The more confidently and gracefully Helena maintained her royal poise without a hint of subservience, the more Harrison admired her. As one of the wealthiest people in the world, Harrison knew that many would bow to money, and it was rare to find someone who could still hold themselves with such dignity in his presence. Because of this admiration, Harrison felt an added respect and, struggling to sit up straighter, spoke, "Y-Your M-Majesty, i-it is a-a great honor f-for the entire R-Rothschild family to have you a-as o-our guest." With a smile and a nod, Helena said, "I heard that you had some health issues, so I came to visit you. How are you feeling now?" Harrison lamented somewhat dejectedly, "T-The doctor said t-that I-I had some sign of s-stroke. F-For some time in the future, I-I may have to c-c-concentrate on r-r-rehabilitation. L-Later, I-I will g-gather all members of my family to a meeting t-to officially a-announce that Julien w-will become t-the next patriarch. Q-Qu
Helena pursed her lips, looked at Harrison, and then looked at Julien, pretending to be hesitant to speak. Despite his paralyzed body, Harrison was still as sly and smart as ever, so he looked at Julien and said, "Julien, clear the room. I want to talk to Her Majesty alone." Knowing that Harrison was trying to give him a boost, Julien immediately said, "Okay, Dad!" After that, he quickly asked the doctor to leave. Before leaving, he turned and said to Harrison, "Dad, you have all the time in the world. Please have a nice chat with Her Majesty. I'll ask everyone to keep a distance of 20 meters from the room. Please rest assured." Harrison nodded in satisfaction and flicked in the air at him twice, motioning for him to leave. Julien gleefully closed the door and promptly urged everyone to stay 20 meters away from the room, including himself. Seeing that the room was clear, Helena cut to the chase. As she looked at Harrison on the bed, she stated, "Mr. Harrison, the main reaso
Harrison scoffed when he heard Helena's suggestion. He snapped angrily, "I-I-I have the best medical team in the world, and t-they don't even dare say such a thing. W-Who do you think you are?!" Helena smirked and replied, "Your team can't cure you, but I can." With that, she took out the Healing Pill that Charlie had given her from her purse and said to Harrison, "This pill comes from the ancient and mysterious East. Once you take it, you'll be restored to your former self. To alleviate your concerns, I can let you take one-tenth of it for free before we discuss terms so that you can truly feel its effectiveness. After that, we can discuss the pricing." Harrison, without any hesitation, disdainfully replied, "I-I would never b-b-believe in such a r-ridiculous pill! T-T-This b-bullshit has no scientific ba-a-asis at all!" Helena sneered contemptuously, "If you believe in science so much, why are you afraid of the Qing Eliminating Society? Can they possibly be a match for your
Helena didn't give Harrison a chance to resist. She pinched his cheeks on both sides, forcing his mouth to open. Then, she poured the water containing the dissolved Healing Pill directly into his mouth. Harrison was so scared that the blood drained from his face. He wanted to kick and struggle, but he was trembling profusely and couldn't do anything. The thought of Helena trying to poison him gave him a chill to the marrow. He wanted to spit out the water, but Helena didn't give him a chance. While the water was still in his mouth, she threw the glass aside with her other hand, grabbed his chin, and lifted it up, snarling, "Drink it!" The moment Harrison's chin was lifted, his esophagus directly opened. The water, which was not much, went straight down his esophagus into his stomach, and he literally drank it. Harrison's eyes were full of fear at this moment. He thought that he might not even have time to say goodbye before he died. The next second, when he felt a different k
Harrison initially thought that 100 million dollars was already an astronomical figure and that offering this amount would sufficiently demonstrate his sincerity. However, he never expected that Helena, upon hearing this offer, couldn't even be bothered to negotiate and would turn to leave. He had just felt the tangible effects of the medicine. If one-tenth had such an impact, taking a whole pill would undoubtedly restore him to his former self. He couldn't afford to miss this rare opportunity. So, he quickly called out, "Your Majesty! Whatever the matter is, we can discuss it, b-but why are you leaving?" Helena explained lightly, "I have never liked to negotiate partnerships with ignorant people. If you believe your health is worth only 100 million dollars, then, frankly, what is there left for me to discuss with you? Although I may not have as much money as you, in my view, my health is certainly worth more than that amount." Harrison was rendered speechless. He hadn't ex
Helena added, "In fact, Mr. Rothschild, if you were willing to sacrifice yourself for the family's sake, you could save this money and allow it to contribute to the future development of the family. Who knows—perhaps your descendants would even build a monument in your honor." Feeling a sharp pain in his abdomen, Harrison covered his stomach and waved her off. "Alright, t-that's enough. Since it's a deal, y-you name your price, a-and I can negotiate, so let me give you... a one-and-done price." With that, he held up five fingers, resolutely declaring, "50 billion dollars! Not a penny more! Any more, and even if I regain my health, I'll feel miserable. Just thinking about spending hundreds of billions on a single pill might ruin my happiness in old age." The thought of spending hundreds of billions of dollars on a single pill genuinely pained Harrison. Some people, even without money, still acted generous. But some, when they had wealth, became increasingly stingy. Some believ
