Third Order Frost Wolf Breathing Technique (Seeking Follow-up Reads)

A blaze of anger burned in Levi's chest.

So they did not collect while the Black Serpent Knight was alive, but started collecting once he was dead? And they even called it waiving the late fee in honor of his father's contributions.

But in the end, reason still calmed him down.

Setting aside whether these laws were good or evil, laws had been created from the very beginning to safeguard the interests of rulers.

All he could say was that weakness was the greatest original sin in this world.

"This is a rather large sum. I can only pay it in installments," Levi said.

"That is acceptable, but delayed-payment interest will be added. Along with the taxes Blackwater Valley was originally required to pay over the next ten years, beginning now, Blackwater Valley Territory will pay the church one hundred and fifty Gold Coins every year. Once the debt is cleared in ten years, normal taxation will resume," the priest said flatly. This was practically usury from The Church.

In truth, usury was also one of The Church's sources of income. Tithe and indulgences alone were not enough to support it.

"Fine." Levi agreed. He still could not oppose The Church. Though this meant paying The Church a full 1,500 Gold Coins in taxes over the next ten years, he could only accept it. That old bastard had already calculated everything. He clearly wanted Levi's territory. For now, Levi could only agree. He had no way to resist—but who knew what might happen over the long span of ten years?

After signing the contract, the priest swaggered away with the Glimmer Knight.

Levi narrowed his eyes. Killing intent spread through his heart, only to be forcibly suppressed by reason.

Knight Fred sighed.

"How about the two of us find a chance over the next few days to take out Abraham? With our cooperation, killing the Glimmer Knight would not be difficult," Knight Fred suddenly said.

"It would be useless. If one Abraham dies, The Church will send another priest. Unless we can kill every knight in The Church's Radiant Knight Order, it means nothing," Levi said.

"Money isn't the problem. One hundred and fifty Gold Coins a year—we'll pay it. But one day, I'll take every last bit of it back, principal and interest." After saying that, Levi returned to his training. He was still too weak. Other than making empty threats, there was nothing he could do.

Both The Church and the Boar Gang bullied him because he was weak. Knight Fred was already nearing fifty, and his physical strength had begun to decline, while Levi was young and had yet to fully grow.

And Levi's solution was to endure.

Blind rage was useless. These were the rules of this world. How could an egg collide head-on with a stone?

Even ordinary people consumed by fury could not defeat a tiger. How could he, who was not even a Formal Knight, contend with a behemoth like The Church?

I have the Proficiency Panel. My future is bright. I can't throw my life away because of a momentary impulse.

The most urgent matter is becoming a Formal Knight.

After the incident with The Church, Levi trained even harder.

In both his past and present lives, he had never worked so diligently at anything.

Practicing the Black Snake Breathing Technique, studying the Frost Wolf Breathing Technique, forging iron, managing the territory—countless matters weighed on Levi's shoulders, leaving him without a moment to catch his breath.

Holy Radiance Calendar, Year 1006. Month of Warmth.

It was the most pleasant time of year in Blackwater Valley, neither cold nor hot.

Two months had passed since Levi began practicing the Frost Wolf Breathing Technique.

Just as Levi was preparing to give up on the Frost Wolf Breathing Technique, he completed his usual training according to its requirements one day when a long-lost, familiar sensation suddenly came over him. It felt just like when he had first begun the Black Snake Breathing Technique.

Overjoyed, Levi opened the Proficiency Panel.

Levi-----

Black Snake Breathing Technique: Third Order (6467/10000)

Frost Wolf Breathing Technique: First Order (1/1000)

Golden Cross Slash: Third Order (7000/10000), Special Effect: Advanced Vibration

Animal Taming: Third Order (Limit), Special Effect: Wild Heart

Forging: Third Order (4123/10000), Special Effect: Guaranteed Masterpiece

...

"I finally got started!!!"

Levi jumped up excitedly. Once it had been recorded by the Proficiency Panel, everything afterward would be much easier.

He had not been this excited in a long time, because this meant he could learn other Bloodline Breathing Techniques without needing the bloodlines of other nobles.

It had merely taken a little longer to get started, but that was not a problem.

As long as you make it onto my panel, I'll grind you to the max sooner or later!

Brimming with confidence, Levi suddenly had an idea.

Once he had enough strength, he would find a way to collect the finest Knight's Breathing Techniques in the world. Strength-based, speed-based, endurance-based, defensive—he wanted them all! Even if he could not become a wizard, by accumulating enough Breathing Techniques, he should still be able to stand at the pinnacle of this world.

