At that moment, Charlie could no longer compose himself. He lowered his head, covered his face, and wailed aloud. His parents had been murdered when he was young. For many years after that, he often had survivor's guilt. If it weren't for Mrs. Lewis's decades-long care and guidance, he would have become depressed and disturbed, and at one point, he would have even committed suicide. Ever since receiving the Apocalyptic Book, he had been able to discover some of the hidden secrets behind his parents' death. When he learned it was his father's meticulous arrangement that enabled him to grow up safely in the orphanage, his sense of guilt and shame had intensified. And now, he learned that his father had left the Apocalyptic Book for him, and it was his father who had sacrificed himself so that he could have the fate of owning the book. The truth was so harsh and heart-wrenching that he felt immensely remorseful. Raymond's final remark was the last straw. He said that strippin
Charlie murmured, "I want to know what my father went through..." "I understand." Raymond nodded, asserting, "But too many attachments will only become your burden. Besides, I don't want to reminisce about the cruel and devastating past. I'm sorry..." Charlie pursed his lips and nodded gently. Raymond quickly changed the subject, "By the way, I hid the treasure tower in the same place. After you leave this hellhole, you must retrieve it and bring it back to Oskia as soon as possible." Charlie nodded and asked, "Where did you hide it?" Raymond chuckled and replied, "I hid it outside my family mansion's gate in New Jersey." He cleared his throat and continued, "Outside the gate is a pair of majestic lion statues. There is a secret compartment in the base of the male lion. That's where I hid it. It's easy to open the compartment. You just need a crane or forklift to lift the body of the male lion, and the base will open. You'll find the compartment there." "Huh?!" Charlie ga
Noticing the firm determination in Charlie's eyes, Raymond earnestly persuaded him, "Please don't get into a direct conflict with them for my sake. It isn't worth it, and it may affect our strategy." "Don't worry." Charlie nodded and reassured him, "They don't know who they are up against. It's easy to attack them when we're in the dark." As he said this, he looked at Raymond and said, "I still have some questions. I would like you to answer them for me." "Of course," Raymond replied hastily. Charlie swiftly asked, "I want to know how my father came into contact with the Preface of the Apocalyptic Book and the Apocalyptic Book. Also, how did he get involved with the Qing Eliminating Society?" With a sigh, Raymond illustrated, "Your father had similar experiences to you. The process by which he obtained the Preface is very similar to the process by which you obtained the Apocalyptic Book." Thinking of something his uncle had said, Charlie asked in surprise, "Did he also get
"There were several palace collections that the Qing court recorded, and their prices were even more expensive." "Such a large number of highly valuable cultural relics could easily reach 200 million dollars even in the lowest bid, and that was 20 years ago." "Although my family business was on a relatively large scale at that time, the antique industry is capital-intensive. Our family's assets might be tens of billions or even hundreds of billions of dollars, but a large part of it was inventory all around the world. It was hard for us to come out with 200 million right away." "Also, in the antique industry, you can't expect to liquidate inventory quickly. The more inventory you have, the more patient you have to be." "Because the antique industry is similar to the stock market. The worst thing that can happen is a concentrated sell-off that crashes the market. I can buy ten pieces of 14th-century porcelain at once, but there is no way I can sell ten pieces at once. The more I
Charlie hastily asked, "You must have read the Preface of the Apocalyptic Book, right? What exactly does it say?" Raymond replied, "The content recorded in the book is all-encompassing, but its real core is a map that needs to be deciphered from the text bit by bit. Back then, your parents were very interested in studying and deciphering the Preface. Thanks to your father, I studied it briefly too, but I wasn't good at the Oskian language because I was born and raised in the States. The content was too difficult and obscure for me to understand, and I soon lost interest in studying it." "After that, your parents left the States and returned to Oskia. I heard that they went to great lengths to search for the place mentioned in the book. Thankfully, they found the place after going through so much hardship. That place was where your father took the Apocalyptic Book." "Really?" Charlie gasped, astonished. "What's the place's name? Is it called the Longevity Haven?" "I don't know."
