As he spoke, the Iron Wall’s face turned very gentle.
"Leo, do you know how much innate Spiritual Energy I have?"
His voice was ice cold at that moment.
Leo shook his head.
"Only nine."
"Huh?" Leo froze. Only nine?
He remembered his father’s words clearly. If someone’s innate Spiritual Energy couldn’t even reach ten, it would be extremely hard for them to move from the third stage to the fourth.
The Iron Wall smiled. But that smile was uglier than a crying face.
"Yes, only nine. When the cruel sky gave me a sharp mind, it handed me a weak natural gift along with it. I wore my brain out thinking up countless training methods. Still, I’ll never go beyond the Skyborne Knight level. In this life, I may never even reach Radiant Knight."
"In the year of my fifteenth birthday, I finished training my outer Spiritual Energy and became a knight. I was very ambitious back then. Everyone around me called me a genius."
"Then came the day of my Sacred Awakening. It was like lightning struck me from a clear sky. Innate Spiritual Energy, nine. The worst junk there could be."
"The masters who had valued me were no longer willing to teach me anything. They didn’t even tell me where the Knights’ Sacred Mountain was."
"At fifteen, I was completely unwilling to accept it. It was impossible! Low innate energy couldn’t stop me from becoming a strong knight! I was sure that through hard work I could break the chains of the sky."
"So I decided to walk to the Knight Temple on my own two feet, to ask for permission. And from there, I reached the Knights’ Sacred Mountain on foot too."
"Any knight under twenty who went there could only stay inside for one month. If he didn’t find his chance within that month, the Temple officials would drive him out of the mountain."
"Day after day, I searched for my chance. Whenever I met a Magical Beast, even a small, weak one of the second or third rank, I was ready to bond with it. But even those small, weak partners wouldn’t agree to accept me."
"Days passed. Finally, the month was over. I could be ordered to leave at any time. And I wasn’t ready. Truly, not ready at all!"
"I looked up at the high sky, and in my despair, bitter tears ran from my eyes. I knew that if I was driven out of the mountain like that, I’d be nothing but junk. I’d lose even that last small hope of becoming a strong knight. There wouldn’t be another chance."
"Just then... I met him."
"He heard me crying, and I didn’t even notice when he landed on my shoulder. It felt like he could read the pain in my heart and understand it."
"From that day on, he became my only family. My best partner. I would give my life to protect him. He is like my little brother."
As he said this, a single tear rolled from the icy Iron Wall’s eye.
The Stonefeather Roc slowly turned its head and looked at him with gentle eyes, as if comforting him.
The Iron Wall calmly patted its back. "Don’t worry, old friend. I’m fine."
---
"Leo, I’m an orphan."
"In this world, I never knew what the love of a family felt like. Before, I couldn’t even imagine that one day I’d feel something that had only ever been a dream to me."
"All of that happened when I met him. This little brother of mine. That was when I realized that luck truly exists."
"The closeness he gave me gave me the courage to try every kind of training method. And twenty years later, that junk slowly crossed the line of a Skyborne Knight. There were countless hardships along the way. A young genius like you may never understand that feeling."
"Having said all this, your master wants to tell you one last thing."
"When you find your partner, treat him well. Think of him as part of your family. A chance like this comes only once in a lifetime, so hold on to it tightly. Protect him well. Otherwise, if you lose him, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life."
Hearing the Iron Wall’s heartfelt words, Leo clenched his fists without realizing it.
Deep respect rose in his heart for both his master and the Stonefeather Roc beneath him.
His own hard work wasn’t small either. But next to his master’s effort, what was it?
If he had been born with the same innate gift as his master, could he have spent dozens of years chasing an impossible goal? Could he have fought that hard?
"Master, don’t worry. I understand. I’ll put my life on the line to protect my partner."
The Iron Wall nodded slowly.
"That fat pig Rowan doesn’t want me to ask you this. But Leo, I really want to know how high your innate Spiritual Energy is. It’s to find the right mount for you."
"The strongest Magical Beasts are also the proudest. Until now, I’ve never been able to guess your natural gift. On this trip, maybe you can show your master a very sweet surprise."
"Master, I..." Leo hesitated and looked at him.
Corvin had told him clearly that his innate Spiritual Energy was a secret he must keep hidden at all costs.
And his master sitting in front of him, known to outsiders as the Iron Wall, could never match him in innate energy.
But was it really right to hide this secret from such a stubborn master?
The Iron Wall waved his hand and let out a small sigh. "Forget it. It’s your private matter. Even that fat pig Rowan doesn’t know. You don’t have to tell me. I don’t want to trouble you."
"Master, I want to tell you."
Those few words came out of Leo’s mouth on their own.
He had never been this moved before. In the Iron Wall’s lonely eyes, he had seen the pain buried deep in his heart.
"Hm?" The Iron Wall’s eyes lit up. He looked at him with a burning gaze.
Leo took a deep breath.
"Master, for two years you’ve been teaching me every piece of Guardian Knight knowledge and every skill with all your heart. You were very strict. You pushed me into a life of beatings and scolding. But deep in my heart, I knew you did it all for my own good."
"When I trained with Father, his way was completely different from yours. Without you, I wouldn’t have come this far."
"I heard Hall Master Rowan say that I’m your only student. When you taught me, you didn’t hide a single thing from your years of experience. How could I not understand your heart?"
"In my heart, you are both a master and a father. For others, my secret will always stay a secret. But for you, I’m ready to open it. Because you’re like a father to me."
Watching Leo, the muscles of the Iron Wall’s face began to loosen.
He quickly turned his head away. He didn’t want Leo to see the shining tears running from his eyes.
He hadn’t expected it at all. On such an ordinary day, this clever boy, who was usually calm and never backed away from any hard training, would say this. His naturally gifted student who looked like a beautiful cat.
Behind that delicate appearance, there really was a very big heart.
The words had barely left Leo’s mouth when pure golden light suddenly flashed. It wrapped around both Leo and the Iron Wall.
Sanctum Veil!
It was a third-stage defensive skill of Guardian Knights that cut off sound from the outside. A defense that worked like a separate circle.
With Leo’s current Spiritual Energy, it could barely cover himself and his master completely inside that circle.
Now no sound from outside could get in.
And inside, there were only the two of them. And the secret Leo had never told anyone.