Chapter 31
Li Xin voice trembled with anger: “Last month? You dare speak about last month? If my father and Uncle Lin had not arrived so quickly, I would have killed you with a single slash.”
Lin Jia Lu sneered: “If my father had not protected you, I would’ve turned you into an ice statue.”
Li Xin disdained: “If you have the skills to beat me, then don’t use any magic equipment.”
Lin Jia Lu contemptuously rebutted: “If you have the skills, don’t summon your unicorn mount.”
Seemingly not able to stifle her anger anymore, Li Xin moved her palm towards her back, drawing out one of her two swords she challenged the other girl, “Let’s go outside. This time I will not summon Rose, let’s see if you can do anything against me.”
Lin Jia Lu then handed her wand to the warrior apprentice next to her, “Well then, I will not use my wand either, I’ll let you see this lady’s casting speed.”
“Young ladies, the Head Officer and the Minister have already warned you that if the two of you were to raise a ruckus again,then both of you will be getting detentions.” Cold sweat broke out the warriors’ face as they stood between the girls who showed forced smiles mixed with frustration, having no choice but to agree.
Upon hearing the word ‘detention’, Li Xin and Lin Jia Lu immediately showed signs of restraint, once again a “Hmph” escaped their lips.
Li Jia Lu sneered: “Consider yourself lucky this time.”
“Lucky? This lady is a seventh ranked knight, unlike someone here who’s only a sixth ranked mage. I’m not sure who’s the lucky one here. Are you looking for a fight? Alright! Lin Jia Lu, would you dare make a bet with me?”
Lin Jia Lu grunted and said: “What bet?”
Li Xin pointed at Long Hao Chen standing behind her, “This is my little brother, he’ll go for me. You also send someone from your side. Since we are not duelling directly, the problem of getting detention does not rise.”
Long Hao Chen had been hidden by Li Xin’s body before, but now that Li Xin had moved aside, Lin Jia Lu could finally see him. Up on seeing the boy, Lin Jia Lu’s eyes sparkled. Long Hao Chen had a beautiful, near- perfect face and a unique pair of rare clear golden eyes, it felt like he had some more imperceptible qualities that were enough to make her dumbstruck.
Looking at Long Hao Chen, then at Li Xin, Lin Jia Lu toned down a bit, asking Li Xin: “Is she a girl crossdressed as a guy like you?”
Long Hao Chen’s face twitched, he dropped his hair and his brows wrinkled: “I’m a boy.”
He thought to himself, why can’t you people stop being like that?! Why does everyone see me as a girl? Can’t you people not see that I have an Adam’s apple? Can’t you have a little common sense?!
Li Xin triumphantly said: “So? My little brother is handsome, right?
Have you ever seen anyone as handsome as he is?”
Lin Jia Lu, curling her lips, said: “So you have this kind of hobby. You like them younger, eh? However, you are much older than he is. Don’t
you have any shame?”
“You…” Li Xin angrily said: “Tell me, do you want to bet or not? Let me tell you the truth: my little brother is also from Hao Yue Hall. He just joined today.”
Lin Jia Lu was somewhat surprised, “Aren’t you making a mistake? You want to send him out? How old is he? Is he even fifteen years old?”
Li Xin said: “Don’t worry about that, just tell me if you want to bet or not. If you don’t dare, quickly go away; don’t ruin your Aunt
“Whose Aunt? Let’s bet if it’s what you want. Isn’t he just a little kid? Xu Tiankong, you go.” Lin Jia Lu didn’t know herself why she and Li Xin were always at odds; it was obvious that they could not stand each other’s provocation.
Li Xin said: “Let’s duel outside so as to not affect other people’s business. Also, since it’s a bet, let’s put something at stake.”
Lin Jia Lu said: “What do you want to bet?”
Li Xin who had clearly decided long ago what she wanted to bet, pulled out a white-colored crystal and said: “I’ll bet this magic crystal from the light-element fifth ranked beast Elegant Gold Tiger against the Radiant Shield from your house’s business.”
Lin Jia Lu fretted, “Are you crazy?” She also vaguely felt that something was off. An Elegant Gold Tiger’s magic crystal was fairly rare. Among the fifth-ranked magic crystals, it was one of the best ones. Even though the Radiant Shield was good, its value was not as high as this magic crystal at all. So why was she so confident?
The magic crystal kept bouncing in Li Xin’s hand, she looked at Lin Jia Lu and sneered: “If you are afraid to bet, then get out of my sight and from now on, remember to take another path when you meet me.”
“What is there for me to be afraid of? Fine, Let’s bet.” Lin Jia Lu impulsively agreed.
Long Hao Chen had been standing next to them, without saying anything. He did not know what caused the tension between Li Xin and Lin Jia Lu. But he realized that even though these two were really noisy, they still had managed to keep their cool, and they were not really enemies either. Li Xin had been very nice to him. For the sake of his Big Sister, he could not refuse.
The group then got out of the restaurant together. Li Xin, pulling Long Hao Chen’s arm, whispered: “Lil’ Bro, I’m so sorry for making you do this even though you haven’t eaten yet. However, you have to try your best! Sis did it with good intentions, you must win.”
Long Hao Chen clearly saw there was some slyness in Li Xin’s eyes, so he quickly nodded: “Big Sister, I’ll try my best.”
On the other side, Lin Jia Lu was also cheering her own attendant: “Xu Tiankong… this little kid seems to have some skills, but you have to win. If you win, I’ll give you a good sword. However, remember not to hurt him.”
Xu Tiankong helplessly said: “Miss, can you promise me that after the duel ends, regardless of the outcome, you won’t cause problems with Miss Xin’er anymore? Otherwise, I will have to report it to the Head Officer.”
Lin Jia Lu impatiently replied: “I know.”
In front of the restaurant, there was an empty lot reserved for parking carriages; at this time, there weren’t many carriages so there was just enough space for them to hold the duel.
Long Hao Chen stepped forward with a heavy sword already in his hand. On the other side, Xu Tian Kong also moved forward. Long Hao Chen looked at Lin Jia Lu and said: “Sister Lin, I’ve never faced a mage. I’m looking forward to your guidance.”
“Huh?” Both Li Xin and Lin Jia Lu were stunned.
Li Xin quickly said: “Lil’ Bro, calm down.” She had seen Long Hao Chen fight. She knew that his fighting experience was not bad and his spiritual energy ranking wasn’t low either. Lin Jia Lu’s two guards had, at best, just reached the third step as warriors. If the two had not mastered any sacred skills, it would be difficult for them to win against Long Hao Chen. However, Lin Jia Lu was completely different. She and Li Xin were considered prodigies of Hao Yue City.
Looking at Li Xin, Long Hao Chen said in a serious tone: “Big Sister, my father told me that first hand experiences, in many cases, are more important than training. I want to try dueling a mage. So please guide me well!”
Lin Jia Lu went around the puzzled Xu Tian Kong and suspiciously asked: “Kiddo, you want to duel me? If so, your sister Xin’er will surely lose.”
Long Hao Chen slowly lifted his heavy sword, shook his head, and replied: “One cannot know if one does not try. Big Sister Xin’er, may I?”
Li Xin looked at the calm and decisive posture that seemed to belong to someone much older than Long Hao Chen. She then smiled: “Good, that’s my Lil’ Bro! Show her how strong you are. Lin Jia Lu, don’t cry when you lose.”
“I’m gonna lose?” Lin Jia Lu stared at Li Xin, without taking out her wand, she pointed at Long Hao Chen and said: “Then come.”
“Sister Lin, please.” Long Hao Chen spoke, lightly tapping his heavy sword on his right shoulder, exercising a knight’s salute, pointing his toes downwards; he started charging towards Lin Jia Lu.
Not retreating, Lin Jia Lu quickly and quietly recited her spell,. There was a layer of pale-blue light spreading out from her body. Pointing her right index finger at Long Hao Chen, an [Ice Ball] was shot straight at him, all of this happening in less than a second.
Notes:
Chapter 32
Long Hao Chen slightly lowered his brows and without trying to dodge, he approached the[Ice Ball] intending to meet with it head on.
However, as if it knew what Long Hao Chen was trying to do, the [Ice Ball] suddenly sank. With a cracking sound, the attack targeted the ground. A blue halo of light immediately covered an area of a 0.66 meters (2 Chi) circumference, and Long Hao Chen’s charge was interrupted simultaneously.
With a chilling sensation on his foot, his steps halted. Long Hao Chen’s body stumbled as if he had lost his balance.
Lin Jia Lu’s face revealed a smile filled with self-confidence as she chanted another incantation, and a thin blue light enveloped her. This was the second step mage spell [Ice Mantle].
But her smiling face quickly became filled with surprise.
Long Hao Chen had arrived before her in an instant, and suddenly a golden radiance appeared below her with a cracking sound. A layer of the ground unexpectedly froze below his foot before being broken by his foot stepping on it, making his body return to a steady state. He resumed his charge but his speed, surprisingly, was not dramatically reduced, but instead, increased tremendously. His hand began executing a [Thorny Charge], preparing to pierce the cover of ice with a stab.
A third step Knight!
