Chapter 5: Mysterious New Instructor (I)
“Hum…” Long Hao Chen slowly regained consciousness and blinked several times. From the looks of it, these long eyelashes of his could really make any girl jealous. He gradually came back to his senses.
Suddenly turning over and sitting on the ground, he utters: “Am I alright?” Looking at his unharmed body, he couldn’t help but feel relaxed.
He was surrounded by total silence: in the woods, the only sounds present were the cries of birds.
Lowering his head, Long Hao Chen found, at his side, the wild herbs neatly put in order. Stupefied, he rubbed his own temples.
Have I really fallen asleep, was all that just a dream?
Oh, what is this?
He noticed a ring on his finger. It was a blue colored ring that emitted a luster, not a kind of metallic brightness, but a kind of porcelain or jade luster. The decorative circular pattern was covered by gold and a gem the size of a grain of rice lied on it. This precious stone was completely embedded in the ring and using his hand’s touch, he could only feel its smooth little surface.
The ring’s inner circle was entirely golden. Pressed close to his finger, it seemed to stick out a little, giving him a strange feeling.
Long Hao Chen stared blankly. He immediately realized that everything that happened before his coma was real, but he was still confused, his mind full of questions.
What was the relation between the little mute girl and the white-clad man? Also, how did the white-clad man make these ferocious-looking people chasing her disappear. Who is the owner of this ring?
For the nine years old Long Hao Chen, these issues were just complicated and he has absolutely no clue about the answers.
Standing up, he unconsciously went to the place where their pursuers vanished. Immediately, he discovered something strange there.
After a few steps, Long Hao Chen saw that on the ground originally full of green grass, all the grass had disappeared and turned into barren lands, and these areas were obviously defect at some places. The outermost green grass left only traces of black burns and had turned into the same color as the dark-green lands.
“Well, let’s stop thinking about this, it’s better that I quickly go home to give to Mother her wild herb soup.” Long Hao Chen checked on himself, the Elemental Training Liquid was still there, then he steadily departed. He picked the wooden sword up from side before heading off in the direction of his home.
However, because he just discovered a strange phenomenon, he stopped his steps right after picking up the wooden sword. The wooden sword had become lighter, as if it was a piece of feather!
In fact, the wooden sword in his hand was not what Genuine Knights used: it was indeed lighter and not made the same way. This sword was made of hardwood and weighed 3.5 to 4 kgs[1] but, despite this, he needed a full month of training before he could manage to use it, at that time he entered Odin Hall.
Did the wooden sword become lighter? Wrong, it still has the same appearance! Is it possible that it was actually my strength that has improved?
As he thought about it, both of Long Hao Chen’s hands took hold of the sword and he dashed forward, slashing before him. Immediately, a sound rang out, the sword’s power really scaring him, but his hands stay stable. He clearly felt that his limbs’ and bones’ strength had increased tremendously. Jumping several times, he feels as though his body was now as light as his wooden sword had became.
This was at least the strength of the 20th spiritual energy level right? In his mind, Long Hao Chen still remembered the indifferent and stubborn face of the little mute girl and muttered: “Are you the one who gave me all of these? Tomorrow, I’ll appraise my precise spiritual energy level at the Hall. Anyhow, let’s meet the wooden stake again.”
A youth’s heart can’t be much complicated. Although, today, a lot of matters left Long Hao Chen perplexed, after a single thought about the fact his mother could drink Elemental Training Liquid again, he cast aside all these matters. After all, the little mute girl was someone he just met, so he only prayed for her safety inwardly.
A little courtyard, two thatched rooms, a few shelves entangled in vines, and some vegetables drying under the sun. This was Long Hao Chen’s home.
“Mother, I am back.”
The door of the thatched cottage opened and a peasant woman came out. Long Hao Chen looked at her outward appearance then ran back to her, immediately revealing a smile.
She was Bai Yue, Long Hao Chen’s mother. Long Hao Chen’s appearance was very similar to hers, as if he was carved out based on her appearance. Although Bai Yue is simply dressed and had undergone a lot of hardships, but her exceedingly beautiful appearance could intensely shock anyone. The only thing on her that doesn’t looked the same as Long Hao Chen was her eyes’ color. For Bai Yue, they were black, whereas for Long Hao Chen, they were of a dark blue color.
But precisely because of this beautiful appearance, they both had an even harder life.
Because of this beautiful appearance, Bai Yue, as she was bearing her son, was harassed frequently. Though these issues were somehow resolved, how could one live such a life?
Although they came to the town, Odin, under agreement, she was forced to live in a remote corner of the town, and washing clothes was her job, which enabled her to gain a meager income that was only barely enough to sustain her household.
“Chenchen, you came back. How was the examination?” Bai Yue, brimming in joy, ran to her son, holding him in her arms. She picked him up, the 9 years old Long Hao Chen who grew merely at the peak of her stomach in size.
Affected by his mother’s soft and pure fragrance, Long Hao Chen jubilantly answers: “Mother, I passed it.”
Bai Yue faintly smiles, “I knew that Bai Bai was the most awesome. Wash quickly, Mother will prepare you lunch right now.”
Long Hao Chen jumped out from his mother’s bosom, “Let me go prepare it. I picked some edible wild herbs, I will prepare a soup for you to drink.”
As he said that, he went straight to the thatched cottage. At its entrance, he still couldn’t help but turn at the direction of his mother to take a look. He didn’t know why, but he felt like she seemed really happy today. In fact, his mother generally didn’t speak much during the day.
Bai Yue continuously followed her son with her eyes as he went to the kitchen, murmuring: “Bai Bai, you are having such a hard time, but… …” she sighed lightly, from her eyes revealing a struggling feeling before finally restraining her inner feelings that were about to surge out.
A silent night passed.
The next day, Long Hao Chen woke up early and went to eat the breakfast prepared by his mother before proceeding to Odin Hall.
As he slept soundly, in his dreams appeared the scene that had occurred during the day and even the one when that little mute girl gave him the ring. It fired him up to such an extent that in the morning, as he woke up, he was too impatient to wait longer before going to confirm how much his spiritual energy grew.
Because he came so early, when Long Hao Chen got into Odin Hall, no one else had arrived yet. There was nothing valuable at Odin’s Hall so there was basically no one monitoring, let alone Balza, the Knight Instructor who lived right behind.
Hurrying to yesterday’s examination place, in front of the wooden block, he withdrew from his back the wooden sword. He came today, earlier, only to prove that his guess was correct by taking a spiritual energy test.
The wooden sword slowly raised. Long Hao Chen concentrated, his foot accumulating power, taking a deep breath and, from his hands, the wooden sword went down at full speed.
Puff — swish ——, Ping–