the Ancient Gods.
“If there’s nothing else, I’m leaving!” Lin Qiye had learned enough about this new world, and that was plenty.
He didn’t want to know any more.
Storybooks were filled with examples showing that the more you knew, the greater the danger.
His mindset hadn’t changed from last night; he wanted to avoid being dragged into these turbulent waters at all costs.
“Hey?
You’re leaving just like that?
Aren’t you going to ask where I come from?” Zhao Kongcheng grabbed Lin Qiye, his face full of surprise.
Lin Qiye shook his head in refusal; he didn’t want to know.
But Zhao Kongcheng wasn’t someone who gave up easily.
Regardless of Lin Qiye’s thoughts, he began blurting out his own background, shoving information about the Nightwatchers straight into Lin Qiye’s head.
To him, the Nightwatchers—who protected Daxia from evil mythical creatures—were ridiculously cool.
No young man could possibly refuse joining such an awesome organization.
“We Nightwatchers are soldiers protecting our nation.
Isn’t that noble?
Isn’t that cool?” Zhao Kongcheng tried tirelessly to paint a picture of a Nightwatcher’s duty.
He hoped that Lin Qiye, a Divine Agent, would join their ranks.
If Cangnan City gained both Lu Ming and Lin Qiye as fresh blood, it would be a powerful reinforcement for the entire Nightwatcher faction and all of Daxia.
Unfortunately, Lin Qiye’s refusal remained resolute.
“I’m not going.
I still have a lot of things to do!” “What could be more important than protecting your country?” “I have an aunt, a cousin, a small family…” After hearing Lin Qiye’s words, Zhao Kongcheng fell into a long silence.
Lu Ming’s proactive decision to join last night had given Zhao Kongcheng a false impression.
He had mistakenly assumed that high schoolers their age would be driven by hot-blooded patriotism to join the Nightwatchers on an impulse.
As the sound of the door closing echoed through the room, Zhao Kongcheng sat back down on the bed.
The Nightwatchers needed Lin Qiye, but…
…
In the middle of the night, inside the inn, Lu Ming opened his eyes from his Jinzen training and directed his gaze toward Lin Qiye’s home.
He had just sensed a powerful shift in Spiritual Pressure from that direction.
*Looks like he successfully obtained the treatment method for Nyx from the psychiatric hospital today.
Now Lin Qiye has effectively become Nyx’s proxy as well, drawing the Starry Night Dancer Forbidden Realm.* *Nothing major should happen tonight, so I can just slack off and explore the Soul King Palace!
Tasks like this are so easy—slacking off is my absolute favorite.* Sensing the quiet surroundings, Lu Ming silently sank his consciousness back into the Soul King Palace.
His Reiryoku had recovered significantly during his rest this afternoon.
Though he hadn’t reached his peak yet, it granted him higher authority within the Soul King Palace.
Zhao Kongcheng’s daytime Jinzen hadn’t been in vain either; his mental training allowed Lu Ming to feel a subtle breakthrough in his mastery of Kido.
…
Standing on the floating island of Phoenix Palace, Lu Ming closed his eyes and felt the flow of Reiryoku within his body.
Currently, Zhao Kongcheng was his only Blade-Borrower, yet this single user had already yielded remarkable results.
His mastery of Swordsmanship and Hakuda had broken through last night.
Originally, he had been wondering how to gain experience in Kido, but Zhao Kongcheng’s night and half-day of Jinzen revealed the path to acquiring Kido experience.
*Though that obsessed Old Zhao didn’t continue his Jinzen this afternoon?
Looks like he figured something out.
That’s fine—having a clear mind will allow him to connect better with Katen Kyokotsu.* According to the power scaling of this world, Lu Ming’s internal Reiryoku was currently in the Cup realm.
However, combined with the Shikai of his Zanpakuto, Senbonzakura, he should be able to display strength comparable to the River realm.
Still, being at the River realm didn’t guarantee absolute safety in Cangnan City.
Naturally, mastering more skills was the best course of action.