He might even surpass the achievements of a Legendary Knight! He would become the undisputed God of the Mortal Realm, the king of the century! In an instant, the gloom of being robbed by The Church was swept away.

"Heh. You old dog Abraham, just wait."

Levi struck while the iron was hot and continued practicing the Frost Wolf Breathing Technique.

And so, the days passed one after another.

At the end of the Month of Flowing Fire, Levi personally led a team carrying the armor and weapons he had forged during this time to the Shining Tavern in Icewind City once again. As promised, he traded with that unnamed knight, still using the name White Wolf Geralt.

Six sets of fine Plate Armor and nearly a hundred Knight Swords sold for less than three hundred Gold Coins in total. Unfortunately, he did not encounter the knight selling Ambergris. Levi went to the Emerald Merchant Guild, but they were still out of stock.

In the end, he could only return to the territory with the Gold Coins. The sudden income of three hundred Gold Coins resolved the territory's pressing financial crisis.

However, the iron ore in the territory had been completely exhausted.

With no other choice, Levi relied on the scant knowledge from his previous life and searched along the Blackwater River Valley. After spending considerable time, he finally discovered a small Exposed Iron Mine several dozen miles upstream from the Blackwater River, resolving the ore shortage at last.

To maintain the supply of iron, many Militia members in the territory were assigned to mine ore, chop wood, make charcoal, and smelt iron after training. The number of blacksmith apprentices was also expanded considerably.

While ensuring stable basic agricultural production, Levi planned to turn forging into a major pillar industry of his territory. Little Milan and the other blacksmith apprentices would forge ordinary Knight Swords and shields, while Levi personally forged the most important armor for the time being. Once Little Milan became a Formal Blacksmith, he would go reclaim Old Blacksmith Toby, and then Levi himself would be able to relax somewhat.

Thus, from mining and charcoal-burning to smelting and final forging, the division of labor was clear. Under such efficient operations, the output of weapons and armor finally increased considerably.

Of course, Levi would not mistreat his subjects. The best-performing blacksmith apprentices earned as much as one Gold Coin a year. The apprentices, who had never even seen a Gold Coin before, were overjoyed and worked with tremendous enthusiasm.

During the Month of the Furnace, the territory forged four sets of armor and fifty Knight Swords in a single month.

When the Month of Wheat Fields arrived, it was once again time for the wheat harvest.

After this year's wheat had been harvested, Levi was delighted to discover that in merely the first year of implementing the new policies, wheat production had increased by five percent.

It was an unprecedented increase.

Sure enough, in this era, the best way to mobilize productivity was to give laborers the motivation to eat their fill.

Besides that, Levi's Frost Wolf Breathing Technique progressed rapidly. The Frost Wolf Breathing Technique also had a Secret Medicine, but compared to the Black Snake Secret Medicine, the Frost Wolf Secret Medicine was much simpler. Its primary ingredient was wolf meat.

Levi had plenty of wolf meat in his castle, and he ate it every day.

With an ample supply of wolf meat, the Frost Wolf Breathing Technique rose from First Order to Third Order in merely four months of grinding.

And to make matters even better, Levi's Black Snake Breathing Technique had also made substantial progress!

(This paragraph does not count toward this chapter's word count: Some readers have said that this book's pacing is too slow at the beginning, so let me explain. The knight arc may be somewhat longer than in other wizard stories, because on the surface, this world is ultimately a low-fantasy world where extraordinary powers are not particularly evident. The protagonist naturally needs time to explore how to embark upon the path of wizardry, much like an ordinary mortal seeking immortals and the Dao in a xianxia novel. Also, advancement after the knight stage will be faster than in the early part, because the beginning needs to devote some space to laying out the worldbuilding. If I pursued rapid progression and turned this into one of those Feilu-style stories filled entirely with dialogue and fights, it might feel satisfying early on, but it would fall apart quickly later, with a very high chance of an unfinished ending. Also, the author's main job is as a lawyer from the Imperial Capital working away from home. Work and commuting take up most of the day, so I have limited time for writing, revising, and polishing. If you notice any issues, please point them out in the comments. I will make time to respond and revise. Finally, I humbly beg for paid follow-up reads. You only need to spend one yuan to become a noble paid follow-up reader. This concerns the life or death of a new book. Many thanks!)