This Spiritual Energy is Lethal!
Chapter 266: The Guardian of the Cycle

Chapter 266: Chapter 266: The Guardian of the Cycle

Chen Ke advanced through the flaming alley, hidden beneath the billowing smoke, indifferent to the clashing of arms around him. His goal was crystal clear: to find Faralis once more.

Of course, part of the reason was to try to retrieve the great sword, which, after all, was the most powerful of the Holy Relics in his possession. On the other hand, the key to breaking this cycle might very well lie with Faralis herself.

If reviving Faralis was the critical action in the previous cycle, what would it be this time?

Now, Chen Ke’s attire was that of a typical local in Fan Hede—a brown robe and grey trousers. The material of the clothes was unspeakably smooth to the touch, silky and cool—an indicator that its original owner must have belonged to the middle class or above.

The only downside was that the merchant was quite a bit shorter than Chen Ke and far more substantial in size. As a result, Chen Ke’s boots were an entire size too large, and the robe, which should have reached his knees, barely made it to his thighs, clinging tight against his body.

Despite the ill-fitting clothes, there wasn’t much of a choice. It was still better than wearing Mrs. Qiong’s ensemble.

Fan Hede’s urban planning left much to be desired; the streets were complex and tangled—made more inaccessible by the fact it was wartime, with many roads blocked by collapsed buildings. Moreover, to avoid street battles, Chen Ke had to zigzag through alleys, leading him to circle the same area for an extended period.

Even with the aid of Spiritual Vision, the brawling soldiers throughout the streets obscured any sign of Faralis. Not knowing how long it took him to resurrect this time, there was a chance Faralis had already escaped far away.

If he lost track of Faralis now, he would probably have to wait for the next cycle to restart. By the time Chen Ke reached the cathedral area, that space-time had already been reset.

Si’s consortium’s team, which had entered Fan Hede first, had taken something away, and as a defector, Miles drank Faralis’ blood.

Hmm... Regardless of their actions, when Chen Ke arrived, the place had been rebooted. Moreover, the reboot must have been silent and undetected, as Parker hadn’t noticed anything.

He paused his steps and found himself in a small square surrounded by several buildings—a green area about twenty or thirty square meters, a haven amidst the war flames.

In the center of the square was a small fountain, its statuette made of bronze. The statuette was identical to those in the church—a goddess with half her face covered by a scarf and holding a lantern. Water flowed continually from her lantern, watering the pond below.

"What kind of faith is this? So strange," Chen Ke muttered to himself, a touch of curiosity about this time-space’s Divine System.

"You’re not from around here, if I’m not mistaken," a stranger’s voice came from behind Chen Ke.

Chen Ke spun around, drawing his pistol, and assumed a standard C.A.R. protective stance while instantly activating Spiritual Vision to scan his surroundings.

Atop the three-story building behind him, a figure leaned against the steep gables, indistinct among the flickering flames and alternating shadows.

"It’s not too hard to figure out. After all, the holster and the pistol aren’t from here," Chen Ke replied, aiming at the figure, even though he didn’t feel any malicious intent but still maintained his guard.

"Good, you’re not trying to conceal anything, which makes things easier," the figure laughed.

"Who are you? You don’t sound like you’re from here either," Chen Ke asked.

"I’m not," the person replied bluntly.

"Well then, it seems we’ve reached a mutual understanding, not planning to hide our origins. So... why not just pass each other by politely... mind our own business... huh?" Chen Ke slowly retreated; he didn’t want to get involved in a meaningless fight.

Who the other party was didn’t matter to him. Hell, there were too many questions in this world, and it wasn’t wise to seek answers for every single one.

"Wait... wait... I didn’t say you could leave," the person suddenly said, emerging from the shadows.

Chen Ke saw clearly that the man was clad in the same armor as Brother Discouraged but with an additional helmet.

This set of armor was not something that could be produced with 21st-century technology. Lacking any kind of visor, Chen Ke guessed that the helmet used sensors and cameras to project images inside—resembling a sci-fi movie’s robot.

"What... what do you mean?" Chen Ke said warily.

"The spiritual power weapons you’re holding indicate you’re an official," the man said as he approached Chen Ke.

Chen Ke stood still, coming up with five different methods to kill the man but executed none. It was difficult to accurately gauge the other’s strength without sensing his killing intent.

