Another sword strike—on land, the six leading great demons all had their heads sent flying.

Wherever the sword reached, demons fell.

A chorus of “Immortal!” “Immortal!” erupted—this was the joy of thousands who had escaped death.

The blue-robed youth paid it no mind, swiftly flying away—he still had more people to save. Before leaving, he left only one sentence: “Go to Donghe County, there is imperial aid there.”

And so, Henry Young followed his elder brother and sister-in-law to Donghe County. Upon arrival, everyone learned the name of that blue-robed immortal—Kyle Hughes.

This name was also firmly etched into the young Henry Young’s memory.

Not long after, with government assistance, Henry Young and his brother and sister-in-law obtained household registration in the county and became commoners. The area where he now lived was home to many who had been rescued by the river that year.

Thus, once their lives stabilized, the people of this area spontaneously erected a monument and temple to ‘Immortal Xu Kai’, honoring him without end.

After entering the martial academy, Henry Young unhesitatingly chose the ‘sword’ as his weapon.

Because—

The great hero in his heart, Immortal Xu Kai, wielded a sword!

A single—

Demon-slaying sword.

……

Night deepened.

Eugene Young and Clifford Dean had already taken the children home to rest. This was the norm for ordinary people in this world: rising at dawn, resting at dusk. Candles and kerosene were luxuries most families could not afford to use for long.

Henry Young, meanwhile, came to the banks of the Little East River—a winding stream running through the city, with some open ground along its banks.

A gentle breeze blew; in the late summer night, there was already a hint of chill.

Bathed in moonlight, Henry Young’s eyesight allowed him to see his surroundings—not as clearly as by day, but clear enough for practicing his boxing forms.

“Practice sword by day, train fists by night—ten years without fail, and you’ll become a master.” Henry Young firmly remembered the words of his master, Young Tower.

No matter how great your talent or comprehension, if you don’t put in the effort, you’ll end up just like everyone else.

Henry Young thought to himself, “Besides, I ate quite a bit of spirit rice tonight. If I don’t train, the energy and blood from that rice will just go to waste.”

“Hu~”

Henry Young began with standing meditation.

Though this was only the first form of body-tempering boxing—simple as it was—even a grandmaster of martial arts would find it timeless. It loosened the muscles and tempered the mind.

A martial artist, with fists like blades, naturally develops a killing intent.

Simply put, once an ordinary person gains great power, it’s easy to act without restraint.

But Henry Young, having been taught by Master Young Tower for years, knew very well that a cultivator must always remember: no matter how powerful you become, you must be able to control your own fists.

What does it mean to control your fists?

Calmness!

No matter how great the crisis or danger, you must be able to calm your mind quickly and make decisions true to your heart, not just act on anger or impulse.

Your decision may not always be right, may not always be reasonable, but it must be a true choice from your heart.

Only then can you say you truly control your fists.

If you can’t control your fists, it’s like holding a knife to chop vegetables without a grip—you’ll easily hurt yourself.

“Though I’ve tempered my mind for years, I still can’t match my master. Even now, I’m still distracted by Immortal Xu’s words.” Henry Young murmured to himself, “Alright, as Master said, I’ll stand in meditation for a quarter of an hour. Once my mind is completely calm, then I’ll think.”

Time passed.

A quarter of an hour felt both slow and fast.

“According to Immortal Xu, I should be the type with extremely high body-tempering talent. To successfully condense my meridians, I need to temper my muscles and bones to a very high degree.” Henry Young pondered.

“That much should be correct.”

“It’s just that Immortal Xu was extraordinarily gifted, used many treasures, and even Prince Chang personally laid his foundation. It took him two full years, and in the end, his physical strength was only on par with an ordinary meridian-condensing martial artist.” Henry Young muttered, “But my strength… if my feeling is right, I’ve at least reached the baseline for a meridian-condensing martial artist.”

“But I clearly haven’t used any rare treasures—just eaten some spirit rice.”

“Spirit rice, to the rich and powerful, is like ordinary rice to common folk.”

“All of this, I’m afraid, is due to the three tremors of my heart.” Henry Young analyzed, “If not for those three anomalies in my heart, at my normal rate of progress, I probably wouldn’t have even reached the peak of the sixth body-tempering level by now.”

Half a year ago, before the first anomaly, Henry Young was at the peak of the fifth body-tempering level, close to the sixth. At his normal pace, he could have reached the sixth level.

With normal training, he could have entered the Blazing Fire Hall to cultivate, but he would never have reached his current heights.

“What exactly is this anomaly?”

Chapter Eleven: Shocking Change

He couldn’t figure it out.

Henry Young decided not to dwell on it for now.

At least, up to now, the three special tremors of his heart had all been beneficial, with no sign of harm.

“Hu—”

Henry Young raised his hands and began practicing his boxing. This time, he wasn’t practicing “Water Dragon in Motion,” but another equally renowned form—“Distant Star and Moon.” It also tempered the muscles and bones throughout the body, making it ideal for martial artists in the tendon-changing and meridian-condensing stage.

Boxing tempers the body.

The sword slays enemies.

Though Henry Young’s “Wind Feather Sword” could also temper the whole body, its effect was not as good as the two tendon-changing boxing forms. Likewise, in real combat, the power of boxing was not as great as that of swordsmanship.

“Starlight Shines on the Moon,” “Stepping on Stars and Moon,” “Stars Move with Me”…