Perhaps it was because of the time they had spent together that he had grown much more familiar with the younger daughter of the Count’s family.
“Let’s end today’s training here. If you have any issues in the future, you can seek out Shadia.”
Rein looked to the side and saw the Chief Maid Shadia slightly nodding at him.
“Hold on a moment, Lady Cleya, I still have a question about entering the Transcendent path. Is the path of the Knight the only way in this world?”
“How could that be possible?”
Cleya couldn’t help but laugh. She realized she had been so focused on teaching Rein the Breathing Techniques and swordsmanship that she hadn’t discussed some basic knowledge with him.
“Of course, there are far more paths than just the Knight’s path. Even entering the path of the Knight isn’t considered the strongest in the transcendence realm. For instance, all the major churches in the Empire have their own transcendent path.”
“But the church’s transcendent paths require one to become a devout follower of God.”
“Whereas the Knight’s path is the most stable and least dependent on external forces. It allows for achieving transcendence by tapping into one’s potential.”
“At the same time, it’s also the path most accessible to ordinary people entering transcendence,” Cleya explained.
“According to records, the Knight Breathing Method originated from our human ancestors’ studies on ferocious beasts, which eventually led to developing a training method suitable for humans.”
“The Giant Bear Breathing Technique and Giant Bear Sword Technique that you are practicing are such methods.”
After finishing, Rein nodded. He understood this kind of situation.
Because in his previous life, ancestors used Five Animal Frolics for health and Xingyi Quan mimicking twelve animals like monkeys, tigers, and bears for combat.
“Ferocious beasts?”
However, this was the first time Rein had heard of this concept and asked with curiosity.
“Yes, ordinary animals under the influence of the mysterious side all have a certain chance of becoming ferocious or mutated beasts, thereby gaining much greater strength, agility, and recovery speed than their ordinary counterparts, akin to human Knights.”
“Hmm…actually, from this perspective, the transcendent paths of Knights and ferocious beasts are consistent. Both break through limits in some way; only humans practice breathing techniques, whereas animals rely more on innate talent or lineage.”
“Look!” Suddenly, Cleya’s slender arm swelled, bulging her hunting coat’s sleeve, but it quickly shrank back.
Rein widened his eyes and stared intently at the transformation of Cleya’s arm.
Giant Barbie?
He was stunned!
So this was the true strength of Cleya!
“This is the strength you possess after becoming a formal Knight, breaking through the physical limits—what we call Limit Break.”
“Long ago, Limit Break was also called ‘ferocious transformation,’ but later, to differentiate between humans and beasts, those who reached transcendence through breathing techniques were called Knights, and this transformation was named Limit Break, which essentially means the same as ferocious transformation.”
“Well, I should get going now,”
Cleya glanced outside the window as the night deepened.
“Rein, the world is much broader and more dangerous than you imagine. I’ve taught you the Giant Bear Breathing Technique and Giant Bear Sword Technique. Work hard!”
“I hope to be surprised by you in a year.”
After speaking, Cleya flashed a slight smile, swung her chestnut ponytail, and left the room, her figure quickly disappearing into the darkness outside the castle.
…
Meanwhile, in the dining room of Count Habbs’ mansion in Meister County Town.
A bearded man dressed in noble attire with black and gold edging was elegantly carving a large chunk of beef rib, handling the pure silver knife and fork with exceptional agility.
On the silver plate, pieces of beef rib, cut as neatly as tofu, were quickly forked into his mouth.
Soon, all the meat on that large beef rib was in his stomach, the bones picked clean without a trace of meat left.
But it didn’t end there. With a series of crisp “click” sounds.
The silver dinner knife in the man’s hand sliced through the tough beef ribs like butter, sucking the marrow within into his mouth.
At that moment, a beautiful serving maid respectfully offered a hot towel.
The man wiped his mouth and said, “Michel, sorry to have kept you waiting.”
His tone was very polite, but anyone could tell that it was merely a formality.
“What is the matter?”
“Baron, there is something I need to report to you.” Named Michel, the butler waved his hand, dismissing all the maids from the dining room.
“News has come from Dennis that your sister, Lady Cleya, seems to have nurtured a legitimate descendant at the Habsburg estate, reportedly the son of a farmer, but with notable talent in swordsmanship.”
As soon as the butler named Michel mentioned the three words “Lady Cleya,” the middle-aged baron’s face changed, obviously recalling some unpleasant memory.
He elegantly sipped his red wine, paused, and asked, “Considering the timing, Cleya must be about to head to the Imperial City, right?”
“Yes, under normal circumstances, Lady Cleya should be departing for the Imperial City within three days.”
“Otherwise, she might miss the opening ceremony of the Imperial Royal Academy.”
The baron nodded and said, “Then let’s give the face of my sister from Meister County, who possesses the strongest knight talent, and after she leaves, Michel, have someone erase that farmer’s son.”
His tone was so casual, as if he were merely stepping on an ant by the roadside.
“As you command, Baron,” Michel said respectfully.
Just as the butler was about to leave, the baron spoke again, “By the way, about that Black Flame Prayer Ceremony we spoke of last time, when can it be held?”
“There seems to be a small problem there… Things have been tightly wound recently, and some materials might take more time to prepare.”
“Tell them to speed up! I don’t want to wait too long.”
“As you command, my lord, your will is my desire!”
The man in question, named Alonso Habus, was granted his baronial title at the age of eighteen, as he was the eldest legitimate son of the Habus family.
Back in his study, Alonso sat in his chair, idly toying with a silver, round family crest, which was a couple sizes larger than an Imperial gold coin.
This was one of his habits.
Whenever he needed to thoroughly consider an issue, he would spin the family crest on his finger.
The craftsmanship of the Habus family crest was extremely exquisite: it depicted a swooping eagle with high-risen wings, each feather seemingly distinguishable, and its sharp talons pointed downward as though about to capture some prey.
This was no ordinary eagle, but a transcendental raptor known as a ‘Cali Bird.’
Once mature, this bird’s wingspan could reach over four meters, far more ferocious than ordinary eagles.
As the eldest son of the Habus family, Alonso was supposed to be the unquestioned heir to the family, but unfortunately, he was the weakest in terms of personal strength among Count Habbs’s three children.
Nearing thirty, he had only just managed to step into the official knight rank and had made little progress in the past few years.
In this world, if the power disparity among heirs was not significant, inheritance followed the order of seniority, but if the gap was too large…
Then it was just too bad.
Unfortunately for Alonso, his half-brother Descartes and his sister Cleya, both had exceptional talents.
Descartes was already serving in the Imperial Military, with a promising future ahead.
And Cleya needs no mention, a rare genius knight of Meister County. She broke through to official knight rank at the age of fifteen and was admitted to the Imperial Royal Academy for further education.
The crux of the issue was that Alonso’s relationship with both had been poor from childhood, certainly not helped by his mother’s influence, and reversing it was likely impossible for him personally.
Thus, the sense of urgency within Alonso grew increasingly intense; he did not wish to spend his life merely as a minor baron.
He stowed away the silver Cali Bird crest of his family and gripped it tightly, saying, “I hope the Black Flame Prayer Ceremony has the effects of legend!”