Chapter 41
“Hm?” Such caution? Ye Hua gave a puzzled look to Long Hao Chen.
Long Hao Chen’s voice rang out at this moment.
“Teacher, my innate internal spiritual energy level is 97.”
“Mh.” Ye Hua let out a little reaction; he was still thinking about Long Hao Chen’s words, describing him as a teacher as well as a father. His heart felt warm and his joy could not even be described anymore. He lived his whole life as an unmarried man. Having such a sensible treasure as a disciple, it was natural that he regarded him like his son.
“97. Eh? Wha’did’ya’say?” Ye Hua’s look suddenly became overly fierce, the tears that were flowing from his eyes completely disappeared. His tone had completely changed, he could only yell.
Long Hao Chen’s face showed a faint smile: “That’s why I was reluctant to tell you. I knew you would show this kind of reaction.”
Ye Hua’s body was clearly somewhat drawn out, forcefully gulping a mouthful of saliva as he suddenly waved his hands, creating a much more imposing [Divine Light Mantle] that spread out from his body, covering both master and disciple inside with one more layer.
“You, you said, your innate internal spiritual energy is 97?” Ye Hua’s eyes were wide opened.
Long Hao Chen nodded.
“No, that’s impossible.” Ye Hua said resolutely, “When you just came to our branch Hall, Nalan Shu, that fat bastard, told me that your internal spiritual energy was only at the 268th level. When you underwent the Sacred Awakening, you should have had a 200th level external spiritual energy, so even if your innate gift is so formidable, your innate internal spiritual energy shouldn’t be higher than 68.”
Long Hao Chen scratched his head: “At that time, my internal spiritual energy was much greater than 100. Only, I had fused with a spiritual stove, so my internal spiritual energy was temporarily depleted. Had you not noticed that during the first month we trained together, my internal spiritual energy was cultivated at a phenomenal speed? It was the restoration of the spiritual energy depleted from fusing with the spiritual stove.”
“Spiritual stove… you, you even have a spiritual stove…” Ye Hua almost plucked the feathers of his Vibrant Mountain Bird out of surprise as he frantically looked at Long Hao Chen.
“Stinky little kid, do you know what I really want to do right now?” Ye Hua’s eyes revealed an ominous glint.
Long Hao Chen gave him a surprised look, “Teacher, what do you want to do?”
Ye Hua’s cheeks were streaming with tears, “I really want to kick you down. Fucking shit, why did you have to tell me?! You have just injured me mentally, why did I have to ask?! A disgrace, this is simply a disgrace!”
After a full hour, Ye Hua’s emotional state was finally stabilized. But every time he turned around to look at Long Hao Chen’s gentle jade like face he could almost see a nine written on his left cheek, and a seven written on his right cheek, with a spiritual stove drawn on his nose…
After another full hour, as Ye Hua’s mind could finally be considered as stable, Long Hao Chen requested: “Teacher, I’ll depend on your help to find a magical beast that is suitable to become my companion.”
Ye Hua glanced at him, “Naturally, the higher is the cultivation level, the better it is, but with your potential, even the 7th or 8th stepped magical beasts can only be ashamed at their inferiority upon looking at you, there is no way they will be self-confident enough to become your companion. At best, we could find a ninth stepped youn
“Saint Spiritual Stove.”
“Puff–” The mouthful of water that Ye Hua just drank splashed out. “You, you, are you even human?! Please don’t be so cruel to me!” Ye Hua’s face was full of grief and indignation.
Long Hao Chen distractedly asked: “Teacher, are you alright? The Saint Spiritual Stove should be a spiritual stove that is suitable for us knights to fuse with, ranked at the bottom of the ranking, right?”
Ye Hua took a deep breath, “I am going to tell you this once more, this uncle’s heart has just been violated! You don’t understand at all, dammit! That’s right, Saint Spiritual Stoves are at the bottom of the ranking, but did you know that among the three Grand Divine Knights, two of them are old Guardian Knights, and they both possess a Saint Spiritual Stove?”
“I didn’t know.” Long Hao Chen gave a sincere answer.
Ye Hua angrily said: “A Saint Spiritual Stove can be described as the most optimal spiritual stove in collaborative battles. A knight who has fused with a Saint Spiritual Stove will be able to take care of all of his teammates at the same time, and increase their security by at least 30%. Fortunately, you told me all of this; after we come back from the Knights’ Sacred Mountain, I will properly teach you how to use this Saint Spiritual Stove.”
The Vibrant Mountain Bird continued to fly towards the south: even if its flying speed was slow compared to most magical beasts of the sixth step, it was still a lot faster than travelling on the ground.
The Knights’ Sacred Mountain was located in the northeast of the Temple Alliance; it was bordering the Knight Temple. From Hao Yue City,
it was very distant; more precisely, Hao Yue City was in the southern part of the Temple Alliance. It thus required travelling across almost all the Temple Alliance’s region before reaching it.
The positions of all of the Six Great Temples were at the borders of the Temple Alliance, completely surrounding it and protecting its territory. The headquarters of the Knight Temple was actually at its center, and the six Temples were approximately at equal distance to the center of the territory. Because of the apprehension and the protection brought by these Six Great Temples, for so many years, the demon race was unable to proceed with their invasion of the human lands.
Among the Six Great Temples, the Knight Temple was the most formidable, the Warrior Temple had the most people, and the Mage Temple was the richest.
The strength of the Knight Temple and the Warrior Temple was known in almost each village. The influence of the Mage Temple also extended to most towns, from little ones to big ones.
The Assassin Temple, the Priest Temple, and the Spiritual Temple, because of their lesser number of members, only had branch halls in big cities: even in a medium sized city like Hao Yue City, there was only a Priest Temple, and the most mysterious ones, the Assassin Temple and Spiritual Temple, never set up a branch hall there.
However, this didn’t mean that these three Great Temples, with fewer people, were not powerful. Their capability was something the Temple Alliance could not do without.
The Vibrant Mountain Bird kept flying unyieldingly: he only needed to go back to the ground to rest once. Long Hao Chen had already told his biggest secret to his teacher, and every day, as they were flying on the back of the Vibrant Mountain Bird, he cultivated his inner spiritual energy. Ye Hua could clearly feel Long Hao Chen’s spiritual energy rising.
15 days later.
“We have finally arrived, old partner, let’s go down.” Ye Hua said with a happy voice.
Long Hao Chen, gazing from afar, was startled as he discovered that far away them, a drizzling gold-colored brilliance shone, but because of the hazy fog before them, this brilliance could not be clearly seen at all.
This faint golden envelop had an extremely wide range, and inside, it seemed that a mountain peak could faintly be seen.
The Vibrant Mountain Bird landed on the ground, his wings intensely flapping before resting on the weeds below.
Long Hao Chen jumped to the ground together with his teacher. This 15- day journey was not tiring at all for him; he was cultivating everyday, and during this trip, his spiritual energy increased by approximately 50 levels.
“Old partner, go back first.”
The Vibrant Mountain Bird lowered its head, it seemed reluctant to part with Ye Hua, and as it was rubbing against him, Ye Hua canceled his summoning to send it back.
“Teacher, does the Knights’ Sacred Mountain have a protective barrier? Why do we have to walk more than fifty kilometers, instead of directly entering from the sky?” Long Hao Chen asked.
Ye Hua answered: “There is no protective barrier, but you have to keep in mind that, in the Knights’ Sacred Mountain, there are countless magical beasts. These magical beasts won’t take the initiative to attack people, but a foreign magical beast flying above them can be interpreted as a taunt. Only if your mount possesses the strength to deal with all of the magical beasts here, can you enter from the sky; otherwise, don’t even try. Let’s go.”
Both master and disciple advanced, facing the Knights’ Sacred Mountain, when suddenly, a gale of wind blew as an enormous silhouette descended from the sky.
Chapter 42
Long Hao Chen moved his arm and took his Radiant Shield out; he was taught that all knights were required to stay on constant alert.
This enormous silhouette was slowly nearing the ground, currently at a distance of 3.3 meters (10 zhang). This incredible figure was a flying magical beast.
However, this flying magical beast was even more imposing than Ye Hua’s Vibrant Mountain Bird. With its appearance of a divine enchanting horse; its height of roughly six meters, and its whole body emitting a faint golden light, it was a dragon-headed beast with a body of bird. Its head as well as its tail was covered with long feathers with five different colors. After landing on the ground, it slowly folded its wings and raised its head; what a beautiful creature!
Seventh step magical beast, Dragon Eagle. Long Hao Chen instantly recognized the specie of the beast.
A Dragon Eagle is a light attribute flying beast. To knights, light attribute mounts are the most valuable ones, because they are able to substantially increase their fighting capability.
Two people jumped down from the back of this Dragon Eagle, a middle- aged man accompanied by a young boy. They just got down from its back, so they didn’t see Long Hao Chen yet.
“Oh! Look who it is. It turns out that it is Elder Brother Ye Hua, long time no see!” Looking at Ye Hua, they were a little surprised at first, but
quickly wore smiles on their faces as they approached.
Ye Hua looked as cold as before and he did not even bother to welcome them.
