A Fist Strike Opens

He spotted five or six slouching youths at a glance, each holding a club in one hand and a large piece of stewed offal from Li's Stewed Offal in the other, chewing with great relish.

As they ate, expressions of satisfaction appeared on their faces.

"I have to say, this Li's Stewed Offal is truly delicious."

"Yeah, but Second Brother, do you think we'll get in trouble for this?"

"I heard that the owner of Li's Stewed Offal is a ranked martial artist."

"What are you afraid of? My big brother is a ranked martial artist too, he's backing us!"

"Oh, and who is your big brother?"

Li Beichen blocked their path.

His formidable and imposing physique made these thugs look like mere chicks in front of him.

"You... who are you?"

A savage grin curled the corners of Li Beichen's mouth.

"You smashed my sign, and now you ask who I am? Weren't you just discussing me a moment ago?"

"Run!"

The thugs let out a strange cry and scattered in all directions.

But no matter how fast they ran, they could not outpace the speed of a Locust Stone.

Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish!

Li Beichen drew stones with both hands, firing them off in rapid succession.

Having reached the stage where he could strike ten times in a row during his meat-refining practice, his raw strength was astonishing, and his punches carried the force of a thousand catties.

The stones he threw possessed even more terrifying power.

Several screams rang out as the lower legs of the thugs were reduced to a bloody mess, their bones shattered by the stones.

They collapsed to the ground, clutching their calves and wailing incessantly.

Seeing Li Beichen walking toward them, they revealed looks of pure terror.

"Speak, who sent you?"

He picked up a brick from the side.

"It was Wu Ming, Wu Ming!"

"Spare us!"

"Meat Trade Association? Wu Ming?!"

Li Beichen instantly recalled the invitation he had received not long ago.

"If cooperation doesn't work, you resort to this..."

His eyes turned cold; he dropped the brick and headed straight for the Meat Trade Association.

In the loft of the trade association.

Zhou Zhongru stood behind the window shutters, watching the bustling long street through the partially opened frame.

The Market Ward was home to thirty-six trades.

As the head of the Meat Trade Association, he was naturally well-informed about events happening in plain sight.

What's more, Wu Ming's use of such low-handed tactics had been done at his instruction.

If his calculations were correct, Li Beichen should be coming to find him soon.

Before long, a smile appeared on Zhou Zhongru's face; he saw Li Beichen's figure appear on the long street, just as expected.

He watched Li Beichen as if he were watching a large piece of fat meat walking toward him.

"Fourth, hurry, boil some water and brew tea! Someone is coming to deliver money!"

"Chairman Zhou."

"Ah, Consultant Li, come, sit and have some tea."

Li Beichen looked at the calm and collected Zhou Zhongru and pressed down on his teacup.

"Chairman Zhou, may I ask who exactly this Wu Ming is?"

"What's the matter? Wu Ming is a consultant for my Meat Trade Association; he has mastered meat-refining and possesses high martial arts skills."

"It seems Chairman Zhou knows nothing about this."

Li Beichen stared intently at Zhou Zhongru.

"Today, I received an invitation. This Wu Ming spoke of wanting to cooperate with me, but I refused. Not long after, my stewed offal shop was smashed."

"The people who smashed my shop were sent by Wu Ming."

"Could such a thing really have happened?!"

Li Beichen watched the look of surprise on Zhou Zhongru's face as he spoke to him.

"To be frank, Consultant Li, this Consultant Wu is a former inner-court disciple of the Thunderbolt Martial Hall, and he still maintains deep ties with them."

"Furthermore, Consultant Wu has a fiery temper; he's ready to brawl or kill at the slightest provocation."

"This matter is becoming quite troublesome..."

Hearing Zhou Zhongru harp on about trouble, Li Beichen's gaze sharpened, and he cut him off.

"Chairman Zhou, how did this Wu Ming come to know about my braised meat business?"

"This... it is only natural that your braised meat business, which is selling so well in Ram City, would be discovered by Wu Ming."

