Chapter 103: A Knight at Last

Chapter 103: Chapter 103: A Knight at Last

That evening, the Ferren Family’s home was filled with laughter and joy.

Vili was taking Vilia to Baron Kels’s banquet for the New Year, so this was essentially their family’s New Year’s Eve dinner.

Taking advantage of the lively atmosphere, Lake had a few extra drinks. By the end, his mind was hazy, and he was helped back to his room by Mrs. Shaven.

The three siblings, Vili, Sopps, and Vilia, ate and joked around, enjoying the warmth of their family bond.

As night fell, everyone returned to their own rooms.

Vili lay in bed, tossing and turning, not the least bit sleepy.

He sat up, shook his head in resignation, got dressed, and headed outside.

’Since I can’t sleep, I might as well not waste time. I’ll practice the Frost Knight Breathing Technique.’

He opened the door, and a frigid wind whipped against him. Even Vili couldn’t help but shiver.

In the pitch-black courtyard, Wally was already asleep in his bear den. As for the two Earth Medicine Rats, they had been placed by the indoor stove; otherwise, they surely would have frozen to death.

The nights in Fandou Village were very quiet, with only the occasional sound of a dog barking, which would quickly fade away.

Vili stretched his body, then calmed his mind and slowly began to integrate the breathing method with the Combined Techniques once more.

After receiving the 0.3 Attribute Value reward from the Junior-level Blacksmith title, Vili had added it all to his Intelligence. His Intelligence Value, now a high 4.3, had further accelerated his progress in practicing the Frost Knight Breathing Technique, which was now ninety percent complete.

Vili’s movements were slow, his breathing rhythmic and steady.

Slowly, Vili suddenly felt a warmth spreading through his body, starting from the soles of his feet and creeping toward the crown of his head.

Vili felt a sudden jolt. He had never experienced this sensation before.

Sensing what was happening, he instantly focused his mind, calmed his emotions, and continued to practice the Frost Knight Breathing Technique as he remembered it.

Vili performed one complex series of movements after another, his faint breaths turning into white puffs in the cold night air.

WHOOSH!

Just as he completed the final movement, Vili suddenly felt a torrent of hot energy erupt from his abdomen.

"This..."

A look of delighted surprise appeared in Vili’s eyes.

’Fighting Spirit! This is the Fighting Spirit described in the Frost Knight Breathing Technique!’

The next moment, the Title Attribute Panel appeared in Vili’s vision.

"Acquired the first wisp of Fighting Spirit. Title acquired: [Junior Knight]. Reward: 3 attribute points."

"Upon acquiring the [Junior Knight] title, your first wisp of Fighting Spirit will undergo a qualitative and quantitative leap, making you the strongest Junior Knight of your rank. You will also master all the usage and combat techniques for basic-level Fighting Spirit."

[Vili Ferren—Constitution: 4; Intelligence: 4.3; Remaining attribute points: 3]

’A Junior Knight! I’ve finally been promoted!’

Vili was ecstatic.

Immediately after, Vili felt that wisp of Fighting Spirit suddenly expand, rapidly filling his entire body. At the same time, the quality of the Fighting Spirit grew increasingly pure.

Waves of memories flooded Vili’s mind, causing a swelling sensation in his head.

It had been a long time since he’d felt this way when receiving an Ability from the Title Attribute Panel.

Vili found it hard to describe his current state in words. It felt like a rebirth, or perhaps a transformation of his very life form.

"Almost three months... I finally did it..."

The joy in Vili’s eyes still hadn’t faded.

Although three months felt like a long time to Vili, for other Cultivators, producing the first wisp of Fighting Spirit in just three months was a miracle in itself. Only a genius among geniuses could achieve such a feat.

Take Bamos, for example. He had practiced the Frost Knight Breathing Technique for several years but still hadn’t managed to condense his first wisp of Fighting Spirit. As for someone like Vili, who had directly reached the peak of the Junior Knight level while also mastering all its combat techniques, that was simply unheard of.

Vili took a deep breath, calming his racing heart.

He held out his palm and, with a thought, manipulated the Fighting Spirit inside him, gathering it in his hand.

Vili picked up a stone from the courtyard and squeezed it gently. The stone first crumbled into gravel, then turned to dust.

"So this is the power of a Knight..."

Even Vili himself had a look of awe in his eyes.

His Constitution hadn’t increased at all, but when enhanced by Fighting Spirit, his strength had undergone an earth-shattering change.

This was Extraordinary Power. This was the Fighting Spirit exclusive to Knights.

"No wonder they say a Knight’s Power is an Extraordinary Power. This truly surpasses the limits of the human body."

A Knight’s promotion didn’t change their Constitution, but rather the way they acquired strength. Mortals relied on physical stamina, while Knights relied on Fighting Spirit.

Vili let the dust fall from his hand and clapped his palms together.

’The attribute points reward this time is a full 3 points.’

’If I were to put all 3 of these points into either Constitution or Intelligence, the stat would nearly double. This is an incredibly generous reward.’

Vili thought for a moment but still couldn’t decide where to allocate the attribute points.

’According to the current promotion path, as a Knight advances, the quality of their Fighting Spirit improves, but their Constitution doesn’t change much. So, based on the information I have now, increasing my Constitution seems to have little use.’

’Even if my Constitution doubled again, it would be insignificant compared to the enhancement from Fighting Spirit.’

’But this attribute point system can’t be that simple. If it were, the Constitution Value would be a useless metric, and the Title Attribute Panel shouldn’t have such a flaw.’

’Could it be that acquiring certain titles in the future is linked to Constitution?’

Vili pondered this but couldn’t come up with an answer for the time being.

’But I won’t dwell on it. I’ll figure it out eventually. In any case, I’ve already been promoted to Junior Knight, so there’s no rush to spend all my attribute points.’

"What a wonderful night."

Vili looked up at the countless stars, a smile touching the corners of his lips.

He was about to go back inside when he saw the door to Wally’s wooden den suddenly open.

Wally stared eagerly at Vili, his tongue hanging out, and nuzzled up against Vili’s leg.

"Did you sense my promotion?"

Vili gently stroked Wally’s head.

As a mutated beast very close to becoming a Bronze Level Magical Beast, it wasn’t strange that Wally could sense the change in him.

"Go back to sleep."

Vili patted the back of Wally’s head.

Wally seemed reluctant, appearing to really like the aura Vili was now giving off.

Vili chuckled and scratched his head. "Well, in that case, let’s go for a walk."

Vili was full of energy, brimming with strength; he wouldn’t be able to sleep even if he went back to his room.

Hearing Vili’s voice, Wally excitedly rolled around in the snow-covered courtyard.

Man and bear quietly left the house and, bathed in the moonlight, roamed the silent Fandou Village.