An experienced warrior could at most become a veteran, but to become a Knight, one must undergo extensive life-and-death battles, train their body to its limits, and then, in a moment of opportunity, form their unique combat style, unleash their potential, and obtain the legendary seed of life energy.
Only then can they significantly enhance their Physique. After that, they must establish a certain amount of merit to become Knight-level.
Among these, the so-called seed of life energy is the key of keys. To gain power, it's impossible to become a strong person without it.
Simon also learned some related content from Arthur's memory.
The seed of life energy is actually a faint sensation of Qi that naturally arises from the outside in, after training the body to its extreme.
In essence, it's what was known as 'hard Qi Gong' on Earth in his previous life. Regarding this, the Baron once described the feeling and process of training to activate the seed in extremely detailed terms. So he could clearly compare and draw conclusions.
However, not everyone can activate this seed. Only a very small fraction of normal people have the Aptitude and the possibility to activate it.
But due to the extremely low success rate, some already powerful individuals, in order to increase the number of people who could activate the seed, came up with a method: a strong person who had already activated a powerful seed of life energy would actively condense a tiny bit of energy, as a seed, and input it into another person's body.
This greatly increased the chances of successful activation, which was originally very difficult. The activation process, which once required life-and-death training, now became a process where one could receive the seed and be strengthened from the very beginning.
Of course, even so, not everyone can become a strong person. Although the success rate increased, it was still only two-thirds of a hundred people who could succeed, while the remaining one-third still couldn't accept the seed. This was because their bodies couldn't retain life energy at all; no matter how much was input, it would simply leak out of their bodies for nothing.
And unfortunately, Arthur's body belonged to this category. He also couldn't accept the input of the seed. This was the fundamental reason why he could only eat, drink, and be merry, knowing only enjoyment, since childhood. Otherwise, given the Baron's power, Arthur wouldn't have been so bad off, even if he wanted to; the powerful Baron would never allow his son to be without any self-preservation ability.
Arnold seemed to recall something, and a hint of helplessness appeared in his gaze as he looked at Arthur. He also roughly guessed why Arthur didn't even know how to do basic training. The reason was simply that he himself had given up.
"Since that's the case, everyone continue with your morning training. Young Master Arthur, please come with me," he clapped his hands again and said loudly.
The training ground returned to its previous state. Those who practiced swords continued to practice swords, and those who practiced archery continued to practice archery. Only Simon followed behind Arnold, walking towards a corner.
"Although you cannot become a Knight-level strong person, more training can still enhance your Physique. I hope you'll persevere," Arnold said as he walked.
"I know what to do, thank you Arnold," Simon nodded with a slight smile. "The second son of Baron Valentine not having the talent to become a strong person—was that rumor quite famous back then?"
"Somewhat," Arnold stopped talking.
"So, these children currently in morning training, they all have the Aptitude?"
"Yes, they have all received the Legacy of the seed from the Baron and Auden. They are all training according to the unique training methods of the two adults," Arnold replied.
Simon knew that receiving the Legacy of the seed and being cultivated from a young age meant that from now on, the seed of life energy would grow and strengthen with their bodies, continuously enhancing their physical form. When they grew up, their Physique would far exceed that of ordinary people.
The Baron and Auden had also gone through the same process.
"So that's how Father and Knight Auden became so powerful," Simon instantly realized. But immediately, a hint of helplessness arose in his heart. Of all the people he could Transmigration into, he had to Transmigration into a body without talent.
If it weren't for the biological Chip as his hope, Simon probably would have simply resigned himself to his fate.
Arnold led Simon to an open space on the side.
To their side was a row of wooden sword racks. A few remaining wooden swords were sparsely placed on them.
Arnold took one down and threw it directly to Simon.
Simon quickly caught it, feeling its weight. This wooden practice sword was surprisingly heavy. He estimated it to be about five or six catties.
Its length was about one meter, with a guard and blade forming a standard cross shape; this was the most common cross-sword style.
Simon lightly swung the wooden sword in his hand; the white, slightly yellowish wooden sword made a faint whooshing sound in the air.
Arnold also took down a wooden sword, and with a casual swing, a white line instantly cut through the air in front of him.
"The most basic training method is very simple, but not everyone can do it easily," he said, gripping the sword with both hands and cutting forward.
Whoosh!!
Simon only felt a gentle breeze blow from Arnold's sword. The hair on his cheeks was slightly lifted backward.
The biological Chip in his mind automatically began to detect data.
A row of light blue data quickly appeared before Simon's eyes.
"Arnold, Strength greater than 1, Agility greater than 2, Physique greater than 2."
"This is a downward cut. Pay attention to applying all the force a little below the tip of the sword. This is where the most damage is inflicted. If all the force is applied to the tip, it will cause too much wear on the blade, making it easy to dull."
Arnold began to demonstrate each stance.
Downward cut, upward slash, horizontal cut, straight thrust, downward stab. He demonstrated all five basic movements to Simon one by one.
Each movement brought with it a gust of wind.
Simon watched Arnold's demonstration with full concentration. At the same time, the biological Chip also began to record and store the visual and audio information before him.
After the Chip completed its recording, Arnold lowered the wooden sword in his hand.
"How was it? Although it's simple, it must be done precisely, otherwise, over time, it's easy to sprain joints and leave behind lasting injuries. So, there can be no mistakes," he said solemnly.
Simon nodded slightly.
At the same time, he silently thought, "Recording complete."
