However, if one wanted to fight to the death, one had to have the strength for it first.
In Ye Chen's eyes, these people were nothing more than a group of ants!
He could wipe them out with a wave of his hand!
Miserable shrieks echoed endlessly from inside the club.
This place had truly transformed into a living hell.
On the roadside outside the club, hundreds of ordinary citizens of Jiangbei City gathered to watch.
They were all curious about what on earth was happening inside the stronghold of the Black Tiger Gang.
Not a single soul came out from inside, and no one outside dared to step in.
The screams lasted for less than five minutes.
Inside the club, silence finally fell.
At that moment, Ye Chen calmly walked out of the club.
He noticed a speck of blood smeared on his jacket.
With a flick, he took off the jacket and tossed it straight onto the ground.
The onlookers from Jiangbei were instantly dumbfounded.
They recognized him—this was Ye Chen, the man who had destroyed the Zhao Family earlier today!
Why would Ye Chen appear on the turf of the Black Tiger Gang?
Could it be that he had single-handedly taken down the entire Black Tiger Gang?
The spectators' imaginations were still constrained by their own limits.
What Ye Chen had dealt with was not just the Black Tiger Gang.
It was the entire underworld of Jiangbei!
Furthermore, the main scum of the Jiangbei gangs had already been completely annihilated by him!
"I have an announcement to make to everyone."
Ye Chen walked up to the crowd and suddenly spoke in a deep voice.
The citizens present instantly quieted down.
Their eyes filled with curiosity and anticipation, wondering what this young man was going to say.
"Starting from tonight, there will no longer be any gangs in Jiangbei."
"In the future, if any petty thugs dare to bully the innocent or run amok, just come and tell me."
"Their fate will be the same as those people inside the Black Tiger Club."
Ye Chen announced in a loud voice.
He had removed a scourge for the people of Jiangbei.
And he would not allow this scourge to ever rise again!
"Hero! Ye Chen, you are our hero!"
"Hero! Hero..."
Hundreds of citizens immediately raised their arms and cheered!
Applause thundered like rolling thunder, and shouts shook the heavens!
Ye Chen merely gave a faint smile.
He left amidst the reverent gazes of the crowd.
The onlookers immediately rushed into the Black Tiger Club to take a look.
And there they saw corpses strewn all over the floor.
These were the gang leaders who usually committed every imaginable evil!
Filled with fury, the citizens could not resist giving the corpses a few kicks.
And spitting on them as well!
Venturing out the hatred they had bottled up for years!
The citizens set a fire that burned the Black Tiger Gang's stronghold clean to the ground.
Soon, the news of the destruction of all Jiangbei gangs spread throughout the entire city.
More citizens rushed into the gang strongholds to set fires.
For a time, flames lit up the sky across the city!
As for the small-time punks who had escaped disaster, they all scrambled to hide in whatever bolt-holes they could find.
From then on, even if they were given a hundred times their courage, they would never dare to cause trouble again!
Ye Chen became a living legend on the lips of the Jiangbei populace.
In a single day, he had crushed the arrogant and domineering Zhao Family, along with their lackeys.
And then he wiped out every single gang in the Jiangbei underworld!
Every citizen in Jiangbei clapped and cheered in delight.
Deep in the night, Ye Chen returned to his hotel room.
"Ruoyi, I have avenged your grievances."
"And I have avenged the people of Jiangbei as well."
Ye Chen smiled brightly.
"Mm, I saw it all."
"Ye Chen, thank you!"
Lin Ruoyi, who had limited mobility, sat on the sofa.
Holding her phone, she had already witnessed Ye Chen's heroic feat at the Black Tiger Club!
The Black Tiger Gang had driven her parents to their deaths, and now that the deep enmity was finally avenged, hot tears streamed down her face.
As for the man standing before her, he completely exceeded her imagination!
He was simply too powerful!
"Don't cry, don't cry."
Ye Chen immediately sat down and gently pulled Ruoyi into his arms to comfort her.
"Sob..."
Lin Ruoyi buried herself in Ye Chen's embrace, weeping uncontrollably.
All the grievances she had suffered over so many years were released in this single moment.
She was strong, but in Ye Chen's arms, she had no need to be strong.
After a long while, her sobbing finally subsided.
She pulled away from Ye Chen's warm embrace.
Ye Chen reached out, gently brushing aside Ruoyi's hair to wipe away the tear tracks on her face.
Yet Lin Ruoyi suddenly shrank back out of a sense of inferiority.
She did not dare face Ye Chen with her disfigured face, terrified that he would find her repulsive.
In her current state, even a young child would be frightened at the sight of her!
"I will never be able to go back to the way I used to be..."
Lin Ruoyi said with heartbreak.
Even with the most advanced cosmetic surgery available today, it was impossible to completely restore her former beauty.
"No, I said I would cure you."
