The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

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She toiled for a year and became an Earth Knight.

Emily's talent was undeniable; even the Smoke Mission was amazed by her. As for her training, Liszt had already made his considerations. He planned to cultivate Emily as a future Sky Knight, for she had such talent and was at the right age to be promoted to Sky Knight.

In this world, there were no female Dragon Knights, but there were quite a few female Sky Knights, just not yet in the Duchy of Sapphire.

Within the cultivation system, women were inherently at a disadvantage, and most noblewomen were expected to bear children, which hindered their training. As tools for political marriage, they also received less support from their families. Even the two daughters of the Sapphire Duke were no exception—they received scant resources for cultivation, if they ever thought about training at all.

After all, cultivating was no easy feat; it involved enduring much hardship, unlike the comfortable life of noble ladies attending balls and engaging in romantic pursuits.

"Emily, I am very pleased that you have become an Earth Knight within a year,"

"My lord, I still need to work harder."

"It is right to work hard. You were born a commoner and are a woman. Only hard work can take you to greater heights. You are a follower I value, with mighty talent. I can invest resources to nurture you. But without the desire to become stronger, no one can guarantee your future."

Emily replied earnestly, "Please rest assured, my lord. I will double my efforts and will not let you down!"

"Rest well these next couple of days and stabilize your Intermediate Dou Qi. I will select a suitable Thunder Attribute Dou Qi Secret Technique for you and also increase your nutritional standard."

"Thank you, my lord!"

The twelve-year-old girl soon left from beneath the apple tree.

Watching her retreating figure, which was beginning to show grace, Liszt couldn't help but be filled with emotion: "The strength of the domain continues to grow; I am making progress, and so are others... Ach and Chris have already become Grand Magicians, and Emily has become an Earth Knight."

For a Viscounty to give rise to two Grand Magicians and a Sky Knight—such power was unprecedentedly strong.

A moment later.

After feeding the Mini Little Fire Dragon and looking at the empty Fire Dragon Jar, Liszt began to feel disconsolate.

Only some areas of Black Horse Island still had unmined Volcanic Glass, enough to produce the Fire Dragon Magic Power for at most three more Fire Dragon Jars before being completely depleted.

If the Mini Little Fire Dragon continued to require Fire Dragon Magic Power, he would have no choice but to divert the supply from the Fire Dragon Brick Factory and the Glass Workshop. However, he was not yet willing to shut down those operations, even though he had ordered the workers to experiment with the Charcoal Kiln.

He was preparing for the day when the Fire Dragon Magic Power would be exhausted.

After all, in order to become a Dragon Rider, Liszt would spare no expense—once a Fire Dragon was conceived, would there still be a shortage of Fire Dragon Magic Power?

...

The next day.

Once Goltai received the letter announcing Liszt's appointment of Charles Trap as head of the security force, the Smoke Mission was completed.

"Mission completed, reward 'Aris's True Herb Classification'."

That afternoon, returning from abroad, Elkerson True brought a fresh batch of Magic Books, along with three simple types of Common Magic that he had found with great effort. After receiving his desired reward, he hastily left Fresh Flower Town, ready to enjoy himself thoroughly at the brothel in Coral City.

Hence, Liszt easily found 'Aris's True Herb Classification' among the pile of Magic Books.

"A professional book on herbs?" Liszt opened the book and became interested upon seeing its contents, "This magician named Aris True chose to study herbs that can cure diseases instead of studying magic power. It seems he is a scholar in the mold of Li Shizhen."

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Li Shizhen authored the monumental work on traditional Chinese medicine, the Compendium of Materia Medica, and is rightly considered a medical saint.

Although Aris True's Herbs Classification is also rich in content, it clearly cannot compare to the Compendium of Materia Medica. Looking at the records on the index page, it lists approximately one hundred and twenty types of herbs, each accompanied by an illustration. In contrast to the Compendium's thousands of medicines, it seems rather meager.

In this world, it is still considered a significant advancement since in a society supported by magic power, knights and magicians have no incentive to delve into medicine.

The bodies of knights and magicians constantly improve with magic power, making them less susceptible to illness.

As for the commoners, their life and death are of no concern to the noble knights and magicians. Only Liszt, with the soul of a modern person, cared more about the survival of the common people. Then, by accident, he met a magician who also cared about the commoners and authored this book on medical magic.

He called over another retainer knight, Philip: "Take this book of magic to Consultant Goltai and have him arrange for a few copies to be made. Place this book in the Craftsman Institute of the Knight Academy as one of the teaching textbooks."

"Yes, my lord."

Following his command, Philip departed, taking with him the book of magic whose cover had already been torn. Next, Liszt hid in his study and began to tear the covers of all the remaining magic books, seeking the possible Dou Qi Secret Technique.

After confirming that none of the magic books contained any hidden Dou Qi Secret Techniques,

he lacklusterly engaged in his new Smoke Mission.

"It's somewhat ironic; the Smoke Mission really is a reflection of my inner world, an image that I had fantasized about just a few days ago, now appearing in the form of a mission."

Looking at the changing Smoke Serpent Script before him, his expression was awkward.

"Mission: Li Weiliam is a mountain peak in your heart waiting to be surpassed. Although you are still young, your strength is no longer inferior. Work hard to cultivate the Rising Sun Blaze, and by defeating Li Weiliam, you will witness the splendid expression on his face. Reward: The lingering of an old friend."

Although it was embarrassing, the content of the mission coincided with his thoughts.

In Coral Island and its surroundings, the only one who could serve as his opponent and accept a challenge was the Earl. Now, with five charging moves in the Rising Sun Blaze—Full Sun Wheel, Rising Sun Ascend, Scorching Sun Sting, Setting Sun Drop, Crimson Dawn Burn—he has only yet to learn Crimson Dawn Burn.

The challenge could be issued at any time.

"But what does this 'lingering of an old friend' mean?" Liszt puzzled over it, unable to understand. Having crossed into this world, he hadn't made any friends in two years, merely accepting followers continuously.

However, his predecessor did indeed have some friends.

Most of these friends had already come to Black Horse Island to settle and had become his followers, leaving only a few who had not come, but they could hardly be considered old friends—Liszt didn't regard them as friends at all.

"I don't have any old friends. If you talk about an old flame, perhaps Duniko Hyacinth could be considered one, but I heard she has already married, becoming the wife of an Earl's son... Although Rona Sally Golden Wheat isn't married, the naive love from the past has already scattered with the wind."

He did not expect these two women to entangle with him again.

Similarly, he could not think of any old friends of his own.

"Never mind, if I can't figure it out, I won't think about it. When I challenge the Earl and defeat him, I will naturally know who the old friend is."

He unsheathed the Sky-Cleaving Greatsword with a decisive motion, his heart afire: "Cultivate, become stronger, I want to be the strongest on Coral Island!"

The new waves push the old waves, and the old waves die on the beach!

Now.

The era of Liszt is about to dawn on Coral Island!