The coach bus sped along the highway. When Evan Lin arrived in Brightsea City, he got off and headed straight for Brightsea No. 2 High School.
As he walked through the gates of Brightsea No. 2, quite a few people noticed Evan Lin, most of them whispering quietly among themselves.
Evan Lin's first prize in the Provincial Math Olympiad had already become the talk of the entire school over the summer.
The other winner was Rachel Liu, but with her goddess‑level aura and countless halos since childhood, most people only dared to admire her from afar. In contrast, Evan Lin was the dark horse who suddenly burst onto the scene, and his victory stirred up the hearts of many boys who struggled academically.
When he reached the office, Evan saw Old Man Liu. The old teacher was grading papers, but when he saw Evan come in, he nodded slightly: "Your result in this Math Olympiad was excellent. But I hear you're transferring to Jinnan soon?"
Old Man Liu put down his pen and looked at Evan standing in front of him, his gaze gentle.
"Yeah, I only found out about it recently too," Evan replied, nodding slightly at the old teacher. "Thank you for all your guidance during this time, sir."
"Guidance is too strong a word, but Evan, your math talent is truly impressive. I’ve actually discussed this with Professor Gordon Gu from Clearwater University. If you want to pursue mathematics after graduation, just let me know." Old Man Liu smiled.
If anyone else heard these words, they'd probably faint from excitement. But Evan Lin just nodded calmly.
Professor Gu is a giant in the mathematics community and a professor at Clearwater University. For most people, being able to study under him would mean a dazzling future after graduation.
Old Man Liu saw that Evan Lin wasn’t particularly interested, so he didn’t press the issue, just gave Evan a few simple words of advice.
After leaving the office, Evan went by Lily Zhong’s office again, but she wasn’t there. As he walked out the school gate, he didn’t notice Rachel Liu watching from the corridor railing.
Over the summer, Rachel Liu had grown even taller, still as striking as ever. Her waterfall of jet-black hair draped over her shoulders as she gazed at Evan, who was about to walk out the school gate, her eyes dazed and her expression complicated.
Since River City, Rachel Liu hadn’t seen Evan all summer.
“Maybe… we’ll never see each other again.”
Rachel Liu murmured to herself. She felt more than ever that the boy walking out of Brightsea No. 2 High was drifting farther and farther away from her world.
After leaving the school gate, Evan got a call from Lucy Lu halfway down the street.
“Auntie Lu, I know. Yeah, my mom told me already. I’ll probably head to Jinnan this afternoon.”
“Alright.”
On the other end, Lucy Lu first scolded Evan for keeping his phone off so many days and making her worry, then asked when he was heading to Jinnan.
After Evan hung up, he looked up and found himself near Lily Zhong’s apartment, but the windows were closed—she probably wasn’t home.
“Are you… Evan Lin?”
Evan turned at the sound and saw Jessica Jiang standing behind him.
Jessica Jiang was Lily Zhong’s roommate. She still remembered that scene at the amusement park, when Big Tank brought a whole crowd to back up Evan—especially when Big Tank called himself Evan’s ‘dog.’ That moment had left a lasting impression on her.
“Hi.”
Evan recognized Jessica and nodded in greeting.
“Oh wow, I thought I’d mistaken you, but it’s really you.” Jessica saw that Evan’s eyes and demeanor weren’t arrogant at all, which made her relax. She smiled, “You’re here to see Lily, right? She’s not home right now.”
“She’s not home? Where did she go?”
Evan was slightly surprised. He’d drawn a lot of spiritual qi from Lily Zhong before, but he still hadn’t figured it all out.
“I’m not sure. I think she went home. Her dad came by again and made a huge scene, so Lily left afterward.”
Jessica seemed like she wanted to chat more, but seeing that Evan wasn’t much in the mood, she let it go.
After saying goodbye to Jessica, Evan went to find Big Tank. Shawn Shi and Dong Zi, who’d come with him before, were now helping Big Tank with his business. Their skills made them top dogs in Brightsea.
Big Tank’s business was booming now—he didn’t have to hustle for fights or protection gigs anymore. But even as the respected “Boss Big Tank,” he stayed humble in front of Evan.
When Big Tank and his crew heard Evan was leaving Brightsea, they wanted to follow him to Jinnan, but Evan turned them down without hesitation.
Evan didn’t want to drag a bunch of not-so-useful underlings around—more people just meant more trouble. Instead, he told Big Tank to focus on finishing the Whitewood County projects and to quietly look into Lily Zhong’s whereabouts.
As for Lily Zhong, Evan didn’t have any hard feelings—in fact, he was a little grateful. After all, he’d gotten plenty of spiritual qi from her.
By evening, Big Tank was driving, with Shawn Shi and Dong Zi riding along. More than ten Mercedes led the way, escorting Evan to the Brightsea City train station.
The show of force was enough to make plenty of people along the way drop their jaws. Evan sat in the car, watching the city scenery flash by outside the window, his mood growing heavier.
"Once I get to Jinnan, I’ll finally be able to refine Molly Su’s Fire Spirit Physique."
"And the spirit spring inside Jill Jing’s body—I still don’t know who planted it there, but when it matures, I’ll have to fight whoever did it."
"And there’s still the Miracle Hand Pill Conference."
"Sooner or later, I’ll have to make a trip to Oceanport City too."
Evan’s mind raced, running through all these matters one by one.
He couldn’t shake the words Fang You’s mother had said before. No matter what, anyone who dares stand in Evan Nine Mysteries Lin’s way—either never gets born, or dies.
Evan’s gaze sharpened, his aura fierce and unstoppable.
"Besides, there’s Mo Yang, Drake Huang’s master. Who knows when he’ll come out of seclusion."
Evan stayed calm, his mind clear and steady.
The convoy stopped outside the Brightsea City train station.
Evan got out of the car. Big Tank lined his men up in front of the cars; all of them shouted together, “Respectfully sending off the boss!”
In that moment, everyone around couldn’t help but stare.