"I will definitely restore your face to its original perfection."
Ye Chen comforted her softly.
Leaning forward, he pressed a kiss to Ruoyi's forehead.
This caused Lin Ruoyi's face to flush instantly, burning hot as her heart fluttered like a startled fawn.
How could she not be stirred when kissed by such a handsome man?
"Let me cure your feet first so you can get up and walk."
Ye Chen immediately produced a needle pouch.
Unrolling it, dozens of slender silver needles were revealed inside.
He had also pilfered these items from his peerless master's room when he descended the mountain.
"Next, I am going to apply acupuncture treatment. It will hurt a little, so bear with it."
"Stretch your feet over here."
Ye Chen pinched a silver needle, preparing to administer the treatment.
After a busy day, he finally had time to administer the cure.
"As long as it can be cured, I'm not afraid of pain."
Lin Ruoyi immediately pulled up her skirt, extending her fair, slender legs.
Such perfect legs, yet her tender little feet hung limply downward.
Because her Achilles tendons had been severed, the soles of her feet lacked strength, making it impossible for her to stand.
Ye Chen cupped Ruoyi's sole with his left hand while holding a silver needle in his right to begin the treatment.
The needle technique he used was the Taixuan Nine Needles imparted to him by his master.
With a swift flash of his hands, needles pierced in succession into eight acupuncture points on her feet: Yinbai, Dadou, Taibai, Rangu, Zhaohai, Zhongfeng, Taixi, and Qiuxu.
He condensed true qi between his fingertips, channeling it through the silver needles into Ruoyi's pressure points.
His formidable true qi could help Ruoyi repair her damaged meridians.
Lin Ruoyi only felt a mild ache and did not experience much discomfort.
She felt her feet, which had always been ice-cold, gradually begin to grow warm.
When she tried to wiggle her toes, they actually moved!
This instantly filled her with boundless joy and surprise!
Ye Chen pinched another silver needle and thrust it into the Yongquan point on the sole of Ruoyi's foot.
He inserted it quite deeply.
"Mm-ah~"
Lin Ruoyi gasped sharply from the pain.
"Can you not make such strange noises?"
"It's easy for people to let their imaginations wander."
Ye Chen teased playfully.
"No way! You're the one whose mind is wandering!"
Lin Ruoyi retorted with bashful coyness.
The atmosphere in the room suddenly turned somewhat ambiguous.
Smiling, Ye Chen proceeded to administer acupuncture to Ruoyi's other foot using the exact same technique.
It took over twenty minutes to complete the acupuncture session.
Afterward, he condensed true qi in both palms and massaged Ruoyi's feet.
Through this method, he thoroughly activated the dead meridians in her feet.
Another twenty-some minutes passed before it finally concluded.
"All right, rest for the night, and tomorrow morning you'll be able to walk on your own feet."
Ye Chen let out a long breath and smiled.
He scooped Lin Ruoyi up in his arms, carried her to the bedroom, and placed her on the bed.
"Get some peaceful rest, good night."
Ye Chen kissed Ruoyi on the forehead once more, then turned and prepared to leave.
"Brother Ye Chen, will you sleep here with me?"
Lin Ruoyi suddenly requested with a blush.
"Huh?"
Ye Chen froze on the spot.
He turned back to look at Ruoyi in utter bewilderment.
This little girl was actually asking him to sleep with her?
Did she have any idea that this was a quite outrageous request!
"Um... I'm scared."
"I want to stay by your side so I can feel truly safe."
Lin Ruoyi explained nervously.
The moment the words left her mouth, she felt a twinge of regret.
Why on earth had she made such a request? How mortifying!
"If you ask me to sleep with you, aren't you afraid I might do something to you?"
The corners of Ye Chen's mouth curled into a mischievous smile.
"No, I'm not afraid."
"I just want you to keep me company, you're not allowed to do anything else!"
Lin Ruoyi put on a brave front.
Yet she was visibly nervous, her voice trembling.
"Uh..."
"All right, I'll stay with you."
After a brief hesitation, Ye Chen ultimately nodded and agreed.
The reason he hesitated was because the Dragon Blood Poison still existed within his body.
He worried that sleeping with Ruoyi might trigger a relapse of the Dragon Blood Poison!
He knew all too well how terrifying it was when the Dragon Blood Poison flared up.
He and Ruoyi had only just reunited, and he didn't want to frighten this little girl.
However, since Ruoyi had requested it, he had no choice but to agree.
He figured this young girl must have experienced too many dangers to feel such a lack of security!
Whatever she wanted, he would give her!
"Mm, then turn off the lights and let's rest, it's already very late."
Lin Ruoyi grinned broadly.
Ye Chen promptly walked over to turn off the lights, leaving only the dim glow of the bedside lamp.
Then he lay down on the bed fully clothed.
He didn't dare take off his clothes for fear of complications.