This middle-aged man wore golden armor, clearly letting out a holy aura. He didn’t have any weapon, nor a helmet, and his long golden hair was spread out behind.
He seemed a little younger than Ye Hua, his face looked a little feminine, specially his pair of sensual eyes, giving off a vague impression of someone who thinks he is hot stuff.
The youth beside this middle-aged man resembled Long Hao Chen a lot: he looked approximately 17-18 years old from his appearance, and his body was quite tall. His face was clearly showing some arrogance.
The middle-aged man approached, asking with a smile: “What’s wrong? Doesn’t elder brother Ye Hua recognize me? Even though it was only six or seven years since the last time we met? Still, we grew up together. I just saw this Vibrant Mountain Bird from afar and although it is only a sixth step magical beast, its species is quite rare so I deduced that it was most likely yours.”
Ye Hua coldly talked back to him: “Gui Ying 1, you are still as arrogant as before.”
The expression on the face of this middle aged man changed, and the youth beside him could not help but blurt out in an angry voice: “What did you just say?!”
“Shut up!” The middle-aged man faintly smiled; his face’s expression was already back to normal, “Ye Hua, Teacher really misses you, you know? It has been a while since you left our Xiu City 2, but you haven’t even come back once to visit Teacher. Teacher for one day, father for life, have you forgotten that!? ”
Ye Hua’s complexion became colder than ever before, “I don’t need you to teach me that. We will leave.” While speaking, without paying the slightest attention to Gui Ying, he grabbed Long Hao Chen’s hand and they left together in the direction of the Knights’ Sacred Mountain.
Looking at their leaving figure, the youth couldn’t help but ask Gui Ying:
“Dad, who is he? How can he be so insolent?”
Gui Ying unenthusiastically answered him: “He is nothing more than a trash. This time, it looks like he came with this youth to the Knights’ Sacred Mountain to help him in getting his mount. After entering the
The young guy excitedly nodded, “I will make him understand what power is. Let’s see what kind of magical beast will be willing to get close to him after I break one of his legs.”
Gui Ying narrowed his eyes, they looked as if they were intensely shining as his memories from a few dozens of years before flashed little by little before his eyes.
……
“Big Bro Ye Hua, you’re gonna turn into a Knight soon. How are you cultivating your spiritual energy so quickly? Do you have any kind of secret? Is it okay to teach it to me?”
“You have to rely on your own efforts and practice diligently, there isn’t any shortcut.”
“Hmph, I’m sure Teacher favored you and taught you a special training method. Otherwise, how could you turn into a Knight while you are only three years older than me?”
Pow–
“You dare hit me? You dare hit me… ”
“What if I hit you? If you dare tell it to Teacher, I’ll just break all the limbs in your body, and the Hall Master of Xiu City will lose his interest
in you. Get lost, I never want to see you again.”
That year, he was twelve years old, while Ye Hua was fifteen years old.
……
“Gui Wu 3, if you have the occasion, go ahead and break all the limbs of this little boy.” With a cold sneer, Gui Ying took big steps forward.
An air of arrogance appeared on Gui Wu’s blank face, “To break all his limbs! Isn’t that too ruthless? Never mind, I like this idea.” A fierce expression was drawn into his face.
Ye Hua silently stepped forward, his face was as cold as before, and Long Hao Chen, who was so familiar with him, could feel that his state of mind was currently quite unstable.
“Teacher, is this person an enemy of yours?” Long Hao Chen asked in a calm voice.
Ye Hua gave him a quick glance, “We were formerly from the same place; Xiu City, a city adjacent to the headquarters of the Temple Alliance, the biggest city of the Alliance. My teacher was a Temple Knight. He possessed a Silver Foundation Warrior Armor. I joined the Xiu Chen Chief Hall at 13 years old and broke through the third step at 15 years-old. I was acclaimed as the best genius of the 100 last years in Xiu City. I was Teacher’s direct disciple. But after taking a step into Heaven, I took a step into Hell. When we discovered that my internal spiritual energy was nine, from a genius, I became a useless individual in their eyes. I trained with great efforts for two more years in Xiu City, but the cultivation of my internal spiritual energy was incomparably slow. As a result, Teacher drove me away from Xiu City Main Hall, and the among the few people responsible for driving me out, Gui Ying was included. The one who ridiculed me the most, calling me a useless trash nonstop, was him.”
After he finished speaking, Ye Hua became completely silent. It almost seemed as if all he said was completely unrelated to him. And the pace of
his steps suddenly sped up. He was relying on his spiritual energy to speed up, as if an arrow was shot at him from behind.
Long Hao Chen couldn’t refrain from clenching his fists as he pledged that the disgrace of his teacher, would be cleansed. Although Ye Hua explained his situation casually, he could imagine that his teacher of those days had surely suffered a lot from this situation too, and that Gui Ying was the first person who provoked this situation of his.
Turning his head to peek a glance at Gui Ying and his son, a third of a kilometer away, Long Hao Chen’s golden colored eyes shone brightly from afar.
A distance of fifty kilometers was nothing at all for them, and after an hour, Long Hao Chen and Ye Hua were already near the Knights’ Sacred Mountain.
As they approached the Knights’ Sacred Mountain, the light-element aura became even stronger. A haze filled with light element aura was being emitted from behind. The mountain peak was faintly visible, towering in the sky. Clearly, the Knights’ Sacred Mountain was not a single mountain, but a mountain range. The haze scattered as they approached it, so the sight was not as unclear as one may think.
Slowly walking across this haze that faintly shone, Long Hao Chen discovered, to his surprise, that this haze was imbued with a very pure light attribute, and after entering the haze, the light attribute was at least five times superior compared to outside, and did not contain any impurity.
“Feel it. The light element attribute here is a lot stronger than outside. The Knights’ Sacred Mountain is actually, in itself, an enormous magical array that extends throughout an entire mountain range. This light essence is also issued out by the magical array, and if knights like us cultivate here, it will be, as a result, twice more effective, but obviously, this is impossible because as long as these light essences exists here, the violent nature of these magical beasts will be suppressed. Thus, no knight is allowed to stay in the Knights’ Sacred Mountain to cultivate. None of the elders that guard it would allow it. Otherwise, the balance of the light
attribute magical array would be destroyed and it would likely result in the rebellion of the magical beasts that reside here. Upon entering the mountain, the self-rotations of one’s internal spiritual energy will not matter anymore, and obviously, you will be forbidden from meditating to increase your cultivation speed.”
Notes:
Chapter 43
After listening to Ye Hua’s advice, Long Hao Chen felt a little regretful. However, when he entered the area, he clearly felt in his body that the rotation speed of his internal spiritual energy around his spiritual stove accelerated significantly. Even without meditating to accelerate his cultivation speed, the rotation of his spiritual energy would not be much slower.
“Your name?” asked a deep, hoarse voice.
Long Hao Chen was startled; with the increase of his cultivation speed, his mental capacity also became all more formidable here. At this moment, he did not know that the fact using skills depleted less of his spiritual energy was not only because of his physique as a Scion of Light, but also because of his excellent mental capacity. Despite all of that, he still did not detect this person who was approaching.
“Gui Ying, the Hall Master of Xiu City Hall has brought his son Gui Wu to the Sacred Mountain to choose a companion mount.”
A shadow flashed: Gui Ying and his son, who were behind them all along, came close, standing next to Long Hao Chen and Ye Hua.
The figure of an old man slowly came out in front of them; his body was like a part of the pale golden haze, and his breath was completely overshadowed by the haze.
This elder had a hunchback posture and, inside his armor, he was clad with simple grey-colored clothes. He was mostly bald, but still had a few
sparse and fragmentary strands of white hair. A simple wrinkle of his brows was a weapon that could catch mosquitoes and the yellow color of his eyes was very pure. The appearance of the old man is like someone who is in his last days and seemed like a gust of wind could end his life.
“Ye Hua from Hao Yue Branch Hall, I came with my disciple, Long Hao Chen, to the Sacred Mountain to choose his companion mount.” Ye Hua’s voice sounded as cold as ever. Even here, his old habit did not change at all.
The old man slowly approached them. When Long Hao Chen clearly saw his appearance, he couldn’t help but feel somewhat startled.
The old man had a single arm: his left arm was cut off, and he was blind in the right eye. He even had a very large scar on his face, extending from his lower jaw to the top of his head. It was as if his head had been split open.
When he could clearly see the appearance of this old man, Long Hao Chen also discovered that his teacher with a usually ice-cold temperament unexpectedly had a respectful look on his eyes at this moment. He was slowly bowing down before this elder, and Gui Yin was doing the same at the other side.
Long Hao Chen didn’t dare to slack off and hurriedly gave his respects as well.
Although Gui Wu was bowing down like his father, a disapproving look could be seen in his eyes. Since his childhood, he had been the proud son of the Hall Master of Xiu City. Regardless of whether they were people from the Knight Temple or Xiu City, everyone was polite and courteous with him. He was really unwilling to bow down to a disabled old man in his late days.
The gaze of this elderly man swept in front of these four people, before saying in a hoarse voice: “Take out your certificates.”
