And those who come out of Whitehall Academy, if they are not recruited by the Nightwatch Palace, will immediately become the elite of Liu Lake City. This kind of elite is not just an empty phrase as in the previous life; whether in law or in status, those who come out of Whitehall Academy are regarded with special respect. They can meet the city guard without bowing, kill commoners without being sentenced to death—this is privilege!

More importantly, they have all acquired real skills.

They can summon wind and rain, command objects and spirits—things ordinary people can hardly imagine!

For ordinary people, even the wealthy and powerful, when they see a Qi Refiner, they are still afraid. They have heard many rumors about Qi Refiners, so instinctively, they feel that a Qi Refiner is a Qi Refiner, no matter how high or low, and must not be offended.

But Carter Foster is different.

Although he has not yet entered the Immortal Academy or begun cultivation, he has read many classics and tried to understand this world as deeply as possible. He does not doubt that there may indeed be those legendary Qi Refiners who can stir the seas and overturn rivers, pluck stars and chase the sun. However, Carter Foster believes that such immortal-like masters would definitely not look like his own cousin...

So, facing his cousin’s fierce bluster, Carter Foster simply had a dozen powerful crossbows aimed at his face.

So what if he’s a student of the academy?

If he really has skills, a few slaps will tell!

……

……

“My child, hurry, bring hot tea, bring towels…”

Seeing the cousin lying on the ground after being slapped, the whole maternal uncle’s family immediately burst into terrified wails, crying and shouting in panic.

“Let him lie there. If you wake him up now, how will he save face?”

Carter Foster spoke lazily, stopping the maid beside him, his voice cold as if he didn’t recognize this relative at all: “If the three of you still want to walk out that door, then you’d better honestly tell me now—who sent you here?”

The uncle’s family was instantly terrified, staring at the cold blue gleam of the crossbows, their souls nearly leaving their bodies.

“N-no one sent us…”

“Still trying to be stubborn at this point?”

Carter Foster smiled and said, “With the brains of your family, you wouldn’t have reacted so quickly, and you definitely wouldn’t have the guts to come here and cause trouble. Who is really behind you, sending you to target the Twelve Linked Docks? Speak up, and make it quick…”

The fierce guards stepped forward, crossbow bolts pointed straight at their heads.

If these guards had been summoned by Old Mr. Foster, they might not have been afraid, certain that Old Mr. Foster would never really let them be harmed. But now, the one speaking was the infamous Second Young Master Foster, known for his wild ways—who knew if he might really go crazy and harm his own relatives? Fear took over, their minds went blank, and finally the uncle, trembling, spoke up:

“Don’t… don’t get so close, what if someone’s hand slips…”

“I’ll tell you… that person… it’s… it’s Old Charles of the Tunhai Gang…”

“The Tunhai Gang?”

Hearing this name, Carter Foster frowned.

All the stewards and young masters in the hall looked shocked.

Even Mr. Foster’s face turned pale: “It’s… it’s actually… those vicious people!”

……

……

In this world, dragons have their lairs, rats have their tunnels; where there is a court, there is a jianghu.

The court of the Great Xia Dynasty is the Immortal Hall, the Divine Palace, the county offices, the academies, the city government; the jianghu is the Tunhai Gang.

The Tunhai Gang mentioned by the uncle is actually a notorious group of villains in Liu Lake City, and Old Charles is the well-known leader of the Tunhai Gang. It’s said he is a rogue cultivator, practices evil arts, comes and goes without a trace, kills without blinking, specializes in kidnapping and harming people, runs rampant, and has committed countless crimes in Liu Lake City—yet even the city guard can do nothing about him.

For ordinary people or small families, Old Charles is a plague god that no one dares provoke.

In the past, the The Foster Family naturally did not fear him, and the Tunhai Gang always avoided them. Who would have thought that now, with the Eldest Young Master just gone, the villains of the Tunhai Gang would set their sights on the The Foster Family’s Twelve Linked Docks outside the city? How could this end well?

You, Second Young Master Foster, are bold enough to point crossbows at academy students, but would you dare point them at Old Charles?

Even the instructors at the academy probably wouldn’t dare provoke him!

……

……

“So it’s him!”

Carter Foster nodded to himself. Liu Lake City sits by the lake, with thriving waterborne trade.

Controlling the docks is like having silver pouring into your coffers—who knows how many hundreds of thousands of taels are made in a year!

Guaranteed profit, the most lucrative business in Liu Lake City—no wonder it’s been targeted!

“My child, my child…”

Old Mr. Foster suddenly came to his senses, grabbing Carter Foster’s arm and saying, “Listen to your father. Since it’s that man who’s after it, let’s not fight him. It’s just a few docks—let’s give them to him. That man is not someone we can afford to cross…”