Rihan jumped into his bed and tossed the covers aside, sniffing with relief since it's been a long night. After staring blankly at the wall opposite him, his eyes narrowed in irritation before closing them quickly.

Once everything has settled, I'll reevaluate my options.

It wasn't easy entering the Golden Pavilion, but I managed somehow—thanks to the Royal Palace's involvement and some good luck too.

I only hope they're able to handle the situation without getting into a disadvantageous position.

What should I do next? My gut instinct tells me that the Blackwell Union won't just sit around doing nothing—so where will that leave us now that we've come this far, huh?

Knock! Knock!

The door suddenly swung open making Rihan freeze in his place for several moments before realizing that it was Sung Li.

"Is something wrong?" he asked with his brow creased quizzically as he stepped inside his room.

"Nothing, it was just very sudden for someone knocking on your bedroom door at night," answered Rihan while slowly sitting on his chair facing the door, "and entering without permission at the same time."

Sung Li smirked a little bit then turned on his heel to walk towards the table beside the bed. He took a seat beside the lampstand, setting down the small tray filled with various snacks which contained some tea leaves among them.

"So? What did you get!? A secret stash of honey-sticks?" mumbled Sung Li with an exaggerated smile.

"It's not a secret stash of honey sticks, it's to prepare for what will happen in the future." scoffed Rihan exasperatedly, and in the next instant, all the stress and burden that had built up from earlier faded away completely.

Knock! Knock!

"You expecting anyone else?" Sung Li looked at Rihan from behind who was still staring blankly at the door.

"Er, no—" responded Rihan hastily after pausing for a moment before answering, "Could it be the Blackwell Unions?"

When there was no response, the person pounded their fists hard against the other side of the wooden door.

"Oi! Open up already!" demanded Ijohen. The pounding sounds have become so common lately. At least don't break through my door, please!

"Please hold on—" replied Rihan calmly while leaning on the wall right in front of him—which made Sung Li laugh out loud at that point.

Soon, Ijohen appeared in the doorway, making his way toward Rihan's desk quickly picking up a bottle and pouring its contents into a glass cup.

After sniffing at the concoction, his eyes lit upon the small box sitting atop the desk. He glared directly at Sung Li and then drank the contents greedily.

"Hey, Ijo! Slow down! It'll make you drunk faster if you drink it like that," warned Sung Li patting Ijohen's back lightly.

I'm surprised you didn't try to stop him since you're more than capable of handling him yourself," remarked Rihan as the two of them sat opposite each other beside the bed. "How do things look from your end?"

"Things are getting worse by the minute." sighed Ijohen before taking another sip from the bottle in his hands, "The Blackwell Unions have turned up a lot more active compared to the last time we talked."

"Is there a specific reason for that?" questioned Rihan with curiosity in his voice.

"Well, they've realized that something bad is going to happen soon, so naturally—they'd want to prepare themselves beforehand," explained Ijohen.

When asked further, his expression darkened, and said bitterly, "It looks like this could be one of those rare times where the Royal Family actually show some backbone."

Rihan listened quietly until Ijohen continued saying, "The King will be leaving tomorrow evening and returning the Golden Key to the Golden Pavilion."

Rihan had a sigh of relief upon hearing it. That means we won't have to go to war, but returning the Key itself means that it's a trade of sorts too.

This was a very good move considering everything.

"So why would you say it's getting worse by the minute?" Sung Li inquired curiously while poking at a candy between his pearly white teeth pensively.

"Because Lord Roukaku walk into the palace and accused us of stealing the treasures in the Golden Pavilion—" Ijohen scratched his head while pondering over what to tell them next, "—and you wouldn't have anything to do with any of this would you? Rihan?"

"Of course not!" exclaimed Rihan angrily.

"Of course not, my ass!" Ijohen's fist slammed on top of Rihan's head before leaning forward and laughing out loud, "Everyone at the Council was delighted with that news! In fact, they all cheered 'silently' of course. Lord Roukaku was still there."

Rihan felt a stinging pain rise up in his head and he rubbed the top of his head hard. This damn fool.

Sung Li smirked wickedly as if reading his mind and laughed loudly in response, "So, how did you come out with all this? How did you find the Golden Contract in the first place?"

"I'm asking you too!" scoffed Ijohen aggressively. "Don't get cocky now, the Royal Palace will still have to authenticate it properly and everything."

Rihan paused for a moment then continued speaking once again, "Alright, so it's true that someone stole something from the Golden Pavilion," a

"But it wasn't me. How could a young boy like me break into a place like the Golden Pavilion." explained Rihan honestly.

"That's the point—no one would know it's you!" began Sung Li but Rihan interrupted him, "Yeah it was me though."

"What was your plan in the first place?" asked Ijohen sardonically but was immediately silenced by Sung Li who leaned towards them saying, "He wants to weaken the Blackwell's power and give that back to the Royal Family. Isn't that right?"

Rihan nodded his head slightly at that while mumbling to himself, "Plus, I now have the methods to increase our cultivation rank quickly. Faster than that of what a Major Family could offer to their crop of talents."

Sung Li's eyes widened a bit upon hearing this last part, "Faster than those self-proclaimed, arrogant geniuses?"

He looked between the two of them pensively before patting each of them on the shoulders lightly with a smile, "Well done! I can't wait to overtake them!"

Ijohen looks unconvinced with his mouth half-opened, "It's impossible. Did you rob them clean? If so—"

"Of course!" interrupted Rihan forcefully. "At least for the ones that they've kept inside the Golden Pavilion."

"The Grand Master's Room! You robbed the Grand Master's room—," stuttered Ijohen in shock.