“In the deep mountains of Beilu Mountain, there are indeed quite a few wild grade-four and above medicinal herbs. But in those deep mountains, there are packs of gray wolves, black bears, tigers, leopards, and other wild beasts, all extremely fierce, with strength no less than that of martial artists in the mid to late stages of body refinement. I wonder if he dares to go? I’m afraid he might go in alive, but never come back out!”

Charles Bennett did not argue with these mocking words, responding with silence.

But in his heart, he was holding back a surge of determination. “Just wait and see! In a little over five months, it will be the strength assessment and graduation exam of Beilu Academy. All this talk is useless—everything will be decided by strength! When the academy’s assessment comes in five months, we’ll see who’s laughing and who’s crying!”

In the afternoon, he cleaned the library. Every five or six days, he would take a dose of grade-six medicinal herbs, both internally and externally, to temper his body, heal internal injuries in his meridians, and clear the blood stasis caused by overzealous cultivation.

“Tiger Leap Slash!”

Charles Bennett shouted in a low voice, stepping forward as a blade shadow tore through the air in an instant.

The two basic moves of “Tiger Leap Slash” were relatively simple to practice, without too many techniques involved. Mastery was just a matter of time. His progress in martial arts training was extremely fast.

Chapter 8: Seize Every Moment

Charles Bennett set a goal for himself: to train with all his might and catch up to the stronger senior brothers and sisters in the academy, participate in the strength assessment and graduation exam of Beilu Academy in half a year, and strive to pass the graduation exam in one go.

Twenty days passed in a flash.

Charles Bennett finished the odd jobs of cleaning the old library and received praise from Steward Walker.

He went to the servants’ courtyard to report his work to Manager Thompson, who was in charge of logistics at the academy, handed in his servant’s token, and collected the twenty taels of silver he had earned over these days.

“Charles Bennett, your vital energy is strong. It seems your cultivation has improved quite a bit this month! …Young people shouldn’t rush for quick results. Steady progress is the way to go for lasting success!”

Manager Thompson’s experienced eyes noticed that Charles Bennett’s complexion was different from a month ago. Along with his surprise, there was also some concern.

“Thank you for your concern, Chief Steward!”

Charles Bennett felt a warmth in his heart.

He was truly grateful to Manager Thompson.

Ever since he came to Beilu Academy at the age of five, he had survived for ten years by doing odd jobs in the academy. Of all the high-ranking people he interacted with, it was Manager Thompson he saw the most. Thanks to Manager Thompson’s care, he was able to fill his belly and even have some extra money to buy herbs for cultivation.

Especially this time, Manager Thompson had specially allowed him to take on the task of cleaning the old library.

It was only by this stroke of luck that he obtained an ancient scroll painting of the “Immortal Mansion,” a treasure used by immortals.

And by using the ancient scroll of the “Immortal Mansion,” he obtained several sets of grade-six medicinal herbs.

In just this short month, his physical tempering progressed rapidly, and he had already cultivated to halfway through the fourth level of body refinement. In another month, he would reach the fifth level. If not for this, it would have taken him at least two or three years, or even longer, to break through to the fifth level, and he would never have finished the sixth level before the age of twenty.

“In the past, I always used the cheapest grade-one or grade-two herbs to assist my body tempering, so progress was slow. But this month, thanks to your help, I earned thirty taels of silver, which allowed me to buy better grade-three herbs to temper my body, and I’ve made significant progress.”

Charles Bennett said respectfully.

As for the ancient scroll of the Immortal Mansion, he dared not reveal a word. Such a treasure used by immortals, if known to outsiders, would surely bring disaster.

“Oh, so grade-three herbs are that effective?! But every martial artist’s natural constitution is different, so the effects of herbs vary. The same herbs may work wonders for some, but have little effect on others. That’s quite common.

It seems the grade-three herbs you used this month are especially suited to your body, which is why you’ve seen such results. You can keep using this herbal formula up to the sixth level of body refinement. Also, I’ll keep an eye out for any good-paying jobs and assign them to you. As for those little jobs that only earn a few dozen copper coins, don’t waste your time on them—it’s better to focus on your cultivation.”

Manager Thompson’s eyes lit up, his mind turning over the possibilities.

If Charles Bennett could maintain this rate of progress, breaking through to the sixth level of body refinement would only take a year or two. After graduating from the academy, he could either become a high official in the Wu Kingdom or a national-level divine blade master, and would surely remember today’s favor.

Arranging a few well-paying odd jobs was a trivial matter for him as chief steward. Using a few good job assignments to win over a future accomplished martial artist was well worth it.

“Yes. I wasted too much time in the past ten years with slow cultivation, falling far behind the other senior brothers and sisters in the academy. Now I must give it my all, seize every moment, and not slack off for even a day if I want to catch up to their strength!”

Charles Bennett said firmly.

“Good, seize every moment indeed! If I had had your determination to seize every moment back in my day, I wouldn’t have ended up just a chief steward. Go on, and I’ll call you when there’s a good-paying job.”

Manager Thompson said with a smile.

“Thank you, Chief Steward!”

Charles Bennett took his leave and left the servants’ courtyard.