King Carter Logan, William Brooks Reed, and Hunter Carter Hughes are known as the three great grandmasters of the human world today. Originally, the powers of the Boruo Realm and the Underworld were balanced, but during a peak battle, the balance tipped only because of the involvement of Hunter Carter Hughes, resulting in the defeat of the Eight Great Ming Kings, who were left powerless to invade the East.

Logan Carter's Heavenly Demon Art, William Brooks's Blood Refining Technique, and Hughes's Death-Seeking Swordsmanship are also known as the three supreme martial arts of the human world.

In Blacknight City, there are countless martial academies, and students here come from all corners of the land. Compared to the terrifying William and the elusive Hunter Carter, King Carter is relatively easier to catch a glimpse of, though in reality, there is almost no chance to see him.

Kakaxiu Martial Academy is just an ordinary martial academy in Blacknight City, with several hundred students. Not everyone can enter those elite academies, let alone the Warrior Academy run by King Carter, which is a sacred place every Yaksha citizen yearns for. Everyone knows that entering the Warrior Academy means getting one step closer to the idol of the masses, King Carter.

“Owen, put the weapons away and clean them well!”

Campbell is the instructor at Kakaxiu Martial Academy and was once a soldier. Owen was taken in by him out of a moment of kindness. The boy used to wander the city aimlessly, filthy from head to toe, and Campbell, acting on impulse, brought him back—after all, the academy needed someone to do the cleaning.

“Okay, Uncle Campbell.”

Owen originally had no name and rarely spoke. After living here for more than two years, he gradually became more cheerful. His full name seems to be Emily Owen, a rather strange name, but everyone at the academy calls him Owen.

Looking at Emily Owen, Campbell felt a bit helpless. If the boy had even a little talent, considering his two years of hard work, Campbell would have secretly taught him some martial arts. Unfortunately, this child’s spiritual power is extremely weak, with almost no chance of reaching the Spirit Light stage.

In the Boruo people's martial arts system, there are generally four stages: the Martial Power stage, the Spiritual Power stage, the Divine Spirit Arts stage, and the Supreme Heaven stage.

The Martial Power stage is divided into Martial Practitioner and Martial Burst. The Martial Practitioner level is the most basic tier for the Boruo people, focusing on tempering the body and mastering various attack techniques, and is also a key force in the army.

At the Martial Burst level, on top of the Martial Practitioner, one can begin to use spiritual power, concentrating strength to unleash powerful attacks, though it is still mainly based on pure physical power.

Only upon entering the Spiritual Power stage does one truly step onto the path of mastery. From lowest to highest, the four realms are Spirit Light, Spirit Movement, Spirit Burst, and Spirit Guidance.

The most basic is the Spirit Light realm. Entering this realm means one can use spiritual power in combat to strengthen the body. This is the foundation for the Boruo people to fight against the Underworld and demons. Those with weak spiritual power can hardly fight demons, and the Spirit Light realm grants the initial ability to resist demonic power.

Next is the Spirit Movement realm. At this level, one is no longer passively defending against demonic power, and spiritual power is more effectively combined with physical attacks. This is where most people in the Spiritual Power stage reside.

If one reaches the Spirit Burst realm, they can be considered an expert. The chief instructor at Kakaxiu is a beginner in the Spirit Burst realm, and it is nearly impossible for someone in the Spirit Movement realm to defeat someone at the Spirit Burst level.

Besides having higher spiritual power than the Spirit Movement realm, the key feature of the Spirit Burst realm is the ability to use explosive spiritual power, increasing attack power by three to five times in an instant, with devastating effect.

Above that is the Spirit Guidance realm. Those who reach this level are true top experts, able to channel the heavenly thunder of the Boruo Realm through their own spiritual power, unleashing forces that ordinary people cannot withstand. Of course, there are levels within this realm as well, and the degree to which one can channel heavenly thunder determines their own strength.

The Divine Spirit Arts stage refers to those whose bodies can fully withstand and utilize heavenly power. For example, the kings of the Eight Divisions belong to this stage, as do the Ming Kings of the Underworld, though the Underworld draws on the power of the earth—different paths, same destination.

As for why King Carter Logan is recognized as one of the three great grandmasters, it is because he surpassed the Divine Spirit Arts stage and advanced to the supreme martial path of Supreme Heaven. What that looks like, no one knows.

Emily Owen happily tidied up the training grounds. He never found these chores tiresome, nor did he particularly enjoy them, but he loved encountering the unknown—that was what he truly liked.

The more than two years spent here had taught Owen many things, but he was also planning to leave. The world is so vast, and there is so much he wants to see and experience.

Here, he had heard the legends of the three grandmasters and countless heroic tales. He longed to meet those legendary warriors, but after waiting here for more than two years, he still hadn’t seen King Carter.

Chapter 3: Provocation

At dawn, Emily Owen got up very early, adjusted his breathing, and cleaned the martial arts grounds. Some early-arriving disciples were already practicing. Everyone greeted Owen with a smile. Although they weren’t particularly close, in a place like the Yaksha tribe, where martial strength is highly valued, this attitude toward someone with no potential like Owen was already quite good.

“Owen, clean the weapons well. You can watch for a while, too!”

Everyone burst out laughing. To them, it was just a joke—after all, even if the boy watched, it wouldn’t make a difference.