chapter 26 Troubled times

At noon, Lena sat at the dining table, recalling last night's experiences, feeling a chill of fear in her heart. By the age of twenty-five, she had already reached Peak Earth Rank and naturally developed a sense of pride, thinking the martial world was nothing special. But whether it was Blake from Blood Shark Island, Lavan from the League of Extreme Thieves, or even Lavan's disciple, they were all beings who could kill her, Lena, with a flick of their fingers. Not to mention that legendary Divine Rank expert from last night. Having walked the line between life and death, Lena suddenly realized that she did care about her family, even though she wasn't Damir's biological daughter. "I'll stay in the provincial city from now on and not leave." Lena's out-of-the-blue statement stunned both Damir and the old master Lazar. "That's fine," Lazar nodded, "We just sold the development rights for Magpie Bridge Mountain. Your father is looking into other real estate projects; you can learn from him." Lena frowned, put down her chopsticks, and walked out toward the courtyard. "Lena, where are you going?" Without turning back, only Lena's voice came in, "I'm going out for a walk, I'll be back before it gets dark." Lazar hmm’ed, reaching for the vegetables on the plate with his chopsticks. Suddenly, Lazar, Damir, and Calum put down their bowls and chopsticks, their faces filled with horror, "Could Lena be thinking of taking back Magpie Bridge Mountain?" "Quick, we have to go to Poseidon Group now!" But they were still a step too late. At Poseidon Group. In the largest conference room on the top floor, over a hundred executives were discussing something anxiously. Poseidon poured a cup of tea for Kaladin and smiled, "Mr. Jacobs, rest assured, now that we have the development rights for Magpie Bridge Mountain, we just need to wait for the design plans to be ready, and we can start construction." Kaladin nodded, then suddenly asked, "Lazar mentioned that Olatunde Group was also eyeing Magpie Bridge Mountain." Poseidon's expression turned serious, "In Wimston Province, Olatunde Group is the second only to our Poseidon Group. Their boss, Olatunde Jepson, is known in the martial world as Mr. Dragon, a tough character." "But Mr. Jacobs, rest assured, I will communicate with Olatunde as soon as possible." Kaladin stood up slowly, shaking his head, "Time waits for no one, we'll go to Olatunde now." Poseidon dared not object and quickly had a car prepared. As soon as they went downstairs, they found the driver knocked to the ground by a short-haired woman, and all four tires of the car were deflated. Lena looked coldly at Poseidon and got straight to the point, "Magpie Bridge Mountain, my family, the Yates, won't sell it anymore." Before Poseidon could speak, Kaladin appeared in front of Lena without warning, reaching out and grabbing her throat. Lena's face turned red, her Peak Earth Rank strength useless, as she couldn't mobilize even a hint of her Qi. Feeling the formidable aura emanating from Kaladin, Lena was almost in tears. What kind of luck was this? She had been beaten half to death last night, and now she had encountered another Heaven Rank expert. And judging by his demeanor, he was likely at the peak of Heaven Rank. Lena felt her worldview crumbling. Had Heaven Rank experts become so worthless? Kaladin looked coldly at Lena, a hint of chill flashing in his eyes, "When I was with your family, I made it very clear to your father and grandfather that offering 3 billion for Magpie Bridge Mountain was already elevating the Yates family." After speaking, Kaladin casually threw Lena, who flew out and rolled several times on the ground before stopping. "Mr. Jacobs, please have mercy!" Damir drove over, and before the car stopped, Lazar leaned out of the window and shouted, "Mr. Jacobs, Lena is ignorant, please spare her life!" Lena felt utterly humiliated. She thought she could do something for the Yates family, but now her grandfather had to beg for her life in a low voice. Poseidon had another car brought over, Kaladin got into the car without giving Lena a second glance. Calum got out of the car, helped Lena up, and sighed, "Lena, Wimston Province is experiencing an eventful autumn. Stay at home for now." Lena sat in the car, dispirited, unable to say a word. Half an hour later, at the Olatunde Group building. Poseidon bowed, "Mr. Jacobs, I'll have someone notify Olatunde right away." Kaladin waved his hand, "No need for that trouble." With that, Kaladin strode into the office building. Two security guards shouted and ran towards him. But with a wave of Kaladin's hand, they were struck by a fierce Qi and flew out, screaming in agony on the ground. One of them quickly grabbed the walkie-talkie and howled, "There's trouble!" Kaladin stood silently in the lobby, waiting. In less than half a minute, the elevator doors opened, and a group of tattooed, burly men poured out. There was also noise at the stairwell, with people carrying sticks rushing down. Not only that, but a bald, muscular man over two meters tall also appeared in the lobby. This bald man exuded the aura of an Earth Rank master, looking at Kaladin with disdain. Kaladin had no time to waste words, and with a flash, he rushed into the crowd. Screams erupted continuously, and in just a few seconds, dozens of burly men were beaten to the ground, spitting blood. The bald man snorted coldly, his Qi surged, and with a step, he charged at Kaladin like a human machine. "Snap!" Kaladin stood