William Carter's eyes lit up as he said, "The Old Gentleman, are you willing to teach me now?"

Old Craftsman shot him a disdainful glare and said, "Your fundamentals are still far from adequate, but since I need to forge weapons for General Brooks, I really can't afford to delay any longer. However, you must remember, even if you master the art of forging, you cannot become arrogant or complacent. You must always strive for perfection if you want to make real progress."

William Carter nodded repeatedly, swearing to the heavens that he would never let down The Old Gentleman's high expectations.

However, while Old Craftsman shook his head helplessly on the surface, in his heart he was filled with emotion.

Though his words were harsh, in just these three short days, William Carter's control over military arms had already reached the minimum requirement for forging armor and weapons.

Back in the day, it had taken Old Craftsman a full three months to barely achieve this. Yet this kid had managed it in only three days.

Although Old Craftsman had long known that a controller of military arms with spiritual power was far stronger than one who could only rely on physical strength, William Carter's performance was still enough to shock him.

The main reason he dared not let outsiders know that William Carter had already awakened his military arms was precisely this.

At this moment, seeing William Carter's look of barely contained joy, Old Craftsman himself wasn't sure how to feel.

How far could this kid go in the future?

※※※

The next morning, William Carter got up early. Instead of entering Old Craftsman's forge as he had in previous days, he headed straight for the western barracks.

Within the military camp, the rules were strict. However, once William Carter reported the name of the western camp's general, Ethan Brooks, he was able to pass through unimpeded—no one had any interest in questioning him a second time. Of course, this was also because William Carter had been around the camp for two years; if he were a true stranger, it would have been impossible to move about so freely.

When William Carter finally met Ethan Brooks as he wished, the burly general looked at him with an intrigued and rather peculiar gaze.

William Carter's scalp tingled slightly. For some reason, under that gaze, he felt as if he had nowhere to hide.

Ethan Brooks came up to William Carter, stretched out his large hand, and pinched and tapped him for a while before saying, "Good, you really are a martial arts seed with abundant vital energy. Kid, since you're here, you need to train hard. Heh, if you can't complete the tasks I assign, I definitely won't let you off easy, understand?"

William Carter nodded vigorously and replied loudly, "Yes!"

As a young man, he had always envied the soldiers training in martial arts on the parade ground, wishing he could join them. Now that he finally had the chance, there was no way he would give it up or let it slip by.

Moreover, after yesterday's sneak attack by Grace Bolton, he was well aware of the danger he was in.

For him, martial arts training had become a matter of life and death.

Ethan Brooks led William Carter into a tent and said, "Kid, if you want to learn martial arts, you must first stand firm. Watch closely." He lowered his waist and assumed a horse stance, saying, "Copy this."

William Carter glanced at him and, not daring to slack off, imitated the posture and squatted down.

In fact, he had seen this kind of horse stance many times in the camp; many soldiers would do similar exercises in their spare time. However, Ethan Brooks's horse stance seemed a bit different.

Ethan Brooks frowned slightly and scolded, "Hmph, kid, focus! Did I tell you to sit down?"

William Carter was dumbfounded, unable to say a word. But as he looked carefully at Ethan Brooks, he felt rather awkward inside.

Because after Ethan Brooks assumed the horse stance, although he didn't move a muscle, for some reason, William Carter felt as if he were watching a galloping steed. If he stared for a long time, he could even sense an overwhelming aura pressing down on him, as if it would crush him completely.

But when he looked at himself, William Carter couldn't help but blush. Outwardly, his stance looked identical to Ethan Brooks's, but it gave off a loose and sloppy feeling, as if he might fall apart at any moment.

Of course, without the stark contrast between the two, William Carter would have had a hard time noticing such a huge difference.

Ethan Brooks's figure flickered slightly, and he appeared before William Carter like a ghost.

Startled, William Carter fell straight to the ground with a yelp.

Ethan Brooks's expression didn't change as he said coldly, "Get up!"

William Carter immediately scrambled to his feet, looking embarrassed and not knowing how to explain.

Ethan Brooks said in a calm voice, "Kid, if you want to succeed in martial arts, you have to endure hardship. Now, get into the horse stance."

William Carter responded and squatted down again in the same posture.

Ethan Brooks's gaze shifted as he reached out and tapped him a few times, saying, "Raise your hands, bend your knees, keep your back straight, and don't let your eyes wander."

William Carter followed each instruction and maintained the posture without relaxing in the slightest. Strangely enough, after Ethan Brooks corrected his stance, he suddenly found that his body felt much more relaxed, no longer as tense as before.