Chapter 151
On top of the throne was an enormous circular white gem, letting out a gentle sensation that was circulating around and leaving the powerhouses of the Six Great Temples completely alarmed and restless. It felt as if nothing else existed in this world, as no one in the area could sustain any kind of injuries.
On the large seat were tortoise-shell patterns, extending downwards just like the legs of an elephant, with two enormous armrails rising up on the sides. This throne appeared just like a sculpture.
Countless thick, decorative symbols were drawn on the two sides of the back, spreading up to the corners of this throne, giving off an impression of spring fragrance.
With a light sigh, an old and deep voice echoed, “Brother Sheng Yue, no need to get impatient. Putting aside the fact that everything is in accordance with the rules and regulations, Haochen didn’t do anything wrong. Even if he did do something wrong, why not let him explain everything first?”
Wearing a white gown with large sleeves, Yang Haohan calmly stood before that huge throne. Facing the incomparable throne behind him, even the bearded, black-clad, slim elder Sheng Yue couldn’t help but stay motionless.
Even if some youths participating in the Demon Hunt Selection couldn’t recognize it, how could Sheng Yue not?
This was precisely one of the six great Divine Thrones, the one known as the Divine Throne of Protection and Mercy!
Wearing his white gown, Yang Haohan turned out to be the Divine Knight of Defense and Strategy who watched over the Alliance’s headquarters, and the current leader of the Temple Alliance.
“Yang Haohan, are you trying to stop me?” No matter how strong Sheng Yue was, in front of the Divine Throne of Protection and Mercy, he couldn’t exert absolute dominance. This was because he knew that despite the fact that he was also at the ninth step, there was no way for him to break Yang Haohan’s defense with his offensive power.
Yang Haohan replied in a deep voice, “Brother Sheng Yue, even I didn’t know that this little guy would bring such inconvenience. However, you are the first of the auxiliary alliance leader. In the presence of so many elites of the younger generation of the Six Great Temples here, for the glory of the Alliance, please control yourself. The affairs of the youth should be left for them to settle among themselves.”
Accompanying this speech, an aura of supreme prestige was released from Yang Haohan’s body, and with a wave of his hands, a golden halo of light wrapped him and this hero of the ninth step, Sheng Yue. Sheng Yue’s appearance at this very moment, and before the eyes of Long Haochen, was a violation of the rules of the Alliance. He didn’t want this event to affect the opinion these youths held toward the Alliance, so he disconnected their voices from the external world.
Sheng Yue spoke back furiously, “Stop telling me such obvious facts; my great-granddaughter received critical mental damage! What do you have to say about it?”
Yang Haohan replied, “Sheng Yue, calm down. A few days ago, my grandson was wounded heavily by this great-granddaughter of yours, what do you have to say about that?”
Sheng Yue fell silent before quibbling with a few words, “My great- granddaughter is the Saint Daughter of Samsara. You should know how
important she is to the Alliance”
From the gradual changes on his face, Yang Haohan appeared to have become furious, “Sheng Yue, you’re really becoming unbearable. I’m going to arrest you. The Saint Daughter of Samsara is indeed heavily important, but Haochen was born with the constitution of the Scion of Light. His innate internal spiritual energy is 97! So, how important i
Sheng Yue’s face turned blank, “What did you say? A Scion of Light?”
Yang Haohan coldly groaned, “Your eyesight is far from being as good as your great-granddaughter’s.”
Sheng Yue came back to his senses and blurted out in anger, “What use is there to say that? This little bastard just treated my great- granddaughter like that, even after she did so much for him! I don’t care! If this matter is not made clear today, in the future, everything between my Assassin Temple and your Knight Temple will be over.”
“Great-grandfather, don’t.”
Awaking from her long half-unconscious state, Cai’er happened to hear the greatest part of the conversation the two old heroes had. Taking off her veil, covered by blood, she revealed her pale and delicate face. Around her grey pupils, blurred ripples appeared as she slowly stood straight in front of Sheng Yue.
“Great-grandfather, this affair is something between me and him. Don’t interfere in it.”
Sheng Yue was completely furious, “This little brat treated you like this, and yet, you still want to defend him?!”
Cai’er shook her head and replied, “He didn’t do anything wrong. If this was his choice, then let it be. Great-grandfather, you cannot affect the relationship between our two Temples because of us.”
Sheng Yue looked at Cai’er before looking at Yang Haohan, with the Divine Throne of Protection and Mercy at his back. Then, in anger, he said, “Let’s leave.” In the end, he was an auxiliary chief of the Alliance, and as such, how could he not realize how serious the current general situation was?
Cai’er shook her head once again, “Great-grandfather, go on first.”
Sheng Yue gave her a puzzled look, asking, “What are you remaining here for? To be humiliated over and over by this little bastard?” He was naturally irascible, but in fact, it was all for the sake of this fabulous great- granddaughter of his. Otherwise, why would he impetuously appear for such a little matter?
In Cai’er’s blind eyes, a surge of distress appeared as she quietly said, “I just want to ask him something. Why?”
On stage.
“Let me go!” Long Haochen bellowed furiously to Ying Suifeng.
Because he was facing these six auxiliary hall masters, he couldn’t see the scene that was occurring at his back. The mantle of light isolated the platform from the sound behind him. And as for the changes in the surrounding light, he gave it next to no thought.
Although he couldn’t see it, how could he not know how much pain Cai’er experienced, hearing him choose Lin Xin over her? Grabbed by Ying Suifeng, he had no way at all to proceed.
Though confronting him, Ying Suifeng still saw the situation unfolding behind Long Haochen. His eyes were stuck on Sheng Yue and Yang Haohan, the two powerhouses of the ninth step that had appeared simultaneously on stage; he knew that this matter wasn’t something he could possibly influence.
As Long Haochen was finally released, he was extremely indignant. It was Han Qian that took a step forward to support his falling body.
It looked as though Long Haochen didn’t feel the slightest bit of the formidable power and pressure released by Ying Suifeng. In that instant, it looked as though he knelt down without the slightest hesitation before Han Qian.
“Elder Saint Knight Head, I have a request.”
Han Qian naturally saw the situation outside, and felt gloomy about the out-of-control situation that was occurring. With a sigh, he asked in return, “What is your request?”
Long Haochen said firmly, “I want to renounce the awarded spiritual stove that was the prize for first position in this year’s individual competition, and request that the Alliance let me choose another teammate in exchange.”
“What?” Han Qian once again appeared completely shocked, “You’re saying you want to renounce the spiritual stove?”
One must know that it was almost entirely for the sake of this reward that this Demon Hunt Selection was on the spotlight. It could be said that even the most average spiritual stove was already a treasure from heavens. And in spite of everything, he wanted to renounce his right to the spiritual stove?
The other auxiliary hall masters looked at each others in dismay. For a moment, they seemed at a complete loss.
Han Qian couldn’t help but shout furiously, “Do you know what the hell you are playing around with?!”
Long Haochen said in a resolute tone, “Senior Saint Knight Head, I am not playing around. If the Alliance cannot grant my request, I will renounce my rights to enter a Demon Hunt Squad. Then, five years from now, I will enter the competition once again. When the moment comes, my request will be the same. If, as before, the Alliance is unable to grant my request, then I will not join a Demon Hunt Squad.”
“It is out of the question!” The six auxiliary hall masters seemed to have yelled out these same words at the same time.
For Han Qian, it was because he was afraid of Long Haochen not entering a Demon Hunt Squad. Demon Hunt Squads are actually the only road someone from the Six Great Temples can tread to truly reach a high status and are also the best path for one’s growth. Possessing the physique of the Scion of Light, if Long Haochen, who obtained the first position for the Demon Hunt Selections, was to renounce his entry into a Demon Hunt Squad, it would very likely ruin his future.
As for the five other auxiliary hall masters, they were actually thinking differently. To participate once again five years later? Seeing that he is the number one of this year, who would possibly be able to contend against him five years later? He was bound to be number one once again. How could they be willing to see someone no one could possibly be a match against participate once again five years later?
Long Haochen lowered his head and said, “Please agree to my request.”
Han Qian said in a deep voice, “Then, who is the person you want in your team?”
Long Haochen immediately raised his head and replied, “It is Cai’er from the Assassin Temple.
Although I want to choose one more person, it should not oppose the fair aspect of the competition. Lin Xin didn’t get into the top 16, and Cai’er is the one I absolutely want to pick. I had to pick Lin Xin first only because I had a prior agreement, but Cai’er is the one I want to protect throughout my whole life, so I simply cannot be separated from her. If both sides cannot be satisfied with this, I will simply renounce becoming a Demon Hunt Squad member, and follow Cai’er. Wherever she will be, I will be in the same place.”
Outside of the mantle of light.
Cai’er’s distressed look turned lifeless, while Yang Haohan and Sheng Yue’s faces turned magnificent. To cause such a ruckus, so this little kid still had this kind of move in his hand?
For a moment, the two great powerhouses of the ninth step felt torn between laughter and tears.
Yang Haohan’s gloomy mood was even a bit more intense than Sheng Yue’s. What the hell is this? So there was actually such a twisted means for him to get to his goal. However, how is it that this little kid didn’t tell everything clearly to that young lady beforehand? This was so silly from him.
Truthfully, this couldn’t be blamed on Long Haochen. First of all, today had been the semifinals. How could he have predicted that they would directly proceed with the finals today? Not to mention that, with Cai’er’s strength, Long Haochen hadn’t even considered competing for the top two positions, especially after the lots had been drawn for the semifinals and it had turned out that he had been matched against Cai’er. Naturally, he wouldn’t reveal his thoughts to her.
In his mind, he was originally going to take the initiative to concede, and Cai’er would ultimately become one of the top three. Long Haochen’s plans had been identical to Cai’er’s, to the point that he had considered escaping his promise with Lin Xin by giving up the match for 3rd place. After five years, he would again attend the Demon Hunt Selection and choose Lin Xin then.
But who would’ve thought that Cai’er would concede twice in succession, thoroughly ruining Long Haochen’s plans. Furthermore, at that moment, the finals had already begun, and all Long Haochen could think about at the time was winning the championship to hug Cai’er.
If instead, the finals were held on the next day, even though Long Haochen would have been in an extremely complex mood after seeing that Cai’er conceded for his sake, he still would not have forgotten such an important matter.
Even after the finals had started, Long Haochen had still assumed that there would be an opportunity to communicate with Cai’er. He didn’t imagine that the regulations of the roulette would not only prohibit him from going back to Cai’er’s side, but they also isolated him from the outside, making him misunderstand, thinking that his voice wouldn’t be transmitted outside.
Chapter 152
This situation that emerged from coincidence after coincidence led him to be unable to explain himself to Cai’er. After choosing Lin Xin, he was immediately grabbed by Ying Suifeng and didn’t have the occasion to declare the fact that he wanted to renounce the opportunity to get a spiritual stove.
Restraining the golden light and withdrawing his Divine Throne of Protection and Mercy, Yang Haohan turned around and looked at Long Haochen, who still stood behind the platform. Then, with a groan filled with fury, he lifted his right hand, releasing with his grip the mantle of light. Immediately, the whole stadium shook violently as this mantle of light vanished.
“Alright, the formation of the squads, using the roulette, will be conducted tomorrow. All contestants are to head back and rest. All Hall Masters are to remain, and Long Haochen, you remain.”
Hearing Yang Haohan’s instruction, Long Haochen turned his head around; he didn’t actually look at Yang Haohan, but towards Cai’er.
“Cai’er.” Seeing her outward appearance and her pale face, Long Haochen felt as if he was struck by a blade. Not even taking notice of the extremely mighty elder Yang, he chased after Cai’er.
“Scram!” Sheng Yue bellowed in rage, and with a wave of his hand, an irresistible pressure was applied to Long Haochen’s body, which sent him flying back to the center of the podium.
This time Yang Haohan didn’t intervene to stop the attack. Whatever one may say, Long Haochen was the one who hurt the feelings of Sheng Yue’s great-granddaughter. If this time, he hadn’t let Sheng Yue take out his anger, he would definitely not let this matter go by. Furthermore, he had already told Sheng Yue previously about Long Haochen’s constitution of Scion of Light, so he believed Sheng Yue would act with moderation.
At this moment, a fiery red-colored radiance shone, just like a sort of stove, upon the side, aiming below Long Haochen’s body. The precisely controlled red, circular brilliance, gently applied and released, had the unexpected effect of pushing Long Haochen back with a great momentum, helping Long Haochen fall on the middle of the podium more steadily.
“Noble senior, lady Cai’er, don’t blame him. This is all my fault.”
Everyone’s eyes turned towards the young man with elegant dark green- colored hair. It was Lin Xin, advancing at a great pace toward Long Haochen and the mighty Sheng Yue.
The current him looked a lot less showy than before, appearing a lot more steady and calm.
