It's so painful! So hard! So difficult!

"I don't know, maybe it's an illusion."

It was a minor incident, neither too big nor too small, and Andel didn't say much. Perhaps because their simple discussion theoretically wouldn't arouse the hatred of these nobles, Andel was also in a state of confusion. After walking for a while, the three of them arrived at the nearest Knights' Temple.

Calling it a temple certainly lived up to its name. It was at least a significant size larger than the luxurious mansion, and its exterior revealed the use of unusual artificial stone. Two guards stood at the temple's entrance, clad only in light chain mail. Upon seeing Bai Lin, they walked all the way to the center of the stone gate.

"Stop, don't move. Who is coming?"

The guards looked very nervous, and they all drew their swords and shields. Bai Lin was a little confused. This was too nervous. Andel quickly stepped forward and said,

"My friend is not the Dark Knight. He just has this set of armor. Don't get me wrong. Come on, Bai Lin, take out your shield and let me see it."

"Hmm? Oh, okay." Bai Lin was still a little confused. Although she had heard them mention the term Dark Knight in the forest, she still didn't quite understand it. Now it seemed that Dark Knights didn't use shields. Perhaps for some reason, this style of knight had become synonymous with dislike.

It was true. Bai Lin's figure was naturally excellent for a woman, but a bit short for a man. Although large, the armor magically flattened her figure, and aside from a slight tightness in her chest, there was nothing special about it. Wearing black armor in this situation was hard not to evoke negative associations.

After Bai Lin took out the shield, the two guards were still a little skeptical. It was not until Bai Lin took out the recommendation letter on his own that the guards nodded in acceptance.

"...If you're from the village, then that makes sense. I hope you can wear the Temple's medal next time you come. Good luck!"

The swift reversal of attitude was beyond Bai Lin's expectations. So, the two guards opened the stone gate and let the three people through.

Chapter 161 Beautiful Girl Privilege

The interior of the hall, with its display of armor and weapons, exudes a solemn atmosphere, yet the pedestrians are quite lively. There are muscular men in tight clothing, seemingly ready for exercise, and people in armor walking around. Right in the center of the entrance, one can see a well-dressed woman sitting at a semi-circular counter. A sign nearby indicates that this is a counter.

Although she had never been to the Knight's Hall before, Andel knew from common sense that she was probably going to the counter to do some business, so after a brief conversation with Bai Lin, she went there. Bai Lin took out her recommendation letter for joining the group, held it in her hand, and went to talk to the woman sitting at the counter.

"Hello, how can I help you?" Seeing Bai Lin coming, the woman asked slowly.

"I have a letter of recommendation for joining the Knights Templar. Where should I go to apply for it?" Bai Lin said as he handed over the document in his hand.

The woman hesitated for a moment, then took Bai Lin's document. After glancing over it, she confirmed, "The effect of your document is quite direct. Once your identity is confirmed, you can join the group directly. How about this? I'll take you to handle the relevant procedures?"

Before Bai Lin could reply, a noisy and disgusting voice came from behind Bai Lin, stretching out his voice.

"Why do we have to train so hard to become knights, but this guy only needs to submit a document? This isn't fair."

"That's right. How can someone of unknown origin be worthy of the position of knight? He will definitely not be able to pass the test like this."

Hearing the sound, Bai Lin and the other two turned their heads and saw three young men of different heights dressed in armor. Seeing the two beauties and Bai Lin, who looked like a black tin can, turning around and coming towards them, the three people's expressions changed slightly, and there was an unconcealable desire in their eyes.

"He's dressed like this, could he be the Dark Knight? Where's the guard? Why did he let someone like that in?" The one on the far right was still fanning the flames, but the tallest guy in the middle glared at him fiercely, obviously saying something he shouldn't have said.

As the Dark Knight spoke, the crowd gathered around them, buzzing with discussion. It seemed the topic had caused quite a stir. Bai Lin subconsciously stood in front of Katie and Andel, not paying much attention to the crowd's discussions. Instead, she observed the situation from within.

