Chapter 234: Chapter 231: Overwhelming with Wealth

"Qian Juduo, don’t take this too far! I am still the Grand Elder of the Nangong Family. Are you trying to provoke a war between our two families?"

The successive slights from the Qian father and son infuriated Nangong An.

Qian Juduo tilted his head slightly and dug a finger into his ear.

"What was that? I couldn’t hear you."

As he raised his hand, a small, palm-sized flag fell from his sleeve.

BUZZ!

The world trembled. The flag grew in the wind, anchoring itself in the void.

An invisible ripple enveloped the entire reception area, sealing the space. With the exception of Qian Juduo, everyone else flying mid-air tumbled from the sky like dumplings being dropped into a pot.

"A No-fly Array Flag!" Nangong An’s expression shifted.

A No-fly Array Flag, as its name suggested, prohibited all flight within its range. Even with his Void Realm Cultivation, he was unable to fly.

Furthermore, this type of Array Flag was a single-use item, which made it incredibly expensive.

"Oh dear, I dropped something. My apologies, how careless of me," Qian Juduo said with an apologetic smile.

Nangong An was speechless. ’Careless my ass!’

’You obviously did that on purpose!’

’Without you activating it, the No-fly Array Flag wouldn’t have done a thing even if it had fallen! Okay?!’

Qian Juduo leaped down from his Five-Colored Auspicious Cloud Treasure. As he landed, a pale golden bead rolled from his waist, sliding to a stop at Nangong An’s feet.

Nangong An subconsciously started to back away, but Qian Juduo’s next words froze him in place, not daring to move an inch.

"Don’t move. That’s the Inner Core of a Fifth-level Demon Beast, the Arrow-Split Poison Frog. It’s highly unstable. With the space sealed, it would be a huge mess if it were to detonate by accident."

A Fifth-level Demon Beast was equivalent to a human in the Void Realm.

The Arrow-Split Poison Frog was a very unusual Demon Beast. It possessed no Attack Power of its own, but if provoked or faced with mortal danger, it would instantly self-destruct its Inner Core, releasing a potent venom.

There was no antidote for its poison, and it was incredibly virulent. A single drop was enough to melt even a Void Realm Cultivator into a puddle of pus and blood in moments.

For this reason, it was almost impossible for anyone to obtain an Arrow-Split Poison Frog’s Inner Core. This was likely the only one in the entire Mountain and Sea Empire.

A cold sweat broke out on Nangong An’s brow. He stared intently at the Inner Core by his feet, the corner of his eye twitching uncontrollably.

Being unable to fly meant that if the Inner Core exploded, he would have no way to escape. Death was certain.

"Qian Juduo, you’re a madman!" Nangong An couldn’t help but curse.

"Huh? What’d you say? I still can’t hear you."

Qian Juduo shook his head and continued to approach Nangong An.

With every step he took, another object would inexplicably fall from his person, and each one would very "coincidentally" slide to a stop at Nangong An’s feet.

An advanced Thunder Shocking Bomb, commonly known as a "Void Realm Assassin."

A Torrential Rain Pear Blossom Needle, a top-grade hidden weapon from the Tang Sect. Guaranteed Instant Death.

A Wind-Fire Fan. Unfurling it could unleash astral winds and terrestrial fire. Anyone below the Void Realm would die on contact or with a mere graze. It could easily inflict heavy wounds on a Void Realm master.

A Ghost Bone Ball, containing tens of millions of Yin Spirits. Once released, all Vitality within a hundred-mile radius would be extinguished.

...

Watching the pile of incredibly powerful, single-use items grow at his feet, Nangong An’s face turned green. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

’Damn it, where did you get all these ultimate weapons?’

’Anyone else would thank the heavens just to have one, keeping it hidden away as their ultimate trump card.’

’And you’re just tossing out a whole pile of them. Are they free or something?’

"My apologies, I have this bad habit of carrying all my best things on me. Sigh, it’s all because I’m too rich. Why do I have so much good stuff? I can’t even fit it all, and it’s always falling out. So annoying!"

Qian Juduo feigned beating his chest and stomping his feet as he sighed dramatically.

Nangong An: "..."

’Would it kill you not to flaunt your wealth?’

’If you like carrying everything on you, why the hell don’t you put it in your Storage Space?’

’If you know things are falling out, then pick them up!’

’What’s the deal with piling them all at my feet?’

"Old Nangong."

By now, Qian Juduo had arrived in front of Nangong An, and the two stood face to face.

