I Have Depth

The two continued clearing the battlefield.

One of the two dead guards wore leather armor, but it was already tattered beyond repair. The other had a helmet and chainmail.

Zhen Jin first took the iron arm guard and replaced his own with it—the leather arm guard he had originally worn had just been pierced by the centipede legs of the venomous snake.

Afterward, he took the iron chainmail and helmet as well and put them on.

A sense of security immediately welled up within him.

Equipment could, to a certain extent, make up for the gap in the level of life.

For example, even a Blue-haired Dire Wolf would not want to pit its teeth directly against a helmet.

As for the iron boots, they did not fit the boy's feet, so Zhen Jin discarded them.

Besides protective gear, there were weapons as well.

One guard had used a longsword, while the other had used a curved saber.

One side of the longsword was chipped, but the curved saber remained in good condition.

Zhen Jin first gripped the curved saber and gave it a few swings, his brows knitting slightly.

He set down the curved saber and picked up the longsword instead.

Just as he was about to swing it, another memory was suddenly stirred and surfaced in the boy's mind.

A gloomy sky drizzled with rain.

An empty training ground.

A group of boys stood in a circle, while Zhen Jin lay on the ground at its center.

The boys looked down at Zhen Jin, laughing and jeering without end, their faces full of contempt.

The boy at their head was broad and sturdy. His blue hair stood upright from his scalp like several-inch steel needles.

The blue-haired boy folded his arms, one foot planted on Zhen Jin's shoulder. "Zhen Jin! Remember this well. Your Hundred Needles Family is nothing more than a viscountcy, a defeated faction! Someone like you wants to stand on equal footing with us?"

The blue-haired boy suddenly lifted his foot and stomped hard on Zhen Jin's head, grinning viciously. "Today, I'll teach you a lesson! From now on, whenever you see us, no matter where you are in the castle, lower your head obediently, step aside obediently, and crawl into a corner!"

"Lesser nobles should act like lesser nobles. If I ever see you looking Qing Kui in the eye again, I'll beat you into a cripple."

"Do you understand?"

Qing Kui roared, pressing down with his foot and grinding Zhen Jin's head directly into the mud.

"I... I understand. Cough, cough, cough!" Zhen Jin forced out the words with difficulty.

"Hahaha." Qing Kui threw back his head and laughed smugly, then removed his foot and strode away.

Before leaving, he tossed back one final remark. "Of course, Zhen Jin, if you're not convinced, you can challenge me whenever you want. Qing Kui will be waiting for you anytime, anywhere!"

"Cough, cough, cough." Zhen Jin struggled to sit up. Since he had opened his mouth to speak just now, muddy water had inevitably flowed into his throat, triggering another fit of coughing.

Seeing how bedraggled he looked, the boys lost interest.

"Pah, what a piece of trash!"

"He wants to challenge Young Master Qing Kui? With what?"

"With that embroidery needle of his, hahaha."

The rain grew heavier. The boys surrounded Qing Kui amid waves of laughter and entered the castle.

Zhen Jin sat in the mud, letting the rain beat down on him.

He was covered in wounds, his face deathly pale. After sitting there blankly for a moment, his gaze shifted slightly and fixed on a sword lying in the mud.

That was his personal sword.

It was a very slender thrusting sword.

Soaked in mud and rainwater, the thrusting sword seemed to have lost its former sharp gleam.

The memory came to an abrupt end there.

Back in reality, Zhen Jin could not help frowning slightly. "I'm from the Hundred Needles Family? Our territory seems to be in the south, among the southern nobles who joined the Saint Brilliance Empire within the last century. It seems it was once an earldom?"

He discovered that although he had lost his memories, it was not a complete loss. Much knowledge and common sense remained well preserved.

"My lord, what's wrong?" Zi Di's concerned voice came from beside him.

Zhen Jin shook his head. "I recovered another fragment of memory."

"That's wonderful." Zi Di spoke with delight.

Zhen Jin gave a bitter smile. He did not explain the details to Zi Di. Instead, he looked up at the sky. It was already nearing dusk.

The boy and girl carefully chose a spot and made a rough arrangement—they would spend the night here.

It was not difficult to gather dry branches and grass leaves.

Beside the pile of firewood, Zi Di knelt on one knee, holding a Spark Stone in each hand.

Click, click.

She struck the two Spark Stones together, and brilliant blue sparks soon flew out.

The sparks fell into the dry grass, turning into one or two points of orange red. The orange red quickly spread through the grass and soon began to burn.

At first, wisps of thin smoke rose into the air.

