Rescuing Cai'er, Innate Inner Spiritual Power 99 Points!

[Choice One: Venture deep into the Monster Forest Central Area... Completed]

[Reward: Innate Inner Spiritual Power +1]

[Innate Inner Spiritual Power 98 → 99]

Feeling the waves of warmth surging through his body, Long Xuanye's heart stirred with excitement.

99 points of Inner Spiritual Power!

Without a doubt, even in this world, he could be considered a top-tier genius!

The future held boundless potential, and the chance to take revenge on Long Xingyu was now well within reach!

It was just a pity...

That final breakthrough from 99 to 100 points—he didn't have the guts to attempt it...

Saint Cai'er, held protectively in his arms, was completely stunned.

The young man's embrace wasn't broad, but it was firm and strong. Through the fabric of their clothes, she could feel his steady heartbeat and the warmth radiating from his body.

This warmth dispelled the fear and despair in her heart.

High atop a tree canopy deep in the forest.

A white-robed figure stood with his hands behind his back, his expression somewhat stiff.

This kid... how old was he?

From the looks of it, he couldn't be more than twelve.

There wasn't the slightest sign of Internal Spiritual Power Awakening in him—he relied purely on External Spirit Power, yet he could so cleanly and decisively kill a Third Tier Bloodthirsty Demonic Wolf!

This combat prowess... it probably wasn't much weaker than Cai'er's.

And that knightly spirit of instinctively protecting others in a moment of crisis...

The white-robed figure nodded in approval, but then gently shook his head.

He looked deeper into the forest. In the darkness there, pairs of eerie green eyes were beginning to glow, and the muffled, suppressed howls of wolves rose and fell in waves.

The scent of blood had drawn the wolf pack.

"Kid, your troubles are just beginning."

"Let me see... just where your limits lie."

The white-robed figure muttered to himself, his figure vanishing back into the foliage.

He would intervene.

But not yet.

The white-robed figure wanted to see just how far this young child's strength could reach!

Long Xuanye loosened his arms, gently straightened the little figure in his embrace, and helped her sit down with her back against a tree trunk.

"You okay?"

The child in his arms was filthy all over, her face covered in mud and dried bloodstains—it was hard to even tell if she was a boy or a girl.

She looked just like a little beggar.

The girl didn't speak. She just lifted her head, her hollow eyes quietly fixed on him.

Then, she reached out her uninjured hand, also caked with dirt, and tremblingly grabbed Long Xuanye's palm.

A faint, cool touch came through, carrying a slight ticklish sensation.

With her fingertip, she traced something on his palm, stroke by stroke.

Long Xuanye felt the clumsy strokes and recognized two words.

Thank you.

The girl paused, as if hesitating, then continued to write two more words.

Big brother.

Long Xuanye's heart stirred.

This kid... she was really well-behaved.

What was wrong with her family?

A child this young, with injuries this severe—they just left her alone in this Monster Forest?

Their hearts were too cruel.

Long Xuanye didn't dwell on it. As an adult in his previous life, he knew the most important thing now was to soothe her.

He reached out, gently placing his hand on her back, patting it slowly and rhythmically, one stroke after another.

His voice also softened.

"It's okay now."

"It's alright now."

"You're safe."

These simple words, he repeated over and over, his tone gentle yet firm, as if casting a calming spell.

This warmth, transmitted through his palm, flowed to her without pause.

Saint Cai'er's body suddenly stiffened.

She froze.

How long had it been?

How long since someone had treated her with such tenderness?

Ever since awakening the bloodline of the Reincarnation Saintess, everything had changed.

Her father, who once smiled at her warmly.

Her mother, who once held her in her arms.

Her older brothers and sisters, who once brought her candy.

Everyone had put on a different face.

In their eyes, there was no longer any doting affection—only harsh demands and expectations.

They forced her to train, to fight, to face death.

When she was injured, the verdict was "not strong enough."

When she was in pain, the command was "endure it."

She was just a ten-year-old girl.

She too felt pain, fear, and a longing for care.

But no one understood.

Or rather, no one was willing to understand anymore.

Yet now, the warmth of the hand behind her, the steady, gentle voice at her ear, was like a warm current breaking through a dam, instantly flooding the heart she had wrapped in a hard shell.

Was this... family?

Something she had once possessed, only to have it cruelly taken away.

Her nose stung, and in those always hollow, numb eyes, something finally gave way.

Saint Cai'er could no longer hold on. Her small body went limp, collapsing fully into an embrace that, though not broad, was infinitely steady.

Like a weary bird finding a harbor, she drank in the warmth she thought she would never have again.

The warmth and slight trembling in his arms pulled Long Xuanye's thoughts back to reality.

He looked down at the little creature curled up in his embrace like a frightened kitten, and his heart softened.

It was at that moment that a deep blue light screen, visible only to him, quietly materialized before his eyes.

Data refreshed.

[Innate Inner Spiritual Power: 99]

Long Xuanye couldn't help but read the panel again.

Innate Inner Spiritual Power: ninety-nine.

Just one point shy of the maximum.

If he could awaken his inner spiritual power, he could truly set foot on the path of a Knight.

As for that last point, making it a full hundred of Innate Inner Spiritual Power...

He didn't dare think about it.

That single step might as well be a chasm. The difficulty of the task the system would assign would absolutely be sky-high.

He wasn't some immortal protagonist who would charge headlong into certain death.

Stability was the foundation of survival.

Just as he was pondering this, Saint Cai'er stirred in his arms, lifting her little head from his chest.

Her gray eyes, now regaining a hint of life, showed a trace of confusion.

Where was the person in the white robe?

The danger was gone; he should have appeared by now.

But why... was he still nowhere to be seen?

The next moment, Saint Cai'er's pupils contracted sharply. Her small body tensed instantly, and a fear rooted deep in her soul seized her.

"Rustle..."

"Rustle, rustle..."

The bushes in the forest began to shake violently.

One pair, two pairs, a dozen pairs...

Countless eyes gleaming with a sinister green light flickered to life from the darkness, locked with bloodthirsty greed onto the two children beneath this great tree.

Wolf howls rose and fell in succession; dozens of lithe, powerful demon wolves encircled them in a semicircle.

Among them were several robust, ferocious Third Tier demon wolves, and the rest were all Second Tier.

A wolf pack!

Saint Cai'er's heart sank straight to the bottom.

She shoved hard, trying to push Long Xuanye away from her.

Go!

Hurry!

She was already deeply moved, already content.

In this moment of utter despair, to have someone like this, disregarding life and death to save her, giving her a warmth she had never experienced in her life—

Enough.

Truly enough.

She couldn't drag him down any further.

Saint Cai'er frantically pulled the ancient ring from her finger, trying to press it into Long Xuanye's hand.

It was her most precious possession.

"Forget-Me-Not."

Yet Long Xuanye stood as still as stone.