Hans could not contain his excitement.
Although his feet were soaking in the icy river water, numb with cold, he had dredged up a magic pearl for the lord baron!
He was well aware that his position as the estate's foreman was now secure.
He had not seen the lord baron himself instruct Butler Morris to send him a steaming cup of milk tea, a delicious treat that only noble lords could savour, said to be mixed not only with fresh milk and sugar but also chocolate sauce, honey, cinnamon powder, and even brandy.
Irresistibly fragrant and sweet, one sip was all it took to feel warmth spread throughout his body.
"My God, praise the lord, this is so delicious. I've never had anything this tasty in my life," Heipite, the chief of Barley Hamlet, moaned in appreciation.
"The lord is truly the kindest of gentlemen!" said One-eyed Boris from Wheat Hamlet, beaming with happiness.
"Of course, the lord is the kindest of gentlemen," the plump cook from the kitchen said as she walked over with a kettle, "Not only did he let you warm up by the stove, but he also had me serve you another cup of milk tea. His generosity towards you peasants is simply too great!"
"Thank you, Mrs. Moore."
The few who had been reluctant to drink the milk tea, seeing that refills were offered, ignored the scalding heat and downed their cups in one go, then eagerly extended their cups, eyeing the kettle in the cook's hand.
"Uncle Boris, did you dredge up pearls for the lord? What is a pearl?" The kitchen maid adding coal to the stove, curiously asked, "Do pearls grow inside river clams? Are they a kind of gemstone?"
"Ah, you must be Barbara, right?" One-eyed Boris recognized the busy kitchen maid, "Old Barton's girl?"
"Yes."
"All grown up now, are we? Old Barton said you were working in Fluorescent Castle, didn't expect you to have followed the lord back to the manor."
Barbara grinned, her freckled face lively, and her pair of protruding canines exceptionally eye-catching: "I wanted to be closer to home. Uncle Boris, you still haven't explained what a pearl is."
"Pearls, well..." One-eyed Boris actually didn't know what a pearl was either, as this was the first time he had seen a pearl inside a river clam after touching them all his life. However, this did not stop him from boasting, "Pearls are gems from the water, let me tell you, noble lords love pearls the most!"
While sipping on the milk tea and bragging, the boiler room was filled with a joyous atmosphere.
"Barbara, stop chatting and go fetch a bucket of water, we still need to wash a huge pile of river clams and snails!" the cook shouted from the kitchen.
Barbara quickly got up: "I'm on it, Mrs. Moore."
"Be quick about it, act like someone who gets things done."
"Will do, Mrs. Moore."
Meanwhile.
In the hall of the manor's separate courtyard, five silver-white pearls were laid out on a table, with Russell, Charles, and Eric sitting around it.
"The magic power isn't very abundant, somewhat inferior to that of gemstones. But compared to the overly turbulent magic power in gemstones, the magic in the pearls is gentler, and perhaps could be used to make magic elixirs," Eric offered his opinion.
He was the only great knight of the entire estate, ranking above an armed knight, with battle qi flowing through all his meridians.
Just awaiting to contract a fantasy beast, he could then advance to become a Phantom Beast Knight.
"Pity there are only five pearls. Russell, I think it's better to treat them as jewelry, to keep them for gifts," Charles said.
A mine nourished by a great dragon could yield a not insignificant number of gemstones, which is what allowed for substantial economic value.
An unexpected harvest of five pearls from a large river clam was indeed rare, but their real value was not high.
Russell seemed pensive, "If river mussels can produce pearls, what do you think about the possibility of artificially cultivating pearls?"
"Artificial cultivation?" Charles shook his head, "Russell, that's a bit far-fetched. Pearls are a gift from heaven, not a magic potion. How could they possibly be cultivated artificially... Lord Baron sends people to the river to fish every year, but we have never seen a river mussel produce a pearl."
Eric nodded in agreement.
Russell was not surprised by this; none of the mussels in the Glowing River had ever produced pearls, so naturally, no one considered cultivating them.
However, his knowledge as a transmigrant let him know that pearls could be artificially cultivated.
He didn't know the specific methods, but he was somewhat familiar with the principle behind pearl formation. When the soft body of a shellfish is invaded by a foreign object, it secretes nacre to envelop the object, eventually forming a pearl.
"Perhaps pearls could be cultivated artificially!" He thought to himself but didn't say it out loud just yet.
After all, this was a different world where pearls were creations of magic power; whether they could be artificially cultivated was still an open question.
Moreover, cultivating pearls was not a priority.
After signaling Butler Morris to put away the five pearls, he followed Eric to start his morning knight's lesson.
"The 'Radiant Swordsmanship Technique' is most suitable for you to practice, Sir." Holding a fine steel longsword in both hands, Eric's battle qi surged into the blade, visible to the naked eye as a wisp of ripple wafted from the sword like vapor, "It has great lethality, and, moreover, it is most suited for breaking through."
Russell also held a fine steel longsword in both hands, following alongside Eric and learning every move of the 'Radiant Swordsmanship Technique'.
Eric, usually silent, turned out to be very detailed and patient in teaching, "With each move, we are pursuing not only strength but also understanding the synergy between battle qi and the techniques, and then, with the help of these techniques, striking through with battle qi!"
Ha! Ha!
Eric slashed with his sword, and a faint, vapor-like sword beam flew straight from the blade, traveling more than three meters in the air.
"With this move, the battle qi will be drawn through the channels in the hands due to the movement of the technique. Sir, today you will focus on practicing just this move."
"Alright!"
Russell nodded, then repeatedly practiced the move. The fine steel longsword sliced through the air, but alas, no sword beam emerged from it.
The previous self's desperate efforts had indeed caused the Qi Seed to bloom, providing him with real battle qi.
However, the battle qi circulated only through the main channels in his body, barely forming a Minor Circulation that nourished and strengthened his physique. Unlike Eric, he could not infuse the battle qi into his weapon and release impressive sword beams.
Only when battle qi continued to grow and then struck through the channels all over the limbs and bones, connecting all pathways and forming a Grand Circulation,
Could he control it as easily as moving his limbs, freely releasing sword beams.
And by that time, he would advance from an Armed Knight to a Great Knight.
Whoosh.
Whoosh.
Russell earnestly swung his sword with each strike, not slacking even as sweat soaked his back.
Inside his body, with each sword swing, a thread of battle qi was drawn out from the main channels, striking towards the channels in his hands, chipping away at new branches bit by bit.
He didn't feel tired, only a sense of marvel and exhilaration!
"Cultivating battle qi is truly a bit like martial arts from those wuxia stories." He would occasionally get distracted and think about various things, "But in my case, it seems like I've first connected the Governor and Conception vessels, and then I'll start to open the Eight Extraordinary Meridians and the Twelve Primary Channels..."