Charlie noticed that Ruby’s expression had turned grim, so he frowned slightly and asked, “What’s the matter? Tell me.” Ruby clenched her teeth and said, “Fleur originally said in the beginning that it was dangerous for the four of us to execute missions outside, fearing that we might lose our lives if we encountered powerful cultivators. So, she spent several years setting up an extremely secretive and powerful formation inside our pineal glands. She said that activating this formation at critical moments could preserve a strand of our souls, allowing our physical bodies to die but our souls to survive. When Mr. Chardon said he would change his physical body and look for you to exact revenge, it was because of this…”Having said that, Ruby said bitterly, “But I didn't expect that it wasn't a formation to preserve our souls at all, but a highly powerful self-destructing formation instead…”After listening, Charlie nodded slightly. “No wonder Mr. Chardon was initially begging for me
Vera looked at Charlie and said, “Young Master, if Fleur really sends those three elders, I'm worried that you won't be able to handle them all. Young Master, it might be better to leave Aurous Hill for a while to avoid the limelight for your own safety.”Ruby also agreed, "Mr. Wade, Miss Lavor is right. With the three elders together, even Fleur would probably have a hard time winning. You haven't even activated your pineal gland yet. If you stay in Aurous Hill, once the three elders arrive, it'll be hard to escape!”After pondering for a moment, Charlie shook his head. “It’s simple for me to leave, but what about my grandparents? They're such high-profile targets, and there might even be insiders from the Qing Eliminating Society among them. The Qing Eliminating Society is bent on killing them, so no matter how they run, they won't be able to evade the pursuit of those three elders.”Speaking of this, Charlie suddenly asked Ruby, “How much do you know about my parents? Do you know
“Present a bold front to conceal your weakness?” Both Vera and Ruby looked confused after hearing Charlie’s words. They naturally knew the meaning behind Charlie’s words, but they could not figure out how Charlie was going to present a bold front to Fleur in order to conceal his weakness. Ruby was the first to persuade him as she said, “Mr. Wade, the strategy will only work if you can scare Fleur and make her afraid. However, to be honest with you, if you reveal your identity, even if Aurous Hill is full of traps, Fleur will definitely send those three elders to test your identity and background at all costs. She will only be wary of you if you’re hidden. I’m afraid that you will only be forced to fight her to death if your identity is revealed.”Vera could not help but persuade as well, “That’s right, Young Master. I feel that Miss Dijo’s words make perfect sense as well. The possibility of you being able to scare Fleur away at this time is close to zero, so I’d advise you not to
Ruby smiled and said in agreement, “Miss Lavor, you’re right. Over the past couple of years, Fleur has been noticeably more anxious than she had been before. For decades, Fleur had never worried about aging, as her appearance remained unchanged for hundreds of years. However, over the past two years, she has even started paying attention to skincare. Sometimes when walking past her, you can even distinctly smell the scent of skincare products. It seems she's afraid of aging.”Vera chuckled, “What's to come will definitely come. What's the use of being afraid?”With that said, she brought her thoughts back to the painting in front of her and suddenly seemed to understand Charlie’s plan.So, she widened her eyes instantly and was filled with joy as she asked Charlie eagerly, “Young Master, could it be… could it be that you want to use Master Marcius to present a bold front and conceal your weakness?”Ruby, who was aside, listened in surprise as she could not yet grasp the key points.
