Mithril Base (Part 2)

Even the silver magical barrier formed by the Mithril Base Battle Armor could not block the pulling force of the Saint Origin Spiritual Stove. Gao Yingjie's face beneath his helmet changed slightly. In his view, Long Haochen should have lost his ability to fight after taking the full impact of his Light Holy Fire. How could he still activate the Saint Origin Spiritual Stove?

Had Long Haochen truly lost his fighting ability? No! As his companions unleashed their strongest attacks one after another, Long Haochen was also undergoing a drastic transformation. His entire body seemed to turn translucent, glowing with a golden translucence. Dazzling golden flames rose from him, while radiance flickered within his golden eyes.

If one had to describe his current state, then in everyone else's eyes, he looked just like Gao Yingjie had moments ago—using the Radiant Body and burning with Light Holy Fire.

Vast Light Attribute spiritual power surged from him, far surpassing his strength in his normal state. A heavy sword, flickering with golden light and radiating a dreamlike glow, replaced the Holy Spirit Shield. At the very instant the Saint Origin Spiritual Stove was activated, Long Haochen let out a roar and actually charged at Gao Yingjie, who was clad in Mithril Base Battle Armor.

Of course, Long Haochen knew that he could never be a match for Gao Yingjie. Nor did he understand what had happened to him or why his strength had suddenly risen. But he could sense that something was wrong with Cai'er. Cai'er was the beloved person he would protect for his entire life. How could he let her face such a powerful Gao Yingjie head-on? When facing a powerful enemy, standing at the forefront was what he should do—as a knight, and as a man.

Therefore, even knowing it was like an ant trying to topple a tree, he once again activated the Saint Origin Spiritual Stove and switched to Blue Rain, Hibiscus of Light as he charged toward his opponent.

Everyone else could be intimidated by the Mithril Base Battle Armor, but he could not. As the captain and the core of the team, he had to use his actions to awaken his companions' courage.

Blue Rain, Hibiscus of Light pointed forward with a faint, rippling glow like waves of water. A misty golden-blue radiance spread forth, and the heavy sword in Long Haochen's hand simply vanished. Gold and blue were sharply distinct, like two bands of light bursting forth in an instant. The two streams of light intertwined in midair and shot straight toward Gao Yingjie. At that very moment, the Light Holy Fire burning around Long Haochen went out, and the translucence around his body vanished with it. He staggered a step forward, barely managing to steady himself by using the Holy Spirit Sword to brace against the ground.

At the same time, Cai'er, who had been standing quietly there all along, moved as well. A black light seemed to burst forth from above her head. The gray currents around her body instantly turned black, and the already tangible killing intent underwent a shocking transformation. Even the viscous silver light before Gao Yingjie, who was wearing the Mithril Base Battle Armor, showed signs of collapsing. Gao Yingjie only felt an aura of suffocating sharpness erupt before him, and even the Mithril Base Battle Armor seemed somewhat unable to withstand that terrifying killing intent.

This was not a physical attack, but killing intent! How could this girl possess such terrifying killing intent?

Gao Yingjie let out a muffled groan and actually retreated half a step. At this moment, he had fallen into an extremely passive position. The existence of the Saint Origin Spiritual Stove prevented him from attacking Cai'er, forcing him to deal with Long Haochen first. Yet the Saint Origin Spiritual Stove could not cloud his mind. The threat Cai'er posed was simply too terrifying, so much so that he did not even dare turn around to deal with the strange attack unleashed by Long Haochen's Blue Rain, Hibiscus of Light.

"Cai'er, stop." A cold shout rang out.

The black light that had just risen from above Cai'er's head vanished back into her head before anyone else could even see it clearly. Gao Yingjie instantly felt his entire body lighten, and a layer of cold sweat had actually formed across his back. He did not know what ability Cai'er had used, but he was completely certain that if that strike had landed, blocking it would not have been easy.

However, at that moment, Long Haochen's attack landed on Gao Yingjie's back.

The spiraling blue and golden lights condensed into the shape of a sharp cone as they spun at high speed. They pierced straight through the viscous silver light emitted by the Mithril Base Battle Armor and slammed viciously into Gao Yingjie's back.

With a puff, Gao Yingjie was knocked flying forward as terrifying destructive force erupted instantly.

Supporting himself with one hand and spreading the wings on his back, Gao Yingjie barely stabilized himself after performing a one-handed flip. However, his upper body swayed slightly, and with a cough, he spat out a mouthful of blood. One could clearly see a deep indentation in the back of his Mithril Base Battle Armor. His body had obviously been injured. Around that indentation were countless tiny holes, as fine as needle pricks.

Water penetrated everywhere, while light pierced forth in overwhelming splendor. This was the skill attached to Blue Rain, Hibiscus of Light: Light Rain Hibiscus Thrust.

Long Haochen had originally planned to use this skill against Yang Wenzhao in their battle for the championship. But in the end, Yang Wenzhao had been unable to withstand his powerful fighting spirit and lost before Long Haochen could unleash this strike.

Even Long Haochen himself had not fully understood Light Rain Hibiscus Thrust, because it was still somewhat difficult for him to use at his current cultivation. The level of one's cultivation and the amount of spiritual power released also determined the power of this attack. Long Haochen's Inner Spiritual Power had suddenly surged just now. Although he did not understand why, he poured all that foreign spiritual power into Blue Rain, Hibiscus of Light, triggering this skill. It was also the strongest offensive skill he currently possessed.

