“Do I have to go?” Han Sen asked with a frown.
“It is merely a recommendation of mine,” Black-Moon said quietly. “But the dragons don’t tend to swim with fish, and tigers don’t like living with dogs. This is your opportunity to get out of here.”
Han Sen knew Black-Moon King was merely being nice to him, and he knew that the King didn’t want him and Night River King to be embroiled in more fights. But Han Sen still shook his head and told him, “Thank you for your kindness, but if I cannot stand my ground here, how will I make it where I want to go in the future?”
“I know you aren’t the sort of person that gives up easily…” Black-Moon King wished to say something more, but he faltered. Then he just stopped and sighed. “Never mind. The road everyone traverses is different, and it’s impossible to determine which road is right for anyone else. If this is your desire, then we can let this matter be.”
Black-Moon King then left, which got Han Sen to thinking. “Extreme King seems to be going on a hiring spree lately. Has some internal affair gotten out of hand?”
Han Sen had no information pertaining to them, so he couldn’t guess anything more. He continued to practice Jadeskin every day, hoping to become a Duke as soon as he could.
On that day, everyone in Narrow Moon assembled in Moon God Plaza. They were all dressed in their finest uniforms, which suggested they were meeting with someone important. Han Sen did not go to the plaza, but he knew that was the day when the Extreme King were coming. He saw some ships that were as pretty as planets coming into Narrow Moon airspace.
“It looks like Extreme King doesn’t only focus on heightened strength. Even their technology is far more advanced. Narrow Moon doesn’t have a single ship like that, and there they are with an entire fleet of the things. Thank God they aren’t enemies. If they were, Narrow Moon would swiftly fall,” Han Sen murmured to himself.
Han Sen didn’t want to join the Extreme King, but everyone else in Narrow Moon wished to. The Extreme King weren’t willing to take just anyone, however. Each candidate had to go through a thorough testing process.
Many Nobles anticipated this opportunity, hoping they could send their kids sent with the Extreme King. Any young students that joined them were sure to develop and become stronger.
The Rebate were a higher race, but they weren’t even in the top one hundred. In terms of resources and strength, they paled in comparison to the Extreme King.
It was a shame that the standards of the Extreme King were very high. Joining them was harder than passing any school exam. And many creatures were quick to fail their testing process.
Narrow Moon was just one of the string of stops that the Extreme King were making along their recruitment drive. In total, there were at least a thousand other places where they intended to recruit people just as they were doing in Narrow Moon. They wouldn’t be taking anyone who didn’t pass their tests, however.
Although Han Sen did not participate in the testing, he learned that over the past four days, only one Earl and one Marquise had passed the bar of quality. Countless young people were not permitted to join.
The Extreme King were recruiting back-up knights. Their level did not matter; all that mattered was their current talent and their potential for the future. So, even some so-called genius Dukes of the Rebate were booted from the tests.
“Moon Wheel King, I have heard Knife had a student. Which one is he?” asked Ice Blue Knight King with a frown. He was in charge of the Narrow Moon recruitment drive.
There were ten groups of knights in Extreme King. Every group of knights had one leader who was a knight King. Ice Blue Knight King was the leader of the Ice Blue Knights.
When they assigned the different areas the knight groups would visit to recruit, Ice Blue Knight King selected Narrow Moon purposely. He had to pay a price for that, as well.
He did this because Knife Queen herself had joined the Ice Blue Knights when she came to the Extreme King. Ice Blue Knight King greatly admired Knife Queen. He even followed her instructions. That was why he had selected Narrow Moon, for that was where she came from. He hoped to find similar geniuses there.
But over the past two days, the tests had greatly disappointed him. The young Rebates really did lack talent. At the very least, they were nowhere near the greatness of Knife Queen herself.
Although a few of the talented ones were good enough, their personalities were abhorrent. It’d be difficult to give them any glimmer of fame. And while at first Ice Blue Knight King had been happy to come to Narrow Moon, he was no longer enjoying himself.
Ice Blue Knight King remembered Knife Queen mentioning that she had a student, so the Knight King wondered why he hadn’t seen the young man. If that person could become her student, he must have been something special.
Moon Wheel King hesitated a moment, but he smiled and said, “Knife does have a student. But only one, and it is required that he carry on her legacy. And so, he has had to give up the chance to join the Ice Blue Knights.”
“Really?” Ice Blue Knight asked quietly.
Night River King suddenly said, “From what I have seen, if he wishes to carry on her legacy, he should join the Extreme King. Even Knife had to join the Extreme King, yes? If so, her student will have to follow her sooner or later. He is wasting his time in Narrow Moon. Why can he not go to be with the Extreme King sooner? If Knife was here today, she would think the same.”
Night River King did not say this on behalf of Han Sen. All he wanted to do was kick Han Sen out of Narrow Moon so he could take the guardian’s moonlight all for himself.
Ice Blue Knight King agreed. “Night River King is correct. A student of Knife should be someone special. He deserves better than to be stuck here in Narrow Moon. Tell him to come here and undergo the test. If he passes, I will treat him very nice for Knife’s sake.”
Moon Wheel King smiled wrily. He knew Han Sen did not want to go, but now, he couldn’t disobey Ice Blue Knight King’s instructions. He had no choice but to call Han Sen and tell him to go to Moon God Plaza.
Han Sen was practicing in his base at the time. Moon Wheel King didn’t want to surprise Han Sen, so he sent people to meet Han Sen in person and explain the whole thing. Their presence made Han Sen frown.
Moon Wheel King’s guards said, “You have to go no matter what. If you don’t, Moon Wheel King won’t know how to explain the matter to Ice Blue Knight King. Moon Wheel King said that if you really don’t want to go, then just fail the test. Even if you wanted to go, Ice Blue Knight King wouldn’t permit you to go if you failed.”
Han Sen knew that he had no choice. He followed the guards to Moon God Plaza.
He knew he would have to control the breadth of his power to ensure that he didn’t pass the test.
He arrived in Moon God Plaza and saw many Nobles queuing to conduct the test. But the guards didn’t put him in the queue; they escorted him straight up to Ice Blue Knight King.
“You are Knife Queen’s student?” Upon seeing Han Sen, Ice Blue Knight King looked surprised. He had expected Knife’s student to be a Rebate.
“Yes, I am Han Sen.” Han Sen bowed.