After doing all this, Long Xingyu left without looking back.
Long Xuanye was already a dead man.
…
Deep in the forest.
When the first ray of sunlight pierced through the thick layers of leaves and landed on Long Xuanye’s face, he opened his eyes.
He had not slept all night.
The unease in his heart had only grown stronger with time.
In the end, he could not hold back.
He leapt out from his hiding place and rushed toward home.
On the forest path, only a rapidly flickering afterimage remained.
Creak—
The familiar wooden door was pushed open hard.
The instant he stepped inside, a light screen only he could see popped up before his eyes.
[Choice Two Completed.
Reward Issued.]
[Innate Internal Spiritual Power: 87 → 88]
The brief flash of relief on Long Xuanye’s face froze completely the moment he saw the inside of the house.
Home was empty.
His mother and younger brother’s auras had vanished without a trace.
On the table, the leftover bowls and plates had been smashed to pieces.
Food scraps were scattered everywhere.
The storage chest in the corner had been violently opened.
The clothes inside had been cut to rags.
The few remaining bags of wheat had all been spilled across the ground, mixed with mud, no longer edible.
People were gone.
The house was empty.
No.
This was not simply leaving an empty house behind.
This was extermination.
Long Xuanye’s gaze swept over the destroyed items.
On them, there was still a faint yet domineering aura of power.
He knew this aura too well.
It was Long Xingyu’s.
He understood everything in an instant.
That man had taken away his mother and younger brother.
Then he had personally destroyed everything here.
He had destroyed all the supplies Long Xuanye relied on to survive.
A terrifying thought rose in his heart like a venomous snake.
He remembered the original Divine Throne novel from his previous life.
Because Long Xingyu believed Long Haochen had the Demon God Emperor’s bloodline, he watched a group of human geniuses enter a dangerous land without helping.
If not for the protagonist’s halo, humanity’s future might have been destroyed right there.
What could a lunatic like that not do?
And now, that butcher’s blade had swung toward him, Long Xuanye.
A child with low External Spiritual Power, no resources, and no way to make a living had been abandoned alone in this chaotic border town.
This was meant to kill him.
Long Xuanye’s eyes turned cold.
What a fine God-Seal Knight of Doom and Slaughter.
What a fine human leader.
A person like this…
Could actually be worthy of a Divine Throne?
Long Xuanye staggered back a step and hit the broken doorframe with a muffled thud.
A moment later, he slowly straightened himself.
Despair?
No.
He still had a chance.
Fortunately, the system rewards from before had given him a body far beyond ordinary people.
His External Spiritual Power was not low.
Surviving…
Should still be possible.
He could only say it was a good thing he had never exposed his true strength.
Just then, a familiar transparent light screen opened in front of him without warning.
[Detected that the host is currently in a fatal crisis.
Choice Moment Activated.]
[Choice One: Remain where you are and hide all of your aura.
Reward: Innate Internal Spiritual Power +20.]
[Choice Two: Face the enemy head-on and kill the Shadow Leopard left behind by Long Xingyu.
Reward: Knight Secret Skill — Instant Step, Innate Internal Spiritual Power +2.]
Shadow Leopard?
Long Xuanye’s pupils shrank.
Destroying his home and cutting off his food was not enough.
That man had even left him such a “gift.”
Roar!
Before the thought could settle, a black shadow carrying a foul wind shot out from the shadows outside the house like an arrow leaving the string.
It was a pitch-black magical beast.
Its crimson eyes were filled with hunger and madness.
Too fast.
Almost the instant the black shadow appeared, Long Xuanye’s expression changed.
Every muscle in his body tightened.
He exerted force through his waist and abdomen, twisting his body to the side at an impossible angle.
Slash!
The sharp claw wind brushed past the corner of his clothes and left three deep claw marks on the old wooden door.
The Shadow Leopard missed its first strike and landed steadily.
A threatening growl came from its throat.
Its crimson eyes locked firmly onto the “prey” before it.
Looking at the beast, the hatred in Long Xuanye’s eyes almost solidified.
This was Long Xingyu’s will.
This was that man’s determination to kill him.
Kill it.
Kill this beast.
Raging hatred turned into a force he had never felt before.
Long Xuanye did not retreat.
He advanced instead.
His foot slammed into the ground.
The floor cracked.
His whole body charged straight toward the Shadow Leopard.
The figures of one man and one beast crossed inside the narrow wooden house.
Claw shadows.
Fist winds.
Flesh collided with sharp claws, producing dull impacts.
At last, everything settled.
Long Xuanye panted heavily.
Blood dripped from his right fist.
At his feet, the Shadow Leopard’s skull had caved in deeply.
It no longer had any life.
[Choice Two Completed.
Reward Issued.]
[Obtained Skill: Instant Step.
Allows rapid displacement during danger and uses speed to deal explosive damage.]
A warm current surged through his limbs and bones.
It quickly repaired his injuries.
The spiritual power he had consumed was instantly replenished.
It had even grown slightly.
Long Xuanye looked at the newly obtained reward on the system panel.
A miserable smile appeared on his face.
The harvest was indeed not small.
The Shadow Leopard’s magic crystal could be exchanged for some urgently needed supplies.
And the skill Instant Step was even more valuable.
It could save his life and help him counterattack.
He sighed in his heart.
“As expected, only real danger brings good rewards.
Slowly accumulating External Spiritual Power before was way too inefficient.”
But in the next moment, he gave a bitter smile.
“But I’m not stupid.
If I could steadily accumulate Internal and External Spiritual Power, who would want to risk their life?
Now I don’t have that option anymore.
I can only gamble with my life…”
…
The next day.
The morning mist had not yet dispersed.
Long Xuanye held on to a faint hope and quietly returned to the edge of Odin Town.
He wanted to go to the Knight Temple branch and see whether he still had any chance to continue training.
However, just as he approached the area near his ruined wooden house, his footsteps stopped.
Not far away, two men in the standard leather armor of the Knight Temple were whispering to each other.
Their eyes swept toward the destroyed wooden house from time to time.
There was impatience on their faces.
One of them said, “It’s already been a day.
Why is there still no movement?
Did that kid run away?”
The other man sneered.
“Be patient.
Once we find that boy’s corpse, we can go back and report.”
Their voices entered Long Xuanye’s ears without missing a single word.
Long Xuanye’s figure quietly disappeared into the morning mist.
So even the aftermath had been arranged.
They were waiting for his corpse.
Good.
Very good.
The morning mist was cold.
It soaked through Long Xuanye’s thin clothes.
But it was nothing compared to the chill in his heart.
Long Xingyu.
It was Long Xingyu again.
The Knight Temple was supposed to symbolize protection and justice.
Now, it had become a butcher’s blade aimed at his life.
In this world, where else was safe?
The last trace of hope was crushed completely.
Long Xuanye stood behind a tree for a long time without moving.
His body was stiff, like a stone statue.
The Shadow Leopard’s magic crystal in his arms now felt painfully hot.
Where could he sell it?
Any shop in Odin Town might have the Knight Temple’s informants.
Once he showed himself, what awaited him would be a net closing from all sides.
His path to growing stronger seemed to be completely blocked at this moment.
Just as endless darkness was about to swallow him, a faint light appeared before his eyes.
[Detected that the host has fallen into a desperate situation.
Fate Choice Triggered.]
[Choice One: Completely hide your traces and avoid the Knight Temple’s search.
Reward: Innate Internal Spiritual Power +1, External Spiritual Power +3.]
[Choice Two: Take the initiative to expose your location and attract the searching knights.
Reward: Innate Internal Spiritual Power +20.]