Regardless of whether it was Lin Jia Lu or the two retinues, all of them became flabbergasted. To be able to use the Sacred Light element internal spiritual energy was something only a third step knight was capable of. Was this youth, who looked like he was probably not even 15 yet, unexpectedly already a third step knight?
“Puu, puu, puu… “A series of sounds of something hitting ice echoed.
Although Lin Jia Lu was extremely frightened, she did not stop her actions.
Nonetheless, an [Ice Ring] made of white colored ice appeared all around her body and Long Hao Chen’s formidable thrust merely pushed her back.
The ice element spell, [Ice Ring] was the most commonly used spell by mages to deal with close combat vocations. Even without using her magic wand, Lin Jia Lu could still cast the spell swiftly and consistently; it was well suited to her title as a genius.
Long Hao Chen, who was just released became startled. He realized how different fights were against a mage compared to those against a warrior.
At that very moment, ten icicles rose at lightning speed by his side, blocking his route from the left as well as from the right. The frozen air made Long Hao Chen feel a chill, he felt as if the speed of his internal spiritual energy had somewhat slowed.
Lin Jia Lu’s forte was her calm mind. She was almost equal to Li Xin. What she didn’t know was that, although this little fellow was a third step knight, she would not necessarily be a match for a person as gifted from the Heavens as him.
From the point of view of Li Xin who was standing at the other side, it appeared that while being caged, Long Hao Chen would definitely be restrained by ice magic, thus reducing his combat ability, and even before he could escape from the barrier around, Lin Jia Lu would have probably beaten him.
However, at this moment, Long Hao Chen had already jumped up.
“This silly kid.” Li Xin could not help but whisper. While dueling a mage like her, why did you jump up as you are still within her range? Isn’t that making yourself a perfect target? Lin Jia Lu’s purpose when casting [Ice Cage] was to make him jump up: it seemed that he really didn’t have any experience in combat against a mage.
Seeing the boy leaping into air as she expected, , Lin Jia Lu showed a knowing smile. She started bombarding Long Hao Chen with [Ice Balls] aimed straight at him. She was already going easy on him. Ha
However, the next move of Long Hao Chen surprised once again the audience.
Long Hao Chen’s body emitted a layer of pale-gold aura, which spiraled upwards. He held the heavy sword using both hands to lift it over his head, setting off a golden aura that added a kind of divine feeling to his already handsome face.
Every single [Ice Ball] that was flying at Long Hao Chen disappeared 0.3 meter (1 chi) away from him. Even the cold air that each of them released was unable to pass through this golden aura.
[Lightning Cut], two words instantly popped up in Lin Jia Lu’s mind. Her smile immediately froze. She then cast another [Ice Mantle] without hesitation.
Long Hao Chen dropped down from the sky. Brandishing his heavy sword, the pale-gold aura suddenly became more intense, forming a 33- centimeter-wide (1Chi) light-edged blade around the sword.
[Lightning Cut] was a third step knight skill practised by both Retribution Knights and Guardian Knights and consumed 50 units of spiritual energy. By withdrawing sacred power from the body, one can condense it into a blade to attack enemies. The attacking distance and power are proportional to one’s own level of spiritual energy.
This was the first long-range offensive ability relying on internal spiritual energy that knights could use. Even though it consumed the same amount of spiritual energy as [Shining Solar Cut], its power was comparatively a lot less. The reason was that [Lightning Cut] was a long-range ability that could be used as both an offensive and a defensive measure.
Even so, only Genuine Knights who were fifth ranked or above could use [Lightning Cut] to its full extent. As a knight ranked up and had more spiritual energy, the power of the skill also increased.
The golden blade of light collided against the ice shield as a snapping sound rang out. The [Ice Mantle] instantly broke, and simultaneously the blade of light emitted by [Lightning Cut] also disappeared.
Long Hao Chen’s actions did not stop at that. As soon as he landed on both of his foot, he immediately initiated another charge towards Lin Jia Lu.
As she realized that her [Ice Mantle] had managed to block the [Lightning Cut], Lin Jia Lu felt relieved. She thought to herself, Fortunately, this kid’s spiritual energy level isn’t that high. Otherwise, it would have been hard to stop that one attack. I’ve underestimated him.
However, as she blocked the [Lightning Cut], another smile appeared on Lin Jia Lu’s face; she once more cast [Ice Ring] to stop Long Hao Chen’s assault.
Since [Lightning Cut] consumed 50 units of spiritual energy, it was obvious that this kid did not have much internal spiritual energy left, so as long as she could stop another one of his attacks, his loss was confirmed.
, the [Ice Ring] appeared in a blink and Long Hao Chen’s stance suddenly changed. His right foot strongly stomped on the ground, interrupting his charge and stopping him, as he lifted the heavy sword up in front of him.
[Ice Ring] split around Long Hao Chen; however, he was not pushed back this time. A pale-gold-colored layer of light now encroached his entire
body.
The heavy sword arrived, gently stopping right above Lin Jia Lu’s shoulder.
Hiss~~~, Lin Jia Lu’s retinues both gasped almost at the same time. Lin Jia Lu, who was prepared to continue also froze in space.
Although Long Hao Chen’s heavy sword did not hit her, she could clearly feel the touch of its divine aura. 1
“Sister Lin, please give in.” Long Hao Chen took a few steps back, standing there with his sword withdrawn.
“Impossible, This is simply impossible. Even fourth step vocations would be temporarily pushed back when facing against my [Ice Ring].” Lin Jia Lu had a look of disbelief on her face. Looking at Long Hao Chen, her smile from before had changed into a shocked look filled with incomprehension.
Lost. Being Hao Yue City’s genius female mage and losing to someone so much younger than her, how could she continue to live without feeling ashamed?
Even though she had been lenient to the boy by not using any magical equipments, she had lost even with the strength of a third step, sixth rank mage.
It wasn’t only Lin Jia Lu herself; even Li Xin was puzzled at what had happened. Only, because she knew more about Long Hao Chen than Lin Jia Lu did, after a brief moment, she had come to an understanding.
[Divine Obstruction]. As soon as Lin Jia Lu used [Ice Ring] for the second time, Long Hao Chen had used [Divine Obstruction].
Notes:
Chapter 33
Compared to what he could do a year and a half ago, it was safe to say that, now Long Hao Chen had acquired a higher degree of technical proficiency in [Divine Obstruction]. In fact, even though [Divine Obstruction] was a powerful skill, perfect timing was crucial when using it. His use of the skill only lasted for a brief moment, therefore, it was necessary for him to predict accurately the opponent’s move to effectively use it.
By using [Divine Obstruction], Long Hao Chen was able to resist [Ice Ring] hence was not knocked back. Lin Jia Lu never expected such a move, ultimately leading to his victory.
If Lin Jia Lu had decided to use her magic equipment, or if she had been more careful from the beginning, Long Hao Chen could hardly be considered as an opponent, considering that he had been depleted of a lot of internal spiritual energy to fuse with the Spiritual Stove. However, Long Hao Chen’s young age confused her, plus he was using the heavenly countering spell, [Divine Obstruction], so Lin Jia Lu met a tragic end.
Li Xin was shocked at how well Long Hao Chen had used [Divine Obstruction], but what she did not know was that it was the result of his extreme daily training with Long Xing Yu. Thanks to the daily two hours of combat exercises, Long Hao Chen could already use intuitively the [Divine Obstruction], and predict perfectly the opponent’s moves based only on his intuition.
Looking at the blank and troubled Lin Jia Lu, Li Xin broke out of her initial shock and laughed: “What are you calling impossible? You know
nothing. If you can’t even beat my Lil’ Bro, don’t even think of challenging me. Come on, you lost, so fulfill your end of the deal.”
“Haha, that felt good.” While speaking, Li Xin grabbed Long Hao Chen and gave him a forceful kiss on the cheek.
Long Hao Chen was stupefied; the next moment, his handsome face suddenly flushed with embarrassment.
Li Xin couldn’t help but smile, “Lil’ Bro, you look so cute when you are embarrassed. Though, you look cooler when you are fighting. Let’s get back to eating.”
With Lin Jia Lu’s retreat, Li Xin was in a good mood. Together with Long Hao Chen, they had a scrumptious meal. They ordered a lot of food, but the portion she ate was unexpectedly a lot bigger than Long Hao Chen’s, even though he was still growing. The two of them unexpectedly almost finished everything on the table by themselves.
“Woah~, I’m so full, Lil’ Bro. If we have dinner together every day from now on, Sis will definitely gain weight.”
Long Hao Chen had already recovered from being so suddenly kissed. The warm feeling when her cold, soft lips touched his cheeks only lasted for a little moment, but this feeling was deeply imprinted in his mind. After his parents left, that was the first time he felt the warmth of having a family. It is so nice to have a Big Sister.
“Big Sister, what exactly happened that caused such friction between you and Sister Lin?” Long Hao Chen curiously asked.
Li Xin grunted and said: “I get pissed off just at mentioning it. Originally, when we were young, we did not talk to each other much, but we were still good friends. About five years ago, we fell in love with the same guy, someone from the Mage Temple. He was not as handsome as you, but he was still good-looking. He was also talented. At that time, Lin Jia Lu and I were still good friends. When I knew that she also liked him, I was ready to give up on him. However, that guy came up to me, saying
that Lin Jia Lu used her family’s power to force him to be with her and that for his future advancement, he had to yield. Since then, I have yet to see that guy again.”
