“Ambushed and pushed off the North Cliff.” Uncle George’s face darkened with anger. “Young Master Edward, who was it that ambushed you? Did you see who it was?”

In the crowd around them, Steward Franklin’s expression was grave, clearly furious about Edward Carter being ambushed, while the scar-faced man Samuel Price’s face kept changing.

Edward Carter shook his head slightly and said, “It was a dark and windy night, the mountain wind was too fierce, I didn’t see who it was.”

“When we get back, we must investigate this matter thoroughly.” Uncle George said coldly.

Standing up, Edward Carter turned his gaze to Steward Franklin, as if just noticing him, and said gratefully, “Steward Franklin, you’re here too. Thank you for your trouble!”

“As long as Young Master Edward is safe, it’s no trouble at all!” Steward Franklin replied quickly.

Edward Carter nodded, and as he turned, his left hand moved lightly under his wide robe. The sleeve brushed casually across the scar-faced man’s chest, and a silent palm strike was unleashed.

Swift Shadow Cut!

This was a unique martial technique that didn’t require true energy to cultivate. It was also the only martial art Edward Carter had mastered to perfection in his previous life. When performed, it was utterly silent—even an opponent a whole realm stronger might not notice it.

Hiss!

A torch crackled, sending out a spark, but no one present noticed that the palm strike, like a ghost in the darkness, silently sliced into Samuel Price’s chest.

“Uncle George, let’s head back. Grandfather must be anxiously waiting.” Edward Carter said to Steward George.

Uncle George nodded in agreement. He was a bit puzzled—North Cliff of Wanren Mountain was thousands of meters high, and Edward Carter had fallen from it, yet only suffered minor scrapes. But as long as Edward Carter was unharmed, that was a blessing, and there was no need to question further.

Everyone retraced their steps back to Burning Town. They hadn’t gone far when—“pa!”—something slipped from the scar-faced man’s chest and fell to the ground.

All eyes turned. When they saw what it was, many gasped in surprise, then their faces turned greedy.

It was a cloth pouch, only palm-sized, gray and unremarkable. But in the eyes of the crowd, it was something else entirely—a Hundred-Treasure Pouch.

On the Ancient Nether Continent, Hundred-Treasure Pouches were magical storage items, ranked from low to high as gray, copper, silver, and gold. Even the lowest gray pouch could store a hundred times its own volume—extremely rare, far beyond the reach of ordinary people.

Even in the The Carter Family, only the clan leader, vice leader, and elders possessed gray Hundred-Treasure Pouches. As the grandson of clan leader Richard Carter, even Edward Carter didn’t have one.

“This…” The scar-faced man’s expression changed drastically. He tried to pick up the gray pouch, but a figure flashed in front of him, and the pouch landed in Uncle George’s hand.

Uncle George squeezed the pouch, glaring at the scar-faced man, and said coldly, “Samuel Price, you’re just a lowly outer guard of the The Carter Family. How did you come to possess such a valuable gray Hundred-Treasure Pouch?”

“Steward George, I just got it by accident.”

Samuel Price’s expression shifted, about to explain, but his face suddenly changed and his voice cut off. He saw the mouth of the gray pouch open, revealing a jade pendant inside.

The pendant was a round piece of jade with an irregular notch in the middle, as if a chunk had been forcibly gouged out. On the other side of the jade, the character “墨” was engraved.

In an instant, the atmosphere dropped to freezing. Steward George’s gaze turned sharp. “This is Young Master Edward’s personal jade pendant. Why is it on you? Speak!”

Chapter Four: Breakthrough in Battle

Bang!

Samuel Price suddenly roared, the scar on his face flushed, twisting with ferocity. His arms bulged with muscle like coiled dragons, and he threw out two punches. The force howled, thunder crackled in the air, and the blows shot toward Uncle George like lightning.

Caught off guard, Uncle George could only raise his palm in defense. Fist and palm collided, sending force rippling out. He felt his palms go numb and was knocked back more than ten meters.

“[Thunderclap Fist]!” Uncle George’s face changed dramatically as he cried out in shock.

From those two punches, Uncle George recognized the [Thunderclap Fist], a mid-tier mortal-level martial art.

In Burning Town, only the core disciples of the three great families had access to martial arts above mid-tier mortal level, or to even higher spirit-level techniques.

Moreover, the true energy in Samuel Price’s punches showed he had reached the second stage of Warrior.

You had to know, the standard for outer guards of the The Carter Family was at most the fifth stage of Martial Disciple. Anyone stronger would become an inner guard and enjoy better treatment in the clan.

Among the inner guards, the strongest were only at the ninth stage of Martial Disciple. If one broke through to the Warrior realm, they could become a senior inner guard or steward of the The Carter Family, earning the clan’s respect.

A second-stage Warrior’s strength was almost equal to Uncle George’s.

With such power, yet content to be an outer guard, Uncle George was now certain that the one who ambushed and tried to assassinate Edward Carter was none other than Samuel Price.

“Samuel Price, you ambushed Young Master Edward. Surrender now, and the clan may show leniency.” Uncle George shouted sternly.

“Hahaha… Leniency? Steward George, do you think I’m a three-year-old child?”