A Shadow Space at the Start, Choosing a Knight

The sun set in the west.

The evening glow of dusk set the sky ablaze.

The sun withdrew its dazzling rays, turning into a golden disc.

On a mountain near Odin Town, located along the southern border of the Holy Temple Alliance, two figures were rapidly exchanging blows.

"Brother, watch out."

Long Haochen held a Wooden Sword and swung it heavily at the other figure.

The sound of bang, bang, bang rang out without pause. Long Haochen's face was rosy as he tirelessly swung his Wooden Sword.

With a pitch-black Knight Greatsword strapped to his back, Long Haoyu calmly fended off Long Haochen's attacks with a Wooden Sword in one hand.

Spotting the opening after Long Haochen's heavy strike, he sidestepped the blow, then smacked the back of his head with the Wooden Sword.

Then he kicked Long Haochen squarely in the backside.

"Ow~"

Long Haochen fell flat on his face. Tucking the Wooden Sword behind his back, he wiped his nose with a finger. "Brother, I lost again."

"Isn't that perfectly normal?" Long Haoyu said with a smile.

After thinking for a moment, Long Haochen asked, "Brother, you clearly never drink Essence Replenishing Liquid. Why can't I beat you?"

Long Haoyu took out a handkerchief and handed it to Long Haochen. "Wipe the dirt off your face, or Mom will think I beat you up again."

Long Haochen took the handkerchief and wiped the dirt from his face, but his eyes were still full of eager curiosity.

Big Brother never drank something as good as Essence Replenishing Liquid, so why could he never beat him?

Seeing Long Haochen's rosy complexion and body, far healthier than an ordinary person's from constantly drinking Essence Replenishing Liquid, Long Haoyu wore a faint smile.

"Haochen, do you know what the word 'brother' means?" Long Haoyu asked.

Long Haochen gave an ah. "Brother means brother. Does it have another meaning?"

"The word 'brother' means you get to beat up your little brother."

Long Haoyu explained, "So this is suppression by bloodline. It has nothing to do with whether you drink Essence Replenishing Liquid or not. It's only natural that you can't beat me, your brother."

Long Haochen: "..."

His young heart was suddenly left at a loss. Could it be explained like that?

"Then next time, I'll definitely surpass you!" Long Haochen's handsome little face turned red as he declared passionately.

"Mm, work hard. Then next time, I'll have a reason to hit you a little harder."

Long Haoyu teased Long Haochen as he removed the pitch-black greatsword from his back and began wiping it down.

The greatsword looked old and battered. At a glance, one could see rows of chips along the blade, as though it had been gnawed by a dog.

Like the protagonists of other novels, Long Haoyu was not from this world.

He had simply opened and closed his eyes, then somehow magically transmigrated to the Holy Demon Continent, becoming Long Haochen's twin older brother.

Perhaps it was a benefit for transmigrators, but his system was quite generous.

The moment it awakened, it directly maxed out his talent.

In the system's words, with a genius younger brother, it would have been hard to justify not maxing out the elder brother's talent.

As for this greatsword, he had received it from the beginner's gift pack. Though he did not yet know what was extraordinary about it, it had come from the system after all.

For these reasons, instead of drinking the Essence Replenishing Liquid himself, he secretly gave it to his mother, fulfilling his duties as both a son and an older brother.

After wiping it for a while, the dog-chewed blade looked even more conspicuous. Only then did Long Haoyu sit cross-legged beside the greatsword.

"Haochen, same rules as usual today. Once I'm done training with you, it'll be your turn to keep watch for me."

"Try to finish early today. Tomorrow, we still have to go to the Odin Sub-Temple for the Attendant Knight assessment."

Long Haochen obediently ran over, removed his Wooden Sword, and sat down like Long Haoyu. His bright, wide eyes kept scanning the surroundings, afraid that some poultry might fly over.

"System, enter Shadow Space."

Long Haoyu muttered inwardly. His body remained seated where it was, but his consciousness entered another world.

Blue skies, white clouds, and a lake—everything was here. There was even a sun hanging in the sky.

Appearing here, Long Haoyu looked at the familiar surroundings and picked up the greatsword recreated within the Shadow Space.

Very soon, a figure identical to Long Haoyu appeared before him.

"Instructor!"