“I then went to ask Lin Jia Lu about it
Long Hao Chen said unconfidently: “It might just have been a misunderstanding. Big Sister, I think you should talk it out with Sister Lin one more time.”
Li Xin said: “Misunderstanding? That guy has disappeared. She must have harmed him. Well, let’s not talk about that anymore,remembering these things of the past will only annoy me more. However, this Lin Jia Lu, although annoying, always keeps her word. Haha, we won big time. The Radiant Light Shield will be a very suitable shield for you to use, even after you’ll reach the fifth step as a knight.”
“Are you giving it to me?” Long Hao Chen seemed a bit surprised.
Li Xin said: “Of course it’s for you! Why else would I make a bet with her? I don’t need her things. Didn’t you want to be a Guardian Knight? What kind of Guardian Knight does not have a shield? There aren’t many decent shields you can get from Hao Yue Hall. However, with this Radiant Light Shield, your defense will be improved by a huge margin.”
Long Hao Chen suddenly felt as if his heart was bursting with warmth. He really did not expect that the fact she made him fight and the bet she made against Lin Jia Lu were to get him a decent shield.
Li Xin sighed, playing with her fingers, somewhat embarrassed: “It is all my dad’s fault. He refused to give me more pocket money. Otherwise, I would directly have bought you new equipment. Why would I have to use this method?”
“Big Sister –” Long Hao Chen let out a soft cry.
Li Xin smiled, “What’s wrong? Why have your eyes become red? Ahhh, you are such a sentimental little boy! Come on, let’s go back. You have to
start school tomorrow, and Big Sis still has some advice to give you.”
When they arrived at the entrance of the Knight Hall, there was a middle- aged man who was respectfully waiting for them there with a huge bag in his hand.
“Miss Xin’er, my Lady ordered me to bring this to you.” The middle- aged man gave the bag to Li Xin, then turned away.
Looking at the man leaving, Li Xin laughed: “I can’t imagine how regretful Lin Jia Lu must have felt about this. It looks like she does not have much more pocket money than I do.”
After returning to Hao Yue Hall, Li Xin followed Long Hao Chen directly to his room.
“Lil’ Bro! Look! It is the Radiant Shield.” Li Xin spoke while excitingly opening the bag in her hand, then gave the shield to Long Hao Chen.
It was a circular shield about 0.83 meters (two chis, five cuns) in diameter, a medium-sized shield. The whole shield was dark silver colored, making it look somewhat ancient.
At the center of the shield, there was a round gem about the size of an egg of pigeon. The gem gave off a pale gold color. Using the crystal as the center, a sun was engraved on the shield with patterns fanning out all the way to the edge.
It appeared that the shield was not too heavy. There was, however, a pure light aura emitting from it.
“Quickly try it on.” Li Xin handed the Radiant Light Shield to Long Hao Chen.
Long Hao Chen did not decline. When he recognized someone as one of his loved ones, he would never refuse a present from them; at the same time, he would be willing to give his all for them.
Having received the Radiant Shield, Long Hao Chen realized that, behind the shield, there was not just a simple handle; it was something similar to a gauntlet. He slid his left hand in. The gauntlet seemed to be a bit too big, covering his entire arm. His hand reached all the way inside the gauntlet, just enough to grab a metal handle that was inside the gauntlet. As a result, the shield completely covered his arm. One could say it fit him in general. The shield, and especially that faint light aura that it released, gave a very comfortable feeling to Long Hao Chen.
Li Xin came forward to adjust the gauntlet on his arm. Inside the gauntlet, there were a series of buttons to adjust its size so that it would fit Long Hao Chen’s arm better. After adjusting, it seemed as if Long Hao Chen and his shield were a unified entity when Long Hao Chen waved his arm again.
The Radiant Shield was not that heavy. After gently waving his arm and feeling its weightless nature, Long Hao Chen immediately fell in love with it.
Li Xin said: “The Radiant Shield, by itself, can defend against direct attacks of opponents with a spiritual energy level lower than 300. After pouring inside your internal spiritual energy, it will be enhanced. The light aura coming from the shield can protect you against negative effects from most magic spells, for example, the freezing effect of Lin Jia Lu’s ice magic. It is also very powerful when combined with some of a Guardian Knight’s skills. Look at this gem, it is a Harmony Crystal. With such a crystal, as long as the shield does not take too much damage, it should be able to repair itself. This shield might not be the strongest shield under the fifth rank, but it is definitely the most practical magic shield.”
Chapter 34
Long Hao Chen tried to transfer some of his spiritual energy into the shield and at that moment, the sun pattern in the center of the Radiant Shield shone brightly, making the entire exterior of the shield emit a thin gold radiance, but this light aura didn’t consume much of Long Hao Chen’s spiritual energy.
“Big Sister, thank you so much.” said Long Hao Chen from the bottom of his heart. Li Xin smiled: “What are you thanking me for? You are the one who won this. Okay, I’ll have to tell you about what you will study in our Hall.”
After staying for an hour in Long Hao Chen’s room, she finally left. After her introduction, Long Hao Chen’s knowledge about Hao Yue Hall improved drastically.
Bright morning.
After Long Hao Chen took a simple bath, he ate the breakfast that was brought to him; only Knights 1 were treated with such a preferential treatment, on the other hand, Standard Knights had to go to the dining room. After having his breakfast, he went to the Knight Main Hall on this early morning.
The Knight Main Hall consisted of two floors, it was not too big at all. The first floor was used for the Guardian Knights’ lectures and the second was for the Retribution Knights.
When Long Hao Chen came, the classroom where lessons were supposed to be given to Guardian Knights was absolutely empty. He put down his heavy sword and his Radiant Shield in a corner of the room and calmly waited.
Other knights began to arrive one after another to the classroom, and in a little while the room became completely full. Long Hao Chen counted; there were about 80 knights around him, but there were a lot more Guardian Knights than Retribution Knights.
Long Hao Chen was sitting in the corner, but he still paid attention, just like the others who focused their attention on him. These numerous knights all wore imposing attire and couldn’t help but look at him with a strange eye. It was because he was much younger than them.
“Take a look, who’s this little guy? Wow, that can’t be a Radiant Shield?
His family must be quite rich!“
“But one shouldn’t be able to come to our Knight Main Hall just because he has money, can it be that he’s the relative of an instructor?”
“It’s hard to say. I heard yesterday from my little brother who was on duty that our Hell Rose brought a good-looking guy. Probably this little fellow here. Only, how can the Hall Master permit him to take class together with us?”
A large young knight came in front of Long Hao Chen and gently asked: “Little brother, aren’t you at the wrong place? This is the Knight Main Hall, the classroom of the Standard Knights is on the other side.” From these knights’ point of view, Long Hao Chen could be considered a great genius if he was already a Standard Knight at this age.
Long Hao Chen got up hurriedly and politely turned towards his side, performing a knight salute: “Hello, I came to the Knight Main Hall’s class. My name is Long Hao Chen.”
As the knight looked like she still had something to say, a hoarse voice could be heard: “Class will now begin.”
The knights were quite frightened, and as if they feared this hoarse voiced master, they hurried to turn away and get back to their seats.
Long Hao Chen’s gaze turned to the direction of the speaker; there stood a tall and thin middle-aged man with a circular shield on his back. This middle aged man also looked at him.
“Do you have a problem?” The middle aged man calmly asked. Long Hao Chen quickly shook his head.
The middle aged man continued in a serious and powerful voice: “Then why are you standing there?&rdqu
Long Hao Chen was startled by this unexpectedly loud voice and hurried to sit down.
The whole classroom was completely silent; each of the knight looked respectfully at the middle-aged man. The gazes directed toward him seemed to be completely filled with fear.
“Little newcomer, I am Ye Hua, the main Instructor of Hao Yue Hall. I don’t care how much of a genius you are, but as soon as you have arrived here, you have become an ordinary knight. If you cannot reach my expectations, I will chase you back to the Standard Knights’ place. Understood?”
“Yes.” Long Hao Chen stood up once more and performed another authentic knight salute in the direction of the head Instructor.
An ordinary knight? These few words created an uproar among the knights in the room. This youth, who was not even 15 yet, was a Knight? Wasn’t this a mistake?
“Everyone, stand up!” Ye Hua suddenly shouted.
As a reaction to this sharp voice, all the knights rapidly got up.
Ye Hua coldly looked at them, “Do you have so few prospects? What did I teach you? What is the most important thing to become a Guardian Knight?”
“To stay cool-headed in whichever circumstances.” The crowd of knights loudly agreed.
“And what have you accomplished up till now?” Ye Hua’s gaze intimidated these knights.
This time, no one answered.
Ye Hua said: “Put on your heavy equipment and run 50 laps around the training field. Otherwise, you won’t remember this lesson. Right now, hurry up.”
“Yes.” No one dared refute. The Guardian Knights started trotting one by one out of the classroom.
Long Hao Chen was also quite intimidated. He did not expect this Head Instructor to be so hot-blooded.
