Breaking Through to Knight. Surpassing the Limits.

The convoy slowly came to a halt on the wasteland. By the time Green found Old Green, it was already dusk. A month of dusty travel had left Old Green looking somewhat haggard, but thanks to the Knight-level beast flesh he had eaten before, the essence of his vitality had not been harmed. He merely appeared exhausted on the surface.

Old Green stood by the river, holding a waterskin and intently lowering it beneath the surface. Bubbles gurgled up from the water. Given Old Green's status, he should not have needed to handle such trivial chores himself, but he truly had nothing else to do and used it to pass the time. Nearby, the guards busily drew water from the river and poured it into the filter at the center of the camp. The filtered water would then be loaded into water carts for later use.

The girls who had not bathed for an entire month craved water even more desperately than the guards. One after another, they carried buckets to fetch water from the river, preparing to wash themselves. For them, the long-term lack of water was undoubtedly torture. At the beginning of the journey, Aixiville, Leila, and Mia often came to see Green. But as the journey continued and their bodies went uncleaned for so long, they only occasionally spoke with Green through the carriage window and no longer entered his carriage.

Green interrupted Old Green's water-drawing and pulled him aside.

"Green, is what you said true?" When Old Green heard that Green was about to break through to Knight, he immediately stood up and tightly gripped Green's arms. His voice was filled with anticipation and fear. He was expectant because Green had already displayed formidable strength as a Knight Apprentice. Once he became an official Knight, their safety would be better assured. But he was afraid because he understood the Storm Breathing Technique—every breakthrough was like gambling with one's life, completely unlike other Breathing Methods.

"Green, are you sure you can succeed? Do you really have to be in such a hurry?" Old Green's worry was written all over his face. He even somewhat regretted teaching the Storm Breathing Technique to Green. Green's progress had been far too fast, so fast that Old Green found it difficult to accept. He could not accept that his child would face two life-and-death trials within just three months. His heart was filled with guilt.

In Old Green's eyes, Green's desperate pursuit of strength was largely because of the burden he represented. If not for his existence, Green would have long since spread his wings and soared.

Green was not dull-witted, so he naturally sensed the worry and guilt in Old Green's tone. He gently patted the back of Old Green's hand and reassured him, "Don't worry. The success rate for this breakthrough is above ninety percent. There won't be any problems."

"In a while, I'll leave the camp and find somewhere quiet to make the breakthrough. I should be back soon. While I'm gone, I'll have to trouble you to explain it to everyone in the camp."

Green needed to get away from the convoy and find a quiet environment for his breakthrough. The Visas Wasteland was sparsely populated, and large predators rarely appeared there. It was an ideal location for Green's breakthrough.

"Sigh, I understand, Green. You must be careful!" Seeing Green's determined attitude, Old Green no longer tried to stop him. He merely let out a deep sigh and reminded him once again.

Green nodded, took firm strides, and quickly left the convoy.

[Chip, bring up the advancement method.]

A blue human model appeared in Green's field of vision. Dense energy-flow pathways clung to it like blood vessels in the human body. The energy within those pathways moved slowly and listlessly. The Life Seed located near the heart was like a stubborn stone, quietly floating there.

[Begin simulating the advancement process.]

The blue human model rapidly assumed various postures while matching them with different breathing states. As its posture and breathing changed, the energy inside its body began to stir. With every inhale and exhale, the energy stimulated by the outside world slowly flowed. For ordinary Breathing Methods, one only needed to coordinate with one's breathing and let the energy continuously strike the Life Seed. Eventually, this would create energy resonance and make the Life Seed beat like a heart. This ordinary advancement method carried no risk and could be attempted many times.

However, the Storm Breathing Technique was completely different. As a Breathing Method that granted strength far beyond others of the same level upon advancement, it required an immensely powerful energy resonance to push the Life Seed's frequency to its peak. At that frequency, combined with the Storm Breathing Technique, the Life Seed would once again transform into primordial vitality, forming an energy vortex and completing a life evolution similar to the breakthrough from the apprentice level. If it failed, the Life Seed would shatter, and everything would come to nothing.

Every breakthrough was equivalent to undergoing a Knight Apprentice-level trial, and the energy in the body would only grow greater, become harder to control, and cause more loss. No wonder the risks rose with every breakthrough.

