After spending nearly half an hour, Henry Thompson read this tattered lone volume from beginning to end, yet still found nothing. However, the string of numbers on the first page left Henry Thompson puzzled.

The numbers on this title page were arranged in a bizarre, jumbled order, yet seemed to vaguely point to something!

More importantly, within the pages, words like “Dao,” “blade,” “realm,” and “soul” appeared frequently. Originally uninterested, Henry Thompson suddenly felt a stir in his heart—could this be a coded sequence?

At this thought, Henry Thompson felt a chill run through him, and his hand holding the tattered ancient scroll began to tremble.

With this realization, combined with the other damaged volumes, Henry Thompson was now almost seventy percent certain that there was a great secret hidden in this book!

But excitement was one thing; deciphering it was another.

Completely clueless, Henry Thompson could only carefully search for the secret within the numbers, while also cross-referencing the numbers and texts from the other ancient scrolls.

From that day on, Henry Thompson became utterly absorbed in studying this strange and tricky thing, neglecting sleep and meals.

With Henry Thompson’s intelligence and experience, these thirteen ancient scrolls took him a full two years to study!

And during these two years, Henry Thompson’s father Samuel Thompson and mother Rose Jackson never once came to see Henry Thompson. Only his younger sister Grace Thompson came twice, and each time she was dragged away by the butler, crying and fussing.

……

Putting down the last of the tattered scrolls, Henry Thompson looked at the thick manuscript he had compiled and couldn’t help but smile.

This was a cultivation method that entered the Dao through the sword soul, left behind by a master named Charles Thompson after he achieved great success in the innate realm and saw through the path of emotions. This Charles Thompson did not choose to ascend in the end, but instead recorded his life, insights, and cultivation method, divided into thirteen volumes, which had now, unexpectedly, fallen into Henry Thompson’s hands.

Looking at the hundred tattered lone volumes before him, Henry Thompson could never have imagined that the legendary Sword Demon Charles Thompson of martial history was actually his ancestor, and that the precious relics left by Charles Thompson had been stored in the library as ancient curios.

These writings belonged to the ancient clerical script, read horizontally from right to left. Perhaps Charles Thompson did not want too many people to decipher these volumes, hence the secrecy. If not for Henry Thompson’s two years of tireless effort, his memories from a previous life, and his having guessed millions of possible interpretations, he would never have been able to unravel these tattered ancient scrolls.

On the title page of each volume, all the text and numbers were like codes. Each number corresponded to a page; the position of the Chinese characters, following the “one-two-three” orientation, allowed the reader to extract the corresponding text. This kind of encrypted format, with layers of encryption, was truly profound! When Henry Thompson first cracked it, he was utterly astonished!

However, after reading this cultivation method called “Sword Soul Dao,” Henry Thompson fell silent. The shock in his heart far surpassed that of deciphering the ancient scrolls!

“…Those who can comprehend all thirteen volumes are truly of great wisdom and talent! But this may not be a blessing!

I have mourned for years, blazing a new trail to leave behind this ‘Sword Soul Dao’ method, walking the path of extremes, comprehending the ultimate Dao, a path of cruelty beyond ordinary men. Therefore, only those with unwavering resolve should attempt this!

Since attaining the Dao, I have repented and hated daily, tempering my sword soul with my own blood, nurturing it with my heart’s essence, my feelings as deep as a sea of blood, my dominance deeper than the heavens! Yet, upon further reflection, what use is attaining the Dao? The mistakes of the past are gone; now I seek only death to release the regret in my heart!

For future generations, upon reaching the realm of sword control, you must stop! Remember this!

The way of life is not about longevity, nor about seeking the Dao, but about living freely in the martial world, living life to the fullest! Descendants, remember! Remember!

Now I leave behind the thirteen volumes of ‘Sword Soul Dao’ to explain my fifty years of insights into the heavenly Dao! If you are fortunate enough to obtain these volumes, take them as a warning, and do not act rashly!

Aotian Zhenren, final words.”

……

Closing the last page, Henry Thompson could not calm his heart for a long time. At this moment, he did not cultivate, but gently put all the ancient scrolls back in the library, and softly closed the manuscript he had compiled himself.

He took the book back to his own room, ate some fruit and pastries, instructed the servants not to disturb him, and then lay down on the bed, falling into a deep sleep.

At this moment, he only felt utterly exhausted.

Chapter 003: The Way of the Dominant Sword

Dawn was just breaking. The stuffy room remained oppressive, but within that stifling air, Henry Thompson felt a sense of satisfaction.

At this moment, it wasn’t that he had gained some insight, nor that he was particularly excited—his heart was simply calm. On his young, handsome face, as if carved by a blade, was written a deep, cold severity.

Everything seemed destined to happen.

After waking from his sleep, with the Sword Soul Dao by his side, Henry Thompson’s confidence was even stronger.

He hadn’t told anyone about this, nor did he intend to.

The “Sword Soul Dao” was not a complete cultivation method; in fact, to temper the sword with one’s heart’s blood—if you do not survive, you die!

Yet at this moment, the handsome youth’s face looked as if he were an old man at the end of his days, his gaze deep and profound, and within that depth was an extreme determination.