"Everyone, please be quiet. We'll be able to confirm the knight's identity shortly. Please be patient," the woman at the counter said kindly. However, her words were quickly drowned out by the crowd's chatter. Clearly, the situation was not favorable for Bai Lin.

It looked like the one in the middle was the leader. Bai Lin frowned, then something clicked. These guys had no reason to pick a fight with him, and it wasn't because they suspected he was the Dark Knight. It was probably related to what they had just said.

Creating trouble at a time like this isn't a good idea. Bai Lin frowned, thinking about a perfect solution to this problem. Once a dispute breaks out, it's not a good thing no matter how you think about it. If we want to solve it, we have to start from the source of the problem.

The reason they came to pick a fight was probably because they were jealous of me being able to become a knight right after I arrived, or maybe because I brought two beautiful women with me. No, then I thought, why am I being targeted like this... After all, it's because my image is so bad. I'm not the same as before, I'm a beautiful girl now!

In the village, Bai Lin didn't feel anything. Once in the city, she realized how useful this identity was. So, she chose to remove the helmet. As the faint green light drifted in the air, her flowing platinum hair was spread out behind Bai Lin. Then, she said to everyone in a somewhat humble and lovely voice,

"I'm sorry, I only have this one set of armor, and I'm really sorry for causing misunderstandings. As for joining the Knights, I may not have enough training, so I need your guidance."

Although Bai Lin's voice itself tends to be more sassy, ​​it is still sweet at all. When she does it deliberately, she creates the image of a charming and lovely junior.

After this choice, the whole audience fell into silence for a moment, and then someone immediately responded, "Haha, if you have any problems, please come to me, your brother."

This was Bai Lin's first experience of truly commanding a hundred responses. Although it felt a bit awkward to say it this way, when he thought about it carefully, it was a great privilege for a beautiful girl to be able to reverse any trend with just a little cuteness.

The leader was stunned, and the two people around him even had nosebleeds. The actual effect seemed to have far exceeded Bai Lin's expectations. Even Katie and Andel behind him were stunned, but then Katie laughed out loud, although it was unclear why.

"But even so, we can't rule out her identity as the Dark Knight." A heavy voice came from the crowd.

"Don't dwell on it. Didn't everyone at the counter tell you to go and confirm her identity right away? And look at the shield in her hand. Dark Knights don't carry shields. So don't jump to conclusions."

The tide of discussion completely turned to Bai Lin's side. Unlike the previous chatter, whenever there was a question, someone would immediately defend Bai Lin. Bai Lin, on the other hand, responded to others with a half-dazed smile, laughing it off, and by the way, declined a lot of invitations to "have dinner together tonight." At this moment, the leader suddenly clenched his fists and shouted,

"duel!"

His voice was so loud that the people around him fell silent again. Seeing this, he raised another finger and said firmly, "I challenge you to a duel!"

He pointed his finger at Bai Lin, who hadn't expected this outcome and could only ask in confusion, "Why?"

Seeing Bai Lin ask this question, the leading man tilted his head and folded his hands, saying, "Since everyone has doubts about your strength, and you also asked us to teach you, then I will test you through this duel. You don't need to beat me, just perform to my satisfaction. What do you think?"

His followers were also surprised. When did their boss become so senior-like? But then they thought, maybe he was trying to take advantage of the girl in close combat. The boss is worthy of being the boss. He can even think of such a thing.

Apparently, some people in the crowd around him saw through his thoughts and started clamoring again. The leading man waved his hand, indicating that he was the first to propose this and they couldn't argue with him.

Chapter 162: One Punch to Win

"...Can I refuse?" Bai Lin didn't say this directly, but asked the counter lady next to him quietly. The latter shook her head.

"It's best not to. If you don't consider yourself a knight, you can actually refuse, and you certainly aren't one right now. However, you're about to go through the procedures for joining the order, and refusing now will affect your future position within the order and your reputation."

"After all, a knight's duel is a fair exchange, adhering to certain combat principles. And you hold the letter of recommendation for joining the guild, which is enough to prove that you have enough strength to accept the duel. So, even though your opponent is shameless, there's nothing we can do about it."

After the counter lady's explanation, Bai Lin nodded helplessly. Then, she turned around, looked at the leading man and said,

"I accept your challenge."

