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nThe Soulmancers in the bookstore finally realized William’s authority in this place.

nA mere novice Soulmancer, yet he commanded such respect from Nelson. This was indeed no small feat,incredible!

nThey also didn’t dare to release their energy to intimidate ordinary people anymore.

nWilliam led Edward upstairs and then asked, “Edward, what did you want to see me about? Go ahead.”

nEdward could clearly feel that William’s attitude towards him had improved significantly. Taking a deep breath, he finally said, “Mr. Johnson, after we returned from Ravenwood last time, those artifacts were stolen en route.”

nWilliam nodded and replied, “Yes, I heard about that. It’s really unfortunate.”

n“But… I think those artifacts might have been hidden by people from the 13th Bureau,” Edward said through gritted teeth. “Though I know it’s just a suspicion without any evidence, every member of the 13th Bureau is so skilled, the escort process was so secretive, and the security measures were tight. It doesn’t make sense that they would get stolen!”

nWilliam’s eyes narrowed slightly. This ordinary man’s guess was very accurate.

nTechnically, the operations of the 13th Bureau should be flawless, yet Edward had still guessed it.

nFrowning, Edward asked, “Mr. Johnson, those people downstairs are all Soulmancers, aren’t they?”

nAh, quite the keen observation, seeing through everything.

nWilliam found this even more interesting. He didn’t deny it but nodded instead. Some things, even if Edward knew about them, were not a big deal. .

nWith just a thought, a barrier that blocked sound transmission emerged, instantly isolating the sound on the second floor, ensuring that no one downstairs could hear his conversation with Edward.

n“The items we gave you at Ravenwood were actually fakes, but they were indeed taken away by people from the 13th Bureau.”

n“Fakes?!” Edward’s eyes widened in shock. “How could they be fakes?”

nWilliam sat down and explained, “I made the replicas.”

n“Then where are the real artifacts? Are they still at Ravenwood, or…” Edward didn’t really care about this detail. He was only concerned about the whereabouts of the real artifacts. He needed to at least confirm their current location.

n“Everything’s right here with me,” William said, slowly waving his hand over the table. Suddenly, Gungnir, the ‘Spear of War’ from the myths of Odin, appeared on the table.

nEdward’s whole body trembled, his eyes fixated on the ‘Spear of War’ on the table. He asked anxiously, “Is this real?”

nWilliam picked up Gungnir and examined it, saying, “This is the legendary Gungnir, Odin’s weapon of choice, an artifact with immense power.”

nEdward gasped, his finger trembling as he pointed at Gungnir in William’s hand, excitedly asking, “How can you possibly be holding it?”

nHe went on to explain that previously, in an ancient cave at Mount San Juan Teotihuacan, an archaeologist had merely touched this artifact and turned to ash.

nYet now, William could manipulate this artifact effortlessly.

nWilliam smiled and responded, “It once belonged to Odin, but now it is mine. It was always my possession, so there’s no problem with me handling it.”

n“You…” Edward’s voice choked, incredulously asking, “Are you saying… that everything in that cave… is yours?”

nWilliam nodded in confirmation: “The text on that stone tablet, I wrote it.”

nAt this moment, Edward was too excited to speak, his breathing rapid.

nHe finally understood why William knew the language on the stone tablet.

nFrom the era of the gods to the present day, how many years had that been?

nAfter a moment of silence, Edward couldn’t help but ask, “So… how many years have you lived?”

nWilliam thought for a moment and said, “If we count by your current time, it should be about a billion years. Back then, there were no other forms of life on Earth.”

nEdward swallowed hard. If anyone else had said this, he would not have believed it, but when William said it, he somehow chose to believe.

nWilliam said in a calm tone, “Many of the items from Mount San Juan Teotihuacan are magical artifacts from the age of the gods. Their reappearance in the world would surely lead to many complications. It’s better that I keep them.”

nEdward was stunned, a billion years?

nWhat era would that be?

nAccording to William, there were no living beings at that time.

nWilliam didn’t know if Edward believed what he was saying. He simply stated, “I really like this era, with so many interesting things. But those items from Mount San Juan Teotihuacan, it’s best if you forget about them. Even if I gave them to you, you wouldn’t be able to decipher them. And if these things really spread, they might cause harm, even destruction, to many people in this world.”

nNot to mention anything else, if any of the magical artifacts fell into the wrong hands and William didn’t intervene, the casualties could be unimaginable.

nEdward clenched his fists, sitting in the chair, looking at William, his lips trembling as he asked, “A billion years ago, were you already in human form?”

nWilliam looked into his eyes and said, “Many aspects of the history you understand now aren’t entirely true. But the past is the past. What difference does it make to confirm it?”

nEdward fell silent again for a long time, finally showing a smile on his face, “Thank you for clarifying this for me. In that case, it’s better if those things stay with you.”

nThis conversation had revealed many secrets to Edward.

nAlthough there were still many questions in his mind, he decided not to disturb William any further.

nHe stood up, bowed to William, and then turned to go downstairs.

nOnly then did William lift the barrier on the second floor.

nNot long after Edward left the bookstore, Alice arrived, while William was upstairs reading.

nAlice, holding two cups of coffee, quickly went upstairs and handed one to William, saying, “I knew you’d be here! Here, this is for you!”

nWilliam took the coffee, sipped it, and continued reading his book.

nAlice couldn’t help but giggle. William claimed he didn’t care about her, but if he truly didn’t, why would he be waiting here for her?

nPretending to read here, he was actually worried about her, wasn’t he?

nAlice smiled slightly, took a delicate sip of her coffee, then went downstairs without saying much more to William.

nPlaying hard to get, then? Well, everyone has their moments of being a little coy!

nAfter going downstairs, Alice started to cozy up to Nelson.

nKnowing that Alice was William’s disciple, Nelson naturally treated her differently.

n“Alice, I heard you’ve been targeted by the Soulmancers from Texas. You need to be careful,” Nelson said, but he didn’t seem worried at all.

nAfter all, she was William’s disciple!

nRegardless of William’s true strength, just any one of the magical artifacts from Mount San Juan Teotihuacan was enough to deter any Soulmancer.

nEach artifact had the power to obliterate the entire Soulmancer organization of Texas.

nAlice, however, made a pitiful face and said to Nelson, “Great Mage Nelson, I’m scared!”

nThe source of this content is .

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