Chapter 22
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: The Knight's Secret Training
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Mason Village's great disaster had occurred half a year ago already.
A new lord had taken residence in the rebuilt manor castle.
The strange rumors that had been quietly spreading from the northern continent had finally died down.
Yagnik the Baron and Alex the branch chief, both deceased, were gradually fading from people's memories.
But there were still those who carried that incident deep in their hearts.
The Black Lion Knights.
They had not given up on Ruyan even now.
"Find him no matter what. No matter how long it takes, eliminate that bastard."
Though Knight Commander Rodolph had returned to the imperial capital, several knights remained behind to continue the mission.
Gawain was one of them.
Because he was at the bottom rung of the knights' order, Gawain had been assigned to stay in Hatchling Village, waiting indefinitely for Ruyan.
'Damn it, my first mission, and it's stuck in this backwater hellhole.'
Even after Rodolph and the elite squad had combed the area thoroughly, they hadn't found Ruyan.
So it was obvious staying here wouldn't yield any results.
But what could he do?
With the entire continent searched to no avail, they had no choice but to keep watch here.
'Tch, now my axe feels more natural than my sword.'
It had been three months since Gawain had disguised himself as a lumberjack and moved to Hatchling Village.
By day, he scoured the mountains under the pretext of chopping wood; by night, he surveilled the village for any suspicious activity.
But three months of nothing but empty results—it was as good as wasted time.
'Sigh, when will I get to return to the capital?'
Another meaningless day passed, and as night fell, all the lights in Hatchling Village went out.
The hour when everyone was asleep.
Once the moon dipped low, even Gawain's mission paused.
Not that there was much to do in this godforsaken place without even a tavern, but it was still precious free time for him.
Gawain pulled out the wooden sword hidden under his straw mattress and quietly headed to the back of the village.
'I'm stuck in this dump right now, but I'm still an honorable knight of the Empire.'
When not on duty, he was just another martial artist.
Neglecting training was disqualifying for any warrior.
To never forget his duty, Gawain threw himself into training even more fiercely.
The sword, which had been pointing motionless at the sky, suddenly sliced through the moonlight.
Shiiik.
It was a plain wooden sword without mana, but its momentum was sharp.
The practical assassination swordsmanship passed down only to the Black Lion Knights!
A deadly art focused on thrusting at vital points rather than slashing.
Gawain imagined the face of Ruyan—the man he knew only from descriptions—standing before him, and thrust hundreds of times.
He killed him dozens of times over.
'Die. Only when you die can I leave this place.'
The killing intent gathered on the wooden sword split even the darkness, flickering as it faded.
Gawain burned with blind hatred like that, but he overlooked a crucial fact.
That the enemy he'd been desperately hunting was approaching from behind.
Gawain had no idea Ruyan was watching him, merely flailing at empty air.
'My hunch was right. He couldn't just sit still; his body must have been itching.'
Ruyan, concealed stealthily, watched Gawain with wide eyes full of interest.
He had known for a long time that the man was part of the pursuers.
It was hard not to notice a peak-level warrior swinging an axe to chop trees.
'I left him alone just because he was a nuisance, but who knew he'd be this helpful.'
Quietly dealing with a single peak warrior was no trouble for Ruyan.
But he hadn't because it was simply too bothersome.
There was no reason to leave traces just to eliminate someone who wasn't a real threat.
'The swordsmanship itself is mediocre.'
Even after seeing the Black Lions' pride—their practical swordsmanship—Ruyan gave it a curt evaluation.
And rightly so; compared to the Central Plains, it was on the level of basic techniques tossed to outer disciples.
'Pity, but nothing to gain from his swordsmanship.'
The swordsmanship of the Sobles Continent was laughable compared to the Central Plains.
It was impossible for knights clad in heavy armor to match the flair of Central Plains martial arts.
Ruyan, already bored, covered a yawn and watched Gawain indifferently.
'Tsk tsk, I didn't come down here to watch this garbage.'
On a slim chance, he'd watched for over an hour, but Ruyan gained nothing.
'Hopeless. If that's all there is, I should give up.'
As Ruyan pondered other approaches, something odd caught his eye.
'What the hell is that guy doing?'
As time passed, Gawain's sword path grew increasingly erratic.
His already clumsy technique devolved into wild hacking.
Of course, precision was the lifeblood of sword training.
It was preparation to ingrain habits, allowing optimal sword paths anytime.
That's why no one in the world trained so sloppily.
'Not swordsmanship training?'
The purpose lay elsewhere. The answer came quickly.
'Physical conditioning.'
Swinging the sword with raw muscle power, no mana, torturing his body.
Like Ruyan pulling his own strings to push himself.
'Intriguing. Peak warriors usually neglect basic stamina training.'
Interest reignited, Ruyan silently observed Gawain's struggles.