“Yes.” Gui Ying and Ye Hua answered simultaneously, and Gui Ying, a step faster, handed over a scroll to him. Ye Hua shot him a cold glance before handing over a scroll at his turn.
The elderly man first gave a look to the scroll handed by Gui Ying and nodded. When he next gave a look to the scroll handed by Ye Hua, he couldn’t help but look at Long Hao Chen, analyzing him from top to bottom.
Long Hao Chen vaguely knew already that this scroll recorded everything about the time after he joined Hao Yue Branch Hall, naturally including his age and his cultivation records.
Being st
The elderly man gave him another look before waving in his direction,
“Come.”
Gui Ying pushed his son, giving him a meaningful glance.
Gui Wu quickly took a step forward, showing a respectful expression. The elder lifted his hand, consciously moving it on Gui Wu’s shoulder.
As a reaction, Gui Wu subconsciously shook with his entire body, struggling, but when the dried up and old-looking palm touched his shoulder, he instantly became stiff and completely unable to move.
A drop of sweat flowed from his forehead: he could clearly feel that the palm of this elder was as imposing as a mountain, and he felt as if he was disappearing without hope of returning.
“Hm, 18 years-old. You have my approval. You may enter.” was the next sentence he told to Gui Ying.
Turning his hand, he grabbed a long black colored tile. He handed it to Gui Wu’s hand before telling him: “Upon meeting magical beasts of different levels, this token will take on a different color. In the Knights’ Sacred Mountain, the weakest beasts are at the second rank,
corresponding to a red color. In a similar fashion, the others colors are yellow, green, dark green, blue, purple, white, and silver. Ninth is the peak level here. If a shining golden color appears, it means you have encountered an aggressive beast. Unless you feel a compatibility between the both of you, you are to stay as far from it as possible. If you cannot initiate a link among the both of you, keep searching until you find your target. The time limit is 30 days, you have 30 days to look for the suitable magical beast for yourself. Also, you will be transported out of the mountain 20 seconds after this tile shines with a pure gold color. Is everything clear?”
“Yes.” Gui Wu answered.
Then, the scroll that was in the elder’s hand suddenly turned into ashes as a grey colored energy was sent out, covering the black colored tile in Gui Wu’s hand. The tile quickly shone before going back to normal.
“Thank you very much, senior.” Gui Ying respectfully saluted this elder before heading back to the mountain. Gui Wu did not dare be negligent, and shot a glance at the nearby Long Hao Chen before moving forward and stepping in the haze, disappearing inside.
The elder faced Long Hao Chen and beckoned, “Come, little fellow; let this old man take a closer look to you. I want to see if you can really amaze an old man like me.”
“Yes.” Long Hao Chen gave a glance to this teacher before approaching him at a slow pace and respectfully standing in front of him.
Like before, the elder placed his hand on his shoulder, and a warm feeling was instantly transmitted. Long Hao Chen didn’t move the slightest bit, and calmly stood there.
After a short moment, the elder opened his eyes wide, and after withdrawing his hand he stared at Long Hao Chen’s face once more.
“Hao Yue Branch Hall.” the old man murmured in a deep voice.
“This young one is listening.” Ye Hua took two steps forwards, respectfully saluting him.
The old man turned his head, looked at Ye Hua, and said: “Where did you find such a little freak? He is really not 13 yet, but he is already a Grand Knight. Moreover, his spiritual energy is above 1,000, ten years earlier than that little fellow Long Xing Yu, whose innate talent cannot even compare to his. This is a genuine genius! You can report my approval to the executive of the Temple and let him directly pursue his cultivation in the Temple.”
Ye Hua’s complexion faintly changed: he didn’t expect this elder before him to become so fond of Long Hao Chen, and a thought came to him, it seems that even within a century, such a prodigy will not appear for sure.
“Senior, it is not that this young one is unwilling, only, in half a year, there will be the Magical Hunt and Selection, that major competition. And this young one firmly believes that his teachings are definitely not lacking.”
The old man pondered for a little while, before nodding: “Alright. This old one will not meddle in your affairs. He will simply leave you be. Kid, did you clearly hear what I said earlier?”
Long Hao Chen respectfully answered: “I heard clearly.”
The old man nodded, “Then you can go. However, as you broke through the step of Grand Knight before you turned 20, you can have one more privilege. If after 30 days, you haven’t found a fitting mount for yourself, you can enter the Sacred Mountain’s summit to summon a magical beast to serve as your mount from another place. Only, if we have to come to this, it means we are leaving everything to chance: it will be for sure a suitable mount for you, but it is hard to say whether it will be a strong one or a weak one, and it can even be a first step magical beast; hence, you have to make great efforts when searching during these 30 days. Understood?”
Chapter 44
“Thanks a lot for your instructions, senior.”
“Hm, you go too.” The elder waved his hand, and the scroll was consumed and assimilated into a tile that was then handed to Long Hao Chen.
Long Hao Chen turned towards Ye Hua and performed a knight salute.
“Go.” Ye Hua returned the salute. His face displayed a smile that seemed kind of forced, but his gaze was as fiery as before.
Long Hao Chen faced the other side before going through the haze and fading away inside.
After looking at his leaving figure, Ye Hua wanted to take his leave as the handicapped elder told him : “This kid is a very rare good seedling. Young fellow, to be able to foster this kind of disciple, you are pretty good.”
Ye Hua looked pleasantly surprised by this praise, “Many thanks for senior’s praise.”
The elder indifferently told him, “I never praise others, I just state the facts. You go too.”
“Yes.”
Ye Hua withdrew into the haze; he still looked as respectful as before. Before coming here, he never told Long Hao Chen about the kind of
existences that were the elders here, because when he came before, he was actually not qualified to know about them.
These guardians of the Knights’ Sacred Mountain were all at least seventh step knights from the Alliance who completed their personal task, got a suit of Secret Silver Foundation Warrior Armor, enjoying their life in retirement here.
There were even some eighth step Saint Knights here. And if not for the fact that Divine Knights could only hand over their Divine Throne upon dying, there would perhaps be some who would appear here.
With the Knight Temple being the head of the Six Great Temples, the power gathered at the Knights’ Sacred Mountain could only be described as an absolute terror.
Except from the Divine Knights, no one knew how many formidable knights this mountain range contained. However, no matter from where one entered, he would always run into a guardian immediately upon entering the mountain.
The elder who appeared at that moment seemed quite feeble, he was still at least a seventh step powerhouse! Even though he was handicapped, even Ye Hua together with Gui Yin could not possibly be a match for him. Besides, the scars and deformities on his body were all brought by battles against the demon race. It could be said that the guardians of the Sacred Mountain were all genuine heroes.
Even if the three Divine Knights of the Knight Temple showed up, they had to salute these elders who deserved respect. They were the pride as well as the glory of the Knight Temple. Thus, even a strange phenomenon such as Ye Hua was respectful when facing the elder they met earlier.
“You also came out, Elder Brother Ye Hua? It looks like this disciple of yours is really young. Such a young knight is really a rare thing. I wonder what his current rank as a Knight is.”
Gui Ying hadn’t left yet, and looking at Ye Hua who just appeared before his sight, he asked with a serious tone.
Ye Hua answered in a cold voice, “What does it have to do with you?”
Gui Ying laughed out loudly: “It naturally has nothing to do with me. Only, we will have to wait here for a while, so how about we make a bet? Between this disciple of yours and my son, which one will get the highest ranked magical beast as a mount? If I win, I won’t even bother you, just let me give you a good slap like in those days. If you win, as the loser, I will give you 3,000 gold coins, how about it?”
The purchasing value of gold coins was considerably high. With 3,000 gold coins, he would be able to buy a pretty good magical equipment.
Ye Hua coldly looked at him, “Then let’s wait until
Gui Ying showed a cold expression, “You are still as arrogant as before. Look at the age of your disciple, how could such a young kid even participate in the Demon Hunt Selection Competition? This is just so ridiculous. Can it be that you forgot that the upper age limit for the Demon Hunt Selection Competition was 25 years-old?”
Ye Hua indifferently answered: “All you have to do is to give me your reply, whether you dare or not.”
Gui Ying’s pupils shrank, “I dare, what is there to fear? I originally also wanted Gui Wu to participate in this Demon Hunt Selection and Competition to temper himself. He will participate in this Demon Hunt Selection and Competition at 23 years-old and amaze the world! My son is already an eighth rank Knight, so he may even be able to fight his way to reach the final phase of the competition before becoming a Demon Hunter.”
Ye Hua said: “Let’s wait for that moment then. Wash your face well for that moment, I don’t want to make my hand dirty.”
Gui Ying’s complexion changed, but he didn’t dare be rash here; they were in the territory of the Sacred Mountain, so in the case that the guardians acted, his position as the Hall Master of Xiu City would not be enough to excuse him.
Long Hao Chen stepped into the haze. Feeling the surrounding light attribute becoming increasingly dense, it gave him an indescribable comfortable feeling. Deep inside, even if he managed to find his magical beast companion earlier, he would still want to stay here for thirty days. After all, he could clearly feel that the speed of the circulation of his internal spiritual energy was doubled here, not much less compared to when he meditated. In these circumstances, he would gain at least three or four spiritual energy levels daily.
