Ivan followed behind Mellie, his gaze unconsciously falling on the pair of straight legs in front of him. Looking more closely, he noticed that his senior sister was not much shorter than himself. In the past few months, he had grown two or three centimeters, and was now around 173 cm tall.
"This way."
Sensing something, Mellie turned her head for a glance.
Ivan looked as if nothing had happened.
The two of them arrived in a hall within the inner building.
Ivan saw Instructor Quincy was also present.
"Instructor Quincy."
"You’re here. There’s something about the Breathing Method that Miss Mellie and you need to discuss in detail."
Quincy nodded at him while sizing him up, as if he wanted to discern what was different about him.
Initially, Quincy’s assessment of Ivan was that of a student with some understanding, but only average physical talent. He had not expected this student to grow so quickly; in a flash, his strength had reached around that of a squire. He had been mistaken.
Mellie got straight to the point, "Junior brother Ivan, do you need a better Breathing Method?"
"Of course, I do."
Hearing her words, Ivan brightened.
Cultivating the Breath of Life, progressing from a squire to Knight Class wasn’t an easy task, as seen by the many people stuck at the threshold of squire.
The quality of the Knight Breathing Method was critical to the breakthrough probability. Good quality Breathing Methods helped to break through to Knight Class, and he was planning to exchange the basic level Gushing Breath Method for a higher quality one—even an elementary quality one would be significant.
Mellie continued, "Our Swordsmanship Hall does have an elementary quality Breathing Method, which follows the same lineage as the Gushing Breath Method, allowing for the easy completion of the blood energy conversion."
Compared to basic Breathing Methods, the life energy refined by the elementary Breathing Method was more efficient and pure, and it could also deposit blood energy in a specific part of the body, bringing greater combat strength, and aiding in breaking through to Knight Class.
Ivan understood the difference.
Mellie added, "In other words, the Gushing Breath Method is a simplified version of the Elementary Green Wave Breathing Method."
Ivan, knowing there was no such thing as a free lunch, asked calmly, "What do you need me to do?"
Mellie looked at him appreciatively, "Join Cassia, serve the Swordsmanship Hall, and after becoming a knight, stay on for ten more years."
Ivan pondered the implications. Basically, it meant that as a squire, he would have to keep serving them, and only after reaching Knight Class could he leave, and even then, he would still have to serve the Swordsmanship Hall for another ten years.
"Tell me about it."
"There is. It’s located in Giant Waves City, within the territory of the Giant Waves Marquisdom. Our Cassia is a prestigious family; people come to learn because of this fact," Donnie said, implying mysteriously that there was definitely a significant connection between Cassia and the Giant Waves Marquis.
Suddenly, Ivan wondered if his father had seen this as an important factor, which was why he insisted on sending him there despite his predecessor’s objections.
The martial arts arena was not a place for idle chit-chat. Soon both of them resumed their training, and by noon, Donnie insisted on treating Ivan to a meal as a way to thank him for helping to get an apology out of Henge. Ivan agreed.
...
Flying Fish Port harbor.
As evening approached, a mysterious, black ship with patterns all around emerged from the waves and rapidly neared the dock.
"Aow."
Accompanied by a deep roar, a huge turtle head suddenly protruded from the front of the black ship, followed swiftly by the emergence of the rest of the beast.
This caught the attention of people near the docks. Many, thinking a sea beast was attacking, panicked and ran, but fortunately, someone loudly clarified it was a sorcerer’s ship, which calmed the frightened onlookers.
Before the ship had even docked, the harbor guards began to disperse the crowd, lest someone inadvertently disturb these important figures.
The vast eastern side of the dock quieted down.
The black ship slowly approached the dock, and a figure could be seen standing behind the railing on the second floor of the ship’s cabin, wearing a gray robe with a hood so swollen that it obscured the individual’s face from onlookers.
"Eckerz, what do you think we should do about this matter?"
A figure flew out from the cabin behind him—it was a little green winged snake whose voice emanated from its mouth.
Clearly, the little green winged snake was either an intelligent creature or the sorcerer’s magic pet.
The hooded figure replied, "Lahr, such trivialities can be left to the nobles of the city. Let’s go find something more interesting."
The little green winged snake looked at him doubtfully, "What interesting thing could there possibly be in this small place?"
The swollen hood shook, and the hooded figure laughed, "I once explored the dwelling of an ancient sorcerer and found this." He pulled out a piece of beast hide from his pocket, which bore a badge-like mark with an aged, bloody handprint at its center.
The little green winged snake glanced at it with indifference, "A thing to bind servants, how dull."
The hooded man continued, "Funny thing is, right before we left here last time, I managed to peel off some of the blood. I used it to practice a tracking spell, and surprisingly, it seems the owner of the blood is right here at Flying Fish Port."
"Oh? Such a thing," With renewed interest, the little green winged snake responded, "Alright, let’s catch this little bug. We might find even more amusing things."