Facing Sheng Yue, he threw himself on his knee, “Noble senior, if you want to punish someone, please punish me. By the time Long Haochen arrived to Holy City, I had already met him earlier in Aimei City, and deceived him, making him give me his word.”
Sheng Yue’s look eyes had a very cold glint, “Speak.”
The Saint Magic Tutor gave a distressed look to Lin Xin, suddenly having a fright. Still, he didn’t stop this grandson of his. This matter involved powerhouses of the ninth step and made them personally take action, so even with his status, there was no way for him to intervene in this.
Lin Xin knelt there with a very sincere look, “That day, in Aimei City, I gave him three bottles of pills in exchange of the promise that if Long Haochen were in the future to acquire a seat in the top three, he would
choose me as his squad teammate. However, when I made him make this promise to me, I concealed from him the fact that I am actually unable to use any offensive magic. As of now, he should already know about this matter, but even after becoming the champion of this competition, he still didn’t come back to his word, and chose me. I
Sheng Yue snorted in fury, “So now your permission is necessary for Cai’er to be in someone else’s squad?”
At that moment, after having gone to Lin Xin’s side, Long Haochen threw himself on his knee. In Sheng Yue’s capacity as Cai’er’s biological great-grandfather, he deserved this act of kneeling.
His eyes were filled with a straightforward look as he said in a deep voice, “Honorable senior, this was a fair exchange and I don’t believe I made a mistake by agreeing to it. My mistake was to leave Cai’er broken- hearted. However, you cannot interfere in this choice of mine, let alone punishing Lin Xin. That’s right, Lin Xin hid the fact he is a mage who cannot use any offensive magic from me. However, he gave me, as a present, three bottles of pills, containing a total of 30 pills of the fourth tier. If not for this fact, how could I be so generous toward him? Since I chose to accept these pills, I also accepted the other, uncertain, part of the deal.
Thus, even if you let me make this choice once again, I will still choose him. For Cai’er’s sake, I can sacrifice my life, but as this promise was something I had already given earlier, I have to respect it.”
As he spoke, Long Haochen pulled Lin Xin by his side, and unexpectedly stood up with him.
Although Yang Haohan had already given the order for the other competitors to leave, these youths unconsciously stopped moving when Lin Xin made his appearance,.
These previous words of Long Haochen were absolutely categorical.
Even in front of Sheng Yue, he didn’t shrink back in the slightest.
Let alone these youths participating in this same competition, even the six auxiliary hall masters were completely flabbergasted.
This kid dared to go against the one known as having the worse temperament in the whole Alliance, Sheng Yue! Furthermore, he did so in front of so many people! Sheng Yue’s bad temperament was something well-known throughout the entire Alliance, so this matter was unfortunately most likely to have extreme repercussions.
Sheng Yue looked at Long Haochen with a clearly astounded expression. He didn’t know how long it had been since anyone, even of the same status, dared to contradict him, let alone a junior.
Yang Haohan had unconsciously already shifted to Long Haochen’s side. Although he felt gloomy looking at this scene, Long Haochen was not only the Scion of Light, but also the only son of the one who possessed the Divine Throne of Doom and Slaughter, the Abdicator of the Knight Alliance, the Divine Knight Long Xingyu! If Sheng Yue really launched an attack with the impulse of the moment, if anything were to happen, he had to protect Long Haochen. More importantly, deep inside, he felt that Long Haochen hadn’t said anything wrong.
“Shut up!” Cai’er suddenly shouted, her silhouette turning into a blur, charging at Long Haochen. Her right hand carried a dark-gold-colored- dagger, directly aiming at Long Haochen’s chest.
She understood, only too well, her great-grandfather’s temperament, and really feared that he may really act personally on this matter. Even if Yang Haohan, the Divine Knight of Defense and Strategy and the leader of the Alliance, was there, this great-grandfather of hers was really enraged by Long Haochen. How could she permit Haochen to stay with him.
When everything happened, she was calmly listening all along. She came to understand that all of this was a mere misunderstanding. In her heart, she no longer blamed Long Haochen the slightest bit, even though she was in such internal pain a bit earlier. The only one she blamed was herself for not having been able to trust him and wait for an explanation. If not for the fact
she had spit out blood, why would her great-grandfather have shown himself, violating the rules of the competition.
As she was the first to launch an attack, her great-grandfather naturally didn’t get his own chance to do so. Everything happened in a split second. With consideration to Long Haochen’s cultivation level, perhaps her great- grandfather would cool down after he withstood a few blows of hers.
However, what Cai’er didn’t expect in the slightest was that, in front of her attack, Long Haochen simply stood there, without the slightest reaction aside from moving his wrist and instantly taking off his Holy Spirit Armor.
The dark-golden dagger stopped a meter from Long Haochen’s chest, as Cai’er’s voice quivered violently, “You… Why aren’t you avoiding my attack?”
Long Haochen looked at Cai’er’s pale face and lifted up his hand, slowly lifting her veil. With a single glance, he had seen some remnants of blood on the veil, and in that instant, felt his heart tightening like it was under great pressure.
Long Haochen said in a gentle voice, “I promised to stand by your side and have I no regrets about that. I didn’t violate the rules of the competition either. However, I owe you an explanation. For having let you get wounded, I wronged. For this reason, I have to be punished.”
A white light shot up from Long Haochen’s chest, instantly aiming at the dark golden dagger in Cai’er’s right hand.
Saint Spiritual Stove’s evolved ability, [Pull].
In such a close range and with such a sudden timing, even a powerhouse of the ninth step couldn’t possibly stop this.
Aipi.
The dark golden dagger in Cai’er’s hand was instantly pulled, penetrating Long Haochen’s chest until only the handle could be seen. The tip of this
dagger came out from Long Haochen’s back, and blood instantly spread out from his chest and his back, covering his entire jacket.
However, Long Haochen seemed as if he didn’t feel this stab. Spreading his two arms, he linked his arms to hold Cai’er in his embrace and said in a mild voice, “This is the hug you owe me.”
“Haochen!” Cai’er cried out in sadness, trying to take out her dagger from him. However, in Long Haochen’s tight embrace, she could not take it out.
The Heroic Sheng Yue’s face went from its stunned state to astounded, as he murmured to himself, “A stab for a mouthful of blood, it seems that we are not losing out.”
Yang Haohan wrinkled his brows, looking at him.
Sheng Yue said, without the slightest restrain, “What on earth am I doing here? You are the Alliance’s leader, so you are to handle the situation as you please, I am going back to sleep. I really can’t be bothered with the business of little kids.”
Yang Haohan was quite startled and wrinkled his eyebrows even tighter.
However, Sheng Yue’s lips moved once again, seemingly telling him something, instantly making the face of this Divine Knight of Defense and Strategy look extremely gloomy.
With a flash of brilliant black, he took a step forward. Just like that, the heroic Sheng Yue disappeared instantly.
The corners of Yang Haohan’s lips twitch in turn, as Sheng Yue’s words resounded once again in his ear, “This kid is pretty good, he has a really great temper, a lot better than this sly old crap.”
Perhaps Long Haochen didn’t even expect that he gained, in this instant, Sheng Yue’s approval. Obviously, this stab he received from Cai’er’s dagger let Sheng Yue calm down. The Scion of Light sure made a perfect
match with this great-granddaughter of his in her capacity as the Saint Daughter of Samsara.
“Haochen, quickly let me go.” Cai’er anxiously cried out in a low voice, still in Long Haochen’s bosom. This was a deep wound! How could she not know about her own weapon’s might? This dagger even had the supplementary effect of sucking out his life force.
Long Haochen held her soft body in his arms, and although his face was gradually turning pale, he gradually revealed a relieved expression as he saw the heroic Sheng Yue leaving,.
“Cai’er, I am sorry, it’s entirely my fault. Are you willing to forgive me?” Long Haochen moved his head above her shoulder, their ears touching each other. A fragrant scent came out from her body. At that time, he seemed as if he couldn’t feel the slightest pain from the wound.
Chapter 153
“This was a mere misunderstanding, I was in the wrong, I shouldn’t have doubted you, Long Haochen. I beg you, quickly let me go.” Cai’er didn’t dare exert force in her struggle: her dagger was extremely sharp, and the situation would grow even more complicated if the wound kept expanding.
Long Haochen was slightly startled before displaying a wide smile, “I don’t want to let go of you. This occasion of hugging you is something I gained with great difficulty.”
Cai’er eagerly said, “Fool, I will let you hug me again in the future, so hurry up and let me go. My dagger has an effect of absorbing life force, so if this keeps going, your life force is going to deplete entirely.
You promised to protect me forever, how can you do so if you cannot even protect your own body.”
An ounce of astonishment appeared on Long Haochen’s face, carrying a little hint of slyness, as he lowered his head and said gently, “I will engrave these words into my mind.” Only then did he finally release her arms from his embrace.
Cai’er had made her preparations long ago, and took out her dagger just like a bolt of lightning. Immediately, a surge of blood burst forth from Long Haochen’s chest and shooting out from his back as he weakly fell down.
Although Cai’er was blind, her movements were extremely swift and accurate. At lightning speed, she rushed forward to support his body with
her fingers placed on his chest as well as his back, preventing his blood from flowing out.
A soft golden light, forming the pattern of a hexagon, appeared on the ground and illuminated Long Haochen’s entire body. Instantly, the blood stopped flowing and Long Haochen could only feel a mild and warm feeling at the location of the wound. In the next instant, the ice-cold feeling dispersed and the spiritual energy concentrated on the podium scattered as his wound recovered at an astonishing speed.
The one who acted was the auxiliary hall master of the Priest Temple, Cardinal Ruoshui.
Lightly shaking her head, Ruoshui couldn’t help but let out a remark in a low voice, “What a pair of little fools!”
Guardian Knights also had healing skills, but in this regard, compared to priests who specialize in them, quite a wide gap exists. Even when priests used the same sacred abilities, the final effects would be different. In regard to healing, priests hold better control of their abilities, and their sacred light is even more mild.
With the presence of a peak cardinal like Ruoshui nearby, even dying voluntarily would be quite difficult, as long as the head wasn’t severely wounded.
Yang Haohan shook his head with some helplessness. As he took a step forward, a flash of golden light appeared and he disappeared without notice. Clearly, the rest of the matter didn’t need his direct intervention.
Han Qian coughed once before looking at the other five auxiliary hall masters, “What are we going to do about Long Haochen’s request? Let’s give our opinion as this kind of situation had never appeared before. According to everything Long Haochen said, although having two people chosen within the top 16 instead of one has never been seen before in the history of the Demon Hunt Squads, it shouldn’t hinder the fairness of the process. Furthermore, he was willing to renounce the reward of a
spiritual stove for this. I am inclined to agree to his request. Suifeng, what about you?”
Ying Suifeng groaned without restraint, feeling gloomy deep inside. This old fool is so cunning; with our little princess Cai’er here, how can I possibly not give my consent?
“Mh, I have no objection.” Although he felt quite gloomy about this, he still g
Sanshui pondered for a little, before replying, “It doesn’t seem to conform with the rules; if future young competitors refer to this affair, could it be that we’ll have to keep making exceptions like this?”
The Saint Mage Tutor Lin Chen spoke back with a smile on his face, “Elder sister Sanshui, you shouldn’t speak like this. It looks like this Long Haochen is not much older than 10 years old, but still managed to emerge as the final champion. I’m afraid it won’t be easy for future youths to accomplish such a great feat. Furthermore, this matter is truly due to a coincidence. Thus, we should comply to Long Haochen’s request. Only, isn’t the price of the spiritual stove a bit too big? I think we should rather be flexible to the circumstances.”
Han Qian shook his head and said, “If we don’t require him to pay the other reward as a price, how could we not let everyone else choose another squad member? It’s still better like this. We are making a great exception to the rules this time, so in the future, every time someone enters the top three, he’ll be able to choose to renounce the spiritual stove for another member for his personal squad. But this supplementary member will have to not be in the top 16. What does everyone think about this?”
Ruoshui nodded her head and said, “Let’s do it like this, this will bring a new breath to humanity. You have my approval.”
The Warrior Temple’s auxiliary hall master Ren Wokuang also gave his approval, “Brother Han’s suggestion is quite fair. To have managed to train to such a cultivation level at such a young age, these kids are not so
simple. They must have had nearly no childhood at all. As their elders, we cannot be too severe towards them. Letting these two, with such good relationship, be in the same team will contribute greatly to the collaboration of all members within it together.”
Han Qian smiled, “Since everyone approves, I will immediately submit this request to the Alliance Leader as soon as I am back, seeing that it has gained the approval of all vice-leaders of the Alliance. The formation of the teams with the roulette will take place tomorrow.”
Long Haochen greatly rejoiced, respectfully bowing at the six auxiliary hall masters and saying, “Many thanks to all of you seniors for your help.”
Han Qian opened his eyes widely without restraint, glaring at him, “Hurry up and go to rest, crazy boy! I really don’t know whether what you did deserved praise.”
