Black Snake Breathing Technique Advances (Please Follow Up)

Black Snake Breathing Technique Advances (Please Follow Up) [Black Snake Breathing Technique Proficiency +3] [Black Snake Breathing Technique Proficiency +2]...

[Black Snake Breathing Technique: First Order (233/1000)

With the positive feedback from the Proficiency Panel, Levi silently practiced the Breathing Technique day after day.

Aside from necessary rest like eating and sleeping, he spent all his other time training. He truly lived by the motto: train until death, then train some more.

As a result, the other servants rarely saw Levi around the castle. On the few occasions they did see their Lord, he was either twisting his body into strange poses or wearing heavy armor and holding a shield as he endlessly defended against Knight Fred's storm-like attacks.

"Our Lord is so young, yet he works so hard. It truly puts me to shame."

Seeing Levi train even harder than they did, the Militia felt too embarrassed to slack off. After all, what sense was there in a boss working hard while his employees loafed around? They would get fired sooner or later.

The Militia were forced into an arms race.

"What? Lord is still training? Then I can't sleep either. If Lord finishes training and sees me still working hard, he might give me an extra piece of bread tomorrow morning."

Though the Militia grew increasingly diligent, with Levi there to compare themselves to, no matter how hard they tried, they could not outdo their tireless, machine-like Lord. Eventually, they made peace with it.

Seeing Levi work so hard pleased Fred greatly. Whenever Levi trained, Fred handled the territory's affairs alongside the steward, ensuring those tedious matters did not take up the Lord's training time.

However, some disputes among the territory's residents still required Levi to personally render judgment. Only then could he maintain the dignity and authority of a Lord. He had been a lawyer in his previous life, after all. This was the only thing that was even remotely related to his profession after crossing over.

The Month of the North Wind passed in a blur of busyness.

The coldest month of the year, the Month of the Freezing Winter—December—had quietly arrived.

For northern regions like Blackwater Valley, this meant harsher cold waves and fiercer blizzards! Many Serfs' dilapidated wooden huts had fallen apart in the freezing wind and snow. With the mountains sealed by heavy snow, it was naturally too late to rebuild in the dead of winter.

Kind-hearted Levi had Knight Fred temporarily settle these Serfs in the castle and find them work there. The young girls and young married women were assigned as maids, responsible for tending to Levi's and Knight Fred's daily needs.

He also selected some able-bodied young men and incorporated them into the Militia, bringing the number of Militia under his command to an unprecedented... fifty.

All these Militia were commanded by Knight Fred, who taught them basic combat skills. Outside of training, they repaired the castle buildings, performed heavy labor, and tended livestock and fields. They were not full-time soldiers; at Blackwater Valley's current level, it simply could not support a professional army.

The elderly and children handled relatively light physical work. Everyone could contribute to the territory and receive food according to their labor: a piece of gray bread, along with a bowl of red bean soup or something similar.

Gray bread was slightly better than Black Bread, though it was nowhere near as soft and fragrant as white bread.

In truth, at Blackwater Valley's current level of productivity, fine white bread was barely enough for Levi and Knight Fred. A Knight's powerful physique came with immense caloric consumption.

Levi now needed five to eight times as much food per day as an ordinary person. Most of those calories were efficiently used by the Breathing Technique to strengthen his body, while a small portion became waste. Yet even that small portion meant Levi had to squat over the latrine three times a day.

Knight Fred, on the other hand, had already passed the rapid growth stage of the Breathing Technique. As a Formal Knight, if he did not deliberately circulate his Breathing Technique, he only ate three times as much as an ordinary person.

Levi's generosity made the Serfs in the territory deeply grateful to him. They thanked their young, kind, handsome Lord for his gifts.

Levi himself was utterly immersed in practicing the Breathing Technique.

Every day, watching the Black Snake Breathing Technique's proficiency visibly rise filled him with accomplishment.

At the same time, he remained constantly wary of Wandering Knights or bands of bandits roaming the wilderness.

After all, to those "stray dogs," a weak Lord like Levi was undoubtedly an excellent target for plunder.

Of course, with Knight Fred around, Levi had no need to worry about ordinary outside enemies.

As the Black Serpent Knight's right-hand man, Knight Fred rarely made a move these days, but the name "Serpent Vulture Knight" still carried considerable deterrence throughout the surrounding lands.

Between training sessions, Levi would occasionally inspect Knight Fred's results in training the Militia. They had gone from a ragtag bunch to barely forming a fighting force. With a Knight's guidance, their progress was obvious.

They would also become an important force in protecting him and the territory in the future.

To be honest, Levi's territory still had too small a population, and its productivity ranked near the bottom among Baronial territories.

After all, he had practically left with nothing when he returned to Blackwater Valley.

For the weak Levi, it had also been a move born of helplessness.

Time passed unnoticed in cultivation. With Lord Levi living in peaceful order,

the Kingdom's most difficult and coldest Month of the Freezing Winter finally passed.

The first day of the Month of Origin—January—in the year 1004 of the Holy Radiance Calendar.

This day was the birthday of the "Heavenly Father," as well as the New Year of the Emerald Kingdom.

Coincidentally, it was also Levi's birthday.

Levi Snake, Baron of Blackwater Valley, Count of Tulip Territory, and master of Storm Territory, had turned thirteen.

Blackwater Valley was still swept by bleak, freezing winds. After completing a set of strange, twisted Breathing Technique poses, Levi stretched his full six-foot-tall body and stood in a JoJo pose on the castle's second floor, his deep gaze fixed on the residents below.

His entire bearing was utterly different from what it had been over a month ago. Beneath the face of a sunny, handsome youth lurked a serpentine gloom. His muscles were full and rounded, his lines hard and defined, his body powerful and strong—perfect as an ancient Greek statue.

Anyone seeing Levi like this could not help but marvel: Is this really a thirteen-year-old? Looking out over the endless ice and snow, he felt especially cheerful.

New year, new beginnings. The castle was decorated with lights and ornaments. Young, cute, freckle-faced maids bustled about, their little faces flushed red by the cold wind as they giggled and prepared the Lord's New Year's banquet and birthday feast.

The soldiers were also enjoying Strong Wine for once, drinking merrily with Knight Fred. They gave thanks for the Knight's and Lord's generosity over the past year and offered their Lord New Year's and birthday blessings.

The other Serfs brought fragrant ham, cheese, dried fruit, fruit wine, and other farm products to the castle as well, expressing their gratitude to Levi.

Compared with the other feudal Lords of this world, Levi, who had crossed over from the modern era, treated and respected these leeks and firewood a million times better.

Thus, although the Serfs living in Blackwater Valley were poor, they were content.

At the very least, here they could occasionally feel the dignity of being human. They could also receive protection from Lord and Knight Fred, with their basic safety guaranteed.

Of course, Levi's good mood was not solely because of this.

Most importantly, after nearly two months of crazed, day-and-night grinding for proficiency, his Black Snake Breathing Technique had finally broken through to the Second Order.

Please follow up, please!