Putting aside his thoughts, Helen Clark hurriedly said, "Young master, something terrible has happened! The Body Tempering Pill that the family gave you was just taken away by Madam! I heard she gave it to your elder brother!"

"What! The Body Tempering Pill was taken away?" William Clark's brows furrowed.

The Body Tempering Pill is one of the essential elixirs for martial arts practitioners. When first starting out in martial arts, with the help of this pill, one can quickly clear away some bodily impurities, further improving physical constitution and laying a better foundation for cultivation, making training much more effective.

The Body Tempering Pill is very useful for martial artists, but it is also quite valuable. Calculated in gold, a single pill is worth several hundred taels, and often it is priceless even if you have the money. As the most prominent family in Sanhe Town, the Zhang family could only obtain a few Body Tempering Pills a year, and only when a family youth turned twelve would they be given one to aid their cultivation.

William Clark was behind others in both talent and cultivation, and was at a critical stage of catching up. The Body Tempering Pill was undoubtedly extremely important to him. His mother taking the pill meant his path of cultivation would become even more difficult.

William Clark took a deep breath, suppressing the anger in his heart, and slowly asked, "When my mother took the pill, did she say anything?"

Helen Clark said, "She said your talent is lacking and you're not suited for martial arts. No matter how many pills are used on you, it would be useless. Rather than wasting this pill on you, it's better to give it to your brother, so he can have a better foundation for cultivation and stand out in the family competition in the future, gaining the family's recognition..."

William Clark was silent for a while, then waved his hand and said, "I understand. You may go."

Watching Helen Clark leave, William Clark let out a long sigh, a trace of gloom flashing in his eyes, and shook his head helplessly. Ever since his aptitude was tested at age five and found to be low, his mother had stopped caring about him. Since then, William Clark had moved out to live alone in a small courtyard, rarely seeing his mother. But after all, a mother is still a mother, and there were still some feelings there. Now that his own mother had taken away the pill, could he really go confront her and force her to give it back?

Even though he knew she favored his brother, and even though he felt unwilling in his heart, William Clark still rationally suppressed the urge to go argue with her. He silently clenched his fists and said in a low voice, "Mother, oh mother, even though my talent is low, I am still your son! Do I not have any place in your heart? My elder brother is outstanding, and it's understandable that you favor him. But this pill was supposed to be mine, and yet you gave it to him instead—aren't you being too biased?

Maybe the pill would have limited effect on me. But if I don't take it, wouldn't I have even less hope? How could you personally cut off your son's path of cultivation?"

Standing there silently for a while, William Clark suddenly clenched his fists tightly and softly said, "Mother, no matter what, you are still one of the people dearest to me. I won't pursue this matter any further. I believe that heaven never bars one's way. One day, I will become stronger than anyone else, and astonish you all, making you regret what you did today..."

At this point, William Clark suddenly recalled that segment of memory that had suddenly awakened in his mind. He vaguely felt that within this vast memory, there might be something he desperately needed...

Chapter 0002: Enlightenment and Advancement

That night, William Clark did not sit cross-legged to cultivate, but instead lay on his bed, quietly sorting through that suddenly awakened memory.

This memory from Earth contained an entire person's lifetime, filled with truly extraordinary experiences. William Clark quietly absorbed it, feeling his horizons broaden greatly.

"So, Earth is actually a giant ball made of soil! And outside of it, there are countless stars, and endless void!"

"So, the sun in the sky is actually a planet too, one that constantly emits light and heat..."

"So, that's how airplanes fly!"

"So, ships made of steel can also float calmly on the ocean!"

...

As William Clark slowly browsed through the memories, one in particular caught his great interest: "Chinese classic—'Dao De Jing'!"

The 'Dao De Jing' is a book. William Clark only read the first twelve characters: "道，可道，非常道。名，可名，非常名" and immediately realized this book was extraordinary.

"道，可道，非常道。名，可名，非常名。无，名天地之始；有，名万物之母。故常无，欲以观其妙；常有，欲以观其徼。此两者同出而异名，同谓之玄，玄之又玄，众妙之门。"

In just this short opening passage, it directly points to the essence of the Dao, revealing the origin of heaven and earth. Reading such a discussion of the Dao, feeling the mysterious, profound, and majestic yet essential meaning contained within these words, William Clark's whole body trembled.