After finishing, Grace Miller added another sentence: "If you can't even win over your own mediocre younger brother, how will you convince the rest of the Zhang family in the future? Do you understand?"

"Show my strength and make him submit! I know what to do now! I'll go find him in a moment!" Stephen Clark responded, his eyes lighting up as he thought to himself, "Brother, oh brother, if you still refuse me, then don't blame me for being rude..."

……

The next day, Stephen Clark arrived at William Clark's small courtyard, the corners of his mouth full of confidence and a hint of a cold smile.

His mother's words from yesterday—"If you can't even win over your own untalented younger brother, how will you convince the rest of the Zhang family in the future?"—were still deeply imprinted in his mind. This time, he was determined to make William Clark, his disobedient younger brother, submit.

With his peak second-level martial arts strength, he believed he could suppress William Clark with one hand, making him admit defeat wholeheartedly and become his capable assistant.

"What? You say William Clark has already gone out for training?" Stephen Clark glared at Helen Clark and said, "When did he leave?"

Helen Clark replied, "Just yesterday."

Stephen Clark thought for a moment and asked, "Did he say when he would be back?"

Helen Clark shook her head and said, "I don't know either."

"Hmph!" Stephen Clark swung his fist heavily and turned to leave. As he walked, he thought, "Brother, oh brother, Sanhe Town may be big, but where can you run? Sooner or later, you'll have to come back! During this time, I'll take those two Body Tempering Pills and advance to the third level of martial arts first. At the third level, true qi can be projected outside the body for attacks, and the combat power is much higher than the second level. Hmph, by then, even Richard Clark will have to submit to me, and little brother, won't you be easily subdued by me? Heh, you don't want to listen to your big brother? Unless you have third-level martial arts strength, otherwise, you have no choice but to submit to me!"

Thinking of this, Stephen Clark let out a low, sinister laugh.

Chapter 0008 Drawing and Sheathing the Blade

The great river stretched endlessly. William Clark swam swiftly in the water, his whole body like a big fish, each stroke carrying him nearly ten feet, and in the blink of an eye, he had covered a hundred feet.

After reciting the "Highest Good is Like Water" chapter from the Dao De Jing, William Clark developed a sense of familiarity with water. Once in the river, he felt like a fish, moving up, down, left, and right at will, swimming freely and joyfully.

Reaching a hidden patch of reeds, William Clark silently climbed ashore, turned back to glance in the direction of Richard Clark and David Clark, and thought fiercely, "This time I almost couldn't escape—truly dangerous to the extreme. Richard Clark, David Clark, you two actually wanted to cripple my cultivation. I'll remember this debt for now. When I have the strength, I will pay you back double!"

After calming his anger, William Clark set his direction and headed straight for the waterfall more than eighty li from Sanhe Town.

Strength above all else—that is the rule of this wild world. Since that's the case, let me become strong and forever break free from the fate of being attacked and bullied!

……

"Rumble, rumble, rumble..."

After carefully traveling through the dense forest for two days, William Clark finally arrived at the base of the great waterfall.

After two days in the forest, William Clark's clothes were tattered, making him look like a scavenger. Fortunately, the waterfall was hidden deep in the forest and rarely visited, so he didn't have to worry about his appearance.

William Clark had been gathering herbs in the mountains since childhood and was quite experienced in wilderness survival. In the awakened memories, there were also many survival skills, so it didn't take long for William Clark to find a dry little cave near the waterfall as a place to settle. He used a few stones to half-seal the cave entrance, and that was his new home.

Next, William Clark cleared a small platform half-submerged in water beneath the waterfall to use for martial arts practice.

Once everything was ready, William Clark opened the incomplete blade manual and began to immerse himself in comprehending the blade technique within.

The incomplete blade manual contained only one move, but the requirements for the practitioner were extremely high. William Clark studied it for a while, then picked up his blade and tried it out, but couldn't help shaking his head, thinking, "My basics are decent now, but practicing this nameless blade move is still a bit forced. Looks like I need to practice the basic blade techniques for a while longer, master them to perfection, and then train in this move."

Having made up his mind, William Clark set aside the incomplete blade manual, picked up his thick-backed blade, and went to the waterfall to practice his basic blade techniques.

This waterfall dropped several dozen meters, the water crashing into the pool below with a thunderous roar. The branch William Clark chose had a slightly smaller flow, but the force of the water cascading down was still formidable. At first, even when he used the "Iron Bridge Blocking the River Stance," William Clark could barely keep his footing, let alone practice his blade under the waterfall.

After more than ten days of practice, William Clark's "Iron Bridge Blocking the River Stance" made another breakthrough. He vaguely grasped the subtlety of finding movement within stillness—his feet were as steady as a rock, but his body used a mysterious method to subtly shake, dissolving the impact of the water.

At this point, William Clark was finally able to stand firm beneath the waterfall.