Liu Guanyi wasn't as blind as bat and could see her embarrassment clearly, but instead of being serious, he bowed to Adori and spoke with a formal tone. "As you wish, your highness."

"Okay, enough joking around and just tell me." Adori said with annoyance, she had enough of being teased by him for a single day.

Liu Guanyi chuckled, he didn't continue to test his chances and quickly answered her. "Well, to be honest, I simply saw his potential and wanted to make his talents fully bloom into a beautiful masterpiece."

"As I have said before, I know that it's very likely for you to become an important figure in the future after we have finished our journey climbing the tower."

"Mmmh." Adori nodded her head at his words.

"As a powerful person myself, I have my own plans for the future. I want to build my own forces, and because of that, I need capable and trustworthy people to manage and nurture my forces and Xin is one of them."

"From the first time I met him, I knew that he had the potential. Although he is incomparable to both of us, from his progress until now, he has advanced by leaps and bounds."

"I see, so you want to train him as hard as possible to prepare him to be your right-hand man in the future, knowing that he would follow you zealously."

"It seems that you have prepared for everything. However, building your own forces is a tremendously ambitious thought." Adori said calmly.

She wasn't surprised at all by his ambition. After living together for more than a decade, she had known a lot of his characters, and being very ambitious wasn't out of his characters.

Adori continued her words with worry laced in her voice. "Not only it's incredibly hard and laborious, but it's also excruciatingly dangerous. There are many forces in the tower already, and most of them have an ambiguous relationship. However, even though it's ambiguous, it's certain that they are intertwined with each other."

"If you have a conflict even with one of them, it will start a chain reaction with the rest of them, leading to a dangerous, complicated, and unidentifiable consequence. Creating your own forces is to bell the cat. You will be skating on thin ice."

"Indeed, it's very dangerous and extremely hard. Of course, I naturally understand it without a fault but no need to worry, it's still merely an idea right now."

"Plus, don't I have a dependable and trustworthy friend that will become a big figure in the future?" Liu Guanyi causally said with a relaxed smile.

"She won't mind lending her helping hands once in a while to a friend, right? With her help, I'm obviously much more confident to face the obstacles and adversities that I would face and weather the storm to realize my ambition, knowing that she will not loath to extend her grace for her poor friend." Grinning, Liu Guanyi said teasingly as he stared at the princess.

Adori scoffed angrily. "Hmmph! You want me to back you up to create your own forces, knowing that it will absolutely put me in a hard spot, especially if I were to get caught? It's not happening even in a thousand years."

"Hey, no need to reject me so fast, princess Adori. It won't just be my "own" forces per se, it would also be yours. We only have to keep it a secret between us."

"As long as nobody knows that you help me, no danger will truly befall you and everything will be okay, and developed smoothly." Liu Guanyi tried to persuade her softly.

Adori shook her head and said in a skeptical voice. "It's still very dangerous. The chances of succeeding are very low, almost negligible, and even if you somehow succeed to do it, would the "forces" you build even matter considering the other forces are far more robust and influential in the tower?"

"Especially the ten great families headed by the ten great warriors. Even the Zahard Empire can't fully control them."

"Well said, princess. That's why it's a plan for the far future. Even then, my plan is to develop slowly, steadily, and secretly. We have to make sure to get the correct layout of the power distribution of the big forces in the tower and avoid their territory to develop peacefully."

"Although this will be slow, it's better than contradicting them. I'm sure there are a lot of undeveloped places out there, the tower is such a vast place, after all."

"That's not bad, it's a very reasonable and sound plan." Adori nodded.

Then, Adori showed a charming smile. "However, are you sure that I'm going to help you? It's not that good of a proposition for me, isn't it? Even without having my own forces, as you have said it yourself, I'm going to have a high position in the Zahard family."

"Why would I risk such a good position for a risky and uncertain investment? A secret can be leaked at any time by mistake, even if it's not by ourselves, after all."

Liu Guanyi clapped his hands. "As expected of you, princess Adori. I know that you won't be easily swayed with words alone. However, I have anticipated your reaction. You have told me that you aren't truly loyal to the Zahard family five years ago, haven't you? I can glean that you are truly truthful about it."

Liu Guanyi stopped for a moment as he saw the "punching bag" popping out in the corner, and to stop him from retaliating, he gave the "punching bag" the proper beating it deserved.

"This is why I propose it to you in the first place. Although the Zahard family can be your backer, are they really firm and solid as they appeared?"

"Wasn't the Lo Po Bia team we met in the Workshop battle a member of the most loyal noble family who follows king Zahard? Why did someone from the Lo Po Bia family send them to kill you?" Liu Guanyi asked her solemnly.