At dawn, Lan Feng rose the moment the first rays of sunlight touched the horizon.
Today would mark the beginning of his training as a knight.
He went straight to the training grounds and started running laps around it. After a hundred circuits, he dropped to the ground for push-ups, sit-ups, and the familiar drills from his former world.
When he finished, he picked up a dark-water sword. Though carved from wood, it came from trees that grew beside lakes saturated with origin energy, making it dozens of times harder and heavier than steel.
A normal person would never be able to lift it. But Lan Feng, raised on medicinal herbs and tonics, had a body far beyond normal.
He might lack talent, but strength was something he had in abundance. If he wanted to, he could wrestle a tiger bare-handed and walk away the victor.
He stood in the center of one of the many platforms, raised the sword, and swung it again and again.
"What's Lan Feng doing?"
A few disciples stopped to watch, utterly confused.
It was rare to see someone training their body like this. Cultivators only needed to purge impurities; their muscles would naturally strengthen on their own.
These disciples hadn't come to work out—they were there to refine their martial techniques or spar against one another.
"Maybe he's practicing some kind of sword art."
"Don't forget, he's the great elder's son. He's not like us—he probably has high-grade sword manuals."
"Mnn. Now that you mention it, I think I can see some depth in his movements…"
In truth, Lan Feng wasn't practicing any sword technique at all. He was simply swinging to push his body to the limit.
Unlike cultivation—where it was beneficial to sit for days, even years, refining energy—the knight's path emphasized physical training and battle above all.
Before heading out, he had spent his last eleven points on a handful of rank F magic cores. Unlike violet crystals, these weren't mined from dense energy veins but taken directly from the hearts of magical beasts.
Now that his body was beginning to ache with fatigue, he could feel a faint emptiness within. Instinctively, he began absorbing the magical energy from the cores, refining it into mana.
In theory, he could also absorb the world's origin energy—but it would be far harder, since it had to be filtered through the system and converted into magic first.
"How the hell am I supposed to establish a magic system in a world with no mana?"
[As long as the user consumes mana, a portion will leak into the environment. In time, this may give birth to magical creatures that will naturally enrich ambient mana.]
[The user may also aspire to the Eighth Level of Knight, transforming his heart into a mana engine—or summon magical dragons into this world. With enough dragons, mana density would soon rival origin energy.]
Knight of the Eighth Level? Dragons? What a joke. He hadn't even reached the First Level yet, let alone the Eighth. And just thinking about how many points it would take to summon even the weakest dragon made his scalp tingle.
"Too many zeroes…" Even if he gathered every treasure in Clear River City—or even the entire Xianlong Empire—it wouldn't be enough.
The morning passed this way. From time to time, disciples paused to observe him, hoping to glimpse some hidden profundity in his movements. Finding none, they left disappointed.
A few passing elders frowned.
"Is Lan Feng training with a sword?"
"What a waste. Didn't he just receive the cultivation manual yesterday? Before reaching the Qi Gathering Realm, practicing techniques is meaningless."
Qi was the foundation of everything. Without internal qi, even the finest techniques were powerless. That was why the patriarch had provided resources to the disciples: so they could refine their bodies quickly and advance to the next realm without venturing outside.
"Leave him be. He's only a two-star talent. If he weren't the great elder's son, he wouldn't even have the right to live in the main residence."
…
By midday, Lan Feng finally stopped. His muscles screamed with pain.
"Are you sure this kind of training will help me awaken aura?"
Despite all his effort, he felt no change. Skeptical, he questioned the system.
[The system would never deceive the user. All items in the exchange shop are genuine and of the highest quality.]
"According to the knight's manual, five magic cores should be enough to saturate my body and awaken aura. I've already absorbed twenty-two cores after spending my last points—and nothing happened."
[Five cores are sufficient for an ordinary person born in a world with natural mana density. From the moment of birth, their bodies are blessed by ambient magic. This world has no mana. As such, training is far more difficult.]
[The threshold for initiation rises by several levels in this environment, even for a user with extremely high affinity.]
"…You could've told me that beforehand." Lan Feng dropped the sword, utterly exhausted, and trudged back to his courtyard.
At the entrance, YaoYao was waiting.
"I trust your training went well, young master?"
Lan Feng didn't answer. He simply collapsed onto his bed, burying his face in the pillow.
"Young master, there is something we must discuss."
"Mnnn," he mumbled without lifting his head.
"The patriarch has arranged a grand banquet in celebration of Lan Tianyu. It will be held in two days."
Lan Feng groaned. "Tell Father I won't attend."
"Impossible. As a member of the main family, you are required to go."
Irritated, he muttered into the pillow, "I don't recall any rule forcing me to attend these events. Don't worry—Father won't scold me for skipping one."
"I regret to inform you, young master, that the city's major powers will be present. The third princess of the Imperial Family has already confirmed her attendance. If you fail to pay proper respect to the Imperial Family… the consequences could be severe."
"…The Imperial Family?" Lan Feng's brow furrowed. This time, he knew there would be no escape.