18 Chapter 18 Breakthrough

Half a month later, at the mansion of the Lee Family, within a spacious courtyard.

An elderly man lay comfortably in a recliner, his eyes closed as he basked in the sun.

Behind him, a refined young man was giving him a massage.

"Grand Elder, I will massage you again in half a month and then your long-lasting health problem will be completely eliminated," the young man said while massaging.

"Young lad, I owe you a lot for this. Without your help, I would have continued suffering," the elderly man sighed.

For many years, he had been tormented by his health issues.

The fact it could be eliminated was exceptionally good news for him.

"Grand Elder, there's no need for compliments. I'm just doing my job," the young man shook his head and chuckled.

To him, massaging the elderly man for a thousand taels per session was a surefire profit.

"I heard you rejected the Master's good intentions?" The elder suddenly asked.

"Yes, I'm not in need of money at the moment, and what I need I can buy in the market. There's no need to waste the family's resources; let's leave them for those who need them more," the young man smiled.

"You speak nicely, I never took you for such a woke lad. So your real reason for refusing is that you don't want to feel indebted to the Lee Family, right?" The elder man teased, hitting right on the young man's intention.

The young man grinned awkwardly. As the saying goes, experience comes with age.

Indeed, just as the elderly man pointed out, he was not willing to be bound by the Lee Family. He desired to leave and venture into the outside world eventually.

The Lee family, and even the entire Clear Wind Town, were just starting points for him.

"Phew!"

The young man finished the massage.

The elderly man opened his eyes, exhaled a turbid breath, and took a bank check from his bosom, handing it to the sweaty young lad.

"Grand Elder, I'll leave now. See you in half a month," the young lad chuckled.

After the young man left.

"I hope you can surprise me in two and a half months," the elderly man murmured to himself.

After leaving the Grand Elder Kayson Lee's residence, Wyatt Barnes went straight home.

As soon as he entered the main yard.

He saw a slim silhouette rapidly drawing her sword, sheathing it again and again, repeating the action tirelessly...

Seemingly ignorant of what fatigue is.

The young girl was already sopping with sweat, biting her chubby lips, her autumn-like eyes full of determination!

Seeing this, Wyatt was somewhat distressed.

"Keer, sword drawing involves moving with the heart and knowing when to stop. Overexerting yourself like this can be harmful," he walked forward and gently stopped the girl from practicing the Sword Drawing Technique.

"Young Master, Keer wants to master the Sword Drawing technique as soon as possible. That way, I can protect the Young Master and fight off bad guys who try to bully you," the girl gasped, her cute face flushed, speaking earnestly.

"Silly girl, go and rest now," Wyatt's heart warmed as he gently patted the girl's soft hair.

The girl nodded obediently, docile as a kitten.

Nine Dragons War Sovereign, Spirit Snake Transformation!

That night, the lad sat quietly in the bath, greedily absorbing the Seven Treasures Body Fluid...

After all the medicinal fluid had been absorbed, his qi and blood strength, physical transformation had reached a new threshold.

He crawled out of the bath and got dressed.

"Tomorrow morning, I should be able to break through to the Fourth-Order Body Tempering Realm... However, to kill Strength Garcia in two and a half months, I need to break through to at least the Seventh-Order Body Tempering Realm. As cultivation increases, it gets harder. Counting only on the Seven Treasures Body Fluid, it's impossible to break through to the Seventh-Order Body Tempering Realm. Maybe it's time to buy some more things from the market," the lad mused, his eyes glinting.

The next morning, before dawn, the lad got out of bed, poured a dose of Seven Treasures Body Fluid into the bath, and started to practice.

After a night's rest, he had completely absorbed the medicinal power of the previous night's bath.

Running the 'Spirit Snake Transformation' technique from Nine Dragons War Sovereign, he sat in the bath and greedily absorbed the medicinal fluid.

He didn't know how much time had passed.

It wasn't until the dawn broke, the morning sunlight spread across the earth, and a few rays of light came through the muslin window in the room onto his body, that he slowly opened his eyes.

"Crack crack..."

He stood up from the bath, stretched casually, and the crisp sound of bone friction could be heard...

Instantly, a smile appeared on the boyish cheeks of the lad.

"Finally, I've broken through."

With an upward-facing palm, he clenched his fist.

Feeling the explosive strength in his body, the lad's smile grew deeper.

"Sure enough, just as I suspected, a typical cultivator at the fourth level of the Body Tempering Realm only gains an additional 200 pounds of strength, yet I've gained over 300 pounds! It seems that the 'Nine Dragons War Sovereign' really is different from ordinary cultivation techniques."