Even Long Haochen himself had not expected Light Rain Hibiscus Thrust to be so powerful that it could injure Gao Yingjie even through the Mithril Base Battle Armor.

The golden and blue streams of light curled back, returning to Long Haochen's hand and transforming once more into Blue Rain, Hibiscus of Light.

Looking at the sword in his hand, Long Haochen made no attempt to conceal the love in his heart. This sword was far too spiritual. The feeling of being connected in spirit and completely merged with it was enough to rival the bond between him and Haoyue.

A crack appeared in the air beside Cai'er, and a tall, thin old man dressed entirely in black stepped out. The newcomer was none other than the head of the Assassin Temple, the Ninth Rank Gallant and vice chairman of the Temple Alliance, Saint Moon.

Saint Moon did not spare anyone else a glance. He glared at Cai'er and said, "Nonsense. This was only a sparring match. How could you use that kind of power? Have you forgotten the price you must pay for using it?"

The grayness in Cai'er's eyes gradually faded. "Great Grandfather, this is the first time he and I have fought together. I didn't want to lose." Saint Moon's face immediately darkened. "You silly girl. Is he really that good? Is he worth you paying such a price?"

Cai'er seemed to suddenly become stubborn and retorted, "Only he has made me feel familial love and warmth."

Saint Moon froze. The sharpness in his eyes immediately softened. His breathing grew slightly heavier for a moment before his gaze shifted to Gao Yingjie, who had withdrawn his Mithril Base.

"You're being ridiculous too. Couldn't you tell that the power she invoked did not belong to her? Why didn't you stop her?"

Gao Yingjie respectfully gave Saint Moon a knight's salute. "Heroic One, I wished to test the limits of these young people. I am the leader of their trial, and I need to understand their true strength."

Saint Moon frowned. "And what was the result of your test?"

A glint flashed through Gao Yingjie's eyes. "Better than expected. Although they lack coordinated teamwork and many of their abilities are unstable, under certain circumstances, they can unleash fighting strength far beyond their usual level. After a period of integration, I believe they will display even greater overall strength. They are indeed worthy of being this year's Soldier Grade One Demon Hunt Squad."

Saint Moon nodded. His gaze swept over the group before pausing briefly on the Evil Eye Lord. "Little girl, this Evil Eye Lord is quite good. Have you considered making it your Lifebound Summoned Beast? Although its rank is somewhat high, if you are willing, I can help suppress it. The Evil Eye Lord has a chance of advancing into an Evil Eye Tyrant, a peak Ninth Rank magical beast."

Chen Yinger had already risen from the ground. Without the slightest hesitation, she shook her head. "No way. It's hideous. Hurry up and go back." As she spoke, she waved her hand at the Evil Eye Lord in obvious disgust. The huge creature gave her a resentful look before squeezing back through the Gate of Living Beings.

Saint Moon said regretfully, "Evil Eyes are indeed somewhat unsuitable for girls. Still, the chance to tame a magical beast that could become a peak Ninth Rank beast as a Lifebound Summoned Beast is not easy to find."

Chen Yinger stuck out her tongue. "No way. Grandma said that a Lifebound Summoned Beast must be raised from a young age to achieve perfect compatibility with its master. It's already so big. What if it turns against me later?"

Saint Moon said indifferently, "As you wish." After all, he was not an expert from the Soul Temple. How could he know that the little girl was thinking, Yang Wenzhao's Star Brilliance Unicorn is so beautiful. If I made such an ugly thing my Lifebound Summoned Beast, wouldn't that be unbearably embarrassing?

Saint Moon said gravely, "You little brats truly do not know your own limits. Did you really think you could defeat a Temple Knight? What do you think the gap in rank means?"

Wang Yuanyuan had a fiery temper and did not care whom she was facing. Unable to hold herself back, she said, "We almost won just now. The leader was even injured."

Saint Moon sneered. "Almost? You were nowhere close. If he had truly wanted to kill you, he would not have needed more than three seconds. Being able to possess Mithril Base Battle Armor means his cultivation has at least surpassed the seventh level of Temple Knight. What does a seventh-level Temple Knight mean? It means his Inner Spiritual Power exceeds twenty-three thousand. Even all of you combined do not possess as much Inner Spiritual Power as he does alone. The reason he was injured was certainly because Long Haochen's attack was quite good, but more importantly, he was afraid of hurting you and had remained on the defensive the entire time. Otherwise, do you think Long Haochen could have kept him drawn in with the Saint Origin Spiritual Stove? For any profession, rank differences are more obvious at lower levels. Even I would have to take a full-strength attack from a seventh-rank powerhouse seriously. As for you? Hmph."

Gu Sheng: "Saint Moon."

Saint Moon: "I am here, Your Majesty."

"You needn't worry about her. Feel for yourself what realm she is at now."

Saint Moon used his Ninth Rank ability to examine her. It would have been better if he had not looked, because the moment he did, he was stunned.

"Cai'er, you are now at the peak of the Eighth Rank."

Cai'er did not hide it. "Yes. I am at the peak of the Eighth Rank. I am only one step away from the Ninth Rank."

Gao Yingjie was completely dumbfounded.