You Call That a Priest?

"Then, Brother Yue, Brother Long, and you two lovely ladies, we'll meet again at the Temple Alliance." With his goal achieved, Lin Xin finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Let's all do our best and make it to the finals together."

After bidding Lin Xin farewell, everyone returned to the hotel to rest.

Since they would be setting off again tomorrow to report to Holy City, they simply wished one another good night upon returning to the hotel, then went back to their respective rooms.

Lying in bed, Yue Shen's mind raced as he began considering his next steps.

First were the players, whom he had yet to encounter.

As for the world's storyline...

He had stopped worrying about that long ago. His interactions with Long Haochen could very well cause significant changes to the story down the line.

Still, he felt the main problem lay with those players.

Although he had done his best to avoid contact with them, that would no longer be possible during the upcoming Demon Hunt Squad Selection Tournament.

Then he would inevitably have to fight other players, compete against them, and perhaps even form a Demon Hunt Squad with them...

At that thought, Yue Shen's head began to ache.

Good grief! I'd be putting my life on the line while my teammates were just playing a game.

Yue Shen shook his head. He should look on the bright side.

After all, the players' skill levels were bound to vary, and there was no telling whether they could even reach the finals. Even if some did, there certainly wouldn't be many. Could his luck really be so bad that he would draw players as his Demon Hunt Squad teammates?

With that thought, Yue Shen finally felt reassured.

As the chosen one, there's no way my luck could be that bad!

Early the next morning, once Yue Shen and the other five had assembled, they set off straight for Holy City.

After a day's rest, everyone was refreshed and full of energy. With the Demon Hunt Squad Selection Tournament fast approaching, they were all brimming with motivation.

Becoming a demon hunter had been their sole goal throughout all their years of training.

"Brother Yue, this is for you." Long Haochen took a crystal bottle from the storage space within the Forget-Me-Not Ring on his hand and passed it to Yue Shen.

Yue Shen accepted it without objection.

The crystal bottle contained pills in two colors, five of each: dark brown and crimson.

Yue Shen had seen the dark brown pills before. They were the Spiritual Recovery Pills the Inspector had given him after he killed the Verdant Twin-Blade Demon.

The Crimson Pills, however, were new to him.

"Brother Yue, taking one of these dark brown pills restores two hundred points of spiritual power within ten seconds," Long Haochen explained. "As for the Crimson Pills, they instantly unleash your potential, increasing your combat strength by twenty percent. But they only last thirty seconds, and the side effect is twenty-four hours of weakness."

"I see." Yue Shen nodded slightly and put the crystal bottle into his Storage Ring.

Two days passed quickly, and the riders could already make out the silhouette of Holy City's walls in the near distance.

They were chatting idly as they continued toward Holy City.

Suddenly, the sound of an argument up ahead caught Yue Shen and the others' attention.

"Brother Yue, should we go take a look?" Long Haochen asked.

Ever since Yue Shen had dealt with those two fifth-tier demons, he had effectively become the leader of their group.

Unfortunately, the group would have to split up once they reached Holy City. Each of them needed to return to their own temple to take part in the preliminary elimination rounds.

"Of course," Yue Shen said without hesitation. "Why pass up a bit of excitement? Besides, it's still early."

With that, Yue Shen gently squeezed his horse's sides with his legs,

and rode toward the argument. Seeing this, Long Haochen and the others followed.

"I've been sick of the sight of you for ages, you damn baldy. Forget about entering the selection tournament. Hand over your Identity Token right now and get your ass back to Xiu City."

Hearing that voice, Yue Shen smiled.

So it really is that oddball-the legendary priest who can't heal.

But now that he had stumbled across this, he certainly couldn't turn a blind eye.

This is Long Haochen's personal priest. How could he miss this Demon Hunt Squad Selection Tournament?

After passing through a patch of woods, Yue Shen saw the two sides locked in the argument.

"Are you lot trying to rebel?" a burly bald man shouted.

"Is that... Gui Wu?" Long Haochen asked gravely as he rode up beside Yue Shen.

"Yep. And you've got a score to settle with him, too." Yue Shen chuckled and suggested, "Shall we head down and teach him a lesson?"

"I can settle things with him during the tournament." Long Haochen shook his head, declining Yue Shen's suggestion.

"A score to settle? What score?" Li Xin looked puzzled. "Did something happen between him and Haochen?"

"Of course," Yue Shen replied.

He then told Li Xin, Lin Jialu, and the others everything Gui Wu had done on Knight Sacred Mountain.

"Outrageous!" Li Xin fumed after hearing the story. "How can scum like that be a knight?"

Meanwhile, the two men below had already begun fighting.

Mounted on his Red-Armored Earth Dragon, Gui Wu gripped a spear in his right hand and charged at the burly bald man.

At the sight, Long Haochen immediately moved to go down and help the bald man.

"Wait." Yue Shen reached out to block his path. "Look how confident he is. Let's see what he can do first."

Long Haochen paused, then followed Yue Shen's gaze.

"Is..." Long Haochen asked uncertainly, "is that white robe he's wearing a priest's robe?"

"Yep, a Prayer Robe." Yue Shen nodded with absolute certainty. "Exclusive to priests."

Long Haochen: "..."

The burly bald man before them stood well over two meters tall. His powerful muscles stretched what should have been a loose-fitting priest's robe taut.

You're telling me he's a priest?

Yue Shen avoided Long Haochen's gaze and secretly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

Although he could say with certainty that the man was a genuine priest, for some reason, he found it a little difficult to say so aloud.

Seeing Gui Wu charge at him, the burly bald man raised the iron... magic staff in his hand.

It was a steel... pitch-black staff over three meters long and as thick as an arm.

Yue Shen pointed at the pale golden gemstone embedded in the top of the staff.

"That should indeed be a magic staff," Yue Shen said quietly.

The bald priest, Sima Xian, roared in anger, and his oversized staff flared with light.

As he raised the staff, a brilliant golden light shone forth, becoming a golden pillar that enveloped the bald priest.

Holy Light was one of the few priest skills that combined offense and defense. The pillar of light could effectively protect the caster while also inflicting damage on enemies who came close.