At the desk, Lily Zhong wore a stern expression, but the blush on her pretty face betrayed everything that had just happened.
"Repeat the knowledge points I taught you yesterday." Lily Zhong tried her best to keep her voice steady, flipping through the textbook with her left hand and glaring at Evan Lin across the table.
Evan Lin scratched his head and gave an awkward smile: "Yesterday you talked about the elements that make up cells and the compounds that form cells..."
Evan Lin recited all the knowledge points Lily Zhong had covered yesterday. Hearing him repeat every word without missing a single detail, Lily's expression finally softened.
"Alright, let's continue with new material today. Make sure you remember it—I’ll quiz you again tomorrow."
Lily Zhong opened her textbook. The material she was teaching Evan Lin now was all first-year biology.
Worried that Evan Lin’s memory might lag behind or that he wouldn’t fully understand, Lily taught slowly and with meticulous care.
Evan Lin had already mastered these knowledge points long ago. As he listened to Lily Zhong's explanations, he was also quietly reviewing them in his mind.
Once Lily Zhong entered teaching mode, she was all seriousness, breaking down each knowledge point in a clear and thorough way.
After teaching for over an hour, Lily finally stopped and checked the time. "It’s getting late. Go home and digest these points. If you have any questions, come ask me."
Lily Zhong stood up from her chair and stretched lazily.
As if guarding against Evan Lin’s gaze, Lily Zhong deliberately shifted her body to the side—a little move that only made Evan feel helpless.
After saying goodbye to Lily Zhong, Evan Lin headed home.
"I guess I’ve just fulfilled the lifelong dream of all the guys at school."
"If they found out that the goddess teacher they worship is actually getting up close and personal with a toad like me, I can’t imagine how much hate I’d attract." Evan Lin shook his head.
He couldn’t help but recall the moment when Lily Zhong bent over to put away her clothes, her bathrobe riding up slightly as she moved, revealing her curvy hips...
Evan Lin quickly shook the thought out of his head.
It was already past seven at night. Evan walked toward Brightsea Garden Court, and by the time he got home, it was half past seven.
The lights were on in the Chen family villa. Evan Lin pressed the doorbell.
"Who is it?" Lynn Chen’s lazy, nonchalant voice came through the intercom.
"It's me."
"Oh, Evan Lin? Hold on, I’ve still got things to finish up." Lynn Chen replied in her usual way.
"If Aunt Lu hadn’t always treated me kindly, who would put up with your little attitude?" Evan Lin yawned, guessing Lynn Chen would probably make him wait another ten-plus minutes before opening the door.
So Evan Lin simply left his bag by the door and started jogging around the neighborhood.
"My body needs proper training. At the first layer of Qi-Refining, I still rely on external qi; only at the second layer can I use 'internal breath' and harness internal qi. But right now, the qi vortex at my Bubbling Spring Point isn’t even halfway formed. Breaking through to the next acupoint will take more time."
Jogging through the community, Evan Lin found himself, almost by accident, running past the villa at the foot of Thousand-Saints Mountain.
He glanced at the villa—no lights, no sign of anyone home.
Then Evan looked straight ahead—the road led directly to Thousand-Saints Mountain.
"I’ve never actually gone up this mountain before. Since I’ve got nothing else to do, I might as well check it out."
With that thought, Evan Lin ran up the road, reaching the end and looking up at the stone steps ahead.
These steps weren’t made from concrete and rocks like ordinary stairs, but from single, complete slabs of stone. Each slab was polished smooth, and they all varied slightly in size.
"I’ve heard that this mountain is where the 'Three-Thousand Living Buddhas, One Reed Crossing the River' legend comes from—supposedly three thousand living buddhas spent ten years polishing these steps before attaining nirvana here. Who knows if that’s true."
"Whether it’s Buddhist cultivation or Daoist, on Earth with such thin spiritual qi, even if someone actually practiced Buddhism, I doubt their strength would be all that impressive."
Evan Lin started climbing the steps. Night had already fallen, and tall trees lined both sides of the stairway.
The stone steps seemed endless, and since it was late, there was no one else on the mountain—just the occasional chirping of insects and birds.
Peaceful. Serene.
That was Evan Lin’s most direct impression of the mountain.
Evan had actually climbed this mountain once before, tagging along with Charles Chen’s family and burning a few sticks of incense in a temple at the summit.
But that temple was strange—unlike most temples that enshrine Buddhas, the one on Thousand-Saints Mountain didn’t have a single Buddha statue.
If Evan saw it with his old eyes, it probably wouldn’t seem special, but now, with the gaze of the Nine Mysteries Immortal Lord, it was a whole different picture.
Evan Lin kept climbing the steps, running the Grand Dao Qi-Refining Art as he went—drawing in breath, letting the qi flow through his body, until a faint white mist formed around him.
