Evelyn Spencer was alone with nothing to do, so he went out to the street, found a shop, and bought some portable food and sewing materials. Before he transmigrated, although he had never been a backpacker, he often traveled and was not lacking in experience or courage when it came to being away from home. After buying the items and returning to the inn, he cut up the fabric he had bought. Although he was not skilled at sewing, he wasn’t making clothes—just a vest, which didn’t require much craftsmanship. Evelyn Spencer sewed dozens of pockets inside the vest and stitched all his banknotes into them. Only then did he take off his outer garment and put the handmade vest on underneath. He stuffed a couple of pieces of clothing into his bundle at random, so it wouldn’t look conspicuous, nor would he have to worry about being watched. Traveling with this setup, he felt much more at ease.

With money in hand and some martial arts skills, his situation was far better than when he had just transmigrated. Evelyn Spencer thought to himself, “At least I’m a transmigrator, and my starting point isn’t bad. I must seize this opportunity.” He also vaguely sensed that his young master was always in a hurry, as if he had many things to do, and probably wouldn’t keep him by his side for long.

The master and disciple stayed in the town for a few days before setting off again.

Edward Miller never stayed in one place for long, living like a traveler—staying a few days in any village, town, or city they came across. Occasionally, he would go out to visit friends, but never allowed his disciple to follow.

Along the way, apart from practicing internal energy to heal his injuries, he taught his disciple martial arts. In addition to instructing Evelyn Spencer in the Hu family’s Thirty-Six Stances of Mixed Yuan, he also taught him the Hu family’s Seventy-Two Techniques of Demon-Slaying Swordsmanship, one by one.

The Hu family’s Demon-Slaying Swordsmanship was full of variations and exquisite moves. When the whole set was performed, it was like a raging storm, extremely powerful. Even with Edward Miller’s careful guidance, it still took Evelyn Spencer more than two months to master it.

He quickly got used to this kind of life—traveling the martial world with his master, occasionally seeking out books to read when passing through big cities, familiarizing himself with the culture, geography, customs, and people of this world.

One day, while Evelyn Spencer was practicing the Mixed Yuan Stance, his internal energy accumulated and broke through a meridian in his leg. When walking or leaping, his body became lighter and more agile. He had, without a teacher, comprehended some of the techniques of lightness skill.

Combining lightness skill with the Demon-Slaying Swordsmanship, the sword techniques suddenly gained countless new variations, and their power increased by thirty or forty percent. When Evelyn Spencer completed the entire set of Demon-Slaying Swordsmanship from start to finish, he felt the moves were smooth and seamless, changing at will, and was instantly overjoyed.

Even though Evelyn Spencer’s martial arts had greatly improved, in the martial world, this level of skill was only about fifth or sixth tier. He was not arrogant. Sheathing his sword, he thought to himself, “What a pity! I can’t find someone from the martial world to test my skills and see what level I’ve reached. If I win, that’s fine, but if I lose, I might lose my life.”

Chapter 7: One of the Five Grandmasters Under Heaven

To avoid drawing attention, Evelyn Spencer never practiced martial arts in the inn where he stayed. He always chose remote wilderness areas to practice his swordsmanship. Now that his skills had “greatly improved,” he wanted to share the news with his master. When he returned to the inn, he saw a young Taoist priest talking with Edward Miller.

The young Taoist was slightly older than him, with sword-like brows and handsome features, elegant and unrestrained. He didn’t look like a monk, but more like a refined young nobleman. Evelyn Spencer was a little curious—how did his master know such a person? He cupped his hands slightly, and following the martial etiquette Edward Miller had taught him, said, “Greetings, senior brother!”

The young Taoist smiled gently, his wide sleeves fluttering, and said, “So this is junior brother Evelyn?”

Evelyn Spencer suddenly felt a surge of hidden force appear around him. Fortunately, he had opened a meridian in his leg and stood firm, swaying only slightly, his feet planted solidly on the ground without embarrassment. He was annoyed and was about to ask why the other had suddenly made a move.

Then he heard the young Taoist say in mild surprise, “Junior brother Evelyn has only practiced the Mixed Yuan Stance for a few months and has already opened a meridian? Truly remarkable talent!”

“I can represent my master and agree to this matter.”

“As long as junior brother Evelyn agrees, I’ll take him back to Taiyi Temple right away!”

Evelyn Spencer felt something was off and sneaked a glance at his “master.” Edward Miller smiled slightly and said, “Evelyn, my child, the martial arts I know are family secrets—I can’t teach you the real skills. Besides, I have a vendetta to avenge and must wander the martial world. It’s not convenient to bring you along, so I found you another master: Daoist Charles Bolton of the Songyang Sect.”

“This is Daoist Bolton’s senior disciple, also surnamed Zhang, named Clifford!”

“Today, you’ll go with senior brother Bolton.”

Evelyn Spencer had expected this, but didn’t think the day would come so soon. He knelt down and kowtowed several times to Edward Miller, saying, “I was just an ordinary shop assistant. If not for master’s guidance, I would have lived a wasted life, growing old in hardship.”

“I can never repay master’s kindness.”

“I only regret that my skills are lacking and can only be a burden to master. Though I wish to serve you for a few more years, I can hardly bring myself to say so.”

Edward Miller was also deeply moved. He was only a few years older than Evelyn Spencer. After several months together, the two were more like traveling companions than master and disciple. Evelyn Spencer was clever and perceptive, making him reluctant to part. But there was no choice—he bore a deep blood feud, as both his grandfather and father had been besieged and killed by the Hu family. He had to do whatever it took to get revenge and couldn’t bring along a child whose martial arts were still at the beginner level.