Walking forward, he suddenly paused. Looking at the scenery before his eyes, it seemed that he had already passed through the haze, as this scenery had become much more distinct.
Lifting up his head, he discovered to his astonishment that what he could see was completely different from the past haze: the sky was clear and blue.
With a warm feeling coming from the bright sunlight, before his eyes there was a tree swaying to the breeze, letting out a fresh and sweet natural sound, restoring his energy and alleviating his fatigue.
At this moment, he arrived at the foot of the mountain range; he could only see a mountain forest before his eyes. There were thick and solid trees, at least 40 or 50 meters high. There were many kind of trees in this diverse mountain forest, and there wasn’t a single straight path.
Holding the Radiant Shield in his left hand, drawing out the heavy sword with his right hand, and clenching the black-colored tile together with the hilt of his sword, he was ready to react to any circumstances.
Whoosh, a yellow colored figure appeared in front of him, it was a monkey specie magical beast. It was lurking near a tree, but grinned upon seeing Long Hao Chen before turning around and running away.
What a miraculous magical array! Long Hao Chen sighed loudly. In the outside world, the majority of magical beasts were hostile to humans. In eight cases out of ten, they would immediately take the initiative to attack upon meeting a human. They were friendlier here, because of the influence of the Knight Temple’s magical array and the holy aura it emitted. The Knights’ Sacred Mountain is really a miraculous place.
Lowering his head to look at the token in his hand, he saw an orange colored glint, symbolizing that this magical beast was of the third rank.
Without delay, Long Hao Chen advanced and entered the mountain forest. A sound was emitted as a powerful defensive [Divine Light Mantle] was released, enveloping him inside. As he was advancing forward, he carefully observed his surroundings.
Ye Hua told him earlier that after entering the Knights’ Sacred Mountain, if he wanted to reach his objective, the first thing he had to do was to climb the mountain and advance towards the interior of the Sacred Mountain. While approaching the center, the magical beasts he would meet would be more powerful.
The vegetation in this mountain forest was really dense; it went to the extent that Long Hao Chen had to use his heavy sword to make his way through quickly. After half an hour of labor, he had finally climbed to the summit of the first mountain.
On the road, he also met several magical beasts, but they were all low ranked, at most third or fourth step magical beasts. Upon seeing him, these magical beasts didn’t show any desire to get close to him.
Climbing over the mountain, the scenery before his eyes suddenly became clear and open, and after continuously moving up and down this mountain range, he was respectful before this scenery.
It was a green colored ocean, and from the distant peak, some trees appeared especially tall. Even from his current position, they could be clearly seen.
Chapter 45
So beautiful! Long Hao Chen couldn’t refrain from gasping in astonishment. Such a magnificent wide-opened scenery could only relax him and add a beautiful feeling of clarity to his mood. Taking deep breaths, he felt the abundant light attribute whirling all around him. Resisting, with great difficulty, the urge to enter into seated meditation, he simply took a look around, then directly advanced at a high pace toward the direction of the core of the Sacred Mountain.
The Knights’ Sacred Mountain was enormous, and covering it was challenging. Five days passed in a flash. Long Hao Chen had climbed to the peak of dozens of mountains, and had discovered that he had only covered a third of the total distance. He was still far from the core of the mountain.
In addition, the deeper one went, the higher the peak of the mountains would be, and climbing it would accordingly become harder.
However, he still advanced unceasingly, and the grade of the magical beasts he met also increased accordingly. Fifth and sixth step magical beasts seemed to appear endlessly. Sadly, none of them expressed any will to approach him.
In the ‘Forget-Me-Not’ ring, a sufficient amount of food and water was stored. Long Hao Chen would rest for approximately three hours every day, and although he did not meditate here, he could clearly feel the progress of his spiritual energy.
“Pfiou, need water.” After reaching the summit of another mountain, Long Hao Chen could see to his astonishment that on the other side of this
mountain, there was a lake.
From a height, this lake looked like a huge block of sapphire embedded in the mountain, reflecting the shining sun. It looked just like the entrance to a wonderland in this human world.
“Excellent. Teacher said that there would be a lot of strong water type beasts in this kind of region. Maybe I can find my destined companion here.”
Without a single pause, he hastily went down the hill. Maybe it was because he had a goal set, but this time he sped up a lot, and descended the mountain in little time.
From afar, he saw that some magical beasts were drinking water on the lakeside, and halted his steps, advancing slowly, approaching them from the front.
He could quickly see a marvellous scene and Long Hao Chen’s heart skipped a bit. What is that?
More than ten unicorns were lingering near the lakeside. These unicorns were clearly a community, they all had a snow white body, gold-colored mane, and a spiral pattern could be seen drawn on the front of their proud faces. Each one of them had a pair of enormous wings, pure-white colored wings with gold-colored feathers at the edge.
This, this is… Starlight Unicorns?
Unicorns were certainly the mounts knights were the most fond of. Regardless of whether on the sky or on the ground, they were extremely powerful. They were really formidable magical beasts on the surface as well as the air. In addition, unicorns were gentle beasts, and relatively docile. Without a doubt, they were also arrogant. Only by conquering one, or if it took a fancy toward a person, would it perhaps consider concluding an agreement.
Starlight Unicorns are among the most commonly known kinds of unicorns. A fully grown Starlight Unicorn is a peak eighth step magical beast. Its strength is just a step away from that of a ninth step magical beast, second only to the ninth step Divine Unicorn.
A Starlight Unicorn was, in addition, a light attribute magical beast, so if a poll was to be done, inquiring What kind of mount do knights desire the most as their companion?, at least half of those who were asked would have chosen it.
Looking at these Starlight Unicorns, Long Hao Chen ceased breathing while approaching them, they were indeed even more form
They were so pretty, their body simply looked beautiful as well as powerful. The rich holy aura they released was very pure, as if they seemed to have completely merged with the lake, their bodies emitting a faint golden rippling radiance.
Taking a deep breath, Long Hao Chen took out his heavy sword as well as his shield, he knew that the opportunity had come.
He did the best he could to stay tranquil, slowly walking towards these Starlight Unicorns.
Even if it wasn’t in the Knights’ Sacred Mountain, the kind-hearted Starlight Unicorns would probably not rashly attack humans; besides, they weren’t influenced much by the magical array here.
In this group of Starlight Unicorns, there was an especially big one; its body was 6,6 meters (20 feet) long, 4 meters (12 feet) high, and its horn was, in itself, two-thirds of a meter (2 feet) long. Also, it had a pair of completely dazzling gold-colored eyes. While the other Unicorns were drinking water, it was the only one who calmly stood there, observing the surroundings.
Without a doubt, this unicorn was their king.
Seeing Long Hao Chen slowly coming towards it, this Starlight Unicorn looked a bit surprised, its right leg lightly hitting the ground.
Long Hao Chen hurriedly stood in front of it, and sincerely requested: “Respectable Starlight Unicorn, I am a knight from the Knight Temple. I came here to seek a companion. I wonder if it is possible for both of us to initiate an exchange?”
High leveled magical beasts were generally extremely wise creatures, not the slightest bit inferior to humans, and gaining their acknowledgement was accordingly difficult. Establishing communication was the first step.
This Starlight Unicorn King stared at Long Hao Chen’s figure with its pair of golden eyes and upon seeing Long Hao Chen’s golden eyes that were even more limpidly dazzling than his, could not help but feel surprised.
An intense light was emitted by the horn at the top of its head, spraying out some gold colored powder that started to envelop Long Hao Chen’s body.
Simultaneously, a faint gold color was released from Long Hao Chen’s body, especially his chest that was sparkling in golden light.
Such an abundant holy aura came from Long Hao Chen, giving a warm and intimate feeling; he immediately felt exalted form the bottom of his heart, this Unicorn King was willing to communicate with him, it was the proof that he had gotten an opportunity to gain its acknowledgement. It gave him in addition a cordial feeling.
“Hello there, human. ” A gentle, manly sound resounded in Long Hao Chen’s mind.
Although Long Xing Yu had told Long Hao Chen before that all high- ranked magical beasts had the ability to communicate with humans, it was the first time he encountered this kind of magical telepathy, he was thus quite nervous. He hurriedly answered, in his thoughts: “Hello there, Starlight Unicorn.”
The Starlight Unicorn then said: “The holy aura released by your body is extremely pure. It is clearly above the level of mine, it makes me feel very comfortable.”
Long Hao Chen’s heart skipped up a beat, “In that case, can I become your companion?”
The crucial moment arrived. If this Starlight Unicorn gave his agreement, in that case, Long Hao Chen would obtain a peak eighth step formidable magical beast as his mount. Exactly, a young unicorn! If he was to possess such a formidable mount, even Earth Knights would not necessarily be a match for him.
The Starlight Unicorn became silent upon hearing Long Hao Chen’s question. The golden radiance it released became even more intensely strong, and under its influence, Long Hao Chen’s eyes became even more sparkling, clear like crystal, reflecting this unicorn’s silhouette.
“I really want to agree to thine request.” The Starlight Unicorn suddenly started using respectful tone 1, “But, I don’t want to deceive thee.”
