The caravan slowly came to a stop on the wasteland. By the time Green found Old Green, it was already dusk. A month of arduous travel had left Old Green looking somewhat haggard, but thanks to the knight-level beast flesh and blood he had consumed earlier, Old Green's vitality was not fundamentally damaged; he only appeared exhausted on the surface.
Old Green stood by the river, a water jug in his hand, intently sinking it to the bottom, bubbles rising to the surface. Given his status, Old Green shouldn't be doing such mundane tasks, but he had nothing else to do and was passing the time. Nearby, guards busily drew water from the river, pouring it into a filter in the center of the camp. The filtered water would then be loaded into waterwheels for later use.
The girls, who hadn't bathed for a month, were even more desperate for water than the guards. One by one, they carried buckets, drawing water from the river to bathe. For them, the prolonged dehydration was undoubtedly torture. In the early stages of their journey, Asiville, Lyra, and Mia would often visit Green, but as the journey progressed and their bodies remained uncleaned for so long, they only occasionally spoke to Green through the carriage window, no longer entering the vehicle.
Green interrupted Old Green's water-splashing motion and pulled him aside.
"Grin, are you serious?" Old Grin, upon hearing that Grin was about to break through to knighthood, immediately stood up, gripping Grin's arms tightly with both hands, his tone filled with anticipation and fear. The anticipation stemmed from the fact that Grin had already demonstrated formidable strength during his knight apprenticeship, and that becoming a full-fledged knight would guarantee greater safety; the fear stemmed from his understanding of the Storm Breathing Technique—each breakthrough was like gambling with one's life, unlike any other breathing technique.
"Green, are you sure you can succeed? Is it necessary to be in such a hurry?" Old Green's worry was palpable; he even regretted teaching Green the Storm Breathing Technique. Green's progress was far too rapid, too fast for Old Green to accept. He couldn't bear the thought of his child facing two life-or-death trials within just three months, a feeling that filled him with guilt.
In Old Green's view, Green's eagerness to pursue power was largely due to his own burden. If it weren't for his presence, Green could have spread his wings and flown long ago.
Green wasn't stupid; he could naturally sense the worry and guilt in Old Green's tone. He gently patted the back of Old Green's hand, comforting him, "Don't worry, the success rate of this breakthrough is over 90%, there won't be any problems."
"I'll be leaving the camp in a little while to find a quiet place to break through. I should be back soon. In the time I'm gone, could you please explain this to the people in the camp?"
Green needed to get away from the convoy and find a quiet environment to make his breakthrough. The Vesas Wasteland was sparsely populated and rarely frequented by large predators, making it an ideal location for Green to make his move.
"Sigh, I know, Green, you must be careful!" Seeing Green's resolute attitude, Old Green stopped trying to stop him, but sighed deeply and gave him another word of advice.
Green nodded, and with firm steps, quickly left the convoy.
[Chip, retrieve upgrade method.]
A blue human model appeared in Green's field of vision, with dense energy lines attached to it like blood vessels. The energy flow in these lines was slow and listless. The seed of life, located at the heart, floated there quietly like a stubborn rock.
[Start simulating the promotion process.]
The blue mannequin quickly assumed various poses, synchronized with different breathing patterns. As the poses and breathing changed, the energy within the body began to activate, flowing slowly with each inhale and exhale, stimulated by external forces. For ordinary breathing techniques, one only needs to coordinate with breathing, allowing energy to continuously impact the life seed, ultimately creating energy resonance, causing the life seed to beat like a heart. This simple method of advancement is risk-free and can be attempted multiple times.
However, the Storm Breathing Technique is entirely different. As a breathing technique that grants power far exceeding that of its predecessors upon advancement, it requires the formation of an extremely powerful energy resonance to maximize the frequency of the Life Seed. At this frequency, combined with the Storm Breathing Technique, the Life Seed will be transformed back into primal life force, forming an energy vortex and completing a life evolution similar to a breakthrough to the apprentice level. If it fails, the Life Seed will shatter, and all previous efforts will be in vain.
