Burning Wave Sword Art

Duke nodded. "Yes, Miss Vivian."

"Not bad. How is your progress with the Whale Breathing Method?" Vivian asked casually.

"I've reached the third level so far," Duke answered.

"The third level?" Vivian looked somewhat surprised and examined Duke carefully.

She seemed to recall something. "You seem to be the one who learned the Breathing Method the fastest, aren't you? Reaching Mid-Tier Knight Squire in three months—your talent seems fairly good."

Back when Duke had been the first to get started with the Breathing Method, Vivian had held a sliver of hope for him.

Yet Duke had failed to reach the second level of the Breathing Method within a month, which meant he had little hope of advancing to an Official Knight.

But only three months had passed, and Duke had already become a Mid-Tier Knight Squire. That showed he still had some potential.

"Maybe it's because I've been eating magical beast meat recently. My cultivation progress has been a little faster," Duke said.

"I see. It seems your body's absorption ability is quite good, so magical beast meat has a better effect on you." Vivian considered it briefly.

In truth, the effects of magical beast meat varied from person to person. It was not as though anyone who ate it would see a dramatic increase in their Breathing Method progress.

Vivian then said, "I didn't expect you to be the one who completed my commission. You only began practicing the Breathing Method three months ago, yet you managed to capture a Twilight Deer. You're quite remarkable."

She knew very well how difficult it was to catch a Twilight Deer, especially alive.

Duke's strength was ordinary, yet he had managed to capture a Twilight Deer. That meant he had something exceptional about him.

"I was just lucky. By the way, Miss Vivian, why didn't you issue the task directly to us? Why did you have to post a commission at the Adventurers Association?" Duke asked curiously.

There were many capable people in Nightingale. Capturing a Twilight Deer alive should have been simple, while going through the Adventurers Association was more troublesome.

Vivian said, "Nightingale belongs to the Acosta Family, not to me personally. I wanted the Twilight Deer for my own needs, so I would not have Nightingale's people handle it for me."

Duke had not expected Vivian to be so strict about public and private matters. In this era, that was rather rare.

Especially for nobles, using Nightingale's people to catch a deer was hardly a big deal. It could even be considered perfectly natural.

Before long, a servant brought over a small golden box and handed it to Vivian.

Vivian immediately passed the box to Duke. When he accepted it with both hands, he felt its weight. From the sounds coming from within, he could tell it was filled with gold coins.

"This is your reward for this task. Also, since you are one of Nightingale's people, would you like another reward?" Vivian asked.

Duke froze for a moment. Naturally, it was not appropriate for him to ask for a reward himself.

In his view, one hundred gold coins was more than enough compensation for the effort he had put into this task. It was even more than he deserved.

"Then I'll teach you a combat skill. Whether you can master it will depend on yourself," Vivian said.

"A combat skill..." Duke's spirits lifted. He had not expected to receive instruction in one.

Combat skills were powerful abilities that could only be used by those who had mastered a Breathing Method. In essence, they were advanced applications of Battle Qi.

Duke's use of Battle Qi was still at the most basic stage: strengthening his body with it and increasing his strength, speed, and so on.

This was a relatively rudimentary method, though it was certainly practical and already sufficient for most people.

But the world never lacked geniuses. They applied Battle Qi to more fields and developed all sorts of new methods of using it.

Such combat skills, however, were generally closely guarded secrets of various factions, their trump cards, and were rarely passed on to outsiders.

If Vivian was willing to teach Duke a combat skill, it meant she had truly begun to value him and was cultivating him accordingly.

"This combat skill is called the Burning Wave Sword Art. It is my personal combat skill, so I can teach it to you. Without my permission, you may not pass it on to anyone else. Otherwise, I will reclaim it," Vivian said softly.

Vivian did not explain how she would reclaim it, but Duke could imagine that it would not be done gently.

The Burning Wave Sword Art was Vivian's own private combat skill and did not belong to the Acosta Family, so Count Hardy's approval was unnecessary.

Seeing Vivian emphasize this point, Duke thought of many things.

Count Hardy had seven children in total, and Vivian was the youngest, only sixteen years old.

Count Hardy's household was vast and wealthy. With so many children, there would inevitably be struggles among nobles.

It seemed Vivian was also cultivating her own loyal followers.

Even if her heart was devoted solely to knightly cultivation and she had little interest in fighting for power and profit.

Once you were caught up in the situation, it was not enough to say you had no interest in it to avoid being dragged in.

"This subordinate understands!" Duke placed his right hand over his heart and bowed.

Vivian nodded lightly, then said, "Combat skills are extremely difficult to master. Many people never learn one in their entire lives; they require great talent. Teaching you this combat skill is also a test for you."

She then began to explain the Burning Wave Sword Art in detail. This combat skill had four levels in total: beginner, proficient, master, and perfected.

Each time this combat skill reached a new level, it underwent a qualitative transformation.

At the beginner stage, one had to learn an advanced method of using Battle Qi: coating the blade with Battle Qi.

This step was extremely difficult. Without sufficient talent, it was hard to learn, and it would weed out many dull-witted people.

Battle Qi could strengthen the body, so naturally, it could also strengthen weapons.

Even the most ordinary iron sword could cut through iron like mud after being coated in Battle Qi, greatly increasing its attack power.

However, this method consumed a great deal of Battle Qi. Even a High-Level Knight Apprentice could not use it many times.

In fact, combat skills were meant for Official Knights. Knight Apprentices did not have enough Battle Qi, so many combat skills could not be used continuously and could generally only serve as finishing moves.

Vivian set her battle axe aside, took a longsword from the nearby weapon rack, and drew it, its tip pointed at the ground.

Then, something that stunned Duke happened.

The longsword in Vivian's hand suddenly erupted with surging flames, completely enveloping the blade. In an instant, it became a flaming sword.

The flames were clearly extremely hot. Even standing several meters away, Duke could feel the searing heat.

In actual combat, who could withstand such a flaming sword? Perhaps only someone clad in full armor could defend against it at all.

"Don't be surprised. If you can cultivate the Burning Wave Sword Art to perfection, you too can transform Battle Qi into flames and achieve this effect." Vivian's cool voice came from within her armor.