Long Hao Chen was stunned, “What… what do you mean by that?” “Respectable Scion of Light, I can clearly see the source of your light. I
would really like to become your mount, your companion. If I did so, in my lifetime, it would probably be possible for me to become a ninth step magical beast. But I cannot do that. For the simple reason that we, unicorns, are honest beings. With my innate talent, I do not have the qualifications to serve the Scion of Light. I am sorry, I can only decline your offer.”
“Oh? You don’t have the qualifications?” Long Hao Chen suddenly gasped. Even if this Starlight Unicorn says he doesn’t have the qualifications, he cannot be so much in awe. Before my eyes is a peak eighth step formidable being after all! If he doesn’t have the qualifications, what kind of magical beast would be suitable to become my companion?
“I am afraid that this time, you went on an errand for nothing. From what I know, inside of this Knights’ Sacred Mountain, I am not the only one who doesn’t have the qualifications, but even the other ninth step magical beast as well as their descendants don’t have the qualifications to become your companion.” The Starlight Unicorn spoke to Long Hao Chen in a helpless tone.
Notes:
Chapter 46
Long Hao Chen was flabbergasted, “Then, what kind of magical beast should I seek to become my companion mount?”
The Starlight Unicorn answered: “You need a companion with the same innate talent as you. How can there be that kind of existence in the scope of this mountain range? Although this environment is not bad, unless we make a contract, we have no real freedom here, and we are forever unable to leave.”
Long Hao Chen showed a forced smile, “Then, how am I supposed to look for a companion?”
The Starlight Unicorn answered: “You may still have some chance. Inside of the great array of this Sacred Mountain, there is a magical core array. Every so often, new magical beasts will be transferred through it. If those humans can let you directly pick a beast from a fresh transfer, then you may be able to get a fitting partner. However, it is also possible that what you will get will be a low level partner.”
“Thank you.” Long Hao Chen said, somewhat disappointed.
Withdrawing his light aura, the Starlight Unicorn nodded once more in the direction of Long Hao Chen before shifting his gaze to his clan’s members.
“The disciple of trash is also trash. Being deluded enough to attempt to get a Starlight Unicorn as a mount, it’s so ridiculous.” A voice full of disdain could be heard. From the middle of the forest, a figure came out.
Long Hao Chen stared attentively, his expression immediately becoming filled with anger.
What came out from the forest was an excessive 6.6 meter (20 feet) long figure on a 5 meter (15 feet) tall magical beast.
This magical beast had a red colored body and was entirely covered by thick scales, making it very sturdy. On its back, a man was seated, but wasn’t that the person who entered a step earlier than Long Hao Chen into the Knights’ Sacred Mountain, Gui Wu?
A Scarlet Shelled Earthworm, a seventh step magical beast belonging to the inferior-dragon species. However, the Scarlet Shelled Earthworm before his eyes was clearly underaged. It couldn’t fly but, on the ground, it was extremely powerful in terms of fighting capability. It was a beast of the fire attribute.
After no more than a few days, this Gui Wu had surprisingly already found a personal mount. In terms of potential, this Scarlet Shelled Earthworm was an existence of the same rank compared to his father’s Dragon Eagle.
“I won’t allow you to insult my teacher!” Long Hao Chen shouted loudly.
Gui Wu snorted before saying in response, full of disdain, “Unconvinced? Very well! Come and duel me then. Don’t worry, I will not kill you, At most, I will just break all your limbs, nothing more.” At the same time, something shone in his hand, and on his left hand appeared a shield while on his right hand appeared a 6.66 meters (twenty feet) lance.
There were two kinds of weapons generally used by knights: heavy swords and lances. Without considering that he had gotten a mount, even if there wasn’t this Scarlet Shelled Earthworm, Gui Wu was confident enough in his ability to defeat Long Hao Chen.
Not stepping back, Long Hao Chen, holding his shield and drawing his sword, faced Wu Gui who was riding this Scarlet Shelled Earthworm. Right
when he was about to accept Gui Wu’s challenge, suddenly, a beam of golden light was shot out from the side.
This dazzling beam of light enveloped Gui Wu together with his Scarlet Shelled Earthworm inside. The previous Starlight Unicorn appeared by Long Hao Chen’s side, upright and unafraid.
Fear appeared in the eyes of this Scarlet Shelled Earthworm; Gui Wu also felt a formidable oppressing power, he was completely aghast at this scene.
Can it be that he really got
However, Gui Wu was no fool, he wouldn’t dare contend against a peak eighth step formidable magical beast; he had practically instantly used his spiritual energy to stimulate his tile. A rich shining golden light was emitted and he fled together with his Scarlet Shelled Earthworm.
The changes before his eyes caused Long Hao Chen to become astonished, this Starlight Unicorn King slowly lowered its head, its shoulder shaking down, gently looking at him. It apparently wanted to say, The dignity of the Scion of Light is not something that can be offended by such a clown.
With a respectful cry, the Starlight Unicorn looked once more at Long Hao Chen before suddenly moving out, closely followed by the group of Starlight Unicorns that were previously drinking the lake’s water; they spread out the wings on their back, gracefully flying through the sky, leaving a golden luster behind and disappearing behind the mountains in a blink of an eye.
Standing lifelessly at the same location, Long Hao Chen looked disappointed for a long time because the Starlight Unicorns were magical beasts that were the most suitable to become knights’ mounts. Both Long Xing Yu and Ye Hua had described to him the features of this kind of magical beast.
Starlight Unicorns were a symbol of the light element; they were naturally kind-hearted, gentle, truthful, they treated their companions well,
and were sure to defend them with their life, but never killed their foes mercilessly. In the Temple Alliance, young girls often fantasized about a Prince Charming on his white horse coming to get them, the white horse being this kind of Starlight Unicorn.
If it didn’t deceive me, then I will not have any result this time. I can only leave it to my luck and rely on the magical array, or hunt magical beasts by myself in the future, with the goal of taming it.
Both routes were uncertain but, without a doubt, the former one had a higher chance of success. After all, if he relied on the magical array to gain a companion magical beast, it could potentially result in summoning a quite formidable one. However, taming a magical beast was impossible, as his current cultivation level would only enable him to confront a magical beast of the fifth step at most. If a peak eighth step Starlight Unicorn said that it could not match his innate talent, how could a fifth step wild magical beast be willing to see itself as Long Hao Chen’s companion?
Moreover, his current goal was his own father, chasing after his father’s steps to become a Divine Knight. If a future Divine Knight were to have a mere fifth step magical beast acting as his companion, how could this not be as ridiculous as the heavens turning upside down?
After pondering for a little moment, Long Hao Chen made his ultimate decision. He chose to take the bet.
Although he had already made his decision, Long Hao Chen did not immediately convey the leaving message. After all, he could not inform this elder, a guardian of the Sacred Mountain, of the Starlight Unicorn’s words. In that case, he would just expose the fact that he possessed the body of a Scion of Light.
Therefore, he decided to simply remain in the mountain, until thirty days had passed. In addition, even though he believed the words of the Starlight Unicorn, in the end, he still wanted to leaving it to luck try one last time. What if a ninth step magical beast took a fancy for him here?
The reality is always cruel; the words of the Starlight Unicorn weren’t the slightest bit biased. During the following twenty days, Long Hao Chen had crossed almost the entire mountain range constituting the Knights’ Sacred Mountain, even entering into the domain of several ninth step magical beasts. However, after a single glance, they only drove him out. There was even a very aggressive magical beast that almost seriously wounded him in the process.
Thirty days passed in a blink of eye, and the tile in Long Hao Chen’s hand undulated while shining in a pure gold color. The spreading radiance turned into a light mantle that enveloped him inside, and at the next instant, with a flash, the scenery before his eyes changed completely.
The scenery became once more distinct. The first thing Long Hao Chen saw upon opening his eyes was his teacher. Ye Hua was waiting, showing an anxious expression on his face. Thirty days. During the whole thirty days, Long Hao Chen did not take the initiative to convey the leaving message. It could only mean that he did not find a suitable mount. But how was that possible? After all, he possessed the physique of a Scion of Light. How could it be that no magical beast expressed the desire to get close to him?
The handicapped elder was also here, looking at Long Hao Chen all along after the leaving message had been conveyed, he slightly scowled, looking at him with a look filled with doubts. A knight who is not fourteen yet, but is a Grand Knight in terms of cultivation training. Those magical beasts should be fighting among themselves to become his companion! Could it be that he was too high from their scope?
Chapter 47
Besides Ye Hua and the elder guardian, Gui Ying and Gui Wu were, unexpectedly, also there.
Gui Wu was so frightened by the Starlight Unicorn that he immediately used his tile, though hearing afterwards about the bet with Ye Hua and its stakes frightened him even more. He hastily told his father everything that happened when he met Long Hao Chen.
Gui Ying was also flabbergasted. If that Long Hao Chen got a mount like a Starlight Unicorn, his son had absolutely no way to even be a match for him. Therefore, the father and son decided to remain, cultivating outside of the Sacred Mountain while waiting for Long Hao Chen’s return, to see what kind of mount he would get.
