113: Chapter 113 Promotion to Grand Knight

After finishing the cake, Nie Ning left the agency.

Now that he had taken over Audrey's work, although there was usually nothing to do, he still couldn't relax and needed to improve his strength as much as possible.

As for the agency's affairs, he no longer had the energy to be distracted by them.

Moreover, the Detective Agency was already on the right track; there really wasn't much need for him. At most, a troublesome case would just take a bit more time.

Before leaving, Nie Ning took out the gains from the ruins and asked Borton to help sell them.

The quality of those weapons and equipment was good, and the money from the sale could just solve his recent financial pressure.

...

In the following time, Nie Ning once again entered a phase of frenzied cultivation.

Because of the previous elemental erosion incident, the Strange Beast crystal cores in his body had fused into one, making the effect of strengthening his blood, qi, and physical body much stronger.

In just a month and a half, Nie Ning had already reached the peak of the High-Tier Knight level.

One must know that this was the result of him hardly practicing Knight Techniques; he only needed to spend a little time each day purifying his Dou Qi.

His progress in Wizardry was relatively slow, barely reaching the late stage of a First-Ring Wizard after such a long time.

And it was thanks to the The Federation's pills and the Strange Beast meat purchased with money for nourishment that he reached his current level.

During this period, Nie Ning tried the Blood Flame Secret Art.

He didn't know if it was because his physical body was too strong, but the effect of tempering his body wasn't as good as imagined, not even comparing to a piece of Strange Beast meat he hadn't eaten before.

However, the greatest effect of the Blood Flame Secret Art was still increasing the success rate of promoting to a Great Knight.

So even setting aside the body-tempering effect, this was still a top-tier secret art suitable for High-Tier Knights.

The method used by the Blood Flame Secret Art to increase the success rate was not very complicated.

Its essence was to purify Dou Qi in advance, making its quality closer to that of a Great Knight.

Unfortunately, there was a certain upper limit, and it could not be used indefinitely.

At most, it could only increase the quality of Dou Qi by twenty percent, thereby indirectly increasing a High-Tier Knight's combat power by more than twenty percent.

For those High-Tier Knights who were unable to break through, this was already very considerable.

If there were no physical defects, the normal breakthrough rate was around thirty to fifty percent.

Of course, while it looked high, in reality, many people found it difficult to even cultivate to the High-Tier Knight level and had no qualification to step into the rank of Great Knight at all.

...

The next day.

Wizard Tower, basement.

The formation on the ground flickered with soft white light, and Nie Ning sat cross-legged in the center.

At this moment, the blood and qi in Nie Ning's body were boiling, the Seed of Dou Qi at his heart was operating at high speed, and majestic Dou Qi shuttled back and forth within his body.

Around Nie Ning's body, the Dou Qi formed a translucent cyclone.

As the technique was driven to its limit, the Dou Qi began to be compressed, purified, and refined.

When the Dou Qi was compressed to its limit, the Seed of Dou Qi slowly solidified, turning into a droplet-shaped, pale white crystal, and the surrounding Dou Qi cyclone shrank back into Nie Ning's body.

Under the washing of the Seed of Dou Qi, Nie Ning's body became purer and firmer, and some gray impurities seeped out of his skin.

Suddenly, Nie Ning's body jolted, and a surge of majestic force erupted from him, instantly turning the desk and cabinet in the corner of the room into powder.

'Phew~'

Nie Ning slowly opened his eyes, a glint of sharp light flashing through his amber pupils.

At this moment, Nie Ning felt full of energy, as if his entire body was bursting with strength, an indescribable sense of comfort.

"So this is a Great Knight."

Nie Ning clenched his fist; his strength had increased by about double.

It might not seem like much, but Knights mainly relied on Dou Qi.

Because pure physical strength has a limit, and human talent in terms of the physical body ultimately cannot compare to Strange Beasts.

Dou Qi, however, is an all-attribute buff that can be used to indirectly strengthen physical fitness and obtain corresponding energy attack methods.

The further one goes, the more this is the case; any cultivation system needs to follow the philosophy of survival.

Use your strengths to attack the enemy's weaknesses; play to your advantages rather than stubbornly focusing on your shortcomings.

After all, time is limited, and not everyone has talent in the physical body.

Dou Qi has strong destructive power and can enhance physical attributes, making it suitable for most people's growth path.

Whereas cultivation methods that specialize in the physical body consume an enormous amount of resources—one eats several more bowls of food than others, not to mention the other resources required to temper the body.

...

[Rank: Great Knight (Initial Stage), First-Ring Wizard (Late Stage)]

[Talent: Supernatural Adaptability]

[Bloodline: ??? (Not Activated)]

[Derived Traits: Strange Beast Body, Elemental Spring, Beginner Self-Healing (Corrupted), Power of a Hundred Beasts, Beginner Mental Power Amplification, Malice Perception, Intermediate Five Elements Affinity, Beginner Lightning Attribute Affinity]

[Derived Skills: Assisting Evil, Intermediate Five Elements Manipulation (Corrupted), Lightning Edge Blade, Lava Burst]

[Cultivation Methods: ..., Shi Jue Flying Swallow Technique, Qiong Guang Meditation Method]

[Imprinted Spells: Meteor Blast]

[Skills: ... Breath Condensation Technique (Great Accomplishment), Shadow Gliding Steps (Great Accomplishment), Blood Burst Technique (Beginner), Earth Spirit Puppet (Great Accomplishment), Vine Entanglement (Proficient)]

Nie Ning glanced at the panel; the changes weren't very large.

The Blood Burst Technique was a Knight Secret Skill of the Blood Flame Knights Association.

When used, it would burn blood and qi to obtain powerful strength in a short time.

However, the drawbacks were also obvious.

Burning blood and qi harms the body, rather than simply consuming the power of blood and qi; it uses one's own blood as the price of use.

One needs to manage the time well; the longer it lasts, the greater the burden on the body.

If activated for a long time, the loss of blood will cause physical weakness, a decline in immunity, and may even damage one's talent foundation.

Of course, when it really comes to that point, who cares about talent; being able to survive is the only truth.

As for why the Blood Flame Secret Art was not on the panel, it was because the Blood Flame Secret Art was actually used by combining various materials with a special energy circulation method.

Strictly speaking, it was not a cultivation method or a skill.

After closing the panel, Nie Ning smelled the scent on his body.

"It's a bit smelly."

He then went upstairs to take a shower and lay down on Audrey's bed. Not long after, Nie Ning fell asleep.

...

By the time Nie Ning woke up, it was already evening.

"Crap, I forgot the time."

Nie Ning looked at the sky outside and remembered that he seemed to have serious business to do.

After washing up, Nie Ning hurriedly rushed to the The Federation.

...

The Federation Branch.

"Lord Wizard, you've finally arrived."

As soon as Nie Ning entered the door, the young lady at the front desk called out to him anxiously.

"Milei, has the person arrived?"

Nie Ning asked as he walked.

Milei had a look of resentment on her face: "They arrived long ago and are just waiting for you. Why are you only arriving now?"

"Haha, I overslept and didn't remember for a moment."

Hearing this, Nie Ning smiled somewhat awkwardly.

...