A subtle change flashed in the light-attribute mage’s eyes, and he smiled, “Then, may I ask who you are looking for? For the time being, we can still hold Jialing Pass.”

Han Yu, standing to the side, furrowed his brows and stepped forward, saying, “Would it be possible to guide us into Jialing Pass first?” Although this young mage was excellent, he was only at the seventh rank after all. Long Haochen was wearing the Adamantine Foundation Armor, representing his high status in the Knight Temple. It was unreasonable to have an ordinary seventh-rank mage stop them in mid-air and question them in detail.

The light-attribute mage was slightly taken aback, but quickly regained his composure. “I apologize, I was impolite. Please, follow me.” As he spoke, he turned around, beckoned his two companions, and flew down towards Jialing Pass.

Han Yu’s expression softened a little, and he followed Xing Wang, flying downwards.

Cai’er whispered to Long Haochen, “I don’t like the look in that person’s eyes.”

Long Haochen nodded slightly. Naturally, he had also seen that when the light-attribute mage was staring at Cai’er, he didn’t bother to hide it. However, he didn’t pay too much attention to it either. The Alliance was formed by the six major temples, and it was currently the time of the Holy War. Although the other party’s manners were a bit lacking, he didn’t want to argue with him.

Soon, the six of them flew to a position about five hundred meters above Jialing Pass. The three mages in front suddenly flashed with light, and they could vaguely feel intense magical fluctuations emanating from their bodies. Then, they continued to fly forward.

“Han Yu, wait a moment,” Long Haochen suddenly called out to Han Yu, and Xing Wang also stopped.

“What’s wrong, Captain?” Han Yu asked, puzzled.

Long Haochen’s face behind the mask revealed a hint of doubt, “There seems to be a defensive barrier. We don’t have the formation imprint to pass through, so we’ll be blocked by the barrier.”

Hearing him say this, Han Yu was immediately furious and shouted at the three mages who had already flown into the barrier, “What do you mean?”

The three mages were also stunned when they saw that Long Haochen and the others had not followed. The leading light-attribute mage showed a look of surprise, and then quickly apologized, “I’m sorry, I forgot to give you the seal imprints. I sincerely apologize.” As he spoke, he flew back out and handed three imprints, like tokens, with intense magical fluctuations, to Long Haochen and the others.

Han Yu narrowed his eyes and said in a deep voice, “Did you really forget?”

The light-attribute mage’s face turned cold, “Knight friend, what do you mean? Are you suggesting I did it on purpose?”

Han Yu sneered, “Whether it was intentional or not, you know that yourself.”

The light-attribute mage said indifferently, “Aren’t you knights very powerful? The Alliance’s number one temple? Even without my imprint, a small barrier shouldn’t be able to stop you, right? I didn’t expect that you knights are also afraid of our Mage Temple’s barriers!”

Hearing him say this, Han Yu’s anger was instantly ignited. Just as he was about to lash out, he was stopped by Long Haochen raising his hand.

“Let’s go,” Long Haochen simply said, and had Xing Wang fly towards the barrier.

A faint trace of smugness appeared on the light-attribute mage’s face.

Sure enough, when Xing Wang flew to the place where the three mages had emitted strong magical fluctuations earlier, a layer of transparent light blocked their path.

The seal imprints in Long Haochen and Cai’er’s hands suddenly emitted a soft light. However, Xing Wang’s body could not enter.

This was clearly not a mistake. It was obviously intentional on the part of that light-attribute mage. How could he not know that magical beasts required a special imprint to pass through the seal?

Long Haochen turned around and glanced coldly at the light-attribute mage. Cai’er, who was in front of him, suddenly moved.

An icy killing intent erupted from Cai’er almost instantly. Then, a cold gray light flashed forward.

There was a sharp tearing sound in the air, and a black mark suddenly appeared on the transparent seal. Then, the black mark actually cracked instantly, revealing specks of starlight. Xing Wang spread its wings and carried Long Haochen and Cai’er into the barrier.

Han Yu followed closely behind, flying into the barrier with his seal imprint.

The three mages were stunned in place.

They…they actually broke through the seal?

They should know that although the power of the Mage Temple’s seal wasn’t too strong, it was still able to stop seventh-rank powerhouses. It was specifically used to defend against aerial demons. The overall defensive effect was excellent, and it also had a good early warning function.

The light-attribute mage just wanted to make things difficult for Long Haochen and the others. After all, judging from their attire, Long Haochen and Han Yu were both knights. He just wanted to wait for Long Haochen to speak again, and then help them enter the barrier together. But he didn’t expect them to actually dare to attack the Mage Temple’s barrier. And the one who attacked wasn’t the knight, but the beautiful woman. From the killing intent that erupted instantly when she launched her attack, the light-attribute mage couldn’t help but feel a chill all over his body. What level of cultivation was required to achieve that!

