Battle Against the Seventh Tier (Part 1)

Waiting for them at the Holy Temple Training Ground were still familiar faces. Han Qian looked over the sixty newly promoted Demon Hunter Squad members and explained some of the squad rules, while reminding them of the demons' treachery. After this, they would head to the borderlands and spend three months living as soldiers. The battlefield was no game, unlike the matches in the training ground. Han Qian earnestly warned them, raising these recruits' vigilance.

According to Han Qian, the newly promoted Demon Hunter Squad team competition would rank squads based on the merit points they earned. The top three would receive varying merit point rewards, and these rewards would not be given as a single share to each Demon Hunter Squad. Every member of the squad would receive a portion.

Merit points were valuable things in a Demon Hunter Squad. Pills, equipment, rare materials—almost everything could be exchanged for merit points. This was especially true for those who already had their eyes on certain items; they desperately wanted merit points.

After Han Qian finished speaking, the ten Demon Hunter Squads were each assigned a leader. The leader assigned to Ling Mo's Number One Demon Hunter Squad was named Gao Yingjie. Through his introduction, Ling Mo learned that Gao Yingjie would not participate in commanding their battles during the team competition, but he had the authority to correct their team's decisions. His task was to ensure that all seven of them could leave the battlefield alive once the competition ended. After saying that, Gao Yingjie requested to see their strength and stipulated that Ling Mo was not allowed to summon Fei Yu Maru for the battle.

Gao Yingjie stood with his chest straight and said, "Battle is the best way to assess strength. You've only just formed your team, so you probably haven't fought together yet. That makes me your first challenge."

Sima Xian grew excited at those words. As the Violent Priest, he was the most battle-hungry member of the team. He immediately asked, "Leader, what tier are you?"

Gao Yingjie replied calmly, "A Seventh-tier Paladin. But I won't use my ability to fly, nor will I summon a mount."

Seventh tier? Everyone glanced at Ling Mo. Chen Ying'er seemed eager to try and asked, "Then if we win, do we get any benefits? Like some merit points or something?"

"Win?"

A faint smile appeared on Gao Yingjie's face. "If you win, I'll temporarily join your team as a Guardian Knight and follow your captain's commands. Furthermore, all the merit points I earn on the battlefield will belong to you."

"It's a deal." Long Haochen agreed at once, as though afraid Gao Yingjie might take it back.

If they won, the temporary addition of a seventh-tier knight would greatly help them hunt demons. Combined with the Pseudo Eighth Tier Ling Mo, who could summon Fei Yu Maru, no other Demon Hunter Squad would possibly be able to compete with them for first place. Naturally, Long Haochen would not let this opportunity pass.

After they were dismissed, the other Demon Hunter Squads left under the guidance of their leaders, while Ling Mo and the others entered the training ground with Gao Yingjie to take on the challenge.

Gao Yingjie walked straight to one side of the training ground and took out a sword and shield. He wore no armor, and the two pieces of equipment in his hands looked ordinary, seemingly standard-issue weapons from the Knight Temple. Number One Demon Hunter Squad had three Fifth-tier members and three fourth-tier members. Ling Mo was only considered Pseudo Eighth Tier because of Fei Yu Maru. Without his summoned beast, he was merely a fourth-tier, ninth-level Great Battle Master. Though he possessed the ability to injure eighth-tier magical beasts, he needed quite some time to prepare. Even if he had the chance to use it in the end, Gao Yingjie did not think Ling Mo could hit him. Besides, the Evil Eye Tyrant was not skilled in defense to begin with. In terms of defense, Gao Yingjie was even stronger than it by quite a bit.

The group prepared on the other side, with Long Haochen, as captain, responsible for command.

Everyone took out their equipment and stood ready. Seeing that each of them had a piece of equipment in hand, Ling Mo also pulled out Mimic Judas.

Looking at the seven soul rings floating behind Ling Mo, Chen Ying'er could not help asking, "I was especially curious about this last time. What exactly is that? It looks pretty nice."

"They're called soul rings. They're a special secret art of mine that can enhance my abilities to a certain extent."

"Is that so?" Chen Ying'er nodded, half-understanding.

Seeing that everyone was ready, Long Haochen gave his orders. "Sima Xian, Berserk. Ling Mo, prepare yourself. Ying'er, summon from the rear. Lin Xin, assist with defense. Han Yu and I will defend from the front. Cai'er, adapt as the situation demands. Get ready. Let's go."

