Wizard: I Have a Cultivation System-Chapter 76: 200 Kilograms with a Single Arm

「Two years later.」

In the corridor outside the Baron’s bedroom, five-year-old Aurora stood on her tiptoes, pressing her small ear against the heavy oak door.

Sunlight glinted off her golden curls as it streamed through the stained-glass window.

Behind her, the Maid, Martha, had a face pale with anxiety, but she didn’t dare step forward to stop the doted-on young lady.

From inside, the Former Lady Baron’s voice, thick with suppressed anger, could be heard. "A tax cut? Do you have any idea what that means? Just maintaining our tithes to the Church Court costs a fortune in Gold Coins! If we cut taxes further, what will we use to maintain the dignity of our house?"

"Dignity?" Murphy’s voice was calm. "Mother, are you aware that exorbitant taxes are like planting flags all over our territory, telling everyone that we’re ripe for the picking? Viscount Hans to the east, Black Rock Territory to the west—they’re like a pack of wolves that have scented blood."

"Absurd!" the Former Lady Baron’s voice rose. "You’re tearing down your own walls! Without sufficient tax revenue, how will we maintain our soldiers’ equipment? How will we deter our restless neighbors? Might is the only language a noble can truly rely on!"

Outside the door, Aurora anxiously wrung the hem of her dress. She couldn’t understand the complex calculations, but the tense atmosphere between her mother and brother filled her delicate little face with worry.

Murphy’s voice remained calm. "Mother, have you ever considered that for every extra Silver Coin we collect, we make another enemy within our own lands? When the farmers can’t even keep enough to sow for the next season, they become the most dangerous weapons. During my time in the South, I personally saw a noble’s castle stormed by rioting peasants."

"You’re too naive!" The Former Lady Baron’s voice trembled. "Without the guarantee of military strength, even the most brilliant strategy is nothing but a castle in the sky! It doesn’t matter how many of those commoners starve to death. What matters is that we don’t show any weakness to outsiders! And do you think I don’t know what happens in the South? That’s all the work of rogue Knights lusting after wealth. But we no longer have much wealth for them to lust after!"

"Then let me ask you, Mother," Murphy’s tone turned cold, "if we maintain the current tax rate, are we demonstrating our strength to our neighbors, or are we giving them a pretext to attack? A territory with high taxes is like a ripe fruit. Everyone will want a piece. It’s not that there’s nothing to covet."

The Former Lady Baron was clearly infuriated. "And you think cutting taxes will make those wolves retreat? They’ll only see us as even weaker and easier to bully!"

"Quite the opposite," Murphy’s voice rose. "When there’s no more fat to be squeezed from our lands, the wolves will naturally turn to other prey. What we need to do is make the Duval Territory look like a bone that’s too tough to chew."

"You’re gambling with the safety of the entire territory!" the Former Lady Baron was practically screaming. "I truly regret ever supporting your succession to the title!"

Outside, Aurora quickly covered her mouth. She had never heard her mother speak in such a furious tone.

"In that case," Murphy’s voice returned to its calm state, "I will have the Steward make the arrangements according to my wishes."

TAP, TAP, TAP!

Just then, the sound of footsteps came from inside the room.

Aurora took two panicked steps back, then turned and fled like a startled fawn, her pale-yellow dress a blur against the stone floor.

The Maid, Martha, hurried after her, but lost sight of the young mistress around the corner.

CLICK!

The bedroom door was yanked open, and the Former Lady Baron strode out, her face ashen.

She stared at the empty corridor, took a deep breath, and straightened her silver-trimmed sleeves.

"Sylvan," she sneered under her breath, "you are my son. Do you think I don’t understand what you’re up to? You’re just unwilling to see me getting more involved in the territory’s affairs, so you’re deliberately saying these things to provoke me."

She gently smoothed the creases on her sleeve, murmuring in a voice only she could hear, "But I am your mother. I will tolerate this little fit of yours."

Despite her words, her slightly trembling fingertips betrayed her inner turmoil.

Meanwhile, in the shadows of the corridor, Aurora was curled up behind a statue of a Knight, her small hands clamped tightly over her mouth, terrified of making even the slightest sound.

...

「That afternoon.」

Murphy sat cross-legged on a soft cushion in his bedroom and placed a small pinch of pale-gold powder under his tongue.

As he began to practice Breathing and Guiding, the potency of the Knight’s Secret Medicine slowly flowed along his meridians.

Five years had passed. He was now twenty-six and had long since grown accustomed to this method of Cultivation.

His argument with the Former Lady Baron today was no accident.

Sylvan was destined to have no heirs, and the balance of power in the territory was subtly shifting. Many officials and Knight’s Attendants had begun to spontaneously align themselves with the Former Lady Baron.

But these power struggles were insignificant to Murphy. After all, compared to his true goal, this worldly power was nothing but a fleeting cloud.

Besides, even if all the power fell into the Former Lady Baron’s hands, his own food, clothing, and supply of the Knight’s Secret Medicine would not be affected.

He was the true Baron, after all. He was at least entitled to that small courtesy.

However, as "Sylvan," it would be suspicious if he showed no reaction to this shift in power.

Moreover, having been the Baron for so many years, he genuinely wanted to accomplish a few things in this role.

Huuuu.

Murphy let out a light breath. With his inner perception, he could clearly sense that his Cultivation of the Floating Meridians was now seventy percent complete.

The external manifestation of this was that his strength in a single arm had reached two hundred kilograms. This surpassed the one hundred fifty to one hundred eighty kilograms of a Knight’s Attendant and was second only to the three hundred kilograms of a full-fledged Knight.