Chapter 8: Chapter 8

Before long, the arguing inside the house subsided. Then Ron saw Jason emerge carrying a wooden tray piled high with roasted meat and sit down beside him.

Meeting Ron’s inquiring gaze, Jason showed a rare flicker of embarrassment on his face, but still said honestly, “I didn’t realize your talent was this good before. Last night I carelessly promised Liya that I’d talk you out of joining the territory guard, and now,”

Jason didn’t finish the rest, but Ron understood completely. He was about to ask why Jason had brought out a plate of roasted meat when Jason had already waved for him to start eating.

“Eat first. I’ll explain while you eat.”

“Alright!”

Ron was indeed eyeing this roasted meat rich in Transcendent Factors. If not for the beef Liya had brought last night, he definitely wouldn’t have been able to formulate the 【Comprehensive Body Refinement Technique】.

Thinking of the Comprehensive Body Refinement Technique, Ron suddenly realized something: could the process he had discovered through his Light Orb, the “body undergoing changes due to the influence of Transcendent Factors,” be exactly what Jason called “Life Energy circulation”?

If that were the case, then could the “exceptional talent” Jason spoke of not actually be his talent at all, but merely the 【Comprehensive Body Refinement Technique】?

At this thought, Ron grew anxious once more. He could guess that Jason feeding him meat right now was certainly not as simple as Liya bringing roasted beef last night. There was likely some kind of test or verification behind it.

If he didn’t use the 【Comprehensive Body Refinement Technique】, would he still be able to leave traces of so-called “Life Energy circulation” in Jason’s eyes?

But if he did use it, Ron worried about arousing unnecessary suspicion.

Still, at this point, hesitation wasn’t Ron’s style. He decisively chose to activate it. At worst, he would eat a bit more meat and improve his physical condition a little further.

“Go ahead and talk, Uncle Jason, I’m listening!”

Ron devoured the meat in big bites while simultaneously executing the 【Comprehensive Body Refinement Technique】 program on the surface of his Light Orb. Like the mysterious patterns representing “Ron,” the 【Comprehensive Body Refinement Technique】 was also a two-sided existence.

It could be realized through actual physical exercise in reality, or it could be achieved by directly driving the specific set of mysterious pattern changes on the Light Orb’s surface, the so-called 【Comprehensive Body Refinement Technique】 program.

Right now, he was using the latter method.

And compared to physical exercise in reality, Ron much preferred this approach of body refinement that could be done while simply sitting. If the “exceptional talent” Jason spoke of was indeed the 【Comprehensive Body Refinement Technique】, then he could actually push that talent even higher!

…

“The so-called Life Energy is not actually a genuinely existing energy, at least based on my current understanding, that is indeed the case.

“The way I see it, Life Energy should be a manifestation of transcendent power circulating within a Knight’s body. It’s like when I fan the air with my hand: my hand is the transcendent power, and the wind it generates is the Life Energy.”

At this point, Jason paused briefly. Seizing the gap, Ron quickly asked, “Then what is transcendent power?”

“Transcendent power!” A flicker of confusion passed through Jason’s eyes. “Honestly, I don’t know what it is either. I can only confirm that it exists and that we can harness it. In truth, every one of us has transcendent power within our bodies. Being able to effectively utilize it makes one a 【Transcendent】. Knights are the most common type of 【Transcendent】 in the Kingdom of Helios.”

“Are there other types of Transcendents?”

“There definitely are, but I’ve never seen one.”

Then Jason continued explaining Life Energy to Ron. He pressed one hand against Ron’s back, moving it as he asked:

“After eating this meat, can you feel a warm current flowing throughout your body?”

“Yes, is that Life Energy?”

“Of course not. Didn’t I just say that Life Energy isn’t a genuinely existing energy? It’s a hypothetical energy. At the very least, it’s not something you can perceive right now. The warm current you’re feeling is actually the effect that the gathering of transcendent power has on your body.”

Jason’s words essentially gave an official stamp of approval to Ron’s research from last night.

So it wasn’t just him who couldn’t directly perceive transcendent power, even with the aid of his miraculous Light Orb perspective. Even the local Knights who could harness transcendent power couldn’t perceive it directly either. They could only passively confirm the accumulation of transcendent power through their bodies’ reactions.

“What about Life Energy then?” Ron asked again.

“The process of that warm current you perceived fading has already produced Life Energy. It’s just that you can’t yet accurately sense Life Energy’s presence.”

With that, Jason withdrew the hand he had pressed against Ron’s back. “Even though you can’t perceive it, Life Energy is indeed already at work. After you finished that roasted beef last night, didn’t you notice your strength increase?”

“Well,”

“Stop hemming and hawing. Increased strength comes from a stronger body. With a few days left before the territory guard recruitment, let me see just how strong your talent really is!”

“Huh?”

“What do you mean, huh! Come inside with me. It’s freezing out here, is sitting out here really comfortable?”

With that, Jason stood up first and headed for the door, taking the tray of roasted meat with him. Ron froze for a moment, then realized what Jason had just meant and quickly followed.

At the doorway, Jason suddenly turned back and lowered his voice for Ron alone. “Remember, don’t bring up anything related to transcendent power once we’re inside.”

“Mm.”

Just as Ron was wondering whether this was a territory regulation or something else, Jason seemed to read his confusion and quickly added:

“I don’t want them dragged into such dangerous matters. These things are for us men to handle!”

Fair enough!

So Jason had a bit of a macho streak. Though Ron didn’t agree with it inwardly, he sensibly nodded. Besides, his understanding of transcendent power and the territory guard was far inferior to Jason’s, so there was no need to be contrarian.

…

Entering the house, Ron noticed that the layout of Jason’s home was somewhat different from his own. It had two additional partitions, creating two small rooms within what would otherwise have been a single open wooden cabin.

They were situated at opposite ends of the cabin, with a space in the middle near the fireplace that served triple duty as a storage room, dining area, and living room. At that moment, Liya and her mother Mary were sitting by the fireplace warming themselves.

Seeing her father come in, Liya seemed somewhat upset and deliberately turned her head away. But her eyes couldn’t help darting toward the doorway, and when she caught sight of Ron, a hint of joy flickered across her face.

“Ron will be joining the territory guard in a few days. He’ll be eating at our house during that time. His talent is excellent, and it was my neglect that held him back. Help him build up his strength these next few days.

“Mary, help roast some meat for Ron. Liya, you make sure he eats. If he can’t eat anymore, send him outside to shovel snow. When he can eat again, he comes back in. I’m heading to the captain’s place to get some extra beef for him.”

Jason delegated the tasks and left immediately. It was unclear whether he was genuinely in a rush to find meat for Ron or simply escaping his daughter’s accusatory glare.

With Jason gone, Ron suddenly felt a bit awkward. Fortunately, Liya’s mother spoke up in time, easing his discomfort. “You silly boy, come sit over here by the fireplace, it’s warm over here.”

She then called to Liya, “Help Ron reheat all this meat. It’s so cold outside, it must have gone completely cold by now. And don’t blame your father for going back on his word. If Ron has talent, he should become a Knight.

“Something I never told you before: every time your father goes out on a mission, I’m on pins and needles at home. I wish more than anything that I could become a Knight too and fight alongside him.”