Bowing to The Sullivan Family to learn martial arts—finding and killing the demoness seems to be the process that should happen in this dream?

He thought for a moment and asked, “Senior brother, what does ‘levels of the Xuan Gate’ mean?”

David Sullivan replied, “The human body has nine levels of the Xuan Gate. Once you break through them, you can glimpse the three great secret stores. If you can unlock them all, you reach the realm of the Celestial, capable of anything. Ordinary people don’t need to think about this. Just talking about the nine levels of the Xuan Gate, that’s the nine heavens, and every step is incredibly difficult. People like Emily Foster and our Master of the Manor—wherever they go, who wouldn’t show them respect? Beyond that are the grandmasters, and it’s rare to even meet one.”

“Is Master of the Manor at the ninth level of the Xuan Gate?”

“Rumor has it he’s at the eighth.” David Sullivan looked admiring: “I have no idea when I’ll ever reach that level…”

Charles Carter gave an almost imperceptible sneer.

So old, and only at the same level as Emily Foster. No wonder he’s so wary of Emily Foster—maybe he really can’t beat her. But it does prove that the eighth level of the Xuan Gate is indeed impressive. Master Sullivan dominates the region, and Emily Foster roams the world.

“Then…” he probed, “what about you, senior brother?”

David Sullivan said proudly, “By luck, I’ve broken through the first heaven!”

Charles Carter: “……”

Emily Foster is only two or three years older than you and is already at the eighth level. What exactly are you so proud of?

Not getting any flattery from Charles Carter, David Sullivan knew what he was thinking, smiled slightly, and didn’t explain.

To outsiders, breaking through the first level of the Xuan Gate sounds like just getting started, and that’s not wrong. But few people consider that The Sullivan Manor isn’t some great sect. Within the manor, an outer disciple practicing a low-level technique—what level could he realistically reach? To break through the first level of the Xuan Gate at this age is already a real achievement in martial arts.

Not everyone can use someone like Emily Foster, a hero of the world, as a benchmark. In fact, he’s long been overqualified to remain an outer disciple.

Hopefully, when this Charles Carter trains bitterly for ten years and finds that breaking through this barrier is harder than moving a mountain, he’ll remember today.

“It’s late, let’s sleep first. We’ll talk tomorrow.” David Sullivan stretched lazily and pointed casually to the small house outside the courtyard: “I’ve cleared out a room for you. You can stay there for now… Surely you’re not expecting me to teach you martial arts tonight? Or planning to sleep in my room?”

“No, no… Thank you so much, senior brother.” Charles Carter smiled apologetically and withdrew.

Returning to the storage room that had been cleared for him, Charles Carter leaned on the hard plank bed, and the smile on his face disappeared.

He wasn’t familiar with these people. If he tried to ask too many key questions at once, they might not respond. Better to wait until tomorrow. In fact, even sleeping itself was a key point.

That is—how to go back.

Sleep… If this is a dream, can someone really sleep within a dream? If he actually falls asleep here, will he continue the nightmare and fighting, or will he wake up and return to the real world, or will he instead “dream” of the real world?

Which is the dream, which is reality…

Charles Carter took a deep breath and slowly closed his eyes.

Even though his mind was a mess and it was hard to fall asleep, and the bed was hard and damn cold… he’d been tormented by nightmares lately to the point of exhaustion, so he could fall asleep just by lying down. Charles Carter curled up and tossed for more than half an hour before finally drifting off.

He fell asleep.

No dreams.

This was the only time in more than half a month that Charles Carter didn’t have a nightmare, and he slept deeply. But if he could choose, he’d rather not have it this way.

As the night deepened, a sudden clamor of chaos jolted Charles Carter awake. He instinctively rolled up, and a flood of shouts and roars filled his ears. Flames engulfed the manor, lighting up the night.

He could vaguely hear people shouting: “Leave no one alive!”

Charles Carter’s face turned very grim.

His first conclusion: if he could fall asleep here, and didn’t dream, and woke up still here—this basically proves, this really isn’t some so-called dream entry, this is damn time travel!

The difference between transmigration and dream entry is, not only can you not go back, but if you get killed, you really die!

Second conclusion—the Blood God Cult is attacking, and the warning from Emily Foster a thousand miles away is happening tonight.

Master Sullivan’s request for help to the capital—who knows if the messenger even set out… and Emily Foster left at dusk, probably already staying in a nearby city, sleeping soundly.

At this point, there’s no one left who can step in to help.

Chapter 5: The Killer, Charles Carter!

If Emily Foster heard the words “leave no one alive,” she’d surely regret sending the boy she just saved into the tiger’s den.

Emily Foster had too little information; all she knew was “an attack.” As for why, or what the goal was, she didn’t know.

The Sullivan Manor is, after all, a long-established local power, rumored to have deep ties to the royal family of Great Xia. Besides Master of the Manor, there are many experts in the manor. The Blood God Cult isn’t a particularly strong force—their strongest leader is said to be at the ninth level of the Xuan Gate. Overall, they’re stronger than The Sullivan Manor, but to launch a massacre, they’d have to mobilize everyone.

The Blood God Cult doesn’t even operate in this region. As Master Sullivan said, “we’ve never had any dealings.” Normally, it’s impossible for them to cross a thousand miles and mobilize everyone—the commotion would be huge, and the Great Xia court isn’t blind. Most likely, only a few experts have come, either to assassinate an enemy or to steal some weapon or secret manual. That’s common in the martial world.