“It's actually Sage Hughes?” Henry Young's eyes lit up.

Sage Hughes was the only immortal Henry Young had ever met, and also the one he admired the most.

Chapter 9: The Past

Henry Young was not flipping through as quickly as before, reading much more carefully.

At some point, his sister-in-law had already lit the candle, and the room became much brighter.

Time passed.

“Sage Hughes actually comes from the ‘King Chang’ clan?” Henry Young was secretly shocked. The Great Qian Empire had quite a few kings and marquises of different surnames, and these nobles were usually established by extremely powerful immortals.

A clan that could be granted a royal title was definitely one of the top clans in the Central Plains, with mighty immortals sitting in command.

“Sage Hughes really did practice swordsmanship. He started learning the sword at nine, reached the peak of basic swordsmanship at thirteen, attained the Subtle Realm at fourteen, and reached the Momentum Realm at nineteen…” Henry Young couldn't help but marvel as he read.

Born into a noble clan, Sage Kyle Hughes's body tempering went without saying—he must have used the best spiritual medicines and treasures to cultivate since childhood. But when it came to swordsmanship, external aids didn't help much; it mainly depended on oneself.

Fourteen years old, Subtle Realm?

Henry Young knew how difficult that was.

“No wonder he became an immortal in his early twenties. Such talent is truly extraordinary.” Henry Young couldn't help but sigh.

His own talent was considered top-notch in Donghe County, but compared to Sage Kyle Hughes, he was far inferior.

“Wait, that's not right.” Henry Young suddenly frowned. “Sage Kyle Hughes reached the sixth level of body tempering at fourteen, but it took him two whole years to become a martial artist?”

Normally, taking two years to go from the sixth level of body tempering to a martial artist was already impressive.

But at fourteen, Sage Kyle Hughes's swordsmanship had already reached the Subtle Realm.

Henry Young's perspective wasn't too shallow. Having received Young Tower's guidance for years, he knew very well that if one's swordsmanship reached the Subtle Realm, then their boxing skills must have as well, and their control over their body would greatly improve. This, in turn, would make tempering the body much faster.

Sage Kyle Hughes had unquestionable talent and abundant resources from his noble birth, so why did it still take him two whole years?

Very soon, Henry Young found the answer.

This passage.

It was spoken by Sage Kyle Hughes himself when the Skywatch Tower visited him:

“The ten levels of martial arts: the first three are body forging, the fourth to sixth are tendon transformation. The essence is to temper all the flesh and blood, to the utmost, so that energy can enter the body, reaching the most basic requirement for ‘spirit absorption’…”

“But in this world, every living being is unique. Even if the cultivation process is exactly the same, there will be huge differences. Some youths can reach the peak of tendon transformation very quickly and soon condense their meridians. They seem extremely talented, but in reality, that's not the case.”

“Isn't that so?” Henry Young wondered in his heart.

He continued reading.

“These youths progress faster. Aside from a few who are nurtured by rare treasures, most are innately weak, so their body tempering limit is lower. Thus, they can easily meet the ‘spirit absorption’ requirement. Although they advance quickly, when it comes time to break through the Life-and-Death Gate and become immortals, it will be extremely difficult because their foundation is lacking… The vast majority of martial artists are like this.”

“In this world, there are a very few young warriors who are stuck at the peak of the sixth level, unable to condense their meridians, but their physical qualities keep improving…”

“It's not because their talent is low.”

“On the contrary, it's because their body tempering talent is too high. Their requirements for ‘spirit absorption’ far exceed ordinary people. The downside of such peerless talent is that condensing meridians becomes extremely difficult, and they may miss the best window for it between ages fourteen and sixteen.”

“The benefit is, once they do condense their meridians, they will possess strength far beyond others at the same level, and breaking through the Life-and-Death Gate to become an immortal will be much easier, making it easier to open the door to the Immortal Realm.”

“The basic requirement for spirit absorption is too high?” Henry Young was stunned.

He vaguely understood why his physical qualities kept improving, yet he still couldn't condense his meridians.

Once the meridians were condensed, all the channels would be open, and he could begin cultivating true qi techniques, with his strength improving by leaps and bounds—provided he met the basic requirement for ‘spirit absorption.’

Henry Young muttered to himself, “Am I one of those extremely rare people with high body tempering talent that Sage Hughes spoke of?”

Rustle~ He turned the page.

Henry Young continued reading.

In the book, Sage Kyle Hughes recounted his own experience. His body tempering talent was also extremely high, and he couldn't condense his meridians for a long time. He used many treasures from his clan, and even ‘King Chang’ personally helped him lay his foundation. It took two whole years before he finally succeeded.

“Before condensing his meridians, Sage Kyle Hughes's physical qualities already far surpassed others at the same stage, and he could already be considered a martial artist who had condensed his meridians?” Henry Young frowned, thinking of many things, and finally gently closed the book.

He then carefully repackaged the book.

Tomorrow, he still had to deliver the book to his master, Young Tower.

Clang~ The door was suddenly pushed open.

A tall, burly young man, nearly 1.9 meters tall, walked in from outside. He wore a singlet, was covered in dust, but his smile was full of honest warmth.

“Big brother.” Henry Young immediately stood up and reached out to take the sweat towel from his brother's hand.

This was Henry Young's eldest brother, Eugene Young, who was a full eleven years older than Henry Young.

Thud~ thud~ The floor made a sound.

“Father.”