Faye Zheng thought back to a few days ago, on Thousand-Saints Mountain, to that figure wreathed in crimson flames, standing atop a divine dragon. Even though several days had passed, every time she recalled it, her heart would race with awe and longing.
Master Lin from Seacrest, who shook the city with his power, crushed Master Morgan as a mere youth, won fame in a single battle, intimidated all sides, and made the strong bow their heads—no one dared to challenge his edge.
If only I could get to know such an overwhelming powerhouse...
Just imagining it made Faye Zheng’s heart surge with excitement, impossible to contain.
Besides, from what she could see, Master Lin wasn’t that old. If there was a chance for deeper contact, it would benefit not only Faye Zheng herself, but the entire Zheng clan.
"Dream on. That kind of expert killed Master Morgan outright. Making friends with him? That’s almost impossible. And people like us aren’t even worth a single finger to him—what if we piss him off?" one second-gen muttered nervously.
"Yeah, Master Lin from Seacrest—my god! Sure, he’s a big shot in a small place, but he’s way out of our league. Plenty of people have tried to find him these past few days, but I haven’t heard of anyone succeeding. And saying he could crush us with one finger? That’s giving us too much credit. We probably couldn’t even handle one of his farts," another agreed, nodding.
His family had some money, and he lived pretty well in Oceanport, but when it came to powerhouses like Master Lin from Seacrest, he figured it was best to just watch from afar. Actually interacting with them? He didn’t have the guts.
"Not necessarily! He may be a master, but he’s still a person. As long as he’s human, he’ll have weaknesses. If you can hit his sweet spot, there’s nothing stopping you from befriending him!" Faye Zheng insisted stubbornly.
"Fine, then let’s stay a few more days and try our luck."
Leo Li nodded, then remembered something: "Oh right, we’re just killing time tonight anyway. There’s a new horror movie out that looks pretty good. How about after dinner, we all go catch a movie together?"
Brightsea Garden Court.
Evan Lin hung up the phone.
In Seacrest, every move Faye Zheng and her group made was now under Evan Lin’s complete control.
Big Tank had already sent people to monitor them twenty-four hours a day. As for their plan to get Master Yan to deal with Evan Lin, Evan didn’t even bother to take it seriously for now.
Honestly, Evan Lin had already buried Master Morgan—how strong could Master Yan really be?
But in recent days, news of Evan Lin’s victory over Master Morgan had spread to Jinnan, causing a shockwave. Victor Su called several times to congratulate Evan, and when Ding Daoming, the Sword Sect Master of Southriver, heard the news, he stood atop Heavenly Sword Mountain, gazing down at the endless range below, his expression unreadable.
As for Warren Wu, who was currently at Miracle Hand Sect, he was so excited he kept jumping up and down.
"In my fight with Master Morgan, I didn’t really get hurt, but all my spiritual energy was drained. Luckily, after a few days of rest, I’ve recovered quite a bit."
"But that move, burning a whole mountain with a single drop of blood, was way too much of a drain on my energy."
Evan Lin sighed quietly to himself.
He hadn’t expected that Master Morgan, after stepping into the Pointing-to-Mystery Realm, could actually borrow a hint of the power of heaven and earth.
Like that snow bridge trick at the start—Evan could pull it off too, and probably more steadily than Morgan ever could.
At the very least, when Morgan crossed the bridge, he always moved slowly. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to go faster, but if he did, his strength would run out and he’d risk losing control. That’s why he had to take it one step at a time.
Morgan’s final move, using his blood as a catalyst and burning his cultivation, was even more powerful than Evan had imagined.
But that was all there was to it.
"Sparring with him, judging his level, he was probably only a beginner at the Pointing-to-Mystery Realm."
"I wonder if I’ll ever get the chance to meet a true master of the Pointing-to-Mystery Realm."
Evan shook his head slightly, feeling a bit regretful. If he’d known, he might have spared Morgan’s life—at least then he’d have someone to practice moves with.
"As for that headless bronze statue at the summit, what exactly does it have to do with Morgan?"
Those female statues were what Evan most wanted to figure out right now.
Even though Evan had already sent Big Tank’s men to investigate, he doubted they’d find anything anytime soon.
One by one, Evan mentally reviewed everything on his plate. As he was thinking, the roar of cars came from outside.
Soon after, the cars pulled into the courtyard and stopped.
Someone pushed open the villa door from outside.
"Come on in, make yourselves at home!"
Charles Chen entered with a smile, leading several people inside.
"Ah, Old Chen, sometimes I really envy you for having such a good cook for a wife. I can smell the stew from here and the door isn’t even open yet! Haha!"
Haiyang Sheng, dignified as ever, followed behind Charles Chen, laughing heartily as he came in.
"Of course! Haiyang is always complaining that my cooking isn’t good enough." Susan Pang, who had dressed up for the occasion, entered and smiled.
Her gaze swept quickly across the living room. When she spotted Evan Lin sitting on the sofa, her eyes lit up. She smiled, stepped aside, and presented the two girls behind her—Claire Sheng and Nina Pei.
"Claire, didn’t you say you had a few math problems you wanted to ask Brother Evan about? He’s right here—go on and ask him!"
Susan Pang gave Claire Sheng an encouraging look. Claire was all dressed up today, looking as delicate as a porcelain doll.
As soon as Susan Pang spoke, both Claire Sheng and Nina Pei instinctively looked over at the sofa.
When they saw Evan Lin, both girls’ eyes showed a hint of surprise and delight.
But Claire was more shy, while Nina Pei tried to act indifferent, though it was obvious she was covering something up.
"Hello, Brother Evan."
Claire Sheng walked up and greeted him sweetly.
"Hello," Evan nodded. He had a good impression of Claire.
Back when they’d gone to River City, she’d never looked down on him like the others did. She never judged Evan for being from Whitewood—she always acted polite and well-behaved.
"Fancy seeing you here again."
Nina Pei pretended it was just a coincidence and glanced at Evan.
When Evan looked at her, she felt a sudden panic inside but forced herself to speak calmly: "Evan Lin, right? I just happened to see you today, so I wanted to thank you."
"Last time in River City, thank you for stepping in."
Nina Pei still remembered that day at the Zuo family estate—so many vicious dogs were released, and she’d shielded Claire, almost getting mauled.
Luckily, at that moment, Evan Lin stepped forward and took care of all the dogs.
That scene left a deeper mark on Nina’s heart than all the legends about Master Lin from Seacrest defeating Master Morgan.
Thinking of that, Nina’s heart raced, and her voice grew a little softer, tinged with shyness she couldn’t hide.
"It was nothing," Evan replied, shaking his head.
Just then, footsteps sounded from the staircase.