Charles Griffin frowned and said, “Most importantly, my father definitely knew what this dragon jade was, yet he died after having all his true qi drained by it, and now it’s been passed on to me. There are so many mysteries here—what’s the reason behind all this?”

His consciousness returned to his sea of awareness, where the mysterious dragon jade still floated quietly. Even if Charles Griffin had ten heads, he couldn’t figure out why it appeared here.

The sea of awareness was a void of consciousness. If he told others that a physical object could enter his sea of awareness, no one would believe such a fantastical tale.

This alone showed just how mysterious the dragon jade was.

However, at this moment, Charles Griffin actually discovered that true qi was still flowing from the dragon jade into his dantian, though not in the massive amounts as before.

Charles Griffin was overjoyed.

“My true qi is increasing all the time—surely it’s even faster than their cultivation speed. At this rate, catching up to the others shouldn’t be difficult.”

What he once thought would be an ordinary life now finally had hope.

Looking at the distant Baiyang Town, Charles Griffin thought of Quentin Griffin’s instructions.

“The family assembly… those outstanding disciples of the Yang family are all top geniuses. I can’t even compare to Zachary Bennett, let alone the others. Father wants me to win the championship and obtain the ‘Dragon Seal’—that’s as hard as reaching the sky… Is this so-called Dragon Warrior really that important?”

By the time he returned to Baiyang Town, it was already late at night.

Charles Griffin didn’t live with the Yang family; instead, he had bought a pavilion on the east side of town and lived alone. Since childhood, he’d been bullied by many minor figures, but had never offended any big shots, so although he was alone, nothing unexpected had ever happened.

As usual, he returned home, washed up a bit, and then approached his bed—when suddenly, his gaze turned cold.

“The bedding has been turned over. Could it be a thief?”

Charles Griffin checked everything with suspicion, but found nothing missing.

He gave a dry laugh and lay down on the bed. So much had happened today—he’d broken through two dragon veins and entered the second level of the Dragon Vein Realm. He was full of energy, so of course it was hard to fall asleep.

It was already past midnight, the time when most people were sound asleep. As a martial artist, Charles Griffin’s senses had become much sharper, and he vaguely felt someone sneaking close to his house.

He quickly pressed a mechanism at the head of the bed, and his whole body slipped into the basement under the bed, while the bed itself returned to its original state.

Through a tiny crack in the floor, Charles Griffin quietly observed above.

After a few breaths, two people dressed in black with their faces covered entered his room. Seeing the bulging bedding, one of them, without a word, slashed at the bed with a knife. With a bang, the bed was split in two.

“Huh? That useless guy isn’t here? Didn’t we just see him come in?”

“He must have noticed traces of our entry and slipped away!”

“Hmph, he may escape today, but not tomorrow. We’ll come again tomorrow. With our skills, dealing with this spoiled brat will be a piece of cake.”

The two left in a hurry.

Although he had reached the second level of the Dragon Vein Realm, there were still many people in Baiyang Town stronger than him. Charles Griffin didn’t dare be careless. The two who had just tried to assassinate him both gave off a dangerous aura—clearly, their skills were not weak. If Charles Griffin had fought them head-on, the outcome would not have been good.

“Luckily I was clever enough to install a mechanism in the bed, or else I’d be dead tonight.”

A trace of coldness flashed in his eyes.

“In Baiyang Town, someone actually sent experts to assassinate me? I’m such a minor figure—am I really worth all this trouble?”

At this thought, Charles Griffin frowned again. He thought through everyone he knew, but couldn’t figure out who would hire experts to kill him.

The Yang family had cast him aside, but not to the extent of hiring assassins.

“There must be some conspiracy here that I don’t know about. Fine, tomorrow I’ll move back to the Yang family. First, it’ll be safer. Second, now that I’ve reached the second level of the Dragon Vein Realm, without combat skills, I might not even be able to handle someone at the first level. The Yang family has the Martial Scripture Hall, and I’m still a member of the Yang family, so I should be able to get a share.”

“A good combat skill can multiply one’s attack power several times…”

He had seen the Yang family use combat skills before—their power was truly impressive!

Within the Yang family, Charles Griffin still had a place to stay, though it had been unused for years. At dawn, he packed his few belongings and returned to the Yang family.

The Yang family estate was extremely large. Whether Charles Griffin returned or not, no one cared.

After settling in, Charles Griffin consolidated his cultivation again. After a night, his true qi had grown even stronger. In the near future, he would be able to aim for the third level of the Dragon Vein Realm.

Of course, the most important thing now was to go to the Martial Scripture Hall and obtain a combat skill.

According to the Yang family’s rules, as long as a member reached the first level of the Dragon Vein Realm, they were eligible to choose a combat skill from the Martial Scripture Hall. Charles Griffin now met this requirement.

Along the way, the cold stares of the maids and guards were something Charles Griffin was long used to. He couldn’t be bothered with the whispers behind his back, either. He had an excellent memory—he’d only seen the Martial Scripture Hall once as a child, but now he could still find his way there.