Only those born with a perfect balance of the five elements can cultivate this technique—this is the opening statement of the Great Chaos Five Elements Heart Method. However, William Bolton was so overwhelmed with excitement at the time that he completely ignored this sentence and began cultivating directly according to the scripture. Unexpectedly, on the very first day of practice, he actually sensed qi. After a month of cultivation, he felt as if his formerly frail constitution had been swept away—he became as strong as an ox, as light as a swallow, and even his mind worked much better than before.

Such an unbelievable thing was, of course, absolutely not to be revealed. Otherwise, with his current meager skills as a beginner, a few street martial artists could easily take him down, not to mention those legendary cultivators. Although William Bolton used to think that the world of cultivation and cultivators was nothing but fiction, he certainly didn’t dare to think that way anymore. However, William Bolton was a filial son—how could he enjoy a strong body and long life while ignoring the fate of his parents? So, during summer vacation, he made up an excuse, saying he had met a qigong master who had taught him a very effective cultivation method, and suggested his parents practice it too. He then passed on the introductory heart method of the Great Chaos Five Elements to them. Naturally, William Bolton’s parents didn’t take it seriously, but not wanting to hurt his filial piety, they humored him by spending a little time each day sitting cross-legged and cultivating with William Bolton. However, after a month or so, not only did they not feel as light as a swallow, they didn’t even sense the slightest bit of qi. Instead, the daily cross-legged sitting left them with sore backs and aching legs. Eventually, William Bolton’s parents gave up and even told William Bolton to stay away from that qigong master.

At first, William Bolton didn’t understand why he could sense qi in just one day, while his parents couldn’t after a whole month. Was the difference in talent really that great? Later, after carefully rereading the heart scripture, he finally noticed that the opening line of the Great Chaos Five Elements Heart Method said: only those with balanced five elements can cultivate this technique.

Chapter 11: Foundation Establishment

Although William Bolton now knew the problem lay in that sentence, he still didn’t understand why only those with balanced five elements could cultivate, nor did he understand why his parents’ five elements weren’t balanced. But as his cultivation advanced, he gradually came to realize that everyone possesses the five elemental spiritual roots—metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—but they are all uneven, with some stronger and others weaker. Those with perfectly balanced five elements are extremely rare; at least, up to now, William Bolton hadn’t met any. The Great Chaos Five Elements Heart Method embodies the ultimate principle of the five elements’ mutual generation and restraint—using the principle of mutual generation to nurture five-element spiritual energy, and the principle of mutual restraint to regulate and balance it. If any one element is too strong or too weak, it destroys the perfect cycle of generation and restraint. Therefore, if a cultivator is born with unbalanced roots, how could they possibly practice the Great Chaos Five Elements Heart Method?

Since his parents couldn’t cultivate like him, William Bolton naturally kept this secret completely to himself. At least, until his strength was great enough, he had no intention of revealing his identity as a cultivator. As for the “Five Emperors’ True Scripture,” that was even more impossible to divulge.

And so, William Bolton quietly kept a low profile for seven years. During these seven years, besides studying and cultivating, he also secretly observed those around him. Whenever he had free time, he would wander alone through green mountains and clear waters—ostensibly for sightseeing, but in reality, to quietly investigate whether there were any other cultivators in this world besides himself.

Perhaps there really were no cultivators in this world, or perhaps, as the novels say, those people were hidden away in deep mountains and immortal caves, rarely entering the mundane world. Or maybe William Bolton’s scope of investigation was simply too small. In any case, over these seven years, William Bolton hadn’t discovered a single cultivator. He did, however, see a few elderly people practicing internal martial arts in some parks, but the true qi they had cultivated over most of their lives was utterly unimpressive to William Bolton, falling far short of what he imagined a real cultivator to be.

Seven years! William Bolton thought back on how, apart from studying, he had spent almost all his time cultivating, with hardly any leisure or entertainment—almost like being cut off from the world. He couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. As he sighed, his divine sense once again swept over his dantian. The five elements nurtured each other, and in just these few minutes, the five drops of true essence had visibly grown, and even the wisp of chaotic true qi in the center, once barely perceptible, was now faintly visible.

Now that his foundation was established and his true qi had condensed into true essence, the speed of the five elements’ mutual generation was like a snowball rolling—faster and faster. Normally, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was thin and turbid, so deliberate cultivation and absorption didn’t make much sense anymore. It was better to cultivate only during the hour of the Rat; that way, he could finally relax and enjoy the good things in life! With this thought, a faint smile appeared on William Bolton’s lips, and his whole body floated down to the floor as lightly as willow catkins.

At some point, the bright moon in the sky had hidden behind the clouds. Except for a few streetlights casting a dim glow, the vast campus was utterly silent and pitch-black. Yet after tonight’s breakthrough, standing on the balcony, William Bolton could see every blade of grass and tree on campus with perfect clarity. Even on the wooded island in the lake, a few student couples unable to resist the loneliness of youth were embracing each other under the shade—none of it could escape his gaze.