Xing Wang flew into the barrier. This time, Long Haochen didn’t wait for the three mages and directly had Xing Wang fly towards Jialing Pass. Treat me with respect, and I’ll return the favor tenfold. Long Haochen had already been very tolerant. But as the acting Paladin of the Knight Temple, he couldn’t tolerate things too much.

The light-attribute mage composed himself and quickly flapped his wings to chase after Long Haochen and the others.

Just as Long Haochen and the others were about to enter Jialing Pass, more than a dozen figures suddenly flew up from below, quickly approaching them.

“Don’t attack!” An old voice rang out. The dozen or so figures that had flown up immediately dispersed, surrounding Long Haochen and the others in the middle.

Xing Wang spread its wings, hovering in mid-air.

Those blocking their way were still mages. The leader was an old man whose wings, when spread, were over eight meters wide. The almost viscous magical element fluctuations around his body highlighted his noble status.

“Adamantine Foundation Knight? Hello, did you trigger the magic barrier?”

When the old mage saw Long Haochen’s Adamantine Foundation Armor, the hostility in his eyes instantly disappeared. He gave Long Haochen a mage’s greeting.

Long Haochen returned the greeting, with his right fist across his chest, “Hello, I am the acting Paladin of the Knight Temple, you can call me Adamantine Twelve. We broke the barrier, but it should just be a misunderstanding.”

The light-attribute mage, along with his two companions, had already flown over. When he saw the old mage, his expression changed slightly, and he stepped forward and bowed, “Hello, Elder Fei.”

Seeing that it was him, Elder Fei’s expression softened a bit. “Xuan Yuan, what’s going on? Why did this acting Paladin break our barrier?”

The way he asked the question showed the Mage Temple’s own dominance. Long Haochen was the acting Paladin, but he was asking his own people the reason, and his words weren’t very polite.

Xuan Yuan’s face was a little awkward, and he quickly said, “Elder Fei, it’s my fault. I forgot to give the Paladin enough seal imprints, so his mount couldn’t pass through, and they broke the barrier to come in themselves.”

Hearing him say this, Elder Fei raised his eyebrows slightly, smiled at Long Haochen, and said, “So it was a misunderstanding. The acting Paladin’s cultivation is truly impressive.”

Long Haochen smiled indifferently, “You flatter me. Please, Elder, lead us into the city.”

Elder Fei didn’t blame Xuan Yuan, but rather subtly stabbed him. Long Haochen acted as if he hadn’t heard anything. This was Jialing Pass, he was here to fight the demons, not to pick a fight with the Mage Temple. If they wanted to be protective, so be it.

“Please.” After Elder Fei glanced at Xuan Yuan, he led Long Haochen towards Jialing Pass, and the other mages immediately dispersed to the sides.

Xuan Yuan watched Long Haochen and the others’ backs, his eyes flashing with cold light. “Why is the Knight Temple sending an acting Paladin?” Although Long Haochen hadn’t said anything to him, the disregard he showed only made him angrier. Ever since Elder Fei appeared, Long Haochen hadn’t even glanced in his direction. For him, the pride of the Mage Temple, this was a great insult.

Elder Fei led Long Haochen and the others into Jialing Pass. When Xing Wang’s hooves touched the ground, Long Haochen also brought Cai’er down. This was etiquette; in someone else’s territory, it was impolite to ride a mount unless in combat.

Elder Fei couldn’t help but nod to himself, thinking, “This acting Paladin has good self-restraint.” He knew Xuan Yuan Yan’s temper very well. He must have provoked them. However, as it concerned the competition for status between the Mage Temple and the Knight Temple, he had no choice but to stand on Xuan Yuan Yan’s side. But Long Haochen’s performance couldn’t help but make him feel a little admiration.

“Paladin, let me take you to our temple to rest first. I will notify the Temple Master immediately.” Elder Fei had developed some admiration for Long Haochen, so his words were much more polite. As the Paladin of the Knight Temple, he was worthy of being received by the Temple Master of the Mage Temple.

“Then I’ll have to trouble you,” Long Haochen said. “Oh, by the way, may I ask if Lin Xin is doing well? He’s the grandson of Vice-Temple Master Lin Chen, the Saint Magician, of your esteemed temple.”

Although Lin Xin’s grandfather was an eighth-rank Saint Magician, he was also a Vice-Temple Master, mainly responsible for the Mage Temple’s affairs in the Temple Alliance. The Vice-Temple Masters of the six major temples in the Alliance were basically all at the eighth-rank peak, mainly because stronger forces were retained in their respective temples. These Vice-Temple Masters were all exceptionally promoted after making great contributions to their respective temples.

“You know Lin Xin?” Elder Fei looked at Long Haochen in surprise.

Long Haochen nodded and said, “Yes! Lin Xin is my friend.”

Hearing him say this, Elder Fei’s face instantly became strange, startling Long Haochen. “What’s wrong? Elder Fei, has something happened to Lin Xin?” Long Haochen asked anxiously.

(To be continued)