A month later.
Within the Temple Alliance, at a secluded knight training ground.
"Smack!"
A golden whip sliced through the air and cracked hard against the ground, kicking up a ring of dust.
Long Xingyu held the whip and stared at the small figure in the training yard.
"Again."
His voice was flat.
In the yard, Long Haochen was already soaked through with sweat. Damp strands of hair clung to his forehead. Every breath brought a searing pain, and his arms ached as he gripped his knight training sword, trembling uncontrollably.
This was the hundredth time—or more—that he had been knocked to the ground that day.
But he did not complain.
Bracing himself on the ground with his scabbard, the boy clenched his teeth and staggered back to his feet, once again taking up a proper attacking stance.
No matter how absurd the training regimen was, or how Long Xingyu deliberately used the pressure of his Spiritual Power to leave him gasping for breath, Long Haochen had never backed down.
Looking at his son's stubborn back, Long Xingyu found himself feeling a trace of admiration.
The Demon God Emperor Bloodline flowing through the boy's veins had indeed given him extraordinary resilience and potential, enough to endure this hellish ordeal.
More remarkably, after spending so much time together, Long Xingyu could clearly sense that Long Haochen's heart was as pure as crystal, and his kindness utterly untainted.
Long Xingyu put away the whip and asked, "How have you managed to keep going?"
At his words, Long Haochen tightened his grip on the sword, his knuckles turning white with the effort.
He raised his head. A flame burned in his clear eyes, and his voice held the stubbornness particular to a boy his age.
"I have to become stronger."
"My brother is waiting for me."
Images flashed through his mind, beyond his control.
That figure who was always smiling, and who had been more like a father than their actual father.
As far back as he could remember, Brother Xuanye had been the one to care for him. When he fell ill with a fever, his brother had stayed by his bed all night, cooling him with a damp towel. When the other children in the village bullied him, his brother had shielded him, using his thin shoulders to take every blow.
In Long Haochen's heart, Long Xuanye had long been irreplaceable family, no less important than his mother, Bai Yue, or his father, Long Xingyu.
He remembered his father's words clearly.
"Only when you're strong enough will you be worthy of going to find him."
At the words "my brother," the trace of warmth that had just appeared on Long Xingyu's face vanished without a trace.
Deep in his eyes, rage churned, forcibly held in check.
But he did not let it show.
Long Xingyu's voice turned cool.
"Your talent is indeed impressive, and you've awakened the Child of Light constitution. It's time I told you some truths about your brother."
A spark of hope lit Long Haochen's eyes. He stepped forward and stared intently at his father.
Long Xingyu took his time.
"Your brother, Long Xuanye, was born a Demon Seed."
"I only found out later that Bai Yue had picked him up. He just happened to be the same age as you."
He made it up. There was no way Long Haochen could remember whether he and Long Xuanye had been born together.
"The day I took you and your mother away, he awakened his power and went mad, slaughtering indiscriminately. If I hadn't stopped him in time, the consequences would have been unthinkable."
He paused, watching the color drain from Long Haochen's face with satisfaction, then continued.
"I had planned to spare his life out of regard for our family ties and simply drive him out. But the demons rescued him, and he awakened an extraordinarily terrifying Innate Dark Inner Spiritual Power."
"By now, he's fallen so far that his hands are stained with the blood of countless innocent people. He's a monster."
Perhaps by sheer coincidence, Long Xingyu had gotten one thing right.
Xuanye really was improving his Innate Dark Inner Spiritual Power. But the so-called "indiscriminate slaughter" and "Demon Seed" were nothing but malicious smears Long Xingyu had invented to achieve his own ends.
Long Haochen froze as if struck by lightning.
His lips trembled, but he couldn't say a word.
Seeing his reaction, Long Xingyu continued in a coaxing tone.
"Haochen, he's no longer the brother you knew. Now he's bloodthirsty and cruel, an enemy of all humanity."
"You have to become stronger. Not for any other reason, but for the future of all humankind."
"With your talent, you're the only one who can end him. Perhaps... only your sword can give him 'peace' amid his endless madness, and bring back the upright, gentle Long Xuanye he once was."
Even Long Xingyu felt sick as he said it.
Upright and gentle?
In his eyes, Long Xuanye had been calculating and devious since childhood, a "bad seed" who had nothing in common with those words.
But he had to say it.
Only this story could bind Long Haochen, his sharpest sword, to his side.
Long Haochen had always trusted his father completely.
Now he felt as if an invisible hand had seized his heart and squeezed hard, or as if he had been struck by a heavy hammer. The pain nearly stole his breath.
Despair and anguish swept over him. Tears welled up in his eyes, but he forced them back.
The boy remained silent for a long time, so long that Long Xingyu thought he couldn't accept it.
At last, he nodded firmly.
His pure eyes now held nothing but endless grief and resolve.
"I understand, Father."
"I'll... give my brother 'peace.'"
He tightened his grip on his sword again, the pain nearly drowning his small frame.
But he knew this was his responsibility.
For his brother, so he would no longer suffer.
He had to work harder!
His current strength was still nowhere near enough!
Seeing the fighting spirit rekindled in his son's eyes, Long Xingyu finally let a smug smile tug at his lips.
With the Child of Light constitution, the help of the Saint Induction Spirit Furnace, and that unrelenting resolve...
Long Haochen's cultivation speed would become so astonishing that even he would be afraid.
Long Xuanye?
How could he possibly compare?
Just wait.
You can hide, but you can't hide forever.
Even if I can't kill you with my own hands, Haochen certainly can!
In less than three months of training, Long Haochen's Inner Spiritual Power had already surpassed four hundred.
That was the result of my full support and the resources the Knight Temple had poured into him!
Long Xuanye?
Even if he was still alive, he was a stray dog with nowhere to go. So what?
Could he even match half of Haochen's strength?
As Long Xingyu thought it over, a faint smile gradually spread across his face.
Long Haochen, standing nearby, noticed and froze.
Had all my hard training made Father happy?
Good!
For my brother, for Father—I'll keep going!
The boy used the blade to support himself and slowly assumed a ready stance.
Though his body trembled, his will still kept Long Haochen standing!
Before you continue