"Everyone, the successful organization of this Martial Arts Tournament is the result of the hard work of all members of the Xie family."
"However, I also hope that you will not become complacent because of this. My goal in the remaining years of my life is to make the Xie family rank among the top ten prominent families."
Xie Zhenghong, the head of the Xie family, sat at the head of the table, his gaze sweeping across all the Xie family members.
Those who met his eyes lowered their heads slightly, showing respect to the patriarch.
"For the next period of time, I hope everyone will restrain themselves and those around them, and not cause any unpleasant incidents during the Martial Arts Tournament."
"If anyone dares to bring shame to the Xie family, don't blame me for turning ruthless!!"
As he spoke the last sentence, Xie Zhenghong's face was grim.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Afterward, the meeting ended, and people began to leave one by one.
"Qilin, you stay."
As Xie Zhenghong's voice rang out, those who had not yet left the conference room instinctively looked at a young man in the room.
However, they quickly resumed their composure and continued to walk out.
"Dad."
After everyone else had left, the young man slowly walked up to Xie Zhenghong, his expression respectful.
"I won't even bother to mention fighting, drunkenness, or brawling. Just a few days ago, I heard that you actually condoned your subordinates kidnapping someone, and then you were found and beaten to a pulp."
Xie Zhenghong looked at Xie Qilin before him, suppressing his anger.
He had three sons. The eldest and second sons were accomplished and could now stand on their own, not requiring his worry.
Only this third son constantly caused trouble. If it weren't for the fact that he was the son of his favorite concubine, Xie Zhenghong would have disciplined him long ago.
"Dad, who the hell spread rumors to you? I've always remembered your teachings and strictly disciplined myself. Recently, I..."
"Shut up!"
Xie Qilin was eager to explain, but Xie Zhenghong interrupted him directly.
Looking at his father's imposing demeanor, Xie Qilin opened his mouth, but ultimately chose to remain silent.
The Xie family's development to its current state was not only due to his father's capabilities but also his iron-fisted methods.
As soon as Xie Zhenghong became angry, everyone in the Xie family, including Xie Qilin, was terrified in front of him.
"Qilin, we martial artists have greater abilities than ordinary people, so we naturally deserve more. However, all of this must be built upon absolute strength."
"You might think your actions are insignificant, but if you didn't have the Xie family as your backing, do you believe you wouldn't be killed in an instant?"
"You can cause trouble outside, but you must also show me that you have potential worth investing in. If you cannot advance to the inner energy cultivation within six months, all your benefits and treatment will be reduced to the same level as the branch family from then on."
Having developed the Xie family into a powerful entity, Xie Zhenghong was certainly no benevolent soul. In the process of development, fighting and competition were commonplace.
There were even instances of lives being lost during this process.
Since everyone involved were martial artists, they did not involve the authorities.
Furthermore, Xie Zhenghong himself had three wives and enjoyed the highest standards of living.
However, in his view, if one had strong power, one should enjoy corresponding privileges.
The "branch family" that Xie Zhenghong referred to were the Xie family members who were affiliated with him.
To be precise, a very important factor in the Xie family's rise was that the position of patriarch was held by the capable. The strongest individual was chosen each time.
Hereditary succession was absolutely forbidden.
Therefore, Xie Zhenghong had to strive to cultivate his sons into outstanding individuals to firmly control the Xie family.
"Dad, don't worry, I'll go back and cultivate properly immediately. I definitely won't disappoint you."
Xie Qilin nodded his head vigorously, like a chick pecking at rice.
As long as his father didn't punish him, he would do anything.
As for the reduction in benefits, his mother was his father's favorite concubine, and he lacked nothing in terms of material needs.
As soon as he left the conference room, someone sidled up to him and whispered in Xie Qilin's ear.
Xie Qilin's expression turned grim as he nodded.
Ten minutes later, in Xie Qilin's private villa.
A middle-aged man with his arm in a cast paced back and forth with a hesitant expression.
Hearing footsteps at the door, he immediately looked up.
"Third Young Master."
The middle-aged man quickly scurried over and bowed to the young man who had just entered.
The young man didn't even glance at him. He merely instructed the servants in the hall that no matter what happened in the study later, they were not to interfere.
The servants in the villa nodded at the young man's command, while the middle-aged man, who had been waiting for a long time, felt a jolt of unease, a bad premonition.
After instructing the servants, the young man led the way upstairs. Although the middle-aged man was trembling with fear, he could only follow silently as things had come to this.
Hoo.
Bang!
The middle-aged man closed the study door. Before he could speak,
A baseball bat as thick as a child's arm smashed onto his head.
The intense pain in his head made the middle-aged man collapse.
"Useless!"
"You are utterly useless!"
"In this territory of Wangchuan, you actually let people raid your nest, and it even reached my father's ears!!"
"What use are you to me, you worthless piece of trash?"
The young man was Xie Qilin, who had just been reprimanded by his father.
At this moment, Xie Qilin's face was contorted with ferocity, a stark contrast to the obedient son he had been in front of Xie Zhenghong.
He cursed vehemently while fiercely smashing the baseball bat in his hand onto the middle-aged man.
Initially, the middle-aged man shouted for mercy, but Xie Qilin seemed not to hear, continuing his assault.
Thus, the middle-aged man could only cover his head with his hands, curling into a ball. Soon, his body was stained with blood.
Crack!
Due to Xie Qilin's excessive force, the baseball bat snapped in half.
Hoo, hoo.
Xie Qilin took a few deep breaths, then walked to the wine cabinet in the corner of the study, retrieved a bottle of what looked like expensive red wine, and opened it.
Pulling out the cork, he directly grabbed the bottle opening and drank.
As for Xie Qilin, he preferred a straightforward approach. He never did those pretentious acts like letting wine aerate, pouring it into a wine glass, swirling it, and then drinking it slowly, as seen in movies.
After gulping down more than half the bottle, Xie Qilin returned to stand before the middle-aged man.
"If it weren't for the fact that your sister has been with me for so many years, I would have beaten you to death with a single blow just now!"
"Find out who that guy is as quickly as possible!! Someone dared to cause trouble in Third Young Master Xie's territory and took away over a million. This debt won't be settled so easily!!!"
Actually, a million was a mere pittance to Xie Qilin, not even enough to buy one of his cars. However, what angered him was that someone dared to cause trouble in his territory and take his money.
What was most detestable was that this incident had spread, and even his father knew about it. Over time, it would surely spread throughout Wangchuan.
Therefore, Xie Qilin wanted to find the troublemaker and deal with him before the matter became widely known.