Chapter 18

"Resolve this case within seven days." Li En made a bold claim, yet he had grounds for it.

Just as Li En expected, the talents recruited here were no ordinary figures in the real world.

With these chess pieces, Li En felt confident enough to execute his overly bold "Great Cleanup" plan.

In fact, with a new hand of cards, let alone the Tail-Off case, for the first time, Li En felt some confidence in completing the main quest: "Seal the Underground Evil God."

With these high-quality chess pieces, perhaps he wouldn't even need to step forward to hold the banner; he could let the Underground Evil God meet his end.

After all, this is their country, their home; they should care more and bear more responsibility.

"The Dragon Hunter's situation is quite serious; her identity must be quite extraordinary. Sister Laina?" The other party's subconscious address actually revealed a great deal.

The Dream Tour of the Heroic Soul Atlas is limited; one can refuse, and the scope is confined to this city.

The biggest fish caught this time should be that girl who is clearly of Dragon bloodline yet inexplicably holds a hatred toward the Dragon race to the max.

Certain matters further prove her identity is not ordinary.

"The Holy Artifact of the Holy Power Art, and the Cursed Giant Strength Gauntlet? Acceptable."

Although the Shadow Cutter's requirements were so bizarre, she agreed at once, fully confident in acquiring them, and even added:

"I should be able to get my hands on it soon; I might have news by tomorrow night. But are you prepared for the consequences?"

The implication was clear: Are you prepared to be exposed? Is this resource truly worth revealing your true identity?

"Of course." The female officer's unhesitating response directly added several points to Su Er's satisfaction score.

At that moment, under the gaze of all, Su Er subconsciously nodded. Some little ones, however, also observed this scene.

These clever little ones should have noticed his preferences and scoring criteria as well.

Those unmasked micro-expressions were also hints and signals actively given by the Heroic Soul.

Every Heroic Soul was once a hero; they naturally have their own preferences, and "Foolish Righteous Justice" is naturally fairness and justice.

If the Dragon Hunter truly used the advantages of support and intelligence to eliminate other candidates, she would naturally be disqualified immediately and lose the possibility of becoming a candidate for other Heroic Souls afterward.

Yes, there are other Heroic Soul candidates; the Heroic Soul Cards are not limited to one, and the Heroic Soul inheritances naturally are not limited to one either.

The Dragon Hunter was tricked into talking, or rather, she was still actively leaking information.

Even if this candidate's inheritance fails, the next candidate will still be allowed to enter the Hall of Heroes as a substitute.

Even if success never comes, there are numerous benefits. As for what they are specifically, the Dragon Hunter little one spoke mysteriously, but Li En guessed she didn't know clearly herself.

"Perhaps she is also eager to gather specific intelligence right now."

Thanks to the existence of the "Dragon Hunter," direction was provided for Li En's management, along with so much intelligence Li En didn't even know, perfecting his plans and deceptions.

As for this little girl's instincts, Li En also intended to monitor them long-term. Setting aside the distant future, he hasn't even counted on the Dragon bloodline's racial evolution formulas yet.

"Let's see the harvest first. Once I obtain the 'Paladin Set,' I'll have some combat power. Heh, old man, is this considered old tsundere?"

Did Su Er spend the whole time killing Li En to vent his anger? A night of cultivation might yield limited gains, but after experiencing countless deaths, the boundary between a warrior and an ordinary person was easily crossed.

This, in fact, is the hardest hurdle; too many warriors step onto the battlefield and cannot exert even one-tenth of their strength.

Previously, Li En relied on the state of Heroic Soul possession to get by; now, even without a Heroic Soul, he is a warrior capable of facing life and death.

"Let's go to morning training to see the degree of progress."

Sunlight spilled onto his shoulders; listening to the sound of footsteps on the grass, Li En felt as if he had returned to the dream once more.

The familiar courtyard of the new home, the morning light and dew made him increasingly alert.

"Hah."

He needed to swing his sword, needed to practice, to re-adapt himself to this fragile body.

One strike, then another.

At this moment, he no longer needed an imagined opponent.

He tried applying "Wall-Breaker" to his own sword; this was Su Er's strongest point, even his complete inheritance system.

"Holy Sword... Slash Evil. Heh, there is indeed something wrong within it."

That slash that cuts heaven, earth, and gods, called the Evil-Cutting Slash, was actually a combat system that had already been sublimated into a Heart-Soul Technique—no, now it is the Heroic Soul Inheritance combat system.

In his life, one person and one sword were enough.

"Armor-Erode, Collapse Realm, Spell-Break, City-Shatter, Beast-Slaughter, God-Slash." This is an overly vast and complete system, the essence of Su Er's inheritance, which Li En currently has no ability to integrate.

And the prerequisite for mastering it is his Heart-Soul ability, "Wall-Breaker."

【Heart-Soul: Wall-Breaker (Diamond): Your will is your hammer. This extraordinary ability, infused with your will and anger, can to a certain extent ignore the opponent's defenses.】

【Can unseen evil be treated as if nothing happened? Can the sins behind the wall be ignored by covering one's ears?!】

【No, never—The last words of "Foolish Righteous Justice" on its final day.】

【New effect added at Diamond rank: You can try extending its effect onto your own body and weapons. You can ignore protective items below the third ring, and you can use rage to expel inferior curses and Dark arts. (This is still not its full potential.)】

It looks terrifyingly powerful; in Li En's imagination, he could easily transform into a super locomotive and charge recklessly, yet this is still a trial period.

