Samuel Howard continued, “He must have had some kind of recent encounter, most likely related to his last injury. And this encounter was truly extraordinary—perhaps it even helped you once without him realizing it.”

Samuel Howard was a battle-hardened veteran with vast experience; with just a simple analysis, he was almost certainly correct.

Thomas Howard said excitedly, “General, the Hong family finally has a worthy successor!”

A look of joy flashed across Samuel Howard’s face, but it was quickly replaced by calm as he shook his head and said, “Even with a stroke of fortune, it still depends on whether that boy can make something of himself. If he’s still like he was before… the greater his power, the greater the trouble he’ll cause. Sigh.”

Thomas Howard vaguely felt that Young Master Yu had changed over the past couple of days and probably wouldn’t be the same as before. But the general had been disappointed by Young Master Yu too many times over the years, and now dared not hold out too much hope.

Samuel Howard thought for a moment and said, “This matter must be kept strictly confidential. Don’t spread any word about it.”

Thomas Howard nodded. “Rest assured, General, I understand.”

The Hong family’s decline was hard to stop, and for many in the Great Xia Dynasty, this was good news. But Edward Howard’s sudden transformation from a useless second-generation heir to a genius with a fortuitous encounter would surely reverse the Hong family’s decline with force—something many people did not want to see.

If this news leaked out, it would quickly attract a wave of hostility toward Edward Howard.

……

In the library, time flew by. With every book Edward Howard read, a golden thread of light would merge into his mind. Unknowingly, Edward Howard had finished reading all ten thousand volumes on the four floors of the entire building.

He closed the last book and looked up, only to suddenly realize he had finished reading an entire building’s worth of books!

At the very instant this thought appeared, the ancient demonic elephant totem in his Tianquan acupoint roared skyward. A surge of powerful dark-gold energy erupted, swiftly coursing through the meridians of his left arm.

Meanwhile, the novice monk’s dharma image remained motionless, unmoved by the thunderous roar of the ancient demonic elephant totem.

Yet Edward Howard had a clear realization: within his meridians, the novice monk’s dharma image still reigned supreme!

No matter how formidable the ancient demonic elephant totem was, it remained confined to one corner, not daring to let the dark-gold martial energy burst out of the left arm.

However, Edward Howard was delighted to discover that his left arm was growing ever stronger. After nine cycles of the dark-gold martial energy, his arm was faintly glowing.

Looking at it himself, he saw the fierce phantom of an ancient demonic elephant’s head emerging from the faint glow. Its eyes were blood-red, like the hellfire that burns the soul.

A pair of huge ears, like invincible armor forged for battle, covered his shoulders.

A thick, powerful trunk and saber-like serrated tusks coiled around his arm, as if forming a massive tattoo.

A sudden insight arose in Edward Howard’s heart: if he continued cultivating this way, perhaps one day his left arm would possess the strength of an ancient demonic elephant!

After nine cycles, the ancient demonic elephant totem gradually quieted down, letting out a dissatisfied roar before shrinking back and falling into slumber.

The power in Edward Howard’s left arm began to slowly withdraw from his muscles and blood vessels, hiding deep within his bone marrow.

Before this power completely faded, Edward Howard looked up and saw the wooden pillar of the building. This pillar supported the entire structure, as thick as a man, made from ironrock wood from the frigid northern forests—hard as wrought iron.

Edward Howard pressed his left hand against the pillar, and the hard ironrock wood easily bore a deep palm print!

Even Edward Howard himself was startled. He knew his left arm now possessed incredible strength, but he hadn’t expected it to be this astonishing—truly shocking!

The slumbering ancient demonic elephant totem turned over and let out a low roar, as if expressing its displeasure at Edward Howard for underestimating the power of an ancient divine beast.

The novice monk’s dharma image remained unmoved, but Edward Howard could sense that it, too, was somehow different from before. The vast foundation of martial knowledge had caused some change in the dharma image, though Edward Howard had yet to discover what it was.

The power in his left arm was rapidly hiding away in his bone marrow. After about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, his left arm looked completely ordinary. But with a thought, Edward Howard could feel a terrifying power, carrying a world-destroying impulse, ready to erupt from deep within his bones!

He smiled with satisfaction, moved a bookshelf to block the part of the ironrock wood where he’d left a handprint—so as not to shock the world—and then went downstairs.

On the first floor, he looked back at the mountain of books and suddenly had a thought: these books are too low-level, nothing special can be knocked out of them with a wooden fish or a brick, but the higher-level ones might work. He seemed to remember some passages from the “Nine Yin Manual” and the “Nine Yang Manual”—could he knock something out of those?

As soon as this thought appeared, it grew wildly like weeds, impossible to restrain. He was itching to try it out immediately.

In his previous life, the internet brought endless possibilities. Legendary martial arts like the “Nine Yin Manual” and the “Nine Yang Manual” could even be found online in electronic form! As a martial arts fan, Edward Howard had read both classics carefully and could actually remember some of them.

It’s just that the authenticity of these two books was highly questionable.