However, it’s one thing for ordinary people, but it’s different for scholars and martial artists—the more skilled they are, the greater the potential harm. That’s why, in ancient times, those who practiced martial arts had to first cultivate Daoism or Buddhism, seeking non-action or emptiness, to temper their own temperament. Otherwise, the more capable they became, the less they would be tolerated by society, and disaster would soon follow.

Right and wrong arise from speaking too much; troubles all come from trying to stand out.

In just this short morning, James Carter had already wrecked a bus, disrupted the market, killed a man with a single palm in the street, and inexplicably attacked the police—all of it built upon ten years of iron sand palm training. Without these skills, James Carter would just be an ordinary person, blending into the masses and enjoying a peaceful life.

When a person has skills, they have a remarkable story.

Even though he had killed someone and attacked the police in public, James Carter only felt a slight pang of unease in his heart, still confident he could get away.

His life had always been ordinary, after all, he was born into a wealthy family and had seen a bit of everything. As the saying goes: even if you haven’t eaten pork, you’ve seen pigs walk. Although the world today is ruled by law, there’s a saying: the law is impartial, but people are not. Emotion, reason, and law—law always comes last.

Perhaps only when people have no feelings will the law come first. But if people have no feelings, are they still people? One must respect the law, but not blindly worship it. Even the great leader Chairman Mao once said: “Extreme worship is unacceptable.” James Carter was not a pedantic person; he just wanted to keep a strong heart. Besides, this iron sand palm external martial art emphasizes a kind of unyielding spirit and power—if resentment builds up inside and cannot be released, it’s harmful to the body.

When he reached the telecom business hall next to the school, he spent over three thousand to buy a relatively high-end phone. As soon as he put in his old SIM card, the phone started ringing nonstop.

“Hello, Big Brother! Are you okay? What on earth did you do? I need to explain things to Mom. Were you arrested, or did you run away? What exactly happened?” On the other end, Little Sister’s voice came in a rapid stream, clearly agitated, with some English mixed in.

In his mind, James Carter pictured Little Sister’s anxious face, and a slight smile appeared: “Little Sister, don’t speak in bird language, I don’t really understand it!”

“Aiya! James Carter! You’re going to be the death of me!” Little Sister was clearly losing her temper on the phone: “I’m asking you something serious, hurry up and tell me what happened just now. I’m about to see Mom—if you don’t want to lose your allowance, you’d better not get smart with me. Hmph!”

James Carter shivered, gave a couple of awkward laughs. His iron sand palm training was extremely expensive—just the medicine and medicinal wine each month cost a fortune. This body, tough to the extreme, and these hands that could split stone, were built entirely with money. The recipes for those medicinal wines—tiger bone, tiger penis, bear bile, ginseng, deer antler, cordyceps, pangolin, seahorse, and so on—every ingredient was outrageously expensive. Plus, he often had to eat bird’s nest and other tonics, each time costing tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands. The expenses were truly frightening.

His mom and dad had always been dissatisfied with him practicing something so “useless,” wanting him to help with the family business. Nowadays, all the managers in the Yangming Group were from the Wang family, all from the same ancestral hall, but in the end, each had their own household, and conflicts of interest were growing. For now, a few elders from the ancestral hall kept things in check, but once they passed away, the conflicts would erupt completely. His uncles, aunts, grandaunts, and so on—who didn’t want a bigger share? But James Carter had no interest in any of it, and besides, martial arts was something his grandfather had insisted he learn since childhood. So, even though his parents often complained about him not following the “right path,” they never openly opposed him. His older brother David Carter was quite capable now, so James Carter could enjoy his peace.

But if even Little Sister started whispering to their parents, he’d really be in trouble. Even though James Carter knew Little Sister wouldn’t actually do that, he still felt uneasy. Losing his source of money—that was the scariest thing of all.

To practice such a fierce external martial art as iron sand palm, two things are essential: perseverance—tremendous determination and willpower—and money—one must be truly wealthy. Lacking either is not an option. James Carter lacked neither. Such formidable skills were never gained by chance.

It’s said that Daoist masters seeking immortality summed up the necessary conditions as: wealth, companion, method, and place. The first is wealth—back then, Zhang Sanfeng only followed Chisongzi after meeting Shen Wanshan. Companion means someone to assist you, most often a master-disciple relationship, sometimes a spouse. Method is the cultivation technique, all sorts of magical arts. Place is the training ground, a place with good feng shui, sacred mountains and great rivers.

James Carter had never met any immortality-seeking Daoists, but he deeply agreed with these four words and had his own insights.

“Mm! Ahem!” James Carter cleared his throat, and as he walked, he told Little Sister everything that had happened.

“Wow! Big Brother, you’re amazing, you’ve always been my idol!” Hearing this, in James Carter’s mind, he pictured Little Sister’s eyes sparkling with stars.