"There were quite a few Sky Knights at the pinnacle level in the duchy. As long as the members of a marquis's family weren't too stupid or hopelessly useless, they could pile up enough potions to produce a pinnacle-level Sky Knight. But a Domain Knight had never been born. That was no longer something resources could pile up."
Nesta Big Flower Cymbidium revealed quite a bit of valuable information. Liszt had probably reached a certain height already, making him feel that he could offer a favor by telling him this: "The previous generations of Grand Dukes all tried to trade with the Iron Ridge Kingdom for the cultivation inheritance of a battle qi domain, but without exception, they failed."
"Was the price they offered not high enough, or was it the Iron Ridge Kingdom's technological blockade?"
"You see the issue clearly. Indeed, it wasn't that the Grand Dukes were unwilling to pay an enormous price—it was that the Iron Ridge Kingdom did not wish to see Sapphire grow too powerful. When the founding Grand Duke failed in his dragon-slaying battle, no one could have imagined that one day the Sapphire Grand Duchy would dominate the seas, to the point that even the Iron Ridge Kingdom felt threatened."
The Sapphire fleet came and went like the wind, easily striking deep into the mainland kingdoms before looting and departing. It truly inspired dread.
"Then did the Grand Duke never find a way to seize it from lords who possessed battle qi domain inheritances?"
"The Grand Duke cannot act lightly, and if the Grand Duke does not act, with our strength, it is difficult to deal with a Domain Knight. Perhaps once you have grown stronger, you may be able to suppress a Domain Knight and find an opportunity to seize the cultivation