Chapter 29: Saint Spiritual Stove (III)
Long Haochen, who would soon be twelve years old, was different from a year and a half ago. His pretty face and his delicate cheeks looked tougher. From his formerly weak and beautiful appearance, he now looked quite robust. His body was still slender and well proportioned, and his shoulders also grew larger. His appearance was basically flawless.
Li Xin, what's up with you? He's your Lil' Bro and he's eight years younger! Don't tell me you want to become like the old cow that eats soft grass? She rebuked herself in her mind; she was supposed to be quite a resolute person but, at the same time, she was quite fond of Long Haochen. In fact, she was the youngest at home, and had always yearned for a younger brother, so even though she hadn't been with Long Haochen for a long time, in her heart, she felt unusually close to him.
"Wow! Lil' Bro, from what I can remember, your eyes didn't have this color! They should be a dark blue color, so why have they taken this golden color?"
Long Haochen came back to his senses and scratched his head: "Father helped me undergo the Sacred Awakening and then they became like that."
Li Xin became stupefied. "The Sacred Awakening can result in the change of your eye color? How is it that I have never heard about this? Ah! You have already undergone the Sacred Awakening, you say? Then, your spiritual energy has already broken through the 200th level! Quickly, tell Big Sis what your innate internal spiritual energy level is at."
Long Haochen shook his head and said, "Big Sis, I don't want to fool you; the truth is that my father forbade me from revealing it."
Suddenly, Li Xin looked as if she realized something and covered her own month before muttering in a low voice, "Heavens! A 3rd step knight below twelve years old. Let's go, I'm bringing you to see Uncle Nalan Shu; he will be absolutely frightened by your progress."
"What is going to frighten me?" Hearing a voice that seemed a bit playful, Long Haochen and Li Xin turned their heads, only to see Nalan Shu coming down the stairs.
Upon seeing Long Haochen, Nalan Shu was quite surprised, but he quickly assumed an earnest expression. He hurried in front of Long Haochen, looking at him from top to bottom, before asking without restraint, "That day… that day, wasn't it your teacher that…"
Long Haochen was a little surprised, but he quickly understood what he meant and proudly nodded.
Nalan Shu took a deep breath, his eyes revealing a scorching hot feeling of adoration. "I knew it! I knew it!"
Li Xin answered, unconvinced, "Uncle Nalan, what are you two secretly talking about?"
Nalan Shu took on a serious expression before asking her, "Why haven't you already left for practice? You are already a 7th rank Genuine Knight, so whether you can participate in the Demon Hunt Selection Competition prior to breaking through the level of Grand Knight will relate to how well you will be able to do in this grand competition."
Li Xin stuck out her tongue, then looked at Long Haochen. "Lil' Bro, I am going to practice first. In the evening, dinner will be my treat, I'll invite you to eat a large meal. Hihi."
As she finished, she turned around and ran out.
Nalan Shu said with a helpless smile and, at the same time, a doting tone, "That kid, she'll soon be twenty, but she's still so mischievous. Those who come from normal households are supposed to marry by this age."
Turning back, Nalan Shu took a look at Long Haochen before nodding and said, "Haochen, come with me."
Long Haochen went together with him to his office on the second floor, where Nalan Shu couldn't hold back his feeling of excitement any longer. "The Divine Throne of Doom and Slaughter! Haochen, do you know how big this surprise attack of the demon race was? But with a single move from your teacher, their five armies simply fled from the Alliance's border. He's your teacher, right? Would it be possible to let me meet Senior Xingyu?"
Long Haochen shook his head. "Hall Master Nalan, he left. This is for you."
As he spoke, he took out the letter that his father left to him, passing it to Nalan Shu.
Nalan Shu couldn't hold himself back and tore the envelope apart to take a look, and a surprised look quickly appeared on his face. Still looking at the contents of the letter, he revealed a look full of disbelief as he looked at Long Haochen. "You... you were actually Senior Xingyu's son‽ But, why would Senior Xingyu let you study abilities used by Guardian Knights together with us? Why is it not the path of a Retribution Knight? Senior Xingyu is the number one Retribution Knight of the Knight Alliance!"
