Invisible Speculation Is the Deadliest

Unlike ordinary equipment.

Bloodline Equipment—Temple Master Long Xingyu of the Knight Temple knew better than anyone what that meant.

He could not believe that Long Haoyu, that little brat who took shots at him every so often, already possessed a Bloodline Equipment capable of growth at such a young age.

Wasn't this...

Purely making him jealous?!

"Where did this child get such Bloodline Equipment?"

"Not only did he obtain it, he even gained the recognition of the Sword Spirit within?"

Long Xingyu's breathing grew hurried, and he even felt the urge to reveal himself immediately.

A growth-type weapon!

And he had chosen the path of a Retribution Knight!

Either factor alone made him the perfect candidate to inherit Long Xingyu's legacy.

If only he could rein in that habit of constantly talking back, he would be the most perfect successor.

Long Xingyu's gaze gradually burned with intensity, as though a magnificent battlefield unfolded before his eyes.

In the name of the Holy War, they would march against the brutality of the Demon Race.

Long Haoyu, grown to the peak of his strength, wielded the Wufeng Heavy Sword.

One man standing at the pass, holding back ten thousand.

Standing beneath the nine heavens, slaughtering across heaven and earth.

Perhaps such a scene truly could eradicate the Demon Race's rule of thousands of years.

And return the world to human hands.

The more Long Xingyu thought about it, the more stirred his emotions became. The longing in his eyes grew fiercer and fiercer, and his hurried breaths became completely heavy.

Veins bulged one after another on the back of his clenched fist, his body trembling with excitement.

"Wait..."

"Bloodline Equipment? A Sword Spirit of its own?"

Long Xingyu was so excited he was nearly about to explode on the spot when a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

Certain matters that had lain dormant in his mind for a full year resurfaced.

In a daze, he recalled what had happened on the night Long Haoyu discovered him a year ago.

"Given this child's personality, could it be that he discovered me that night a year ago because of the Sword Spirit?"

"In other words, while I was secretly watching him, everything I did was plainly visible to him?"

Long Xingyu restrained his excitement. As he thought over the events of the past year, his expression suddenly became somewhat unnatural again.

Comparing them with Long Haoyu's behavior over the past year, the more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

With Long Haoyu's personality, doing something like that would not be strange in the slightest.

"This child..."

"Yue isn't like this. Who did he learn all this from?"

"Could it be that Old Knight he mentioned before?"

Long Xingyu frowned tightly. Realizing that Long Haoyu carried far too many secrets he knew nothing about, he could not help but begin thinking it over.

From their first meeting a year ago until now, every incident between them resurfaced in his memories.

"According to Haoyu's description of that Old Knight, a Retribution Knight who lets his companions fall into danger isn't qualified at all and might as well go home and raise pigs."

"He seems to be an incredibly powerful Retribution Knight, but among the Alliance's powerful Retribution Knights..."

The more Long Xingyu thought, the more his head felt like it was about to explode. He was currently the publicly acknowledged number one Retribution Knight in the Alliance, yet in his memories, no Retribution Knight as powerful as the one Long Haoyu described existed.

But if he was not a powerful Retribution Knight, where would he get the confidence and insight to make such remarks?

By now, Long Xingyu had even attributed the Wufeng Heavy Sword in Long Haoyu's hands to that "powerful Retribution Knight."

Unless it had fallen from the sky, there was no way Long Haoyu could have obtained such extraordinary Bloodline Equipment given his circumstances in Odin Town.

"Could it be that senior from Demon God's Fall?"

Long Xingyu could not help but speculate. "That senior is a Guardian Holy Knight. Could he have also cultivated as a Retribution Knight over the years?"

"If it were that senior, he really would have the boldness to say such things. But I've never heard that he also cultivated as a Retribution Knight."

Long Xingyu felt as though his imagination was running wild. Though he kept trying to connect the pieces in the most likely direction, it still seemed unrealistic.

A Ninth Order Guardian Holy Knight cultivating as a Retribution Knight as well—just hearing it sounded like pure fantasy.

