Chapter 3
At the basement level of the castle.
An underground secret room that Levi had never been to before.
The mechanical stone table slowly emerged from the ground.
An aged, tattered sheepskin scroll lay quietly on the ground. It was scribbled with all kinds of random little figures with scarlet paint. The figures’ postures were strange, and their movements were different as they formed a circle.
And around these little people was a large black-scaled snake that seemed to be able to surround the entire castle. The snake had an abstract appearance and was sticking out its tongue. There was an ancient candle standing on its chin. The candlelight dispelled the darkness and illuminated all directions.
“This is the Schneider family’s ancestral breathing technique: Black Snake Breathing Technique. It is the foundation of the Schneider family, and the Schneider bloodline flowing in your body is the key to all of this.”
“This breathing technique of excellent quality is even more precious than this Black Water Valley.”
Sir Fred said solemnly.
Levi’s breathing was heavy. He could finally embark on the path of a true knight!
As far as he knew, knights divided breathing techniques into four categories according to the degree of exquisiteness and growth potential of the breathing technique: shallow, excellent, perfect, and legendary!
Among them, 90% of the breathing techniques were of the shallow grade.
Many people who cultivated such a shallow breathing technique could only be mediocre at the level of a knight’s attendant for the rest of their lives, unable to step into the realm of a knight at all. Being able to condense the “Life Seed” and become an official knight was already a stroke of luck. It was basically impossible to become a grand knight. For example, the “Serpent Vulture Breathing Technique” practiced by Sir Fred was like this.
Of course, an excellent breathing technique was only a stepping stone to becoming a grand knight. To become a grand knight, one needed 90% talent, 9% opportunity, and 1% hard work.
A perfect breathing technique was probably only available to the duke’s family. There were not many of them in the entire kingdom.
As for the legendary-grade breathing technique, like the legendary knight, it only existed in legends, so there was no need to mention it.
An important feature of the breathing techniques above excellent quality was that most of the breathing techniques passed down by clans required the bloodline of the clan to cultivate. As for the specific reason, even knights didn’t know. This kind of breathing technique was also called the “Bloodline Breathing Technique” or “Secret Cultivation Technique”.
The Black Snake Breathing Technique was a Bloodline Breathing Technique that belonged to the Schneider family!
In history, there had been cases of knights snatching the ancestral breathing techniques of other nobles to cultivate. The final outcome was either to cultivate for a lifetime without achieving anything or to go berserk and die from all the blood vessels in their bodies exploding.
Some people said that this was a curse that the ancestors of the nobles had placed on those who blasphemed their families.
However, Levi was not worried about this. He was a noble, and the pure blood of the Schneider family flowed in his veins. He was the heir of the Black Snake!
The Black Snake Breathing Technique was too precious, so Levi did not bring it out of the secret room. Instead, he began to cultivate it in the secret room under the guidance of Sir Fred. As a result, half a month passed.
During this time, Sir Fred had been accompanying him. Although he did not know the Black Snake Breathing Technique, he was knowledgeable and had more than enough experience to teach Levi.
On this day, Levi woke up in a strange posture. He did not seem to be doing any intense exercise, but he was drenched in sweat. His veins were bulging, his face was red, and his breathing was rapid.
He felt his blood boiling and circulating at an extraordinary speed. The energy stored in his body was burning crazily. He felt extremely hungry and wanted to eat a whole snow rabbit.
“I’m hungry!”
Levi spoke like a wild beast, his voice low and hoarse.
Seeing this, Sir Fred was already prepared. He served a plate of roasted meat, a bowl of goat’s milk, and a large white bread roll wrapped in a layer of fragrant jam, as well as boiled cabbage.
Such a combination of food included carbon, protein, and vitamins. In fact, the nobles in this world rarely ate vegetables. They thought that the vegetables that grew in the ground were low-grade food, food for the poor. However, Levi knew the importance of balanced nutrition, so every time he asked the servants to cook, they would mix meat and vegetables.
He inhaled the food and wolfed it down. His hunger disappeared and his expression relaxed.
His appetite was twice that of a normal man, but he was only 80% full.
On the proficiency panel in his mind, a new skill had appeared:
Levi Schneider.
[Black Snake Breathing Technique: Level 1 (1/1000)]
According to Levi’s previous experience, once the skill appeared on the proficiency panel, it meant that he had already started.
The next step was to cultivate step by step to increase his proficiency.
At the same time, mastering the basic breathing technique was also a sign of becoming a knight’s attendant.
“Shield-Wielding Attendant, Sword-Bearing Attendant, and Quasi-Knight.”
These were the three stages of an apprentice before becoming an official knight. They were collectively called “Knight Attendants”.
In the Shield-Wielding Attendant stage, other than the cultivation of breathing techniques, one also needed to learn the basic use of shields. Regardless of whether one would need a shield in the future, learning to use a shield in battle was a compulsory skill for knights.
At the Sword-Bearing Attendant stage, one would have to start learning real sword skills, not the Basic Swordsmanship that were child’s play.
In this world, what could be called “skills” were all extremely advanced combat techniques that required years or even decades of persistent practice. It was the most important thing for a knight to improve their strength other than breathing techniques.
To put it simply, breathing techniques were internal cultivation techniques of martial arts. While sword techniques or other advanced weapon techniques were methods to unleash the power of breathing techniques, they were external cultivation techniques.
When the breathing technique was cultivated to a certain level, one would become a quasi-knight. This was the most important step because the next step was to condense the “Life Seed”.
If he succeeded, he would be able to become an invincible official knight on the battlefield. If he failed, it would be even more difficult to condense it again.
“Young Master, it seems that you’ve already mastered the Black Snake Breathing Technique. Although it is much slower than your father’s speed of mastering it in three days, it has reached an average level in the history of the Black Snake family.”
“In addition, you should have also felt that after you truly learn the breathing technique, you will consume a large amount of food every day. Therefore, before you cultivate in the future, you must prepare enough food in advance.
“Otherwise, that exaggerated hunger would dominate your mind and destroy your will like a gluttonous demon. Driven by the hunger instinct, you might do some crazy and depraved things. Many of those notorious ‘Lunatic Knights’ who were burned to death by the Church were a result of this.
“These crazy wretches were basically commoners who wanted to cultivate the knight’s breathing technique. They wanted to become stronger to protect their families and let them lead superior lives.
“They walked on the edge of madness time and time again, thinking that they were different. They thought that there would be many flukes and miracles in the world. In the end, some ate their old fathers, some ate their wives and children…”
Sir Fred said with a complicated look.
He was a knight born as a commoner, so he knew how it felt. He was very grateful to Levi’s father, who had saved him at a critical moment.