The man entered the villa's main hall. Unlike the lavish decor favored by other wealthy families, this place felt austere and solemn.
In the center of the hall stood a statue of Guan Gong, clutching a long blade, with incense smoke curling around it.
An elderly man slowly descended the stairs, frowning at the anxious middle-aged man who had just rushed in: "Why so frantic? Looking at you, how could you ever hope to manage the entire Liu family’s estate in the future?"
The old man snorted coldly, looking at the middle-aged man with clear displeasure on his face.
The old housekeeper just smiled and quietly stepped aside, saying nothing.
Alan Lewis broke out in a cold sweat at his father’s words. "Dad, this is serious! Tianxia and Tianyu were already crippled by someone—they’re still in the hospital. Before I could even go after the punk who started all this, now Leo Lewis has been thrown out of a hotel’s eighteenth floor! This is outright disrespect to our Liu family!"
"Who’s got that kind of nerve?" the old man asked calmly, his tone flat.
There was no sudden rage as one might expect. Even when his own sons and grandsons were hurt, the old man’s attitude didn’t change at all.
Clinton Lewis, head of the Liu family, was notorious for his cold-blooded ruthlessness. Rumor had it that, to rise to power, he once sent his own wife to another man in exchange for greater benefit.
"A kid named Evan Lin! He’s a student at Brightsea No. 2 High School." As Alan spoke, a fierce glint flashed in his eyes.
"A student?" Clinton Lewis raised an eyebrow. "None of you can handle a mere student? Are all my sons and grandsons useless?"
The old man fixed Alan with a cold stare, making Alan sweat nervously. "It's not that simple. That student is strange—and he has Imperial Grand behind him."
"Imperial Grand, huh." Clinton Lewis's expression returned to normal and he nodded slightly. "No wonder. The underworld of Brightsea City is in turmoil, and Imperial Grand has long wanted to swallow the whole city."
"Recently, Frank came back. Imperial Grand must have heard the news, and our fighter, Tiger, has already won ten matches in a row, smashing their underground boxing gym’s reputation. Maybe that’s why Victor Yu is getting restless. But what kind of trouble can Victor Yu stir up on his own?"
"Never mind that Damon Wang hasn’t returned to Brightsea yet—even if he does, what difference will it make!" Clinton Lewis opened his eyes, a sharp glint flashing in them. "Years ago, he crippled my leg. Soon, I’ll pay him back for that debt!"
"You can go now; I know what’s happened." Clinton Lewis waved his hand. Alan wanted to say more, but in the end, he left the villa without another word.
After Alan left.
"Master, aren’t you going to teach that person a lesson?" The old housekeeper stood nearby, still smiling.
"Hmph, is it necessary?" Clinton Lewis sneered. "Imperial Grand is probably losing its cool. Now that Frank is back, let’s see what they have left to compete with us!"
"The young master has already trained internal strength—he’s practically invincible in Brightsea City." The old housekeeper nodded. "That Tiger is still half a step away from true internal force, yet he’s already left Imperial Grand at a loss. If the young master steps in, Imperial Grand will be finished."
"Mm." Clinton Lewis closed his eyes and spoke slowly: "I have three sons. Alan is good at keeping things steady, the second, Liu Pang, is always causing trouble, but only the third, Frank, is truly worth my attention. As for Tianxia and Tianyu, make sure people look after them. As long as Frank is here, the Lewis family won’t fall. The others—if they die, so be it."
The old housekeeper stood silently to the side, listening to Clinton Lewis, the same weathered smile still on his face.
...
"See, that’s Evan Lin—the guy who soloed all of Class 3 yesterday!" At the school gate, a boy pointed at Evan Lin walking by and whispered to another.
"No way, that’s him? Seriously? He’s so skinny—how could he pull it off!" The other boy glanced at Evan, completely incredulous.
"That’s him, for sure. He wiped the floor with everyone, went one-on-whole-class, even crushed Ethan Yi. I heard he even beat up his homeroom teacher!"
Evan walked toward the school, with countless people staring and whispering about him along the way.
Yesterday, his one-man, one-ball performance shocked the whole school. Now, people looked at Evan with curiosity, not the usual contempt.
"He beat up the homeroom teacher? He’s definitely getting expelled."
Evan strolled in with his hands in his pockets, schoolbag slung over his shoulder, and headed for his classroom.
Mia Chen looked up from her seat and saw Evan walk in, her expression complicated.
Yesterday, in the second half, he single-handedly led Class 7 to a comeback.
That solitary, proud figure on the green pitch kept replaying in Mia’s mind all night.
Mia realized she was starting to care about Evan now.
She just didn’t want to admit those feelings existed.
Evan returned to his seat. He’d finished all his coursework—rewrote what needed rewriting, did what needed doing. Now, he was just waiting for finals, hoping for good grades so he could make his mom happy.
Whether people called him a soccer genius or Evan Nine Mysteries, it didn’t matter to him.
The only people Evan truly cared about were his mom—and Lucy Lu.
Back in the Immortal Martial Continent, those two were the ones who supported him most. While everyone else chased immortality, Evan just wanted to break through the void and return to Earth.
Everything and everyone else was just passing clouds to Evan.
Three seats sat empty in the classroom—those were Darren Zhao and his crew. Evan had publicly broken their arms yesterday, and they were still in the hospital.
The other students looked at Evan with complicated eyes, a little afraid—worried he might ‘practice’ on them next if he got annoyed.
Soon, Mr. Zheng appeared at the classroom door. Hands behind his back, expression calm, he scanned the room and finally landed on Evan in the back row. He beckoned: "Evan, come here a moment."
After speaking, Mr. Zheng turned and left.
Evan got up and walked out of the classroom.
As soon as he left, the students who hadn’t dared to speak before started whispering all at once.
"He beat up Darren Zhao, then the homeroom teacher. Now that Evan’s been called out, he’s probably doomed—maybe even expelled."
"I think so too. So what if he’s good at soccer and fighting? He’s just some cocky kid from the countryside—he’ll get what’s coming to him sooner or later."
A group of boys muttered among themselves, all convinced Evan was in big trouble this time.
If he gets expelled, he can’t take the college entrance exam. No exam, no university—he’ll end up waiting tables or doing grunt work. Soccer? Fighting? Those won’t feed you.
Mia Chen looked worriedly toward the classroom door, lost in thought.