Above the Swamp Forest, a pair of green-scaled wings spread out, gliding steadily with the help of rising air currents.
Chen Yu rode comfortably on Little Ka's back, flying leisurely westward as he passed over the already taking shape Gray Mist Lake fortress below. He wasn't in a hurry, letting Little Ka slow down for a relaxed flight.
At the same time, on the forest road below connecting Riftrock Fortress and the dryad fortress, a peculiar procession was on the move.
A group of Slime Scholars, using their soft gel little hands to tightly clutch various pieces of luggage—mainly small mortars, pestles, and packaged herb samples—were steadily mounted on beetle mounts, relocating toward Riftrock Fortress.
When the escorting slimes saw the familiar figure streaking across the sky, they became instantly excited.
They vigorously waved their gel little hands, expressing their most enthusiastic and sincere greetings to their King.
"It's the King! The King has come to see us!"
"Wow, flying in the sky looks so cool!"
"We will definitely work hard to learn Alchemy well."
There, they would use the active magma as a stable heat source to embark on the Slime Kingdom's exploration of Alchemy.
To produce more and higher quality pills for the territory in the future, overcome the issue of pill poisoning, develop Spirit Awakening Pills, and thereby support the kingdom's future development.
As pioneers of this entirely new path, Chen Yu had naturally made comprehensive preparations for them.
Every selected Slime Scholar was equipped with Flame Affinity and Energy Storage talents, both at Lv.4.
This made manipulating flames and sensing heat as instinctive as breathing, making their practice of Alchemy far easier than the cultivators of Xu Xuan Heaven who needed years of arduous effort to master Fire Control.
Looking down at these vibrant little fellows, Chen Yu's round gel body swayed with satisfaction.
Hmm, such a reliable next generation.
Speaking of Alchemy, he couldn't help but think of the lizardfolk of the Rotten Moss Tribe.
Their integration into the kingdom would still require some time for adjustment. To become a qualified Kingdom Knight, brute strength alone wasn't enough;
discipline, cooperation, and faith were all indispensable.
For now, let them practice martial arts first.
Right now, it was time to go see how that guy Yano was preparing.
The Shadow Trial was imminent, and he better not drop the ball at the critical moment.
He pondered, figuring it was also a good chance to "observe" what the so-called Knight Trial process was actually like, to learn and prepare for establishing the Slime Kingdom's own knight order in the future.
...
In the quiet Stone Descendant courtyard within Stone Fortress town.
Yano, his muscular upper body bare, was repeatedly swinging a heavy broadsword in the center of the yard.
Sweat continuously seeped and dripped from his bronze skin, and due to the surging heat within his body, some sweat droplets evaporated into white steam the moment they left his skin, wafting away.
Each swing, while seemingly ordinary, contained astonishing force. As the heavy broadsword cleaved through the air, it even faintly emitted a restless, low hum.
Not far away, under a Starlight Poplar whose leaves shimmered with soft blue light points, Nilly lazily yawned and stretched like a cat.
While she appeared nonchalant on the surface, she was inwardly somewhat surprised.
This junior of hers clearly hadn't passed the orthodox Knight Trial yet, yet relying solely on that strange crystal orb, his strength had already broken through the limits of an ordinary warrior.
Just the whooshing momentum of his sword practice now seemed no different from those Official Knights who had trained hard for many years.
Her gaze involuntarily drifted toward the little slime sleeping on the steps like a puddle of water.
Her heart itched with curiosity, wondering what those glowing crystal orbs this little thing had fed Yano before actually were, to have such an effect.
Just then, Yano's swinging movements in the center of the yard suddenly halted.
He clearly felt as if something inside his body went *crack*, breaking through an invisible barrier. A more scorching warm current surged vigorously from his heart, rapidly rushing to his limbs and every corner of his body, nourishing every inch of muscle and bone.
Faintly, he felt his strength, speed, and even reaction had stepped onto an entirely new level.
He had achieved it, the fourth realm of the Sword Scripture!
Feeling the transformation of his physique, Yano's expression became exhilarated.
The mysterious book and crystal orbs the Boss gave were truly miraculous!