Bai Lin hadn't expected things to develop to this point. After all, as a man, she didn't immediately realize the other party was trying to take advantage of her, so she subconsciously thought the other party's strength might not be as simple as it seemed. But after thinking it through, Bai Lin decided to teach this troublemaker Haer a lesson.

The leader, who had just been speaking so righteously, extended his hand gracefully and elegantly, bowing at a low angle. He spoke slowly, his voice neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough to be heard clearly amidst the even more boisterous crowd.

"Dueling parties must exchange names. My name is Jill Gustoff. May I ask the name of this beautiful lady?"

His trick of exchanging names was truly remarkable. On the one hand, he could introduce himself, directly expressing his connection to a certain family through his surname, and proclaim his background. On the other hand, he could also catch Bai Lin's name, killing two birds with one stone.

How could Bai Lin not understand this? She was much more cunning than those people in the Middle Ages. If she had used the words she used in school, she would have covered her face and sleepily said something like "You are still walking the same path I walked." Something so arrogant that it would easily get her beaten. Of course, even if Bai Lin said this now, the other party might not understand, so she just briefly gave her name.

"My name is Bai Lin Ershiliweitan. Please give me your guidance, senior."

Bai Lin deliberately prolonged the last two syllables, which sounded quite ironic. A malicious breath escaped from Bai Lin's mouth, but no one noticed it. Obviously, Jill didn't notice it either, and just nodded.

"Then, go get dressed first. Don't be too hasty. Waiting for a lady is a sign of chivalry." With that, Jill casually tossed his hair and strode to the right side of the hall. Bai Lin, surrounded by the crowd, was led to the dressing room by the enthusiastic receptionist.

-

Not long after, Bai Lin emerged from the dressing room. She was now wearing a tight black tank top, showcasing her torrid figure. To ensure it didn't affect her movements, Bai Lin had wrapped several layers of bandages around it, tying them tightly. While her chest felt tight, it was still better than trying to control her movements.

The hem of the vest only reached above the abdomen, revealing a perfectly curvaceous belly. Bai Lin had to admit that her body was quite pleasing to the eye. If she hadn't had so little free time, she would have wanted to try it out herself.

She paired her outfit with black shorts and ankle-hugging boots. The all-black outfit was quite fitting on her. She tightened her bandaged hands and threw two tentative punches in the air. The sound of explosives piercing the air filled Bai Lin's ears. She nodded in satisfaction, completely ignoring the stunned woman at the counter next to her.

Seeing this, Andel could only internally complain that this guy had a rather bad personality, but he was actually quite good-looking, and his earlier cuteness was beyond her expectations. Clearly, Bai Lin was still a little different from her imagination.

Katie gave a thumbs up.

But what's strange is that although there is no excess fat on his body, only his arms and legs have obvious muscle lines. It is hard to imagine that this is a person who can punch with a force of more than ten tons.

In order to prevent her waist-length hair from getting too dirty, she tied it into a neat double ponytail. After all the preparations were made last night, the sister at the counter brought Bai Lin to the duel training ground. Then she took Andel and Katie and walked towards the stairs hidden behind the wall.

"Please come over here and watch the battle."

Pushing open a door, a clamorous noise immediately reached everyone's ears. Apparently, the crowd that had gathered earlier, upon hearing about a fight between beautiful women, hadn't simply dispersed, but had also come here. There were no seats available, so the woman at the counter led the two of them to a quieter area. After all, the crowd wasn't too large, so there was still space on the platform.

Upon hearing about the duel, those who had been training also came upstairs to watch. The walls were stone, the floor yellow sand. The place was brightly lit. In addition to the lamps, there were also cross-lit torches on both sides, giving it a duel-like atmosphere.

Katie noticed that the wall here looked familiar. After observing it for a while, she pulled the sleeve of the counter girl and asked, "Sister, do you know what the wall here is made of?"