Long Haochen stuck out his tongue. At that moment, he finally looked, to some extent, like a 14 years-old boy.
Han Qian turned around, and facing the other competitors that didn’t leave yet, shouted loudly, “What the hell are you still looking at?!”
Everything turned into dust. The youths immediately dispersed in a state of uproar, discussing about today’s matters which were quite hard to comment on.
Li Xin hurriedly advanced. Seeing the bloodstains on Long Haochen’s chest, she was completely distressed, “Lil’ Bro, was there really any need for that?”
Long Haochen chuckled lightly, but didn’t say anything; he only tightly held Cai’er’s little ice-cold hand.
Li Xin didn’t go deeper into the matter. Only, her impression of Haochen became even greater than before. Silently gazing at Long Haochen, who was silently leaving while holding Cai’er’s hand, she came to clench her fists.
Cough, cough Coughing silently, Lin Xin came back to his senses. Turning around, all he could see was his grandfather standing by his side with a solemn look.
“Grandfather.” Lin Xin lowered his head. From childhood till now, he had been scolded and hit by his grandfather countless times. However, the mad curse he was expecting this time didn’t arrive. A big and warm hand was put on his shoulder, gently patting it.
“For you to have stood up at that time, it seems that you’re at least a man in the end.” Patting once again his grandson’s shoulder, Lin Chen took big strides. On the corners of his mouth appeared a smile. It seemed that his grandson, that originally behaved very unpleasantly, finally grew up. Lin Xin had, after all, stood up to defend Long Haochen and furthermore decided to bear all responsibility on that matter. At last, his grandson didn’t disgrace him. To some extent, he started to grow as a true man.
Seeing his grandfather’s figure from the back, Lin Xin suddenly felt a tempestuous feeling surging out from the depth of his heart, somehow oppressing him. Both of his eyes turned moist, as he murmured words only him could hear, “Mother, it would be great if you were still alive.”
Cai’er took Long Haochen’s hand, frequently checking his wrist’s pulse, to make sure that his body was in good condition.
For her to have managed to completely dispel the supplementary effect of her dagger with such ease, Cardinal Ruoshui’s healing capabilities were really top notch. Now, Long Haochen only felt a bit weak because of the blood loss; even the other injuries on his body were unconsciously healed by her. That proved how important an outstanding priest was to a team. It was a guarantee of the survival of the whole squad!
Cai’er was the one who led Long Haochen back to the hotel. She went as far as to enter in his room for the first time 1.
Li Xin didn’t stay for long; after confirming that Long Haochen’s injuries weren’t too bad one last time, she slowly stepped back, leaving these two little sweethearts by themselves.
Long Haochen pulled Cai’er, letting her sit by his side before gently lifting her veil.
Cai’er rapidly lowered her head, exposing her lovely face that was flushing red.
“Are you still feeling unwell? You spat out some blood earlier.” Long Haochen stimulated his wristguard, using its supplementary [Holy Mantle], to cover the two of them within it.
Feeling a warm sensation from the [Holy Mantle], Cai’er lightly shook her head.
“Sorry Haochen, I am the one who caused today’s accident. If I hadn’t been so agitated, you wouldn’t…”
Long Haochen started, “Cai’er, I am the one who should have told you about the matter with Lin Xin earlier. How can I blame you?”
Cai’er shook her head and said, “I am the one who didn’t have confidence in you. This is already the second time; after the first and second one, I won’t let a third time occur. In the future, no matter what you will do, I will have complete trust in you and support you in your choices. I will not let a situation like today’s repeat ever again.”
Seeing her exceedingly beautiful and lovely face, and hearing her speak about her responsibilities like this, Long Haochen couldn’t help but stretch his arms and gently pull her into his embrace.
Although Cai’er was slim, her body felt very soft. Holding her against his chest felt very comfortable. Ever since Long Haochen hugged her for the first time, he came to enjoy greatly this kind of feeling.
Cai’er’s pretty face turned even redder, but she didn’t show the slightest resistance. Meekly nestling in his bosom, she didn’t show any sign of her ordinarily expressionless face. Instead, the happiness she was exuding was only being amplified as time passed.
Today’s matter caused both of them to sustain injuries, and went as far as to disrupt the Demon Hunt Selection, but it led them to feel the importance they attached to each other even better.
For Long Haochen’s sake, Cai’er conceded twice, all for her man.
More importantly, Long Haochen’s mistake was what led her to spit out blood. To produce such an effect, how dear could Long Haochen’s place in her heart be?
And for her sake, Long Haochen would rather renounce the treasure from the heavens known as a spiritual stove, and was even willing to renounce his place as a Demon Hunting Squad member. Even more importantly, for the sake of lessening Sheng Yue’s bad impression of him, he did not hesitate to put himself in a dangerous situation to show his sincere feelings.
The main point of the embrace the two of them were in was not about their bodies sticking tightly to each other, but more importantly, the distance between their hearts was narrowed.
It lasted until dusk, when Long Haochen finally sent her back to her residence. Although they went through so many twists, ultimately, everything had been solved. This enabled Long Haochen to feel greatly relieved.
Not to separate from Cai’er, that was the major premise. Though now, this matter was finally resolved. Long Haochen could finally focus his concern on tomorrow’s selection ceremony.
In the end, who would become a part of his Demon Hunt Squad? He had already picked two people: Lin Xin and Cai’er. So now, only three more people were left: a priest, a warrior, and a summoner.
About the fact that he renounced the spiritual stove for the sake of Cai’er, Long Haochen didn’t feel the slightest regret. To him, not even ten or a hundred spiritual stoves could compare to his Cai’er.
Chapter 154
Bright morning. The sun was in the middle of rising, bringing this most important human city a sacred luster.
The Knight Stadium was once again bursting with excitement. Many competitors came at dawn, enthusiastically discussing with the people they knew about everything that happened yesterday. Regardless of whether it was the battle between Long Haochen and Yang Wenzhao, or the entanglement of feelings that happened afterward, all of it became a topic of discussion. However, the fact that was the most discussed was actually the Divine Throne that Yang Haohan had released at that time.
The proudest were those competitors from the Knight Temple. Hearing others talk about it and having seen it personally gave off completely different feelings. A Divine Throne’s absolute might was something that even the powerhouse of the ninth step from the Assassin Temple, Sheng Yue, didn’t dare go against blindly. That was a genuine divine artifact!
Long Haochen, Cai’er, and Li Xin arrived together. But upon seeing them enter the stadium, the other competitors couldn’t help but fall silent.
All of the gazes directed toward Long Haochen were filled with admiration. Although young, he had the courage to challenge the rules of the Alliance. He even went against a powerhouse of the ninth step. This courage was not something everyone had. The fact that took them by surprise the most was that, even after all he had done, he looked… perfectly fine?
However, some viewed Long Haochen with pity. After all, what he had renounced was a spiritual stove! Furthermore, he was the champion, the one who had the priority in the choice of his spiritual stove among the three. For this reason, his renouncement appeared even more pitiful.
After a night of rest, Lin Xin seemed to have recovered to a good state, as he took the initiative to call out to him, “Haochen!”
Long Haochen faintly smiled, extending his right arm to him before saying, “Brother Lin, later on we are going to be squad partners.”
Lin Xin flung his own deep green hair before extending his hand in turn,
“We are not only partners, but also brothers.”
As both hands grasped the other, Long Haochen nodded to him.
As before, upon seeing Lin Xin, Li Xin’s complexion didn’t look so good. She simply snorted coldly before turning her head around.
If not for this guy, things wouldn’t have gotten so complicated. Sure, those three bottles of pills that Lin Xin gave at that time were very valuable. However, what Long Haochen had to give in return was not only a place in his own team, but in addition and more importantly, he had to pay the price of a spiritual stove. It was just beyond comparison with those pills.
Lin Xin didn’t dare provoke the people in Long Haochen’s group and so went to the front to find a place to sit on.
After a short time, all of the competitors were reunited. The six auxiliary hall masters of the Six Great Temples also entered slowly, going up on yesterday’s platform once again.
Han Qian’s mood seemed to have come back to normal. Facing these youths sitting on the lounge, he declared in a deep voice, “Yesterday, the last selection matches finally ended. Although some incidents occurred in the end, strictly speaking, the Demon Hunt Selection Competition went smoothly, and from all Temples, quite a few outstanding youths came out.
That’s right, we are very gratified. Now, before the selection ceremony pursues, I have something to announce.”
The competitors naturally knew about what he was going to declare, but all of them were still listening with extreme attention.
Han Qian announced, “In view of the situation that appeared yesterday, and about the req
After this speech, numerous comments sounded from the lounge. So much so that Long Haochen could hear what some female competitors were saying, “If someone is willing to renounce his spiritual stove for me, I am willing to marry him.”
Turning around and looking at Cai’er, who had put on a clean veil, Long Haochen faintly smiled. Compared to Cai’er, what can a spiritual stove be regarded as?
Han Qian said, “If no one has any objections, our selection ceremony may start anew. Long Haochen, Yang Wenzhao, Mu Ning, come on stage. The others are to follow the staff members.”
Long Haochen stood up and advanced with big strides. Having undergone the healing process last night, the other two’s bodies’ conditions were a lot better. The three of them climbed over the terrace once again, standing in front of Han Qian and the other auxiliary hall masters.
Han Qian’s look swept past the three people before finally stopping on Long Haochen’s body.
“Long Haochen, I will ask you once again. Are you still insisting on your choice from yesterday to renounce the reward of a spiritual stove?”
Long Haochen nodded without the slightest hesitation, “Yes. My choices are, as before, Cai’er and Lin Xin.”
Han Qian nodded and said, “Good. Cai’er, Lin Xin, step forward. Are you willing to become part of Long Haochen’s squad?”
“I am willing.” Lin Xin and Cai’er gave the same reply almost simultaneously.
Under the guidance of the staff members, Cai’er and Lin Xin advanced to the platform, the two of them standing next to the first seat.
Han Qian turned to look at Yang Wenzhao: “Second ranked of the individual competition, Yang Wenzhao, you may make your choice too.”
Yang Wenzhao’s gaze swept past the competitors before finally stopping on a comparatively small figure. Without hesitation, he said, “The partner I choose is Chen Ying’er from the Spiritual Temple!”
Gasps of astonishment suddenly rose and fell in succession from underneath. Even the auxiliary hall masters looked quite puzzled; only Han Qian had the look of someone who understood clearly the situation.
A lot of people thought, What the hell is up with those two guys from the Knight Temple? Who’s this Chen Ying’er? At least, she’s absolutely not part of the top 16. Such a precious choice of this Starlight Unicorn knight was actually directed toward choosing someone outside of the top 16. And from the name of this person, it was, furthermore, a girl. Could it be that the Knight Temple was just full of affectionate feelings?
Han Qian looked at this petite Chen Ying’er and asked her, “Chen Ying’er, are you willing to become a member of Yang Wenzhao’s squad?”
Chen Ying’er gave a glance to Yang Wenzhao, standing on stage, before turning her head with an overdone movement, and using a somewhat tapering voice to reply, I am not willing!”
Badoum.
The whole stadium went in uproar once again.
The Six Great Temples’ auxiliary head masters’ faces became an exceedingly fabulous sight to behold. Is this child actually specialized in
picking quarrels? Among their looks, the one that looked the most ugly was that of Sanshui who, filled with anger, said nothing further.
Han Qian’s face slightly sunk down, as he asked, “Chen Ying’er, are you sure of this?”
Without the slightest hesitation, Chen Ying’er replied, “I am sure of it.
Who wants to be in the same Demon Hunt Squad as this guy?”
From their looks, a lot of female competitors were extremely jealous and puzzled. For this year’s competition, although Long Haochen ended as the champion, the most attractive to the female competitors was Yang Wenzhao.
First, it was a question of age: although Long Haochen was outstanding and even more handsome, he looked too young. To these girls, whose ages were around twenty years old, there were basically no thoughts of this kind. Then, it was also because of his relationship with Cai’er.
Wasn’t she sticking to him like glue, sharing mutual feelings? Who else could possibly stand a chance?
But Yang Wenzhao wasn’t the same: not only did he have a fitting age, but furthermore, he had formidable strength in addition to the beautiful mount known as Starlight Unicorn. It could be said that the overwhelming majority of the female competitors thought of him as the ideal male partner. But at that moment, they heard him say his choice was Chen Ying’er. Clearly, his reasons were not about fighting strength.
Han Qian looked at Yang Wenzhao, and declared, “Chen Ying’er is not willing to enter your squad, you may choose once again.”
Yang Wenzhao’s look became extremely gloomy, Ying’er, ah, Ying’er, is this a joke?! But what could he do if Chen Ying’er was not willing to accept him? Even if he chose to do the same as Long Haochen, he would still need that girl’s approval.
Secretly sighing to himself, he hesitated for a moment before declaring,
“I choose Huang Yi from the Mage Temple.”
