I picked up skill fragments in the demon world.

Chapter 598: The Dagger Revealed (Additional Chapter for the Alliance Leader Feng Junzi Haoran)
Zhang Chen was stunned when he heard this, and looked Shen Qiu up and down, thinking to himself: "It turns out that this guy has set his sights on Jiang Nan, but he came to me to cause trouble, and he treated me as a soft persimmon to be squeezed."

"Oh?" Zhang Chen said "oh" lightly without saying anything, but just looked at the other person in an ambiguous way.

“Next time if I hear you two meet, I will break your legs, cut off your tongue, and gouge out your eyes. This is Jinling City, my territory. You are just a savage from the borderland, and you want to eat swan meat like a toad? It’s simply wishful thinking. If you don’t want to die, try it. If I make you disappear here, even the Zhang family in Kyoto will be unable to do anything to you.” Shen Qiu looked at Zhang Chen coldly, with murderous intent flowing in his body.

Zhang Chen was the most sensitive to the energy flow. He could sense that Shen Qiu really wanted to kill him.

Shen Qiu wanted to say something else, but saw Shen Xu approaching. Shen Qiu quickly patted Zhang Chen's shoulder with a smile on his face, making an expression of mutual concern between relatives, and then said: "Cousin Zhang Chen, you can live in the mansion. If there are any shortcomings, just tell me. There is no need for us to be polite to each other."

Zhang Chen looked at Shen Qiu, whose face changed in an instant, and couldn't help but sigh that this boy was a talent and his expression changed too quickly.

At this time, Shen Xu approached, and Shen Qiu quickly bowed and said, "Second Uncle."

"Why are you running around outside when you are not going to attend the various affairs of Chongzheng Academy? The only spot in the Shen family that can enter the inner courtyard is given to you. You must practice hard and don't disappoint everyone's expectations. Why are you running around outside all day?" Shen Xu scolded him unhappily.

Zhang Chen's heart moved after hearing Shen Xu's words, and he turned to look at Shen Qiu: "The Shen family has a quota to enter the inner courtyard of Chongzheng Academy? And the heir is Shen Qiu?"

Hearing this, Zhang Chen suddenly perked up. He had already secretly come up with an idea in his mind and planned to take revenge on Shen Qiu.

Who is Zhang Chen? He has never been the kind of person who would swallow his anger. If Zhang Chen doesn't retaliate against the threat, what's the point of practicing this magical power?

"Make trouble! I must make trouble! I want Shen Qiu to regret it!" Zhang Chen made a secret decision in his heart.

Hearing Shen Xu's scolding, Shen Qiu smiled awkwardly, bowed to Shen Xu, apologized verbally, and then left in disgrace.

Shen Xu looked at Zhang Chen and said, "Don't worry about the lost treasure. With the means of our Shen family, we will find the treasure even if we have to go to the ends of the earth and return it to you."

Zhang Chen looked at Shen Xu and asked, "I wonder when we can find it back? If it's a hundred years later, I'm afraid it will be rotten to the bone, and even if we find the treasure, it will be useless."

Shen Xu's smile froze upon hearing this, and he said bitterly, "You are such a wicked child. Our Shen family will never default on your debt. Even if the treasure cannot be found, we will compensate you and will never let you suffer any loss."

Zhang Chen looked at Shen Xu meaningfully, but did not respond. He just said, "I hope so."

Shen Xu comforted Zhang Chen with a few more words, then left in a hurry.

Zhang Chen stood there looking at Shen Xu's back for a while. After a little thought, he went towards the old lady's residence. Because the previous fire had burned down the old lady's original residence, Zhang Chen was going to the villa where the old lady had temporarily moved.

After the maid in charge informed him, Zhang Chen walked into the courtyard and saw the old lady with a ruddy complexion sipping tea.

Although the fire burned countless treasures, it did not affect the old lady's life of luxury.

The Shen family controls 70% of the world's water transport. It is a money-eating beast. Wealth from all sides of the world is converging on the Shen family in an overwhelming manner. As long as the Shen family is given time, they will be able to turn things around.

But will Huang Tiandao and Cao Bang give the Shen family time?
"Greetings, old lady." Zhang Chen knelt on the ground respectfully and kowtowed to the old lady.

"It turns out to be you, little monkey. You haven't visited me for some time. How come you have time to see me today?" The old lady looked at the maid beside her and motioned her to help Zhang Chen up.

Zhang Chen secretly complained in his heart when he heard this: "Your Shen family is so powerful, how can I come to see you casually without your summons?"

But he pretended to feel guilty: "It's my grandson's fault. I was so busy getting familiar with the new environment that I actually forgot about my ancestors."

Old Lady Shen motioned Zhang Chen to sit down, and then asked, "Are you used to living in the Shen family? Are you short of food, clothing, and daily necessities?"

"Thank you for your concern, old ancestor. Your grandson eats well and sleeps well. The Shen family is extremely wealthy. Your grandson has never enjoyed such wealth and glory since he was a child." Zhang Chen said with a smile.

"That's good! That's good! If you have any dissatisfaction, just come and tell me and I will make the decision for you." said the old lady.

