The person who adopted him, that is, his master, once said that martial arts is all about combat—when you strike, you must show no mercy, and your goal is to put your opponent to death. To achieve this, you must have speed. There is no martial art in the world that allows you to defeat your opponent while moving slowly, including Tai Chi.

And strength determines speed. So, when William Carter was only eight years old, even in the freezing snow, he had to carry a giant axe almost as tall as himself into the deep mountains to chop down trees thicker than his own body. If he failed to meet his master's requirements, upon returning, he could only fight with his master's hunting dogs for food.

When he was fifteen, he finally no longer had to chop trees with the giant axe—his master gave him a machete. When he was eighteen, the machete was replaced with a kitchen knife. When he was twenty, he killed his master, defeating him in an open and fair duel with true skill.

In his childhood, he never understood what happiness was. During that time, he endured more hardship than most people would in several lifetimes, so later on, no matter how bitter or difficult the situation, he could persevere and grit his teeth through it.

This is William Carter.

A man who would later be respected, admired, feared, and hated by countless people.

When the young woman woke up, she was already lying in a hospital. She asked the nurse why she was there, and the nurse told her that a man had brought her in. She asked, “What kind of man?” The nurse seemed a bit dazed, then smiled and said, “A very handsome guy who loves to smile!”

Chapter 0003: First Arrival in Another World

Morning. Forest.

A drop of dew fell from a leaf onto his face. Lying flat under the tree, William Carter's eyelids twitched slightly, and then he slowly woke up.

For some reason, his head hurt terribly, as if countless steel needles were stabbing around inside his skull.

He groaned in pain, raised his hand and rubbed his forehead hard. After a while, he finally felt a little better. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around at his surroundings. The more he looked, the wider his eyes became. In the end, he unconsciously stood up, staring blankly at the dense forest around him.

If he remembered correctly, he was supposed to be staying at an inn—how did he suddenly end up in a forest?

Unable to figure out what was going on, William Carter's brows furrowed tightly. If someone had secretly moved him here while he was sleeping, that was almost impossible. First, no one would do such a thing, and second, no one could pull it off. Even when asleep, he was always alert—no one could approach him without a sound.

As he pondered, a mountain breeze swept through the forest, making William Carter shiver and break out in goosebumps. He looked down and his face flushed red—he was completely naked, not a stitch of clothing on him, and his clothes had vanished without a trace.

What on earth was going on? This was really bizarre! William Carter's body went weak, and he leaned against an old tree, closed his eyes, and quietly tried to recall what had happened the previous night.

He had been drinking in a dance hall, a young woman came to chat him up, then four punks came looking for trouble. He ignored them at first, but later, in a back alley behind the dance hall, he killed all four of them. After that, he took the drugged young woman to the hospital, then returned to the inn to rest. But when he woke up, he was here, and his clothes were gone. It was just too strange.

Thinking about it, William Carter couldn't help but shake his head and smile wryly.

Was it an enemy coming after him? If so, they would have killed him already, not gone to all this trouble. Was it a prank by a friend? He had no friends—strictly speaking, only one, and that person would never play such a trick on him. So what on earth was going on? William Carter racked his brains but couldn't figure it out.

“This is really freaky!” William Carter muttered to himself. He turned around to look at the old tree behind him, then took a few steps back. Suddenly, he leapt forward, using both hands and feet. His agile body moved like a wildcat, and in a few moves, he climbed up to the treetop.

He climbed to a high point, shaded his eyes with his hand, and looked into the distance. What he saw was a vast expanse of green—an endless forest stretching as far as the eye could see, merging with the sky at the horizon. If he hadn't looked, it would have been better. After seeing it, William Carter couldn't help but grimace. Now he was certain—this definitely wasn't Chengdu, because Chengdu absolutely didn't have such a massive primeval forest.

Where was this place?

William Carter bit his lip and slid slowly down the tree trunk. If it were someone else, they would probably feel hopeless at this point—stripped of everything, inexplicably dropped into a huge forest, survival would be nearly impossible. But William Carter was only surprised, not afraid.

He had grown up in the deep forests of the Northeast. The forest was a place he knew intimately. By comparison, the forests in the Northeast were even harsher. Only those who had never seen their spit freeze into ice pellets before it hit the ground would fail to understand. If he could survive in the Northeast forests at minus forty or fifty degrees, how could he not survive here?