That means their martial arts skills are lacking!

Why isn’t it the master doing the inspection?

He didn’t dare ask more, afraid of offending Reverend Mason.

William Carter asked, “May I take a look?”

David Brooks replied warily, “That’s not appropriate. After all, we now sus—”

Before he could finish, William Carter suddenly flickered, turning into a series of afterimages, darted past David Brooks, and charged at the skinny man, reaching out to grab him. Unexpectedly, the skinny man reacted extremely fast, leaping away and dodging his hand.

David Brooks turned around and, seeing this scene, couldn’t help but widen his eyes. The other four guests were the same.

Someone among them actually knew martial arts!

The servants outside the hall rushed in and surrounded them.

The skinny man no longer looked nervous; instead, he revealed a vicious grin. Staring at William Carter, he laughed, “Little Taoist, I didn’t expect your cultivation to be so high that you could even see through my techniques. Looks like you really are a prodigy.”

William Carter replied calmly, “Your movement technique is not simple either.”

The wealthy young lady stepped back and asked in terror, “Robert Harris, how do you know martial arts?”

Robert Harris sneered, “Do you really know me that well?”

The wealthy young lady fell silent.

Robert Harris looked at David Brooks and said, “Top scholar, isn’t it ironic? If the other party didn’t have strong martial arts, wouldn’t you have just arrested him and made up a charge at the yamen? The Chen family has always been like this. Back in the Chu Dynasty, you were the same.”

The Chu Dynasty was the dynasty before the Jing Dynasty. In its final years, eunuchs seized power, the people suffered, and righteous men rose in rebellion, leading to the collapse of the Chu Dynasty and an era of warlords. Samuel Carter was not from a noble family, just a martial artist, but he succeeded in founding the Jing Dynasty.

With a warrior as emperor, the Jing Dynasty embraced martial arts more than any previous dynasty.

David Brooks frowned and asked, “Robert Harris, why did you kill him?”

Robert Harris didn’t answer and suddenly attacked David Brooks at lightning speed.

William Carter didn’t move, because he also disliked David Brooks—this guy was quick to accuse and wanted to drag him to the yamen.

“Hmph!”

Reverend Mason snorted coldly, stepped in front of David Brooks, and struck out with his palm. His palm collided with Robert Harris’s right palm, shattering Robert Harris’s hand bones. Robert Harris spat blood and was sent flying, crashing through the doors and windows, startling the disciples outside into retreat.

So he actually knew palm techniques—then why did he use leg techniques to commit the crime?

William Carter suddenly felt that Robert Harris had deliberately tried to frame him.

Could it be that Robert Harris had seen him practicing martial arts before?

After landing, Robert Harris quickly leapt up, soaring several zhang high, and disappeared outside the courtyard.

“Follow me!”

Second senior brother Charles Foster rushed out shouting, and dozens of disciples immediately followed him out of the courtyard.

David Brooks was still shaken, nearly collapsing to the ground.

Reverend Mason withdrew his hand, supported his shoulder, and said, “Benefactor Brooks, though the world is at peace, undercurrents still flow. As the first top scholar of the Jing Dynasty, you shouldn’t wander about freely. Today’s calamity may repeat in the future.”

David Brooks hurriedly gave thanks, then apologized to William Carter. Seeing his sincere attitude, William Carter did not make things difficult.

With that, the matter ended. William Carter became the center of attention. The disciples who hadn’t gone after the culprit crowded around, asking what martial arts he had just used—it was so fast.

Even senior brother James Thompson and third senior sister Grace Foster were interested.

Reverend Mason said, “Changsheng, from now on you don’t need to attend the regular lectures. You may practice martial arts on your own. Aside from ringing the morning bell, you can set your own daily routine.”

At these words, all the disciples looked at him with envy, including James Thompson and Grace Foster. The two senior disciples still had to teach the younger ones.

William Carter was momentarily stunned, then bowed in thanks to Reverend Mason.

Reverend Mason turned and left, and the disciples outside immediately crowded in.

After dealing with his fellow disciples for a while, William Carter found a chance to slip away—even the wealthy young lady was interested in him; it was just too much.

The murder case was temporarily set aside. As for whether the culprit was caught, that was no longer William Carter’s concern. The other disciples continued their cultivation as usual. He returned to his own dormitory, where he was alone.

At Longqi Temple, there were four rooms per courtyard, with two disciples in each room.

Sitting on his bed, William Carter began to organize his thoughts.

He was never sure whether Reverend Mason knew his true identity. After bringing him into Longqi Temple, Reverend Mason hadn’t given him any special treatment, and he couldn’t just ask directly.

Today’s events involved the previous dynasty. After revealing his martial arts, Reverend Mason actually granted him the greatest freedom, which set his mind racing.

[In the twelfth year of Kaiyuan, you happened to encounter a remnant of the previous dynasty committing a crime and were dragged into the trouble. Relying on your skills, you escaped danger and received a survival reward—martial art ‘Vajra Roar’]

A line of text only he could see appeared before his eyes, making him smile.

Another crisis survived!

If not for his six years of diligent martial arts practice, he wouldn’t have been able to force Robert Harris to reveal his skills today, and would likely have been taken to the yamen and killed by those in power.

“I must continue to train hard and not slack off. Today’s events show that as long as there’s a proper excuse, the court can still find a way to take me away.”

William Carter thought to himself.

He also wondered: did Reverend Mason really not see through Robert Harris’s martial arts?

In any case, he couldn’t choose to trust others—he could only trust himself.

Once he figured this out, William Carter began to study the Vajra Roar martial art that had appeared in his mind.