During this period, the family was still relatively well-off. Mother Sarah Carter earned more than two thousand yuan a month, and after deducting various expenses, the small bookstore brought in over four thousand yuan in monthly income. Compared to other families in the area, their financial situation was quite good. However, Grace Miller knew clearly that as soon as her younger sister’s scores reached the cutoff for No. 3 High School, the family would have to spend a large sum on tuition. After sending her sister Henry Miller to high school, due to the high tuition fees at No. 3 High School, the family’s finances immediately became strained. Originally, Grace Miller herself was already attending No. 3 High School, which required a large annual expense, and now with her sister joining as well, the yearly cost would double. As a result, after a few years, both her mother and father developed extremely frugal habits.

　　After returning to her own room, Grace Miller moved aside the textbooks and exercise books on her desk, sat down at the desk, and carefully began to plan her future life.

　　In the golden beam of sunlight streaming in, she could clearly see specks of dust slowly floating in the air. Grace Miller pulled out a new exercise book from the desk drawer and picked up her fountain pen.

　　“If I want to avoid that man-made disaster, first I must have the power to protect myself. Originally, this was the most inconceivable part, but with the True Sword Dao Manual, it might actually be possible. It’s obviously too early to practice the True Sword Dao Manual now—I can’t even recall its contents, let alone cultivate according to them. However, the appended Qi Cultivation section at the end can be started. A technique that can be listed alongside the True Sword Dao Manual is certainly not something simple.”

　　“Next is to understand my sister’s world, that world which only extraordinary people can access. There are still two years to slowly probe and, if I pay close attention, I should be able to notice clues from Henry Miller’s daily behavior. First, I need to find out who that guy with the long red hair really is.” Grace Miller picked up her pen and wrote in large characters in the notebook: red hair, flame. Two words.

　　“It’s simple, then: cultivate, become stronger, then step into that hidden world unknown to ordinary people, find out who the enemy really is, what their identity is, where they come from, and how powerful they are. All of this is based on the premise that I first qualify to enter that hidden world.” Grace Miller slowly capped her pen. Since she had set her plan, she would act on it immediately.

　　He immediately began to close his eyes and recall the contents of the Qi Cultivation section.

　　“The True Sword Dao Manual originally had no actual written content, only three sword shadow images of unknown origin. But since I have obtained this peerless manual, infamous for its ferocity, I naturally wish to follow the example of my predecessors and add annotations as a warning to those who come after. —Juexian Sect James Bolton.” Grace Miller immediately associated this James Bolton as likely being the powerful figure who left behind the Qi Cultivation section. However, completely immersed in the manual, this thought only flashed through his mind before he returned to its contents.

　　“Unlike other sword cultivation methods, the True Sword Dao Manual emphasizes seizing the fortune of heaven and earth, snatching that sliver of vitality for oneself, and forcibly drawing in the spiritual energy of the world. However, the vitality of heaven and earth is immensely powerful. Without a solid foundation, it’s easy to go down the path of pure demonic cultivation. As the saying goes, there is no end to skill and power. The first step in cultivating this sword technique is to take oneself as the foundation and learn the way of nurturing essence and storing up energy. Essence must be nourished, and explosive sharpness requires accumulation. Purely practicing the sword technique is too harmful to oneself and others; this Qi Cultivation section is a top method for nurturing essence and accumulating spirit.”

　　The preface was quite straightforward, a mix of classical and modern language, making it hard to tell whether it was added by an ancient or a modern person. Yet, inexplicably, Grace Miller faintly felt that this person probably did not belong to this world.

　　Juexian Sect? That name is extremely domineering—who would choose such a name in real life, except in novels?

　　Calming his mind, Grace Miller began to carefully read the actual content of the Qi Cultivation section. Unexpectedly, the real content was only a few hundred characters, with the rest being large sections of commentary. Besides James Bolton, there were many other names in the commentaries, all similar in style.

　　“I have studied the Outer Domain Demon Canon for thousands of years, and only today do I realize there are heavens beyond the heavens. Respect to Juexian Sect senior James Bolton.” After this came commentary and his opinions on the technique. This was just one example; there were over a hundred different commentaries following, some arrogant, some domineering, some gentle, some cautious, but all, without exception, expressed a special respect for Juexian Sect James Bolton in their words. This made Grace Miller feel even more that he had stumbled upon a treasure, and at the same time, it confirmed his earlier suspicion that this manual probably did not originate from this world. Because, in the last note by someone named Brian Cooper, he even saw a record of accidentally opening a spatial passage to the Outer Domain, which was a completely different, bizarre world. Some of the descriptions in the text clearly referred to the technological era in which he now lived.

　　“Perhaps it was at that time that this manual was brought here.” With this speculation, Grace Miller calmed his mind and began to cultivate according to the Qi Cultivation section.

　　Although the entire section was only a few hundred characters, the pronunciations, mental states, hand seals, and visualization methods involved were quite complex.