William's face flushed red. In his previous life, he never cherished books—he devoured them, and none of his books remained intact. The same went for Aunt's books; after he flipped through them, they would either lose pages or have their bindings fall apart, not a single one left whole. No wonder Aunt had to hide them.

"Let me make this clear first: this book is a commemorative edition. You are not allowed to damage it. You can only read it for one hour each day, then return it to me."

"Aunt, I promise I won't damage it!"

William had already spotted a human figure in the book. He couldn't wait any longer and snatched the book from Evelyn Brooks's hands, dashing back to his own room. Evelyn Brooks could only shake her head helplessly. "This child—if only he had this much enthusiasm for studying."

……

Although Daisy had fallen asleep early, William was still afraid she would wake up and cause trouble, so he specially locked the door before sitting down with utmost reverence to study this martial arts manual.

The book was very thin, only a dozen or so pages. On the cover were the words "Zhang Family Saber Technique." William felt a bit disappointed; he had thought it would be a manual for cultivating inner strength, like the Nine Yin Manual, but it turned out to be a saber technique. After flipping through a few pages, he was even more disappointed. The saber moves were very simple: a slash to the left, a slash to the right, an upward slash, a downward slash, a forward slash, a backward slash, a diagonal slash, a straight slash... Thirty-two moves in total, extremely simple. He memorized them after reading twice.

Could mastering this saber technique make someone a fierce general? William scratched his head, a bit skeptical whether Daisy's father was really like Ping Yidao from "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer." The saber technique that house servant had just demonstrated in the training yard was much more complicated than this. Could it be that simplicity made it practical?

William then recalled Aunt knocking on his head—so simple, yet he could never dodge it. "Fast!" William suddenly realized: the saber moves were simple because they were fast. Daisy's father's nickname must be Zhang the Fast Blade.

Once he figured this out, William grew excited again. He turned to the last page and saw a few lines: "This saber technique can be practiced from age five. Strike a tree three thousand times daily, supplemented by foundation building. At eighteen, use a thirty-jin saber to strike a tree a thousand times. If completed within the time it takes three incense sticks to burn, the technique is mastered."

William couldn't help but click his tongue. Swinging a thirty-jin saber to chop a tree a thousand times, and within the time of three incense sticks? What kind of concept was that? Unbelievable arm strength. In his previous life, even swinging his empty hand a thousand times would make his arm sore, let alone wielding a thirty-jin saber.

How could that be possible? At this moment, William noticed the four characters in the middle: "supplemented by foundation building." That meant starting foundation building at age five—these four characters must be the key.

So what is foundation building? Taking medicine, or meditating to cultivate inner strength? He searched the book front to back, even in the crevices, but found not a single word about it. It must be a family secret, not written on paper.

He felt quite disappointed. Without a method for foundation building, how could he ever swing a thirty-jin saber a thousand times? He could only practice the saber technique until he was proficient, like those house servants.

William lay down with his hands behind his head. He was starting to understand: in ancient times, learning martial arts required training from a young age, building a foundation, so that when grown, one's strength and speed would surpass ordinary people, maximizing human potential.

That's why the fathers of those fierce generals were also great generals. Like Qin Qiong and Cheng Yaojin—their fathers were all generals, and only they knew how to train their sons, using special methods from childhood to transform their muscles and bones. Foundation building probably meant this.

As for the soldiers, they were just ordinary farmers who only joined the army as adults, by which time it was too late for foundation building. So they could only practice saber techniques until proficient, but could never become great generals.

In this world, there is no such thing as the internal energy that injures people in wuxia novels. So-called martial arts are not some profound saber techniques, but depend on the person wielding them. For example, Cheng Yaojin's axe had only three and a half moves—anyone could learn them. The legends say Cheng Yaojin even trained a hundred little Cheng Yaojins.

But why couldn't these hundred little Cheng Yaojins replace the real Cheng Yaojin? Because they didn't have his strength, his speed, or the willpower he developed from childhood.

William sighed. Even though he understood now, who would help him build his foundation? And every master had a different method—Qin Qiong's father and Cheng Yaojin's father surely used different approaches, which is why Cheng Yaojin couldn't beat Qin Qiong.

He had originally wanted to apprentice himself to that martial arts instructor, but after thinking it through, he changed his mind. He didn't want to waste his potential on inferior fertilizer.

Who did Li Yuanba find to build his foundation? It seemed to be some Ziyang Zhenren. Damn it, who is this Ziyang Zhenren anyway?

……

Evelyn Brooks had already drifted off to sleep, but was suddenly awakened by noises in the courtyard. Startled, she instinctively drew a dagger from under her pillow, flipped up, and rushed to the window with extraordinary agility. If William saw Aunt Evelyn Brooks move at this speed, he would be scared to death—she was as fast as a shadow.

Then he would suddenly understand why Daisy was so fierce, why she would grow up to become a legendary heroine. The reason was that his Aunt actually knew martial arts too.

Of course, Evelyn Brooks knew martial arts. Otherwise, with her looks—and she wasn't some sister of Emperor Chen—she would have long since perished at the hands of the Sui army. How could she have preserved her chastity?

Evelyn Brooks hid behind the window, gently prying open a crack with her dagger. Peering through the gap, she looked out into the courtyard, let out a sigh of relief, and couldn't help but smile.