Helena was not afflicted by Harrison's annoyance. She said lightly, "Calm down, Mr. Harrison. I haven't finished." After a short pause, she continued, "I want your model for my own use, not for any commercial use, which means it will have no impact on your original market. I just want a completely identical replica for my own use. For you, it's nothing more than giving me a copy, a set of hardware, and twenty years of maintenance fee. That shouldn't cost much, right?" "H-How can I be sure that y-you won't use it for commercial purposes?" Helena smiled and said, "That's the specific detail I'll talk about next. You will still pay me 100 billion dollars, but I will sign a contract with you stating that 50 billion dollars of that will be returned to you at the rate of 2.5 billion dollars per year for the next 20 years. "If you stop upgrading and maintaining the model, I will stop the subsequent return of the money." "If I use your AI model for commercial purposes, you can immedi
Helena said, "Mr. Harrison, your family is involved in almost all of the institutions that are major shareholders of Nvidia, and you also hold a lot of floating shares in the secondary market. You got these shares very early, and the chips were very low. As Nvidia's stock price has gone up to over 1 trillion, you have made a lot of money." Harrison had just breathed a sigh of relief when he received a concession of 10 billion, so when Helena started to talk about his past, he quickly explained, "Business is business... Whatever we earn from Nvidia shouldn't be mixed with this matter, w-w-wouldn't you agree, Your Majesty?" "Agreed." Helena nodded. "However, since I'm granting you a hundred billion in hardware costs, this absolutely ties back to Nvidia. You'll ultimately need to procure the AI model hardware through them, and as a shareholder, any bulk orders from Nvidia will effectively be you moving money from one hand to the other." "First, even if the listed cost is a hundred b
With this thought in mind, Charlie silently decided to spend more time at the villa in the future, where he could focus on studying cultivation. Perhaps he might discover a breakthrough path based on his current foundation. However, the thought of Holly's family living in the villa next door posed a dilemma. If he went there every day to practice in seclusion, he would inevitably have to pass by Holly's house. Out of courtesy, it would be impossible not to greet them. But once he started exchanging pleasantries, his efficiency would naturally decrease. Moreover, it would eventually cause a misunderstanding if Nanako were to go there every day as well. Thus, Charlie felt an eagerness to find a new place for cultivation. After some thought, the lakeside mansion that Kathleen had purchased under the alias Kylie when she was in Aurous Hill came to mind. The Quinton family's villa, located in the Sonfo Valley far from the city, was nestled among mountains and waters, boasting exce
Nanako could also feel that the energy available for her to draw upon in her Sea of Consciousness had suddenly surged. Her sensory abilities, which had already improved significantly after achieving enlightenment, instantly leaped to an even higher level. The Reiki within her body became exceptionally abundant. With just a slight movement of her divine sense, the Reiki immediately dispersed from within her, making the entire office feel as if it was under her bird's-eye view, completely under her control. Moreover, this sense of control continued to extend outward. In just a short moment, eight nearby rooms also fell within her perception range. Charlie could sense the Reiki Nanako was releasing. Observing her closely, he noticed that her body was already brimming with Reiki, suggesting that it was no longer possible for her to continue taking the elixir. After a while, Nanako retracted the Reiki she had been using for perception and looked up at Charlie, saying, "Previously I co
Although Nanako had just attained enlightenment, she had already realized a critical problem: the Reiki available to her was very little, and there was almost no external channel for obtaining Reiki. For cultivators today, getting Reiki was the most difficult thing. There was no Reiki in the world, so the only external channels to obtain Reiki were elixirs, spiritual stones, or formations. If someone had a complete cultivation method, he could generate Reiki in his body by practicing the method, but for people like Charlie and Nanako who lacked such methods, this self-sufficient path was not feasible. Therefore, the small amount of Reiki that was generated in Nanako's body when she attained enlightenment was basically used up after she tried to sense Reiki. Charlie was slightly better than Nanako. The spiritual stones he accidentally obtained in the early days provided him with a lot of Reiki. Later, he relied on Cultivating Pills to barely make up for the gap in Reiki. Altho
Nanako giggled gently, thinking that Charlie was exaggerating. "You're so funny, Charlie. Who could possibly fail to attain enlightenment for hundreds of years? Those who haven't probably wouldn't live that long anyway, right?" Charlie smiled ambiguously. The matter concerning Vera was, of course, something he couldn't share with anyone, including Nanako. However, it was indeed a fact that Vera, despite taking the Eternal Pill and living for so many years, still hadn't attained enlightenment. Moreover, back in the day, Fumiko had served Marcius faithfully for an entire lifetime. From the paintings, it was evident that Marcius was genuinely devoted to Fumiko at that time. Otherwise, he wouldn't have returned to fulfill his promise after obtaining his opportunities. Yet, despite receiving Marcius's wholehearted support, Fumiko still failed to achieve enlightenment. In contrast, Nanako had managed to attain enlightenment so effortlessly, merely through the guidance of a monk.
