First battle

"Teacher, but Brother Jiang admitted earlier that he killed a Golden Twin-Blade Demon," Long Haochen said.

"A Golden Twin-Blade Demon! How is that possible?" Ye Hua frowned slightly, then said, "Golden Twin-Blade Demons are sixth-order demons. Could Jiang Feng's strength already be approaching the sixth order? Impossible."

Ye Hua had intended to help Long Haochen analyze the opponents he might encounter and build his confidence. He had never expected to pick such a formidable one.

"He'll have a match shortly. As long as we aren't his opponents, we can assess his strength beforehand and prepare thoroughly," Ye Hua said.

"Mm." Long Haochen and Li Xin both nodded.

The first match of the preliminary round's third stage was a battle between two Fourth Order Knights. With little difference in their strength, they fought fiercely, and the outcome was only decided after a hard struggle.

Jiang Feng watched the matches quietly, occasionally playing with Dragon Baby on his shoulder.

"Hello, I'm Yang Wenzhao. What's your name, brother?"

Beside Jiang Feng, a young man with short blond hair spoke up. He wore a fitted black outfit and stood over a meter ninety tall, with broad shoulders and a wide back. His handsome features radiated masculinity, the contours of his face looking as though they had been carved with a blade.

"Jiang Feng," Jiang Feng replied with a smile.

"You're truly enviable, Brother Jiang, having a Red Dragon as your mount," Yang Wenzhao said with a smile.

"Ah, I can barely afford to feed the little fellow." Jiang Feng gave a rueful look. Whether now or during his future life in a Demon Hunt Squad, the resources Dragon Baby would need to grow were bound to be enormous.

"Dragon-type magical beasts have limitless potential. Your investment will pay off eventually. Once this Red Dragon grows up, it'll be a tremendous help to you," Yang Wenzhao said pleasantly.

"Of course." Jiang Feng had great confidence in Dragon Baby and made no attempt to be modest.

Yang Wenzhao was the grandson of Yang Haohan, the Temple Alliance Leader and head of the Knight Temple. Jiang Feng's teacher, Yang Haoyu, was Yang Haohan's brother, so Jiang Feng and Yang Wenzhao did have a connection of sorts.

After introducing themselves, the two chatted as they watched the matches.

Soon, it was Jiang Feng's turn.

A huge golden orb slowly appeared at the center of the dome above the trial arena. Then countless numbers began flashing across its surface.

"Fifth match of the preliminary round's third stage: number one versus number forty-five. Both contestants, enter the arena. Anyone who fails to enter within ten breaths will forfeit."

"Dragon Baby, be good and stay here. I'll be back soon." Jiang Feng set Dragon Baby down on the seat, ended his conversation with Yang Wenzhao, and walked straight into the trial arena.

The other fifth-order knights seated in the front row finally showed interest. They sat a little straighter, waiting quietly for the match to begin.

Yang Wenzhao also paid particular attention. Although he did not know how strong Jiang Feng was, his instincts told him that Jiang Feng was undoubtedly his strongest opponent in this selection tournament.

At the back of the contestants' seating area, Long Haochen also stopped cultivating and opened his eyes to watch Jiang Feng's match.

Jiang Feng's opponent was a knight in silver armor who appeared to be in his twenties. With a shield in his left hand and a heavy sword in his right, he was clearly a Guardian Knight.

Jiang Feng's armor was dark silver as well. From his Storage Ring, he took out the spear he had selected earlier on the top floor of the Administrative Hall in Starjoy City.

The spear was a light-attribute, magic-grade piece of equipment that could accelerate the gathering of light element, though that enhancement amounted to almost nothing for Jiang Feng.

The sight of Jiang Feng holding a spear surprised not only the contestants but even the senior figures of the Knight Temple on the dais. After all, very few knights used spears, since the vast majority of their offensive skills were performed with swords.

Once the two stood roughly fifty meters apart in the center of the arena, the referee shouted, "Begin! You must not maim your opponent. A contestant loses upon surrendering or becoming unable to fight."

As the referee's words fell, a golden barrier rose around the arena, separating it from the surrounding stands.

Number forty-five remained where he was at the start, tracing streaks of golden light with his hand to summon his mount.

His mount was a fifth-level Earth Bear. Standing upright, it was over three meters tall, with brown fur bristling like steel needles. Its bulky, powerful frame looked imposing.

Number forty-five lightly pushed off the ground with his toes and leaped onto the Earth Bear's back.

The Earth Bear roared and charged toward Jiang Feng.

At last, Jiang Feng moved. Holding his spear, he advanced to meet it at a measured pace.

In the blink of an eye, the fifty meters between them had shrunk to ten.

Number forty-five first cast two enhancement skills on himself: Aura of Faith and Blessing of Protection.

Then his heavy sword shone with a dazzling radiance like the blazing sun.

Using his mount's forward momentum, he slashed his heavy sword down, sending a meter-long blade of light slicing toward Jiang Feng.

It was the knights' powerful fourth-order offensive skill, Sunlight Slash.

Jiang Feng was somewhat surprised. The light element in this Sunlight Slash was exceptionally condensed, pushing the skill to the very limit of what a Fourth Order Knight could achieve.

Yet Jiang Feng moved as well. He pointed his spear forward, and its shaft immediately turned a luminous white.

Knight skill: Pure White Blade.

A second-order skill against a fourth-order skill.

A cold glint flashed at Jiang Feng's spear tip as it struck the center of the blade of light released by Sunlight Slash.

With a crack, the entire blade of light shattered instantly.

The spear continued forward without slowing, becoming dozens of streaks of light that thrust toward number forty-five's shoulder with lightning speed.

Lightning Thrust.

The two skills flowed seamlessly into each other, without wasting even an instant.

Before the spear reached him, number forty-five could already feel the piercing sharpness emanating from its tip. Even the skin of his face prickled with pain.

Forced to abandon the Light Slash Sword he had prepared, he brought his sword and shield in front of him instead, adopting a knight's block.

Clang, clang, clang...

A rapid series of impacts rang out. Number forty-five's charge was forcibly halted, and he nearly lost his balance.

He stared in horror at the shield in his hand. Dozens of tiny dents had been punched into the magic-grade shield.

The Earth Bear beneath him roared repeatedly, opened its mouth, and spat an earthen-yellow sword of light straight at Jiang Feng's chest.

Ignoring it entirely, Jiang Feng strode forward and thrust his spear hard at the shield in number forty-five's hand.

With a bang, number forty-five was blasted off the Earth Bear's back by an immense force. Though Jiang Feng had held back, the blow was still more than his opponent could withstand.

The sword of light spat out by the Earth Bear also struck Jiang Feng's chest, leaving a tiny dent. It did no damage to either Jiang Feng or his armor, however.

Jiang Feng reversed his spear and swung it hard into the Earth Bear's forearm. The terrifying physical strength granted by nearly three thousand points of external spiritual power sent its massive body flying. It spun through two full rotations in midair before crashing to the ground, throwing up a cloud of dust.

With a pained grunt, it shook its head and charged at Jiang Feng.

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