The Four Great Protectors of the God-King Palace clashed head-on against the Johnstons’ disciples. The Four Great Protectors were sent flying by the shockwave of the collision. After landing on the ground, they hurriedly took a few steps back. Meanwhile, Wind, Rain, Thunder, and Lightning stood as if they were entirely unaffected. It was apparent that the Four Great Protectors were the weaker of the two parties. Thea narrowed her eyes. “Shall I interpret this as the Johnstons openly antagonizing the Cadens? If so, I’ll report this to my grandfather.” Wearing an unpleasant expression, Hades looked right at her. “Surely you jest, Ms. Maxine. For thousands of years, the Ancient Four have co-existed peacefully, and the Johnstons have always taken the teachings of our ancestors to heart. The same cannot be said of the Cadens, however. Not only did you create the God-King Palace, but you even killed a member of the Johnstons in cold blood. Do you truly wish to pick a fight against
After entering the library, he rummaged through the shelves. However, he could not find what he was looking for. “Where is it?” He murmured. Standing in the middle of the library, he scanned his surroundings. Then, he noticed a straw mat. He walked over to the mat and sat down on it. Focusing his gaze in front of him, he looked straight ahead. As if he had suddenly realized something, he immediately sprang to his feet and walked toward the shelf in front of him. Once he stood in front of the shelf, he looked at the ground. Sure enough, there were traces of the shelf being moved. He gently pushed the shelf. With an almost inaudible click, a secret door revealed itself. The man’s lips curled in delight. He briskly walked over to the door and opened it. There was a black box behind the door. Upon opening the box, he found an ancient scroll within. A painting of a bamboo grove was revealed when he unfurled the scroll. “The Moonlit Bamboos on Cliffside’s Edge…” The man
In the Cadens’ courtyard… A group of people scrutinized an unconscious James. Tobias furrowed his brows and asked, “Who sent him here?” The guard said, “They were wearing a mask, so we couldn’t see their faces clearly. After leaving James in front of the gate, they simply left without a word.” At that moment, Maxine exclaimed in an alarmed voice, “Grandpa, I’ve just received news that the Johnstons are claiming that I went to the Johnstons’ headquarters along with men from the God-King Palace and took James away.” Tobias hissed in irritation, “Looks like someone is trying to pin this incident on the Cadens.” Maxine asked, “What should we do then? Should we save James?” A conflicted look formed on Tobias’ face. Then he responded flatly, “Although he’s no longer a Caden since his grandfather betrayed the family, the fact remains that Caden blood still runs through his veins. In any case, we should take him in for now.” A few guards walked over to James and carried him int
The events at the Johnstons had also reached the ears of Mr. Gabriel. Mr. Gabriel now knew with surety the God-King Palace was affiliated with the Cadens and that Maxine Caden was the one who demanded James’ release. Mr. Gabriel had a similar plan to Mr. Lee’s. He also planned to visit the Cadens and discern Tobias Caden’s thoughts on the recent events. At the Cadens… Tobias had left the room after using his True Energy to treat James’ injuries. Not long after, James slowly regained consciousness. The moment he woke up, all he could feel was excruciating pain throughout his body. He felt as if his heart had been pierced by a thousand swords. James’ face was twisted into an agonized grimace as he tried to bear the pain. To make matters worse, the Gu venom within his body was actively moving around. He was keenly able to feel the sensation of numerous bugs squirming around his body and slowly eating away at him from the inside. “Argh…” His body throbbed and his skin b
Maxine sighed and shook her head exasperatedly. Then, she walked over to James and crouched down. “Go away…” James raised his arm and tried to swat her away. All he did was aggravate his injuries further and ended up coughing out more blood. The door slowly creaked open and Tobias walked into the room dressed in a suit. “Grandpa…” Maxine raised a hand in greeting. Tobias made a small nod of acknowledgment. He took a seat on a nearby chair and regarded James curled up in pain on the floor. James righted himself with no small amount of difficulty and sat limply on the ground. This alone depleted so much of his stamina. A coppery taste lingered in his mouth and his chapped lips were tinged red with blood. When he saw Tobias, James’ face turned black. “Was it you who burned my home to the ground ten years ago?” “Yes,” Tobias made no attempts to deny it. “I’ll kill you…” His nonchalant response only enraged James further. James’ body stiffened as he tried to lunge for To
Now, because of James, they had gotten themselves involved in the turmoil. “Because of you, the Cadens have now been dragged into the fray. It’s not unlikely that you might have been manipulated from the very beginning. Disposing of the Emperor under the Cadens’ name is certainly a surefire way to get the Johnstons and Cadens involved and cause a rift between the two families.” James simply sat there with his mouth agape. He knew that the Capital had been governed by complex dynamics that hung in an intricate balance, but he had not expected things to be this convoluted. The God-King Palace had really made a royal mess of things. “What exactly is the God-King Palace?” Maxine shrugged. “Who knows? We wouldn’t be sitting here doing nothing if we knew who was actually behind this. Tomorrow morning, we’ll likely be receiving a number of guests who are planning to see where my grandfather stands.” “Actually…” Maxine’s mouth snapped shut for a moment before opening once again
James found himself unable to sleep. He had been repeatedly going through the events that had taken place. He no longer had a handle on the situation. He had no idea what the King or the other forces that were backing the Emperor were plotting. The God-King Palace only served to complicate things even further. What were they aiming for? The night passed silently. The next day… The Caden residence bustled with its numerous visitors. Mr. Lee and the King were the first to arrive. They were here with a single objective in mind─to ascertain last night’s events and what the Cadens’ position was on the matter. Opting to not waste any time with useless mental chess, Tobias simply told the truth of what had happened─James was left at the front door of the Cadens. Mr. Lee wrinkled his nose at Tobias’ explanation. He could not tell if Tobias was trying to deceive him or was actually speaking the truth. Shortly after they departed, Mr. Gabriel arrived. Next were the John
Tobias gave James a once over before letting out a pleased huff. “Not bad, your complexion’s improved.” James’ eyes bored into the elderly man before him. Technically, Tobias was James’ grand-uncle. However, he was the farthest thing from family to James whose anger at the events from ten years still burned furiously in his chest. Ignoring the hateful gaze directed at him, Tobias addressed James, “I’m sure you’ve already heard from Maxinne that they’ll seek to destabilize the situation by killing you. Unfortunately, the Cadens can no longer afford to protect you.” Never taking his eyes off Tobias, James said coldly, “I don’t need the Cadens’ protection.” “Oho…?” Tobias exclaimed in amusement. His lips twitched into something resembling a smile. “You’re courageous, I’ll give you that. However, in your current condition, you don’t have a snowball’s chance in hell against them. Even if you had no injuries and were in peak condition, you’ll still get crushed with extreme ease