Caden didn't know what kind of gifts Charlie was planning to give everyone, but from his perspective, since each of the over 400 people would receive one, it was likely something that could be bought with money. Caden was as rich as a king and wasn't particularly interested in things that money could buy. However, since Charlie had mentioned it, he naturally wanted to show his support. He expressed his gratitude, saying, "Despite your busy schedule, you're still thinking of us. I'm truly honored, and on behalf of everyone, I thank you." Charlie chuckled. "You're welcome." Caden respectfully replied, "If there's nothing else, I'll go ahead and ask Miss Ito to come over." "Okay." Caden retreated and went back to the martial arts hall. He called Nanako over and said in a low voice, "Miss Ito, Mr. Wade is at the manager's office right now. He wants to see you." "What?" Nanako squealed in pleasant surprise. "Mr. Wade is here? Oh my, I'll go over now! Thank you, Master Howton."
After that, Charlie asked, "Has everything been going well here lately?" Caden clasped his hands respectfully and replied, "Everything has been going very well. With the follow-up mental techniques you provided from the Taoist Sect Hanbloom Method, everyone's foundations are very solid. This batch of students has made the fastest progress I've seen in all my years of teaching." Charlie remembered his disciple, Sonia, who had previously taken the entire Taoist Sect to Oskia on her own initiative, effectively becoming part of his sect. Since he didn't have time to manage them, he had left everything under Caden's supervision. Curious, he asked, "How are the Taoist Sect disciples doing in their training?" Caden responded, "These disciples' training progress has been much faster than when they were in the United States. Sonia is now like a workaholic, training all day, every day, and her progress is astonishing—beyond my expectations." He continued, unable to hide his admiration, "
"The Rothschild family members?" Hearing Albert's remarks, Charlie frowned slightly and said, "Oh! Are you talking about Edmund and his dad?" "Yes!" Albert nodded and laughed out loud. "That American bastard who poisoned Miss Young's father and caused his kidney failure. Didn't he and his dad always say that they were from the Rothschild family?" Charlie waved him off dismissively. "They're not part of the Rothschild family. Rothschilds wouldn't carry the surname 'Whittaker'." Pausing to think, he added, "The surname 'Whittaker' is likely of Jewish origin. They might actually be relatives of the Rothschild family by marriage." As he spoke, a realization dawned on him. "I think I've got it. Julien coming to Aurous Hill might very well be to look for this father-and-son duo. Harrison has just recovered and wants to remain the family head for a few more years—he's probably trying to strengthen ties with these branch families." Albert gasped, "If that's the case, that bastard i
Meanwhile, Charlie went down the mountain and arrived at the Champs Elys Resort. To avoid disturbing the students during their practice, Charlie informed Albert of his arrival by phone. Albert, being at the bottom of the martial arts students in terms of skill and treating it more as a casual interest, was asked to wait at the entrance of the resort. When Charlie arrived, Albert, dressed in his training outfit, was already waiting at the door. He quickly stepped up to the car, opened the door for Charlie, and respectfully greeted, "Mr. Wade, welcome." Charlie nodded and said, "Tomorrow, have The Heaven Springs temporarily closed to the public and prepare a table with excellent food and drinks. For any customers with existing reservations, make sure to provide them with appropriate compensation." Without hesitation, Albert agreed and asked, "Are you expecting some guests?" Charlie casually replied, "Not exactly guests—just someone coming from afar who's a bit of a fool."
Upon hearing that Charlie would host him, Julien was flattered and expressed his gratitude, saying, "I truly appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule to meet with me!" Charlie smiled and replied, "We're good friends, no need for formalities. When do you expect to land in Aurous Hill?" Julien thought for a moment and respectfully responded, "I'll be flying in a few hours, with a flight time of about 15 hours. I expect to land in Aurous Hill around 10 a.m. local time tomorrow." Charlie said, "In that case, tomorrow at noon, I'll host a banquet for you at The Heaven Springs, the most famous restaurant in Aurous Hill. It's well-known, so your employees should be able to find it easily. You can just come over directly when you arrive." Although the Rothschild family didn't have personnel stationed in Aurous Hill, their Asian headquarters was located in Eastcliff with high-ranking officials as well as a large number of staff. Julien had already informed the administrative