Chapter 49: Cai'er and Ye Ling's Strength, Wang Yuanyuan Concedes, Heading to the Mission Hall!
Cai'er's spirit armor radiated a unique purple glow, with a boundless and chilling aura. Even Wang Yuanyuan, who had slain many demons, couldn't help but take notice of the oppressive killing intent it emitted.
She was deeply shaken. Why would such terrifying bloodlust emanate from such a small girl?
And what was that strange armor she wore? Why did it look so unfamiliar and overwhelming? Its aura was icy and sharp, enough to make one tremble.
Besides, wasn't she an assassin?
Why would an assassin wear such heavy-looking armor? Didn't she care about agility? This thing clearly wasn't lightweight!
Though stunned, Wang Yuanyuan didn't hesitate for long. She released her energy and charged forward with the Divine Titan Shield in hand.
Even if you have Radiance-grade gear—
My Divine Titan Shield is also Radiance-grade. I can suppress you!
With this in mind, Wang Yuanyuan shouted and exploded forward. Her aura surged as she lunged at Cai'er, who met her advance, gripping her daggers and preparing to fight.
These daggers were not the Reincarnation Blades, but a new pair of Radiance-grade daggers Ye Ling had crafted to match her armor set.
Meanwhile, Li Xin had just finished testing with Long Haochen and was leading him around as they searched for the others.
They soon arrived at the spectator's area of the arena.
"Haochen, your combat skills are impressive. To think a mere probationary knight could hold out ten minutes against me."
"Your talent is outstanding, too. From what I saw, you're only eleven and already have 149 points of external spiritual energy. Compared to your brother Ye Ling, you're way ahead. When he was eleven, he didn't even have fifty points."
Li Xin laughed heartily as she teased Ye Ling's past weaknesses.
Long Haochen chuckled politely. Ye Ling may have been weaker in the past, but now he was strong—strong enough to send Teacher Xingyu flying. From what Xingyu said, Ye Ling already possessed fifth-rank combat power!
Still, Long Haochen kept quiet about this and followed Li Xin to the arena—until they saw Cai'er unleashing her spirit armor.
Sensing the overwhelming aura she emitted, Li Xin froze in place, her face blank with shock.
"Whoa... this aura from little sister Cai'er is terrifying. Especially with that armor—it feels more threatening than Uncle Nalan!"
"Could she already be at the fifth rank?"
"So young… that's impossible, right?"
Li Xin was speechless, stunned by Cai'er's power.
"She's not at the fifth rank," Long Haochen explained. "She's still at the fourth rank, but the boost is thanks to her spirit armor—the one-word Spirit Armor."
Even as he spoke, Long Haochen felt like crying.
He was supposed to have one too… but he wasn't even at the fourth rank yet!
All because his spiritual energy was too low.
"To allow a fourth-rank Battle Master to leap into the power of a fifth-rank Assassin… this armor is terrifying. This girl must have high status in the Assassin Temple—otherwise, how could she get gear like that?" Li Xin said, clearly envious.
As a knight, nothing was more cherished than fine weapons and armor—especially for a combat-loving Retribution Knight like Li Xin.
Of course, she was self-aware. Radiance-grade armor and weapons were rare. Even someone like Nalan Shu, a division hall master, didn't qualify to own them.
Let alone her.
She could only hope to join a Demon Hunt Squad someday, fight hard, earn merit, and then redeem it for gear.
Radiance-grade items were truly scarce now.
Still, perhaps one day Ye Ling could forge Radiance-grade equipment regularly. Li Xin believed that day wasn't far off.
Because it was Ye Ling.
It was coming soon!
"Brother Ye never told me much about Cai'er's background," Long Haochen muttered, "but she's clearly connected to the Assassin Temple. However..."
"However what?" Li Xin asked.
"This armor isn't from the Assassin Temple. It was forged by Brother Ye recently. It's called Spirit Armor, and this one is the lowest tier—One-Word Spirit Armor."
Li Xin was dumbfounded.
"So this is something my brother made?"
"He can forge Radiance-grade equipment now?"
"Wow… I thought we'd have to wait a few years before he reached that level!"
She froze in place, unsure how to respond to the unexpected surprise.
At that moment, Cai'er and Wang Yuanyuan's match had just ended. With her fifth-rank combat strength, Cai'er defeated Wang Yuanyuan in less than three exchanges.
Wang Yuanyuan had been unwilling to accept it at first—but the battle ended with Cai'er's dagger at her neck. The threat of death was real.
That alone sealed her defeat.
Feeling the shadow of death, Wang Yuanyuan lost all desire to continue. On a real battlefield, she would already have been decapitated. There'd be no "next move."
Still, she wasn't completely convinced.
She believed that if Cai'er hadn't been wearing that armor, she might not have lost.
But that thought vanished in the next second.
Because Li Xin rushed over, eyes full of urgency. She looked directly at Ye Ling and asked seriously, "Little brother, I heard from Haochen—Cai'er's armor was made by you?"
"Yeah," Ye Ling nodded, slightly puzzled. But when he saw Long Haochen behind her, he understood—must've been him who said it. Not a big deal.
At that, the most shocked person wasn't Li Xin—but Wang Yuanyuan.
She looked at Ye Ling in disbelief and sucked in a cold breath.
Ye Ling could forge gear of this level?
Radiance-grade equipment!
In terms of value alone, a single Radiance-grade piece far exceeded dozens of Spirit-level ones. Given their rarity, even hundreds of Spirit-level items might not match one Radiance piece.
And this was just the weakest tier.