still, casually swung his hand, and slapped the bald man hard on the face. The overwhelming Qi burst forth, and the bald man spun and flew out, landing with a face full of terror. "Heaven Rank expert!" "Senior, spare my life!" The bald man knelt on the ground, sweating profusely. You should know that reaching Earth Rank is already considered a master among masters, but with certain talent, it's not difficult to achieve. But becoming a Heaven Rank expert is not just a matter of talent. Out of ten thousand Peak Earth Rank masters, not even one might reach Heaven Rank. At least this bald man, who had lived for over thirty years, had never seen a Heaven Rank expert before. Kaladin, with Poseidon expressionless, entered the elevator. The bald man bit his lip and quickly ran up the stairs, covering his face. In the top-floor office. Olatunde, puffing on a cigar, stood by the window overlooking He, Olatunde, who had not even finished elementary school, had made it to today through sheer grit, becoming a well-known figure in the martial world of Wimston Province. It was false to say he wasn't proud. But he was very angry now, because someone dared to come to his Olatunde Group alone and make trouble! The office door was pushed open. Without turning his head, Olatunde said, "Break his leg, let him know the price of causing trouble at my Golden Dragon Group." Poseidon looked at Olatunde with a strange expression and coughed, "Olatunde." Olatunde turned around abruptly, about to say something, but then he saw his most trusted bald man stumbling up. The bald man leaned in and whispered something in Olatunde's ear, and Olatunde's face changed drastically as he quickly bowed to Kaladin, "Sir, please forgive me, I did not recognize your greatness." Kaladin nodded expressionlessly, "I didn't come to trouble you, I just wanted to tell you that Magpie Bridge Mountain has been bought by my boss. If you dare cause trouble, I'll kill you." "Do you understand?" Olatunde, sweating profusely, nodded repeatedly, "I understand, I understand clearly, sir, don't worry!" At this point, Poseidon suddenly said to Kaladin, "Mr. Jacobs, Olatunde Group has many entertainment venues, and their connections and relationships are very good. If they also get involved, our plan will definitely go more smoothly." Kaladin frowned slightly and glanced at Olatunde. Olatunde, although he did not know the plan mentioned by Poseidon, knew this was an opportunity to get on good terms with the Heaven Rank expert in front of him and quickly said, "Mr. Jacobs, my Olatunde Group is willing to serve." Kaladin nodded, "Then you two exchange information. I have only one requirement, start construction as soon as possible." After speaking, Kaladin turned and entered the elevator. Olatunde wiped off the sweat and turned to Poseidon, "Mr. Taylor, our two companies have always been competitors. Let's just write off past grievances and start afresh from now on. You will be the commander-in-chief. Whatever you want my Olatunde Group to do, we will do!" Poseidon nodded and smiled, "Then gather all the executives of Olatunde Group and go to Poseidon Group. We will all have a meeting and I will explain the details of the plan at the meeting." Olatunde nodded, and with a phone call, hundreds of executives from Olatunde Group went downstairs and rushed to Poseidon Group. Meanwhile, in Yeoannes City at the Jernigan family. It was Friday, and Eilir got off work a bit late. She had just taken a shower and was changing clothes in her bedroom. Atius knocked on the door and said softly, "Eilir, can I come in?" Eilir, who had changed into a pink silk nightgown, opened the door a crack. Atius smiled, "Eilir, there are some things I'd like to talk to you about." Eilir nodded, "Come in." Atius entered the bedroom and closed the door behind him. Eilir's eyebrows furrowed but she said nothing. Atius, looking at the beautiful and attractive Eilir, forgot all the words he had prepared, and for a moment didn't know how to start. After a long silence, Atius sighed, "Actually, I've been abroad for the past five years." "I was really foolish back then," Atius said with a bitter smile, "And so were you. We both obviously had each other's best interests at heart, but it ended up like this." Eilir shook her head, stood up, and said, "It's not your fault, you don't have to blame yourself." "All I want now is to accompany Nidawi to grow up healthy and happy. I don't care about anything else." Atius had rehearsed his romantic words many times in secret, but he just couldn't say them in front of Eilir. After another moment of silence, Atius nodded, "Let's talk about something else." "I have a comrade-in-arms in the provincial city who accidentally came across some information that I think I need to tell you." Eilir asked with some confusion, "Is it related to me?" Atius nodded, "Eilir, what do you think about the extermination of the Yates family?" A hint of hatred flashed in Eilir's eyes, and her fists clenched subconsciously, "I hate that I was born into such a family!" "My so-called father, my nominal grandfather, they are all cold-blooded beasts!" Atius understood and smiled, "Then what if I told you that Luther is not your biological father? Would you feel better?" Eilir trembled, "What do you mean by that?" Atius smiled, reaching out and stroking the hair by Eilir's ear, "Back in the provincial city hospital, it was Luther's carelessness that led to the baby being switched." "Your biological parents are actually in the provincial city."