Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Sacred Awakening, Child of Light (Part One)
Long Xingyu said, “Spiritual power is divided into external and internal. External spiritual power refers to the changes and improvements within your own body. Simply put, through physical training, you enhance your bodily strength and flexibility to reach a certain level. However, merely increasing physical strength has its limits. That limit is two hundred units of spiritual power.”
“I have told you before that for any profession, advancing from the second tier to the third is a watershed moment. The vast majority of people will never break through the second tier in their entire lives to reach the third realm. From our knights’ perspective, this means being unable to cultivate internal spiritual energy; from the mages’ standpoint, it signifies the inability to guide the elements of heaven and earth for one’s own use.”
“Although your external spiritual energy still has room for improvement, if you wait until it approaches two hundred before beginning to cultivate internal spiritual energy, your efforts will yield half the results with twice the effort. The year I had you meditate earlier was precisely to prepare for cultivating internal spiritual energy. Only as internal spiritual energy increases will the strength of the human body随之 improve. When evaluating the total spiritual energy of a true powerhouse, we assess the combined increase of internal and external spiritual energy without considering skill amplifications.”
“Give me the Awakening Stone that brought you back from the Haoyue Branch Temple.” Long Xingyu extended his hand toward Long Haochen.
Long Haochen hurriedly handed the yellow stone to his father.
Long Xingyu said, “For the next two years, I will guide you in cultivating internal spiritual energy while bringing your external spiritual energy to its peak. You will also learn the mysteries of the Spirit Furnace. But before all that, I must perform for you the most solemn ritual of our Knights: the Sacred Awakening.”
Long Haochen listened attentively. He had awakened early from his sleep that morning and silently vowed that he would never let anything happen to worry his father. He resolved to train with even greater diligence than before, honoring his father’s heartfelt dedication.
Long Xingyu continued, “From a certain perspective, we knights practice both martial and magical arts. Martial techniques refer to the various skills I have taught you, along with methods of utilizing spiritual energy, including your future internal spiritual energy. As for our magical attribute, there is only one: the Holy Light attribute.”
“The Awakening Stone I asked you to bring back can transform anyone’s innate attribute into Light. The stronger one’s innate spiritual consciousness and the more one’s constitution leans toward Light, the better the effect during awakening. However, our knights’ Holy Light magic differs from that of mages. Mages utilize magical elements through comprehension and manipulation, whereas we knights mobilize and ignite the power of Light through our own spiritual energy. The Knight Temple publicly refers to this method as the Power of Faith. In reality, the deeper a knight comprehends the Ten Great Laws, the more powerful their Holy Light magic becomes. Do you understand?”
After pondering for a moment, Long Haochen said, “Father, does that mean that as long as we knights diligently cultivate our internal spiritual energy, we can manifest it in two different forms: martial techniques and Holy Light magic?”
Upon hearing these words, Long Xingyu was utterly astonished. He had never expected Long Haochen to grasp such concepts so quickly.
“That’s right, you can understand it that way. Our knights’ spiritual energy serves as the source for both martial techniques and magic. This is entirely different from those unconventional Magic Warriors among the fighters who never amount to much. Alright, I will now begin your awakening; follow me outside.”
As he spoke, Long Xingyu led Long Haochen out of the wooden hut and up to the mountain peak.
With a simple wave of his left hand, a layer of brilliant golden light radiated outward from Long Xingyu, instantly transforming into a golden dome five zhang high and ten zhang in diameter, enveloping both father and son within.
The rich aura of light seemed to cleanse Long Haochen’s soul in an instant. Bathed in this golden radiance, he felt as though his entire being was undergoing ascension. Compared to this golden dome casually unleashed by Long Xingyu, the sacred energy Li Xin had released while using the Ascension Formation was like a firefly next to the bright moon.
“This is Divine Protection, an advanced defensive skill for Knights. Haochen, close your eyes and focus inward. No matter what sensations you experience next, you must remain calm and quietly observe the changes within yourself. Pay special attention to your understanding of light. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
Long Xingyu gazed at his son before him, took a deep breath, and slowly raised the Stone of Awakening in his right hand. He had not told Long Haochen that compared to the sacred awakening undergone by ordinary knights, the pain Haochen would endure would be far greater. Since his spiritual energy had not yet reached one hundred and ten, unlike those who could only undergo knightly awakening after reaching the peak of quasi-knighthood, the strain on his body was imaginable. Of course, this approach would also maximize the development of Long Haochen’s potential with light.
