The Unknown Golden-Eyed Youth

"Doesn't Haochen know him?" Lin Jialu asked curiously. "From the way he acted just now, he clearly seemed to recognize this person."

Li Xin frowned at that and shook her head slightly. "He hasn't told me."

"Oh, really?" Covering her mouth, Lin Jialu leaned close to Li Xin's ear and whispered, "Take a good look at his face. Doesn't anything about him seem familiar?"

Li Xin paused, then turned to look at Yue Shen, who sat a short distance away.

His neatly cropped black hair gave him a sharp, capable air. He had well-defined features, fair skin, and a pair of pale golden eyes...

Wait! Pale golden eyes?

The moment Li Xin noticed that detail, she immediately turned her gaze to her younger brother, Long Haochen.

Long Haochen's eyes were pale gold too.

What Li Xin and Lin Jialu did not know, however, was that neither boy had been born with pale golden eyes.

Their eyes had only taken on that pale gold, a color representing sacred light, during their subsequent Sacred Awakening ceremonies because of their exceptionally high affinity with the light element.

After comparing them for a while, Li Xin realized that the two really did have quite a few similarities.

Aside from their matching pale golden eyes, their faces had plenty in common too.

Although she could not pinpoint exactly which features resembled each other, one thing was certain: both boys were so handsome that she could find nothing to criticize.

"You noticed it too, didn't you?" Lin Jialu chuckled. "And Haochen refuses to tell you who he is. There's definitely something going on."

"That's possible." Li Xin nodded in earnest agreement. "I'll ask him in a bit."

"Xin'er, Jialu." Seeing the two girls whispering off to the side, Li Aoxiao called to them, "Everyone's seated. Come join us."

During the meal, Long Haochen kept stealing glances in Yue Shen's direction, though no one knew what he was thinking.

What puzzled Long Haochen was that Yue Shen should have noticed him by now too.

Yet Yue Shen showed no reaction whatsoever and simply kept helping himself to the food. Never mind coming over to talk-he had not even glanced Long Haochen's way once.

Is Brother Yue telling me not to acknowledge him for now? Long Haochen set down his utensils and pondered. He probably doesn't want to reveal his identity here either.

"Haochen." Li Xin returned to the seat beside Long Haochen and discreetly pointed toward Yue Shen, asking in a low voice, "Do you know that person?"

"N-no." Long Haochen shook his head repeatedly. "But he's probably a contestant in the Demon Hunt Squad Selection Tournament too, right?"

"Isn't that obvious? Why else would he be here?" Li Xin stared into Long Haochen's eyes. "Do you really not know, little brother? You mustn't lie to your big sister."

Long Haochen did not want to lie to his sister either, so he could only say helplessly, "Sorry, Sis. I can't tell you."

I knew it! With her plan successful, Li Xin turned toward Lin Jialu, who had been tilting her head to eavesdrop beside them.

There really is something going on!

The two girls' thirst for gossip was now blazing. Eager to uncover the relationship between Yue Shen and Long Haochen, they decided to set aside their prejudices against each other for the time being.

Meanwhile, Yue Shen continued eating, unaware of the stir his arrival had caused.

His original thinking had been that even if he came to the Haoyue Branch Hall,

he only needed to do nothing, and the plot would remain unaffected.

As for hunting a Fifth Tier demon, that was his own assignment. Once he finished it, he would return straight to the Holy City and simply wait for the Preliminaries of the Demon Hunt Squad Selection Tournament to begin.

Besides, the delicacies on the table had really whetted his appetite. Living at the Government Office in the Holy City, he ate communal cafeteria food every day.

When had he ever eaten anything like this since arriving in this world? Besides, while in the Holy City, he had no chance to dine out because he had to keep his identity secret.

Before long, Li Aoxiao, the Military Commander-in-Chief of Haoyue City, saw that everyone had more or less finished eating.

Only then did he stand and say, "The Demon Hunt Squad Selection Tournament is about to begin. All the young people seated here are elites carefully selected by our various branch halls. Today's meal is a send-off for you, and an opportunity to explain what you need to bear in mind when obtaining your qualifications to compete."

Since the commander had begun speaking, Yue Shen set down his utensils to listen.

If I'd known, I wouldn't have worried about appearances and eaten so slowly. There are still so many dishes I haven't tasted, Yue Shen thought.

He did not actually need to listen to any of those supposed precautions. He was merely going through the motions out of respect for the Military Commander-in-Chief.

Bored, Yue Shen let his gaze wander and began studying the other contestants.

The red-haired girl with the high ponytail over there should be the older sister Long Haochen had taken during his training at the Haoyue Branch Hall. Her name was Li Xin.

As for the other girl in the dark blue mage's robe, if he remembered correctly, her name should be Lin Jialu.

Then there was Long Haochen, along with two background warriors whose names he could not remember.

Just as Yue Shen was racking his memory for their names, he heard the master of the Warrior Temple's Haoyue Branch Hall introduce them from the head of the table.

What gave Yue Shen a headache was that, despite the two warriors being plainly mediocre in strength, the master of the Warrior Branch Hall insisted on praising them to the skies.

Still, at least Yue Shen learned their names and specialties.

Chen Si, twenty-four years old, a Fourth Tier, second-rank Great Battle Master and a conventional shield warrior.

Chen Chen, twenty-two years old, a Fourth Tier, first-rank Great Battle Master and a berserker.

The Demon Hunt Squad Selection Tournament was held once every five years. Contestants could be no older than twenty-five, and the minimum cultivation requirement for registration was the third tier or above.

Next came the introductions for Li Xin and Lin Jialu, which Yue Shen listened to with some attention.

Li Xin and Lin Jialu were both twenty-one at present, making this year's Demon Hunt Squad Selection Tournament their last chance to compete.

Li Xin came from the Knight Branch Hall and specialized as a Retribution Knight. She was currently a Fourth Tier, third-rank Grand Knight.

Lin Jialu came from the Magic Branch Hall and specialized in ice magic. She was currently a Fourth Tier, fourth-rank Grand Mage.

As for Long Haochen, Nalan Shu kept his details secret, revealing only that he was fourteen years old.

According to Yue Shen's recollection, however, Long Haochen should currently be a Fourth Tier, eighth-rank Grand Knight, with over sixteen hundred points of internal spiritual power.

Still, it was possible that Yue Shen had spurred him on at the Knight Sacred Mountain, prompting him to train even harder after returning.

"And who is this young man?" The master of the Magic Branch Hall looked curiously at Yue Shen. "Hall Master Nalan, he must be from your Knight Temple too, right?"

"Yes, exactly." Chen Chunhua, the master of the Warrior Branch Hall, also spoke up from the side. "I've been keeping an eye on this young man for a while. It's one thing not to reveal the previous boy's cultivation, but why haven't you said a single word about this one?"