Chapter 307 - 305: The King’s Choice

Chapter 307: Chapter 305: The King’s Choice

It was late by the time Duane returned to his temporary residence. After all, people in love hardly notice the passage of time when they’re together.

But even at this late hour, John was still in the courtyard practicing his Combat Techniques. It looked like the Fighting Qi Slash.

Duane stood quietly outside the courtyard gate and watched for a moment. He noticed that while John’s movements were fierce, there was a certain sluggishness when he gathered his Fighting Qi, causing the glow it produced to fluctuate in intensity.

When John paused, Duane stepped forward and offered some advice. "I suggest you don’t try to perform the full Fighting Qi Slash just yet."

"My Lord!" John immediately retracted his sword and bowed formally.

"You advanced not long ago, so your Fighting Qi isn’t refined enough. First, you should focus on polishing the Fighting Qi Seed in your body and getting control over the speed at which you output your Fighting Qi."

He continued, "Not everyone can use complete Combat Techniques right from the start like I can."

Duane was only able to do this because his Skill Level was constantly self-correcting and feeding him the proper techniques.

John didn’t have this ability, so naturally, he needed to practice from the very basics.

"Yes, I understand. Thank you for your guidance!"

"Good. We’ll be setting out on our return journey tomorrow afternoon. Once we’re back on Black Forest Island, go find Ryo and train in the Blazing Fire Breathing Skill with him."

"Yes, sir!"

John’s expression turned serious. "My Lord, I’ve purchased the Dragon Spine Grass Spores you requested. They’re in the warehouse on the first floor."

Duane nodded and went straight into the house to check on the supplies.

Only then did John put away his Longsword and begin polishing his Fighting Qi as Duane had instructed, focusing on controlling its output speed.

Having guidance was completely different from fumbling around on your own. The former allowed you to achieve twice the results with half the effort, while the latter might be just the opposite.

John had always been a persistent person who was willing to accept correction. It wouldn’t be long before he could use the Fighting Qi Slash proficiently.

Duane stuffed all the Dragon Spine Grass Spores into his Void Space before returning to his room to use his attribute points for a breakthrough.

Scorching Sun Level Warriors were rare, and descriptions of the Scorching Sun Level were scarce. Many Warriors knew it was a powerful level, but they didn’t know what made it so strong.

Duane hadn’t known either, until Duke Kelvin visited Black Forest Island and he had the chance to ask for an explanation.

To put it simply, a Scorching Sun Level Warrior’s Fighting Qi would undergo a further transformation, with both its quantity and quality increasing significantly compared to the Silver Moon Level.

It was like how a High Level Mage could access a more advanced part of the Magic Net, allowing them to invoke a greater Power of Elements than a lower Level Mage.

Therefore, the same spell would be much stronger when cast by a High Level Mage.

In addition, a Scorching Sun Level Warrior’s perception of their environment and of energy would be drastically enhanced. The most outstanding among them could even use Level 3 Magic.

In other words, an average Scorching Sun Level Warrior was at least a Level 2 Mage.

As for how to train as a Scorching Sun Warrior, Duke Kelvin was still figuring that out himself.

According to information he’d obtained from the Holy Radiance Court, it was a cyclical process where the body, saturated with Fighting Qi, would continuously break down and heal itself.

Only when this process finally gave birth to a special energy called the Power of Life could one step into the Extraordinary realm.

Duane opened his attribute panel.

[Strength]: 99.9

[Spirit]: 40.0

[Attribute Points]: 0.2

He added 0.1 attribute points to his Strength.

In an instant, the vortex of Fighting Qi in his Qi Sea underwent an astonishing transformation. The energy in his body surged, creating a powerful gust of wind in the room that sent the curtains whipping about.

The phantom image of a silver moon appeared behind Duane, then rapidly transformed into a red, scorching sun, completely illuminating the room.

When everything calmed down, Duane had officially stepped into the Scorching Sun Level.

He closed his eyes, sensing the change in his power. ’The quality and quantity of my Fighting Qi have at least doubled!’

Duane was very confident. If he were to fight Thomsen now, he could defeat him without suffering a single scratch.

