Chapter 17: Waiting for the Truth

With the coming of dawn, the exhausted candidates vanished one by one.

Did everything end here?

Li En stood up, stretched his body; the seeds he had planted were all sown—now only guidance and closure remained.

“With them, my plan can proceed.”

Yes, a plan—Li En already had an idea about the Tail-Cutting Case.

But he had no combat power, nor any powerful enforcers; no matter how good the plan, it was just empty talk.

Now, barring unforeseen events, he would soon gain combat power—and some very useful pawns.

He had originally intended to fade away, but at this moment, he faintly sensed a gaze.

A remarkably familiar gaze.

At the entrance of the hall, a small figure suddenly shifted—its vertical pupils attempting to strip away its disguise!

“Hmph, you’ve figured out how this dream works? Know you can reconnect after cutting off? Interesting.”

She, secretly reconnected to Dragon Hunt, hid in the shadows, trying to use her Gifted Eyes to see the truth.

She didn’t know that as the master of this dream, Li En had known the moment she linked in.

She didn’t know either that the eyes watching her—Li En knew them well, extremely well, too well.

“Little one, little female dragon, didn’t your father teach you not to casually use Dragon Eyes on others among Dragon Descendants? The one who reveals their Dragon Eyes first is seen as initiating aggression.”

The Hero Soul’s voice echoed beside the girl’s ear, as if speaking right before her.

She jolted in fright—Dragon Descendants weren’t something openly accepted in this kingdom, let alone someone with her identity.

Fortunately, she glanced around and confirmed no one else was in the hall; only she had heard the voice, and she exhaled in relief.

The next instant, she glared back fiercely.

“My father is dead.” The girl spoke slowly, word by word—Li En read her lips.

Su Er shrugged, murmuring “Sorry,” but with little sincerity.

Why father? Because according to Su Er’s experience, such high bloodline concentration strongly suggested direct draconic lineage.

If it were maternal, she’d likely be a Half-Dragon, not a Dragon Descendant.

In fact, across the continent, Dragon Descendants came from too many sources—everyone knows dragons are inherently lustful; the varieties, branches, and subspecies of those with faint dragon blood are too countless to tally.

There’s even a dark joke here: most direct Dragon Descendants have no fathers, because dragons are born with mothers but never raised by them.

This clearly exceeded Li En’s knowledge—he understood nothing of dragons, only the “Virtual AI Prompter” supplying cues based on the apprentice’s hints.

“AI Su Er” constantly offered choices for every action, thought, and word—Li En only needed to act on instinct.

Even when he didn’t understand, as the Hero Soul spoke, he understood.

Li En noticed—he could also piggyback on this knowledge.

It seemed he could only absorb it through interactions with his disciples.

“Perhaps I can guide these disciples to ask the questions I want answered.”

At this moment, Li En grew even more grateful for Su Er’s arrangement; without this backdoor candidate, maintaining the powerful Hero Soul persona would leave him with little room to interfere.

Facing the angry girl, Li En remained utterly unconcerned.

“Why haven’t you left yet? Daylight’s here.” Though he asked, he pulled out a barbecue grill—clearly, he didn’t care for the answer.

If she came to him for barbecue… well, join me.

The meat cooked with absurd speed; the sacred hall filled with the scent of roasting flesh.

The girl clearly had no time to idle; after confirming no one else was in the hall, she gritted her teeth and asked a question she had longed to answer.

“The former Hero, King’s former Hero Lex Thorne—did he become a Hero Soul too?!”

“I don’t know.” Li En replied offhandedly, but looked up to see a face puffed with indignation.

The little brat was blunt—she snatched Li En’s skewer and shoved it straight into her mouth.

Seeing this, Li En smiled and continued roasting the next skewer.

The old man grilled, the child ate—like a grandfather with his grandson. Considering this inexplicable kinship and warmth, Li En felt no aversion.

The girl ate faster and faster—she discovered the food was delicious, and she didn’t have to worry about her figure or diet; she was ecstatic!

“Slow down, no one’s stealing your food.” As he spoke, Li En handed her a cup of water—this wasn’t Li En’s doing; the whole thing was Su Er’s puppetry.

Watching the girl with food smeared across her face, Li En smiled and spoke.

“Lex Thorne…”

“Eh!” The girl froze, then clutched her throat, choking.

This wasn’t Li En’s prank—he chuckled, patted her back, and helped her breathe.

But as she coughed and stopped, she stared at him, demanding an answer.

“I know a little about his abilities and story—he likely qualified to become a Hero Soul. But before we’re awakened, Hero Souls cannot perceive each other. At the moment of death, our lives end and stagnate. So I truly don’t know.”

Instantly, the girl’s expression collapsed; she turned her attention back to the feast.

Eat—I’ll devour all your meat! Drink all your water!