According to the laws of the Knight Temple, initiating sacred awakening prematurely was strictly prohibited, due to fears of lasting side effects on the knight; failure could even prove life-threatening.
Of course, Long Xingyu was not gambling with Long Haochen’s life. No one understood the mysteries of the sacred awakening process better than he did; the laws of the Knight Temple held no meaning for Long Xingyu. Long Haochen possessed mental strength far surpassing that of ordinary people, along with a pure, kind, and flawless heart. Furthermore, he had already mastered most of the Ten Principles of Knighthood. With Long Xingyu’s precise control, success was almost certain, though Long Haochen would inevitably endure considerable pain.
Brilliant, shimmering golden light ignited in Long Xingyu’s hand, its dazzling radiance almost instantly surpassing the morning sun in the sky. Yet, this light did not leak outward; it was entirely contained within the luminous shield by the Divine Protection. At this moment, the figures of father and son, Long Xingyu and his child, could no longer be seen within the shield.
Long Haochen suddenly felt the air around him grow hot. Simultaneously, a surge of warmth rose within his body, as if a sun had suddenly appeared in his internal organs. This crystal-clear sensation made him instantly realize that countless channels seemed to have formed within him, each one an extension of the sunlight flowing through his veins.
With his eyes closed, he saw a brilliant gold—a gold residing within his own body. Intense pain erupted in that very instant.
A faint layer of gray gas burst forth from Long Haochen’s pores, vanishing with a soft puff into the golden radiance. These were the impurities within his body, expelled by the purifying effect of the Sacred Awakening.
At the moment of purification, Long Haochen felt as though his body had been pierced by countless sharp arrows. At the same time, the scorching sensation intensified dramatically.
Sacred Awakening is not merely the process that allows knights to transform their spiritual energy into holy light energy to cast spells. It is also a cleansing of both the knight’s soul and body. This is precisely why knights who undergo Sacred Awakening rarely betray their faith.
Long Haochen’s body trembled violently. Had anyone been able to see inside the Sanctuary of Light, they would have noticed that, at this very moment, threads of blood were steaming out from every pore across his entire body. Yet, precisely through this ordeal, a golden halo gradually emerged at the solemn center of his chest, growing ever brighter and more intense.

Sacred Awakening, Child of Light (Part Two)
“Hold on, for our faith, for everything we hold dear in our hearts.” Long Xingyu’s voice rang clearly within Long Haochen’s mind, jolting his spirit back to life just as pain had begun to numb him.
The Awakening Stone in Long Xingyu’s hand silently melted, undergoing continuous refinement until it transformed into a single drop of pure golden liquid. It drifted gently to rest precisely at the center of Long Haochen’s chest. Compared to the awakening of ordinary knights, this drop of holy essence, purified by Long Xingyu, contained not the slightest impurity. With a flash of golden light, it vanished into Long Haochen’s body.
Whoosh—The instant the holy essence entered Long Haochen’s body, a dense surge of golden light erupted violently from the top of his head.
The golden light struck the Divine Light Protection, slowly descending back above Long Haochen’s head before gradually rising again, intensifying with each moment.
Long Xingyu’s gaze was fixed tensely upon that pillar of golden light, for it would determine the height of Long Haochen’s future achievements in the realm of Sacred Light.
During a Sacred Awakening, knights gain their own internal spiritual energy imbued with the attribute of Sacred Light. The amount of innate internal spiritual energy that manifests during this awakening process serves as a crucial standard for measuring a knight’s potential. Generally speaking, if one’s innate internal spiritual energy does not exceed ten, that knight will likely never be able to break through to the third rank.
The moment the golden light above Long Haochen’s head descended and then rose again, it had already surpassed the height representing ten points of spiritual energy. Although his body continued to tremble violently in agony, the speed at which the golden light ascended was utterly astonishing.
