Chapter 3: [Secret Medicine] and [Black Qi]
Levi knew what Mad Knights were—knights who tread on the edge of madness one too many times.
Feeling primitive hunger take over him, he was a little shocked and even doubted himself.
However, thinking of the terrifying evil spirits, the greedy and sinister nobles, and the endless war brought about between kingdoms… he steeled his heart.
“I will stay vigilant, Knight Fred. Thank you for the reminder.”
Even then, Levi knew he needed to find a way to make money. Otherwise, this barren Blackwater Valley might not be enough to support the two of them, or worse, it might need to be cleansed by the Glorious Knights of the Church.
Fred nodded, “Next, you need to wear armour daily, as well as hold a shield and carry out weight-bearing training. Then, you need to integrate your breathing method to ensure you won’t be dragged down by your heavy armour. In addition, there is a formula for the secret Snyder medicine, so I suggest you write it down somewhere.”
Levi nodded. To speed up his practice, medicines were often required.
The formula for the Snyder recipe wasn’t complicated: 50 grams of snake blood, a snake gallbladder, 10 grams of turtle shell powder, 10 grams of plant ash, three pieces of mandrake petal, one drop of ambergris, one drop of liquid amber, and 100 millilitres of pure water.
All of these, except ambergris, were easy to find and inexpensive.
Snake blood and snake gallbladders had varying effects on the medicine.
As for ambergris, that might be a bit troublesome.
In his previous life, ambergris was found in the belly of a creature known as a sperm whale.
However, in this world, it comes from the glands in the mouth of a beast called the [Earth Dragon].
According to the bards of the kingdom, this is one of the most dangerous animals in the wilderness.
They are powerful and invulnerable; they love devouring shiny things like coins and gems.
Under normal circumstances, you have to kill it with the best weapons after a vigorous battle or have more than five knights trap it with poison and finish it with a large crossbow.
The Legendary Knight [Lionheart Knight Ryan] hunted an adult Earth Dragon before his promotion to a Legendary Knight.
This was a great feat; previously, three great knights had failed to kill an Earth Dragon, and a young Great Knight died because of it.
The Lionheart Knight succeeded and found a total of 8,000 gold coins and priceless jewels in the maw of the Earth Dragon.
Ambergris is often priceless in the market.
A small bottle of ambergris is worth one hundred gold coins, or five sets of high-quality knight armour, or twenty healthy, young, and middle-aged serfs, or one hundred well-fed cows, or…
With Levi’s current resources, he couldn’t afford it.
“I don’t need the medicine yet.”
In the following time, Levi started to experience growth step by step, and none of his journeys felt boring.
Knight Fred would introduce some basic theoretical knowledge of knights to Levi, which benefited him a lot.
A breathing method is a technique that adjusts the rhythm of breathing as well as stimulates the blood potential in a knight’s body, thereby strengthening and improving their physique.
This improvement is far beyond normal exercise, so one must stuff themselves with food to cope with the use of energy.
Different breathing methods have different uses, too.
The Black Snake Breathing Method focuses on defence.
Once you have practised this method, you can start to try to condense the seeds of life to advance to a formal knight. Then, your physical fitness will be greatly improved, and you will have a greater ability to resist attacks than normal.
In addition, a light, black, fluid-like film will cover a knight’s arms, making their skin and flesh tough and resistant.
Although it was not invulnerable to swords and guns, it was not bad.
This film was generally known as Black Qi by the Knights, but the Church called it a “sacred power,” saying that the gods themselves bestowed protection upon the Knights.
In this era, the masterminds behind great kingdoms are often the church. Levi felt that the church was simply a front for money laundering. If the god of your church is so almighty, why is it not a priest who knows of magic guarding the church, but Glorious Knights instead?
In short, Black Qi is something that appears in tandem with breathing methods.
If a breathing method were to focus on agility, Black Qi might cover their legs, allowing the knight to have increased agility.
This is the power of the breathing method. Once a knight becomes a Great Knight, this black air will cover his entire body, strengthening him.
Except for a few places, such as the eyes, the Great Knight would be invulnerable like an Earth Dragon.
They are practically gods on a battlefield, being immovable forces and unstoppable objects.
Therefore, Levi never believed in the nonsense that his father had perished in battle.
His father was practically a god, so how could he die on the battlefield? With his strength, he could easily run away, too, if the battle were to turn sour.
A Legendary Knight being dispatched is a possibility, but they have a mind of their own. Even the kingdom and the church have trouble ordering them around.
Hence, he concluded that his father’s death was a conspiracy by the church.
Therefore, to keep himself safe, he decided to reside in Blackwater Valley.
“Accumulate resources, build high walls, and become my own king.”
He kept these values close to his heart. He didn’t want to be king, but he wouldn’t mind being a lord in his own right.