“I thought you’d ask about the current Hero, Laina.” He suddenly added.

“Cough! Cough! Cough!” His sudden words interrupted her eating again.

This time, she clutched her throat, collapsed on the floor, and lay there for a long while before regaining composure.

She glared at him with deep resentment—but this time, she wasn’t as furious.

“Do you know where she is?”

“Heh, who knows? Maybe I do, maybe I don’t.” Li En smiled, continuing to toy with her using ambiguous words.

As the girl’s hope faded again, she ignored the old man’s mischief, lowered her head, and focused on eating her fill.

Honestly, the meat tasted strange—she’d never eaten anything like it, the spices too—but it was truly delicious.

The dream was destined to end. The thoughtful, well-fed girl vanished—still Buwang giving the old man the middle finger and sticking out her tongue.

Li En himself didn’t care—he noticed the sudden realization in her eyes, and knew his goal had been achieved.

“He—Hero Souls have eyes outside. Otherwise, how else would she know about the second Hero, Laina?” This clue, it seemed, the clever girl had already grasped.

Next, he would further guide them—toward the entrance of his true identity.

Watching from the sidelines might be safe, but it wasn’t his style.

“Tch, looks like I should wake up.” The hall began to dissolve—the longest night had ended.

He said “wake,” and Li En woke.

“Familiar ceiling.”

Awakening again from sleep, Li En instantly seized the longsword beside his bed, instinctively alert to his surroundings.

This was the habit of Su Er’s severed body—always ready for battle.

No one could be certain whether the voice calling him was a friend’s cry or an enemy’s stab.

The next moment, he shook his head—this wasn’t a wilderness full of monsters and bandits; he needed time to adjust.

He looked out the window—the scenery was the same, his body and power nearly unchanged—but Li En’s mood was utterly different.

Before, it was pure suicide in hell mode; now, it seemed he had a solution.

“Dragon Hunt, Shadow Judgment, Moth, and Bone Shatter…”

At Li En’s request, they had all grown accustomed to their “codenames.”

In future dream training, they would use only codenames—ideally even in reality.

After all, the simplest way to monopolize Hero Souls was to eliminate all competitors in reality. Li En subtly hinted they weren’t the first chosen—strange things had happened before.

Was it true? Unknown. But Li En had woven a story—he seemed to have found a way to resolve his identity problem.

To preserve the story’s authenticity, he had no intention of speaking it aloud; he waited for his juniors to “dig out the truth” themselves.

This, too, was a test.

Those chosen by “naive justice” likely had high moral values—but excessive zealotry could still justify “sacrifices.”

Holy Knights weren’t incapable of evil deeds; if it served the “greater good,” they could be terrifyingly cruel.

“Slightly beyond expectations, but still within control.”

At first, the Dragon Descendant girl had tried to seize control with information.

Hero Soul Su Er had used raw power to show everyone who held authority here.

Golden race? What difference does it make? Beneath that door-sized greatsword, all beings were equal.

In that state, Li En was another Su Er—a Hero Soul pushed to its absolute, explosive peak.

After suppressing dissent, Li En gained initial trust and authority—but did nothing.

This was their first training; all were forcibly dragged in, highly wary—he didn’t expect any results or agreements.

In the final moments, he merely used Su Er’s body to chat, deepening mutual understanding.

He casually mentioned anecdotes and past events from the Church Age; whether they could verify them was their own business.

“They’re all quite… eccentric, or rather, overly eccentric.”

Aside from Li En’s backdoor entry, Shadow Judgment, the other three were stubborn as hell—they could argue on the spot even while lying down.

Li En’s original plan was to let them probe each other in the dream, playing a masked game with adult tactics.

But now, two of their identities were already transparent—they had become each other’s enemies. Barring surprises, Shadow Judgment (Talia) would soon reveal her identity too.

“I urgently need a Holy Power artifact and the Cursed Gauntlets of Might.”

When Hero Soul Su Er “casually” mentioned that the trial wouldn’t be limited to dreams—that they could cooperate and trade in reality—she suddenly realized.

“I have no money, but I desperately need them.”

As Li En had predicted, she grasped at straws and immediately demanded to purchase those two rare items.

As a tool person, this younger sister is quite qualified.

“The purity is too high—it’s almost embarrassing to use her.”

But this also places her in extreme danger. When you collect her, your true identity will inevitably be exposed.

Bringing this pawn in through backdoor channels is precisely why Li En needs someone by his side who can stir up trouble and obtain firsthand intelligence.

“I need to treat her better.” Such a good tool person is hard to find.

Even a righteous person shouldn’t shed both blood and tears.

“What she most wants right now is still to solve the Tail-Cutting Case. If everything goes smoothly, it should take about a week.”

Uh, there’s another update today.

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(End of Chapter)