This was their first time fighting together, so they could not be said to have any coordination. Verbal communication was therefore the most effective means of command, even if it exposed their tactical intentions.

Once the orders were given, Long Haochen and Han Yu both summoned their mounts. Long Haochen's was Three-headed Lizard Haoyue, while Han Yu's was a growing Evil Eye.

Ling Mo launched the first attack. Golden binding chains shot from Mimic Judas, vanished into thin air, then reappeared around Gao Yingjie and coiled toward him. Naturally, such an attack would not work against a seventh-tier opponent, but it signaled the start of the battle.

Having completed his Berserk transformation, Sima Xian charged straight at Gao Yingjie. Long Haochen and Han Yu followed close behind, while Ling Mo also carried Judas and rushed after them. The three moved quickly and arrived before Gao Yingjie almost simultaneously. As they closed in, Long Haochen used the Holy Guiding Spirit Furnace to restrain him, activating Holy Light Seeping Shield and Divine Guard Block at the same time. Han Yu also placed a Holy Light Barrier over him. From the rear, Lin Xin and Haoyue simultaneously supported Long Haochen, reinforcing his defensive shield, while Chen Ying'er had already begun her summon.

The three in front clashed with Gao Yingjie in an instant. The ordinary refined steel sword in Gao Yingjie's hand burst forth with dazzling golden light the moment he swung it. With a horizontal slash of his sword, Gao Yingjie completely ignored Sima Xian and Han Yu at his side, smashing his blade heavily into Long Haochen's shield. The terrifying force sent Long Haochen flying backward, his feet carving two long, glaring tracks across the ground.

After knocking back Long Haochen, a pair of wings of light immediately surged from Gao Yingjie's back. While blocking Sima Xian and Han Yu's attacks, the powerful light element also blasted the two of them away. However, because Long Haochen had not interrupted the Holy Guiding Spirit Furnace, Gao Yingjie was unable to pursue them.

By then, Ling Mo had also charged before Gao Yingjie. Without the slightest hesitation, he raised Judas and smashed it directly toward Gao Yingjie's face. But obviously, that would not achieve anything. Gao Yingjie easily blocked the blow with his shield, but attacking had never been Ling Mo's true purpose. Binding chains shot out from Mimic Judas once more. At nearly zero distance, Gao Yingjie had no way to evade their entanglement. His limbs were tightly bound, and under the effect of Long Haochen's Holy Guiding Spirit Furnace, Gao Yingjie could not attack Ling Mo. This allowed Mimic Judas to fully display its binding effect.

Gao Yingjie naturally understood this as well. He immediately prepared to charge toward Long Haochen, intending to deal with the restraint of the Holy Guiding Spirit Furnace first. Yet the instant he moved, Gao Yingjie suddenly halted. His mind went blank for a moment as purple light flickered between the Evil Eye's tentacles in the air.

The Evil Eye's attack could only affect Gao Yingjie for a brief instant, but Ling Mo gave him no time to react. Taking advantage of Gao Yingjie's incomplete recovery, white-purple gauntlets covered both of his hands—Four-star Eternal Twilight Twin Wolves.

"Thousand Stars!"

The instant Ling Mo clenched his fist, he appeared at Gao Yingjie's side and threw a punch at extreme speed. By then, Gao Yingjie had recovered from his daze. He immediately relied on his immense strength to forcibly pull the binding chains and block the punch. But the attack from his other side made him realize that the Ling Mo before him had become an afterimage! Just as he prepared to turn, a violent impact struck his chest, nearly forcing a groan from him. Then came attacks to his waist, back, and the back of his head. In a single instant, he had suffered at least five attacks! Ling Mo was too fast. Even with his seventh-tier strength, under the triple restraint of Mimic Judas, Long Haochen's Holy Guiding Spirit Furnace, and the Evil Eye's mental attack, he found himself unable to completely block Ling Mo's assault.

Gao Yingjie had not expected Ling Mo to bring him such a "surprise," but if they thought this level of attack could defeat him, they were still far from it.

Thousand Stars lasted only a short time. With Ling Mo's current strength, he could maintain it for only six seconds. Soon, Ling Mo's Thousand Stars state ended. As for Gao Yingjie, just as expected, although Ling Mo had inflicted considerable damage during that time, anyone with eyes could see that wounds of this level were not enough to affect him.