That Lin Clan.
As soon as the Qin Patriarch finished speaking,
everyone present instantly fell silent.
The house heads exchanged glances, each seeing complex, indescribable emotions in the others’ eyes.
"What are you all talking about?"
Lily Liang was a bit confused.
She had been watching the direction Evan Lin left in, and only after his figure completely disappeared from her sight did she notice that everyone else’s mood seemed very different.
"That Lin Clan... is not something we can afford to provoke. But Old Rowe, really, since you’d already been acknowledged by someone from the Lin family, why didn’t you tell us earlier?"
"If you’d told us ahead of time, we would never have made such a spectacle in front of That Lin Clan."
Xavier Liu let out a sigh.
He was badly injured now, his face unusually pale.
But when he heard the words 'That Lin Clan,' Xavier Liu felt not a trace of regret or remorse deep down.
On the contrary, he felt a bit relieved.
He was glad that Master Lin from Seacrest had vented his anger right then and there.
If Master Lin from Seacrest had simply left without doing anything, not even helping the Rowe Patriarch deal with Xavier Liu, Xavier would have felt much more anxious now.
"I didn’t know either."
The Rowe Patriarch gave a bitter smile and shook his head. "Honestly, I only knew him as Master Lin from Seacrest, but as for what connection he has with That Lin Clan, I really had no idea."
"If I had actually known, I would never have feared any of you."
"Back when I came here, even if I hadn’t broken through to Heavenly Phenomenon, so what? As long as Master Lin was behind me, I wouldn’t fear you at all—and you wouldn’t dare do anything to me. But honestly, I really, really didn’t know."
The Rowe Patriarch’s earnest manner made the Qin Patriarch and the others fall silent once again.
None of them doubted the Rowe Patriarch’s words.
House Rowe really had been driven to the brink before this.
Otherwise, the humiliating farce of someone trying to change their surname to Ma would never have happened.
"Even if Master Lin from Seacrest hasn’t admitted it, his strength is obvious. Across the whole country, among people surnamed Lin, who else at his age could have power like this—except someone from That Lin Clan?"
"He’s not just strong—he’s already entered Moonshade. Someday, joining Hidden Dragon will be perfectly normal for someone like him."
The Tan Patriarch’s mood grew more complicated as he spoke.
Originally,
Kevin Tan from House Tan was already considered a true dragon among men.
He had joined Moonshade at a young age, and was likely to inherit the Tan Patriarch position in the future.
But now, compared to Master Lin from Seacrest, the Tan Patriarch couldn’t help feeling a bit lost deep down.
"Luckily Kevin Tan and Jenna Jiang got a phone call and left here today. I wonder if they know Master Lin from Seacrest’s true identity."
The Tan Patriarch glanced at Douglas Jiang.
Douglas Jiang nodded. "I’ll try to ask Jenna later. If she doesn’t know, we’d best not reveal anything ourselves."
"Maybe Master Lin from Seacrest just doesn’t want that part of his identity known. Otherwise, he would have mentioned it at some point, but he’s never brought it up."
There aren’t many people from That Lin Clan who walk openly in the mortal world.
The conversation continued among them, one remark after another.
Those who didn’t understand, like Lily Liang, were completely lost.
Those who did understand looked tense and nervous; some even felt regret.
They regretted not trying harder to curry favor with Master Lin from Seacrest before, losing a chance to change their fate for no reason at all.
Evan Lin had no idea the Rowe Patriarch’s people already regarded him as someone from the Upper-Grade Lin Clan.
He rode the fire dragon south for more than three hours before finally landing.
With his current late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation, he still couldn’t sustain long-distance flight.
Manifesting the fire dragon also consumed spiritual qi.
Most importantly, the hide was gradually dimming now—the guiding beam of light faded and finally vanished.
There was no guidance left.
Evan Lin took another Nourishing Spirit Pill and glanced at the sky.
Daylight was fading.
Night was about to fall.
"The hide can only be activated by absorbing light during the day."
"Such a design ensures that even when spiritual qi runs out, the hide can still be triggered by ordinary light."
Evan Lin frowned slightly and put the hide away.
He looked around; in front of him was a small county town.
Mountains surrounded it on all sides.
It looked peaceful and quiet.
After entering the town, Evan found a hotel and rested for the night.
That evening, he called Joy Zheng.
On the phone, Joy Zheng was in a good mood. Apparently her class’s average score ranked first in the school this time, so she bought lots of chocolate as a reward and handed it out.
"The weather’s getting cold, Evan. You need to wear more layers. You never used to dress for the season; even when it was almost winter, you’d still run around in short sleeves."
"Now that Mom’s not with you, you have to learn to take care of yourself. Don’t always make me worry."
Joy Zheng kept repeating all kinds of reminders.
Evan Lin listened quietly, lying on the hotel bed and gazing out at the unfamiliar sky of a strange place.
He had no idea what tomorrow might bring.
On intuition,
the existence hidden in that mysterious place meant something extremely important to him.
But what exactly,
Evan Lin still couldn’t understand at all.
Maybe it was extremely dangerous.
Maybe it was a one-way trip.
But if he wanted answers, it seemed he had to go there.
Especially for that precious treasure.
The face of a child appeared on that precious treasure.
"Mom."
Evan Lin suddenly interrupted Joy Zheng.
"Hm?"
Joy Zheng paused. "What’s wrong?"
"Nothing, I just wanted to call you, that’s all."
Evan Lin smiled, his voice soft.
"You silly child, you startled me. I thought something had happened."
Joy Zheng’s words carried a sense of relief. "Evan, you’ve grown up now, and Mom is getting older."
"Sometimes, Mom really doesn’t know what you want to do, or what you want most. But listen to me—"
"The most important thing in life is to have family and friends together, and to be happy."
"Money and other things aren’t really that important."
"Mom doesn’t expect you to be super successful—I just want you to be safe and happy."
"Don’t always put so much pressure on yourself."
"And..."
"Some things—especially those that happened long ago—just let them go."
"Live in the present."