Soon after, the Immortal Emperor constructed a new void above the Seven Realms of the Dark Sea, giving rise to a continent known as the “Heavenly Court.” The Heavenly Court world was like an enormous warship, cruising above the Dark Sea and the Seven Realms, using its immense power to suppress the demon race.

Later, the human race flourished.

But for reasons unknown, a million years ago the Heavenly Court world suddenly collapsed, and Noah King disappeared. Human rule was broken.

The demon race launched a counterattack from the Dark Sea, invading the Seven Realms.

Although the human race fought with all their might, they were leaderless and suffered defeat after defeat. To this day, the Seven Realms have once again become a battleground between humans and demons, with their territories interlocked and wars breaking out frequently.

The demon race’s innate talent far surpasses that of humans, so they have always suppressed the human race, gradually encroaching on human territory step by step.

It seems that a hundred years ago, a hunter even discovered a massive stone stele in the mountains, with eight golden characters shining on it:

The place where the Immortal Emperor vowed to crusade against demons!

But places with such legends number at least eighty or a hundred throughout the Seven Realms. After millions of years, who can say for sure?

Andrew Carter thought this was just the residents around Soul Suppressing Mountain trying to glorify themselves.

He returned to his room, where the tea on the table was already cold. He called out several times but no one responded. With a cold laugh, he took a sip of the cold tea, closed the door, and prepared to begin his cultivation.

This body of Andrew Carter was exactly thirteen years old this year. In this world, children must begin martial cultivation from a young age, striving to open the nine major meridians throughout their bodies as quickly as possible.

This stage is called the “Nine Meridians Realm.” Only by completing this foundational cultivation can one awaken their own “Martial Manifestation” in the next stage.

The Martial Manifestation is the external manifestation of one’s innate energy, and it varies in quality. Its form may be a divine weapon, a treasured armor or shield, a mythical beast or spirit bird, a natural phenomenon, or even a ghost or demon.

Within the range of the Martial Manifestation, a martial artist’s attack and defense are greatly enhanced, so the size of this range is a direct reflection of the martial artist’s strength.

He sat cross-legged and began circulating the Xuanhuang Qi-Guiding Technique passed down from the ancestral land.

This foundational technique from the ancestral land is a second-tier method among all Nine Meridians Realm techniques, far superior to the first-tier Jade Marrow Qi taught to the descendants of the Anhuai Sun clan.

It was by relying on the advanced Xuanhuang Qi-Guiding Technique that Jason Carter managed to break through to the Six Meridians Realm in one go, earning great attention from the ancestral land. Meanwhile, in half a year, Andrew Carter had only pitifully advanced by one realm, from the Two Meridians to the Three Meridians.

As the energy circulated within his body, an invisible vortex appeared outside him.

It was precisely the suction force generated by this vortex that allowed him to draw in the surrounding world energy and condense it within himself.

However, Andrew Carter clearly felt that the energy flow within his three opened meridians was extremely slow, so the vortex outside his body was only half a zhang in diameter, and the amount of world energy he could capture was very limited.

He cultivated like this for a full two hours, but his progress was extremely slow.

Although compared to the body’s original owner, this speed was already much faster, it was still almost impossible to break through to the Four Meridians Realm within a month.

After a night of arduous cultivation, by dawn his energy had increased only slightly. Exhausted, he knew that forcing himself further would only lead to inner demons, so he could only sigh inwardly and go to bed to rest.

He slept until nearly noon before getting up, having missed breakfast. Andrew Carter called out several times before a maid reluctantly brought him a few pieces of pastry. “There’s nothing left in the kitchen. Just make do with these.”

Andrew Carter asked angrily, “Tell them to start cooking again!”

The maid showed a trace of mockery. “Don’t forget, your status as young master isn’t like the others. You can’t order those cooks around!”

Andrew Carter was furious. He had endured for several days, and was about to explode when he saw a servant rush in from outside, looking panicked. “Young Andrew, you must run away quickly!”

Andrew Carter frowned. “Uncle Grant, what’s happened?”

Uncle Grant was the old servant by Harold Carter’s side, always loyal to Harold Carter.

“Young Victor has returned and already heard about your situation. He immediately cursed you as a good-for-nothing, saying you’ve disgraced the Anhuai Sun clan. He was about to come kill you, but friends from the county dragged him off to drink. Still, I reckon he’ll definitely come looking for trouble tomorrow. You’d better leave quickly…”

Victor Carter is Jason Carter’s younger brother; both are sons of UncleSamuel Carter.

Uncle is the clan leader of the Anhuai Sun family, but the family’s strongest weapon, the Night Song Sword, is in Harold Carter’s hands. Uncle has coveted the Night Song Sword for a long time, and the conflict between Andrew Carter and Jason Carter actually stems from this.

The maid sneered coldly at the side, gloating, and ignored Andrew Carter as she left.

A surge of humiliation rose in Andrew Carter’s heart. He gritted his teeth fiercely. “I’m not leaving! I want to see what Victor Carter dares do to me!”

“Young master…” Uncle Grant was anxious, but Andrew Carter waved his hand forcefully. “Say no more!”

Chapter 2: The Immortal Emperor’s Inner Demon

That night, Andrew Carter cultivated bitterly for two hours, and the moon was already high in the sky.

He could feel that under the silvery moonlight, the world’s energy around him was abundant, but his cultivation progress remained extremely slow.