A string of blue data instantly appeared before his eyes, "Please name this data."
"Basic Swordsmanship," Simon silently recited.
"Named as Basic Swordsmanship."
The robotic voice prompt automatically disappeared repeatedly.
Simon tried to mentally recall the data again. Immediately, streams of data automatically flowed into his mind. The visual and audio information of Arnold's demonstration began to replay perfectly in his mind.
After confirming that the recording was indeed complete, Simon said to Arnold, "So I've learned this before, I think I remember it now."
Arnold frowned slightly, looking at Simon. He seemed to be checking if Simon was playing a trick on him.
"Since you remember, then practice well on your own. Originally, Auden was going to come and personally teach you today, but he had something to attend to, so I'll have you do some basic exercises first to recover your body. I'll go now; you can call me if you need anything."
Simon nodded. He watched Arnold walk away quickly.
He raised the wooden sword in his hand and lightly weighed it. A slight smile appeared on his face.
The biological Chip only possessed analytical and storage capabilities; the actual training and practice still had to rely on him, step by step, from the basics. After all, the Chip couldn't directly act on his body. It was merely an auxiliary tool.
He stretched his body and began to practice exactly according to the demonstrated movements.
"First move, downward cut," he gripped the wooden sword, raised both hands high, and was about to cut down.
"Movement deformation 31%," the Chip instantly prompted.
A smile appeared on Simon's face.
This was the auxiliary capability of the biological Chip: it could compare his movements with the stored data and continuously correct them.
He slightly adjusted the blade in his hand.
"Movement deformation 25%."
After several consecutive attempts, Simon slowly began to adjust his movements, and with the gradual adjustments, the deformation data prompted by the Chip became smaller and smaller.
He raised the wooden sword high, adjusted it slightly until the Chip prompted a deformation of less than 5%, and then Simon suddenly chopped down. An exceptionally fluid and smooth sensation immediately came over him.
"Checking body training level, this movement has a toughness strengthening effect on muscle groups 5, 3, and 11. Estimated to increase muscle strength by 0.1 after 10,526 repetitions."
The Chip's analysis results immediately appeared before Simon's eyes.
"More than ten thousand times... that's not much," he muttered softly.
He raised the wooden sword and began to practice diligently.
The terrifying aspect of the biological Chip was that it allowed one to fully understand their own physical condition. This was the 'knowing oneself' part of 'knowing oneself and knowing the enemy'.
Swish! Swish! Swish!!
Practicing the basic movements repeatedly, Simon's movements went from being intermittent and extremely slow at first, to becoming increasingly fluid and faster later on.
The wooden sword created faint whooshing sounds in the air.
This indicated that the contact surface of the blade with the air was minimal, which made for the fastest, most concealed, and effective movements.
Unbeknownst to him, Simon became more and more engrossed in his practice. His entire being was dedicated to practicing basic swordsmanship.
Stepping forward into a lunge, a downward chop, turning right into an upward slash, a downward stab forward, and then horizontal cuts left and right.
His movements were fluid and graceful, and the sound became increasingly subtle.
He could feel that this body wasn't entirely useless; it had a very familiar feeling for basic swordsmanship. Sometimes, even before his brain could recall and compare images, his hands would naturally continue the practice.
It was evident that the original Arthur must have secretly practiced on his own.
Clang, clang, clang!!
The sound of a gong suddenly rang out.
"Break time, everyone dismissed!" Arnold's voice boomed across the training ground.
Simon in the corner snapped out of his practice. He looked towards the center of the training ground.
He saw Arnold holding a brass gong and vigorously hitting it with his hand, producing a piercing sound.
The children on the training ground also became noisy, forming small groups. Some returned to their quarters, some walked together towards the dining hall, and some gathered around Arnold, asking him questions.
Simon stood in place, his forehead covered in dense sweat, his face flushed, and his body feeling hot. His vest and chest were soaked.
Although his practice just now was fluid, to others, it was the most basic of basics, and even if it was fluid, it was normal. So his movements didn't attract anyone's attention, as it was considered to be a given.
"Summarize body status," Simon silently recited.
"Status summary: slight muscle strain on the underside of the right forearm, stagnant blood flow in both legs. Automatic recovery time: 14 hours."
Simon nodded slightly, satisfied. He casually wiped the sweat from his face.
He was wearing the black noble attire from yesterday, which looked somewhat like the tight-fitting hunting clothes on Earth, with a red belt around his waist. Long sleeves and long pants, it looked very capable.
However, this outfit was now drenched with sweat.
"Even without the seed, I can still become a strong person," Simon thought calmly.
He stood alone in the corner, and no young boys or girls approached him.
Simon scanned his gaze around. Everyone unconsciously avoided his eyes.
It was clear that these children, while despising his abilities, dared not openly show it due to the Baron's authority, so they simply chose to avoid him.
Simon also couldn't be bothered to interact much with these little kids. He put the wooden sword back on the rack, tugged at his collar, and walked directly towards the residential tower.
"Brother," a tender and sweet voice suddenly called out to him from behind.
Simon turned his head.
Silia stood by the sword rack, looking at him with a smile. The fourteen-year-old girl wore a white top and a cinched short skirt, the hem reaching just to her thighs. Her early-developed, full chest and fair thighs gave her a charming and subtly seductive air.
Simon felt that her outfit was similar to the professional attire of OLs on Earth. It was evident that even though Silia wasn't a noble and couldn't wear colorful clothes, she had put a lot of thought into dressing herself uniquely and artfully.