During this period, Evan Lin attended classes and went home on time every day, living a life that was neither hot nor cold.
Over in the Jinnan Military District, Victor Su personally brought some good news from Beijing. Su Yuantian even came to find Evan Lin in person to thank him, but Su Mo'er didn't come along.
The whole city of Capitalview was unusually peaceful.
But on the other side, over in Seacrest Prefecture, Zuo He and Zuo Shan rushed to the airport overnight.
They flew across several provinces, heading straight for Changbai Mountain.
“Dad, is Master Mo Yang really here?” Zuo Shan stood on a mountain peak, panting heavily as he looked at the endless range before him, gritting his teeth.
“He should be here. Back when Drake Huang was chatting idly with me, he mentioned that after Master Mo Yang broke into the first-grade Vajra bottleneck, he searched for ways to break through. In the end, he gained insight from fire and decided to go into seclusion. It’s said he sought out a place of extreme fire.”
“And beneath Heavenly Lake on Changbai Mountain is a dormant volcano. Looking across all of Huaxia, this might be the only place worthy of the name ‘extreme fire.’” Beside Zuo Shan, the white-bearded Zuo He took a deep breath, and after speaking, gulped down several more lungfuls of air.
He was already old—originally the patriarch of the Zuo family in River City, supposed to be enjoying his twilight years. But a few months ago, out of nowhere, a kid appeared in River City, first killing his son Simon Zuo at Sunrise Blue Ocean, then slaying River City’s Number One, Drake Huang, right at the Zuo family’s memorial hall!
After that, the Zuo family collapsed, and Zuo He and his son Zuo Shan were left barely clinging to life.
“Cultivating inside a volcano crater—Master Morgan Yang’s power really is terrifying! If we can get him to come out of seclusion, I’d like to see how that brat survives! He dared to kill Master Morgan Yang’s disciple, so he should’ve known this day would come!” Zuo Shan gritted his teeth, hatred burning in his eyes.
“We have to kill him!” Zuo He took a deep breath, glanced at the map, and then set out again with Zuo Shan.
They trekked deeper into the mountains, climbing peak after peak. After a long journey, they finally reached a new summit.
From here, they saw a vast lake surrounded by mountains, with patches of untouched snow crowning the peaks.
The lake at the center was crystal clear, its surface perfectly calm.
Zuo Shan glanced around, taking in the tranquil surroundings—there were no signs of human activity at all.
“This must be Heavenly Lake, but where’s the volcano crater?” Zuo Shan looked confused. “If Master Morgan Yang is cultivating here, we should go to the crater to find him, but I don’t see any crater.”
“The crater is at the bottom of the lake.” Zuo He shook his head, gazing at Heavenly Lake. “It’s said that Heavenly Lake never freezes in winter and never grows duckweed in summer, all because there’s a volcano buried beneath it.”
“Master Morgan Yang might be cultivating down there, underwater.”
Zuo He’s tone was grave.
“You can cultivate underwater?” Zuo Shan was startled by the thought.
“Of course, ordinary people could never do that. But for Master Morgan Yang, it’s nothing! He’s a true genius of this generation—his level is beyond what mortals can imagine. Even just a few casual words from him made Drake Huang the Number One in River City for over a decade!” Zuo He sneered, eyes blazing with fanaticism. “You never witnessed Master Morgan Yang’s era, so you can’t understand. I was lucky enough to see his duel with Butcher Tu back then—that battle shook the heavens and made ghosts weep.”
“Butcher Tu?” Zuo Shan was stunned.
“That’s the old eunuch nicknamed the Lineage-Ender Ghost. He was a master left over from the late Qing dynasty, undefeated everywhere he went. Anyone he defeated, he’d personally wipe out their descendants—hence the name Lineage-Ender Ghost.”
“Later, he met Master Morgan Yang and fought with all his strength, but was seriously injured and nearly died. I heard someone saved him, so he managed to barely survive.” Zuo He shook his head and sighed.
Hearing the name Lineage-Ender Ghost, Zuo Shan’s face changed drastically. He was still young back then, but just hearing that nickname was enough to give kids nightmares. That alone showed how terrifying Butcher Tu was—and how brilliant and powerful Master Morgan Yang must have been to defeat him.
Zuo Shan stared at the calm waters of Heavenly Lake, growing impatient. He stepped forward and began shouting Master Morgan Yang’s name across the lake.
He shouted until his voice was hoarse, the sound echoing over the water before fading into nothing.
After calling out again and again, Zuo Shan grew exhausted. It felt pointless, like he was talking to himself, and he started to lose hope.
“Is there any point in shouting in such a huge place?”
Zuo Shan plopped down on the ground, looking utterly defeated.
Simon Zuo died in River City, and after decades of hard work, the Zuo family’s fortunes were now ruined.
The only thing keeping Zuo He and Zuo Shan going was the hope that Master Morgan Yang would return and kill Evan Lin.
Forget about Master Lin of Seacrest, forget about that so-called Nine Mysteries Lin—kill them all and offer their blood to Simon Zuo’s spirit!
“Pointless or not, we have to try!” Zuo He gritted his teeth, forced his old bones up, and took over shouting at the lake.
His voice was hoarse and cracked, carrying a strange sense of age and weariness.
From sunrise to sunset, then from sunset to dawn, the cycle repeated.
After seven days, Zuo He and Zuo Shan looked ashen and hopeless.
Just as they were about to give up, they suddenly saw bubbles rising in the center of Heavenly Lake.
The bubbles grew in number and density, the whole lake seeming to pulse. Even from far away, they could hear the water gurgling.
“What’s that…?”
Zuo He’s face froze. He slowly stood and stared into the distance.
“There’s… there’s a figure! Right in the center of the lake!”
Beside him, Zuo Shan’s face twisted with shock and excitement. He couldn’t help but cry out, his voice trembling.
At the center of the lake, the water seemed to be pushed outward by some invisible force, boiling steam rising and clearing a small dry space.
In that pocket, a man in white, his face covered in beard, sat cross-legged and utterly composed.
Even from a distance, they couldn’t see his face clearly, but his presence was so overwhelming it felt almost tangible, crushing the heart.
“You came here to seek me. For what reason?”
A crisp, cold voice rang out, calmly echoing across the lake and straight into Zuo He and Zuo Shan’s ears, as if someone was speaking right beside them.
Changbai Mountain—Morgan Yang!