Cornflower Witch

Chapter 177 Advanced Secret Techniques
Turning the stone steps inside the castle fortress, Hilti walked through the tower. Occasionally, she would pass by a window and see the azure sky outside, as well as the vast golden wheat fields below.

With its gentle breezes and pleasant environment, it truly deserves to be called the safest inland city within the woodland.

The wind blew through the chalky stones, bringing a dry scent and a few particles. The higher Hiltiya went in the tower, the quieter it became. The noisy training sounds from the bottom of the tower were no longer audible, only the whistling wind remained.

A few minutes later, she arrived at a heavy door at the top of the tower and gently knocked on the door knocker.

The dented cast iron door knocker struck the door, producing a heavy echo.

Soon, the door was pulled open by a strong arm, allowing Hilti to see the situation in the hall inside.

A knight clad in full platinum armor sat at the head of the table. His armor, as white as ivory with gold trim around the inside, resembled a work of art commissioned by royalty, yet exuded an aura of majesty.

When Hilti stepped into the hall, it was as if she had entered a palace. The entire hall was under the control of the knight's domain. Fortunately, the knight had no ill intentions; he was merely isolating the area from the outside world and protecting it.

After a brief bow, the girl, guided by the other party's gestures, sat at the very bottom of the long table, her legs together like a well-behaved student, her eyes filled with a hint of curiosity as she looked at the knight at the head of the table directly opposite her.

"Hehe, I knew this little girl was something else. She dared to look you straight in the eye on her first visit." The burly man sitting next to the knight spoke. He was much taller than an ordinary person, seemingly possessing the blood of a giant. His muscles were like brass, capable of crushing iron and stone.

Besides these two, there was also a refined scholar in the hall, and a wizard whom Hilti was familiar with, Kurandchu.

"Nice to meet you. I am Cassius, the Grand Master of the Knights Templar." The other party spoke in a simple and honest tone, without any contempt or pressure despite the difference in their status.

"Hello, I am Hilti, a new student in the woodlands." To be honest, Hilti was not sure why she had been called here, but seeing so many important people, it must be something important.

"You're probably a little nervous meeting us for the first time, but don't worry, what we're about to say won't have a big impact on your studies or life," the knight commander continued.

"The association headquarters has approved your 'excellent' evaluation and awarded you a commendation. The scholar next to you will tell you the details." As they spoke, their gazes shifted to the figure in the beige and light blue academic robe. He looked to be around forty years old, with a refined demeanor and glasses on his nose.

He nodded slightly to Silti and introduced himself briefly: "My name is Serofi, it's a pleasure to meet Miss Tia."

This scholar is a 'Fifth-Order Secret Word' being, a rare and important figure in the entire Radiant Plains. If it were the Kingdom of Regas, where Hiltiya used to live, such a person would be at the top level of the country.

"Hello." The girl returned the greeting politely, her eyes showing a hint of surprise and curiosity.

The people present were all at or above the fifth rank, especially the knight commander sitting at the head of the table, who was probably the current leader of the 'Holy White Knights Hall', a top figure at the sixth rank.

"The Association values ​​Tia's outstanding performance highly and has high hopes for you," Knight Commander Cassius continued.

"Tiya, do you know anything about advancing to the third tier?"

"I don't know yet." She hadn't even touched many things at the second level, let alone the third level. "The third level is an extremely important stage. In many fields, only at the third level can one officially become a professional, accept commissions independently, have their own reputation and name, and so on."

"This is certainly because reaching the third tier means that your mastery of this field has reached a level of proficiency and perfection, and because entering the third tier will unlock different core abilities."

“Every living being is born with its own unique destiny and 1-3 abilities. Some of these abilities are innate, while others are learned later in life.”

"The process of stages 1 and 2 is to make up for the incomplete abilities innately and to solidify one's destiny. Only in stage 3 will a great mutation occur."

"That is to use the abilities, attributes, knowledge, and secret techniques accumulated in the past to open up a brand new card slot, and the effect of this card slot is far superior to others, and can be regarded as the core of the other abilities of the superhuman."

"You can think of it this way: destiny and bloodline are things you are born with, while the core card is a manifestation of your experiences later in life."

"How to open up and utilize this extremely special core position has always been a key focus for various schools of thought."

“Each race and creature has a different way of utilizing it. For humans, core card slots are often closely related to class, so much so that we often discuss the two together.”

"For example, the third-tier class 'White Knight' in our Knights Order combines multiple abilities to condense the 'Shield of Nobility'. Through trials, the 'Shield of Nobility' is made to resonate with one's own destiny, thus achieving the class of 'White Knight' and gaining a powerful boost."

"The blacksmiths next to them are collecting various materials to forge a 'Golden Forging Hammer' for themselves, and through trials, they make the 'Golden Forging Hammer' match their destiny, thus achieving the rank of 'Golden Forging Blacksmith'."

"Scholars, on the other hand, generally write various kinds of 'books' based on the secret techniques of different schools of thought, and then match these books with their own destiny to achieve their official rank."

“Wizards and witches use a model of a certain secret magic as their core, which is in harmony with their destiny, to achieve powerful control in that field.”

“As for the gardener.” He paused, glancing at Kurlandchu beside him.

"Let this person introduce you."

Kurandchu, dressed in a bright yellow wizard's robe, glanced at the seated Hilti and then explained.

“Gardeners will create different exclusive ‘gardens’ based on their own choices, to cultivate special plants.”

"Many extraordinary high-level plants have demanding environmental requirements, making them difficult to encounter or create in reality, and they cannot be moved. To solve this problem, ancient gardeners created their own 'gardens' to cultivate plants."

"Our Four Seasons Alliance got its name because we mastered the advanced techniques of four special gardens, and I advanced using the 'Summer Garden' technique back then." He simply raised his hand, and an invisible halo unfolded and spread behind him, instantly changing the environment in the hall.

The area is filled with tall trees, lush flowers and foliage, and hanging red and green fruits. Golden sunlight falls on the trees, making everything look like a fairyland from a poem.

(End of this chapter)