Han Qian nodded, before declaring, “Huang Yi, are you willing to become a member of Yang Wenzhao’s team?”
Standing at the first row, Huang Yi replied without the slightest hesitation, “I am willing.” Although Yang Wenzhao was a Retribution Knight, not a Guardian Knight, his strength was something everyone clearly saw. And in his capacity as an earth system mage, Huang Yi was an expert in defense, so they naturally brought out the best of each other; why would he not be willing?
Lastly, Han Qian’s look fell on Mu Ning’s body, “Third ranked of the individual competition, Mu Ning, your choice is?”
Mu Ning almost blurted out his reply, “I choose Duan Yi from the Knight Temple, and I am willing to give him the position of squad leader.”
This decision was something he had already planned out yesterday. The ones above him, Long Haochen and Yang Wenzhao, were both knights and he naturally wanted to choose one to join his squad. If one was to ask who was the luckiest of this competition, without the slightest doubt, he would be the chosen one.
Duan Yi’s strength was in no way inferior to Long Haochen and Yang Wenzhao. A formidable strength; atop of the fact that he is a Guardian Knight, he also possessed a Golden Horned Mammoth as a mount. It would naturally be the most fitting choice if Duan Yi could join his team. As a result, to obtain Duan Yi’s approval, Mu Ning went as far as to directly choose to renounce the position of squad leader. In terms of strength, he could naturally not compare to Duan Yi; plus, this third place was something he got by chance. Everything was for the sake of paving a route for the success of his future Demon Hunt Squad.
To this smart choice, Han Qian couldn’t help but open his jaw in praise. His look directed toward Duan Yi, who was standing in the first row below, asking, “Duan Yi, are you willing?”
Duan Yi looked at Mu Ning, and Mu Ning also looked at him, his eyes looking full of sincerity.
“I am willing.” Although he didn’t get into the top three, to be chosen was also an honor, let alone the fact that the other party was willing to hand the position of squad leader to him.
Beside obtaining the first three positions, the best benefits of the top three competitors was naturally to be able to choose members for their own squad. Naturally, luck would still remain a key factor.
Having completed the selection ceremony, the roulette was going to be spun next, and each of the competitors had expressions filled with expectation and excitement.
Everyone hoped to become part of one of the top three teams. The more powerful the members of one’s team was, the safer they would be. And the ones that held the most attention was Long Haochen, followed by Mu Ning and Duan Yi belonging to the third squad, and then the last one, Yang Wenzhao.
Chapter 155
In this instant, the superiority of a Guardian Knight in comparison to an agressive Retribution Knight came out. And Long Haochen’s greatest advantage lay within his Saint Spiritual Stove. In terms of ranking, the Saint Spiritual Stove was far from the Starsea Stove. It didn’t hold offensive capabilities, but its power of attraction was extremely important in regards to the security of a Demon Hunt Squad.
“, the formation of the first Demon Hunt Squad is about to take place.
Long Haochen, turn around toward the direction of the roulette. For the time being, the squad led by you will be called Demon Hunt Squad #1.”
“Yes.” Today, Long Haochen seemed particularly sincere. After respectfully answering with a word, he headed to the roulette before standing below.
Specialized staff members were carrying out some tasks, as ten names appeared on the roulette.
Han Qian said, “First rotation, the warrior of this team will be chosen.” A staff member handed over a pearl faintly shining of scarlet to Long Haochen.
Before him, the roulette started to rotate intensely, the ten names instantly disappearing from sight. Long Haochen could then only see a ring of light and nothing more.
Under the staff member’s hinting, Long Haochen took the scarlet pearl in his hand, and placed it on the roulette. As he let his finger loose, suddenly, that scarlet pearl fell into the roulette, spinning at great speed.
A violent, sharp, and clear shooting sound resounded. That concentrated sound of collisions affected all the competitors on stage. In particular, those ten warriors were especially tense.
The Team Forming Roulette looked different than before. In case one was chosen, he would usually be a part of their assigned team, unless they renounced their status as a Demon Hunt Squad member. However, when renouncing after the roulette’s designation, one would not be permitted to participate in later Demon Hunt Selections. In the Demon Hunt Selection’s context, this rule was known as the ‘authority of the roulette’.
The rotating speed gradually decreased, and the ten names on the roulette likewise became more distinct.
The secondary hall masters of the Six Great Temples stared at the roulette. At this moment, no one would possibly dare play tricks to try to disturb the fairness of the roulette, which would immediately incur the wrath of these powerhouses at the peak of the eighth step.
At last, the speed of the roulette decreased enough to enable one to distinguish the crimson-colored ball, which was slowly bouncing up, unceasingly sweeping past one name after another. Ultimately, it went still.
It had stopped completely.
Having clearly seen the name, Long Haochen opened his eyes wide. Slightly startled, he immediately became cheerful. This was because his luck was really not bad: he had just chosen an outstanding warrior.
“Demon Hunt Squad #1, warrior, Wang Yuanyuan, step forward.” Han Qian announced the name that appeared on the roulette.
At first, the warrior holding her huge shield, sitting on the second row, looked distracted, but she immediately walked forward in great delight. It
looks that my luck is pretty good!
Seeing Wang Yuanyuang walking forward with big strides, and under the hint of Han Qian, LHC went up to welcome her. Extending his hand, he looked at her and declared, “Welcome, new member.”
Wang Yuanyuan restrained herself from showing her sheer delight too blatantly and placed her own hand on his, declaring, “Last time, you were lucky and won against me. In the future, if we have the occasion, I look forward to exchanging pointers with you.”
Long Haochen chuckled and replied, “Alrigh
Wang Yuanyuan placed her Gigantic Divine Soul Shield down beside Lin Xin, still restraining her smiling face from displaying her intense pleasure. Although she was a warrior, she was not skilled with defense. Long Haochen, on the other hand, was a knight with both specializations of a Guardian and Retribution Knight, and furthermore, had a Saint Spiritual Stove, and was also the champion of the competition. More importantly, having seen several scenes involving him on the previous day, Wang Yuanyuan saw him in another light. Although he was very young, having a knight of his caliber in her team was extremely beneficial, let alone the presence of Cai’er, who was the best assassin of this great competition and possibly the most powerful existence that had participated. As for this mage, he was completely ignored by Wang Yuanyuan.
Long Haochen was similarly pleased because, in a team, the importance of the warrior was second only to that of the priest. Although Wang Yuanyuan couldn’t enter the top 16, she had also already broken through the fifth step. And having battled her previously, he had a better understanding of her strength. He had the faint impression that Wang Yuanyuan, with her Gigantic Divine Soul Shield, was the strongest warrior of this competition. In his team, although Lin Xin couldn’t attack, all four members were at the fifth step so far. And furthermore, three of them were the strongest of their own Temple during the competition.
From behind the roulette, Han Qian once again said, “Now, the priest member will be selected.”
On the roulette, ten names appeared once again. The same as previously, rings of light revolved at a great speed, and the scarlet-colored pearl was handed, just as before, onto Long Haochen’s hand.
Let’s hope for an outstanding priest. LHC was not well versed with regard to priests, but from his assumption, any of the top ten priests had to be pretty good, so he didn’t excessively worry about it.
At that moment, all the priests were feeling extremely nervous. Amongst them, only three were guys and the rests were all girls, all looking quite pretty. Currently, there were even some of them that thought to themselves, As long as he doesn’t get married, I still have a chance!
There was only a single exception. Stroking his large bald head, Sima Xian looked indifferently toward the terrace. For a probability of 10%, what good is there to feel nervous? How could he get such great luck?! Also, all teams have their good points. If the other members are a bit weaker, maybe I’ll be chosen as captain.
…
The roulette came to a standstill. Long Haochen, who was standing behind, looked completely stunned.
Han Qian’s voice sounded, “Demon Hunt Squad #1, priest, Sima Xian.
Step forward!”
“Eh? Me?” Sima Xian almost jumped up, his fingers on his nose.
The looks of every surrounding people fell onto him accordingly, staring at that shiny bald head and the huge body concealed behind the huge priest gown and his imposing muscles. They couldn’t help but reveal grotesque looks at this scene.
This… Is this a priest?
Sima Xian came in big strides and Long Haochen appeared completely stunned, but still made haste to go up to him. Actually, deep inside, the one
he was be most unwilling to draw was Sima Xian. In his Demon Hunt Squad, there was already no shortage of attackers, so the most important was a priest that could heal. However, everything cannot always go as one wishes. This probability of 10% was still drawn. Just like that, they drew the violent priest. In other words, his team would have no specialized healer in it.
“Welcome, new member.” Long Haochen extended his hand to Sima Xian.
Sima Xian put his huge hand down on his and said, while gently laughing, “Last time, I didn’t have the occasion to pay your favor back to you. It is quite good that we ended up in the same squad.”
After finishing, he once again stroked his huge bald head and raised his frightening staff while advancing with big strides, placing himself behind Wang Yuanyuan.
Seeing him, Long Haochen secretly consoled himself, No matter what we say, he’s still the strongest among the priests. That’s right! Still, what other priest could use [Madness]…
There was still one last person, the summoner from the Spiritual Temple.
“Selection of the summoner member for this team.” Han Qian looked at Sima Xian with a contemplative expression.
The roulette swiveled for the third time. Seeing that his “good luck” had chosen such a priest, Long Haochen purposely hesitated for a bit before throwing that scarlet red bead into the roulette.
After a short while, the roulette gradually ceased spinning, and when that scarlet bead stopped, not only did Long Haochen go blank, even the six auxiliary hall masters who were supervising the process, Yang Wenzhao, and also Mu Ning went blank.
For this year’s Demon Hunt Selection, if the participant who stood out the most had to be chosen, it wouldn’t be Long Haochen, nor would it be
Yang Wenzhao. It wouldn’t even be the tyrannical Cai’er, the strange bald priest, or Wang Yuanyuan who wields a shield like a battle axe.
Capable of being well known to everyone, such that even the high- leveled people in the Six Great Temples knew, there was only one such person. Only appearing in the preliminaries once, and relying on a summoning technique of the eighth step that no one in the summoner temple wanted to face her and obtaining the first spot in the summoner temple’s preliminaries and only later showed her complete luck during the finals. Completely unreliable and certainly did not grasp the strange [Creature Summoning Gate] technique, the loli summoner, Chen Ying’er.
But at this moment, that eye dazzling scarlet pearl landed precisely in front of that name.
Soul emperor Sanshui’s expression suddenly turned odd, stared at Long Haochen, then turned to look at Yang Wenzhao, repeatedly sighed and regained her composure.
Long Haochen’s lips twitched, Don’t tell me that my luck really has run out? How can it be her! He still distinctly remembered Chen Ying’er’s match with Wang Yuanyuan where she had summoned a small lamb. Not only was this young lady’s summoning ability completely random, she only had enough spiritual energy to summon the [Creature Summoning Gate] once.
Right at this moment, the only thought in Long Haochen’s mind was, this roulette truly isn’t fair…
Han Qian’s face immediately recovered to normal, then announced in a deep voice: “Demon Hunt Squad #1, summoner, Chen Ying’er, step forward.”
Chen Ying’er joyfully leapt up and giggled: “Wow, this is wonderful. I can still be together with Sister Yuanyuan.”
Quickly walking over, she only waved at Long Haochen and didn’t even shake hands with him, then ran over to Wang Yuanyuan’s side.
Hearing Han Qian’s announcement, her face wore a defeated look, and seeing Chen Ying’er happily bounding over in delight, she spoke helplessly, “It’s not like I even want to be on the same squad as you! This brat, you’d just drag us down on the battlefield.”
Chen Ying’er didn’t seem to care, and swinging Wang Yuanyuan’s arm around, she said, “Sister Yuanyuan, you can’t just turn your back on someone like that. Sometimes other people are also very awesome.”
On the podium, Han Qian declared: “Demon Hunt Squad #1, Captain and Knight, Long Haochen. Assassin, Cai’er; Warrior, Wang Yuanyuan; Mage, Lin Xin; Priest, Sima Xian; Summoner, Chen Ying’er. Squad assembly complete.”
From this point on, Long Haochen and the six others had become a squad. Unless a member died, this squad would persist all the way until they ended their career as a Demon Hunt Squad.
Chapter 156
After the announcement, Han Qian felt like laughing. This Demon Hunt Squad was perhaps the most bizarre in history.
A captain that is neither a pure Retribution Knight nor a pure Guardian Knight, a blind Assassin – this pair could still be classified as reasonable. As for the other four, they were absolutely unreliable. There was a warrior that is not proficient with defense, a mage that cannot attack, a priest that cannot heal, and finally, a summoner whose summons are totally unpredictable. This team was a marvel among marvels.
And, against all expectations, each one of these marvels was ranked first in either the preliminaries or the subgroup competition. No one would know in advance what kind of sparkle this group would be able to ignite, but no matter what one could say, this Demon Hunt Squad was entirely completed.
