The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

The joyful laughter startled the Earl.

He walked over and knocked on Liszt's door, "What are you laughing at?"

"I'll be flying soon, Father," Liszt did not intend to hide anything, as a Sky Knight, he need not be too cautious.

Even if envied by others, he had enough strength to protect himself.

In the Duchy of Sapphire, unless the Grand Duke himself took action against him riding a dragon, being a Sky Knight as well, if he couldn't win, couldn't he still escape—fleeing into the sea and letting the Sea Sprite Ake provide cover, no one could catch him.

"Flying?" The Earl was momentarily at a loss.

"Yes, aerial flying!"

"You mean a Sky Knight?"

"Hmm."

Then.

There was a long silence.

Eventually, the Earl spoke first, "Liszt, are you sure you have already started advancing to Sky Knight? You became an Earth Knight only after coming of age, an Elite Earth Knight six months later, and now, not even a year has passed, you want to advance to Sky Knight? I hope you're not joking."

"Father, although I am not serious, I am not one to joke," Liszt smiled slightly, "I have the Sky Knight training experience from you and Grandpa, always carrying Grandpa's 'Sword Saint's Chronicles,' I know my current state."

"What does it feel like, tell me."

"My Dou Qi is changing, as if it sublimates from liquid to gas, as if the calm Dou Qi suddenly began to burn, enveloping me with strength, and greatly enhancing the power of my combat skills!"

"Come with me, to the deck, I will personally test your fighting ability!" The Earl was still somewhat incredulous, preparing to personally probe, "I haven't felt the pressure that a Sky Knight should have from you, and the rate at which your Dou Qi dissipates is far from the Sky Knight standard."

Of course, it did not reach that standard.

One reason was that Liszt had made some progress practicing 'Breath Decay,' at least halving the Dou Qi depletion rate.

Another reason was that his Dou Qi had been changed by the Magic Fire Seed, further slowing down the rate of dissipation, even the speed at which the released Dou Qi techniques dissipated was greatly reduced—of course, it was still too far from the nearly permanent etching of Fire Dragon Magic Power, at this point it could at best be called "Primary Dragon Dou Qi."

Perhaps with the continuous nurturing of the Magic Fire Seed, it could evolve into Low-Level, Intermediate, Advanced, Super, and Ultimate Dragon Dou Qi, and so on.

Therefore.

In terms of aura, Liszt gave off a harmless impression, but he harbored a ferocious Dou Qi within his body that only he knew about.

The Primary Dragon Dou Qi that imbued the Fire Attribute Dou Qi was restrained like magma waiting to erupt.

...

Standing on the deck.

Liszt held his sword in both hands, gazing straight ahead with a serious expression, "Father, don't underestimate me. When I unleash my strength, even I cannot measure it." Facing a Sky Knight of the Sword Saint Level, he didn't plan on holding back any strength and was ready to unleash it all.

"I should be admonishing you not to be too arrogant, but without absolute pressure, you probably can't comprehend, so let's fight it out!"

Li Weiliam drew his longsword.

The battle was on the verge of erupting.

On the Tulip, the nobles who heard the commotion came out of their cabins one after another, watching the fight. They were somewhat confused and didn't understand why the Earl and Liszt were about to fight.

"What's going on?"

"It seems that Viscount Liszt has challenged the Earl."

"Is the Earl probably intending to teach Viscount Liszt about training?"

Viscount Jonas raised his eyebrows and whispered to Viscount Trik who had arrived, "My hunch wasn't wrong, Viscount Liszt's strength has improved rapidly, and he dares to challenge the Earl now."

"The gap between an Elite Earth Knight and a Sky Knight seems hard to bridge."

"I heard that in the battle at Hands Fort, Viscount Liszt once crossed swords with Viscount Fredo, known as the Sprinting Sword Saint. It seems that the fight ended in a draw; the Sprinting Sword Saint simply couldn't keep up with Viscount Liszt riding a Landwalker Bird."

"But this time it's a sword fight."

...

Li Si Te paid no attention to the whispers of the crowd around him.

