Chapter 19: Long Haochen Undergoes the Divine Awakening

It must be said, like father like daughter, Bai Yue’s thoughts aligned perfectly with Feng Xiu’s. Both of them were looking to task A’nan with causing trouble for Long Xingyu.

Consequently, Long Haochen discovered that his father, having taught his class for a mere ten days, had left behind a note and departed in a hurry.

In reality, Long Xingyu had received a message from Yulong Pass: the Madness Demon God A’nan had descended upon the pass, specifically naming him to come out and fight.

Years ago, after a skirmish at Zhennan Pass, Long Xingyu had managed a four-to-six split against A’nan, thanks to the amplification of the Divine Throne of Eternity and Creation. Since then, A’nan would occasionally, out of boredom, challenge Long Xingyu to a duel. Naturally, with A’nan’s strength, he would beat Long Xingyu to a pulp, but A’nan always kept the Demon God Emperor Feng Xiu’s instruction to spare Long Xingyu’s life in mind. As a result, Long Xingyu had always operated under the delusion that his strength was on par with A’nan’s.

Feng Xiu had long wanted A’nan to kill Long Xingyu, but fearing he might upset Yue’er, he had endured Long Xingyu’s posturing all this time.

...

Long Xingyu’s departure lasted a year and a half. He only returned in a rush on the eve of Long Haochen’s sixth birthday, though he appeared physically inconvenienced, walking with a pronounced limp.

Bai Yue feigned concern, but in her heart, she felt that Brother A’nan was truly reliable for resolving so many troubles.

The timing was impeccable; it was exactly when Haochen was ready for his Holy Awakening, allowing Long Xingyu to return just in time to serve as a tool for the ritual.

"Haochen, I’ve been gone for a year and a half. Have you been slacking off in your training?" Long Xingyu asked expressionlessly.

Long Haochen replied proudly, "Father, I am the most talented and diligent student in my class. Instructor Barza often praises me, saying I will surely become a true knight."

Long Xingyu scoffed at Barza’s praise. A man who couldn’t even break through to become a full knight—a mere squire—wouldn’t even be qualified to request an audience with him at Yulong Pass. What kind of vision could such a person have? Calling Long Haochen talented was merely a comparison against people from a backwater town.

Long Xingyu straightened his face and said sternly, "Haochen, do you remember what the Ten Commandments of the Knights are?"

Long Haochen was taken aback, instinctively answering, "Humility, Honesty, Compassion..."

"Haochen, you must remember to hold yourself to the standards of a knight at all times. You cannot be arrogant or complacent; you should be humble and respectful. What you just said about being the most talented in class does not align with the virtue of humility." Long Xingyu knit his brows, lecturing Long Haochen with absolute certainty.

Bai Yue walked in carrying a dish, and upon hearing these remarks, she rolled her eyes in silence.

Long Xingyu, ask yourself, how many of those Ten Commandments have you actually upheld?

Haochen shared the praise he received from his teacher, and you call him arrogant and lacking humility. To hold him to such extreme standards—is this your version of justice and benevolence?

And frankly, your so-called benevolence has never included our Demon race, nor have you ever truly treated Haochen as your son.

Bai Yue tried to communicate with the system, Six-Six: "Six-Six, is it impossible to deviate from the original plot and just have Haochen become a knight at the Haoyue Branch?"

"Must Long Xingyu be the one to awaken Haochen’s constitution to avoid affecting the future timeline?"

[Host, please endure a little longer. Once today is over, you can temporarily stay away from Long Xingyu.]

"Six-Six, I’ve endured so much I’m practically a ninja turtle."

[Host, Long Xingyu is the strongest Retribution Knight of this era. The protagonist’s early-stage retribution skills, especially the Sword of the Storm, were created by Long Xingyu. Furthermore, it is only through Long Xingyu’s connections that Sheng Lingxin and Sheng Yue agree to let Sheng Cai'er join the same Demon Hunter squad as Long Haochen.]

[If you forcefully take Long Haochen away from Long Xingyu, the future storyline will collapse entirely. Things will spiral in an uncontrollable direction, and even I cannot predict the final outcome.]

Fine! Heeding Six-Six’s advice, Bai Yue had no choice but to endure for a while longer.

Bai Yue adjusted her expression and forced a smile: "Dinner is served. You two haven't seen each other in a long time; let’s have a proper chat after we eat."

"Eating without speaking" was one of the Long family’s house rules. Long Xingyu disliked talking at the dinner table; he found it noisy.

Ever since Long Xingyu returned, Long Haochen had been filled with worries. He had no appetite and merely poked at his rice, eating one bite at a time.

He looked up at his expressionless father, then at his mother, who wore a fake smile, and lowered his head, feeling deeply uncomfortable.

Jiang Hu once said that children without fathers get bullied, and their mothers get blamed by the world. Yet, now that he had a father, he felt less comfortable than when he didn't have one at all.

His father always lectured him with profound principles, but he was only six years old! His grandfather said that at his age, he was still a little cub, and as long as he took care of himself and didn't cause trouble for his mother, he was already an excellent, well-behaved child.

After the meal, Long Xingyu took a wooden sword from his storage ring and handed it to Long Haochen.

He said coldly, "Let me see what you’ve learned during this time. Have you been slacking off?"

Long Haochen blinked, gripped the wooden sword, and performed a set of basic sword moves—the foundation taught to children by the Temple Alliance.

To Long Xingyu, these moves were riddled with flaws. He changed his grip to a strike and shattered the wooden sword with a single blow.

"Starting tomorrow, I will put you through special training until your spiritual energy reaches the level required for a Holy Awakening."

Hearing about the special training, Bai Yue stepped forward first. She said directly, "Special training won't be necessary. Haochen’s strength is already at the level required for a Holy Awakening."

Bai Yue took out a portable spiritual power measuring stone and had Long Haochen grip it tightly. The number displayed was exactly at the threshold for a Holy Awakening.

Long Xingyu was astonished: "In only a year and a half, how could your external spiritual power have increased so quickly!"

Bai Yue certainly wouldn't tell Long Xingyu that it was because she had been giving Haochen medicinal baths every day. The dragon blood of the Heaven-Defying Demon Dragon clan was a treasure that could enhance external spiritual power. Naturally, Haochen’s power would improve rapidly.

Long Xingyu narrowed his eyes, suddenly remembering that Long Haochen possessed the bloodline of the Heaven-Defying Demon Dragon clan, and everything became clear to him.

"It is because I practice diligently and work hard every day," Long Haochen said softly.

Long Xingyu looked deeply at Long Haochen and said calmly, "In that case, I will perform the Holy Awakening for you today."

"I happen to carry an Awakening Stone with me. The process of the Holy Awakening will convert your internal attributes into the Light attribute. The higher your innate internal spiritual power, the greater your future achievements will be."

"My innate internal spiritual power exceeded seventy, which is why I could become one of the three Divine Throne Knights. Those with innate internal spiritual power exceeding eighty are known as the Light-Favored Constitution, and those exceeding ninety are known as the Scion of Light."

"In the six thousand years of the Alliance’s history, the Light-Favored Constitution has appeared three times. After one of them successfully grew up, he led his Demon Hunter squad to deal a heavy blow to the Demon God Emperor of that time."