12: Chapter 12 Breath Condensation Technique

The sky was not yet bright.

After returning to the manor, Nie Ning couldn't wait to start a fire and cook.

Although the value of a Three-Colored Fox lies in its fur, the meat of this beast is also a rare and excellent thing.

After some effort, it took a full half-hour to stew a large pot of meat.

Nie Ning sniffed it.

Fragrant!

Even though he only added a little salt, it couldn't mask the fresh, savory aroma of the game meat.

He took a piece of wood, whittled two chopsticks, and began to eat heartily.

Under the influence of Supernatural Adaptability, Nie Ning soon felt his whole body heat up, as if a warm current was flowing through him.

Seeing that the Three-Colored Fox meat was indeed effective for him, Nie Ning ate with even more gusto and speed, finishing the large pot of meat in just over ten minutes.

Nie Ning patted his round belly, let out a satisfied burp, and then opened his panel.

[Rank: Elementary Knight (Late Stage)]

[Talent: Supernatural Adaptability]

[Bloodline: ??? (Inactive)]

[Derived Traits: Strange Beast Body, Beginner Self-Healing, Strength of an Ox, Elementary Agility, Limb Coordination, Elementary Poison Resistance, Elementary Cold Resistance, Malice Perception, Strong Physique, Elementary Wood Affinity]

[Derived Skill: Assisting Evil]

[Cultivation Method: Basic Knight Method, Swift Fox Method]

[Skills: Hedal Combat Technique (Proficient), Swift Swordsmanship (Proficient), Concentrated Heavy Strike (Proficient), Single Stroke Slash (Novice)]

It did not fail Nie Ning's expectations; two new traits appeared on the panel: Limb Coordination and Elementary Agility.

Nie Ning went outside to test them. Not only was his body more flexible, allowing him to perform high-difficulty movements, but his speed had also increased by about twenty percent.

If he had had this speed before, Nie Ning wouldn't even have needed to set traps to catch the Three-Colored Fox.

After testing the traits, with the help of the faint light from an oil lamp, Nie Ning took out the small booklet he had obtained from Borton.

Breath Condensation Technique.

A special technique used to hide one's own strength.

For most knights, there is no need to hide their strength.

Because strength is one of the manifestations of one's status; even an Elementary Knight can walk around freely in Ska City, and the treatment upon joining any family would not be low.

But Nie Ning was different; his identity as a transmigrator made him exceptionally sensitive.

Let alone revealing his strength, if it weren't for Lilith, he would have long since vanished into thin air.

Even in the two years since his transmigration, he had rarely interacted with anyone other than Lilith, simply because he didn't want others to pay too much attention to his existence.

However, as his strength increased, his physical fitness and senses in all aspects had undergone various changes.

But his surging vital energy made it difficult for him to control and hide it.

It was fine when facing low-level Transcendents, but if he encountered a Transcendent with stronger strength or senses, they would likely be able to easily detect his true power.

For example, Borton had detected his strength just after he had advanced to an Elementary Knight.

Because he realized this, Nie Ning had not been to the Hervis Family knight training grounds during this period.

After all, there was an Elementary Knight at the peak stage there, and his path of stealing skills was cut off because of that.

Besides that, hiding one's aura had other benefits.

It could dilute his aura, making it harder for animals with sensitive senses of smell to detect him, and it also helped him do other things in secret.

Moreover, being strong easily attracts disputes; being a small, invisible person meant no one would care.

...

The Breath Condensation Technique is a method for controlling vital energy and Dou Qi, and it is not difficult to learn.

After trying a few times, Nie Ning was already able to control it preliminarily.

And by suppressing the intensity of his vital energy, he could mask the energy fluctuations emitted by his Seed of Dou Qi, which could make him appear as an ordinary person to others.

"Not bad, I can happily go to the training grounds to steal skills again."

Feeling the faint fluctuations of blood energy within his body, a smile appeared on Nie Ning's face.

The Hervis Family knights possessed a movement technique called Shadow Gliding Steps, and he had only learned a tiny bit of it when stealing skills before.

Now that he could hide his aura, he could go to the training grounds openly without worrying about being discovered by that peak-stage Elementary Knight.

After all, who would trouble a deaf-mute?

...

Early morning.

Nie Ning climbed off the straw mat after sleeping for only about two hours.

Although the time was short, with the physical fitness of an Elementary Knight, not sleeping for three days was not a big deal.

Because he had already eaten a large pot of meat, Nie Ning didn't eat breakfast; he hurriedly put on his clothes and walked toward the training grounds.

The Hervis Family is not a large family in Ska City, but they have quite a few people; there are over thirty servants alone.

Nie Ning met many people along the way, and this was where the benefits of being a deaf-mute were demonstrated.

If he met them head-on, he would wave to greet them; if someone called from behind, he would pretend not to hear and ignore them directly.

Moreover, Nie Ning's image at this time was that of a dull and slow-witted person.

Helping him was fine, but if they deliberately made things difficult for him, then they couldn't blame him for causing trouble.

Plus, since he was Lilith's attendant, it was hard for others to find fault with him even if they wanted to. Over time, most people simply regarded him as a lucky, invisible person.

...

The training ground was an open space covering three mu, filled with many training equipments.

As the knight training ground of the Hervis Family, outsiders were originally not allowed to enter, let alone servants like Nie Ning.

That's why one must say Lilith is beautiful and kind-hearted.

Back then, Nie Ning had been beaten up by other meddlesome servants because he came here.

And Lilith, seeing that his physique was too weak, allowed Nie Ning to exercise in the training ground.

Furthermore, as a 'deaf-mute', many things cannot be learned just by looking, and not everyone can become a knight.

Knights require cultivation aptitude and resources; a Strong Physique only shortens the time it takes to become a knight.

With all these reasons combined, Nie Ning successfully managed to sneak in.

...

At this moment, only three young Knight Apprentices were training in the field.

After seeing Nie Ning enter, the three knights stopped training one after another and waved to Nie Ning with smiles on their faces.

It wasn't because they were on good terms, but because whenever they felt the training was hard, seeing Nie Ning's clumsy training methods would give them an inexplicable sense of achievement, making them feel much more pleasant both physically and mentally.

Nie Ning responded with a happy, goofy grin and a wave.

"Haven't seen you for a long time, what have you been doing lately?"

A Knight Apprentice came to Nie Ning's side and asked using sign language.

Knights have strong learning abilities; simple sign language could not stump them.

Nie Ning responded using sign language that he hadn't been feeling well lately and had been busy helping Lilith with tasks, so he hadn't had time to come.

Still the omnipotent Lilith.

Once this excuse was out, everything became logical, and the three knights didn't feel there was anything wrong with it.