The receptionist was stunned for a moment, then she remembered that the document said Bai Lin was from the village, so Katie, who was a stranger, might also be from the village, so she patiently explained,

"The stone here is no ordinary stone; it's all processed through special techniques and magic. Our city walls are no different; spells like fireballs can't damage them at all. Even a spell that could easily destroy a few small hills would require sustained use to break them. This is the product of the wisdom of generations of magicians and artisans in this city."

Katie nodded and thanked him. No wonder it looked familiar. A closer look revealed the same material used in the Dragon Castle. The difference was that even the ground there used similar technology. Otherwise, the snowy mountain would have been destroyed long ago during the battle between Bai Lin and Chronostia.

Just as she turned her gaze back to the arena, a large group of people nearby let out a roar of shock, loud enough to shake mountains and tidal waves. She then locked her sight on the source of their exclamation: Jill, who was being sent flying like a dead dog.

The man's body flew quickly against the wall, hit the wall hard, and then fell to the ground. The medical staff, who had been prepared but somewhat surprised them, quickly carried a stretcher and took Jill away.

As the winner, Bai Lin stood on the field and turned around and raised his fist to indicate his victory.

Chapter 163 Classification

Although many people gasped at Bai Lin's overwhelming strength, it wasn't long before another round of cheers erupted. This time, they were offering praise and cheers for the young female knight. Satisfied with the response, Bai Lin walked out of the training ground, putting away his rarely used wooden sword.

"Bai Lin won, great!" Seeing Bai Lin, Katie took the opportunity to throw herself into her arms. If there was a legitimate reason, Bai Lin would certainly not refuse. But when she felt Katie's malicious little hands trying to touch some parts of her body, she pushed the young bad girl away.

“…Thank you so much for showing mercy.” Andel said softly.

"Ah?" Bai Lin expressed confusion.

Andel rolled her eyes. "Fortunately, you didn't kick me with all your strength, otherwise it would have almost killed me. Thank you."

"Hahaha...it's actually nothing..." Bai Lin didn't know what to say, but generally speaking, Andel's words meant that she would no longer dwell on the meaning of Bai Lin's kick to her, which was not a bad thing.

The receptionist's reaction was quite calm. Although she was young, she was not overly shocked and maintained a professional attitude.

"Now that it's over, Miss Bai Lin, would you like to come with me to take the test and get the certificate of joining the group?"

"okay."

After all, it was just a minor win, so Bai Lin and the others weren't overly happy. Katie, who showed the strongest reaction, was just trying to take advantage of the opportunity to promote harmonious relationships between the girls. They then set out to get down to business.

The receptionist led Bai Lin into a darkened room and closed the door. Immediately, a burst of colorful light emanated from a brick on the wall, sweeping across Bai Lin's body. Not long after, the receptionist opened the door and signaled Bai Lin to come out.

"Tests have shown that your magical talent is far below average, and your magical abilities are not very high... Does that mean you can achieve such strength purely through your physical strength? This is incredibly biased, and it makes me feel a little regretful."

Bai Lin scratched his head. "I can't help it. I don't know why I'm so untalented, but physical fitness doesn't seem to have anything to do with magic, right?"

"Of course there's a connection." Although this might be common sense in another world, the receptionist patiently explained, "The only gift humans have is that magic can strengthen them."

Bai Lin looked at Katie and found that she was also looking at her in confusion. Since Katie rarely lost her image of being knowledgeable and skilled in magic, she coughed twice to ease the embarrassment and asked awkwardly but politely,

"I want to ask, does it mean that if we use magic power to strengthen the body directly, it will not cause the magic power to explode?"

The receptionist shook her head. "Not at all. Magicians typically construct appropriate magic arrays in their bodies, naturally suited to magic, from childhood. They simply wait for them to generate and convert some magic power from the atmosphere to achieve the desired effect."

"The more powerful the magic circle, the more magic power it can contain, and the stronger the body becomes. To cast a spell, one can chant to channel some of the magic power outside the body to form the spell, or directly use the excess magic power to output it, etc..."

After the counter lady explained this, Katie nodded, thanked her, and said nothing more, but there was a hint of thoughtfulness in her eyes. Although Bai Lin understood this, he still didn't have a concrete concept, so he turned his head away.

"I don't know magic, will that have any impact?"