“Fleur has been monitoring Aurous Hill closely, right? Once this painting appears, she will definitely pay attention to it. At that time, she will surely have many questions in her mind!”“She must want to know who brought out the portrait of her master, and she must be even more curious about the relationship between the person who brought out the painting and her master. Could it be someone her master accepted as a disciple before her? If so, that person might be over five hundred years old by now and may have obtained extraordinary strength from countless cultivations!”“She must also want to know why her master's portrait appeared out of nowhere in Aurous Hill the next day after two great earls under her command died and went missing. She would definitely want to know if the person who brought out this painting and the person who forced Mr. Chardon to blow himself up are the same person. If so, why didn't that person die from Mr. Chardon’s explosion? She must also want to underst
At this moment, on a remote uninhabited island covered in ice and snow in South America, Fleur was leading Tarlon through the vast underground structures of the island. The two of them made their way to the deepest part of the underground building where there was a space completely sealed within the rocks with only one ventilation shaft connecting it to the outside world.The three elders of the Qing Eliminating Society were currently cultivating in seclusion here. Interestingly, during the hundred years of their cultivation in seclusion, they had unknowingly traversed more than half the globe with the Qing Eliminating Society, from Oskia, through Oceania, and finally to South America. These three individuals had completely cut off all contact with the outside world and had tightly wrapped their bodies with Reiki, almost halting the metabolism of their bodies. They had no idea how much time had passed in the outside world and only instinctively circulated Reiki continuously, makin
Fleur was very pleased with the performance of the three at this moment. What she wanted was their unquestionable obedience. Otherwise, she wouldn't have taught them the technique to activate their pineal glands in the first place.Furthermore, the technique Fleur taught them was somewhat incomplete. Although they had been cultivating in seclusion for a hundred years, without Fleur’s external assistance over the last few years, the three of them would never have been able to activate their pineal glands no matter what it was. Even if their pineal glands were right in front of them and there was only the last layer of paper window separating them from activating it, without Fleur, they couldn't break through this final barrier. However, at this moment, the three of them had no way of knowing this.Therefore, in Fleur’s opinion, if the three of them valued their cultivation more than her commands now, she would have to restrict their final breakthrough to prevent them from becoming e
Meanwhile, Charlie was still in Champs Elys hot spring villa, having a long conversation with Vera and Ruby.Although he had decided to present a bold front and conceal his weakness in front of Fleur, there were still many details that needed to be clarified step by step.Vera said to Charlie, “Young Master, your idea to present a bold front and conceal your weakness is simply brilliant, but the only risk is how we should deal with the situation if the three elders come to Aurous Hill and Fleur hasn't paid attention to the painting of Master Marcius Stark? How should we deal with it?"Charlie laughed and said, “Don't worry. The most popular short video platform right now is owned by the Wades. I found a way to send this painting to the Calligraphy and Painting Association this morning. Within a few hours, we can naturally arrange for this painting to be on the trending topic. As long as Fleur is still paying attention to Aurous Hill, she will definitely see it.”Charlie then added,
Hearing Jacob's tone, Charlie could tell that Jacob must have already learned about Matilda's plans to marry Yolden. So, Charlie said, "I'm just around the corner. I'll head over now, and we can meet at the gate." Choking up, Jacob replied, "Alright, I won't drive then. I'll wait for you at the gate. Hurry!" "Okay," Charlie agreed, but after hanging up, he deliberately waited for a few minutes. It was because Yolden had just left moments ago to pick up Matilda at Senior University. If Charlie had gone there right now, all four of them could have run into each other at the gate, which would make things even more awkward. Charlie wasn't worried about feeling awkward himself—he was more concerned about Jacob being further hurt. After intentionally waiting a bit, Charlie finally drove to the university. Just as Charlie drove toward Senior University, Matilda was waiting for Yolden by the roadside at the entrance of Senior University. At this moment, Jacob stumbled out of th
Charlie asked, "There are too many new domestic energy brands now. Do you think they still have a shot in vehicle manufacturing?" "Of course," Yolden affirmed. "There are indeed many new energy brands now, and many of them are struggling on the edge of survival. A lot of them have already disappeared, but the automotive market is so vast, and new energy vehicles only account for a small portion of it, which proves that the future of new energy still has great potential. Now, if the focus is only on competing with other new energy brands, the scale is indeed a bit small. The scope should be broadened to compete with traditional gasoline vehicle manufacturers. If you can cut Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai's global sales in half, that would truly be a giant." Yolden paused for a moment, almost as if remembering something, and then said, "Actually, you could consider researching this field. You don't lack money or resources, and with Ito-Schulz Ocean Shipping Group as your logistics channe
