He looked up at the sky. Tonight, dark clouds covered the moon, and the air was thick with dampness. William Carter pondered for a moment, and at that moment, fine raindrops began to fall from the sky.

“Rain blurs vision at night. It seems even the heavens agree with my actions tonight.” William Carter smiled, returned to his room, and changed into a dark, fitted shirt from the clothes Lillian Carter had brought him a few days ago, covering his face. His body darted out of the courtyard like a startled rabbit.

Having left the Purple Residence twice under Lillian Carter’s guidance, William Carter had already memorized the route, even knowing the locations of several hidden sentry posts.

Carefully avoiding a patrol of guards, William Carter left the Purple Residence. Standing outside, he glanced back and sneered inwardly, thinking that the Purple Residence was not large, its defenses not strong, with only a few wards set up in the main buildings. As long as he didn’t trigger them, there was no danger.

After all, through his conversations with Lillian Carter, William Carter knew that ever since the third young lady contracted the Mandrake disease, she had been ostracized by her family, abandoned by almost everyone, and had no choice but to come to this remote Tianshui City with only a handful of followers.

So the defensive strength was severely lacking. Moreover, the third young lady was clearly confident in the poison she had given him, so she hadn’t imposed any further restrictions.

Unfortunately, he still had many concerns. His strength was too weak, and with the parasite in his body unresolved, he couldn’t simply leave.

William Carter knew time was of the essence. Without hesitation, he dashed off in the direction he remembered. After a day of weighted training, his speed had improved slightly.

The rain grew heavier, drumming loudly on the ground, the atmosphere filled with the gloom of wind and rain.

To avoid detection, William Carter moved only in the shadows of surrounding buildings. Before long, he arrived beside the building that Nathaniel Cooper had glanced at during the day.

First, he carefully surveyed his surroundings. After confirming there was nothing unusual, William Carter began to ponder. During the day, the Tianshui City elders had already searched all the nearby houses thoroughly. If anything had really been hidden inside, it would have been found. But if he were Nathaniel Cooper, even if he hid something here, wouldn’t he expect others to search?

Whether hidden inside the house or buried underground, it would be hard to escape the elders’ meticulous search. William Carter frowned, then suddenly fixed his gaze on the wall of the house. His eyes lit up as he thought, “If I were to hide something, I wouldn’t put it inside the house, nor underground, nor in any particularly secret place. I would choose the most obvious spot—the outer wall.”

William Carter moved at once, coming to the wall, examining it closely, and tapping it lightly with his hand. After nearly circling the entire outer wall, a hint of joy flashed in his eyes. He pried out a brick and retrieved a black storage card from inside.

Before he could examine it, William Carter suddenly froze, crouching motionless in the corner by the wall. His pupils contracted as he held his breath.

A Chunsui warship appeared silently in midair, drifting around before finally hovering above the building where William Carter was hiding.

After a faint mechanical sound, a long-haired woman appeared atop the Chunsui warship.

William Carter was in the shadow of the side wall. A look of resolve flashed in his eyes as he gathered yuan energy in his left hand. Five drops of blood infused with yuan energy shot out instantly. At the same time, he moved with lightning speed, retreating like snowflakes flicked from a furnace.

“Hmph, finally willing to come out? Hm?” The woman sneered. She had already spotted William Carter and was preparing to capture him alive, but unexpectedly, he made the first move. Still, she wasn’t concerned—after all, she had reached Yuan Energy Level Six and become a Spiritual Arts Elder, while she could tell at a glance that he was only Level One. But due to the blurred vision in the rainy night, the five drops of blood William Carter shot at her took her by surprise.

One of the five drops hit her shoulder with a sizzle. She was startled and instinctively dodged, but she hadn’t expected William Carter to have predicted her movement the moment he fired, so the remaining four drops scattered to the sides.

Chapter 7: The Art of Blood Forbiddance

The moment the woman dodged left, a drop of blood struck her right wrist. Then her left leg went numb as another drop hit her knee, causing her to reflexively stumble.

Although the blood’s attack power was limited, the woman was still surprised by his calculation. However, these attacks couldn’t harm her at all. She sneered, but then noticed that the attack was made with blood! Her expression shifted from suspicion to terror, turning pale in an instant. On the Empress Continent, there was only one technique that used blood as a weapon!

“This... could this be the Art of Blood Forbiddance!!”

All this took only a few seconds, though it seemed longer in the telling. By now, William Carter was nearly ten meters away from the woman. He heard her exclamation, and his heart stirred. He turned back and gave her a cold look. Knowing his attack power was insufficient, he didn’t hesitate—he flicked his left hand again, sending another drop of fresh blood shooting straight at the girl’s right eye.

At the same time, he spoke in a hoarse, low voice: “That’s right, this is the Art of Blood Forbiddance!”