Bang!

The sounds of the swords clashing continuously sounded out, causing the hall to seem to tremble under the massive pressure.

​​

In the blink of an eye, Chen Heng and Mader continuously slammed together; in just a few breaths of time, they exchanged tens of blows.

As their swords continuously collided, Chen Heng continuously retreated, seeming to fall at a disadvantage.

This was not strange at all.

After all, Chen Heng had not awoken a Life Seed yet, and his life energy had not gone through many changes; there was a substantial gap between them.

As such, this meant that Chen Heng was weaker than Mader, and it was only natural that he would be at a disadvantage in a fight.

Despite being at a disadvantage, the situation was still in a stalemate.

If one watched closely they would find that the situation was gradually changing.

Even though Chen Heng was on the back foot, he was gradually gaining momentum, wresting control from Mader.

He was incredibly fast and also stronger than Mader had expected.

Facing Chen Heng, Mader felt quite surprised.

Chen Heng was someone who had been a Knight Apprentice for less than a year, and he had thought that it would be very easy to deal with him. He would just have to use a bit of his strength to take him down.

However, it seemed that despite Chen Heng not having been a Knight for a long time, whether it was in terms of his strength, speed, or experience, Chen Heng was far greater than what he had expected.

If it wasn't for the fact that he already knew about Chen Heng's background, he would have thought that this was not a Knight Apprentice but an incredibly experienced Knight who had awakened his Life Seed.

This performance was completely worthy of his title as a genius.

He inwardly sighed and felt quite shocked.

At the same time, he could not help but feel competitive.

Because of the nature of Knights, they had gone through many fights and killed throughout their growth.

It could be said that every Knight grew through fighting and killing.

This was the case for Mader.

Seeing Chen Heng's performance, his competitive spirit was aroused and he became much more serious.

"Boy, prepare yourself," he coldly laughed as he swung his sword, quickly rushing forwards and slashing at Chen Heng. However, it was unable to hit Chen Heng.

Sword light flashed past, and the speed was so fast that the people spectating could no longer follow Mader's actions.

Immediately, the pressure that Chen Heng was facing became much greater.

He inwardly frowned but his gaze remained calm, and he did not say anything as he silently continued to fight with Mader.

It was better that Mader became serious.

Since this was a test, it was better to make his results as good as possible.

If he could last against Mader, this meant that Chen Heng's current strength would be sufficient to fight against a true Knight. Even if he could not defeat him, at least he would not be instantly taken down.

"Mader is becoming serious…"

All around them, many spectators had the same thought, and their gazes became serious.

As the two people continued to fight, their evaluation of Chen Heng continued to rise.

In the past, Chen Heng's reputation had already been quite great, but compared to those top-tier figures, it was not much.

As high-level members of society, they all knew the differences between Knights.

Before Knights awoke a Life Seed, they were Knight Apprentices.

Moreover, even among Knight Apprentices, there were quite big differences.

Someone who had only just awoken life energy but had not learned any skills was a Knight Apprentice.

Someone who had done much training, had a lot of experience, and had almost awoken their Life Seed was also a Knight Apprentice.

Taking everything into account, from when Chen Heng had begun learning under Corripo, to when he had begun learning the Knights Breathing Technique, it had only been a bit more than half a year.

In half a year, even if ordinary people could awaken life energy, they would not become that much stronger and would at most only be a bit stronger than normal people.

This was why even though Chen Heng was quite famous, not too many people took him seriously. Even if some people tried to curry favor with him, that was mostly because of Corripo.

However, it seemed that there was more to Chen Heng than just this.

From the strength he displayed, he did not seem like a Knight Apprentice who had only just gained life energy; he looked like an extremely proficient Knight genius who was on the brink of awakening his Life Seed.

A true Knight who had awoken his Life Seed could rival an entire army.

As one of Princess Olivia's three Knights, Mader had once destroyed an army of 500 elite soldiers.

What was shocking was that Chen Heng could last for so long against him.

It had to be said that this was an incredibly surprising performance.

Bang!

Collision sounds continuously rang out as drops of blood continuously fell.

Soon, Chen Heng's palm was dyed with blood.

The webbing between his thumb and forefinger had split open from the continuous impact, but he did not care at all.

Right now, all of his attention was focused on Mader.

He tightly stared at Mader as his life energy roiled.

During the intense battle, the life energy within his body began to roil, as if it was going through changes.

If anyone observed him closely, they would find that Chen Heng's body was heating up, and his heartbeat was also speeding up.

In fact, within the few meters around Chen Heng, the air had become incredibly hot, as if he was a large furnace.

"Why did it suddenly become so hot…"

Around him, some people sensed this change and muttered to themselves.

"Hot…" Standing by the side, Kelly was startled and seemed to think of something, and his expression greatly changed.

"Could it be…" His eyes widened as he stared at Chen Heng, as if he had thought of something unbelievable.

"This fellow…"

Mader forced Chen Heng back, and sensing that energy from Chen Heng's body, he felt quite surprised, "He's trying to awaken his Life Seed through battle…"

For other people, perhaps they might not be sure if this was the case. However, for a true Knight like Mader, the changes in Chen Heng's body would not escape his notice.

He could clearly see the changes in Chen Heng's body, which was why he was so surprised, if not shocked.

"His strength is continuously becoming stronger. If I don't try to ignite…"

As he fought with Chen Heng, Mader inwardly frowned and thought to himself.

A Knight's power came from their life energy. The strongest aspect about a Knight who had awoken a Life Seed was that they could condense their life energy and stimulate their Life Seed.

This kind of state would give Knights great power, but it would also consume their life energy. In extreme cases, it could even reduce their lifespan.

As such, this state was often called Life Ignition and was something that Knights would only use when they were in a desperate battle.

As Chen Heng's life energy became more active, his Life Seed was gradually being stimulated, trying to awaken.

Under these circumstances, he naturally went into a state similar to Life Ignition, and his strength greatly increased.

Facing Chen Heng, the pressure Mader was feeling continuously increased.

If things went on like this and he did not go into Life Ignition, it would be very difficult for him to take Chen Heng down.

Mader was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Fortunately at that moment, a voice sounded out throughout the entire hall.

"Stop."