But apart from that one person...

Suddenly, Long Xingyu froze. Another name appeared in his mind.

Memories of the training that had led him onto the path of the Retribution Knight surfaced.

Though they had never been master and disciple in name, all of his achievements and experience had been derived from the manuals left behind by that person.

As that name emerged, Long Xingyu completely calmed down.

"That person began closed-door cultivation decades ago. Could he have emerged early?"

"If it were that person, it would indeed be highly possible for him to teach Haoyu these principles. If that's the case..."

"And judging by that person's Magic Beast's personality, perhaps that is the root reason Haoyu turned out this way."

Long Xingyu's expression became somewhat strange. He had never expected the origin of it all to be like this.

Having reached this conclusion, he suddenly felt uncomfortable all over.

On the path of the Retribution Knight, although he had gained the recognition of the Divine Throne, he still knew exactly how great the gap was between himself and that person in his mind.

If that person was teaching Long Haoyu the cultivation of a Retribution Knight, then it made complete sense that Long Haoyu looked down on the knowledge of Retribution Knights he had to offer.

Strictly speaking, Long Xingyu himself could be considered that person's disciple. How could his teachings on Retribution Knights possibly compare to that person's?

Realizing this, Long Xingyu finally understood.

"If that is the case, then there is no need for me to remain here for Haoyu's training."

"If Haoyu truly is the disciple chosen by that person, then this training session must also be that person's arrangement."

"There should be no need to worry about his safety. From now on, I should devote more attention to Haochen."

Long Xingyu did not disturb Long Haoyu. As he pondered these matters, he vanished from the treetop with his hands clasped behind his back.

A faint trace of loneliness and solitude still lingered in the air.

"Achoo~"

Deep within Demon Race territory.

Inside a highly concealed cave.

Several beings with extraordinarily powerful auras were meditating and resting there.

One of the "middle-aged men" suddenly sneezed, waking everyone in the cave.

Five pairs of eyes converged on the "middle-aged man" who had sneezed, their gazes turning slightly strange.

"Old Chen, are you sick?" one figure asked.

Chen Zidian shot his teammate a displeased look. His voice, unlike his appearance, was very old. "Can we even get sick?"

"Then you..."

"It's nothing. I just feel like someone might be talking about me." Chen Zidian replied. "Perhaps the Alliance is preparing for some major move, so they thought of old fellows like us!"

At those words, brilliance flashed in everyone's eyes.

Vigorous energy surged within their aged bodies.

What major move did the Alliance have planned next?

Long Xingyu did not know that his muttering had led several legendary powerhouses of Demon God's Fall, deep in Demon Race territory, to make their own associations.

Now that he no longer needed to worry about Long Haoyu's safety, he left decisively. Given what he had guessed, he was truly afraid that if he stayed any longer, he would be angered into coughing up blood.

Considering the special nature of the Sword Spirit within the Bloodline Equipment, he did not even dare be certain whether he had already been discovered.

If Haoyu learned of something like that...

Long Xingyu did not dare imagine what Long Haoyu thought of him now.

"Master, your father has left," the Sword Spirit suddenly said.

Long Haoyu raised his brows slightly. "Are you sure he's gone? He followed us for so long, and now he just left?"

"Definitely!"

Little Coal Ball answered, "But his expression seemed a little off when he left."

At Little Coal Ball's words, Long Haoyu's expression suddenly turned strange.

Lowering his head to look at No Edge, which was connected to him by blood, he could not help but think of some of his father's peculiar tendencies.

Could his old man be overthinking something again?

Long Haoyu was not certain, but he could feel the Magic Beasts drawn over by the Medicine Powder in Haoyue Marsh continuously approaching.

At this moment, he had no more attention to spare for such matters. Gathering his focus, he looked sharply at the path left open through the area where the Medicine Powder had been spread.

"You don't need to concern yourself with him."

"The Magic Beasts of Haoyue Marsh are already closing in."

"Next, it is time to focus and begin our Killing Feast!"