Seeing the commotion, Ronald could not stand it anymore. He waved his hand in disdain."Enough, enough! Stop spouting nonsense! Liam living in Villa No. 3? That loser couldn't dream of such a place! I've dealt with Mister Hollister previously. He's an arrogant man. There's no way he would reserve a villa for us."Even if Serena went there, he might not even spare her a glance! Do you think Liam could make Mister Hollister refuse an offer from Ruby? That loser? You're getting more and more ridiculous!""I'm not lying!"Seeing that no one in the family believed her, Layla's chest heaved with anger, and she was almost on the verge of tears. She thought her family would be shocked to hear what had happened. She even hoped it might change their attitude and opinion of Liam.However, to her surprise, no one in the family believed her.Hailey stood back, looking disapprovingly at Layla. "I don't know what made you come up with such lies, but from now on, don't mention Liam again! Both o
Ronald frowned involuntarily. "What's the point of calling her?"He glanced at his watch and continued, "It's already past six, and your appointment is at half past seven! Forget about those trivial matters for now. Hurry up and get ready for the dinner tonight! We must seize this opportunity as the Lloyd family."Ronald turned to Layla and lectured, "Layla, your sister has been busy lately. Don't add to her troubles! As for you spreading nonsense about Liam, this is the last time. There can't be a next!""I didn't spread nonsense..."A trace of sadness flashed across Layla's delicate face. She had hoped her actions could change the family's impression of Liam, or even surprise them. However, no one believed her words in the end.Serena sighed softly at the sight. "That's enough, Layla. I'll call Ruby immediately after the dinner."To be honest, Serena was quite curious about Liam's affairs. However, the project she was cooperating on with the military was of utmost importance. T
Sensing the footsteps from behind, Liam paused and turned around. An elderly man dressed in traditional oriental attire with white hair and a beard slowly made his way to the platform at the mountaintop, his spirit undiminished by age.The old man did not see Liam practicing the Eight Extremities Fist. He only noticed Liam's finishing stance. Liam greeted him with a smile, seemingly eager to exchange pleasantries."Old man—""Here we go again…"However, the old man frowned with disdain as he looked at Liam.Liam froze. The old man paid no attention to Liam and instead walked straight to the other side of the platform. Once there, he took a deep breath, filtering out any external disturbances, and assumed a starting position."Tai Chi?" Liam was taken aback as soon as the old man took his stance. He clearly recognized the form. Liam had not expected the old man to also come to the mountaintop to practice martial arts.It was typical for elderly people to practice martial arts
The true Tai Chi used for combat had immense killing power.However, for certain reasons, it gradually faded from people's views. Tai Chi gradually became synonymous with self-cultivation.The old man did not expect the young man before him to recognize his fist technique. "I didn't expect you to have some insight, kid."However, the old man was annoyed after remembering Liam's words. "Don't think that just because you recognize this set of Lesser Nine Skies Tai Chi Fist, you can dictate terms in front of me. If you think you can cozy up to me this way, you've got the wrong idea!"Liam frowned. He did not understand the old man's words, but out of concern, he still spoke up. "Cozy up? Sir, the problem is that you're not doing this form correctly—"However, before he could finish speaking, the old man interrupted him."Ridiculous! I began my martial arts training at fifteen, and by seventeen, I had mastered the Lesser Nine Skies Tai Chi Fist. With this very technique, I killed nea
The art of Lesser Nine Skies Tai Chi Fist was renowned as the foremost martial technique in Tai Chi for combat. Few knew of its existence, and even fewer had truly mastered it.For the old man, martial arts became his pursuit at the tender age of fifteen, and by seventeen, he had attained proficiency in the Lesser Nine Skies Tai Chi Fist. That very art carved his path to fame and established his existing stature.Six decades of dedication etched the essence of Lesser Nine Skies Tai Chi Fist into the old man's very being.However, he never imagined that a young man would dare to boldly claim that his practice was not genuine Lesser Nine Skies Tai Chi Fist.It was ludicrous.Whether his audacity was an attempt to ingratiate himself or employ some other strategy, the old man found his actions intolerable."Someone get this man out..."The old man turned his head angrily to the other side as if he wanted to say something, but Liam calmly spoke up again."The lineage of the Lesser N
Upon hearing that, the elder's face flashed with disdain as he replied furiously, "Teach me? Your tricks are getting more sophisticated! It seems I was too lenient with people like you who come to challenge me. Each one more outrageous than the last, daring to tamper with my martial arts!"Liam, unperturbed by the elder's fury, spoke calmly. "I will only demonstrate once. For the third sequence, 'Embracing the Sparrow's Tail', adjust your hand three inches to the side, using the waist as the pivot...""Such pretense."The elder scoffed, folding his hands behind his back. His cold gaze locked onto Liam, showing no intention of following the instructions.However, Liam paid the old man no mind. As he had said, he would only teach him once. Whether the elder listened or not was his own choice."For the nineteenth sequence, 'High Pat on Horse', reverse wrap with your left hand, bringing it to your chest. Wrap forward with your right hand, closing in front of your abdomen and merging t
