Chapter 23 : The Path of a Knight
Chapter 23: The Path of a Knight! The Diligent Genius!
“Ah?” Eve Sova was clearly stunned for a moment.
The next instant, her originally fair face flushed red briefly.
Indeed, just now, while applying the potion, she had been distracted for a split second.
“No…” Eve Sova hadn’t expected Leo’s learning ability to be so strong—he had completely memorized the breathing rhythm after just one pass.
And he had even noticed that slight delay in rhythm.
But of course, she couldn’t possibly admit it now.
Unprofessional—far too unprofessional.
Eve Sova had never thought that after living eighteen years, she would embarrass herself in front of a mere little squire.
However, her mind worked quickly. She immediately cleared her throat, “Ahem, actually, for your first time learning, your performance was already quite good. In fact, it was your breathing rhythm that got slightly off.
It’s fine—when the rhythm is off, it just wastes some of the body-tempering potion. But it doesn’t matter. As long as you don’t use the wrong rhythm, there won’t be any major impact.”
Eve Sova rattled off a long explanation in one breath. Her emotions seemed to settle a bit afterward. “Alright, that’s it for now. I think you’ve already grasped the basics. From here on, it’s just continuous practice until the Breathing Technique becomes instinct.
The most important part is still the body-tempering potion. Its supply is limited, so try to keep your breathing rhythm stable and avoid wasting it.
Also, remember to consume more meat—preferably Beastkin Meat. That’s the foundation of strengthening your body.”
Eve Sova was usually a person of few words, always carrying herself like an aloof expert.
Yet just now, she had suddenly spoken like popping beans, pouring out so much at once.
Clearly, he had hit the mark.
Leo organized the information Eve Sova had just given.
What she described was the method of training the Breathing Technique.
If compared to fitness training in his previous life—
then the body-tempering potion was like stimulants or hormones,
the Breathing Technique was equivalent to weight training methods,
and meat consumption was like high-protein nutrition.
All three were indispensable.
With that, Leo’s thoughts became much clearer.
Looking at Eve Sova preparing to leave, he suddenly remembered something more important.
He quickly called out to her, “Teacher, the advanced sword techniques you mentioned… you haven’t taught me yet.”
Leo felt that this cheap teacher of his was somewhat unreliable.
If he didn’t stop her now, she might disappear again, and his sword training would go down the drain.
“Oh, right—sword techniques. I’m just going to get a sword now.” Eve Sova had clearly forgotten and hurriedly tried to cover it up.
But she didn’t stop walking and quickly reached the doorway.
“Your sword…” Leo looked at the Starfall hanging at his waist. Just as he was about to speak, Eve Sova had already run off.
Leo refocused. At this moment, he once again began reciting the breathing rhythm, feeling the changes in his breathing.
‘Earlier, I relied on short-term memory to forcefully memorize it. Over time, I might forget it. I need to strike while the iron is hot—practice this breathing method until it’s completely ingrained as muscle memory.’
Thinking this, Leo closed his eyes.
He calmed his mind and repeated the breathing method from before.
With the assistance of the breathing rhythm, Leo quickly found the rhythm to control the flow of energy.
It felt as though he was absorbing some kind of energy particles from the air into his body, forming a cycle that tempered his physique.
The Breathing Technique was mysterious, so Leo tried to understand it in his own way.
Sensing the energy within his body slowly flowing under the guidance of his breath—
what Leo didn’t notice was that just now, a faint wisp of Gray Aura had escaped from his nose and mouth.
But what he did notice was that a new entry had appeared on his panel.
【Breathing Technique: Furnace Breathing Technique Stage One 1/100】
“You actually entered the basics!” Eve Sova’s exclamation came from the doorway.
Leo hadn’t noticed, but Eve Sova had seen the Gray Aura emitted from him.
This meant Leo had already mastered the correct method and completed one full cycle of Gray Aura.
This was the hardest step.
From here on, he only needed to continue practicing, accumulating enough Gray Aura within his body.
Just moments ago, she had made an excuse to step outside to calm herself.
After leaving, she remembered that she had already given her sword to Leo.
So she casually took a decorative sword from the wall of the adjacent room. To avoid awkwardness when returning, she had waited outside for a moment.
But unexpectedly, she saw Leo exhale a wisp of Gray Aura—that was the sign of entering the Breathing Technique.
As long as Gray Aura could manifest, it meant the practitioner had fully grasped the breathing method.
The next step was to continuously accumulate Gray Aura within the body, strengthen control over it, until one could stably project it onto the surface of the body, forming a Black Aura membrane.
That was Eve Sova’s current realm—the Low-tier Knight stage.
No matter how she thought about it, she hadn’t expected Leo to enter the basics so quickly. Even if he had already memorized the breathing rhythm chart beforehand—
his comprehension was simply astonishing.
This meant his mind was exceptionally sharp.
Eve Sova looked at Leo in the distance, her brows furrowing together.
‘This boy from Blackwater City… could he be a prodigy in cultivating the Breathing Technique?’
Among all the Quasi-Knights she had seen, Leo was the fastest to enter the basics of the Breathing Technique.
Leo looked at Eve Sova, who was hiding behind the crack of the door.
‘Why is this teacher always acting so sneaky?’
He couldn’t help but feel that this woman was somewhat eccentric.
But helplessly, she was still his teacher.
Eve Sova pushed the door open and walked in, holding a gorgeous short sword inlaid with gemstones. “It seems you have some talent in the Breathing Technique.
But don’t be too pleased with yourself. Mastering the Breathing Technique only brings you to the Quasi-Knight stage.
To go from Quasi-Knight to Knight, you must continuously accumulate Gray Aura within your body and control it, until you can proficiently project it onto your body’s surface.
This is a process from the inside out, one that tests patience immensely. It can take as short as a few years, or as long as a lifetime.”
With a movement of her hand, her entire palm instantly turned pitch black, as if she were wearing a black iron glove. “Don’t get complacent. This process is far more difficult than you imagine.”
As she spoke, Eve Sova began pacing in front of Leo,
putting on the demeanor of a proper teacher.
She suddenly asked, “Do you know how many Quasi-Knights Blackstone City has produced in total?”
“I don’t know. More than fifty?” Leo truly didn’t know.
“Wrong. A total of three hundred seventy-eight. Including you, who haven’t yet been formally appointed, that makes three hundred seventy-nine.” Eve Sova gestured with her fingers as she continued pacing. “More than fifty remained in the city. The other three hundred either returned to their territories or… died. Then do you know, among these three hundred seventy-nine, how many ultimately became knights?”
Leo shook his head. He still didn’t know.
He only knew that in Blackstone City, including Eve Sova—who also hadn’t yet been formally appointed—there were currently six knights.
Eve Sova suddenly emphasized her tone, “Seven.”
She paused, as if giving Leo time to process.
Then she threw out a third question, “Then do you know, among these seven, how long it took the fastest one to break through to the Knight realm?”
Leo still didn’t know.
Eve Sova seemed very satisfied that Leo didn’t know. She revealed a meaningful smile. “One year. The fastest person only took one year to go from Quasi-Knight to Knight. Do you know who that was?”
Leo felt speechless.
After all that buildup, it was clearly leading to this line.
It had to be herself.
Leo waited for the answer.
Eve Sova suddenly glanced at the water clock on the wall. “Let’s leave it as a mystery. Hurry up—next, I’ll teach you advanced sword techniques.”