Now, they all sat quietly in the martial arts hall. Although the martial arts instructor had not yet arrived, not a single person made a sound. Gavin Norton sat in the front row, just like everyone else, with his eyes closed, resting.

Although he did not come here often—in fact, he rarely came at all—being the biological son of Prince Ning, Brian Norton, even though he was born of a concubine, his seat here was undoubtedly at the very front.

This was because the legitimate sons of the prince received the family’s secret teachings and could not possibly mingle with these people.

Gavin Norton sat near the center of the first row, and more than twenty sons and daughters of Brian Norton were all seated in this row.

Sitting in the first row, Gavin Norton also kept his eyes closed, resting. When he entered, he had already sensed that the gazes directed at him by those around him were noticeably different from before.

“It seems that what happened between me and Calvin Norton has already spread throughout the entire prince’s residence!” As he was pondering this, the martial arts instructor arrived.

This instructor was a capable man in his forties, with steady steps and a restrained aura. As soon as he appeared, a slight stir swept through the martial arts hall.

“It’s Stephen Warren, why would he come here!!”

……

……

There were a total of eighteen martial arts instructors in Prince Ning’s residence, each with their own specialties and strengths. For example, the one who came today was a master of the blade.

A master at the sixth level of Qi Refinement, Edward Warren.

Today’s lesson was about blade techniques!

This surprised everyone, because Edward Warren was not an ordinary instructor—he was the martial arts mentor of Prince Ning’s residence, only holding the title of instructor in name. He was mainly responsible for teaching martial arts to the prince’s four legitimate sons. Normally, he was never seen, so no one expected him to come to the martial arts hall today.

As for everyone’s astonishment, Stephen Warren clearly had no intention of explaining. He sat upright at the front of the hall and began his lecture on his own, not even bothering with the murmurs from the audience.

He was teaching blade techniques!!

But it was not any profound blade technique; he started from the very basics.

The discussions in the hall gradually died down. Having the prince’s mentor as the instructor, and teaching the basics at that—such an opportunity was truly rare.

After a few breaths, only Edward Warren’s voice explaining the techniques remained in the hall. The lecture lasted for two hours, and as soon as the time was up, Edward Warren left. Unlike ordinary instructors, he did not stay to answer questions. Perhaps, in the eyes of a martial artist of his level, if you could not even understand these basics, you were not qualified to converse with him at all. Martial artists all have their own dignity.

Watching Edward Warren’s departing figure, Gavin Norton raised his eyebrows slightly. Just yesterday, he had suddenly comprehended the Buddhist Earth Store Blade Divine Ability, and today, a blade master appeared in the hall to give a lecture. Wasn’t this too much of a coincidence?

“Fourteenth Young Master, the prince has sent me to invite you!” Just as Gavin Norton was feeling suspicious, a figure in a light blue robe appeared in the martial arts hall. The appearance was sudden, yet felt completely natural.

“Uncle Miles!!” All of Prince Ning’s children sitting in the front row bowed slightly at the same time.

Uncle Miles smiled, returned the gesture with a slight bow, and his gaze swept over the prince’s children, finally settling on Gavin Norton.

“The prince already knows that the Fourteenth Young Master comprehended a divine ability of Buddhism yesterday. The reason Stephen Warren came to explain the fundamentals of the blade today is also because of this!” Uncle Miles said slowly, as if recounting a trivial matter, completely unconcerned about how shocking the information he revealed was to the others.

A divine ability—comprehending a divine ability—such a thing actually happened to Gavin Norton!? It happened right beside them. Was there anything more unbelievable than this?

Gavin Norton followed behind Uncle Miles and left the martial arts hall, countless burning gazes fixed on his back. In front of him, a broad and open road lay ahead.

This was a world where martial artists reigned supreme, but aside from martial arts, there was another system of power: the Daoist arts.

Compared to the widely practiced martial arts system, the Daoist arts were much more mysterious. This was not to say that martial arts were inferior, but rather that the starting point for Daoist arts was much higher. Martial arts could be practiced by anyone, as long as they were not born with disabilities. Even those with poor aptitude, if they trained for a lifetime, could sense Qi and use internal energy to temper their bodies, making themselves stronger. That was why martial arts were so popular in this world. In contrast, Daoist arts were completely different. Practicing Daoist arts involved the mysterious realm of the spirit, communicating with the unseen forces of heaven and earth through one’s mind in order to perform Daoist techniques. People born with such spiritual power were extremely rare in this world—about one in ten thousand. With such odds, it was impossible for Daoist arts to become widespread. However, Daoist arts still had a certain place in this world, because once a martial artist reached the level of Qi Manipulation—that is, the sixth level of Qi Refinement—they could begin to touch upon that mysterious spiritual realm and start practicing Daoist arts. But then again, among the countless martial artists in the world, how many could actually reach the Qi Manipulation stage? Probably only about one in ten thousand.