[Each breakthrough is equivalent to undergoing a trial at the level of a knight's apprentice, and the energy in the body will increase, becoming more and more difficult to control, and the energy consumption will also increase. No wonder the risk of each breakthrough increases.]
Grimm observed the drawbacks of the Storm Breathing Technique, yet a bright smile spread across his face. With the chip, Grimm's control over energy had reached its pinnacle; there was no possibility of it going out of control. Unless interfered with by external forces, he could completely control the flow of energy within his body through the chip.
The Visas Wasteland offered little cover, only rolling hills. After crossing two or three hills, Green began searching for a suitable spot.
Bathed in the silvery moonlight, the pebbles on the wasteland reflected a silvery light, like a starry sky on the ground. Green searched for a long time but couldn't find an ideal spot. The wasteland was so barren that there was almost nowhere to find shelter.
Fortunately, I have a backup plan: the chip incorporates a cave design.
A centrally located cave layout came into Green's view. This type of cave excavation was simple; all that was needed was to leave a support pillar in the center. Green pulled out a pre-prepared shovel from behind him and began digging on the spot.
With his knight-level physical prowess, Green dug a hole in the ground like an excavator, and continued digging downwards. Just an hour later, a 3x3 meter hole was completed underground.
Green was covered in dust and looked like a beggar after finishing the excavation, but he didn't care. After sealing the original entrance and leaving a vent, Green rested for a while before preparing to break through.
Green began to assume various poses and use different breathing techniques.
[Energy resonance detected; abnormal energy flow in the body has begun. Is this causing interference?]
[Direct interference accelerates energy flow and speeds up the activation of life seeds.]
Green could clearly feel a tingling, numb sensation spreading through his body, both comfortable and uncomfortable, like scratching an itch that he couldn't quite reach. This sensation intensified over time. Green knew this was a sign of increased energy activity within his body.
Within the chip's view, the energy seed in Green's heart trembled violently, as if equipped with a high-frequency motor, accelerating until it reached the life seed's maximum capacity. In an instant, the life seed shattered into countless particles, releasing immense life force.
At the moment the seed of life shattered, Green felt excruciating pain throughout his body, as if he were being torn apart. Every part of his body felt like it had been violently struck.
"Damn, does it hurt that much?" The intense pain made Green unable to help but swear, even using words from his past life.
[Pain perception has been blocked.] As soon as the chip finished speaking, the wave of pain receded just as quickly.
Green continued to observe the human model. With the coordination of external movements and breathing techniques, the life energy that should have dissipated into the outside world after the life seed shattered was gradually brought under control. Next came the most crucial tempering stage. Under the control of the chip, an energy vortex far exceeding the previous one formed in Green's heart area.
Endless external energy was absorbed by the vortex at his heart, and Green could clearly feel his body undergoing strange changes under the transformation of this energy. Soon, Green's body felt saturated. This time, even earlier than before, Green sensed the limits of his body. Despite possessing a larger vortex and greater endurance, his body reached its limit prematurely.
Like a wooden barrel, although it has become taller and bigger, the entrance has also become larger, allowing it to absorb energy more quickly.
The growth rate is faster, and it quickly reaches its capacity limit, so the time to collect water is naturally shorter.
[The chip's efficiency is too high; it reached its limit even earlier than in the model.] Green was shocked by the chip's capabilities as he looked at his situation. However, Green had anticipated this situation and, based on his research and theories from his previous life, had devised an effective method.
[Chip, initiate the multi-life seed program.]
Through Green's research, the Seed of Life resembles an alternative heart. It's not that a creature can only have one heart; octopuses, for example, have three. Based on his own body and the flow of energy, Green devised an effective method to divide the Seed of Life into five parts, each residing in a different organ. However, this precise operation can only be performed by Green; without the chip, no one else in this world could accomplish it.
In the blue model, the energy vortex in the heart area is influenced by some force and begins to tremble slowly. This trembling is continuous, but the intensity remains at a standard level. With each tremor, energy in the heart area begins to slowly overflow, and this overflowing energy quickly transfers to the lungs, where it forms a small vortex. Compared to the vortex in the heart area, the vortex in the lungs appears much smaller.
