If Soft Won't Work, Then Force It

"I'm sure I want to go."

Lin Feng looked at the Knight Sacred Mountain before him. He vaguely sensed a force calling to him from deep within the sacred mountain.

And with his Elemental Affinity Constitution, it might even be stronger than a sacred light attribute.

Seeing Lin Feng's determination, Ying Suifeng had nothing more to say.

If he really could Contract a mount inside, it would greatly help his future growth.

It could also break the Knight Temple's monopoly on Contracting mounts.

That was one of the reasons the Knight Temple could become the foremost of the Six Great Temples. In battles between those of the same rank, it was equivalent to having an extra person.

Seeing that the two had made up their minds, the One-Armed Old Man stopped trying to persuade them. "Since you insist on entering the sacred mountain, come back once this child reaches the Third Rank."

"He's already Third Rank."

"Hm? Hm?" The old man thought he had misheard. He looked at Lin Feng in astonishment. "You mean this child is already Third Rank?"

He had originally thought Ying Suifeng had brought Lin Feng here merely to familiarize him with the environment. It had never occurred to him that someone so young could already possess Third Rank strength.

Ying Suifeng grumbled, "Why would I have made a special trip here if he hadn't reached Third Rank...?"

When Long Haochen heard this, delight also appeared on his face. He asked in surprise, "You're already Third Rank too?"

Lin Feng nodded.

Long Haochen had very few friends at the Haoyue Branch Hall of the Knight Temple. Most people envied his talent and were unwilling to approach him. As a result, he had grown up with almost no friends.

Because of his talent, he did not even have a single friend by his side. Learning that Lin Feng was like him, Long Haochen felt as if he had found his own kind, and his favor toward Lin Feng instantly soared.

However, this discrimination based on talent was very different from the Assassin Temple.

The Assassin Temple mainly respected strength. Among peers, the stronger you were, the more the people around you admired you.

There was no such exclusion.

Hearing the conversation between the two children, the old man could hardly remain still.

With a trace of doubt, the old man first placed his palm on Long Haochen's shoulder. He was not as rough as he had been with Gui Wu earlier.

After examining Long Haochen's spiritual energy and bone structure, he placed his hand on Lin Feng's shoulder.

After a thorough examination, the One-Armed Old Man smiled like a child. His gaze toward the two was filled with affection. He said with gratified laughter, "To think that at such young ages, you have already reached the strength of a Third Rank War Master and a Third Rank Knight. Heaven truly favors humanity. There is hope for humanity's revival!"

For warriors and assassins, the first four ranks were, respectively: Apprentice Warrior, Warrior, War Master, and Great Battle Master.

Beginning from the Fifth Rank, assassin titles changed to: Fifth Rank Assassin, Sixth Rank Prowler, Seventh Rank King Assassin, Eighth Rank Emperor Assassin, and Ninth Rank Xia.

The old man took out two bronze-colored Teleportation Tokens.

"Take these, little ones."

Lin Feng and Long Haochen exchanged a glance, then each took a token from the old man.

The instant they touched the tokens, marks lit up on both of their foreheads.

"You still remember what I told you before, right?"

The two nodded.

"Good. Go."

After turning back to bid farewell to their respective teachers, the two entered the Sacred Mountain Barrier separately.

Watching them leave, the One-Armed Old Man stroked his beard. "It's rare for me to be this happy. Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to that child inside."

"I may have left the Alliance some time ago, but don't drag those trivial matters within the Alliance onto these two children," the One-Armed Old Man warned.

Inside the Knight Sacred Mountain.

The two stepped into the curtain of light and were teleported to the foot of the sacred mountain.

When Lin Feng opened his eyes again,

a vast grassland stretched out before him. Every hundred meters or so, he could see strange magical beasts, and even herds of unicorns galloping across the plains.

But Lin Feng's attention was not on those magical beasts.

Instead, he raised his head toward the Sacred Mountain Summit!

Ever since entering the sacred mountain, the feeling of being called had grown stronger and stronger. He was certain that the guide mentioned by the system was at the Sacred Mountain Summit.

How was he supposed to get up there?

Looking at the unreachable mountaintop before him, Lin Feng fell into thought.

With his Third Rank strength, reaching the summit within three days was nearly impossible.

Forget it. I'll look around first. Where there's a road, there's a way. Lin Feng instinctively thought.

But just as the thought arose, Lin Feng suddenly remembered something. "Right, wouldn't it be enough to find myself a ride?"

Just as he fixed his gaze on the unicorns running in the distance,

Long Haochen's voice sounded beside him.

"Hello, my name is Long Haochen. It's nice to meet you."

Turning around, Lin Feng found Long Haochen staring straight at him. The gaze made his scalp tingle.

"My name is Lin Feng. Could you stop looking at me like that...?"

Long Haochen scratched his head sheepishly. "Sorry. I just think you're amazing. A Ninth Rank Expert is actually willing to be your teacher."

"Unlike me, Ye Hua Instructor still hasn't acknowledged me. He only agreed to become my teacher if I could Contract a magical beast in the Knight Sacred Mountain."

Listening to Long Haochen's slightly sour reply, Lin Feng could not help sighing inwardly. Why do I have to coax children everywhere I go?

Long Haochen had not yet suffered much from the harshness of society. Like other children, he hoped to gain others' approval.

"Give up. With your identity as the Child of Light, none of the magical beasts here are qualified to become your Beast Companion."

Long Haochen froze, then looked at Lin Feng in astonishment. "How did you know my identity?"

Lin Feng did not answer his question. Instead, he walked toward a Star Brilliance Unicorn in the distance and said, "Don't worry about how I know. Do you want to come with me to the Sacred Mountain Summit?"

After thinking it over, Long Haochen followed him.

Catching up to Lin Feng, Long Haochen asked curiously, "Brother Lin, we're at least five days away from the summit. Doesn't it seem like we don't have enough time?"

"So we need to find a magical beast to take us up."

That was also why Lin Feng had invited Long Haochen. Long Haochen was, after all, the Child of Light. If he made a request, these magical beasts would give him some face.

That gave them another layer of assurance.

But things were clearly not as easy as Lin Feng had imagined.

With Long Haochen's constitution, before the two could even approach any magical beast, those creatures would flee far away in inferiority.

Not to mention establishing communication through the marks on their foreheads.

As a result, after more than ten minutes, the two had gained nothing.

Looking at a Fourth Rank Star Brilliance Unicorn still grazing in the distance, Lin Feng turned to Long Haochen. "Wait here for me. This time, I'll go over alone."

But to Lin Feng's surprise, even when he approached alone, the instant the Star Brilliance Unicorn noticed him, it turned around and prepared to flee.

"Trying to run?"

Lin Feng directly drew the Unsharpened Sword, his figure transforming into a streak of lightning as he caught up to the Star Brilliance Unicorn that was preparing to escape.

If soft methods would not work, then he would use force.