However, no one noticed that there was not the slightest change in his downcast gaze. The young man’s reprimand seemed to go in one ear and out the other, leaving no trace in his heart.

A glimmer of light, out of place for his age, flickered in his eyes, and his hands, tightly gripping the sword hilt, trembled slightly.

This was not out of fear or excitement, but because he was channeling his own internal energy into the longsword, quietly sensing the subtle change that clung to it.

“Hey, look at Chad, he actually dares to infuse his sword with internal energy…”

“Overestimating himself. With just the first level of Qi Cultivation, he thinks he can infuse a sharp weapon with internal energy? Hmph, does he think his master or those senior brothers are here to help him?”

“Five years of training and still at the first level of Qi Cultivation—what a disgrace to be associated with him.”

“Shh, keep your voice down. He’s at least the master’s distant nephew. If he complains about you in front of the master, you’ll be crying before you know it.”

“With his cowardice, would he even dare…”

Whispers spread among the crowd. Although they deliberately kept their voices low and didn’t speak loudly, after years of living together, how could anyone not know what was being said?

Several young men looked at Chad Brooks with clear disdain in their eyes. However, the master had given instructions before leaving, so until he put down the longsword, no one actually stepped forward to interfere.

After a full quarter of an hour, Chad Brooks finally set down the longsword in his hands. He let out a gentle breath and said, “Senior brothers, I still have some family matters to attend to, so I’ll take my leave first.” With that, he cupped his fists in a slight salute to the group and turned to leave.

“Hmph, family matters… He just wants to slack off,” one young man muttered discontentedly.

The leading youth frowned slightly, thinking to himself, My cousin’s constitution really isn’t suited for further cultivation. If he keeps forcing it, it’ll only bring harm, not benefit. But this cousin is so stubborn—how can I persuade him without hurting his pride?

※※※

Chad Brooks strolled out of the house and headed toward the back mountain outside the village.

Of course, he had heard every word of the group’s discussion in the room just now, but none of it stirred the slightest ripple in his heart.

After passing several bends, his pace gradually quickened, faster and faster. He followed the riverbank, running for a full mile before finally stopping.

Here was a quiet pool, and beside it stood an abandoned house.

This house had once been a blacksmith’s shop, said to be where his uncle forged iron in his younger days. Later, his uncle joined the Sect of Artificers and became a formal disciple, abandoning this place.

Now, however, it had become his secret hideout.

In fact, both his parents and his uncle knew he liked to come here to play.

If it had been any of his uncle’s other disciples, they would have been scolded harshly long ago. But because of their unbreakable blood ties, his uncle simply turned a blind eye and tacitly acknowledged his claim to the place.

Over time, no one but him ever came here.

After lingering in the house for a while, Chad Brooks pulled a longsword from a hole in the wall.

He gazed silently at the sword for a long time before letting out a bitter laugh and muttering to himself, “Longsword, oh longsword, uncle can forge one in just three days, but it took me a full two months to make you.”

If that burly middle-aged man and his son were here, they would surely be shocked, for the longsword in Chad Brooks’s hand had been forged by him alone. Moreover, this sword was almost identical to the ones they painstakingly crafted, and its quality was even a bit superior.

Granted, Chad Brooks had spent several times longer, but that was only because he was young and weak. If he had the strength of that burly man, it wouldn’t have taken nearly as long to forge this sword.

Suddenly, a voice rang abruptly in his mind.

“Chad, don’t lose heart. I see great potential in you—you’ll definitely surpass him by far.”

A faint smile curved Chad Brooks’s lips as he thought to himself, “Emily Brooks, I know. With your help, it’s only a matter of time before I surpass him.”

His lips didn’t move; he merely turned this thought over in his mind, but the other party seemed to understand and responded, “What do you want to learn now? Do you want to inscribe that special spirit pattern on the longsword?”

Chad Brooks clapped his hands in admiration, thinking, “Emily Brooks, you guessed right. Heh, did you record the spirit pattern on it?”

“Of course, with not a single detail missed,” the voice replied with a hint of pride. “Anything I scan, I never forget.”

“Good, then…” A sharp light flashed in Chad Brooks’s eyes. “Let’s begin.”

He took out a short needle from his robe, channeled all his internal energy, and infused it thread by thread into the needle. That half-inch of faint light appeared once again.

Chapter 002: Identity