“Xin’er.”

The moment these two words were uttered, tears instantly burst from Li Xin’s eyes on the platform. He’s back! Even though he didn’t come looking for her right away, he still remembers her!

Immediately after, Lin Xin raised both hands and used that incredibly terrifying blue light to outline a heart around the words “Xin’er.”

“That little rascal.” Lin Chen’s eyes couldn’t help but turn red. For the first time, he didn’t find his grandson’s antics so annoying.

The Guardian Knight opposite them twitched his facial muscles. The opponent was actually professing his love to his sweetheart during the Temple Competition! This was practically a slap in the face! Unable to endure this humiliation any longer, the Guardian Knight turned and left. Was there even any point in continuing the match? He had definitely already lost.

Those two words, “Xin’er,” were probably more terrifying than a normal fire-elemental forbidden spell.

Lin Xin looked up, his eyes unfocused as he gazed at the heart he had created. Suddenly, he let out a clear phoenix cry. Instantly, the blue light in the air converged towards his chest like rivers flowing into the sea, disappearing in the blink of an eye. The next moment, blue light flashed behind him again, and he left the arena as well, returning to his companions with his cloak in hand.

This was a competition, and those in the stands were strictly forbidden from contacting the contestants. Li Xin sat there, hiding her face as she wept. He’s back. He finally came back. He didn’t forget me.

Having witnessed this scene, even Chen Zidian, the chief referee, wore a strange expression on his face. He thought to himself, “These young people nowadays are getting bolder and bolder.” However, Lin Xin’s actions didn’t exactly violate the rules of the competition. Before writing those two words, he had already proven the power of that blue light to everyone. Not simple at all! The most important thing for a ninth-tier powerhouse is to find the path they need to walk in the future. Undoubtedly, Lin Xin had found his own path. He broke away from the restrictions of traditional spells and pioneered his own way. Perhaps he was slightly inferior in terms of attack area, but in terms of attack intensity, he was definitely one of the top fire mages. More importantly, with this instant-cast style of combat, his survivability on the battlefield would be extremely strong, and he wouldn’t need other professions to assist him.

Of the Dawn of Light Hunter Squad, three members had already fought, and not only had they all won, but they had also demonstrated great strength. Sima Xian and Lin Xin, in particular, had left an extremely deep impression.

The Light of Choice reappeared. Unexpectedly, following the previous match, the Light of Choice shone on the Dawn of Light Hunter Squad once again. The other light landed in the Soul Temple.

Seeing the person illuminated in the Soul Temple, many people couldn’t help but gasp. It was actually the vice-chief of the Soul Temple, Granny Sanshui!

The Holy War certainly caused great losses to the Holy Union, but it also promoted the birth of strong individuals. Like Lin Chen, Granny Sanshui broke through her plateau after the Holy War through constant effort, and her cultivation also reached the ninth tier, greatly increasing her strength. Moreover, she was also the wife of the chief of the Soul Temple, Chen Hongyu. It could be said that she held a pivotal position within the Soul Temple.

The Dawn of Light Hunter Squad had encountered such an opponent! No one was optimistic about them this time. After all, this was the first ninth-tier powerhouse they had faced.

When the Dawn of Light contestant took off her cloak and walked into the arena, it caused an uproar in the audience.

She was too young! What kind of monsters were in this Dawn of Light Hunter Squad? Did they have some kind of face-preserving magic? Why were they all so young?

With long, flowing hair and a strange smile on her pretty face, Chen Ying’er walked into the arena.

When Granny Sanshui saw that it was her, her expression was helpless, but not agitated. Obviously, just like Cai’er had returned to the Assassin Temple beforehand, Chen Ying’er had also met with her grandparents before the start of this Temple Competition.

After entering the arena, Chen Ying’er didn’t chant any spells. She just looked at her grandmother with a pitiful expression, as if saying, “It’s up to you, Grandma. Please hit me lightly.”

Granny Sanshui sighed softly, her eyes full of love as she looked at her. Helplessly, she shook her head and said, “I concede.” After saying these three words, she immediately turned and left the arena.

Chen Ying’er stuck out her tongue, but wore a smile as she skipped out of the arena.

What? Granny Sanshui conceded? Most people thought they had misheard. Faced with such a young girl, Granny Sanshui, the vice-chief of the Soul Temple and a ninth-tier Spiritualist, simply conceded? This was the elimination round! Losing a single match meant no more chances to participate in the first stage of the Temple Competition!

Li Zheng frowned, as if he wanted to say something, but ultimately held back. Based on his understanding of the Dawn of Light Hunter Squad, he naturally knew the relationship between Chen Ying’er and Granny Sanshui.

