As Ye Xiaohou felt everything was about to kick off, he knew his own situation wouldn't be hidden for much longer, and he had to take time to go back and deal with things. "Boss!"

"What is it, Fourth?" Yang Yi looked at him with a smile.

"Actually, well, I need to go back for the summer vacation..."

"Oh, you mean that. Haha, I trust you; you can do as you please. But do you need backup?" Yang Yi had actually known what Ye Xiaohou was going to say and responded immediately.

"Uh, no need. I believe my family won't do anything to me." Ye Xiaohou felt a warmth in his heart; he knew what Yang Yi meant by that. After all, he was now a member of the Black God Gang, and his family couldn't possibly be unaware of these things. Therefore, this was Yang Yi's concern.

"But Fourth, I still think we should send a few men back with you. Better safe than sorry." Yang Yi said in a deep voice, "Actually, I'm not worried about your family members; I'm worried about your brother, Ye Han. Although so far he hasn't expressed any aversion to what you've been doing, the current situation is clear: he and I are absolute adversaries."

"Then I'll follow the Boss's arrangements." Ye Xiaohou thought about it; besides, he still had many doubts. His brother had left the Ye family many years ago, and now he suddenly appeared with such immense power—this had always been Ye Xiaohou's biggest lingering question. Because this doubt was so great, and it involved internal family matters, he hadn't told Yang Yi much.

"Since that's the case, let's send the Six Paths of Reincarnation to go back with you."

"Ah, Boss, Six Paths of Reincarnation might be too much," Ye Xiaohou's heart trembled violently upon hearing this.

Whether it was him or any member of the Black God Gang, they knew clearly that the Six Paths of Reincarnation were directly under the Dragon Lord; they obeyed no one's orders except the Dragon Lord's, not even Lin Pangzi's. For Yang Yi to arrange for the Six Paths of Reincarnation to accompany Ye Xiaohou back clearly showed how much he valued his safety.

"Heh heh, it's nothing. I'm still more worried about your safety than anything else."

"Boss." Ye Xiaohou looked at Yang Yi with gratitude; all his unspoken words were conveyed in that single look. Perhaps this was what was meant by tacit understanding—sometimes, too many polite words made things feel distant.

"Brother Yi, I have something to say too!" Lin Pangzi raised his hand.

"Uh, go ahead."

"Actually, it's about the Shangguan family and the others..."

"It's fine, Pangzi, you handled it very well. I knew it; even if I handed the entire Black God Gang over to you to manage, there wouldn't be any mistakes. However, I hope you can build up the confidence you lack soon."

"Brother Yi." Lin Pangzi looked as if tears were about to burst out, and he wanted to rush from the front seat to hug Yang Yi in the back seat.

Alas...

"Thump!" Yang Yi brutally extended a foot and stomped it right on Lin Pangzi's cheek. This immediately drew a sound like a slaughtered pig squealing, and everyone else present couldn't help but bite their lips and laugh.

"Who, who, who is going to deal with this perverse thing?" Yang Yi shouted while keeping his foot planted.

"Hahahaha!!" The carriage was filled with laughter.

And then, with the next sentence Lin Pangzi uttered, the laughter grew even louder.

"Brother Yi, I don't love you anymore."

"You sick pervert."

########################################

Over the next few days, after returning to school, Yang Yi began his three days of examinations, successfully completing the required testing for his freshman year. As for the grades, Yang Yi didn't really care. In truth, he was more concerned with the affairs of the Dark Council and the Church. During this time, Yang Yi finally decided to start moving inward toward Huaxia from the world's periphery. In other words, he would transition the focus of his underworld forces from a global perspective to a national one.

Before the national underworld could be unified, he would first eradicate all underworld forces worldwide. Although the British Mafia did not fall under the banner of the Black God Gang, they were certainly not choosing to oppose them; instead, they were cooperating like friends right now. That was the nature of the underworld; sometimes, if you force others into submission through overwhelming strength, you will never gain their true support. At least, that was the case with the Mafia currently.

Upon learning that the Black God Gang was moving against the Dark Council and the Church, the Mafia continuously assisted them, almost giving the impression they were actively helping the Black God Gang ascend to the position of the number one king of the underworld. Because of this, underworld figures, both major and minor gangs worldwide, were filled with apprehension.

