Chapter 182 — The Mysterious Crystal

"Friggin' hell." In a library within the reserve, Shi Jin sat in a corner, and after reading 116 books, he was overcome with bitter sorrow. The little sword spirit poked its head out and, sticking close to Shi Jin, competed with him for the air conditioning's cool breeze, making Shi Jin—who had found no useful material—even more depressed.

"It's almost one in the morning."

"Military training ends tomorrow."

"If I'd known, I never would have named you Chitong. If I'd called you Redhead, maybe the relic would have shown us a bit more respect..." Shijin sank into thought.

The little sword spirit looked utterly bewildered. Its beast tamer was spouting strange, foolish nonsense again.

"Let's give it one more try." The sky had darkened, and Shi Heng knew it was time for him to step forward himself.

After midnight, the Heroic Spirit Relic sealed itself off; by then there would be practically no one left. But Shijin had special privileges and could enter on his own.

The first couple of days, Director Li and Instructor Feng had made a point of coming along, hoping to witness some kind of marvel. After that, though, it was just Shijin, paying his late-night visits alone.

In the dark of night, beneath the moonlight.

Shijin walked the altar once more, gazing at the relic bathed in lunar light.

"Still won't talk... I'm leaving tomorrow, you know. Once I go, I won't be coming back."

The relic: "..."

"I really am leaving."

Over and over, Shijin declared "I'm leaving" more than a dozen times.

He was furious. Here he was, humbling himself this much.

What a pity—against a Heroic Spirit Relic, a relic the Time Emperor himself had built, he didn't dare resort to provocation. He was afraid the old Time Emperor might rise from the dead and beat him to death.

Half past two in the morning.

Shijin gave up completely, resolving to come back another time when he had the chance.

Yet just then, something strange happened. The relic that had shown no reaction to his hundred-odd repetitions of "I'm leaving" began to change—after he truly turned to go.

A rhombus-shaped crystal emerged wreathed in faint light, drifting slowly down toward Qi's hand.

Shijin's expression shifted slightly. So this relic really did have a "spirit" after all.

But what on earth was this thing? It wasn't quite a soul seed, wasn't quite a resource... Where were the instructions...