Compared to a few days ago, his current self seemed to have changed bodies entirely. Even this fine steel broadsword, which he used to handle comfortably, now felt light as a feather in his hand, swinging like a toy.
"Could it be... my current physical fitness is already not inferior to, or even surpasses, some Official Knights?"
Thinking this, he still found it somewhat unbelievable.
That mountain peak which once seemed forever unattainable to him, he had not only successfully summited but had already easily crossed over it.
Truly worthy of the Boss.
Always able to pull out all sorts of unexpected magical treasures from its belly that seemed capable of holding the entire world.
Yano gathered his stance, returned the broadsword to the weapon rack beside him, and picked up a coarse cloth to wipe the sweat from his body.
Only then did Nilly, as if just waking up, rub her bleary eyes, flick off some unknown particle that had accidentally stuck to her eyelash, and get up to walk over.
"The Shadow Trial starts tomorrow, you know. Are you sure you want to rush into the Knight Trial at this juncture?"
"In such a hurry, be careful you fall off one of those irritable lizard mounts later. If you break a leg, tomorrow's trial will be ruined."
"Those mounts used for the trial aren't as docile and obedient as you imagine."
Yano said helplessly, "Could you please wish me some good fortune? What's with 'break a leg'? With my current strength, I bet those lizard mounts aren't even as strong as me."
Unlike trials for other professions, the Knight Trial placed greater emphasis on a warrior's comprehensive qualities, including skill, technique, strength, and constitution.
The trial was to be held on a formal knight training ground. Before starting, one needed to solemnly swear allegiance to the kingdom or lord they served and pass tests in horsemanship, swordsmanship, and pure strength.
As one of the advancement paths for the basic warrior profession, the Knight Trial process could hardly be described as anything but cumbersome.
However, once successfully advanced, one could become a widely recognized Official Professional.
Moreover, this path was compatible with the family traditions of many human nobles, with a clear and defined promotion route, even theoretically offering the chance to advance all the way to Legendary.
It was a profession with an extremely high ceiling and bright prospects.
"Hmm, seems so." Nilly tilted her head, recalling Yano's stance while practicing earlier.
"Forget it, I won't bother you. If you want to take the trial, follow me. That guy Karn should already be waiting for you at the training ground."
She paused, her little eyes darting toward the steps again.
"By the way, isn't your little Boss coming to watch you?"
Yano explained while wiping his sweat-damp hair with a towel, "The kingdom's affairs are busy. The Boss isn't free all the time."
"Kingdom affairs busy?" Nilly raised an eyebrow, taking it as an excuse.
What national affairs could a slime be busy with?
Busy eating, or busy sleeping?
Yano went back inside for a quick rinse, changed into a neat, dry set of hard leather laced clothing.
Then he carefully placed the sleeping little slime on his broad shoulder and followed Nilly out of the little wooden cabin.
Nilly swaggered ahead, her mouth not idle either: "You've met the cave-dwellers, right? These guys originally lived in the dungeon near Gray Mist Lake. Later, they were driven from their homes by those vampire clan fellows and became their slaves."
"Back when Castor was campaigning in the Dark Realm, he incidentally liberated them. To repay the Stone Descendants' kindness and seek protection, these cave-dwellers settled down here with us."
"Now the cave-dwellers in this town are basically descendants of those refugees back then. Although under our Stone Descendants' protection they no longer need to worry about safety, some of them still retain in their bones an unease about the vampires making a comeback."
"Thus, guided by their ancient traditions, a portion of the cave-dwellers chose the path of becoming 'Burrow Knights' to protect their new homeland."
"That guy Karn is the first Burrow Knight born in this Stone Fortress town. Passing the trial under him won't be as simple as you think."
Actually, even in the various kingdoms, the nobility of the knight class wasn't numerous. Encountering an alternative knight here felt quite serendipitous to Yano himself.
The scarcity of knights was primarily due to the excessively high training costs.
Just practicing horsemanship required raising expensive horses and building and maintaining costly riding grounds.
Furthermore, daily strength training and swordsmanship practice consumed a knight's energy massively. Every single squire attending knight training camps had a frighteningly large appetite and needed to consume large amounts of meat.
The food expenses were terrifying;
some lords might not even be able to afford them.
