​"Yaaaaawwwn," Ian stretched, walking down the long estate hallway with Tracy following closely behind him.

​"Young Master, why did you wake up so early when you seem so incredibly tired?" Tracy asked, noticing the heavy, dark circles under Ian’s golden eyes.

​"Well... I could have woken up refreshed if I actually slept. But as you can see, I didn’t get a wink," Ian muttered slowly, rubbing his temples.

​’I spent all of last night teaching Aunty Martha about Cultivation,’ Ian thought wearily as he walked. ’Since the only physical copy of the manual was with Adam, I had to teach her verbally and demonstrate the breathing forms. She was so intensely focused, just like when I taught Mother modern accounting.’

Ian sighed, holding back another yawn. ’And right when we were finally done and I thought I could get some proper rest, then that bastard Adam broke through! Right after his breakthrough, he rushed straight to my room to celebrate and brag about it, and he only left this morning! Does a first breakthrough really make people that crazy? When Emma broke through, she ran to tell me immediately. When Emily broke through, she went straight to punching me but it’s still the same thing. I guess it’s just the sheer shock of going from being weak to actually having superhuman strength.’ ’But on the bright side, Adam was incredibly fast,’ Ian smiled faintly. ’I only gave him the technique yesterday morning, and he returned the manual to me this morning after successfully reaching the Early Stage.’

​"What do you mean when you say you never slept?" Tracy asked, tilting her head in confusion.

​"Never mind that. You wait out here," Ian said, coming to a halt in front of a set of large, fancy black doors. "I could tell you to go explore the estate or rest in your room, but I know you won’t listen to me anyway."

​Tracy blushed. "You really understand me, huh?" she said shyly.

​"That was really not a compliment," Ian said, shooing her away with his hand before turning to the doors.

​Knock... knock. "Come in," a deep, exhausted voice replied from the other side.

​Ian pushed the heavy doors open, stepped inside, and closed them behind him. Sitting behind a massive desk covered in towering stacks of paperwork was Jacob. The Family Head looked terribly tired, with deep bags under his eyes.

​"You look like you didn’t sleep much, Uncle," Ian said, starting the conversation.

​"Well, I really didn’t," Jacob sighed, dropping his quill pen and staring at his nephew. "And looking at you, you seem to be experiencing the exact same problem. So, what brings you here?"

​"I came to apologize to you, Uncle. For how I acted during the Family Meeting yesterday," Ian said, his expression turning sincere and grim. "I could have just told the Elders my solution instead of lashing out at them. I let my anger get the best of me, and I am sorry for causing a scene."

​’And if I think about it... in my past life, I also made my anger took control of me, and that was what ultimately led to my destruction,’ Ian thought, his fists folding tightly at his sides. ’I can’t make those same mistakes here.’

​Jacob just stared at Ian in silence for a few moments.

​"Sigh... I understand, Ian. There is no need for you to apologize," Jacob said softly. "If I were in your shoes, I would be furious too, seeing that we cowered and did absolutely nothing to the bastards who murdered my brother."

​"But still, I should at least apologize. I am putting a lot of problems on your plate right now," Ian insisted.

​Jacob smirked a little. "It’s just part of the job description of being a Family Head," he said, waving his hand. "Besides, your mother sent me a message the day you arrived here. She said you invented an entirely new method of calculating profits that leaves much less room for our vassals to steal from us."

​"Ah, the accounting method. I almost forgot about that," Ian laughed lightly, scratching the back of his head. "I actually wanted to bring it up in the meeting yesterday, but as you know... I kind of stormed out before I could."

​Ian’s face then turned serious. "But that is not the most important thing right now. You once asked me if I knew of a way to heal Adam’s curse."

​Jacob instantly stiffened, staring intently at Ian. "Yeah. I asked, but you told me you didn’t know anything."

​"Well, you see...," He then reached into his coat and pulled out the worn, hand-written copy of the Adamantine Ox Hide Technique.

​Ian then spent the next hour explaining the exact same story about the magical artifact, the Cultivation manual, and how the subsequent ’Bone Forging’ stages could completely eradicate the rotting curse in Adam’s bones.

​’Yesterday, when I heard what Aunty Martha told me about the kingdom’s impending civil war and the threats our family is facing, I decided to teach first only my family members these techniques immediately,’ Ian thought as he watched Jacob read the first few pages. ’I will be much more picky about who I let cultivate in the future when I have more Prosperity Points.’

​Two Hours Later...

​"I see..." Jacob whispered, his eyes wide with sheer realization. "Is this the reason why that idiot son of mine didn’t want me in his room yesterday! He locked his door and told me I was ’disturbing him’. I thought his depression had finally caught up to him, and I couldn’t sleep all night because I was so worried about him!"

​Jacob looked up from the manual, a massive, genuine smile breaking across his tired face. "But if this technique truly does help him... Ian, I won’t even know how to begin to thank you."

​"You don’t need to thank me, Uncle," Ian smiled warmly. "But now that I’ve given you the manual, what are you going to do? I heard a rumor that when you were a teenager, you traveled half the continent looking for a way to get strong."

​"Traveled half the continent??" Jacob scoffed. "Who is making up those exaggerated rumors? Is it Vincent? For your information, I only traveled through three kingdoms to see if anyone could cure our terminally weak bloodline. But I found nothing and I didn’t even reach a quarter of the continent"

​"Then what now? Are you going to start practicing this technique, or are you too busy with your Family Head duties?" Ian asked, gesturing to the massive stacks of unread paperwork on the desk.

​"Busy with Family Head duties?" Jacob laughed, a mischievous glint in his golden eyes. "Ian, being a Family Head means there is actually very little work to do! Since I was too weak to train like normal nobles, I just thought I would bore myself to death with nothing to do. So, I voluntarily started doing all the jobs the Elders were supposed to do, like managing the taxes and the territory administration."

​Jacob suddenly stood up, eagerly clutching the cultivation book to his chest.

​"In other noble families, the Family Heads practically do nothing at all! Their retainers and Elders do all the hard work!" Jacob grinned. "So I should be going now! And since you said you already told Martha about cultivation, I guarantee we are not going to see her for days. She is even more obsessed with strength than I am!"

​Without another word, Jacob bypassed the massive stacks of paperwork, threw the office door open, and practically sprinted down the hallway to go train, leaving Ian standing completely alone in the office.

​Ian blinked in surprise. ’He is even more excited than Aunty Martha was,’ Ian chuckled to himself. ’Well, for someone who spent his youth traveling through three kingdoms in a desperate search for strength, of course he would be this excited.’

​Ian looked out the large office window toward the estate gates. ’Now, the only person left in the main family to teach is Isaac. Aunty said she sent someone to call Isaac back from the Royal Academy the day I arrived here. I wonder when he will finally be back?’