Chapter 94: Flame Slash First Stage!

“Is that so?”

Title Knights are not mages.

But through careful perception, the energy on this scroll is only slightly stronger than that of a Earth Wall scroll.

So under normal circumstances, these ten gold coins are definitely a scam.

But with system intelligence, Gervas knows the scroll is actually intact; its faint aura may be due to some other reason.

At that moment, Gervas suddenly noticed that the bottom bases of this magic scroll were noticeably larger than those of other scrolls.

“Could it be…”

Gervas kept his expression neutral, “It’s a good item, but too expensive!”

Saying this, Gervas shook his head and pretended to put it down.

Gat and Larsen were both disappointed.

But just as the two thought the deal was falling through, Gervas picked up the scroll again and paused to think.

“How about this: I’ll take the scroll, but those hundred rusty spears must be included in the ten gold coins!”

Gat and Larsen exchanged glances, their hearts surging with excitement.

Those secondhand spears cost barely two silver coins each; a hundred could be discounted further.

The cost price of this ‘Dance of the Fire Serpents’ scroll was three gold coins.

Altogether, they’d still profit at least five gold coins—this was a huge deal.

Of course, the two shrewd men wouldn’t agree so easily.

“This… Noble Lord, those spears are worth at least three gold coins…”

“Not acceptable? Then forget it…” Gervas pretended to put it down again.

The two froze, “No, Lord, we’ll sell them to you—we’re doing our first transaction, consider it a discount for you…”

Next, the two men feared this noble heir might renege, and quickly bundled up the rusty secondhand spears.

“Here are ten gold coins! Count them!”

The two swiftly checked, feigning sincerity: “Noble Lord, a man of your status would never cheat us!”

“By the way, Lord, how should we address you? Where is your domain? If we find good items later, we’ll prioritize offering them to you!”

“No need. If fate brings us together again, we’ll meet naturally.”

Gervas waved his hand and urged his warhorse to leave with his retinue.

Leaving the two secondhand merchants stunned.

“Fate will bring us together? Has this guy read too many romance novels? Is his brain addled?”

“Who cares? We made a fortune. Better we never see him again—his status might even scare off the Deputy Commander of Eagle City!”

“True!”

…

“My Lord, those two were clearly swindlers. Even though you added the spears, I still think the total value was heavily skewed in their favor!”

After leaving Mil Town, Lei Meng finally couldn’t hold back.

Earlier, when Gervas made the purchase, Lei Meng had intended to warn him.

But just as he was about to hint, Gervas stopped him.

Gervas smiled and nodded, then pulled out the magic scroll and played with it for a moment.

Click. One of the scroll’s bottom bases suddenly peeled off.

Lei Meng blinked in surprise.

“Lei Meng, sense it now!”

Lei Meng took the scroll and carefully perceived its energy.

Instantly, his eyes widened, “My Lord, the energy is incredibly strong—much stronger than before!”

“Correct. Originally, some noble had placed a magic-sealing casing around the scroll’s base to prevent mana leakage.”

“But over time, this detail was forgotten—or perhaps the descendants didn’t know—and they simply sold it as a mana-depleted scroll to secondhand merchants.”

“And those merchants, in turn, planned to sell it at the border to greedy minor nobles…”

“If not for Zhuoyue’s early detection of this treasure, I wouldn’t have brought you all this far just to buy it!”

“So you knew all along, My Lord? You’re incredibly wise—this scroll must be worth at least twenty gold coins now!”

“It’s worth twenty gold coins, yes, but magic scrolls are often priceless and hard to find. Without a trusted mage, buying one is unreliable.”

“Even merchant guilds require at least three months’ advance order!”

Though the scroll’s value wasn’t extremely high, Gervas was very satisfied.

Because it was a powerful self-defense tool.

…

Back at the castle, Gervas dismissed Lei Meng and the knights, claiming he was going for a ride, then rode Zhuoyue back toward the Death Mountains.

Soon, he found the conspicuous red maple forest at the mountain’s exit.

Following tradition, he circled overhead several times, checking for danger.

“No danger. Zhuoyue, land!”

Whoosh.

Zhuoyue executed a graceful glide and landed.

This time, the Blood Qi Fruit was easy to find—it was fully ripe, and its leaking energy was instantly detectable.

Finally, he located the red Blood Qi Fruit nestled in a thicket.

As for why no beast guarded it at the Death Mountains’ entrance:

Because Blood Qi Fruit carries considerable risk for beasts.

Though its only side effect is needing a good night’s rest,

beasts aren’t humans—they have no safe castle or shelter.

They remain in the wild, always vulnerable to predators.

So even losing combat ability for an hour could be fatal for them.

Moreover, Blood Qi Fruit only temporarily boosts power; unless in mortal danger, eating it offers beasts no benefit.

Thus, to beasts, Blood Qi Fruit is essentially useless.

Still, for safety, once he obtained the fruit, Gervas didn’t linger at the mountain’s entrance—he immediately mounted Zhuoyue and returned to the castle!

…

In the back garden, Gervas took out the Blood Qi Fruit and swallowed it.

As the fruit entered his stomach, intense pain spread through his entire body.

It felt as if a powerful current was swelling inside him, threatening to burst his body apart.

“Damn! They said there were no serious side effects—but why didn’t they mention how agonizing the ingestion would be!”

Gervas cursed loudly—the discomfort was like being stabbed all over with freshly forged needles.

Fortunately, the pain faded after only a few dozen seconds.

When it vanished, Gervas sensed his body and immediately realized his meridians had indeed been temporarily expanded and reinforced.

Gervas activated his battle aura.

Hum. A brilliant aura flared in his palm.

“It’s increased my power by at least three times!”

After confirming the effect, Gervas immediately began training.

As he slightly activated Flame Slash Third Stage, the previous stagnation vanished completely.

The meridians, once like overgrown dirt paths in the wilderness, had now become paved highways.

With this, his aura flowed through them effortlessly.

“This is it!”

Gervas rejoiced and swiftly completed the full aura circulation he’d long struggled to achieve.

“Flame Slash!”

Boom.

After a low cry, a red flame erupted violently along the blade.

The flame had solidified into near-substance, emitting a faint scorching sensation.

“Slash!”

Boom!

The sword came down, and the long-standing target—once battered but still standing—was cleanly split in two.

Gervas stared wide-eyed, his face beaming with joy.

“This power—no wonder it’s a secret technique!”