Dressed, the young man pushed open the door of his room and stepped out, basking in the delightful sunshine.

Whoosh! Clang! Whoosh! Clang! Whoosh! Clang!

...

Crisp sounds of draw and sheathing of a sword could be heard nearby.

It was then, that Wyatt Barnes noticed, Keer had been getting up early every morning to practice the Sword Drawing Technique in the courtyard.

Not wanting to disturb their sweet dreams, the young girl had chosen to practice in a secluded corner of the courtyard.

Had he not stepped out of his room, he would not have heard these sounds.

Sighing, Wyatt understood that his last injury had been troubling Keer a lot.

During these days, she barely seemed to rest, not only stepping into the third level of the Body Tempering Realm, but also getting a glimpse of the path of the Sword Drawing Technique.

Essentially, Keer was doing all of this for him, to protect him.

"Keer, stop practicing, accompany me to the market to buy some things."

Wyatt approached her, with a smile on his face.

"Young Master, I will prepare breakfast first."

The girl sheathed her sword, standing upright and beautiful, her untouched cheeks blushing faintly.

"No need, we will have breakfast outside."

"Then, I will prepare something for Madam...".

"It's okay, my mother can take care of herself, let's go."

Wyatt held the girl's hand and left the courtyard. But not before calling out to his mother, Christina Lee, who was in her room.

"Mother, I'm taking Keer out, please handle breakfast yourself."

After Wyatt and Keer left,

In the courtyard, a door creaked open and a beautiful woman stepped out, bathing in the sunshine.

"Isn't this akin to forgetting one's mother after marrying a wife?"

The woman shook her head with a faint smile on her lips.

"Big Brother, Big Brother, wait for me...wait for me!"

As soon as the youthful and radiant boy and girl walked out of the Lee Family mansion, they heard a panting voice from behind.

A chubby boy, swinging his fat body, stood breathlessly in their path, blocking their way.

"Are you calling me?"

Wyatt turned back but didn't see anyone else.

He vaguely recognized the chubby boy but could not remember his name: was this person one of the followers of Wyatt Barnes from before?

But, would anyone consent to be Wyatt Barnes' follower when he was a sickly weakling?

"Big Brother, of course I'm calling you. You are my idol."

The chubby boy nodded like a pecking chicken, his face quivering with the nod.

"I don't know you."

Frowning slightly, Wyatt held the girl's hand and walked forward.

"Big Brother, I admit that I was wrong for pulling down your pants when we were kids, but you don't need to hold such a grudge, right? When you defeated Hamza Lee, you vented my anger for me, and besides, you suffered no repercussions after defeating him, you're so cool!"

The chubby boy trotted along, never ceasing to talk.

Pulling down pants?

Hearing the chubby boy's words, Wyatt's mind was flooded with vague images.

That was from the memory of the original Wyatt Barnes when he was a child.

In the memory, a group of five or six year old children were playing, when suddenly, a chubby boy sneakily ran behind him, pulled down his pants, causing the children to burst into laughter, and he cried in humiliation.

"Are you Darren Lee?"

Finally, Wyatt remembered.

This chubby boy was the only son of Fifth Elder Moshe Lee. He had left the town with his grandfather when he was a child and Wyatt didn't expect him to return now.

"Big Brother, you finally remember me."

The chubby boy's eyes lit up.

"When did you come back? And why are you calling me Big Brother?"

Wyatt asked.

In his memory, the original Wyatt didn't interact much with the chubby boy, let alone consider him as a younger brother.

"I've been back for two months. You taught Hamza Lee a lesson for me and you're so awesome, so I decided to recognize you as my Big Brother. Big Brother, from now on I'm your man, so you have to take good care of me!"

The chubby boy gave a hee-hee laugh and winked.

From the chubby boy, Wyatt learned that

Soon after the chubby boy returned, he got into a conflict with Rudy Lee, Hamza Lee's younger brother. Rudy wasn't his match, so he got Hamza to beat him up.

"Me defeating Hamza Lee was my own business, I never thought about helping you... And, you're not my subordinate, and I'm not interested in being your Big Brother, don't bother me again!"

Wyatt left these indifferent words, holding the girl's hand and headed towards the market without looking back.

In his prior life, he was betrayed by his brothers. In this life, he learned his lesson and wasn't going to recognize any brothers without cause; he didn't want a time bomb by his side.

Despite all precautions, a thief within the family is hard to guard against!

Little did the chubby boy expect Wyatt to suddenly turn cold. He was startled and stood dumbfounded in place, watching the young couple disappear into the distance.

Behind his chubby face, his little eyes were full of grievance.