"Yes. The Knight's Hall requires regular knights to know at least one kind of magic, either attributeless or holy. There are also strict requirements for magic for higher levels. For those who don't know magic, the highest level is an apprentice knight." The sister at the counter sighed, that's why she felt it was a pity.

Bai Lin was silent for a moment, not knowing what to say. She hadn't expected that being a knight required learning magic. It seemed that the other world's definition of a knight was that of a Paladin in fantasy works, who could cast magic, purify, and perhaps even heal people. At this moment, the receptionist spoke again,

"But are you going to take a practical magic test? Although the magic power obtained by praying to the gods is really negligible for someone like Miss Bai Lin who has no talent, if you can use a holy spell completely, you can be promoted to a regular with your extraordinary physical data. How about giving it a try?"

"Uh... I'm sorry, but how do I pray for magic power?" Bai Lin said this with a wry smile. It was the first time she felt so powerless in front of a human. This reminded her of the exam-oriented education in her previous world: even if you might not need it, you had to be a well-rounded person.

As expected, where there is society, there are rules, and as human beings we have to adapt to them.

The receptionist, who seemed to have anticipated Bai Lin's question, once again patiently explained in her signature calm business tone,

"Only Paladins and Priests can pray to the Goddess Saint Shirlin and the gods in exchange for a designated holy magic power. This magic power is primarily used for healing and is the most convenient means of healing for humans. This privilege is not available to ordinary magicians. How about going to the church to worship and show your piety first, then come back and try again?"

The receptionist suggested this, and Katie was once again bewildered. She felt her healing spells were far more effective than the priest's, but she had never prayed for magical power. It could be said that she was the least devout priestess in Dragon Blood Village in centuries. She barely prayed daily, and even the altar arrangements for festivals were not her responsibility.

But this time she didn't ask any more questions. As long as her healing spell worked, she didn't care. While thinking, Bai Lin nodded and thanked the sister at the counter, then turned to leave. Halfway through, she suddenly remembered something and turned back and asked,

"Should I go back and change clothes?"

The lady at the counter smiled and said, "No need. This is something the Knights will distribute. It's okay if you put it on in advance. Just don't lose it. But you'd better not wear it outside, otherwise..."

Bai Lin certainly understood what she meant, so he replied, "I see. Thank you very much. See you later!"

Chapter 164 Cathedral

Following the advice of the receptionist, Bai Lin put her armor back on when she returned to the street. However, this time, she learned her lesson and chose not to wear her helmet. Although clothing is important, Bai Lin still looks very cool and beautiful with only her head exposed. It's no wonder that Claire created this forehead protector design.

"Come to think of it, isn't Andel also an assassin? Do you have any idea about the stealth and shadows of those assassins?" Katie asked.

"Well, it's been said before that they are cultists, so their special abilities are basically from the gods, but there are also rumors of drugs and special training methods, which are less well known."

"Do you assassins also believe in the god we are going to worship now?" Bai Lin asked curiously.

Aundair nodded and said firmly, "Most people in Camillan believe in the goddess Saint Shirlin and God, so we call this church the Cathedral. It doesn't have an actual name, it's just the only church in the city."

Bai Lin noticed that both the receptionist and Andel only mentioned the name of the goddess. Moreover, why the goddess was worshipped together with the gods was not very clear to Bai Lin.

"Has God no name?" she asked.

"A god is a god, just like a cathedral is a cathedral. We don't need to give it a name; that's something only humans need."

"Oh, what about the goddess?"

Katie interrupted and added, "I do know this. The goddess refers to a young girl who was blessed by God a long time ago. She contributed greatly to the prosperity of Camillan, so she was worshipped as a god, right?"

"That's half right," Andel said, confirming it. She then continued, "In fact, the goddesses have always existed in every era, in all kinds of bodies. We have always worshipped all of them."

At this point, Andel suddenly lowered her voice, leaned in closer to the two of them, and said, "However, in recent years, the Goddess has been hidden deep within the church, occasionally emerging to preach hymns or preside over memorial services. She seems far inferior to the original Goddess, so I have always only supported the most famous original generation, but you can't say anything careless about this matter."