21 – Wild Maize, Wonderful
The qi operation method described how to refine, expand, condense, release, and attach qi. The set of sixteen battle moves comprised of.
Five agility moves: Fierydragon Rush, Fierydragon Leap, Fierydragon Jump, Fierydragon Soar, Fierydragon Dive.
Five basic moves: Fierydragon Pierce, Fierydragon Strike, Fierydragon Smash, Fierydragon Twist, Fierydragon Drill.
Five violent moves: Fierydragon Swing, Fierydragon Sweep, Fierydragon Gale, Fierydragon Roll, Fierydragon Assault.
And lastly, its ultimate meaning, the Heart of Fierydragon Drill.
That was the entirety of the [Fierydragon Drill] secret manual. The names of the moves were rather interesting, as if they and his mount, Fierydragon, were part of a set.
At this moment.
Liszt rode his Fierydragon, his body moving slightly up and down along with Fierydragon’s gallop. In his left hand was a shield forged from fine steel protecting in front of him as well covering half of Fierydragon, in his right hand was a more than a three meters long lance raised horizontally.
The uncultivated land near the castle had its grass cut, exposing the infertile, yellow earth beneath.
Fierydragon’s hoofs stepped on the still somewhat damp ground, leaving hoof prints of varying depths behind. It had turned into a red-colored fire speedily galloping into the distance. Liszt, who was on its back, emitted qi from all over his body, attaching it to the shield, the lance, and Fierydragon.
Soon, the person and horse were completely enveloped by flames.
Following Liszt’s bellow: “Heart of Fierydragon Drill!”
Fierydragon gave a vigorous leap and he violently trusted the lance. In an instant, a number of man and horse phantoms quickly flashed and struck a huge rock ahead of them.
A shocking blow!
Boom!
The rock, which was as tall as a person, exploded into broken pieces. Flames shot in disorder and, along with the broken pieces of rock, fell to the ground alike raindrops. When the dust settled, Liszt, who was sitting on Fierydragon, had already moved away from the blast site. He and Fierydragon were wrapped in full-body armor.
The silver-white full-body armor was covered in scratches and black traces.
Liszt opened the helmet’s visor, revealing his handsome face. There was a light smile on his lips: “The power is not bad. I reckon that when hit with this move, it should be capable of beating a magic beast like the Flyingdust Dog half to death.”
Tabdak tabdak tabdak.
The clip-clopping reverberated in the air. With Liszt’s four retainer knights on their heels, Marcus and Gort rode over atop their horses.
“My goodness. Liszt, you are a genius. Was that move the [Fierydragon Drill] secret manual’s ultimate meaning, the Heart of Fierydragon Drill? You have mastered this secret manual in less than a week?” Gort liked to speak with a tone of amazement.
Marcus looked at the broken pieces of rock scattered in a circle on the ground. He was equally astonished: “The scope of the strike was very uniform. There is not a single piece of rock bigger than a fist, testifying that the move you just performed had reached its maturity. It is something very difficult for Earth Knights to accomplish.”
After saying that, he looked at Liszt with some incredulity.
In the past, this third child of the count had been a good-for-nothing. Whether he ate chicken, fish, eggs, or even magic beast’s meat, yet his qi cultivation could not even reach the standard of a common knight. It was unexpected that in less than a week after his advancement to an Earth Knight, he would fully master a mid-ranked qi secret manual.
It reminded him of the time he practiced cultivation according to the [Cleaving Against the Wind] secret manual. It had taken him one month and a half to finally muster the secret manual’s ultimate meaning.
For a moment, many complicated feelings raced through his mind: “Is this the real gap between commoners and aristocrats?”
Liszt handed the shield and lance to a retainer knight. He took off the helmet and breathed in the fresh air; his excitement had not yet vanished: “Initially, I was under the impression that it would take me a few months to master the [Fierydragon Drill] secret manual. Unexpectedly, it was not difficult. It seems like I can take the time to learn the [Fire Surge Fluctuations] secret manual. It is always good to have more moves.”
“You are so talented, so of course you have to study a few more secret manuals. Liszt, if I have to say, you have your father’s bearing. In the future, you are bound to make Tulip Family shine brightly.”
“Teacher Gort, thank you for you kind words.”
On the way back, Gort spoke highly of Liszt; it was his specialty. Marcus’s mind wandered off, not knowing what to think.
Straight until he entered the castle for supper, mindlessly ate the food in front of him, and was seen off by Liszt. Only then did he recover.
He waited for Gort to leave on horseback as he hummed a tune.
He looked at Liszt, who, as if waiting for him to speak, was still standing at the castle’s gate. He said seriously: “Sir Baron, could you tell me where you have set your sights on?”
“Where I have set my sights…”
Marcus was inquiring whether Liszt had any ambitions. Marcus, who wanted to become an aristocrat, was naturally unwilling to curl up in this small rural town and follow a baron with no aspirations.
However, Liszt did not answer him directly: “Teacher Marcus, one should be judged by their deeds and not by their words. Words can be either true or false, but only deeds can be transparent, right?”
“I understand!”
Marcus suddenly knelt down on one knee, pressed his right hand against his chest, and professed his loyalty according to the etiquette: “Willing to be Sir’s vanguard!”
“Teacher Marcus, please rise. My territory is still rather puny; I need your help to develop it.” With a serene expression, Liszt helped Marcus up, yet secretly, he had a sense of accomplishment. Being capable of getting an Earth Knight’s loyalty was a testament to his charisma.
He returned to the castle.
Took a shower.
Then once more saw the smoke Serpentines: “Mission completed. Reward: a dragonhorse with a meager dragon bloodline.”
The smoke twisted in the blink of an eye, announcing a new mission: “Mission: not only cows like eating the fresh, juicy, and tender alfalfa, horses also like to eat it. This is the basis for setting up a horse field. But first, please find a place for the alfalfa sprite worm to settle down its worm stalk. Reward: three units of wild maize.”
Liszt was considerably excited after reading the Serpentines.
He was already rewarded a dragonhorse, he just still did not know where it was or who would discover it. Tomorrow morning, he wanted to go look for it. However, after taking notice of the reward of the new mission, the maize, he was no longer excited about the dragonhorse.
There was no such crop as maize in this world, at least not on Coral Island. According to the memories of his predecessor, there were no plants related to maize.
“Maize, ah. It is a high-yielding crop. Reportedly, it has the highest per unit yield in the world. Additionally, it does not require any management. It is enough to just plant its seeds and let it grow on its own. It is said to be a godsent plant capable of naturally performing C4 type photosynthesis and is easy to detassel. The future of cereals belonged to maize. In ‘Interstellar’ (movie), the about to go extinct humans only planted maize.”
Liszt had planted fields during his childhood. He knew that maize’s yield was high, just that its taste was not as good as that of wheat and rice.
However, here, the taste was not a priority. The best crop was the one that could allow people to eat their fill. In Flower Town, the yield of wheat was one or two hundred catties per mu. Once maize was planted, there was no need for it to yield several thousand catties per mu. So long as the yield exceeded 500 catties per mu, then it would be more than enough to feed the people. Clothing and food would no longer be an issue.
By then.
Maize would be grown on a wide scale, supplying commoners with coarse maize flour. A bit of wheat would also be grown, supplying him with fine wheat flour. Would that not be wonderful?