Long Haochen said: "Hall Master Nalan, Father did not want me to reveal everything, so I cannot tell you anything that was not written in his letter."
Nalan Shu took a deep breath and, while putting the letter away with a great care, he said, "Okay. Regardless of his reasons, I cannot disobey Senior Xingyu's instructions. From now onwards, you will become a genuine member of Haoyue Hall. I will give my best in training you. In his letter, Senior Xingyu explained that he wanted you to participate in the Demon Hunt Selection Competition."
"En, I will follow your guidance." Long Haochen straightened his posture and faced Nalan Shu with a basic knight salute.
Nalan Shu clapped his shoulders and said, "In the future, you will be like Xin'er, so call me Uncle Nalan. Honestly, the knight skills I will pass on to you are, from my honest point of view, rather imperfect; but I believe that in the near future, you will definitely be able to become the biggest glory of our Haoyue Hall. Come, I will bring you to a nearby location that I have arranged for you to stay at."
"Thank you, Uncle Nalan."
Haoyue Hall occupied an enormous area. It was definitely not limited to only what Long Haochen could see. From behind the hall, there was a big area. Among the three main parts, there was one where knights could rest, as well as a public square where they could practice as knights and have passed on to them knowledge and skills belonging to the Knight Hall.
At the center of Haoyue City, the scheduled arrival of the group of Knight Squires from the villages and small towns to Haoyue Hall for their examination would happen in three years. Those who were successful at becoming Standard Knights would be able to remain in Haoyue Hall to study and practice. If they could break through to the 3rd step within five years, they would then turn into genuine members of Haoyue Hall, as well as genuine members of the Knight Hall. If they couldn't, the alternative for these Standard Knights would be to join the army, or take up another kind of occupation in the Knight Temple.
Actually, what Long Haochen saw was only the façade of Haoyue Hall. The real Haoyue Hall was actually hidden behind that façade; 100 Knights and 2,000 Standard Knights lived there, but according to Nalan Shu's presentation, besides its outward appearance, Haoyue Hall also had an Earth Knight, as well as seven Grand Knights. All those who could advance to the step of Grand Knight would sooner or later leave for the Knight Temple to begin a new journey.
Together with the differences in rank, the living conditions also varied. Standard Knights had to share a room among four people, but each Genuine Knight had his own room.
Nalan Shu arranged for Long Haochen's room to be next to Li Xin's, and, after eating, Nalan Shu told Long Haochen to rest for the remainder of the day. The next day, he would come back for practice.
When someone reached the 3rd step, no matter from which Temple they came from, they would be treated well because they would be the main force against the demon race in battle.
Long Haochen's room was currently inside of a three-story monastery reserved for Genuine Knights. It was a suite. There was a bedroom, a quiet meditation room for practicing, and a private bathroom for personal hygiene. Inside the meditation room, there was a simple Magic Circle surrounded by a few Light Attribute magic crystals. Since the elemental affinity to light was much higher inside the room than outside, it had a supplementary effect when practicing inside.
Unaffected by the generosity he received, Long Haochen just took out his clothes from his interspatial ring before sorting himself out a bit, and went into the meditation room to practice.
Practice made time pass much faster, and a whole afternoon quickly passed. Before night fell, a clear, yet calm, sound of knocking on the door could be heard.
"Who is it?" Long Haochen regained consciousness from his quiet practice.
"Lil' Bro, it's me."
Long Haochen opened the door and saw Li Xin standing at the entrance. At the moment, she did not wear her light armor, and had changed into white attire, looking as though she had just taken her bath. Her pink colored hair that hung down to shoulder level was still somewhat wet. Her current appearance looked less heroic and much more charming.
"Come with me, Uncle Nalan wanted me to take you to test your spiritual energy, but once I take you there, let's have a good 'welcome' dinner."
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