Chapter Eighteen: Luminous Stone Skin

“Get out!”

Haimu abruptly waved his hand. A powerful surge of star-source energy, impossible to resist, slammed into Lista’s body and hurled him violently against a stalactite pillar behind him. Instantly, a scorching heatwave erupted, sending searing pain through Lista’s body. He grimaced in agony, losing grip on his sword as he slid down the pillar and collapsed onto the ground, utterly disheveled.

“Are you alright, Loran?” Instructor Haimu asked with concern.

“It’s okay, thank you, Instructor.”

“Uh!”

Haimu reached out with his large hand, grabbed Lishta by the collar and lifted him up, calmly saying, “Speak. Why did you try to kill Loran?”

Lishta wore a look of despair, remaining silent.

“Not talking?”

Haimu sneered, “No matter, I’ll make you talk.”

At that moment, a group of students gathered around. Everyone was shocked, looking at the split stone slab on the ground and the marks left by Storm Slash across the rocks. Clearly, a fierce battle had taken place here, and now it was over. The fight had been between Lister and Loran.

“Are you okay?” Elvira walked up beside Loran.

“It’s nothing.”

Loran gritted his teeth, staring at Lister and asked, “Lister, why did you try to kill me?”

“Just want to kill you. Do I need a reason?” Lister said calmly.

“Hmph!”

Beside them, Rodney, with his short orange hair, crossed his arms and sneered, “Instructor Haimu, Instructor Mikaela has arrived as well.”

“Oh.”

Mikaela rushed over swiftly, her figure accompanied by a gust of wind, saying, “Instructor Haimu, what’s happened?”

Haimu said succinctly, “During the trial, Listar suddenly attempted to kill Loran. Hmph! Fighting each other right under my nose—what do they take my Seventh Squad for? Mikaella, take him to the interrogation chamber. I want to know who his hidden master is.”

“Yes!”

Mikaela stepped forward, delivered a swift knife-hand strike that knocked Listar unconscious, then dashed away with him tucked under her arm.

…

“Alright, continue the trial! There’s still one hour until sunset!” announced Instructor Haemul.

The students scattered in all directions.

Loran frowned, mentally running through countless possibilities, yet couldn’t for the life of him understand why Lista would want to kill him.

An hour later, the gate opened. Except for two trainees who had left early, all the others had successfully passed the day’s trial. Drenched in sweat and with their clothes soaked, they left the training space.

Back in the dormitory, after a brief rest and a cold shower, Lorain headed to the dining hall. After dinner, a group of students walked back together toward the dorm area. Along the roadside, something new caught their eyes—a sharp wooden stake standing far away, with a person tied to it, head drooping, clearly dead. Upon closer inspection, the body was dressed in the uniform of Class Seven. It was Listar!

At once, Lorain was startled, never expecting that Listar had died so suddenly.

Elvira and Caroline also frowned slightly but remained silent.

However, the guarding knight standing nearby said indifferently, “This student attempted to assassinate another inside the geothermal chamber, violating the rules of the Crimson Cage, and has already been executed. All of you should take this as a warning!”

…..

Deep night.

The moon shines like frost, casting its light upon the earth.

At the highest level of Crimson Castle, Haime slowly ascended the stairs and approached a room guarded by two Grand Knights. Frowning, he announced, “Instructor Haime requests an audience with Lady Catherine!”

“Screeeeak~~~”

The door opened, and Catherine stepped out wearing the uniform of a female instructor from the Order of Light. She wore a white shirt that accentuated the graceful curves of her chest, with a long female general’s robe draped over it. In her hands, she held a warm cup of coffee. Her beautiful eyes glanced at Instructor Haime, and she asked, “Haime, what is it? It’s so late—why did you come to see me?”

“Regarding matters between students.”

“Speak.”

Haimu said solemnly, “Lady Catherine, in the Class Seven I am responsible for training, there is a student named Lorain. He is a youth from the wilderness outskirts of Ailan City, brought back to Crimson Castle by a hunting knight. After passing three trials, he became an official student.”

“Oh?”

Catherine pursed her red lips and said, “Not bad. As a hunted prey, passing the first three trials means he must be quite a promising candidate. So then?”

“This afternoon, during the geothermal chamber trial, another student named Lista attempted to assassinate Loran, but I stopped him.”

“Why would he attempt to assassinate Loran? Who exactly is this student named Lista?”

“A commoner.”

Haimu bowed again and said, “I’ve already had the interrogators from the torture chamber question him. According to Lista, it was a certain Grand Huntsman Knight named Gray who promised him fifty gold coins as payment for carrying out the assassination. You must understand, an ordinary civilian family couldn’t earn ten gold coins in an entire lifetime, let alone fifty.”

“Oh?”

Catherine smiled slightly. “Then why did this Huntsman Gray want to kill Loran?”