However, the Northern Underworld remained strangely placid, like a calm lake, which Yang Yi found odd. Despite the strangeness, there wasn't much for him to worry about, as he felt that even if the three great princes of the Northern Underworld joined forces, they would still be no match for Ye Han alone. For this very reason, Yang Yi's final decision was to use the Northern Underworld as the last defensive line in his journey to conquer the underworld.

"Phew, finally done with exams." Yang Yi stretched languidly. At that moment, Dongfang Mei'er, sitting beside him, seized the opportunity to take advantage, wrapping her arms around Yang Yi's slightly slender waist. Ignoring the surprised looks of the other students, she pouted coquettishly, "Brother Yi, summer vacation is almost here; can you spend a few days playing with Mei'er?"

"Uh, well, Mei'er, can you let go of me first? This is going to..."

"No!"

Before Yang Yi could finish, Dongfang Mei'er objected with a pout, "I won't let go!"

"I have so much to do this summer vacation, that..." Yang Yi truly had a headache dealing with Dongfang Mei'er. He knew she wasn't romantically interested in him, and he wasn't interested in her either; the girl simply treated him like an older brother. But while they both knew this, others didn't. Seeing this embrace now, damn it, regardless of the specific context, misunderstandings would arise immediately, followed by stares filled with 'electric energy' scanning his body.

"Mei'er." Just then, Dongfang Shiling's voice drifted in from the doorway.

"Ah, Brother!" Dongfang Mei'er quickly let go of Yang Yi upon seeing Dongfang Shiling.

The latter immediately breathed a sigh of relief, muttering inwardly, "Finally rescued."

"Young Master...!"

"No need to be so formal. Shall we go eat together?" Yang Yi asked with a smile.

"Sounds good."

The group left the classroom and headed straight for the cafeteria. However, just as they reached the entrance, Yang Yi spotted Xuanyuan Bing, whom he hadn't seen in almost a month. Beneath her cold expression, she appeared somewhat haggard. Lin Pangzi and Dongfang Shiling saw this, quickly pulled Dongfang Mei'er inside, leaving only Yang Yi and Xuanyuan Bing exchanging glances. Students bustled past them, occasionally glancing their way.

But what happened next was somewhat surprising, or perhaps, rather unexpected. With a sharp "Slap!", it was indeed utterly unexpected; Yang Yi slapped the tearful Xuanyuan Bing. Normally, a person struck like that would appear extremely confused, but Yang Yi showed no reaction at all, merely looking at Xuanyuan Bing with extreme gentleness.

"Waaah!" Xuanyuan Bing buried herself into Yang Yi's embrace, sobbing. She didn't know how to express her affection. All she knew was that the feeling of not seeing him for the past month was more painful than death.

Yang Yi said nothing, just held her quietly. He felt he owed his women too much. Juggling relationships with three women simultaneously—what was that? Yang Yi dared not think, nor did he wish to, because he simply felt he loved them all.

'Dare to ask what love is, that it makes men seek life and death for it'—this saying seemed to encapsulate all matters of love and emotion in the world; feelings were inherently threads that tied into an unsolvable knot. Therefore, Yang Yi felt there was no need to deliberately sort out emotional matters; letting nature take its course was best. This was his current mindset, but how long he could maintain it, he did not know.

"Alright, darling, stop crying. It was my fault; I didn't..."

Xuanyuan Bing stopped Yang Yi from finishing his sentence, gently touching the red mark her hand had left, and asked, "Does it hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt," Yang Yi replied immediately.

Under such circumstances, eighty percent of people in the world would choose the same answer as Yang Yi, as this answer usually inspires pity in their women. The remaining twenty percent, perhaps, would answer, "It hurts a lot." But anyone who answered that way likely wouldn't see a good outcome. At best, they'd get slapped again; at worst, they might incur their woman's dislike and be called heartless. This was one of the common pitfalls between couples.

"Let's go, we'll eat together!" Yang Yi smiled gently.

"Mm!" Xuanyuan Bing also smiled back. This smile was incredibly captivating, mesmerizing quite a few of the onlookers.

"Hey, hey, hey. Am I dreaming? Xuanyuan Bing is smiling? And wasn't she cursed? Why..." one of the onlookers asked while pinching the cheek of the student next to him.

The other student pulled him back and said, "You ask me? Who am I supposed to ask?"