Judging from what she had just seen, every one of those Radiance-grade pieces was at least of mid-to-high tier.
That kind of value would easily multiply several times over.
Thinking of this, Wang Yuanyuan couldn't help but draw in a sharp breath.
Li Xin, on the other hand, had stars in her eyes, looking at Ye Ling with excitement. "Make a set for your sister too, will you? That spirit armor isn't just powerful—it looks awesome too!"
Ye Ling scratched his head awkwardly. "Sis, it's not that I don't want to—it's just that the conditions don't allow for it."
"How so?" Li Xin asked, puzzled. She wasn't angry. If Ye Ling said that, there had to be a reason. Their relationship was close enough that he'd never refuse her without cause.
"According to my design, in order to withstand the power of the spirit armor, one needs to reach the fifth rank at the very least. Technically, you could use individual components beforehand, but right now, using just a single component of spirit armor isn't as effective as using traditional armor."
Ye Ling explained calmly.
"Fifth rank?" Li Xin was stunned. She turned to look at Cai'er and asked, "Then… is Cai'er already at the fifth rank?"
She was shocked—so young?
"No," Ye Ling replied, "Cai'er hasn't reached the fifth rank yet. She still has a long way to go. Her spiritual energy hasn't even condensed into a liquid state."
"Then what's her current level?" Li Xin asked.
Wang Yuanyuan and Long Haochen, who had their own guesses, both turned their heads slightly, curious to hear the answer.
"There hasn't been a recent test, but three months ago, her combined internal and external spiritual energy was about 1,500 points," Ye Ling said.
At that, Wang Yuanyuan lost all thoughts of comparison.
You've got to be kidding me. Can I even compete?
Fifteen hundred!
She hadn't even reached that level herself.
Yet Cai'er had.
Terrifying.
"Then what about you, little brother?" Li Xin asked. "Your internal spiritual energy and total spiritual energy?"
She remembered that Ye Ling's internal spiritual energy used to be low. It couldn't be that scary now, right? That way, she could still feel a little better about herself.
"My internal spiritual energy? A bit less than Cai'er's. The last test showed about 1,250 points. Total spiritual energy is around 1,800. I'm not far from the fifth-rank threshold," Ye Ling said casually, not showing the slightest arrogance.
Wang Yuanyuan and Li Xin both widened their eyes in shock.
Eighteen hundred?!
"Are you really my little brother Ye Ling? The same one I trained with for two years? Not some monster wearing his face?" Li Xin was dazed. She didn't know what to say anymore.
What a monster!
"If you don't believe me, I can start telling your embarrassing stories all around the Moonlight Sub-Hall," Ye Ling rolled his eyes, ready to launch some playful blackmail. "Let everyone know what 'Hell Rose' Li Xin is really like…"
Li Xin's expression froze. She panicked and quickly interrupted, "Okay, okay! I give up. You win!"
She was helpless. Her little brother was great in every way… except for being occasionally devious.
"How did you improve your strength so quickly?" Wang Yuanyuan asked, still confused.
"It's pretty simple," Ye Ling smiled. His expression flashed with a terrifyingly divine aura of light as he said, "Because I received the blessing of the God of Light. That's why my strength soared and reached this level!"
Wang Yuanyuan's eyes widened.
The God of Light blessed you? Then why didn't my own deity—Divine Titan—bless me when I inherited the Divine Titan bloodline?!
Unfair!
Li Xin burst out laughing. "Yuanyuan, don't believe him. He told me the exact same nonsense half a year ago. Not a single word was true—he's totally messing with you."
Wang Yuanyuan shot Ye Ling a speechless look.
Unbelievable. So shameless.
But hey, sometimes that's how girls become friends.
While waiting for Ye Ling's return, Li Xin and Wang Yuanyuan had already gotten close. They were basically besties now.
"C'mon, sis, at least let me have some fun," Ye Ling said, exasperated.
"Next time, next time," Li Xin nodded. Who knows when that next time will be?
Wang Yuanyuan sighed and said, "This time, I admit defeat. But in the Demon Hunt Squad selection trials—I'll challenge you again, and I'll beat you then!"
With that, and after getting Li Xin's approval, she left.
Watching her go, Li Xin didn't say much. Everyone had things they needed to do. After learning about Wang Yuanyuan's background, she understood her current priority—becoming stronger, and then seeking revenge.
Her target was, of course, the demons.
"Haochen, let's go. According to Teacher Xingyu, you still need to complete a probationary knight-level mission to earn his recognition."
"But," she added seriously, "unless you're in a life-threatening situation, I won't intervene. If I do, the mission ends then and there—and I'll report everything honestly to Teacher Xingyu, including your failure."
Ye Ling spoke seriously. While he knew what Long Haochen would one day accomplish—knew and was proud of him—that was the Haochen of the original timeline, not this current one.
That version's strength came not only from talent, but from experience.
He could help Long Haochen, but he wouldn't coddle him. Growth must be earned through hardship.
He would offer guidance—nothing more.
Though Long Haochen didn't fully understand, he still nodded in agreement.
The three of them then departed together, with Cai'er in tow.
Li Xin, meanwhile, decided not to go along. She still had the letter intended for Nalan Shu, who wasn't present earlier. So she went off to find him and ask him to return as well.
Ye Ling, Cai'er, and Long Haochen quickly made their way toward the mission distribution center.
[Moonlight Mercenary Mission Hall]
They soon arrived.
The place was packed with mercenary groups from Moonlight City—men and women who lived by their blades, all hardened veterans.
As the trio stepped inside, many eyes turned toward them.
[End Of Chapter]
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