Seeing this, William Carter stepped forward and said, “Emily little sister, that spot over there is the cleanest place I’ve observed for a long time, and I even wiped down all the chairs.” He waved a strip of cloth in a showy manner, as if he had just torn it from his own clothes.

Ryan Clark actually admired this guy a bit—he was really willing to humble himself to chase after a woman, truly grasping the essence of the word “small” in the saying “Pan, Donkey, Deng, Xiao, Xian.” The difference between an internal martial arts expert sweeping away dust with palm wind and someone who doesn’t care about their image, tearing off their own clothes to wipe a chair, lies in the intention.

Although Emily Parker didn’t answer out of consideration for Lucas Brooks’s feelings, her expression eased from the tense state she’d had upon hearing about snakes, bugs, rats, and ants.

Lucas Brooks glared fiercely at William Carter, but didn’t take any further action. It seemed he lacked experience in this area—no wonder, despite his reputation as one of the top twenty young experts in the martial world, he was losing out to the obviously less capable William Carter.

Fortunately, Lucas Brooks had a good little sister. Grace Brooks pulled him toward the spot near the two elders with William Carter, but closer to the corridor, then signaled for Lucas Brooks to wipe a chair with his sleeve. Only then did she turn and wave to Emily Parker: “Emily big sister, come over here, it’s very clean.”

Emily Parker smiled, cupped her hands to William Carter, and said, “Thank you for your kindness, Elder Brother Carter.” Then she walked over to Grace Brooks, while William Carter’s face grew even paler behind her.

Since there were only four or five chairs left in the entire hall, Ryan Clark saw that Lucas Brooks was busy trying to impress, and everyone else was ignoring him. Taking advantage of the moment, he pulled a dust-clearing talisman from his hidden pocket, held it in his hand, quickly walked to a spot not far from Emily Parker’s chair, kept his hand inside his sleeve, and activated the talisman with his soul power. Then, pretending to use his palm technique, he swept the ground, sending all the debris and dust flying toward the corridor with a gust of palm wind, instantly revealing a large clean area.

Ryan Clark didn’t stand on ceremony and sat down cross-legged right there. The others only turned their attention over when they saw the debris and dust flying. Except for Lucas Brooks, who knew Ryan Clark’s background, everyone else was quite surprised. Given Ryan Clark’s age, he should at most be a newly accomplished internal martial artist, but this effect was almost on par with an expert who had accumulated years of inner energy.

Grace Brooks’s eyes widened in shock. After a while, she reacted and stepped forward, saying, “Senior Brother Clark, you tricked me just now! And I was even showing off in front of you—you’re so bad!”

Ryan Clark laughed and said, “I didn’t trick you. My martial arts really aren’t a match for Senior Brother Brooks.”

Grace Brooks suddenly understood: “Oh, so you’re also about to break through the first meridian of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians. It’s nothing, Senior Brother Clark. My fifth brother has been wandering the martial world for years and has more fighting experience than you. Sigh, sigh, I was so proud just now.”

Cultivation was still unknown to most people except for a very few, so not only did Grace Brooks not think in that direction, but judging from the expressions of Emily Parker, Eric Bennett, and over there William Carter and the two elders, they also accepted Grace Brooks’s explanation. However, everyone’s attention on Ryan Clark clearly increased.

Ryan Clark thought to himself that a misunderstanding was fine, so he said, “Grace little sister, when I was your age, I wasn’t nearly as impressive as you.”

After hearing this, Grace Brooks went from pouting to smiling: “Hehe, at least you’re honest.”

Because Ryan Clark had cleared out a large area, Lucas Brooks and Eric Bennett also came over and sat down cross-legged, though Lucas Brooks still kept himself within half a step of the chairs where Emily Parker and Grace Brooks sat. Then he quietly said to Ryan Clark, “By the way, a few years ago, that Sword-and-Blade Duo was rumored to have opened five of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians on the Ganlong Road. After all these years, their skills have probably improved even more. Even if they’re not top-tier experts, they’re not far off.”

In the martial world, opening the Eight Extraordinary Meridians and achieving the Minor Circulation of postnatal energy qualifies one as a top-tier expert. Opening the remaining eighteen minor meridians is the Major Circulation, making one a peak expert. Breaking through these two barriers brings a world of difference in strength and realm. As for the “Subtle Realm” grandmasters, that’s a breakthrough to a major realm, with an even greater gap from the previous stages. (There are only eighteen minor meridians known in the martial world, and only the true teachings of prestigious sects have them. Ordinary manuals only mention a few, making it impossible to cultivate to the level of a peak expert. But the “Gui Zhen Jing” records thirty-six, showing how precious the “Bao Lu” is.)

“Yeah, don’t worry. As long as they haven’t achieved the Major Circulation, there’s no problem. By the way, how’s that William Carter’s martial arts?” Actually, for Ryan Clark, as long as it wasn’t a grandmaster in the Subtle Realm, even a peak expert would only suffer losses if they tried anything in secret. Plus, there were so many talismans left by Old Brooks, an expert in the Out-of-Body Realm. Even if a grandmaster came, he wouldn’t be afraid.

Lucas Brooks chuckled, “That guy, aside from having a thick skin, has no talent for martial arts. His father is the current head of the Xia family, a top-tier expert. Since he was a child, he’s used countless precious herbs, but only broke through to the Qi Cultivation stage at twenty-five.”

William Carter really was thick-skinned. Seeing everyone else seated, he said a word to the two elders, picked up a chair, and the three of them came over.