The focus of the next stage of cultivation is not refining qi to return to the true, but tempering the physical body—spirit and qi resonating, essence and qi connected, spirit and flesh united—completely forging one’s mind and body into a single whole, inseparable from each other.

When the spirit resonates, the next step of cultivation can begin.

No more practicing Snow River Swordsmanship, no more practicing Snowfall Phantom Body, no more practicing Qianyuan Sword Finger. Even if he reached the sixth level of the Fragmented Snow Sutra, he would abandon it in the future.

Snow Sword Manor abandoned him...

That is the end of karma.

Since it’s over, all traces should be erased.

“Practice swordsmanship.”

With his goal set, Quentin Harper circulated his qi throughout his body and began to perform sword techniques—Meteor Piercing the Moon Sword Art, Snow River Swordsmanship, Sanqing Chess Sword Art—each transforming endlessly in his hands.

However, after practicing for a short while, he stopped.

Glancing at the rather spacious living room, Quentin Harper shook his head, sheathed his treasured sword, hung the green blade at his waist, and left.

The place was too small.

……

Tianhe Swordsman Guild.

Quentin Harper saw the character “He” (river) and found it somewhat pleasing, so he stepped inside.

“May I ask what I can do for you, young hero?”

A young woman came forward and gave a slight bow.

“A training room—a fully equipped training room.”

“Young hero wishes for a good environment to practice swordsmanship? Then you’ve come to the right place. Please follow me…”

The young woman led Quentin Harper to a spacious room and said, “The training room is 400 square meters, equipped with various teaching materials and private sword instructors. In addition, our Swordsman Guild provides three meals a day, cleaning services, and dedicated attendants at your service at any time…”

Quentin Harper glanced over. “The price.”

“Ten gold coins per month, one gold coin per day.”

“Here are ten gold coins.”

Quentin Harper paid the gold coins and entered the training room.

Decisive and efficient.

The young woman was slightly stunned, then quickly bowed, “Young hero, please make yourself comfortable. I’ll go handle the relevant procedures for you. If you need anything, just call for the attendant outside.”

Ten gold coins.

Back when Quentin Harper was at the peak of the third level of True Refinement and a member of Snow Sword Manor, his monthly salary was only five gold coins. This shows just how expensive the venue fee is.

The venue fee is high.

But this training room is worth the price.

Not only is it spacious, but it’s also equipped with various sword practice facilities and weapons. In all four corners, green sandalwood incense burns, its fragrance refreshing and calming.

“Whoosh!”

Meteor Piercing the Moon Sword Art, Sanqing Chess Sword Art—he performed them.

His swordsmanship was practiced very slowly.

Each set of sword techniques emphasized intent over force.

During the process of practicing swordsmanship, he constantly felt the harmony between spirit, true qi, and blood essence, striving to reach the state where spirit and flesh are one.

Time quickly passed until noon.

“Young Master Harper, we’ve just brought in a batch of fresh meat from the city. This meat comes from fierce beasts, and its grade has reached the fourth level of True Refinement, which is the fourth innate level. The time since death is definitely less than a day. The meat of these fierce beasts contains immense vital energy. After being cooked by top chefs with medicinal herbs, the vital energy is brought out to its fullest, providing excellent support for nourishing the body and strengthening health. Would Young Master Harper like a serving?”

When Quentin Harper left the training room, the attendant assigned to the room, Judith, asked with a smile.

“Fierce beasts? You actually provide fierce beast meat? The nutrition contained in fierce beast meat is far beyond that of beef, tiger meat, or bear meat. I’ll have a serving.”

“Alright, a serving of fourth-level fierce beast meat requires an extra gold coin. Young Master Harper, is that acceptable…”

“Serve it. In the future, whenever there’s similar meat, bring it directly.”

“Yes, Ruby Howard has noted it.”

The woman responded happily.

With this successful upsell, she would get an extra commission.

After consuming the fourth-level fierce beast meat, Quentin Harper spent an hour practicing Thunder Sound Body Refinement Technique, refining all the blood and flesh energy within. He immediately felt his whole body heat up, his blood and qi surging.

“As expected of fierce beast flesh and blood. On Earth, during the end of the Dharma era, even with Thunder Sound Body Refinement, my appetite was astonishing—ten pounds of meat a day was still not enough to make up for the loss of qi and blood. But in this world, with abundant vital energy, wild beasts absorb the power of heaven and earth and the essence of sun and moon. Their flesh and blood are far superior to anything on Earth.”

Quentin Harper felt the warm current inside his body and understood that this was all due to the effect of fierce beast flesh.

With such top-quality meat to aid his cultivation, there was no need to worry about failing to refine essence into qi.

With perseverance, the second level of True Refinement was within reach.

However…

“Three meals a day, one gold coin per meal…”

Quentin Harper did a quick calculation.

He only had twenty-one gold coins left. Renting the Tianhe Swordsman Guild’s training room for a month cost ten gold coins, and with one gold coin per meal…

Money was tight.

“Money.”

When Quentin Harper was reborn, he was already facing money problems. At that time, he needed money to buy medicine to heal his meridian injuries.

And now…

The amount of money he had was directly related to his cultivation efficiency.

Moreover, a True Refinement technique was urgently needed.

Thunder Sound Body Refinement could refine essence into qi, but he still needed a True Refinement technique to refine qi and return to the true.