On Yunjin Street, Ye Li looked at Peng Ke, who stood before him with a warm smile.
Though the other man's attitude was exceedingly friendly, Ye Li did not dare underestimate him.
This man's qi and blood were no weaker than his own; he had already stepped into the Body Tempering Realm.
Considering that he was merely an ordinary gang member, yet could squeeze out both time and money to cultivate while living on a monthly allowance of three taels, he either possessed extraordinary means or astonishing willpower.
Thus, he replied politely, "Then I'll have to rely on Brother Peng's support from now on. I've only just become a core disciple and know little about the gang's rules, so I'll need your guidance."
Seeing Ye Li's excellent attitude, Peng Ke secretly let out a sigh of relief.
It seemed this genius was not the sort to look down on everyone from lofty heights. There would be no need to rack his brains over getting along with him.
As an old hand who had spent more than ten years in the gang, he had seen plenty of core disciples who became arrogant the moment they broke through, treated the lower-ranking members as less than human, and beat or cursed them at the slightest provocation.
He had even been thinking that if this genius had too foul a temper, he would apply for a transfer to another street and hide from him!
With that thought, his smile grew even more sincere. "Don't worry, don't worry. If you have any questions in the future, just ask me. I guarantee I'll explain everything clearly for you!"
"Alright, get back to your work."
Feng Yue waved Peng Ke away carelessly, his manner utterly casual.
The gang's hierarchy was strict, and there was a vast gulf in status between ordinary disciples and core disciples.
The former were expendable supplies; the latter were the future!
Even if a core disciple casually beat an ordinary disciple to death, at most he would catch some minor blame—and dare do it again next time!
Even if they were both in the Body Tempering Realm, Peng Ke still had to bow properly when he saw Feng Yue.
Seeing Feng Yue's impatience, Peng Ke knowingly cupped his hands. "Then I won't disturb you two any longer. If you need anything, remember to give the word."
Watching Peng Ke's departing back, Feng Yue offered a reminder.
"Old foxes like him are best at climbing up the pole once given an inch, but having him handle many things will make your life much easier. You've got plenty of potential, so he won't dare put on a show of obedience while secretly defying you!"
"I understand." Ye Li nodded.
"I've more or less shown you everything you need to know. Is there anything else you want to ask?"
Feng Yue raised a brow. "If you've got questions, hurry up and ask them all. I still need to get back to the gang and keep an eye on those little bastards!"
After thinking for a moment, Ye Li asked, "What exactly does our gang do? What businesses do we have overall?"
"Why are you asking that?" Feng Yue gave Ye Li a strange look.
"Basically, we've got our fingers in every business of every size in Guangming City's East City and South City—guard work, escorting shipments, gambling houses, land deeds, pleasure houses, merchant caravans, usury, selling goods..."
Feng Yue listed a dazzling array of trades. As one of Guangming's dominant powers, after several decades of development, the gang had penetrated nearly every corner of both the underworld and the legitimate world!
Or rather, anyone who wanted to do business in Guangming had to deal with the Azure Dragon Gang and let them stick a hand into it!
Ye Li listened closely, quickly picking out one term. "What's the deal with this usury? What's the annual rate?"
"About fifty percent," Feng Yue answered simply, making Ye Li suck in a cold breath. "That much? An annual rate of fifty percent!"
Great Xia stipulated that monthly interest could not exceed three percent, which came to an annual rate of 42.58%. This was obviously illegal... Oh, right. This was a gang. Never mind, then.
"What are you so shocked about?" Feng Yue said speechlessly.
"That's barely anything. The Poison Wolf Gang in North City charges thirty percent monthly interest on Yama debts. Compared to them, we're no different from running a charity!"
"We still have to consider whether the people borrowing money can repay it. Plenty of people want to borrow from us but do not even have the means to get through the door."
Hearing the name Poison Wolf Gang, Ye Li realized that they really were no different from a charity here.
After all, the Azure Dragon Gang and Poison Wolf Gang were the Twin Heroes of Guangming. One mainly operated in the legitimate world and meddled in every kind of business, while the other entrenched itself in the most chaotic West City and would even traffic people.
