Defeating Ye Hua

Ye Hua narrowed his eyes, and his zombie-like face darkened further.

"Good. Good. Good. It had been a long time since anyone dared defy my orders. Since you did not want to run laps, fine. As long as your attack could make me move my feet. What I hated most in my life were self-important, unconventional geniuses like you. Let me see whether your strength was truly worthy of that pride."

"Yes, Instructor!"

Long Haochen also wanted to see just how capable this "very good instructor" Long Xingyu had spoken of really was. More importantly, he wanted to see whether Ye Hua was qualified to be his teacher.

After all, what kind of people had Long Haochen's previous two "teachers" been? One was the patriarch of the Heaven-defying Demon Dragon Clan, the emperor of the Demon Race, and the strongest person on the Holy Demon Continent. The other was the owner of the Throne of Seal of Doom and Slaughter, a Judgment and Trial Divine Knight.

Both of those academy-level "teachers" had contributed immeasurably to Long Haochen's growth in strength. Honestly, even if Long Haochen had not come to study at the Hao Yue Sub-Temple, he could still have taught himself with the knowledge Feng Xiu had imparted and Long Xingyu's Inheritance Ring.

As the saying went, the accomplished were the teachers. If Ye Hua's strength was not even on par with Long Haochen's, Long Haochen would not waste his time following him.

Ye Hua and Long Haochen arrived at the training field outside the classroom. On the other side of the field, the Knights were running laps. They merely glanced at Ye Hua and Long Haochen before looking away. Quite a few even wore expressions of pity.

The Forget-Me-Not Ring flashed blue, and the Radiant Shield and Knight heavy sword appeared in Long Haochen's hands. Shield in his left hand and heavy sword in his right, he looked like a standard Guardian Knight.

Ye Hua removed the round shield from his back with one hand. His face remained stiff as he said coldly, "You may attack first."

Long Haochen did not attack immediately. Instead, he used his exceptional powers of observation to assess Ye Hua's movements.

After observing for a moment, Long Haochen finally moved. With neat, rhythmic Rush steps, his speed suddenly surged. In an instant, he erupted with the charging speed of a Third-Rank Knight. Yet this was not his full-speed sprint, because he needed to leave himself enough time to change moves.

Using the momentum of his Rush, Long Haochen swung his heavy sword and thrust at Ye Hua. At the same time, a silvery-white glow lit up on the blade.

Thrust, Pure White Blade!

Ye Hua gave a contemptuous smile. With his right hand behind his back, he raised his shield in his left hand to block, angling its surface. Long Haochen's heavy sword scraped along the shield's slant, scattering a stream of sparks. The next instant, Ye Hua charged forward with his shield, producing a sharp whistle through the air.

As the shield was about to slam into him, Long Haochen responded calmly. Relying on his excellent reflexes, he quickly retreated five steps. At the same time, he raised his left hand and held the Radiant Shield before him.

Bang—

The two shields collided, sending Long Haochen flying backward. Using the lightness technique Feng Xiu had taught him, Long Haochen swiftly steadied himself in midair. He then planted one hand on the ground, flipped over, and landed smoothly without a scratch.

Ye Hua narrowed his eyes. Long Haochen's reaction speed and adaptability truly exceeded his expectations. By his estimate, Long Haochen should at least have been left utterly disoriented by that shield strike.

Although he had failed to defeat Long Haochen in a single move, Long Haochen's attack had also failed to move Ye Hua's feet even half an inch. In the first exchange, Long Haochen had still lost.

"Trash." Ye Hua's foul mouth spat out those two words again.

This was the first time in his life that Long Haochen had heard someone call him trash.

Long Haochen very much wanted to ask Ye Hua: if someone with Innate Full Internal Spiritual Energy was trash, then what exactly were you?

"Instructor, please advise me!"

Words were useless. Long Haochen would use the sword in his hand to make Ye Hua realize who the trash really was.

Long Haochen charged at Ye Hua again. He was clearly slower than before, but his overall presence was far more imposing.

A layer of golden light suddenly flared around Long Haochen. Immediately afterward, a radiance like the sun burst forth, condensing into a blade of light that tore through the air.

Fourth-Rank Retribution Knight skill, Sun-Splitting Slash!

The expression on Ye Hua's impassive zombie face finally changed. Sun-Splitting Slash was a skill of a Fourth-Order Grand Knight, yet a mere Scholar Rank Knight like Long Haochen could actually use it.

Ye Hua held his shield horizontally before him and poured Inner Spiritual Power into it. With a crisp ding, the blade of light struck the shield, throwing off a shower of sparks.

However, Long Haochen's attack did not end there. Two more blades of light followed in quick succession.

Consecutive Sun-Splitting Slash!

Ordinary people needed to expend fifty points of spiritual power to use Sun-Splitting Slash, but as a Child of Light, Long Haochen needed only thirty. In other words, casting Sun-Splitting Slash three times in succession required him to spend only ninety points of spiritual power. With his Inner Spiritual Power nearing two hundred, it remained within his limits.

Ding, ding—

The first blade of light had barely been neutralized by the shield when the second and third arrived right behind it. Ye Hua had no choice but to keep blocking with his shield.

Under the assault of three consecutive Sun-Splitting Slashes, Ye Hua's body became slightly unsteady. As a Fifth-Tier Sky Knight, if Ye Hua had been able to use his full strength, receiving Long Haochen's three Sun-Splitting Slashes would naturally not have left him in such an embarrassing state.

But Ye Hua had already boasted that he would not move his feet. That meant he could only stand still and defend passively. Unable to use footwork to neutralize Long Haochen's attacks, he had fallen into this awkward predicament.

Before the third blade of light dissipated, Long Haochen tossed aside the Radiant Shield in his left hand. In a flash, he darted behind Ye Hua and struck with his sword in his right hand.

Thrust!

Unable to move his feet, Ye Hua naturally could not turn around to block Long Haochen's attack. He could only swing his shield behind his back to protect himself.

Clang—

Long Haochen's heavy sword was once again knocked aside by Ye Hua's angled shield.

Ye Hua gave a disdainful sneer. "Trash."

The moment his words fell, a tremendous crash rang out from the shield. Ye Hua felt an unexpected, immense force surge through it. Although the shield blocked most of the impact, the remaining force still pushed his entire body one step forward.

Astonishing Dragon Fist!

Long Haochen had thrown away the Radiant Shield for two reasons. First, to increase his speed. Second, to use Astonishing Dragon Fist.

The sword thrust he had launched from behind Ye Hua had merely been a feint. His true killing move had been the final Astonishing Dragon Fist.

If Ye Hua had faced Long Haochen head-on, he would have noticed Long Haochen's punch in advance. But unfortunately, he had boasted that he would not move his feet. With his back to Long Haochen, Ye Hua could not see his move, allowing Long Haochen to succeed.

Long Haochen had precisely taken advantage of the agreement between himself and Ye Hua to attack in this manner.