Way of the Knights

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"It is as you say Master." Richard said with a deep sigh, "They really sent people to probe our place."

Just now, Richard came back from dealing with a couple of people who tried infiltrating their new organization. It has been three days since the disbandment of Pill Saint Pavilion, Richard had his hands full with multiple task to make sure that the Sacred Leaf Tavern finished building within a month's time. During these days, he caught multiple people sneaking in their territory, attempting to steal or assassinate them.

With the influx of people crowding in to join their organization, Raven took matters at hand to make sure that even if he wasn't here, his confidants' safety was guaranteed.

"Let those fools rot on the pits." Raven spat coldly, "Send as much people as they want, if they have any malicious thoughts about the Sacred Leaf Tavern, then there is no way that they could pass through the Heart Reflection Array. They will be trapped in the pits of darkness for the rest of time, never to see the light of day again."

The tavern is built on top of a mountain. Compared to most organizations or facilities, the Sacred Leaf Tavern only has one entrance, and it is located at the base of the mountain. Unknown to people, Raven used a great deal of time and patience to build a defensive array that could filter their visitors. It is called the Heart Reflection Array. This array scries one's thoughts and intentions without them knowing it. During the process of the scan, if the array saw any malicious thoughts about the pavilion, it will automatically create a separate passage which leads to a trap, located at the depths of the mountain. Depending on the intensity of their bad intentions, the period of their imprisonment varies as well. It also doesn't matter how high their cultivation levels are as well, the array is equiped with a might supression that could instantly reduce their cultivation down to Fighter realm, goodluck raising a ruckus down there with that puny strength.

This way, Raven knew that all of the people who could reach this place are those who doesn't have any bad ideas about his territory. By Richard's judgements, there are at least a hundred people in pits already, and their head count raises by each day.

"How many Junior Alchemist did you manage to recruit so far?" Raven asked.

Hearing this inquiry made Richard's eyes brighten, he then happily reported, "So far we have at least 38 Junior Alchemists. They are the cream of the crop and all of them unhesitatingly signed the Oath of Secrecy. In just a week or so, I reckon that they are able to concoct majority of the pills needed for the grand opening."

This report brought a smile on Raven's face. The Oath of Secrecy is another defence mechanism that he placed to protect the tavern. Any aspiring alchemists who wanted to join their ranks are welcome to do so, however they all have to first pass their entrance examination, and sign the oath. This oath is a restriction to keep them from taking any advantages. Once they signed it, they are not allowed to share nor inform non-accomplices about any private matters about the tavern. This includes recipes, identities, techniques, and so on. At the first sign of breaching this oath, a tribulation lightning shall descend and reduce them to ashes. This might be a very strict oath but in turn, the tavern promises to give them a huge lucky chance and truly nourish them to the best of their capabilities.

Their salaries are a staggeringly high and they could still acquire more benefits so long as the place in efforts. This is why Raven has no qualms about lowering the price of the pills, because he is not afraid of competition at all. What he wanted was to raise the quality of his people while ruining the plans of their enemies at the same time. This way, their chances of survival would be higher.

"Alright, with you here I could rest easy. I'll leave the handling of matters to you, you're not new to this anyway. Besides, I still have to keep a low profile so I can't be here all the time. Contact me through our link if any important matters arise. I'll be going now." Raven said as he stood up and walked towards the exit.

"Rest assured Master, I'll make sure to keep you informed." Richard bowed and watched as Raven left the facility. With a determined expression, he turned around and continued handling the matters that Raven entrusted to him.

***

"Fighter Realm. A set of stages meant to prepare one's body to became a suitable vessel for Energy. In these stages, we borrow the might of Energies to temper every inch of our bodies, making us able to do what normal mortals could such as breathing underwater for longer periods, manipulating our hungers, improving our systems and so on."

In the classroom, Victor stood before the youths of Genius Class while explaining the matter of cultivation in an unhurried manner. The students already knew about these information but they still listened closely to his words.

"After reaching the Peak Stages of Fighter Realm, cultivators faced a dividing line which separates those with potential to those who don't. And this realm is called the Knight Stages."

"The first realm of the Knight Stages is called the Soldier Realm. This stage requires one to activate and temper their Energy Network. As few of you might know, there is a few ways one could enter this stage. First is by accumulation, otherwise known as manually activating them one by one. This is a very painful process and could result into nasty injuries that will affect one's cultivation later on."

"The other way is the more popular one, and this is to borrow the cleaning properties of Righteous Bestowal Waters to complete the process. By going through the ritual, the waters will flush out the impurities blocking the Energy Network and connect them along the way as well. This path is also known by you all since you used this process as well."

Victor paused and looked at his students, his words were true and none of them refuted him.

"But because there is little to no difficulties for you guys to open you Energy Network, some of you are now faced with a huge problem."

"The point of Soldier Realm is to refine and strengthen each Energy Node and Energy Channels on your body. In other words, you have to widen your Energy Network, but the requirements to enter the Warrior Realm is only to completely activate your Energy Network."

"Since the Ritual Waters did that for you, then the temptation of breakthrough right away is severe. Many people fell under its charm and made a wrong decision that they will regret for the rest of time. Their foundations are now ruined and they will never be able to go past the Silver Knight Realm in their lifetimes."

"Well, they might be able to with the help of a new product that was just released a few days ago. Namely the Limit Breaking Pill. But once again, relying external factors is just not the right way. Not to mention that, according to what I heard, the Limit Breaking Pill places a tolerance to the consumer, making it less and less effective the more they consume it, thus it could only help them so far."

"This is why you kids are a cut above the rest." Victor smiled in appreciation when he looked at them. "None of you fell under the temptation of breaking through right away and did the correct thing. Remember this, external factors are treated as supplements. They could provide aid but you are not to completely rely on them. At the end of the day, it all boils down to your tenacity and your efforts to reach you dreams."

The students hadn't said a thing but inwardly, they too agreed on his words.

"Now let's move on to Warrior Realm." Victor said, which made the students perk up even more. Most of them are just in the Soldier Realm with a very few on Warrior Realm, so any more informations are absolutely crucial, specially from a perspective of an expert.

"In this stage, there is only one task. That is to condense your Energies and convert it into what we call Energy Essence."

"Energy Essence is a denser and purer form of regular Energy around us. By having Energy Essences, we could perform stronger versions of our Battle Arts without falling into exhaustion right away. The more you fill up your reserves with Energy Essence, the less likely it is for you to fall in battle. It als serves as a foundation for you to reach the later realms of Knight Stages."

"The most common way is to fill each of your Energy Nodes with at least 75% of Energy Essence, while the rest is just regular energies. But for you, I have another task." Victor smiled mysteriously at his students.

"You are the Genius Class so I expect more from you. I want you guys to fill your Energy Network with nothing but Energy Essence. I am forbidding you people from breaking through the Junior Knight Realm without consulting me first.. If I found out that you did, then you can say goodbye to your classmates."

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