Sorry, Being Talented Really Does Mean You Can Do Whatever You Want

"Instructor, I won." Long Haochen withdrew his heavy sword and Radiant Shield, speaking calmly.

Ye Hua turned to look at Long Haochen, his expression somewhat complicated.

"Very good. You won. I lost because I underestimated you. Thank you for teaching me this lesson."

With that, Ye Hua clenched his right fist and pressed it to his left chest, giving Long Haochen a Knight's salute.

Long Haochen returned the salute. "Thank you for your guidance, Instructor."

Although Long Haochen did not think much of Ye Hua as a person, proper courtesy was still necessary.

The Knights running laps nearby stopped one after another, staring dumbfoundedly at Ye Hua and Long Haochen.

Having his defeat witnessed by his own students, Ye Hua immediately felt humiliated. Rage flared in his heart as he roared at the Knights, "Why have you all stopped? Did you take my words for the wind? Run another fifty laps!"

Only after venting his anger did Ye Hua coldly say to Long Haochen again, "Come with me."

Led by Ye Hua, Long Haochen returned to the first floor of the Knight Hall.

The moment he entered, Long Haochen saw a familiar figure.

"How was that? Didn't I tell you so?"

The person waiting in the Knight Hall was none other than Nalan Shu, the master of Hao Yue Sub-Temple.

Though surprised, Long Haochen quickly recovered and saluted Nalan Shu. "Temple Master Nalan."

"Dead fatty." Even when facing Nalan Shu, Ye Hua's mouth remained as foul as ever.

Nalan Shu did not mind at all. He laughed heartily and said, "Zombie face, didn't I tell you long ago? Our Hao Yue Sub-Temple has gained an unparalleled genius. Do you even know what an unparalleled genius is, you idiot? Haochen, tell him. How old are you this year?"

Long Haochen answered, "I'm twelve this year."

"What?!" Upon hearing Long Haochen's actual age, Ye Hua's zombie-like face finally changed.

Long Haochen was only twelve, yet he could use Sun-Splitting Slash—and use it three times in a row. Ye Hua was truly shocked.

Ye Hua stared intensely at Long Haochen and asked, "Since you know Sun-Splitting Slash, that proves you previously learned Retribution Knight skills. Why did you switch to cultivating as a Guardian Knight?"

Long Haochen was pursuing the path of dual cultivation as both a Retribution Knight and a Guardian Knight. That was his secret, so naturally he could not tell unrelated people like Ye Hua and Nalan Shu.

"My father told me that on the battlefield and within a team, Guardian Knights are far more useful than Retribution Knights. That is why I chose to switch to cultivating as a Guardian Knight."

Hearing this, Ye Hua's eyes lit up. He thought to himself that Long Haochen truly was a genius whose future achievements would be limitless.

"Very good. From today onward, you will take me as your master and learn Guardian Knight skills from me. Since you do not want to run, you need not run. I can create a specialized training plan for you."

Ye Hua believed that he had sincerely taken Long Haochen as his disciple and had also demonstrated his abilities before him. Long Haochen would surely agree.

However, all of that was merely Ye Hua taking things for granted.

Long Haochen shook his head. "No, Instructor. I'm very sorry, but I do not want to study with you."

"Very well, then next... Hm? What? You don't want to study with me?" Ye Hua's face darkened once more.

Nalan Shu tried to persuade him. "Haochen, although this zombie face has a foul mouth, he is a Fifth-Tier Sky Knight, the number one Guardian Knight of our Hao Yue Sub-Temple! You should think this through carefully."

A Fifth-Tier Sky Knight?

Long Haochen roughly calculated that, at his current rate of cultivation, he would break through to the Fifth Tier at around fourteen. Ye Hua was a Fifth-Tier Sky Knight, so what he could teach would not exceed the Fifth Tier. That meant that once Long Haochen broke through to the Sixth Tier, Ye Hua would no longer be able to teach him.

On the Holy Demon Continent, there was no explicit rule stating that a person could only acknowledge one teacher in their lifetime. Yet in reality, many experts in the Alliance had only one teacher throughout their lives. For example, Long Xingyu was the honorary disciple of Yang Haoyu, the strongest expert in the Knight Temple, and Yang Haoyu was also Long Xingyu's only teacher.

Long Haochen's talent far surpassed even Long Xingyu's. Since Long Xingyu's teacher was Yang Haoyu, Long Haochen's teacher should at least be a Ninth-Tier powerhouse on Yang Haoyu's level.

Having thought it through, Long Haochen became even more resolute in his decision.

Long Haochen still shook his head. "I'm sorry, Temple Master Nalan. I wish to cultivate on my own and arrange my own training plan. The Knight Hall's learning method does not suit me. I have my own way of cultivating."

Ye Hua could no longer hold back. Pointing at Long Haochen, he angrily shouted, "Nonsense! Don't think you can do whatever you want just because you're talented. Without an excellent teacher guiding you, do you think you can teach yourself to become successful?"

If he had not been afraid of hurting what little self-esteem Ye Hua had, Long Haochen truly wanted to reply, Sorry, but being talented really does mean you can do whatever you want.

What kind of talent did Long Haochen possess? He was a Child of Light with Innate Full Internal Spiritual Energy. Learning any light-element skill was far easier for him than for anyone else. Even someone as powerful as Long Xingyu had to admit that, even without his guidance, Long Haochen could independently learn any Knight skill. That was why Long Xingyu had confidently given Long Haochen the Inheritance Ring, allowing him to comprehend the skills within it himself.

It was not that Long Haochen did not need a teacher. What he did not need was a teacher who would remain stuck at the Fifth Tier for life. He needed a teacher at least on Long Xingyu's level.

Nalan Shu waved his hand and said, "Since Haochen is unwilling, then forget it. I permit you to enter the Hao Yue Sub-Temple Library on your own. The books within contain many Guardian Knight skills, and you may borrow any of them freely. Starting today, you do not need to attend lessons at the Knight Hall. Arrange your own training plan."

Long Haochen gratefully saluted Nalan Shu. "Thank you, Temple Master Nalan! If there is nothing else, I'll take my leave first."

Watching Long Haochen leave, Ye Hua could no longer endure it. He roared at Nalan Shu, "Dead fatty, do you know what you're doing?! Without my guidance, how can he learn Guardian Knight skills? Especially the more advanced skills—you'll ruin him by doing this!"

Nalan Shu sighed. "Ye Hua, you must understand that Haochen's willingness to stay and study at our Hao Yue Sub-Temple is our Hao Yue Sub-Temple's good fortune. A genius like Haochen will succeed no matter where he studies. He is destined to become a powerhouse who crushes an entire era."

"I tested his spiritual energy just yesterday. Do you know what his total spiritual energy is now? Four hundred and forty-three! Four hundred and forty-three! A twelve-year-old Eighth-Level Knight!"

"What?!" Ye Hua found it unbelievable.

After thinking for a moment, Ye Hua continued, "Just how much Innate Internal Spiritual Energy does he have?"

For Long Haochen to possess such cultivation at such a young age, it was obvious that his Innate Internal Spiritual Energy far exceeded that of ordinary people.

Nalan Shu shook his head. "I don't know. I asked him, but he said it was a secret and refused to tell me. Conservatively speaking, his Innate Internal Spiritual Energy should not be below sixty. It may even be above seventy, after all, he is..."