After speaking, Edward Benson ignored the reactions of the two brothers, leisurely walked past them, and strode away.

After a few steps, he suddenly seemed to remember something, stopped and chuckled: "Oh right, I heard while I was out these past few days that in some local dialect, '翔' and 'feces' mean the same thing. Seeing you two kneel and suck up to Henry Benson like this, I can't help but wonder if you have some special fetish for eating shit?"

Before the two brothers could react, Edward Benson had already turned down the corridor and disappeared from their sight.

William Benson was furious, his face dark as iron: "Brother, I'm going to give that brat a good beating!"

Charles Benson quickly pulled him back: "Don't be reckless! In the family compound, private fights are forbidden except in the martial arena. Besides, why bother stooping to the level of a man as good as dead?"

"A man as good as dead?" William Benson was puzzled.

"Heh! This kid was able to pass the Yin-Yang Academy's assessment before, so he does have some skills. If he weren't an illegitimate child, his status would definitely not be inferior to Henry. But unfortunately... heh, since ancient times, two tigers cannot share one mountain! You should know, how can you allow others to sleep soundly beside your own bed? As for exile... you should understand."

William Benson sucked in a cold breath: "After exile, it's..."

William Benson made a throat-slitting gesture with his hand, a sinister smile on his face.

Charles Benson gave a strange smile: "I didn't say anything. Let's go. This isn't our concern—let's just wait and watch the show!"

...

What Charles Benson could see clearly, with the intelligence of someone who had lived two lives, Edward Benson naturally understood as well.

Back in his room, Edward Benson's expression immediately darkened.

A grand celebration for Henry Benson entering the Yin-Yang Academy, followed by his own exile—his family's suppression was truly pressing in step by step.

Even with just his toes, Edward Benson could figure out that the place of exile must be extremely dangerous. If he managed to survive by sheer grit, the murderous intent from within the family would likely follow close behind.

Edward Benson sat cross-legged, beginning to consider his situation.

The more he thought about it, the more stifled he felt, until finally Edward Benson steeled his resolve.

"A man should strive for self-improvement! I don't need to use my previous life's way of thinking to approach things—here, martial strength is everything. Although my current status is that of an illegitimate child, this body was able to pass the Yin-Yang Academy's assessment. Even if my cultivation talent isn't outstanding, it's at least not bad. Do I really need the Qin family to survive? Why should I let them control my fate? If they want to exile me, can't I just leave the family on my own terms?"

Once he thought it through, Edward Benson immediately felt enlightened and began his first cultivation session in this world.

The cultivation technique Edward Benson was currently practicing was called "Lesser Burning Art" (《小焚诀》). It was a low-grade mortal-level technique of the Qin family.

Among all graded techniques, low-grade mortal-level was the lowest tier.

This was also a direct reflection of Edward Benson's awkward position within the family.

Despite his outstanding talent, at the age of fourteen, and with the family withholding cultivation resources and being stingy with techniques, Edward Benson was still able to reach the third stage of Mortal Transformation. This alone showed his talent and hard work.

Yet fate was unkind. Not only did his efforts go unrecognized by the family, but because of his birth, he was repeatedly suppressed, eventually becoming disheartened.

The "Lesser Burning Art," being a low-grade mortal technique, was not difficult to comprehend. The previous Edward Benson had already practiced it to the point where he could operate it as easily as eating or sleeping.

So as soon as Edward Benson started, a sense of familiarity naturally arose.

Because the "Lesser Burning Art" had already been cultivated to its limit, for the past two or three months, no matter how much Edward Benson practiced, its help in improving his strength had become negligible.

"This Burning Art—clearly, the Qin family also has the 'Greater Burning Art' and the 'Seven Flames Burning Heaven Art,' these advanced techniques, but they just refuse to share them. Being an illegitimate child really means being unwelcome."

Although Edward Benson was now a different person, all these infuriating details made him deeply sympathize with his predecessor's plight and feel indignant on his behalf.

"No matter whether the 'Lesser Burning Art' is still useful, I have no other choice right now. Diligence makes up for lack of talent—I'll just keep practicing for now." With this thought, Edward Benson activated the Lesser Burning Art and began cultivating in earnest.

After one cycle of the Lesser Burning Art, Edward Benson frowned slightly. In his memory, the previous Edward Benson had already reached the limit with this technique; its benefits for cultivation and nourishing the meridians and bloodlines were almost negligible.

But—

At this very moment, Edward Benson could clearly feel waves of powerful, fiery energy continuously arising, constantly nourishing his blood and meridians!

Chapter 0005: The Strange Scroll

This astonishing discovery left Edward Benson utterly surprised.

At first, he thought that since it was his first time cultivating, he hadn't fully merged with his previous life's memories and hadn't gotten the rhythm right.

But after running the "Lesser Burning Art" several times in a row, the waves of energy nourishing his blood and meridians not only didn't weaken, but actually seemed to be growing stronger.

This was definitely not an illusion!

"How strange! Could it be that the previous Edward Benson misunderstood the 'Lesser Burning Art'? Did he fail to fully tap into its potential?"

With a quick turn of thought, Edward Benson dismissed this far-fetched explanation. In terms of familiarity with the technique, the previous Edward Benson definitely surpassed him.

And the way he had just operated the "Lesser Burning Art" was exactly according to the method left in the predecessor's memory, without any change in rhythm.