The next second, Lin Ruoyi inched closer, reaching out to hug Ye Chen.
As snug as a bird nestling against its mate, leaning against this man filled her with an immense sense of security.
Within a few minutes, she fell asleep with soft, gentle breaths.
As for Ye Chen, he was left with hardships too bitter to voice.
He couldn't sleep, yet he couldn't move his body either.
The most agonizing part was that the Dragon Blood Poison within his body was indeed showing faint signs of acting up!
Fortunately, before leaving the mountain, his peerless master had helped him thoroughly vent his internal fire; now, by circulating his true qi, he could still suppress the Dragon Blood Poison.
With that thought, Ye Chen resolved to settle matters in Jiangbei and then seek out his senior sister apprentices as quickly as possible.
He still had no idea where those nine peerless senior sisters were located.
In fact, several of them had already descended the mountain before his master brought him to Kunlun, and he didn't even know what they looked like.
But one thing was certain: all nine senior sisters were peerless beauties of the mortal world!
Before he knew it, Ye Chen had drifted off to sleep as well.
Time advanced to the next morning.
Lin Ruoyi woke up, and the moment she opened her eyes, she saw Ye Chen's handsome face.
Unable to restrain herself, she leaned forward and planted a kiss straight on it.
Thus, Ye Chen was also startled awake.
Feeling guilty like a thief caught in the act, Lin Ruoyi immediately shifted her body, wanting to get out of bed.
At that moment, she joyfully discovered that when her feet touched the floor, they actually had strength in them!
She was instantly overwhelmed with excitement!
Leaning against the wall, she attempted to walk.
Though she wobbled from side to side like a toddler who hadn't yet learned to walk properly.
This was the first time in three years that she had stood up on her own two feet once more!
"With a few more treatments, your feet will fully recover."
Seeing this, Ye Chen smiled with satisfaction.
"Ye Chen, you are truly amazing!"
Lin Ruoyi shuffled forward, opened her arms wide, and gave Ye Chen a huge embrace.
With her soft, delicate body held close, Ye Chen felt entirely fulfilled; everything he had done was well worth it.
After a simple breakfast.
Ye Chen instructed Ruoyi to rest at the hotel and take a light walk if she wished.
As for him, he left the hotel to attend to an urgent matter first.
To treat the scars on Ruoyi's face, he needed to make a specialized scar-removal ointment.
The raw materials required for the ointment were numerous, and more than half of them were extremely precious and rare medicinal herbs that were hard to come by.
The meager amount of money he currently had on hand would certainly not be enough to buy them.
However, he now had plenty of ready capital at his disposal.
Twenty-something minutes later.
Beneath a skyscraper in downtown Jiangbei City.
Hongda Group.
This was property belonging to the Zhao Family.
And now, it belonged to Ye Chen!
Ye Chen arrived at the building's entrance.
Upon seeing the four golden characters "Hongda Group" on the exterior wall, he felt an immediate sense of annoyance.
Those words needed to be changed.
He walked calmly into the building.
The security guard recognized him at a glance and hurried over to welcome him respectfully.
Meanwhile, inside a conference room within the building.
A group of corporate executives had gathered, each harboring their own hidden agendas as they discussed where the company should go from here.
With the Zhao Family gone, the company had lost its backbone.
"In my opinion, we should sell the company and split the money."
"I agree! With such a massive foundation, how can we just hand it over to someone else on a silver platter!"
"I heard that Ye Chen fellow wants to take all the Zhao Family's assets; that kid sure is dreaming big."
"Let's make our move quickly before that kid gets here..."
A group of old men chattered back and forth, plotting to carve up the company and stuff the proceeds into their own pockets.
"Don't you guys realize that this place now belongs to Ye Chen?"
"I advise you to forget about splitting the money and honestly wait for Ye Chen to dispose of us."
The sole female executive in the room warned in a cold tone.
She wore a professional uniform skirt, black silk stockings, and high heels; her figure was tall and graceful, and she wore thin-rimmed gold wire-rimmed glasses, making her both sexy and full of poise.
"Ridiculous! How can we just wait for that kid to eat the fat meat sitting right on our plates!"
"Everyone listen to me, before that kid arrives, let's grab as much as we can!"
"If you don't want any, get out of the way and don't block our path to wealth!"
A man sneered disdainfully.
Only a fool wouldn't make money when it was right in front of them!
"Haven't you heard that Ye Chen is not someone to be trifled with?"
"Aren't you afraid of bringing disaster upon yourselves by doing this?"
The female executive retorted coldly.
Unlike these old men, she wasn't blinded by greed at the sight of money.
She simply wanted to make a career for herself in a male-dominated business world.
Furthermore, she had always despised the Zhao Family's methods of operation.
Now that the Zhao Family was gone, it suited her wishes perfectly!
"Hah, what disaster?"