Ten, twenty, thirty, forty…
When the spiritual energy surged past forty, Long Xingyu couldn’t help but clench his fists tightly. In the Knight Temple, an innate internal spiritual energy exceeding forty already marked one as a rare genius. Yet, that pillar of golden light showed no sign of slowing down whatsoever.
Such incredibly powerful innate spiritual energy! Long Xingyu couldn’t help but exclaim inwardly. Even though he had long sensed that Long Haochen’s innate spiritual energy was extraordinary, no true assessment could be made before this sacred awakening. Only now could he truly comprehend just how formidable Long Haochen’s innate spiritual energy really was.
Fifty, it has surpassed fifty.
Fifty-five, fifty-eight, sixty. It has actually exceeded sixty.
Long Xingyu still remembered clearly that he, hailed as the greatest genius of the Knight Temple in a century, had possessed seventy-seven points of innate internal spiritual energy during his own Divine Awakening. Although Long Haochen had the foundation of a year’s meditation practice under his guidance, exceeding sixty points of innate internal spiritual energy still signified far too much. Moreover, that pillar of golden light continued to rise.
Sixty-five, sixty-seven; it has already reached sixty-seven.
Long Xingyu’s pupils contracted violently. Innate internal spiritual energy advances in increments of ten points; if Long Haochen’s innate internal spiritual energy could surpass seventy, his future ability to wield holy light magic would be inferior to no pure light-element mage.
Seventy. It truly was seventy.
At this moment, Long Xingyu couldn’t help but hold his breath. And precisely at the instant Long Haochen’s innate internal spiritual energy broke through seventy, the trembling within him ceased.
With another soft “pu” sound, thousands upon hundreds of golden rays burst forth from Long Haochen’s body. All pain vanished in that instant. Meanwhile, the clothes on Long Haochen’s body disappeared amidst the eruption of these golden lights.
His fair skin had become as translucent as crystal, with faint golden light swirling within, suffusing his entire body in gold. The circular golden halo at the center of Long Haochen’s chest gradually contracted inward, finally condensing into a golden orb no larger than a soybean.
Long Haochen’s own sensation was even more extraordinary. The moment his innate spiritual energy surpassed seventy, he felt all the pain in his body vanish instantly, replaced by a profound clarity that seemed to connect heaven and earth.
Everything became crystal clear, including his heart and soul. The rich aura of holiness was subtly transforming his original body. His innate spiritual energy continued to surge, and Long Haochen himself seemed to have grasped something—laws belonging solely to light.
Oh my god! Eighty! His innate internal spiritual energy has actually surpassed eighty.
This time, it was Long Xingyu’s body that trembled. Although innate internal spiritual energy does not directly equate to strength, it represents absolute potential!
Eighty-one, eighty-three, eighty-five…
The golden light continued to rise. In the history of the Knight Temple, there have been seventeen recorded instances of innate internal spiritual energy exceeding seventy. Among those seventeen individuals, aside from the six who perished prematurely, every single one of the remaining became a most powerful Divine Seal Knight.
There have been only three recorded instances of individuals possessing over eighty points of innate internal spiritual energy; among those three knights, two perished, and only one successfully matured. At the age of thirty-six, he broke through the threshold representing the ninth-tier profession—reaching 100,000 points of spiritual energy—and achieved the Divine Seal.
Oh heavens! Ninety—is that truly ninety? An unprecedented ninety points of innate internal spiritual energy in the entire history of the Knight Temple!
Long Xingyu’s gaze had turned utterly astonished. The purity of his heart, his extraordinary mental strength beyond ordinary measure, combined with his profound comprehension of the Ten Commandments of Knights, had somehow elevated his innate internal spiritual energy to such a terrifying level.
The golden pillar of light seemed to have reached its bottleneck; its upward ascent had noticeably slowed, now advancing merely thread by thread.
An innate internal spiritual energy of seventy is known as the Light Angel Constitution, while eighty is called the Divine Blessing Constitution. Although no one in the Knight Temple has ever manifested an innate internal spiritual energy exceeding ninety, records left by the founding ancestor of the Knight Temple describe such a constitution as the Child of Light. Possessors of this constitution harbor the purest light attribute within their bodies, can wield any light-attribute weapon from birth, and are naturally favored by all light-attribute magical beasts.
