Attendant Knight Assessment (4)

Beneath the sunlight filtering through the shadows of the trees, Long Haochen caught sight of one of the Black-Clad Men's faces. He nearly cried out in alarm. The man's face was covered in black fur, and his yellow eyes looked exceptionally ferocious. His nose kept twitching as he sniffed the air.

Just then, an icy voice rang out through the forest. "This ends here. Since you chased after us, there's no need for you to return."

A crystal-clear gleam silently appeared in the air, tracing a graceful arc as it flashed through the forest like lightning several times. The seven or eight Black-Clad Men who had pursued them all froze stiffly in place, then toppled to the ground the next instant.

Long Haochen only saw a blur before a masked man in white suddenly appeared not far ahead. Then, a shocking scene entered his field of vision. Without the man in white seeming to make any movement, countless specks of light burst forth from his chest. In that instant, it was as though the entire forest had been lit up by the radiance, dazzling Long Haochen until he could barely keep his eyes open.

When he could finally see clearly again, he discovered in horror that all the Black-Clad Men who had fallen to the ground had vanished. Only the man in white remained, standing there silently.

Everything had happened far too quickly. It was practically just a blur before Long Haochen's eyes, and the matter was already settled, as if those vicious-looking people had never appeared at all.

The man in white slowly turned around and looked in the direction where Long Haochen and the Mute Girl were hiding. He said indifferently, "Come out."

Long Haochen's heart tightened. Clearly, the other party had already discovered him. At the same time, he saw the man in white's eyes. They were eyes devoid of any emotion. His irises were black, yet his pupils seemed gray. His shoulder-length black hair was simply tied behind his head, and his fitted white outfit bore no decorations.

The man in white's power made Long Haochen tremble inwardly. After all, he was only nine years old. But when he lowered his head and saw the Little Mute Girl's pale face beneath him, a surge of hot blood rushed through him and became courage.

He first gently shook his head at the little girl, signaling for her not to make a sound. Then he braced himself against the ground with both hands and leaped out of the bushes, drawing the Wooden Sword from his back at the same time.

The man in white did not move. Yet even so, Long Haochen could instinctively sense that this person was far more dangerous than the fiercest beast he had ever seen.

Long Haochen did not make a sound. He merely gripped the Wooden Sword tightly with both hands and stared fixedly at the man in white. All he hoped now was that the man in white had not noticed the Little Mute Girl.

"We should go back." The man in white's voice held no emotion. Yet those simple words made Long Haochen feel as though ice and snow had seeped into his body.

At that moment, with a whoosh, a petite figure appeared in front of Long Haochen. To his astonishment, the incredibly swift figure that he had not seen clearly at all was the Little Mute Girl he had been protecting moments ago.

She's so fast! Long Haochen froze for a moment.

The Little Mute Girl spread her arms, using her thin little body to block Long Haochen. Her gaze was resolute and unyielding as she stared at the man in white, shaking her head vigorously at him.

The man in white's emotionless eyes seemed to stir. The next moment, his body moved, flickering like an elegant flash of white light. The Little Mute Girl in front of Long Haochen moved as well, her speed equally astonishing.

Long Haochen's powers of observation far surpassed those of children his age, but he could only make out that a small dagger seemed to have appeared in the Little Mute Girl's hand. As she charged forward, her body made several utterly irregular evasive movements, like a fierce little tiger. That speed alone probably required spiritual energy above twenty, didn't it?

Unfortunately, there was clearly an insurmountable gulf between the Little Mute Girl and the man in white. In no more than the span of a breath, everything fell silent.

The dagger in the Little Mute Girl's hand was gone, and she herself had been tucked beneath the man in white's arm. Long Haochen had not seen at all how the man in white had done it.

"Let her go!" Long Haochen shouted. With a perfectly standard knight's stride, he swung his Wooden Sword at the man in white. At that moment, he had completely forgotten how terrifying the person before him was. All he could think of was saving the Little Mute Girl.

A tremendous force struck him. Long Haochen and his Wooden Sword went rolling away in an instant, and his consciousness immediately plunged into darkness. The man in white had merely raised a hand.

The Little Mute Girl, tucked beneath his arm, began struggling violently. The man in white was suddenly startled, for he clearly felt the little girl beneath his arm beginning to radiate scorching heat. A layer of dark red light also started emerging from beneath her skin.

"Calm down. I won't hurt him." At last, the man in white's voice carried a trace of human emotion. He seemed helpless.

Only then did the Little Mute Girl stop struggling and raise her head to look at the man in white.

The man in white nodded at her, took a step, and arrived before Long Haochen. He crouched down and began feeling around Long Haochen's body with one hand, not even overlooking his handsome little face.

After a moment, the man in white slowly frowned. "His aptitude is above average, but his skeletal development is insufficient. Both his temperament and aptitude are more suited to becoming a knight." As he spoke, he had already released the Little Mute Girl.

The Little Mute Girl rapidly made several hand gestures at him.

The man in white said, "His future achievements? Hard to say. Judging by his aptitude, becoming an Earth Knight would already be his limit. But at only eight or nine years old, he possesses four of the Ten Knightly Codes—compassion, bravery, perseverance, and sacrifice. His future achievements are beyond measure. For an outstanding knight, especially a Guardian Knight, temperament often matters more than aptitude."

The Little Mute Girl pointed at herself, then at Long Haochen, before making several more gestures.

The man in white nodded. "All right. The courage he showed just now is indeed enough to earn this reward."

A ball of white light quietly lit up from the man in white's chest. Vaguely, it could be seen that the white light took the shape of a small furnace, within which pale blue flames flickered.

The man in white extended the index and middle fingers of his right hand, lightly brushed them across the blue flames, then swiftly swept them over Long Haochen's body. With a sweeping gesture, he drew up trails of blue flame-light.

A moment later, the blue and white lights both withdrew and sank into the man in white's body, though his eyes now looked noticeably weary.

"All right. Using the power of the Spiritual Stove, I have cleared his twelve primary meridians and burned away the impurities within them. At the very least, his potential has risen by one tier. Your trial is over as well. Let's go back."

As he spoke, the man in white slowly stood and beckoned to the Little Mute Girl.

But the Little Mute Girl quickly walked over to Long Haochen. She removed a ring from her hand, blue with golden forget-me-not patterns, and placed it on Long Haochen's left middle finger. Strangely enough, as soon as the small ring touched Long Haochen's finger, it expanded by itself slightly, fitting his finger perfectly.

"Cai'er, you..." the man in white cried out softly. But what met him was the Little Mute Girl's steadfast, stubborn gaze. She then gathered the wild vegetables Long Haochen had picked and placed them neatly beside him before returning to the man in white's side.

The man in white's brows furrowed tightly. Only after a long silence did he slowly nod, take the Little Mute Girl's hand, and leap into the air, vanishing into the depths of the forest.