"Official... what do you mean?" Chen Ke asked.

"It depends on your era, friend. I don’t care how you refer to yourselves; I only care about your purpose," the man replied.

"I don’t quite understand what you mean," Chen Ke said.

"I’ll cut to the chase, then. Are you here for the princess?" the man asked. He was now less than twenty meters away.

Chen Ke was taken aback, but quickly regained his composure.

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"What princess? What are you talking about? I don’t understand," Chen Ke chuckled.

"Your eyes give you away. Plus, you’ve been holding that gun up all this time, aren’t you tired?" the man responded with a smile.

Chen Ke looked at the man’s helmet and noticed the white letters H.C.P on the side.

"Don’t you have a friend in the cathedral, aren’t you going to see how he’s doing?" Chen Ke asked.

"That’s not my friend. So... you completed the cycle?" the tone of the man changed slightly.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about." Chen Ke realized he had let something slip, and although he didn’t know what the man intended, he could feel the man’s killing intent.

"+100 hours"

"+100 hours"

"+100 hours"

"+100 hours"

...

Chen Ke was startled—this guy was incredibly powerful... A fearsome force of 100 hours per second!

"As day turns to night, I have seen many like you, but you are the first to succeed," the man said as he opened his left hand while mimicking holding a gun with his right, and then a purple halo emerged from the palm of his left hand.

"Holy Relics... He’s pulling out a Holy Relic!" Chen Ke muttered to himself and, without another word, fired seven shots at the man’s head!

"Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang!"

Seven Punishment attribute bullets fired from a distance of 20 meters hit their mark without a single one straying off course. The bullets struck the man’s helmet with loud pings, and the white halos of Punishment burst open above his head.

However, just two seconds later, the man remained perfectly still, the helmet only showing slight scuff marks from the bullets. Meanwhile, the man slowly pulled out a sleek-looking assault rifle from the palm of his hand.

"Are you kidding me?... A gun is the Holy Relic...?" Chen Ke couldn’t help but exclaim.

"In your time, the use of Spiritual Energy is still at its most primitive stage, ignorance leads to fearlessness, and that fearlessness brings disaster, which is precisely why we must stop you from completing the cycle," the man explained.

Chen Ke couldn’t understand what the man was talking about, and it clearly wasn’t the time to haggle with him. Chen Ke was proficient in disassembling guns and was confident he could take apart an M4 or a 9mm handgun in seconds, but he wasn’t sure if a gun that was a Holy Relic could be disassembled as easily.

Moreover, he definitely didn’t want to grapple with this man—the man’s armor might also be a Holy Relic...

He couldn’t win, but he couldn’t escape either, especially since the man was holding a gun. Quickly, a plan formed in Chen Ke’s mind, and without thinking twice, he made up his mind.

Almost the moment the man aimed the gun, Chen Ke dashed forward and extended his right hand—just a snap of his fingers was needed to send him flying!

But to Chen Ke’s surprise, he didn’t even get a chance to snap his fingers before the man moved with uncanny speed to Chen Ke’s side. While Chen Ke maintained his forward-running posture, he was struck on the head by the butt of the gun.

Chen Ke fell sideways to the ground, the man stepping on his chest and pointing the barrel of the gun at his forehead.

"Not a bad attempt, rushing over a distance of 20 meters so quickly, a very good performance. You must be an elite agent. But unfortunately, I have to kill you, it’s not personal, it’s for the welfare of all humankind across the timeline," the man said, shaking his head.

"You talk too much," Chen Ke retorted, glancing sideways.

"Hm?" the man was taken aback.

Spiritual Energy surged! A ten-hour burst!

"Boom!"

Before Chen Ke’s eyes, a real explosion of light occurred, followed by a massive blast sound as a brutal force rocketed upwards, blowing the armored man sixty meters into the sky.

Chen Ke immediately got up from the ground, his right hand flashed blue, and the halo crystallized—the Soul Crystal Gun worth ten hours of Spiritual Energy! He hurled it fiercely at the man, the blue crystal spear whistling into the sky.

Whether it was good luck or... just good luck, the Crystal Gun hit its target! Undoubtedly striking the man’s chest plate, it carried him off with great force, flying far southward and landing on a rooftop blocks away.

Chen Ke took a deep breath, removed the empty magazine, replaced it with a new one, and then turned and ran.

```