Arachne was surprised. This human seemed difficult to deal with, so she slowed down and began to engage Yan Chen.

From beginning to end, Chu Hao remained very calm, almost like a bystander, his gaze involuntarily shifting towards the distant Cao Shanhe.

Cao Shanhe was frightened. Though he was accustomed to grand scenes, this was a first for him.

Chu Hao said coldly, "Cao Shanhe, you’ve got nerve."

Cao Shanhe’s heart pounded, and his face turned ugly. He summoned the bodyguards around him, who quickly produced their guns.

Since he had offended Chu Hao, regret was useless. Fence-sitters would only die faster, and he absolutely couldn’t afford to offend Yan Chen.

"Chu Hao, I don’t want to be your enemy," Cao Shanhe said. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Chu Hao sneered. "Be my enemy? Are you even worthy?"

"Ding... Host has successfully put someone down with his pretentiousness, gaining 600 Pretentiousness Points."

Honestly, Chu Hao’s words struck deep into their hearts. Even Cao Shanhe, a local magnate, was shown no respect by Chu Hao.

Inside the venue, the tycoons were even more astounded. They, of course, knew who Cao Shanhe was. But it was the first time they had ever seen him so terrified of someone.

There were others, too, who started to ponder. Yan Chen is an extraordinary figure, someone we can’t afford to offend. But Cao Shanhe is different. Perhaps we could target Cao Shanhe to show Chu Hao which side we’re on?

The battle between the man and the demon had essentially reached a white-hot stage. Yan Chen was unable to use his full strength, worrying that Chu Hao might resort to underhanded tactics. His expression grew increasingly grim, and the fight became more strenuous for him.

And Arachne? Her laughter was loud, as if she’d encountered something highly amusing. Her movements were nimble as she continuously spun webs around them, avoiding a direct confrontation with Yan Chen. Yan Chen’s Flaming Heart Palm was indeed powerful, but how long could he sustain it?

Suddenly, Arachne launched a sneak attack from behind. Her sharp spider-like legs pierced Yan Chen’s left arm.

Yan Chen screamed. A blast from his Flaming Heart Palm sent Arachne flying as well.

Without hesitation, Yan Chen turned and ran.

In his heart, he didn’t hate Arachne. Instead, his hatred for Chu Hao had reached its absolute peak.

Yan Chen roared, "Cao Shanhe, what are you standing around for? Shoot her!"

Cao Shanhe took a deep breath and ordered, "Fire!"

The bodyguards opened fire, muzzles flashing as bullets sped towards Arachne.

A massive web, as tough as steel wires, appeared before Arachne. It greatly diminished the bullets’ impact, though some still hit her.

Arachne, enraged, spewed out a clump of black spider silk.

PFFT!

Cao Shanhe and his group were all enveloped. It was poisonous spider silk. Black smoke rose wherever it touched their skin, and their screams were horrifying.

"Hahaha..." Arachne laughed wildly.

The unfortunate Cao Shanhe realized his folly. I knew perfectly well that the creature before me was a monster, far beyond human capabilities, yet I heeded Yan Chen’s words and attacked.

This bought Yan Chen precious time. He turned and fled, tearing through the webs blocking the main entrance, completely disregarding Cao Shanhe and the others.

"Thinking of leaving?" Chu Hao had his eyes fixed on Yan Chen all along.

Yan Chen took a deep breath and turned. His handsome, wickedly charming face twisted into a hideous snarl. He was truly enraged and bellowed, "Chu Hao, you just wait!"

With that, he pulled out a Talisman Paper, a rare black one. He slashed his own arm, splattering a large amount of blood onto the black Talisman Paper.

Suddenly, a grotesque ghost skull materialized. It swallowed Yan Chen whole and vanished in a flash.

Chu Hao intended to take out the True Word Brush to pursue, but the man was already flying away through the air; there was nothing Chu Hao could do.

"Next time I see you, I’ll make sure you die," Chu Hao said coldly.

Chu Hao returned to the venue, only to find it covered in spider silk.

Arachne’s voice echoed, "Human, I want the pill from before. If you don’t give it to me, all these people will die."

That cunning Arachne! She actually took advantage of my pursuit of Yan Chen to threaten everyone in the venue!

Chu Hao’s expression turned grim. That spider is too cunning; I’ve actually been played.

"Release the people first."

Arachne cackled strangely and said in broken Huaxia language, "Do you take me for a fool?"

Damn it, I feel like I’ve really overdone it this time.

Inside the venue, Li Yin screamed, "HOLY SHIT! Ugly freak, stop licking my face! Brother Hao, save me!"

Chu Hao grew anxious as well.

"Fine, I’ll give it to you."

As he spoke, Chu Hao exchanged for a piece of Taisui Meat, consuming his last 3,000 Pretentiousness Points.

Although its effect wasn’t as potent as the Small Demon Pill, Taisui Meat held a strong allure for ghosts and monsters. Chu Hao threw it in.

The instant he threw it, he had already drawn the True Word Brush.

"Manifestation of the great Taoist Master Laozi, supreme speed in the world, be revered by me alone, move like lightning, swift like the wind, let it be as swift as the commandment."

Activating the True Word of ’Move,’ he burst forth at extreme speed. To him, the surroundings seemed to move in slow motion.

He saw Arachne drop Li Yin and lunge for the Taisui Meat, her eyes filled with longing.

Chu Hao sneered, the Night Demon Blade appearing in his hands as he switched to a dual-wielding stance.

"Die!"

His speed was incredible; the True Word of ’Move’ had pushed it to an unprecedented peak.

By the time Arachne realized what was happening, it was too late. The brown-haired, blue-eyed woman’s expression contorted in terror.

His dual blades, imbued with all his Mana Points and amplified by his supreme Inner Strength, unleashed a colossal X-shaped slash of light that struck with vicious force.

PWOF!

Blood sprayed from the giant spider’s body as its torso was viciously slashed open.

Arachne shrieked miserably, thrashing on the ground as blood pooled around her.

"A mere Spider Spirit dares to threaten me, a Taoist Master?"

Chu Hao leaped, Night Demon Blade held steady. Its razor-sharp edge plunged directly into Arachne’s skull, piercing straight through and pinning her head to the ground.

She was unquestionably dead.

"Ding... Task completed, gained two million Experience Points."

"Ding... Task completed, gained thirty thousand Merit Points."

"Ding... Task completed. Gained one Semi-Diamond Treasure Chest."

Pretentious Expert: Chu Hao

Level: 6

Experience Points: 5,800,000 / 7,000,000

Pretentiousness Points: 0

Mana Points: 12,000

Merit Points: 30,000

Ghost Servants: Zhao Yun, Confucius, Sadako, Chu Renmei, Jiayeci, Ghost Dragon (Qiu)

Chu Hao let out a breath of relief. Thank goodness Arachne’s greed exposed her weakness. If she hadn’t been so eager, she could have easily used the hostages to blackmail me.

"A mere Spider Spirit. I can obliterate you with a wave of my hand," Chu Hao declared, waving his hand with a flourish.

The people in the venue were still screaming, completely unaware that Arachne had been killed.

Chu Hao initially wanted to tell everyone that the Spider Spirit was dead, but on second thought, he decided against it.

Always leave a little leeway when showing off; it makes future interactions smoother. What this means is, you can’t use up all your ’show-off’ material at once. You have to hold back a bit, cultivate an air of mystery for these people. That makes it easier for the next round of showing off.

When it came to the art of acting pretentious, Chu Hao felt he was becoming quite the expert.

He walked over to Li Yin, nudged him with his foot, and asked, "Are you dead?"