"Evan?"
Mia Chen called out instinctively.
"We meet again."
Evan heard her voice, looked at Mia, and nodded slightly.
"You're here to climb the mountain too?" Mia looked at Evan, still somewhat bothered by what happened last night.
She kept thinking that maybe Evan was better when he was like he used to be; now, he just gave off this inexplicable air of arrogance.
"Just here to handle something."
Evan shook his head.
"Handle something?"
Victor Zhou scoffed when he heard Evan's words, then said, "Three Thousand Mountain is packed today. Rumor has it some martial arts master is fighting here. If you're here for the show, just admit it. What's with the 'handle something' talk?"
"What business could possibly need you here? You talk like you're some big shot or something."
Victor grinned, clearly amused.
It was freezing out, so Victor was bundled up, but seeing Evan standing there in just a thin down jacket made him look even more disdainful.
To Victor, Evan was the type who cared about looking cool over staying warm—just trying to show off for Mia.
"I'm talking to her. Say one more word and I'll rip your mouth off."
Evan glanced at Victor, his eyes cold and indifferent.
That flash of icy chill in Evan's gaze made Victor shudder, his expression stiffening.
He wanted to talk back, but the words stuck in his throat. He couldn't say a thing, his heart pounding with fear.
The sudden wave of fear left Victor embarrassed and angry.
"Evan, why are you still like this? Did you forget what happened when you talked to Trevor Liu that way?" Mia said, a bit annoyed.
"The consequence was he disappeared."
Evan's tone was calm.
"And what if he hadn't disappeared? Wouldn't he just keep bothering you every day? Can't you talk like a normal person for once? Why do you always have to threaten to beat people up or worse the moment you open your mouth?"
Evan's words left Mia speechless.
At Brightsea No. 2 High, everyone only knew that Trevor Liu and Tyson Liu hadn't shown up for class in ages, but where they'd gone was a total mystery.
"Besides, Tyson Liu disappearing has nothing to do with you."
Mia huffed angrily.
Just as she was speaking, a commotion suddenly erupted in the crowd up ahead.
A moment later, countless people turned their heads to look up at the sky.
"Holy crap!"
"It's a miracle!"
"Is that a bridge up there?"
Exclamations of shock echoed through the crowd.
Evan tilted his head up, ignoring Mia's words, his expression calm as he gazed at the sky.
Everyone's eyes focused on a single point.
Mia followed the crowd's gaze, and in the next moment, her jaw dropped, her face full of shock.
"Oh my god, is that an immortal?"
Victor Zhou was utterly stunned by what he saw.
In the eyes of the crowd, a white floating bridge appeared, stretching out from the horizon beneath the falling snow.
The bridge hovered in the snowfall, surrounded by countless snowflakes, like something out of a divine realm—a cloud bridge to the heavens.
There, on the floating bridge, stood a lone figure in thin blue robes, stepping forward one stride at a time, approaching from the horizon.
With every step he took, the bridge behind him shattered into snow, while new snow gathered beneath his feet, forming a path to support him.
His every stride and bearing left the crowds on Three Thousand Mountain awestruck.
"Three days ago, there were rumors Master Morgan had left River City, but no one ever heard of him staying in Brightsea. Could it be he came all the way here from River City using some mysterious technique?"
Someone in the crowd turned pale, trembling at the thought.
"Master Morgan! That's Master Morgan!"
"He's the legendary master, the one who shattered Vajra! He's a living legend!"
Martial artists in the crowd were beside themselves with excitement.
To them, Master Morgan was a true war god, and the realm he had attained was something countless martial artists could only dream of.
That sense of transcendence, those sky-reaching techniques, and the legendary feats spoken of in the martial world for decades!
"Is that person really an immortal?" Chen Linyan asked, gazing at the sky, her mind reeling.
"He's flying!" Sheng Quyao was full of awe and admiration.
"Master Morgan!" Faye Zheng's eyes burned with excitement.
"Does the Pointing-to-Mystery Realm really have such power?" Tu Huba's eyes flickered, lost in thought.
Natsume's eyes showed anxiety, while Sawyer Summer let out a long sigh, worry plain on his face.
"How is he doing that? Is this some kind of circus trick?" Mia suddenly snapped back to reality, frowning slightly.
She couldn't believe anyone could actually fly. It just didn't seem possible.
From the look of things, she figured there had to be some kind of trick—maybe he was hanging from wires, or there was a plane hidden above.
"It's just a bunch of circus stunts—looks impressive, but it's useless."
Hearing Evan say that made Mia uncomfortable again. "Well, he's still risking a lot to pull off those stunts. How can you say it's useless?"
"Talking like that is just plain rude!"
Mia turned to say something else to Evan, but when she looked, he was nowhere to be seen.
She froze, glancing around for a long time before finally spotting Evan—now the only person in the crowd not looking up at the sky, but quietly making his way up Three Thousand Mountain.
"Seriously, what kind of person just leaves without saying anything?"
Mia grumbled to herself.
Evan never used to be like this. Mia still remembered how embarrassed he'd look every time he was late, but now, no matter what, his face was always calm.
The more Mia thought about it, the emptier she felt inside, as if something was missing.
"He's going up the mountain! That immortal is going up the mountain!"
Victor Zhou cried out in excitement.
Mia looked again and saw the white bridge of snow stretching all the way to Three Thousand Mountain, finally dissolving into the summit, leaving only a flurry of snowflakes swirling in the wind.
As the snow scattered, Master Morgan reached the summit, standing there alone, seeming almost otherworldly.
"Let's go! Hurry up, let's go see the immortal!"
Victor shouted excitedly, and the crowd grew even more boisterous as people surged toward the summit.