The weather was getting hotter and hotter (of course, only relatively speaking).

William Carter had almost completely mastered the language and script of this world, and could now communicate in them with ease. He also had a sufficient understanding of this world.

This world was called the Chaotic Continent! Its landmass was much larger than Earth’s, and its population was greater as well. This was entirely a world where strength reigned supreme. Profound energy was the foundation of power here; everyone possessed different profound veins—those with greater talent achieved higher cultivation, while those with lesser talent remained weaker.

It could be said that this was a world entirely for warriors: all else was inferior, only the martial path was supreme. There was only one way to rise above others—by practicing martial arts.

Every ten days, William Carter would take a pill called the Blazing Flame Pill, which was made from dozens of precious medicinal ingredients mixed with the blood of more than ten fire-type profound beasts, refined under the Sacred Flame. Its value was immense. For ordinary people, just one pill would greatly advance their cultivation, but here, William Carter treated it like a regular meal.

Day by day, time passed, and William Carter’s understanding of this world grew deeper. However, he still knew nothing about Old Man. Who was Old Man? Why was he trapped here? Why was his body completely ruined? All of this remained a mystery. Yet, his bond with Old Man grew ever stronger, and William Carter became increasingly attached to him, eventually regarding him as family.

……

Every time he took a Blazing Flame Pill, William Carter always felt an inexhaustible energy surging through his body. So, whenever he wasn’t working on the Ice Steps, he would randomly practice boxing to vent the endless, surging energy within.

One day, Old Man drew a set of boxing diagrams in the snow. This boxing technique was called the Zhengyang Fist, and it consisted of only five moves. Each move had about a dozen forms.

The Zhengyang Fist looked very simple. William Carter learned the first move after just three or four tries, and was feeling quite pleased with himself—until he saw Old Man’s face turn icy cold. Then Old Man wrote in the snow: Practice the form on the outside, cultivate the energy within. Where the fist goes, the energy follows. When you feel a surge of profound energy rapidly flowing through your body, you will have mastered this move.

After that, Old Man closed his eyes and ignored him.

So William Carter hurried to practice the boxing earnestly, over and over again, thousands of times, but still felt no energy. Instead, he was so exhausted that his bones felt like they were falling apart, and he collapsed into a deep sleep.

The next day, upon waking, he saw that Old Man had already opened his eyes and written over a hundred characters in the snow.

“This is called the Heaven and Earth Formula. It’s the most basic energy cultivation mantra. Every morning, you should practice energy cultivation according to this method,” Old Man said. “You already have a general understanding of this world’s language, but the more advanced energy cultivation methods involve many acupoints and meridian gates in the body, requiring specialized diagrams and books, which you don’t understand at all. So I can’t teach you those methods, or you’d surely go astray. This mantra is just a method for seated breathing and energy circulation. Practicing it won’t be dangerous.”

“Every morning, practice energy cultivation for an hour, then practice Zhengyang Fist for three hours. When you feel a surge of energy while boxing, tell me, and I’ll teach you the second move,” Old Man said.

“Yes!” William Carter replied.

Old Man closed his eyes again and entered a meditative sleep. For the past half year, he had spent most of his time in this state, as if even saying one more word would sap his vitality. And for the entire half year, William Carter had been taking Blazing Flame Pills, while Old Man hadn’t eaten anything—not even drinking water, nor did he excrete at all, which filled William Carter with awe. Although he had never revealed his identity, the fact that he possessed so many Blazing Flame Pills made William Carter secretly suspect that Old Man’s identity was anything but ordinary.

Suppressing all distracting thoughts, William Carter began to follow Old Man’s mantra, sitting with eyes closed, practicing breathing and energy cultivation.

The mantra was only a few hundred characters long, with dozens of movements, requiring precision in everything from the nose, tongue, breathing, hand gestures, folding of the legs, to the rhythm of contracting the perineum. Completing all the steps constituted one cycle.

After one cycle, William Carter suddenly felt an itch and warmth in his lower abdomen, as if a mouse had suddenly leapt up, almost lifting his whole body, causing him to let out a low cry.

“What’s wrong?” Old Man opened his eyes.

“It felt like a mouse suddenly jumped inside my belly,” William Carter said.

Old Man looked stunned and asked in disbelief, “So fast?”

Then Old Man sighed, “Comparing people only brings frustration! Continue. Whatever happens next, don’t be startled.”

“Yes!” William Carter replied, then continued practicing the mantra. Each cycle took about three minutes. After every cycle, the little mouse in his lower abdomen would jump again, but whenever William Carter tried to find it, it would disappear, making the whole process feel like a game of hide-and-seek.

Throughout the process, William Carter was as delighted as if he’d gotten a new toy. It could be said that this simple Heaven and Earth Formula had completely drawn him into a strange and mysterious martial world.

After an hour, William Carter made one last attempt, unwilling to give up.