Lionheart Society Archives

"Junior, Norton Hall's been renovated, and you still ran back to the dorm to sleep in a doghouse?"

Early the next morning, Fingel came upstairs to visit and started shouting outside Room 403.

Caesar had moved into Amber Hall some time ago while recovering from his gunshot wound, so Li Lin was the only one living in this dorm now.

"What doghouse? Could you show the school's S-Rank at least some basic respect?"

"No problem. Your senior overstepped." Fingel gave Li Lin a thumbs-up. "I heard the principal came to see you personally last night. It was about the Japan Branch, right? They're planning to invite you and Xia Mi to be exchange students for a few months."

"You even know about that? Senior, are you sure you aren't a spy planted at the school by the Board of Trustees or the Executive Department?"

Fingel awkwardly scratched his head. "Don't get the wrong idea, Junior. Your senior has just spent a few more years here and knows more people."

"Forget it. What did you come looking for me for?"

"Uh, the principal specifically sent me to run an errand." Fingel pulled a small white card from his pocket. "Whether you and Xia Mi want to go to Japan or not, for the next week, you can use this card to enter and leave the Lionheart Society archives. You'll be allowed to read some books that can't be taken outside."

"That sounds like classified intelligence that isn't meant to see the light of day. Senior, I'm a core member of the Student Union. Is that really appropriate?"

Li Lin had been at the school for nearly a month now, and he knew very well that the Lionheart Society, this long-established student organization, was essentially the Secret Party's "Young Pioneers," renowned for its strictness and old-fashioned ways.

Although its members had shown signs of being influenced by the Student Union led by Caesar next door ever since the previous class, joining still required passing all sorts of trials comparable to training through the Shaolin Thirty-Six Chambers.

"The Lionheart Society was founded to cultivate outstanding dragon-slaying prodigies. You and Xia Mi are indeed qualified to read those books based on your bloodlines. Make good use of this opportunity."

Fingel tossed the card to Li Lin. "Junior, Dragon Blood is an abyss. If you become too obsessed with digging power out of it, it's easy to turn into a devil."

"What do you mean by that, Senior?"

"Ever since the War Practice Class ended, you've been asking professors about the Critical Blood Limit quite a lot. Even the principal has heard about it."

Fingel spread his hands. For an instant, that sleazy expression on his face seemed to vanish.

"Your senior is, after all, someone who's been through it. I don't want to see you go astray either, but I still think I should give you a warning... Sometimes, a man can only protect the girl he loves by becoming a devil."

When Fingel spoke, he looked as dejected as a defeated dog that had lost everything. Yet Li Lin saw something in his eyes that was very similar to Angers.

During the lunch break, Xia Mi somehow produced a hand-painted little flag bearing the logos of the Student Union and the Martial Arts Club.

The logos had recently been designed by the Art Club, which also belonged to the Student Union. Although Xia Mi, as the club president, had yet to recruit any new members, she probably felt that no student besides Li Lin had martial arts skills good enough to count as "beginner level."

Li Lin watched Xia Mi wave the flag ahead of him, his expression turning slightly strange. "We're heading into Lionheart Society territory next. Won't you be mistaken for someone coming to challenge them if you're this flashy?"

"Ho ho, you're still underestimating how popular you are with the Lionheart Society. Those little killer embryos love peerless tough guys like you, the kind who roll up their sleeves and jump into hand-to-hand combat with Dead Servants."

"So those two things are related?" Li Lin thought the phrase "peerless tough guy" sounded pretty good.

"Of course they are. Everyone assumes that authority and strength are equal. Simply put, the greater the ability, the greater the power, and the greater the responsibility. When you possess strength, you should act like an undefeated general or an emperor ruling over vast lands."

As Xia Mi said this, she tucked the flag into Li Lin's breast pocket. "Now it's our military banner. As long as the banner stands, our hearts won't scatter. We'll protect it together."

Sometimes, Li Lin felt Xia Mi was simply a female version of Fingel, with a mouth that never stopped chattering. If she could just be a little quieter, she could probably enchant everyone with that face alone.

As they passed the library, Li Lin reached out and patted Xia Mi on the shoulder. "What kind of materials do you think need to be kept secretly in the Lionheart Society archives?"

"Hmm... My guess is an unparalleled Dragon-Slaying Divine Skill." Xia Mi spoke as she walked. "Doesn't this feel like the inner sanctum or scripture repository of some secluded martial sect, where ordinary disciples aren't allowed to enter? As inner disciples personally chosen by the sect master, after winning the grand sect tournament, we get to enter the scripture repository and freely select heavenly-tier techniques."

At that, Li Lin's interest was immediately piqued, and his steps grew lighter.

When they entered the Lionheart Society's hall, someone was already waiting for them.

"Professor, you're here too?"

Li Lin saw Professor Schneider.

The old man who managed the Executive Department was waiting at the entrance in his wheelchair.

Compared to before, the way he looked at Li Lin held less severity and scrutiny, replaced instead by appreciation.

"I'm here to supervise you."

Upon hearing Schneider's words, Xia Mi leaned close to Li Lin's ear and whispered, "See? Even the guardian elder is here... I told you, there must be a heavenly-tier secret technique passed down within the sect."

Ignoring Xia Mi's ridiculous babble, Li Lin followed Schneider as he wheeled himself into the bright and splendid banquet hall. They exited through a concealed door at the back, and the classically styled modern renovations quickly vanished. All that remained were old gray bricks covered in moss. The mottled marks of time were like countless chains binding a gleaming, heavy metal door before them, like Pandora's Box suspended high in the air.

The secrets steeped in the blood of generations of dragon slayers were all sealed within.

Schneider stopped when he reached this point with his wheelchair. "Even I do not have the authority to enter and leave as I please. Most of the documents and books in the archives are over a century old. Please treat them well."

After saying that, Professor Schneider pulled out a tablet. His thoughts remained fixed on the situation within the Executive Department at all times.

Li Lin used the access card Angers had given him to unlock the sensor lock on the door. He pushed hard, opening the half-meter-thick door, and a gust of fresh air immediately washed over him. The room was clean and orderly, and the Equipment Department had clearly designed an advanced Five Constants system here.

"Five Constants" referred to constant temperature, constant humidity, constant oxygen, constant cleanliness, and constant quiet. Its purpose was to extend the preservation life of those old materials as much as possible.

As the two entered, the metal door behind them closed on its own.

For a moment, Li Lin did not know what to do, so he casually pulled out a copy of "Dead Servant Embryonic Serum Research" and began reading.

Xia Mi, on the other hand, sneakily searched through the shelves. Sometimes she stood on tiptoe and stretched her small arms with all her might to reach a high parchment scroll; other times, she hugged a bamboo slip as if she had found a priceless treasure, like a little female thief who had wandered into a vault.