After leaving the Moore family, Mason Mu sent someone to drive Evan Lin back to Capitalview City.
Melissa Mu was reluctant to part, but she understood even more clearly now: she and Evan Lin simply lived in different worlds.
After Mason Mu took control of the Moore family, he quickly began purging Martin Mu’s loyalists.
The events of the Moore Family Arena Tournament stirred up a huge commotion across Jinnan.
Even wilder rumors spread: Master Lin from Seacrest broke two Misty Rain Swords of the Southriver Sword Sect, pulled the Moore Family Sword from their estate, and crushed the sect’s top prodigy, Drake Yu, in a flawless victory.
Stories flew everywhere, but this time, neither the Su nor Lin families sent anyone to check it out. To them, these tales sounded almost like a joke.
Could the mighty Drake Yu of the Southriver Sword Sect really lose to some so-called Master Lin from Seacrest?
Even more ridiculous, the rumors claimed that Master Lin broke Drake Yu’s Misty Rain Sword using pure swordsmanship alone—so most people just doubted the whole thing.
Everyone knows the Southriver Sword Sect is famous for its sword arts. No matter how talented Master Lin is, could he really outdo Drake Yu in swordsmanship?
People just laughed it off and used it as gossip over tea, talking about it with great relish.
After the Moore Family Arena Tournament, neither Bob Moore nor Martin Mu appeared in public for days. Only Melissa Mu and the long-absent Mason Mu stepped forward, taking charge and reorganizing all Moore family businesses.
Evan Lin, the one who started it all, was just stepping out of the car right now.
The person who drove Evan Lin back to Capitalview was Uncle Victor Li.
Uncle Victor Li was considered one of the Moore family’s rare experts. Mason Mu’s decision to send him personally showed just how much respect they now had for Evan Lin.
"If Young Lord ever needs anything, just say the word."
Uncle Victor Li looked at Evan Lin with deep respect.
"You can head back."
Evan Lin waved his hand, carrying Dustleave in one hand as he returned to his room.
Uncle Victor Li waited until Evan Lin’s figure disappeared before driving away, retracing his route back to the Moore estate.
It was exactly noon. Irene Xu and Stella Huang were both at work, so the house was empty.
Back in his own room, Evan Lin found a spot and set Dustleave down carefully.
"This sword is still way too big. Unlike the Soul-Sacrifice Beauty Scroll or the Scarlet Flame Command, it’s a pain to carry around. If only I had a storage-space artifact."
Evan Lin frowned. A storage-space artifact is something that can instantly shrink objects and open up a separate space inside for storing things. Super convenient to carry.
But on Earth right now, who knows if such things even exist.
"Guess I’ll need a longer backpack at this rate."
Evan Lin shook his head and decided to stop thinking about it for now.
He took a shower and changed into fresh clothes.
Classes at Capitalview First High start at 2:30 in the afternoon.
By one o’clock, Evan Lin was done getting ready and went out for a quick bite. He hadn’t planned to go to school that afternoon, but then Joy Zheng called him.
On the other end, Joy Zheng sounded annoyed. After Evan picked up, she didn’t say anything for a long while.
"Hey, Mom, what’s up?" Evan Lin walked down the street, forcing a bitter smile.
"What’s up? You tell me, Evan! Did you skip class again?" Joy Zheng’s voice was clearly annoyed on the other end.
These last few days, a teacher from Capitalview First High had called her, asking if something had happened at home. Joy Zheng was left confused and even more worried.
Later, Joy Zheng found out Evan Lin hadn’t gone to school for several days—and he’d bombed the last exam too.
That was enough to make Joy Zheng super anxious. She tried calling Evan a few times, but he never picked up, which freaked her out even more. She was terrified something had happened to him.
Now, finally hearing Evan’s voice on the phone, Joy Zheng relaxed a little—then remembered to be angry.
"Something came up, but I’m back now. I’ll head to school in a bit." Evan listened to his mom’s endless nagging, not annoyed at all—in fact, he was extra patient.
"Evan, I’ll say it again: take care of yourself out there, and stay safe. And if you can put in some effort at school, don’t slack off so easily."
"The college entrance exam is a one-way bridge, Evan. I hope you’ll take it seriously. Now that you’re at Capitalview First High, I want you to treasure this chance—don’t waste it."
Joy Zheng went on and on.
Evan Lin listened carefully and promised over and over that he’d do well on the next monthly exam and wouldn’t let her down. Only then did Joy Zheng hang up.
"Grades don’t really matter to me, but with everything going on in this life, maybe I won’t get another chance to experience all this. Might as well treat it as a break."
He put his phone back in his pocket, checked the time, and then wandered off toward Capitalview First High.
Going to school was just a way to relax—and also to keep Joy Zheng from worrying herself sick over him.
"So... bad exam results, huh?"
Evan Lin remembered what Joy Zheng said on the phone. He could clearly sense her disappointment.
No matter how many times Mom says grades aren’t that important, and that health comes first, as a teacher, she probably still hopes she can brag about her kid’s grades someday—not just about how much money he makes.
Thinking about this, Evan Lin couldn’t help but smile. Sometimes, his mom was still a little childish herself.
But still, those bad exam results...
That part was still a bit of a mystery to him.
"I didn’t even take the last monthly exam, so of course there was no score. Byron Yang did have us take a science test, though—it was easy. On a 300-point test, I should’ve gotten at least 270. How could my results be ‘bad’? Does everyone at Capitalview First High get perfect scores or something?"
Evan Lin shook his head, finding it all absurd.
At two o’clock, Evan Lin arrived at Capitalview First High. As he entered the school gate and headed for his classroom, he happened to see Lynn Chen and Eric Yu coming out of the teacher’s office, homework in hand.
Lynn Chen was walking alongside Eric Yu.
The bruises on Eric Yu’s face had faded a lot, and he was starting to look handsome again.
He turned to talk to Lynn Chen, but she seemed distracted, head down and silent, lost in thought.