“Why on Earth are you standing still? Aren’t you a part of their group? Go together with them.” Ye Hua pointed angrily at Long Hao Chen as he shouted.
“Yes.”
The equipment warehouse was in the basement of the Knight Hall. After Long Hao Chen received a set, he couldn’t help but feel like crying. Since he was too young, his body was far from having grown enough. The heavy armor that was intended to protect one’s whole body was heavier than 50 kilograms (100 Jin) and could not be worn because his body was too small. He could only use it to cover his body, wrapping it from above, and he still had to use both his hands to carry the armor from both sides if he did not want it to fall down.
A metallic ringing sound resounded from afar. The training field was circular and 666 meters (200 Zhang) long. In addition to the requirement of having to wear heavy equipment, even for these 200th external spiritual energy level knights, this was not an easy feat.
Ye Hua who stood in the middle of the training ground, looked at him running, “Don’t fall behind. The ones who drop out will have to run fifty more laps. Long Hao Chen, come this way.” He obviously knew his name from Nalan Shu.
“Yes, Instructor.” Long Hao Chen dragged the heavy armor as he ran in front of Ye Hua.
Ye Hua said lightly: “You are a newcomer, so you still don’t know the rule here: I am going to give you a chance and as long as your attacks can push me back, you won’t have to run together with them.”
Hearing these words, the knights who were running in circle clearly hastened their pace, no one dared to look towards Ye Hua. A lot of looks, however, were filled with pity.
“Yes.” Long Hao Chen quickly stripped off the heavy armor on his body; he had his shield on his left hand and his sword on his right hand. He had a first-class practical combat experience, had experimented enough pressuring situations, and could utilize his internal spiritual energy. The key point was that he did not fear losing. At worst, he would just have to run laps.
Ye Hua picked up his shield and, without paying attention to the impressive Radiant Shield that Long Hao Chen was using, he coldly said: “You can attack first.”
“Yes, please give me pointers, Instructor.” The left-handed shield and right-handed sword didn’t seem to suit Long Hao Chen too much. After all, it was the first time he was using a shield and that gave him an awkward sensation. Still, from his point of view, having a shield was better than being empty handed. Long Hao Chen had decided before coming to Hao Yue Hall that he would not rashly fight using dual swords against people.
Only when he would be practicing by himself would he use the abilities of Retribution Knights.
Long Xing Yu gave his son a very important practical pointer when training him: he had to be careful never to let the opponent realize his weaknesses.
He rushed with a neat charge; Long Hao Chen’s pace raised and, just like a little leopard, he rushed towards Ye Hua. His speed wasn’t the best, but his steps were quite steady. His pupils locked onto Ye Hua’s body and, using his first class observation skills, he analyzed the Instructor.
Last evening, if we put aside the fact that Lin Jia Lu went easy on him, the most important assets that enabled Long Hao Chen to achieve victory were his excellent judgement and calculation capabilities that were both built with his excellent mental strength.
Notes:
Chapter 35
Looking at Long Hao Chen who was facing him, Ye Hua nodded to himself, This kid’s assault has not only met the standard, but he has also an excellent attack rhythm; he is not going all-out, and this way, his attack power is a little weaker, but there are more patterns in his attacks.
While shifting his body, taking advantage of the power coming from his assault, Long Hao Chen pointed the heavy sword in his hand forward; he then made an ordinary thrust. A silver-white aura seemed to have appeared almost instantly on the heavy sword and at the same time, a [Pure White Edge] was launched.
When the heavy sword was only less than a third of a meter (1 chi) away, Ye Hua moved. His movement was very swift; right hand behind his back, he lift the shield on his left hand to block in front. He did not directly block Long Hao Chen’s heavy sword; instead, he slightly tilted his shield on contact.
Dang~, Long Hao Chen only felt that the sword grazed the shield, there was no direct hit. His sword just slipped past the tilted shield. The [Pure White Edge] grazed the face of Ye Hua’s shield, bringing out a series of sparks. The next moment, he saw a big shield closing on his face.
Bang, Long Hao Chen was knocked flying back seven or eight meters away and he fell terribly on the ground.
During this whole process, he protected his body by using the Radiant Shield just in time before being sent flying away in the next instant.
Before standing up, Long Hao Chen started crawling on the ground, with a completely stupefied face.
Ye Hua wasn’t holding any weapon, he only had a shield, but this shield was enough to end the battle and beat him.
“Trash.” Ye Hua coldly spit out this word.
Long Hao Chen’s gaze was frozen; as soon as he picked up his heavy sword, he saluted once more Ye Hua, “Instructor, please give me your guidance. ” After saluting him, he charged once more.
The knights who were running in circles were all peeping at this exchange of blows, and seeing Long Hao Chen get up after being beaten up like that, they could only look at each other in blank dismay.
“This little fellow is quite capable! It is the first time that I see someone in our Hall who dares challenge Asura Ye twice in a row.”
How could they know how cruel his training with Long Xing Yu was? Falling down once was nothing to him. In addition, it was his Radiant Shield that had absorbed most of the strike’s power. Long Xing Yu had trained him to become more and more courageous every time the boy tasted defeat; he was taught to learn from each defeat and find ways to improve himself.
Long Hao Chen charged once more, his steps briefly adjusting; his speed had clearly lowered, but his steps were even steadier. This time, the skill he used was not [Thorny Charge], but [Lightning Thrust].
With a flash of golden light, the internal spiritual energy from his Sacred Awakening burst out. The difference between [Lightning Thrust] and [Thorny Charge] was that [Thorny Charge] was a simple charge forward, whereas [Lightning Thrust] could easily change directions.
Internal spiritual energy? Third step? The knights who were running in circles were flabbergasted.
There wasn’t any change on Ye Hua’s face. He moved as before, his shield preparing to parry him the same way as before. The heavy sword sent out a crisp sound as it came in contact with the shield but, this time, it was retrieved by Long Hao Chen after having just been in contact for a short moment and his balance hadn’t been lost yet.
However, the shield on Ye Hua’s hand was drawing nearer to Long Hao Chen. It was just like his previous move, a bump.
Lunge and shield block; Long Hao Chen raised his Radiant Shield, firmly blocking in front of
Bang, Long Hao Chen’s body was sent flying away once more. This time, he fell much more brutally than the last instance, panting for a few seconds before standing up once more.
“Do you know why I could beat you just now?” asked Ye Hua in a desolate tone.
Long Hao Chen’s brows wrinkled as he answered without hesitation:
“Because you have trained much more than me.”
Ye Hua nodded: “Correct. And do you believe that it is unfair that I am relying on my internal spiritual energy to fight you, even if I am not using any skills?”
Long Hao Chen nodded once more after hesitating for a little moment.
Ye Hua snorted, full of disdain: “Fool. On the battlefield, if you meet a foe that is much more powerful than you, will you complain like that? If so, you will only be able to complain in Hell. Facing a much more powerful foe, what you need to do is to surpass your limits to make up for the gap. Defeat the opponent by all means, even unfair ones, in order to defend yourself.”
Long Hao Chen briefly pondered before showing a determined look on his talented face and strongly nodded: “I understand, thank you
Instructor.” As he said that, he faced him once more, performing a salute,
“Please give me your guidance, Instructor.”
Ye Hua answered in a calm voice: “Do you really understand? Come at me once more. This time, I will be using even more strength to push you down.”
“Please give me your guidance, Instructor.” Long Hao Chen shouted. His gaze was brimming with a stubborn and persistent radiance in contrast with his cute appearance and pretty face.
“Come.” As before, Ye Hua showed a cold expression.
Charge and jump. This time, Long Hao Chen had leapt very high, and his heavy sword which shone brightly moved towards Ye Hua.
“Fool.” Ye Hua gave an angry look to Long Hao Chen. Knowing that the opponent is far stronger yet jumping into air? Wasn’t this the same as seeking for death?
But the anger that filled Ye Hua’s eyes quickly became surprise instead. Because at this moment, Long Hao Chen who had jumped, had unexpectedly arrived above Ye Hua’s head, the heavy sword in his hand targeting Ye Hua’s back. But it looked like Long Hao Chen had already lost his balance.
Still, Ye Hua couldn’t possibly expect his next move because he was looking at Long Hao Chen’s eyes. The eyes of Long Hao Chen who had just failed naturally did have a look that was as inflexible and firm as before.
Making a half turn, Ye Hua’s shield swept in the air.
Right then, Long Hao Chen who looked as if he had lost his balance a while ago suddenly moved. The shallow light that was, till then, emitted by the heavy sword in his hand suddenly vanished. The Radiant Shield was placed in front of his chest, and he made a little curving movement in the sky.
The spiritual energy issued by Ye Hua was enormous; his shield looked as if it had changed color, even though he moved it slowly, he could easily manage to block Long Hao Chen. His whole body had rotated at the same time.
Puff, the heavy sword was pushed into the ground as an imposing light appeared around Long Hao Chen.
[Heavenly Battle Array], a third step knight skill.
