His gaze once again fell upon the longsword, and the young girl, almost involuntarily, infused her true qi into it once more.

This time, she was not making a rough inspection, but instead calmed her mind and observed carefully.

“Huh?” A flash of surprise suddenly appeared on her beautiful face, and then, as if contagious, that hint of astonishment quickly spread across her features.

“What is it now?” Chad Brooks asked sullenly.

“Impossible.” The girl abruptly raised her head and said, “Are you really the one who inscribed the spirit patterns on this longsword?”

Chad Brooks straightened his chest and said, “Of course.”

The girl hesitated for a moment and said, “Could you inscribe another section of spirit pattern for me to see?”

Chad Brooks was full of suspicion, but after only a brief hesitation, he agreed immediately. Inscribing spirit patterns was no big deal; even without her request, he would have continued anyway, so doing her this small favor was nothing at all.

Sitting cross-legged, Chad Brooks began to slowly circulate his true qi.

The girl waited for a while, but the boy was still taking his time regulating his breath, showing no intention of continuing to inscribe the spirit pattern. She couldn’t help but feel a bit embarrassed and annoyed, and said coquettishly, “What are you doing?”

Chad Brooks rolled his eyes and said, “Can’t you see? I’m recovering my true qi.” He paused, then added, “Don’t tell me you think it’s possible to inscribe spirit patterns when your true qi is depleted.”

A blush immediately spread across the girl’s face. She knew this, of course, but in her impatience she had overlooked the other’s actual cultivation, which was why she had urged him.

However, the girl was proud by nature and would never admit her mistake.

Her eyes darted, and with a light snort she said, “How long does it take to recover true qi just by regulating your breath... Hmph, so inexperienced.”

Chad Brooks was taken aback and said, “If you don’t regulate your breath and just wait for your true qi to recover naturally, wouldn’t that be even slower?”

A hint of smugness flashed in the girl’s eyes. With a flip of her slender hand, a jade bottle appeared, from which she took out a pale yellow pill and said, “Here you go.”

Chad Brooks took it casually, and a refreshing fragrance wafted over, instantly invigorating his spirit.

“This is... a Nourishing Pill?” He looked up abruptly, gazing at the girl in surprise.

The girl lifted her delicate chin and said, “That’s right, you do have some knowledge.” She smiled sweetly and said, “After taking this pill, your true qi will recover quickly. The effect is quite good, so hurry up and take it.”

Looking at the jade bottle in the girl’s hand, Chad Brooks quickly calculated in his mind.

Nourishing Pills were by no means common goods, but rather an extremely precious kind of elixir.

David Brooks had many disciples, and every three months there would be an internal competition. If you placed in the top three, you would be rewarded with a Nourishing Pill.

Although Chad Brooks had never taken one himself, he had seen the pill before, and had heard from his senior brothers that it was miraculous—after taking it, true qi would rapidly increase, and it was also an aid for advancing to higher levels.

Even David Brooks himself had to constantly forge weapons to trade with others in order to obtain three Nourishing Pills every three months. Every senior brother who received a Nourishing Pill would take it with utmost care, treating it as a treasure.

Yet, the girl before him had casually taken one out, and what made him even more indignant was that she said the pill was just for recovering true qi.

Judging from the expression on her face, she was not putting on a show, nor was she pretending to be rich—she genuinely believed this.

“To recover true qi, to recover true qi...” Chad Brooks muttered twice, then swallowed the pill in one gulp and said, “Alright, I’ll recover my true qi quickly.”

He thought to himself that he wasn’t trying to take advantage of the young lady, but was only accepting her gift in order to demonstrate the spirit pattern inscription for her.

As the pill entered his stomach, it immediately transformed into a warm current that rose gently within him.

Chad Brooks’s expression changed slightly. He could no longer afford to be distracted, and immediately sat cross-legged, focusing all his attention on guiding the warm current through his meridians, slowly gathering it into his dantian.

However, the amount of this warm current was enormous for him. Even though he was fully focused and exerting all his strength, he still felt it was somewhat difficult to control.

If the soul in this body were still that pampered fifteen-year-old, perhaps he would have already given up by now, letting the warm current rampage through his body until his meridians burst. But the willpower and desire to survive of Chad Brooks were far beyond what that person could compare to.

Having experienced death once, he absolutely did not want to give up his life so easily again.

Clenching his teeth, his spirit erupted in an instant, reaching a level he had never imagined before. Under this sudden surge of mental control, the warm currents finally became obedient, like well-behaved children, gradually gathering into his dantian.