"Your senior brother is different from me. After starting with the Ziwu Sutra, he chose Qianqing True Qi and the Xuan Yu Tian Luo Hand..."

Evelyn Spencer listened for over an hour and had quite a few complaints about this teacher's lecturing skills. When Charles Bolton taught, he left nothing out, covering every detail, but often in a jumbled order, sometimes repeating things several times.

After two hours of lecturing on the Songyang Sect's martial arts inheritance, Charles Bolton finally got to the cultivation of the Ziwu Sutra. This internal cultivation method of the Songyang Sect was truly profound and extensive; even after talking until nightfall, he had only covered a small portion of the text.

Seeing that it was getting dark, Charles Bolton got up to make dinner, telling his two disciples to practice on their own, and reminded Clifford Bolton to guide his junior brother as much as possible.

With the teacher in the kitchen, Evelyn Spencer began to ask Clifford Bolton for guidance on how to start practicing the Ziwu Sutra. Clifford Bolton's thinking was much clearer than the teacher's, and his explanations were easy to understand. Evelyn Spencer quickly grasped how to begin cultivating the Ziwu Sutra.

The two brothers were chatting enthusiastically when Charles Bolton called out from afar, "Come eat!"

Clifford Bolton smiled and stood up, saying, "Junior brother, let's go eat."

Evelyn Spencer agreed and followed his senior brother to dinner.

He settled down at Taiyi Temple like this, and after more than a month, he had learned the entire Ziwu Sutra. He even secretly copied it out by hand, adding countless notes—some from asking the teacher, some from asking his senior brother, and some from his own insights, just like making study notes.

And indeed, this way of learning was highly efficient. His understanding of the Ziwu Sutra became extremely thorough, with no more doubts remaining.

One evening after dinner, Charles Bolton said, "Yanwanshi, I have now taught you the entire Ziwu Sutra. You are talented, diligent, and eager to learn, and your understanding of the text is deep. Today, I will act as your protector while you officially begin cultivating the Ziwu Sutra."

Evelyn Spencer agreed, feeling very excited. Although he had "learned" the Ziwu Sutra, it was all theoretical and he had not yet truly begun to practice.

Charles Bolton, afraid that his disciple might misunderstand, had strictly forbidden him from practicing recklessly.

Being able to officially start cultivating the Ziwu Sutra was something Evelyn Spencer had longed for. He sat cross-legged, formed the Ziwu hand seal, took a deep breath, and tried to circulate the Ziwu Sutra.

As soon as he closed his eyes, he felt a palm pressed against his back, and a gentle internal force entered his body, protecting his eight extraordinary meridians, twelve main meridians, and thirty-six hidden channels.

Although it was his first time circulating the Ziwu Sutra, Evelyn Spencer could sense that one meridian was very clear, while another was somewhat blocked but he could faintly feel the flow of true qi.

During this past month, he could only study the Ziwu Sutra and not practice it, but Evelyn Spencer didn't want to waste time and made sure not to neglect the Hunyuan Thirty-Six Postures and the Demon-Slaying Sword Technique.

He had already cleared one meridian, and this second, half-cleared meridian was the result of his efforts over the past month.

Following the Ziwu Sutra's method, and with his teacher's internal force protecting him, he circulated it seven or eight times. Suddenly, he felt a slight warmth in his lower back, a surge of true qi spread out, and another meridian was suddenly cleared. Now, with two meridians open, true qi flowed between them, following the Ziwu Sutra's method, yin and yang merging, forming a cycle.

Chapter 10 Junior Brother Spencer, I don't have enough money on me

Evelyn Spencer heard his master's voice by his ear, saying, "Disciple, try to cultivate all eight extraordinary meridians, twelve main meridians, and thirty-six hidden channels. Don't get attached to just these two cleared meridians."

Several hours later, Evelyn Spencer slowly opened his eyes, his face full of gratitude, and said, "Thank you, teacher."

Charles Bolton smiled and said, "A master is like a father to his disciple. You are my direct disciple; protecting you is my duty."

"However, since you already have some foundation in the Hu family's Hunyuan Postures and have cleared two meridians, when practicing the Ziwu Sutra, you must try to forget the Hu family's method as much as possible, so as not to interfere with the Ziwu Sutra's cultivation and to ensure an accurate assessment of your aptitude."

Evelyn Spencer quickly replied, "I understand, teacher."

He had already cleared two meridians through practicing the Hunyuan Thirty-Six Postures, but these two meridians might not reflect his true talent, so Charles Bolton's advice was sincere.

It was already late at night. Charles Bolton had stayed up almost all night to protect his disciple's cultivation, and Clifford Bolton had also kept him company. Now, seeing Evelyn Spencer succeed in cultivating the Ziwu Sutra, he was happy for his junior brother and said, "It's late tonight. I'll take Junior Brother Spencer to rest first. Master, you should get some sleep too."

Charles Bolton smiled slightly and said, "Very well! Starting tomorrow, you don't need to sweep the temple. Accompany Yanwan in cultivating the Ziwu Sutra. If anything seems off, come find me immediately."

Evelyn Spencer was delighted to hear that he wouldn't have to do chores tomorrow.

These days, he had been helping Clifford Bolton tidy up the temple, doing all sorts of hard labor, which he found quite exhausting. In his previous life, he was at least a "city person" and had never done physical labor.

He followed Clifford Bolton back to their sleeping quarters and heard Clifford Bolton say, "Junior Brother Spencer, the courtyard behind our Taiyi Temple is almost cleaned up. Tomorrow, I'll take you to buy two beds and some tables and chairs. We can move in there first. The environment is very nice, and it will be refreshing for cultivation."