The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

Arriving with nearly a thousand knights, and leaving with one thousand five hundred, the scale of the Coral Island Knights had grown like this for the first time during the Pioneer Mandate war.

Liszt himself had incorporated nearly sixty Earth Knights, including ten Elite Earth Knights.

The total number of Earth Knights in the territory had increased to seventy-nine, enough to form six knight squads with some to spare. Supporting so many knights was a significant burden for Black Horse Island, which was still in its development phase, but the construction of the territory also inevitably depended on the knights, since they were the class that held knowledge.

Although Liszt was vigorously training knights from within his own territory, he still relied on the help of knights who had come over during the transition period.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The development and construction were never things that could be achieved with just a snap of the fingers.

When the last batch of supplies and serfs were loaded onto the ships, and the knights began to lead their horses on board in succession, Liszt, after guiding Douson and the Eight Tiny Ones into the ship's cabin, also led the Landwalker bird Loki aboard, its breathing unsteady and its expression listless—the effects of the Bloodline Fruit were showing, transforming its bloodline.

Half an hour later.

The last sailboat left the harbor and headed towards the azure sea.

The Pioneer Mandate of the year 152 officially ended.

Standing at the bow and watching the coastline gradually fade away, Liszt was full of anticipation, waiting to return to his territory to flex his muscles and build a new outlook.

At this moment.

He summoned the Smoke Mission.

With the war over, the Serpent Script changed, "Complete the mission, reward: the rebirth of Dou Qi."

"Hmm?" Liszt's gaze sharpened, surprised by the content of the reward, "The rebirth of Dou Qi, what does that mean? I remember that the rewards about Dou Qi included the sublimation of Dou Qi, which helped me advance to Earth Knight; and the bottleneck of Dou Qi, which helped me reach Elite Earth Knight."

Now, the rebirth of Dou Qi was also awarded.

"Is it saying that my Dou Qi, because of the germination of the Magic Fire Seed, is gradually transitioning to 'Dragon Dou Qi'; or does it mean that in the process of cultivating with the Magic Fire Seed, I've undergone a quantitative change leading to a qualitative leap, advancing towards Advanced Dou Qi?" He pondered, sensing the abundant Dou Qi within him.

No matter which result it was.

This was a significant breakthrough in his personal strength.

As a noble scion, he had gained considerable cultivation experience, whether from his father Li Weiliam or his maternal grandfather Marquis Merlin.

He had a deep understanding of the process of ascending from Intermediate Dou Qi to Advanced Dou Qi.

Dou Qi, as a form of Magic Power, is referred to as "Qi" precisely because of its nature at the stage of Advanced Dou Qi.

Low-Level Dou Qi is an aggregation of nutrients within the body, chaotic with no attribute, and after cultivation, one only becomes an Apprentice Knight with no significant breakthrough in strength; Intermediate Dou Qi is Dou Qi that displays a change in properties, and with it, one can traverse the Earth, hence the title of Earth Knight.

Similarly, the reason why a Sky Knight is called a Sky Knight is that they can soar into the sky.

What they rely on is the nature of Advanced Dou Qi—light as air, which can support the body, almost as if merging with the sky. At the stage of Advanced Dou Qi, it truly demonstrates the properties of "Qi", distinctly set apart from Magic Power and showing even more significant changes in properties.

High-level Water Attributed Dou Qi is like a stream of water flowing through the meridians; High-level Wind Attribute Dou Qi is like a mass of wind constantly cleansing the meridians.

Similarly.

High-level Fire Attribute Dou Qi should be like a flame that continuously spreads throughout the meridians.

Paired with an Advanced Dou Qi Manual, one can fully unleash the entire power of Advanced Dou Qi, and even cause changes in the weather during battles.

A battle between a Water Attribute Sky Knight and a Thunder Attribute Sky Knight would definitely bring thunder, lightning, and pouring rain in that area.

"No matter whether this rebirth of Dou Qi turns out to be Dragon Dou Qi or becomes Advanced Dou Qi, I am filled with anticipation!"

"Let's get started quickly!"

Amid anticipation, the smoke before his eyes transformed.

