Yang Yi froze at her words. Seeing the expression on her face, he managed an embarrassed smile. "I apologize, that wasn't my intention."

Merian Lilith glanced at Yang Yi, then turned to the maids. "You may all leave now."

"Yes, Your Majesty the Queen."

"Big Brother, come, please have a seat."

Yang Yi didn't stand on ceremony. He handed his cane to Feng Shi and sat down opposite Merian Lilith. She clapped her hands once and smiled brightly at him. "Big Brother, will the oldest vintage tribute wine be suitable?"

"Mm!" Yang Yi nodded. If one were to say Yang Yi had no hobbies, how could he possess so many women, or so many fine possessions? Undeniably, Yang Yi did have hobbies; the issue was that his hobbies existed across many tiers, though he perhaps confined them to a specific standard.

"Big Brother, John Ossary has escaped!" Once the attendants were all gone, Merian Lilith personally poured Yang Yi a glass of red wine.

"I know." Yang Yi didn't seem bothered, perhaps even finding a certain enjoyment in the situation. Few people in the current world could command the head of a nation to pour them wine, and he didn't attribute any deep meaning to Merian Lilith's action—it was purely an expression of gratitude. Though Yang Yi couldn't quite pinpoint the origin of this feeling, it appeared remarkably sincere.

"Mm, I know Big Brother is always well-informed. But..." Merian Lilith's innocent and lovely expression suddenly vanished, replaced by one of deep seriousness. "John Ossary fled in the direction of Los Angeles."

"Your Majesty means the Dark Council?"

"Exactly!" Merian Lilith nodded, then continued, "The Dark Council is the greatest enemy Britain has ever faced, and also an enemy of the Holy See. Big Brother might find it useful to exploit this situation."

"Heh heh..." Yang Yi simply smiled without speaking. He wasn't surprised by Merian Lilith's demeanor. In fact, from the moment he first saw her, he had grown somewhat numb to the extraordinary events surrounding her, especially after what happened in the bar. He hardly expected anything she experienced to be ordinary.

"Pfft!" Seeing Yang Yi's slight smile, Merian Lilith giggled too. "Come, Big Brother, Lily will drink with you today. We won't discuss any business."

"Haha, worthy of a Queen! Excellent. Today I shall properly savor the royal wines of Britain." Yang Yi laughed heartily. As for John Ossary’s matter, or the affairs of the Blood Clan, everyone understood the unspoken realities. Besides, at this moment, there was no need to articulate them. Their relationship was fundamentally one of cooperation, even if other, more complex emotions were interwoven. Now, everything had settled; wasn't a time of peace and prosperity the best outcome?

########################################################### "A successful partnership!"

"A successful partnership!"

In a conference room in Shanghai, China, Fatty Lin and Shangguan Tengfei shook hands, both beaming.

Brother Yi, I don't know if you'd permit this, or if what I'm doing now is right. But I will prove to you that I will achieve the goals you set. Fatty Lin mused internally.

Ye Xiaohou, who was clapping nearby, felt an immense calm settle over him. Finally, all matters seemed to have reached a temporary conclusion. For the Black God Gang, having neutralized the forces of the Eight Great Families—barring his own Ye family whose status remained undetermined—meant they faced few immediate enemies, which was hardly a poor outcome.

It seems my side will soon have to step into the light as well. Brother, what exactly are you planning? Ye Xiaohou pondered, gazing out at the setting sun, his heart heavy with contemplation.

Meanwhile, on the other side, a young man leading two others appeared at a certain airport.

"Tsk tsk, Boss, we get to see the top Boss again this time."

"Exactly! We definitely won't waste this opportunity. We must make the top Boss take us on as subordinates."

"Hey, are you two ever going to stop? The plane is about to take off!" Seeing his two underlings acting so shamelessly, the person in charge felt his teeth grind. He remembered the last time these two even used his own signature move and still failed to impress their leader enough to be taken in. Who knew what spectacle they planned this time?

"Alright, we're coming!" The two responded, their faces split in brilliant smiles.

