“Haochen…” Just uttering these two words, Yang Wenzhao’s voice choked with emotion. He was speechless for a moment. Overwhelmed by a mix of feelings, he couldn’t help but lower his head, unwilling to look at Long Haochen’s handsome and flawless face.

Yang Wenzhao, Han Yu, and Long Haochen were all scions of high-ranking officials in the Knight Temple. Long Haochen, having lived with his mother since childhood, naturally had very different experiences compared to them. Yang Wenzhao and Han Yu, however, shared some similarities, namely their arrogance.

The Knight Temple was the leader of the six major temples, and their family backgrounds and innate talents had instilled in them a sense of pride that ran deep in their bones. That was why Yang Wenzhao inadvertently offended Chen Ying’er, and Han Yu suffered a crushing defeat to Long Haochen in the preliminary stage of the Demon Hunt Squad selection competition due to his arrogance.

Both of them possessed the same arrogance, but Han Yu displayed it more overtly, and therefore suffered the consequences of his pride earlier. Yang Wenzhao was much more composed than Han Yu. As the direct grandson of the Temple Alliance’s leader, he could be considered the first crown prince of the Temple Alliance. However, he never used his status to oppress others, and instead worked harder than most, all in the hope of one day continuing his grandfather’s glory.

If Long Haochen hadn’t emerged out of nowhere, as long as he lived and grew smoothly, he would have had a high chance of becoming the successor of the Knight Temple. And it was precisely because of the immense pressure Long Haochen placed on him that he worked even harder.

However, Long Haochen’s talent far surpassed his own, and Long Haochen’s own efforts were even greater than his. Therefore, he could only watch helplessly as the gap between himself and Long Haochen widened. This feeling had been bottled up in Yang Wenzhao’s heart, causing him to often experience emotional instability.

This time, his Demon Hunt Squad and Duan Yi’s Squad acted together, but suffered a devastating blow from the Dragon Riding Demon God Asmodeus. This was an extremely heavy blow to Yang Wenzhao. When he was captured by Asmodeus, he tried to commit suicide, but was stopped by Asmodeus. At that time, Yang Wenzhao knew he was done for. Whether the annihilation of the Demon Hunt Squad was his fault or not, as the captain, he was duty-bound to take responsibility. Even if he survived this time, he knew that he would never be able to reach a high position in the Knight Temple. How could he not feel disheartened?

If it weren’t for Chen Ying’er’s constant care these past two days, his emotions would have been even worse. And Chen Ying’er’s forgiveness gave him the courage to continue living. But now, seeing Long Haochen, his heart was filled with a mix of emotions, causing a great shock to his mind.

“Thank you, Haochen. I will forever remember your life-saving grace,” Yang Wenzhao said sincerely, adjusting his emotions.

At this moment, he had completely lost his desire to compare himself to Long Haochen. He had already learned from Chen Ying’er that Long Haochen was the Acting Holy Knight Captain. Eighth rank? He had already reached the eighth rank?

Yang Wenzhao’s thanks came from the bottom of his heart. Although he would probably never be able to surpass Long Haochen, Long Haochen had not only saved his life this time, but also allowed him to reunite with Chen Ying’er and receive her forgiveness.

Long Haochen smiled slightly and said, “You should thank Ying’er. She was restless ever since she learned you were captured. We just happened to be there at the right time.”

Yang Wenzhao sighed, “It was me. It was me who caused the death of my comrades. If it weren’t for my decision, that operation wouldn’t have happened. I don’t have the face to see Grandpa, nor the face to return to the Demon Hunt Squad mission tower. Haochen, once my injuries are better, I want to leave here. I’ll give my life to the demons.”

“What nonsense are you talking about?” Chen Ying’er scolded from the side, “Is your life so cheap? I’ve almost worn my lips out these past two days, but you’re still so stubborn, so stubborn. What am I supposed to say to you? Go die, go die!” As she spoke, Chen Ying’er turned and ran, throwing herself into Wang Yuanyuan’s arms not far away and bursting into tears.

Seeing her appearance, Yang Wenzhao’s eyes dimmed, but he didn’t call out to her, remaining silent.

Long Haochen frowned slightly and said in a deep voice, “Brother Yang, I know that this incident has been a great blow to you. But have you ever thought that your life doesn’t belong to you alone? Why did we go to such great lengths to save you and Brother Duan? It wasn’t to let you go and die again. You are both the best of the younger generation in our Knight Temple, with unlimited potential for future development. Are you going to become disheartened just because of a single setback? Are you worthy of Grandpa Yang? Are you worthy of Ying’er? If you want to die, I won’t stop you, but if you just die like this, then you are a complete coward.”

“I’m not a coward,” Yang Wenzhao shouted. He agitated his wounds because of his excitement, causing his face to turn pale.

