Chapter 40: Tier Six Iron Claw Bear, Advancing to Great Knight

Chapter 40: Chapter 40: Tier Six Iron Claw Bear, Advancing to Great Knight

’No!’

’I can’t die here!’

’I haven’t become a nobleman yet. I haven’t experienced the life of a noble. I absolutely cannot die here!’

Robinson endured the intense pain in his chest and struggled to sit up.

Although his Sea of Life and Mad Bull Seed had both been destroyed, he still had no intention of giving up.

Intense unwillingness to accept his fate and a powerful will to survive gave him a burst of strength. He slowly stood up and staggered in the direction of Bathtub Town.

His pace was slow, and every step brought excruciating pain.

Even so, he didn’t stop, continuously forcing himself forward.

Cold sweat, born from the pain, soon beaded on his forehead.

As the adrenaline faded, his legs began to tremble uncontrollably.

After another dozen or so steps, he lost his balance, completely drained of strength, and collapsed to the ground with a THUD.

Even though he had fallen, he still didn’t give up. Using his hands and feet, he struggled to crawl forward.

Just then, a voice came from behind him.

"The more you struggle, the faster you’ll die."

The speaker was none other than Roy.

The four men, including Matthew, who had split up to flee, had not escaped his pursuit.

His speed far surpassed theirs, and he had caught up to them without much effort.

Given the enormous gap in their strength, there was only one outcome for Matthew’s group once he caught them: death.

Upon hearing Roy’s voice, Robinson stopped crawling. He pushed off the ground with both hands, using his last ounce of strength to turn over. He looked at Roy, a stunned expression on his face.

Roy had already removed the black cloth from his face, revealing his true identity.

After a few seconds, he spoke slowly in a weak voice, "You’re the Dark Night Knight, aren’t you?"

Roy didn’t answer, simply standing there and watching Robinson in silence.

Although Roy hadn’t admitted it, Robinson took his silence as confirmation and continued to speak:

"You hid it so well. You fooled everyone!"

"No one would have ever guessed that Roy Wesley, who only started his Cultivation Breathing Technique before his coming-of-age ceremony, would be the Dark Night Knight!"

"Don’t waste your energy interrogating me. I won’t say a thing."

Robinson looked away, lying on the ground and gazing up at the night sky. He had the air of someone who was ready for death, to be dealt with as his captor saw fit.

After sizing Robinson up, Roy spoke unhurriedly:

"It’s a little too early to be saying things like that."

"But since you’re so certain you won’t talk, I’m curious to see if you’re really that tough."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Roy retrieved the Ghoul’s Fang from Chaos Square.

’Compared to a Cross Sword, a Dagger is much better suited for interrogating enemies!’

Roy knelt in front of Robinson, holding the Ghoul’s Fang, and continued, "This is my first time interrogating an enemy. I hope you can give me a few surprises!"

Without any hesitation, he immediately began interrogating Robinson.

He was mentally prepared for Robinson to say nothing at all.

However, Robinson’s willpower wasn’t as strong as he had claimed.

In less than a minute, Robinson broke.

The rest was simple.

After getting the information he wanted, Roy gave Robinson a quick death, piercing his heart with the Ghoul’s Fang.

After that, he didn’t immediately return to Ice Wolf Castle. Instead, he began to dispose of the five bodies, including Robinson’s.

Half an hour later, having finished destroying all traces of the bodies, he washed his hands clean in a small forest lake and walked unhurriedly toward Ice Wolf Castle.

Roy had originally thought that Robinson and his men were sent by Count Rock Lion.

As it turned out, he had been overthinking it.

Count Rock Lion didn’t know that he had killed the Mutated Four-armed Demon Ape.

Robinson had brought Matthew and the others simply because he suspected that Tony had hired the Dark Night Knight to kill the Mutated Four-armed Demon Ape, and he wanted the Wesley Clan’s Gold Coins.

