For a moment, her face showed some excitement: “Empty Chamber Brings Forth Light? Is this the sign of the martial arts realm ‘Empty Chamber Brings Forth Light’ that Little Ava mentioned? So what she said was true—there really is someone who can cultivate martial arts to this level.”

With that thought, she strode forward, curiosity tinged with a bit of restraint, and said, “Handsome guy… may I ask which martial arts school or sect you belong to? Have you already reached the supreme martial arts realm of ‘Empty Chamber Brings Forth Light’? Could you take me as your disciple?”

“Empty Chamber Brings Forth Light?”

Samuel Thompson had heard of this term; it was a native cultivation concept on Blue Star, but in the Star God Body-Tempering Fist he practiced, there was no such realm.

Shaking his head, Samuel Thompson replied, “I don’t take disciples.”

With that, he turned and walked deeper into the forest.

While he still had strength, he needed to practice his fist technique once more.

“Don’t be so quick to refuse! My name is Olivia Owen, I come from a family of doctors, so technically we share the same roots—medicine and martial arts are one, right? I know masters like you usually charge tuition for taking disciples. I can pay! One thousand a month, I’ll study for three months first, is that okay?”

The woman caught up, a bit unwilling to give up.

Samuel Thompson stopped, his gaze falling on the woman, eyes coldly fixed on her, gradually growing sharper, saying nothing.

Usually quite outgoing, Olivia Owen had intended to use her skills as a top broadcaster to persuade Samuel Thompson, but under his gaze, for some reason, she felt a blockage in her chest, her blood and energy stagnated, and her bright, smiling expression gradually stiffened. She forced herself to keep up the act, but felt she couldn’t hold on much longer.

Under this pressure, she had to stop, her voice weakening: “Alright, alright, I won’t disturb your practice.”

As she spoke, she didn’t dare meet Samuel Thompson’s eyes, quickly turning and leaving.

After Samuel Thompson turned and disappeared into the depths of the woods, Olivia Owen finally recovered, muttering with some dissatisfaction, “If you don’t want to, just say so—why be so fierce? It’s not like I haven’t met martial arts masters before. Next time, I’ll have to show you what a real master is… a true master, master, grandmaster…”

As she muttered, she found it odd—she wasn’t usually the type to be scared off by a single look. Why just now…

Did she act so poorly?

She thought for a while but couldn’t figure it out, so she just shook her head and stopped wasting energy on it.

What she didn’t know was that for someone like Samuel Thompson, who practiced top-tier fist techniques, his vital energy was so strong that he naturally suppressed those weaker than himself. Especially since Samuel Thompson’s cultivation focused on the spirit, and his Star God Body-Tempering Fist had taken lives before, this aura of life-and-death oppression was even more pronounced.

It was like being stared at by a tiger—even if told the tiger wouldn’t hurt you, your heart would still race, your limbs would go weak, and you wouldn’t dare make a sound.

……

Olivia Owen and her group stayed on the plain for a night before leaving, but because the area was beautiful and easily accessible, it was a favorite spot for camping enthusiasts.

Less than half a day after Olivia Owen’s group left, another group arrived to camp, and before they left, a third wave of visitors came to the meadow.

After four days of practice, Samuel Thompson had fully absorbed the medicinal effects, but the constant flow of people on the grassland kept him from finding true peace. So, on the morning of the fifth day, he packed up his belongings and headed into the Rocky Mountains.

The Rocky Mountains stretch for 480 kilometers. There are still traces of human habitation on the outskirts, with the occasional mountain village, but as Samuel Thompson ventured deeper, the forests grew denser, people scarcer, and a wild, primordial landscape gradually unfolded before him.

The Rocky Mountains are not small, but they can’t be called a truly untouched wilderness. Compared to the ten forbidden zones—untrodden by humans and home to fierce beasts, giants, and evil dragons—its area is only 56,000 square kilometers, with a forest coverage rate of 68%.

However, for unknown reasons, the forests of Blue Star have more ferocious beasts than those on Earth. In the 56,000 square kilometers of the Rocky Mountains’ depths live wild cattle, boars, bears, leopards, red-striped tigers, and other predators. From time to time, these beasts descend the mountains, causing shocking attacks.

As a result, the interior of the mountains is sparsely populated.

After traveling nearly a hundred kilometers into the forest, Samuel Thompson found an open area near a water source and settled down. For the next period, he would live in this forest until late August, when he would head to Charles University.

Living in the wild, every morning he would sense the revival of all things, gaze at the rising sun, bask in its rays, gather the purple energy of heaven and earth, circulate his vital essence, and practice martial arts.

At night, he would rest quietly under the stars, listening to the chorus of insects and birds, watching the starlight twinkle, until all was silent, his spirit withdrawn, eyes closed in meditation.

Time flowed like water, ceaseless day and night.

For a whole month, Samuel Thompson polished himself day and night, wiping away the dust from his heart until his mind was clear, calm as water, and he saw his true nature.

One morning, as Samuel Thompson sat in silent contemplation, he suddenly moved, striding swiftly. As he neared a tree, he leaned hard against it, and leaves fell in a flurry.

At the same time, he snapped a branch into his hand, gave it a shake, and the leaves scattered, leaving only the branch.

Facing the swirling leaves falling from the tree, Samuel Thompson used the branch as a sword, thrusting rapidly. The many falling leaves danced in the air, and whenever a leaf was about to touch the ground, he would strike it in midair.