Chapter 291: Sole Successor
If she didn’t have such feelings of attachment, she wouldn’t possibly be feeling such pain. No matter how unsatisfied she was about the fact that Long Haochen threw her like that, at the time he held her in his arms, all of her grudges and all of her hatred turned into endless love. As her feelings gained the upper hand, she couldn’t hold back her tears anymore. They streamed down her cheeks in a steady flow, as she was already completely unable to struggle free of his embrace. Like this, the two of them remained in each other’s arms, staying silent for a long time.
Long Haochen could feel Cai’er’s current mood, and kept forming the shape of the word ‘sorry’ on her back. Still Cai’er didn’t gave him the slightest reaction, only continuously crying on his chest. After some time he gently carried her to the bed. But just as he started to lower his head to warm free her of her trembling state with a kiss, there was a sudden hard knock on the door.
“Captain, are you awake?” From outside, Sima Xian’s voice drifted into the room, and Long Haochen immediately lifted his head in a hurry, writing a few more words on Cai’er’s back.
Although unwilling, Cai’er finally let him go, but contrary to her expectations, he kept holding her in his arms, carrying her along to the entrance. Cai’er’s sad feelings finally weakened after taking it all out. Still slightly trembling, her face was buried at Long Haochen’s chest; she was unwilling to let anyone else see her crying face.
Long Haochen opened the door, immediately seeing that clean bald head.
Seeing Long Haochen, Sima Xian immediately rejoiced greatly. His arms were preparing to hug him, but as soon as he saw Cai’er in his arms, this thought immediately disappeared from his head. In embarrassment, he withdrew his arms.
“Boss, how are you? Are you alright? Did the pills of that has-drug-bro have any side-effects?” They weren’t idiots, and when Long Haochen had ordered the 22nd general grade Demon Hunt Squad not to take the Conjoined Spiritual Boosting Pills, they immediately guessed that some problem arose when the pills were taken. This had been what worried them the most. Long Haochen shook his head to this, giving the reply, “I am alright. It’s just that my body will still need a few more days to recuperate. My energy channels have bursted from the excessive amount of spiritual energy, but the damage is already being mended. It will get better after a few more days.”
Long Haochen smiled bitterly, “But there is a little problem with the pills. Although it isn’t too big a problem, those pills still are not something anyone at the fifth step can use. Tell this to Captain Luc Xi later. If he wants to use the Conjoined Spiritual Boosting Pills, he should wait at least until he reaches the sixth step, and then take it along with a Great Energetic Pill.” Thinking for a bit, he then continued, muttering irresolutely, “The best would be to use it after reaching the seventh step. The Conjoined Spiritual Boosting Pills are extremely tyrannical, and this makes it very hard to control the spiritual energy provided by others.” Sima Xian replied unhappily, “I knew something would go wrong with has-drug-bro one day. Heh, let’s settle the bill with him later…”
Long Haochen shook his head with a smile on his face, “You shouldn’t say that. This time, if not for the help of the Conjoined Spiritual Boosting Pills, I’m afraid that we wouldn’t have made it back alive. The Moon Demon had such formidable strength that we couldn’t possibly resist him with our current strength.” At this point, he couldn’t help but remember Yue Ye and his experience in the Moon Palace. This time, they had merely encountered a young Moon Demon, but in the Moon Palace, there had been a lot more powerful powerhouses, including the Moon Demon God.
For an ordinary Moon Demon to be so powerful, what level would the second Demon God out of the seventy-two, the Moon Demon God Agares, reach? Thinking of this , Long Haochen’s expression became a lot more focused. In spite of his current age, reaching such a cultivation level could only be done through hard work. But he wasn’t satisfied from this. This was what made him different from others, as he was a person that moved forward no matter what.
“Sima, did you have some reason to look for me?” Long Haochen was comforting Cai’er right now, and thus didn’t really want to keep chatting with Sima Xian. Furthermore, now that the battle was over, he also wanted to have some rest.
Sima Xian replied in a flash, “Yes, yes. The Saint Knight Chief wanted me to inform you that he wants you to attend a meeting in case you are awake.”
“A meeting? What sort of meeting?” Long Haochen gave Sima Xian a puzzled look. Sima Xian shrugged his shoulders in response, “I don’t know about that either. He wanted you to head to the General Assembly of the Priest Temple. You can directly go there. Oh, right, you have to bring the vice-captain along.” Long Haochen nodded his head, replying, “Understood. I’m going in a bit.” Since he was previously cultivating, he was only clad in underwear. How could he have looked for some clothes in such a short time?
