Chapter 215: Combat Qi True Form

“Damn you, Knightrod! You bastard, you scoundrel! I, Elenia, won’t let you off! The great Light God won’t let you off either—he’ll punish you!” Her face turned red as she stared at the spot where Knightrod had disappeared. After regaining her composure, she cursed loudly, completely losing her usual grace and dignity. Too ashamed to care anymore, she was furious.
That bastard, that demon, he actually dared to bully her! No one had ever dared to treat her like this since she was young. He even dared to do such a shameless thing in front of her teammates. She felt utterly enraged.
“Damn those demons! The great Lord will punish you! You’ll be cursed! Bastard! The Church will surely hunt down this damned monster!” Without Rod’s control, Kevin and Luke got up in disarray and cursed angrily. It was so humiliating—especially in front of Elenia. If there had been a crack in the ground at that moment, they would have rushed in immediately.
“Hmph! Useless! Go back quickly and tell the Pope to send people to hunt this bastard down—preferably alive! I want to kill this scoundrel with my own hands!” Glaring at Kevin and Luke in their miserable state, Elenia cursed angrily before tossing her magic robe aside and strode forward.
Their good mood was completely gone. Their first trial had been perfect, and they had been in high spirits as they headed back to the Church after passing through Blackstone City. Who would have thought they’d hear news about those demons who were now infamous across the continent? They had planned to prove themselves and achieve even greater success, but instead, they were humiliated by those demons. Two imperial-level warriors and a mage being treated like this dealt a severe blow to their confidence and pride.
“Remember, when you go back, don’t say that Knightrod defeated us just because he’s a Gold Warrior. He has the strength of an imperial-level warrior but hasn’t shown it yet. If you don’t want to lose face, say that damn demon has the strength of a Saint-level warrior, and we managed to escape by sheer luck. Do you hear me?” After thinking it over, Elenia still felt ashamed and turned to Kevin and Luke to give them instructions. Being beaten by a Gold Warrior? Ridiculous! If others found out, how could they still face the Church? They’d be laughed at. At the very least, Elenia wouldn’t allow such a thing to happen to her.

“This… this isn’t right!” Hearing Elena’s words, Luke looked at her with a hesitant expression and said awkwardly. Lying had never been his style, and he felt extremely uncomfortable.
“Luke, are you stupid or what? If Elena says so, we just do it—why all the nonsense? If you want to lose face, I certainly don’t want to. If people find out what kind of strength Knightrod used to defeat us, do you still think you have a chance to become a Holy Knight? Dream on!”
Kevin, on the other hand, was quite straightforward. After slapping Luke hard on the head, he cursed loudly. He was also proud and didn’t want to lose face. Besides, it was Elena who came up with this plan, so it had to be carried out no matter what.
“Well… then let’s do it!” Under Kevin’s furious outburst, Luke said pitifully with an innocent look.
At that moment, the three of them were discussing their plan. Who could have imagined that a suggestion born from just a few words of theirs would cause such huge trouble, forcing those who were chasing Knightrod to suffer greatly?
……
Feeling the wind blowing past his ears, Rod smiled slightly. A danger had been resolved so easily, which filled him with deep thoughts. Three people of imperial-level strength—just a little experience from them would be troublesome for him. Staying behind wasn’t an issue, but who would have thought it would end up like this? They had dealt a severe blow to those three naive kids! He smiled bitterly to himself, seemingly forgetting that none of those three, whom he called novices, were younger than him.
Though puzzled about their identities, Rod wasn’t interested in learning more. Their identities had nothing to do with him. But that Elena was quite interesting—a petite, charming, and lively beauty. He couldn’t help but compare her to Lucia and Linda in his mind. Lucia and Linda were similar, while Elena was a completely different type—hard to say which was better; they were evenly matched.
But thinking of those people, the smile on Rod’s lips vanished, replaced by bitterness. The events of that day were still vivid in his mind. Their indifferent attitude had disappointed him deeply!
“Well, it’s better to draw a line,” Rod said to himself, taking a deep breath and forcing a helpless smile.

He soon fell into deep thought. The situation was not optimistic at all. Not to mention the forces across the continent hunting him, as well as those terrifying armies, no country would surely tolerate him. Moreover, the Mage Guild and the Warrior Association had also sent people to hunt him. All these pursuers put him in extreme danger, with his life at stake at any moment. What’s more, he had joined the Light Church, the most powerful and mysterious organization in the entire continent.

From Elena’s words, he could gauge just how terrifying these pursuers were. After returning this time and those guys stoking the situation, more people would likely be sent after him, creating one problem after another that gave Rod a headache.

“Never mind. I’ll head to Collins Forest first!” Unable to figure out a solution, Rod sighed and gave up further thinking. Instead, he changed direction and headed toward Iron Fence Town on the edge of Collins Forest, intending to meet that mysterious person first. Maybe he could gain some unexpected benefits, as a way to repay them for saving his life.

At the same time, deep down, Rod also wanted to know the identity of that man in black and what that mysterious organization was, and why they possessed such great power! Why did they risk saving him at this critical moment?

After all, he was now the target of pursuit across the entire continent, without exception from both the good and the evil forces, becoming an enemy of all humanity. Yet they still took the risk to rescue him.

He channeled his combat energy to its extreme, rushing forward at high speed. His figure turned into a flickering shadow, and the surroundings blurred in an instant as he sped backward toward the meeting point.