"Quake!"At the serene peak of the Hush Purple Gardens, Liam's calm voice echoed, striking like a decree set in stone.The old man's body quivered uncontrollably the moment he heard Liam. As if sensing something, his left elbow lifted and trembled slightly in the next moment.That subtle change unleashed a tremendous force, surging from the base of his spine like a tidal wave, completely overshadowing the elder's initial sense of weakness. In that moment, his body seemed to transform into a unified entity without a hint of stiffness or hesitation.The elder shifted sideways, his left elbow flashing like lightning again, striking directly at a nearby jujube tree.Crack!A crisp sound reverberated as the jujube tree swayed, leaves fluttering down, and a crack appeared on the trunk the size of a bowl.The elder's elbow had cracked the trunk!The old man's mind reeled as he heard the sound. Suddenly, he was wide awake. His gaze trembled as he looked at the jujube tree in front of
Howser frowned, glancing at Preston. "You're concerned about my safety? What trouble do you think I could cause? Why did you bring so many people just to surround my young friend? What exactly do you intend to do?"It was not Preston's arrival with a group of people that irritated Howser. What truly irked him was that Preston, upon arrival, indiscriminately surrounded Liam without any clarification. It made him, already burdened with guilt, feel even more embarrassed.Preston hastily tried to smooth things over, smiling apologetically. "Isn't it because quite a few people have been coming to you for favors lately?" Preston waved his hand, prompting over a dozen black-clad men behind him to step back once again.Howser snorted coldly, no longer paying attention to Preston. He looked at Liam instead, his face once again showing a hint of apology."Young friend, I sincerely apologize for involving you again.""It's fine."Liam played with a leaf in his hand, shaking his head light
"I…"Hearing this, Charles was momentarily stunned.But in the end, he shook his head and said, "Mister Nosh, if Union Finance truly can't approve a loan for the Hensworth Group, then so be it."We'll figure out another way…"Charles's voice was low and heavy. At first, he genuinely believed Godfrey wanted to be with Valerie. But now it was clear Godfrey had no such intentions—he only wanted to toy with Valerie. How could Charles possibly agree to this?At the same time, his heart was filled with regret. He had almost become the one to push his daughter into a pit of fire!"You'll figure out another way?"Godfrey's expression darkened. He glared at Charles coldly and sneered. "Ten billion in loans, just to have Valerie play with me for a while! I really didn't know that any wh*re on the market could be this expensive!""If you don't agree, I'd like to see which other financial institution in Qyn Province would dare lend to you without Union Finance's approval!"The entire orde
"What’s wrong with you?"Hearing this, Godfrey furrowed his brows and said in a dissatisfied tone, "How long has it been? How could you not handle such a simple matter?""You still want that loan from the Hensworth Group approved, don’t you?"He immediately reprimanded Charles."Whether or not I’m with you is my business, it has nothing to do with my father!"Upon hearing this, Valerie immediately understood the implication behind Godfrey's words. Although she had just been angry with Charles, she could not allow Godfrey to speak to her father like that."Then what exactly are you thinking now?"Hearing Valerie's words, Godfrey turned his head, his eyes flashing with an inexplicable light as he looked at her. "The other day, I asked you to go out for drinks. Why didn’t you go?"The reason Godfrey had come in and started pressuring Charles was that he sensed that Valerie seemed uninterested in him.However, he had not expected Valerie to suddenly speak up at this moment."I did
"Dad, Liam really does have the ability to help our Hensworth Group…"However, hearing Liam’s words, a hint of urgency flashed across Valerie’s face. She quickly spoke, as though she wanted to persuade him of something.Even though, up until now, Valerie did not know the full extent of Liam’s influence, after the last class reunion, she was very certain—Liam helping the Hensworth Group would definitely not be a problem!"Valerie! You and Liam, both of you get out of here!"Before Valerie could finish speaking, she was interrupted by Charles. His face darkened as he pointed toward the nearby door and barked harshly."Come back when you’ve thought things through!"The Hensworth Group was already on the brink of a crisis. Yet Valerie was still stirring up trouble. Right now, Charles did not even want to see her!"Dad…"Seeing this, Valerie opened her mouth, as if she wanted to say more.And just then—Bang!A loud noise rang out. The villa door of Valerie’s home was violently k
