Before his own safety was assured, he ultimately never uttered any harsh words toward the departing Samuel Thompson.

“Gregory Redmond, take a few security personnel to the hospital.”

After a long while, only when Samuel Thompson had completely disappeared from sight, did Liam Redmond finally give a deep order.

“Luke Redmond, carry your sister’s body inside.”

With that, he turned and walked into the house.

“Father, aren’t we calling the police?”

A slightly plump woman asked timidly.

“Call the police?”

A cold and vicious glint flashed across Liam Redmond’s aged face: “He’s under eighteen.”

Under eighteen?

The woman didn’t quite understand.

But the head of the The Redmond Family, Liam Redmond, gave no further explanation. He simply took out his phone and dialed a number: “Wolf?”

“Boss, what are your orders?”

“I want someone dead!”

...

“Splash, splash...”

Water gushed merrily from the faucet.

Samuel Thompson placed his hands under the stream, letting the water wash over them.

He closed his eyes, feeling neither joy nor pain, neither sorrow nor happiness.

After a long while, he withdrew his hands from the water, picked up a prepared tissue, and wiped the moisture from his hands.

As he wiped, he lifted his head, gazing at a photo hanging on the wall.

It was a photo of two people.

One was a boy of about twelve or thirteen, holding a certificate; the other... was a woman who looked around forty, with wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, yet her face was filled with a kind smile.

A woman...

A great woman he called mother.

Looking at the photo, Samuel Thompson’s wiping motion stopped, and memories from his youth surged through his mind, countless emotions flooding in like a breached dam.

The next moment, his eyes began to well up.

But...

Samuel Thompson held back.

He forced himself to hold back, and shifted his gaze.

This world has no place for weakness.

He took off his shirt, revealing a torso with faintly defined muscles.

On his left shoulder, a patch of redness and swelling.

Samuel Thompson took out some medicine and applied it in circles.

The pain from his fingertips touching the wound told him...

His scapula was fractured.

Samuel Thompson’s movements paused.

“My mindset is off...”

He hadn’t adjusted his mentality.

As a result, when facing six militarily trained ex-soldiers, he hadn’t gone all out at the start.

The price: a severely injured arm.

If...

If those six had all been ruthless and fearless, plus the security force of the neighborhood itself, with his arm badly injured, he might not have made it back from the The Redmond Family’s gate in one piece.

After applying the medicine, Samuel Thompson put his shirt back on, stood in the center of the room, and resumed practicing the Star God Body-Tempering Fist.

His mind...

Not strong enough!

His body...

Also not strong enough!

Weak.

Still very weak!

So he needed to become stronger.

Stronger!

...

Ruby Redmond’s death caused not a ripple.

It stirred no waves.

The The Redmond Family did not call the police, did not spread the news, and not even Samuel Thompson’s life was disturbed by anyone the next day.

The silence was the prelude to a more terrifying storm.

“I’m under eighteen. If the police are called, the law requires a lighter or reduced sentence, and I can’t be sentenced to death, death with reprieve, or life imprisonment... But if they choose not to call the police and settle it privately... then life and death are left to fate...”

Samuel Thompson understood.

He understood the The Redmond Family’s plan, and had guessed their intentions.

A blood debt must be paid in blood!

The next day, the college entrance exam began.

After a month’s disappearance, Samuel Thompson appeared at the exam site with his admission ticket.

Outside the exam hall, there was a huge crowd.

There were examinees, accompanying parents, and quite a few members of the security team maintaining order.

The ASEAN cultural system was very similar to that of the Huaxia Empire on Earth. As a member of ASEAN, the Kingdom of Shaya was no exception. The entire kingdom attached great importance to the college entrance exam. Not only merchants, tycoons, celebrities, and officials, but even the ancient nobility required their younger generations to stand out in the exam to prove themselves.

As Samuel Thompson stepped through the exam hall gates, a commotion arose from the crowd behind him, followed by a clear voice.

“Samuel Thompson.”

Immediately after, a young woman, wearing a white blouse under a small vest, full of youthful energy, quickly caught up. Behind her, a middle-aged woman dressed as a servant, about thirty years old, followed closely, carrying some stationery.

Claire Collins.

Second in Yao Yang High School.

First place in last year’s citywide mock exam.

The reason she was second in Yao Yang High School but first in the citywide mock exam this year...

Was because Samuel Thompson had taken leave.

“Miss.”

Stopped at the exam hall entrance, the servant called out, handing over a backpack full of stationery.

Claire Collins gestured for Samuel Thompson to wait a moment, took the backpack, and quickly caught up to him: “Samuel Thompson, I heard about what happened to you. My condolences.”

“It’s already in the past.”

Samuel Thompson replied calmly.

“How’s your exam preparation?”

“Not bad.”

“Have you filled out your college preferences?”