Haimu said in a deep voice: “Because when Gray was hunting within the territory of Ailan City, he slaughtered Loran’s entire village and brutally killed Loran’s mother. He assumed Loran wouldn’t survive the first three rounds anyway—just another target for other trainees to hunt. What he didn’t expect was that Loran would pass all three trials, become an official apprentice, and now rank solidly in the middle tier of the current assessments.”

“I see.”

Catherine frowned slightly and said, “I’ve long heard that some of the lower-ranking knights under the Order of Light have become extremely cruel and violent, especially the Hunting Knights. But the rules governing the Hunts are set by the higher-ups in the Crimson Castle, so there’s nothing I can do. Handle this matter yourself. I’ll only ask you one thing—does this student named Loram have the potential to become an elite of the Order of Light?”

“More than that.”

Haimu said, “In this child, I see immense potential. If we provide him with sufficient resources, I believe Loram will become a Ground Knight even stronger than me, and may even ascend to become a Sky Knight.”

“I understand.”

Katherine arched her delicate brows and said, “Handle this matter yourself, but inform Lord Luke. He oversees the Hunting Knights of the Crimson Castle. Convey my words: this Gray shall be at your disposal.”

“Yes, Lady Katherine!”

Haimu bowed respectfully, then turned and left.

…

Inside the Crimson Castle, a row of taverns blazed with bright lights. This was the favorite haunt of the castle’s knights and those returning from hunting expeditions. Here, one could find not only rich, fragrant ale, but also gambling halls, and something every man loved—women. For just two silver coins, a bed could be filled with them.

At midnight, a solitary figure walked down the tavern street. Haym, cloaked in a dark hooded mantle, strode straight into one of the taverns. His gaze locked onto a corner table where two senior knights were drinking together, each with a woman in their arms. Their hands roamed indecently up and down the women’s bodies. One of them was Gray, the other Tuka.

“You are… Gray?”

Haimu stepped forward and gently pulled back his cloak, revealing a heroic face.

“You are…”

Gray was taken aback, looking up at Haimu. Because Haimu wore a cloak, Gray couldn’t see the Earth Knight insignia on his shoulder, but he could clearly see the anger in Haimu’s eyes.

“Who might you be, sir?” Gray stood up.

Haimu smiled slightly, gently spreading his left hand. Instantly, thick streams of stellar energy erupted, transforming into spiraling frost that coiled around his five fingers as he said with a grin, “I’m here to teach you to behave!”

“You—”

Before Gray could speak further, Haimu’s palm had already struck out. With a muffled “Boom,” it slammed into Gray’s chest, and the faint sound of cracking bones could be heard. Gray struggled to resist, but it was utterly futile—Haimu’s palm pressed down like a glacier upon his chest, the power of ice and frost laws swirling around, suppressing him so completely that he couldn’t even lift his arms.

“This sir, please calm down!”

Tuca was taken aback and quickly reached out to grab Hai Mu’s shoulder—already bordering on aggression, with star-source energy faintly glowing in his palm. If this strike landed, Tuca would immediately follow up with even more brutal measures. However, he seemed to have gravely underestimated his opponent.

“Get out!”

Hai Mu turned and punched with his right fist. With a “peng” sound, flames surged as his fist slammed directly into Tuca’s palm. The clash of immense force sent Tuca reeling backward several steps, stumbling awkwardly into a table. Looking up in shock, he noticed a brilliantly radiant white shield shimmering across Hai Mu’s armor, and froze in disbelief: “Light… Light Stone Skin? Good heavens, you’re an Earth Knight?”

“Indeed.”

Haimu reached out with his left hand, lifted Gray’s body, and slammed him hard onto the ground again. He stepped on Gray’s fractured chest, grinding it mercilessly. Then, he pulled out an official document from his pocket and threw it down, saying, “This is Lord Luke’s personal order. Gray, you are forbidden to leave Blood Castle for three years. Otherwise, you’ll be immediately placed on the Light Knight Order’s kill list. Furthermore, don’t even think about touching my student again—otherwise, I’ll personally cut off your head!”

After speaking, Haime stepped out of the tavern.

Tuka quickly helped Gray up, his face filled with panic, saying, “I… I didn’t expect we’d attract the attention of that Iron-Faced Instructor. Lord Gray, I’m afraid your life won’t be easy for some time to come.”

“Hmph, Haimu…”

Gray clenched his teeth, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, his eyes flashing with hatred as he said, “We’ll see about that!”

…

A gentle breeze blew past, and the lights of the crimson castle flickered in the night. From afar, it shone like a pearl nestled among mountains and wilderness—only here did such brilliant light flourish at night, only here was the vitality so vibrant. Lines of knights rode back and forth around the castle, guarding this secret training ground of the Starfall Empire.