Love and such things are all fleeting clouds; he was unwilling to let women become a weakness others could exploit against him.

  “Emily, are you alright?”

  Seeing the young girl already drenched in fragrant sweat, William Grant asked.

  “Young master, please continue.”

  The girl nodded stubbornly.

  “Emily, this is the Tanzhong acupoint.”

  William Grant nodded, stretched out his finger, and pressed down again.

  The girl's body trembled violently, as if she had been electrocuted. She could no longer hold on and collapsed, falling right into William Grant's arms.

  The beautiful girl, covered in fragrant sweat, fell into his embrace, her scent wafting over. William Grant instinctively caught her.

  His hand met a soft sensation, and the atmosphere suddenly became a bit ambiguous...

  The girl's delicate body shuddered, and she shyly lowered her head.

  She happened to bump into something hard, making William Grant's expression change as he let out a muffled groan.

  “Young master, are... are you alright?”

  The girl quickly lifted her head, looking at William Grant in panic.

  “I-I'm fine.”

  William Grant let out a low growl from his throat.

  At this moment, the girl seemed to realize something as well, lowering her head in embarrassment, not daring to look at William Grant again.

  “Emily, I'll have my mother teach you the rest of the acupoints later. I'll head back first.”

  Reluctantly, William Grant got off the bed and made a hasty escape.

  “So embarrassing... I actually just... just now...”

  Only the girl, her face red enough to drip blood, was left behind, muttering softly to herself.

  After leaving the girl's room, William Grant took a deep breath. He was truly afraid he wouldn't be able to stop himself from doing something crazy.

  As people from his previous life would say—

  Fifteen-year-old Emily was still just an underage girl.

  “Tian'er, why are you coming out of Emily's room, hmm?”

  Just returning from outside, Grace Thompson happened to run into William Grant and noticed his flustered state.

  “Mother, I have something to do, I'll head back to my room first.”

  Noticing Grace Thompson's gaze, William Grant gave an awkward smile and hurried back to his own room.

  As someone who had been through it herself, Grace Thompson couldn't help but laugh.

  It seemed her son was growing up.

  Stepping forward, Grace Thompson walked into Emily's bedroom, whose door hadn't yet been closed.

  “Emily, you...”

  She happened to see the girl sitting on the bed, her face flushed red. Grace Thompson's gaze grew a bit more playful.

  “Madam!”

  Seeing Grace Thompson, the girl was startled.

  “Madam, it's not what you think, I... the young master... the young master was just teaching me to recognize acupoints.”

  The girl hurriedly explained.

  “Recognizing acupoints?”

  Hearing the girl's words, Grace Thompson's gaze became even more peculiar.

Chapter 10: The Bet!

  A month passed in a flash.

  Today was the day of the duel between William Grant and James Thompson.

  In the early morning, in a clean and tidy room.

  William Grant stood up from the bath barrel and slowly walked out.

  He had just used up the last portion of the Seven Treasures Body-Tempering Liquid.

  Gently flexing his sore and numb body, feeling the power within, a faint smile appeared at the corner of William Grant's lips.

  The hard work of this past month had not been in vain!

  After a month of arduous cultivation, some of the youthful innocence had faded from William Grant's handsome young face.

  Long-term body tempering had made William Grant's body strong and solid.

  A deep purple, tight-fitting outfit perfectly accentuated his physique.

  Compared to the sickly youth from over a month ago, who hadn't completed body tempering or become a martial artist, he was like a completely different person.

  Just then, a gentle knock sounded at the door.

  “Young master, are you up?”

  The melodious voice, like an oriole, brought a trace of gentleness to William Grant's calm face.

  After getting dressed, William Grant walked out from behind the screen, stepped to the door, and reached out to open it.

  As the door opened, soft and warm sunlight poured in, shining on William Grant and filling him with warmth.

  Outside the door, the graceful young girl met William Grant's gaze, then hurriedly lowered her head, a blush appearing on her face.

  Today, the girl wore a light green dress that perfectly accentuated her developing figure.

  A pair of budding, youthful curves exuded an unspoken allure.

  Around her slender waist was a pale blue sash, fluttering in the wind...

  Staring at the girl outside the door, William Grant was momentarily dazed.

  “Emily, you're up so early.”

  Snapping back to his senses, William Grant smiled slightly.

  He sighed inwardly; over the past month, as the girl completed her body tempering, her figure had become more and more alluring.

  As William Grant looked the girl up and down, her face turned so red it seemed blood might drip from it.

  “Young master, madam said she went ahead and asked me to wake you so we could go together, but I didn't expect you to be up already.”

  The girl blinked her autumn-like eyes, her willow brows arching like crescent moons, and nodded gently.

  The girl's words made William Grant smile wryly.

  Did his mother really still think he was that guy who loved to sleep in?

  “Emily, you... have you broken through to Body Tempering Level Two?”

  Suddenly, William Grant looked at the girl in slight surprise, realizing she had made a breakthrough.

  “It's all thanks to the medicine the young master prepared for me. Otherwise, Emily wouldn't have progressed so quickly.”