Since he had grown stronger, what did it matter if Xu Ke won this time? It wouldn’t be long before Qian Jun could make a comeback.

"My lord, my strength has increased!" Qian Jun said in a low voice, his aura now imposing.

Wong Ting was momentarily stunned before bursting into hearty laughter. "Good, good, good! Truly worthy of being the general I value most! A genius is a genius. Even after suffering setbacks and profound humiliation, a single rebound is all it takes to attain a strength others couldn’t reach after years of effort!"

As Wong Ting spoke his praise, Zhao Xiangping and Su Ximing revealed expressions of envy and excitement. They were envious because they lacked Qian Jun’s ability, and excited because they were happy for him.

A smug smile curled at the corners of Qian Jun’s lips.

Wong Ting was still laughing. "This time, you really have to thank Xu Ke!" His laughter was laced with undisguised mockery.

Qian Jun nodded. "Yes, I really should thank him!"

Xu Ke was their enemy. If an enemy did something to their disadvantage, they would be furious and hurl insults. But if an enemy did something beneficial, then naturally, they had to offer their thanks! Xu Ke was certainly worthy of their gratitude right now.

Wong Ting said disdainfully, "Xu Ke is formidable, but in the end, he’s just a commoner from Shan City. He has always been narrow-minded, afraid of opposing people like Jin Hankang. He was afraid that if he crippled you, he wouldn’t be able to protect himself."

"If I were in his position, I would never let the tiger return to the mountain. I wouldn’t have just defeated you twice in a matter of seconds without either crippling or killing you. The consequence of not eliminating the problem at its root is that a single defeat has granted you a tremendous leap in strength!"

A smug expression also appeared on Qian Jun’s face. "Exactly!"

At that moment, Qian Jun was very grateful to Xu Ke. He vowed to play him to death, cruelly, the next time they met...

But just then.

"B-Boss..."

At what should have been a joyous moment, Qian Jun looked up to find Zhao Xiangping’s face pale with a horror so absolute it was as if he had seen something terrifying.

Qian Jun immediately frowned. "What’s wrong with you?!"

"You, you, you..." Zhao Xiangping’s voice trembled with a sob, utterly horrified.

On the other end of the phone, Wong Ting heard this, and his tone instantly changed. "What’s going on?"

Qian Jun was clueless, but following Zhao Xiangping’s gaze, he slowly looked down...

In that instant, Qian Jun felt the sunlight that had been so warm just moments ago turn ice-cold. A chill that pierced his very bones seeped into his back.

Blood was slowly seeping out from his Dantian...

The next moment.

BOOM—!

A muffled explosion erupted from within his Dantian.

"PFFT..."

Qian Jun’s body shook violently as if struck by a great hammer. He spat out a mouthful of crimson blood and howled in utter despair, "Xu Ke!!! You are vicious!!!"

The moment he finished his roar, Qian Jun fainted. The imposing aura that had just soared into the sky instantly vanished. Instead, his complexion was turning pale at a rate visible to the naked eye...

"Boss..."

Only Zhao Xiangping’s terrified screams and Wong Ting’s grim voice remained in the car.

"Xu Ke, I underestimated you..."

* * *

At this time, Xu Ke had arrived at the Tianhai Martial Alliance’s conference room with the members of the Northern Dragon Guard. He was unaware of what had happened to Peng Hetong and Qian Jun.

However, he had already anticipated the fates of those two.

The former had offended Chen Xiong and Yuan Shang and had secretly engaged in many despicable acts. It was only a matter of time before he faced the consequences. If Jin Hankang hadn’t come to Tianhai, giving Peng Hetong no hope of a comeback, he might have kept his head down like Lin Zhongtian. He could have perhaps lasted a while longer as the head of the Law Enforcement Hall. But he was too arrogant, arrogant enough to show contempt for Chen Xiong and Yuan Shang. To that extent, death was almost inevitable.

As for Qian Jun, Xu Ke had known all along that crippling him on the spot at the gymnasium, in front of so many people, would cause a major incident. Crippling Wong Qiang and Li Ming was fine because they were just insignificant pawns. Furthermore, at that time, Jin Hankang was certain Xu Ke would die at Qian Jun’s hands. There was no need to hold Xu Ke accountable beforehand; he just had to wait for Qian Jun to kill him. But if Xu Ke had crippled Qian Jun, not only would Jin Hankang and his two companions have intervened directly, but they would also have fought him to the death. Even with Ki Qinyin’s arrival, Xu Ke would not have been able to avoid being taken to Long Capital. Therefore, Xu Ke didn’t cripple Qian Jun on the spot.

But that didn’t mean he would let Qian Jun off the hook.

He put on such an act, even faking being poisoned, all to sever one of Wong Ting’s arms. So, not only did he want to crush Qian Jun’s spirit and send him into a state of depression, but when he kicked him, he also planted his Dark Energy in Qian Jun’s Dantian. He set it to detonate after Qian Jun left Tianhai, turning him into a cripple.

Xu Ke knew that crushing a person’s spirit could make them a cripple, but a spirit that can be crushed can also be restored. To be safe, he naturally had to take a two-pronged approach.

A cripple, after all... If you don’t destroy them in both body and spirit, can you really call them a cripple?

* * *

After they arrived at the Tianhai Martial Alliance’s conference room, the members of the Zhou Family had other matters to attend to and left first.

Before entering the conference room, Ki Qinyin made a request.

"Xu Ke, I hope we can speak alone," Ki Qinyin said with a smile, though her eyes betrayed a hint of nervousness.

At her words, the expressions of those present subtly changed, and the atmosphere outside the conference room grew somewhat tense.

Chen Xiong and Yuan Shang exchanged a surprised glance. Although it was normal for the two of them to be kept in the dark about Northern Dragon Guard secrets, members of the Wong Family, especially Wong Qifu, were close to Xu Ke. Was it really necessary for them to leave?

Wang Qiya’s previously excited expression now turned dark and somewhat dangerous. What is Ki Qinyin trying to do?

Wong Qifu’s expression, however, remained unchanged. She simply looked at Ki Qinyin without saying a word.

Xu Ke was a bit taken aback. "Can’t the others listen in?"

"It concerns Northern Dragon Guard secrets," Ki Qinyin said.

This put Xu Ke in a difficult position. He wasn’t afraid that Wong Qifu would misunderstand anything between him and Ki Qinyin, but he had been counting on her to help him find a reason to refuse...

He hesitated before saying, "But everyone here is close to me. Qifu is my lover. What could possibly be said that she can’t hear?"

As soon as he said this, the tense atmosphere outside the conference room instantly became incredibly strange. Their focus suddenly shifted...

The expressions on everyone’s faces became a sight to behold. "Lover?"

Chen Xiong was astonished. "This... this... isn’t their engagement not until May...?"

Yuan Shang grabbed the old-fashioned Chen Xiong and shook his hand frantically. "It’s normal for young people! Perfectly normal!"

Gossiping gazes swept wildly across Xu Ke’s and Wong Qifu’s faces.

Wang Qiya’s lips curled into a mischievous smile as her eyes darted back and forth between Xu Ke and Wong Qifu. These two are quite the time managers! One is busy managing a corporation all day, and the other is busy fighting with outsiders, yet they still find time to be ’lovers’? Fascinating!