Quasi-Knight Assessment (III)

"Big Sis, be careful." Long Haochen gave a low shout and moved. Each of his steps covered little distance, yet his pace was extremely fast. He unleashed a knight's short-range Charge. One sword was held before him, the other behind his back, and in the blink of an eye, he was before Li Xin.

A swift, powerful thrust shot straight toward Li Xin's left shoulder. Borrowing the momentum of his Charge, the strike carried tremendous force.

Li Xin smiled faintly. Her left-hand sword rose unhurriedly to parry Long Haochen's attack, while her right-hand sword did not strike out just yet. She wanted to see just how far this little fellow's offense could go.

Bang! Without any warning, Long Haochen fiercely stomped his right foot against the ground. That stomp abruptly ended his seemingly unstoppable Charge, bringing his body to a halt. At the same time, the Iron Sword he had thrust out was swiftly drawn back, neatly evading Li Xin's upward sweep.

Nalan Shu's eyes lit up. Skill interruption?

At the very instant the Iron Sword was withdrawn, its blade flashed brightly. Then, at least twice as fast as before, it shot out like lightning, still aimed at Li Xin's left shoulder.

Pure White Blade, Thrust. The two knight skills were released in almost perfect fusion, launched at precisely the instant he had evaded Li Xin's upward sweep.

A knight's Thrust could increase attack speed while also condensing spiritual power. Combined with Pure White Blade, which itself condensed spiritual power, the power of this strike had already far surpassed Long Haochen's own one hundred and seven spiritual power.

Li Xin was no Quasi-Knight, but a true knight. The moment her sword swept through empty air, she had already become wary. Her right-hand sword crossed before her almost within the narrowest gap of time. Even Long Haochen's sword, aided by Thrust, could not outpace her defense.

Clang—

The two swords collided. Long Haochen's thrust struck one-third of the way down Li Xin's longsword. The force used for a horizontal block and a direct thrust differed greatly. Thus, even though Li Xin's spiritual power far exceeded Long Haochen's, the passive block still forced her to stagger back two steps.

Smack— Long Haochen's right-hand sword was knocked aside, but his movements did not pause in the slightest. As his right arm raised the Iron Sword, he took another step forward and actually launched another Charge.

A second Charge, and at such close range—after his own attack had been knocked away.

Long Haochen's flexible right arm swept upward beside him. During this second Charge, he took only three steps. As his third step landed, his body seemed slightly unstable. Using the tip of his foot as a pivot, he swiftly spun around. His left-hand sword swung up, and the faintly white-glowing Pure White Blade slashed fiercely toward Li Xin.

Though Li Xin's eyes were filled with surprise, her talent as a knight prodigy revealed itself at this moment. She braced her right foot behind her, steadying herself. At the same time, she lowered her body slightly. Her right-hand sword swept upward again, while her left-hand sword stabbed forward like lightning, turning into dozens of sword shadows that enveloped Long Haochen's body. Lightning Stab, a third-tier knight skill.

Defense, then counterattack.

What followed left Nalan Shu, watching from the side, utterly dumbfounded.

With a resounding clang, Long Haochen's full-force slash collided first with Li Xin's upward-sweeping sword. Although Long Haochen's spiritual power was at least a hundred lower than Li Xin's, this strike had borrowed both the force of a skill and the momentum of pressing his advantage. When the swords met, neither gained the upper hand. If anything, Li Xin's body swayed slightly.

But at that moment, Li Xin's Lightning Stab had already reached Long Haochen. In that instant, Nalan Shu wanted to call a halt, and Li Xin too prepared to stop her hand.

However, Long Haochen's right-hand sword, which had been knocked away earlier, moved.

Dreamlike sword shadows seemed to explode before him. Amid a string of dense metallic clashes, every single attack of Lightning Stab was blocked without exception.

Afraid of hurting Long Haochen, Li Xin naturally had not used her full strength. Not only was her attack blocked, but Long Haochen seized the opportunity to launch a counterattack.

His twin swords danced, one horizontal and one vertical. The knight's signature skill, Cross Slash, blasted forth in an instant.

The amusement in Li Xin's eyes had completely vanished. Having unleashed Lightning Stab, she was now in the moment when her old strength had faded and new strength had yet to arise. Moreover, she had never expected Long Haochen to block that attack, so she had not prepared any follow-up move to deal with it.

A layer of pale golden light lit up around Li Xin. Her right-hand sword instantly stabbed into the ground, and a surge of golden light suddenly erupted, rising more than two meters high.

With two clangs, Long Haochen's Cross Slash was blocked by a curtain of golden light and rebounded. At the same time, he quickly retreated several steps and assumed a defensive stance. The string of attacks just now had also drained him considerably.

Li Xin looked at the retreating Long Haochen with some frustration. "Not bad! Little fellow, you actually forced Big Sis to use Ascension Array to dissolve your attack. Be careful now—Big Sis is going to attack."

Ascension Array, a third-tier skill of the Punishment Knight. By drawing upon the knight's unique holy light attribute, it formed a shield of light that provided all-around defense equal to one's own spiritual power.

With a small step to spring off the ground, Li Xin leaped up. Her right-hand sword slashed straight down at Long Haochen's head. She was truly rather frustrated. A mere first-level Quasi-Knight had forced her to use a sacred energy skill like Ascension Array, practically like cheating, just to neutralize his attack. Her face burned with embarrassment. She had to win back a little dignity.

This time, Long Haochen did not counterattack. His right-hand sword lifted, and in that instant, he seemed like a statue. Though it was only a fleeting impression, it nearly made Nalan Shu's eyes pop out as he watched from the side.

With a crisp clang, Li Xin was actually sent reeling backward, dumbstruck.

One had to know that her spiritual power was at least double Long Haochen's, and she had struck with a Leap Slash from the air. Even if she had held back, her attack was still quite formidable. Li Xin had thought she would at least knock Long Haochen back with one blow. Yet in reality, she was the one who had been forced back. The hand gripping her sword went numb.

"I'm not fighting anymore! What is going on?" Li Xin landed on the ground in frustration, staring in confusion at Long Haochen, who still maintained his defensive stance.

Seeing that Li Xin had stopped, Long Haochen also put away his twin swords. He looked somewhat embarrassedly at the frustrated Li Xin, unsure what to say.

"Uncle Nalan, you tell me—is this fair? Does Haochen really only have the spiritual power cultivation of a first-level Quasi-Knight? Then how did he knock me back?"

As she spoke, Li Xin noticed the stunned expression on Nalan Shu's face. This time, he seemed to have become the statue, standing there with his mouth agape.

"Uncle Nalan, what's wrong with you?" Li Xin asked doubtfully.

"Divine Seal Block? Little Haochen, tell me quickly—was that Divine Seal Block you used just now?" Nalan Shu rushed to Long Haochen in a few quick strides, his eyes filled with urgency and shock.

A look of horror immediately spread across Li Xin's heroic, pretty face. "Uncle Nalan, did you say that right? The Divine Seal Block that represents a Radiant Knight? Impossible, absolutely impossible. Isn't Divine Seal Block something only Radiant Knights can learn?"

Radiant Knight, the title of a sixth-tier knight. Divine Seal Block was also the signature skill of a Radiant Knight, known as one of the most overpowered skills in the knight profession.