He was meticulous in his training at the martial arts school and even more diligent at home. You could say that every day, aside from eating, he was practicing.

Samuel Thompson simply couldn’t match Adam Harper’s level of dedication, so what was there to be jealous of?

Adam Harper shook his head. “It’s still early. At the very least, I have to learn the White Ape Arm-Extending Fist first. Besides, the others in the group are just as strong. The more critical the moment, the less we can afford to slack off.”

“That’s true. I’ve heard from the servants at the school that the master once said privately that our batch of disciples is the best he’s taught in recent years.”

Samuel Thompson looked around and lowered his voice. “If you want to surpass those guys and learn the White Ape Arm-Extending Fist, you really have to take it up a notch. None of them are easy to deal with.

Among those four, Ethan Lane is the son of the county yamen’s registrar, comes from a wealthy family, and definitely isn’t short on money. I heard Clerk Lane even wants to send him to a sect in Jingzhou Prefecture for further training.

Miles Gordon is the only son of Shopkeeper Gordon, who owns the grain shop. With grain prices skyrocketing lately, the The Gordon Family is practically making a fortune. I heard Miles Gordon takes medicinal baths every day, and his cultivation is basically built on money.

The guy who uses the iron whip is called Charles Brooks. His family background is average, but his talent is quite impressive. When he first joined, the master even personally praised him.

And then there’s Ethan Scott, the guy I fought with—damn, he really hits hard!

But he’s quite a character. He’s the son of the head of the East City’s The Scott Family!”

Samuel Thompson was a classic gossip; he’d dug up information on almost every disciple in the martial arts school.

But when he heard about Ethan Scott’s background, Adam Harper was taken aback.

“East City’s The Scott Family? Their family is a branch of the ‘Heavenly Blade’ The Scott Family from the southern mountains. Even though it’s just a branch, they’re still a bona fide martial arts family. Why would he come to the martial arts school to learn?”

“Because of his background. He’s not even considered a concubine’s son in the The Scott Family; he’s an illegitimate child.”

Samuel Thompson whispered, “I heard his mother was just a servant in the The Scott Family. The family head, Caleb Scott, got drunk and lost control, and that’s how he was born.

His mother was quite plain-looking, and afterward, Caleb Scott considered the whole thing a disgrace. He gave her a bit of silver and sent her away to fend for herself.

After Ethan Scott was born, his mother couldn’t make ends meet, so she brought him back to the The Scott Family.

Even though it was confirmed he was Caleb Scott’s son, the whole thing was just too shameful.

Caleb Scott’s wife was so furious she beat his mother to death, and she didn’t even get the status of a concubine before she died.

So Ethan Scott has had no status in the The Scott Family since he was a child, bullied everywhere, with a position even lower than favored servants. No one taught him the The Scott Family’s martial arts.

All The Scott Family disciples get a shop at age sixteen, and Ethan Scott did too, but it was a loss-making shop that nobody wanted.

But he managed, with just an old shopkeeper in his seventies, to turn that shop around and make a good profit—far more than the other The Scott Family disciples.

But the The Scott Family is a martial arts family, and just showing business talent doesn’t count for much.

The other The Scott Family disciples despise him and have set him up so he still hasn’t learned the family’s martial arts.

In a fit of anger, he just gave up and used his silver to join the Zhenwei Martial Arts School.

Honestly, even though he’s ruthless, I have to respect his ability.

If I were in his position, I’d probably have been played to death by now!”

Adam Harper stroked his chin.

After hearing what Samuel Thompson said, he also felt that Ethan Scott was indeed quite a character.

This is basically the classic “don’t look down on a poor youth” protagonist template.

Even though he had his own cheat, this world was full of geniuses and outstanding people.

Even in a small county town, there were plenty of remarkable individuals.

If he got arrogant just because he had the Gluttonous Furnace and thought the future was guaranteed, that would be the real road to ruin.

After eating and drinking their fill, the two went home separately.

Over the next half month, James Thompson really did give special attention to Adam Harper and the other four, offering guidance tailored to each of their strengths.

“Adam Harper, your greatest advantage is your exceptionally solid and profound understanding of martial arts.

Even when I was young and first learning the Vajra Fist, I wasn’t as skilled as you are now.

So what you need to do now is push this advantage to the limit!

The core of any martial technique is the same: to convert your body’s strength into maximum destructive power.

When you strike, sense the power in your acupoints, sense the energy moving through your meridians.

Integrate that power completely into your fist techniques, into your combat and fighting.

This is something I can’t systematically teach you; you’ll have to practice channeling your strength over and over, or adapt during real combat.

Some people can only use eighty percent of their full strength, while others can bring out one hundred and twenty percent.

In battles between martial artists of the same level, this difference can decide life and death.”

James Thompson stood in front of Adam Harper, speaking in a deep voice.

He was already very satisfied with Adam Harper’s performance.

His cultivation hadn’t fallen behind disciples like Miles Gordon, who soaked in medicinal baths every day and built their skills with resources.

His combat ability was formidable, and his understanding of the Vajra Fist far surpassed the other disciples.

If it weren’t for the fact that Ethan Scott and the others were also outstanding, James Thompson would have already decided to teach the White Ape Arm-Extending Fist to Adam Harper.

“Yes, thank you for your guidance, Master.”

Adam Harper replied respectfully.