“What’s wrong? Didn’t you always sleep in the same bed with me when you were little?” Helen Brooks said matter-of-factly.

“But I’m already sixteen!” Grace Brooks replied helplessly. “Isn’t this a bit much?”

“Uh…” Helen Brooks’s pretty face flushed red, realizing it was inappropriate, but she still refused to back down. “In my eyes, you’re still the little brat who can’t sleep unless I coax you!”

“Say whatever you want…” Grace Brooks rubbed his forehead, unsure who was really the immature one.

Helen Brooks finally gave up on her plan. The siblings parted ways at the end of the corridor, but she still worriedly reminded Grace Brooks—no matter what, he absolutely must not practice that technique again.

Grace Brooks naturally agreed, nodding repeatedly, until he returned to his room. Once he closed the door, the gentle smile on his face vanished without a trace.

Grace Brooks’s room was extremely simple: a bed, a couch, a small table, and a cabinet. Books were neatly stacked on the couch, the table held brush, ink, paper, inkstone, and an incense burner—nothing else.

Wearing only white socks, he knelt on the low couch, lit a stick of incense, and sat quietly. The incense was genuine Cambodian agarwood, known for calming the mind and clearing the heart. Whenever he felt agitated, he would sit like this, burning incense in silence.

But today, even after the incense had burned out, he still couldn’t calm the pain in his heart. Instead, his expression grew twisted with anguish!

Madam Lu’s words kept echoing in his ears. At that moment, he had wanted to shout: How could I possibly forget? How could I ever forget that great fire ten years ago! My mother was burned alive right before my eyes!

Though ten years had passed—more precisely, nine years and six months, three thousand three hundred and four days!—he remembered that fire every single day! William Brooks treated him extremely well, and Helen Brooks gave him the greatest warmth, but none of that could erase the trauma in his heart. On the contrary, as time went on, his hatred only grew deeper! The fury festered in his very organs, and over the years, it had carved the word “revenge” into every bone in his body!

If this hatred is not avenged, I swear I am not human!

With nowhere to vent his rage, he slammed his palm down hard on the low table! With a loud crash, the camphor wood table—sturdy and heavy—exploded into flying splinters, shattered to pieces!

A clap of spring thunder boomed outside, covering up the noise in the room.

Grace Brooks’s emotions finally settled. Ignoring the mess before him, he lifted the cushion on the couch and pressed a few spots on the couch board. With a few creaks, a hidden compartment about a foot square appeared. Inside were two books, one black and one yellow. Grace Brooks picked up the black book, gazed at it for a moment, then put it back. Only then did he take out the yellow one, placing it squarely on his lap.

The book was bound in yellow silk, with four seal-script characters on the cover: “玄黄宝典” (Xuan Huang Bao Dian). The paper was extremely expensive, yet after all these years of reading, he had left almost no marks on it.

This was the very thing that Edward Carter had searched for in vain all those years ago. William Brooks had hidden it on Mount Luofeng, and only after half a year did he quietly return to retrieve it and give it to Grace Brooks.

This book was passed down by the founding emperor of the Great Xuan Dynasty, recording extremely profound cultivation techniques, completely different from the martial arts of the noble clans—traditionally, only royal descendants could learn even a little of it.

Grace Brooks practiced the supreme art recorded in the book—the Huangji Dongxuan Technique. According to the book, once this technique reached perfection, one could even challenge the very Dao of Heaven! After cultivating it, Grace Brooks progressed by leaps and bounds—one year of hard training was worth several years for others, and his strength increased at a tremendous rate!

But in the past year or two, he had run into serious trouble. Every time he exerted himself to practice, he would be left in unbearable pain. And as his mastery deepened, the pain only multiplied!

A year ago, Helen Brooks heard strange noises from his room, pushed the door open, and saw Grace Brooks curled up in a ball, the veins on his body writhing like earthworms, his whole body drenched as if fished out of water. Helen Brooks was terrified and quickly called William Brooks. William Brooks thought he had suffered a qi deviation and tried to help him regulate his energy, but the moment he touched Grace Brooks, he was struck as if by lightning and violently thrown back!

William Brooks was stunned. Four years ago, he had already advanced to Earth-rank Grandmaster. Even though he was unprepared, Grace Brooks hadn’t targeted him—how could he be thrown back so easily?!

William Brooks realized this was beyond his ability to resolve. He and his daughter could only watch anxiously as Grace Brooks endured the pain, which gradually subsided after half an hour.

Afterward, father and son carefully reviewed the Huangji Dongxuan Technique. William Brooks’s opinion was that the technique was extremely profound, with too many subtleties that required personal insight. Without a master’s guidance, mistakes were inevitable! And Grace Brooks’s symptoms were clearly the result of such a mistake—if he continued to force his cultivation, he would surely suffer a true qi deviation!

From then on, William Brooks forbade Grace Brooks from practicing the technique any further. But when Grace Brooks practiced other techniques from the book, or the Lu clan’s own secret arts, his progress was slow, and his power even showed signs of decline.

Grace Brooks absolutely could not accept such a result. He knew how terrifying his enemies were! Without peerless martial arts, he would have no hope of revenge!

What was inhuman suffering compared to the pain in his heart? It wasn’t even a tenth as bad!

So what if he suffered a qi deviation? As long as he could avenge his great hatred, so be it!

Thus, he quickly steeled his resolve and continued to secretly practice the Huangji Dongxuan Technique!

Chapter Three: The Imperial Envoy Arrives