Ye Hua didn’t imagine that Long Hao Chen would use such a method at close quarters. His body was strong and flexible enough to forcibly change his stature while still in the air. At the same time, he raised his shield. A spiritual energy of the level of this [Heavenly Battle Array] couldn’t possibly harm Ye Hua, but the impact was on his shield arm, making him unable to adjust his shield’s position. He also let out a huge burst of gold color energy from his body to form a protective aura.
Using the heavy sword buried into the ground, Long Hao Chen completed the [Heavenly Battle Array]. At the same time, he stabilized his body and used the Radiant Shield on his left hand to make a horizontal strike. With a burst of bright golden light coming from the Radiant Shield, the brightest one used since he first attacked, Long Hao Chen struck at Ye Hua’s waist.
Pa——
Ye Hua’s right hand that was behind his back all this time finally moved, grabbing the Radiant Shield, but the surprise look in his eye suddenly became that of astonishment.
A dazzling golden light came from his hand. He also released a body- protecting spiritual energy. However, upon the impact with the golden light, he was pushed back half a step momentarily.
Long Hao Chen was also surprised; he had done everything he could. The burst of light coming from Radiant Shield was [Shining Sunlight Strike], a fourth step knight skill. This was also his strongest skill so far.
Because the shield’s edge was not sharp, Ye Hua could grab it with a single hand; this showed how big the gap between them was.
Chapter 36
Ye Hua’s right hand was directed forward; but Long Hao Chen had moved three, four steps back.
“Okay, you won. I underestimated you because of your outward appearance. This was my fatal mistake. Thank you for giving me this lesson.” Saying this, Ye Hua’s right hand formed a fist against his chest as he performed a knight salute, facing Long Hao Chen.
Long Hao Chen made haste to return the salute, “Thank you for your guidance, Instructor.”
The knights who were still running had completely stopped, eyes wide and mouths opened on the side. Even though they did not see how Ye Hua lost, they were still surprised at the scene, especially when they actually saw this Asura Ye salute a student. It was weird, as inconceivable as seeing a cat kissing a mouse.
“What are you doing?! Taking your Father’s 1 words as farts?! Go back to running, fifty more laps!” In the next instant, the Asura Ye as they remembered him deep inside reappeared. His threatening roars frightened the other knights who all made haste to resume their laps.
“You, come with me.” Asura Ye said this sentence in a cold voice before turning back and starting to walk.
Long Hao Chen hurried to follow him, entering in the Knight Main Hall after Ye Hua.
A huge person seemed like he had been waiting there for a long time. Watching them come in, he smiled and asked: “How was it? Just like I said, right?”
“Nalan Hall Master. ” Long Hao Chen said in a somewhat surprised tone.
The huge person present there was Nalan Shu. This time, he appeared like an old fox, showing his beaming face to Long Hao Chen and Asura Ye.
“Fat bastard.” Asura Ye coldly let out a loud Hmph.
Nalan Shu laughed and said: “Zombie face, this time we are at Hao Yue Hall, but are going to stay so proud. By the way, I forgot to tell you about his age. Hao Chen, are you twelve yet?”
Long Hao Chen shook his head and answered: “I’ll be twelve years old in four months.”
“What?” As the originally cold Ye Hua heard him, some changes finally appeared on his face, it looked as if his expression revealed shock and fanaticism at the same time.
“Not twelve yet? You are not twelve yet and you can still use [Shining Solar Strike]?” How could he not have noticed the shield skill that Long Hao Chen had previously used.
Nalan Shu proudly answered: “Didn’t I tell you that a peerless genius came to our Hao Yue Hall? Do you understand the word ‘peerless’? Idiot.”
Ye Hua looked as though he didn’t notice Nalan Shu’s taunt at all. His ice-cold face was incredibly serious, as he fixed his gaze at Long Hao Chen: “Since you can use both [Shining Solar Strike] and [Heavenly Battle Array], then all you have studied up to now were Retribution Knight abilities right? Why didn’t you continue practicing as a Retribution Knight, but instead chose to be a Guardian Knight?”
Long Hao Chen replied without hesitation: “I hope to have the ability to protect everything I want to protect. After all, Father told me that the power of a single person was limited. When fighting against the demon race to protect our homeland, a Guardian Knight has a much more important role than a Retribution Knight.”
Ye Hua’s eyes lit up; he smiled, slowly nodding and said: “Good, starting from today, you will follow me alone in learning the Guardian Knight skills. Without my permission, you are not to duel with other knights. Do you understand?”
Long Hao Chen was stunned for a moment, then said: “But if I have not enough real combat experience, will that not affect my training?”
Ye Hua coldly hum
“Yes.” Long Hao Chen replied with a somewhat puzzled expression, then after saluting Nalan Shu, he turned around and left.
Looking at him leave, Ye Hua gradually looked fired up, “Fat bastard, where did you find such a treasure?”
Nalan Shu triumphantly said: “Zombie face, did you get served yet? You did not believe me when I told you all of this yesterday, do you believe it now? With this little guy joining us, in the future, our Hao Yue Branch Hall will shine, and maybe its status will be promoted to that of Chief Hall. You will also be able to show those who scorned you how powerful your disciple is.”
Ye Hua simply ignored Nalan Shu’s showing off. He pondered for a moment and said: “Do you know how high the innate internal spiritual energy 2 of this little kid is?”
Nalan Shu nodded and answered: “I don’t know. I tried to ask him, but he wasn’t willing to tell me. However, I tested his spiritual energy and it was at the 268th level. Thus, it looks like this little fellow’s innate internal spiritual energy cannot be lower than 40; it may be even higher. But why
are you asking this? Didn’t you hate to deal with those with a high innate internal spiritual energy?”
Ye Hua’s ice-cold face suddenly took a somewhat unusual expression, “If the inborn could be changed, the current me wouldn’t be limited to the level of a mere Earth Knight. If my innate internal spiritual energy was 50, I would inevitably become a Divine Knight. However, the abominable Heavens that decided to give me wisdom and understanding deprived me of inborn capability.”
Nalan Shu’s plump palms patted his shoulder: “Okay okay, don’t blame everyone and everything but yourself. Didn’t the arrival of this child, Hao Chen, give you an occasion to put your talent to use? Even if you can’t aim to sit at that place, your disciple can. Isn’t it the same?”
Ye Hua took a deep breath, excitement appeared on his cold face that gradually became redder, “Thank you fat bastard.”
Nalan Shu laughed: “You’re still calling me this way? Originally, if it wasn’t for you, I would have left these 150 kilograms (300 Jin) of fat meat on the battlefield.”
Ye Hua said in a little voice: “You will have to help me take care of a few matters. First, from today onwards, except for carrying the knight examinations, I want to be independant from the other Alliance obligations, apart from the examinations. Second, block the news; I especially want the news about this child’s age to be tightly hidden. In particular, we cannot let other hall masters or branch halls know. During the Magical Selection and Tournament that is coming in two years, I want to shock and amaze the world with this child’s feat.”
“Okay, no problem. Only, Zombie Face, I don’t want you to be too impatient and eager on your quest for success. Regardless of the circumstances, you cannot harm this child. After all, being excessively enthusiastic will only have the opposite effect.”
Ye Hua said in a thin voice: “This child is stronger than you can imagine. I can see in him my hope, not because of his age and his talent,
but because of his perseverance. From the Ten Standards of the Knight, he has at least already grasped courage and perseverance. Plus, he is a kid who never admits defeat, and moreover, he has a different sense of observation and an imagination beyond limits. Although a duration of two years and a half is brief, I believe that he will shock the whole temple as much as he did me.”
Nalan Shu faintly nodded: “I still have the same words, don’t be too impatient and eager. I can not tell you of this kid’s origin but, in the near future, he will be able to become our humanity’s new hope.”
Ye Hua laughed, a smile was finally drawn on his ice-cold face; it was honestly uglier than his crying face, but Nalan Shu could be sure that he was smiling. On his face, a smiling expression that did not appear for almost ten years was finally revealed.
As he was laughing, Ye Hua left, and his voice was resounding one last time in Nalan Shu’s ears, “I treasure this kid even more than you. He is the continuation of my dream.”
Long Hao Chen had no way of knowing that after being freed from the tiger’s den that was his father’s training, he was going to enter in the clutches of a biased devil Asura.
From that day onwards, the head instructor of Knight Temple Hao Yue Hall, known with the nickname of Asura, Ye Hua, finally quitted his position of chief instructor Knight Main Hall, letting Nalan Shu personally take over this job of head instructor. And the short-lived legend of the juvenile genius knight also disappeared, together with him.
Notes:
Chapter 37
A lot of people conjectured that this young knight was probably the descendant of a big shot, but got bullied by Ye Hua. And this important figure became furious and fired Asura Ye from his position. Either way, it was a joyful thing for the knights that they finally did not have to see that zombie face everyday anymore, nor undergo that hell-like training anymore.
Time passed day by day and even the person Long Hao Chen was the most familiar with, Li Xin, did not see him often. All she knew was that he was receiving Asura Ye’s guidance. Even when they saw each other, Long Hao Chen avoided to disclose the training method used by Asura Ye.
The food served in Hao Yue Hall was pretty good, not to mention that Long Hao Chen himself received special treatment; training improved his physique, he received a sufficient and comfortable nutrition, and as a result, his body grew very quickly. The fact that could surprise anyone was that his face had become even softer and more glamorous.
