Radiant Sword Technique

Old Hans could barely contain his excitement.

Although his feet were soaking in the icy river water and had gone somewhat numb from the cold, he had salvaged magical pearls for the lord!

He knew perfectly well that his position as the estate foreman was secure now.

Hadn't the lord personally instructed the butler to bring him a steaming cup of milk tea? This was delicious milk tea that only noble lords got to drink. It was said to contain not only fresh milk and sugar, but also chocolate sauce, honey, cinnamon powder, and even brandy.

It was fragrant, sweet, and enticing. One sip made his whole body feel warm.

"Good heavens, praise the lord, this is delicious! I've never drunk anything this good in my life." Black Pete, the Tunic Chief of Barley Tunic, let out a groan-like exclamation of praise.

"The lord really is the very best lord!" said One-Eyed Boris, the Tunic Chief of Wheat Tunic, beside him with great satisfaction.

"Of course the lord is the very best lord." The plump cook came over carrying a kettle. "Not only did he let you warm yourselves by the stove, he even told me to refill your milk tea. The lord is simply far too generous to you serfs!"

"Thank you, Mrs. Moore."

The men had originally been reluctant to drink their milk tea, but when they saw they could get refills, they no longer cared that it might scald their mouths. They drained their cups in one gulp, then held them out and stared eagerly at the kettle in the cook's hand.

"Uncle Boris, you found pearls for the lord, right? What are pearls?" asked the kitchen maid feeding coal into the stove. "Do they grow inside river clams? Are they a kind of gemstone?"

"Ah, you're Barbara, aren't you?" One-Eyed Boris recognized the busy kitchen maid. "Old Barton's girl?"

"Yes."

"You've grown so much. Old Barton said you worked at Fluorite Castle. I didn't expect you'd come back to the estate with the lord."

Barbara grinned. Her freckled face became especially lively, and her pair of tiger teeth were particularly eye-catching. "I wanted to be closer to home. Uncle Boris, you still haven't told me what pearls are."

"Pearls..." One-Eyed Boris actually had no idea what pearls were. He had handled river clams his entire life, yet this was also his first time seeing pearls inside one. Still, that did not stop him from boasting. "Pearls are gemstones from the water. Let me tell you, noble lords love pearls most of all!"

As they drank milk tea and traded tall tales, the boiler room was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

"Barbara, stop chatting and go fetch a bucket of water! We still have a whole pile of river clams and field snails to wash!" the cook called from the kitchen.

Barbara hurriedly got up. "I'll go right away, Mrs. Moore."

"Be quick about it. Act like someone who knows how to work."

"Yes, Mrs. Moore."

At the same time.

In the hall of the estate's annex, five silvery-white pearls lay on the table. Russell, Charles, and Eric sat around it.

"The magic within them isn't very abundant, and they're inferior to gemstones. However, compared to the excessively violent magic inside gemstones, the magic in pearls is gentler. Perhaps they can be used to make Magic Potion," Eric offered his opinion.

He was the only Great Knight in the entire estate, one rank above an Armored Knight. His Battle Aura had already passed through every meridian in his body.

All he needed was to contract a Phantom Beast before advancing to Phantom Beast Knight.

"It's a pity there are only five pearls. Russell, I think it would be better to treat them as jewelry and save them for gifts," Charles said.

Gemstone mines nourished by dragons could yield a considerable number of gemstones, and that was what created immense economic value.

A single giant river clam unexpectedly producing five pearls was indeed rare, but their true value was not high.

Russell, however, was thoughtful. "Teachers, since river clams can produce pearls, do you think we could cultivate pearls artificially?"

"Artificial cultivation?" Charles shook his head. "Russell, that's a bit far-fetched. Pearls are gifts from heaven, not magical herbs. How could they possibly be cultivated artificially... The Baron Lord sends people into the river every year to catch freshwater produce, yet no one has ever seen a river clam produce pearls."

Eric nodded along.

Russell was not surprised. Previously, none of the river clams in the Glimmering River had produced pearls, so naturally no one would think of cultivating them.

But the knowledge of a transmigrator told Russell that pearls could be cultivated artificially.

He did not know the specific method, but he did know a little about how pearls formed. When the soft body of a shellfish was invaded by a foreign object, it secreted nacre to wrap around it. Over time, this formed a pearl.

Perhaps pearls can be cultivated artificially, he thought to himself, but he did not say it aloud for now.

After all, this was another world, and pearls were magical creations. Whether pearls could truly be cultivated artificially was hard to say.

Besides, cultivating pearls was not the urgent matter at hand.

After signaling Butler Morris to put away the five pearls, he followed Eric to begin that day's morning knight training.

"Radiant Sword Technique is the most suitable for you to practice, my lord." Eric held a refined steel longsword in both hands. Surging Battle Aura flowed into the blade, and faint ripples like steam visibly drifted from its edge. "Its killing power is formidable, and it is also best suited for breaking through barriers."

Russell likewise held a refined steel longsword in both hands, following beside Eric as he learned every move of the Radiant Sword Technique.

Eric was usually a man of few words, but when teaching, he was exceptionally thorough and patient. "With every move and every form, what we seek is not merely power. We must also carefully sense the connection between Battle Aura and the forms, then use the forms to drive Battle Aura through barriers!"

Hah!

Eric slashed with his sword, and a faint sword gleam like steam flew directly from the blade, traveling more than three meters through the air.

"With this move, the Battle Aura will be drawn by the form to break through the meridians in your hands. My lord, it will be enough for you to focus on practicing this move today."

"Alright!"

Russell nodded, then repeatedly performed the move. The refined steel longsword sliced through the air, but no sword gleam emerged.

The previous Russell's desperate breakthrough had indeed caused the Battle Qi Seed to bloom, granting him true Battle Aura.

However, his Battle Aura only flowed through the body's major meridians, barely forming a Lesser Heavenly Cycle that nourished his body and strengthened his physique. He could not, like Eric, pour Battle Aura into a weapon and release such dazzling sword gleams.

Only when his Battle Aura continuously grew stronger, then broke through the meridians throughout his limbs and body, opening every meridian to form a Greater Heavenly Cycle.

Could he wield it as easily as an arm and release sword gleams at will.

At that point, he would also advance from Armored Knight to Great Knight.

Whoosh.

Whoosh.

Russell swung every sword stroke earnestly, never relaxing in the slightest even when he was drenched in sweat.

With every swing, a thread of Battle Aura within his body was drawn out from the major meridians, charging toward the meridians in his hands and gradually carving out new branching pathways.

He did not feel tired at all, only amazed and exhilarated!

Cultivating Battle Aura really does feel a little like martial arts. Occasionally, his mind wandered to random thoughts. Though in my case, I probably opened the Conception and Governing Vessels first, then started carving out the Eight Extraordinary Meridians and the Twelve Standard Meridians...