Henry Clark speculated that once he mastered Iron Thread Fist, he should be able to condense an Iron Thread Fist avatar.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, Henry Clark had been practicing Iron Thread Fist for twenty days, but still hadn’t reached the beginner level.

On this day, William Clark came home very late. It wasn’t until it was completely dark that William Clark returned.

As soon as he entered the door, Henry Clark smelled blood and saw the bloody wound on William Clark’s shoulder.

“Dear, you’re hurt! Is it serious? Did you run into a large wild animal?”

Olivia Smith asked anxiously, a bit panicked and worried.

“It’s nothing, look at what I brought back.”

William Clark grinned as he opened a large bundle of firewood, revealing a roe deer.

This roe deer looked to weigh at least forty jin, equivalent to about ten wild rabbits.

“Dad, did you go deep into the mountains?”

Henry Clark asked.

On the outskirts of Woniu Mountain, large wild animals were rare, but deep in the mountains, they often appeared, making it very dangerous for ordinary people.

“Yes. Yan’er, once you master martial arts, you’ll be able to circulate your qi and blood to temper your body. You’ll also need to accumulate qi and blood, and your appetite will increase a lot. You’ll need a lot of meat to train, so I wanted to store up more meat for you…”

“Don’t worry, I have over ten years of hunting experience. I’ll be fine.”

William Clark said, pretending to be relaxed.

“Dad…”

Henry Clark clenched his fists tightly, his nose tingling with emotion.

He knew in his heart that William Clark was making it sound easy, but the process must have been dangerous—he could tell just by looking at the wound.

“Dad, don’t take risks anymore. I’d rather progress slowly in my training than have you put yourself in danger. If something happened to you, what would Mom and I do?”

Henry Clark said sincerely, with not a trace of falsehood.

Now, he truly regarded William Clark and Olivia Smith as his closest family.

“That’s right, dear, Yan’er is right. If something happened to you, how could Yan’er and I survive?” Olivia Smith echoed.

“All right, I promise you both, unless I’m absolutely sure, I won’t take any more risks. Dear, clean up the roe deer and marinate it with wild pepper powder.”

William Clark said.

Wild pepper is a kind of wild seasoning, spicy and salty. When dried and ground into powder, it can be used to marinate meat and keep it from spoiling for months.

With no money to buy salt, they could only use wild pepper as a substitute.

“Dad, let me help you treat your wound.”

“Mm. Yan’er, if you master Iron Thread Fist, let me know. I’ll have your mother prepare more meat for you then.”

…

That night, Olivia Smith cut off three jin of roe deer meat and made a big stew. The aroma was intoxicating, and Henry Clark ate a full two jin.

Two jin of roe deer meat boosted his archery progress quite a bit.

Over the past twenty days, his archery had steadily improved and was now close to the peak mastery level, much stronger than before.

“It’s close. In a few more days, I’ll master Iron Thread Fist, and my archery should also reach peak mastery.”

Henry Clark was filled with anticipation.

In a flash, three days passed.

Sure enough, his archery broke through to peak mastery first.

In the bamboo forest, Henry Clark kept throwing punches, his whole body steaming with heat, his skin slightly flushed, and the qi and blood in the twelve meridians of his body surging.

After a while, Henry Clark finished his practice and focused his mind on his consciousness.

In the Daoist book, another humanoid figure appeared, then separated from the book and turned into another ‘Henry Clark’.

Above its head were the words: Avatar, Iron Thread Fist, Beginner (1%).

“As expected, my guess was right. Mastering Iron Thread Fist also forms an avatar.”

Henry Clark was very curious and carefully examined the Iron Thread Fist avatar.

The Iron Thread Fist avatar was very similar to the archery avatar—no clothes, a transparent body, with muscles, meridians, bones, and even internal organs clearly visible inside.

But there were differences too.

At this moment, the Iron Thread Fist avatar was practicing with complete focus, continuously performing the eighteen moves of Iron Thread Fist. As it punched, you could clearly see the twelve main meridians inside with crimson qi and blood flowing through them.

But soon, the Iron Thread Fist avatar stopped and stood motionless.

Henry Clark’s stomach also started growling.

It was near dusk, so Henry Clark simply finished his practice and headed home—just as William Clark returned from hunting.

“Dad, I’ve mastered Iron Thread Fist.”

Henry Clark said.

“You’ve mastered it? Good, very good.”

William Clark showed a look of joy and praised him.

Though he praised him, William Clark actually felt a bit disappointed inside.

Based on Henry Clark’s talent in archery, he thought Henry Clark would master it even sooner.

Normally, it takes about a month for an average person to master a third-rate martial art.

Back then, it took him 24 days; Henry Clark took 23 days—a bit better than him, but only above average.

It was far from the martial arts prodigy he had imagined.

But once the bow is drawn, there’s no turning back. Since he’d set Henry Clark on the martial path, there was no quitting halfway.

“Once you’ve mastered it, you need to start accumulating qi and blood. I’ll have your mother cook more meat for you every day.”

William Clark said.

That night, Olivia Smith cooked two jin of meat, all for Henry Clark.

Henry Clark didn’t refuse. As long as he improved, their family would never lack food in the future, and life would only get better.

With two jin of meat in his belly, the Iron Thread Fist avatar began practicing again with complete focus.