Chapter 665: Morse Code

The autumn leaves turned brown and withered.

In the blink of an eye, September had passed, and October arrived quietly.

The slightly chilly weather carried the falling leaves, rustling as they descended. After half a month of secluded cultivation, Liszt's strength had improved dramatically. His perfected high-level fire-attribute mana had almost completely evolved into a more advanced Dragon Aura, and one day, it would undoubtedly reach the level of Dragon Will.

By then, he felt he might be able to switch freely between a draconic form and his human form, just like Leo.

Of course, whether this was truly possible remained unknown.

This was merely his speculation. He had never met a true Dragon Knight nor obtained any cultivation information about them, leaving him with no basis for judgment.

"Acheronides, how do you think I should classify the levels of Dragon Aura?" Liszt asked the siren, who was making notes in a book.

Acheronides looked up and pondered briefly. "Brother, it's best not to classify it for now. The evolution data about Dragon Aura is still insufficient. We need more data to properly establish its levels."

"Alright."

Liszt felt a little disappointed. He loved setting standards for things.

He remembered hearing on Earth that top-tier companies set standards, second-tier ones build brands, and third-tier ones just make products. He aspired to be a pioneer who established norms rather than a follower who mimicked predecessors... At the very least, within the Sapphire Duchy, he could be that pioneer.

Then he asked again, "So, after all this research, have you uncovered any clues about Dragon Knight cultivation or connecting to the Magic Web?"

During this period, he had mostly been cooperating with Acheronides, leaving much of the thinking to her.

His own focus had been on exploring combined attacks with Leo.

Leo itself did not wield magic.

Its combat relied more on biting, charging, breath attacks, and the most commonly used magic power bursts.

These simple methods were enough to obliterate anything in their path. When its wings flapped, generating endless flames, everything within a hundred-meter radius would be scorched. Even when it unleashed its Dragon Will, the surroundings would instantly transform into a field of magma.

However, Leo was reluctant to casually release its Dragon Will. That will was a key factor in its growth, and even a slight expenditure required a long time to replenish.

Once it reached adulthood and its Dragon Will became abundant, even a minor display of power might trigger underground magma eruptions.

But Leo's combat style was raw—brutish, primal, and instinctive. It often wasted tremendous energy for minimal results. Liszt's role was to guide its attacks with his own mana, improving efficiency and achieving flawless coordination between man and dragon.

When Leo's attacks became highly concentrated rather than scattered, its power naturally doubled.

He considered this a brand-new cultivation method and named it Dragon Aura Focus. However, this technique had not been recognized by the Misty Task, which remained incomplete.

Undeterred, Liszt developed another new cultivation method. By harmonizing his mind with Leo's while riding it and maintaining a distant mental link when apart, he refined their spiritual connection and established a system for shielding thoughts and transmitting messages.

Somewhat similar to Morse code, it was a novel communication method, so he named it Dragon Mind Code.

Unfortunately, the Misty Task still failed to recognize Dragon Mind Code.

Liszt, however, believed both Dragon Aura Focus and Dragon Mind Code were worthy of inclusion in his *Complete Manual of Liszt's Dragon Knight Cultivation*, a work he intended to pass down as a family heirloom. This book would be his latest work, following *Liszt's Dragon-Raising Manual*, though he had yet to start writing it.

These two cultivation methods were the best answers Liszt could devise recently, yet the Misty Task refused to recognize them. Left with no choice, he turned to Acheronides for help.

He hadn't held much hope—the research period was still too short for significant progress.

But Acheronides nodded and said, "Brother, based on the resonance phenomenon you described earlier and my research on magic arrays, I've made progress. However, I still need to design some experiments to test my theories. If they're correct, your Dragon Knight cultivation method could be established."

"Is that so?"

Liszt was overjoyed—after all, his Small Mermaid was the most reliable. "Quick, tell me what your idea is!"

"It's about resonance," Acheronides explained. "Your fighting spirit and Leo's can connect, and so can your minds, but their frequencies don’t overlap. If they could resonate by overlapping, it might produce special effects... You and Leo might even assimilate each other through resonance."

Liszt understood the principle of resonance, but another question puzzled him: "Assimilation?"

"Assimilation of magic power. Maybe you’ll soon be able to switch freely between dragon intent and your physical form, just like Leo."

Liszt sighed in relief. "I thought you meant I’d merge with Leo and become half-human, half-dragon."

"Hehe, no, brother. I’ve never heard of a Sky Knight and a dragon fusing together."

"Hmm, then focus on designing the experiments and try to get results as soon as possible. I have a feeling that if this cultivation method succeeds, you might even advance to Archmage because of it!"

Acheronides mused, "Perhaps. If you and Leo can resonate, why can’t I use resonance to touch the Magic Web?"

She then fell into deep thought.

Liszt didn’t disturb her and quietly left the room, heading to the adjacent pool chamber. An item—a Giant Kelp Grand Sprite—was comfortably floating on the water’s surface, asleep. When Pyke didn’t open his mouth, he truly looked like a magnificent amber gemstone. Nearby, the spirit bugs were also sleeping, all equally beautiful.

They were lucky—even as spirit bugs, they had their own names.

The later spirit bugs didn’t even get names, especially the two left behind by Yevich Shui Huasheng, both simply called "Shui Huasheng." It was hard to tell them apart, but a bit of jade dust each day kept them content, sleeping soundly—easy to care for.

After watching the spirit bugs for a while, he left the seaside castle and returned to the unnamed castle.

Preparing for lunch and a nap, his steward Carter reported, "Master, the paper workshop has delivered the latest batch of white paper. The box has been placed in your study."

"Let’s take a look."

Entering the study, he opened the box. Carter carefully lifted a stack of yellowish-gray paper, hands shaking slightly as if holding a priceless artifact.

Compared to the stinking thick paper, this new type of paper could indeed be called a rare artifact.

But Liszt casually grabbed a few sheets, rubbed them between his fingers, and frowned at their roughness. Shaking his head, he said, "The quality isn’t up to standard. Tell La Vagne at the paper workshop to keep refining the process—no cutting corners with subpar products! Also, burn this entire batch. Not a single sheet is to remain."

The white paper was still confidential—absolutely no leaks were allowed. Defective batches were always incinerated.

His standard for the paper workshop was smooth writing and durability—it doesn't need to match xuan paper, but certainly not shoddy. Once white paper was perfected, he’d move on to researching sanitary paper. Cloth was comfortable, but it wasn't quite right.

Watching Carter personally toss all the paper into the fireplace, Liszt suddenly remembered something. "Has there been any contact from the Kingdom of the Eagle regarding Garcia and Fawkes’s ransom?"

"Not yet, Lord Liszt."

He nodded silently, but inwardly, he was puzzled. *Strange.* He thought, *have they really abandoned two Sky Knights? Is Alonso, as a Sky Knight, so lavish that he doesn’t care about his followers? Or is something else delaying them?*