The old man walked up to William Carter and said, “Our Saintess is not someone you can approach. This Blood Moon Seal is a gift for taking care of our Saintess! Wait until you have gained some strength before cultivating it.”

He took out a red scroll and handed it to William Carter.

He then returned to Grace Turner's side. With a flash, the two of them completely disappeared from where they stood.

“Wait until you have gained some strength before cultivating it!”

Clutching the jade pendant from Grace Turner and the scroll from the old man, William Carter clenched his fist and demanded from Charles Carter, “Give me the invitation token!”

Charles Carter closed his eyes and looked up to the sky with a long sigh. Now that someone like this was standing up for William Carter! If he still refused to give him the token, he feared that when that old man returned, even the ancestral land might not be able to protect them.

Afraid that Charles Carter would give the token to William Carter, Thomas Carter hurriedly clutched his chest and pleaded, “Patriarch, you absolutely must not give him the token! Absolutely not!”

As he spoke, he also shot a look at the elders beside Charles Carter.

The elders understood immediately and knelt down, saying, “Patriarch…”

A cold smile appeared on Charles Carter’s face, fully displaying the demeanor of a true leader: “Do you think saying this now is of any use? If you have the energy, you should be grateful that George Foster didn’t just kill someone earlier!”

“William Carter, here is the token you wanted.” Charles Carter tossed out the token, coldly staring at Thomas Carter, afraid he would cause more trouble.

William Carter reached out and caught the token, glanced around, and then jumped down from the stage.

Watching William Carter’s departing figure, the jealous Robert Carter couldn’t help but sneer, “Hmph, trash will always be trash. Do you think that just because you’ve entered the Xuanming Sect, you’ll be safe? Edward Carter has been in the Xuanming Sect for a year now. I don’t believe he’ll let you off!”

William Carter stopped in his tracks, wearing the same cold smile: “Is it him letting me off, or me letting him off? I’m joining the Xuanming Sect to take revenge on him!”

After hurrying back to his room to pack his things, William Carter was ready to leave the Zheng family that had left him so cold.

But just as he pushed open the door, the patriarch who had once made him feel as if he’d fallen into an ice cellar, Charles Carter, walked out.

With a faint smile on his face, he said, “Leaving already?”

Chapter 9: Interception

William Carter nodded, trying to walk around Charles Carter.

The old man stretched out his left hand, which had been behind his back, blocking his way. He sighed and said, “I know you’re angry. What Thomas Carter and the others did was indeed excessive, but no matter what, we are still family. For my sake, can you not hold a grudge against them…”

“Why should I do it for your sake?” The youthful temper of William Carter was almost impossible to suppress: “When my Supreme Soul was taken and I became a cripple, bullied for a whole year, why didn’t you come to comfort me?”

“Just now, when Thomas Carter and the others were about to kill me, you didn’t stop them either! If George Foster hadn’t appeared, I would have been beaten to death by Thomas Carter by now!”

“Now you want me to let go of my grudge just because you say so? Who do you think you are!”

“Family? Does family treat each other like this?”

A year’s worth of bitterness and grievance surged up again in William Carter’s heart because of Charles Carter’s words—he was practically shouting these words in his heart!

But on the surface, he still pretended nothing was wrong and nodded.

Seeing William Carter like this, Charles Carter knew that the nod was just for show, and hurried to explain, “There were reasons I couldn’t help you before.”

William Carter wanted to hold back and keep packing, but the anger that had been suppressed for a year could no longer be contained. He looked up and said, “I understand. Your reason was to let the one who took my Supreme Soul go unpunished, and to help Thomas Carter send Edward Carter and Samuel Carter into the Xuanming Sect! Isn’t that right?”

Charles Carter’s face turned a bit pale as he said, “It seems you still have deep resentment toward me!”

He sighed and continued, “You possessing the Supreme Soul was a once-in-a-millennium, even once-in-ten-thousand-years, opportunity for our Zheng family!”

“We certainly wanted to nurture you, attract the attention of the ancestral land, and raise the status of our Zheng family. Who would have thought the ancestral land would send someone to take your Supreme Soul?”

“We couldn’t fight the ancestral land. How could we help you?”

Charles Carter looked utterly helpless.

William Carter sneered, “Did you ever really want to help me? If you truly did, why did you tolerate Edward Carter’s betrayal and ultimately send him into the Xuanming Sect?”

“No!” Charles Carter waved his hands repeatedly, explaining, “We also considered crippling Edward Carter, but after your Martial Soul was taken, you lost the qualification to enter the Xuanming Sect. If we crippled Edward Carter too…”

“Then who would take his place in the Xuanming Sect? If he didn’t go, who would protect the Zheng family in the future? I made this decision for the long-term interests of the family. I hope you can understand.”

Charles Carter kept shaking his head, showing his helplessness.

“I understand you!” William Carter shook his head and said, “But I don’t agree with this approach. The prosperity of a family depends on fairness and mutual love, not on compromising with those who break the rules.”