"Ahem!"
Just then, however, a soft cough interrupted the conversation in the great hall.
The cough was quiet, yet carried an unmistakable tremor of law, like a fingertip plucking a taut string, instantly cutting through the discussion in the hall.
Qin He's heart gave a sudden jolt.
It had not come from the five fiery silhouettes inside the hall, but seemed to come from the corridor outside. Faint as it was, its timing was precisely right—it was a reminder.
A reminder to those inside that an "outsider" was still present.
Sure enough, the conversation in the great hall stopped abruptly. Even the flickering flames of the fire-crystal lamps seemed to freeze for an instant.
The next second, five streams of divine sense surged toward Qin He like a tide, enveloping him layer upon layer.
There was no violent impact of Origin Power, nor any shrill thunder of laws, yet Qin He felt his entire body sink, as though a mountain cast from the laws of heaven and earth had pinned him down. Every limb and bone cried out under the crushing weight.
Qin He's lowered fingertips curled slightly as he understood in an instant.
The five had become so absorbed in their discussion that they had forgotten the existence of this "minor Realm Patrol Bureau clerk," blurting out secrets they should never have spoken—the Divine War Department's whereabouts and the Burning Heaven Lord's transfer to the War Bureau to organize its defenses were clearly top-level secrets shared between the Fire God Hall and the Divine War Department.
An insignificant clerk who had overheard secrets capable of shifting the balance of the Divine Court could meet only one end.
Just as Qin He forcibly suppressed the surging Demonic Essence within him and secretly activated the Source-Birth Law to protect his soul,