"If we take the money and run off to some foreign country to live the high life, can that kid possibly track us down?"
The man scoffed dismissively.
The other executives chimed in and echoed his sentiments.
"Do you really think you can run?"
Just then, a voice rang out from the doorway of the conference room.
With a calm expression, Ye Chen stepped into the room.
An aura of stern slaughter washed over everyone inside, imparting an invisible sense of oppression.
The smile on the face of the man who had just been acting so smug and dismissive instantly froze.
Clearly, he hadn't anticipated that Ye Chen would arrive so quickly!
The other old men also wore bitter expressions instantly.
Their hearts beat wildly with panic—did he happen to overhear the terrible things they were just saying?
Word had it that this kid was someone who blinked not an eye when killing!
"Mr. Ye, we weren't saying we were going to run!"
"You're finally here! We've all been hoping you'd come take charge, this company is yours now!"
"Please take the seat of honor! I'll pour you some tea!"
In the blink of an eye, the man had transformed his expression.
Fawning and bowing with obsequious smiles, he groveled shamelessly!
The other executives also rushed forward, falling over themselves to curry favor and utter flattering remarks.
This was, after all, what they excelled at the most.
In the past, they had never skimped on kissing up to the Zhao Family!
"Shut up, I don't buy that act."
"All of you are fired."
"You have half a minute to get out of here."
Ye Chen announced indifferently.
He had already overheard outside the door that these members of the management team were only interested in lining their pockets.
These pieces of trash left behind by the Zhao Family should be cleared out entirely; keeping them around would only pollute the environment.
At these words, everyone in the conference room wore ugly, humiliated expressions.
None of them expected that the moment Ye Chen appeared, he would fire all of them—the very people crucial to the company's survival!
They looked at one another in dismay, having no idea what to do next.
The female executive amidst the crowd saw Ye Chen appear, and her eyes instantly lit up!
This young man was simply too handsome!
Not only was he handsome, but his decisive actions were cool as well!
She loved this style of handling matters.
"Mr. Ye, please don't joke around like that."
"We are extremely important to the company; if you fire all of us, this massive corporation will have no one to run it!"
"We beg you to keep us, we will undoubtedly obey your every word!"
The executives swarmed forward, humbling themselves and pleading with ingratiating smiles.
They couldn't bear to lose their current status!
After all, among them, even the lowest-paid person drew millions a month.
If they were fired, the money train would stop!
"Fifteen seconds remaining."
Ye Chen replied apathetically.
Realizing there was not the slightest room for negotiation, the executives scrambled out in a panic.
They were terrified that if Ye Chen disagreed over a single word, he would strike them down right then and there.
As greedy as they were for wealth, they valued their lives even more.
The female executive also stood up and prepared to leave.
What a pity, she thought, that she wouldn't be able to stay at this company and work for such a handsome man.
"Beauty, stay behind."
Ye Chen called out.
"Huh? Me?"
The female executive froze for a moment, turning her head back in surprise.
She was the only woman here; if he wasn't calling her, who else could it be!
Being addressed as a beauty, she instantly felt flattered and caught off guard.
"President Ye, my name is Gao Lan. What are your instructions?"
The female executive hurried forward, standing gracefully.
Gone was the frosty attitude she had just shown the old men; a brilliant smile bloomed on her pretty face.
Her attitude was respectful, yet entirely devoid of servility.
"Gao Lan, from this moment on, you are the acting president of this company."
"You will have full authority over the company's operations and management."
"Do you have any problems with that?"
Ye Chen said calmly.
His judgment of people was infallible; this woman was trustworthy.
The old men who had just left the conference room heard Ye Chen's words and were utterly dumbfounded.
They were filled with bitter regret—why on earth had they bad-mouthed him behind his back!
Alas, even if they hadn't bad-mouthed him, they wouldn't have caught Ye Chen's eye anyway.
"President Ye, I, I..."
"I will definitely not let you down!"
Gao Lan was so shocked she could barely collect her wits. How had she just been appointed acting president just like that!
Happiness arrived far too abruptly!
No, the monumental task had arrived far too abruptly!
Yet she did not shrink back, boldly accepting the position on the spot.
"Very good."
"Give me a brief report on the company's current situation."
Ye Chen nodded in satisfaction.
He needed someone with precisely this kind of courage and decisiveness.
He walked over and sat down on the sofa.
Standing straight with her long legs encased in black silk stockings, Gao Lan methodically began reporting on the company's status.
Five minutes passed.
"Cut out all businesses involving clubs, casinos, and usury loans."
"From now on, the company's operational focus must shift toward education, medical care, and other sectors that benefit society."
Ye Chen demanded.
"Also, this company needs a new name."
"Let me think... we'll call it Yelin Group."
He thought briefly and blurted it out.
"Very well, President Ye, everything will be done according to your requirements."