Half an hour later, all of the free energy was once again completely absorbed, and after that, the black broken sword showed no further reaction.

Just a little more and he would reach the mid-stage of Body Refining Level One!

Henry Dawson clenched his fists. As his thoughts turned, true essence burst out from his skin cells, gathering in his fists. Whoosh—he threw a punch, his fist slicing through the air with a whistling sound.

Both times the black broken sword released free energy, it was at midnight. Could this be a pattern?

If so, then he could spend the rest of his time studying the Nine-Form Sword Technique, and only use this half hour at night for cultivation, optimizing his time allocation.

Whether it is or not, he would know by tomorrow night!

Chapter 4: Rapid Progress

Although he didn’t want to sleep, Henry Dawson still forced himself to rest—he was at a crucial stage of physical growth.

He slept until dawn. After getting up and hastily eating breakfast, Henry Dawson began to deduce and ponder the Nine-Form Sword Technique in his mind.

He didn’t aim too high, focusing all his attention on the first form of the sword technique.

This was a step-by-step process. To learn the second form, he had to first master the first; there was no skipping ahead. This was the conclusion he reached after observing the Nine-Form Sword Technique in his mind countless times.

From morning until late at night, Henry Dawson was immersed in comprehending the first form, constantly refining its subtleties. Each time he practiced, he gained new insights, feeling more and more in harmony with heaven and earth, in tune with nature.

Even so, he still couldn’t fully execute the first form.

When the moon was high, Henry Dawson stopped studying the sword technique and instead sat cross-legged to cultivate the Fiery Sun Art.

Buzz!

At midnight, the black broken sword began to tremble right on time, releasing a large amount of free energy. Naturally, Henry Dawson didn’t hold back, absorbing it all like a whale swallowing water. Again, after half an hour, he had absorbed all the energy, and his cultivation improved significantly.

“At this rate, I’ll reach the peak of Body Refining Level One in just five or six days!” Henry Dawson couldn’t hide the joy on his face.

Although he didn’t understand the black broken sword at all, it didn’t stop him from speculating. For the past ten years, the black broken sword had been absorbing the true essence he cultivated, as if forging a key.

When enough true essence was accumulated, the key was forged, unlocking the black broken sword’s special abilities, granting him the mysterious Nine-Form Sword Technique, and providing him with a large amount of free energy every day.

The past ten years had been an incredibly long trial period. If he had given up in despair at any point, he would never have reached this result!

Fortunately, he persevered. Otherwise, he would have lived a mediocre life, truly becoming a useless person.

The fragrance of plum blossoms comes from bitter cold. After ten years of hibernation and endurance, Henry Dawson had developed immense patience and forged an unbreakable will.

He did start ten years later than others, but as long as the black broken sword continued to work its wonders, he would only need four months to catch up! After that, his path of cultivation would be countless times broader than anyone else’s!

“Three months from now is the year-end celebration. I wonder how many people are waiting to see me make a fool of myself and be removed from the family register!”

“After all these years, my reputation as a good-for-nothing is deeply ingrained. Who has ever looked at me with respect?”

“I’ve thought countless times about one day standing proudly before everyone, slapping them in the face with the truth. Now, the opportunity has finally come!”

“The year-end celebration will be my moment to amaze everyone!”

“Continue studying that mysterious sword technique!”

Three more days passed in a flash, and the black broken sword did not disappoint Henry Dawson. Every night at midnight, it released a large amount of free energy, allowing Henry Dawson to smoothly advance his cultivation to the peak of Body Refining Level One.

Next came breaking through to the next minor realm. If he didn’t cross this threshold, his cultivation would not progress any further.

Relatively speaking, this kind of breakthrough was easy—they were all within the Skin Refining stage. As long as he had enough strength, he could break through in one go; it wasn’t particularly difficult. However, breaking through to a major realm was extremely hard. Just the threshold of the Flesh Refining stage was enough to leave ninety percent of martial artists in despair.

In just an hour, Henry Dawson felt his whole body lighten—it turned out he had already advanced to Body Refining Level Two.

“That easy?”

“Minor realms are supposed to be easy to break through, but this was almost too effortless!”

After the breakthrough, Henry Dawson didn’t feel any increase in strength. This was normal; breaking through a realm only gave him room for further improvement. The benefits would gradually show as his cultivation accumulated, not immediately.

He gave the mysterious Nine-Form Sword Technique a name: Sky-Piercing Nine Forms. Although he spent most of his time every day practicing the first form, he still couldn’t even imitate it completely!

He couldn’t let outsiders see the Sky-Piercing Nine Forms, so Henry Dawson stopped going to the plaza. Every day, he stayed in his own courtyard, sometimes jumping up and swinging his wooden sword like a madman.