Teacher, please let him be evaluated once more.” The one who said that was Jiang Hu, the first one who passed the examination, as well as the oldest in this group of children.
“Yes! Instructor, please give Haochen one more chance.”
“Teacher, Haochen works every day with such diligence, please let him try again.”
At that moment, pleas for Long Haochen came from almost all of the children. That was the result of his popularity. Add in that they were just a bunch of kids that did not have the notion of a benefit-based relationship, and it showed that they were merely being concerned for him and had no hidden purpose.
Balza’s voice rang out, “Silence!”
Everyone in the hall calmed down.
Balza said, “Okay, I will give him a chance; but, for this to be fair, Long Haochen, you will first have to defeat Jiang Hu in a one-on-one duel. The same applies to anyone who failed, those who can beat Jiang Hu within three days starting from today will be evaluated again.”
Long Haochen was overjoyed. He thanked his classmates before turning towards Balza, “Thank you, Teacher.”
Looking at the stunning boy with a bright face and a pure smile, even if Balza was a man, he couldn’t help feeling startled. Putting aside Long Haochen, he looked at Jiang Hu, and lightly said, “Go all out, or else, I will cancel your promotion as Knight Squire, understood?”
“Yes.” Jiang Hu agreed. As he pulled out a wooden sword from his back, all the other youths scattered away, creating an empty area.
While holding the wooden sword, Jiang Hu performed a knight salute to Long Haochen. “Haochen, be careful. I will show no mercy.”
Long Haochen, likewise, saluted, “Brother Jiang, please.”
Jiang Hu let out a sound as he took a step forward with his hands gripping his wooden sword, going straight towards Long Haochen and aiming for his left shoulder.
Long Haochen appeared very calm, as if he was observing him in slow-motion. Until the wooden sword in Jiang Hu’s hand split the distance between them in half, he didn’t move. Then, at that instant, he swung his sword towards the bottom of Jiang Hu’s sword.
With a quiet Duh! sound, in a situation where Jiang Hu’s spiritual energy was far greater than Long Hachen’s, Jiang Hu was, unexpectedly, the one being swung at.
Seeing that blow, Balza’s eyes flashed, showing his surprise.
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Jiang Hu was being swung at, but his reaction was quick. He rotated his body, and as he used the power of his waist to drive the force of his hand, the wooden sword in his hand circled once, cutting horizontally.
Jiang Hu’s adaptability was brilliant. At his age, the fact that he’s able to have such a good level of mastery was pretty good. However, Long Haochen’s answer was even more surprising.
By the time Jiang Hu swung his sword, he had already advanced forward. The distance between the two was already pretty close. With a few steps, Long Haochen arrived at Jiang Hu’s side, as Jian Hu rotated his body.
How does he plan to attack? Doubt appeared in Balza’s mind. The wooden swords were a meter long and, at such a close distance, Long Haochen would not be able to attack openly.
But at that moment, Long Haochen unexpectedly launched an attack using the sword’s hilt.
As his body sunk downwards, simultaneously his sword’s hilt went up, aiming right under Jiang Hu’s rib. Although that attack from Long Haochen contained no force, Jiang Hu’s body still became unsteady and was swept to the side of Long Haochen’s wooden sword.
“Stop!” Balza shouted.
Balza’s eyes flashed and he said in a heavy voice, “Balance loss. Jiang Hu, you lost. If Long Haochen really did use his force, you would be lying down on the floor right now.”
Jiang Hu embarrassedly scratched his head, “Haochen, you are so cunning.”
Long Haochen withdrew his sword, looking apologetically at Jiang Hu because he had difficulty standing firm.
Balza nodded towards Long Haochen, ”You can try the assessment for a second time!”
Back in front of the wooden block, the look on Long Haochen’s face changed, becoming more dignified and giving off an unusual feeling.
Both hands holding the wooden sword, Long Haochen’s eyes looked imposing, his body looked like it was producing light. In particular, his eyes—those clear blue eyes—wore a firm look.
Suddenly, Long Haochen turned back fiercely, taking hold of his wooden sword, he looked far more obsessed than his peers.
Bang!
The stone bead went up as Long Haocheng was being repelled by the shock and took a step back. The wooden sword in his hands almost fell, and there was a trace of blood on his hands.
“Spiritual energy: 11. You pass!” Balza shouted with a shocked voice. Going from the 9th spiritual energy level to the 11th sounded just like a little difference of two levels. However, in his previous assessment, he estimated that Long Haochen was already going all out. To produce such an increase meant that his potential had been stimulated to its limit.
After a brief surprise, Balza came back to normal, and letting Long Haochen go to the infirmary to bandage his wound, then continued the next assessments.
“The assessments are finished. Those who failed, don’t come again tomorrow. Those who passed will be assigned to new instructors tomorrow. After receiving some Elemental Training Liquid, you can go back home. Now, dismissed!”
The youths shouted in unison, “Thank you, Instructor!”
“Long Haochen, you stay a little longer.”
The youths cheerfully left. At that age, whether they passed or not, they easily found joy and happiness.
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There were only two people left in Odin Hall: Long Haochen and Balza.
“Haochen, tell me, why did you choose to attack that way during your duel against Jiang Hu?” Balza asked seriously.
Long Haochen replied without hesitation, “Because my strength doesn’t match Big Brother Jiang Hu’s, so I could only look for his weaknesses. You taught us that, when attacking, the strongest point is at the tip of the sword and that the closer you get to the handle, the weaker the strength gets. Thus, at the time he attacked, I located his center of gravity on his waist, and closed the distance between us. By aiming for his center of gravity, I prevented him from using his full power so that he had no way to continue his attack.”
Balza’s eyes were full of surprise, “So, you are saying that all of this was accomplished through observation?”
He had never taught these kids combat because, at their age, laying the foundation was more important than to spend time training.
“Okay, you can go home.” Balza waved. He felt that that child had potential that the other children didn’t have.
Wearing that beautiful face and showing a moment of shyness, Long Haochen tentatively asked, “Teacher, today’s portion of Elemental Training Liquid…”
“Oh, go take it.”
“Goodbye, Teacher.” Long Haochen happily left.
As he watched from behind as the boy’s figure jumped away, Balza could not help revealing a smile on his face, “This child… he is well behaved, works hard, and it looks like he has a very promising talent for combat. He is a really rare good seed.”
“Do you know how he managed to find the opponent’s weak point so easily?” At that moment, a cool and bright melodious voice sounded around Balza. Because that sound came so unexpectedly, Balza was suddenly scared stiff.
He didn’t know since when he had been there, but at Balza’s side was another middle-aged person. He looked to be in his thirties, clad in a simple and plain robe, but he had a pair of eyes that were as bright as the stars. In the depths of those eyes appeared an ounce of disappointment, a radiance of memories, as well as a feeling of pain that could be felt by others.