As a close friend of Charlie's father, Raymond hoped that Charlie would not repeat Curtis's mistakes, but Charlie's remarks made him realize that Curtis's and Charlie's lives had already been determined when Curtis decided to study the Preface of the Apocalyptic Book. Charlie's life was also destined to be full of dangers. Peace and serenity were a far-fetched dream for him. Thinking about this, Raymond sighed. "When I learned that people's destinies were divided into different levels, I thought that your father's fate of the dragon would bring him luck and joy, but from the looks of it, even if you have the fate of the ascending dragon, there are still difficulties and challenges everywhere." With a gentle smile, Charlie said calmly, "Now it seems that everything is fated." After that, he looked at Raymond and said respectfully with gratitude, "Thank you for everything you have done for me. Don't worry. I'll take care of everything later. You only need to stay here for one mo
Charlie huffed in surprise, "Wow, he's so bold. He can't wait to fuck your wife before your plane takes off." Bruce clenched his fists tightly and snarled indignantly, "Yes! That's what pissed me off the most! Actually, the bastard had already arrived at my house before I even arrived at the airport!" "Don't you want to man up and solve the problem?" asked Charlie curiously. Bruce abruptly burst into tears and wailed, "What can I do? No matter how pissed I am, I can't go against the Rothschilds! They are rich and powerful, but I only make a few million a year. Besides, it's hard for a middle-aged person like me to find a job now. If I stop working with them, I can't even find a job that pays 300 grand a year. I have no choice but to swallow my anger." "Hah!" Charlie laughed out loud. "You're really something." Then, something crossed his mind, and he asked, "By the way, you said that you installed cameras at home and filmed Malcolm going to your house. Did you get anything sp
In order to ease Raymond's problem and turn the passive situation into an active one, Charlie planned to have Bruce turn against the Rothschild family. However, he had to first find out how loyal Bruce was to the family before executing the plan. If Bruce was extremely loyal to the family, asking him to turn against the family would only make him feel unsure and skeptical. For this very reason, Charlie had purposely asked Bruce about his satisfaction and loyalty to the family. To his pleasant surprise, the marital affair between Bruce's wife and a member of the Rothschild family was exposed. Bruce's wife was cheating on him with a core member of the Rothschild family. Under such a circumstance, it seemed reasonable and natural to have him turn against the Rothschild family. After all, no man could hold on for too long when his wife cheated on him. Hence, Charlie kept manipulating him psychologically, letting him know that money was nothing compared to a man's dignity. B
At one point, Sonia thought about summoning the courage to go to Charlie and beg him for mercy. But upon the thought of her previous arrogance and outrageous remarks, she resisted the urge. Thus, she became even more depressed and sat cross-legged, staring at the floor. Charlie only needed a glance to notice Sonia's dejection. After all, in a crowd of people cheering excitedly, she sat there silently, looking completely out of place. Charlie knew very well that Sonia's frustration was undoubtedly because he had sealed her meridians. On her own, she no longer had the possibility of further advancement. Recalling her earlier disrespectful remarks, he chalked it up to the personality of a young martial arts fanatic. It wasn't that Charlie was petty or unwilling to let go of past grievances, but the key issue was that he had already opened all of her meridians in one go. If he were to seal them back up, she would instantly become a master at the Great Perfection Realm of Illu
Albert then selected a few students to help him distribute a bottle of oral fluid to everyone. Even Caden, who had already reached the Great Perfection Realm of the Illuminating Realm, got his share. After the distribution, Charlie said, "What you're holding in your hands is a special supplement for strengthening the body and the meridians. After you take it, it will help your cultivation. If you happen to be at the critical stage of a realm breakthrough, you might be able to complete the breakthrough with this bottle of supplement." Everyone was especially excited when they heard that it was a medicine that could improve cultivation. For martial artists, the most valuable things were complete internal capabilities and supplements that could improve strength. Many martial artists spent their entire lives in arduous cultivation without ever receiving the assistance of any medicinal elixir. At times, they could feel that they were just one step away from breaking through to the nex
The people in the audience answered in unison, "Yes!" Some even said loudly, "Not only that, but it is extremely beneficial!" "Yes! The improvement is indeed very significant!" "My personal understanding of martial arts has also become much clearer!" Among the crowd, Sonia gathered the courage to say loudly, "Since coming here, cultivation has truly been twice as effective!" Charlie recognized her voice and curiously asked, "Miss Letterman, you trained under Master Howton too when you were in the United States, and it is the same here. Why does this place make you feel that way?" "I... Uh..." Sonia was taken aback as she did not expect Charlie to direct a question to her, so she stuttered nervously. "I speak only the truth and am not exaggerating. The reason I feel it is twice as effective lies mainly in three factors." With that, she paused briefly, gathered her thoughts, and continued, "The first reason is that when the Taoist Sect was in America, Master Howton was not