Long Haochen went off stage and stood together with his own group members. He felt a bit uneasy, but he wasn’t blaming the heavens for this in the slightest. No matter what he could say, at least he was reunited with Cai’er. As for the flaws in this team, he would think of how to work them out later.
“Yang Wenzhao, the selection ceremony for your team members is about to start. From now on, the squad you belong to will be known as ‘Demon Hunt Squad #2’.”
“Eh?” All along, Yang Wenzhao was staring at Chen Ying’er. Seeing her taken away by Long Haochen, he couldn’t help but feel gloomy. But hearing Han Qian’s words, he finally came back to his senses.
During the ceremony of selection for his Demon Hunt Squad #2, his luck could be considered quite a lot better than Long Haochen’s. At least the members he had picked were reasonable, and furthermore, during the last pick, he picked the summoner who entered the top eight, the true number one among summoners as well as the only one having reached the fifth step, Liao Yu. This result improved Yang Wenzhao’s mood quite a bit. Huang Yi and Liao Yu could be considered as being powerful, both ranked amongst the best of their respective Temples.
As for Mu Ning’s Demon Hunt Squad #3, it seemed as though his luck had completely dried up: among the four other members he chose, only the summoner was in the top 16. It was the one called Fang Zhu, the summoner who formerly summoned the gigantic bear against Cai’er, but was only at the fourth step.
As the first three Demon Hunt Squad were completely formed, it was now the time for the remaining competitors to be assigned to their respective teams.
But the one that took aback all the spectators the most was Demon Hunt Squad #4.
Accordingly to the sequence, the first member chosen for the Demon Hunt Squad #4 was the knight, and the one designated for this role was precisely Li Xin, and her luck could only be described as something absolutely astonishing. The warrior that was picked was the one who entered the top eight, the warrior of the fifth step that was defeated by Mu Ning. In the entire Warrior Temple, his strength could be said to be second only to Wang Yuanyuan.
As for the assassin, it was the last one who entered the top 16. For the mage’s position, the one chosen was a rarely-seen mage of the spatial attribute, having a strength at the peak of the fifth step. The priest she chose was the sole and only bishop of the fifth step among all of the competitors. As for the last one, the summoner that was picked was the botanical summoner Bai Xiaomo, who had given Yang Wenzhao quite a bit of trouble, who, in the end, had defeated her, using the sunlight fire.
Although everyone in Li Xin’s team were not the strongest of their respective Temples, they were among the most decent choices. This was the case in particular for the priest and the summoner
The role of captain for Demon Hunt Squad #4 fell onto the only powerhouse of the fifth step in it, the priest of the squad.
The roulette swirled unceasingly, setting up one Demon Hunt Squad after another. The squad formation ceremony lasted for the whole morning before finally completing. Finally, the Demon Hunt Squads from #1 to #10 were formed.
Looking at the Demon Hunt Squad members arranged in ten rows, Han Qian declared, “From today onwards, each of you have officially been assigned a position in a Demon Hunt Squad. As such, you will be the closest comrades; comrades that can entrust their back to each other. In the history of Demon Hunt Squads, countless squads arose, standing at the peak of the continent. We wish for you to become that kind of squad. You have to bear in mind that you should never complain about your teammates. Today, perhaps your final ranking was not very high, but in a short future, maybe you’ll be among the most powerful.”
“From today onwards, you will have three days of rest. Also, within these three days, squad captains are to take their members to the Mission Tower to register their Demon Hunt Squad, so as to get your Demon Hunt Squad’s serial number. Three days later, the competitors that entered the top 16 are to go to the Alliance’s Treasure Vault to choose their secret skills. Those ranked from ninth to sixteenth will get to choose one secret skill and those from first to eighth will get to choose two of them.”
“And the top three competitors, with the exception of Long Haochen, will get to choose a spiritual stove as a reward from the Temples.”
“Now, disband.”
As soon as the word ‘disband’ was said, all competitors felt as if they were relieved of a great burden.
It was finally over. Starting from the preliminaries to the finals, with the subgroup competition in the middle, an entire month had passed. The stronger the competitor, the more experience they had gotten from the competition. Now that the competition was over, these sixty competitors were finally a part of a Demon Hunt Squad. At last, they could take a breather. As for what would happen after this step, they had no clue, but for the time being, there was no need to think about it; better to put this matter aside to relax for the moment with a few days of rest.
“Captain, it is destiny that reunited us to form a squad, so today, I’ll act as a host and treat everyone to a good meal.” Lin Xin declared overjoyed.
Long Haochen chuckled, and replied, “Everyone, don’t call me captain, but directly use my name. Is everyone okay with that?”
Sima Xian shot Lin Xin a glance, “I have no objection, but I have to tell you, I eat a lot.”
Lin Xin laughed faintly, replying, “I will be sure to let you eat your fill.”
Wang Yuanyuan said with a large smile, “I have no objection either; since someone else is inviting, let’s enjoy eating for free.”
Chen Ying’er laughed happily and said, “Okaay.”
Cai’er naturally didn’t say anything more, only nodding lightly while under the gentle hold of Long Haochen’s hand. Still, from the fact that everyone saw her previous display of force on stage, no one dared to look down on her. Long Haochen was still young after all, so despite the fact that he emerged as the final champion, he still lacked some persuasiveness. However, with the addition of Cai’er, absolutely no one would dare refuse to accept him as captain within this generation of youth.
It was not limited to only this Demon Hunt Squad: all members of the other squads had to get more familiar with each other, and almost all chose to have a meal together for this purpose.
Lin Xin led everyone out of the Knight Temple, turning at the right not far from the exit, and after covering less than 100 meters on a little street, led everyone to enter a large restaurant with five floors.
This restaurant was a dazzling sight; eight coolly-clad tall young girls stood at the entrance, welcoming customers. Seeing them, Sima Xian’s eyes instantly stared at them.
Clearly, it wasn’t the first time Lin Xin went to this place. Led inside of the restaurant by one of the girls, they arrived in a large private room with several waiters waiting for their instructions.
Seated around a circular table, the six of them, with the exception of Cai’er, looked attentively at each other. Although they had met each other several times before, they weren’t familiar with each other at the moment.
Lin Xin stood up, smiling, “Let’s do like this, since we are going to be a team, everyone should introduce themselves with a few words, how about it? The main point is to introduce each one’s abilities, so as to be more effective in the future when acting together. I will go in first: I am Lin Xin, nineteen this year, my size is 1.81 meters, I weigh 69 kilograms, and… ”
“Tch, speak of some more practical facts, can’t you?” Chen Ying’er said with a cold look, “Are you looking for a partner to marry or what?”
Lin Xin did not get angry, simply replying, “Okay, then let’s speak of practical facts. I am a Magic Leader of the fifth step, second rank. I am an expert in control magic and defensive magic, in addition to being an alchemist that is able to make various kinds of pills. Without condition, I can make use of my personally concocted pills to help those of you who haven’t broken through the fifth step yet to do so within three months.”
Of the six, only two hadn’t broken through the fifth step yet: the violent priest Sima Xian and the unreliable loli summoner Chen Ying’er. Hearing him, these two immediately stared at him, opening their eyes wide. Wang Yuanyuan also revealed an alarmed look. They were clear on how costly pills were, particularly those that can be use for assisting cultivation.
Naturally, they didn’t expect this guy, who appeared like a good-for-nothing mage that cannot even use offensive magic, to also actually be an alchemist despite having a high cultivation level.
From the looks of it, he could still be of some use to the team.
Long Haochen said, “I can testify for brother Lin’s words. He gave me some pills before, which I relied on to break through the fifth step in the middle of the competition. I gave them the name of ‘Spiritual Gathering Pills’.”
Lin Xin said in all honesty, “I cannot use offensive magic, but I will definitely be very useful to our Demon Hunt Squad. During battles, I can take care of the defense while supplying everyone with all kinds of pills.”
As a mage who cannot attack, he was extremely worried of not being accepted by his teammates. In that case, even if he became a Demon Hunt Squad member, he would still be unable to really integrate in.
Sima Xian laughed loudly and said, “No wonder you guys kept yelling that ‘Big Bro has drugs’ during our match; as it turns out, you were actually making them yourself! I just hope they are not fake drugs.”
Lin Xin unhappily spoke back to him, “You are still quite more unreliable than me. I cannot attack, but how is it that you, even as a priest, cannot heal? I am afraid that it will be a great problem for the future of our squad. I will have to prepare more pills to make up with that.”
Sima Xian smiled in return, “Alright, this elder brother won’t speak back to his second brother. Except for the captain and Lady Cai’er, who in this squad is reliable?”
Wang Yuanyuan frowned her brows, “You just said unreliable? But this lady is a formidable warrior.”
Sima Xian snorted and said, “I heard earlier that you were officially a shield warrior, but one who cannot defend at all. What in this is reliable?
As for this great Ying’er, she’s even more famous. She’s the most unreliable summoner in history, ain’t she?”
Chen Ying’er, who was playing with her fingers, said without thinking much, “Unreliable now doesn’t necessarily imply unreliable forever. Anyway, slaughtering enemies is a job for males. I will just be cheering for you.”
Chapter 157
At dinner time, while the members of Demon Hunt Squad #1, with Long Haochen as captain, were discussing each other’s flaws and eating their fill, Han Qian returned to the general headquarters of the Alliance and immediately called out for Han Yu.
“Grandpa, the group formation is over? Master didn’t come back, how did it go?” Han Yu was already used to referring to Long Haochen this way, and couldn’t help but keep doing so. Over the course of these few days, while Long Haochen went for his matches, he had stayed in the hotel and trained without going out. He had been waiting for the results of the Demon Hunt Selection’s individual competition.
These days, Han Qian saw clear changes in his grandson, who had become a lot calmer. Faintly smiling, he said, “Both good and bad. The Demon Hunt Squad members Long Haochen got are really a bunch of misfits. It is also because of this that I called you here.” Immediately, he described the results of Long Haochen’s drawing in detail to Han Yu.
During this time, Han Yu was listening attentively while displaying a contemplative expression.
Han Qian pointed to the chair to his side, hinting him to sit down, “Voice your opinion on this team.”
Han Yu said, “As a whole, this team is indeed full of misfits. However, it is still an outstanding Demon Hunt Squad. First of all, on the side of the knight and the assassin, there’s nothing to complain about. Master and Lady Cai’er’s display during the selection was more than enough to
testify their capabilities. On the side of the warrior, Wang Yuanyuan, who possesses the Gigantic Divine Soul Shield is not lacking at all in terms of strength. In a sense, that Sima Xian can also be considered as a berserker. On the offensive side, having two warriors in it will definitely strengthen this team by a great extent. On the side of the mage, although this Lin Xin is inapt in attacking, I heard that his control over magic and his defensive spells were far above the norm. Apart from lady Cai’er, it appears that no one else could break his defense. Actually, within the team, his precious defense is important, to the extent that he’ll have a role close to that of a shield warrior.”
At this point, Han Qian slightly nodded, hinting him to continue speaking.
Han Yu continued, “As for the side of offensive magic, this three- headed magical beast companion’s magic can be considered quite powerful; it can almost be regarded as three mages acting in cohesion. Because it cannot make use of equipment, each of its attributes will not be on the same level as the mages’, but adding to the fact it can use three of them, it can be said to surpass the absolute majority of the mages of the fifth step. If it can keep on growing, there is no need to worry about the role of the mage within this team.”
Han Qian was clearly satisfied with his grandson’s analysis and asked with a smile, “What about that summoner?”
Han Yu lifted up his shoulders and replied, “I have never felt that a summoner under the sixth step could have any noticeable utility. Chen Ying’er, that misfit of a summoner, should clearly not be counted within our calculations.
However, even though we should not consider her fighting strength in our calculations, it is, on the contrary, possible for her to bring us some good surprises. After all, she formerly used the [Creature Summoning Gate] to summon a magical beast of the eighth step on several occasions.”
At this point, Han Yu stopped speaking for a bit and wrinkled his brows before continuing, “In the whole team, the sole weak point is the position of
the priest. Although in his capacity as a Guardian Knight, Master has so
“Very good.” Han Qian’s smile became even more broad, “It looks like after this blow Haochen inflicted on you, you have matured quite a bit, both good and bad. Your analysis is right and very thorough. The biggest flaw of Haochen’s squad is exactly on the aspect of healing. However, you forgot someone in your analysis!”
“Who?” Han Yu gave his grandfather a curious look.
Han Qian faintly smiled and replied, “Yourself. Don’t forget that you are also a Guardian Knight, and furthermore, you don’t have to act as a defense-oriented Guardian Knight. And in Haochen’s troops, there’s something they should focus on, and you pointed it out in your earlier analysis.”
Han Yu started, “Are you saying that you want my future abilities to focus on healing?”
Han Qian slightly nodded before saying, “On healing and support. You have to increase the survivability of this team with your presence, so that in the rear, Long Haochen doesn’t have anything to worry about.”