"Consultant Li, seeing that you are an honest man, let me speak from the heart."

"This Wu Ming is not someone to be trifled with. In business, harmony brings wealth; I am willing to mediate and help you resolve this troublesome affair."

"Oh?"

Li Beichen wore a smile, but his eyes were gradually turning icy.

"Chairman Zhou, do tell me how you plan to help me avert this disaster."

When Zhou Zhongru heard this, the smile on his face grew even more radiant.

"In business, cooperation is the only way to achieve a win-win. If you could let everyone take a share in your business, Consultant Li, only then could it grow large and strong. Besides, with many people and great influence, no one else would dare to provoke you."

"Look at our Thirty-Six Trades of Ram City; none of them are dominated by a single house. Everything is accomplished through collective effort."

"Cooperation—that is the true way of the merchant."

A murderous glint flickered in the depths of Li Beichen's eyes. He had only just delivered the dividends from his equity to Zhou Zhongru a few days ago, and now someone was already knocking on his door.

And it was another consultant from the Meat Guild, no less.

Now Zhou Zhongru was spouting such nonsense.

He had already guessed three-tenths of the truth in his heart.

Li Beichen stared at Zhou Zhongru, his tone turning somewhat grim.

"I must ask you for some guidance, Chairman Zhou: how exactly should we cooperate?"

At this moment, Zhou Zhongru was so blinded by greed that he failed to notice the change in Li Beichen's tone—or perhaps, he simply didn't care.

"I have been drifting through the merchant world for over thirty years, so if I may be so bold, let me offer you a few pointers."

"First, you must give to receive. According to the rules of the trade, you need to hand over seventy percent of the profits, keeping thirty percent for yourself."

"This seventy percent is needed to grease the wheels and ensure cooperation with everyone. This matter requires a mature and steady elder to handle it to ensure it is done securely."

"I can handle this on your behalf; you won't need to worry about anything else."

Watching Zhou Zhongru, whose greed was written all over his face even as he wore a mask of benevolence, Li Beichen suppressed his disgust and confirmed one thing.

"Chairman Zhou, are you saying that to settle this, I need to hand over seventy percent of my profits?!"

"You can't put it that way. Once that seventy percent is put to use, the business will grow larger and larger. It may seem like you only have thirty percent of the profits, but in reality, you might end up with even more than you have now."

"This is a win-win! It is—"

"Enough!"

Li Beichen did not want to hear another word from Zhou Zhongru, so he cut him off directly.

"There is no need to trouble yourself with this, Chairman Zhou. Just take me to see this Consultant Wu first."

"No need, your Uncle Wu is already here!"

Before the words had even faded, an ugly brute walked up.

"Chairman Zhou, this new consultant you've recruited injured my men. This matter is far from over."

The villain was the first to lodge a complaint.

Li Beichen's eyes turned completely cold.

"This matter is indeed far from over."

"Both of you are consultants of my Meat Guild; you are family, so don't let this damage the harmony between you."

Zhou Zhongru was still playing the good guy. He hurriedly stepped forward to pull Wu Ming away, then whispered to Li Beichen.

"Consultant Li, you have only been ranked for a month, while Wu Ming has been honing his skills at the Ninth Rank for over a decade. If a conflict breaks out, you won't come out on top."

"Agree to it now, and I can still try my best to mediate."

"No need."

Li Beichen pushed Zhou Zhongru aside.

"Old Zhou, your kindness is being met with a lack of respect!"

Hearing Wu Ming say this, Zhou Zhongru stopped pretending. His expression shifted, and he said coldly.

"Since that is the case, Li Beichen, you had best look out for yourself. If you come to me again, it won't just be a matter of seventy percent."

Li Beichen watched the two of them singing in harmony, feeling intense disgust, and his intent to kill was already set.

He pointed at the two of them.

"There is nothing more to say. Let us open a martial duel!"

He would deal with these two, one by one!