Chapter 244: Chapter 152: Major Upgrade! Knight: Silver Body (Dragon Blood Knight)

Without any dramatic sound or light effects, the panel floating on his retina dissolved into a stream of light and vanished.

Suddenly, a spark of warmth ignited deep within Li Wei’s heart. An instant later, that warmth erupted into a fire, overwhelmingly seizing control of and reshaping his physical body.

Now he understood why the system made him manually click "confirm."

’God damn it, this fucking hurts!’

He collapsed to his knees on the ground, clenching his jaw and silently enduring the agony, which felt like being skinned alive. He could almost hear the grinding, cracking sounds of his bones as they rubbed together. The marrow within his bones seemed to be absorbed, reorganized, and then reformed by his body into a new, Extraordinary substance.

His heart rate, once a steady 20-something beats per minute, shot up to 300 before gradually slowing down, each beat growing stronger and more powerful.

Li Wei felt like a snake shedding its skin.

A faint white mist rose from his skin. The impurities, hidden injuries, and stagnant blood accumulated over more than a decade in his mortal body were slowly expelled by this new power.

Once the reconstruction of his bones and blood was complete, an immense power began to settle within his flesh and fascia.

Li Wei slowly climbed to his feet and examined his hands.

"Doesn’t feel like much," he muttered to himself. "Maybe a little lighter?"

He tried clenching his right fist and throwing a hard punch into the air.

Nothing happened.

’Alright,’ Li Wei thought, rubbing his nose, ’guess I was overthinking it. I really thought I’d be able to create a sonic boom or something.’

But the changes to his body were so obvious that Li Wei couldn’t help but feel the urge to break something.

He turned and looked at the half-dead trunk of a sequoia, about 50 centimeters in diameter. Pushing off the ground, he threw a casual punch.

"BANG—CRACK!"

The instant his fist made contact with the wood, the trunk’s fibrous structure exploded as if it were made of paper-mâché. The immense kinetic energy pierced straight through the tree, blowing an irregular hole out the other side.

"Holy shit!"

Li Wei stared in shock at his arm, which had punched clean through the tree trunk. His strength had more than doubled.

He walked over to an even thicker tree and jumped with all his might.

The semi-dry dirt buckled under his feet, leaving two deep footprints. The explosive power launched him more than three meters into the air, as if he’d been shot straight up from the ground.

"My strength feels like it’s doubled," he muttered. "What does the system say—"

The moment he focused his attention on the system, a series of messages popped up.

[Having detected that you have previously bathed in Dragon Blood, a hidden class has been triggered. Advancing...]

[Advanced to hidden class—Dragon Blood Knight]

[Knight · Silver Body 3/4] -> [Knight · Silver Body (Dragon Blood Knight)]

[Dragon Blood Knight: Proof of bathing in Dragon Blood. You are one of the bravest among Knights, a born warrior.]

[Class Effect: Strength +1, Constitution +1, high resistance to fire.]

[Congratulations, adventurer.]

[You have been reborn and have officially stepped onto the Extraordinary path. Your level of existence is now fundamentally different from that of ordinary mortals. You will no longer shed hair, nails, or skin fragments. From this day forward, your great name will be passed down among bards and Kings; your legend continues, your epic is still being written, and the deeds of a hero are still being sung.]

[Mortal] -> [Hero]

[Hero Bloodline: Mundane food is no longer sufficient to provide your body with enough energy. You can now derive a portion of your energy from the air and sunlight.]

[Your power is now stored and securely locked within your entire body. Whether through detection Magic or an accidental injury, there is no longer a possibility of your power leaking out.]

[Complete Body Control: You have come into contact with Extraordinary power and can now control it relatively well. You can adjust this power on a floating scale when needed, within a numerical range of 1.2-4. Your physical appearance will adjust in sync with your chosen value.]

[Stealth upgrading...]

[Stealth] -> [Silver · Vision Obscurement]

[Silver · Vision Obscurement: Besides the naked eye, bronze-level detection Magic will be unable to reveal your form.]

[Wall Walking upgrading...]

[Wall Walking] -> [Sky Stepping (Lv. 1)]

[Sky Stepping (Lv. 1): Retains Wall Walking ability. You can now also push off from thin air, allowing for one double jump.]

[Berserk and Eloquence skills merging...]

[Merge complete. You have obtained Knight’s Aura · First Sequence (Silver).]

[Knight’s Aura · First Sequence (Silver): When you activate the aura, it slightly increases your charisma and intimidation, making others more likely to believe your words and obey your commands.]

[Active Effect: For friendly units within 10 meters, slightly restores stamina, Spirit, and Magic Power.]

[You have entered the realm of the Extraordinary and have obtained a ticket to the Royal Knight Academy.]

[Knight’s Path: Phase Three initiated.]

[You have been accepted into the Royal Knight Academy. Please attend the opening ceremony on August 28th to unlock the missions for Phase Three.]

...

[Name: Li Wei]

[Bloodline: Hero]

[Class: Knight · Silver Body (Dragon Blood Knight)]

[Strength: 5.0]

[Spirit: 4.0]

[Agility: 4.0]

[Constitution: 5.0]

[Free Attribute Points: 0]

[Skills]: ...

[Equipment]: [Ring of Smooth Success]

The long stream of messages all popped up at once, and it took Li Wei a while to digest all the information.

