"Charles Carter, I think you've lost your mind. A fifth-rank general is an incredibly prestigious position—without at least an eighth-level martial skill, you can forget about it. Besides, you need to have outstanding military achievements. As for you, if you went to the battlefield, you'd be dead after barely two rounds. You'd only disgrace our Great Yu Dynasty." A skinny-faced guard mocked with a sneer.

"If the princess doesn't dare to bet, then why don't you just do it now? I know the princess doesn't want to marry me. So, you want to use this as an excuse to get rid of me early. If you don't even have this bit of courage, you don't deserve to be the third princess of our Great Yu Dynasty." Charles Carter intensified his goading.

"Cluck, cluck, cluck..." Ethan Brooks's laughter pierced through the rafters and shot straight up to the heavens. After all, Ethan Brooks was said to be from the 'Kao Shan Sect' of the Great Yu Dynasty.

Kao Shan Sect could easily rank among the top ten of the hundreds of sects in the Great Yu Dynasty. It's said they have thousands of disciples, and the Grand Elder Tie Fei is rumored to have reached the 'Qi Tong Realm.'

What is the 'Qi Tong Realm'? It means connecting spirit with qi. With a single breath, one can glide seven or eight kilometers. A single palm strike can shatter a giant tree that would take over a dozen people to encircle, and from hundreds of meters away, one can control qi to wield a sword and kill.

In this world, the martial artist's realms, from low to high, start with the first level of entry. Before the Innate Realm, there are twelve levels. The Innate Realm itself is a huge threshold. Out of tens of thousands who train bitterly, only one might break through to Innate.

A martial artist in the Innate Realm has undergone a complete cleansing and restructuring of the body, becoming as pure as a newborn. Compared to ordinary people, they are on a completely different level.

Such a person can lift tens of thousands of jin, and with a palm strike, kill a man or shatter stone from a hundred meters away. This is a sign that the internal qi in the dantian has reached a semi-liquid state. The Innate Realm is divided into early, middle, late, and great perfection stages. After that, one can try to break through to the Qi Gang stage.

In the 'Qi Gang Realm,' qi is transformed into gang, making internal qi substantial. One can support over a hundred thousand jin, and with a wave of the hand, kill from hundreds of meters away. Because the internal qi is now substantial, the qi in the dantian is fully liquefied.

Above the Qi Gang Realm is the Qi Tong Realm, which shows just how terrifying the Qi Tong Realm is.

"So, what, you just laugh and don't dare to bet?" Charles Carter snorted coldly. At this moment, he had to provoke the third princess as much as possible to save his own life.

Chapter 0002: You're Wrong

Anyway, he's almost out of luck, so why care about anything else? Charles Carter didn't want to be killed again right after being reborn—that would be a real injustice. As for what comes next, he'll think about it later; as long as he keeps his life, there's still hope.

"Smack..." The other side of Charles Carter's face swelled up again, this time from a slap by Ethan Brooks herself. She then stood up and snorted, "Fine, I'll bet. If you can't attain the official fifth-rank general position within three years, your entire The Carter Family will be executed."

"And if I do achieve it?" Charles Carter asked.

"This princess will wait for you for three years." Ethan Brooks gritted her teeth, glanced at her subordinates, and said, "Immediately process his enlistment order. In a few hours, send someone to escort him to the Eshan battlefield—the fighting there is intense. Instruct the general there not to let Charles Carter rest. As soon as he arrives at Eshan, put him straight into the vanguard. Cluck, cluck, cluck, I'm giving him a chance to earn merit, so he better hurry. No delays, no delays."

What a vicious woman, Charles Carter cursed in his heart. The Eshan battlefield borders the Great Yuan Kingdom. The Great Yu and Great Yuan have been at war over Eshan for months now, with tens of thousands of soldiers dead.

Sending him there and immediately putting him on the front lines, especially when he's already injured, is basically a death sentence. And now, even the entire The Carter Family is implicated.

"Princess, William Carter begs you to execute this unworthy son immediately. William Carter is willing to lead troops to Eshan and die in battle to spare the rest of the The Carter Family from punishment." William Carter shouted from outside.

"Yes, Princess, you can't listen to that bastard Charles Carter. He's just trying to drag our entire The Carter Family down with him before he dies. Please, Princess, use the harshest punishment and execute him at once." At this moment, the voice of the second brother David Carter came.

David Carter and Charles Carter are half-brothers, with David Carter being the eldest son of the second wife, Emily Harris. The two have never gotten along. According to the hereditary system of the Great Yu Dynasty, the one to inherit the title of Marquis of the Southern Capital in the future is Charles Carter, not David Carter.

Moreover, ninety percent of the The Carter Family estate that Charles Carter will inherit will go directly to his branch, and Charles Carter is also the next head of the The Carter Family. So unless Charles Carter dies or is disgraced, there's no other way.

Thinking of this, Charles Carter was startled and began to understand. This mess was probably caused by his second brother David Carter, who had long coveted the The Carter Family title and estate.

As for his father asking for his execution, it wasn't that his father William Carter truly wanted him dead, but rather that he had no choice but to protect the rest of the The Carter Family. David Carter's intentions, however, were completely different.

"Princess, I beg you to spare my son Charles Carter from death. Let him die in battle and redeem himself. Please don't punish the other members of the The Carter Family." At this moment, his mother Helen Reed's heart-wrenching cries came from outside.

"Such foolishness from a woman—take her away." With a crisp smack, Helen Reed was knocked unconscious by a slap from his father William Carter.

"Princess, if you change your mind, just call me husband. Otherwise, you're going back on your word." Charles Carter shouted.