Chapter 145: Chapter 137: Radiant Holy Knight

Once the pleasant breakfast concluded, Liya took a delicate sip of tea and broached the topic, "Levi, I heard you’re looking to purchase a Combat Qi Secret Manual?"

She had learned this from Miriel. Though the Half-Elf woman constantly spoke ill of Levi, she was running all over the place trying to procure a Combat Qi Secret Manual for him.

"Miss Liya, you have a lead?" Levi’s eyes lit up as he asked eagerly.

"I don’t." Liya shook her head.

’The Isely Clan naturally possesses profound Combat Qi Secret Manuals. I studied them before, but I just don’t have the talent for it; I couldn’t even form a Combat Qi Seed.’

’But this is a secret manual passed down in my family, one that only members of the Isely Clan can learn. If I were to teach it to Levi, I would absolutely receive word from the Southern Territory—that I’ve been stripped of the Isely name!’

’The consequences of being stripped of one’s surname are severe. Not only would I lose my right to inheritance, but Levi, having learned the Combat Qi Secret Manual, would be hunted down by the entire Isely Clan.’

’They would be forced to eliminate anyone who might leak the manual. Once an enemy power knew our cultivation methods, they could develop countermeasures specifically against the Isely Clan’s Combat Qi.’

’So, for my own sake as much as Levi’s, I can never teach him our family’s Combat Qi Secret Manual.’

Levi rolled his eyes. ’If you don’t have any leads, why even bring it up?’

He had actually gotten his hopes up for a second. ’I didn’t hear any magpies chirping this morning, so how could something so good just fall into my lap?’

"Have you ever heard of the Glowing Holy Word Treasure Manual?" Liya continued, choosing her words with care. "I suggest you try cultivating it."

The Lord was stunned for a moment. Once he remembered what that thing was, he let out a cold laugh. "Heh. Miss Liya, does anyone really cultivate that old relic nowadays?"

Levi had spent his time in the Western Territory and dominated the Southern Border Arena for two and a half years. He might not have fought against every professional discipline, but he had at least heard of them. How could he not have heard of a famously useless manual like the Glowing Holy Word Treasure Manual?

The so-called Glowing Holy Word Treasure Manual was, in fact, a cultivation method exclusive to the Holy Knights of the Church Court. To be fair, it had once been all the rage on the Middle Ages Continent, even becoming a mainstream discipline.

But this "past" was at least two thousand years ago. In those days, Magic flourished and the Gods still walked the land. Powerful spells with terrifying names and legendary-class experts were a common sight.

Compared to Combat Qi, which was fundamentally no different from Magic in that it borrowed Elemental Power, the Glowing Holy Word Treasure Manual focused more on the dual enhancement of mind and body. It aimed to integrate the two, awakening the body’s own incredible Power. It was a path that ran completely counter to all other disciplines.

Unfortunately, what becomes mainstream does so precisely because of its unique advantages in a given era. As time went on, however, these advantages faded, and the discipline gradually fell into decline.

On the surface, compared to Combat Qi Knights, Holy Knights better embodied the ideal of "a peerless physique and a benevolent heart," and they possessed greater knightly virtue.

If you were to interview one of the few remaining Holy Knights today, you would undoubtedly hear endless praise for their path, as if they wished for their descendants to cultivate the Glowing Holy Word Treasure Manual for generations to come.

But while their words were full of praise, their actions told a different story. In private, they were all teaching their descendants *not* to become Holy Knights.

A quick analysis of the records on the number of new Holy Knights each year for the last two millennia would yield an unsurprising result.

The number of people choosing to cultivate the Glowing Holy Word Treasure Manual has been dwindling year after year. If the Church Court hadn’t made a point of preserving the tradition—by forcing a portion of new Knights to cultivate it annually—the discipline would have likely died out long ago.

Be it species or skills, everything is subject to competition and obeys the law of survival of the fittest.

Levi didn’t know the specific reasons for the discipline’s decline, but he figured it was eliminated simply because it had become obsolete.

It was a popular trope in the Long Aotian-style Knightly Novels of today: the protagonist joins the Church Court, becomes a Holy Knight, cultivates the Glowing Holy Word Treasure Manual, and then proceeds to dominate all his foes, marry the Church Saintess and a Princess, build a sprawling harem, and reach the pinnacle of existence.

But stories were just stories. If the path were truly as amazing as the novels claimed, it wouldn’t have fallen to the point where people had to be forced to practice it just to keep it from going extinct.

"Miss Liya, as far as I know, that discipline is obsolete."

Si Kai, however, was curious why Liya would recommend that her own Vassal cultivate such a thing.

’After all, their interests are tied together,’ Si Kai thought. ’This Miss Liya wouldn’t possibly harm her own Vassal.’

Si Kai himself cultivated a Combat Qi Secret Manual of upper-middle quality—a reward from the Martel Family for those who had rendered outstanding service.

He was also familiar with the Glowing Holy Word Treasure Manual. His assessment of it was simple: useless to learn, yet a pity to discard entirely.

"What you call ’obsolete’ merely means there hasn’t been a suitable person for it in modern times." Liya smiled mysteriously. "Levi, do you know what the Glowing Holy Word Treasure Manual actually does?"

Levi frowned. He actually couldn’t answer that. He only thought it was trash because the mainstream consensus was to dismiss it, combined with his own subconscious preconceptions.

In his previous life, a so-called Holy Knight was just a tank—stacking the thickest armor to take the worst beatings, while the few Divine Magic spells they possessed were all for fucking buffing or healing teammates.

Levi had always wanted nothing to do with any profession that was all about self-sacrifice for the sake of others.

"Levi, have you ever tested your own Power?"

Liya set down her teacup, clenched her small fist, and threw a fierce punch through the air. Surprisingly, it carried a hint of an imposing aura. "I mean the absolute limit of your power in a single punch."