"I…"Hearing Charles’s words, Sebastian froze. His once-straight back slowly hunched over.Charles was not wrong.If the Lloyd Group were dealing with some minor trouble, maybe he could help. But if the crisis was so severe that marrying off Valerie was the only solution, there was nothing Sebastian could do.After all, he had stepped away from the Lloyd Group’s management and handed it over to Charles many years ago.Sebastian had long since lost much of his influence.Now, he was just an old man who spent his days watering flowers and pulling weeds.At that moment, a wave of frustration washed over him.As for the truth behind Charles’s words, he did not ask much. Sebastian knew his son well. If the situation were not dire, Charles wouldn’t be saying such things.Just then, Liam’s voice rang out, slow and steady."How serious could the Lloyd Group’s crisis be for you to be in such a rush to marry off Valerie?"He narrowed his eyes slightly, fixing his gaze on Charles."Yo
The young man standing before them, tall and handsome, could he really be the person described in those rumors?"Dad! Mom! You just don’t understand!"Valerie's delicate face was filled with urgency as she looked at the scene before her. "Liam really isn’t like the rumors say.""I honestly think that being with him is an honor for our Hensworth family. Please, you have to trust me!" she pleaded desperately."Grandpa just had a chat with Liam earlier. Why don’t you ask him? Doesn’t he also think Liam is great? He’s truly amazing. Everything I know about him barely scratches the surface!"As she spoke, Valerie turned her gaze to Sebastian, seeking his support.What she wanted to convey to Charles and Janell was not just about seeking their approval for her to be with Liam.At this point, Valerie only wanted to clear Liam’s name!"Sigh..."Hearing her words, Sebastian let out a deep sigh.He raised his head to look at Charles, his tone softening slightly. "It really hasn’t been
Hearing Valerie's voice, Liam could not help but turn his head, looking at Valerie with surprise in his eyes. Although he knew that her current actions were merely an excuse to avoid marrying that Mister Nosh, her performance truly startled him. If it were not for the prior agreement between him and Valerie, he would have almost believed what she was saying was true. Valerie's acting skills were indeed exceptional.As for the Hensworth family's prejudices, Liam did not care. He was well aware that, thanks to the propaganda from the Lloyd family, his reputation in South City was hardly good. However, none of this could affect him. A dragon soaring high in the sky would never be concerned about the buzzing of flies. But it seemed that the rumors from the Lloyd family were causing some trouble for Valerie. Liam had actually thought about this initially. However, when he first agreed to meet Valerie's parents, he genuinely believed that he just needed to show up and everything w
He immediately turned his head to look at Sebastian and said, "At your age, you usually have the best perspective. What happened this time? Why do you trust someone you just met so much?"That's because you didn't see the performance of this kid just now!"Sebastian was very dissatisfied with Charles's words. He patted his waist and said, "If it weren't for this kid just now, I wouldn't be able to stand up until now! He wants to teach me a set of boxing techniques that can heal my old man's back injury. Can you do that?""This…"Hearing Sebastian's words, Charles was taken aback. He really did not know that so much had happened just now. Charles was not a foolish person stuck in his ways. Seeing Sebastian's attitude, he could still determine that the young man in front of him had some ability.However, even so, Charles's thoughts did not change."What's your name?" Charles turned his head to look at Liam and asked. This was the first time he had inquired about Liam's name since e
"It's probably because Valerie didn't want to expose our relationship too much before."Liam shook his head.In fact, he felt helpless too. After all, just ten minutes ago, he had agreed to Valerie's request to pretend to be her boyfriend.Charles might have heard about him somewhere before. At most, it was probably back when they were in school, listening to Valerie talk about herself.Upon hearing Liam's answer, Charles's expression grew even darker.He looked at Valerie with dissatisfaction, then turned back to Liam, straightforwardly asking, "What do you do for a living, and what does your family do?""Charles, how can you talk like that!"Seeing this scene unfold before him, Sebastian's voice rang out first before Liam could respond."This young man is quite capable; he just helped me with my waist injury. After all, he is Valerie's boyfriend, so you should speak more politely!"He shot an unhappy glance at Charles."I…"Hearing this, Charles was taken aback, and a look
Sebastian no longer harbored much doubt about Liam's words. Looking at the scene before her, Valerie's face was filled with astonishment. She had never imagined it.Aside from being knowledgeable in medicine, Liam also knew martial arts! This revelation sparked intense curiosity in Valerie's heart. Hadn't he been in prison for a few years? How did he come out not only with such an extraordinary background but also with skills in both medicine and martial arts?The key point was that Valerie knew her grandfather, Sebastian, very well. Although he appeared kind and gentle, he actually had high standards! She had never seen anyone, except Liam, who could make Sebastian so satisfied upon their first meeting.Unfortunately… Liam was not actually her real boyfriend. Valerie lowered her head slightly, her eyes dimming a bit.However, at the moment, no one seemed too focused on Valerie. Sebastian eagerly began asking Liam about martial arts. Just as Liam was positioning himself to teac