The son was sent alive to Walker Academy, but what was returned was an almost cold corpse. At least a dozen doctors were called, and after checking his pulse, each one apologized and said: Prepare for the funeral.

　　Funeral?

　　If his son died, the family's only bloodline would be cut off. What funeral would there be left for Carter Village?

　　Brian Carter no longer bothered to think about the funeral. During the three days and two nights his son was in a coma, he had only one thought—revenge, revenge!

　　With the ancestral spear, he would kill the murderer who took his son's life, wipe out his entire family!

　　Brian Carter was the head of a humble family in Eastwood. At the age of thirty-two, he had his only son, Blake Carter.

　　In this world, for a noble family to have no male heir was simply unimaginable. To call it a disaster would not be an exaggeration.

　　Back then, after six years of marriage, Brian Carter had only one daughter, Grace Carter. Naturally, rumors and gossip abounded.

　　“连山连海, can’t even keep the family line going, what’s the point of his name?”

　　“This The Carter Family, each generation is worse than the last. In the next ‘Family Appraisal’, I’m afraid they won’t even be able to keep their humble noble status.”

　　“Heh, I heard that a hundred years ago, the The Carter Family was at least a prominent family. Who would have thought that in the ‘Family Appraisal’ held every twenty years, they’d drop a rank each time, falling two or three levels in a row. Looks like next time, they’ll be commoners like us.”

　　Some of these words were whispered behind his back and eventually reached his ears; others were spoken bluntly, right in front of Brian Carter, without the slightest attempt to hide.

　　Later, his wife Megan Fields finally proved herself and gave him a son, Blake Carter. This child carried all the hopes of the The Carter Family from birth, yet while studying at Walker Academy, he was beaten to death!

　　And not long after giving birth to their son, his wife died from postpartum illness.

　　First he endured the pain of losing his wife in middle age, and now he faced the agony of losing his son!

　　His son was the only bloodline of Carter Village, the last hope of the The Carters clan. Now that the line was cut off, all plans for the revival of the The Carter Family were instantly shattered. How could Brian Carter not be heartbroken? With a son, there was hope for the The Carter Family! Without a son, all dreams of revival were nothing but empty talk!

　　This wasn’t because Brian Carter favored sons over daughters, but because all the worldly rules of this world were blatantly male-dominated.

　　Take the national “Family Appraisal” held every twenty years—there were only four years left until the next one. The results of this appraisal would determine whether the The Carter Family could retain its noble status.

　　And the first prerequisite for participating in this “Family Appraisal”—was having a male heir!

　　Only then would other criteria be considered.

　　Without a son, with the bloodline cut off, nothing else mattered. Everyone knew that a family without a male heir could not have lasting vitality.

　　Brian Carter was a proud man. He absolutely did not want the The Carter Family, which had passed down its bloodline in Bayland for over four hundred years, to lose its noble status and be demoted to commoners during his tenure.

　　Even though, at this point, the The Carter Family was already at the lowest level of nobility—known as the “humble house.”

　　Even as a humble house, it still retained a noble identity, with certain corresponding rights, including social status, land, estates, businesses, and so on.

　　If even the humble house status was stripped away and they were demoted to commoners, then the vast property of the The Carter Family would first be taken over and become someone else’s.

　　As a commoner family, they would not be qualified to own private property.

　　With the son’s death, all hope for the The Carter Family instantly turned to ashes!

　　Since his enemies had cut off the The Carter Family’s hope and left them no way out, as a noble, Brian Carter had only one thought—to make his enemies pay the same price.

　　Brian Carter looked up. Above the ancestral hall hung three prominent ancestral precepts!

　　Those who covet the The Carters clan’s property, strike them with fivefold force.

　　Those who covet the The Carters clan’s status, strike them with tenfold force.

　　Those who seek to destroy the The Carters clan, strike with all your might, perish together if necessary, at all costs!

　　The spearhead had already been sharpened to a snowy brightness, emitting a chilling gleam that hurt the eyes. Yet the cold light in Brian Carter’s eyes was even sharper than the spearhead.

　　Bang, bang!

　　It was already midnight. Outside the ancestral hall, someone was pounding on the door with all their strength. From the footsteps, Brian Carter knew it was his trusted aide, Jack Carter.

　　Only Jack Carter knew that the clan leader was in the ancestral hall.

　　Brian Carter ignored him and continued sharpening his spear, as if pouring all his energy into it, as if trying to express all his anger and pain through this action…

　　Bang, bang, bang!

　　Jack Carter pounded on the door with all his might: “Clan leader, clan leader!”

　　Brian Carter said with suppressed anger, “Sìxǐ, I told you, don’t disturb me!”

　　“Clan leader, g-good news! The young master, he’s alive!” Jack Carter stammered, almost crying as he shouted.

　　Clang!

　　Brian Carter was stunned. The hand gripping the spear suddenly felt weak, and as his grip loosened, the spear fell to the ground, the tip striking the whetstone and sending out sparks.

　　“Clan leader, it’s true, the young master is alive! Miss is sending people all over Eastwood to find you.” Jack Carter was in tears, speaking and crying at the same time, every word tugging at Brian Carter’s heart.