Finally, the golden pillar of light could ascend no further, halting precisely at the mark of ninety-seven.
Innate internal spiritual energy: ninety-seven.
Gradually, all the golden radiance faded, revealing the figures of father and son.
“So comfortable!” The sudden realization in his heart brought Long Haochen back to consciousness from that special aura of light.
Opening his eyes, Long Haochen was surprised to find his father on the opposite side staring at him with a stunned expression of horror.
“Father, what’s wrong?” Long Haochen hurriedly asked.
Long Xingyu’s body trembled as he came to his senses; his gaze immediately fell upon Long Haochen’s eyes.
Long Haochen’s originally azure-blue eyes had now transformed into a peculiar pale gold. While pale golden eyes were not entirely unheard of, Long Xingyu had never before seen such translucent pale golden eyes as those of Long Haochen.
“Child of Light, he is actually a Child of Light! Heaven blesses us humans, heaven blesses our Knight Temple!” Long Xingyu could not keep his voice from trembling slightly. As he spoke, he finally withdrew his Divine Protection.
“Dad, what is a Child of Light? Ah, where are my clothes?” A mountain breeze swept past, and Long Haochen felt a chill between his legs, only then realizing he was completely naked. He immediately cried out in alarm.
Only then did Long Xingyu react; with a flick of his right hand, he produced one of his own long robes and draped it over Long Haochen.
Looking more closely at his son, Long Xingyu noticed that Long Haochen’s skin seemed to have acquired a faint golden luster compared to before, visible only under the sunlight. Strangely, however, there was no lingering aura of light upon him, as would remain for a long time on other knights after a sacred awakening; instead, all the light energy had been drawn inward, with not a trace spilling outward. Only those eyes revealed anything extraordinary.

Sacred Awakening, Child of Light (Part Three)
Regarding the secrets of the Child of Light, even within the Knight Temple, no more than ten people truly know them; Long Xingyu was not worried about his son’s talents being exposed.
“Haochen. Your sacred awakening is complete. Do you know? Now, with your internal and external spiritual energy combined, you are equivalent to a true knight.”
“Huh? Was it that easy?” Long Haochen was greatly surprised. At this moment, he could also feel a warm current of energy within his body, pulsating in rhythm with his thoughts.
“Easy?” A wry smile flickered across Long Xingyu’s face as he thought to himself, This kid truly doesn’t know hunger when his belly is full. For an ordinary knight awakening, having twenty points of innate internal spiritual energy would be reason enough to praise the God of Light.
“Your talent is indeed impressive, but this stems solely from the Divine Awakening. Your future cultivation will still require tremendous effort if you hope to ascend to even greater heights. Do you understand? Let’s discuss this back home.”
“Father, I will definitely work hard.”
Bai Yue stood silently nearby, watching the scene unfold. As she saw Long Xingyu embrace Long Haochen and walk back toward the wooden cabin, a faint smile graced her lips. Though she possessed no martial prowess, she knew her husband well. She had clearly seen the shock that had earlier crossed Long Xingyu’s face. Considering how powerful her husband was, the fact that even he remained astonished by their son’s talent spoke volumes. It seemed Haochen’s choice to follow the path of a knight was indeed the right one. Yet, what if one day, father and son truly had to face that person…
Returning to the wooden cabin, Long Haochen first changed into a set of coarse clothes he had brought with him, then continued to listen to Long Xingyu’s teachings.
Long Xingyu said in a deep voice, “Now it’s time for you to tell me your choice. Guardian or Punisher?”
Long Haochen replied firmly without any hesitation or second thought, “Father, I want to become a Guardian Knight.”
“Guardian Knight?” Long Xingyu paused in surprise. “Are you willing to give up the powerful attacks and personal combat strength of a Punisher Knight?”
Long Haochen insisted, “Father, you once said that resisting the demons is the duty of all humanity. The power of one individual is ultimately insignificant. If I can become a Guardian Knight, I will be better able to protect those I care about, and at the same time help more people survive on the battlefield.”
Long Xingyu appeared visibly disappointed. He let out a sigh and said, “However, in the end, only those human powerhouses possessing the greatest individual combat strength are truly capable of challenging the Seventy-Two Demon Pillars.”