Direct concessions were rare in the Temple Competition, but not unheard of. For example, in the previous Temple Competition, two hunter squad members representing their respective temples had encountered each other, and one of them had voluntarily conceded. In any case, there was no rule prohibiting concessions. Therefore, although Granny Sanshui’s actions caused an uproar, no one could stop her. Surprisingly, the contestants from the Soul Temple were calm and didn’t discuss Granny Sanshui’s concession at all.

Seeing this scene, Li Zheng suddenly felt a sense of unease. The Soul Temple’s calmness seemed to imply something. Although the relationship between the Soul Temple and the Mage Temple wasn’t as close as that between the Assassin Temple and the Knight Temple, the Soul Temple had always been a supporter of the Mage Temple. It was just that the atmosphere of cooperation between the two was stronger. After the end of the Holy War, the Soul Temple and the Mage Temple grew the fastest due to their minimal losses.

The match continued.

Each match in the Temple Competition didn’t take too long. Firstly, it wasn’t a battle to the death. Secondly, the contestants were of the ninth tier and the eighth tier, which could easily lead to a disparity in strength. Therefore, the pace of the competition was relatively fast.

After a morning had passed, more than forty matches had been completed. At this rate, the first round would probably be over by evening.

Of the participating five major temples plus the Dawn of Light Hunter Squad, the only one that had maintained a perfect record so far was the Dawn of Light. They had sent out five members: Yang Wenzhao, Sima Xian, Lin Xin, Chen Ying’er, and Duan Yi, who had just entered the arena and perfectly combined with his mammoth mount, also reaching the eighth-tier peak. All of them had won their matches.

Among the five contestants, only Duan Yi’s situation was more difficult. He had fought fiercely with a mage for nearly a quarter of an hour before winning with his powerful defense and foundation. The other four had won relatively easily.

There was no lunch break during the Temple Competition. The powerhouses who were able to participate could go without food for even ten days or half a month. Therefore, the competition continued.

In the forty-eighth match, the Dawn of Light Hunter Squad produced their sixth contestant. This time, the Light of Choice shone on the Dawn of Light Hunter Squad member standing in the first position on the left.

The moment the Light of Choice solidified, the gazes of the high-level members of the six major temples almost all focused on them. Everyone knew that the one standing in the first position in the hunter squad must be their leader. And wasn’t the leader of the Dawn of Light Hunter Squad Long Haochen?

Yes, after more than four years, Long Haochen was finally about to appear again.

Long Haochen’s luck was extremely bad, because the other Light of Choice chose none other than Qiu Yonghao, the chief of the Warrior Temple, who was also the number one powerhouse of the Warrior Temple.

Qiu Yonghao was slightly stunned when he saw the Light of Choice land on him. Long Haochen, am I really going to face him like this?

With a flash, Qiu Yonghao had already entered the arena. On the other side, Long Haochen, having taken off his large cloak, appeared in everyone’s sight once again.

He didn’t enter the arena immediately. Instead, he turned around and gave a knight’s salute to the participating members of the Knight Temple and to his grandfather, Long Tianyin, before entering the arena.

Dressed in a simple white outfit, with golden hair and clear eyes that seemed to see through everything, along with his extremely handsome face and steady, mountain-like temperament.

No matter how you looked at him, he looked like he was only in his twenties. But the pure and gentle aura he exuded made everyone forget his age.

Looking at him, one would unconsciously feel as if basking in the spring breeze. There were no spiritual power fluctuations, but he immediately became the focus of attention as soon as he stood there. Even Qiu Yonghao, the chief of the Warrior Temple, wasn’t as eye-catching as he was.

Within the Knight Temple, all the Fine Gold Base Knights stood up and returned the salute to Long Haochen, except for Long Tianyin. No matter how long he had been missing, he was still the Holy Knight Commander of the Knight Temple, the commander of all the Fine Gold Base Knights and Mithril Base Knights, until the Knight Temple announced his removal.

It wasn’t just the Knight Temple that recognized Long Haochen. Many people in the Assassin Temple, Priest Temple, Warrior Temple, and Mage Temple recognized his identity as well.

During the Holy War, although Long Haochen didn’t appear for long, he left a deep impression on the Assassin Temple, Warrior Temple, and Mage Temple. And back then, during the bloody battle at Zhennan Pass, he was the hero who saved Zhennan Pass from fire and water. History would not forget these things. Even after so long, they still recognized Long Haochen’s handsome face.

(To be continued)