Chapter 96 - Actually, I am very ugly (II)
Chapter 96: Actually, I am very ugly (II)
Translator: GravityTales Editor: GravityTales
The third day of the Demon Hunt Selection was still ongoing, and because the number of people that were left had decreased, the results of the Six Great Temples’ Selection were already out by the afternoon.
Li Xin’s luck was clearly not as poor as Long Hao Chen’s: she faced a strong opponent, but his mount was incomparable to hers. Once again making use of Rose’s superiority and her advantage as a Retribution Knight, she passed through this third match. This was something Ye Hua didn’t expect at all.
Just like everyone expected, the three others knights of the fifth step won, and Long Hao Chen became the main candidate for the vacant place.
In the office of the Knight Temple…
An elder was seated in front of a business table, calmly looking at the data in his hand. This elder had silver hair, and even though he was seated there, it could clearly be seen that he was quite tall. His shoulders were especially wide and his age didn’t affect his dignified appearance.
This elder was the highest graded policymaker in the Temple Alliance and its general quarters within Holy City. Within the whole Knight Alliance, he was second only to the three great Divine Knights who were the holy chiefs of the knights. This person was the one who was previously seated in the middle seat of the platform of the Knight Stadium, surrounded by other elders.
_Toc, toc, toc._ Someone knocked on the door.
“Enter.” The Saint Knight slowly lifted his head, and indifferently said.
Opening the door, and entering from outside was someone with a strong figure with a well-built physique and brown hair, Han Yu. Only, his face didn’t have the slightest bit of its previous arrogance, it was only filled with nervousness, pain, and other gloomy feelings of this kind.
Looking at him, the Saint Knight’s complexion suddenly changed, as he conveniently threw the data on the 19 competitors of today that he was reading on the table.
_Bang–_ , Han Yu’s clenched fist was pressed against his own chest, as he respectfully performed a knight salute before this elder.
The Saint Knight Head coldly glared at him, without saying a single word.
Han Yu’s forehead was full of sweat, as he silently lowered his head.
“Kneel down.” The Saint Knight Head ferociously kicked a desk, his hair and his beard were tossed around, and an intense oppressive pressure instantly filled the whole room, completely twisting the air inside.
Gulping, Han Yu kneeled, and his face was in this moment, extremely pale.
Under the oppressive power released by this Saint Knight Head that stood before him, as fierce as a mountain, he seemed like he could be broken into straw at any moment.
The Saint Knight Head slowly stood up and walked from behind the table. He pointed his finger at Han Yu, “Great! You are truly great. Aren’t you a bit too conceited? Didn’t you say that you were the best youth of your generation? Are you satisfied now? You didn’t pass the preliminaries, and furthermore, you were beaten by an opponent at the fourth step! What a hero!”
Han Yu lowered his head, miserably scowling, “Grandpa, I was in the wrong. It was completely my fault, please punish me suitably .”
“Don’t call me grandpa, I don’t have such a disappointing grandson.” The Saint Knight Head lifted up his leg and kicked Han Yu, “Even now, you still don’t know why you were in the wrong. You believe that I am angry because the fact you lost today’s match made me lose face, right? You are wrong. Let me tell you, I, Han Qian, am angry because my grandson didn’t even bother summoning his mount and yet lost, completely disgraced. This disgrace is something you brought upon yourself!”
The senior Saint Knight Head was seething in anger while shouting, “Do you think that back then, in the stadium, I wanted expel you from the Knight Temple just because I was angry? No! I wanted to expel you because you weren’t even close to being qualified as a knight! The first of the ten rules of a knight is modesty, but tell me, is there any part of your worthless self that is modest? Your heart is only filled with arrogance. Do you think that, as a 22 year-old kid who broke through to the fifth step, you’re special? That you’re a genius? Well, guess what? The child you fought today is only 14 years old. 14 years old! Compared to him, you’re just a little piece of sh*t that got stuck on the bottom of his shoe.”
