Chapter 121: Chapter 121
The birth of a new Formal Knight was considered a major event in Sis Territory, so much so that even the Martial Tournament, specifically organized for pre-battle advancement, came to a brief halt.
Everyone gathered at Bell Tower Square offered their congratulations to the newly promoted Knight Chris. Messengers were dispatched to inform those who had already left the square, ensuring the entire territory erupted in celebration and cheers for Chris.
Ron felt genuinely happy for Chris. Not only did he see a reflection of his own future advancement in the man, but Chris also represented the epitome of the ordinary person.
Ron’s so-called exceptional talent was largely a byproduct of his special form after transmigration. His only real advantage was the knowledge he brought from Earth, and even that was not an achievement he could claim solely for himself.
In his own eyes, he was just an ordinary guy.
Therefore, seeing a fellow ordinary person like Chris make such progress brought a smile to his face from the bottom of his heart.
It was just a pity that Chris’s method of advancement could not be popularized, and pure luck was even harder to replicate. In contrast, Ron’s research into Secret Patterns possessed far greater universal applicability.
Yet, the massive chasm between Order and Chaos still pressed down on him like a crushing weight.
However, even if Pollution Secret Patterns carried unknown risks and could never be accepted by the mainstream, there was still the path of Transcendent Secret Patterns manifested through the Knight’s Path on the side of Order.
Since Pollution Secret Patterns could shape Transcendent abilities such as 【Perspective】, there was no reason Transcendent Secret Patterns could not do the same. The abilities manifested might not be completely identical to those forged by Pollution Secret Patterns, but analogous powers surely existed.
Ron strongly suspected that the so-called Bloodline Abilities were merely specific combinations of these Transcendent Secret Patterns.
If that were true, he would possess a tremendous advantage over others when he reached the Intermediate Knight stage.
…
The brief celebration for Chris concluded swiftly. The territory’s primary focus remained the impending decisive battle against the cultists, making the Martial Tournament, designed to prepare for this clash, the absolute top priority.
With Chris standing as a living, breathing example, the subsequent quasi-Knight duels grew incredibly fierce. Everyone desperately wanted to become the next Chris, but tragically, by the time dusk fell, no second new Knight had emerged.
Because the Sources of Chaos became far more active after dark, the territory typically ceased all outdoor activities, forcing a temporary suspension of the tournament.
Early the next morning, the very same crowd gathered once more at Bell Tower Square.
However, today’s matches proved just as fruitless as the ones following Chris’s breakthrough yesterday. Right up until the moment Ron stepped into the arena, no additional Knights were born.
“My father is watching you! Give it your all; if you perform well, he might just have an extra reward for you!”
As the two combatants exchanged salutes, Foss suddenly winked at Ron, utilizing his Bloodline Ability to transmit a private message directly into Ron’s mind. Catching the cue, Ron subconsciously glanced toward the Lord of Sis seated in the northern stands and gave an imperceptible nod to signal his understanding.
Despite harboring some suspicions about the Lord of Sis, Ron knew that unless he blatantly displayed a Perfect Sword Stance, any performance he put on would look like children playing house in the eyes of a Senior Knight.
And he certainly had no intention of revealing a Perfect Sword Stance. He went out of his way to hide his true capabilities during regular training, let alone putting on a display right in front of a Senior Knight.
The Full-Immersion Knight State was merely an effect generated by his Secret Pattern Programs, not his actual level of mastery. But even so, openly demonstrating it carried unpredictable risks.
At least based on the information Ron had gathered so far, even those born with a Transcendent Bloodline only became significantly stronger after becoming Knights. The actual process of becoming a Knight was largely the same for them as it was for ordinary people.
According to Instructor Morris, he had virtually never heard of anyone managing to become a Formal Knight in just one month. The rumors of people advancing to Knighthood the moment they came of age were heavily skewed; in reality, those prodigies had likely undergone rigorous Knight training long before reaching adulthood.
Because the body was still growing rapidly before adulthood, it was unsuitable for Transcendent enhancement. Only after physical development slowed or completely stopped could one begin optimal physical reinforcement.
Skipping the enhancement did not mean skipping Knight training. The key to advancing as a Knight lay in mastering the Sword Stance. The essence of this mastery was complete bodily control, uniting all physical strength into a unified Whole-Body Force.
This process did not actually require the direct involvement of Transcendent Power. Theoretically, any ordinary person could achieve it; they simply lacked a body that had undergone at least one Limit Breakthrough, making them incapable of condensing a Life Seed.
Even that might not be an absolute prerequisite. It was just that, at this current stage, no method existed to help someone with a weaker constitution condense a Life Seed.
The children of prestigious noble families began their Sword Stance training from a very young age. They only started physical enhancement after coming of age, allowing them to advance to Knighthood in a remarkably short time. Attributing their success purely to innate talent was a massive fallacy.
Taking Sis Territory as an example, every single member of the Territory Guard only began their Knight training after reaching adulthood. A significant number of them had achieved notable accomplishments. From this perspective, they were in no way inferior to the scions of those wealthy noble families.
In a certain sense, they were even more outstanding.
Yet even then, not a single one of them could become a Formal Knight as quickly as Ron had, assuming Ron were to actually reveal his Perfect Sword Stance.
It had only been a little over a month!
If word of this were to spread, the entire Kingdom of Helios would be sent into an uproar.
Ron had no desire to draw that much attention. Advancing to Knighthood did not trigger any visible anomalies, nor were there any specialized detection methods for a Knight’s rank; it was typically proven only through actual combat or personal demonstration.
As long as he kept his mouth shut and hid his skills, even a Senior Knight might not notice his advancement.
Of course, he had not officially advanced just yet.
But he was getting incredibly close. In a month or two at most, he would complete his Whole-Body Force progress and achieve the Perfect Sword Stance state. Once he reached that point, advancing would naturally fall right into place.
Naturally, if the situation turned urgent, he could attempt to advance ahead of schedule. He would just have to spend extra time patching up his Whole-Body Force progress afterward. It was not a catastrophic issue, and it certainly wouldn’t permanently cripple his foundation.
…
“Ron, I’ve been wanting to seek your advice for quite a while now. But you always leave the training ground the moment your session ends, so I never found the right opportunity. I finally have the chance today, so please, instruct me!”
Most of the people in Sis Territory were descendants of refugees from the ancient eastern Kingdom of Gustara, and they had a habit of speaking in a rather euphemistic manner. When he asked for advice, he really meant he was unsatisfied and wanted to spar.
Ron never bothered to entertain people like this. In a world that idolized raw power, humility earned no respect; only sheer strength commanded reverence.
Whether it was individual might or collective military strength, possessing either was enough to force others to look up to you.
Ron currently lacked the qualifications to wield collective military strength, and his personal power was still quite limited. However, dealing with a cocky kid who had only been training for a little over a month would be no problem at all.
Holding his sword single-handedly, he twirled a casual sword flourish before leveling the tip of his blade toward Mika, who stood ten paces opposite him. His voice remained perfectly calm as he spoke:
“Let the sword do the talking!”