Long Haochen instinctively asked, “Then does that mean Guardian Knights cannot challenge the Demon Gods?”
Upon hearing this question, Long Xingyu’s eyes suddenly lit up. “That’s right! With ninety-seven points of innate internal spiritual energy, being a Child of Light awakened with holiness, and possessing sufficient spiritual energy to support it, why couldn’t you learn more? Retribution and Guardianship are merely classifications. Perhaps you could create a miracle after all. Dual cultivation might be the most correct choice, the only way to truly unleash the potential of a Child of Light.”
Long Haochen seemed to understand something. With a look of astonishment on his face, he said, “Father, are you saying that I should cultivate the abilities and techniques of both a Retribution Knight and a Destruction Knight simultaneously?”
“Indeed. From now on, I will teach you the cultivation methods of a Retribution Knight. In two years, you shall proceed to the Haoyue Branch Hall to begin mastering the profound arts of a Guardian Knight. Perhaps this will slow the pace of your spiritual energy growth. However, if you can fuse Retribution and Guardian into one, then in the future, you are destined to become an unprecedentedly powerful knight.”
Day by day passed, and the knight’s inheritance continued atop the serene, wind-swept Mount Odin. In the blink of an eye, a year and a half had gone by.
Clang! Amidst the crisp ringing sound, a layer of golden light suddenly flared from the youth’s body. Immediately afterward, a radiance resembling the sun erupted, condensing into a blade of light that shot forth, cleaving through the sky.
With a light swing of the bamboo sword, the golden blade shattered before this unassuming weapon.
“Excellent. Your Sunlight Slash has essentially grasped its divine essence; all that remains is to refine your timing and enhance your spiritual energy.”
The one who had blocked that dazzling blade with a bamboo sword was none other than Long Xingyu, while the youth who had unleashed the golden blade was naturally Long Haochen.
A year and a half had passed. Long Haochen was now nearly twelve years old, and compared to his life back in Odin Town, he had undergone a transformation beyond recognition.
At only twelve years old, he already stood nearly one meter sixty tall. Though not visibly muscular, his slender frame possessed perfect proportions. His black hair flowed behind him, while his crystal-clear, pale golden eyes shone with a mirror-like brilliance. His once-pretty childish face was gradually transforming into handsome features, yet it remained astonishingly flawless. Combined with his composed demeanor and physique, anyone would readily believe him to be fourteen or fifteen if he claimed so.
At this moment, Long Haochen held a heavy sword in each hand—standard-issue Knight Temple weapons, each measuring six feet in length, eight inches in width, and an astonishing four inches in thickness. Though these knightly heavy swords weighed over fifty jin each, they felt weightless in his grasp.
In just a year and a half, Long Haochen had learned an immense amount from his father. His internal spiritual energy hadn’t increased significantly, rising merely from its innate ninety-seven to one hundred twenty. However, his external spiritual energy had already reached the peak of a third-rank knight, totaling exactly two hundred.
Combined, both energies amounted to three hundred twenty—a level equivalent to a fourth-rank knight. He stood merely a hair’s breadth away from the three hundred thirty points required for fifth-rank knighthood.
If it weren’t for Long Xingyu laying the most solid foundation for him, his rate of improvement would likely have been even more terrifying.
Even with Long Xingyu’s usual sternness, gazing upon his son, who was only eleven and a half years old yet had already reached the rank of a Tier Four Knight, a smile of satisfaction appeared on his face. In the history of the Knight Temple, this was absolutely unprecedented. With his own talent back in the day, Long Xingyu himself had not achieved such cultivation until he was fifteen.
However, as his external spiritual energy reached its peak, Long Haochen’s progress in terms of spiritual energy noticeably slowed down. After all, he could now only enhance his cultivation by increasing his internal spiritual energy; unless he could advance to the Grand Knight realm of the fourth tier, there would be no possibility of further increasing his external spiritual energy.
Hearing his father’s praise, a brilliant smile spread across Long Haochen’s face. “Father, the power of this Sunlight Slash is indeed immense, but it consumes fifty points of my internal spiritual energy, and even depletes my external spiritual energy. My spiritual energy is still too low.”
