Chapter 65: There Are Differences Even Among Heroic Souls

Her long, elegant eyes glowed with lethal intent—she made no effort to hide the look of someone ready to kill.

Sariman glared at Li En, clutching her chest as she took deep breaths, yet her turbulent emotions refused to settle.

A core member of the Wangquan faction, head of a great noble house—how many times had she come herself to the police station to pull someone out?

Pulling someone out was bad enough, but for something this trivial, this beneath notice?

Sending a steward would’ve been overkill—yet she’d come herself, and made a fool of herself!

She drew a deep breath—more out of fury at her own weakness.

She’d already decided to ignore him—so why, the moment she heard he was in trouble, had she rushed over like an idiot?

And he—he’d never had any interest in her at all. Not from the start.

“This is unbearable—throwing myself at someone who doesn’t care! So humiliating!”

Many young men harbor delusions that all women find them attractive; women, by contrast, are often far more sensitive and rational.

Sariman was certain—unlike those leering men who constantly stared at her, Li En had always kept a safe distance.

In his calm gaze, there might be kindness and friendship—but not a single spark of romantic warmth.

“I’m such a weakling!” She wasn’t angry at Li En; she even admired his rational restraint.

Her anger was directed at herself—for how easily she’d been shaken. How useless she was!

Real-life unrequited love often has an expiration date; Sariman wasn’t even in love—she’d merely considered marriage out of political obligation.

She wouldn’t pursue a man who felt nothing for her.

After all, as a woman who still dreamed of true love, she didn’t want her marriage filled with coldness and diplomatic lies.

Even if it had to be a political marriage, she’d at least want someone who treated her well.

Even if she’d entertained slight thoughts or hesitation about Li En, reason had always suppressed them—never letting her emotions spiral further.

Yesterday’s farce might’ve been a blessing—calm now, Sariman had already decided to keep her distance from Li En.

After all, he had no interest in her. Her anger came from the fact that she’d rushed here like an idiot the moment she heard he was in trouble!

“Huh? That look.”

But in this moment, Li En’s gaze felt strange—almost unsettling, even frightening.

That intensity—that hunger, as if he wanted to devour her—she knew it all too well.

“Could I be mistaken?” The mind-reading witch wavered, while Li En stared at the sky, as if too ashamed to meet her eyes.

“When apologizing, you should look at the person!” Her feigned anger deepened his guilt, forcing him to lower his head.

When their eyes met, the familiar yet alien gaze confirmed it.

I didn’t imagine it.

He’s changed.

His gaze tried to remain calm—but beneath it, warmth flickered.

Her eyes, without realizing it, drifted downward to more sensitive areas.

Hmph. Another lecherous man! He’d fooled me so well before!

She instinctively stepped back, sensing a threat.

“Uh… why are you smiling?” The sudden smile on her lips confused Li En.

“Did I smile? You’re mistaken! I’m angry—be serious!”

Now, she grew even angrier at her own weakness!

But lying to herself was hard—she couldn’t help wondering why she felt so happy.

That gaze, once so repulsive—why didn’t it anger her anymore? If another noble had been so disrespectful, she’d already been planning revenge.

Seeing Li En laugh it off, deliberately avoiding her gaze as if afraid of offending her, Sariman felt an inexplicable surge of joy.

“Forget it. Getting angry with you is pointless—probably just a side effect of your regression. Fix it quickly. Next time you get into trouble, I won’t come.”

He didn’t care about me before—he was the bastard who kept dragging me to the police station. Now he wants to crawl back?

So what should I do? Of course, forgive him!

The softness of her complaint slipped out so easily—Sariman herself felt something was off.

“Am I really that easy to win over?” Realizing how easily she’d surrendered, the woman sank into silent self-loathing.

“Sorry. And thank you. You’ve gone out of your way for me several times.” Li En’s apology was sincere—someone traveling so far just because he was in trouble truly cared.

To kindness, Li En naturally responded with kindness.

He had no idea why this woman was both angry and smiling—maybe it was her menstrual cycle? Or maybe he’d truly annoyed her? After all, her mansion was probably still in chaos.

The small incident passed. Since they’d met again, he might as well handle the minor matters he’d brought along.

“This is a letter of introduction from my mentor. Go to Mage Street in the southwest of Huiguang District to find him.” This was the agreed-upon item—but also what Li En had long hoped for.

Li En’s eyes lit up—he snatched it eagerly.

Now, no matter how difficult that spirit was, at least his path as a spellcaster could begin.

“Stay in safe places. Your bounty’s still active.” What had driven Sariman to rush here so urgently was her fear that Li En would face retaliation.

His behavior yesterday was absurd—unthinkable. Maybe it was just a final burst of strength.

She couldn’t understand what had happened yesterday. Now, she could only blame the so-called Spirit Hall—there was no way Li En had truly been a high-rank spellcaster before.

Now that Li En had lost his supernatural power, hunters targeting him or vengeful cultists could easily kill him.

“Yes, I will.” Li En accepted her kindness.

But after a moment’s thought, he decided to reveal a little.

“Actually, I’m not completely defenseless.” His outstretched finger was faintly covered in golden light.

“What? How? Regression should strip all Zhiye abilities!” Sariman’s face filled with shock—she’d seen the moment his holy power scattered.

“I lost it—but I’ve retrained it. This power is entirely my own.”

Li En smiled as he spoke of his recent gains.

Sariman was utterly stunned—how could he become a Zhiye holder again so fast? It made no sense!

But considering this man’s record… perhaps this miracle could be accepted.

