At that moment, a sudden flash of inspiration struck him. He recalled being extremely thirsty the previous night, drinking a mouthful of cool water, then falling unconscious again, with an unbearable itch on his shoulder.

He had originally thought it was a dream, but now, thinking back...

Henry Carter hurried over to the water vat to take a look. He saw the pale golden bead lying quietly at the bottom of the vat. It had originally been the size of a goose egg, but now it was only the size of a chicken egg—clearly, it had shrunk. Remembering that he had drunk a mouthful of water last night and that the wound on his shoulder had completely healed, he thought, surely this couldn't be a coincidence?

Henry Carter approached the water and took a deep breath, only to notice a faint, pleasant fragrance.

"This water... could it really have become a spiritual water capable of healing injuries?"

Henry Carter stood there in a daze for a long time, unable to snap out of it until his stomach growled with hunger, startling him awake. He was lost in thought for a while, then hurriedly took the pale golden bead to wash rice and cook porridge. However, when washing the rice, he didn't dare use the water from the vat.

When it came time to light the fire and cook the porridge, he hesitated for a moment, then decided to use the water from the vat to cook the porridge.

The fire burned beneath the pot, the rice rolled inside, and after Henry Carter put the lid on, he sat to the side.

Thinking back on yesterday's events, which felt just like a dream, he was lost in thought for a long time. Only when he occasionally glimpsed the sword thrown on the ground, the "Introduction to Swordsmanship" on the bed, or the vat of water shimmering with a golden hue, did he realize this was not a dream, and things felt a bit more real.

In the dim Daoist temple, the front hall housed the statues of the gods, while the inner rooms were at the back. For such a pitifully small temple, being able to distinguish between front and back was already quite impressive.

In the darkness, this handsome and sunny youth appeared somewhat lonely.

The faint aroma of rice porridge began to spread, carrying a hint of fragrance.

Henry Carter hesitated for a moment, fetched a few pieces of detoxifying herbs, set them aside, and then tried the porridge. He took a sip and waited quietly for a long time. There was no sign of poisoning; instead, he felt even more refreshed. At this, he breathed a sigh of relief and thought to himself, "It must really be spiritual water with some strange effect. That pale golden bead is truly a treasure."

He quickly finished the porridge, not leaving a single drop, then sat for a while, slightly absent-minded.

Finally, he took a deep breath and opened the "Introduction to Swordsmanship."

There were only written records inside, no illustrations, but Henry Carter was well-versed in Daoist texts and medicine. He was extremely familiar with many meridians, acupoints, and technical terms, so it didn't hinder his understanding of this "Introduction to Swordsmanship."

The densely packed pages of text, however, made it hard for him to calm his mind. He would either think of the celestial guest bird or those young heroes who had died by his hand.

From time to time, he felt as if the vengeful spirits of those who had just died yesterday were right behind him, seeking his life.

Henry Carter finally gave a bitter laugh and mocked himself, "Afraid of ghosts? Truly a youth who hasn't seen the world..."

He composed himself, looked at the somewhat damaged statue of the Daoist deity in the temple, and finally felt a bit more at ease. After all, with the statue here, even if there really were ghosts, they wouldn't dare come, right?

He silently recited the Calming Heart Incantation several times.

This Calming Heart Incantation was a formula recorded in Daoist texts. Whether it was effective or not was unclear, but most Daoist temples had a few such books.

Perhaps it really was useful. After reciting it a few times, Henry Carter felt much calmer and was finally able to focus on the "Introduction to Swordsmanship."

This book was only a few pages long.

There were no methods for circulating qi and blood or cultivating inner strength, nor were there any mysterious techniques for plucking flowers or flying leaves to harm others. It only recorded the basic skills of sword practice, not even any moves.

That man surnamed Zhao had valued this booklet so highly, hiding it inside his clothes together with the precious bead—how could it be just an ordinary beginner's sword manual?

This method probably couldn't even be called an introduction; at most, it was just for practicing wrist strength and accuracy.

"It certainly can't be an ordinary manual."

Henry Carter felt a bit disappointed and regretful, but after frowning, he still felt this method was unusual, so he decided to practice swordsmanship according to the instructions in the "Introduction to Swordsmanship."

The first step in the "Introduction to Swordsmanship" was to light a stick of incense, then cut it with a sword, slicing the incense stick in half.

How thin is a stick of incense?

To cut the burning tip was already quite difficult; to slice the entire stick in half was even harder.

The hand must be steady and strong.

Ever since the old Daoist died, Henry Carter had offered incense to the Daoist deity for a while, but gradually stopped. Now, there was still a handful left in the temple, just enough to use.

Whoosh!

Henry Carter took a deep breath and swung his sword at the freshly lit incense stick.

He missed.

The sword struck the incense ash burner below.

The force of the rebound made his palm go numb, and a corner of the incense ash burner broke off instantly.

Henry Carter was stunned for a long time, then finally tried a different method, sticking the incense into a wooden stake.

He chopped dozens of times in a row, his wrist aching and his palm numb from the recoil. He managed to hit the burning red tip more than ten times, but never managed to cut the incense stick in half—he only sliced off several slanted pieces.

After resting for a while, Henry Carter drank a few mouthfuls of water from the vat and immediately felt clear-headed and refreshed, deepening his recognition of the extraordinary nature of the pale golden bead.

Henry Carter thought, "This won't do, the incense is almost used up."

He cut off all the slanted ends of the incense, then set them aside and switched to lighting tree branches.

...

Unknowingly, evening approached, and the already dim Daoist temple grew even darker.