"We’re close enough now. Say that again. I’m sure I can hear you clearly this time. What was that you were saying about my son... and something he should or shouldn’t do?"

Nangong An let out a long sigh. ’I’m so exhausted.’

’Dealing with rich people is going to be the death of me!’

He could, of course, see that Qian Juduo was doing this on purpose, blatantly using his wealth to crush him.

But what could he do?

Any one of the gadgets at his feet could easily take his old life.

"This old man was saying that your son is dashing and exceptionally talented. His status in the Direct Lineage should rightfully be restored. It is his duty to lead the Qian Family to glory—he is the only one for the job!"

’Old fox,’ Qian Juduo sneered inwardly. Outwardly, however, his face broke into a wide grin as he clapped Nangong An heartily on the shoulder.

"Oh, so that’s what you meant! You should have said so earlier. You made me so nervous that I dropped all my things."

As he spoke, Qian Juduo waved his hand, and all the items at Nangong An’s feet vanished.

Only then did Nangong An finally breathe a sigh of relief.

He gave Liu Hui a deep look. He hadn’t expected this kid to have latched onto the Qian Family.

Things had become rather tricky.

But it wasn’t a completely hopeless situation. As long as Liu Hui was still at the Imperial Academy, there would be plenty of opportunities to kill him.

He had not given up on the idea of killing Liu Hui.

"Grand Elder Nangong, is there anything else?" Qian Juduo asked with a smile.

"Hmph!" Nangong An snorted coldly and didn’t reply.

"Huh? What was that? I couldn’t hear you!" Qian Juduo repeated his old trick, immediately reaching into his robes and fumbling for something.

The color drained from Nangong An’s face.

"We’re leaving!"

He quickly waved his hand and led the members of the Nangong Family away at a brisk pace, not once looking back.

He didn’t want to stay here for another second.

If possible, he never wanted to see another member of the Qian Family again.

"Old man, you’re the best! Lend me that Five-Colored Auspicious Cloud Treasure of yours for a few days, will you? It’s the ultimate tool for picking up girls!"

Laughing, Qian Duoduo sidled up to Qian Juduo, giving him a thumbs-up with a fawning look on his face.

As he matured, his interest in the opposite sex had grown.

Picking up girls had become his sole pursuit.

Qian Juduo smacked Qian Duoduo on the back of the head.

"You little brat, how many times have I told you? If money can solve a problem, don’t waste your breath."

"Do you think all the treasures in our family’s vault are just for decoration? You couldn’t even handle a cowardly old fool like Nangong An. You’ve completely disgraced the Qian Family!"

"And you still had the nerve to send a message asking for help?"

Qian Juduo was completely exasperated, lecturing Qian Duoduo with such fervor that he was practically spitting.

Duoduo ducked his head and mumbled in his own defense, "I didn’t know a Void Realm expert was going to show up. I thought bringing all those Void Realm Cultivators would be enough."

That was the worst thing he could have said. Qian Juduo got even angrier.

He smacked Duoduo again.

"How did I end up with a son as stupid as you? Did you get your head slammed in a door? You mobilized ninety percent of the clan’s Void Realm Cultivators and paraded them through the streets. Weren’t you afraid of being accused of rebellion?"

PS: The fourth bonus Chapter is here!

There’s something I, your author, need to announce. The first message I saw this morning was from my editor. This book is going to start requiring payment on March 1st, which is the day after tomorrow.

At that point, the paywall will be applied retroactively to Chapter 30. This means that starting March 1st, all Chapters from 30 onward will require payment to read.

I did the math, and that means the story becomes premium after the first 100,000 characters.

We’re already at 500,000 characters, so I managed to secure a 400,000-character free reading period for you all. I really did my best. The platform wouldn’t have agreed to delay it any longer. It’s not a decision I can make, so I hope all my dear readers can understand.

Of course, the most important thing is that I hope those of you who enjoy *War Venerable Demon Chef* will support the official release when the time comes. After all, I need an income to live and support my family. If I can’t even make ends meet, I’ll turn into burnt rice scraped from the bottom of the pot and get flushed down the drain.

Many of you probably know that it costs five cents per thousand characters. If you’re a VIP member, it’s only four cents. And out of that, I only get a small fraction.

I rack my brain and hammer away at the keyboard all day, just like taking exams for a whole day back when I was a student. It’s exhausting work, and I can manage to write just under 10,000 characters. You can buy a full day of my blood, sweat, and tears for just fifty cents. Tell me that’s not worth it!

Finally, I cast a Mass Smooch Spell! It’s an Absolute Domain, inescapable and irresistible! Hahaha!