This Heart-Soul's rank rising from Gold to Diamond was not Su Er's gift, nor was it because Li En's upper limit had increased.

This was due to Li En's other gain: the "Li Ensu Heart-Soul," which could finally be viewed in the real world.

【Heart-Soul: Thousand-Faced Dragon (Jade): Allows you to link and use other Li Ensu Heart-Soul abilities, and essentially grants a one-rank species level buff. Ability effects can reach 70% of the original. Current link limit: one.】

Alright, you aren't even acting; it is limited exclusively to Li Ensu's Heart-Soul abilities.

【Thousand-Faced Dragon: Goo, I am clearly a good person, I clearly have no schemes, yet no one believes me.】

Keep talking; let's see if Li Ensu believes it!

The species level buff for Heart-Soul abilities, from Gold to Diamond, but with a thirty-percent reduction in effect—is this an enhancement or a weakening? It's hard to say. Is the priority of the ability enhanced, but the scope and efficiency weakened? Yet it seems the usage scope has increased.

"No, it is an enhancement. The usage scope is broader, making it easier to project power outward."

It seems quality still takes precedence over quantity.

"And the Jade-rank Thousand-Faced Dragon has this effect. As my species level progresses, it will also grow stronger. Perhaps one day, a situation will arise where I use a Heroic Soul's Heart-Soul ability that is stronger than the original. Merely using multiple Heart-Soul abilities simultaneously is already absurd."

Are Heart-Soul Techniques strong? Su Er's Evil-Cutting Slash that cuts heaven and earth has something to say about that.

Li En was now attempting to analyze this entire system.

【Obtained Hero Soul Inheritance, unlocked the 'Armor-Eroding Strike' skill chain.】

【Su Er: Sword techniques? In the darkness, swing the sword with full force.】

The concept of this "Armor-Breaking" placed above "Evil-Cleaving Slash" turned into a playstyle akin to a warrior's combat technique, far beyond imagination.

But is it strong?

"Boom!"

This sudden assault, though wielding a two-handed longsword, appeared slow yet was actually fast, its momentum seeming as heavy as a hammer.

Even the immature Armor-Eroding Strike possessed considerable strength.

It should be able to pierce heavy armor protection while shattering the plate blow by blow.

For such slashes targeting specific foes and situations, Su Er had a full five systems; against any opponent in any situation, one person and one blade were enough.

"Pour the anger in your heart toward the darkness into it, forming a will to destroy everything."

After repeated attempts, Li En finally set down his sword; this was not something he could accomplish. Ultimately, it was due to insufficient hard attributes.

And the premise for this system to function was this seemingly unique Soul ability. Could it truly be taught?

"The Hero Soul Inheritance exists in only one copy."

Even the Hero Soul Inheritance could not directly grant a Soul ability, but within this inheritance lay a trait similar to a "Dye Card."

It could allow the inheritor's Soul to change, granting it the Soul trait of the "Wall-Breaker" to a certain degree, thereby enabling the cultivation of this system's combat techniques.

Of course, it should not compare to Li En's original version capable of constant evolution, but at least it was usable.

Its inherent strength was not the key; rather, it was the treasure vault key to Su Er's entire tactical system, meant to be given to only one successor. Li En did not count; he had simply copied an entire treasure vault and walked away.

"Again." At least this weakest "Armor-Eroding Strike" did not demand unreasonable Qi, and it was quite practical.

He silently practiced swordsmanship, unaware that someone in the shadows was watching him.

"As expected, he is also a Hero Soul inheritor. Because he regressed and lost his Soul ability, the inheritance failed, so the Hero Spirit went to find a second batch of successors."

The "Shadow Arbiter," who had awakened first, had somehow already hidden within the courtyard's shadows.

Do not truly regard her as a simple-minded sweetie; her reverence for light and trust in knights were not blind fawning, okay? Though she acted somewhat like a blind fawner, she was, after all, a seasoned detective and former adventurer.

Having seen much darkness, she yearned for light all the more.

When the Dragon-Hunting girl leaked information, and Hero Spirit Sul顺势 revealed that a batch of successors had existed before with dire results, she immediately thought of Li En.

This also explained why Li En, though young, possessed such astonishing strength and will to become a nearly successful Hero Soul inheritor. How could he not be strong?!

This was actually a hidden persona Li En had crafted for himself; he simply hadn't expected that before he could fully leak the next "plot," the other party had already come knocking.

"His sword is so similar to the Hero Spirit's, almost identical in spirit."

"Could it be that, like the other successors, he fulfilled the duty to slay the Great Evil, ultimately failed, others died, and he regressed losing his ability? Yet even so, he crossed several nations to save this realm facing a Dark God crisis."

Well, still the King of Speculation.

And at this moment, she made up her mind.

"Even if I must expose myself, I will help him restore his strength. Compared to those completely unreliable fellows, he is the most suitable existence to inherit the Hero Spirit!" Remembering the so-called Hero Spirit candidates lying on the ground, still bickering, her brows furrowed.

Talia, who had never imagined she could inherit, grew increasingly dissatisfied with the other candidates.

"Wait, could it be that he is the overseer of Lord Su Er outside? Otherwise, how could Lord Su Er score us based on our situations outside?"

It seemed her speculation was becoming even more intense.

Things Li En had not yet designed, she had already filled in.

Um, thanks to old reader Xiao Long awfeef, the Alliance Leader, for the donation; working hard to add an extra chapter for you.

Um, continuing to ask for monthly votes and recommendation votes.

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(End of Chapter)