Before long, Roy was back in his bedroom on the second floor of the castle’s main tower.

After resting in his bedroom for a few minutes, he entered Chaos Square and began his Cultivation for the night.

...

Time flew by.

More than a month passed in the blink of an eye.

For the entire month, Roy didn’t go anywhere, focusing all his energy on the Cultivation of his Iron Claw Bear Breathing Technique and Purgatory Dragon Meditation Method.

「Chaos Square.」

Roy stood in the middle of Chaos Square, his entire body enveloped in a white, flame-like Fighting Qi, as he moved through one Cultivation Position after another.

After he completed another full cycle of the positions from the Inheritance Map, a notification about his Iron Claw Bear Breathing Technique upgrading appeared in his vision.

[Iron Claw Bear Breathing Technique has been upgraded!]

[Iron Claw Bear Breathing Technique: Tier Six (2/20,000)]

’It finally upgraded!’

Roy looked at the upgrade notification before him with a satisfied expression, sighing inwardly.

The Iron Claw Bear Breathing Technique advancing to Tier Six meant that he had finally broken through the limits of a Peak Knight and ascended to the rank of Great Knight.

After calming his excitement, he began to inspect his upgraded Iron Claw Bear Seed and Fighting Qi.

The Iron Claw Bear Seed, which had originally been the same size as the Ice Wolf Seed, had not only swelled significantly in volume but had also taken the centermost position in his Sea of Life.

The four Life Seeds—Ice Wolf, Giant Elephant, Black Raven, and Shadow Leopard—orbited the Iron Claw Bear Seed like satellites.

When he used his Spiritual Power to perceive the Iron Claw Bear Seed, the faint roar of an Iron Claw Bear echoed from within, as if a real Iron Claw Bear were sealed inside.

After inspecting the upgraded Iron Claw Bear Seed, he wasted no time and began to examine and control his Fighting Qi, now that he was a Great Knight.

His Fighting Qi was still the most common color: white.

Although the color hadn’t changed, both the quantity and intensity of his Fighting Qi had increased significantly.

Not only that, but his control over his Fighting Qi had also become much more deft.

Roy raised his right hand and released a portion of his Fighting Qi, enveloping his entire hand in the white, flame-like energy.

Then, he took a deep breath and began to try and condense his Fighting Qi into a dagger.

Under his control, the white, flame-like Fighting Qi began to condense and transform in a way it never had before.

In just a few short seconds, a Fighting Qi Dagger that resembled white ceramic appeared in his hand.

’Fighting Qi Substantiation!’

This was an ability one only gained after advancing to Great Knight, and it was the most classic hallmark of the rank!

Weapons formed through Fighting Qi Substantiation could not be maintained for long; they would slowly dissipate and crumble over time.

Roy didn’t waste any time. Gripping the Fighting Qi Dagger, he began to swing it around rapidly.

Upward thrust, straight stab, side thrust, diagonal left thrust, diagonal right thrust, horizontal left slash, horizontal right slash...

Forward grip, reverse grip, parry, dodge...

Even though he had no sparring partner, it didn’t affect Roy’s practice of the dagger’s basic fighting applications in the slightest.

’Light!’

’So light!’

That was Roy’s first impression upon using the Fighting Qi Dagger.

But despite its lightness, the Fighting Qi Dagger was still very easy to use, feeling no different from a metal dagger.

Not only that, but because it was a weapon condensed from his own Fighting Qi Substantiation, the Fighting Qi Dagger fit his hand perfectly, almost as if it had been custom-made.

As for the Fighting Qi Dagger’s sharpness, Roy hadn’t tested it yet.

Even without testing it, he knew that the sharpness and durability of a Fighting Qi Weapon would be no worse than a metal one.

If there was one thing he was dissatisfied with, it was that the Fighting Qi Dagger’s duration was even shorter than he had expected.

Without a continuous input of Fighting Qi, the Fighting Qi Dagger could only be maintained for about a minute.

...