Sima Xian gave Long Haochen a look, before glancing at Cai’er, revealing a malicious smile, “Oh, I understand, I understand! Boss, then I’ll be heading back first.” After saying this, he ran off in a hurry. Long Haochen, who felt quite helpless, closed the door behind him. He wasn’t really afraid of other people’s misinterpretations anyway. After informing Cai’er of Han Qian’s call for them to attend a meeting, he put some clothes on, and Cai’er used this time to sort out her feelings. After she cried for so long, her nose was still red, but her facial expression wasn’t affected by this in the slightest. Instead, she looked even more lovely than usual.
Cai’er put on her veil, and Long Haochen carried her, leaving the room. The Priest Temple’s headquarters was huge, but nonetheless, finding the General Assembly wasn’t hard. They only had to ask people around to find the way. At this time, the atmosphere in the Priest Temples’ headquarters was very heavy, and people went in and out in endless streams. From their attire, it looked like people from all the six Temples were present. This place was already not only the headquarters of the Priest Temple anymore, but also became a temporary Office Palace, where every official affair was handled. It would be a wonder if people weren’t busy and rushed their work under such circumstances. Quickly, Long Haochen found the location of the General Assembly, where two guards stood at its entrance. Seeing Long Haochen approach with Cai’er in his arms, they immediately barred their way.
“Who are you? This is the General Assembly. You are not allowed to get any closer while the leaders are attending a meeting inside.” Long Haochen replied very politely, “My name is Long Haochen. The Saint Knight Chief Han Qian called me to attend this meeting.”
“Long Haochen?” Hearing this name, the two guards were simultaneously shaken. Exchanging a quick glance with each other, they clearly displayed expressions of disbelief. The guard on the right cried out, “You… Are you really Long Haochen? The hero who saved thousands of our fellow soldiers?” Long Haochen replied with a smile, “I don’t deserve being called a hero, but I am Long Haochen.” The guard on the right immediately appeared unconvinced, “That can’t be, this is definitely false. How old is this person? Can he really be the hero who stopped an enemy at the eighth step? Stop pretending!” As he said this, the guard stepped forward, immediately grabbing Long Haochen’s shoulder. The reason why he determined that Long Haochen was lying was simple: Who was this Long Haochen in their heart? He was the leader of the Demon Hunt Squad that led their troops during the attack, and the hero who stopped the attacks of the Moon Demon at the eighth step! To be able to resist against such a powerhouse of the eighth step, even with his team’s assistance, he had at the very least to be at the sixth step of cultivation. But this youngster before their eyes, didn’t even look twenty. Because of the hurry, Long Haochen wore simple clothes, and resembled a local inhabitant. How could that be the demeanor of a hero?
Seeing the aggressive intent of the other party towards him, Long Haochen was unsatisfied. Unconsciously taking a step back, he lifted his left hand to stop the guard’s right hand. At the same time, he turned his body around and moved Cai’er to the side, so as to avoid letting her be affected by the opponent’s attacks.
After those two hands came into contact, that guard reacted quickly, attempting to grab Long Haochen’s wrist. But at this time, a bright light suddenly illuminated Long Haochen’s left hand. In this flash of bright light, Long Haochen’s wrist trembled bizarrely, and that guard immediately felt a great shock as if he was electrocuted. Stunned, he retreated in response.
During those times of war, even the two temporarily assigned guards were warriors of the fifth step. But Long Haochen handled this guard with a single hand, causing the expressions on their faces to change immediately.
To be able to handle a warrior of the fifth step conveniently, could he be the real deal?
Without attacking again, the guard that previously inquired Long Haochen cried out, “Are you really Long Haochen? If you tell the truth, then you should be the captain of the 21st general grade Demon Hunt Squad. Can you let us inspect your insignia?”
Long Haochen responded grudgingly, “Wouldn’t it have been for the best if you asked this earlier?” and handed over his insignia.
This time, the expressions on those two guards changed for real and especially the one who reacted first looked embarassed. Stepping forward, he respectfully, handed the insignia back to Long Haochen, his cheeks appearing very red.
“Please enter, Captain Long!” The two guards stepped aside, inviting Long Haochen and Cai’er to enter the General Assembly.
Long Haochen would naturally not bother about others doing their job with fidelity. In the midst of his stroll into the General Assembly, he unconsciously came to a stop.