His body was extremely excited, as this was his first time engaging in a sword fight with a Sky Knight—knights preferred to use longswords in close combat, hence such encounters were known as sword fights. He had crossed swords with various Earth Knights and with the Sky-Cleaving Greatsword had killed several Elite Earth Knights.

But when it came to Sky Knights, he had only ever engaged in archery sneak attacks and long-range kiting, never daring to face them head-on.

Now.

A breakthrough was imminent.

Finally, he could face a Sky Knight head-on.

Flame-like Dou Qi thrummed through his body, circulating through his meridians. By now, his Dou Qi should be referred to as "Intermediate Fire Attribute Primary Dragon Dou Qi."

Suddenly, he raised the Sky-Cleaving Greatsword and executed a Fire Dragon Assault out of nowhere.

The attack targeted Li Weiliam.

Li Weiliam looked relaxed as he raised his sword to meet the attack, his longsword, imbued with Advanced Water Attribute Dou Qi, effortlessly blocked Liszt's sword move.

And with ease, he counterthrust, the Dou Qi exploding forth, setting off a cascade of water vapor.

Facing Li Weiliam's formidable counterattack, Liszt, who had taken the initiative to strike, had to quickly switch to defensive mode. His longsword danced swiftly, furious Dou Qi continuously pouring in, dissipating the Water Attribute Dou Qi that was assailing him.

His actions were slightly frantic, and it took several strokes before he managed to barely neutralize Li Weiliam's casual counterattack.

Just this one round of testing made him realize the vast gap between himself and a Sky Knight—and it wasn't surprising since Li Weiliam was one of the strongest Sky Knights at the Sword Saint Level.

He composed his flustered emotions.

His mind rapidly cooled, casting aside all extraneous thoughts, and he attacked the Earl with all his might. His Dou Qi, which seemed to cost him nothing, gushed forth, aligning with sword techniques from the Dou Qi Manuscript and launching a frenzied attack. Such aggressive offensive maneuvers practically abandon his own defense, which was unnecessary against Li Weiliam.

After all, this was a trial of strength, not a true combat exercise.

Li Weiliam remained on the defensive, not taking the offensive.

Liszt became more unleashed as the battle progressed, his Dou Qi beginning to weave together cohesively, making rapid progress in his sword fighting skills. Moreover, his attacking stamina far exceeded that of your average Elite Earth Knight, and the speed at which his Dou Qi dissipated was very slow. The aura he created was gradually matching the Earl's surging Water Attribute Dou Qi.

"Heart of the Fire Dragon Drill!"

With a sudden inspiration, he transformed into a fire dragon and surged forward. His Dou Qi erupted all around him, forming a whirlwind-like flame drill head, bombarding Li Weiliam.

The Earl, who had been as stable as Mount Tai, couldn't help but flash a look of surprise at such a move and then retreated to dodge. But before he could clear the path, the fiercely attacking Liszt made a swift turn, charging at him again. The Dou Qi transformed into roaring flames, not falling behind at all.

This spurred amazement in him yet again—Intermediate Dou Qi was actually clashing with Advanced Dou Qi!

And as the fight went on, he noticed that Liszt's condition hardly diminished, a level of endurance that was difficult to find among Earth Knights.

"Is he really about to advance to Sky Knight?"

Caught off guard for a split second, when he snapped back to attention, Liszt was unleashing another Ultimate Mystery Strike, turning his sword into a sky full of fire rain, assailing him. With such a wide area of attack, there was virtually no space to dodge, and likewise, this rain of fire, created from his Dou Qi, was not dispersed by his Water Attribute Dou Qi.

It was a confrontation befitting Advanced Dou Qi.

Forced to fight back with full force, he unleashed a fierce Advanced Dou Qi secret technique, his Dou Qi transforming into a devastating tidal wave to meet the sky of fire rain.

Pffft!

Whoosh!

In a matter of moments, flame and mist created a dynamic balance, a clear delineation of red and blue between the two of them.

At this moment.

Liszt, the Elite Earth Knight fueled by potions, stood up against Li Weiliam, a Sky Knight of the Sword Saint Level.