Unable to contain his excitement, William Harper suddenly forgot his own sorrow, grinned to reveal his white teeth, and broke into a brilliant smile, vigorously waving toward Richard Clark at the foot of the mountain!

　　At this moment, William Harper, having temporarily set aside his inner knots, seemed like a different person. Standing atop Qingyan Mountain, bathed in the evening glow, his smile was carefree and unrestrained, his whole being radiant with energy!

　　……

　　This child truly is exceptionally handsome!

　　Richard Clark couldn't help but praise him inwardly, surprised by the dazzling brilliance of William Harper at this moment. He felt that this was the real William Harper!

　　After being lost in thought for a while, Richard Clark finally put on a stern face again and said coldly to Samuel Harper, "It's too late, I need to hurry back and report to Emily. I won't be staying at the The Harper Family for dinner today."

　　Without waiting for Samuel Harper to try to persuade him to stay, he walked off with Franklin Cooper toward Qingyan City.

　　Samuel Harper was just about to speak to keep them, but saw that Richard Clark and Franklin Cooper had already walked several zhang away, leaving him standing there, a bit at a loss.

　　The results of the test still needed to be announced, and many things required his personal arrangement. Seeing that Richard Clark truly had no intention of dining at the The Harper Family, Samuel Harper could only give up.

　　So Samuel Harper stopped chasing after them and busied himself calling out the names of the disciples who participated in today's test, instructing them to go in batches to the Sutra Pavilion tomorrow to select Tian Shi secret manuals and techniques.

　　……

　　"Master, is it true that William Harper really can't gather yuan force?"

　　On the way back, Franklin Cooper suddenly asked.

　　"Are you thinking of taking him as a disciple?"

　　Richard Clark sighed deeply, looking intently at the steward Franklin Cooper, and said, "Chang Kong's background is a bit special. You'd best give up on that idea as soon as possible.

　　Besides, Chang Kong is already seventeen, and still can't gather yuan force. That alone shows he can't become a Tian Shi, so don't dwell on it."

　　"This child has great wisdom and perseverance, the best talent I've ever seen in my life!

　　Alas, but he just can't gather yuan force. What a pity for such a promising seedling..." Franklin Cooper also shook his head and sighed. On the way back to Qingyan City, he kept glancing back at the top of Qingyan Mountain from time to time.

　　Just now, atop Qingyan Mountain, under the vast red clouds, the youth who waved so vigorously—his momentary display of carefree spirit left an indelible impression in Franklin Cooper's heart!

　　……

　　ps: Please bookmark, and smash the recommendation votes with all your might, thank you (^__^)……

　　.

Chapter Five: Sutra Pavilion

　　The Harper Family, Sutra Pavilion.

　　For more than ten years, William Harper had often fantasized about entering the Sutra Pavilion, reading the scriptures inside in hopes of finding a way to gather yuan force.

　　But now that he had truly entered the Sutra Pavilion today, he felt somewhat lost and at a loss for what to do...

　　For many years, whenever William Harper tried to gather yuan force, he would feel inexplicable pain in his body. That deep, unforgettable agony was so intense that William Harper would often faint from the pain halfway through.

　　Yet, even so, for seventeen years, William Harper had never given up!

　　As soon as his body recovered a little, William Harper would always continue to try again and again, enduring that piercing pain as he attempted to gather yuan force within his body...

　　Many times, William Harper could even vaguely feel the yuan force circulating inside him, but at that very moment, an irresistible stabbing pain would shoot through his mind, causing him to faint instantly!

　　When he woke up, there was still no sign of yuan force circulating in his body, so William Harper could only assume it was a beautiful illusion he had just before losing consciousness.

　　For seventeen years, no matter how many times he tried, the result was always the same.

　　Perhaps it was precisely because of this that William Harper had been frail and sickly since childhood. The harder he tried to gather yuan force, the weaker his body became day by day.

　　On countless late nights, William Harper would feel a dull ache in his bones while asleep, and would be woken up by the pain!

　　No one among the sons of the The Harper Family had ever experienced anything like this. Even the collateral descendants, though they might not be able to gather yuan force immediately, were all strong and rarely fell ill.

　　And those disciples who could already gather yuan force always found the process smooth and pleasant. No one suffered as much as he did!

　　No one in the The Harper Family knew the cause of William Harper's physical abnormality.

　　Even his grandfather Thomas Harper, who loved him most as a child, after repeatedly trying to help him gather yuan force to no avail, had to give up helplessly and accept the painful fact that he could not become a Tian Shi.

　　Everyone else had given up, but William Harper himself never did!

　　For seventeen years, who knows how many days and nights William Harper spent alone, silently trying to gather yuan force, enduring that piercing pain, attempting again and again until he fainted!

　　Then, as soon as his body recovered, he would try again, and faint again...

　　One day, when William Harper learned that the The Harper Family had a Sutra Pavilion storing Tian Shi secret manuals and techniques, he regarded the Sutra Pavilion as his only hope!

　　Today, finally standing inside the Sutra Pavilion, looking at the rows of books, William Harper had to take deep breaths to keep himself calm and avoid doing anything out of line.

　　The first floor of the Sutra Pavilion had the most scrolls. On three rows of rosewood bookshelves, stacks of scriptures were sparsely arranged.