The next morning, Charlie met up with Nanako and drove to Champs Elys together. He wanted to send Nanako to the villa halfway up the mountain so that she could concentrate on improving her control of Reiki while he himself would take the oral fluid and distribute it to all the martial arts students. At the same time, Julien had already crossed the Pacific Ocean in a private plane, getting closer and closer to Aurous Hill with only a few hours left. While Charlie was on his way, Caden said to over 400 martial arts students who were doing morning training, "Guys, I have good news for you. Master Wade will come to see you later with gifts. He will give them to you personally." The students were excited upon hearing this. Aurora, Rosalie, the Harker family members, and the members of Ten Thousand Armies all knew that Charlie had a special medicine that could enhance the cultivation of martial arts. Although Sonia wasn't familiar with this, ever since she had arrived in Oskia, she c
Charlie dropped the formalities and said, "Thank you very much then, Miss Fox." "You're welcome, Mr. Wade," Kathleen said. "It's my honor to serve you." After reaching an agreement with Kathleen, Charlie then called Doris. Doris hadn't received a call from Charlie in a long time, so her voice was filled with excitement as she said, "Mr. Wade, what can I do for you?" Charlie replied, "Are you familiar with the situation at Sonfo Valley? I want to acquire the entire area, but I can't do it too conspicuously, so I can't offer a price that's too outrageous to avoid drawing attention. Do you think that will be difficult?" "Sonfo Valley..." Doris thought for a moment before speaking, "Sonfo Valley is an older residential area. After I took over Emgrand, I reviewed the company's previous documents. That land was actually something Emgrand considered competing for initially, but later, they gave up because the surrounding area lacked supporting infrastructure. It's located in the mou
Jacob rolled his eyes in annoyance and jeered, "Do you think money from rich families grows on trees? Working for wealthy people is just about the market price. Are you saying the janitor sweeping the floors at Apple makes a million dollars a year?" "You really have some nerve, Jacob Wilson!" Elaine scoffed and scolded. "How can you compare our sweet daughter to a janitor? So, in your eyes, Claire is on the same level as a janitor at Apple?" "That's not what I meant!" Jacob snapped and quickly explained, "What I'm saying is, even if you're working for Apple, you just earn what you're supposed to earn. Claire has done well in her field, and earning a few million a year is already pretty good. It's only been a short time since she went to the U.S. yet you're already expecting Miss Fox to pay her tens of millions? That's ridiculous!" Elaine rolled her eyes and disdainfully snarled, "Clearly, you don't understand the ways of the world. Miss Fox had Charlie help with Feng Shui multipl
Noticing Elaine's disappointment, Charlie quickly spoke up, "Honey, when are you coming back? Have you set a time?" Claire replied, "I plan to first finalize the project's documents and progress here as well as resolve any outstanding issues. If there's nothing else, I'll go back. If I can't finish today, it will probably be the day after tomorrow at the latest." "Have you checked the flights?" Charlie asked. "Are there any suitable flights for the day after tomorrow?" Claire replied, "Miss Fox suggested arranging her family's private jet to send me back, but I feel bad about it. A flight on a private jet costs over a million, and I can't let them spend that money." Elaine quickly interrupted, "Then just take a regular flight back and let her give you the money for the private jet. Convert it into a million!" Charlie hurriedly said, "They have plenty of planes. Even when they're not in use, they have to be maintained. The actual cost of flying one more trip isn't that high. B
Jacob and Elaine happened to be in the living room, so Charlie waved his phone at them and said, "Mom, Dad, it's Claire. I'll answer it here." The two stopped bickering instantly, and Charlie pressed the answer button. After the call was connected, Claire's beautiful face appeared on the phone screen. Seeing the background, Claire said in surprise, "Honey! You're home!" Charlie nodded. "I just got back today. Let me show you Mom and Dad." As he said that, he turned his phone around and pointed the front camera at Jacob and Elaine. Jacob asked worriedly, "Darling, when will you come back? I miss you!" Elaine interjected hastily, "Don't listen to your dad's nonsense. I miss you too, but it's a great opportunity that you're finally working with the Fox family in America. You must focus on your career. If you want, I can go over to take care of you!" "Mom, this is why I'm calling Charlie," Claire said with a smile. "I just finished the morning meeting with Miss Fox and the
Charlie responded with a smile, "Don't bother. I've already eaten." Jacob quickly stood up, walked over, and asked, "Why were you away for so many days this time?" Charlie answered, "The workload was a bit heavy this time. I visited several houses and factories, mainly because the client has strong financial power." "Wow!" Elaine exclaimed, very pleased, "A client with such strength must have paid quite a bit, right?" "Exactly." Charlie nodded and casually said, "This client was very generous with the payment. They even gave me an extra one million as travel expenses before I left." "My goodness!" Elaine shrieked. "One million just for travel expenses? What kind of godsent client is this?!" Jacob couldn't help but sigh, "Now, this is what it means to be rich. Giving an extra one million, that's just like a tip, right? They're really throwing money around like it's nothing!" At this point, Elaine seemed to remember something and quickly said, "I saw in the news that the yo