Alright, I should get going too. Once the official document from Heyang Prefecture arrives, you can set out.”

“Thank you for your trouble, Mr. Carter.”

At this moment, Edward Grant suddenly asked, “Mr. Carter, what is your cultivation level?”

William Carter revealed a smile, stretched out a pair of hands with knuckles thicker than most people’s, and suddenly clenched his fists. Instantly, a loud bang echoed in the air as true qi burst forth in all directions.

“Martial Path, Seventh Grade—Bone Tempering. Qi condenses into the bones, marrow is refined to produce essence, true qi is forged, and the body becomes comparable to ordinary blades and swords, able to shatter gold and break weapons!”

Chapter Four: I Will Come Back

Cultivators represent strength, and right now, what Edward Grant lacks most is strength.

Edward Grant could be considered someone who has died twice.

The memories of his death in his previous life are vivid, and now the memories of dying in this life have also flooded his mind.

The taste of death is not pleasant, and Edward Grant does not want to experience it again.

Some things are only cherished after they are lost; only after dying does one realize the value of being alive.

His thirst for power left Edward Grant no time to waste. After William Carter left, he immediately opened the Martial Canon Summary and the Xuangang Daoist Techniques to take a look.

The Xuangang Daoist Techniques recorded very few methods; only the Golden Light Seal could be cultivated, and its effect was to restrain low-level ghosts and evil spirits.

However, to perform the Golden Light Seal, one must form a seal with one hand and draw a talisman with the blood of masculine yang energy with the other. The stronger the yang energy, the more powerful the effect.

As for what the standard for this yang energy is, it wasn’t specified.

But Edward Grant felt he was quite masculine—both in his previous life and this one.

In his previous life, he never had the chance, but in this life, at least he was a young master from a noble family, surrounded by plenty of beautiful maids. Yet, this guy was always so well-behaved that even Edward Grant felt a bit exasperated at his lack of initiative.

After all the trouble of transmigrating, this body hadn’t even left him with any fond memories.

Aside from the Golden Light Seal, the Xuangang Daoist Techniques mainly explained some basic knowledge about demons, ghosts, and such.

For example, the Jingye Division classified demons and ghosts into nine levels, just like cultivators.

Ghosts: wandering spirits, minor ghosts, resentful ghosts, fierce ghosts, evil ghosts, ghost generals, ghost kings, yin gods.

Demons: wild beasts, spirit creatures, minor demons, monsters, demon spirits, great demons, demon kings, demon gods.

There was also a note after the levels: the abilities of ghosts and demons are highly variable, and the levels are only a reference. Some low-level ghosts may possess extremely dangerous and evil abilities.

The ninth-level wandering spirits are the weakest, almost no threat at all. The weaker ones can’t even approach ordinary people with strong yang energy, and the stronger ones can only scare people with their appearance.

Eighth-level minor ghosts have already formed a physical body and can cause some harm to people, some even fatal. Only cultivators can deal with them.

If this classification is used, the heart ghost in Edward Grant’s Black Jade Space should be an eighth-level minor ghost—it already has a form and can be deadly.

But what’s strange is, it was clearly said there are nine levels, yet the last level was omitted. What does that mean?

Edward Grant didn’t dwell on it. After finishing the Xuangang Daoist Techniques, some of the knowledge about ghosts and demons recorded within made Edward Grant feel a chill in his heart.

Demons and ghosts run rampant, and those evil cultivators act recklessly—even in the capital, they dare to use evil arts to kill. Even with the Jingye Division’s presence, it’s clear that absolute safety cannot be guaranteed.

William Carter was right: in this world, no one can guarantee absolute safety. The only one who can protect you is yourself.

Putting down the Xuangang Daoist Techniques, Edward Grant opened the Martial Canon Summary and studied it carefully.

The external training method requires following the diagrams in the Martial Canon Summary to assume various strange postures until one senses a warm current flowing inside the body—the path of this flow is the meridians.

This warm current is the most basic form of qi energy. When it flows into the limbs and meridians, one uses external force to strike the skin, muscles, and bones—this is the method of external training.

As one advances, qi energy can be projected outward, even evolving into true qi or even gang qi, but that’s a realm only seventh- or sixth-grade martial artists can reach.

Edward Grant only needed a few hours to sense the existence of qi energy in his meridians. He didn’t know whether this speed was fast or slow.

Glancing outside, it wasn’t completely dark yet, so Edward Grant began striking his body again, but after just two or three hours, he felt his body go limp and sore.

However, Edward Grant could clearly sense that his body felt lighter than before, and his mental state was also much better.

For the next month, Edward Grant either ate with Old Madam Grant or hid in his room to train his body. He couldn’t go anywhere else, nor did he dare to.

Edward Grant didn’t know if he was just being paranoid or if someone in the Loyal and Brave Marquis’s residence was really watching him—he always felt like someone was spying on him.

After a month, Edward Grant struck the ground hard twice. The bluestone-paved floor, after a month, now bore two deep fist marks from Edward Grant’s blows.

According to the Martial Canon Summary, when punching, the muscles, bones, and skin become one, the punch weighs a hundred catties, and can crack stone and split monuments. This basically means reaching the early stage of external training, and can be considered a true cultivator.