Forget it, I'll go back and continue practicing. In a month, it will be the disciple recruitment month, and by then I'll need to join a good sect. Oh right, I just realized I forgot to tell Brian Clark, but he probably knows already.

Brian Clark naturally knows. He cares a lot about this recruitment month—this is his chance to turn his humble life around. Part of the reason he practices swordsmanship is to prepare for this opportunity.

Looking at the iron sword in his hand, although it's a rough iron sword, it suits his current needs perfectly. It's more than enough for sword practice. He will cherish it, take good care of it, and make it look like a real sword.

Of course, it's not because it belonged to Emily!

His swordsmanship is becoming more and more proficient, but the more he practices, the less it resembles the original style. This makes him think he might not have a talent for swordsmanship, but he hasn't given up. He continues to practice, since at the very least, training in swordsmanship is very beneficial for him.

But Brian Clark feels that the most useful thing he learned from those girls isn't the swordsmanship, but their movement techniques. In their battles, they used several brilliant movement skills—some agile, some fast, some deceptive. They fought from the top of the mountain to the bottom and back up again, so movement was naturally the key.

The deceptive, phantom-like movement skills to confuse opponents—he didn't bother to study those. He only liked the fast and agile ones, because he used them for gathering herbs, not for fighting. Practicing swordsmanship was just a hobby, and also to fend off wild beasts for an extra meal.

As always, he only learned what he was currently able to learn. Those that required higher conditions, he still "couldn't learn." But even so, he was very satisfied, because his herb-gathering efficiency had improved a lot. He could now reach places he couldn't before.

Because he needed to gather herbs, he spent more time practicing movement techniques than swordsmanship. His movement skills were clearly better than his sword skills, but mainly in terms of speed, leaping, and climbing—all for gathering herbs, not for combat.

Of course, there was some combat use too, but that was just a side effect of practicing swordsmanship.

No matter which aspect—swordsmanship, energy cultivation, or lightness skills—he practiced them all for the sake of making a living, not for competing or fighting with others. His life goal was simple: earn money, buy land, and get married.

Become a peerless master? That was never his dream, nor could it ever be. His life hadn't been shaped by trauma. Though his parents had died, it was due to accident and the pressures of life, not because of enemies.

His values were simple, with no grand ambitions. Simply put, he was just a humble country bumpkin!

How many grand dreams can a country bumpkin have? Become number one in the world, maintain world peace? All he could think of was eating well, living well, dressing well. Even after his basic needs were met, he probably wouldn't think of anything else—just wanting a good night's sleep and a sweet dream.

Unless, perhaps, someone discovered his talent. Maybe then he'd have slightly bigger dreams—hmm, like earning more money, buying more land, and maybe taking a concubine.

But for now, he was still a simple, honest country bumpkin.

A month passed quickly. The country bumpkin had to prepare for the major event in his life that was about to arrive. If he succeeded, he could get a good job. For him, that was what a good job meant, while for others, it was a chance to gain power and change their fate.

This was the disciple recruitment month that everyone in the world shared. Maybe it was a bit earlier or later in some places, but all over the land, disciples were recruited around this month. Of course, there were also special recruitments outside of this, which weren't bound by time, but only true geniuses could enjoy that privilege—ordinary geniuses didn't even qualify!

As for someone like the boy, who was even a bit of a burden, it was even more impossible for him to enjoy such treatment. He could only enter those sects through the opportunity of this recruitment month.

What the boy needed to do now was go to the village and head to the county town with everyone else. The disciple recruitment was held in the county town; those sects wouldn't come to the village to recruit unless they heard of a genius. Normally, everyone went to the county town and participated in the small trials prepared by the sects.

Of course, you could go by yourself, but the boy wasn't that kind of loner. Going with others meant having company, and most importantly, groups led by someone didn't have to pay a registration fee.

Chapter 9 Emily Thompson (3)

Still under the azure sky, still among the lush green mountains...

By the clear little river, the boy's village was set in such an environment—a beautiful and pure village, just rather remote. Those with ability had all gone out to make their way in the world, and unless they failed, they generally never returned.

Maybe they missed this pure and beautiful village every day, but the dazzling world outside made them even more reluctant to come back. Now, weren't the young people just repeating the same story?

"Emily..."

Brian Clark arrived at the small square and saw Emily waiting in the middle, so he greeted her.

"Brian Clark!"

"Brian Clark..." Along with Emily, a few others greeted him as well. They were mostly people without talent in martial arts, with very average abilities. At the moment, they were all a bit better than Brian Clark, but Brian Clark had only just started cultivating energy, while they had at least a few years under their belts. It seemed likely they would spend their whole lives in this little village.