Trait: Air Rend

Duke noticed that the writing on the dial looked familiar. It seemed to be the same kind of script that had appeared on the Brass Ring.

"Fourth-grade aptitude! Not bad indeed." Vivian stared at the dial as she spoke.

"Fourth-grade..." Duke calculated it in his mind. His mental power was 9.1, four points higher than the average person's five.

By that logic, each additional point of mental power aptitude raised one grade.

Mental power aptitude had ten grades in total, so a tenth-grade aptitude meant fifteen points of mental power.

"Fifteen points... What kind of monster would need to have that sort of aptitude?" Duke thought.

His highest attribute was currently Strength, and it had only just exceeded twelve points.

Someone born with fifteen points of mental power was already beyond Duke's understanding.

"Is fourth-grade aptitude considered pretty good?" Duke asked.

"For ordinary people, naturally. But among Wizards, it probably amounts to nothing. After all, it's only just over the threshold," Vivian said.

She then took several bottles from a package she had brought with her and said, "After everything that has happened recently, I've gained some insights as well. I'll be going into seclusion for a while to break through to Great Knight. Take these Giant Whale Elixirs."

Duke stared blankly at the six full bottles of Giant Whale Elixir before him. Every bottle was even larger than the previous one.

"So many! Don't you need them yourself?" Duke asked.

Vivian smiled. "I still have plenty. At the auction, Father bought more than just the Black Sword. He also acquired a huge piece of ambergris. The Giant Whale Elixir made from it will be enough for the two of us for quite some time."

Her words already showed that she regarded Duke as one of her own. To her, Duke was no longer merely a subordinate.

Even an ordinary Nightingale member who had rendered enormous service could never receive so much Giant Whale Elixir from her.

After returning some time ago, Vivian had been busy nonstop. As the leader of Nightingale, she had many matters to handle and arrange.

She had also settled Uncle Doyle's family, granting them a plot of land in a small village near Maple Hill City.

With that land, Uncle Doyle's family would have no trouble making a living, and they were exempt from taxes for five years.

The vast majority of commoners did not own land. For Uncle Doyle's family to receive such treatment was already quite good.

Duke's treatment had also improved greatly. As a Knight Level powerhouse, he was an important figure in any noble faction and worth recruiting.

If he wished, a single word from him would draw olive branches from quite a few nobles.

But Duke naturally would not betray Count Hardy and turn to another. His current goal was not to find some place to coast through half his life in wealth and glory.

What Duke sought was greater strength and a longer life.

That had been difficult to achieve in his previous life, but here, anything was possible.

Most ordinary people in the Vira Kingdom lived only into their fifties. Reaching sixty or seventy was considered old age.

Knight Apprentices who cultivated a Breathing Technique could generally live past seventy, while Official Knights could usually live to nearly a hundred.

Duke had heard people at the Adventurers Tavern say that legendary Great Knights could live to one hundred and twenty, with some even reaching one hundred and fifty.

As for Wizards, their lifespans were even longer, enough to witness the rise and fall of several generations.

Naturally, Duke was not satisfied with the lifespan of an Official Knight. Centenarians had been common in his previous life, so it was nothing remarkable to him.

Although he had died before reaching a hundred in his previous life, that only made him desire a long lifespan even more.

After Vivian left, Duke gripped the Black Sword and practiced Basic Swordsmanship, mainly to familiarize himself with its weight and feel.

Once his body grew accustomed to it, he would be able to wield the Black Sword more smoothly in battle.

After finishing his Basic Swordsmanship training, Duke opened a bottle of Giant Whale Elixir, dripped a drop onto the back of his hand, rubbed it in, and began cultivating the Breathing Technique.

[You have completed one session of Giant Whale Breathing Method cultivation. Proficiency +13]

At this pace, he would probably reach the eighth level in about half a month. The ninth level, the realm of Great Knights, was no longer far away.

Duke cultivated steadily and without impatience, and drops of liquid Battle Qi gradually formed within his body.

After completing his Breathing Technique cultivation, he moved straight on to cultivating the Burning Wave Sword Art. This combat technique was not far from max level either.

Previously, while outside, he had needed to conserve his Battle Qi and could not waste it freely, which had left this combat technique with little progress.

Now that Duke had returned to the manor, he could freely expend the Battle Qi in his body to use this combat technique.

He came to an open area outside. Once his Battle Qi began circulating, a ring of blazing flames immediately appeared around the Black Sword.

That was also why he had to train outside. If he was careless indoors, he might set the house on fire. All the buildings in the manor were wooden.

After the amount of Battle Qi in Duke's body increased, the number of times he could use combat techniques each day also rose considerably.

He calculated that he could grind this combat technique to level five in around ten days. That was most likely its max level as well.

Life at the manor was peaceful, and ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

After advancing to Knight Level, Duke's standing within Nightingale was no longer what it had once been.

Other than Count Hardy and Vivian, no one else was qualified to give him orders or assign him missions.

Knight Level powerhouses generally guarded a region or dealt with troublesome problems. Minor matters did not require them to act at all.

Duke was happy to have the leisure, taking advantage of this peaceful stretch of time to grind proficiency hard.

[Burning Wave Sword Art has leveled up. Constitution +0.3, Strength +0.1, Agility +0.3]

[Free Attribute Points +1]

[Burning Wave Sword Art: LV5 (Trait: Air Rend)]

[Air Rend: When using Burning Wave Sword Art, the Battle Qi attached to the blade can be unleashed to form sword qi]

[Constitution: 11.3]

[Strength: 12.3]

[Agility: 11.3]

[Mental: 9.1]

[Free Attribute Points: 1]

The moment Duke ground the Burning Wave Sword Art to max level, several pieces of information appeared in his mind.

Aside from the basic attribute increases, he had also gained one Free Attribute Point. Those were the same as before.

The only difference was that after grinding this combat technique to max level, he had gained a new trait.

The Bleeding trait he had gained previously did not seem particularly practical, and Duke had not expected to bleed an enemy to death.

But this trait was different. It allowed him to use sword qi.

Duke could not help trying it out. With a thought, a ring of flames instantly clung to the blade.

He swept his sword, gathering the Battle Qi on the blade into sword qi according to the method that had surfaced in his mind, then unleashed it.

In an instant, a red sword qi nearly two meters long shot forth and directly cleaved the target twenty meters away into fragments.

The moment the sword qi struck the target, it exploded. The entire target shattered and caught fire at the same time, scattering sparks across the ground.