Emily Thompson immediately followed Michael Bolton's instructions and began to connect with the sword. Over the past few years, her mental state had improved greatly; even at night, she could remain fully alert and undistracted. When she calmed her mind and focused, her entire sea of consciousness became completely filled.

However, she didn't know what it meant for her sea of consciousness to be full. She simply followed Michael Bolton's instructions, gathering her mental power into a thread and attaching it to the Snow Frost Sword, easily establishing a connection with it.

But since this was her first time controlling her mental power outside her body, she couldn't quite manage it at first. As soon as she attached her mind to the Snow Frost Sword and made contact, her focus wavered slightly, and the mental bridge she had built immediately collapsed.

Seeing the look of frustration on her face, Michael Bolton chuckled and said, "Tempering a sword with your mind is extremely draining, and it's not something you can succeed at in just one or two tries. Even if you fail, it's no big deal. As long as you persist, you'll see results sooner or later." As he spoke, he turned his gaze to Chad Sullivan.

Emily Thompson responded with an "oh," nodded, and didn't think much more about it. She began trying to control the powerful mental energy in her sea of consciousness. As she gradually became more skilled, the energy within her sea of consciousness shifted under her control, and for a moment, she became so absorbed that she even temporarily set aside the task of connecting with the sword.

Compared to Emily Thompson's easy connection with her sword, Chad Sullivan was struggling in silence.

The first step of the mind-tempering technique was to focus, condense the mind into a thread, and connect with the sword. But every time he tried to focus on the Falling Maple Sword, the barely gathered mental energy would completely scatter, replaced by a powerful hunger—a hunger so intense he wanted to take a bite out of the Falling Maple Sword itself... Under the influence of this hunger, not only was it impossible to focus on tempering the sword, but even suppressing the terrifying thoughts in his mind was an incredibly difficult task.

After half a day, not only had he made no progress in mind-tempering, but he had also exhausted a great deal of mental energy, leaving him utterly fatigued. If he weren't forcing himself to hold on for fear of disappointing his master, he probably would have already given up.

Over the years, Chad Sullivan had practically grown up under his watch, so Michael Bolton naturally understood this disciple's temperament. He sighed in relief and said to Emily Thompson, who was also cultivating, "Little Emily, help Chad back to rest. The mind-tempering technique is extremely taxing on the spirit. Although Chad's mind has recovered, it's only at the level of an ordinary person. Forcing cultivation will do more harm than good."

As for whether Emily Thompson had managed to connect with her sword, he didn't even ask.

To be able to condense the mind and connect with the sword on the very first day? That might be possible for an innate expert, but for Emily Thompson, who was only in her teens...

Emily Thompson immediately stopped her own cultivation and agreed.

Seeing how hard Chad Sullivan was trying to hold on, she felt a pang of sympathy and said gently, "Alright, Little Chad, Master says you should go rest first. Tomorrow..."

Before she could finish, as soon as Chad Sullivan, in his daze, heard the word "rest," his mind relaxed and he immediately fell into a deep sleep, leaving her both amused and exasperated.

After bringing Chad Sullivan back to his room, Emily Thompson helped wipe him down, removing the sweat from his body. Then she sat by the bed, watching his peaceful sleeping face, her pretty features momentarily lost in thought.

After a while, as if she suddenly remembered something embarrassing, a blush quickly rose from her earlobes, coloring her cheeks a rosy pink—making her look especially cute. She suddenly spat lightly at the sleeping Chad Sullivan, then turned and ran out as if fleeing, disappearing from the bedroom in the blink of an eye.

Volume Two: Sacred Profound Sect

Chapter Three: The Mysterious Mineral

No one knew how long he slept before Chad Sullivan finally woke from his deep coma.

Leaving aside how much time had passed, the first sensation he felt as he regained a sliver of consciousness was hunger... Judging by how hungry he was, he must have slept for at least an entire day.

Still not fully awake, he groggily noticed something nearby that looked especially delicious. At that moment, he simply assumed it was a pastry Little Emily had prepared for him, so without thinking, he picked it up and took a bite...

"Crunch!"

He bit off half of it in one go and chewed a few times before realizing something was off about the texture.

When he steadied himself a bit and looked clearly at the "pastry" in his hand, he was instantly stunned. In that moment, all the lingering drowsiness in his mind vanished completely, as if he had been thrown into an ice cave. A piercing chill shot straight to his heart, making him instantly and thoroughly awake!

What he was holding was not a "pastry" at all, but that piece of jade—the ancient jade he had hurriedly hidden on himself when Emily Thompson had almost caught him!

He ate it! He ate it! He finally ate it!

Chad Sullivan was utterly shocked.

Even though he had forced himself to suppress those terrifying urges, he had still, without realizing it, done something so unbelievable.

However, after the initial shock, he didn't feel the panic he had expected. Instead, he found it strange—when had his teeth become so strong? He had bitten off half a piece of jade in one go, without the slightest pain or discomfort. It felt no different from swallowing ordinary food.