Finally, George Baker looked at James Smith and said, “I’ve already explained everything from start to finish. If you still have any questions, feel free to ask. Even if you don’t want to practice that technique, it’s fine—I’ll send you away right now.”

Even at this point, he still asked James Smith whether he was willing—not because George Baker had any particular fondness for this young man, but because a truly righteous person would never bully the innocent or force others against their will.

That’s just how George Baker was. Even though he had already “paid the price,” and even though that unorthodox technique was his last hope for carefree longevity, he still wasn’t afraid to waste his breath, starting from the basics of cultivation and explaining everything in detail, just so James Smith could fully understand and make the right decision.

Looking across the world, how many people possess the integrity of George Baker?

James Smith looked drowsy, too lazy to even respond… He was already here, so what was there to ask?

George Baker chuckled and got to the point: “The technique you’re going to practice has a name. It’s called…” At this point, George Baker clearly hesitated, but still truthfully revealed the full name of the technique: “It’s called ‘The Supreme Heart Formula of the Three Saints, Three Lords of the Nether, Three Immortals, Three Great Sages, Hundred Tribulations, Evening Massacre, Sword Cleansing, and Rebirth.’”

“What?” James Smith was stunned by the name of the technique.

“Three Saints, Three Lords of the Nether, Three Immortals, Three Great Sages, Hundred Tribulations, Evening Massacre, Sword Cleansing, Rebirth, Supreme Heart Formula.” The Elder added pauses this time, his tone full of helplessness: “No idea who came up with this name, or what it’s supposed to mean.”

James Smith heard the word “sword” and tentatively asked, “This ‘Three This Three That Formula’… is it a sword technique?”

Hearing the young man directly shorten the tongue-twisting name to “Three This Three That Formula,” George Baker smiled and shook his head: “No, this technique isn’t a proper Qi-cultivation method, nor is it a spell or scripture, but it’s written in a very mysterious way…” As he spoke, he made a rather odd smile and didn’t explain further.

In fact, in the eyes of a cultivation master like George Baker, this technique really didn’t make much sense. If any junior from his own sect brought it to him for advice, Elder Baker would definitely scold them for wasting time on such pretentious nonsense.

But the “Three This Three That Formula” wasn’t something George Baker picked up off the street. It originated from the most mysterious and unfathomable ancient celestial court in the Central Lands, the “Heaven-reaching Treasure Monastery,” and was written with the resentment of vengeful spirits. The nether energy attached to the scroll was so strong that even masters who had just formed their nascent souls could hardly resist it…

Elder Baker instructed James Smith: “When you were at home, you said that after the age of ten, sharpening knives helped you calm your mind. Now, show me how you sharpen your knife.”

James Smith took out the butcher’s knife and the stone he’d carried for years, sat down on the ground, and began sharpening. Just as he’d said, as the metallic sound rang out, with each stroke, the young man’s expression and gaze quickly became calm…

Sharpening knives to calm the mind? In fact, this was a matter of temperament. Charles Smith had been sharpening knives since he could remember, following his grandfather’s advice, never missing a single day. It had long since become a habit, a part of his nature.

Some people find peace in calligraphy, others soothe their emotions with music. It’s not that the brush or the strings have any magic, but that these things have become their habits—their most familiar, most immersive activities.

Sharpening knives, writing, playing music—it’s all the same principle. When James Smith sharpened his knife, his mind became tranquil.

The “Three This Three That Formula” and the butcher’s knife and stone were, in fact, a set. The opening of the technique made it clear: to practice this skill, one must first spend years continuously sharpening knives, until one can maintain inner peace and focus during the process—only then can formal cultivation begin.

When George Baker first acquired these items together, he examined them with spiritual power. The token and the green lantern amazed him, but the knife and the stone that came with the technique were nothing special.

That butcher’s knife was probably a low-grade magical tool, made by an unremarkable cultivator for self-defense. Its spiritual consciousness had long since faded, and its only notable feature was its sturdiness—it had survived more than ten years of sharpening by Charles Smith without breaking.

The stone was just ordinary granite, sturdy like the knife. Back then, George Baker tested it repeatedly, trying several methods, and finally confirmed that the knife and stone were just mundane objects.

Later, after saving James Smith and his grandfather on a whim, he decided to leave the knife and stone with them. As George Baker had said before, he hadn’t placed much hope in this unorthodox technique, but he believed in “fate,” so he left a pretext, letting fate decide what would happen in the future.

A series of coincidences afterward led James Smith to seek him out the day before his death, which truly invigorated George Baker, making him feel that this young man and this unorthodox technique were indeed his “destiny.”

As Charles Smith sharpened his knife and calmed his mind, a look of satisfaction gradually appeared on George Baker’s face. With a flick of his wrist, he produced a jade pendant and formally began to pass on the technique!

The “Three This Three That Formula” had long since been translated by him from ghostly script into Han characters and recorded in this jade pendant. As long as Elder Baker infused a bit of magic power into the pendant, the contents would manifest as lines of text in the air.

But just as George Baker was about to activate the magic, he frowned, put away the jade pendant, took out the Four Treasures of the Study from his sleeve, and, in a straightforward manner, used a brush to write the “Three This Three That Formula” on paper.