Han Yu’s eyes glinted. He was originally an astute person, and having obtained his grandfather’s pointer, he seemed to immediately figure out a lot of things.
“Go back, you’ll return here three days later. Before you depart, grandpa has something to give you.”
“Yes, grandfather.”
After returning to the hotel, Long Haochen felt extremely uneasy. The Demon Hunt Squad was set up, and the images of each member appeared and sparkled unceasingly within his mind.
After all, he was only fourteen. No matter how earnest and mature he was, his age was still a big restraint to him. If possible, he wished for this
Demon Hunt Squad to emerge while appearing like a warm place.
But could he really make it emerge? This squad of his was full of unreliable people. Cai’er expressed to him that she wasn’t interested in the role of leader, so in the end, everyone was convinced that he was the only one apt for this role.
From today onwards, he was not going to be a single person, but seven people. He was now responsible for the life of each of his teammates. He would be responsible for each of their actions.
In the blink of an eye, four days passed.
Over the course of these four days, Long Haochen and his dog team had two main things to do. The first was to go to the Demon Missions Tower next to the Alliance’s Great Stadium to enroll as members of the Demon Hunt Squad.
Demon Hunt Squads in themselves were separated into different grades. The higher the grade of a Demon Hunt Squad, the greater the rewards for completed missions.
From low to high, the subdivisions for teams are soldier grade, general grade, commander grade, king grade, emperor grade and titled grade, a total of six grades.
Each promotion of grade had severe requirements. Only when conforming with all of them can a squad advance in rank. For instance, to advance from soldier to general, all team members were required to have broken through the fifth step and have more than 1,000 contribution points, with the totalled contribution points of the team outstripping 10,000. And this was the simplest one.
The highest rank: titled grade, gives the Demon Hunt Squad an exclusive status. To aim for this grade, the first requirement was to kill one to twelve demon gods in the top thirty six of the ranking. As one could imagine, this feat was extremely challenging.
Regardless of whether the Demon Hunt Squad members wanted to get equipment or secret techniques or so on, they had to rely on their accomplishments. After completing their enrollment, each of them carried a golden gemmed command tile blended with their blood on their left hand. This command tile would follow them during their entire journey in their Demon Hunt Squads.
When they killed demons, this command tile, which could be classified as a Spiritual Tier piece of equipment, would automatically record it and increase their contribution points accordingly. And when completing missions in the Mission Tower, their contribution points would also be increased by the corresponding amount.
This time, for obtaining the top position in the Demon Hunt Selection, Long Haochen directly earned a hundred contribution points. Cai’er, with her fourth position, earned fifty contribution points; as for the others, who didn’t get into the top 16, they still got ten contribution points.
Relying on his hundred contribution points, and under Cai’er’s reminder, Long Haochen directly bought three things at the transaction center for Demon Hunt Squads, spending a total of 150 contribution points and using up all of the contribution points the two of them had gotten for the competition. These three things were a contribution points testing gem, an internal spiritual energy testing gem, and an external spiritual energy testing gem.
The contribution points testing gem only required to be stuck close to the command tile on their left hand to make their total amount of points appear, so as to be able to conveniently check which rewards they can get from their battles against the demon race. This thing was of extreme importance for the morale of the team.
As for the internal spiritual energy testing gem, Long Haochen bought one that could measure up to the 10,000th level, whereas the external spiritual energy testing machine could only stand the pressure of an external spiritual energy below 1,000.
With these two gems, every team member would be able to check their current situation and cultivation gains. These three items were cheap, but extremely practical; they were known as great items that were essential to Demon Hunt Squads.
Outside of registration, the second matter was to once again enter the Alliance’s Treasure Vault. Although Long Haochen couldn’t get his awarded spiritual stove anymore, he and Cai’er could still choose two secret techniques to learn. Since he possessed Long Xingyu’s inheritance ring, he picked Guardian Knight skills without the slightest hesitation. He chose a skill that increases an individual’s defense and a group enhancement skill. In his capacity as the Demon Hunt Squad captain and the core of the team, he made his choice in consideration for the entire team.
The day before picking secret skills, Han Yu went to find him once, afraid that Long Haochen would be inclined to choose a healing type skill if he didn’t.
At the same time when he picked the secret skills the day before, Long Haochen received the information that he was to get ready to depart on the morning of the next day to move to another place to participate, this time, in the Demon Hunt Squad team competition.
“Teacher.” Knocking on the door of Ye Hua’s room before entering and carefully closing the door with a Pong sound, Long Haochen knelt down before Ye Hua.
Ye Hua was startled by the sudden act, “What happened Haochen?
What are you doing?”
Long Haochen didn’t say anything, but banged his head on the ground three times, letting out Peng, peng, peng sounds, before lifting his head up, tears flowing down from his eyes, “Teacher, we are going to depart today. I… I hate the idea of parting with you.”
Staring blankly at Long Haochen’s pretty face, at his sparkling and twinkling pupils. Ye Hua, whose face previously looked stern, was gradually being stirred up. Supporting Long Haochen with both his hands,
he pulled him toward his bosom. No matter how outstanding he could be, he was, in the end, a mere fourteen year-old kid.
Ye Hua lived as an unmarried man, so naturally, he didn’t have any descendants. Unconsciously, he came to look upon Long Haochen as his own son. That’s right! As they were going to part with each other, and seeing how Long Haochen hated this fact, how could he be willing to part with this child of whom he regarded as both a son and a disciple?
Chapter 158
“Haochen, these many years, hasn’t Teacher been treating you very badly?”
Long Haochen strongly shook his head, pushing it onto Ye Hua’s chest, which could not be considered wide at all. The time he spent together with Ye Hua was even longer than the one with Long Xingyu. As the inborn Scion of Light, he was extremely sensitive, especially in feeling good and bad intents of the people around him. Deep inside, Ye Hua had always had good intent toward him and although he was far from being as glorious and formidable as Long Haochen’s father, the status he held was not any lower.
Ye Hua chuckled and said, “You are the best student your teacher ever had throughout his whole life. Your teacher knows that his teaching methods are very severe. However, you followed me for so long, but never voiced any complaints at all. At only fourteen years old, you have already made such great achievements. It is true that your constitution as a Scion of Light is very important, but your great effort is also a crucial point in your success.”
“Now that you have already become a member of the Demon Hunt Squads, you are gradually going to grow up. Although Teacher cannot be by your side, he will always be praying for your safety no matter what happens. I have already discussed it with your grandmaster; I will remain in Holy City and will not go back to Hao Yue City. Later on, when you return to report in missions, you can come look for me at the Alliance’s Office Palace.”
“You are very young, but genuinely honest, steady, and kindhearted. Teacher is very reassured with you by his side, but you hold too much affection toward others. Teacher is warning you repeatedly that no matter what, your safety is the most important priority. When facing danger, you have to think three times as much; do not rush prematurely. You need your own opinion, but you also have to listen to your comrades’ suggestions. Teacher believes that you will definitely be an outstanding Demon Hunt Squad leader.”
“Teacher, I…” Hearing Ye Hua’s words, Long Haochen couldn’t stop himself from sobbing in his bosom.
Ye Hua laughed loudly, patting his back with great force, “Okay, you are already a man, don’t have this kind of attitude akin to a little girl’s. Leave now; to grow into an eagle, the chick needs to unfold his wings, soaring high into the sky. Inevitably, there will be a day when your splendor will shine not only on the whole Alliance, but on the entire mainland.”
As he spoke, Ye Hua held his shoulder and, opening the door, lightly pushed him out.
With a peng sound, the door closed.
In the next instant, Ye Hua’s back heavily leaned against the door. On his hand, and his face, his tears softly fell.
Outside of the door, Long Haochen’s shouting voice could be heard,
“Teacher, I will definitely come back to visit you.”
Ye Hua was unable to bear his tears anymore, which kept on pouring out. He buried his face in his hands, resisting with great difficulty, so as to not let it be heard.
Long Haochen’s leaving steps were still echoing, as Ye Hua seemed to exert all his strength to say, “It would be so great if he really was my son.”
Seeing the dispirited Long Haochen leaving, Li Xin, who stood on the entrance of the hostel, hurriedly met him and rubbed his head, “Foolish
little brother, it’s not like you are going to be separated forever. If you want to repay teacher Ye Hua, you have to make him proud of you, to let him feel the glory of the knight within you.”
“Yeah.” Long Haochen lightly nodded. Heart-broken, he gave a final look at the window of Ye Hua’s room, clen
Alliance’s Great Stadium, Knight Stadium.
Now that all of the Demon Hunt Squads were formed, because they were newly established, they would all start at the soldier grade and got their according assigned numbers. For instance, Long Haochen’s squad was the soldier graded Demon Hunt Squad #1. They were now a Demon Hunt Squad of soldier grade, with only ten of them newly established.
“I have to present someone to everyone; this is Han Yu, my retainer knight.” When he met with his team, the first thing Long Haochen did was to introduce Han Yu to them. Because they were going to leave this place soon, Han Yu came back home yesterday and he met up with Long Haochen in the Knight Stadium this morning.
Retainer knight? In Long Haochen’s group, with the exception of Cai’er, the four people were completely astonished.
Sima Xian opened his eyes wide, patting his own bald head, “Leader, you also had a retainer knight?”
Long Haochen chuckled before he replied, “Brother Han is not only my retainer knight, but also my friend. And he’s a Guardian Knight of the fifth step! With him among us, our team will be even more powerful.”
Sima Xian, Lin Xin, Wang Yuanyuan, and Chen Ying’er were greatly shocked, The Knight Temple is too formidable! This knight of the fifth step is clearly less than 25 years old, but couldn’t get into the final stage of the competition?! Or is it that he didn’t even participate in it, acting as Long Haochen’s retainer all along?
Sima Xian laughed out loudly before declaring, “Welcome, new member.”
Today, Lin Xin looked somewhat dejected, his face appearing pale. He even appeared to be completely different compared to normal; his hair had not been combed, and it had an extremely messy appearence. Nodding to Han Yu, he didn’t say anything further.
Wang Yuanyuan eagerly exclaimed, “A Guardian Knight! You have to let me test your power when we have the occasion.”
Han Yu faintly laughed and said to her, “I am merely master’s retainer. My first role is to protect my master’s safety. I also possess a contribution points crystal tile, but according to the rules of the Demon Hunt Squads, as a retainer knight, my contribution points will not be counted toward the team’s total.”
Hearing the two words ‘contribution points’, a glint appeared in Lin Xin’s eyes, although he previously looked completely dejected.
Chen Ying’er blinked and remarked, “We’ll exchange ’em for a lot of good stuff!”
Having gone to the Demon Hunt Squads’ transaction center could be said to have expanded their horizons by a large extent. At their current grade, although they could only buy some cheap items with their contribution points, they really felt the value of something earned with their own efforts.
When looking for equipment for Demons Hunt Squads at the soldier grade, they were capable of exchanging their points for equipment at the Spiritual Tier, and even had access to a few ones at the Glorious Tier 1. Various pills could also be exchanged, and among them, a lot could not be commonly found in marketplaces, and had incomparable utility. Just from looking at it, everyone was drooling with desire. However, these things could not be bought, even with money, as the demon hunt center only accepted contribution points. It went to the extent that among members of a same Demon Hunt Squad, it was possible to exchange items with
contribution points or directly use several people’s contribution points to conduct purchases.
Without a doubt, the Alliance arranged this to arouse their Demon Hunt Squads’ members to thirst for contribution points, so as to ignite their fighting spirit. And even granted that some Demon Hunt Squads were aware of this, the results were still extremely beneficial to them.
The transaction center for soldier grade goods was full of good items, so for the even higher general grade, commander-in-chief grade, or even king grade and emperor grade, how could there not be even better items?
Wang Yuanyuan said, “I asked around and got the information that there are two methods to get contribution points, the most straightforward one being to hunt and kill demons. Any kind of demon counts: even the most average demon from the Zelin clan has contribution value. In addition to this, completing missions from the Mission Tower also has the same effect.”
Long Haochen laughed gently before speaking, “Everyone, don’t rush. Our squad has just been established and we are not familiar enough with each other, let alone having tacit understanding. We should work on improving our unity first before bringing up missions.”
Chen Ying’er stuck out her tongue and said, “Captain, you have no guts.” Today, this little loli was wearing a white magic gown, her purple hair combed into two braids bunched together, forming like a half ponytail, giving her a very lovely appearance.
Lin Xin snorted and reacted immediately, “So contrarily to appearances, you are actually not a coward at all? I heard you could summon sheeps; that’s not bad, at least it could help us save up on food expenses.”
Chen Ying’er furiously replied, “Damned sissy, who do you think you are?!”
