In everyone's eyes.
High above in the sky.
"We're screwed."
The seven-inch qi sword in his hand burns with fire, its flame never extinguished.
He lifts his head, facing directly the enormous phantom behind Victor Zhou.
In the phantom's hand, the spell-arts sword that had already struck the ground still glows, its light and shadow undispersed.
The entire sword is broken cleanly into two halves.
Victor Zhou's eyes widen as he lowers his head to look at his heart, which has been pierced through.
There, the wound is shallow and faint.
Yet, tiny flames quietly burn at his heart.
Like a lamp.
"How could you... how could you..."
Victor Zhou still can't believe what he's seeing before his eyes.
In his eyes, the spell-arts sword in front of him is broken cleanly and completely.
"I've already said, your spell-arts are worthless in my eyes."
"Grandmaster Victor Zhou of Hong Kong is nothing special."
Evan Lin said coolly.
He gave a slight flick of his wrist.
In his palm, the qi sword instantly dissipated, vanishing completely.
And in the countless pairs of eyes watching...
As the qi sword in Master Lin from Seacrest's hand vanished, the colossal phantom of Victor Zhou overhead was split cleanly in two at that instant.
The giant Victor Zhou phantom kept burning.
Flames rolled across the sky.
The scene before their eyes was even more brilliant and intense than the fiery clouds he'd swept away with golden light earlier.
The whole sky was ablaze.
The young man stood tall before the flames, upright beneath the sea of fire in the sky.
"Time to rest. Go join your disciple on the road ahead."
With that, Master Lin from Seacrest finished speaking.
Beside him, the fire at Victor Zhou's heart suddenly flared up.
In the blink of an eye...
Victor Zhou was utterly devoured, vanishing without a trace.
"Gone. Just like that."
"Grandmaster Victor Zhou of Hong Kong... just disappeared?"
Everyone stared up at the sky, stunned and rooted to the spot.
Victor Zhou—legend of Hong Kong, famous for years—was gone.
Now, he'd vanished before their eyes, swift and decisive.
"We're finished."
The Li family patriarch saw it all, his legs buckling as he collapsed to the ground.
He looked up at the sky, panic and despair written all over his face—like his spirit had been sucked out in an instant.
"What do we do? What do we do now?"
Leo Li, scorched badly by the fire clouds earlier, looked pale and miserable.
He glanced around, shouting, "Grandmaster Victor Zhou of Hong Kong is gone! He's really gone!"
"What the heck are we supposed to do now?"
"Master Lin from Seacrest will never let us off!"
Leo Li kept shouting, panic rising in his voice.
He was so scared he could barely string words together.
Smack!
Just then, the Li family patriarch rushed over and slapped Leo Li hard across the face.
The slap made Leo Li tremble all over.
"It's all your fault, you worthless son!"
The Li family patriarch glared, furious. "If it weren't for you, how could our Li family have gotten tangled up with Master Lin from Seacrest?"
"Now look what you've done! Just look at us now!"
"You brought disaster right to our doorstep!"
"Our Li family might end up ruined because of you, you useless son!"
The Li family patriarch kept scolding, then suddenly shouted out.
"Someone, tie up Leo Li! Tie him up!"
"Send him to the front gate of Coldspire Peak—make him kneel at the very front!"
"Then, every Li family member, come with me outside Coldspire Peak's mountain gate—kneel and welcome Master Lin from Seacrest!"
The Li family patriarch's voice shook.
He was already frantic with panic.
The Li family's greatest support in Hong Kong was Grandmaster Victor Zhou.
Now that Victor Zhou was totally toast, the Li family had lost their backer—and even worse, they'd pissed off a powerhouse like Master Lin from Seacrest.
At this point...
Their only hope was to kneel for ten miles, just to beg Master Lin from Seacrest for forgiveness.
"But Patriarch, even if we gather everyone in the Li family, we couldn't fill ten miles!"
Someone spoke up, face full of distress.
Ten miles—that's five kilometers!
How many people would it take to kneel for that distance?
"I don't care! I don't care!"
"Use money, hire people—just make them kneel!"
"Get people from the company too! Bring them all here!"
"I'll go first. If we're late and Master Lin from Seacrest thinks the Li family isn't sincere, we're finished!"
The Li family patriarch was frantic and agitated.
He led his people, dragging Leo Li along, and marched toward Coldspire Peak, kneeling first at the front.
Another group took money and went out to Hong Kong, hiring more people to join them.
That day...
The Li family of Hong Kong's ten-mile kneeling to welcome Master Lin from Seacrest shook the entire island.
For a time, the name Master Lin from Seacrest made countless people submit in awe.
Master Lin from Seacrest descended from the sky.
Above, the flames in the sky showed no sign of dying out.
"Let's go."
Master Lin from Seacrest called out to Luo Yaoyi.
He didn't even glance at You Mingdao, Bai Luoshui, or the others nearby.
The Dao Debate Platform, just shattered moments ago, had now returned to its original state.
Luo Yaoyi stood up and walked over.
"You're leaving already?"
Hearing Master Lin from Seacrest's words, Luo Yaoyi suddenly spoke.
"I came here to find Victor Zhou."
"Now that Victor Zhou is gone, my business here is finished."
Master Lin from Seacrest glanced at her.