Compared to Poison Wolf, their Azure Dragon Gang really was as compassionate as the Buddha!
"What do you want to do by asking this?" Feng Yue narrowed his eyes.
Ye Li chuckled somewhat sheepishly.
"Do you know any brothers in the gang who lend money? I want to borrow him several tens of thousands of taels of silver. We're all family, so the interest should be lower and the repayment period longer, right?"
That was right. Ye Li had already made his preparations—he would cash in his martial potential in advance. Ring, ring, it was time to work!
Feng Yue's brows immediately twisted together. "Silver? Several tens of thousands of taels? Do you think the gang prints money? Why are you touching this stuff for no reason?"
"I've been poor too long. I can't afford Body Tempering Pills, and I want to take one a day too."
Ye Li said as though it were only natural, "We're all brothers here. Are you afraid I won't pay it back?"
Feng Yue had already lost track of how many times he had been rendered speechless today.
He had never expected that the first thing this freak Ye Li did after becoming a core disciple would be to ask him about borrowing money.
But only Ye Li knew just how terrifying he was with an experience bar and no bottlenecks.
As long as he had enough pills, failing to break through to the Post-Heaven Realm within a year would count as Ye Li not cultivating hard enough.
After seeing that Lu Xiuyuan could take one Body-Tempering Pill a day, Ye Li was ready to put his little brain to work as well.
He was merely extraordinary, not stupid!
Genius only represented future potential. What others respected was his future self.
Only turning potential into strength as soon as possible was the proper path.
It was only a fifty-percent interest rate. By the time he had to repay it, his combat strength would have increased by more than tenfold. This deal was not a loss in the slightest!
After experiencing the Law Enforcement Hall's favoritism and Wang Xian's gift of pills, Ye Li had gained a deep understanding of what kind of world this was.
Those with strength and talent found everything easier!
So...
After the time it took for an incense stick to burn, Feng Yue brought Ye Li to Wantong Textile, the gang's usury operation.
I! A genius! Borrow money!
Ji Yu scratched his head as he looked at the smiling youth before him, then turned to Feng Yue. "Old Feng, how much is this brother planning to borrow?"
"As much as you have!" Ye Li answered decisively, then added with a smile, "But the interest rate needs to be lower."
"Tsk..." It was Ji Yu's first time doing business with one of the gang's core disciples, and he was somewhat troubled.
"At market rates, someone in the early Body Tempering Realm can borrow at most five hundred taels, at an annual interest rate of fifty percent."
"What about the middle stage? How much can someone in the middle stage borrow?" Ye Li asked curiously.
Ji Yu answered without even thinking, "Two thousand taels for the middle stage!"
"But since you're one of our own, and you have a stable monthly income of several dozen taels, even though you're only at the early stage, we can raise your limit to one thousand taels. As for the interest, I'll give you a discount—thirty percent annually, with interest paid once a month."
"No problem!" Ye Li agreed immediately!
He had built up the image of a genius and nurtured his credit score for so long. Wasn't this the moment to cash it in hard?
But his decisiveness made Feng Yue beside him unable to sit still. "No, you're not even going to bargain? You're agreeing that readily?"
Ye Li looked at Feng Yue somewhat speechlessly. What was the old man babbling about?
He only knew that once this money came through, he could reach the middle stage of the Body Tempering Realm in a little over a month. Then he could borrow another sum, and it would be enough for him to break through to the Post-Heaven Realm.
Once I reach the Post-Heaven Realm, become an elder, and gain shares in the gang, won't the gang's money be my, Ye Li's, money?
What repayment? What paying money back?
I borrowed this money with my own ability. Why should I repay it?
Wasn't this a benefit where the gang funded genius disciples' cultivation?
What money was there to repay?
Of course, although he had calculated everything perfectly in his heart, Ye Li could not reveal it on his face.
At the very least, before reaching the Post-Heaven Realm, he had to show a good willingness to repay.