Knight: from Apprentice to the Almighty

Perhaps it was due to his great anticipation, but Roland’s eyes snapped open the next morning when the sky was just beginning to lighten.

He got out of bed, washed up, and prepared breakfast.

His gaze swept over his steadily improving Culinary Skill, and he nodded slightly.

After putting away the leftover food and writing a note, he pushed open the door and set off for the Knight Academy.

The light of dawn was faint; the sun had not yet fully risen.

A sea breeze blew against him, carrying a damp, cold, and salty air.

But Roland’s heart burned with anticipation for the Knight’s Breathing Technique he was about to obtain.

Perhaps because Derek had put in a word for him beforehand, the guard did not stop Roland after he gave his name. In fact, a guard was assigned to personally lead him to the building where Nelson worked.

After quietly thanking the guard, Roland took a deep breath and raised his hand to knock on the door.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

The crisp sound of knocking was exceptionally clear in the quiet of the Knight Academy at dawn.

A response came from within the door immediately.

"Come in."

"Hello, Mr. Nelson..."

Roland pushed the door open and bowed in greeting to the old man behind the wooden desk.

"Mr. Derek instructed me to come yesterday..."

"I understand. Please, have a seat, Mr. Roland."

Derek’s warning from the previous day had clearly worked. Nelson’s attitude today was much friendlier than when they had first met.

Roland noticed this but didn’t dwell on it. His eyes were fixed on Nelson’s every move.

The white-haired old man deftly pulled open a drawer. Without another word, he took out a Sheepskin Scroll, placed it gently on the desk, and slowly pushed it toward Roland.

Looking at the somewhat familiar Sheepskin Scroll before him, Roland raised an eyebrow.

He recognized it. This was the very scroll Graham had promised him back when he played that "little joke" on him.

"Mr. Roland."

Noticing the subtle change in Roland’s expression, Nelson seemed to have misunderstood something and quickly explained.

"Although this Breathing Technique doesn’t have a specific name and looks quite old..."

At this point, Nelson himself felt his words lacked conviction, but he forced himself to continue.

"...this is the Knight’s Breathing Technique that Lord Graham himself cultivates. It’s a secret technique that is never taught to outsiders. Even the top graduates of the Knight Academy have never been qualified to learn it."

"Since the founding of the River Domain, the most outstanding Knights to have come from our academy cannot even be compared to Lord Graham in terms of Power, of course..."

Perhaps worried that Roland was dissatisfied, Nelson hastily added another sentence.

"If you are not satisfied, I can exchange it for another one..."

"That won’t be necessary, Mr. Nelson. I believe you."

Roland smiled faintly, reached out to pick up the Sheepskin Scroll, and gently traced the mottled patterns left by the passage of time with his fingers.

Not to mention he had seen this Breathing Technique with his own eyes in Graham’s possession, but even if he hadn’t, there was no reason for Nelson to deceive him.

Through his observations during this period, Roland was well aware that while the Merchant faction of the River Domain was unavoidably mercenary and calculating, once they made a promise, they would never go back on their word.

They considered their integrity to be more important than their own lives.

Of course, that was assuming there wasn’t a sufficient profit to tempt them.

"Well then, Mr. Nelson..."

Roland did not appear impatient despite having the Breathing Technique in hand, and he rose calmly from his chair.

"May I leave now?"

"Please wait a moment, Mr. Roland."

Seeing that Roland’s expression was normal, Nelson breathed a sigh of relief and said,

"As I just mentioned, this Breathing Technique is Lord Graham’s personal secret, and no one has ever read it before. Therefore, Lord Graham has instructed that if you cannot memorize it on the spot, you may make a copy here to take with you. However..."

He seemed to feel this request wasn’t very straightforward and rubbed his fingers together awkwardly.

"Without his permission, he hopes you will not teach it to others. Please understand."

"That’s very reasonable."

Roland nodded gently.

Taking the paper and pen Nelson handed him, he sat down quietly at the desk and began to copy it.

As for Nelson, the moment Roland unrolled the Scroll, he discreetly turned and left the room.

For a time, the only sound in the silent room was the quiet scratching of the pen tip across the paper.

As more and more words filled the page, Roland’s brow began to furrow slightly.

As his fingertips traced over the sheepskin, he copied and studied this Nameless Breathing Technique, word by word, sentence by sentence.

However, the deeper he delved, the greater his astonishment grew.

This was completely different from the "Knight’s Breathing Technique" he had envisioned.

From what Roland understood by reading ancient texts, Wizards used Meditation Techniques to hone their Spirit, guide Magic Elements, and cast profound Magic. Their core principles lay in "stillness" and "thought"—in the construction of a spiritual world and the delicate manipulation of Magic Elements.

He had assumed that a Knight’s Breathing Technique would be something more oriented toward "action"—a way to temper the body and awaken its potential. For example, a unique breathing rhythm coordinated with vigorous movements, or a method to forcefully stimulate muscle and bone growth.

But what the scroll before him described was an extremely precise method of cultivation, one that even possessed a strange sort of "rhythm."

It didn’t simply require deep breathing or coordinated movements; it was more like constructing a complex energy circulation system within the physical body.

It required the Cultivator to control every inhalation and exhalation with an extremely specific, almost demanding rhythm, precise down to the slightest pause and turn, as well as the "circulation" and "settling" of breath in different parts of the body.

’This feeling...’

’It’s too strange!’

Roland’s fingertips paused, his gaze fixed on the section describing "Qi Sensing Guidance."

It detailed how to use one’s mind in concert with breathing to guide a certain indescribable "qi" or "Energy" that originated from life itself or was drawn from the outside world.

This Energy was to be slowly pushed, accumulated, and refined along specific "pathways" illustrated in the scroll—pathways that were not blood vessels or nerves, but ran through muscles, fascia, and even deeper into the bones.

’How is this anything like the crude, stereotypical Path of the Knight?’

The level of Concentration it demanded, the acuity of internal bodily Perception, and the delicacy of its Energy Manipulation were comparable to the mental investment a Wizard made when constructing a complex set of Spell Runes.

He subconsciously compared this Breathing Technique to the Meditation Techniques he knew.

A Mage’s Meditation Technique was about the expansion and condensation of Spiritual Power, a bridge to communicate with the Elemental Ocean.

But this Breathing Technique was like performing an equally complex and highly focused "Meditation" inside one’s own body.

A "Physical Meditation" with flesh and blood as its foundation and breath as its engine, used to refine one’s own Life Energy.

’No wonder the Power of Knights and Wizards can be on par with each other!’

It suddenly dawned on Roland.

He had previously only seen the powerful physiques of Knights, charging into battle with overwhelming force.

He had never imagined that beneath a Knight’s seemingly brute-force-reliant body, their Power was supported by a cultivation system that required such a high degree of internal control and delicate manipulation.

This was by no means a matter of simple strength; it was a path of deeply excavating, precisely guiding, and ultimately strengthening one’s own Life Energy.

Its difficulty and depth were in no way inferior to constructing complex Spell Runes in the spiritual world.

It required not just arduous training, but a perception and control of the body’s inner workings almost akin to Introspection.

’The value of this Scroll far exceeds my initial imagination!’

The scratching sound of copying resumed, but Roland’s hand unconsciously slowed. Every word he wrote seemed to carry a heavy weight.

He was no longer merely copying the text, but had begun to try to understand, to ponder the profound mysteries of Life Energy and physical enhancement hidden between the lines.

An unknown amount of time passed before he let out a long breath and slowly put down his quill pen.