Olivia Smith couldn’t help but smile bitterly in his heart—he knew better than anyone why this situation had arisen. The brachioradialis muscle in this body’s arm was about half a centimeter longer than that of others, and his elbow joint was also more flexible. So when wielding a sword, even with the same sword form, the tip of his blade would always be two or three centimeters higher than everyone else’s.

If this were his previous life, where swordsmanship was just for show, at most people would have called it flashy but impractical—after all, a slightly raised sword tip did look a bit more elegant. But in this era where everything was focused on real combat, it was naturally seen as a glaring flaw, and it was only natural for others to mock him.

Come to think of it, a few years ago, the clan’s martial instructors had considered this body’s natural endowment to be extremely poor, and this defect in the brachioradialis muscle was probably one of the main reasons.

Shaking his head, Olivia Smith simply pretended not to hear the mocking voices around him and continued practicing these sword forms that, to others, seemed rather unorthodox.

In fact, for him, making these sword forms look proper was actually quite simple. As long as he controlled his muscles a bit when extending his arm, he could easily manage it. But as a top student about to graduate from the Department of Sports Health, Olivia Smith knew all too well that if he forced himself like this for a long time, his brachioradialis would eventually cramp, and several muscles in his upper arm that controlled the elbow joint would develop hidden injuries.

So now he was taking a completely different approach. Since he didn’t want to harm his body, he had to blaze a new trail—modify these sword forms to adapt to his own physique!

—Every time he raised his sword, the tip was two centimeters higher than others’. This was certainly a flaw. But if he could master the technique, it could also become an advantage. The key was in modifying these basic sword forms; if he could play to his strengths and avoid his weaknesses, he might not be any worse than anyone else.

However, just for the sake of improving these sword forms, Olivia Smith had already endured the strange looks in the training ground for over two months. Fortunately, within this young body was the soul of a mature man, so he could completely ignore what others thought. Otherwise, if it had been the original Olivia Smith, his tolerance would probably have collapsed on the very first day.

As time passed, a red glow gradually rose on the horizon, dyeing the whole world in shades of orange and yellow. Sweat began to cover Olivia Smith’s face, just like everyone else’s. Although he was holding a sword made of ironwood, its weight and hardness were no different from a real sword. For a twelve-year-old, swinging it for a long time was truly a test of willpower and endurance.

By now, the mocking voices around him had gradually faded away, and all the boys were focusing on practicing their own martial skills. The rotating instructors, who served as teachers, couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to how Olivia Smith was practicing. In this world, only the strong and promising had priority access to resources. In the eyes of these instructors, it was a waste of time to bother with this “good-for-nothing”; it was better to spend their efforts on training the more talented children.

As for Olivia Smith himself, he was more than happy with this arrangement. Not long ago, he had encountered a few well-meaning instructors on duty, as well as some of his ‘father’s’ old friends and subordinates, who wanted to give him special tutoring. But for him, this was a complete disaster—the so-called guidance was just a waste of his time. Without their constant nagging, he could focus even better on ‘improving’ these basic sword forms. After Olivia Smith passively resisted for over a month, they finally gave up on him, sighing that “rotten wood cannot be carved.”

He had thought today would be just like the past dozen days, practicing unnoticed. But after just over an hour, he suddenly heard a surprised exclamation nearby.

“Hey! You’ve got pretty good comprehension for a kid. At first glance, these sword forms look like a mess, but on closer inspection, there’s nothing seriously wrong. Still, you’re a bit too bold for your age!”

Olivia Smith was slightly taken aback by the words. He looked toward the source of the dry voice and saw, with a hint of surprise in his eyes, an elderly man of about fifty, whose face was somewhat unfamiliar, standing beside William Parker. Clearly, he was the instructor in charge of guiding young ‘George Bolton’ in practicing the Great Wrathful Underworld King Axe today.

What surprised Olivia Smith even more was that the sleeves of the elder’s brocade robe were embroidered with four silver threads. He hadn’t noticed in the darkness before, but now, under the sunlight, they were almost dazzling.

In this Yue Family City, copper threads represented warriors, while silver threads belonged to martial masters. Four silver threads should signify a level-four martial master, which was already among the top fighters in Yue Family City. He hadn’t expected that, with William Parker’s current level, such a figure would be drawn here.

As for the elder seeing through his intentions, that was secondary. The lower-level warriors naturally couldn’t understand what he was doing and just thought Olivia Smith’s swordplay was off-form. But in the eyes of a level-four martial master who had spent a lifetime immersed in martial arts, the purpose behind Olivia Smith’s modifications was as clear as day.

Chapter 0004: Ability Analysis

Olivia Smith knew that when the elder said he had good comprehension, it was probably because he had done a decent job modifying these basic sword forms. As for being “too bold,” that was likely a comment on his behavior.