I'm Laying My Cards on the Table, I'm a Genius!

Li Qi thought the incident with Beru wouldn't affect him much.

But he was clearly mistaken.

The day after Beru was rescued, people from the Guard Department came looking for Li Qi. He was taken to the Guard Department under the charge of 'Assaulting a Soldier'.

Fortunately, they were only responsible for bringing Li Qi there.

The person who actually met with Li Qi was still Bolent.

"Li Qi, ah, Li Qi, you've really given me a headache."

In a special interrogation room, Bolent shook his head helplessly at Li Qi.

Li Qi's expression remained unchanged as he said to Bolent:

"This subordinate doesn't think what I did yesterday was wrong. After all, they were the ones who made the first move."

"That is true, but do you know who the family behind Beru is?"

"I've heard something about it. I heard it's a Marquis?"

"Marquis Granger, one of the largest Nobles in the country. They control nearly a third of the country's economic lifeline, and their father, Maclay Granger, is our Minister of Finance."

Bolent briefly explained the forces behind Luca to Li Qi.

Li Qi nodded slightly, indicating he understood.

Bolent looked a little surprised at his reaction:

"You're not afraid?"

"If it were anyone else here, this subordinate would indeed be afraid, but since it's you, sir, this subordinate is not afraid."

Li Qi said sincerely, with respect for Bolent in his words.

Bolent burst into laughter. He raised a finger as if to say something to Li Qi, but in the end, he said nothing. He sighed and said:

"You kid, you really are... forget it. I originally wanted you to stay a few more days to learn some Spy techniques before going to Inglis, but now it seems you can only leave early."

Strictly speaking, the current Li Qi was not a qualified Spy.

This was because he hadn't undergone Spy training, including Cryptography, Camouflage, Reconnaissance and Counter-Reconnaissance, necessary social etiquette, and interpersonal skills... he hadn't mastered any of these.

Going directly to impersonate the son of a Noble family from an enemy country could easily lead to problems.

Bolent's original plan was to give Li Qi intensive training for the first week, then have him set off immediately, sending people to give him more detailed instruction along the way.

But now, because of what Li Qi had done, all his plans were disrupted, and he could only send Li Qi away early.

Bolent's actions made Li Qi guess something.

It was very likely that the Granger family had put pressure on Bolent to hand Li Qi over.

Frowning slightly, Li Qi thought about what he had done yesterday and asked Bolent in a low voice:

"Sir, is the matter really that serious? Logically speaking, what I did yesterday shouldn't have been excessive."

Severing Beru's limbs seemed very serious.

But in reality, with the effect of Magic Power, Beru would only need a day to reattach his limbs.

After all, Li Qi acted quickly, and the断面 of their limbs were very smooth, greatly reducing the difficulty of reattachment.

Furthermore, Beru was the one who provoked first yesterday, and the other party was a Sergeant. A low-ranking soldier challenging a high-ranking officer was inherently unreasonable.

Li Qi's actions were in self-defense, coupled with an officer disciplining a soldier. Logically, even if the Granger family was truly angry, it shouldn't be possible for them to pressure the Reformist Faction over this matter.

So Li Qi didn't quite understand why Bolent was in such a hurry to send him away.

Bolent quickly answered Li Qi's confusion:

"If it were just about Beru, of course it wouldn't be this serious."

"Then..."

"But now the Granger family's accusation against you is that you secretly learned their family's inherited Knight Skill."

Li Qi's brows instantly furrowed: "Is that very serious?"

Bolent nodded: "For the Traditional Faction Nobles, Knight Skill is the foundation of their existence. The Knight Skill of each family is their closely guarded secret. Any unauthorized learner will be pursued and punished by them.

"I don't know where you secretly learned their Knight Skill, but anyway... they are now demanding to destroy your Magic Seed and take away your right hand to ensure that their techniques are not learned by others."

In the eyes of those old-fashioned Nobles who still clung to tradition, their family's Knight Skill was the most precious treasure in the world.

Just like the internal cultivation methods of the major sects in the wuxia novels Li Qi had read, they were closely guarded secrets, and any unauthorized learner would be pursued by the disciples of that sect.

In this context, those families were the same.

They wouldn't want their Knight Skill to be passed on.

But Li Qi didn't know this.

After all, he came from humble beginnings. Besides the Magic Enhancement he developed himself, the only Knight Skills he had were Magic Entanglement learned from Mad Axe and Sword of Thunderclap learned from Beru.

Because he learned quickly, Li Qi never thought these techniques were particularly valuable, but he didn't expect the Granger family to react so strongly.

Looking at Bolent, Li Qi thought for two seconds, then suddenly asked:

"Sir, do you think so too?"

"What?"

Bolent, who was still thinking about how to send Li Qi away, didn't react for a moment.

Li Qi asked again:

"I wanted to ask if you also believe that Knight Skills are secret techniques not to be passed down, and that anyone who learns them without the family's permission should die... Do you think that?"

The question Li Qi asked seemed unrelated to what they were currently discussing, but Bolent still considered it carefully before answering:

"Li Qi, you've seen Magic Orbs, so you should understand that Firearms... and Magic Orbs that can enhance Firearms, are the future of magic.

"No matter how precious Knight Skills are, they are obsolete things that will be eliminated sooner or later. So you ask me if I think as you said? My answer is... no."

Bolent told Li Qi his thoughts.

Li Qi nodded slightly. After confirming Bolent's view on Knight Skills, he spoke frankly to him:

"Then I will also reveal something to you here. The Knight Skills of Beru's family were not something I secretly learned."

"Not?" Bolent frowned. "You mean someone from the Granger family taught you?"

Li Qi shook his head: "No, I learned that Knight Skill from Beru."

Upon hearing this, Bolent's brows furrowed even deeper.

Li Qi continued: "I have a talent that allows me to see the flow of Magic Power within other people's bodies, and the use of Knight Skills is related to the flow of Magic Power. That's why I can use Beru's Knight Skill.

"Because he used the Knight Skill in front of me, he personally showed me how to use it."

As soon as Li Qi said this, Bolent's eyes widened.

This is impossible!

Bolent really wanted to say this to Li Qi.

He felt that Li Qi was lying. After all, how could there be such a talent in this world, capable of learning any Knight Skill or magic instantly? The legendary God of Magic probably couldn't do more than that, could he?

Bolent wanted to scold Li Qi for talking such nonsense, but in the end, he didn't.

Instead, he asked Li Qi:

"...Are you telling the truth?"

"Of course."

Looking at Li Qi's confident expression, Bolent took a deep breath.

He raised his right hand, palm facing up, and extended it in front of Li Qi. Under Li Qi's gaze, the skin on his palm bulged and instantly became as hard as rock.

"Prove it to me," Bolent said seriously.

He was currently using his family's inherited Knight Skill, called Petrification, which could make his skin as hard as rock.

Before the advent of Firearms, almost no weapon could penetrate their petrified defense.

Even now, with Firearms present, a Strategic Rank Mage Master releasing Petrification could block pistol bullets at close range.

This was a formidable defensive technique.

And this kind of defensive technique was rarely mastered, even within the family behind Bolent.

Could Li Qi quickly master it?

Was what he said true or false?

Bolent stared intently at Li Qi, waiting for the final result.

Li Qi didn't make Bolent wait long.

Just five seconds after Bolent released the Petrification technique, Li Qi also imitated Bolent, presenting his palm in front of the other person.

The skin was hard, like rock.

That was indeed the Petrification technique, the secret of the Aolidovich Family!

What Li Qi said... was true!