“Did I ask you?” Several people wanted to plead at the same time, but William Clark's voice turned cold. As his gaze swept over them, each person felt a chill in their heart, so frightened that they dared not make another sound.

This is bad, this is real trouble. What’s gotten into the usually cautious young master today? Although William Clark had a notorious reputation outside, he never dared act recklessly at home. What shocked these veteran soldiers even more was the aura William Clark exuded as he spoke, pressing down on them so hard they couldn’t utter a word.

In the past, although they showed respect on the surface, they had never felt this kind of fear. Now, with William Clark angry, it felt just like being back in the barracks when the general lost his temper from above—a suffocating, overwhelming pressure that made them unable to meet his eyes.

Richard Brooks was panting heavily, his strong chest heaving, gripping his iron staff so tightly he nearly crushed it, glaring at William Clark: “I only obey military orders. You’re not worthy.”

“Xiao Luo, are you looking for death…”

“Captain Luo, please stop talking…”

The other soldiers were all terrified. No matter what kind of person this young master was, this was still the Duke Protector’s residence, in Yunge City. And they were guards of the Cheng family—if a servant acted like this toward his master, even if he was killed, there’d be nowhere to appeal.

Ninth level of the Body Refining stage—at this age, reaching the ninth level among ordinary soldiers was already extremely rare. But what truly puzzled William Clark was the look in his eyes when he looked at him: extreme anger, resentment, unwillingness—a strange kind of hatred.

If an enemy looked at him like that, William Clark could understand, but this was the Duke Protector’s residence. How could the Cheng family allow someone like this to stay here? No matter the backstory, no matter what this body was like before, for a soldier to say he’s not worthy—this was just absurd.

William Clark reached out and directly drew the sword from a nearby soldier’s waist. With a swift upward flick, the blade moved so fast that before anyone could react, it was already at Richard Brooks’s throat.

Richard Brooks never expected this notorious young master to suddenly make a move, let alone at such speed—smooth, decisive, without the slightest hesitation or sloppiness. Fast, incredibly fast. By the time Richard Brooks realized it, the blade was already touching his skin, the threat of death looming over him. He had joined the army at fifteen and survived countless life-and-death battles, but moments this close to death had happened no more than three times.

At that moment, the scarred eyelid on Richard Brooks’s left eye twitched involuntarily. This sudden, unheralded sense of death was just like the time he was injured.

“Clang…” It was far too late to retreat now. Fortunately, Richard Brooks still had his iron staff in hand from reaching the ninth level earlier, and instinctively swept it horizontally. Blade and staff collided, and the tremendous force from the blade nearly knocked the staff from Richard Brooks’s grip, sending him staggering back several steps.

William Clark’s feet shifted slightly—a seemingly small step, but in an instant he was right in front of Richard Brooks. The blade, blocked by the staff a moment ago, now turned in his wrist and chopped down again.

“Clang…” The long blade and iron staff clashed once more. Richard Brooks raised his staff with both hands to block the attack, his own strength now erupting, eyes bloodshot: “You’re not worthy, you don’t deserve it—give me back my father and the lives of two thousand soldiers!”

Richard Brooks went berserk, wielding his iron staff with full force. The ninth level of the Body Refining stage was far stronger than the seventh; from the two previous clashes, it was clear Richard Brooks’s strength was at least twice that of William Clark.

“He’s gone mad… this kid’s gone mad…”

“This is a huge disaster…”

“What do we do?!”

“How strange, how is the young master so strong? This is at least the power of the seventh level of Body Refining.”

“Yeah, the young master actually blocked Captain Luo’s attack, and just now he almost…”

……

It wasn’t until Richard Brooks snapped out of it and erupted in a frenzy that the surrounding soldiers finally reacted. Their first response was fear—if anything happened to the young master, they’d all be implicated. But the strongest among them were only at the sixth level of Body Refining, so they had no way to intervene. At that moment, someone noticed that William Clark was actually blocking Richard Brooks’s wild attacks, and then recalled what had just happened, all of them utterly shocked—what was wrong with this notorious young master today?

“Clang… clang…” Richard Brooks unleashed a full set of the Sweeping Eight Desolations Battle Staff, instantly covering a three-meter radius around him. Although this was only a lower-tier martial technique, not everyone in the army could train in it—it was perfect for battlefield slaughter. The moves were simple and direct, but once unleashed, incredibly fierce.

Every time Richard Brooks used this Sweeping Eight Desolations Battle Staff, he could push his combat power to the limit, sometimes even doubling his own strength. Each strike built upon the last, growing more and more ferocious, like countless streams converging into a mighty river, surging endlessly. But this time, as soon as he started, he felt something was off—every time he tried to unleash a powerful blow, William Clark’s blade would intercept him before he could fully release it, making it impossible for the next strike to reach its full power.