Zhang Chen was skeptical about the old lady's words. He had to take her words with a grain of salt. After observing her for the past few days, Zhang Chen felt that the old lady might not be so friendly to him. Just as Zhang Chen was thinking about all sorts of things, the old lady yawned, and a tired look appeared on her face. The maid next to her said, "There was a big fire last night and you didn't rest all night. Do you want to go and have some rest?"

The old lady did not speak, but looked at Zhang Chen with a questioning look in her eyes.

Zhang Chen stood up and knelt on the ground again: "Grandson came here today to ask grandma to make a decision for me. The things my mother left me were lost by the Shen family. This thing is the only thought my mother left me. You must pity me for having no parents and not letting others bully me."

The old lady felt a little at a loss when she heard what Zhang Chen said. Since the treasure had been lost under the nose of the gods last night, how could it be easy to find it back?
But what Zhang Chen asked for was reasonable, and she couldn't refute or scold him.

"Don't worry, the Shen family will do their best to find your treasure back. You don't have to worry." said the old lady.

"I don't know when I can find it back? Three years? Five years? Or ten or eight years? Fifty or a hundred years?" Zhang Chen asked, his words following up aggressively.

The old lady took a breath when she heard this, and was unable to answer for a moment. She was the old lady of the Shen family, and her words were binding, so she naturally could not make promises casually.

"You don't have to worry. If the treasure cannot be found, my Shen family will compensate you." said the old lady.

"How much is it?" Zhang Chen asked.

The old lady paused when she heard this, not knowing how to answer for a moment. After a moment, she said, "Whatever you ask for, my Shen family will do everything we can to satisfy it."

Zhang Chen was waiting for this sentence. When he heard the old lady speak, he no longer tried to hide his feelings and said directly:
"My grandson has never learned anything since he was a child. I want to study in Chongzheng Academy. Since the treasure has been lost, I don't want to find it back. I heard that Chongzheng Academy is going to open an inner courtyard. I want the Shen family to help me and send me to the inner courtyard to study. As for the matter of the relic, I will use the treasure to pay for it and we will be done with it."

Hearing Zhang Chen's words, the old lady frowned, and after a moment of hesitation, she said, "Please ask the second master to come over. The second master will handle this matter. The second master knows the ins and outs of it."

As the old lady finished speaking, a servant left quickly. Not long after, Shen Xu arrived and knelt down to pay his respects to the old lady: "Greetings, mother."

"The inner courtyard selection of Chongzheng Academy is about to begin. How many places does my Shen family have?" the old lady asked.

Shen Xu said without hesitation: "There is only one spot, and it is reserved for Shen Qiu."

"Only one spot?" The old lady was stunned when she heard that.

Zhang Chen standing by was also surprised. The prestigious Jinling Shen family actually only had one vacancy?
Shen Xu explained, "Jinling City's Chongzheng Academy is the first academy under the Imperial Academy, and its heritage and resources are second only to those of the Imperial Academy in Kyoto. After failing in the competition, many of the sons of the powerful in Kyoto all chose to go to Jinling to compete. Not only are the powerful in Kyoto like a flood of fish, but the sons of princes from all over the world have also abandoned their original territories and come to Jinling City to compete. Just think about it, a prince has more than a dozen or even hundreds of sons, and there are less than a hundred places in the inner courtyard of the academy. My Shen family can reserve a place, which already gives us the advantage of being a local snake."

Hearing this, Zhang Chen suddenly realized that this was just like the Peking University in later generations, which not only admitted students from Kyoto, but also everyone in the world to compete.

The old lady hesitated for a moment before she said, "Deprive Shen Qiu of his place and give it to this little monkey."

Shen Xu was stunned when he heard this, and looked at the old lady in astonishment. Although he favored Zhang Chen in his heart, he would never allow outsiders to interfere with such important resources. Could it be that his mother was senile and confused? Why would she give such important resources to outsiders?
The old lady glanced at Zhang Chen and sighed: "Don't think that I favor outsiders. It's because you are all careless and owe foreign debts."

The old lady explained the deal. Upon hearing this, Shen Xu turned his head and looked at Zhang Chen, then smiled bitterly: "Since you owe a debt, it should be so. But the quota was originally reserved for Shen Qiu, I'm afraid my sister-in-law will make a fuss after hearing the news."

The old lady waved her hand disapprovingly and said, "I still have the final say in the Shen family."

Hearing the old lady's words, Shen Xu found it difficult to refute. He just looked at Zhang Chen meaningfully. He had just talked to Zhang Chen about the issue of compensation in order to appease Zhang Chen, but who knew that Zhang Chen would cause such a commotion in the blink of an eye?
"You guys go and do it. I'm exhausted and need to rest." The old lady waved her hand and drove Zhang Chen and Shen Xu out.

Then Zhang Chen and Shen Xu walked out of the house. Shen Xu looked at Zhang Chen with a complex and incomprehensible look in his eyes.

"You've caused a big disaster!" Shen Xu looked at Zhang Chen and couldn't help but sigh: "Kid, why didn't you discuss this important matter with me?"

PS: Extra update for the leader 'Feng Junzi Haoran', the second update.

(End of this chapter)