Green looked at the drawbacks of the Storm Breathing Technique, yet a brilliant smile appeared on his face. When it came to controlling energy, Green, who possessed the Chip, could be said to have reached the pinnacle. There was no chance of losing control. Unless he was disturbed by external forces, the Chip could completely control the flow of energy inside his body.

There was almost no cover on the Visas Wasteland, only rolling hills. After crossing two or three hills, Green began looking for a suitable place.

Under the silver moonlight, the broken stones scattered across the wasteland reflected a silvery glow, like a star-filled sky upon the ground. Green searched for a long time but failed to find an ideal location. The wasteland was simply too barren, with almost nothing that could provide cover.

Fortunately, I have a backup plan. Chip, bring up the cave design.

A centrally arranged cave blueprint appeared in Green's field of vision. This kind of cave was easy to excavate; he only needed to leave a support pillar in the center. Green pulled out a shovel he had prepared in advance from behind him and began digging where he stood.

With the powerful physical qualities of a Knight, Green was like an excavator, swiftly digging a cave into the ground. He continued downward along the tunnel. Just one hour later, a three-by-three underground cavern was complete.

Green was covered in dust after finishing the excavation, looking like a beggar, but he did not care. After sealing the original entrance and leaving only an air hole, Green rested briefly before preparing for his breakthrough.

Green began assuming various postures while coordinating them with different breathing methods.

[Energy resonance detected. Bodily energy has begun flowing abnormally. Interfere?]

[Interfere directly. Accelerate energy flow and increase the Life Seed's activation speed.]

Green could clearly feel a tingling sensation spreading through his body. It was both pleasant and unbearable, like an itch he could not scratch. The sensation steadily intensified with time. Green knew that this was a sign that the activity of the energy within his body was rising.

In the Chip's field of vision, the energy seed near Green's heart trembled madly as though fitted with a high-frequency motor. It grew faster and faster until it finally reached the limit of what the Life Seed could withstand. In an instant, the Life Seed shattered into countless particles, releasing immense vitality.

The moment the Life Seed shattered, Green felt intense pain throughout his body, as though he were about to be torn apart. Every part of him felt as if it had suffered a violent blow.

"Fuck, it hurts this much?" The agonizing pain made Green curse, and he even used words from his previous life.

[Pain perception has been blocked.]

As soon as the Chip finished speaking, the tide-like pain receded just as swiftly as it had come.

Green continued observing the human model. With the coordination of external movements and the Breathing Method, the life energy that should have dispersed into the outside world after the Life Seed shattered was gradually brought under control. Next came the most important tempering stage. Under the Chip's control, an energy vortex far greater than the previous one formed around Green's heart.

Endless external energy was absorbed by the vortex near his heart. Green could clearly feel his body undergoing strange changes under the transformation of that energy. Soon, his body felt saturated. This time, he sensed his physical limit even earlier than before. Although he possessed a larger vortex and greater endurance, his body had reached its limit ahead of time.

It was like a wooden barrel. Although it had grown taller and larger, the faucet supplying it had improved even more dramatically. Naturally, the time needed to fill it had become shorter.

The Chip's efficiency is too high. I reached the limit even earlier than in the model. Green looked at his condition and was shocked by the Chip's abilities. However, he had anticipated this situation long ago and, based on his own research and theories from his previous life, had organized an effective solution.

[Chip, activate the Multiple Life Seed Program.]

Through Green's research, he had found that the Life Seed was like an alternative heart. It was not as though a living creature could only have one heart—didn't octopuses have three hearts? Based on his own body and the routes of energy flow, Green had designed an effective method that could divide the Life Seed into five, each residing in a different organ. However, only Green could perform such delicate operations. Without the Chip, no one else in this world could possibly accomplish it.

Within the blue model, the energy vortex near the heart was affected by some force and began to tremble slowly. The trembling continued without pause, but its intensity always remained at a fixed standard. With each tremor, energy near the heart slowly overflowed. This overflowing energy rapidly transferred to the lungs, where it formed a small vortex. Compared with the vortex near the heart, the one in the lungs was much smaller.