The wait lasted twenty days in total; seeing that Long Hao Chen didn’t show up at all, Gui Ying’s smile became wider and wider day after day, and he occasionally provoked Ye Hua with a few sentences.
At this moment, Gui Ying couldn’t help but feel as if he was in heaven upon seeing Long Hao Chen coming back empty handed. He laughed out loudly, looking at Ye Hua, “Elder brother Ye Hua, don’t forget the stake of our gamble. I look forward to meeting you at the Demon Hunt Selection Competition. Wu’er, let’s go.” At the same time he was speaking, Gui Ying made Gui Wu summon his Scarlet Shelled Earthworm on purpose. Showing on his face an expression full of disdain, Gui Ying left with the arrogant Gui Wu at high speed.
Long Hao Chen’s gentle jade face was filled with anger, he coldly looked at Gui Ying and his son who were leaving as he engraved this disgrace in his memory.
“You didn’t find a companion?” Ye Hua showed a bitter face. He absolutely did not think that his disciple would follow in his steps; this time, he did even worse than him.
Long Hao Chen lowered his head, “Sorry Teacher, I disappointed you.”
The elder, puzzled, reacted: “With such an innate talent, how is it that you couldn’t find a mount? Don’t tell me that all of these magical beasts are blind? It’s so strange.”
Long Hao Chen showed a forced smile, “I don’t know why it went like that either. I crossed the entire Sacred Mountain, meeting a variety of magical beasts, but none of them was willing to let me approach it.”
The elder let out a sigh, “You don’t have to care so much about that. A lot of warriors who didn’t have a formidable mount either, still became powerhouses. A mount is very important to knights like us, but it isn’t everything. What is your final choice? Do you want to tame a magical beast by yourself in the future, or do you want to try out your luck here? Only, you have to know that if you use the magical array to summon a mount, you will have to conclude a contract with it, so the magical beast that will be summoned will only be able to complete a contract with you. We, knights, can replace regular mounts, but when summoning it completed with a contract of equals, the contract is only nullified when the companion mount dies. Your teacher and I can dirty our hands and take care of this little matter for you, but if we are to do it, it will, for sure, be likely to leave a traumatic experience in your heart, which will be detrimental to your future cultivation.”
Long Hao Chen gave his reply without hesitation: “Elder, I am willing to try out my luck.”
The elder nodded, “Then it’s okay. However, don’t get your hopes up too high. The more one expects, the bigger his disappointment will be.” At
this point, he seemed as if he was speaking about his personal experiences, as the handicapped elder showed a disappointed and frustrated face.
A golden tile appeared in the elder’s hands, and with little gesture
Long Hao Chen vaguely understood that the elder was using the power of the magical array, using a peculiar method to control the inner power of the Knights’ Saint Mountain. Apparently, the reason why some mysterious phenomenons occurred here was inextricably linked to this magical array.
The golden light was glittering, causing Long Hao Chen to keep his his eyes shut; he discovered to his astonishment that during this teleportation, the self-rotations in his chest had become more and more fierce, moving with at least tenfold the ordinary speed.
This process only lasted for roughly ten seconds, after which the self- rotations immediately slowed down, recovering to its original speed. Long Hao Chen then opened his eyes, discovering that the scenery around him had completely changed.
They were, to his surprise, inside of a cavern, and in its walls, blocks of precious stones were inlaid. An insipid golden light illuminated the entire cavern.
Inside the cavern, the light attribute was not strong. It couldn’t compare to the Knights’ Sacred Mountain at all, it was just at most a little stronger than outside.
This cavern was enormous. Lifting his head, one could see that the roof was 66,6 meters (200 feet) high, the cave had an irregular circular shape as far as one could see, and its diameter was at least 333 meters (1000 feet) long, just like a sort of enormous public square.
However, this place was absolutely empty, no one else other than them was inside.
Long Hao Chen looked at the ground and discovered, to his astonishment, that there were on the ground some kind of trapezoidal
pattern, tightly linked to each other, forming an enormous ring with the shape of a symbol he did not recognize. These patterns were darkly colored.
“No need to look, and neither do you need to say you are unable to recognize it. Even old geezers like us don’t recognize these patterns. It is a spiritual language from ancient times, the language used by an ancient race that is already extinguished. Our ancestors from the Knight Temple wondered what kind of mystery it was upon discovering it too, but around this enormous magical array in the Knights’ Sacred Mountain, a lot of areas existed since an ancient time, drawing their power from mysterious spiritual incantations. This is the first transportation array. Through it, a link can be established to a parallel space for a little moment. To activate it once consumes a huge energy, so it will only last fifteen minutes. If, within fifteen minutes, you cannot find and complete a contract with a companion who is willing to get close to you, I am afraid that you will really have to return empty-handed from this trip.”
The elder’s voice sounded like he felt quite sorry for a genius such as Long Hao Chen; he had never met such a genius in his life before. If such an outstanding young child could not obtain a formidable mount, it would really be a pity.
“Thank you elder.” Long Hao Chen respectfully saluted the elder.
The elder shook his head, “Come in the transporting array and sit down. After I activate it, you should be able to feel it to some extent.”
“Yes.”
Long Hao Chen acted in accordance to the elder’s instructions, taking large strides towards the center of the array. It was shaped like a circle with a diameter of 10 meters (30 feet) and there was a large symbol in its center.
This symbol looked somewhat similar to the word “ 如” 1, but it had a kind of distorted appearance, and for an unknown reason, when Long Hao Chen saw this enormous word, the Saint Spiritual Stove in his chest began throbbing all of a sudden.
Sitting cross-legged, Long Hao Chen got rid of all of his distracting thoughts. This was his last opportunity.
Ye Hua was almost as nervous as Long Hao Chen. He tightly clenched his fists to the extent that the veins could be seen, his fingernails almost digging in his palms.
The elder slowly raised his hand with the gold colored tile inside. Ye Hua clearly saw that at this instant, his right hand turned into a golden colored penetrating light, his palm seemingly becoming just like a sort of precious stone.
It was [Brilliant Body], the symbol of seventh step knights, turning a portion of their body into light. Temple Knights with a formidable level of cultivation could even turn their entire body into light. In this form, the holy attribute spiritual energy they could use would double. Even though it could only be maintained for a short time, it would double the defense of the body against any type of attack, what kind of notion was that?
Notes:
Chapter 48
Soon enough, Ye Hua discovered that it was not only the hand of the elder that turned into a body of light, but even his head and his few sparse specks of white hair that suddenly became gold colored, his head becoming transparent. As if it was soaking in an enormous ocean of holy aura, his hair was rising; Ye Hua, feeling surprised, was falling back, leaning his body against the stone wall at a side of the cave.
“A [Complete Brilliant Body]?” Ye Hua cried out in alarm.
[Brilliant Body] was, after all, something only knights of at least the seventh step, Temple Knights, could use. But in a higher cultivation level, the range it could cover would be increased. Only when the appearance of one’s whole body turned into something similar to a crystal could the ability be called [Complete Brilliant Body], symbol of a ninth rank Temple Knight! In other words, the elder before their eyes could be an eighth step Saint Knight, or at least a ninth rank Temple Knight. This kind of existence, in the outside world, could become the Hall Master of a regional Knight Hall.
The effect of [Brilliant Body] could not go to the extent of affecting an entire area. At most, it could double the offensive power, and the higher one’s cultivation level, the longer [Brilliant Body] could last.
The elder coughed before suddenly pouring the light elemental spiritual energy into the golden tile; at this moment, a rich bright light spread out.
The bright light spread out in every direction, the ancient trapezoids on the ground were all stimulated, shining one after another while an imposing
magic undulation started occurring.
As Ye Hua was leaning against the wall, looking at this scene, he felt as if his eyes were drawn into the scene, and he had a strange feeling as if he had finally broken through the threshold of the 3,000th spiritual energy level.
Psh– —
All the ancient symbols were set aflame in a split second, the multitudinous patterns composing of ancient symbols turned into ripples of light, intensely shining throughout the room.
At this moment, Long Hao Chen felt that the Saint Spiritual Stove in his chest was wriggling violently in his body. The dense external light attribute element seemed to stimulate the Spiritual Stove in his body, passing through Long Hao Chen’s body with a part of it remaining inside, stimulating the self-rotations in his body.
The myriad of golden bright patterns soared and began to whirl in this process. What it formed looked like a huge tornado that did not have the slightest bit of air inside: this huge and terrifying shape was made of light element.
Long Hao Chen suddenly felt his body shake. It was as if an inexhaustible source of light energy had filled his body, boosting the self rotations that occurred in it.
Mh
A sound similar to a bird humming could be heard as the light pattern converged at a point, making a golden circular vortex of light appear, while simultaneously, from this vortex, a golden light grew suddenly bigger and bigger. Long Hao Chen, seated upright in the middle of the great array, was being enveloped by this vortex.
The voice of the handicapped elder reached Long Hao Chen’s ears, “The selection may now start. You will be able to feel the aura of countless magical beasts. From these auras, you have to find the one that seems the
most intimate and suitable to become your equal for a contract. Keep in mind that you have to find the one that seems the most intimate to you, otherwise, the contract will be impossible to make and there will be no way to bring it to our world.”
