Rihan had no reason to hide any of this anymore since it didn't matter anymore anyway.

What mattered most is taking away the strength from an enemy that will cause more harm in the future and lessening their current status, plus reaping whatever rewards possible as well.

"But what about the Golden Contract?" Sung Li asked curiously and pointed out another thing that caught him by surprise, "That array you used, wasn't it a creation our yours?"

Rihan paused briefly before answering carefully, "No. I'll explain that later, but for now…" he took out the book they'd acquired from The Page Age bookstore and set it down on top of his desk, turning its pages to show off all the contents. "This should answer some of your questions if not all."

Rihan set his hands on the book and drew forth his full power to activate a set of an array once again.

A huge quantity of condensed energy swirled within the air surrounding the book momentarily before finally disappearing.

The title of the book changed from "Prince Hiqyu Rising Spear" to "Phantasmal Spear Arts" with several pages detailing the abilities imbued into it—along with what level rank those skills can reach under normal circumstances, which are detailed too.

"All these books are pretty similar though, these are the lost cultivation art," said Rihan pensively. "Hidden by Expert and Master of old times… Forgotten."

Ijohen stared hard at the words written in front of them, reading each page carefully as Sung Li did the same. Soon, both of their expressions lit up brightly.

"These… these… aren't these invaluable? How could you have got your hands on them?" stuttered Ijohen while picking it up.

Sung Li's jaw dropped to the ground wide open upon seeing what they'd discovered.

His eyes shone like two stargazing stars from deep space when they focused on what was inside the book, mouth agape for a moment or so.

It wasn't long before his voice shook uncontrollably and cried out loudly, "You're a genius Rihan! Genius!"

Rihan gave him a scolding look, "Don't call me that again please." He quickly turned away from Sung Li who sniffed audibly through his nose after hearing him say that.

Rihan ignored him as if not even noticing him anymore as Sung Li continued muttering to himself, "So this is why we went down to the god-forsaken library basemen just to find it."

"You knew where it would be?" asked Ijohen curiously. "Are there more books like these?"

"More, yes," replied Rihan softly stroking his chin, "But unfortunately, it'll be hard to find them under normal circumstances unless you know what kind of book to actually search for—"

Before Rihan finished talking, but immediately stopped when a series of bangs came from the door again followed by several voices mumbling something indistinctly among themselves outside.

I don't think the people outside the doors have heard our conversation, thought Sung Li silently.

Suddenly, a figure came crashing into the room—it appeared to have fallen off the wall—and tumbled on top of the bed.

"Damn it Ijo! They're here to kill you again!" cursed Rihan grumpily at the sight of Silver Beard's bloody form stumbling over to him.

"Ugh…" Silver Beard groaned in pain as his body trembled.

In front of the door, a figure dressed in all black stood waiting patiently with no sign of emotion on its face whatsoever.

A scythe hung by its waist, "Ah, the Silver Beard," it spoke softly and puffed out its chest to show off itself.

His eyes were covered by a red cloth wrapped around his head that stifles his vision—this was none other than The Cursed Scythe, otherwise known as Blind Assasin! Rihan immediately guessed.

He turned his attention to what was happening outside; a few soldiers are engaged in the battle against assassins dressed in all black, their faces covered by hoods and masks.

Their swordsmanship is terrible, which makes Rihan feel ashamed for these men who claim themselves to be soldiers and assassins.

Suddenly, another figure rushed into the room holding a dagger dripping with blood before rushing straight over to the bed.

"Assassin!" screamed several of the guard surrounding Ijohen instantly when the figure jumped onto the bed at full speed without hesitation.

"Watch your back you imbecile!" yelled Ijohen desperately but Silver Beard quickly grabbed hold of his hand.

"I'm fine." replied Silver Beard quietly, trying to ignore the fact that he came flying right into the room earlier, "I can handle this, just go."

With that, Silver Beard conjured a sword from nowhere while stumbling backwards—and immediately sliced through the assassin's torso effortlessly.

The Cursed Scythe just stood there, seemingly more interested in the savouring of the scent of blood rather than actually doing anything

Then suddenly realized what happened he swung his scythe horizontally cutting open the air only inches away from Ijohen's arm as missed him by an inch or two!

Silver Beard pulled Ijohen closer to himself and raised his sword above his head intending to attack the blind assassin.

Before either could do anything though, Rihan reacted first, slashing outwards with a knife.

His aim was accurate and swift. A single blow to end it all, destroying it completely—but something wasn't quite right with it.

Instantly, a powerful force struck against the knife sending it flying away in slow motion.

At that same moment, the assassin was sent flying straight into one of the nearby walls which broke upon impact heavily.

Rihan's attack created an opening for Silver Beard to swing down his weapon which met its target successfully.

However, The Cursed Scythe somehow managed to block Silver Beard's strike, using his big Scythe as a shield to block off the hit instead.

Rihan managed to witness what had occurred during the quick confrontation between The Cursed Scythe and Silver Beard. It looked like both attacks were blocked perfectly too—so why?

As soon as his scythe collided with Silver Beards' blade, the Cursed Scythe pushed harder against it—creating an invisible barrier that protected the assassin instead.

Blood Barrier Art! Rihan realized immediately after watching this scene play out before him.

He stares at the dagger in front of him before stashing it away. We won't be of any help with our cultivation rank at this rate.

"Tch, the fuck?" muttered Silver Beard grumpily at how easily the assassin is able to fend him off after knocking him back earlier.

"Do you have any idea who we are?" questioned Sung Li.

The assassin replied, "A group of dead boys talking—and I don't recognize your voice either."

"Quit it already," complained Ijohen under his breath while pushing on Silver Beards' shoulder lightly in an attempt to stifle his frustration, "Just get rid of him quickly!"

Silver Beard did not answer his demand but stared straight at Blind Assassin.

Then suddenly the masked figure spoke again without making a sound, "I'm curious, how will you kill me?"

Silver Beard narrowed his eyes at that and replied through clenched teeth, "Take the young master and run. We'll handle the assassins ourselves, if possible."

Rihan immediately understood what that meant and decided that this was their best chance to escape with Silver Beard's protection.