Not going against one's will.
As these three words met his eyes, Duan Chen suddenly thought of what Wu Suowei had once told him about Mi Xue'er's father.
Mi Jun, nicknamed the Uncompromising Sword Saint.
And this pocket watch was clearly the item Mi Le had requested back then.
"You're showing something so important to an outsider like this, aren't you afraid he'll steal your swordsmanship?" Mi Le said sarcastically.
Mi Xue'er glared at him, then smiled at Duan Chen, "Brother Duan Chen, take it and inject your spiritual energy."
"Just like he said, aren't you afraid I'll steal your swordsmanship?"
Duan Chen chuckled playfully and injected his spiritual energy into it as Mi Xue'er instructed.
*Clang!*
A crisp sword sound echoed in his mind. Duan Chen's heart jolted, and for a moment, his consciousness seemed to falter.
In this sword sound, he sensed a sharp sword energy!
It was even stronger than Yang Jian, the First Swordsman!
"How was it?"
Mi Xue'er smiled sweetly, her smile mischievous.
"This is..."
"This was left to me by my father. If anyone else tries to touch it, they will receive an attack like the one you just experienced."
Duan Chen gave her a deep look.
Mi Jun was definitely not simple!
"Serves you right for trying to steal other people's abilities. Now let's see how you steal them."
Mi Le, having been tricked and had his abilities copied by Duan Chen, was certainly holding a grudge. Seeing Duan Chen flustered, he openly mocked him.
Duan Chen ignored him and ate his meal absentmindedly.
It seemed Mi Xue'er had likely inherited her father's swordsmanship, which was why she could become a high-level agent in such a short time.
Of course, her own efforts were undoubtedly a significant factor.
After the meal, they all returned to the Spirit Hunter Guild. Duan Chen asked Sun Xiaoxiao and the other two women to stay in his house for a while, as they were sea monsters and could easily be mistaken for threats by unsuspecting Spirit Hunter agents.
"Master, I'm new here and have nowhere to stay."
"My place is full. If you need it, I can ask someone to find you a house."
Duan Chen felt helpless. His place was indeed full, and he couldn't possibly share a bed with Yan Qiuren.
"It's fine, I can find one for you. I'm familiar with this area!"
Bai Ye grinned and pulled out his phone, about to call a real estate agent.
"No need."
Yan Qiuren stopped his hand, gritting her teeth, "I... Thank you."
"Haha, you're welcome, you're welcome. I'm just someone who likes to help."
"By the way, Bai Ye, when you were in Jingcheng before, did you ever see an Apostle? Tall, with a deep voice, and always wearing a black cloak."
Bai Ye froze, then his expression turned serious.
"You encountered him?"
"More than encountered."
Duan Chen recounted his experience in the illusion to him.
"Let me think... If we're talking about cloaks, 03 and 05 tend to wear them. Other than that... Oh, are you talking about 07?"
"07?"
Duan Chen silently noted the number.
"Why do you know so much about Jingcheng?" Yan Qiuren asked in surprise. Information about Jingcheng and the Evil God was actually more known to Spirit Hunter agents in the capital. In Spirit Hunter guilds in other cities, few, except for the higher-ups, knew about the Evil God of Jingcheng. If it weren't for Wu Suowei, even a high-level agent like Duan Chen wouldn't have known of such an existence in the world.
"Heh heh, because I used to be an Apostle myself. Number 06, Dark Raven."
"You're an Apostle?!"
Yan Qiuren realized that this man, Duan Chen, was far more complex than he appeared. Not only could he command sea monsters, but he could even turn Apostles into companions. Truly remarkable.
"That's right. Duan Chen, I heard you encountered a Puppet?"
"Puppet?"
Duan Chen was taken aback.
Bai Ye scratched his head, confused, "Yeah, 05, Puppet."
"What are the nicknames of the other Apostles?" Yan Qiuren asked curiously. She had never heard of this matter before.
"01 and 02 are quite mysterious, I haven't met them. I've heard of others, like 03 Nightmare, 04 Mirror Flower, 05 Puppet, 07... seems to be Illusory?"
"What about 08?" Duan Chen thought of the magician.
"There's 08 too?"
To his surprise, Bai Ye jumped up.
"How is that possible? As far as I know, there are only seven."
It seemed he genuinely didn't know. Duan Chen shook his head and didn't press further.
"So, the abilities of these Apostles are related to their nicknames, right?"
"That's right. I'll tell you a secret, it's also related to their personality. For example, Illusory. True and false, false and true. Just like your past experiences, you might fall into an illusion at any moment."
"Indeed."
Although he had been tricked, Duan Chen had to admit that the Apostle was far more dangerous than Gu Sang and Niya.
Bai Ye gave a strange smile, "Perhaps you're in an illusion right now."
"No." Duan Chen said expressionlessly.
"So cold!"
Bai Ye felt hurt.
"Duan Chen—!"
Here we go again?
Just as Duan Chen was about to dodge, he noticed that Xiao Li wasn't pouncing towards him but was staring at him with excitement.
"Could it be..." Duan Chen had a bad feeling.
No way, he had just returned to Sucheng, and his rear hadn't even cooled down yet.
As expected, Xiao Li looked shy.
"Please, I was just worrying about not having anyone. Please take this mission!"
"I just got back. Where are the other high-level agents?"
Duan Chen was helpless.
"Please... If you take this mission, I'll give you five days of leave afterward, okay?" Xiao Li pleaded. The other high-level agents were also out on missions. Ever since Leviathan appeared and caused irreversible damage to Sucheng, the number of available high-level agents had rapidly declined. Otherwise, Mi Xue'er wouldn't have become a high-level agent so easily.
"Master, I suggest you rest for a while."
"Yan... Yan Qiuren?! Duan Chen! You can't cling to someone's leg like this!"
Xiao Li was on the verge of tears. Her position in the Spirit Hunter Guild was administrative. She had undergone devilish training under Yan Qiuren in the capital and was still psychologically scarred. If Yan Qiuren forbade it, she couldn't force it. Fortunately, Duan Chen was more amenable. He waved her over, gesturing for her to hand over the mission file.
"Okay!"
Xiao Li's eyes crinkled into a smile.
"Master, have you ever heard of a new term from this era?" Yan Qiuren asked, staring at him with a peculiar expression.
"What?"
Duan Chen was taken aback.
Bai Ye peeked from behind and echoed Yan Qiuren, "Hooligan!"
Duan Chen was speechless.
After a quick glance at the mission summary, Duan Chen decided who to bring on this mission. Mi Xue'er was a definite inclusion. Firstly, he wanted to test if her title of high-level agent was well-deserved. Secondly, he wanted to witness the Uncompromising Sword Saint's techniques.
Duan Chen put away the folder and walked towards the office of Wang Zihao and the others.