He had considered consulting his parents, but whenever he thought of his father’s serious work attitude, William Carter couldn’t help but feel afraid. This kind of situation had never happened before, and William Carter was almost certain that his father would make him reenact the process in detail, record everything meticulously, and then conduct a series of studies. The terrifying scene instantly made William Carter think of lab rats.

When his parents came home that evening, what they saw was a somewhat lost William Carter.

“What’s wrong?” Sitting on the comfortable synthetic sofa, William Carter’s father asked him. It was rare for them to see William Carter waiting for them to come home, which surprised them.

“Sigh!” William Carter was still hesitating about whether to confess to his father. On one hand was a life of freedom, on the other, the possibility of being a lab rat. William Carter really wasn’t sure what to do and could only sigh.

“Oh!” That sigh made his father even more interested. He looked around and immediately noticed that the home phone was not in its usual place.

“Wavering?” His father gently pushed the phone back to its original, neat position. “Your classmates are all practicing first-level techniques, so you can’t hold on anymore?”

“It’s not like that!” Although he was a bit scared inside, that wasn’t the reason for his uncertainty. William Carter still didn’t want his father to misunderstand.

“It’s not? That’s good.” His father smiled as he drank the tea that William Carter had rarely made for him. “My son is not someone who gives up halfway.”

“Dinner’s ready.” The food was already prepared. The three of them rarely got to eat together during the holidays, mainly because William Carter practiced day and night. Of course, his parents were concerned, but since they knew he was practicing basic body-strengthening techniques, they weren’t too worried.

“Once you’ve made a decision, don’t waver.” While eating, his father advised William Carter, “Cultivation is a solid endeavor; there’s no room for pretense. The effort you put in is the reward you get. Don’t think about shortcuts or crooked paths. If you want to join the army, you might learn some fast-track techniques, but even then, you’d only be able to skip the bottleneck at level four. True strength still comes from honest, diligent cultivation.”

Hearing this, William Carter suddenly remembered that he had once considered joining the army to achieve his goals. If the army’s fast-track techniques could break through the level four bottleneck, did that mean he could temporarily ignore levels one, two, and three?

This sudden thought made William Carter a little excited, but in his parents’ eyes, it was a different scene. Their son, who had just seemed troubled, suddenly looked like a different person, his eyes shining with spirit, as if he had already overcome his difficulties.

His mother gave his father an approving look, as if praising him for guiding their son well. His father accepted the silent compliment without hesitation. Seeing William Carter’s energetic appearance, he felt full of pride. No matter what, this was his son. Whether or not he was a genius, he was still a son to be proud of.

After a warm dinner, William Carter happily chatted with his parents for a while before returning to his room. This small gesture made his parents even happier.

Chapter 5: Shortcut to Cultivation (Part 2)

Back in his room, William Carter dove onto the internet to search for information about the army’s fast-track cultivation techniques. Although the actual methods would never be posted publicly online, some people who had practiced them had shared detailed accounts of their effects.

The army’s methods could indeed help people quickly break through the level four bottleneck, and the techniques used were different from the gradual methods practiced by the general public. What made William Carter happiest was that this method wouldn’t affect future cultivation of higher-level techniques.

All William Carter wanted was to confirm whether this legend was true, and now that he had, his excitement was even harder to contain.

Since the experiments he’d seen showed that practicing basic body-strengthening techniques only affected results below level three, what if he simply skipped practicing the first, second, and third-level techniques altogether, and went straight from basic body-strengthening to the army’s fast-track method? That would mean he could directly jump to level four and quickly break through its bottleneck.

It was a very bold idea—no one had ever tested it. But once the thought appeared in William Carter’s mind, it was like a flood breaking through a dam, impossible to stop. His mind was filled with this idea.

Practicing basic body-strengthening was a must, but William Carter had originally planned to stick with it for only half a year. Now, however, it seemed there was a more tempting path: he could continue practicing basic body-strengthening until he finished high school. Moreover, continuing with it would never expose his secret, nor would it affect his cultivation after joining the army. By then, even if his progress was astonishing, he could attribute it to the army’s fast-track techniques.

Perfectly concealing his secret was something William Carter had always hoped for. In such a good mood, even the strange state that had been bothering his cultivation seemed to disappear, and William Carter began practicing again.

He didn’t know if it was a punishment for him, or if he was just too excited, but this time, that chaotic state appeared once again during his cultivation.