As the process continued, the vortex in the heart area eventually split into five parts, residing in the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys respectively. The size of these vortices was no longer indistinguishable, but with the continuous absorption of external energy, Green could clearly sense these vortices growing, and his body breaking through its limits, entering a higher level.
After another period of waiting, as the energy gradually reached its limit, the five vortexes began to slowly shrink, and finally, five life seeds appeared in Green's body.
[Activate respiratory function.]
Green could feel the five life seeds beginning to contract with each breath. Under this slow transformation, his body, which had already reached its limit, underwent another subtle change.
The breathing of the life seeds brings more energy to Green. Under the control of the chip, these life seeds have the exact same breathing frequency, preventing them from causing energy chaos for Green. Only the chip can achieve such precise control, completing a process similar to the formation of two identical snowflakes when the life seeds are formed.
The entire promotion process went smoothly, without any unexpected events. In Green's view, it was all inevitable. He had completed millions of simulated promotions, taking into account all external factors, and even had contingency plans for failure. Otherwise, Green wouldn't have chosen to break through and advance.
[Check body attributes.] Green muttered to himself.
[Power: 5.2] (Blessed by external energy)
[Speed: 4.8]
[Constitution: 5.2] (Blessed by external energy)
[Special Status: During Life Seed Breathing, the number of breaths is 200 per day. It is estimated that for every 10,000 breaths completed, Strength and Constitution attributes will increase by 0.1, and Speed will increase to 5.0.]
[Gene cap: All attributes 5.0]
[Energy Enhancement Limit: 5.5]
Looking at his impressive stats, Green believed that even a Grand Knight wouldn't be a match for him. Physical attributes weren't calculated linearly, but rather in a curve. A Grand Knight's physical attributes should be between 4 and 5, with a maximum limit of 5. This was the genetic limit for humans, and even the limit for most carbon-based life forms. The legendary Paladin, however, must have surpassed this human limit.
Reaching a value of 5 means that even a 0.1 difference in physical constitution can result in a one-sided crushing defeat in actual combat. The external energy boost following one's own attributes is likely an ability only legendary paladins possess.
Green clenched his fist, silently feeling the energy flowing through his body, and slowly concentrated that energy into his fist.
"Bang!"
"Oh no, is it really that powerful?" A violent tremor shook the entire cave, which then collapsed with a deafening roar.
"puff!"
Green crawled out of the rubble, opening his mouth wide and spitting out a large cloud of dust.
"Next time we'll definitely need to find a proper venue for the experiment," Green muttered, patting his clothes, which were now completely covered in dust.
["Chip, how strong was the energy you just released?"] Green asked the chip as he walked to the cave ruins.
[Instantaneous energy release: 7,500,000 J, equivalent to the power of a Type 99A main battle tank high-explosive shell.]
Looking at this massive amount of data, Green felt he needed to establish a standard for energy comparison. The energy calculation methods from his previous life needed to be synchronized with this world.
[Using the energy released by a single ignition rod in this world as the basic unit, calculate the energy I just released.]
The tinder stick is a common device in this world for storing fire sources, similar to the tinderbox from the previous life.
[Calculating.]
[The total energy radiation released by a single ignition rod is approximately 150,000 J, set at 1 degree Celsius.]
[Calculations show that a punch releases approximately 50 units of energy.]
"50 degrees means that my physical body can withstand an impact of at least 50 degrees. The energy shockwave generated by my punch can cause a strong impact within a range of at least 10 meters. However, the energy in this world is highly concentrated, which reduces its ability to cause large-scale destruction, but it is very effective in killing individuals."
Green also noticed the difference. If his fist truly possessed the destructive power of a 99A tank, the cave wouldn't have simply collapsed. Exploding a 99A tank shell in a confined space would undoubtedly produce a tremendous sound. But after Green threw his punch, there wasn't much of a sound, and the cave merely collapsed. This world suppressed the diffusion of energy, which also caused energy release to be extremely amplified when targeting a single object.
"Forget it, the conditions aren't right now, and we can't figure out the principle. Let's hurry on our way." Green continued to dust himself off and prepared to return to the camp along the route he had come from.