After he left, Edward Howard also went out. Familiar with the way, he quickly arrived outside Big Brother's courtyard.

The servants in the courtyard all bowed respectfully when they saw him; no one tried to stop him. Edward Howard entered the house, where Charles Howard was sitting alone with a bottle of liquor, no food, just drinking sullenly, one mouthful after another.

"It's you, second brother." Charles Howard gave a bitter smile. Edward Howard sat down and said angrily, "Big Brother, I know everything now. We can't just let this go."

Charles Howard waved his hand slightly. "Forget it. When it comes down to it, it's just that we're not capable enough. If one of us brothers had real talent, the power and wealth of the Hong family wouldn't be about to end with us. Who would dare look down on us then? Sigh..."

Edward Howard was about to speak, but seeing Big Brother's dejected and defeated look, he swallowed his words, silently took the bottle, and drank with him.

Charles Howard smiled. The two brothers drank in turns, no more words were needed.

……

At dusk, Edward Howard returned to his own room. He had drunk quite a bit, but his mind was exceptionally clear.

This world is highly developed, and the art of brewing is especially advanced. Take the liquor they drank today—by his estimation, according to the standards of his previous life, it should be about fifty percent alcohol.

When he first arrived here, he instinctively treated this world as the ancient times of his previous life. But as time went on, he realized that while there might not be the material abundance of large-scale industrialization, the various technologies here were very advanced, not much inferior to his previous world.

Actually, Edward Howard couldn't hold his liquor, and besides, young people mostly rely on their bodies to drink. His body was still rather weak. But when Edward Howard took his third sip, the ancient demon elephant totem inside him suddenly awakened!

Then, the fierce elephant unceremoniously absorbed all the alcohol in Edward Howard's body!

With the alcohol taken away, it was as if Edward Howard was just drinking water. Other than needing to pee a few more times, he felt nothing at all.

He hadn't expected that an ancient divine beast would actually like to drink!

So now he was completely sober, while in the Tianquan acupoint, the ancient demon elephant totem was already snoring away, reeking of alcohol.

He rested in his room for a while, then sneakily climbed out through the window.

In the shadows, Thomas Howard smiled.

Downstairs were Little Lily, Benjamin Howard, and two other maids. No one knew that Edward Howard had already slipped out. This escape route had been used countless times by the original owner, and could be called "tried and tested," never once discovered.

But now, he was up against a third-rank Manifest Saint.

He followed the usual route with practiced ease, avoiding people all the way to a secluded spot under the courtyard wall in the rear garden of the Hong residence. There, Edward Howard retrieved a rope and grappling hook from under a stone, and was just about to hook the wall and climb over when Thomas Howard suddenly appeared in front of him, smiling, "Young Master Yu, you'd better go back."

Edward Howard was stunned, then dejectedly reburied the rope and grappling hook. "Grandpa sent you to watch me, didn't he? The old man really went all out this time, actually assigning a third-rank Manifest Saint just for me."

Thomas Howard gave a wry smile. "No one else could keep an eye on you, Young Master Yu." As he spoke, he glanced at the stone on the ground. Edward Howard looked as if it was only natural. "Uncle Shen, don't take my stuff away. When you stop watching me, I'll still need these to sneak out."

Thomas Howard couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time.

Thomas Howard "escorted" Edward Howard back. Edward Howard muttered to himself, no wonder he'd felt lately like someone was watching him.

With such an expert following him around, Edward Howard was quite troubled. He didn't know if his novice-level Dharma Form could fool Thomas Howard's spiritual senses, so after thinking it over, he decided it was impossible to escape under the watch of a third-rank Manifest Saint super expert.

But Edward Howard had already made up his mind. With his personality, he was clearly not suited to be the head of the Hong family; it would be best for Big Brother to inherit.

Perhaps in Old Master Hong's mind, Charles Howard was not a suitable heir. But Edward Howard, having come from a world of information explosion in his previous life, knew all too well how much the environment influences a person.

Chapter 8: Unfair Encounter (Part 2)

Perhaps a piece of unpolished gold, in a filthy environment, would end up as nothing more than a common stone.

Even if one's talent is mediocre, as long as he gets enough support and a lot of resources, he still has a chance to become a pillar of strength. Maybe not a pioneer, but more than enough to maintain what has been achieved.

The problem with Charles Howard is that, over the years, everyone has thought of him as mediocre—even his grandfather and his wife. In such an environment, Charles Howard lacks confidence and hasn't had enough experience.

Especially self-confidence—the difference in ability between someone with confidence and someone without is truly enormous.

On his way back, Edward Howard kept thinking that he needed to help Big Brother build up his confidence first. The simplest and most direct way was to raise his cultivation level.

In this life, Edward Howard had already decided to act as he pleased, without so many mental restraints—if he wanted to do something, he'd just do it.

The term "stud horse" might not sound good, but if you think about it, it's actually quite enviable! "Lazy and gluttonous" is a derogatory term, but if you could become a rich second-generation heir, then be lazy and gluttonous, probably no one would refuse.