Long Hao Chen could clearly hear everything the handicapped elder said, but he did not give a single reply because a bizarre feeling was already filling his body.
A
This world was filled with countless specks of light. These specks of light converged to form an essence of light element that surrounded him. The current him seemed as if he was the center of this world; the light essence contained countless specks of light that followed his gaze, as if they were under his control.
However, the specks of light were really too numerous and brilliantly colored. Each speck of light had a different aura. A quarter of an hour, he firmly kept in his mind that he had only a quarter of an hour. He had a single chance at this.
Unwilling to spend too much time pondering, even more unwilling to waste time, Long Hao Chen began casually looking at the numerous specks of light, filtering the aura of each one of them.
He had no way of knowing that each one of this essences of light was a parallel space, and these specks of light composing it were the auras emitted by magical beasts coming from this parallel space. This location, the antique great array, was precisely a formidable existence that included this parallel space. It was also the core of the Knights’ Sacred Mountain.
Coldness, fear, opposition, wrath… he could feel countless states of emotions, each one of them launching attacks against him mentally. Only, these attacks were not powerful at all. Relying on his formidable mental strength, he increased his perception. It seemed as if every split seconds, dozens of golden specks were filtered out.
The benefits of having an exceptional innate mental strength were undoubtedly manifesting right now. If it was someone else, he would perhaps not even be able to examine a tenth of these specks of light.
Time passed, minute by minute, second by second, and Long Hao Chen could not help but feel more and more anxious. He could feel that the auras that were affectionate to him were way too few, the overwhelming majority of these specks of lights was transmitting terror, as if they were afraid of him.
The quarter of an hour was going to soon come to an end, and Long Hao Chen could feel that everything before his eyes gradually looked more and more illusionary.
No, no, I have to find my companion!Long Hao Chen unwillingly bellowed. At this moment, his perception of the surroundings suddenly became a bit clearer.
Inside of the cave, the elder kept observing Long Hao Chen. The reason why the time limit was only set at a quarter of an hour was that the extreme limit of time Long Hao Chen’s spiritual energy enabled him to bear this was precisely a quarter of an hour. It was also the reason why only young talents under 20 years of age could use this method. If the age exceeded this number, the magical array would instead harm the user.
At this moment, a quarter of an hour had passed, but the golden light Long Hao Chen emitted had not disappeared yet. His face was very pale and he was clenching his teeth in pain.
What formidable willpower!The elder secretly gasped in admiration. He clearly knew that when too much spiritual energy had been consumed, and the body could not stand the process anymore, the magical array would send the person back. Only formidable willpower could enable one to endure it longer and stay for a few more moments.
“I found it!” The scenery before Long Hao Chen’s eyes became unreal. He was in a fuzzy state and subconsciously shifted his look at the direction
of the light essence. An intense feeling of affection and happiness was completely filling his soul.
Without hesitation, Long Hao Chen initiated the contract of equals. The stamp that Ye Hua handed him earlier used his mental strength to connect the two souls. As long as both sides agreed, it would succeed, but otherwise, it had no way to succeed. It was a kind of peaceful magical contract. As time was running out, he did not even have the time to show his excitement.
With a bright radiance, the link was completed in a flash, and as he was filled with joy and cordiality, his breath seemed to have accelerated intensely. Both sides had agreed to the contract in a split second.
The light specks disappeared together with the wide area of light essences and everything turned back to a golden color. In the middle of this blazing gold color, Long Hao Chen felt that another presence was together with him. It was an aura that was brimming with affection.
Chapter 49
“He succeeded!” The handicapped elder called out, pleasantly surprised. His [Brilliant Body] was gradually reverting back to normal as the bright colored lights that filled the whole cave accordingly disappeared.
The elder’s forehead was already full of sweat; clearly, supporting this enormous transporting magical array was a huge burden for him.
Hearing about the situation, Ye Hua hurried together with the elder to the center of the cave.
As the bright light became weaker, Long Hao Chen’s figure gradually appeared before them. Except for the fact his face was somewhat pale, there wasn’t any other change on him.
As his soul returned, Long Hao Chen felt completely empty, inside as well as outside. Almost all of his internal spiritual energy had been consumed, making his originally slow-moving self-rotations almost stagnate, together with an important dimming of the light emitted by his Saint Spiritual Stove. Fortunately, as a knight, he still had his external spiritual energy. Although he felt empty inside, it still did not affect his ordinary movements.
Subconsciously, Long Hao Chen’s vision shifted towards the presence that was in front of his body. The fact that he exerted so much mental and physical strength, that it was precisely a month ago that he came to the Knights’ Sacred Mountain, wasn’t that just for his sake?
However, when Long Hao Chen saw the companion he concluded a contract of equals with facing him, he was immediately astonished; the nearby Ye Hua and handicapped elder were astonished as well.
The reason why they looked so sluggish wasn’t that Long Hao Chen’s companion magical beast looked too formidable, but it was actually that…
It was a lizard, a little more than a meter tall, with a layer of thin black scales covering its skin. These scales formed an exotic shape somewhat resembling a trapezoid. Two arcs were formed from both sides and linked together, forming a final shape quite similar to that of a tower shield like those used by heavy armored knights.
Its head did not look special compared to ordinary lizards, its pair of little red colored eyes winking while looking at Long Hao Chen, expressing an indescribable familiarity. It was sticking out its tongue ordinarily, seemingly able to feel Long Hao Chen’s flavor under his foot.
If it was only that, Long Hao Chen would not look so dull, the fact it was at most a second step Earthfire Lizard was no big deal for him. However, on the body of this lizard, there were dozens of crip-crossed scars, its blood was flowing all around, and a big bulge could be seen on its neck, buckling upwards; this bulge was almost as thick as its neck. Using the word ‘ugly’ to describe the scars on its body would almost seem like a compliment.
Long Hao Chen didn’t expect at all that all those hardships he went through to finally manage to summon his companion would result in summoning a seemingly handicapped creature. Additionally, it was a second step evil mutated Earthfire Lizard. Since the time Long Hao Chen began cultivating, everything went smoothly until now; this was the first blow he ever received.
“Woo woo–” The Earthfire Lizard seemed like it enjoyed Long Hao Chen’s smell: it was rubbing against his body, showing intimate little red eyes.
A sort of forced smile appeared on Long Hao Chen’s face: through the pact of equals, he could feel how strong this lizard was. It had a cultivation
level corresponding approximately to the second step.
Starlight Unicorn King, did you deceive me? You told me that because of my body of Scion of Light, you weren’t qualified to become my companion, but then, what is it that I have before my eyes right now? A second step E
Ye Hua silently walked to Long Hao Chen’s side, pulling him from the ground. He unenthusiastically said: “What you have to bear is nothing compared to what happened to me. You couldn’t find a satisfactory companion mount in the Sacred Mountain, so you will simply have to rely on hunting magical beasts to find one in the future. If you can reach the step of Divine Knight, even making an enormous dragon to yield will not be impossible.”
With the sound of jingling metal, Ye Hua took out the heavy sword from his back, preparing to launch a powerful blow.
The Earthfire Lizard seemed to be able to sense its life being threatened, and although it was covered all over in scars, it hid behind Long Hao Chen’s back, exposing only its drum-shaped head, shooting terrified looks at Ye Hua.
“Teacher, what are you doing?!” With a Dang sound, Long Hao Chen took out his sword and used its handle to block Ye Hua’s chop.
Ye Hua didn’t expect that, “Little fool, don’t tell me that you want to keep this useless cripple? You have to know that if it is not killed, the contract with you will be completed and you will never be able to conclude another contract of equals with another magical beast.”
Long Hao Chen’s look was unwilling, helpless, and even angry, but he did not show the slightest murderous intent.
“Teacher, do you remember the story of you and your Vibrant Mountain Bird? In that extremely difficult moment, he chose you, and as a result, you regarded him like your closest relative. Don’t you know that it was at the last moment that this little guy answered to my call? Despite
the fact that he’s not powerful at all, that he’s handicapped, he’s the one who accepted making a contract with me at the very last moment.”
“We are companions, so I want to protect him, to keep him safe, even if I cannot get a genuine mount for the rest of my life. I cannot give up on him because of what he is. It is not by fear of being haunted by a traumatic experience. It is because at the moment we concluded the agreement, he already became my dear relative.”
As he said this, Long Hao Chen slowly crouched down, gently patting this Earthfire Lizard’s head. He could feel that its scales were covered in a kind of silk-like material that did not feel thick at all.
The Earthfire Lizard did not move the slightest bit. It was as if it had turned into a statue, looking attentively at Long Hao Chen with its two red colored eyes.
“Don’t worry little guy, I will not abandon you. Neither will I require you to fight with me. I just wish that you could become my friend, is that okay?”
The Earthfire Lizard recovered its ability to move, and gently stretched out its tongue, licking Long Hao Chen’s hand.
Ye Hua withdrew his heavy sword and sighed, “Kid, you are really too soft-hearted, your feelings are too deep.”
Long Hao Chen gave his teacher an apologetic look, “Teacher, trust me, I will cultivate very seriously, so even if I don’t have a companion mount to assist me, I won’t lose to this Gui Wu. Teacher, my internal energy is nearly exhausted, can you please help me treat the injuries on my companion’s body?”