Hearing the three words ‘14 years-old’, Han Yu’s expression was completely blank, “No, that’s impossible.”
Han Qian coldly looked at his grandson, “Impossible? Do you think the bone age test can be wrong? I have personally sealed off the information on his age. Wasn’t it your dream to become a Divine Knight? With your current moral integrity, even if one day, you obtain this title, you will still be no more than a corrupted knight. Full of arrogance and self-satisfaction, considering everyone else beneath him, still acting shamelessly even after having lost the match. You didn’t make me lose face, you made the entire Knight Alliance lose face. If it wasn’t for the other elders who held me back at that time, I would have beaten you to death.”
Han Yu’s body started slightly shaking. Since his childhood, even though he was extremely diligent in his training, he was naturally a very arrogant kid. Since he was a kid, this was the first time he received a setback. Today, with this defeat, he had discovered that he was too lacking. Long Hao Chen’s combo crushed all his arrogance, and he suddenly discovered that he was actually not as formidable as he imagined at all.
Han Qian still spoke with a cold voice, “You have only two possible choices, now. First, to let me seal your spiritual energy, and expel you from the Knight Alliance. You are still my grandson, so I will give you some money, to let you pursue a prosperous life as an ordinary man. If you choose this path, I will personally, on your behalf, appear before Long Hao Chen to cancel your oath. As for the second path, you already know it.”
Han Yu’s body suddenly shook, as he slowly raised his head, “Grandfather, he… he’s really only 14 years old?”
Han Qian’s previously angry mood had calmed down a bit, and strongly nodding, he answered, “From these three days of competition, I can tell that this child, Long Hao Chen, has a persevering, kind-hearted, honest, courageous, and brave disposition. In him, I can see the honor of a knight. If you stay alongside him, you’ll be able to learn about the attitude a knight should have. Don’t think that becoming a retainer knight is a loss of face. As long as he doesn’t die, he will definitely astonish the whole Alliance in the future, and even the most powerful figures of the Demon Race. Accompanying him, as his supporter, will only have advantages for your progress. If you don’t take this choice, five years later, his back will be absolutely out of your reach.”
Han Yu kneeled down once again, facing Han Qian, knocking his head three times against the floor, “Grandpa, in five years, I will definitely make you acknowledge me.”
At this point, he stood straight, performing another knight salute toward Han Qian, and with large strides took his leave.
Looking at his departing figure, the anger in Han Qian’s face suddenly disappeared. Instead, it changed into a faintly discernible smile.
“Long Hao Chen, I should really thank you today. Actually, I had noticed little Han Yu’s problem before. Only, I had never found a good occasion to give him a big lesson. Yu’er is a very arrogant kid, but he’s very determinated. Obstructing him will only make him more brave. And being together with Long Hao Chen will only be advantageous for him. Furthermore, they may really both become divine knights together. Only, I wonder from whom Long Hao Chen inherited. He uses Retribution Knight abilities, learned [Holy Sword], the most powerful skill of the fifth step. And his family name is Long! Don’t tell me that…”
At this point, Han Qian’s face suddenly became astonished.
The real reason why he had Han Yu follow Long Hao Chen was that when he lost in the competition, he had lost the qualifications to enter in a Demon Hunt Squad. In regard to his future accomplishments, it could be described as a fatal blow. And although by name, becoming Long Hao Chen’s retainer knight could be called a fatal blow, it still enabled him to become a part of a Demon Hunt Squad. And Han Qian had a very favorable opinion of Long Hao Chen. Having Han Yu protect him would definitely make Long Hao Chen more likely to survive these experiences. Also, he would naturally easily grow closer to Long Hao Chen within five years. If Long Hao Chen really reached the Divine level, it would be extremely advantageous for his grandson to be close to him. This old geezer was full of ulterior motives Ye Hua could never possibly guess! Naturally, if not for this arrogant personality of Han Yu’s that was so detrimental to him, how could Han Qian let his grandson, blessed by the Heavens, become someone else’s retainer?
*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes
*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap