The tiny red glow from the burning branch became even more conspicuous in the darkness.

Henry Carter had no idea how many times he had swung his sword today, but whenever he grew tired, he would drink a few sips from the water vat, and before long, all fatigue would vanish, leaving him refreshed and clear-headed.

By the end of the day, he actually felt his body had grown much stronger.

He gazed at that speck of red light, his breathing gradually becoming calm and steady.

For some reason, the red glow suddenly expanded, as if it covered his eyes.

Startled, Henry Carter took a step back. When he looked again, the red glow on the branch was still just a tiny dot.

“What’s going on?”

He stood there in a daze for a while. Suddenly, the red glow expanded again.

Henry Carter was alarmed and thought to himself, “Could it really be a ghost?”

The red light abruptly filled his vision. Henry Carter didn’t have time to think—he swung his sword down at once.

With a crisp snap.

The branch split into two pieces, but since it was a bit bent, only the front part was cut off, and it wasn’t completely severed in half.

“What is this…” Henry Carter stared in astonishment for a long time. He rubbed his eyes, speechless for quite a while.

A suspicion began to form in his mind. This time, Henry Carter lit the branch again and stuck it into the notch on the wooden stake, making it stable.

He watched that tiny red glow, his breathing gradually steadying.

Moments later, the red glow suddenly expanded, becoming extremely prominent.

Henry Carter swung his sword down, splitting the branch in two, but because of the bend, it wasn’t completely severed.

“Just as I thought…” Henry Carter was shocked. He lifted the wooden board covering the vat, revealing a vat of water that still shimmered faintly gold in the darkness. He was almost at a loss for words.

He took out the pale golden bead, his hand trembling slightly.

This bead had soaked in a whole vat of water.

This vat of water could heal injuries overnight, allow him to keep swinging his sword without any fatigue, and instead leave him feeling refreshed and much stronger. It even made his eyesight as sharp as a hawk’s and his strikes extremely steady.

Henry Carter had already realized that the reason he could split the branch with a single stroke was because his eyesight had become extraordinary, and his hand was incredibly steady and precise.

To have such changes in just one day—what explanation could there be besides the effect of this spiritual water?

To verify, Henry Carter lit incense sticks one after another and kept swinging his sword. Each time, he could strike the red tip, splitting the incense cleanly in two.

“Eyesight, accuracy, steadiness.”

Henry Carter realized that just with this skill alone, he was already quite good, though his strength still needed improvement. If he gained more strength, and could strike with such precision, who could withstand his blow?

He glanced at the vat of water, thinking that with such a celestial treasure, how could he not grow stronger?

Suddenly, Henry Carter realized he wasn’t tired at all, not even hungry.

“That does save some food.”

He gave a slight, bitter smile and gripped his sword tightly.

The loneliness and sorrow in his heart were deliberately forgotten with each swing of the sword.

He also vaguely suspected that this so-called “first step of the sword path” was probably just to familiarize himself with the wondrous effects of the jade pellet, not some peerless martial art.

At night, Henry Carter was still practicing his sword.

In the darkness, even if a ghost really did appear, he would slice it in two.

Chapter 006: Sword Practice

“Although I can hit the mark with every swing, I still can’t control it at will. I’ve heard that true masters move as if by instinct, every move committed to memory. It seems I’ll need some more time to truly master this sword skill.”

Henry Carter thought to himself, “There’s not much incense left in the temple. I should buy some tomorrow. Also, the second step of the sword path is to split soybeans—I’ll need to buy some beans as well.”

The first step of the sword path is to be able to split incense sticks in half with every swing. That is to say, eyesight, accuracy, and strength are all sufficient. Although Henry Carter had gained some abilities beyond the ordinary thanks to the spiritual water, which was a bit of a shortcut, he had still passed this stage.

Henry Carter thought that once he became even more proficient at this step, he should move on to splitting soybeans.

The second step of the sword path is to split soybeans.

Throw a soybean into the air, swing the sword, and cut it in two.

Beans are light, and when tossed into the air, it’s hard to know where your strike will land. So the blade must be sharp, and the swordsman must have keen eyesight, precise aim, and great speed to split the bean in two.

Most importantly, a soybean is naturally split into two halves. To cut it along the seam, you must strike exactly along the middle line.

A soybean is tiny, only slightly larger than a grain of rice. Hitting it at all is difficult; to split it along the seam is even harder.

“Seems it’s not so simple after all.”

Henry Carter had originally thought this was a manual for cultivating inner energy and circulating qi and blood, maybe even achieving internal strength, but found it was just a book on basic skills. He had felt a bit disappointed, but now he realized it might not be so simple.

At the very least, to split a soybean in two, even those young heroes with great cultivation would find it difficult.

“If not for the spiritual water infused with the pale golden bead, who knows how many years of hard practice it would take to reach this level.”