As the operation continued, the vortex near the heart eventually split into five portions, residing respectively in the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys. There was no longer any visible difference in size among these vortices, but as they continuously absorbed external energy, Green could clearly sense them growing. At the same time, his body broke past its limit and entered a higher level.

After another period of waiting, as the energy gradually reached its limit, the five vortices slowly contracted. In the end, five Life Seeds appeared inside Green's body.

[Activate breathing function.]

Green could feel the five Life Seeds beginning to contract with every inhale and exhale. Under this slow transformation, his body, which had already reached its limit, underwent another subtle change.

The breathing of the Life Seeds brought Green more energy. Under the Chip's control, these Life Seeds possessed completely identical breathing frequencies and would not cause Green any problems with energy disorder. Only the Chip could achieve such precise control, completing a process akin to creating two identical snowflakes when forming the Life Seeds.

The entire advancement process flowed as smoothly as clouds and water, without a single accident. In Green's eyes, all of this had been inevitable. He had already simulated the advancement process millions of times and considered every external factor. Even if he failed, Green had contingency plans. Otherwise, he would not have chosen to make the breakthrough.

[Check physical attributes.]

Green silently gave the command.

[Strength: 5.2] (External energy enhancement)

[Speed: 4.8]

[Constitution: 5.2] (External energy enhancement)

[Special status: Life Seeds breathing. Daily breaths: 200. Every 10,000 breaths completed, Strength and Constitution will increase by 0.1, and Speed will increase to 5.0.]

[Genetic limit: 5.0 in all attributes]

[External energy enhancement limit: 5.5]

Looking at his luxurious status panel, Green believed that even a Grand Knight would not be able to withstand a single exchange with him. Physical qualities did not increase linearly, but along a curve. A Grand Knight's physical qualities should fall between 4 and 5, with 5 as the highest possible limit. This was the genetic limit of humans, even the limit of most carbon-based lifeforms. The legendary Holy Knights had likely broken through humanity's limits.

Once one reached a value of 5, even a difference of 0.1 in physical quality would result in an overwhelming advantage in actual combat. The external energy enhancement displayed after his attributes was likely an ability that only legendary Holy Knights possessed.

Green clenched his fist, silently sensing the energy flowing through his body as he slowly gathered it into his fist.

"Bang!"

"Damn, was it that powerful?" The entire cave shook violently before collapsing with a thunderous crash.

"Pfft!"

Green crawled out of the rubble, opened his mouth wide, and spat out a large mouthful of dust.

"Next time, I definitely need to find a proper testing ground." Green grumbled as he patted the clothes that were now completely covered in dust.

[Chip, how intense was the energy I just released?]

Walking to the ruins of the cave, Green asked the Chip.

[Instantaneous energy release: 7,500,000 J, equivalent to the power of a high-explosive shell fired by a 99A Main Battle Tank.]

Looking at that enormous number, Green felt that he needed to establish a standard for comparing energy. The energy calculations from his previous life needed to be synchronized with this world.

[Use the energy released by one firestarter in this world as the base unit and calculate the energy I just released.]

A firestarter was a commonly used device in this world for storing fire, similar to a fire piston from Green's previous life.

[Calculating.]

[The energy radiation released by a single firestarter when fully discharged is approximately 150,000 J. Set as 1 unit.]

[According to calculations, the energy released by the punch was approximately 50 units.]

"Fifty units. In other words, my physical body can now withstand at least a fifty-unit impact, and the energy shockwave generated by a punch can create a powerful impact within a range of at least ten meters. However, this world has a high degree of energy containment. Its ability to cause large-scale destruction is reduced, but its lethality against individuals is extremely thorough."

Green had also noticed the difference. If his fist truly possessed the destructive power of a 99A Main Battle Tank, the cave would never have merely collapsed. Detonating a 99A tank shell in an enclosed space would definitely create an enormous noise. Yet when Green punched, there had not been much sound, and the cave had only collapsed. This world suppressed the spread of energy, but that also caused energy to be extraordinarily strengthened when released against a single target.

"Forget it. The conditions aren't sufficient right now, and I have no way of figuring out the principle. I should get back on the road as soon as possible." Green continued brushing the dust from his body and prepared to return to the camp along the path he had taken.