“I suppose I really am a true inheritor of the Iron Sand Palm, but I’ve ended up on a pirate ship!”

Thinking of his long-dead grandfather, James Carter couldn’t help but laugh and cry. Who knows where he got this so-called secret manual that didn’t even look like a real manual. When he was a kid, for some reason, he got obsessed with practicing it. Plus, after watching things like “Huo Yuanjia” and “Fist of Fury,” he dreamed of leaping across rooftops and becoming invincible.

In the end, he practiced with great enthusiasm, not knowing how much money he’d spent. By now, he’d actually achieved something—crushing bricks to powder, breaking stone tablets with a single palm. Beating up a few people was no problem at all.

But really, why would you go around beating people up for no reason? It’s not like you’re just bored. Even if you get robbed or harassed by thugs, there are still laws about excessive self-defense. If you’re not careful and kill someone with a single palm strike, you’ll definitely end up in court or even in jail—maybe even get shot. No matter how good your martial arts are, if you’re up against a gun, it’s game over. As for those invincible, bulletproof, sword-flying, underwear-on-the-outside superheroes—after living over twenty years, James Carter had never seen one.

Even though he’d practiced Iron Sand Palm for ten years and was nearly a master, James Carter had never acted heroically, never been saved by a hero, never rescued a beauty, nor been rescued by one.

After all these years of training, he hadn’t managed to live longer, leap across rooftops, become invincible, or go around killing and robbing people. It was completely useless, and James Carter couldn’t help it. “Who asked me to be born in this era! I’ll just treat it as a way to temper my willpower.”

He picked up a copy of “Water Margin” and started reading fiercely, as if he were upholding justice within its pages. “Water Margin” was a great book—James Carter could hardly put it down. After reading a chapter, he took a few big gulps of soup, and his whole body started to heat up again. “Should I wash up or keep reading? These days, whether rich or poor, you still have to study.”

Bang bang bang! Bang bang bang! A series of thunderous knocks rang out, startling him—it was as if someone was pounding on the door.

“Could it be the landlord coming to collect rent? No, I just paid a quarter’s rent last week. Besides, they wouldn’t come this early. Back in the day, only Zhou Bapi would crow in the middle of the night, and even Huang Shiren didn’t collect debts this early. I don’t really know anyone—could it be a robbery?”

A few thoughts flashed quickly through James Carter’s mind, and he chuckled at his own sense of humor. He walked over and looked out through the peephole. All he saw was darkness—someone had clearly covered the peephole with their hand.

“Good grief, blocking the peephole so I can’t see—definitely not a good person.”

Chapter 002: Murder in the Street

“Hey! I’m telling you, big brother! You get up and make a racket in the middle of the night every day—aren’t you tired? Even if you’re not, can’t you let other people sleep?”

As soon as James Carter opened the door, he was greeted by a waft of fragrance, followed by a sharp, rapid-fire voice in his ear. James Carter frowned slightly and glanced at the troublemaker at the door. “Where did this girl come from, disturbing my peace?”

The girl at the door really did look like a young lady—tall, with an oval face, a small nose slightly wrinkled, a few faint freckles that made her look even cuter. But right now, her eyelids were droopy, her hair a bit messy, clearly not fully awake. She wore a thin nightgown and a pair of crystal sandals, her expression still a bit annoyed.

“You stomp around in the middle of the night every day—it’s way too loud.”

Seeing James Carter come out, the girl’s voice was still sharp, though her words were a bit softer. As James Carter opened the door, the smell of medicine from inside drifted out, and the girl sniffed, catching the aroma of chicken soup. Her eyes grew curious as she stared at James Carter for a while, as if trying to figure out what he was up to. Noticing that James Carter was still in his training clothes, she grew even more intrigued.

Seeing that the girl was good-looking, James Carter relaxed. He did get up at three every morning to practice Iron Sand Palm, and when he went upstairs, he did make a bit of noise. At that hour, most people were sleeping soundly, so if he disturbed someone, it was really his fault. If the person complaining had been a burly auntie, James Carter wouldn’t have hit her with an Iron Sand Palm, but he definitely wouldn’t have felt good about it.

He quickly said things like, “I just started college, so I’ve been a bit busier. Sorry for disturbing you,” and “I’ll be more careful next time”—that sort of thing.

Seeing this, the girl couldn’t really keep arguing, so she just nodded. “Just be careful from now on.” As she spoke, she curiously glanced into James Carter’s room.

As a student, James Carter’s behavior really did make her curious. They say a woman’s curiosity can kill a cat—maybe an exaggeration, but not entirely baseless.

“You’re a student too?” James Carter asked.

By now, the girl was fully awake. “This whole building is students! I’m from the School of Journalism and Communication in the North Campus. Judging by your look, you must be from the sports college, right? Always going out to exercise in the middle of the night—are you practicing martial arts? Taekwondo or karate? You’re a freshman, right? Not bad, already moved out. I didn’t move out until sophomore year, so technically I’m your senior.”

James Carter hadn’t expected one question to get such a long answer, but he liked straightforward, outgoing people. He pursed his lips and smiled. “I’m not from the sports college—I study literature and history. I do practice martial arts, but not karate or taekwondo. It’s Iron Sand Palm.”