His combat energy kept depleting. With nothing else to do, Rod began to control his combat energy as a form of cultivation, hoping to master it every minute and second to reach the level of a combat energy avatar as soon as possible. Additionally, he was currently at the peak of a Golden Warrior, and he might break through to the Imperial level at any time. To enter that realm, he needed to unblock both meridians, which required him to have ultimate control over his combat energy and precise management of its flow.

As his mental energy spread throughout his body, Rod could even sense the direction and speed of each thread of his combat energy. He delved deeper with his mental energy to slowly control them, hoping to exert maximum power with the least amount of energy.

In an instant, the flow of combat energy within his body slowed down, and the frequency of output also gradually decreased. Naturally, Rod’s speed slowed as well. Feeling the results, he couldn’t help but frown inwardly—there had been no real effect.
“Rod, don’t focus all your energy on control. Remember, the most important thing is mastery. The reason those strong warriors are so formidable is not only because of their powerful and well-controlled combat energy but also because of their mastery over it. You are the master of all things—master everything! Only then can you succeed!” Xuan Yuan couldn’t help but remind him, sensing Rod’s situation.
“Mastery? Control? What’s the difference?” Rod asked doubtfully, as in his view, mastery and control seemed almost identical—just different words for the same thing.
“Control is about managing the combat energy within your own body. But mastery requires not only controlling the combat energy but also understanding everything about it, while also harnessing external elements to your advantage. That’s the key. Have you forgotten? I told you last time that relying solely on your own combat energy is impossible to form a combat energy avatar. Only by mastering the combat energy and external elements can you succeed! Only through mastery can you form an avatar with the least effort and in the shortest time, while greatly enhancing your strength!” Xuan Yuan explained again helplessly, sighing inwardly. This guy usually seemed smart and talented—why was he so slow now?
“Mastery!” Hearing Xuan Yuan’s explanation, Rod’s eyes lit up as he murmured to himself. Yes, he had indeed forgotten such an important point. No wonder he had tried many times to form a combat energy avatar without success—the main problem was right here: forgetting this crucial principle.
Thinking of this, Rod felt ashamed. The sudden inspiration, combined with the urge from the combat energy within him, made him want to try right away.
Seeing that he was in the wilderness, surrounded by no one but forests, it was quite quiet. He found an open area, stopped moving forward, sat cross-legged, and began another session of cultivation.
“Impatient!” Xuan Yuan complained helplessly at Rod’s actions. This guy could act quickly, but he still couldn’t keep up.

At this moment, Rod paid no attention to such things. Xuan Yuan’s words sparked an insight in his mind, allowing him to instantly grasp the most crucial aspect. Coupled with the deliberate practice and control he had undergone over time, his ability to control his internal Dou Qi had reached a relatively mature level. All that remained was to combine external elements to form a true Dou Qi body.

A sense of anticipation and hope filled his entire body. While controlling the flow of his Dou Qi, he directed half of his mental energy to call upon and control the external elements.

At Rod’s call, the fire elements rushed toward him as if obeying orders, gathering around him. As more elements converged, some entered Rod’s body to replenish the energy he had consumed earlier, while the rest gathered around him under his control, forming a pale red mist that enveloped him as if he were surrounded by a layer of faint red flames!

Feeling the warmth from the fire elements, Rod felt as though he were immersed in an ocean of fire. Instead of feeling heat, he sensed warmth and comfort.

At this moment, Rod felt surrounded by the fire elements. Vaguely, he could even imagine each element jumping joyfully, feeling their passion, vitality, and excitement.

It was a wonderful sensation, similar to the feeling he had experienced last time when he entered a state of unity with nature to form an elemental contract.

As Rod entered this state, the surrounding elements no longer needed his summons—they rushed toward him from all directions, gathering around him and becoming increasingly dense. The temperature around him also rose to a new high.

“It’s almost ready, kid. You can start now!” Sensing the external conditions, Xuan Yuan urgently reminded him from within Rod’s body. The external elements were now extremely dense, sufficient enough for Rod to form his true Dou Qi body. Continuing to increase their density would bring no benefits and might even cause problems. For example, excessive fire elements could raise the temperature and dry the air, potentially leading to fires. Additionally, highly concentrated Dou Qi might make it harder for Rod to control it. In short, now was the perfect moment—the easiest time to succeed.

Hearing Xuan Yuan’s words, Rod didn’t dare to be careless. He quickly pulled his spirit back from the world of elements and into his own body. Taking a deep breath, he followed the instructions and guidance in his cultivation method, paying attention to every detail. He divided his mental energy into three parts and began another process of condensing his true body, starting from the inside out.

“Ah…” A loud roar echoed through the sky. Following the roar, Rod frantically stimulated the combat energy within his body, controlling it to surge outward. Meanwhile, another stream of mental energy controlled the surrounding fire elements, causing them to continuously condense and compress until they reached the same intensity as his combat energy. The third stream of mental energy surrounded his body, preventing the generated and condensed combat energy from escaping.

The red light grew stronger, while the golden light flickered incessantly. Strong winds blew, and leaves fluttered in the air. At that moment, Rod suddenly stood up, spread his arms, and closed his eyes, experiencing this miraculous sensation.

It seemed as though his body was gradually being enveloped by a layer of armor, which continued to cover his entire body according to the image he had in mind. The chaotic fire elements rapidly condensed and, under his control, merged with his own combat energy. Rod felt his strength surge exponentially in an instant.