Another hour passed, and the struggles turned to desperation.
Pitiful to watch.
Then, something astonishing happened.
'Mana's moving!'
A large surge of mana erupted from the mana circle in the knight's heart.
'Unique. Mana's flowing, but no signs of use.'
No traces on his body or the wooden sword.
'Not channeling into the sword—using mana differently.'
Ruyan focused intently, eyes straining to trace the energy flow.
Then he saw clearly what was happening inside Gawain's body.
'The mana is just rotating.'
To Ruyan, it seemed meaningless.
Not circulating internal energy, no meridian concepts.
Just mana spinning rapidly around the mana circle.
'This is it! The Sobles Continent's training method!'
Ruyan instantly realized this odd flow was training to temper the mana circle.
'Pushing the body to extremes, accelerating heartbeat. Physically stressing the mana circle—a primal method.'
The mana circle's boundary blurred momentarily from the heartbeat stimulus.
Clear proof it was advancing to a new threshold.
And not just that—his exhausted body demanded recovery, constantly absorbing mana.
Repeating this would build mana reserves too.
'Amazing. Such a simple training method...'
To Ruyan, versed in profound martial arts, it was unimaginable.
'I've grasped the principle. If used well, it could help.'
Ruyan's eyes sparkled as he slipped away slowly.
The moment an assassin sent to kill Ruyan unwittingly ignited his training.
Of course, Gawain would never know.
Back at the divine tree, Ruyan sat cross-legged and first circulated his internal energy lightly, completing the Lesser Heavenly Circulation.
An ordinary energy circulation. But now came the real test.
'Physically stimulating the mana circle to temper it is undeniably efficient.'
Simple, but effective—he'd seen it with his own eyes.
But he couldn't copy it directly.
'My mana circle is in the dantian, so heartbeat stimulation won't work.'
There was a structural difference between Ruyan and the continent's knights.
But that didn't mean there was no way. A slight twist revealed an even easier method.
'Just compress internal energy to pressure the mana circle.'
The knights, ignorant of internal energy methods, could only use heartbeats.
But Ruyan?
He could create superior, more efficient stimulation.
'More than feasible.'
Resolved, Ruyan activated the Return Heart Technique and entered the Greater Heavenly Circulation.
Hwooooong.
Internal energy from the dantian coursed through his meridians, reached the crown, and returned.
This was the moment Ruyan targeted!
He compressed the internal energy fully, then released it as it passed the dantian.
Hwaaak!
The rampaging energy pounded the dantian, shaking the mana circle violently.
Thump thump.
An artificially induced pulse!
The result was a resounding success.
Mana surged out from the mana circle.
'Perfect! This way, I can train both dantian and mana circle simultaneously.'
Tempering both in one circulation—twice the growth speed of before.
Martial arts, magic, and now knights' methods. Ruyan devoured every martial knowledge in existence.
And as a result, something no one could have predicted began to unfold.
'Wait. This is...'
A suspicious flow emerged. Mana from the circle chased after the internal energy.
The mana entangled with it, merging into one flow.
'Internal energy and mana have fused.'
The unified energy followed the Return Heart Technique's formula, starting the Greater Heavenly Circulation together.
Kwarrr.
The massively amplified energy surged like waves, majestic and swift as wind through the meridians.
'Too fast!'
Red flags flashed in Ruyan's mind. Overloading the technique was dangerous.
He focused harder, gripping the rushing energy with all his might.
But why?
The overflowing energy obeyed effortlessly. Fast, but not rampaging; it didn't damage his body.
The meridians reborn by the divine tree's power.
And the Heavenly Martial Physique.
Their harmony bore the immense flow perfectly.
'What in the world...'
Even to Ruyan, who'd devoted his life to circulation, this was utterly foreign.
He'd never imagined it possible.
But the marvels didn't end there. They were just beginning.
Thump thump.
Completing the Greater Heavenly Circulation swiftly, the energy returned to the dantian and automatically struck the mana circle.
More mana poured out.
The Return Heart Technique devoured it seamlessly, dispersing naturally.
The mystery of Return!
The cycle of emptying to refill spun furiously.
Shwaaaa.
All ambient energy rushed into Ruyan. Dantian and mana circle greedily consumed it.
The euphoria and pleasure of his body filling to the brim made Ruyan tremble.
'Incredible. I've never circulated like this.'
Ruyan forgot to control, letting the Return Heart Technique flow freely.
Vast energy he'd normally never handle coursed through, dispersed.
And cycled again.
When Ruyan came to, five full Greater Heavenly Circulations were complete.
Despite the enormity, his body wasn't harmed—instead, it felt light as if it could fly.
'I got lost in it without realizing.'
Finishing the miraculous circulation, Ruyan checked his dantian and gaped in shock.