15: Inspection, Dragon Blood Fruit

Lister was quite surprised, but felt more anticipation than anything else.

If Spartacus could really promote to a Bronze Knight on his first day of training, wouldn't that just prove how high his talent was?

Without hesitation, he and Red walked over. At this moment, Spartacus was sitting cross-legged on the ground, practicing his Breathing Technique.

Each breath was like the roar of a bull, deep and steady.

Soon, the heavy breathing gradually weakened until it was barely audible.

At this, Red said with some regret: "What a pity, he was just a little bit short."

As the words fell, Spartacus opened his eyes and looked up at the two, especially Lister, with a face full of guilt: "I am sorry, my Lord. My talent is too poor, and I failed to successfully promote. I have disappointed you."

Hearing this, the corner of Lister's mouth twitched, and he thought speechlessly: 'You kid, you've been training for less than a day, you were just a hair's breadth away from becoming a Bronze Knight, and you say your talent is too poor?'

'If you have poor talent, then what are Red and I? This is too damn humble-bragging.'

Red, standing to the side, also fell silent, but his fists clenched imperceptibly. It was foreseeable that if Spartacus humble-bragged one more time, he would definitely swing at him.

However, despite his annoyance, Lister could still see that the boy was sincere; he truly felt that he had disappointed Lister.

Coughing, Lister put on a smile, patted Spartacus on the shoulder, and encouraged him: "It's okay. To have such a fast breakthrough speed is already very impressive."

"If you really feel that you have disappointed me, then from now on, put in two hundred percent effort into your training and promote to Bronze, Silver, or even Golden Knight as soon as possible."

"Yes, my Lord." Spartacus roared with an incredibly firm expression: "Your subordinate will definitely not fail your expectations!"

"Haha, good." Lister wore a satisfied smile.

Ending his training and returning to his room on the third floor of the castle, Lister once again had the fatigue from his training eliminated under Lianna's ability.

However, this elimination was only physical; the mental fatigue still remained.

Therefore, the bug method he imagined—training, eliminating fatigue, and then training again—simply did not exist.

This was a bit of a pity, but Lianna was only a Pixie after all. What if she were a Great Pixie?

Would she then possess the ability to eliminate mental fatigue? He could not know this yet. Lost in his fantasies, he drifted into a deep sleep.

... October 10th, 888, Light Calendar.

Because the Cold Wave would arrive in the evening, Lister had no time to train in the morning, and instead inspected the affairs within his territory.

While ensuring that all Serfs outside of Ironthorn Town had moved into Ironthorn Town, he also inspected whether there was enough warm clothing and if the livestock had been properly settled.

After confirming that everything was fine, he came to the location of the geothermal spring inside the Ironthorn Forest.

Red's efficiency was high; he saw that around the geothermal spring, a closed area had already been firmly enclosed using large amounts of boulders, wood, and thorns.

Ordinary beasts could not possibly destroy it, but to prevent potential magical beasts from appearing, they still sprinkled a special kind of spice around it.

This spice was made from the bone powder of High-Rank Bronze magical beasts combined with other materials, and it had a certain deterrent effect on low-rank Bronze magical beasts, so they would not approach after smelling it.

As for stronger magical beasts, that would just depend on luck. If one really appeared, Lister could only consider himself unlucky.

After confirming that everything was fine, he ended the inspection mission and hurried back to the castle.

After enjoying a sumptuous lunch, he began his afternoon training.

Compared to an Apprentice Knight, the strength of a Bronze Knight was already incomparable, even if he was only Bronze Rank 1 now.

While training, he was not sure if it was caused by that mysterious purple power that Livia had used to help him condense his Dou Qi seed last time.

Although his realm was only Bronze Rank 1, his true strength had already reached Bronze Rank 2.

And according to Red's speculation, if his technique could reach a higher level, his strength would be even stronger, perhaps even rivaling Rank 3.

This ability to fight across ranks was something not many of the geniuses at the Royal Academy possessed, and it counted as a not-insignificant pleasant surprise.

Of course, he did not feel arrogant, because through sparring training with Red, he discovered that his actual combat ability was too poor, and he could not fully unleash his strength to fight across ranks.

Just like when he killed those Black-Haired Wild Boars before; apart from mindlessly hacking and slashing, there was no technique to speak of.

Otherwise, without the close protection of two knights, it would have been impossible for him to remain unscathed.

"The path of knight training is a long and arduous one." After sighing, Lister continued to train diligently.

Time spent training usually passed unconsciously, so the afternoon training ended very quickly.

Since the barracks for Red and the others were still under repair, Lister let them stay in the servant rooms on the first floor of the castle first.

Looking at the suddenly crowded castle, Lister propped up his chin, feeling somewhat helpless: "Sigh, it seems that once I have money, I must rebuild the castle to be bigger, otherwise how can I highlight my dignity as a Lord."

... 5:43 PM.

The Cold Wave arrived on time. Lister sat on a chair by the window on the third floor of the castle, holding a glass of warm Red wine.

Within his field of vision, the sky became hazy and gray, and the cold wind, like the roar of a dragon, whistled past. The land, which had originally been full of vitality, became a mess.

In the distance, the trees of the Ironthorn Forest collapsed in swathes, and then, under the ravages of ice and snow, formed huge ice sculptures, as if the end of the world had arrived.

"This Cold Wave truly lives up to its reputation." While sighing, Lister looked worriedly toward Ironthorn Town not far away.

He had already done everything he could; he only hoped that the territory could safely survive this crisis. If anyone still died, he could only blame it on bad luck.

Recovering his thoughts, he moved his mind, and the ancient book slowly emerged. The next moment, today's three divination messages appeared.

【Divination 1: Recently, the horse of Baron Daniel of the Black Bear Territory reached its estrus period, but because it had no suitable mare, it could only find a pretty spotted pig to soothe itself.】

【Divination 2: Five days later, the Green Hat Tribe of the Goblin race in the west of the Pedan Kingdom will launch a sneak attack on a small part of the human territory of the Pioneering Territory, looting a large amount of wealth, but causing few casualties.】

【Divination 3: Three days later in the afternoon, the merchant Tom, traveling from Bordeaux City to the western Pioneering Territory, will have three dragon blood fruits that can help with breakthroughs mixed in among the dozen or so Red apples sold in Moding Town.】

dragon blood fruit! Lister was completely attracted by the third divination message at a glance; as for the first two messages, they had nothing to do with him at all.

dragon blood fruit is a precious resource that can help break through major realms, and it even has a huge effect on breaking through to a Golden Knight.

Of course, although it is called dragon blood fruit, it actually has nothing to do with dragons; it is just named for its effects.

"Three days later is when the Cold Wave will pass." Lister frowned and said: "But it will take at least a day and a half to rush to Moding Town. By the time I get there, it will be too late."

"It seems I must make arrangements in advance."