Back in Britain, Yang Yi, having spent nearly ten days within the Royal Palace, felt a rising sense of frustration. He had planned to return promptly to resume his role as a model student for half a month, but that now seemed impossible. These ten days had practically consumed the remainder of his semester's time.

"Phew, I barely made the last flight," Yang Yi sighed softly.

"Pfft!" Feng Shi smiled, chuckling lightly. "You can still be a good student for a few days when you get back, but you know there will be exams."

"Uh! Exams..." The very mention of exams gave Yang Yi a headache. He seemed to have little fate with assessments. Since arriving at the academy, he had sat for fewer than ten exams across all subjects, taking very few tests overall. It wasn't a fear of failing, but a fear of whether he could even qualify to take the test in the first place. Yang Yi was truly an anomaly, and this mundane requirement had managed to hold him up.

"Did he leave today?" In a bar at the far end of Chinatown, Old Guo asked Merian Lilith.

"Mm, he's already on the plane now."

"It's good that he's going back. I just hope he doesn't stir up too much trouble when he gets there," Old Guo remarked with a knowing gaze.

Merian Lilith merely glanced at him and remained silent, sitting quietly beside him. It seemed that in front of everyone here, she felt none of the burden of being the ruler of a nation.

"Young Master, the Black God Gang has mostly settled the affairs concerning the Eight Great Families, and they did it spectacularly well," a middle-aged man, whose face was half-covered by a cloth, reported to a youth.

"Defeating the enemy in one swift move was indeed quite brilliant," the youth replied with a faint smile. "Go prepare a transfer form for me to enroll at Peking University. The real show is about to begin."

"Peking University?" The middle-aged man looked at the youth with confusion.

The youth seemed to sense his doubt but maintained that slight smile. "You're wondering why I chose Peking University, instead of Tsinghua, right?"

"Yes. The other party hasn't decided which school to favor yet, Young Master. Is it too early for you to decide?"

"No, there's absolutely no mistake. He will also choose Peking University. Tsinghua is merely seasoning—it’s insignificant to us." The youth waved his hand dismissively. "Go on."

"Yes, Young Master!" The middle-aged man bowed and disappeared.

In a nearby villa, an extremely strange occurrence was unfolding.

"Grandpa, I don't believe it, I don't believe it. Why? Why is this happening?" Yang Rong asked, her face deathly pale, staring at an ancient-looking booklet resting on the table.

The white-haired elder, Yang Xuan, shook his head helplessly and sighed. "Alas, I don't fully understand either. But the manual records it as such."

Hearing this, Yang Rong's trembling hands picked up the booklet and slowly turned the brittle pages. Her entire body shook as she read the archaic script inscribed within.

Chronicle Year: Month, Day!

Note: Yang Lingfeng, the direct lineage Grandmaster of the Heavenly Vein Clan, was dispatched to the Mortal World during the execution of a Clan mission.

Narration: While executing his mission in the Mortal World, Yang Lingfeng mated with a mortal woman, eventually marrying and having a son and a daughter. However, these acts violated our Clan's regulations. Therefore, by decision of the Clan Elders, Yang Lingfeng was stripped of his qualification as a direct lineage Grandmaster and expelled from the Heavenly Vein Clan.

"Back then, due to the chaos of internal conflict within the Clan, enemies of your father sent agents to the Mortal World to assassinate your entire family. By the time I received word and reached your home, I found your parents dead, and only you remained hidden in the wardrobe. That's why I brought you back to the Clan. At that time, I searched everywhere for your younger brother, but there was no trace. I thought those people had..."

Yang Xuan paused here, glancing at the tear-streaked face of Yang Rong. "...I thought they had managed to silence your brother."

"Although I have since brought every one of those who murdered your parents to justice over the years, I could never bring myself to tell you the whole story."

"Why? Why?" Yang Rong's face was contorted with tears, as if screaming out the agony piercing her heart.

"Alas! I simply didn't want you to suffer, but I never expected that I would inadvertently let you see this booklet today." Yang Xuan’s weathered face was also streaked with tears—this was the matter he most regretted in his life. If he hadn't been so consumed by his own cultivation back then, this outcome might never have materialized.