293: Chapter 293 Fourth-Order Rune Knight

After returning to the basement, Nie Ning opened the cloth bag and took a look; it contained 150 mid-grade magic crystals.

"A bit stingy, isn't it?"

Nie Ning curled his lip and transferred the magic crystals inside into his spatial ring.

That being said, it was actually quite a lot.

After all, he had been scammed quite badly at the tavern that time. If things had just been left at that, with his habit of spending money like water, his family assets would probably have been mostly sold off by now.

It was also fortunate that he killed two Rank Fours; otherwise, he would have ended up on the path of begging for food.

...

...

Nie Ning calmed his mind, then sat down in the cultivation room to begin breaking through his Knight rank.

Unlike before, the breakthrough for a Rune Knight shared similar subtleties with that of a Wizard.

Upon reaching this stage, wanting to become stronger could no longer rely solely on the power of blood and qi.

Because human strength is ultimately limited and far less powerful than the power of heaven and earth, runes were the most direct way to obtain that worldly power.

After all, Wizards' research into runes had continued for countless ages.

From a traditional perspective, there weren't many ways for a Knight to grow stronger; one method was transplanting organs from strange beasts to obtain the power within their bloodlines.

The rejection of strange beast bloodlines was very strong, and the mortality rate for transplanting strange beast organs was as high as over 70 percent.

Excluding the option of organ transplantation, continuing to nourish one's own blood and qi was also a way to become stronger.

Not to mention it was time-consuming and laborious, once one grew old, it was already good enough to ensure that blood and qi didn't decline; maintaining it could only rely on the help of heavenly treasures.

But snatching heavenly treasures from the hands of Wizards was no different from seeking death.

Even though Knights had developed for so many years, no one dared to say they could contend with Wizards.

Furthermore, Rune Knights were actually one of the products of Wizard experiments.

It was just that in the past, no one had ever standardized or summarized it; Wizards merely treated it as one of their research subjects to obtain a powerful servant.

Of course, one could also join the Church.

The Church had Paladins whose source of power was usually linked to deities, but they still remained within the scope of Knights.

...

As the Dou Qi circulated within Nie Ning's body, the Seed of Dou Qi bloomed once more like a flower bud.

For a Rune Knight to advance, they had to engrave corresponding runes onto the Seed of Dou Qi.

And while runes were ever-changing and numerous in variety, not every one of them was suitable for a body of flesh and blood.

Currently, the main classifications of runes were fourfold.

Blood and Qi, Physical Body, Agility, and Burst.

Blood and Qi referred to physical strength and the endurance of the internal organs; Physical Body referred to the toughness of flesh and bone; Agility referred to reaction speed and physical flexibility; and Burst referred to the power displayed by Dou Qi.

In fact, there were many more categories under finer subdivision, such as specifically enhancing the heart, kidneys, and so on.

Or adding certain special abilities, such as attaching sharpness or explosive impact attributes to Dou Qi.

Rune Knights had areas of focus and would adjust according to individual needs.

One could choose to focus on physical defense, blood and qi burst, or a balanced route.

Usually, Knights prioritized increasing the intensity of their Dou Qi, because Dou Qi could enhance all aspects of the body's attributes in an all-around way.

However, most Knights made their choices based on their primary cultivation technique.

In this regard, Nie Ning was in a rather awkward position.

Because his Supernatural Adaptability was too strong, it caused Knight cultivation methods to become tools for breaking through; Nie Ning wasn't picky at all, as long as it could be cultivated, it was fine.

While there were many choices for a Rune Knight's breakthrough, for Nie Ning, there was only one path to take.

For blood and qi, he had the Power of a Hundred Beasts; Nie Ning only complained that his blood and qi were too exuberant, to the point that he was almost losing his most enjoyable activity: sleeping.

Regarding his physical body, he had the Strange Beast Body; the ability combined from strange beast genes was beyond doubt, powerful enough that he didn't even need to actively learn defensive sorcery.

As for Agility, he was a Wizard and possessed Thought Acceleration and Spiritual Power amplification; if he were any faster, his physical body wouldn't be able to keep up with the reaction speed of his Spiritual Power.

His physical flexibility was supported by the Power of a Hundred Beasts and the Strange Beast Body, so there was absolutely no need for further enhancement.

The awkward part was that Nie Ning's demand for Dou Qi was also not high.

Its destructive power couldn't compare to sorcery; Dou Qi was usually only used to increase physical strength.

If it weren't for the fact that the crystal core provided blood and qi feedback and the Power of a Hundred Beasts also enhanced his blood and qi, Nie Ning would have considered giving up the path of a Knight.

...

Previously in the Transcendent World, Nie Ning had purchased a type of Rune Construct called the Mountain-Crushing Force.

It mainly enhanced the toughness and defensive power of Dou Qi, providing a decent strength bonus and destructive power.

Of course, the main reason was that it was cheap and economical.

Something everyone chose was naturally a good thing.

Although there were stronger ones, for just a ten percent increase in power, they would dare to raise the price by dozens or even hundreds of times!

Mountain-Crushing Force cost 30 mid-grade magic crystals, but there was a Rune Construct called Earth-Shaking Force that dared to ask him for 1,500 mid-grade magic crystals for a mere 8% more amplification!

This was only because it was in the virtual world; if it were the real world, Nie Ning would have beaten them so hard their own mother wouldn't recognize them!

After weighing the pros and cons, Nie Ning didn't choose to pay an extra 1,500 mid-grade magic crystals for it; instead, he spent 100 mid-grade magic crystals to have Qian Ning help modify it.

The effect was very good; Qian Ning managed to create a Rune Construct with an extra 8% amplification.

After carefully observing the format of the Rune Construct, Nie Ning seriously suspected whether Qian Ning had paid out of his own pocket to buy the Earth-Shaking Force Rune Construct for him.

...

Under Nie Ning's mobilization, his vigorous blood and qi transformed into a runic brush, using the petals of the Seed of Dou Qi as paper to paint a red Rune Construct.

It was even easier than a Wizard's breakthrough to Rank Four; his powerful blood and qi allowed him to easily draw what he needed.

Everything proceeded in an orderly fashion, with no accidents occurring during the process.

The blood-red lines engraved upon the Seed of Dou Qi exuded a strange sense of beauty.

And the moment the Rune Construct was finished, the energy within the Seed of Dou Qi began to sweep through Nie Ning's body, causing his flesh, bones, and internal organs to begin a transformation.

It felt as if his body were growing, accompanied by a sour, itchy sensation and bursts of stinging pain.

The restless blood and qi began to flow back, slowly transforming into Dou Qi to wash over the Seed of Dou Qi, making it even more pure.

Nie Ning immersed himself in the pleasure of his physical body becoming stronger.

...

Time trickled by, and in the blink of an eye, three days had passed.

Due to the blood and qi in his body being too powerful, the time required for the breakthrough was also longer than Nie Ning had anticipated.

Nie Ning slowly opened his eyes.

He clenched his fists; the powerful strength made Nie Ning feel a bit uncomfortable.

However, as a Wizard, it didn't take long for him to become familiar with this power.

As the Dou Qi within his body was activated, faint white lines flickered on the surface of the translucent Dou Qi surrounding him.

Compared to before, the toughness of his Dou Qi had increased significantly.

And with the addition of these Rune Constructs, a Knight's magic resistance would rise substantially.

Although it couldn't provide complete immunity to sorcery damage, his survivability had improved by a level; even if he encountered a strange beast of the same rank, he would have a higher margin for error.

It was only at this point that the Knight profession truly underwent a complete transformation.

...