"You must be joking—violating the rules isn’t my thing," Li Xin said seriously, looking at Heisenberg.
"Haha, you’re a funny one, kid. No, it wouldn’t be that," Heisenberg said as he pulled over a chair. "Come, sit—Abyssal worms are uncontrollable. In the end, they always lose control. It’s only a matter of time."
"Professor, I’ve heard of something called Divine Relics—gifts from the gods. Once obtained, they grant great power. Is that true?" Li Xin asked, his eyes sparkling with longing.
Most Awakened had heard a little about them; after all, the desire for power was universal among them. Heisenberg thought for a moment and said:
"The answer is yes—Divine Relics release the residual divinity contained within them. But that is the power of the gods, not of men. Mortals must consider whether they can bear the corresponding price. Psionic energy is yours—however strong or weak, it belongs to you. Divine Relics, however, are of the gods, and no matter the outcome, must eventually be returned to them."
Once someone lost a Divine Relic, they would most likely die; even if they barely survived, all their powers would vanish.
Seeing that Li Xin wanted to ask more, Heisenberg waved his hand with a smile and said, "I have a question for you—was it true that the Licker you encountered was still rational, even cunning?"
Li Xin thought about the rules; Heisenberg was part of the system, and the case was already closed, with no extra confidentiality requirements. "I’m not sure if it counts as rational, but it definitely had hunting instincts."
"Could it still speak?"
"It could."
"After it died, did it turn to ash?" Heisenberg frowned as he continued asking.
"Yes, as far as I remember."
"And the ash? Was there anything unusual inside it?" Heisenberg asked urgently.
Li Xin froze. "Huh?"
Seeing Li Xin’s expression, Heisenberg realized there wasn’t any more information to be had.
"Professor, I have a few more questions," Li Xin said.
"Our free chat ends here—next time we meet, we’ll continue," Heisenberg said with a kind but very decisive smile, then grabbed his briefcase and left.
Li Xin opened his mouth, but in the end said nothing—he was still too green. He had so many questions about Divine Relics, but he couldn’t badger Heisenberg too much or it would draw suspicion.
He had originally thought that after joining the Night Watchmen, he could quickly find information related to Divine Relics, but he quickly realized there was almost none.
Even when he subtly steered conversations with Mo Feng and the others, he found that almost no one in the Night Watchmen had a Divine Relic; those who did either died or became big shots.
Directly asking about it was taboo—it was an extremely private matter.
Mo Feng and the others had been curious too when they were young—who didn’t long for power?—but by their age, they all understood that power was a double-edged sword; if you didn't have the skills, grabbing porcelain would only get you cut. Divine Relics were dangerous things too.
That castle must either exist in the Spirit Realm or in the Abyss. It housed not only Divine Relics but also worms—whether heretical cults or righteous churches, there were clear traces and styles to follow. But the ones with everything mixed together were the hardest to deal with.
From what Heisenberg had said, it was clear—the organization with the richest knowledge of the mysteries was the Church, followed by the Order Academy, whose knowledge was broader. The Night Watchmen were just professional workers—they didn’t deal with theoretical research.
Li Xin didn’t mind too much; things were already going well, and reaching too far would only ruin it. First, he had to solidify his position.
Over the past few days, his familiarity with the Hextech gun had increased rapidly; he found his shooting rhythm far quicker than he’d expected—mainly because the weapon was so good. The Night Watchmen’s equipment really was top-notch. He didn’t even want the junk he used to scavenge.
Li Xin knew someone was watching him, so during training, he stayed very proper; in this place, you couldn't be too timid—get looked down on, and life would be hell—but you also couldn't show off too much. In the adult world, you had to be tactful and leave your seniors some face.
Li Xin shot slowly but accurately, carefully searching for the right feeling; after all, some muscle memory was buried deep. Practice made perfect—it was always the right path.
The training routines were all fairly standard, but Li Xin enjoyed them. He had been assigned to the Fifth Squad, whose captain was named Kurt. Right now, the Fifth Squad was out on a mission, so Li Xin had it relatively easy—after training, he could even read the newspaper.
On the Daoyuan Continent, newspapers were the main source of news, and there were many types. The Night Watchmen's newspapers were different from the outside world’s—mainly two kinds: the Hextech Herald and the Church Bulletin.
The Hextech Herald covered a wide range of strange events across the Daoyuan Continent, while the Church Bulletin focused mostly on internal Church affairs, as well as some classified incidents—things the Underground City could never access.
Li Xin was thirsting for knowledge now. With Kurt gone, no one really cared what he did—Mo Feng only oversaw basic entry-level training and left the rest alone. Li Xin currently had a lot of freedom.
The Night Watchmen had an archive room, holding case files as well as neatly organized collections of the Hextech Herald and Church Bulletin—all arranged by Casey, though the number of copies wasn’t large.
Previously, Casey had been the only one who liked reading newspapers to kill time.
Now with Li Xin, it was different—sitting around drinking tea and reading newspapers wasn’t really fitting for a newbie and could be cut short at any moment.
Of course, like any government or department, their newspapers mostly aimed at propaganda and unified thinking—but buried within them was plenty of real information, too. Li Xin hoped to find what he needed among them, and his reading speed was astonishing—skimming through almost ten lines at a glance.
Both papers were periodicals—sometimes weekly, sometimes monthly.
Recently, the Hextech Herald had occasionally reported on the Tianjing Order Academy—and none of it was good. When even the official media spoke critically, it meant big changes were coming.
Li Xin had also heard that Luo Jin was about to take a concurrent post as Grand Disciplinarian at the Order Academy—meaning the backer he’d latched onto was very powerful.
Time passed quickly while reading newspapers. Aside from the occasional training session at the shooting range, Li Xin was basically invisible—but he and Casey grew closer.
After all, borrowing newspapers had to go through Casey, and women usually didn’t dislike men who liked reading—in fact, they saw it as a sign of ambition.
At home, life was settling into a normal rhythm too. Xueyin had enrolled in the Grace Class—a program jointly launched by Luther Potter, the Grand Chancellor of Lilon, and the Lunar Church, with funding from the Church and land and logistics provided by the City Hall.
Speaking of Luther, he was the most legendary figure of the past two hundred years on the Daoyuan Continent—his life had been dazzling and tumultuous, rising all the way to the peak.
To mention Luther was to mention the Potter family—a major noble house of the Lilon Unified Kingdom.
Luther himself had been a small, broken-down noble with nothing left but a baron’s title—yet he married the legitimate daughter of the Potter family.
Strictly speaking, he had married into the Potter family and even changed his surname—thus becoming Luther Potter, for which he was mocked and scorned by his political enemies for a long time.
But how could a sparrow understand the ambition of a swan?
The most famous "man who lived off a woman" in Daoyuan history was born—and before long, he embarked on a magnificent life.
He rose to the pinnacle of knighthood, compiled the Hextech Codex, conquered east and west, and helped create the Lilon Unified Kingdom we see today, establishing a constitutional monarchy where national power was held by the Grand Chancellor and the Parliament.
Later, through alliances and sweeping reforms, he forged Lilon into the powerhouse it is now—the Lilon Unified Kingdom as it exists today was entirely shaped by him.
(End of Chapter)