Including Han Yu, the team was currently formed of four guys, with quite decent appearances: Sima Xian looked robust and manly, and Han Yu had a
brave and handsome appearance. There was no need to mention Long Haochen at all: not even a single flaw could be found with his face. And in terms of looks, Lin Xin was second only to Long Haochen. Only, because of his role as the mage, his figure looked quite frail, far from Long Haochen who looked well-shaped. Further adding his long hair, it brought him the nickname of ‘sissy’.”
“I am not a sissy, big bro is a true man!” Lin Xin said furiously.
Wang Yuanyuan wrinkled her brows, “Okay okay, what are you two quarrelling about? Isn’t the most important thing to think about is how to gain contribution points?”
Lin Xin flipped his wrist, making two bottles of pill appear. Throwing a bottle to Sima Xian, he told him, “These are the Spiritual Gathering Pills that Captain spoke of earlier; each one will increase your internal spiritual energy by at least ten levels and help your cultivation. It is useful for the fifth step and under. Each bottle contains ten of them; they are for you to use.”
Sima Xian rejoiced greatly, hurriedly taking the bottle and giving a thumbs up to Lin Xin, “Words are not enough to express the feeling of gratefulness I have in my heart towards you.”
In the team, only Sima Xian and Chen Ying’er hadn’t reached the fifth step yet. Seeing that what Lin Xin had taken out were two bottles of pills, how could Chen Ying’er not understand? Immediately giggling happily, she went up, “Wah, sissy is really someone who can differentiate good and bad; you are definitely a good sissy. You wouldn’t bother arguing with a child, would you?”
Lin Xin rolled his eyes, “Never call me sissy again in the future.”
Cheng Ying’er grabbed the pills in his hand before patting his shoulder, “Okay, okay, everyone here is one of us, don’t be so cunning. In future battles, I’ll cover for you.”
Lin Xin’s nose crooked from hearing her, “Would you even cover for me?”
Chen Ying’er stood proudly with her hand on her little chest, declaring,
“How could I not cover you? Just wait and see.”
“Cough cough.” At this moment, coughing noises could be heard from nearby.
Long Haochen turned around to look, only to find that Yang Wenzhao had arrived at his side.
“Younger brother Long, can we talk for a bit?” Yang Wenzhao politely asked Long Haochen.
Long Haochen nodded, “Of course we can.” During the competition, the two were rivals, but outside of that, the impression Long Haochen had of Yang Wenzhao was extremely good. Yang Wenzhao had not only formidable strength, but also a calm and steady temperament, and more importantly, could get the acknowledgement of a Starlight Unicorn, making his natural dispositions clearly visible.
Chapter 159
Yang Wenzhao took Long Haochen to walk to the side, going as far as to bow slightly, before performing a salute directed to Long Haochen.
Long Haochen inclined his body, hurriedly going to the side, “Brother Yang, what are you doing?”
Yang Wenzhao bitterly smiled before telling him, “There is something I have to beg of you, that I really want you to promise me.”
Long Haochen started, “What thing?”
Yang Wenzhao said in a low voice, “I beg of you, younger brother Long, help me to look after Ying’er!”
“Eh?” Long Haochen looked at him, somewhat puzzled, and said, “For your previous choice, brother Yang, you seem to have picked Ying’er, though she didn’t agree. Actually, I don’t need brother Yang to beg of me, for I will protect her well even without you doing so. We are, after all, members of the same squad.”
Yang Wenzhao slightly hesitated for a bit, before revealing, “Actually, I have to tell you, younger brother Long, Ying’er is my fiancée. Since childhood, our families fixed us to marry. Only, that girl is being somewhat rebellious, unwilling to accept our families’ arrangements; thus such a situation occurred, as you saw it. No matter what may be said, I am her fiancé, but she’s not even in my team. All I can do is to beg younger brother Long to take good care of her and look after her. For
this, I am willing to give a third of my contribution points to younger brother Long, how about it?”
Long Haochen’s look changed, and his voice turned even more muffled, “Brother Yang, I already told you. Ying’er is a member of my team, so I will definitely protect her properly. How could I accept your contribution points? Alright, I guess we are done speaking then.”
Having said so, he turned around and then left. From Yang Wenzhao’s act of enticement toward him, it could be seen that Long Haochen simply felt as if he had been insulted.
Seeing his leaving figure, Yang Wenzhao couldn’t help but pat his own forehead, truly confused and concerned, I should really not have spoken those words.
At this very moment, Long Haochen stopped his steps and turned his head toward Yang Wenzhao, telling him, “I will protect every single member of my team properly, and not let them suffer any harm.”
Yang Wenzhao nodded, “Younger brother Long, about what I said just now, I am sorry!”
Long Haochen waved his hand, going back to the side of his comrades without stopping.
At this moment, Han Qian, the Saint Knight Head from the Knight Alliance, was guiding ten people above forty years of age, clad in white, in entering the stadium. Seeing him, all Demon Hunt Squad members hurried to calm down.
After entering the stadium, Han Qian stopped his steps, and these ten impressive people stood in a row behind him.
“From today onwards, you will have formally become members of a soldier grade Demon Hunt Squad. And certainly, you should have seen what benefit contribution points could provide you. This is one of the other reasons why Demon Hunt Squads are of extreme importance to
powerhouses. About what is going to happen next, all of you should have already guessed. That’s right, what is incoming next is the Newcomer Demon Hunt Squads Team Competition. On the battlefield, individual power will forever remain a negligible thing. And from an outstanding team, miracles can appear. The team competition will not require you to face your opponents in a face-to-face match this time, which would just be a waste of time. Soon, you are going to leave Holy City and set off for the border area for the sake of spending the first three months of your military care
There, you will have to face the ferocity of demons head-on, and also have your first opportunities in earning contribution points. Three months later, the team with the highest amount of contribution points will be ranked first in this competition, and so on. Only the top three teams will receive rewards. The first team will get 1,000 contribution points, the second 500, and the third 300. And this applies for each squad member.”
In fact, even Long Haochen, the champion of the individual competition, had only gotten a reward of 100 contribution points. Just now, Han Qian talked about an individual reward of 1000 contribution points! It implied that a team would get the chance to rapidly be promoted to the general grade. Instantly, all eyes could only light up in reaction.
On the battlefield, the importance of individual strength was lessened by a wide margin. The strength of a team was not as simple as the sum of the strength of each members. Everyone had the possibility of obtaining the final position of champion.
Han Qian continued, “Behind me are ten Guardian Knights; they will become your leaders. All of them are heroes who fought against the demon race for many years. On the battlefield, you will have a lot to learn from them. Leaders, show yourself.”
The Temple Alliance had also given a lot of thought and determined that the most fitted place for a team to rapidly grow while building a tacit understanding of each other was on the battlefield. In that way, they would be confronted to life or death situations at all times, which would obviously be the most stimulating means. And for the safety of these children, the
Alliance dispatched these ten Guardian Knights. Their mission was not only to protect these new Demon Hunt Squads, but also to ensure the adequate training of the core of the team, its knight, at the same time. To a team, the knight, in charge of unifying, defending, and commanding the team, was bound to eternally be the most important member of it.
Each of the ten Guardian Knights walked away in a different direction, arriving before each new Demon Hunt Squad.
On Long Haochen’s side was a sturdily built man with a build rather close to Sima Xian’s. From his appearance, he looked about forty years old. His face was full of cuts and his wounds looked extremely serious: a big scar was covering the two sides of his neck and he had another circular scar of 6 centimeters diameter on his face.
Arriving before everyone, Gao Yingjie formed a fist with his right hand, placing it before his left chest and declaring with a deep voice, “Hello there, my name is Gao Yingjie. From today onwards, and for the duration of three months, I will be your leader. I will not be in charge of commanding you in battle, but I will have the authority to contest your strategic decisions at any time. My mission is to make sure that, three months later, you will be able to depart for the battlefield. The countdown of the three months before you reach the battlefield has already begun. Before we set off, I need to test your strength first.”
Chen Ying’er asked with a curious baby-face, “Leader, what do you mean by that?”
Gao Yingjie shot her a glance, “Battles will always be the best means to test one’s strength. Your team just got formed, so I’m afraid you have never battled together before. Therefore, let me be the first opponent you’ll ever challenge.”
Hearing these words, the very first to show a reaction were Sima Xian and Wang Yuanyuan. They were the most anxious for battle, otherwise, how could they grow as a shield fighter and a priest training as a powerful warrior?
Wang Yuanyuan inquired, “Leader, at which step are you?”
Gao Yingjie said indifferently, “I am a Temple Knight of the seventh step. Nonetheless, during this spar against you, I will not use flight abilities nor summon my mount.”
Wang Yuanyuan eagerly asked, “Then, if we manage to beat you, will we gain something like some contribution points?”
Long Haochen didn’t say anything: just as Gao Yingjie said, their team was newly formed, so he had a lot to observe in regard to his own companions, to familiarize with everyone’s characteristics. Now, he just discovered one of Wang Yuanyuan’s features, materialistic…
“Win?” Gao Yingjie revealed a smile on his resolute face, “I am unable to give you contribution points directly, but if you win, I will become a part of your team, acting provisionally as a Guardian Knight among your ranks, listening and obeying your captain’s orders. On the battlefield, all of the contribution points I’ll get will be divided fairly among your team members.”
“It’s a deal!” This time, Long Haochen was the one to speak, directly giving his agreement.
The leader had the mission of protecting these new Demon Hunt Squads, so he naturally couldn’t act directly to fight against demons. Only in moments of extreme emergencies was he to act directly. It was after all, a Temple Knight of the seventh step! If they could temporarily engage him as a part of their team, their ability to kill demons, no matter their strength or quantity, would undergo a qualitative leap. In that scenario, which squad could possibly contest the final position of number one with them?
Although to them, challenging a powerhouse of the seventh step would be extremely difficult, Gao Yingjie was, in the end, a Guardian Knight, not a Retribution Knight. Further adding that they were not going to face danger, and that the other party would go as far as not to summon his mount? Who would refuse to try out for such a great opportunity?
Seeing these youths greatly eager to give it an attempt, Gao Yingjie couldn’t help but find it laughable, These kids! Could it be that they really believe challenging someone above their step of cultivation would be so easy? Furthermore, it’s two steps above! Actually, Temple Knights of the seventh step have already broken through the threshold of the 10,000th spiritual energy level. More importantly, he was not a mere first ranked Temple Knight.
The other Demon Hunt Squads captains were leaving, and the same was for Han Qian. Meanwhile, in the Knight Temple, they were the only Demon Hunt Squad left.
Gao Yingjie went to the fighting area without prior consultation, a shield and a sword appearing in his hands, but he didn’t wear an armor. The shield and the sword in his hand looked like they were the most standard knight weapons. Even compared to equipment of the magical tier, they were below in quality.
“Come.”
Long Haochen advanced a few step, arriving at the very front of his team and rapidly putting his Holy Spirit Armor on. With a white glint, the Holy Spirit protection was unleashed and a white gloss immediately appeared on each of his teammates.
“Sima, [Madness]. Yuanyuan, embed gems. Ying’er, summon on the rear. Lin Xin support us with your defense. Han Yu, follow me to defend in the front. Cai’er, act accordingly on your own judgement. Let’s go.”
Long Haochen rapidly gave the directions. This was their first collaboration, so speaking of mutual understanding was out of question; it could only be called voiced instructions.
As he gave his commands, a purple glow shone between Long Haochen’s eyebrows and Haoyue appeared. However, Long Haochen didn’t mount him, letting him stay on the rear.
Han Yu also put his equipment on, swiftly completing the summoning gestures with his sword. A radiance lit up the part above his head as a bizarre magical beast appeared in the sky.
Seeing that magical beast, even Gao Yingjie, in his capacity as a Temple Knight, was startled. It was because that magical beast companion of his was truly a misfit.
With half a meter diameter, it had the dimensions of an eyeball. That’s right, it was just a big eyeball, with a black tail underneath. Its upper body was all black, and that big eyeball swiveled in the air. Around it, the air was twisted with traces of light, giving quite an unusual feeling.
Gao Yingjie exclaimed in astonishment, “This is… A Demonic Eye?!
What an unusual magical beast companion!”
Long Haochen was also quite startled. Back then, when he defeated Han Yu, the latter didn’t summon his mount.
That huge Demonic Eye was floating in the air above Han Yu’s head, unceasingly swivelling. The perturbations in air seemed to be emitted from the middle of its pupil.
Chapter 160
Suddenly, red light flashed upon this Demonic Eye and a faint red light was released from the distant Gao Yingjie’s body.
Gao Yingjie didn’t move nor did he react much, only smiling indifferently as he said, “Eyes of Truth? Your Demonic Eye has not matured yet; to want to figure out my cultivation level, it is way too early.”
Long Haochen and Han Yu exchanged glances, striding forward and launching a charge at the same time and surrounding Gao Yingjie. With the action of the two, the whole team, without exception, started to act.
Wang Yuanyuan swiftly embedded three gems in the Gigantic Divine Soul Shield and Sima Xian shouted out loudly, his hand gripping his staff while charging from the other side of Long Haochen. During this charge, his muscles rose dramatically; it was [Madness].