Long Xingyu smiled and said, “You are only eleven years old. Do you realize that the Sunlight Slash is a technique meant to be mastered only at the Grand Knight level? Cultivation cannot be rushed; it must progress step by step. Now, prepare your defense and let’s see how long you can last today.”
Hearing his father’s words, Long Haochen’s expression immediately turned solemn. His hands gripping the sword tightened involuntarily.
Long Xingyu moved. His body seemed to carry no weight at all; with just a flash of movement, the bamboo sword in his hand appeared right before Long Haochen.
With a light flick of his left hand holding the heavy sword, Long Haochen swiftly stepped back while deflecting the bamboo sword’s attack. Clearly, there was no spiritual energy infused within Long Xingyu’s bamboo sword.
But in the next instant, countless bamboo shadows appeared around Long Haochen’s body like mercury spilling across the ground.
Starry Sky had vanished; only those endless bamboo shadows remained, thrusting toward Long Haochen from every direction at impossibly sharp angles. Yet Long Haochen seemed entirely accustomed to such a situation. The pair of heavy swords in his hands danced back and forth with speed that lagged not in the slightest. Pfft-pfft sounds rang out continuously, like rain drumming against banana leaves.

Sacred Awakening, Child of Light (Part Four)
Long Haochen employed the blade, the spine, and even the hilt of his sword—every part of the heavy swords in his hands capable of being wielded—to block the attacks of the bamboo blades. For a moment, flashing sword shadows enveloped his entire figure, resembling a massive sphere of light. Constant bursts of sacred radiant energy erupted outward, coordinating with his dual heavy swords to form his defense.
With attacks like Long Xingyu’s, the moment Long Haochen revealed even the slightest flaw, the bamboo sword would immediately strike him, far more formidable than the earlier assault of the hawk-ants. Yet strangely, Long Haochen managed to block it all; though his expression remained grave, for a time, Long Xingyu, seemingly without channeling any spiritual energy, could not break through his defense.
This stalemate lasted a full quarter of an hour. Suddenly, a bright light flared upon Long Xingyu’s bamboo sword; a point of white radiance instantly expanded as a thousand swords merged into one, thrusting directly toward Long Haochen.
Long Haochen’s pair of heavy swords continued to whirl; he was far from achieving the level of complete control demonstrated by Long Xingyu, yet this situation was clearly not his first encounter with such a challenge.
The hilt of the left-handed heavy sword he was wielding struck against the right-handed one, causing the latter to instantly block horizontally across his chest. Simultaneously, the left-hand sword swept outward, flashing with golden light as it thrust forward, meeting the bamboo sword head-on.
A soft chime rang out as the heavy sword was deflected, yet the bamboo sword’s thrusting trajectory remained utterly unchanged. However, leveraging that brief moment of obstruction, Long Haochen managed to steady his footing.
A crisp clang resonated, and a layer of golden halo immediately rippled outward from Long Haochen’s body—this was precisely the Divine Defense Block. The spiritual energy employed in Long Xingyu’s thrust could only be withstand by utilizing the Divine Defense Block.
“Very good. You did well this time. Being able to transform motion into stillness means your daily combat training hasn’t been wasted.” Withdrawing his bamboo sword, Long Xingyu smiled and nodded at Long Haochen. Meanwhile, Long Haochen was panting heavily, his clothes soaked through with sweat. Even without his father employing any spiritual energy in his attacks, he could still feel immense pressure.
Long Xingyu walked over to Long Haochen, put his arm around his son’s shoulders, and said with a smile, “Go back and rest for a while. Your mother should be finishing lunch soon.”
“Alright.” A bright smile also filled Long Haochen’s face.
Although he had been training diligently every day for the past year and a half, this period had nevertheless been the happiest time of his life. His mother wore a smile on her face every single day, and his powerful father personally guided his training. Far from finding such life tedious, he felt it brimming with happiness.
Just as the father and son were about to enter the wooden hut, Long Xingyu suddenly halted in his tracks, a sharp gleam flashing in his eyes.
Long Haochen also sensed the change in his father’s aura; the terrifying pressure, akin to that of an ancient primordial dragon, left him nearly breathless.
