Fists that can subdue mountains and rivers, martial arts that can lead to immortality!

Ding Mansion.

Reception room.

Ding Lie wore a black suit and gold-rimmed glasses, exuding an elegant and refined demeanor in every gesture.

He is forty-two years old this year, in the prime of his life.

The reason he was able to become a business tycoon in Shanghai in his forties, known as Ding Bancheng, was not only because of his own excellence, but also because of the support of his family.

He was originally from Donghai Province, and his family had been in business for generations. His grandfather had even served as a royal merchant for a period of time.

Later, he came to Shanghai to do business with his elders and settled down there.

Today, the Ding family owns businesses in multiple sectors, including silver shops, gold shops, jewelry stores, money exchanges, banks, shipping, and textile mills.

They are true financial tycoons!

Ding Lie himself is one of the chaebols!

He is also one of the strong supporters of the Honghui.

Ding Lie may not be able to mobilize all of Honghui's resources, but as an elder in Honghui, he wields considerable power.

Moreover, as the president of the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce, he has close ties with many financial magnates. If he pays a high enough price, he can completely command the Honghui!

That's the Hong Society. Although its main business is in the lower city, it has tens of thousands of members, including several thousand core members, all of whom are daring and willing to fight.

These days, a business as large as Ding Lie's is nothing more than a fish to be slaughtered without armed protection.

Therefore, nowadays, prominent businessmen in Shanghai either have close cooperation with security escort agencies, establish long-term partnerships with martial arts schools, employ a number of martial arts guards, or cooperate with gangs.

In short, none of them are truly rootless duckweed.

Today is not the day for the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce to hold its general meeting.

As the year draws to a close, some prominent figures from Shanghai's chambers of commerce gather together for a social event.

The location was set at Ding Lie's home.

These business tycoons all brought their wives and children to the meeting.

The wives played cards on the second floor, the children had a dance party on the lawn of the mansion, while the bigwigs were drinking tea and chatting in the main hall.

"Recently, it seems a new figure has emerged in the canal gang, I think his name is Jiang Wangzu."

"He debated with the scholars at the Grand Canal Gang meeting, and Xu Shanyue of the Canal Gang did not hesitate to use his veto power to help him get the position of elder of the Canal Gang."

"Now he's starting to build his own business, first by establishing a security company, and then by opening a nightclub in the Upper East Side."

"Now I hear that he has started doing business with Tianjin again, and the profits are said to be quite considerable."

"It's like Liu Zihao, the textile tycoon of Shanghai, suddenly said."

The conversation at the scene was interrupted for a moment as many people became interested in the topic he was discussing.

"I have a few good friends in the canal gang. They say that although Jiang Wangzu is not very old, he is very powerful and has thousands of men under his command. They are all very strong."

Even the senior elders of the Canal Gang felt that he was somewhat out of control.

"The canal gangs originally engaged in some shady businesses, with only the dock and shipping business being considered somewhat respectable."

"But Jiang Wangzu didn't get involved in any of the canal gang's businesses. When he was a middle-level member of the canal gang, he only ran the Never Sleeps nightclub."

"Now that he has become an elder of the Cao Gang, he can set up his own business. He has also handed over the Never Sleeps Dance Hall and started to engage in legitimate business."

"But the legitimate businesses in Shanghai all belong to our chamber of commerce. He's trying to take a slice of the pie from us!"

Fang Shouzheng, the "Flour King" of Shanghai, spoke in an unfriendly tone.

He learned that Jiang Wangzu's Tianxia Trading Company was transporting wheat from the north to Shanghai and had already started cooperating with several small flour mills.

Although he sees these as minor incidents now, once the trade route is stabilized, these minor incidents may turn into major disturbances.

His business will be in trouble then!

"Jiang Wangzu?"

"Isn't this the gangster who caused such a stir a while ago with the Golden Voice Queen from the Xianlemen?"

"I heard that Xu Yuan had caused him some trouble, but it was eventually dropped."

"I never expected that this kid would become an elder of the Canal Gang so quietly, and even start to expand and strengthen his power."

"A security company with thousands of people? This isn't a security company, it's practically a private army, a police station belonging to Jiang Wangzu all by himself!"

"Old Ding, aren't you also pursuing that Lin Rumeng?"

"I thought you were going to make a move against that kid!"

Wang Defa, the real estate tycoon of Shanghai, raised his eyebrows at Ding Lie and said with a grin.

He is a veteran local figure in Shanghai, and he had a very tense relationship with Ding Lie over the position in the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce.

Even now, the two of them often bicker when they meet.

However, most of the time Wang Defa lost!

"Old Wang is joking."

"The love of beauty is inherent in everyone."

"I just saw that the flowers were in full bloom, and if I didn't pick them, I would seem unromantic."

"But since it has already been picked by someone else, why should I try to snatch this withered flower back from them?"

"Xu Yuan is nothing but a crude and uncouth man, and his thoughts are inevitably somewhat muddled."

"The situation in Shanghai is already chaotic enough. It's a good thing that some people are willing to invest in real industries and do business properly."

"However, shopping malls in Shanghai have their own rules. If you don't follow the rules, you definitely won't be able to do business."

"Since this newly appointed elder of the Canal Gang has overstepped his bounds, let's just chop off his hands."

"It'll let him know that making a legitimate living isn't easy, unlike his lucrative work collecting protection money for the gang, running brothels, and operating illegal casinos!"

"When it comes to doing business, none of us here are afraid of anyone!"

Although Ding Lie spoke in a high-sounding manner, he still maintained the same attitude: to suppress Jiang Wangzu.

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded thoughtfully, knowing how to deal with Jiang Wangzu.

Jiang Wangzu has a security company under his command, with thousands of thugs, and I heard they even have guns.

If it's about being brave and aggressive, they are no match for them.

But even if he doesn't fight or resort to violence, and is just doing normal business, they have countless ways to make him unable to continue.

However, it's almost the end of the year, so let's talk about everything after the New Year.

We'll give him a grand opening celebration!

"But what if we really push Jiang Wangzu too far and he flips the table?"

"I've heard that this person is extremely arrogant, and also very strong; he's a genius martial artist."

"A genius martial artist, commanding thousands of men and armed with guns—who among you can remain calm in the face of him flipping the table?"

Wu Xianchu, the "King of Imported Goods" in Shanghai, spoke with some concern.

Jiang Wangzu had already approached him, wanting to purchase a batch of Western goods from him.

He is still considering whether or not to cooperate with Jiang Wangzu.

At the same time, he was also considering how he would bear Jiang Wangzu's wrath if he rejected him.

In reality, even if these legitimate business people have the ability to protect themselves, they don't have the courage to confront specialized violent organizations.

"We don't keep these dogs, the Honghui, on our paycheck just to let them eat."

"If dogs don't bite, then what's the point of keeping them?"

Ding Lie smiled faintly upon hearing this.

But there was a hint of coldness in that smile.