He glanced at his attribute panel.

Reaching the Scorching Sun Level had increased his Spirit by 8 points, bringing it to 48.

’Breaking through each level in the Star Realm requires 20 points in Strength. Extrapolating from the patterns of the Ordinary, Tier, and Star Realms, I’ll need at least 40 attribute points to advance from Scorching Sun to the Extraordinary realm.’

’That’s just a simple doubling. The actual requirement might be even higher.’

’I can now be considered one of the top powerhouses on the Shadow Mist Continent.’

’With my various abilities, maybe even Duke Kelvin isn’t my match.’

Duane no longer had to worry about his own survival. Even if someone managed to destroy Black Forest Island, he could still escape.

As for the Extraordinary beings of the Holy Radiance Court, they were said to be few and far between. It was unlikely they would come to the Shadow Mist Continent so easily.

’For now, I’ll present myself to the world as a Silver Moon Level Warrior and focus on raising my Mage Level.’

The Level 6 Arcane Resonance Magic, the Blink Technique Natalia had given him last time, and the Level 7 Blessing Magic.

These were the three spells Duane urgently needed to master.

Blessing Magic was especially important, as it could help his people awaken their potential and even allow those stuck at a bottleneck to break through.

This would be a great help to Duane in raising the overall strength of his forces.

In fact, mastering Advanced Magic would also enhance Duane’s own combat prowess.

The Blink Technique, for example, could instantly transport him twenty to thirty meters away. Used properly in battle, it could create excellent opportunities to attack.

Having decided to raise his Mage Level, Duane allocated his remaining 0.1 attribute points to his Spirit Attribute.

The night passed uneventfully.

Early the next morning, Baron Borso arrived with a personal letter from Viscount Charlemagne addressed to Manny.

Duane learned from him that after a night’s rest, Charlemagne’s spirits were higher than they had ever been.

He had tasked Borso with once again conveying his sincere gratitude to Duane, promising that he would personally visit the island with the Fel Energy Crystal Stone once his injuries had fully healed.

After seeing Borso off, Duane went to the Count to announce his departure.

Although Natalia was reluctant to see Duane leave, she knew he had many affairs to handle on Black Forest Island and the Silver Jade Territory to develop. He couldn’t stay here for long.

The Count also promised that the remaining Slaves, along with 1,200 laborers, would be delivered within the next two months.

Clearly, after the tumultuous events surrounding the marriage alliance, Count Kais was increasing his investment in Duane.

In the afternoon, the ship docked at Silent Harbor raised the Starburst Banner. Duane and his party departed from the Silent Shore, returning to Black Forest Island.

「Two days later.」

Hela Hill returned to the Royal Capital and had an audience with His Majesty the King.

He relayed Count Kais’s proposal to Eric in its entirety.

"Your Majesty, Duane and Natalia’s marriage is now basically a fact. Knowing Duane’s personality, it’s unlikely he will back out, and the Kennedy Clan certainly won’t."

Hela analyzed the situation, saying, "If you still wish to destroy their marriage alliance, it seems there is only one way."

Eric glanced at his trusted minister. "Continue."

"That would be to dispatch Death Warriors to find an opportunity to kill Natalia."

Eric fell silent. Even before Hela had spoken, he had known this was the method his minister would suggest.

"There’s no need!"

Eric rejected the proposal.

"Doing so would only completely shatter the Noble Alliance, destroy the mutual trust between myself, Kais, and Duane, and ultimately escalate into a large-scale diplomatic and military crisis."

’He thought of Duane, that young man who had rejected immense benefits to choose Natalia. He might even come to the Cyan Snake Royal Palace alone to cause trouble for him.’

"Count Kais’s proposal is excellent!"

Eric said, "That man also wants stability in the Kingdom, which is why he’s actively distancing himself from Sean and the others."

"Lloyd has been by my side for several years; he’s a good young man. In that case, have Kais carve out a piece of land for Lloyd from the Silent Shore, and I will ennoble him as a..."

The King thought for a moment before continuing, "Let’s grant Lloyd the title of Viscount and marry Emily to him."