Long Xingyu released the arm he had wrapped around Long Haochen and slowly turned back. Gently tapping the ground with the tip of his foot, the next moment left Long Haochen staring in dumbfounded awe as a dense torrent of golden flames erupted from his father’s body, propelling him effortlessly into the air.
Although he had trained under his father for over two years, Long Haochen had never known the true extent of his father’s power. At this very moment, witnessing his father soar through the sky solely by virtue of his spiritual energy left him profoundly shaken.
At the same time, two beams of golden light shot forth from Long Xingyu’s eyes, gazing toward the direction of Odin Town.
Before Long Haochen could recover from his shock, Long Xingyu had already floated down, his expression now icy cold. “A demonic raiding party has infiltrated. Let’s go.”
As he spoke, he grabbed Long Haochen’s arm and soared into the air once more.
The next moment, a pair of enormous golden wings, formed entirely from spiritual energy, unfurled behind Long Xingyu.
The manifestation of spiritual energy into wings is the hallmark of a sixth-rank Radiant Knight. Yet the pair of wings unfurled behind Long Xingyu spanned well over ten meters in width, each golden feather rendered with such exquisite detail that they appeared utterly tangible. How could this be merely an ordinary transformation of spiritual energy into wings?
As the massive wings spread wide, a sphere of golden light enveloped both Long Xingyu and his son. With a single powerful flap, the father and son shot forth like a streaking golden meteor, heading straight toward Odin Town.
What Long Haochen could not see was that at the very instant Long Xingyu unfurled his wings, every magical beast and wild creature within Mount Odin and the surrounding forests prostrated themselves upon the ground, trembling in terror and despair, daring not to move even slightly.
Before his eyes, everything dissolved into a world of gold. Bathed in dense sacred energy, Long Haochen felt the spiritual energy within his body surge as if boiling. In mere moments, his internal spiritual power at least doubled. Of course, this was only temporary—a fleeting amplification caused by the overwhelming presence of congruent energy in the surroundings. Even so, it plainly revealed just how immensely powerful the sacred energy released by Long Xingyu truly was.
It seemed only a few seconds had passed when the golden light suddenly dispersed, and Long Haochen could see the outside world again.
Odin Town—they had actually returned to Odin Town. Had all this happened in just the blink of an eye?
Long Haochen could hardly believe his eyes, yet the truth lay plainly before him: beneath his feet was none other than Odin Town, where he had lived since childhood.
At this moment, Odin Town had completely lost its former tranquility and peace. Fires blazed in multiple locations, while cries of anguish, screams of terror, and the thunderous roar of destruction filled every corner of the town.
Long Haochen saw at least a thousand monsters clad in black armor, their bodies robust and towering. It was they who were wreaking havoc within Odin Town.
These monsters stood at least one meter eighty tall, with wolf heads and human bodies. Wielding curved blades in their hands, they slaughtered the townsfolk of Odin Town, whose piercing screams echoed incessantly, accompanied by the monsters’ sinister howls.
Odin Town, home to over three thousand households and nearly twenty thousand residents, had now become a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. A thick, nauseating stench of blood rose continuously from below.
“Father, what are they?” Long Haochen’s voice trembled with rage. This was the place where he had grown up since childhood! Right before his eyes, just moments ago, a familiar companion had been sliced in two by one of the wolf-headed creatures’ curved blades; the upper half of the body still lay on the ground, writhing in agony and screaming miserably, while internal organs were scattered about.
“The Demon Wolfmen of the demonic race.” Long Xingyu’s voice was like ice emanating from the deepest abyss, and at that moment, immense pressure erupted from his very being.
The Demon Wolfmen below, sensing the terrifying pressure descending from above, instinctively raised their heads to gaze skyward. Upon seeing Long Xingyu with his massive wings spread wide, an expression of sheer horror inevitably filled their eyes.
“Father, let me down! I want to kill them!” Long Haochen shouted excitedly.
“Your strength is still far from sufficient,” Long Xingyu said gravely. “Haochen, haven’t you always wanted to witness your father’s power? Then watch closely.”
A golden-red halo ignited behind Long Xingyu, and from within that radiance, a magnificent, brilliant golden throne slowly emerged, shimmering with resplendent light.