Sitting on a large rock by the roadside, Li Wei carefully sorted through everything he had gained from this advancement.

This was, by all accounts, a massive, all-encompassing upgrade.

Not only did all his stats increase by a full point, but his Constitution and Strength also got an extra point each from a small mission he’d completed earlier (Chapter 18).

Based on Li Wei’s estimation, his strength had at least doubled.

As for the increase in his Constitution... he couldn’t exactly find an automatic rifle in the middle of nowhere and shoot himself, could he? There was no way to test that for now.

’Hmm, maybe I could build my own shooting range later?’

Li Wei thought, but then a headache set in.

’That’s all money.’

Two million USD seemed like a lot for one person to spend.

But the moment he thought about actually doing something with it, he suddenly felt like two million USD wasn’t much at all.

His two less-used skills, [Berserk] and [Eloquence], had been merged into a Knight’s Aura, which seemed to be a small-area passive skill.

’[Wall Walking] upgraded into [Sky Stepping (Lv. 1)],’ he thought. ’Sounds like a double jump from a video game, right?’

Bathed in the faint moonlight, Li Wei looked at a massive, dark boulder nearby.

It was a rock about two stories high. Standing at its base, Li Wei took a deep breath, bent his knees, and pushed off forcefully, launching himself nearly three meters into the air.

’Sky Stepping!’

Just as his momentum gave out mid-air, he suddenly felt as if his foot had landed on an invisible but solid brick.

If anyone had been watching, they would have seen a scene straight out of a movie:

A man reaching the apex of his jump, then suddenly jumping again, propelling himself straight onto the seven- or eight-meter-high, two-story boulder.

"Isn’t this the ultimate parkour skill?" Li Wei said as he slowly walked back down the boulder. "And it’s only level 1. It looks like it can definitely be upgraded further..."

As for the energy consumption issue that had been plaguing him...

Before the upgrade, Li Wei had always had a huge appetite, equivalent to that of four adult men.

This had left him with a constant, faint sense of hunger during his travels.

The feeling wasn’t debilitating, more like the nagging hunger you get when you only eat half your dinner while on a diet, but it constantly bothered him.

But after upgrading tonight, things suddenly felt different.

His hunger pangs eased considerably with every breath. While he wasn’t completely sated, it was a significant improvement, and he believed it would get even better once he could soak up some sun during the day.

As for being upgraded from a Mortal to a Hero bloodline...

"So does this mean I’m a hero unit now?" Li Wei looked at his palm. "And judging by the description, it seems I don’t have to worry about my blood or anything else testing as abnormal. Scanners will be useless, too. Since my power won’t leak out... that’s a good thing. It saves me the trouble of having to turn off my Knight’s Body every time I get tested, though I guess I can still turn it on and off if I want."

The previous, incomplete [Body Control] had been upgraded to [Complete Body Control], giving him an even wider range to fluctuate his power.

"As for this new Knight’s Aura..." Li Wei paused. "I’ll try it out when I get the chance. I should head back now."

The moon was high in the sky. It was late, and Anya could wake up at any moment.

Li Wei quickly covered his tracks and expertly made his way back to the campsite.

The campsite was quiet, with only the chirping of insects and the rustling of leaves in the gentle breeze. From inside the tent came Anya’s steady, deep breathing. It seemed she was sound asleep, showing no signs of waking.

’Young people really sleep well. Pass out right after finishing.’

After confirming Anya wouldn’t be waking up anytime soon, Li Wei’s gaze shifted back to the Cadillac Escalade parked not far from the tent.

The last time he tried to lift this four-ton beast, he could only manage to raise one corner of the vehicle, even with all his strength.

A slight smile touched his lips. He walked back to the rear of the Cadillac Escalade and took a deep breath.

Li Wei planted his feet shoulder-width apart, lowered his center of gravity, and reached under the car, getting a firm grip on the sturdy load-bearing chassis frame.

His body tensed like a winch. "Up!"

The vehicle’s suspension system stretched to its limit, letting out a faint "CREAK." Suddenly, Li Wei ripped the two rear wheels of the Cadillac Escalade clean off the ground, lifting them at least 20 centimeters into the air!

This was a four-ton vehicle!

Li Wei held the position for about three seconds, feeling the strain on his bones and the strength in his grip, before slowly releasing his power and letting the suspended wheels touch down smoothly and quietly.

He had just made a conservative estimate. His deadlift strength was, conservatively, over one ton—and possibly even more.

Even world-class strongmen, juiced up on so many drugs their blood was as thick as mercury, had a deadlift record of only 501 kilograms—just over half a ton.

His current strength had undoubtedly surpassed the limits of humanity, reaching a completely superhuman standard.

But—

"It’s still not enough," Li Wei said, slipping into the tent and lying down beside Anya. He still didn’t feel strong enough. ’If a man can’t take a 40mm autocannon to the face, what kind of powerhouse is he?’

「The next day.」

Their original plan was to go to Las Vegas. Even though neither of them was of legal gambling age, that didn’t stop them from wanting to visit as tourists first.

However, a phone call from Mr. Sergey threw their plans into disarray.

-----------------

(Free word count: The attribute panel will only be updated in the daily author’s notes unless there is a major upgrade.)