Listening to Long Haochen’s angry reprimand, Chen Ying’er stopped crying. Turning around and seeing Yang Wenzhao aggravating his injuries, she couldn’t help but want to go over, but Wang Yuanyuan grabbed her. Wang Yuanyuan winked at her and shook her head.

Long Haochen sneered, “You’re not a coward? If you’re not a coward, are you going to end your life like this? Evasion is the most cowardly behavior. Think carefully, how did your comrades die? You want to die? But are you worthy of them by running away? Aren’t you afraid of being pointed at by them in another world after you die? You haven’t avenged your comrades, and you’re going to die? The Dragon Riding Demon God Asmodeus won’t even remember you. He might even be glad that he didn’t kill you, a coward who doesn’t even dare to take revenge.”

“I know that in your heart, you’ve always wanted to surpass me and become the number one in the younger generation of the Knight Temple. Come on! I’m waiting. Are you going to give up now? Is there only one Divine Throne of Order and Creation in the Knight Temple? Yuanyuan, hold Ying’er. I’m going to throw Yang Wenzhao out now and let him fend for himself. He’s going to die anyway, no need to wait for his injuries to get better.”

No one expected Long Haochen to say such sharp words, and everyone was stunned, unable to speak for a moment.

Long Haochen’s cold voice was like a sharp sword, piercing deeply into Yang Wenzhao’s heart.

“No—” Yang Wenzhao shouted, “I want to live. I want to live. I haven’t avenged my comrades yet. I can’t just die like this.” His eyes had turned bloodshot. “Dragon Riding Demon God Asmodeus, he’s mine. I will definitely tear him to pieces, avenge my comrades, and let their souls rest in peace.”

“And me,” Duan Yi, who had been silent all along, also spoke, “Asmodeus owes me half his life.”

Seeing that the time was right, Long Haochen snorted coldly and turned to his partners, saying in a deep voice, “What are you all looking at? Didn’t I tell you to go prepare?” As he spoke, he winked at everyone.

“Yes!” Including Chen Ying’er, all the members of the Dawn of Light Demon Hunt Squad, including Zhang Fangfang, all responded loudly. In a place where Yang Wenzhao and Duan Yi couldn’t see, Sima Xian and Lin Xin were giving Long Haochen thumbs up. Chen Ying’er also breathed a sigh of relief and gave Long Haochen a grateful look, but didn’t rush back to Yang Wenzhao’s side, instead going to sit aside and cultivate.

Now was obviously not a good time to pay attention to Yang Wenzhao. It was best to let him calm down.

Cai’er accompanied Long Haochen to sit down in the distance and chuckled, “This is the first time I know you can be so harsh when you speak.”

Long Haochen said helplessly, “There’s no other way. Did you notice the look in their eyes? Dim and lifeless, the death of their comrades has been too big of a blow to them. It’s hardest to heal a closed heart. If we don’t use strong medicine, we won’t be able to awaken their fighting spirit. Although this is just using hatred to stimulate their courage to live, at least it can let them live. We can slowly figure it out later. They’re not stupid, they should understand.”

Cai’er nodded, looked at Long Haochen’s tired expression, and said, “You should rest quickly. Should we postpone our actions a bit? You’re too tired.”

Long Haochen firmly shook his head and said, “No. Every minute we delay here increases the possibility of great-grandfather facing the Demon God Emperor’s attack. We must let the Demon God Emperor know that we have penetrated deep into the demon race as soon as possible. Moreover, there is at most one demon god ranked fifty-seventh in Jialuo City, which won’t pose too much of a threat to us.” After saying this, he immediately closed his eyes and began to enter a meditative state.

Although Cai’er knew that Long Haochen was doing this more for the alliance and for the entire human race, her family was in the Exorcist Pass after all! Seeing Long Haochen so tired and unwilling to rest more, how could she not be moved? At the same time, she secretly prayed for great-grandfather and her parents, hoping that the Demon God Emperor wouldn’t attack the Exorcist Pass!

If she knew that there were at least three powerful Demon Hunt Squads composed of legendary figures watching outside the Demon God Emperor’s camp, she wouldn’t be so nervous. How could the Temple Alliance not restrain the Demon God Emperor? Perhaps, even if these three Demon Hunt Squads combined, they wouldn’t be a match for the Demon God Emperor and the demon gods around him. But if they went all out and launched a desperate attack on the Demon God Emperor, even Feng Xiu, the strongest Demon God Emperor in history, would have to consider it.

Two hours passed quickly. When Long Haochen opened his eyes again, his partners had already gathered around him. Without much conversation, Long Haochen directly said, “Let’s go.”

As he spoke, his gaze swept towards Yang Wenzhao and Duan Yi in the distance. They were both meditating with their legs crossed, obviously beginning to recover from their injuries through cultivation. This was definitely a good start.

A faint smile appeared on Long Haochen’s face, and he activated Eternal Melody’s teleportation.

(To be continued)