Zi Di hurriedly put away the Spark Stones, puffed out her cheeks, and blew gentle gusts of air.

Driven by the breeze, the fire in the dry grass rapidly grew. The thin smoke became thick smoke, and then flames suddenly rose, becoming a fire the size of a fist.

"It worked." Zi Di's face brightened with joy, and she immediately stood up and stepped back a few paces.

In just that short while, the flames completely spread out, burning fiercely and forming a campfire.

Zi Di carefully put away the two Spark Stones.

In the past, she only needed to snap her fingers to create a small flame.

That was one of a mage's tricks.

But on this island, Black Iron-level magic could not be used at all. It was sealed away completely. Instead, ordinary fire-starting methods like Spark Stones were far more practical.

Without those Spark Stones, starting a fire by hand would have been quite troublesome.

The burning campfire brought warmth and light, driving back the darkness of night.

There was nothing roasting over the fire. The boy and girl sat around it, chewing Dried Food and drinking from Water Skins.

The Spark Stones, Dried Food, and water had all been taken from the corpses of the two guards.

The Dried Food was hard to swallow, but under these circumstances, they could not afford to be picky.

The day's journey had been filled with danger. They had managed to survive in the presence of so many magical beasts of Gold and Silver-level, while gaining some equipment and enough food and water. The two felt incomparably fortunate. What more could they ask for?

After eating and drinking their fill, the boy and girl carefully organized and stored the remaining food and Water Skins.

The boy began maintaining the equipment.

He took out the longsword and wiped its blade with an oilcloth.

Weapons needed maintenance.

Though the longsword was ordinary, it gave Zhen Jin a tangible sense of security.

"What a pity there's no Crossbow."

A moment later, after seeing that Zhen Jin had finished wiping the longsword, Zi Di came over. "My lord, let me check your wounds."

Zhen Jin nodded.

After removing the bandage, he found that the wound on his arm had already healed more than halfway.

"The medicine is quite effective." Zhen Jin did not hesitate to praise it.

He was sitting on a rock, while Zi Di knelt on one knee before him.

The girl first took out Medicinal Powder from the leather pouch at her waist and sprinkled it evenly over the wound. Then she drew out a fresh Bandage and gently wrapped it around Zhen Jin's arm.

Finally, Zi Di fitted the arm guard back onto Zhen Jin.

Zi Di's gaze fell on the arm guard, and she sighed. "If you had possessed this iron arm guard earlier, my lord, you would not have been injured by the Bloodline Centipede Snake."

Firelight shone upon the arm guard, reflecting a hazy orange-yellow gleam. It also fell upon the tips of Zi Di's hair.

Zi Di had a head of black hair, which shimmered with a soft halo beneath the firelight.

Her wheat-colored skin carried the unique tenderness of youth. At this moment, a pure, delicate fragrance seemed to pass through the firelight and reach Zhen Jin's heart.

Zhen Jin's heart stirred slightly. Without realizing it, he reached out and stroked Zi Di's hair.

Zi Di trembled faintly.

"M-my lord." Zi Di lowered her head, seemingly startled by Zhen Jin's action. Like a frightened kitten, she nervously held her breath.

But Zhen Jin's thoughts were not on romance. He quickly withdrew his hand and asked calmly, "Zi Di, tell me about myself."

Along the way, the boy had forcibly restrained his urge to investigate and satisfy his curiosity. Only now that they had settled down safely did he have a chance to learn the details.

The girl sat opposite the boy. After considering her words, she answered, "My lord, you are a Temple Knight and the sole heir of the Hundred Needles Family. The outside world recognizes you as possessing Black Iron-level strength."

Zhen Jin could not help raising his brows slightly.

Zi Di's answer was interesting.

"The outside world recognizes it?" Zhen Jin asked again.

"Yes." Zi Di nodded. "The strength you normally displayed was Black Iron-level. But according to my own speculation, it must be more than that. This time, you crossed the sea to compete for the position of White Sand City Lord. A city lord must at least possess Silver-level cultivation to command respect."

In the Main World, humanity was unquestionably the dominant race.

The Saint Brilliance Great Emperor of humanity was a ruler of extraordinary talent and vision. Not only had he unified the human continent, but he had also formed an Expeditionary Force, crossed the vast seas, and invaded the Wilderness Continent.

White Sand City was precisely a fortress humanity had established on the Wilderness Continent, a nail driven by the Saint Brilliance Great Emperor into the Wilderness Continent.

There were more than a dozen bridgeheads of the same nature as White Sand City, and their number was still increasing.

"I was going to compete to become the White Sand City Lord?"

