"Don't be afraid, with me here, no one can hurt you!"
Even though he knew the identity of the person before him, Ilyx remained extremely vigilant at this moment. He slowly raised his wooden sword, watching the approaching Shadow Knight One.
"Come back with me!"
Shadow Knight One naturally didn't care about the little boy before him; he could even be said to have ignored him entirely. However, the man didn't know that the seeds of love had already been planted in the heart of their young mistress by Ilyx.
Ignorant love is the most precious. If you truly want to have a relationship with the daughter of a great group or a noble family, you must start from childhood, like childhood sweethearts. Today was the best opportunity. The kindness of a hero saving a beauty, combined with the catalytic effect of the Divine Maiden Furnace, and that earlier kiss to seal their bond, made Cai'er feel that she finally had someone to rely on in her life.
As the Saintess of Samsara, the young girl had been abandoned by her parents since childhood. Finally having a man willing to risk his life for her—regardless of whether it was right or wrong, or childish, or something else—a persistent affection soon took root deep in her heart. Even if they couldn't be together now, she would surely marry him when she grew up. That was what Cai'er thought.
"Kid, move!"
Seeing the tension in Ilyx’s eyes, Shadow Knight One did not yield, intending to forcibly take Cai'er away. But to his surprise, the little fellow in front of him actually held his wooden sword horizontally, striking a defensive pose!
Unfortunately, the gap in strength between them was too vast. Ilyx only felt a sharp pain in the back of his neck, and his whole body went limp as he collapsed.
"Master!"
Seeing his master under attack, Xiao Xiao Number One almost rushed out, but was held back by the last look in Ilyx’s eyes before he lost consciousness.
"Don't worry about me, I’m fine..."
It was unclear how much time had passed before Ilyx slowly regained consciousness. Beside him stood the invisible Xiao Xiao Number One, and his wooden sword lay nearby. At this moment, a legacy ring seemed to have appeared on his left hand.
"Master, you were unconscious for nearly two hours. Before that young girl left, she left you a ring!"
"Also, that assassin gentleman seemed to feel a bit guilty, so he helped you clear your meridians!"
Although Xiao had been ordered not to move, he had recorded everything that happened afterward without being discovered by the other party. This little butler was quite capable.
"Forget-me-not?"
Looking at the ring in his hand, a faint smile appeared on Ilyx’s face. The blue ring emitted a lustrous, gentle sheen—not a metallic luster, but the soft glow of porcelain-like jade. A pale golden forget-me-not pattern encircled it, with a transparent gem the size of a rice grain embedded within. The gem was completely flush with the surface; touching it, one could only feel the smooth texture of the ring. The inner ring was golden and slightly raised where it touched the finger, making it feel weightless when worn.
"Xiao, what is my Spiritual Power level now?"
Stretching his muscles and slowly picking up his wooden sword, Ilyx suddenly realized his body felt significantly stronger. It seemed this was thanks to the assassin helping him clear his meridians.
"Master, your Spiritual Power has recovered to 125. You are eligible for the Associate Knight examination!"
It seemed the assassin senior had really provided quite a few benefits. Of course, the man likely didn't know that by clearing his meridians, he had pushed Ilyx directly to the Spiritual Power of a Second Tier Associate Knight. Naturally, compared to the Scourge of the Undead at the peak of his past life, he was still just an ant.
"Not bad, not bad. It seems this new world is quite friendly to me. Rebirth came at just the right time!"
Regardless of how many souls were in this body, Ilyx had already made up his mind. Rather than entrusting everything to outsiders like Long Haochen or Huo Yuhao as he did in his past life, it was better to take advantage of this rebirth to have children of his own. Whether sons or daughters, it would be more reliable to raise them himself.
"Hehe, Xiao Xiao Number One, help me draft a recommendation letter for the knight examination. I am going to the Haoyue Branch Temple."
Since he had regained his past memories and found a new direction, he would leave this Odin Town to Long Haochen. He, Ilyx, was destined for a broader sky!
"Don't worry, Master. This is a small task for me!"
Although Ilyx was a Light Necromancer with his own path of advancement, he understood one thing very clearly: before becoming sufficiently powerful, he needed a suitable identity to hide his nature as a necromancer. Otherwise, once exposed prematurely, he would likely become a rat crossing the street that everyone wanted to beat, much like the Demon Clan.
Therefore, before reaching the Seventh Tier, he would continue to use the identity of the Child of Light to play the part of a knight. This would keep him close to Long Haochen, making it easier to seize the boy's fortune. Take Cai'er, for example. If Ilyx hadn't intervened, this girl might have continued to struggle for a while until she appeared before Long Haochen. But looking at it now, those two were destined not to be. In the years to come, Ilyx’s face would repeatedly appear in her mind.
[Ding, congratulations to the host for successfully creating a personal item: Knight Advancement Recommendation Letter. The system will embed it into the real world.]
He hadn't expected that the letter Xiao forged would be of such high quality. It wouldn't just be accepted by the Haoyue Branch Temple; even the higher-level Knight Hall wouldn't find any flaws. Even if someone came to investigate in the future, no one would ever discover Ilyx's true identity. Beautiful!
"Master, it's finished! Let's set off now!"
Handing over a small envelope with a flourish, Xiao Xiao Number One looked quite proud. This was the human world, and for high-level undead like them, it was simply a playground.
"Mhm. There is one last subsidy to collect, then we shall move to a big city to live!"
Ilyx did things thoroughly, ensuring everything was done by the book. After collecting a few silver coins in town, he returned home and set a fire, burning everything behind. From that moment on, all traces of Ilyx in Odin Town were completely wiped away—except for the memories of his classmates.
In the southeast of the Temple Alliance, Haoyue City was a medium-sized city. The Haoyue Branch Temple was far beyond what the Odin branch could compare to. From the outside, this tall building, at least five stories high, occupied a vast area, with two young knights in armor standing guard at the entrance.
"Little kid, who are you looking for?"
"My name is Ilyx, and I am here for the Associate Knight examination!"
Ilyx looked like a scruffy boy of fourteen or fifteen, but he was sturdily built. With the recommendation letter in hand, the guards took one look at him and let him pass.
"Go on in!"
Just then, someone happened to walk out of the Haoyue Branch Temple. It was a young girl wearing light armor, her pink hair neatly tied into a ponytail behind her head, with a pair of beautiful pinkish-blue eyes. The girl looked to be sixteen or seventeen. Her figure was graceful and moving, and a sword hilt protruded from each side of her shoulders.
This was the Hell Rose, Li Xin!