Mortal Divine Domain

Afternoon.

Wen Qimo sat idly in the Forbidden Ruin testing ground and glanced at the time.

"That kid... why isn't he here yet?"

The moment he finished speaking, a figure slowly pushed open the door and shuffled toward him like a zombie...

"Fuck!" Wen Qimo cried out when he saw the newcomer. "Qiye, you... what happened to you...?"

Lin Qiye, his face bruised and swollen, waved a hand. Just as he was about to say something, he staggered and nearly fell to the ground.

Wen Qimo hurried over to support him. "You sparred with the captain?"

"Yeah."

"Hmm... looks like your talent isn't bad."

Lin Qiye stared into his eyes. "You call this 'not bad'?"

"The first time I sparred with the captain, I got beaten so badly that I lay sprawled in the training hall for a full day and night before I recovered." Wen Qimo sighed. "Right now, Hong Ying is the only one who can barely hold her own against the captain in close combat."

"I heard Zhao Kongcheng is a master of close combat. He can't do it either?"

Wen Qimo fell silent for a moment before slowly speaking. "What he has with the captain isn't barely holding his own. That's called an even match—of course, on the condition that neither of them uses their Forbidden Ruin."

"All right..."

Suppressing the pain in his body, Lin Qiye barely managed to stand upright. If someone lifted his clothes, they would find his body covered in bruises.

Chen Muye's blade was too fast, too heavy, too ruthless!

And... he didn't seem to have any intention of holding back.

"Don't worry. Go find Xiao Nan for treatment later, and you'll be ready to get beaten up again tomorrow morning," Wen Qimo comforted him.

Lin Qiye: ...

"Now, class begins." Wen Qimo cleared his throat.

Lin Qiye straightened his body.

"First, let's start with what a Forbidden Ruin is..."

"Zhao Kongcheng already told me about that."

"All right, then let's talk about Divine Ruins..."

"He told me about that too."

"Fine, then let's talk about Forbidden Ruins produced by objects..."

"Told me that too."

Wen Qimo: ...

"Just how much did that guy secretly tell you..." Wen Qimo rubbed his forehead. "What about the Forbidden Ruin Sequence? Did he tell you about that?"

"No."

Wen Qimo breathed a sigh of relief and began, "The so-called Forbidden Ruin Sequence is a ranking list created by humanity to classify Forbidden Ruins according to their danger level. Like divine codenames, it starts from 001. The higher the rank, the more dangerous it is."

"Isn't that the same as divine codenames?"

"No. Divine codenames are based on the order in which humanity discovered gods; they have nothing to do with a god's own combat power or level of danger. The Forbidden Ruin Sequence, on the other hand, is ranked by danger."

"I understand."

"Forbidden Ruins ranked after 600 are called 'harmless Forbidden Ruins.' Their effects are tiny—at most, they can water flowers and grass, kill the worms in someone's mouth, or conjure up a spicy strip out of thin air.

Those ranked from 400 to 599 are called 'low-risk Forbidden Ruins.' They possess some offensive power, but aren't particularly dangerous. Used well, they might produce unexpected results.

Those ranked from Sequence 200 to 399 are called 'dangerous Forbidden Ruins.' They can pose large-scale threats to human society and are also capable of fighting Mysteries.

Those ranked from Sequence 90 to 199 are 'high-risk Forbidden Ruins.' They can pose massive threats to human society and possess extraordinary combat power. Most people with Forbidden Ruins in this range are top-tier combatants—the captain, for example, is in this range.

As for those ranked before 89... they are called 'extremely high-risk Forbidden Ruins.' These Forbidden Ruins either possess overwhelmingly powerful, large-scale destructive force, or incredible special abilities. In short, Forbidden Ruins of this rank have completely transcended the bounds of 'human.' They can destroy an entire city at a whim!"

Wen Qimo emphasized again, "This isn't an exaggeration. A few years ago, in the northwestern desert, a powerful Mythical Creature appeared. It possessed Sequence 063, Luotian Misha, and nearly buried several nearby cities beneath a sandstorm. In the end, it was only killed after a Special Squad arrived."

Lin Qiye froze. "I remember Zhao Kongcheng saying that his Forbidden Ruin was Sequence 083..."

"Life-Annihilating Flash Moon is an extremely high-risk Forbidden Ruin. Though it's among the lowest-ranked of them, it's still incredibly rare." Wen Qimo looked somewhat despondent. "If he had truly possessed this Forbidden Ruin from birth, perhaps... he would have joined a Special Squad long ago and become a general."

"Those are the rankings for Forbidden Ruins? What about Divine Ruins?" Lin Qiye asked curiously.

"Divine Ruins are also a kind of Forbidden Ruin, so they're included in the Sequence." Wen Qimo paused and gave Lin Qiye an envious look. "Of the top thirty Forbidden Ruins, twenty-three are Divine Ruins.

The power bestowed by gods is naturally beyond the reach of mortals. Whether in danger or uniqueness, it far exceeds our imagination."

"But if that's the case, then among the top thirty, there are still seven Forbidden Ruins belonging to humans?"

"There are." Wen Qimo's eyes shone. "There is even one that belongs to a human among the top five Forbidden Ruins!"

"Which one?"

"I don't know."

"..."

"Don't look at me like that. I've only been with the Night Watchmen for a few years myself. How would I know something that classified?" Wen Qimo spread his hands innocently.

"What about my Forbidden Ruins?" Lin Qiye pointed at himself. "What Sequence is it?"

Wen Qimo glanced at him and spoke quietly.

"Divine Code 003, Archangel Michael's Divine Realm... is called Mortal Divine Domain.

Its Forbidden Ruins Sequence is also 003."

"Forbidden Ruins Sequence 003, Mortal Divine Domain..." Lin Qiye murmured to himself.

"But don't celebrate too soon. 003 is the Archangel's Forbidden Ruins Sequence, not yours, Lin Qiye's." Wen Qimo added, "Only in the Archangel's hands is it 003.

In the hands of a rookie like you, someone who's only just stepped into the world of the mysterious, its power might only qualify as a high-risk Forbidden Ruins.

Only someday in the future, when your realm is high enough—high enough to stand shoulder to shoulder with a god—

will it truly be 003."

Lin Qiye nodded. "I understand."

"Oh, right. I have another question."

"Ask."

"Can the same person... become the agent of several different gods?"

"Impossible." Wen Qimo shook his head without the slightest hesitation. "At least, there has never been such a precedent in human history."

"Oh." Lin Qiye nodded.

Starting now, there was.

Besides Archangel Michael's Mortal Divine Domain, Lin Qiye also possessed Starry Night Dancer, which he had obtained from the Goddess of Night. In a sense, he was the agent of two gods.

Of course, he couldn't tell anyone about that for now. If the higher-ups of the Night Watchmen captured him for research, he'd be done for.

At the very least, he was still too weak. Perhaps once he became strong enough, he wouldn't be afraid of being exposed no matter what.

"Now that we've covered the basics, let's talk about your Forbidden Ruins. What can the Mortal Divine Domain in your hands do right now?"

"Centered on me, within a circular domain with a radius of twenty meters, I can perceive everything."

"Oh?" Wen Qimo raised a brow. "What color is Hong Ying's underwear today?"

"White."

In the testing ground, the two men stared at each other briefly...

Then they smiled at each other.