Blind Spot
Chapter 649 - 597 World One

Chapter 649: 597 World One

Several days later.

Black Castle.

The water in the castle’s moat rippled loudly, and from time to time, birds chirped as they landed to drink and hop about by the river, as if they were elves.

Li Chengyi sat by the bedside in his study, holding a crudely-made book he had just received, idly flipping through its pages.

These were books he had just borrowed from several knights nearby his territory, but their content was pitifully scant.

In this world, in this country, the literacy rate among the populace was extremely low, with only the nobility enjoying the privilege of reading and writing.

Many scribes and castle stewards were mostly non-firstborn sons of other nobility.

Without inheritance rights, they had to carve out their own paths, and choosing to become managers and officials for other nobles was, without a doubt, the most suitable direction.

Thump.

Li Chengyi closed the Heart of the Noble he was holding and let out a faint sigh.

His body was only nine years old; he needed time to grow, unless he was willing to completely abandon this identity.

But...

Li Chengyi stretched out a finger, and a faint glimmer of golden light emerged from the tip, so weak that it was barely visible as light.

This was the limitation of the world.

’To be precise, it is not a limitation, but desolation and dullness...’ He could sense that any force in this place was exceedingly heavy.

It was like a thick quagmire; moving as freely as in the ocean was simply impossible.

Here, power was confined and squeezed within one’s body, incapable of affecting physical reality.

’In this place, powers that could destroy worlds from other blind spots can only emit a small glow here...’

This was what Li Chengyi had truly tested out.

His Glint Flash, fully unleashed, was only as bright as a firefly’s flicker, and even weaker than that... If you didn’t look closely, it was not visible at all.

’Truly a mundane world... Where exactly have I arrived at??’

He sighed deeply.

"Carlos, come quickly, your grandfather is here, along with your uncle. Do you remember him? He used to hold you often when you were little," called Melissa, his mother, as she hurried in with two maids, her face beaming with a relaxed smile.

Li Chengyi responded, put down the book, walked to Melissa’s side, and obediently followed her out of the study, down the hallway carpeted with grey to the drawing room.

Along the hallway were several iron-clad soldiers engaged in conversation; they wore full suits of silver armor, helmet included, resting their hands on the hilt of broadswords, dispersed in small groups along both sides.

As Melissa walked past with Li Chengyi, they each gave a slight nod—it was a sign of respect.

Li Chengyi recognized they were not soldiers from Black Castle by the family crest on their armor, which depicted a bear overpowering and biting into a python.

That was the emblem of the Saul Family, the family controlled by his maternal grandfather, Baron Remington Saar.

The soldiers were robust and tall, each over one meter eighty, with nearly all of them exuding a faint smell of sweat, their voices gruff, and through the slits of their helmets, thick beards could be seen.

Li Chengyi roughly estimated their physical strength and gained some insight before they reached the drawing room.

In the drawing room, which was simply decorated with only a few tapestries bearing crests, the fireplace blazed, crackling loudly.

The air was filled with the aroma of milk tea.

A white-haired old man with a cough stood ramrod straight by the sofa, listening to a burly old man with black hair ask questions.

The one standing was Mister Bark, who was also the chief steward of Black Castle.

The seated, inquiring elder with a face full of wrinkles and dressed in a noble garment as intricate as a python’s pattern, appeared regal, with a neatly trimmed beard on his chin.

He was Melissa’s father, Carlos’s maternal grandfather, Remington Saar.

Noticing someone enter, the two men turned their heads to look, with Remington’s gaze immediately drawn to the black-haired boy beside his daughter.

The boy was dressed in a simple brown jacket, with a white buttoned shirt underneath and tailored white trousers.

A simple black and purple bowtie adorned his collar.

The key was his eyes.

Should a nine-year-old boy have such a look in his eyes?

Remington did not know, but he was aware that this child named Carlos seemed precocious.

This thought flashed through his eyes, and he briefly ignored it, focusing his attention back on his daughter, Melissa.

"My dear daughter... you look much more haggard than the last time I saw you... I’m sorry about what happened with Opal... I advised him not to act rashly, not to continue gambling, but...."

Opal was Melissa’s husband, the previous Baron Okra, and Carlos’s father.

"Father... it’s not your fault; I’ve also advised him for a long time... But..." Melissa said, her tears threatening to fall once more.

Her eyes were swollen, a clear sign of too much weeping in recent days.

The two comforted each other briefly, and then Remington’s gaze shifted to Li Chengyi.

"Baron, you look very strong; that’s good. At this time, as a man, you must take on everything you should, there are no allowances for youth, as enemies will not show mercy for you being young..."

"I understand, I am very grateful that my grandfather came rushing here to assist my mother and me." Li Chengyi performed a noble’s bow according to the etiquette his tutors had taught him, recounted in his memories.

"Your uncle has gone for a stroll around the place. I can’t stay for long, but he will, until you can handle affairs on your own, he will stay behind to help you guard all the properties and territories. I will also leave twenty fully armed Bear Eater soldiers; they will follow your Uncle Lei Kai’s orders and can safeguard the security of Black Castle. I’ve heard that several towns in the territory haven’t paid their grain taxes, which we can take care of this visit. You should focus on your studies and training, and leave these tedious matters for Lei Kai to handle," Remington said, in a clear and rhythmic voice, enunciating every word.