What else could Ye Hua say? He simply silently nodded, “Okay.”
Using holy light in his hands, he released a recovering skill, while the handicapped elder, who didn’t say anything until now, suddenly interrupted him: “Wait a moment.”
“Mh?” Long Hao Chen and Ye Hua turned towards him at the same time.
The handicapped elder said in a deep voice: “If you don’t want him to die, don’t treat him.”
Long Hao Chen stood, doubtfully asking, “Senior, why?”
The handicapped senior gave him a serious look, showing a sincere smile: “You are a good person, a really good person. I can see in you the standards of a knight that are pity and compassion. Unfortunately, although you are kind-hearted, you must bring yourself to abandon this little guy. I am afraid that you cannot take him away, for the simple reason that he possesses a physique with the darkness attribute. If you are to use holy light skills to treat him, it will only harm him instead.”
“Darkness attribute!” Long Hao Chen was astonished.
The elder nodded, answering: “When summoning a magical beast through the magical array, some will come from a place similar to the abyss. Regardless of their elemental attribute, those ones will innately have a physique with the darkness attribute. All the darkness attribute magical beasts, upon leaving this cave, will get killed by our great holy light array. But here, you cannot send him back to cancel the contract and any kind of magical beast has no way to affect this magical array. Although it looks strange to me that a a magical beast with this kind of dark attribute physique could be attracted to you, and furthermore make an agreement with you, I have no other option but to tell you that by choosing to answer to your call, he followed the path of his own demise.”
“Wha–?” Long Hao Chen was shocked. It seemed as if this Earthfire Lizard had understood everything, as it pressed up against Long Hao Chen’s body, trembling and showing a pair of little red eyes brimming with fear.
Chapter 50
The elder bitterly said: “Give it up. I know you are really unwilling, but it will not influence your future cultivation. Even through the option of taming a magical beast yourself, you would get a much more powerful mount than this mutated Earthfire Lizard.”
Long Hao Chen lowered his head and saw the Earthfire Lizard’s pair of eyes. They were linked by contract, so he could feel the current state of mind of this Earthfire Lizard.
This little guy seemed like he could understand the content of their conversation. His current face was full of fear, loneliness, pain, and unwillingness.
Long Hao Chen naturally wanted a formidable companion mount, but seeing the changes on this Earthfire Lizard’s complexion, he was reminded of the time when his parents left Odin Mountain. That time, did he not experience the same feelings? He’s my companion! How can I abandon him like that?
“Elder, is there really no other solution? I don’t want to abandon him.” Long Hao Chen stooped, and hugged it without avoiding the slightest bit the parts of its body that were dirtied and full of dark, red-colored blood.
Held in Long Hao Chen’s embrace, the Earthfire Lizard’s mood became better, moving its head on Long Hao Chen’s bosom. Just like a kid who found a close relative, its two thick and solid claws were holding Long Hao Chen’s shoulder, tightly hooking his clothes.
The elder hesitated for a moment, and lightly sighed, “You are actually such a kind-hearted kid. It’s not that there’s no solution, but it will be enormously harmful to your body.”
Long Hao Chen held the Earthfire Lizard, weighing 25 kilograms, and feeling his heartbeat, pursed up his lips, “Please give me your pointers, elder.”
The elder’s voice sank down, “If you want him to leave this place alive, there will only be a single solution: to change his physique. Turn its attribute from darkness to light. Only then, he will be able to safely leave.”
Ye Hua was flabbergasted, “Elder, it doesn’t seem very realistic. How can a darkness attribute body turn into a light attribute?”
The elder answered, “Of course it is impossible for us, but it is possible for him. Relying on the existence of this contract of equals, this Earthfire Lizard receives a lot of power from you. And using your body which possesses a strong light attribute, you may transmit your blood into the Earthfire Lizard’s body, to wash off its darkness attribute.”
Ye Hua took a deep breath, his ice-cold face showing a look full of incomprehension, “How much blood would be needed to accomplish that?”
The elder shook his head, “I don’t know either. It depends on how much of Long Hao Chen’s blood the Earthfire Lizard will reject during the process, as well as the quality of the light attribute energy contained in his blood. Regardless of whether it succeeds or not, the vital energy of this kid will be reduced. In my opinion, it is really not worth saving a second step magical beast of this kind.”
“Hao Chen.” Ye Hua turned at the direction of Long Hao Chen, he was shocked like never before.
“Teacher, no need to say it, I have already made my decision. Since we entered into an agreement, this is the destiny that links me to him. If I am
to abandon such a little guy and forsake his life, how can I deserve to be called a Guardian Knight?” Long Hao Chen, full of determination, tightly held the Earthfire Lizard in his embrace; bowing little by little, he performed a salute to the elder, “I await the Elder’s guidance on how to do it.”
The elder sighed, “A kid with your temperament is really a rar
“Many thanks, elder.” Long Hao Chen quickly replied before slowly crouching down, facing the Earthfire Lizard on the ground.
The Earthfire Lizard lifted its head, gave a look to Long Hao Chen, unceasingly letting out ‘Boo hoo’ sounds.
“Don’t be afraid, I will do all I can to save you. I am already your companion, if I cannot protect you, how can I be considered a Guardian Knight?”
Long Hao Chen sat cross legged, facing the Earthfire Lizard; before thinking, he had already pulled and brought the marks of equals on both sides closer.
A contract of equals, also known as the summoning contract of equals, required a human initiating a link and launching the request, enabling him to summon the magical beast.
A drop of purple-colored radiance lit on Long Hao Chen’s forehead, the purple light gradually growing to the size of a fingernail, faintly discernible on his forehead.
“Yi.” The handicapped elder gave Ye Hua an astonished look, “It’s so strange, his agreement contract mark seems extremely complex.”
Normally, the more formidable the magical beast that agreed to the contract was, the more complex the agreement contract mark would be.
Ye Hua looked full of doubts, “What?! Isn’t that a mere speck of light?”
The elder shook his head, answering, “No, it is nowhere so simple: the agreement contract mark is just covered by this purple light; even though I cannot see how it is shaped, it is for sure not so simple. Look at this Earthfire Lizard.”
Accompanying the activation of Long Hao Chen’s contract, a contract mark appeared on his forehead as well as on the body of the Earthfire Lizard.
Generally speaking, the human as well as the magical beast were supposed to have the contract mark appear on their forehead, but it was not the case with this Earthfire Lizard. An excessively large bright purple- colored pattern was slowly appearing on its back until it almost covered the lizard entirely. This dense bright purple color looked like a layer of mist, covering its back. Although it was many times bigger than Long Hao Chen’s head, they could not see clearly the pattern of the purple-colored mist enveloping its back.
Long Hao Chen told the Earthfire Lizard in a calm voice, “Little guy, don’t be afraid. I will use the light attribute in my blood to change the attribute of your body. I don’t know if it will be painful, but you have to endure, okay?”
Upon hearing his words, the Earthfire Lizard unexpectedly nodded, showing a look full of comprehension, its pair of red eyes filling with gratitude and affection.
Long Hao Chen lifted both of his hands, and a thin ball appeared in his left hand’s forefinger. Immediately, a gold-colored light appeared from his fingertips that released a golden light about 6.6 centimeters long. Externalizing the internal spiritual energy, this ability was the symbol of knights of the fourth rank. Third step knights could, through the use of [Lightning Cut] 1, externalize their spiritual energy, but fourth step Grand Knights did not have to use a skill to externalize their spiritual energy.
With a spark of golden light, Long Hao Chen cut open his right wrist and, at this moment, fresh blood gushed out, funneling into the big mark on the Earthfire Lizard’s back.
“Woo—-” The companion screamed; the Earthfire Lizard lifted its head, its body violently shaking. Its four claws exerted a lot of physical force, grabbing the spiritual mark on the ground to stabilize its own body and keep itself from moving suddenly.
The handicapped elder displayed an astonished face once more, “This Earthfire Lizard is really mentally capable. It seems that he is more mysterious than his appearance would suggest it.”
Ye Hua showed a smile that looked kind of forced, “I hope it’s true.” He really wanted to prevent Long Hao Chen from proceeding with this; a second step Earthfire Lizard was really not worth it at all! Besides, the Demon Hunt Selection Competition was going to take place in half a year. With his vital force decreased at this moment, it was uncertain whether Long Hao Chen would be able to handle the competition. However, could he really block this disciple of his? Long Hao Chen did not lose his spirit yet; he did not give up hope and, from Ye Hua’s point of view, this was something even more precious than the title of Demon Hunter.
Long Hao Chen’s blood dripped onto the mark on the Earthfire Lizard’s back, instantly melting into it, and golden halos spread all around this purple mark, covering the entire body of this Earthfire Lizard.
As each halo of golden light flowed around, and the Earthfire Lizard’s body shivered violently, as if its body was withstanding electric shocks. However, like before, it did not move.
In a similar way, layer after layer of golden halos flowed around, as a terrifying darkness attribute gas was being emitted from the Earthfire Lizard’s body and progressively dispersed.