As soon as Ryan Ling said that, everyone jolted in shock and turned to stare at the mysterious, spine-chilling teenager.
With a flick of his hand and a word, he summoned 'wind, rain, thunder, and lightning'—already enough to leave everyone dumbstruck. Even if someone claimed he was an immortal come down to earth, nobody would dare object.
But now he was bragging even bigger, and the crowd was clearly stunned—some even looked a little skeptical.
Right now, never mind the city agricultural bureau folks—even the experts from the province, who all knew a thing or two about supernatural arts and secret techniques. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have suggested calling in the Azure Dragon Society’s Mystery Hall people. The Society has a bunch of sub-halls all over, but the big ones like Mystery Hall, Divine Martial Hall, Blade Hall, and Pill Hall are run by headquarters. Mystery Hall especially has a ton of oddballs and gifted freaks, plus artifacts that can literally command the weather. That’s why they wanted the hall master’s eldest son, Drake Long, to step in—figured a guy like him might actually help.
But even with help like that, nobody expected miracles. After all, you’re going up against Heaven itself—if you can wrangle a drizzle or two, you’re already thanking your lucky stars.
But now Ryan Ling just casually said even August snow was no big deal—how could that not freak them out?
If he could really make it snow in August, a guy with powers like that would be treated like a VIP in Mystery Hall. High office, fat salary, insane riches—he could have it all.
And right now, someone else was having the same thought—the already pale-as-a-ghost rich brat, Drake Long. Sure, he’s the hall master’s eldest son and gets tons of respect, but actual skill? Eh, not so much. He’s grown up in Mystery Hall, seen plenty of weirdos, but even with all that, he’s never met anyone who could just say 'August snow' like it was nothing. That’s not some run-of-the-mill magic—that’s straight-up defying Heaven, the highest level in Daoist cultivation.
To him, Ryan Ling looked way too young. Summoning wind and rain was already pushing the limit; August snow was just flat-out impossible.
But right then, while everyone was lost in their own thoughts and doubts, Ryan Ling suddenly crushed the Snow God Token and shouted to the sky: 'August flying snow is rare throughout history, but today I insist you give me a fall of it—snow, come!'
Ryan Ling’s insight was off the charts—he saw through everyone’s thoughts in a flash, then shouted at full volume.
Everyone shivered, then all looked up at the sky.
Suddenly, the sky changed. A chill swept through the valley, making every rain-soaked person shudder uncontrollably.
Then something weird happened—the rain stopped, a cold wind blew, and crystal-clear snowflakes started drifting down.
"It’s—It’s snowing!" Everyone was totally stunned. August snow was real, and the flakes were getting heavier, swirling all over the sky.
At that moment, all the agricultural and meteorological experts looked at Ryan Ling like he was a legit immortal. Some started kowtowing, and the city bureau guys began shouting for divine blessings.
Meanwhile, Drake Long, Brandon Feng, and their crew had their last illusions shattered. Staring at Ryan Ling, all they felt was fear—Brandon was shaking so hard he looked ready to drop from a heart attack.
"Let’s get out of here!" Drake Long didn’t hesitate for a second. Sticking around now wasn’t just embarrassing—it could get them killed.
Brandon Feng wanted nothing more than to fly down the mountain. He spun around to leave, but rushed so fast he didn’t look where he was going. With a loud crack, he snapped a branch underfoot—the sound was extra sharp and extra loud.
Instantly, everyone’s eyes snapped over to him.
Brandon Feng froze like he’d been hit with a pressure point—he didn’t dare move a muscle.
Drake Long was right behind him and, seeing this, honestly wanted to kick Brandon to death.
Just then, Ryan Ling and his crew walked over.
"Drake Long, didn’t you just say you were going to kill me?" Ryan Ling stared coldly at him, eyes full of murderous intent.
"Yeah, Drake Long, didn’t you also say all the 'lowly commoners' in Harbor City should die with me? What, you haven’t finished the job and you’re already trying to run?" Sophie Su chimed in, throwing shade.
Everyone else glared daggers at the bunch of jerks—clearly, there was no way today would end peacefully for them.
"Folks, that was all just a joke—no need to take it seriously. Now that the heat’s broken, there’s no reason for us to stick around. How about we just head out?" Drake Long gave an awkward laugh and started edging away.
"Oh, a joke? So if I chop you down with my sword right now, I’ll just say it’s a joke too. Sound good?" Ryan Ling said, sending a slash of sword-qi straight at him.
Drake Long jumped in fright, hurriedly pulling out a machete to block. He might be useless, but as the hall master’s son, he’d had plenty of martial arts training—he had some skills.
But those skills were useless against Ryan Ling. With a loud crack, Drake’s blade snapped in two and he was sent flying, only stopping when he smashed into a crooked tree—so hard that all its leaves fell off instantly.
Brandon Feng was so terrified he dropped to the ground, begging for mercy—he didn’t dare move a muscle.
Drake Long was finally in full panic mode—face pale as a sheet, shaking all over.
"Spare me! I’ll never do it again, I swear!" Drake Long watched Ryan Ling approach like a wrathful god, his face twisted in terror. It was like the gates of hell had swung open—if Ryan said 'die,' his head would roll right then and there.
"Ryan, don’t—" Sophie Su saw things heading south and tugged Ryan’s sleeve. Partly out of pity, but mostly because killing someone in front of provincial and city officials would be a huge headache.
[Irrelevant system message, skip translation.]
"Relax—the blood of these people isn’t worthy to stain my sword!" Ryan Ling knew exactly where to draw the line. Back at the Peachvale auction, he killed Living Buddha Sangji because the guy’s crimes were off the charts and he tried to rob a treasure in public—death was basically expected. Plus, Sangji was strong enough to deserve dying by Ryan’s hand.
But Drake Long here? All bark, no bite. Begging for mercy—Ryan Ling couldn’t even be bothered to stain his blade with that.
Drake Long breathed a little easier at that, about to thank Ryan—when suddenly Ryan’s tone flipped cold: "You can escape the death penalty, but not punishment. Right now I’ll cripple both you brothers—two legs each. Today, you crawl out of Harbor City. If I see you again, I’ll stomp your dog heads!"
"Huh? Break my legs? But—I still need to dance..." Drake Long turned purple with panic; Brandon Feng’s eyes rolled back in horror.
Nobody objected—after what those two pulled, breaking their legs was a slap on the wrist. If Harbor City let them off easy, it’d be a total embarrassment.
"Dance? A snake-hearted guy like you wants to dance? Leave your legs behind!" Ryan Ling said, then swung his blade straight at Drake Long’s legs.
"Stop! Put that down, right now! Who gave you permission to break someone’s legs and play vigilante here?" Just as the crowd was getting riled up, a sharp voice rang out. A short, fat man came huffing over, trailed by four or five attendants.
"Isn’t that Butler Liu from the Hong family? What’s he doing here?"
"Wasn’t he supposed to be abroad with Old Master Hong? Does this mean the old man’s back?"
"This is great—Harbor City’s been getting bullied nonstop. Next month’s the Jiangdong Province Seven-City Martial Arts Tournament. If Old Master Hong’s back to take charge, we Harbor City folks can finally hold our heads high again."
Everyone seemed to know the short, fat guy—and spoke about him with extra respect.
But this so-called Old Master Hong? Ryan Ling had never even heard of him.
"Young Master Long, are you okay? Any serious injuries?" The short, fat man rushed over and fussed over Drake Long, then—without even asking what happened—turned and barked at Ryan Ling: "Who the hell are you? How dare you raise a blade at Young Master Long? Do you even know who he is? Apologize, now!"