Powerful

"You, you..." Tong San the Lion-Man stared at the remaining bones of the magical beast in disbelief. "Xue Ying, did you cut off all the beast meat and hide it somewhere? Where did you put it?"

As he spoke, Tong San began searching all around the dining hall. He even knelt down to look under the dining table and the cabinets.

"Uncle Tong, I really did eat it," Dongbo Xueying said helplessly.

"You ate it? More than ten thousand pounds of meat, and you ate it all when you're only this big?" Tong San's lion eyes widened. "How am I supposed to believe that? Forget you—even a Title Knight couldn't eat ten thousand pounds of meat in one sitting!"

Dongbo Xueying had no answer.

His body had undergone a leap in its level of life, and every cell was ravenous. That was why he needed to eat so much. If he tried to eat that much again later, he wouldn't be able to.

"Uncle Tong, look." Dongbo Xueying picked up a silver plate beside him and pressed down hard with both hands. The plate quickly crumpled. He squeezed it a couple more times, and a silver metal ball appeared in his palm.

"This..." Tong San gaped.

Dongbo Xueying gripped the metal ball in his right hand and squeezed again. Silver metal slowly oozed between his fingers.

Then Dongbo Xueying brought his hands together and rubbed the metal a few times. It turned into a silver rod!

"How did you do that?" Tong San couldn't believe his eyes. Neither he nor Zong Ling could manage it. If he put his strength into it, he could crush a silver plate with one slap and deform a metal ball. But for Dongbo Xueying to squeeze the ball until it flowed between his fingers, then rub it into a metal rod... That was simply monstrous.

"I told you, I really did eat all that magical beast meat," Dongbo Xueying said helplessly. "Do you believe me now, Uncle Tong?"

"I believe you, I believe you. I'll believe anything you say now. What on earth happened? How did you suddenly become so strong? This, this just... I can't make sense of it." Tong San was utterly bewildered. Strength was supposed to improve step by step, from a Human-Rank Knight to an Earth-Rank Knight, from an Earth-Rank Knight to a Heaven-Rank Knight, then from a Heaven-Rank Knight to a Meteor-Rank Knight.

"You haven't even cultivated Battle Qi. You're not even a Human-Rank Knight, so how could you...?" Tong San couldn't understand.

"I am now!"

Dongbo Xueying stood up. "Uncle Tong, wait here a little longer."

He began practicing his fist technique in the spacious dining hall. Each move flowed smoothly, like water and drifting clouds. Power surged through his body, while the power of Heaven and Earth continued pouring into him. A strange force began to emerge in his muscles. This was... Battle Qi!

In fact, after he had eaten all the magical beast meat, Battle Qi had already begun to form in his body.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~~~" As Dongbo Xueying practiced the Flame Three-Stage Method, more and more Battle Qi gathered within him. Battle Qi began to appear in his muscles, tendons, and bones, as well as beneath his skin and fascia. The mysterious power of Heaven and Earth continued pouring in, transforming into Battle Qi... His body was like a bottomless pit, endlessly absorbing the power around him.

He repeated the Battle Qi method over and over.

At first, Tong San felt dazed, shocked, uneasy, and confused. But after an hour, he gradually calmed down. After two hours, he began to feel helpless.

"Why is he still practicing?"

"How long is he going to keep this up?" Tong San watched Dongbo Xueying, baffled.

The Battle Qi method wasn't something you benefited from by practicing it more. Before becoming a Knight, two or three repetitions in one session were usually enough; the body couldn't absorb any more. After becoming a Knight, Battle Qi grew slowly, and the amount absorbed each day was limited, so there was only so much practice one could do. Dongbo Xueying had been practicing for more than two hours already. That was highly unusual.

"Rumble~~~" Dongbo Xueying felt Battle Qi surging through every part of his body. At last, he could no longer absorb any more of the power around him.

"I didn't expect that once I broke through, I'd go straight to being an Earth-Rank Knight," Dongbo Xueying thought to himself. "Of course, my Battle Qi is at the Earth-Rank Knight level, but my actual strength is far beyond that."

According to the normal progression,

the moment the first wisp of Battle Qi formed in the body, one became a Human-Rank Knight.

Then Battle Qi nourished the muscles, tendons, and bones, gradually spreading to the nourished areas. As it appeared in more and more places, eventually filling the muscles and bones throughout the body, one became an Earth-Rank Knight!

