Chapter 43: Starlight Unicorn (I)
After listening to Ye Huaâs advice, Long Hao Chen felt a little regretful . However, when he entered the area, he clearly felt in his body that the rotation speed of his internal spiritual energy around his spiritual stove accelerated significantly . Even without meditating to accelerate his cultivation speed, the rotation of his spiritual energy would not be much slower .
âYour name?â asked a deep, hoarse voice .
Long Hao Chen was startled; with the increase of his cultivation speed, his mental capacity also became all more formidable here . At this moment, he did not know that the fact using skills depleted less of his spiritual energy was not only because of his physique as a Scion of Light, but also because of his excellent mental capacity . Despite all of that, he still did not detect this person who was approaching .
âGui Ying, the Hall Master of Xiu City Hall has brought his son Gui Wu to the Sacred Mountain to choose a companion mount . â
A shadow flashed: Gui Ying and his son, who were behind them all along, came close, standing next to Long Hao Chen and Ye Hua .
The figure of an old man slowly came out in front of them; his body was like a part of the pale golden haze, and his breath was completely overshadowed by the haze .
This elder had a hunchback posture and, inside his armor, he was clad with simple grey-colored clothes . He was mostly bald, but still had a few sparse and fragmentary strands of white hair . A simple wrinkle of his brows was a weapon that could catch mosquitoes and the yellow color of his eyes was very pure . The appearance of the old man is like someone who is in his last days and seemed like a gust of wind could end his life .
âYe Hua from Hao Yue Branch Hall, I came with my disciple, Long Hao Chen, to the Sacred Mountain to choose his companion mount . â Ye Huaâs voice sounded as cold as ever . Even here, his old habit did not change at all .
The old man slowly approached them . When Long Hao Chen clearly saw his appearance, he couldnât help but feel somewhat startled .
The old man had a single arm: his left arm was cut off, and he was blind in the right eye . He even had a very large scar on his face, extending from his lower jaw to the top of his head . It was as if his head had been split open .
When he could clearly see the appearance of this old man, Long Hao Chen also discovered that his teacher with a usually ice-cold temperament unexpectedly had a respectful look on his eyes at this moment . He was slowly bowing down before this elder, and Gui Yin was doing the same at the other side .
Long Hao Chen didnât dare to slack off and hurriedly gave his respects as well .
Although Gui Wu was bowing down like his father, a disapproving look could be seen in his eyes . Since his childhood, he had been the proud son of the Hall Master of Xiu City . Regardless of whether they were people from the Knight Temple or Xiu City, everyone was polite and courteous with him . He was really unwilling to bow down to a disabled old man in his late days .
The gaze of this elderly man swept in front of these four people, before saying in a hoarse voice: âTake out your certificates . â
âYes . â Gui Ying and Ye Hua answered simultaneously, and Gui Ying, a step faster, handed over a scroll to him . Ye Hua shot him a cold glance before handing over a scroll at his turn .
The elderly man first gave a look to the scroll handed by Gui Ying and nodded . When he next gave a look to the scroll handed by Ye Hua, he couldnât help but look at Long Hao Chen, analyzing him from top to bottom .
Long Hao Chen vaguely knew already that this scroll recorded everything about the time after he joined Hao Yue Branch Hall, naturally including his age and his cultivation records .
Being stared by this elderly man, he felt a huge pressure in his whole body, as if a formidable power had penetrated his inner being .
The elderly man gave him another look before waving in his direction, âCome . â
Gui Ying pushed his son, giving him a meaningful glance .
Gui Wu quickly took a step forward, showing a respectful expression .
The elder lifted his hand, consciously moving it on Gui Wuâs shoulder . As a reaction, Gui Wu subconsciously shook with his entire body, struggling, but when the dried up and old-looking palm touched his shoulder, he instantly became stiff and completely unable to move .
A drop of sweat flowed from his forehead: he could clearly feel that the palm of this elder was as imposing as a mountain, and he felt as if he was disappearing without hope of returning .
âHm, 18 years-old . You have my approval . You may enter . â was the next sentence he told to Gui Ying .
Turning his hand, he grabbed a long black colored tile . He handed it to Gui Wuâs hand before telling him: âUpon meeting magical beasts of different levels, this token will take on a different color . In the Knightsâ Sacred Mountain, the weakest beasts are at the second rank, corresponding to a red color . In a similar fashion, the others colors are yellow, green, dark green, blue, purple, white, and silver . Ninth is the peak level here . If a shining golden color appears, it means you have encountered an aggressive beast . Unless you feel a compatibility between the both of you, you are to stay as far from it as possible . If you cannot initiate a link among the both of you, keep searching until you find your target . The time limit is 30 days, you have 30 days to look for the suitable magical beast for yourself . Also, you will be transported out of the mountain 20 seconds after this tile shines with a pure gold color . Is everything clear?â
âYes . â Gui Wu answered .
Then, the scroll that was in the elderâs hand suddenly turned into ashes as a grey colored energy was sent out, covering the black colored tile in Gui Wuâs hand . The tile quickly shone before going back to normal .
âThank you very much, senior . â Gui Ying respectfully saluted this elder before heading back to the mountain . Gui Wu did not dare be negligent, and shot a glance at the nearby Long Hao Chen before moving forward and stepping in the haze, disappearing inside .
The elder faced Long Hao Chen and beckoned, âCome, little fellow; let this old man take a closer look to you . I want to see if you can really amaze an old man like me . â
âYes . â Long Hao Chen gave a glance to this teacher before approaching him at a slow pace and respectfully standing in front of him .
Like before, the elder placed his hand on his shoulder, and a warm feeling was instantly transmitted . Long Hao Chen didnât move the slightest bit, and calmly stood there .
After a short moment, the elder opened his eyes wide, and after withdrawing his hand he stared at Long Hao Chenâs face once more .
âHao Yue Branch Hall . â the old man murmured in a deep voice .
âThis young one is listening . â Ye Hua took two steps forwards, respectfully saluting him .
The old man turned his head, looked at Ye Hua, and said: âWhere did you find such a little freak? He is really not 13 yet, but he is already a Grand Knight . Moreover, his spiritual energy is above 1,000, ten years earlier than that little fellow Long Xing Yu, whose innate talent cannot even compare to his . This is a genuine genius! You can report my approval to the executive of the Temple and let him directly pursue his cultivation in the Temple . â
Ye Huaâs complexion faintly changed: he didnât expect this elder before him to become so fond of Long Hao Chen, and a thought came to him, it seems that even within a century, such a prodigy will not appear for sure .
âSenior, it is not that this young one is unwilling, only, in half a year, there will be the Magical Hunt and Selection, that major competition . And this young one firmly believes that his teachings are definitely not lacking . â
The old man pondered for a little while, before nodding: âAlright . This old one will not meddle in your affairs . He will simply leave you be . Kid, did you clearly hear what I said earlier?â
Long Hao Chen respectfully answered: âI heard clearly . â
The old man nodded, âThen you can go . However, as you broke through the step of Grand Knight before you turned 20, you can have one more privilege . If after 30 days, you havenât found a fitting mount for yourself, you can enter the Sacred Mountainâs summit to summon a magical beast to serve as your mount from another place . Only, if we have to come to this, it means we are leaving everything to chance: it will be for sure a suitable mount for you, but it is hard to say whether it will be a strong one or a weak one, and it can even be a first step magical beast; hence, you have to make great efforts when searching during these 30 days . Understood?â