Night Asura (I)

Watching Long Haochen charge toward him, Ye Hua nodded inwardly. The boy's charging form was not only standard, but he had also grasped its rhythm. He was not sprinting forward with all his strength; this might weaken the impact somewhat, but it allowed for far more variations.

His body tilted slightly. Borrowing the momentum of his charge, Long Haochen thrust his heavy sword forward, executing a textbook-perfect Thrust. A silvery-white glow appeared on the heavy sword almost instantly as Pure White Blade activated at the same time.

Only when the heavy sword was less than a foot away did Ye Hua move. He moved with incredible speed, his right hand tucked behind his back and his left-hand shield raised before him. The shield did not meet Long Haochen's heavy sword head-on; its surface was tilted slightly instead.

With a clang, Long Haochen felt his blade veer aside. Rather than striking the shield directly, it slid along its slanted surface, Pure White Blade scattering a string of sparks across Ye Hua's shield. The next moment, all he saw was a shield rapidly enlarging before his eyes.

With a boom, Long Haochen was sent flying seven or eight meters before crashing heavily onto the ground.

Throughout the entire exchange, he had only managed to raise Shield of Radiance before himself before he was sent flying the next instant.

With a roll, Long Haochen sprang back to his feet, his face filled with shock.

Ye Hua held no weapon, only a shield. Yet that single shield had ended the battle in an instant.

"Trash." Ye Hua spat out the two words coldly.

Long Haochen's gaze sharpened. He tapped the heavy sword against his shoulder, then bowed to Ye Hua once more. "Instructor, please guide me." After bowing, he charged again.

The knights running laps were all secretly watching the duel. Seeing Long Haochen get back up and challenge Ye Hua again after being defeated, they immediately looked at one another in dismay.

"This kid's got guts! This is the first time I've ever seen anyone from our branch temple dare challenge Night Asura a second time."

How could they know that when Long Haochen had trained under Long Xingyu, he had been beaten and battered all the way through? What was one fall? Besides, Shield of Radiance had absorbed most of the impact. What Long Xingyu wanted to cultivate in his son was the spirit to grow braver with every setback, while seeking lessons in failure and improving himself.

As Long Haochen charged again, he adjusted his steps slightly. His speed was clearly slower, but his entire bearing had become steadier. This time, the attack skill he used was no longer Thrust, but Lightning Stab.

A flash of golden light burst forth as Holy Light Spiritual Power erupted. The difference between Lightning Stab and Thrust was that Thrust was an unstoppable forward rush, while Lightning Stab struck once and immediately retreated.

Internal Spiritual Power? Third Order? The knights running laps all stared wide-eyed in horror.

Ye Hua's expression did not change. He still moved only at the final moment, angling his shield to block just as he had before. The heavy sword struck it with a clear ding, but this time, the sword only tilted slightly before Long Haochen withdrew it. His center of gravity did not shift at all.

However, the shield in Ye Hua's hand once again loomed larger in Long Haochen's eyes—the exact same skill as before, Collision.

Taking a bow stance, shield raised, Long Haochen held Shield of Radiance sideways and stood firm behind it.

Boom! Long Haochen was sent flying again. This time, he hit the ground even harder than before, so hard that he had to gasp for breath for several seconds before getting back up.

"Do you know why I can defeat you?" Ye Hua asked coldly.

Long Haochen furrowed his brows slightly and answered without hesitation, "Because your Cultivation Level is higher than mine."

Ye Hua nodded. "That's right. Do you think it's unfair that I sent you flying by relying on Internal Spiritual Power stronger than yours, rather than defeating you through skill?"

After hesitating for a moment, Long Haochen still nodded.

Ye Hua snorted disdainfully. "Idiot. If you encountered an enemy stronger than you on the battlefield, would you question him like this too? Then you'd only be able to question him in hell. When facing an enemy stronger than yourself, what you need to do is use every possible means to exploit your own advantages and make up for the gap. Do whatever it takes to defeat your opponent and protect yourself."

After thinking for a moment, understanding dawned on Long Haochen's handsome face. He nodded forcefully. "I understand. Thank you, Instructor." As he spoke, he bowed to Ye Hua again. "Please guide me, Instructor."

Ye Hua said contemptuously, "You really understand? If you challenge me again, I'll crush you with even greater strength."

"Please guide me, Instructor!" Long Haochen shouted. His eyes were filled with a persistent, unyielding light, forming a striking contrast to his face, which could be called delicate and beautiful.

"Come." Ye Hua still wore that icy, dead-man expression.

Charge, leap. This time, Long Haochen leaped high into the air when he was only halfway across the distance. He swung up his heavy sword, which shone with dazzling golden light, and slashed down at Ye Hua.

"Idiot." Ye Hua glared at Long Haochen angrily. Knowing full well that he was inferior to his opponent, yet leaping into the air—wasn't that simply courting death?

But the anger in Ye Hua's eyes swiftly turned to surprise. Long Haochen's leap had actually carried him directly above Ye Hua's head. The heavy sword was slashing toward Ye Hua's back, and at that moment, Long Haochen appeared to have lost his balance completely.

Yet Ye Hua did not think so, because he saw Long Haochen's eyes. Someone whose attack had gone wrong could not possibly still have such persistence and resolve in his gaze.

Turning halfway around, Ye Hua swept his shield through the air.

At that moment, the pale golden glow on the heavy sword in Long Haochen's hand abruptly vanished. He drew Shield of Radiance back before his chest and twisted his body in midair into an almost folded position. Shield of Radiance lightly brushed against the edge of Ye Hua's shield.

Ye Hua had poured immense spiritual power into that blow, and his shield had almost entirely turned golden. Even that light brush altered Long Haochen's downward trajectory. His whole body spun several times before plunging to the ground.

Pfft! The heavy sword plunged into the ground, and a ring of intense golden light abruptly erupted around Long Haochen.

Ascension Array, a Third Order Punishment Knight skill.

Even Ye Hua had not expected Long Haochen to use such a method to close in on him, nor had he expected the boy's flexibility to be so astonishing that he could forcibly alter his body in midair. At that moment, the shield Ye Hua had swung was still raised high. The spiritual power unleashed by Ascension Array could not possibly hurt Ye Hua, but it still jolted his arm upward again, preventing him from withdrawing his shield at once. A great amount of golden energy also erupted from his body, forming a protective barrier.

Long Haochen, who had used Ascension Array by driving his heavy sword into the ground, steadied himself with that same heavy sword at the same time. Shield of Radiance in his left hand swept sideways with the motion, erupting with the brightest golden radiance he had displayed since attacking. It slashed horizontally toward Ye Hua's waist.

Slap—

Ye Hua's right hand, which had been behind his back, finally moved. He grabbed Shield of Radiance in one hand, but the surprise in his eyes almost instantly turned into astonishment.

Dazzling golden light exploded in his hand. Although spiritual power was also flowing around his body to protect it, the impact of that golden light made his body sway slightly, forcing him half a step back.

Long Haochen was also greatly startled. He had already given it everything he had. The light erupting from Shield of Radiance was Sun Slash, a Fourth Order knight skill—the strongest attack skill he could currently use! Even though the shield's edge was not sharp, Ye Hua had caught it with one hand. The gap between them was clear as day.