Though he’d regressed to the starting point, though his holy light was so weak it might vanish at any moment, she was genuinely glad for him.

“But this time, I don’t plan to specialize as a Holy Knight. My new oath is much looser.” Li En mentioned it casually—just to ensure she wouldn’t take back the letter.

But this instantly made Sariman understand.

If the conditions were met, becoming a Covenant Knight was indeed easy. No wonder he regained power so quickly. No wonder his gaze had changed.

“He reformed his oath? His old one must’ve included ‘abstain from women’—how cruel to himself! Now that it’s lifted, he’s free.” If so, everything made sense—he’d been celibate before!

His original oath hadn’t included that? Some classical Holy Knights who focused on judgment or vengeance concealed their true oaths—because such vows could become weaknesses.

Otherwise, a single seduction or succubus could destroy a celibate Holy Knight.

As for his earlier false oath? In Sariman’s eyes, Li En was never the type to follow rules.

Just from his actions at the slave market, it was clear he’d never kept an honest oath.

Sariman, suddenly filling in the gaps of Li En’s inexplicable behavior, wore a far more complex expression.

Could yesterday’s behavior have been caused by his oath breaking? She’d heard men who repressed themselves too long turned perverse.

If so, his suppressed emotions had spiraled out of control—he’d been mentally unstable, swaying back and forth before the statue… maybe that made sense? No! It made no sense at all! The moment she recalled the scene, her face flushed crimson.

As for switching paths, she could understand his choice.

After one regression, returning to the same path and reaching the peak again would be exponentially harder—it was wiser to choose a new path.

“But why tell me this? That his new oath isn’t strict (no celibacy)? Could it really be… for me?”

Sariman felt her mind in turmoil—then decided, weakly, to run back and sort things out (give up).

But Li En hadn’t thought that far—he was simply telling the truth, so she wouldn’t worry: his current state was far better than expected.

【Occupation: First-Rank Holy Knight, First-Rank Classical Covenant Knight】

【Occupation Skills: Smite Evil (First-Rank), Detect Evil (First-Rank), Domain of Punishment (First-Rank), Smite Sin (First-Rank), Holy Flame Aura (Third-Rank).】

【Passive Abilities: Mana Emission (Flame), Mana Emission (Radiance), Mana Emission (Positive Energy), Evil Resistance (Holy Knight passive resistance increased)】

He was already a complete Holy Knight—his skill set even surpassed that of most knights.

And this was still not all.

【Spirit Su’er expresses satisfaction with your devotion to eradicating evil, granting you the maximum reward.】

【Your current physical capacity has reached its limit. While retraining your first three ranks as a Holy Knight, you will progress with divine assistance.】

This means Su’er originally intended to grant you Third-Rank Holy Knight status—but your body couldn’t handle it, so you only reached the limit: First-Rank.

But when your physical capacity catches up, what belongs to you will still be yours.

The same shrinking happened to Li En’s most coveted ability.

【Soul Essence: Su’er’s Wall-Breaker (Raw Stone): Your blade is unbreakable!】

It sounded mighty and imposing—but in truth, it had been drastically weakened.

Originally, this trait could be applied to body, voice, and supernatural power—now, it only works on the sword.

Though it still allows him to use the Holy Sword: Smite Evil, preserving his core combat system, his power has clearly diminished.

【This soul essence ability will restore as you regain your Zhiye rank and biological level.】

The good news: if Li En advances just a few levels as a Holy Knight and evolves his species twice, he should regain the original Wall-Breaker.

Now, Li En was far from his spirit-possessed state—but Su’er’s legacy was enough to make him a formidable warrior.

Li En merely wanted to show he still had self-defense capability, so Sariman wouldn’t worry.

Noticing she seemed genuinely pleased, he smiled and nodded.

“She’s happy I can protect myself? What a good woman.” Their understandings had subtly diverged—but in this moment, they seemed to align.

He got into the carriage, the woman hurried away, and Li En sighed—he had to face his own mess.

That steam locomotive had exploded, and it was expensive.

“It wasn’t me, really it wasn’t.”

“Mm.” The police officer’s gaze had been like a kindergarten teacher watching a hyperactive child trying to hide a slingshot behind his back after smashing a window.

The evidence is still on the table—you say it wasn’t you? Fine, I’ll take your word for it. Let’s see if the judge believes you.

But Li En was released so quickly—not because of noble pressure.

“This is Knight Li En, the very man who eliminated the cultists in the underground caverns just two days ago.”

The title of Holy Knight was always a ticket to trust; his reputation made the law enforcers far more amiable.

Moreover, the incident occurred on a public street, with many witnesses.

“So, Sir Knight, you saw a suspected dwarf thief crawl under the vehicle?”

“Yes, I tried to stop him.” This was indeed the truth—and there were even witnesses.

“Then he caused the explosion, came out, and threw that thing onto you?”

“Mm. It sounds absurd, but that’s exactly what happened.” Though ridiculous, there were witnesses, and logically, it made sense.

“Sorry, sorry—we clearly misunderstood you. This was clearly a deliberate frame-up by a dwarf thief. Did you get a good look at his face?”

In fact, for most of his time at the police station, Li En had been helping them sketch the wanted poster for the “masked dwarf thief.”

But now he sighed, opened his backpack, and there, quietly reading inside, was the “dwarf thief.”

When it saw Li En looking down at it, it grew angry.

“You—you didn’t even bring the thing Ku Ku wanted! Pay me back! Pay Ku Ku!”

【Satisfaction -22%】

Fine, they’d directly deducted Li En’s satisfaction.

(End of Chapter)