Sealed Divine Throne II: Twin Sons of Dragon
Chapter 262 - 130: Hai Jifeng’s Path_1

Chapter 262: Chapter 130: Hai Jifeng’s Path_1

Upon hearing Hai Jifeng say that he had finally embarked on the path of the Reckless Knight, Long Dangdang couldn’t help but falter. He had been following the Reckless Knight’s cultivation for more than just a day or two. "Teacher, why today?" he asked.

Hai Jifeng smiled and replied, "It is only when you are willing to use both Explosive Burst and Sacrifice at the same time, in order to defeat your opponent, that you can truly say that you’ve started on this path. Even if you couldn’t do it in the last battle, you can in this one. Crucially, you have a unique advantage— despite such explosive outburst, you do not harm your original source. This is when you can consider yourself to have started on this path."

With that said, he led Long Dangdang out of the cultivation chamber and gestured for him to sit down in the living room.

"Dangdang, in reality, I was not a prodigy back in my days. Or to put it better, I was a stubborn ordinary youth. My innate inner spiritual power was just over fifty, do you know?" Hai Jifeng asked, his eyes calm and composed.

Over fifty? While an innate inner spiritual power over fifty isn’t bad, it’s certainly not considered good. It definitely wouldn’t allow for entry into the Spirit Furnace Academy, let alone gaining admission to Temple Academy’s Main College.

Hai Jifeng explained, "Back then, I was just a student of the Temple Academy in a small city. It was such a small place, with few professionists. Having an innate inner spiritual power above fifty was considered quite good there. So, at that time, I was always at the top of my class. I was also very hardworking because I believed that as long as I tried hard enough, I could always be the best and could even become a God’s Seal Knight eventually."

"At the age of twelve, I was selected by the academy to participate in the Main Temple Academy’s assessment. Our city was so small that each profession only had three slots, and only those who passed the exam could gain admission to the Main Temple Academy. For over ten years, no one from our branch had been able to enter the Main Temple Academy. Because I worked so hard and was more advanced compared with peers at my age, I firmly believed that I could definitely pass. After all, I hardly had any rest as I devoted all my efforts to cultivation."

"Nevertheless, when I arrived at the examination venue and really sat for the exam along with students from larger cities, I came to the realization of how important talent is in this world. At twelve years old, I was already a 3rd Rank knight, considered pretty capable in our small city. But when I arrived at the Main Temple Academy to attend the assessment, I saw abundant 4th Rank Knights. My innate inner spiritual power lagged behind theirs. There were even many geniuses with an innate spiritual power of sixty to seventy."

"I couldn’t accept this! Why should I be weaker than them just because my talent is lacking, despite all the efforts I’ve put in? I was sure that I worked harder than them. The teacher who brought me to the exam told me that hard work defines a person’s lower limit, and talent determines the upper limit. With an innate inner spiritual power just above fifty, he said, I could become a 7th Rank Temple Knight in the future if I keep working hard. But, it’s not likely for me to exceed."

"I wasn’t willing to accept this! I truly wasn’t. Why can’t I succeed without talent? Why can’t I become a God’s Seal Knight? At that time, the stubbornness in my heart even grew somewhat obstinate. During the exam, I challenged and continuously defeated many opponents who were stronger than me, passing one assessment after another."

"At the age of twelve, none of us really had much practical experience, and attitude sometimes played a significant role. Besides, I did not fear injury or pain, and kept forging ahead. I even defeated opponents who were 4th Rank Knights. It was then that I started to comprehend the benefits brought by courage and fearlessness."

"In the end, I did pass the exam and entered the Main Temple Academy. Although my cultivation level was almost at the bottom, I managed to defeat many opponents who were stronger than me."

"But when I started studying at the Main Temple Academy, I discovered another problem. I realized that talent was indeed affecting me. When I advanced to the 4th Rank and strived towards the 5th Rank, I was seriously stumped at the stage of liquefying spiritual power. What the high-talented students could complete in no time, I needed to put in much more effort for. And I still could not grasp the key to doing it. Then, I realized I needed to change. If I kept cultivating in the same old way, I would only fall further and further behind my talented peers. I began to doubt whether I would be able to graduate from the Main Temple Academy. I was already sixteen when I started working on reaching the 5th Rank. Many students with lesser talent would stagnate at this stage for a long time, and some might not even complete it by graduation, rendering them unable to officially graduate from the Main Academy."

"So, I started to wonder whether there was any solution to my innate deficiency. I consulted many teachers, and their replies were similar to what the teacher who led me to the examination had. Talent, or rather lack of it, was blocking my path. I couldn’t accept it! During the holidays that year, I decided to travel around. In my travels, I made friends with some people. Though I wasn’t very strong at the academy, the Main Temple Academy is among the best, and most of the friends I made were quite powerful. We practiced and discussed together. I shared my confusion with them, but still, no one could give me useful advice."