Cai’er, whose hand was previously held by Long Haochen, disappeared in that instant.
Haoyue’s three heads instantly lifted, and Little Light and Little Fire began chanting continuously with a muffled voice. Only Little Green did not do the same, spurting out two green light which fell on Chen Ying’er and Lin Xin’s bodies instead, making the two of them soar up before landing onto Haoyue’s back. His four limbs lunging strongly, he followed Long Haochen in his charge forward.
In Chen Ying’er’s hand, the huge crystal ball appeared once again as she chanted her incantation in a pleasant voice, as if singing.
Lin Xin sat before her, lifting his crystal cloud staff high and chanting at a rapid speed, letting out peng sounds of elemental waves of flame. No matter what anyone could say, in terms of magic control and elemental affinity, Lin Xin far outstripped Huang Yi, who possessed an Earth Elemental Fairy.
Long Haochen’s side got on the move as, on the other side, Gao Yingjie basically acted as though he didn’t notice them in the slightest, standing motionless as before.
In this frontal assault, Long Haochen and Han Yu’s speed was approximately equal to Sima Xian’s after he used [Madness]. The three of them arrived in front of Gao Yingjie at about the same time .
Eyeing Gao Yingjie, who was at a distance of less than 19 meters, Long Haochen suddenly shouted out. A white light glinting from his chest, radiance erupting from it, appearing like a white bolt of thunder falling onto Gao Yingjie.
Saint Spiritual Stove’s first ability, [Attraction].
Gao Yingjie seemed to not feel anything special at this moment, but he still moved. He took a step forward, advancing as steadily as a mountain, and suddenly the Knight Stadium shook as a booming noise echoed. In his right hand, that ordinary fine iron heavy sword turned dazzling gold, striking straight at Long Haochen.
Bending forward and holding up his shield, Long Haochen’s figure was instantly congealed, cancelling his charge and appearing just like a statue, steadily standing upfront. Then, the Holy Spirit Shield lit up with a white glow coming from the simultaneous use of [Holy Filter Shield] and [Divine Obstruction].
Meanwhile, a total of ten radiances shone upon his body practically at the same time.
With the first glitter, Long Haochen activated the supplementary [Holy Mantle] provided by his Divine Wristguard. The second one was another
[Holy Mantle] that Han Yu, at his side, cast for his protection. Following that, there were three other magic radiances.
Two of the fire system, and one of the light system; three magical shields were launched from the rear. Simultaneously falling onto his body, these shields of the fifth step acted in concert with these two [Holy Mantles], forming an unexpectedly thick five layered ability protection on Long Haochen.
The three layered shield was naturally coming from the coordinated
Gao Yingjie’s eyes lit up as he thought to himself, These youths are acting together for the first time, and yet they still cooperated with such coordination. A Guardian Knight or Shield Warrior who can withstand the attacks from the enemy, that was the real heart of the team. More importantly, this young knight with a beautiful appearance also has a Saint Spiritual Stove. With these defensive capabilities of the highest quality, no wonder he got the top position in the individual competition.
… but will this be enough?
The heavy sword struck downwards with stable power as Gao Yingjie seemed as if he basically didn’t see Sima Xian on the left side at all. He heavily struck with his staff under the effect of [Sacred Hammer] and Han Yu’s [Light Thorn] that was coming from the right side.
Bang– —
A crushing sound echoed from Long Haochen’s whole body. To Gao Yingjie, the five layered defense in front of him was, unexpectedly, as frail as paper. It only weakened the golden light on his sword by a little. Like that, his sword heavily struck Long Haochen’s Holy Spirit Shield.
It was also in that instant that the eyeball above Han Yu’s head suddenly released a white glint, causing Gao Yingjie’s body to stagnate for a bit, and briefly enter into a state of confusion. Only then did his heavy sword fall on Long Haochen’s shield.
The terrifying force of the impact instantly spread from the Holy Spirit Shield to his four limbs and all the bones in his body. At that moment, Long Haochen felt as if his body did not belong entirely to himself. That spiritual energy of boundless terror crushed him completely with the force of the impact, sending him flying back. On his body, [Bright Vengeance] shone as he felt as if his body’s force was completely exhausted.
Despite the fact that Long Haochen had previously estimated the power of the powerhouse of the seventh step to be very high, he only experienced the enormous gap between them when actually facing him head-on. Even with the cooperation of the whole team, he could only barely obstruct this blow.
At that moment, a pair of wings of light appeared and extended from Gao Yingjie’s back, colliding with the [Light Thorn] and destroying it in a flash. Under the effect of [Madness], Sima Xian’s full force attack made contact with the other wing of light, and with a simple Peng sound, the effects of [Sacred Hammer] were absorbed by the tyrannical light released and Sima Xian’s majestic figure was knocked back ferociously, thrown far away.
At this point, the effect of Long Haochen’s Saint Spiritual Stove was already over. He was the team captain and also the heart of the team, so at this moment, he was the one who bore the heavy responsibility of holding Gao Yingjie back.
Four radiances appeared once again on his body. This time, it was a four- layered elemental shield. Although it had a layer less than before, how could the [Holy Mantle] of the third step possibly compare to this kind of elemental shield of the fifth step? On the contrary, his defense was even more unyielding than previously.
Long Haochen breathed deeply, doing his utmost to stimulate the spiritual energy in him with the intent of getting rid of the numb feeling. At this moment, the superiority of his external spiritual energy, which was a lot greater than other knights of the same step, became apparent. In a single breath’s time, the numbing sensation on his body had already decreased by at least twofold.
With a single blow, Gao Yingjie had shook Long Haochen completely. Under the effect of the [Attraction] of the Saint Spiritual Stove, unless he left the range of the spiritual stove, the only one he could target was Long Haochen himself. Smoothly stepping forward, he directly rushed at Long Haochen, paying no attention to Han Yu’s second attack at all. At his back, the two wings only moved slightly to block it without difficulty.
[Holy Filter Shield], [Holy Mantle], [Divine Obstruction].
Long Haochen unleashed his defensive abilities once again, and at that moment, another flash of red light shone upon his body, creating yet another elemental shield.
It was Lin Xin. Relying on his magic passing through the fire cloud crystal, he was a lot faster than Haoyue. Against all expectations, he managed to create two elemental shields to assist Long Haochen’s defense within such a short time.
Bang–
Long Haochen courageously welcomed Gao Yingjie’s attack and a violent explosion sounded forth. This time, he was only pushed seven or eight steps backwards as all of the defenses protecting him was completely broken into pieces. But compared to the first time, his reaction was a lot better. At the least, the sensation of numbness on his entire body didn’t appear once again.
Meanwhile, Long Haochen’s Holy Spirit Sword pointed forward, lunging with a [Light Thorn] enhanced by the effects of [Bright Vengeance] towards Gao Yingjie.
Gao Yingjie was somewhat astonished that a youth only at the fifth step, with the assistance of his team, could block his attacks successfully twice in a row. Although he was far from going all out, this was still shocking. This team was actually able to create a five-layered elemental shield! If it was another newcomer Demon Hunt Squad, he was afraid that they would perhaps have not even been able to link a three-layered one! And to him, the [Divine Obstruction] of this first-place youth of this year felt as if was
utilized to the point of perfection. Not only did it seem mastered, but more importantly, it contained a mysterious material feel.
Nonetheless, Gao Yingjie clearly didn’t plan on wasting too much time pondering. He slid forward, aiming at Long Haochen, who had been pushed back by his earlier strike, and instantly executing a shield charge. Of course, he wouldn’t injure this youngster, but he still sent him flying, making the Saint Spiritual Stove lose its effects. Without a Guardian Knight with defense as his main focus, the others would have no way to sustain a single blow of his sword.
However, also at that moment, he became distracted once again for a short period of time, making his shield charge unable to connect.
The Demonic Eye above Han Yu’s head lost some shine and, at that moment, Han Yu didn’t pursue his assault, instead standing motionless and as sturdy as a mountain as a rich golden fog surrounded his body. It was precisely the skill [Storing Power] that was often used by Long Haochen.
As their current attacks could not break Gao Yingjie’s defense, only the compressed spiritual energy obtained through [Storing Power] had a better chance.
In the next instant, Gao Yingjie appeared just like a sovereign, with endless awe, and as if he was controlling everything on earth.
An immense golden ball of light formed behind Long Haochen, shooting up just like a huge meteor and fiercely crashing into Gao Yingjie.
The extremely savage pressure made Gao Yingjie’s complexion change immediately. He stared blankly for the first time in this match.
The one soaring in the sky was precisely Wang Yuanyuan, after having completed the embedding of her three gems into the Gigantic Divine Soul Shield, bringing it to the peak of its might.
Spreading a dazzling pure golden colored radiance, the Gigantic Divine Soul Shield sparkled of red, yellow, white, blue, and gray, giving off a
pressure like the one felt at the peak of mount Tai, while ramming straight at Gao Yingjie.
Gao Yingjie didn’t pursue, but attacked Long Haochen instead, who was standing still.
However, during that time of inactivity, Long Haochen didn’t stand idle. Three lights shone upon him in succession as he chanted at rapid speed, an angel-like luster slowly taking shape above his head.
[Faith Halo], [Guardian’s Favor], [Imposing Ring]. These were the three most basic ‘great halos’ used by Guardian Knights. Long Haochen was already pretty proficient at them, so as long as he was given the time of a few slow breaths, he could activate them without even the need for incantations.
Under the effects of the three great rings and the supplementary protection of the Holy Spirit Armor, the light shining upon Wang Yuanyuan’s body grew even more dazzling.
Back then, in front of her Gigantic Divine Soul Shield, even Long Haochen was narrowly defeated. If not for Haoyue’s assistance and the fact that Wang Yuanyuan’s consumption was already great, which prevented her from exhibiting the full might of her shield, he wouldn’t have emerged victorious. If not for his victory in that match against Wang Yuanyuan, she would have entered the top 16 and her final ranking would probably have been quite better.
At that time, Wang Yuanyuan, in her capacity as the most powerful warrior of the year, let the entirety of her fighting power burst out
Standing in place, he raised his shield; it was precisely [Divine Obstruction]. This symbol of a knight of high step was naturally something Gao Yingjie was capable of using as well.
Facing the oppressive force of the Gigantic Divine Soul Shield, he had no choice but to respond.
However, at this same moment, a black silhouette silently appeared at his back with a flash of dark golden radiance.
Concealed in darkness, Cai’er chose this crucial moment to make her move.
When Long Haochen was attacked for the first time, she had already changed her location. And surprisingly, Gao Yingjie didn’t notice that she had disappeared from Long Haochen’s back to Han Yu’s.
When Gao Yingjie was pursuing and attacking Long Haochen, he naturally passed beside Han Yu’s location. But as Han Yu was using [Storing Power], Cai’er was able to keep herself hidden behind him.
Cai’er had chosen the place to aim her attack with particular attention. It was precisely at the center of the two wings made of condensed spiritual energy, a target located on the middle of his back. This was the weakest place in his wings’ defense.
Admittedly, [Divine Obstruction] truly was a domineering ability, but its greatest flaw lies in the fact that for a split second when its defense is unleashed, the user has to stay motionless before relying on the release of energy from his entire body to counteract the enemy’s attack. And the timing Cai’er chose was exactly that split second of stillness when the Gigantic Divine Soul Shield was about to collide against his defense.
Cai’er wasn’t an expert at camouflage, done through the means of various assassin tricks. She was an expert at concealment, looking for the opportunity before unleashing a fatal strike. Although she was blind, she was better at finding the opponent’s moment of weakness than anyone else.
Not good! In that split second Cai’er was about to execute her attack, Gao Yingjie’s complexion changed completely. He was indeed a Temple Knight of the seventh step; although Cai’er’s action was completely silent, his sense of danger led him to detect her.
After many years spent battling demons, he had developed an instinct close to a beast’s. Without the slightest hesitation, he dispelled [Divine
Obstruction], the heavy sword in his right hand shifting to block his back just like a bolt of lightning. Meanwhile, his body instantly lit up with a penetrating gold color.
Ding—, Bang.
Almost at the same time, two sounds echoed.
Wang Yuanyuan only felt as if she bumped against a mountain as a violent pressure sent her flying back and making her drop the Gigantic Divine Soul Shield.
However, her intrepid all-out strike still swayed Gao Yingjie’s body. In the center of his shield, a few gaps appeared.
In the same state of [Storing Power] as before, Han Yu could clearly see that, behind Gao Yingjie, upon meeting his heavy sword, Cai’er’s attack had unexpectedly pierced through it. However, Cai’er’s attack was repelled back by Gao Yingjie’s body. Vaguely, a penetrative golden gloss could be seen behind the heavy sword. Parts of Gao Yingjie’s body had turned into a golden radiance.
It was the signature ability of a Temple Knight of the seventh step,
[Brilliant Body].