New Serpent Script emerged: "Mission: 17,000 new serfs have arrived, your territory now has 22,300 citizens. The existing Fresh Flower Town and Harbor Town can no longer accommodate them, please plan new towns for the resettlement of your citizens. Reward: Peas that produce rhizobia."

The number of serfs had soared.

Setting up new towns was a necessary step.

Li Si Te would have planned this way even without the Smoke Mission's reminder, and he was delighted at the reward—the peas that produce rhizobia.

Rhizobia, undoubtedly, were important agricultural auxiliary microorganisms. After forming nodules with leguminous plants, they could symbiotically fix nitrogen, greatly enhancing the nitrogen fertilizer required by plants and aiding in increased crop yields. Li Si Te had planted many soybeans and peas on Black Horse Island, hoping to use them to produce rhizobia to improve soil fertility.

However, the results seemed to be underwhelming. Many of the sprouting soybeans and peas grew weakly. When pulled out, their roots had few nodules.

Clearly, most leguminous plants had not been infected with rhizobia.

Li Si Te remembered that on Earth, the cultivation of leguminous crops required artificial inoculation with rhizobia. What he could do was collect a small amount of rhizobia and mix it with the bean seeds. It was hard to guarantee that inoculation would occur—and the outcome proved they had hardly been inoculated.

The rhizobia in the natural ecosystem were still too scarce.

"With peas capable of producing rhizobia, I believe we can gather enough rhizobia strains, and then promote artificial inoculation throughout the territory!"

...

Returning to Coral Island from the mainland required about ten days of sailing.

During this time, Li Si Te kept taking potions and eating meat, tirelessly training. Finally, on the third day of the voyage, he sensed a brand-new change in his Dou Qi.

Previously, because it had been contaminated by the impure Magic Power excreted by the Magic Fire Seed, his Dou Qi had already undergone one evolution, becoming a new Intermediate Fire Attribute Dou Qi—more powerful, less dissipative, with deeper qualities, allowing for faster breakthroughs. He thought he had already attained Dragon Dou Qi.

But he felt that was unlikely. The power of Dragon Dou Qi should not be limited to this. Moreover, since the Magic Fire Seed had not yet nurtured a Fire Dragon, how could he have Dragon Dou Qi already?

It could only be considered special Intermediate Dou Qi.

And now, the special Intermediate Dou Qi was undergoing another change, as if it was a liquid sublimating into gas. Yet, the Dou Qi didn't expand; instead, it became lighter and more agile. As it circulated through his meridians, it gave him the sensation that he was beginning to ride the clouds and mist.

It was as if the Dou Qi had become a flame.

Burning along his meridians, there was no sensation of scorching pain, only relief and comfort.

"This is... the process of Intermediate Dou Qi gradually evolving into Advanced Dou Qi. It looks like I'm beginning to break away from the constraints of an Earth Knight, advancing towards becoming a Sky Knight!"

It should have been a moment to tremble with excitement, but he had anticipated this.

So at this moment, his mind was incredibly calm.

He continued to focus on his training, constantly circulating his Dou Qi to accelerate this transformation—for many Elite Earth Knights, evolving from Intermediate Dou Qi to Advanced Dou Qi required a high unity of body, energy, and spirit, constantly striking, breaking through for a glimmer of a chance to touch the sky.

However, as he calmly trained, the transformation of his Dou Qi naturally took its course, encountering no resistance whatsoever.

"Is my talent so exceptional that no barriers to advancement exist? It's a bit too self-congratulatory. A more likely possibility is that my Dou Qi was changed by the Magic Fire Seed, resulting in the disappearance of barriers to advancement... After all, I can now be considered a reserve Dragon Knight!"

He opened his eyes abruptly, his body slightly undulating with the rocking of the ship.

He felt that by merely circulating the Dou Qi that was changing, his body could take flight, a wondrous sensation.

"Once the voyage ends, this change will also be complete. By then, I will have truly become a Sky Knight! A seventeen-year-old Sky Knight, everyone will be astonished! Although there is still a gap from the sixteen-year-old Sky Knight candidate for Dragon Knight, it's not far off!"

With that thought, he could no longer contain himself.

All his joy and pride were released with his laughter: "Hahahaha!"