Two years later.
Hao Yue Branch Hall’s examination ground.
Dang, Dang, Dang, weapons were colliding against each other as a sacred atmosphere completely filled the examination ground that was protected by a magical barrier. Its exterior wouldn’t be affected either.
Peng —
A figure could be seen. It was knocked back and continuously flew towards a wall more than twenty meters away before slowly falling down.
The figure that was sent flying away had a height of approximately 1.7 meters. It looked quite robust, but at the same time, very slender. The figure wore a blue-colored attire, had black hair, yellow-colored pupils, bright red- colored lips, its eyebrows looked extremely soft, and it had white delicate skin where the slightest pore could not be found. If this figure were to crossdress, its appearance would absolutely look natural.
“Long Hao Chen, get up! You trash, what did I teach you?! When your opponent is far stronger than you, a direct confrontation is the most unsuitable choice. Don’t tell me that because I just said you were a wimp, you cannot keep going anymore? A Guardian Knight’s most important trait is supposed to be patience! Once more!”
“Yes.”
This youth who was sent flying was, undoubtedly, trained individually by Asura Ye.
The astonishing growth he underwent during these two years was due to training: Asura Ye had no way to compare with Long Hao Chen’s father but, while training under his guidance, Long Hao Chen could faintly feel that this Asura Teacher was different from his father in a lot of ways, especially regarding their field of specialization; regarding understanding and mastery of the skills, he was not as good as his father at all, but he lent priority to practice.
Of course, following Ye Asura’s guidance was not a joyful thing at all. Asura Ye’s temperament regarding training made him worthy of his title. He always looked quite discontent, immediately beating him up nonstop.
Regarding Long Hao Chen’s combat experience, Asura Ye was fully satisfied.
The kind of combat training that Asura Ye gave to Long Hao Chen was different from the one given by Long Xing Yu. Long Xing Yu did not use
spiritual energy at all, training his skills by relying only on technique to attack Long Hao Chen.
However, this was not the case with Asura Ye. He seemed as if he was a teacher from hell, going all out at every fight, at best showing little mercy. However, he would still never harm Long Hao Chen’s bones and muscles for real, a typical case of the strong bullying the weak.
In such an oppressive environment, Long Hao Chen’s speed of growth was astonishing. Everyday, he would end up completely worn out before seated meditation training, but his body’s potenti
Nonetheless, the gap between this master and disciple was really too big: a mere two years couldn’t possibly make up for it despite the following cultivation training that happened daily. Even though Long Hao Chen’s speed of cultivation was gradually becoming faster and faster, the enormous gap between him and Asura Ye was still present.
In fact, Genuine Knights who want to reach the tenth rank are required to cultivate their spiritual energy from the 201th to the 500th level; but for Earth Knights, the requirements extend from the 2000th to the 4000th. The disparity between the two steps is close to being tenfold and this applies to any vocation. The reason for this disparity is that as the step grows higher, the difficulty to grow in ranking increases tremendously.
For example, Long Hao Chen’s father, the Divine Knight Long Xing Yu, had a 9th step vocation’s spiritual energy level of at least 10,000.
“Dang–.”
“Hum? Time is up 1. ”
Two successive colliding sounds resounded practically at the same time, and the fight on the examination ground finally came to a halt.
The reason of the two successive sounds was simple, it was that Long Hao Chen relied on his Radiant Shield to block Ye Hua’s heavy sword.
A thick golden aura was emitted by both master and disciple; although Ye Hua said that the time was up, Long Hao Chen did not show the slightest bit of negligence. This teacher frequently surprised Long Hao Chen by his acts, such as sneak attacking.
“For you to be able to block this frontal attack, even if you relied on the Radiant Shield, means that your spiritual energy has already made a breakthrough. Rest for an hour, and then we will test your spiritual energy.” As he said these words, Ye Hua’s ice cold face couldn’t help but show a smiling expression. Every time Long Hao Chen was sent flying, he would reveal a smiling face intentionally. Of course, Long Hao Chen never treated his expression as a smile, he just thought that his stiff face’s muscles were simply suddenly twitching, and apart from the fact his face looked even more ferocious, it had also another effect…
“Yes.”
An hour later.
“Bang– –” A dazzling light momentarily brightened the whole examination ground, as if a layer of gold was coating it.
Ye Hua silently nodded: “1,014. Very good, you finally broke through the 1,000s, just like me. I had already stopped my progression at the 5th step 5th rank six years ago. My current spiritual energy level is approximately at the 3,000th level.”
If someone were to see this scene with his own eyes, and knew Long Hao chen’s precise age, he would most likely be so shocked that his jaw would drop.
With each spiritual energy round number level 2 becoming a bottleneck, breaking through the last rank of each step was truly hard. Ye Hua was personally stopped by the bottleneck of the 3,000th level and, for six years, he wasn’t able to pass it! Regardless of his efforts, and his cleverness, he was just unable to breakthrough. However, he clearly remembered that approximately one week ago, he tested Long Hao Chen’s spiritual energy and it was still roughly at the 980th level that time. In other words, within a
week, his spiritual energy grew and gained thirty levels despite the fact that he just broke through a bottleneck.
“Hao Chen, these few days, when you practiced, did you feel any sluggish feeling?” Ye Hua asked.
Long Hao Chen shaked his head: “I didn’t. It was as usual.”
“Ah –” Ye Hua, who didn’t expect this answer, let out a kind of nervous cry.
Long Hao Chen stood on the side unperturbed, looking at him; this was clearly not the first time he got to see this kind of expression on his teacher’s face.
After quite a while, Ye Hua’s mind recovered to a somewhat stable state, and he coldly said: “Go back and pack up your things, you will go out with me tomorrow.”
“Yes.” Long Hao Chen put away his Radiant Shield and his heavy sword, respectfully performing a knight salute in front of his teacher before turning around.
As he looked towards Long Hao Chen who was disappearing from the entrance, Ye Hua looked up and loudly bellowed, filled with grief and indignation: “The Heavens have no limit; evil Heavens, you bastards, you are just inhuman! This brat actually did not even feel the bottleneck, what kind of level will these innate gifts make him reach?! In two years, he broke through the 1,014th spiritual energy level from the 268th! Holy shit, didn’t these bastards from the Temple say that below 20 years-old, the spiritual energy growth couldn’t be very fast, and only after 20 years old would it become truly faster?! Bunch of divine cocks, did you see that?! 13 years-old and has a 1000th spiritual energy level, fuck it, a fourth rank Grand Knight! I’m not a fifth of this kind of genius; I, your Father, am not even a Radiant knight 3!”
Long Hao Chen came back to his room, washed his whole body, and changed into clean clothes. He ate a simple meal and was about to head
back to practice before a knocking sound could be heard… Notes:
Chapter 38
“Sis.”
The one who was coming was Li Xin.
Although they could still occasionally meet each other, the way Li Xin looked at Long Hao Chen’s charming appearance had not changed compared to before. She couldn’t help but blankly stare at him, especially since his body still let out a faint fragrance from the bath he just took.
“I just finished my practice and happened to see you return, so I decided to come over and visit you.” Li Xin showed a beautiful smile as she spoke, caressing Long Hao Chen’s wet hair.
Long Hao Chen had a shy reaction: “Sis, you should come inside, I’ll serve you a cup of water.”
“Don’t be so formal. I just came to see you.” Li Xin held Long Hao Chen’s shoulder in a very natural way as she entered. Although Long Hao Chen had already a height of 1.7 meters, Li Xin was 1.75 meters. Her slender thigh, her slim waist, as well as her round butt could excite to death an unimaginable number of people. Only, no one dared to approach her, the woman known as the Hell Rose.
After she patted Long Hao Chen’s shoulder, she started pinching his arms, and said with an amused smile: “It looks like results are finally showing up. You are becoming more and more tempting. Sometimes, Big Sis really wants to eat you. It would be so great if I had a skin as nice as yours!”
Long Hao Chen spoke helplessly: “Sis, here we go again. Do you think that I feel the same way? My appearance was given to me by my parents, I cannot do anything about it. I just resemble Mother, nothing more.”
Li Xin fell into laughter: “Okay okay, I’m stopping, let’s have a proper talk. After half a year, the Magical Hunt and Selection Competition will take place. I have already broken through the second rank of the step of Grand Knight so, this time, I will work hard to be selected as a participant of the Magical Hunt. I have already told Uncle Nalan to bring you along for your personal experience, to experience this scene. Five years later, you, who are not even 12 years-old yet 1 for the moment, will also be able to advance to the Magical Hunt and Selection. You will already have some first-hand experience at that moment. Only, we still need Asura Ye’s agreement. It is better that you tell him yourself. At worst, Uncle Nalan will just order him to let you go, and he will not be able to do anything about that.”
Long Hao Chen chuckled: “Okay, I will tell him. Sis, I am going out with Teacher Asura tomorrow. I will tell him at that time.” He felt quite helpless because Asura Ye was really too uptight, he would never permit him to show the results of his training to anyone else, including Nalan Shu. Using Nalan Shu’s words, this zombie face could be described as the most troublesome thing possible, with his resolution fixed at amazing the world with Long Hao Chen’s brilliant feat.