After passing the entrance of the General Assembly, he immediately saw through a huge screen depicting the sculpture of several hundreds of people. It was a representation of the goddess of light.
After passing this screen, what came into view was the conference room of the Priest Temple, which was really large in size. It was simply an enormous hall.
From where he stood, the conference room looked like a rectangle, its domed roof over twenty meters in height, and crystallized. Inside was a group of comfortable-looking sofas, and the furthest ahead appeared a one meter and a half high platform. There, a group of people were talking while sitting around a long table. Clearly, a meeting was in session there.
These people numbered at least thirty, and Long Haochen immediately recognized Han Qian, discovering with astonishment that even with his status, Han Qian was only sitting on the side; neither on the main seat, nor on the second one in ranking.
On the main seat was a white haired old man, clad in a white gown. His vocation couldn’t be told just from this, but only by calmly sitting there, he naturally appeared like the center of the whole assembly. Even if he didn’t speak, no one would dare ignore his presence; occasionally, everyone gave respectful looks in his direction.
Could this person be one of the senior Saints of the Priest Temple? Long Haochen secretly came to this believe. Cai’er and he were still far from the platform. While he was still in deep thought, a sound came from the direction of the platform.
“Haven’t you been informed that disrupting this meeting is not allowed?” The one to spoke was a priest clad in a golden gown. He appeared quite young, at most forty, based on his appearance. Based on his expression, he was absolutely furious.
Long Haochen made haste to come out with Cai’er from behind the screen, and although they were still distant, he still made his salutations from afar, “Long Haochen, captain of the 21st general grade Demon Hunt Squad reports. The Senior Saint Knight Chief called me to attend this conference.”
Hearing this name, everyone on stage looked in his direction, including even that white-haired elder.
Without a doubt, those people were the higher-ups of the Southern Mountain’s City. Each one of them gave a different look towards Long Haochen, some containing amazement, other admiration, and for most, appreciation. They had all heard of Long Haochen’s deeds, and now that they were finally seeing him personally, what astonished them the most was his age.
The white haired elder nodded to Long Haochen with a smile, his gentle look giving off a refreshing feeling. It was filled with pure warmth and gentleness, that even caused the pain in Long Haochen’s body to suddenly ease up.
Han Qian smiled before waving Long Haochen and Cai’er over, telling them, “Join us now!”
“Yes.” Long Haochen gave a response before hurrying to their side, leading Cai’er along with him. As he crossed the room, his face wore a curious expression. To participate in such an important meeting… Why would grandteacher call us to attend? How could Cai’er and I be qualified to attend a meeting of such high rank?! Without any need to ask, he was certain that this was a discussion related to the handling of the demons in the Southern Mountain’s City.
Han Qian straightened his posture when Long Haochen and Cai’er arrived on the platform. He left his place along with another of Long Haochen’s and Cai’er’s acquaintances, the Auxiliary Hall Master of the Assassin Temple, Ying Suifeng. The reinforcement army this time had been led by the two of them.
Han Qian bowed towards the white clad old man, before declaring with a smile on his face, “Elder Ling, everyone. Let us do the introduction. This person is Long Haochen, the little hero of this time’s battle. Haochen, how are your wounds?”
Long Haochen hurried to perform a standard knight salute to everyone, but still held Cai’er’s hand, which made the movement look somewhat strange. Respectfully, he replied, “Senior Saint Knight Chief, my wounds are already all right.”
Han Qian let out a sigh, “This boy! Tell me what’s good with you!? As a knight, you did well, but considering your role for the whole Alliance, you really acted excessively rudely. Everyone, although Long Haochen is young, he plays an essential role for our Knight Temple. My intend by calling him to this meeting was, to give this junior some experience. Please let me convey to everyone my apologies for the interruption.”
The middle-aged priest that previously shouted in anger gave a serious reply, “Old Han, this seems a bit unconformed to the rules. I know about this younger brother’s accomplishments, but this meeting is of utter importance.”
Han Qian looked straight at him, explaining with resolution, “Brother Ling, Haochen is not only the captain of a general grade Demon Hunt Squad, but he’s the only future candidate for the role of our Knight Temple’s leader. As long as he stays alive, he will surely become the next leader of the Knight Temple. There’s no candidate other than him.”
These words Han Qian uttered caused everyone without exception to let out a gasp. What kind of concept was that? The sole successor? But how young was this kid?