His tone was decisive and not open to question, clearly something he had thought through beforehand.

Melissa stood by, remaining silent.

But to Li Chengyi, this was essentially being sidelined.

This grandfather had traveled a long distance to get here, and his purpose was clearly not so innocent.

According to the nobility law of the Sola Empire, once this legitimate male heir died, the estate, by law which allowed only male succession, was bound to be inherited and merged into Melissa’s side of the family.

Since there were no other male members in the line of Carlos’s father...

But Li Chengyi didn’t care about these matters at all; he simply responded perfunctorily, nodding his head, regardless of what the other party said.

The estate included three towns, a large forest, and scarce farmlands, mainly focusing on cultivating cold weather crops and breeding Snow Rabbits and Snow Deer as the main industries.

Upon Remington’s arrival, he allocated two of the towns to Lei Kai for full management, leaving Melissa and Old Buck responsible for just one town.

This usurping of roles made Mister Bark want to speak up several times, but Melissa stopped him each time.

As the conversation was about to conclude, Remington’s gaze turned towards Li Chengyi.

"Carlos, I hear you like to read books?"

"Yes, Grandfather," Li Chengyi nodded.

"Father, can’t you recommend someone to White Tower? Why not let Carlos give it a try?" Melissa interjected.

"White Tower, eh..." Remington pondered.

The purpose of his visit was actually aimed at the Okra Family’s inherited estate, and the White Tower was a domain for Mages. Carlos’s aptitude had been tested early on; he wasn’t Mage material. Sending him there would be perfect to avoid warrior training.

A youth without military forces, who lacks combat prowess himself, would find it all too easy to meet with some accident outside in the future.

However, at the thought, Remington softened momentarily as he looked at the face of Li Chengyi, which so resembled that of his own daughter.

Sending him off to White Tower would mean Carlos, even if he survived, would be completely ruined...

In this age, a scholar’s frailty implied dependency; it was utterly meaningless.

’Perhaps, having him learn martial arts to protect himself in the future might be a suitable fate...’ he considered.

The Empire had laws stating that an heir could willingly relinquish their estate and title to a relative.

But then Remington thought of his own son, who could now not inherit the estate, and how the Okra Family’s estate would suit him just fine.

His heart hardened again.

"The spot has already been promised to someone else; it is taken. Carlos’s situation... he still needs to learn martial arts, to train in combat. Who would take care of him if he were sent to White Tower? What would you do about the estate?"

"Well then...." Melissa was persuaded.

"That’s settled then, I will arrange for Milton to be Carlos’s instructor, training him in the methods of combat for Knights, and also in strategic troop maneuvers," Remington said coolly. He was determined in his heart.

"Thank you, Father," Melissa expressed her gratitude.

Li Chengyi followed suit with his thanks.

He didn’t speak up with requests, for in the other’s eyes, all he could see was calculation, devoid of warmth.

The plan for the coming days was thus established.

Lei Kai, as the uncle, left twenty men from the Bear Eater Army to ensure the security of Black Castle, while Milton Knight stayed behind to be Baron Carlos’s, Li Chengyi’s, martial training tutor.

Since Carlos had just recovered from illness, the training would start a week later, providing seven days of rest and buffer time.

During these seven days, Li Chengyi tried various cultivation methods repeatedly: martial arts, meditation techniques, simple Earth-Moon exercises.

Yet he found them useless.

Here, only the most basic principles of biology seemed to apply; any slightly powerful methods of cultivation that could have built formidable strength were ineffective.

Soon, after seven days had passed.

Count Remington left Black Castle, having left behind Lei Kai and Milton, as well as twenty men from the Bear Eater Army, to take over the defense of Black Castle.

Milton began Li Chengyi’s formal training.

On the spacious ice and snow training ground.

A rack of weapons was adorned with rows of icicles, set apart on a cleared space.

Milton and Li Chengyi stood facing each other.

This Knight, over forty years old, wasn’t particularly burly, but his muscles were well-defined, creating an impression of refined grace.

His short, curly brown hair and somewhat melancholic blue eyes lent him a bard-like gentleness.

At that moment, Milton held a broad wooden sword as he faced Li Chengyi.

"Knights, at their core, are still warriors. Unlike Mages with all kinds of special casting abilities, what we rely on are mainly strength, speed, and reflexes. Do you understand?"

Li Chengyi nodded.

"I do, so then, Knight Milton, how is a Knight different from a warrior?"

"There’s not much difference, mainly in equipment and maintenance. Knights have much better gear and physical upkeep than warriors do. Financially, just about every warrior dreams of becoming a Knight," Milton sighed.

"With the same strength, the same speed, when the skills are not much different, it is the equipment and tactical thinking that determine the winner or loser."

"There isn’t anything like battle energy?" Li Chengyi asked.

"Battle energy? What’s that?" Milton looked puzzled.

"What about the Seed of Life?" Li Chengyi continued to inquire.

"...um, you’ve read too many fantasy stories. What we excel in is only how to train strength, speed, reflexes, and tactics. Beyond that, at most, there’s just some distinction between combat styles; we don’t have any powers of bloodline inheritance like the Mages," Milton said helplessly.

Baron Carlos seemed precocious, but he too had a penchant for fantasy.