Secondly, it was because the trial itself required a special "Training Instructor" professional or a powerful individual with profound knightly heritage to act as witness and examiner.
The trial-taker needed to complete their transformation during targeted sparring with this veteran knight, making the requirements quite stringent and subtle.
If Nilly hadn't informed Yano of the trial's contents in advance, he wouldn't have known it was this troublesome.
Fortunately, his current swordsmanship and strength weren't lacking;
one could even describe them as impressive.
The only thing that made his heart drum a bit was his horsemanship. It had indeed been a while since he practiced properly, and he wasn't sure how rusty he'd become.
Just as Yano was secretly anxious, the little slime clump on his shoulder suddenly quivered lightly and opened its eyes.
"Good afternoon, little sleepyhead." Nilly, walking ahead, didn't even turn around, as if she had eyes on the back of her head, casually raising a hand to wave at him in greeting.
"Boss, good afternoon." Yano said.
Chen Yu's gel body swayed lightly, a nod of acknowledgment. He quickly learned that Yano was now heading to the training ground for the Knight Trial.
However, he appeared exceptionally calm about this, just quietly squatting on Yano's broad shoulder, his gel body slightly undulating with each step, as if not worried in the slightest.
Nilly fell back half a step, her curious gaze sticking to Chen Yu, finally unable to hold back: "Hey, little one, this kid is about to get beaten up. How come you're not nervous at all?"
Chen Yu remained very calm: "Just going through the motions."
Hearing this, Nilly became interested: "Oho, so confident?"
"Since you're so sure, how about we make a bet? Personally, I think Karn can knock this kid flat."
Yano beside them couldn't help but cough lightly, his expression somewhat helpless.
Nilly waved a hand dismissively, "Don't take it to heart, just playing around. If you win, Auntie here will tell you a useful little trick for finding shadow creatures for free. How about it, a good deal, right?"
Chen Yu bounced once, "Okay. What if I lose?"
A free trick was not to be wasted, better agree first.
Nilly chuckled, rubbing her hands together, looking exactly like a merchant spotting a fat lamb: "Simple. If you lose, just give me a few of those glowing crystal orbs."
Chen Yu looked at her suspiciously, even starting to suspect this had been her goal from the beginning.
But even if she got the pills, she wouldn't be able to figure them out, so giving them wouldn't matter much.
"Deal." Chen Yu agreed readily.
He even extended a gel little hand. Nilly also grinned and extended a finger, the two "friendly" shaking.
Both could see full confidence in the other's eyes, yet inwardly they simultaneously thought the other was a big sucker delivered right to their doorstep.
The Stone Fortress town's knight training ground was located beyond a stretch of open farmland.
Looking from afar, one could see a circular area roughly enclosed by natural boulders. At the edges stood a few simple watchtowers and small fortresses built from rock and hardwood, next to which were lizard stables enclosed by wooden fences.
This simple defensive system ensured that if any magical creatures invaded the town's vicinity, the stationed Burrow Knight squad could detect and sound the alarm immediately.
It was worth noting that cave-dwellers naturally possessed excellent Darkvision, able to see their surroundings easily in completely lightless environments, not needing torchlight at all.
If they weren't coming, these Burrow Knights accustomed to activity in darkness would be reluctant to waste precious lighting resin to light torches.
Just as they left the town and stepped into the training ground area, they saw ahead in that small fortress, cave-dweller warriors busily passing lit torches, illuminating the training ground entrance and main pathways brightly to welcome their arrival.
A squad of fully equipped Burrow Knights, led by Karn, rode out from the shadows on lizard mounts, calmly coming forward to greet them.
"Lady Nilly, Mr. Yano, and this honored Envoy, welcome to the training ground."
"The place is a bit crude, please don't mind."
Karn nimbly dismounted from his lizard mount and led the three into the training ground.
Calling it a knight training ground, it truly was as crude as Karn said.
The main area was just hard-packed earth so solid not even a blade of grass grew, with a few vine targets for practicing charges and hardwood training dummies covered in sword and blade marks scattered around the edges.
On one side of the grounds stood several sturdy stone weapon racks, neatly categorized with practice broadswords, spears, and a few wooden shields.
Other than that, there was nothing.