“Instructor, please let him retake the assessment,” said Jiang Hu, the first to pass and the oldest of the children. “Yes! Instructor, give Hao Chen another chance!” “Instructor, Hao Chen trains very hard every day. Let him try again!” For a time, pleas for Long Hao Chen echoed from nearly every young boy. This popularity was accumulated through kindness and goodwill. Moreover, they were just children, far from being involved in any conflicts of interest.

Balza said in a deep voice, “Quiet!” The wide hall immediately fell silent. Balza continued, “Alright, I will give him one more chance. However, to be fair, Long Hao Chen, you must first defeat Jiang Hu in a one-on-one duel to earn this opportunity. The same goes for all of you who failed. Whoever can defeat Jiang Hu will be given another chance to retake the assessment, limited to three days.”

Long Hao Chen was overjoyed. After thanking his companions again, he turned to Balza and said, “Thank you, Instructor.” Seeing his face, as beautiful as a maiden’s, filled with sunshine and a pure smile, even Balza, a man, couldn’t help but be slightly stunned. Ignoring Long Hao Chen, he instead looked at Jiang Hu and said calmly, “Go all out. Otherwise, I will revoke your title of Squire Knight, understand?”

“Yes,” Jiang Hu replied, drawing the wooden sword from his back. The other boys scattered around, clearing a space. “Hao Chen, be careful. I won’t hold back,” Jiang Hu said, holding the wooden sword in front of him and giving Long Hao Chen a knight’s salute. Long Hao Chen returned the salute. “Brother Jiang, please.”

Jiang Hu let out a low shout and charged forward, his wooden sword aimed straight at Long Hao Chen’s left shoulder. Long Hao Chen appeared calm. His movements seemed a beat slow. It wasn’t until Jiang Hu’s wooden sword was halfway to its target that he moved. His wooden sword flicked upwards, hitting the bottom of Jiang Hu’s blade perfectly. With a soft “thud,” Jiang Hu’s sword was deflected, despite Jiang Hu having significantly more spiritual power. Seeing this strike, a hint of surprise flashed in Instructor Balza’s eyes.

Although Jiang Hu’s wooden sword was deflected, he reacted quickly, using the momentum of his body to spin and swing the wooden sword horizontally, using the power of his waist and back to drive his arm. Jiang Hu’s response was excellent. He had already done quite well to be able to do this at his age.

However, Long Hao Chen’s response was even more surprising. As he deflected Jiang Hu’s attack with his sword, he had already stepped forward. The distance between the two was already close, and with this step, he had already reached Jiang Hu’s side. At this moment, Jiang Hu was in the middle of his body’s rotation. How would he attack? Balza wondered. The wooden sword was three feet long, and Long Hao Chen was already right next to him, making it impossible to wield it.

But at this moment, Long Hao Chen’s attack was launched. He used the hilt of his sword. Lowering his body, he simultaneously thrust the hilt upwards, hitting Jiang Hu’s ribs. Long Hao Chen didn’t even use much force, but Jiang Hu’s body was already falling backward, and his horizontally swinging wooden sword passed just over Long Hao Chen’s head.

“Stop,” Balza ordered. A gleam flashed in Balza’s eyes. He said in a deep voice, “Lost balance, overextended move. Jiang Hu, you lost. If Long Hao Chen had used a little more force with the sword hilt, you would already be on the ground.”

Jiang Hu scratched his head somewhat awkwardly. “Hao Chen, you’re really cunning.”

Long Hao Chen stood up straight with his sword, looking apologetically at Jiang Hu, who had barely managed to steady himself.

Balza nodded at Long Hao Chen. “You can try the second assessment.”

Returning to the wooden stake, the expression on Long Hao Chen’s face clearly became serious. Such an expression on the face of a boy like him gave people an unusual feeling. Grasping the wooden sword tightly, the determination in Long Hao Chen’s eyes clearly grew stronger. It seemed that there was a faint halo around him, especially his eyes; the clear, azure blue eyes held such a firm gaze.

Suddenly, Long Hao Chen spun around and swung the wooden sword in his hand, carrying his determination that far surpassed that of his peers. Bang! The stone bead bounced, and Long Hao Chen himself stumbled backward due to the recoil. The wooden sword almost fell from his hand. It was clear that the skin between his thumb and forefinger on both hands had oozed with blood.

“Spiritual power, eleven. Passed,” Balza said, his voice filled with shock.

Going from spiritual power nine to spiritual power eleven only seemed to be a difference of two in the numbers. However, in the previous assessment, Long Hao Chen had clearly used all his strength! To be able to produce such a large increase at this time meant that he had pushed his potential to the limit.

After a brief moment of surprise, Balza returned to normal. He told Long Hao Chen to go to the infirmary to bandage himself and then continue with the next assessment.

“The assessment is over. All those who have not passed, you don’t need to come tomorrow. Those who passed will be assigned new instructors tomorrow. Now, dismiss. After receiving the Essence Replenishing Fluid, you can go home.”

“Thank you, Instructor!” the boys shouted in unison.

“Long Hao Chen, stay behind for a moment.”

The boys left amidst cheers, whether they passed the assessment or not. At this age, they could easily find joy and happiness. Only Long Hao Chen and Instructor Balza remained in the wide hall of the Odin Sub-Temple.

“Hao Chen, tell me, why did you choose that method of attack in the fight with Jiang Hu?” Balza asked seriously.

Long Hao Chen replied without hesitation, “Because my strength is not as good as Brother Jiang Hu’s, I could only look for his flaws. You taught us that the greatest force when chopping is at the tip of the sword. The closer to the hilt, the weaker the
During his second attack, I observed that his waist was his center of gravity. So, I got close to him, preventing him from fully exerting his strength and breaking his center of gravity, making it impossible for him to continue attacking.”

Balza’s eyes filled with surprise. “In other words, you learned all of this through observation?” He had never taught these children about actual combat because, at their age, building a foundation was the most important thing. It wasn’t yet time to practice actual combat. But Long Hao Chen’s calmness in battle and accurate grasp of timing were truly shocking.

“Alright, you can go home, too,” Balza said, waving his hand. He vaguely felt that this child had potential that the other boys didn’t have.

“Instructor, my Essence Replenishing Fluid for this week…” A somewhat shy expression appeared on Long Hao Chen’s face as he tentatively asked.

“Oh, go get it.”

“Goodbye, Instructor,” Long Hao Chen said happily as he left.

Watching his departing figure, a smile couldn’t help but appear on Balza’s face. “This child is naturally kind and willing to work hard, and he seems to have a talent for combat. He’s truly a rare, good seed!”

“Do you know why he can easily find his opponent’s weaknesses?” Just then, a clear and melodious voice sounded beside Balza. Because the voice came without warning, Balza was startled. A middle-aged man had appeared beside Balza at some point. He looked to be in his thirties, wearing a simple and unadorned robe. However, he had eyes as bright as the stars. Deep in his eyes, there was a light of melancholy and reminiscence, and even a hint of pain.