Li Qi had thought Beru's affair would not affect him too much.
But clearly, he had been wrong.
On the second day after Beru was rescued, people from the Guard Department came knocking on Li Qi's door. He was taken to the Guard Department on 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, oh, Li Qi. You've certainly given me a difficult problem."
Inside the special Interrogation Room, Bolent shook his head helplessly at Li Qi.
Li Qi's expression did not change as he said to Bolent:
"I don't believe there was anything wrong with what I did yesterday. After all, they were the ones who attacked first."
"That is indeed the truth, but do you know who stands behind Beru?"
"I've heard a little. I heard he's the son of a marquis?"
"Marquis Granger is one of the largest nobles in the country. He controls nearly one-third of the nation's economic lifelines. His father, Maclay Granger, is our country's Minister of Finance."
Bolent briefly explained the power behind Luca to Li Qi.
Li Qi nodded slightly to show that he understood.
Seeing this, Bolent found it somewhat strange.
"You're not afraid?"
"If anyone else were here, I would indeed be afraid. But you're the one here, sir, so I'm not afraid."
Li Qi spoke sincerely, his words filled with respect for Bolent.
Bolent laughed helplessly. He raised a finger and pointed at Li Qi, seemingly about to say something, but in the end said nothing. He sighed and said:
"You really are something... Forget it. I originally wanted you to stay a few more days and learn some spycraft before going to Inglis. But looking at things now, you can only set out ahead of schedule."
Strictly speaking, Li Qi was not yet a qualified spy.
He had not undergone any spy training, including cryptography, disguise, reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance, basic social etiquette, or methods of social interaction. He had mastered none of those things.
Disguising himself as a member of an enemy nation's noble family and going there directly would easily lead to problems.
Bolent had originally planned to use an intensive, cram-style approach to train Li Qi during the first week, then have Li Qi set out immediately, with people teaching him more thoroughly along the way.
But now, because of what Li Qi had done, all of Bolent's plans had been thrown into disarray. He could only send Li Qi away ahead of schedule.
Bolent's actions allowed Li Qi to guess what had happened.
Most likely, the Granger Family had pressured Bolent and demanded that he hand Li Qi over.
Frowning slightly, Li Qi thought about what he had done the previous day and asked Bolent in a low voice:
"Sir, is the situation really that serious? In theory, what I did yesterday shouldn't have been excessive."
Severing all four of Beru's limbs looked extremely serious.
But in reality, with the aid of magic, Beru only needed a day for his limbs to be reattached.
After all, Li Qi had acted quickly, and the severed surfaces were very smooth, greatly reducing the difficulty of reattachment.
Moreover, Beru had been the one to provoke him first. Beru was also a Sergeant challenging someone of a higher Military Rank, so he had already been in the wrong.
Li Qi had acted in self-defense. On top of that, he had disciplined a soldier as a superior officer. In theory, even if the Granger Family was truly angry, they could not possibly pressure the Reformist Faction over this matter.
Therefore, Li Qi could not quite understand why Bolent was in such a hurry to send him away.
Bolent soon answered Li Qi's confusion.
"If this were only about Beru, it naturally wouldn't be enough."
"Then what is it...?"
"But the Granger Family is now accusing you of secretly learning their family's Knight Skill."
Li Qi's brows instantly furrowed. "Is that serious?"
Bolent nodded. "To the nobles of the Traditional Faction, Knight Skills are the foundation of their survival. Every family's Knight Skills are closely guarded secrets. Anyone who secretly learns them will be hunted down and punished by those families."
"I don't know where you secretly learned their Knight Skill, but in any case... they are now insisting on destroying your Magic Seed and taking your right hand. That way, they can ensure their techniques will not be learned by anyone else."
In the eyes of those old nobles who still clung to tradition, their family's Knight Skills were the most precious treasures in the world.
They were like the Internal Cultivation manuals of the various sects in the martial arts novels Li Qi had read. They were closely guarded secrets, and anyone who secretly learned them would be hunted by the disciples of that sect.
The same applied to those families here.
They would never allow their Knight Skills to spread.
Li Qi simply had not known any of this.
After all, he had come from humble origins. Aside from the Magic Enhancement he had developed himself, the only Knight Skills he possessed were the Magic Entanglement he had learned from Mad Axe and the Sword of Thunderclap he had learned from Beru.
Because he learned so quickly, Li Qi had never considered these techniques particularly precious. He had not expected the Granger Family's reaction to be so extreme.
Staring at Bolent, Li Qi thought for two seconds before suddenly asking:
"Sir, do you think so too?"
"What?"
Bolent, who was still thinking about how to send Li Qi away, did not react for a moment.
Li Qi asked again:
"What I want to ask is, do you also believe that Knight Skills are closely guarded secrets, and that anyone who learns a Knight Skill without the family's permission deserves to die... Do you believe that?"
Li Qi's question seemed unrelated to the matter they were discussing, but Bolent still considered it carefully before answering:
"Li Qi, you've seen the Magic Orb, so you should understand that firearms... and the Magic Orbs capable of enhancing firearms are the future of magic."
"No matter how precious Knight Skills are, they are outdated things. They will be eliminated sooner or later. So you're asking whether I would think as you described? My answer is... no."
Bolent told Li Qi what he thought.
Li Qi nodded slightly. After confirming Bolent's view of Knight Skills, he spoke frankly:
"Then I'll reveal something to you here as well. I didn't secretly learn the Knight Skill of Beru's family."
"You didn't?" Bolent frowned. "Are you saying someone from the Granger Family taught you?"
Li Qi shook his head. "No. I learned that Knight Skill from Beru."
Bolent's brows furrowed even deeper upon hearing this.
Li Qi continued, "I possess a talent that allows me to see the flow of magic power inside other people's bodies. The use of Knight Skills is related to the flow of magic power, so I was able to use Beru's Knight Skill."
"He used the Knight Skill in front of me, so he personally showed me how to use it."
As soon as Li Qi said this, Bolent's eyes widened as well.
Impossible!
Bolent really wanted to say that to Li Qi.
He thought Li Qi was lying. After all, how could such a talent exist in this world? To learn any Knight Skill or magic technique at a glance, he would have to be no less than the legendary God of Magic, right?
Bolent wanted to rebuke Li Qi and tell him not to make such grand claims, but in the end, he did not.
Instead, he asked Li Qi:
"...Are you telling the truth?"
"Of course."
Seeing Li Qi's firm expression, Bolent drew a deep breath.
He raised his right hand, palm up, and extended it before Li Qi. Under Li Qi's gaze, the skin of his palm bulged and instantly became as hard as rock.
"Prove it to me," Bolent said sternly.
He was now using his family's inherited Knight Skill, called Rockification. It could make one's skin as hard as rock.
Before firearms appeared, almost no weapon could break through the defense of their Rockification.
Even now that firearms had appeared, when cast by a Strategic Rank Mage Master, Rockification could withstand bullets from a pistol at close range.
It was an extremely powerful defensive technique.
And even within the family behind Bolent, very few people were capable of mastering this defensive technique.
Could Li Qi master it so quickly?
Was what he said true or false?
Bolent stared intently at Li Qi, waiting for the final result.
Li Qi did not make Bolent wait long.
Five seconds after Bolent activated Rockification, Li Qi imitated Bolent and held out his own palm before him.
His skin had hardened, becoming as hard as rock.
That was indeed the Rockification technique, the closely guarded secret of the Aolidovich Family!
What Li Qi had said... was true!
Before you continue