Chapter 652: Dragon Knight

Leo lay on the ground, dead asleep.

Liszt, however, was reluctant to move his butt from the Dragon Tooth Platform. Through the connection of the platform, the sensation of intertwined fates, flowing blood, and synchronized thoughts was absolutely incredible.

This was what it meant to be a Dragon Knight.

Not merely a human riding a dragon, but a union where man and dragon breathed as one and shared the same destiny.

It was as if he had opened up completely to Leo, and Leo, in turn, had entrusted everything to him—no holding back, no doubts, only perfect harmony of the mind. Though they appeared as one man and one dragon, they had become one being, with Dragon Aura as the mortar and their souls as the steel beams.

Like a bridge connecting two shores, turning a chasm into a thoroughfare.

The huge gap between man and dragon vanished completely in the state of riding.

"Dragon Knight!"

"My life's greatest goal has finally been achieved today!"

Suddenly, something just came over him, and he couldn’t help but chant the verses spoken by Lu Zhishen upon his enlightenment in *Water Margin*: "In life, I sought no virtue, only slaughter and fire. Suddenly, the golden chains snapped, the jade locks broke. Ah! The tide of the Qiantang River arrives—today, at last, I know myself."

Of course.

He hadn't attained enlightenment like Lu Zhishen, returning to the Pure Land.

It was merely an emotional moment—today, through riding, he finally understood how amazing it felt. Unfortunately, Leo had passed out from the effects of the Milon Mind Fruit and couldn't immediately take to the skies with him. He could only enjoy the rush alone. But just then, his mana flared up again.

It hit him.

He swiftly dismounted from Leo's Dragon Tooth Platform and leaped down.

Instantly, an empty feeling washed over him. The harmonious unity of man and dragon faded away, yet he could still sense Leo—their souls were still connected. Once ridden, once connected, everything was irrevocably changed.

Like a phone remembering a Wi-Fi password—unless the password was changed, reconnection was effortless upon proximity.

Unless Liszt treated Leo like crap, Leo would never change the password. And Liszt would never discard such a dragon with so much potential as Leo.

Once a dragon rider, always a dragon rider!

Shaking his head.

He suppressed the urge to ride again and turned his attention to the sudden surge of mana within his body. "It seems the mental battle earlier caused my mana to react... Perhaps this is the maxed-out high-level mana rewarded by the mist quest?"

Focusing, he summoned the mist quest, which promptly appeared.

"Quest completed. Reward: maxed-out high-level mana."

Indeed, it was already fulfilled. The reward had come almost simultaneously with the act of riding—or perhaps the maxed-out high-level mana was a prerequisite for riding. Under the influence of the mist quest and aided by the Milon Mind Fruit, he had gotten rid of Leo's dark side and succeeded in riding.

Just as he was about to check the new quest, his mana flared up again, diverting his attention, and the mist dispersed.

Forced to concentrate on the changes in his body, he rode out the waves of mana, which stimulated and enhanced his physical strength. Soon, he got hungry and tired. Fortunately, Liszt had prepared ample magic potions for his return. Grabbing a handful, he downed them right away.

The potions swiftly transformed into surging magic power, replenishing his depleted cells before refining into mana to further enhance his body.

Next, he wolfed down piles of magical beast meat to nourish himself.

And so.

After consuming fifty magic potions, supplemented with five doses of black nightshade, and a whole cow's worth of magical beast meat, his body's demands were finally met. The mana settled into calm, but beneath the surface lay explosive power—his entire being felt wide open.

Drawing the Frostbite Dragon Slayer Sword, he immediately executed the techniques from the *Crimson Sunflare Surge* manual, cycling through basic and charged techniques to gauge his bodily condition.

Channeling mana and deploying combat arts now flowed without the slightest hesitation.

Every minute detail of his body was under perfect control.

Sheathing his sword, he gazed at the slender fingers of his hands—both elegant and powerful—and couldn’t help but feel triumphant: *"Is this the true essence of a peak-tier Sky Knight?"*

Perhaps in terms of total mana reserves and explosive power, a peak-tier Sky Knight wasn’t significantly stronger than a Sword Saint-level Sky Knight.

But the mastery over bodily minutiae far surpassed that of a Sword Saint.

One could say that while a Sword Saint could tap into 80% of their body’s potential, a peak-tier Sky Knight could command 120%.

*"Next, I need to find a way to obtain a training manual for the mana domain and fully perfect the knightly cultivation system… After all, the conditions for becoming a Dragon Rider are far too stringent. I managed to coerce Leo into submission thanks to the Milon Mind Fruit, but my descendants might not be so lucky."*

The Sapphire Duchy had no such manuals for the mana domain.

The only option was to seize one from the mainland kingdoms. Liszt had his sights set on the Raging Tides Marquis—having narrowly defeated him in their last battle but failing to capture him. When the next campaign began, he would press the advantage and take the Marquis alive, forcing him to surrender the mana domain manual.

Leo was still unconscious.

Liszt sat cross-legged beside him and once again focused, summoning the Smoke Task.

*"Quest: Clearly, you have succeeded in taming a dragon and become a true Dragon Rider. The world is now yours to explore, but it cannot be denied that Leo is still young, and the next step of cultivation remains unclear. Suppress your urge to boast and discreetly decipher the next stage of training. Reward: An Archmage."*

*"Hmm?"*

His heart leapt. He hadn’t expected that just as he achieved Dragon Rider status, Acheronides was also poised to break through to Archmage. He had assumed she would need at least a year or two to prepare before attempting the breakthrough, especially since her previous contact with the Magic Web had relied on the power of Mermaid’s Tear.

However.

Upon rereading the quest details, he checked his enthusiasm: *"What does ‘discreetly decipher the next stage of training’ mean? Does it imply that only by discovering the method will the quest be completed? If it takes me a year or two to figure it out, won’t Acheronides be stuck unable to advance?"*

Regardless, he would wait for Leo to wake first before attempting to decipher the next stage. *Now that I’ve tamed a dragon, how hard can it be to find the training method?*

Rising to his feet, he went downhill and made his way to the seaside.

No matter the distance, the psychic tether between him and Leo remained strong. Though not as intense as the unity experienced while riding, it far surpassed the pact-bound connection he shared with spirit bugs. If he focused, he could even sense the pleasant dreams Leo was having in his slumber—

Dreams of becoming a mighty Fire Dragon, plundering a city’s wealth, and hauling it back to his volcanic lair. *Still some wicked thoughts lingering.*

*"Seems I’ll need to keep purging his psyche, not letting malice take root. After all, I’m a knight steeped in chivalry—my mount can’t be an evil dragon. Love, peace, justice, and fairness are the true virtues of knighthood!"*

His mood was buoyant, dusk painting the world in splendor.

He felt weightless, as though he could ascend to the skies without even needing to unleash his mana.