Andrew chuckled and said, "How would I dare? She's the pride of Gabo Creek. I wouldn't even qualify to be in her presence!" Downstairs in the bar, Luna stepped through the door and immediately looked up toward the second-floor booth. The moment her eyes landed on Andrew, a flash of coldness crossed her face. Leslie, following close behind, sneered. "General, that arrogant fool is here too." Luna replied calmly, "Ignore him. I'll leave as soon as our business is done." Zachary approached and greeted her politely. "General Phelan, welcome. Please, have a seat." Luna sat down with a relaxed posture, casually crossing one long, boot-clad leg over the other. "So, you're about to take Jerome's inner disciple assessment. How confident are you?" Zachary gave a sly smile. "If you'd asked me before, I'd say 30%. But now? I'd say 80, maybe even 90%." Luna scoffed. "That's nonsense. Zachary, I have no idea where your confidence is coming from. Jerome is a titan of the Southern Mart

Ryder's face was pure bliss, like he was floating on cloud nine. In the bar's dim lighting, Leslie's pitiful expression vanished instantly. It transformed into a cold, triumphant smirk of someone whose scheme had succeeded perfectly. This scene completely escaped Ryder, who was too busy embracing his beautiful catch. Little did he know, Andrew and the others upstairs had witnessed everything crystal clear. Francesca stared in shock. "Aspen, you really nailed it on the head. Oh my goodness, she's such a master manipulator!" Lauren gave her a thumbs-up. "Aspen, your ability to spot a manipulative bitch is seriously impressive! You got it completely right, not even slightly off!" Aspen felt a bit smug and was about to speak when a whistle suddenly pierced the air nearby. The three women looked over with exasperation. "Honey, what are you whistling for?" Andrew shrugged casually. "Breaking up the lovebirds, of course. Those two are making me sick just watching them, so the

There was just one more day until New Year's Day. Andrew would be traveling with Zachary to Goldridge, the headquarters of the Southern Martial Union. That morning, Chantelle drove over to Serenity Villa and was surprised to see Andrew training with his five top disciples, each drenched in sweat. "You seriously plan to turn them into martial arts masters?" she asked. Andrew kept a calm expression. "They're still a ways off from becoming true masters, but they've already crossed the beginner's threshold. They can definitely handle your average fighter." Chantelle watched them for a moment and nodded. "Ms. Stevens already has some martial foundation. Reaching Martial King level won't be a big deal for her. But Ms. Aicker and Ms. Rhodes? That's another story. I'm going to be blunt, even if you don't want to hear it. "Training them now is just a waste of your time and energy. Their bones are already set. Trying to get them to break into the martial arts world at this point is ext

Andrew chuckled. "I was just kidding. It was just a friendly spar, so there was no need to talk about winning or losing. Come on, I'll take you inside to patch you up." Andrew's tone shifted casually, dropping the whole ‘black tights' thing. Then, he turned to lead the way. As he walked off, he glanced back at the trio and barked, "You three, keep training! No slacking off. If I catch anyone slacking, your training's getting doubled!" Lauren and the others immediately got serious and picked up the pace. Chantelle followed Andrew reluctantly, clearly in a foul mood. "My injuries are fine. I don't need treatment. I only came here to inform you that I'll be investigating the parasite poison situation with Hank starting today." Andrew raised a brow. "With Hank, that scumbag? Whose genius idea was that?" Chantelle looked disgusted. "Relax, I know exactly what kind of trash he is. Besides, men are all the same anyway. I don't care whose idea it was, but I'm not giving him an ounc

"Women should know how to dress up. That's how you bring out real beauty," Andrew said with a teasing smirk. Chantelle muttered. "Mind your own business. Now you've had your look, haven't you? If you're done, I'm taking it off." Andrew stepped forward and caught her ankle before she could move. Her heart skipped a beat, and she instinctively tried to pull away. However, Andrew pulled her closer in one swift motion, seating her right between his legs. The position was so unexpected and so suggestive that her mind blanked for a second. She immediately thought of the position where the woman was on top. "L-Let me down! You said just look, not touch! Why are you changing the rules?" Chantelle stammered as she pushed against him, trying to escape. Andrew slapped her on the butt with his big hand. "Don't move around. These tights are delicate, and they'll tear if you struggle." Still locked in place, Chantelle's frustration bubbled. "Andrew, this isn't the time to mess around!