When Jacob came to his senses, he was already in tears. The student presumed he was unwell and asked, "Mr. Wilson, do you want me to call your wife to pick you up?" Elaine's sarcastic face immediately popped up in his mind, and he trembled with fear. He quickly wiped away his tears and stammered, "D-don't bother... I... I just got something in my eyes..." The student obviously didn't believe him and asked worriedly, "Why don't you call your wife? Or I'll call a cab for you." "No, no." Jacob waved his hand and said, "I'll call my son-in-law to pick me up. He has just returned to Aurous Hill, so it shouldn't be a problem." After that, he quickly took out his phone and called Charlie. Just a few minutes ago, Charlie had left the cafe and was about to walk Yolden to his car. When he saw Yolden walking straight toward a domestic new energy vehicle, he asked curiously, "I don't think you were driving this model before, were you?" "I just bought it," Yolden replied with a smil
If Matilda still had feelings for Jacob, his nostalgic strategy would definitely have a strong impact. However, Matilda had already decided to move on, so Jacob's suggestion did not stir any emotions in her at all. With an apologetic smile, she said, "Sorry, Jacob, Yolden is downstairs waiting for me. We have something to discuss. How about another day? We can have dinner together, and I'll treat you." Jacob didn't expect the nostalgia strategy to fall flat. His original plan was to use nostalgia to get Matilda to go with him to eat near the school, then take the opportunity to revisit old places and subtly reignite their past memories. After all, revisiting old places was the best way to rekindle old feelings, no exceptions. It was like drinking the pasta water after cooking the pasta. However, he never imagined that Matilda's expression wouldn't change in the slightest. There was no shyness, no hesitation, no nervousness, and certainly no fluttering heart. She simply and
Matilda had been listening attentively before, but now, she was lowering her head, fiddling with her phone, and her expression even carried a hint of shyness and happiness, like that of a young girl. Jacob felt a pang of jealousy. While doing the presentation, he couldn't help but resentfully think to himself, "What has Matilda been chatting about with that Yolden guy? She's so happy..." At that moment, Matilda had just received a message from Yolden. In the message, Yolden informed her of the outcome of his conversation with Charlie and expressed his desire to have the wedding as soon as possible. Seeing how eager her beloved was to marry her, Matilda naturally felt very touched. At that moment, she had completely fallen into Yolden's love. For this man, who had a similar background, education, values, and even lifestyle to her own, she could find no fault with him. She felt that he was perfectly tailor-made for her by heaven itself, almost as if everything about him perfectly m
Charlie's worries were not unfounded. He had long known that Jacob had not completely given up on Matilda despite her relationship with Yolden. After returning from the cultural exchange in Korea, Jacob had been more dejected than ever before—something he hadn't even displayed when his family had gone bankrupt. If there was still a chance to salvage the relationship when one's beloved was merely dating someone else, their marriage was tantamount to a death sentence. Furthermore, considering the high intellectual backgrounds of Matilda and Yolden as well as their age and life experience, their decision to marry at this stage of life undoubtedly signaled their intention to build a long-term future together. This left Jacob with absolutely no chance at all. At this moment, Jacob was blissfully unaware of the devastating news and was busy conducting a calligraphy and painting workshop at Senior University. The so-called workshop was essentially a few slides showcasing classic
After that, Charlie asked with a bit of curiosity, "When did you and Matilda decide to get married?" Yolden smiled sheepishly and explained, "Remember when the city organized our cultural exchange trip to South Korea? I confessed to Matilda during that trip, and she accepted. After spending some time together, we both felt we were a great match. Considering our age, we didn't want to delay such an important decision any longer, so we decided to take the next step and build a family together." He continued, "Last month, we went to Lambonear for a few days. I bought a ring and proposed to her by the seaside, and she said yes. We also sought the opinion of our respective children—Autumn and Paul—and they were both very supportive. Both kids are exceptional and independent, so they urged us to have the wedding as soon as possible. I wanted to wait until you returned so I could check your schedule. For our wedding, we'd like to ask you to be our officiant." "What? Me as the officiant?
Charlie said without hesitation, "Sure. When is it convenient for you? Send me the address, and I'll go meet you." Charlie had always respected Yolden not only because he was a nice and talented man but also because he and his mother went way back and went to the same school. Yolden said hastily, "I've just come from Senior University. It's the weekend, and I don't have classes today. Why don't you send me the address and I'll meet you?" Charlie gave it some thought. It was a little past 3 p.m., so Yolden had likely already had lunch, and there were still a few hours until dinner. Inviting him to The Heaven Springs didn't seem ideal for a discussion. Considering that he had lived in the United States for many years and probably had a habit of having coffee in the afternoon, Charlie said, "How about this? There's a Starbucks not far south of the university. Let's meet there for a cup of coffee." "Perfect!" Yolden said with a smile. "I was just thinking you could give me an addre
On the way back to The Heaven Springs, Julien was in a much better mood than when he had arrived. Initially, he was filled with anxiety, unsure of what Charlie had planned. But now, everything had become clear. The troublesome matter of Salem and Edmund was no longer his concern. All he had to do was wait for the video from the ship to be released and then head back home. Charlie noticed his improved mood and smiled as he asked, "Julien, you've resolved the most critical matter right after landing in Aurous Hill. You must be feeling pretty happy, right?" Julien chuckled and said, "To be honest, before coming here, I was worried that I'd end up going back empty-handed and being secretly mocked by others. But now, it's different. Once your video is released, no one can blame me for not doing my job. If anything, they can only blame their family for missing their chance. After all, so much time has passed, and it's their fault Salem and Edmund were moved to the Middle East." As he