Halfway up the mountain, he reached a broad, open area—a huge slab of rock, its surface exceptionally smooth, as if it had been sliced clean by a blade.
Instead of continuing up, Evan walked onto the rock. From here, he could overlook all of Brightsea Garden Court, and even see the distant city high-rises—a view that cleared his mind.
At night, a cool breeze rose.
Evan Lin took a deep breath, gazing out at everything before him.
From this angle, cars and crowds looked no bigger than ants.
"Climbing up here for the view—I never expected Thousand-Saints Mountain to have a place like this." Evan lowered his head and glanced at his feet, his gaze sharpening.
Beneath him was a perfectly flat, ocher-colored rock face, almost completely free of bumps or cracks—despite years of wind and rain, there wasn’t a single sign of splitting.
Yet on this extremely smooth rock, a single brownish sprig of grass stood quietly.
The little brown grass looked as if it had weathered autumn winds, ready to wither at any moment.
"Is that..." Evan Lin was stunned when he saw the little sprig.
"Brownrock Grass?" Evan crouched down, inspecting the withered sprig. "Brownrock Grass can strengthen magic tools or puppets, but this one’s just a tiny seedling."
Looking at the small, still-sprouting Brownrock Grass, Evan picked it and examined it closely. "It’s just a common weed back on the Immortal Martial Continent, but finding it here is a pleasant surprise."
Evan tucked the brown sprig into his shirt, turned around, and decided to head home—he was getting hungry.
Suddenly, he noticed three people slowly walking down the stone steps.
One was an upright, commanding elderly man, supported by a young girl, with a black-clad bodyguard in sunglasses at their side.
Evan’s gaze lingered briefly on Molly Su, then shifted to the upright old man, his brows furrowing.
"His qi is unstable. Though he looks vigorous for his age, I suspect he’s suffering from internal illness."
As if sensing Evan’s gaze, the bodyguard suddenly turned, taking a step toward him. In an instant, his whole body tensed—like a drawn bow, ready to spring.
Even through his sunglasses, Evan could sense the killing intent in the bodyguard’s eyes.
That killing intent was nothing like what Evan Lin had seen from Victor Yu’s thugs at Imperial Grand KTV—only people who’ve truly survived mountains of corpses can give off that kind of aura.
Evan Lin stood twenty meters away from the three, meeting the bodyguard’s wary glare with a cold snort—totally unfazed, his face calm as water.
Victor Su was mildly surprised to see Evan Lin standing his ground, his expression unchanged.
His bodyguard had been recruited at great expense from a famous overseas mercenary group, mainly to protect Victor Su personally.
This bodyguard’s presence and fighting power far surpassed most so-called domestic experts. If an ordinary person met his sudden glare, they’d likely pale and freeze up for a moment.
Yet the teenager before them showed no fear, which made Victor Su study Evan Lin a little more closely.
Molly Su also glanced at Evan Lin, her face clear of any extra emotion, her eyes pure.
Evan Lin was unconcerned; all he wanted was to get home for dinner. After all the cultivation and climbing, his stomach was already aching with hunger.
Seeing Evan Lin walking toward them, the bodyguard immediately stepped forward, positioning himself between Evan and Victor Su.
'Stop right there—what do you want?' The bodyguard’s voice was low and menacing, like a beast ready to attack at any moment.
His muscles were taut; even facing a seemingly frail teenager, the bodyguard was on full alert.
'Going home.' Evan Lin replied flatly.
'I said stop!' the bodyguard warned, his voice sharp with threat.
At this late hour, there was no one else on Thousand-Saints Mountain.
Evan Lin’s sudden appearance made his motives suspicious.
The bodyguard had encountered plenty of strange assassins before—most trained from childhood alongside beasts, honing their killing skills in extreme environments.
That’s why some gained extraordinary abilities at a young age.
Evan Lin didn’t stop; there was only one stone stairway down the mountain.
He had no intention of lingering here any longer.
As Evan moved forward again, the bodyguard didn’t hesitate—he lunged at Evan with lightning speed.
He was fast—Victor Su hadn’t expected the teenager to keep advancing, ignoring the warning.
By the time Victor Su tried to stop the bodyguard, it was already too late.
'Poor kid,' Victor Su muttered, frowning.
Anyone targeted by that bodyguard...
At best, they’d be seriously injured; at worst, dead.
Victor Su could already guess Evan Lin’s fate. But since the boy ignored the warning, he could only blame himself.
Victor Su shook his head.
'Molly, let’s go. We’ll find out which family the kid belongs to and apologize later.'
Victor Su was about to leave with Molly Su, but didn’t expect her to stay put.
'Grandpa, something’s off.'
Off?
Victor Su was stunned, turning to look—his eyes full of shock.