[Choice One: Explore the Monster Forest Central Area... Completed]
[Reward obtained: One point of Innate Inner Spiritual Power.]
[Innate Inner Spiritual Power: 98 → 99]
Feeling waves of warmth rising within him, Long Xuanye was overcome with excitement.
99 points of Inner Spiritual Power!
There was no doubt about it—he was one of the top geniuses in this world!
His future was boundless, and he had every chance of getting revenge on Long Xingyu!
It was just a shame...
He didn't dare risk attempting the final breakthrough from 99 to 100 points...
Saint Cai'er, whom he held in his arms, was completely stunned.
The boy's embrace wasn't particularly broad, but it was strong and steady. Through their clothes, she could feel his calm heartbeat and the warmth of his body.
That warmth drove away the fear and despair in her heart.
High in the canopy, deep in the distant forest.
A White-robed figure stood with his hands behind his back, his expression somewhat stiff.
How old was that boy...?
From the looks of him, he couldn't be more than twelve.
There wasn't the slightest sign that his Inner Spiritual Power had awakened. Yet relying solely on his External Spirit Power, he had killed a third-tier Bloodthirsty Demonic Wolf with astonishing ease!
His combat strength was probably not much weaker than Cai'er's.
And then there was the knightly spirit he'd shown by instinctively protecting someone else in a moment of danger...
The White-robed figure nodded in approval, then gave a slight shake of his head.
He looked deeper into the forest. In the darkness, pairs of ghostly green eyes were beginning to gleam, while muffled, restrained howls rose and fell.
The smell of blood had drawn a wolf pack.
"Boy, your troubles are only just beginning."
"Let's see where... your limits truly lie."
The White-robed figure murmured under his breath, then vanished among the branches and leaves.
He would intervene.
Just not yet.
The White-robed figure wanted to see just how strong this young child really was!
Long Xuanye released his hold and gently helped the little one in his arms sit upright against the tree trunk.
"Are you all right?"
The child in his arms was filthy from head to toe, her face covered in mud and dried blood. It was almost impossible to tell whether she was a boy or a girl.
She looked like a little beggar.
The girl said nothing. She only raised her head and quietly gazed at him with her empty eyes.
Then she lifted her uninjured hand, just as caked in grime, and tremblingly grasped Long Xuanye's palm.
A slightly cool touch brushed against him, ticklish and faint.
With her fingertip, she slowly traced something into his palm, one stroke at a time.
Feeling her clumsy strokes, Long Xuanye made out two words.
Thank you.
The girl paused, seemingly uncertain, then continued, tracing two more words.
Big brother.
Long Xuanye's heart stirred.
What a sweet child.
What was her family thinking?
She was so young and badly injured, yet they'd left her all alone in the Monster Forest?
They were heartless.
Long Xuanye didn't dwell on it. As an adult from his previous life, he knew that comforting her was the most important thing now.
He gently placed his hand on the girl's back and patted it, again and again, slowly and rhythmically.
He softened his voice, too.
"It's all right now."
"You're safe."
"Everything's okay."
He repeated those simple words in a gentle yet firm voice, as though casting a spell to calm her.
Warmth flowed steadily through his palm and into her.
Saint Cai'er's body suddenly stiffened.
She froze.
How long had it been?
How long since anyone had treated her with such tenderness?
Ever since her Reincarnation Saintess bloodline had awakened, everything had changed.
Her father, who had once smiled at her so warmly.
Her mother, who had once held her in her arms.
Her brothers and sisters, who had once brought her candy.
They had all become different people.
Their eyes held no affection anymore, only strict demands and expectations.
They forced her to train, to fight, to face death.
When she was injured, they told her she was "not strong enough."
When she was in pain, they ordered her to "endure it."
She was only a ten-year-old girl.
She could feel pain. She could be afraid. She longed for someone to care for her.
But no one understood.
Or rather, no one was willing to understand anymore.
Yet now, the warmth of the hand on her back and the calm, gentle voice by her ear were like a flood of warmth bursting through a dam, instantly washing over the heart she'd hidden beneath a hard shell.
Was this... familial love?
Something she'd once had, only to have it cruelly taken away.
Her nose tingled, and at last, something broke through the emptiness and numbness in her eyes.
Saint Cai'er could no longer hold herself together. Her little body went limp, and she sank completely into the embrace that wasn't especially broad, but felt utterly safe.
Like a weary bird that had finally found shelter, she drew on the warmth she'd thought she could never have again.
The warmth and faint trembling in his arms brought Long Xuanye's thoughts back to the present.
He looked down at the little creature curled against him like a frightened kitten, and his heart softened.
Just then, a faint blue panel appeared before his eyes, visible only to him.
Data reorganized.
[Innate Inner Spiritual Power: 99]
Long Xuanye couldn't help looking at the panel again.
Ninety-nine points of Innate Inner Spiritual Power.
He was just one point away from the maximum.
If he could find a way to awaken his Inner Spiritual Power, he could truly set foot on the path of knighthood.
As for that final point—reaching 100 points of Innate Inner Spiritual Power...
He didn't dare think about it.
That single step was probably an insurmountable chasm. The system's mission difficulty would be off the charts.
He wasn't some immortal protagonist. He wasn't about to charge into certain death when he knew exactly what awaited him.
Playing it safe was the key to survival.
As he pondered, Saint Cai'er stirred in his arms and lifted her little head from his chest.
A trace of confusion showed in her gray eyes, now returned to life.
Where was the man in the white robe?
The danger had passed. He should have shown himself by now.
So why... hadn't he appeared?
In the next moment, Saint Cai'er's pupils contracted. Her little body went rigid as a fear from the depths of her soul seized her.
"Rustle..."
"Rustle, rustle..."
The bushes in the forest began to shake violently.
One pair of eyes, then two, then more than a dozen...
Countless pairs of eyes gleamed in the darkness, brimming with bloodthirsty greed as they fixed on the two children beneath the tree.
Howls rose and fell as dozens of nimble Demon wolves circled in a half-ring around them.
Several were clearly third-tier Demon wolves, powerfully built and ferocious. The rest were all second-tier.
A wolf pack!
Saint Cai'er's heart sank to the bottom.
She shoved at Long Xuanye, trying to push him away.
Go!
Run!
She was already deeply moved, already content.
At the most desperate moment of her life, someone had risked everything to save her and given her a warmth she'd never experienced before.
That was enough.
It really was enough.
She couldn't drag him down with her.
Saint Cai'er hurriedly slipped an old-fashioned ring from her finger and tried to press it into Long Xuanye's hand.
It was her most precious possession.
"Forget-Me-Not."
But Long Xuanye didn't budge.
Before you continue