“The road ahead is long and unpredictable, with fortune and misfortune impossible to foresee. As a student, I won’t see you off, Dean. Please be careful on your journey. One wrong step could mean a bottomless abyss.”

Though these words sounded kind, they actually carried a warning and threat from Logan Walker. At this stage, however, no one could read the hidden meaning in Logan Walker’s tone, and none of them took a little martial apprentice who had narrowly escaped death seriously.

After sending off the three villains, Brian Carter asked gravely, “Wushuang, are you planning to return to the Martial Apprentice Academy?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

Logan Walker looked at the backs of the three departing villains, speaking with deep meaning.

“Jin Buyi is a well-known hypocrite in Luojiang County. His invitation for you to return to the Martial Apprentice Academy surely harbors ill intentions,” Brian Carter reminded him.

“These three came together—how could they have good intentions? Precisely because of their ill intentions, I should go back to the Martial Apprentice Academy and take a look. This is a matter of attitude.”

Logan Walker’s logic was simple: if he wanted to know just how unfavorable the situation was, he had to experience it himself. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Brian Carter looked at his son, and for a moment, after this ordeal, it seemed as if his son’s entire demeanor had changed. Especially his eyes—no longer evasive or shy as before, but now calm and confident.

Especially just now, when the three villains bullied him—with his son’s previously extreme temperament, he was actually able to endure until the end before speaking. If nothing else, just this level of self-restraint was a hundred times better than before.

“Father, thinking back on that duel, it was a conspiracy from the start. And that conspiracy wasn’t just aimed at me personally, but at our Qin family’s humble seat and vast estate!”

Brian Carter’s expression turned solemn and uncertain. Of course he knew this; it was also why he had his son return to Donglin Town. After all, as long as his son was alive, the family line continued, and with the family line, there was hope.

If anything else happened to his son, the entire Qin clan would be finished...

“Wushuang, since you can see this, are you still planning to return to the Martial Apprentice Academy?” Brian Carter truly wanted to know what his son was thinking.

“Father, that Gou Sheng is a petty scholar of low character, yet he dared to swagger around our Qin Manor, relying on others’ power to bully the weak and fear the strong. But from another perspective, isn’t it also because he thinks our Qin Manor is a sick cat, incapable of showing its claws, and not worth fearing?”

Brian Carter sighed in frustration, knowing his son was right. If it had been over a hundred years ago, when the Qin clan was prosperous and still a noble family, who in Luojiang County would have dared to speak so boldly at Qin Manor? Let alone threaten them so brazenly at their doorstep.

“Father, I’ve thought a lot these days. The prosperity of the Qin clan depends on you and me. I lost that duel, but perhaps it’s not all bad. As the saying goes, ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.’ If I can’t even withstand this bit of hardship, if I run back to Qin Manor at the first sign of trouble and don’t dare face people, how can I ever hope to shoulder the family’s future?”

These words hit the mark, touching a nerve of pride in Brian Carter. Especially seeing his son, who had survived disaster, now brimming with vitality—his eyes, his every gesture, all radiated energy, so different from his previously reserved demeanor.

Vaguely, he seemed to see in his son a kind of rebirth from the ashes.

Brian Carter’s tiger eyes widened, and he finally nodded. “Good son, you have ambition. Your father agrees!”

Then, his tone turned serious as he instructed, “But you must promise me, when you return to the Martial Apprentice Academy in Luojiang County, you must endure humiliation and bear heavy burdens. Do not fall into anyone’s trap again.”

Logan Walker’s heroic spirit surged, the corners of his mouth lifting with a hint of arrogance as he declared, “Father, rest assured. Having survived this ordeal, I now know what should and should not be done.”

What should and should not be done?

Brian Carter’s tiger eyes opened wide, and as he looked at his son, his gaze grew even more thoughtful.

Chapter 0007: Return to the Martial Apprentice Academy

After deciding to return to the Martial Apprentice Academy, Logan Walker was in no hurry to go back to Luojiang County. Instead, he stayed at Qin Manor for another month.

During this month, Logan Walker followed his plan strictly, rising at dawn each day to run ten laps around Donglin Town.

This was not only to build physical strength and temper his body, but also to train his legs and endurance. Most importantly, this was a required item in the “Martial Apprentice Test” four years later.

Brian Carter had sent him to the Martial Apprentice Academy in Luojiang County for further study, in part to prepare him for the “Martial Apprentice Test” four years later, hoping he would achieve a good result.

After running, he would go to the family’s training ground to lift iron balls and stone locks, strengthening his arms, waist, and abdomen.

By the time he finished, it was already noon.

After a short rest, the afternoon was devoted to martial arts practice. Combining the masculine style of his previous life’s martial arts, he chose a set of “Great Vajra Fist” as his main attack skill.

At dusk, he would run laps around Donglin Town again.

At night, he would shut himself in early, sitting quietly in his room to contemplate the cultivation methods from his previous life.

Brian Carter was busy managing the family and had little time to supervise him. Instead, it was Grace Carter who, setting aside her own family duties, devoted herself wholeheartedly to taking care of her younger brother’s daily needs.