Carter Foster turned around and supported Old Master Foster, with a half-smile on his face. His gaze swept past his uncle’s family and then over the various managers in the inner hall. He said, “In the past, whenever this cousin came to our house and wanted something, he only dared to cry and fuss to his parents. If he didn’t get it right away, he’d throw himself on the ground and have a fit. You two elders, in order to appease him, snatched quite a few things from me to give to him. But look at him now—he’s grown bold, dares to demand things outright, and even looks so proud of himself, as if he’s really made something of himself!”

Old Master Foster’s beard trembled slightly as he listened to Carter Foster, not knowing how to respond.

Carter Foster smiled and said, “I can really understand their whole family. In the past, they got a house from us, took some land, but they never felt satisfied, because our house was better than theirs, and our land was more than theirs. So all they felt was resentment, always thinking what we gave them wasn’t enough, wasn’t good enough. Even though we looked after them, even sent this cousin to the Immortal Academy, their family still felt uncomfortable being cared for by us. Every time they came to ask for something, they had to put on a smile and say nice things. We went out of our way to help them, but they always felt they were suffering some great grievance!”

“But now, things are different!”

He looked at his uncle’s family of three, especially that cousin with a fierce look on his face, and sneered, “Now that my elder brother is gone, the situation has changed. Before, our family had a young Immortal Master to support us. Now we don’t, but they have a little Qi Refiner. From now on, they can stand tall and don’t have to rely on others or say nice things anymore. That big house and good business—of course it’s their turn now. All the humiliation they suffered in your house before, now they’re bound to find a chance to vent it all out, aren’t they?”

“After all, thirty years on the east bank, thirty years on the west…”

Carter Foster spoke more and more slowly, smiling as he looked at Samuel Grant, and said, “Cousin, you’ve made it, haven’t you? No longer the poor boy you once were?”

Old Mr. Foster was stunned by these words, his expression caught between laughter and tears.

The surrounding managers all kept silent, and when they met Carter Foster’s gaze, they quietly looked away.

But as for the uncle’s family, the more they listened to Carter Foster’s words, the more dazed they became. It was as if he was speaking right to their hearts, and they almost wanted to clap and cheer—until they suddenly realized this kid was actually mocking them.

The uncle was the first to curse, “You little brat, how dare you be so rude to your elders?”

The aunt angrily shoved cousin Samuel Grant, giving Carter Foster a resentful look.

“What a boy—you were arrogant before, but now things are different, and you still dare to act so tough…”

Samuel Grant also snapped out of it, suddenly recalling the past. He had already been at the academy for two years and had learned some spells and gained some confidence. By rights, he was no longer an ordinary person. But every time this younger cousin put on a stern face, he still instinctively felt afraid. But now things were different—now the eldest of the Fang family was gone, and he himself had cultivation…

“Your brother is dead. Let’s see if you can still act so tough!”

A murderous aura surged from him as he lunged, making as if to grab Carter Foster…

“Don’t hurt my son…”

Mr. Foster was so frightened by that murderous aura that he nearly fainted, throwing himself in front of Carter Foster to shield him.

At that moment, Carter Foster’s brows furrowed tightly. Suddenly, he smashed the teacup in his hand heavily onto the ground.

With a crisp crack, the sound rang out.

The noisy uncle and aunt, as well as the cousin about to make a move, were all startled by the noise. The managers in the hall all shuddered as well.

Even though they all knew that the Fang family’s young Immortal Master was gone and the family had lost its backing, after all, Charles Foster had only just died, and his accumulated prestige still lingered. Seeing the dignified second young master of the Fang family truly lose his temper, they all instinctively froze.

“Cousin, you’ve entered the academy and learned some skills—truly, you’ve made something of yourself, and now you’re so eager to teach me a lesson!”

Carter Foster stood in the middle of the room, tilting his head slightly, coldly eyeing cousin Samuel Grant, his face full of undisguised disdain and disgust.

“Swish, swish, swish—”

At that moment, a series of rapid footsteps sounded from outside the hall. More than a dozen guards in tight uniforms, exuding a fierce aura, rushed into the hall. Each one held a gleaming, taut oxhide crossbow in their hands.

The tips of the crossbows glinted coldly in the candlelight, icy and bone-chilling.

They moved forward, surrounding the uncle’s family of three in the center.

Staring at the crossbows almost pressed to their faces, the uncle’s family was stunned, their legs instinctively going weak.

“You… what are you trying to do?”

The uncle struggled to get out a complete sentence, his legs shaking like a sieve.

Carter Foster looked at them coldly and said, “It’s said that Qi Refiners have bodies of steel, impervious to blades and spears…”

“Well, I’d like to know—can these crossbow bolts kill you?”

“……”

“……”

No one in the hall dared make a sound, all staring as if soulless at Samuel Grant, who was now facing the crossbows.