The martial arts training ground was located on the west side of this small town, a spacious dirt yard of about five hundred square meters. The soil was soft, with no stones at all, to prevent children from getting hurt if they fell. As usual, when Olivia Smith arrived here at exactly a quarter past seven in the morning, many boys his age or even younger were already practicing sword techniques. Quite a few were already drenched in sweat, indicating they had been training here for more than just an hour.

Among these youths, about half were members of the Yue clan, while the rest were children born to the Yue clan’s servants, as well as some guest disciples. If their aptitude was decent, they too were allowed to practice here. In addition, there were about twenty rotating warriors of level seven to nine, serving as instructors to guide these young disciples.

As expected, as soon as Olivia Smith and William Parker stepped onto the training ground, they drew dozens of disdainful glances. Most came from the adult warriors, whose eyes held both jealousy and a faint trace of contempt. However, these were all servants of other surnames; the clan’s own warriors, on the other hand, mostly looked on with helpless frustration at their lack of progress.

Olivia Smith first smiled ingratiatingly at the instructors, then obediently took an ironwood sword from the weapon rack and went to a corner of the training ground to practice on his own. As for William Parker, another instructor led him aside for guidance. This little servant was exceptionally gifted—not only was he incredibly strong, but he also showed great talent in cultivating inner strength. He was very likely to become a martial master before the age of twenty. So within the clan, he was actually more favored than his own young master.

In fact, if it weren’t for William Parker’s own reluctance, he would have already been transferred to the Blood Refining Hall by now—a place in the clan said to be dedicated to nurturing outstanding servant children. Being admitted there basically guaranteed a promising future as a martial master.

Chapter 0003: Basic Swordsmanship

Within Yue Clan City, becoming a servant of the Yue clan was actually a matter of honor. Their status and treatment were a cut above that of guest retainers and ordinary civilians. Furthermore, if they achieved personal martial prowess, their treatment would be on par with the clan’s own children, and the clan would no longer regard them as mere servants.

Children like William Parker, whose parents were both Yue clan servants and who were born and raised within the clan, were especially trusted. If they became martial masters, they would most likely be granted the Yue surname and brought into the clan through marriage alliances.

Therefore, William Parker’s insistence had long puzzled Olivia Smith. William Parker was simple and honest, but not stupid—he surely understood which choices would benefit his future most.

Because he was worried about revealing his true identity as a soul-transplanter, Olivia Smith never dared to ask William Parker about this directly. However, more than half a month ago, William Parker mumbled something in his sleep during a nap, which gave Olivia Smith some clues.

Olivia Smith clearly remembered that the silly boy had been crying, his words so muffled that most were unintelligible. In the end, he barely made out one sentence, something like, “Dad, Mom, I must stay by young master’s side.” At that moment, William Parker’s tone suddenly became unusually resolute, so Olivia Smith’s hearing finally picked up on it.

Afterward, Olivia Smith used intelligence-gathering techniques from his previous life to discreetly investigate further.

He already knew that William Parker’s parents had both passed away. So Olivia Smith focused on the relationship between the couple and his own elders. It was only recently that he learned that his so-called “father” had once instructed William Parker’s father in martial arts for a time, and had twice saved the lives of William Parker’s parents. That was why, before passing, he had told William Parker to repay the favor.

This made Olivia Smith feel both relieved and a little regretful. William Parker was just a stubborn fool—once he set his mind on something, he would never give it up, not even a little flexibility. In fact, if the boy could achieve greater success now, it would actually help him even more.

Fortunately, even though William Parker hadn’t entered the Blood Refining Hall, his progress was still impressive. He had already begun practicing the Wrathful Underworld King Axe, a technique that required at least level seven inner strength to learn. For someone only fifteen years old, his abilities far surpassed those of his peers. He had even drawn the attention of the clan elders, who specially assigned an older warrior to give him personal instruction.

Olivia Smith naturally didn’t receive such treatment, but he didn’t feel any resentment about it. In terms of talent, he was indeed far inferior to William Parker; there was nothing to be done about that.

After swinging the ironwood sword around aimlessly for a bit, Olivia Smith decided to try to get into the right mindset, until a nearby martial arts instructor, unable to stand it any longer, glared at him. Only then did he start practicing swordsmanship in earnest. He was currently working on the clan’s foundational sword forms, a total of three hundred sixty-five moves, corresponding to the number of days in a year, and the basis of all sword techniques in the world. At present, he had reached the section from move two hundred to two hundred fifty.

However, after less than three minutes of practice, Olivia Smith heard a series of snickers from around him. The looks of disdain grew even more obvious.