186: Chapter 186 Breakthrough! High-Rank Grand Knight! Overbearing Battle Aura! Ultimate Offense!

In the bedroom, Rowan leaned back in his chair, his consciousness sinking into the sea of spirit where insights into the Myriad Furnace Breathing Technique were constantly emerging.

Countless fragmented pieces of knowledge regarding the Breathing Technique swirled, combined, and evolved within his mind, eventually converging into three clear paths.

At the end of each path lay a Battle Avatar with a completely different style.

The Battle Avatar of a Great Knight is, in essence, the materialized condensation of a knight's path of will.

It is not a simple shaping of Battle Qi, but a combat form manifested outside the body by fusing the characteristics of the knight's Breathing Technique with their spiritual will.

Once condensed, the Battle Avatar becomes one of the core combat means of a High-Order Grand Knight.

According to the legacy information contained within the Myriad Furnace Breathing Technique, Great Knight Battle Avatars can be roughly divided into three categories: offensive, defensive, and balanced offensive-defensive.

For most Breathing Techniques, there is actually no room for choice.

The path of their legacy, which leads to a specific type of Battle Avatar, was already fixed at the very beginning when the Breathing Technique was created.

Practitioners can only follow the path trodden by their predecessors, step-by-step condensing that singular, predetermined Battle Avatar.

Whether it is good or bad, compatible or awkward, there is no room to pick and choose.

But the "Myriad Furnace Breathing Technique" is different.

It clearly provides three branching paths, allowing the practitioner to choose according to their own preferences.

Three paths, three Battle Avatars—

1. Offensive type: Red Tiger.

It condenses a wisp of the aura of a hundred battles and slaughter, transforming into a Battle Avatar of a fierce tiger with a crimson body and eyes like flowing fire.

Known for its ultimate attack power, it excels in charging, tearing, and breaking formations.

Once unleashed, it is like a fierce tiger descending from the mountain, unstoppable.

The downside is its weak defense, emphasizing offense as the best form of defense.

2. Defensive type: White Elephant.

It condenses an aura of stability and weight, transforming into a Battle Avatar of an ancient elephant with a pure white body that treads upon the earth.

Known for its ultimate defensive power, it excels in guarding, suppressing, and protracted battles.

Once it stands firm, it is like a reef standing against the tide; no matter the storm, it remains unmoved.

The downside is its slow speed and poor mobility.

3. Balanced offensive-defensive type: Black Bear.

It condenses a vigorous aura like that of a mountain forest overlord, transforming into a Battle Avatar of a giant bear with a pitch-black body.

It lacks the ultimate sharpness of the Red Tiger and the absolute solidity of the White Elephant, but it wins in balance; it can attack and defend, has the strongest adaptability, and can function in various combat environments.

Rowan's thoughts examined and weighed each of the three paths one by one.

He abandoned the defensive type without any hesitation.

He was not someone accustomed to being passively beaten.

Thus, what remained was the offensive Red Tiger and the balanced Black Bear.

He had originally leaned towards choosing the balanced type—after all, as a lord, he needed to consider more than just the outcome of individual duels.

From a rational perspective, the balance of the Black Bear Battle Avatar was indeed the safest choice.

But the moment he thought of the image of the Black Bear Battle Avatar, he couldn't help but frown.

A pitch-black giant bear...

That rugged appearance really... didn't match his elegant and handsome image as a Succubus!

He wanted the kind of cool Battle Avatar that could captivate thousands of beautiful girls the moment it was unleashed.

He couldn't imagine what it would be like if a simple-minded and clumsy black bear appeared when he condensed his Battle Avatar on the battlefield.

Just thinking about that image was unbearable to him.

Thinking of this, he no longer hesitated.

Red Tiger!

You're the one!

Although the defense was relatively weak, the ultimate attack power was enough to make up for this flaw.

Moreover, the domineering and fierce image of the Red Tiger made him feel a heartfelt compatibility just by imagining it.

That was the kind of Battle Avatar a Succubus should have—elegant, deadly, and full of aggression!

With his mind made up, he no longer hesitated and continued to invest his remaining attribute points into the proficiency of the Breathing Technique.

Eight thousand, eight thousand one... nine thousand nine...

A massive amount of insight flooded into his mind like a tidal wave.

Those pieces of knowledge about condensing the Battle Avatar were no longer scattered fragments, but a complete thread, slowly unfolding in the depths of his consciousness.

He seemed to have experienced another complete life.

In that life, he polished the Breathing Technique day after day, pondering every detail of the Battle Avatar's condensation.

[You practiced the Myriad Furnace Breathing Technique diligently and reached the bottleneck of a Great Knight.]

[You could never quite grasp the condensation of the knight's will for the High-Order Grand Knight Red Tiger Battle Avatar.]

[So you began to frantically look for a breakthrough.]

[You flipped through ancient books, asked seniors for advice, and practiced alone on the mountain peak against the strong wind, trying over and over again to condense that aura of a hundred battles and slaughter into a physical entity.]

[Failure after failure, starting over again and again.]

[The sound of a tiger's roar echoed in your ears thousands of times, yet you could never truly condense it.]

[Until one day...]

[You stood in the center of a desolate valley, with the corpse of a giant Molten-Maned Tiger at your feet.]

[You seemed to have suddenly realized something.]

[You had been imitating, but never truly understood what slaughter was.]

[You closed your eyes and recalled those moments that truly made you want to tear everything apart.]

[That vicious energy suppressed in the deepest part of your heart was released without reservation for the first time.]

[When you opened your eyes again, a tiger's roar that shook the valley exploded from your chest.]

[You succeeded!]

[You successfully condensed the Red Tiger Battle Avatar and broke through to the realm of a High-Order Grand Knight.]

...

Rowan opened his eyes abruptly.

Deep in his pupils, a flash of crimson fire seemed to flicker and vanish.

He looked down at his hands, slowly clenched them, and then relaxed.

A wave of scorching heat came from his fingertips; it was the lingering warmth left after the will of the Red Tiger Battle Avatar condensed within his body.

He curled the corners of his mouth slightly, his gaze falling on the panel in his mind.

[Myriad Furnace Breathing Technique Lv3 (10001 / 30000) (High-Order Grand Knight)]

[Free Attribute Points -7139]

[Remaining Free Attribute Points: 3332]

It was done.

...

A week later, Golden Flame Castle, master bedroom.

Rowan sat in a recliner by the window, flipping through the account books and summary of affairs from the past week.

The reconstruction of the Golden Flame Chamber of Commerce was steadily progressing under Melissa's promotion, and the procurement and transportation of the first batch of Northern specialties had already started.

The training progress of the castle guard was good.

Anna and Sophia had both been promoted to High-level Apprentice Knights, not far from becoming Official Knights.

As expected of one with a score of 89 and another with 88, their physiques were very good, and they could just take over some of Cecilia's work while she was pregnant and inconvenienced.

Everything was proceeding step-by-step, which put him in a quite good mood.

Just then, a burst of hurried footsteps came from outside the door.

Immediately after, the door was pushed open.

"Rowan! This is bad!"

Elena's figure appeared at the door.

Rowan looked over.

Elena was wearing a white nightgown today, her beautiful eyes filled with obvious anxiety and panic.

Under the outline of the form-fitting nightgown, her figure had a slightly protruding lower abdomen, adding a touch of gentle charm.

Rowan put down the account book in his hand, watching her hurried appearance, and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow slightly.

He pulled the running Elena into his arms and said:

"Don't rush, tell me slowly."

"What happened?"