Once the entire body was filled with Battle Qi, it would gather and open up a source of Battle Qi in the abdomen—the dantian sea of qi. That was the Heaven-Rank Knight level.

When the Battle Qi in the dantian sea of qi condensed into liquid, one became a Meteor-Rank Knight. In liquid form, Battle Qi underwent a qualitative change. It was no longer just fierce and unyielding, but could be both hard and soft. This Battle Qi could even form a tough protective layer over the body, which was why Meteor-Rank Knights could ignore countless arrows. The protective layer was highly defensive, and liquid Battle Qi could also nourish the body more deeply and strengthen it.

When the liquid Battle Qi condensed further into a virtual core, it became even more miraculous and powerful. Because it was so supple, it could even seep into the delicate internal organs, bringing about deeper changes to the body. That was the Silver Moon-Rank Knight level.

And Heaven-Rank Knights?

They had to reach the state of Unity of Heaven and Man. Only then could they draw upon the power of Heaven and Earth and step into the Title-level! Title-level Knights stood far above Silver Moon-Rank Knights, with an astonishing gap between them. A single move could kill a Silver Moon-Rank Knight! Title-level Knights represented the limits of mortals. Some exceptionally powerful ones could even fight transcendent beings and survive.

They were only one step away from transcendent life.

"My muscles, tendons, and bones are all in perfect condition, so they don't need to be nourished gradually. I can advance straight to Earth-Rank Knight," Dongbo Xueying thought to himself. "The next step is to open up a source of Battle Qi. For that, I'll need to slowly build up enough Battle Qi."

"Xue Ying, Xue Ying." When Dongbo Xueying stopped, Tong San immediately called out to him.

"Haha, Uncle Tong, come with me." Dongbo Xueying smiled happily, then left the dining hall and leaped straight down from the main building. Tong San quickly followed with a leap of his own.

Soon,

the two of them arrived at the training grounds, which were empty of servants.

"Xue Ying, what are we doing at the training grounds?" Tong San asked, puzzled.

"Don't rush, Uncle Tong." Dongbo Xueying went to the side and picked up a spear he often used. It weighed fifty pounds, making it the best spear in all of Snow Stone Castle.

Dongbo Xueying held the spear and stared at the Alchemy Dummy before him.

Tong San stood nearby, watching with bated breath. He understood that his nephew wanted to show off his strength. He wanted to see just how powerful Xue Ying's spear technique had become.

"Swish."

The spear moved, turning into a blur.

The spear shadows struck the Alchemy Dummy, producing a series of thudding sounds.

In a flash, Dongbo Xueying withdrew his spear.

"So fast, Xue Ying! Your spear technique is too fast for me to block!" Tong San was stunned by the speed of Dongbo Xueying's spear. Then he looked at the Alchemy Dummy and his eyes widened further. Its body was covered in densely packed holes, and the holes formed three words: "Pretty impressive, huh?"

"You can pierce holes in it?" Tong San stared in disbelief.

Below Star-Rank, no one could damage this Alchemy Dummy at all!

"Here's something even more impressive!" Dongbo Xueying suddenly unleashed the power concealed within him. A faint red aura appeared around his body, and a fierce, overwhelming presence surged upward, making Tong San feel afraid. Dongbo Xueying swung his spear and struck the Alchemy Dummy. The shaft bent into an exaggerated arc. Bang—the first deafening impact made the dummy shudder and crack. Bang—the second impact shattered its body, sending pieces flying into the distance. Only its lower half, fixed to the ground, remained.

Bang! The third strike landed on the dummy's base.

Snap!

The spear broke in two, and the dummy's lower half was reduced to fragments as well.

Dongbo Xueying stared at the half-spear in his hands, stunned. He had used it for a long time and never expected it to give way under the force.

"Big brother, I'm back!" His younger brother Qing Shi's clear voice rang out from far away.

Dongbo Xueying looked up at the sky. It was dark now.

"Uncle Tong, Qing Shi and Uncle Zong are back too. Let's have dinner first. Afterward, I'll tell you and Uncle Zong everything." Dongbo Xueying smiled. Someone else might have been completely baffled by what had happened, but fortunately, he had read plenty of books. One of them happened to contain a very brief account of it.