Promotion to Knight

In the blink of an eye, ten days had passed.

On the white stone-paved path, a young man walked with his head down, arriving at the shop within the academy that sold magic elixirs. He entered without hesitation.

Behind the counter, the glasses-wearing old man was lying back in his chair, dozing off.

"Good day, Mr. Morgan."

After entering the shop, Sauron greeted Morgan. Morgan opened his eyes, dug at his ears, and sat up.

"It's you again? Buying more magic elixirs?"

Morgan looked Sauron up and down, suspicious. "Just a few days, and you've bought so many elixirs? You can't drink water this fast, can you?"

"No choice, who made me a genius?" Sauron half-jokingly said with a smile.

"I don't believe you."

Morgan rolled his eyes and sneered, "You must be buying low and selling high outside the academy to make a profit, right?"

"Plenty of commoner students do that. You're the first noble student!"

Sauron rubbed his nose, not denying it. He couldn't explain the elixir situation, so if Morgan misunderstood, it saved him a lot of trouble.

"Enough of that."

Sauron coughed and shook his head. "The spring hunting trial is approaching, and I plan to buy a batch of elixirs. Mr. Morgan, do you have any good stuff here?"

"Good stuff?"

Morgan raised an eyebrow and lightly said, "There's nothing special. It's the same old, same old. The prices of even White Spirit Potions are rising due to disturbances in the south."

"But if you want, it's still the previous price, six gold coins each!"

Hearing Morgan's words, Sauron's eyes flashed.

As the manager of the shop at Holy Splendor Academy, old Morgan seemed ordinary but had significant authority. For instance, the selling rights of magic elixirs in this store.

Although, according to academy rules, every student could buy elixirs here, some high-level elixirs were selectively sold by Morgan. If he didn't want to sell to you, he could just claim they were out of stock, and there would be no way to challenge it.

"Mr. Morgan."

Sauron's eyes glinted. He took out a small package from his waist and lowered his voice, "I know that the academy recently acquired several Graphite Potions. I'd appreciate it if you could take care of it!"

"Hmph!"

Seeing the package in his hand, Morgan sneered, shaking his head. "You noble students, lacking innate talent, always trying these underhanded methods. When old fogeys like me were young, at least we were knights! Do you think a small bribe can open back doors? Hmph, nice try, but old fogeys don't fall for that."

Saying this, he tossed the package back.

As Morgan said, in his younger days, he was indeed a knight and even served as a mentor at Holy Splendor Academy. If not for his age, he wouldn't be spending his retirement here. Hence, he didn't care much for money.

Seeing Morgan's attitude, Sauron wasn't offended.

"Hehe, Mr. Morgan."

A pleasing smile appeared on Sauron's face. Glancing around discreetly, he opened the package and whispered, "It's just a small token of appreciation. How can it be considered a bribe?"

"I say, you brat..."

Morgan slightly frowned, about to send Sauron away. However, upon seeing what was in the package, his expression subtly changed.

Inside the package were not gold coins, as he had imagined, but several white-covered books with colorful character illustrations.

"Wind and Flower Continent," "Young Robin," "Lady Bianca"...

"Oh, this..."

Morgan's eyes flashed with a hint of conflict. To be honest, he wasn't greedy for money, but he couldn't resist the allure of literary and artistic works.

"Please, Mr. Morgan, help me out."

Seeing this, Sauron took the opportunity to push several books into Morgan's hands and whispered, "I don't need much. Just one Graphite Potion will be enough!"

"One potion?"

Morgan hesitated for a moment, looked around to ensure no one was watching, and subtly put the books away. Then, he cleared his throat, stood up, and took out a black potion from a box below.

"Many thanks, Mr. Morgan!"

Sauron took the black potion, quickly put it away, and threw a bag of gold coins on the counter before leaving the shop.

"This kid."

Old Morgan shook his head, checked the number of gold coins, which happened to be the price of the Graphite Potion, and then took out Lady Bianca, eagerly flipping through it.

---

On the other side, Sauron returned to his dormitory.

Night Raven Breathing Technique Lv2 (95/100)

After ten days of cultivation, the proficiency of the Night Raven Breathing Technique had reached a critical point, only five points away from an upgrade.

According to Sauron's deduction, upgrading the breathing technique might lead to advancing to the Knight realm.

"Next, let's begin!"

Sauron took a deep breath, took out the black Graphite Potion—more advanced than the White Spirit Potion, with better effects and rarity.

Moreover, the majority of people didn't use Graphite Potions in daily cultivation. Typically, only those approaching the Knight realm would use them for breakthroughs, and Sauron had the same idea.

With only a few days left until the spring hunting trial, Sauron had been secluded in the academy, preparing to break through to the Knight realm to face potential dangers.

Gulp!

He downed the Graphite Potion, feeling a peculiar taste filling his mouth. Compared to the White Spirit Potion, the Graphite Potion was truly difficult to drink.

Suppressing the nauseating feeling, Sauron began cultivation.

However, this time, as soon as he started cultivation, he felt something different. His body seemed to be getting warmer, and his breathing rhythm became rapid.

"This is the feeling!"

Sauron's heart stirred. According to the information in his memory, this was the sensation of approaching a breakthrough to the Knight realm. It seemed his deduction was correct.

After an unknown amount of time, Sauron's body became increasingly heated.

It felt as if a flame was burning in his chest, and scorching air flowed through his entire body, making his blood surge like a river.

"Hah!!"

Suddenly, Sauron let out a low roar. It felt as if his chest exploded, an incredibly refreshing sensation washing over him. The Night Raven Breathing Technique had successfully upgraded!

"Hoo!"

After a while, Sauron let out a long breath. Feeling the fatigue in his body, he had a thought, and the interface appeared before him.

---

Name: Sauron

Occupation: Primary Level Knight

Strength: 1.9, Physique: 1.5, Agility: 2.1, Mental: 1.3

Skills: None

Passive: Archery Technique Lv4 (9/100), Night Raven Breathing Technique Lv3 (5/100), Armybreak Swordsmanship Lv3 (15/100)

Runes: None

Status: Weakened

---

Looking at the interface, Sauron's eyes gleamed.

Just as he had deduced, with the upgrade of the Night Raven Breathing Technique, he had successfully advanced to the Knight realm. However, he fell into a weakened state and needed some time to recover.