"Although there are city lords at the Black Iron-level, White Sand City on the Wilderness Continent probably would not have a Black Iron-level city lord merely filling the position."

Whether it was battle qi or magic cultivation, both brought about an elevation in the essence of life.

Bronze-level, Black Iron-level, Silver-level, Gold-level.

Bronze-level individuals were humanity's elite. Those who served as captains in the military usually possessed such cultivation.

Black Iron-level was above Bronze-level, their life essence elevated another step. They were usually the backbone of organizations and factions, just as Zi Di was.

Silver-level individuals were qualified to serve as city lords and suppress an entire region.

Gold-level individuals were even rarer. They were usually the pillars of great noble houses or small kingdoms.

Seeing the boy's thoughtful expression, the girl continued, "According to my speculation, my lord, you should possess Silver-level cultivation."

The boy could not help nodding slightly. He agreed with Zi Di's speculation.

"That means I should possess Silver-level battle qi. There's no reason the Empire would allow a Black Iron knight to compete for a city lord's position."

"How old am I?" the boy suddenly asked.

Zi Di answered, "My lord, you are sixteen this year. I am fifteen."

"Sixteen... Silver-level..."

A word entered the boy's mind—genius!

At such an age, possessing such cultivation, he was naturally a genius.

"But the outside world only recognizes me as having Black Iron-level cultivation. Did I deliberately hide my strength? If so, I was rather calculating?"

Zhen Jin continued deepening his understanding of himself.

He thought of the second memory that had surfaced, of himself being bullied in the Temple Knight Order. Could it be that I was deliberately showing weakness?

"How is the Hundred Needles Family doing?" the boy asked again.

Zi Di looked troubled and hesitated before replying, "Not very well."

The boy nodded once more.

He understood why.

Over a hundred years ago, in order to quickly end the final war of conquest and unify the human continent, the Saint Brilliance Great Emperor had taken the initiative to accept the surrender of humanity's last remaining stubborn factions.

Those stubborn factions then became the new nobles of the Saint Brilliance Empire. The Hundred Needles Family was one of them.

However, the brutal wars before that had already created deep blood feuds between those new nobles and the old nobles under the Saint Brilliance Great Emperor.

Many of their relatives and friends had died on the battlefield. Both sides were stained with the blood of the other's kin.

Therefore, Zhen Jin, who represented the new noble faction by joining the temple and becoming a Temple Knight candidate, naturally suffered oppression, targeting, suppression, and exclusion from the old nobles.

"To be honest, that was a humiliating memory. But after recalling it, I feel very calm, as if I were merely a passerby watching from the sidelines."

If he had truly been humiliated, some anger and hatred should have remained in the depths of his heart, shouldn't it?

Zi Di continued, "Sir Zhen Jin, I actually do not know that much about you."

"But according to rumors, my lord, you usually kept away from women and traveled alone. Even when major events occurred, you rarely revealed joy or anger."

"You spent most of your time undergoing ascetic training in the temple. You were serious and taciturn. Yet your food, clothing, lodging, conduct, and every movement were elegant and composed, full of noble bearing."

"Although you had few friends, you were willing to help others, especially defending the weak and aiding the poor. Therefore, your reputation among the lower classes had always been very good."

"Also, your sudden decision to enter the competition for White Sand City Lord this time seemed to have greatly surprised the other Temple Knights."

"Oh?" Zhen Jin raised his brows at those words.

Zi Di's answer quickly sketched the image of a calculating boy in his mind, further confirming that the person in his memories had likely been deliberately showing weakness.

But what surprised the boy somewhat was that Zi Di did not seem to know Zhen Jin very deeply.

"What's going on?"

"Isn't she my fiancee?"

"If we are not deeply attached, why has she refused to abandon me?"

"What exactly is the relationship between her and me?"

Just as Zhen Jin was about to continue asking, a buzzing sound suddenly came from nearby.

The two immediately turned their heads and saw hundreds upon thousands of "flames" suddenly light up in the jungle beneath the night sky.

Those "flames" gathered into swarms and surged toward Zhen Jin and Zi Di with fierce momentum.

"What are those?" Zhen Jin swiftly stood up and placed himself in front of Zi Di, his expression grave.

A small portion of the "flames" radiated the life aura of Bronze-level beings.

"These are?!" After Zi Di saw the true appearance of the "flames," her face instantly turned pale.

"They're Fire Poison Bees, my lord, run! I'll cover the rear!" Zi Di's face was filled with determination as she stepped forward, placing herself in front of Zhen Jin instead.

"Run, my lord!!" Zi Di shouted urgently, revealing a resolve to die.