Li Xin’s eyes had an astute feeling, “Lil’ Bro, you are not allowed to tell me about your training, but since you are following this Asura Ye, it shouldn’t be lacking. This time, when we from Hao Yue City participate in the Magical Hunt and Selection Competition, there will be several people, like this fucking servant Lin Jia Lu who also intended to go. So you should help your big sis later.”
Long Hao Chen was somewhat speechless: “Sis, you have been babbling for so long, forget about it. From what I can conclude, although the both of you quarrel whenever you meet, in reality you consider each other like a friend.”
“Peuh, peuh, peuh, who considers this girl like a friend? Alright, I’m leaving, you have to train hard for this half year too.” This girl was the high-paced type.
Looking at her leaving
Long Hao Chen was not good at all at expressing his feelings, but deep inside, he was very grateful towards her.
Returning to his quiet room, Long Hao Chen sat cross-legged; he seemed like he was finally going to enter the meditative state. Gifted people weren’t always meant to become successful. Countless geniuses fell down during their period of practice, and even more of them died because of their temperament. Long Hao Chen’s training speed was incredibly fast, but his mental state was as important as his innate gifts.
Going step by step, with a serene mental state, he didn’t have any distracting thoughts during his practice: his state of mind was much better than average people’s.
It looked like a supple wave of spiritual energy rippled around him. A faint shining light could also be faintly seen, spreading out from his body. On his chest, another light shone even more brightly, the pulsation and fluctuation of this light seemed to be matching the pace of his heartbeat.
The pure holy aura released from Long Hao Chen’s body, with his physique of a Scion of Light, absorbed a great part of the essence from Heaven and Earth, and way more easily than average people. The most important thing was that his internal spiritual energy was unceasingly increasing as he trained; Long Hao Chen discovered that the sacred light element internal spiritual energy he had was purer than the other knights’. This was something he discovered as he was practicing using the Guardian Knight skills.
When he used a skill taught by Asura Ye that was supposed to consume 50 units of spiritual energy, it used only 30 units.
This was, however, a secret he didn’t even reveal to him. In his heart, although he was fully aware that Asura Ye deeply care about his well-being and, at the same time, considered him as the person he was the closest with, the place Asura Ye occupied in his heart was nowhere close to the place he held Long Xing Yu. As a result, he never forgot his father’s words that he should never completely expose his talent. In addition, the details were something completely inconceivable from the point of view of ordinary people.
The gold color faintly discernible on his chest was the Saint Spiritual Stove’s undulating energy. This Saint Stove inside of his body floated quietly, and, around it, his internal spiritual energy was rotating, acting like a funnel.
This internal spiritual energy shaped like a thin gold colored mist that was spinning quite slowly, but could be stimulated by meditating: it would increase its rotation speed. Even without stimulation, the time needed to complete a whole cycle was only two hours.
It looked like the cultivation of the internal spiritual energy was extremely slow, but even though this process looked full difficult to comprehend, it could be simply summarized: every time the golden light rotated six times around, Long Hao Chen’s internal spiritual energy increased a little bit.
In other words, even if he didn’t do anything, his internal spiritual energy would still be cultivated a bit everyday. This little quantity of spiritual energy should not be underestimated; a bit every day would become 365 bits in a year. In fact, even if he only spent all of his days sleeping, after three years, he would still promote from a Grand Knight to the realm of an Earth Knight.
This period of countless bouts started a month after he arrived in the city; his internal spiritual energy was constantly being used up and refilled. At the beginning, Long Hao Chen could not sense the rotations at all and could only go all out while fighting, he was full of flaws. What differed back then, compared to the present in which he had broken through the 1000th
spiritual energy level, was that he could now control these rotations. Long Hao Chen’s current cultivation speed was completely astonishing.
Long Hao Chen by nature couldn’t spend all of his days sleeping, his diligence combined with Asura Ye’s training were bringing great results together.
Perception, attraction, absorption, assimilation, filtration, condensation, this was the process of the cultivation of Long Hao Chen’s internal spiritual energy; it was very fast, especially when he entered this peculiar state.
Bright morning.
Long Hao Chen arrived in time in front of Asura Ye. “Time for us to go.” Asura Ye still had his zombie face. “Teacher, where are we going?”
“To the Knights’ Sacred Mountain.” “For my mount?”
“Yeah.”
An intense feeling of excitement appeared in Long Hao Chen’s heart. With this bright red fiery feeling, hoping that a mount that was as fast as the Rose Unicorn could belong to him, Long Hao Chen shouted from inside, I want my own mount too!.
Notes:
Chapter 39
That day, Asura Ye was wearing a different outfit than usual. He had put on a suit of silver coloured light armor, covering his whole body. Apart from the shield he used when he trained Long Hao Chen, there was also a heavy sword on his back. His portable luggage was thrown on to Long Hao Chen who placed it into his spatial ring, ‘Forget-Me-Not’ 2.
Long Hao Chen’s attire was very plain compared to his teacher’s. He did not even wear his armor suit, he only had a sword and a shield, the shield being the same Radiant Shield that Li Xin gave him.
“Teacher, aren’t we going to the Knights’ Sacred Mountain?” Long Hao Chen asked with a puzzled look as he came back. It seemed as if he was heading to the rear of Hao Yue Hall.
“Just follow me.” Asura Ye said relaxedly.
His response was like so only because Long Hao Chen was the one who asked. If it was another person, he would just have been discredited while being cursed.
When they entered into the training ground, the knights’ training had not started yet. Most of them were still probably having breakfast in the cafeteria, so it was really quiet inside the training ground.
Asura Ye stopped and like a double edged sword, he thrust his right hand suddenly into the void. Pale gold glows gathered together to form golden patterns that moved in the air.
Long Hao Chen had seen these actions before. Li Xin had used them once, isn’t this the method to summon a battle mount? Could it be that this teacher also became a Genuine Knight before the age of twenty, and furthermore, visited the Knights’ Holy Mountain?
Golden light rose and bright golden glows formed a gate that shone with a bright light. Together with a loud scream that could be heard, a figure came out from the golden light.
Seeing this figure clearly, Long Hao Chen could not help but stare at it. He had been training with Ye Hua for two years, but this was the first time he had seen Ye Hua’s battle mount.
It was a big bird with its whole body colored light yellow. It came out from the golden light, its height was over two and a half meters, its yellow feathers were in exotic circular shapes, and its head was also perfectly round. Its body looks very rough and tough, and there seemed to be a faint earth-element yellow layer of light emanating from it.
During his practice with his father, aside from the everyday training, Long Xing Yu also taught him all kinds of knowledge; that naturally included knowledge about magical beasts.
After a brief moment of surprise, Long Hao Chen recognized this was a rare earth-elemental flying magical beast; its name was Vibrant Mountain Bird, a sixth ranked magical beast.
Generally speaking, the majority of flying magical beasts belonged to the wind-elemental system, the rest were in other elemental systems, but earth- elemental system flying magical beasts were the most rare of them all. The Vibrant Mountain Birds’ speed might not be very fast, but whether in terms of loading limit or defense, there was no flying magical beasts of the same rank that could match them.
“Teacher, so you are an Airborne Knight.” Long Hao Chen said with admiration.
Among fifth stepped knights, only one who had a flying battle mount could call himself ‘an Airborne Knight’, otherwise he could only be called an Earth Knight. Without a doubt, within the same rank, Airborne Knights were naturally the stronger ones.
As Asura Ye revealed rare gentle eyes, the Vibrant Mountain Bird lowered its head, letting him pet it a little before expanding its huge wings wide, five meters across, and slightly crouching down.
Asura Ye pulled Long Hao Chen, slightly jumped up and landed on top of the Vibrant Mou
This was the first time Long Hao Chen traveled on a flying magical beast; feeling a little nervous, he grabbed the Vibrant Mountain Bird’s feathers subconsciously.
The scenery below quickly became smaller, and soon, the Vibrant Mountain Bird was already high into the air.
A layer of yellow-colored earth essence was released from this Vibrant Mountain Bird’s body, it wrapped Long Hao Chen and Ye Hua, making sure that they wouldn’t be blown away by the wind. Its pair of wings was still flapping, advancing towards the horizon.
Long Hao Chen knew that magical beasts mounts were spiritually connected with their master, so this Vibrant Mountain Bird naturally knew where they were headed.
So fast, Hao Yue Town was gradually becoming smaller under them as the Vibrant Mountain Bird rose in the sky until reaching an altitude close to a kilometer, the height for flying. Being seated on its wide back gave one an unexpectedly smooth feeling.
After all, Long Hao Chen wasn’t fourteen years old yet, it was the first time he got to see such a fantastic scene. This Vibrant Mountain Bird was clearly a fully grown magical beast, the feeling when flying on its back was truly wonderful! When we will arrive in the Knights’ Sacred Mountain, it would be awesome if I could get this magical beast!
Ye Hua reacted: “So envious?”
Long Hao Chen nodded without the least restrain.
Ye Hua told: “You will also have the opportunity. I am gonna to tell you about the places at the Knights’ Sacred Mountain where you can look for a magical beast companion, you have to remember what I’ll say.”