Long Haoyu clenched his fist against his chest and bowed, then looked solemnly at the identical figure before him.

This was the special feature of the Shadow Space. As long as he entered it, he could see another self exactly like him.

Not only did this shadow have the same appearance as him, it even possessed the exact same abilities in every respect.

In the system's words, if he wanted to improve, he needed to keep defeating himself.

The Shadow Space existed to provide such a training ground.

And the shadow manifested here was his Shadow Instructor.

"Begin!"

The Shadow Instructor responded, grabbing the greatsword before him that was identical to Long Haoyu's.

Its blade also bore the same dog-chewed serrations.

"Excuse me."

Long Haoyu murmured, then seized his greatsword and charged at the Shadow Instructor.

Unlike when sparring with Long Haochen, he was far more serious now. His grave expression reflected his current state of mind.

"Too slow!"

The Shadow Instructor had the same face, but not the same expression.

His face was cold and emotionless as he casually swept the greatsword in his hand to the side.

The sound of clashing steel rang out as he firmly blocked Long Haoyu's sudden attack.

The blade swept upward, and the Shadow Instructor's greatsword flashed coldly before Long Haoyu.

Long Haoyu proactively widened the distance between himself and the Shadow Instructor. A slash had been cut through his clothes.

Just a little more, and he would have repeated the same old mistake—being hacked to death alive by the Shadow Instructor.

But he had to admit that fighting the Shadow Instructor allowed him to truly feel just how much potential this body possessed.

Bound by the rules, the Shadow Instructor was another him, but he was proficient in combat experience. His various chained attacks and unexpected offensive methods were all things this body could accomplish.

Only by fighting such a Shadow Instructor could he truly make up for his own shortcomings.

In a place like the Holy Demon Continent, where humans and demons coexisted, he knew that he possessed an enormous background, and with the system's help, his talent had been directly maxed out.

But talent did not mean he could soar through life without setbacks. One careless moment and he might die.

There were many geniuses, but very few could truly stand at the peak.

The reason was simple: those geniuses had all died along their path of growth.

More or less, it was because they did not understand themselves well enough and died on the spot due to minor mistakes in battle.

There was also Haoyue, whom his younger brother would form a Blood Contract with at Knight Sacred Mountain in the future—the God of Heavenly Punishment who would destroy heaven and earth.

He had been an orphan in his previous life. In this life, he had family and the warmth of a home. He did not want to see tragedies unfold around him one after another.

And there was one more thing. From the moment he transmigrated into this world, he had resolved to become a loving man.

Without sufficient strength, he could not even protect those he wanted to love. Even if he could keep living, it would still be a failure.

Only overwhelming power would allow him to truly carry out his ideals and protect the family he wanted to protect.

Therefore, talent alone was useless. Without enough strength, he could not gain a foothold in a world like this. Constantly tempering himself against himself was undoubtedly the best way for him to improve quickly.

Long Haoyu understood this clearly. Seeing the Shadow Instructor charge at him again, he gathered his thoughts and pushed his mind into overdrive.

"Instructor, this time, I will definitely defeat you!" Long Haoyu said.

The Shadow Instructor's face remained icy. "Use your sword to tell me your answer!"

The two figures clashed beneath the blue skies and white clouds, while the sound of steel striking steel rose and fell.

Heavy, ox-like panting signaled the intense battle taking place here.

Who knew how much time passed before Long Haoyu stood in place, supporting himself with one hand on his greatsword.

Before him, his shadow had been cut down.

Beads of sweat the size of beans rolled down from his forehead. Long Haoyu grinned. "After being chopped to death so many times, I finally managed to chop you to death once too, Instructor."

The Shadow Instructor said nothing, but the system's prompt echoed throughout the Shadow Space.

Congratulations, Host, on successfully defeating yourself at the current stage. The system question-and-answer mechanism is now being activated.

"System, are you serious?" Long Haoyu asked.

What doubts does the Host have?

"I'm a transmigrator. I already transmigrated, and you still want me to answer questions and do exercises?" Long Haoyu felt like throwing up.

...

The system question-and-answer mechanism has been successfully activated!

Please choose the type of Knight you wish to become!

A: Retribution Knight

B: Guardian Knight

C: Dual Cultivation Knight