Setting a Trap for Ye Qing

No one can resist gold—that radiant, glittering allure seems etched into the very bones of humanity.

"Master, shall we move these gold bars out?" A member of the Jiang Family asked excitedly, his eyes gleaming.

Though the Jiang Family was far from lacking wealth, the sight of mountains of gold and silver was still overwhelmingly dazzling.

"No need—"

Jiang Yunhuang waved his hand, and a surge of inner energy erupted, instantly forming an immense force that lifted all the crates filled with gold bars into the air. Hundreds of tons of gold bars rose and stacked themselves neatly.

This move thoroughly stunned everyone present.

Especially Jiang Ruoxu—the boy's eyes burned with barely restrained admiration.

Though he had already advanced to the Grandmaster Realm, he was still far, far beneath Jiang Yunhuang, who had reached the Heaven-Breaking Stage.

[Hey, kid, the one you should be clinging to is your brother. If not for the supreme-grade Heaven-Breaking Pill he gifted you, even if you trained until death, you’d never reach the Heaven-Breaking Stage.]

The "Granny" in Jiang Ruoxu’s ring spoke up again.

Clearly, Jiang Che had already won this ring spirit’s approval with his abilities.

"Master, please stop talking. I’m about to break down."

Jiang Ruoxu felt utterly miserable. The competitive spirit of a young prodigy like him was fierce—especially when he had always been hailed as a genius.

But now, his elder brother overshadowed him completely. Everyone only saw Jiang Che’s brilliance, while he, the so-called "heaven’s chosen," was reduced to a mere background character.

No—not even background. Less than background!

[Heh, I’m just telling the truth. Compared to your brother... you really are far behind.]

"......"

[But of course, with me as your master, even if you can’t surpass him in the future, you won’t lag too far behind.]

[Remember this, disciple: I will always be your strongest support.]

Hearing his master’s words, Jiang Ruoxu’s wounded heart found a sliver of comfort.

Much later, looking back on this conversation, Jiang Ruoxu would seethe with indignation: "Master... why did my sister-in-law betray me?"

But that was a story for another time.

...

The treasure left behind by Ye Qing’s master was indeed vast. At current gold prices, a hundred tons of gold was worth nearly 40 billion!

And there was more—a thousand tons of silver, piled into a terrifying mountain of ingots.

Add in the various other treasures, and the total value likely approached a hundred billion.

"No need to exchange these for cash immediately. Let’s store them in the Jiang Family’s reserves for now. We’ll return them to you, Che’er, after you marry."

Jiang Yunhuang chuckled.

Though the gold and silver were precious, the Jiang Family’s ambitions lay beyond mere wealth. As the foremost ancient martial arts family in Dragon Country, wielding immense authority, power often outweighed money.

"Marriage..."

Jiang Che’s lips twitched at the thought. He considered the women in his life—Yu Wan'er, Ye Mengyao, Qin Qiaoqiao, Gu Lingfei, Su Mianmian, Bai Qiangwei, Bai Jie, Chen Ningshuang, Shen Yu, even Leng Ningqiu and Dong'er.

If he were to marry, who would he choose?

His wedding couldn’t possibly have just one bride, could it?

Wouldn’t the others throw a fit?

Either he wouldn’t marry at all, or he’d marry them all. The art of managing women... was more complex than even imperial politics.

Handle the harem well, and life is bliss. Handle it poorly, and heads will roll—literally.

...

The Jiang Family meticulously gathered every last treasure from Ye Qing’s inheritance. By the end, the once-packed vault was stripped bare.

Staring at the empty chamber, Jiang Che had a wicked idea.

By conventional logic, this treasure belonged to the protagonist’s master—Ye Qing would never give it up so easily.

Once he got out of prison, he’d surely return, scheming to reclaim the vault’s riches.

"Time to play a little prank."

Jiang Che recalled how he’d trolled Lin Yu—stealing his cave’s treasures, replacing the door with a massive iron slab, and thoroughly humiliating him.

Now, Ye Qing was in the same position.

"Someone! Get this vault renovated, then commission a hundred square boxes—each one slightly smaller than the last, like Russian nesting dolls."

"And equip every box with a high-tech smart lock."

Jiang Che grinned devilishly. When it came to pranks, he was a professional.

"Young Master, stacking a hundred boxes... might be a bit tricky."

"Tricky? Here’s two gold bars. Still tricky?"

Jiang Che laughed, tossing two gleaming bars at the man.

Money talks—with a fortune like that, any difficulty vanished.

"Young Master, no problem at all! Consider it done!"

"Here’s three more. Make the boxes look aged, and the locks should be extremely intricate—riddles, puzzle locks, whatever’s most mind-bending and torturous."

"Understood, Young Master!"

Jiang Che nodded in satisfaction. Lin Yu had only faced three challenges—Ye Qing would suffer through a hundred.

Box within box, a hundred layers deep. A design meant to break a man.

And when he finally opened the last one... it’d be empty.

The sheer agony...

Just imagining it made Jiang Che cackle.

"Ah, fine. Let’s leave him something."

With a sigh, Jiang Che pulled out a martial arts manual from his pocket—Treading Snow Without a Trace.

This was the supreme movement technique he’d swiped from Lin Yu’s cave.

Flipping it open, he scribbled on the first page:

"To master this art, first sever your roots."

Then, on the last page:

"On second thought, maybe don’t."

"Place this manual in the innermost box."

Though some Jiang Family members exchanged puzzled glances, none dared question him—Jiang Che’s authority was absolute.

...

Jiang Ruoxu had been watching Jiang Che the whole time, his expression a complicated mix.

Forty percent defiance, thirty percent envy, twenty percent admiration, and ten percent jealousy.

A perfect pie chart of emotions.

Jiang Che glanced at him. "Ruoxu, have you settled on a high school yet?"

The words stabbed straight into Jiang Ruoxu’s heart.

"If you’re still undecided, why not come to mine? Qiangsheng Group recently invested in a private high school. If you enroll, you’ll be part of the first cohort—top-tier education, best teachers."

Jiang Ruoxu: "......"

Was his cousin cursed or something?

He hated studying. If he’d absorbed even a fraction of knowledge, he wouldn’t have scored a measly 192 on his exams.

Jiang Ruoxu prided himself on his martial talent—why waste time on books?

"Bro... I don’t—"

"Grandpa, Ruoxu has agreed. I'll arrange for his enrollment at 'Qiangsheng High School' immediately."

Jiang Yunhuang and Jiang Ruoxu: "......"