Siheyuan: My wife is Xu Huizhen

He slowly extended two fingers, pinched the handle of the teacup, gently lifted the cup, his gaze fell on the foam rising on the surface of the water, he gently stirred it with his fingertips, and then slowly blew on it.

That languid air made it seem as if they weren't discussing a deal involving millions of shares, but rather leisurely enjoying tea in the afternoon.

After blowing away the foam, he glanced at He Yuzhu, a faint, disdainful smile playing on his lips, and shook his head vigorously.

"Three Transcendent Realm experts?"

He deliberately dragged out his words, his tone filled with disdain at the end.

"It's certainly enough to keep your little factory safe for the time being, and more than enough to deal with some street thugs, but if you're talking about going against us at Defeng..."

At this point, he suddenly chuckled, leaning forward slightly, his arrogance almost overflowing. "You're still far from it, do you understand?"

The tone was as if he were educating an ignorant child, as if "Hui Defeng is invincible" was a matter of course and beyond dispute.

He Yuzhu's heart sank suddenly, as if struck by a boulder, a chill creeping up his spine. He had already obtained detailed intelligence from his bribed informant—John Madden's father, George Madden, was the "pillar of stability" that kept Wheelock & Co. standing strong.

He was an elderly man who was over sixty but still very energetic. His full head of silver hair was neatly combed, his back was straight, and his blood and energy were as vigorous as a young man's. He had mastered the "Swift Wind Sword" technique to the peak of the Gang Jin level. When the sword was drawn, it could stir up a strong wind several feet high and cut the willow catkins falling in the air.

What remains most vivid in the memory of Hong Kong's business community is the tumultuous gang war twenty years ago: three local gangs joined forces to resist Wheelock's dock monopoly and gathered hundreds of thugs to besiege Wheelock's warehouse. George Madden, however, went to the meeting alone, with only a rusty Western sword hanging at his waist.

He stood calmly in the open space at the warehouse entrance, facing the dense crowd. With a flash of his sword, he knocked away the knife of the gang leader. Then, like a ghost, he weaved through the crowd. Wherever his sword passed, the thugs' weapons shattered, but none of them were seriously injured.

In less than half an hour, the leaders of the three gangs knelt in the center of the training ground and admitted defeat. That battle not only allowed Wheelock to completely monopolize the cargo transportation at Kowloon Wharf, but also made George Madden's reputation spread throughout both the underworld and the legitimate world of Hong Kong.

Thinking of this, He Yuzhu felt a slight chill at his fingertips—with such a ruthless and decisive expert backing him up, it was no wonder that John Madden dared to be so arrogant and fearless.

With the military intimidation of George Madden and his precise business planning, the Wheelock family once stirred up a storm in Hong Kong's business world for decades. Cargo ships lined up end to end on the shipping line, and the blue flags with white stripes fluttering on the decks were particularly eye-catching under the sun of the South China Sea islands.

Luxury stores in Tsim Sha Tsui were making a fortune every day, and the jewelry in their windows attracted passersby to stop and watch. Even the colonial government had to send special envoys to consult Wheelock's opinions in advance when formulating trade policies. It was truly a powerful and influential company, firmly ranking among the four major trading houses.

But time is the most merciless knife. In the past two years, George Madden's health has declined rapidly like the receding tide: his arm, which used to be able to lift a hundred-pound sword with one hand, now needs to be wrapped with a cloth to prevent it from slipping when holding the sword, and the tip of the sword often trembles slightly uncontrollably.

His once rosy complexion turned sallow, and he would be out of breath even after half an hour of morning exercise. His dantian and dantian would ache faintly when he circulated his internal energy.

On the other hand, the shipping magnate was rising like a new star – he first acquired two small and medium-sized shipping companies, expanded his routes to more than ten ports in Southeast Asia, and his business empire expanded rapidly at a visible speed.

Even more shocking news broke six months ago in Hong Kong's martial arts world:

After three months of seclusion, he successfully broke through to the Gang Jin realm. When he emerged from seclusion, he shattered the bluestone floor of the training room with just his Qi, and his strength seemed to be surpassing that of George Madden.

For a time, the Hong Kong business community was in a state of panic. Many small and medium-sized businesses that had originally relied on Wheelock began to secretly curry favor with the shipping magnate, and Wheelock's foundation was already shaken.

With one side gaining and the other losing, Wheelock's decline became irreversible, like a flood bursting its banks.

The shipping magnate first acquired three core shipping subsidiaries of Wheelock with swift and decisive action, then joined forces with HSBC to cut off their credit funding chain, and finally launched an exorbitant acquisition plan—a figure that would tempt any shareholder, yet carried an undeniable sense of pressure.

At the board meeting, the voices supporting the sale drowned out all resistance. George Madden lay on a private hospital bed, listening to his butler choke back tears as he reported the news of the family business being split up. Two lines of tears rolled down his cloudy eyes, and he coughed violently, his handkerchief instantly stained with a glaring scarlet.

He trembled as he tried to grab the sword by the bedside, but he didn't even have the strength to lift his hand. He could only pound the bed board heavily, roaring "I'm not reconciled!" His voice was hoarse like a broken gong. Finally, he collapsed in endless despair, his eyes staring at the ceiling, empty and desolate.

John Madden, as the family heir, stood outside the hospital room listening to his father's weeping, his fists clenched until they turned white, his nails digging deep into his palms.

He was well aware that the tide had turned, but his years of pride made it impossible for him to accept such a humiliating exit.

When the contract to sell Wheelock was signed, he stared intently at the signature line, his knuckles turning blue from the force, and finally gritted his teeth and pressed the seal.

When he received the suitcase full of gold bars and checks, he felt no joy, only a blankness as if his heart had been emptied.

But when he heard at the party that He Yuzhu’s radio company had made a monthly profit of over three million and had even snatched a lot of military orders from the colonial government, a greedy glint instantly ignited in his eyes—rather than slinking back to England to become a destitute nobleman who squanders his fortune, he might as well make a killing before he leaves!

He Yuzhu's radio company is like a freshly baked cream cake, crispy on the outside and sweet on the inside. It is the most tempting thing in Hong Kong's business world right now. He really can't swallow this humiliation without taking a bite out of this piece of fat.

He Yuzhu has always kept his strength at the Core Formation Realm hidden like a precious treasure. When circulating his Qi and blood, he deliberately slows down the flow of Qi through his meridians, compressing his condensed internal energy into a trickle. He only dares to use 30% of his strength when testing his skills. He also claims to the outside world that he has just touched the threshold of Dark Force and can "suppress" even the instructors of ordinary martial arts schools.

His strategy of concealing his abilities was both to avoid open and covert attacks within Hong Kong's martial arts circle and to allow the company to develop steadily in a low-key manner.

When John Madden came to visit, he thought it was just a routine greeting before leaving after selling off assets—perhaps he would boast about the huge sum of money he had received, or perhaps he would make a sour remark about the success of his own company. But he did not expect that the other party would make a blatant request to invest in the company right away.