Warm Dragon

Chapter 12: Radiant Sword Technique

Old Hans couldn’t contain his excitement.

Although his feet were numb from being submerged in the cold river water, he was thrilled to have fished out pearls with magical properties for the lord. He knew that his position as the manor foreman was now secure.

When he noticed that the lord had personally instructed the butler to bring him hot milk tea, a delicacy usually reserved for noble lords, Old Hans felt honored. The milk tea was said to contain not only fresh milk and sugar, but also chocolate sauce, honey, cinnamon powder, and even brandy.

It was sweet and tempting, warming him with just one sip.

“Oh, praise the Lord, it’s so delicious, I’ve never tasted anything so good in my life,” Black Pete from Barley Village exclaimed with a moan-like admiration.

“The Lord really is the best Lord!” said Boris from Wheat Village contentedly, his one eye twinkling.

“Of course the Lord is the best,” the plump cook, Mrs. Moore, walked over with a kettle, “not only did he let you warm up by the stove, but he also asked me to refill your cups. The Lord is incredibly generous to you serfs!”

“Thank you, Mrs. Moore.”

Seeing that they could have more, the men who were initially reluctant to drink the tea downed it in one go, then eagerly held out their cups, staring at the kettle in the cook’s hand.

“Uncle Boris, did you find any pearls for the master? What are pearls? Do they grow in clams, are they some kind of gem?” Barbara, the kitchen maid who was adding coal to the stove, asked curiously.

“Ah, you are Barbara, aren’t you?” Boris recognized the busy kitchen maid, “Old Barton’s girl?”

“Yes.”

“You’ve grown so much, Old Barton said you were working at Fluorescent Castle, didn’t expect you to return with the lord.”

Barbara grinned, her freckled face lively, her prominent canines catching the eye: “I wanted to be closer to home, Uncle Boris, you still haven’t told me what pearls are.”

“Pearls… well,” Boris, who had no idea what pearls were, began to boast, “pearls are gems from the water. You see, noble lords love pearls the most!”

The boiler room was filled with a cheerful atmosphere as they drank tea and chatted.

“Barbara, stop chatting and get a bucket of water, we still have a lot of clams and river snails to clean!” the cook called from the kitchen.

Barbara stood up quickly: “I’m going now, Mrs. Moore.”

“Hurry up, be efficient.”

“Yes, Mrs. Moore.”

Meanwhile, in the manor’s guest hall, five silver-white pearls were laid out on the table with Russell, Charles, and Eric seated around it.

“The mana isn’t very abundant, it’s inferior to the gems. However, compared to the overly violent mana in gems, the mana in pearls is gentler, perhaps they can be used to make mana potions,” Eric offered his opinion.

He was the only great knight in the manor, a level above armored knights, with martial arts energy flowing through all his meridians.

He was only one step away from becoming a Fantasy Beast Knight by contracting a Fantasy Beast.

“Unfortunately, there are only five pearls left, Russell. I think it’s better to keep them as jewelry for gifting,” Charles suggested.

Dragon-raised gems could be mined in large quantities, creating significant economic value.

The unexpectedly large shell had produced five pearls, which were rare but not very valuable.

Russell pondered: “Teachers, since mussels can produce pearls, do you think it’s possible to cultivate pearls artificially?”

“Artificial cultivation?” Charles shook his head, “Russell, that’s a bit far-fetched. Pearls are gifts from heaven, not like potions, how could they be cultivated artificially… The Baron sends people out every year to catch freshwater delicacies, but no calms has ever produced pearls.” Eric nodded in agreement.

Russell wasn’t surprised; no clam in the Dusklight River had produced pearls before, so naturally no one thought about cultivating them.

However, his knowledge as a transmigrator told him that pearls could be cultivated artificially.

He didn’t know the specific methods, but he understood the principle of pearl formation. When a clam’s soft body is invaded by foreign objects, it secretes nacre to envelop the intruder, gradually forming a pearl.

“Perhaps pearls can be cultivated artificially!” he thought to himself, but didn’t voice it yet.

After all, this was another world, and pearls were magical creations. Whether they could be cultivated artificially was uncertain.

For now, cultivating pearls wasn’t a priority.

He instructed Morris, the butler, to store the five pearls and then followed Eric to begin his morning knight training.

“The Radiant Sword Technique is the most suitable for your cultivation,” Eric said, grasping a steel longsword with both hands. His martial arts energy flowed into the sword, creating visible ripples like steam on the blade, “It’s powerful in battle and excellent for breaking through barriers.”

Russell also grabbed a steel longsword with both hands, following Eric to learn every move of the Radiant Sword Technique.

Eric was usually taciturn, but when he was teaching, he was very detailed and patient: “For each move, we aim not only for strength, but also to feel the connection between martial energy and the moves. Then use the movements to push the martial energy to break through barriers!”

Ha!

Eric slashed, and a faint steam-like sword aura flew out from the blade, reaching over three meters into the air.

“With this move, the martial energy will flow to the meridians in your hand under the guidance of the move. Master this move today,” Eric instructed.

“Good!”

Russell nodded and continued practicing the move, swinging the steel longsword through the air, but no aura appeared.

His predecessor’s desperate attempt had actually caused the martial energy seed to blossom, providing him with true martial energy.

However, the energy only circulated in the main meridians of his body, forming a small circuit that nourished his body and strengthened his physique. He couldn’t yet channel martial arts energy into his weapon to release impressive sword auras like Eric did.

Only by continuously strengthening his martial arts energy and breaking through the meridians in his limbs and body to form a large circuit could he freely wield the energy and release sword auras at will.

At that point, he would advance from an armored knight to a great knight.

Swoosh.

Swoosh.

Russell practiced diligently, each sword swing drawing a thread of martial arts energy from his main meridians to break through the meridians in his hand, gradually opening new pathways.

He didn’t feel tired, only amazed and exhilarated.

“Practicing Martial Arts Energy is a bit like Wuxia,” he thought occasionally, “But my situation is like opening the Ren and Du meridians first, then gradually opening the Eight Extraordinary Meridians and the Twelve Regular Meridians…”