Uncle George was just about to leave when he was also stunned by William Carter's words. Olivia Brooks had grown up under his watch, and he had just paid attention to Olivia Brooks as well, exactly as William Carter said. But how could the core sword technique passed down in the Song family be known by outsiders?

William Carter also realized that the world he had come to was probably an extraordinary one. If even a woman like Olivia Brooks was this formidable, just imagine how terrifying those experts who had previously intimidated her must be. As for that old man, there was no need to mention him—beheading William Carter with a single sword stroke was considered normal, but have you ever seen someone punch their opponent in the throat and directly rip out half of their spine? That was a horrifying sight.

At this moment, both Olivia Brooks and Uncle George were filled with even more speculation about William Carter's origins. Could it be that this barbarian who fell from the sky was truly a master from one of those hidden noble families? But judging by William Carter's movements and strength, he didn't seem like a master at all, making it truly hard to guess.

Falling from the sky, mysterious hidden weapons, the ability to see through flaws in techniques, and bizarre attire—all of this shrouded William Carter in an air of mystery.

Chapter 3: A Huge Joke

Olivia Brooks and Uncle George were about to go their separate ways, but William Carter didn't follow Olivia Brooks directly. Instead, he walked over to the corpse of that Young Master Dai Huan and rummaged around for a while, gathering up everything he thought might be useful.

This act of looting the corpses for spoils left Olivia Brooks and Uncle George speechless. Uncle George, eager to report to the elders, could only give Olivia Brooks a helpless look and leave first, leaving Olivia Brooks alone to watch as William Carter searched every guard's corpse, not even sparing the servants who had died on Olivia Brooks's side.

"What exactly happened just now? Give me the shortest and quickest explanation." While collecting the spoils, William Carter asked Olivia Brooks. Since he had come to this unfamiliar world, he definitely needed to know what kind of world it was and what had happened.

"The Dai family's young master tried to rob me and my family's belongings. You showed up and killed Dai Huan and his followers. That's it." Although Olivia Brooks disapproved of William Carter's behavior of stripping things from the dead, she was very cooperative and explained the situation clearly in one sentence.

"Is the Dai family more powerful than yours?" William Carter asked, though he could already tell without asking. Still, William Carter felt there was something off, especially after seeing Uncle George, so he voiced his doubts.

"Our two families were about the same before, but recently something happened to our Song family, so..." Olivia Brooks still didn't elaborate, simply explaining the issue in one sentence.

"What was with those fish devouring each other? Was that a Yuan Soul?" After stripping the outer robe from Dai Huan, bundling up a pile of items into a large bundle, William Carter tied it up with the robe's sleeve as he asked. This robe was nice—just a glance told him it was valuable. Anywhere, money was necessary; that was common sense.

The concept of Yuan Soul was something William Carter had heard from the girl in his dream. Before coming here, William Carter had always thought it was just a fantasy world, but now he understood it was not a dream, but reality.

"That's a Yuan Soul." Olivia Brooks was getting a bit impatient, but still explained: "It's something that can absorb spiritual energy and be cultivated. The black one is the highest, nine-star. The one you ran into was the worst, unranked, no grade." After a pause, she added, "I saw it when you fell into the water—you collected a little fish."

An unranked Yuan Soul—William Carter suddenly wanted to laugh. The concept of Yuan Soul wasn't new to him; he had heard the term from the girl in his dream. He knew very well that Yuan Soul only represented aptitude, or future potential, not actual strength. There were plenty of high-IQ people on Earth, but not all of them scored high on exams, and those with low IQ weren't necessarily poor students.

"Why didn't you act sooner just now?" William Carter finished packing up, stood up, and asked, "If you had acted earlier, those people wouldn't have been able to take away that nine-star Yuan Soul."

Olivia Brooks looked at William Carter's strange mask and goggles, as if trying to see something in his eyes, but unfortunately, she couldn't see anything. She could only reply sullenly, "If that Soul Refiner and the Seven Iron Guards had acted, we could have died ten times over."

William Carter finally understood. The reason Olivia Brooks and Uncle George had been so obedient before was because they were intimidated by that Soul Refiner and the Seven Iron Guards. As soon as they left, they acted without hesitation. This woman was no simple character!

"My name is Olivia Brooks." Olivia Brooks waited for William Carter to sling the pile of spoils onto his back before introducing herself: "Yan as in 'smoke.' What should I call you?" Facing a stranger, Olivia Brooks still kept a little secret.

"William Carter!" William Carter had nothing to hide; he had no roots or background in this world, so telling his name was no big deal. After speaking, William Carter pushed his mask and goggles up onto his helmet, revealing his face.

Olivia Brooks had expected to see William Carter's true face, but what she saw was a face covered in grease paint. She couldn't help but shake her head, turn, and leave, with William Carter hurrying to catch up.

On the way, William Carter learned about the surrounding situation from Olivia Brooks. This was a remote branch of the Tianhe Song family, and Olivia Brooks herself was not a direct member of this branch, but had come to seek refuge with these distant relatives.