When she got to this point, her tone paused: “Speaking of making a splash after lying low, we have to mention the Blade Master among the Three Masters of the North and South, John Carter. He spent the first half of his life training in obscurity, and after forty, he made a breakthrough, rising to Grandmaster at an incredible pace. Leading the Red Blade Sect, he made a huge name for himself and is now the undisputed martial arts overlord north of Tiannan.”

　　“Making a splash, reaping the rewards of long preparation…”

　　Ethan listened to these comments from Sarah Bennett.

　　He didn’t believe in any “reaping the rewards of long preparation.”

　　In his view, there’s only one reason for a martial artist’s sudden surge in power…

　　Possession by a demon.

　　Now, he had instantly locked onto three possible suspects.

　　Much more efficient than going door to door and trying his luck.

　　Especially that John Carter.

　　His open strength was already at Grandmaster level—how strong must his true power be!?

　　After all, those like Henry Cooper and Richard Knight whom he had killed were only at the peak martial artist level on the surface.

　　“Besides the Blade Master John Carter, the Thunder Master Matthew Price has dominated Tiannan for over forty years with his Thunder Fist. He’s the most respected figure in our entire Tiannan martial arts world, the face of Tiannan’s martial community, and the last of the Martial Masters…”

　　Sarah Bennett smiled slightly: “That would be my senior brother, William Cooper. He was also the champion of the 14th National Martial Arts Tournament.”

　　“You probably don’t know, little brother, but the National Martial Arts Tournament selects the uncrowned king from among hundreds of thousands of martial artists across the thirteen provinces of Dayu. That’s like picking the best fighter out of three hundred million people. Even though the older generation can’t compete again after winning once, the weight of this championship is still much greater than that of the Overlord Cup.”

　　Emily Harris interjected: “It was precisely because of this achievement that Consultant Cooper was directly appointed as a senior prosecutor with the rank of chief prosecutor after joining the Prosecutor’s Office.”

　　Ethan nodded.

　　The Dayu Kingdom’s Prosecutor’s Office is an institution directly appointed by the royal family. Even the Prime Minister has no authority to dismiss the Chief Prosecutor, making it the sharpest sword the royal family wields over the cabinet.

　　The two sides keep each other in check, ensuring the royal family’s absolute rule over the Dayu Kingdom.

　　It’s an institution with immense power.

　　It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it the modern Jinyiwei.

　　“What about the Martial Saint?”

　　Ethan asked, “I don’t think I’ve ever heard any news about a Martial Saint.”

　　“Martial Saint?”

　　Sarah Bennett was slightly taken aback.

　　Then she shook her head: “A Martial Saint… that’s someone who stands at the very pinnacle of the martial world, breaking the limits of the human body. In ancient times, they could have become a Buddha or a patriarch. There are only a handful in all of Dayu, and in Tiannan, there hasn’t been a Martial Saint for a hundred years.”

　　“None?”

　　Ethan was a bit surprised: “Isn’t Grandmaster just one step away from Martial Saint? Isn’t it just a small gap?”

　　“Of course.”

　　Sarah Bennett sighed, finding the question a bit amusing in its naivety: “A Martial Saint is almost superhuman, beyond human. Their strength can’t be measured by ordinary standards. Whenever one appears, it usually signals the rise of a top-tier power—even the royal family would treat them as honored guests.”

　　“I looked up some information before I came.”

　　At this moment, Emily Harris suddenly spoke: “A Martial Saint’s body is so strong that ordinary firearms and bullets can hardly cause them serious harm. While a rifle could theoretically kill them, it’s questionable whether ordinary guns could even hit them. Even if they did, Martial Saints are so wealthy that buying top-level bulletproof gear is easy. So, regular firearms pose no threat to them—they just need to avoid heavy weaponry. And if a Martial Saint who has broken the limits of the human body wants to hide, it’s almost impossible to detect them. In the turbulent times a century ago, countless high-ranking officials and royal family members in Central Continent’s empires were assassinated by Martial Saints, leading to national upheaval and even the fall of empires.”

　　“That’s right.”

　　Sarah Bennett nodded, her eyes full of longing: “It’s said that a Martial Saint with a top logistics team is worth an entire heavy-armored synthetic brigade.”

　　She spoke with a sense of pride: “If nuclear weapons represent the light of technology, then Martial Saints represent the light of humanity.”

　　“The light of humanity…” Ethan repeated the phrase.

　　That’s all it could be—the light of humanity.

　　He had no idea how many demons there were.

　　But beings like Henry Cooper, once transformed and revealing their demonic forms, even if not quite at Martial Saint level, must be close.

　　Not to mention terrifying figures like John Carter, who present themselves as Grandmasters.

　　Of course, it was too soon to say that John Carter was possessed by a demon, but he knew…

　　A Martial Saint is the limit for humans, but by no means the limit for demons.

　　……

　　The information known by insiders and outsiders is worlds apart.

　　What Ethan found online about martial artists was far less detailed than what Sarah Bennett, a true martial arts heir, described.

　　Even though her knowledge was limited to Tiannan, her account had already given him a good understanding of all the martial artists and factions in Tiannan.

　　He also mentally noted more than a dozen targets for further investigation.

　　While everyone was talking, Grace Brooks’s phone suddenly rang.

　　She stood up apologetically and answered the call.

　　As she took the call, Emily Harris also received a message on her phone.

　　Seeing the message, she was clearly startled.