Old Nine was indignant.

’I’m not some amateur; I’m the head of the black market!’

He whimpered, wanting to protest.

Just then, Leng Yuan’s dark eyes fell on him.

He immediately cowered and squeezed his eyes shut.

’Forget it. A pushover it is, then!’

’Hadn’t Lu Yuanbin just cowered and knelt, too?’

’Six of one, half a dozen of the other.’

Lu Yuanbin paid Old Nine no mind. He didn’t dare make a peep, even after being kicked.

Come to think of it, he’d been beaten often since he started following Leng Yuan. A kick like that wouldn’t even leave a scratch.

’I just knew Brother Leng still had a soft spot for me.’

Leng Yuan couldn’t bear to look at Lu Yuanbin. After dressing him down, he told him to get up.

"From now on, you and Jianshe will continue to train for me."

Lu Yuanbin didn’t dare argue.

Gu Jiaojiao, however, understood Leng Yuan’s deeper intentions.

She and Leng Yuan had previously discussed the future, including economic development.

Leng Yuan believed the economy would recover, and when it did, the market would likely descend into a period of brief chaos.

Leng Yuan was ambitious about the future. When the time came, he would naturally bring his close brothers along for the ride. Learning more now would allow them to better protect themselves later.

So Gu Jiaojiao didn’t say anything to plead his case.

Still, she worried that Leng Yuan’s methods might be too harsh for some to handle.

Gu Jiaojiao looked at Lu Yuanbin, wondering if she should step in and explain.

Just then, she saw Lu Yuanbin squeeze his own arm and then glance down at his leg, as if already considering which areas to focus on in his training.

Gu Jiaojiao: ...

’Great. No need for me to waste my breath.’

’She had to hand it to her man—the people around him were more loyal than the last.’

Lu Yuanbin was oblivious to Gu Jiaojiao’s thoughts.

’Or rather, I don’t feel I have any right to be angry when Leng Yuan is going to the trouble of training me.’

’The process will be grueling, but I understand that Brother Leng is doing it for my own good.’

’After all, even if others offered to pay, Brother Leng wouldn’t necessarily agree to train them.’

’I’m already getting such a huge advantage; I should be laughing in secret, not getting angry.’

’Wouldn’t that just be crazy?!’

To the side, Old Nine did his best to make himself invisible.

’He saw Leng Yuan chewing out Lu Yuanbin like a misbehaving child. He was so fierce; no wonder he’d been so ruthless to me.’

’I may act tough, but I’m actually a coward.’

’I’ll remember this pain for the rest of my life. I’ll never dare provoke a god of death like Leng Yuan again.’

’It hurt so much!’

’The main thing was, when he gets mad, he’d even beat up his own men.’

’Just watching him kick Lu Yuanbin made me ache.’

’No wonder Lu Yuanbin is such a good fighter, daring to snatch my territory without a shred of fear.’

’He’s used to getting beaten!’

Back then, when Lu Yuanbin was just a newcomer, he’d tried to snatch his territory. Naturally, he couldn’t allow that and had sent people to take care of him. But the guy was too good a fighter; all the men he sent came back terrified.

On top of that, Lu Yuanbin had connections.

He could always get his hands on things no one else could, and a lot of the boys started making money with him. That’s why he was forced to give Lu Yuanbin a piece of the market.

Later, Lu Yuanbin took over as the boss outright. But he hadn’t given up; he was always ready to pull him back down.

But Lu Yuanbin, with his reckless, do-or-die attitude, had managed to beat his men into submission.

He only dared to make a move today because he saw Lu Yuanbin was alone.

He’d even been thinking he could beat Lu Yuanbin into submission and make him give up the market. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

If that didn’t work, he could always threaten him with his woman.

’Who could have guessed that I’d be the one beaten into submission?’

After the scolding, Lu Yuanbin finally stood up, looking somewhat dejected.

Just then, Old Nine’s two underlings caught up, one clutching his stomach and the other trembling all over.

When they saw their boss beaten to a pulp, they glared furiously at Lu Yuanbin.

"How dare you do this to Mr. Jiu!"

Old Nine, who had been trying to make himself invisible, was so incensed by his underling’s words that he let out a couple of pathetic whimpers.

’You two morons, are you blind? Can’t you see how badly I’ve been beaten?’