During this period, Edward Carter was smoking all over, his body convulsing uncontrollably as if struck by lightning, wracked with all kinds of pain that came in waves!

　　But even after vomiting three liters of blood, even when his consciousness was blurred to the point of near collapse, even when the pain from his flesh seeped into his very bones and soul, Edward Carter did not utter a single groan this time!

　　He had always been extremely resolute by nature, and after inexplicably merging with a fragment of a grandmaster’s soul, his willpower was now even more astonishing!

　　Cold sweat, now thick and sticky, clung to his body. The long robe that had previously been dried by his feverish heat was once again soaked through with sweat, but Edward Carter remained unmoved.

　　“Hoo—”

　　A puff of black turbid air was expelled at once, and Edward Carter immediately felt more refreshed, his eyes appearing even deeper and more profound. A chilling aura flickered constantly in his pupils, only to fade into nothingness the next instant.

　　He had finally refined that mass of energy into his body, and as expected, he had broken through as if cleansing his marrow and bones, advancing from the third level of Sword Practitioner to the first level of Sword Initiate!

　　He stood there, reached out with an empty hand, and a mass of lake water, like a white ribbon, was grabbed up by him and then exploded over his body.

　　All the endless impurities on his body were washed away cleanly by this perfectly controlled burst of water vapor.

　　“Just the first level, yet I already have such ability. I, Edward Carter, why should I ever have to bow to others in the future? I can be a genius too! I can earn the attention of my family! I no longer have to see that look of disappointed sorrow in my grandfather’s eyes!”

　　Edward Carter’s gaze was as dark as an abyss, unfathomably deep, filled with boundless confidence in the future!

Chapter 002: Sword Qi

　　The east was turning pale, and the sky gradually revealed the glow of dawn.

　　After dusk, dawn was about to break. That sliver of first light was like a sword gleam in Edward Carter’s eyes at this moment.

　　After a night of comprehending the way of the sword, Edward Carter’s energy and spirit were restrained, his marrow and bones thoroughly cleansed, and that mass of “Void-Breaking Inner Strength” was refined into his body.

　　His body was still thin, yet it now seemed cast from steel, filled with an explosive vitality.

　　His gaze was deep, dark as the stars, no longer showing the immaturity of a fifteen-year-old. It was as if he had awakened overnight, suddenly comprehending the true path.

　　After that sliver of dawn flashed, his statue-like body gradually began to move, at first slightly, then with increasing frequency.

　　Finally, his hand moved in a unique gesture, forming a peculiar shape—this was a very distinctive beast-like movement, yet at this moment, it manifested through him.

　　“Dragon Form Intent, Rising Dragon Sword!”

　　Edward Carter called out softly, and the hand holding his sword suddenly trembled. The sword in his hand let out a clear ringing sound, like a melodious note.

　　Ahead, with a “whoosh,” a flurry of withered leaves, blown from who knows where, were instantly pierced through and strung together on the silvery-gray iron sword.

　　However, because of the immense force contained in this strike, the longsword that had accompanied him for three years let out a dull sound and snapped in two, falling from the air in two pieces.

　　Edward Carter frowned, his brows knitting into the shape of the character “川,” as if this sword strike still failed to meet his own expectations.

　　“Dragon Form Intent, only just at the entry level. So many insights, yet I can’t even manage the basics of control. Could it be that I really can’t change my own stupidity?”

　　Edward Carter muttered to himself. After speaking, he reached out, and the broken sword on the ground flew up again with a “whoosh,” landing back in his hand!

　　He no longer hesitated, temporarily setting aside the Dragon Form Intent and forgetting the Nine Yin Nine Yang Heart Technique, focusing only on practicing the Zhou family’s basic sword technique—Bluewater Reaching the Sky Sword Technique.

　　Although he had not comprehended the Dragon Form Sword Dao throughout the entire night, Edward Carter absolutely refused to believe that the Zhou family’s number one talent for comprehension, as tested, was a useless gift!

　　Especially after obtaining the inheritance this time and experiencing the feeling of cleansing his essence and marrow deep within his soul, he felt that the shackle had been broken through. Thus, he was even more convinced that his comprehension was not as poor as Lillian Carter and the others imagined!

　　With this inexplicable conviction, he began once again to practice the family’s foundational sword technique.

　　This sword technique consisted of nine forms in total.

　　Each form was quite complex.

　　Previously, Edward Carter felt that the first three forms were relatively easy, but after the third, each subsequent form was increasingly profound and difficult, making practice a struggle.

　　Thus, with his previous level of only the third stage of Sword Practitioner, he could only grasp the first three forms of the Bluewater Reaching the Sky Sword Technique. By the fourth form, it was already a struggle. By the fifth, it was as if reading a book in a foreign language—completely incomprehensible.

　　Now, after experiencing the torrent of inherited knowledge and comprehending the first Form Intent of the Sword Dao—Dragon Form—throughout the night, when he practiced the family sword technique again, it was as if everything fell into place.

　　First form, second form.

　　Third form, fourth form.

　　After repeating the fourth form once, he directly executed the fifth form, then the sixth...

　　The seventh...

　　After repeating four or five times, Edward Carter once again comprehended the eighth form.