“Yes.”
Ye Hua continued: “The Knights’ Sacred Mountain is the magical land our Knight Temple was established on. This mountain range is a cornerstone that several generations established after great efforts. More precisely, the Knights’ Sacred Mountain is, in itself, a huge magical array. Inside of its range, all the magical beasts become friendly with humans, while their power is restricted.”
“In the Knights’ Sacred Mountain, the oldest magical beasts can even communicate mentally. Each human who enters the mountain has to be below 20 years old, his spiritual energy must have reached the 200th level, he must have undergone the Sacred Awakening, and he must also have the approval of the Knight Temple to get close enough to these magical beasts.”
“You have to keep in mind that, there, what you will be looking for is a companion for life, not simply a mount. He will be your most loyal friend and, unless you die, he will accompany you for your whole life. He will even be more reliable than the future companions you will have.
When looking for a mount in the Knights’ Sacred Mountain, there is a big factor of luck. By chance, you will perhaps find your suitable mount after your first step. But if you don’t have this chance, I am afraid that even if you wait for ten years or a hundred years, there will be no magical beasts that will pay attention to you. Thus, entering the Knights’ Sacred Mountain, in some kind of meaning, is a process consisting to seek chance.”
Hearing up to this part, Long Hao Chen asked: “Teacher, how can I seek this chance?”
Ye Hua let out a sigh, gently caressing the feathers on the back of his companion, “Everyone has a different fate. At that time, when I met my Vibrant Mountain Bird, it wasn’t a third of a meter high yet, and yet the first time I saw it, my heart had an intense feeling of intimacy with it.
“The vast majority of the magical beasts in the Knights’ Sacred Mountain won’t attack humans, but there are some with a violent temperament that will warn you as soon as you step into their territory. If you meet this kind of magical beast, the tile provided by the Temple will inform you to some extent. Don’t rashly enter in the range of its territory. If both of you are brought together by fate, it will naturally come to you. These kinds of magical beasts are often comparatively powerful existences in the Sacred Mountain Knight.”
Long Hao Chen kept in mind Ye Hua’s pointers: he wouldn’t dare be the slightest bit careless. A companion, Teacher is right, in the future I will have my own mount and companion. But what kind of mount will it be?
“Teacher, will the kind of mount that I am destined to tame be related to my innate potential?” Long Hao Chen curiously asked.
Ye Hua nodded and answered: “Of course it will be related. Simply said, to a mount, acknowledging you is kind of like acknowledging your innate potential. The more formidable the magical beast, the more exigent it will be regarding its companion’s abilities. About this matter, my luck was very good at that time.”
Notes:
Chapter 40
While he was speaking, Ye Hua’s look became very gentle.
“Hao Chen, do you know how high my innate internal spiritual energy is?” Ye Hua asked. At this instant, his voice sounded as cold as ice.
Long Hao Chen shook his head.
Ye Hua said: “My innate internal spiritual energy is only nine.”
“Ah?” Only nine? Long Hao Chen clearly remembered his father’s words: if one’s innate internal spiritual energy could not even reach ten, it would be very hard for him to break through the third step to enter the fourth step.
Ye Hua said this with a smile, but this smile looked even uglier than a crying face.
“Yeah, only nine. At the time the evil Heavens gave me a smart brain, they also gave me a poor innate potential. Even if I wracked my brain completely, thought of countless training methods, in the end, I will never bypass the rank of Airborne Knight. In the end, I am afraid that I will never reach the stage of Radiant Knight in my life.
On the year of my fifteenth birthday, I completed the cultivation of my external spiritual energy and became a Knight. The me of that time was very ambitious, acclaimed by everyone around as a genius. However, on the day of my Sacred Awakening, to me, it was as if thunder fell from the clear sky 1: innate internal spiritual energy, nine. The worst trash possible. The
teachers who had valued me weren’t willing to teach me anything anymore. They didn’t even let me know where the Knights’ Sacred Mountain was located. The 15-year-old me wasn’t willing to believe that at all! It was impossible… impossible that a low innate internal spiritual energy could prevent me to become a formidable knight. I was really not willing to believe that at all! I was convinced that, as long as I could rely on hard word, I would be able to break through and overcome this restriction from Heaven.
As a result, I relied on my own two legs to go to the Knights’ Temple to request permission. And then, I relied on my own two legs to go to the Knights’ Sacred Mountain, before finally arriving. Every Knight below 20 years old who entered could only remain for a month after entering, and if he didn’t find his opportunity within a month, he would be forced to leave the mountain by the Temple’s authorities.
I was looking for the opportunity day after day, persistently looking for it day after day. Every time I met a magical beast, even if it was a second or a third ranked small and weak one, I was willing to interact with it, but even these small and weak fellows didn’t accept me.
Time passed day after day. Finally, as a month had passed, it looked like I was going to be ordered to leave. I was really unwilling, really really unwilling! As I looked up high in the sky, I was so frustrated that my bitter tears flowed. I knew that if I was forced out of the mountain like that, I could only remain as a trash. Losing the little thread of hope to become a formidable knight that I had, I would not have any more opportunity.
However, at this moment, I met him. He heard my cries and before I noticed him, he had appeared on my shoulder. It was as if he could read and understand the pain in my heart. Since then, he became my only close relative, my best partner. I am willing to protect him with my life, because he is like a little brother to me. ”
At this point, from the ice-cold Ye Hua, a drop of tear flowed as the Vibrant Mountain Bird slowly turned its head, looking at it with a gently look, as if trying to comfort it.
Ye Hua calmly patted his back, “Don’t worry, old partner, I’m okay.”
“Long Hao Chen, I am an orphan. In this world, I have never experienced what familial love felt like. In the past, I w
“After having said so much, there is one last thing Teacher wants to tell you. It is that, after you possess your own companion, you have to treat him well, consider him as a member of your family. This kind of opportunity is something that will appear only once during your whole life: you have to grab it. Protect him well; otherwise, when you lose him, you will regret it for your whole life.”
Hearing such an emotional speech from Ye Hua, Long Hao Chen unconsciously tightened his fists. He was full of respect for both this teacher and this Vibrant Mountain Bird under him.
The personal efforts he made were not few, but how could they compare to his teacher’s? If he had the same innate talent as his teacher, would he be able to, like him, spend a few dozens of years as if it was a single day, to try to complete an impossible goal, and struggle so much for it?
“Teacher, don’t worry, I understand. I will put my life at stake to protect my companion.”
Ye Hua slowly nodded, “This fat bastard, Nalan, doesn’t want me to ask you, but, Hao Chen, I really want to know how high your innate internal spiritual energy is. This is for the sake of looking for your suitable mount. The most formidable magical beasts are also the most proud ones. I have not been able to estimate your innate talent up to now. During this trip, you will perhaps be able to show Teacher a really nice surprise.”
“Teacher, I… ” Long Hao Chen looked at Ye Hua somewhat hesitantly. Long Xing Yu clearly told him that his innate internal spiritual energy was something extremely important to keep secret. Moreover, this teacher before him, who was known by others as Asura, couldn’t compare with him at all in terms of innate internal spiritual energy. However, did he really have to conceal it to such stubborn teacher?
Ye Hua waved his hands, letting out a light sigh: “Let it be. It is your private matters, and even the fat bastard, Nalan, doesn’t know. No need to reveal it, I don’t want to seem irritating to you.”
“Teacher, I want to let you know.” Long Hao Chen blurted out these few words. He had never been moved as deeply as just now, with Ye Hua’s lonely eyes revealing the pain engraved deeply in his heart.
“Mh?” Ye Hua’s eyes shone, looking at him with a burning gaze.
Long Hao Chen took a deep breath and said: “Teacher, since two years ago, you devotedly taught me all kind of things regarding Guardian Knight knowledge and skills. You were very strict, forcing me into a life full of beating and scolding, but deep inside, I knew that you did all of that for my own good. When I followed Father to train, his guidance was completely different to yours. Without you, I wouldn’t have grown so much. I heard Nalan Hall Master say that I was your sole disciple. You did not hold back any of the knowledge you acquired in your many years when teaching me. How could Hao Chen be unable to recognize your good intentions? In Hao Chen’s heart, you are a father as well as a master. To others, my secret will forever remain secret, but to you, I am willing to reveal it, as you are like a father to me.”
Looking at Long Hao Chen, the muscles on Ye Hua’s face started to relax as he hurriedly shook his head: he didn’t want to let him see the sparkling tears that began to flow from his eyes. He didn’t expect at all that, on such an ordinary day, such a clever kid, usually silent but never refusing whichever hard training, his innately gifted disciple with the appearance of beautiful kitty, would speak out these words. Behind such a delicate outward appearance, he apparently had a very large heart.
Such fantastic words came out from Long Hao Chen’s mouth, before a pure gold colored radiance enveloped Long Hao Chen and Ye Hua inside of it.
[Divine Light Mantle], a third step defensive skill used by Guardian Knights isolating him while producing a sound effect. A defensive skill acting like a monomer 2. With Long Hao Chen’s current spiritual energy, he
could barely use [Divine Light Mantle] to fully envelop him and his teacher inside.