“Duel!” The surrounding young nobles were stunned for a moment when they heard this, then immediately became excited as if injected with adrenaline. So there was actually a duel arranged between these three.

“A duel, huh. Hmph, William Foster, you’re thinking too simply. If you lose, you’ll just let us beat you up every day. If we want to hit you, we don’t need your permission at all. This condition needs to be changed.”

“How do you want to change it?”

“Very simple. Haven’t you always refused to accept us calling you a bastard, a lowborn? If you lose, then in front of everyone, you have to say: I am a lowborn, a bastard child of the Marquis of Sifang. All of you commoner marquis lineages are bastards, lowborn, and have no right to stand on equal footing with us descendants of the Great Zhou nobility.” David Harris raised his head, speaking with an air of superiority.

“Alright, let’s do it! Humiliate him thoroughly!” The first to cheer was James Thompson’s companion, Lady Grace. As soon as David Harris stated this condition, Lady Grace immediately felt it was far more satisfying than any physical torment.

What pain could be more satisfying than trampling on someone’s soul and dignity?

“That’s right, let’s do it this way.” The other sycophantic young nobles around also joined in the commotion.

The conflict between noble marquises and commoner marquises in the Great Zhou dynasty had always existed. According to the laws of Great Zhou, there was actually no such distinction as commoner marquises and noble marquises; their ranks were the same. But there was another rule regarding the inheritance of titles.

A hundred years after a newly appointed king or marquis, only his eldest son or eldest grandson could inherit the title of earl; all other offspring would not be granted any title.

In other words, for those like William Foster and John Foster, after the death of Marquis Fang Yin of Sifang, William Foster and John Foster could not inherit his marquisate or his military command. John Foster could only be recorded in the court as holding the title of earl and receive the corresponding stipend. As for William Foster, he had no right to inherit the title at all, and naturally received no stipend—his treatment was no different from that of a commoner.

The descendants of the Marquis of Zhen Guo and the Marquis of Ping Ding, however, were treated completely differently. The eldest son could inherit both the father’s title and military command, and even the other sons could at least receive the title of baron and an annual stipend from the Great Zhou court.

These two different treatments were the reason for the distinction between noble marquises and commoner marquises in the capital.

“What if you lose?” William Foster appeared very calm, his tone revealing a powerful confidence.

“Lose?” David Harris was taken aback; he really hadn’t considered that. But as a descendant of a noble marquis, he had his pride: “Ha, if I lose, you can name any condition you want, but it has to be something I can actually do.”

David Harris added. He wasn’t stupid—if William Foster asked him to kill himself and he agreed, wouldn’t that be idiotic?

“Good, everyone heard that. Since the young marquis himself said so, I hope you all will be witnesses.” This was exactly what William Foster had been waiting for.

“Wow!”

The crowd erupted, looking at William Foster in disbelief. Those who were more familiar with William Foster felt that after half a month’s absence, he seemed like a completely different person.

In the crowd, two handsome young men in brocade stood side by side, watching as William Foster and David Harris were surrounded. These two had an extraordinary aura, like the sun and moon hanging high. Both were fifteen or sixteen years old, a few years older than William Foster and the others.

“Brother, it seems that what we couldn’t settle in our own duel will be decided between these two.” The youth on the left was tall and slender, like a sword pointing to the sky. The aura he exuded was also like an unsheathed sword, sharp and dazzling.

Chapter 8: As Mighty as Thunder

“Hmph, two mere Vital Energy-level scholars—what right do they have to represent the noble marquises and commoner marquises in a duel?” The youth on the right wore a purple-gold crown, exuding an air of extreme wealth and nobility.

At this moment, William Foster was fully focused on David Harris, paying no attention to what was happening outside the pavilion. If he saw these two, he would surely be quite surprised. The youth who spoke first was named Richard Bennett, son of George Bennett, the Marquis of Wenqu in Great Zhou. The Wenqu Marquis’s ancestors were civil officials; at the founding of Great Zhou, the first generation was Grand Tutor, with deep influence among the court’s civil officials. Even the current Three Dukes had countless ties to their family.

Richard Bennett’s grandfather abandoned civil service for the military and made a name for himself. Although not a noble marquis, his family’s influence in the court was deep and far-reaching, no less than that of the noble marquises. Though the Wenqu Marquis’s line entered the military from civil service, in terms of influence and power, they were the foremost among the commoner marquises.

The purple-gold-crowned youth, Thomas Grant, son of Andrew Grant, commanded a million troops, guarding the Xuwei border and suppressing the wild demon tribes. The original title of the Wilds Marquis was Marquis Wei Yuan, one of the noble marquises of Great Zhou. Because of his outstanding military achievements in defending the east and deterring the demon tribes for a hundred years, his title was changed from Marquis Wei Yuan to Wilds Marquis as a reward. Among the noble marquises, the Wilds Marquis’s line had the greatest influence!

Both Thomas Grant and Richard Bennett had equally illustrious and deep backgrounds, far beyond ordinary princes and marquises. Extraordinary people naturally had extraordinary pride. Though their words were calm and seemed friendly, their eyes clashed with sharp intensity—they were true rivals.

“Heh, why don’t the two of us join the fun and make a wager as well?” Richard Bennett said with a smile.

“What do you want to bet?” Thomas Grant stood with his hands behind his back, speaking coldly, but not refusing.

“If William Foster wins, I want a scroll of your ‘Demon-Slaying Sword Qi Manual.’”