When Eric Bennett thought of this possibility and tried to mobilize the Vital Energy, the Vital Energy actually showed no reaction at all. “Damn, just like before, it won’t listen to me!”

This left Eric Bennett feeling quite helpless. Back on Earth, the Vital Energy would only appear passively and had never been under his control. He thought things would change after coming to this world, but it turned out to be the same.

After a moment, Eric Bennett collected his thoughts. Being passive was still better than nothing, and besides, he was already used to the Vital Energy appearing on its own.

Since he had the Vital Energy, Eric Bennett was no longer afraid and began to cultivate martial arts.

Eric Bennett practiced the Basic Breathing Technique, a foundational method used by everyone on the Sirius Continent. Even the children of nobles generally used this to lay their foundation.

Hoo... hiss... hoo... hiss...

Eric Bennett closed his eyes and adjusted his breathing. In a short while, his inhalations and exhalations became very rhythmic, almost musical. With each breath, it seemed as if two transparent dragons were moving in and out through his mouth and nose.

“Mm-hmm!!” Suddenly, Eric Bennett’s breath caught, and he let out a muffled groan, a look of pain appearing on his face.

“Whew!” After a while, Eric Bennett let out a long breath and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Just now, in an instant, a wisp of spiritual energy had just entered his dantian meridians, but suddenly, the meridians began to rupture. Fortunately, Eric Bennett stopped in time; otherwise, all his meridians might have been completely severed.

“This body really isn’t suited for cultivation!” Feeling the cracks in his meridians, Eric Bennett sighed inwardly.

All of a sudden, a thin, hair-like stream of white energy surged forth from his mind.

“Vital Energy.” When he saw this white stream, a hint of joy appeared on Eric Bennett’s face.

Just as he had guessed, back on Earth, the Vital Energy would passively heal his injuries whenever he was hurt, and it was still the same in this world.

Bit by bit, the Vital Energy nourished the cracks in his meridians, quickly repairing them.

When the last crack in his meridians was healed, the Vital Energy was also completely depleted. “Buzz...” At the very moment the Vital Energy was exhausted, Eric Bennett suddenly felt a wave of dizziness in his mind, and his spirit became extremely fatigued.

“Sigh, I didn’t expect there to be so little Vital Energy left!” Eric Bennett’s head was heavy and groggy as he sighed to himself, and then he fell into a deep sleep.

Early the next morning, Eric Bennett slowly opened his eyes and sat up.

After a night’s rest, his spirit had fully recovered. In fact, Eric Bennett was already used to things like this. In the past, he often encountered such situations, but as the Vital Energy increased, it stopped happening.

“Hmm... a spiritual energy seed?” Suddenly, Eric Bennett sensed something unusual in his dantian. When he focused his attention there, he felt a trace of spiritual energy inside—this was the spiritual energy seed.

With this seed, he had already stepped into the realm of a quasi-martial artist. If he continued to practice the basic technique, the spiritual energy seed would gradually grow, and once it reached a certain level, he would officially become a martial artist.

However, what puzzled Eric Bennett was how a spiritual energy seed had suddenly appeared in his dantian. Last night, when he was practicing, it wasn’t there, but now it had appeared on its own.

While Eric Bennett was still confused, he suddenly felt that his body seemed even stronger.

“Sixth level of the Iron Body Technique?”

Eric Bennett was very puzzled. In just one night, not only had he condensed a spiritual energy seed, but his body refinement technique had also advanced another level.

Could it be... could it be because of the Vital Energy?

That was the only explanation Eric Bennett could think of. Whether it was true or not would be revealed through future experiments.

Putting this thought aside, Eric Bennett turned to examine his body.

The sixth level of the Iron Body Technique was already considered a minor achievement. His skin had become as tough as steel. Although he was still somewhat vulnerable against true martial artists, his resistance to blows had greatly improved. Moreover, with the minor achievement in the Iron Body Technique, his strength had increased significantly—now, every punch he threw was accompanied by bursts of explosive sound.

Spiritual energy was currently useless. Although he had a spiritual energy seed, his meridians were still fragile and couldn’t withstand the strain of spiritual energy. Only after his meridians were strengthened would it be possible, and by then, he would have directly entered the realm of a quasi-warrior.

After thinking for a moment, Eric Bennett went out into the courtyard. There was food prepared on the kitchen table, but his mother and younger brother were not at home. Eric Bennett knew his mother had gone out to work and his brother had gone to train.

Seeing his mother, at her age, going out to work before dawn, Eric Bennett felt a pang in his heart. He silently vowed never to let his family live like this again.

In the center of the courtyard were five or six stone locks, which Eric Bennett usually used for training. The Iron Body Technique required tempering the body—only by surpassing the body’s limits could one make progress.

The five stone locks ranged from one hundred to five hundred jin. With each level of progress in the Iron Body Technique, one’s strength increased by one hundred jin.

Eric Bennett walked up to the second stone lock, grabbed it with one hand, and easily lifted it. He even swung it a few times in the air, as if it were a piece of foam rather than a two-hundred-jin stone lock.