Evan Lin spoke in a calm, indifferent tone.
Patriarch Yun, still kneeling there, suddenly opened his eyes wide.
All at once, a terrifying possibility flashed through his mind.
"You intend to..."
Patriarch Yun's words were cut off before he could finish.
To those watching nearby, the kneeling Patriarch Yun beside Evan Lin was suddenly engulfed by fierce flames.
The fire raged wildly, and in the blink of an eye, it swallowed him whole.
It took only a few seconds.
Patriarch Yun was reduced to nothing but ashes.
His final words stuck in his throat, never to be spoken again.
Only the charred, blackened floor tiles remained at the spot.
Evan Lin turned around, his gaze passing over every face present. Wherever his eyes landed, everyone instinctively lowered their heads, not daring to look directly.
Is there anyone from the Ma Family still here?
Evan Lin spoke in a calm tone.
No one dared to take a single step forward.
The overwhelming strength Evan Lin just displayed had already completely stunned everyone present.
This time, the Ancient-Martial Ma Family, including Maran Ma, brought thirty-nine people. Now, not a single one is missing—they're all here.
Beside him, Tanya Zhan counted the bodies lying on the ground, including Uncle Cheng from earlier, and looked at Evan Lin with a somewhat complicated expression.
The Ancient-Martial Ma Family brought thirty-nine people.
Now, the only one still breathing is Maran Ma, lying over there on the ground.
The others had already departed.
It's your turn now. Any last words?
Evan Lin walked forward a few steps and stood in front of Maran Ma, lowering his head.
Maran Ma had completely lost his ability to fight; under the force of Evan's qi, he looked especially battered and miserable.
Master Lin from Seacrest!
Maran Ma growled like a beast, his voice hoarse and eyes full of venom: "Remember this."
If you dare oppose my Ancient-Martial Ma Family, you will definitely! You will definitely not...
Maran Ma's words were cut off before he could finish.
He only managed to say the first two words of his curse.
Evan Lin waved his hand with a single motion.
Enough. Save the rest for your next life.
A blast of inner force hit Maran Ma, instantly erasing him where he stood.
The two words he never spoke would never have a chance to be uttered.
Silence.
No one in the entire courtyard dared to make a sound.
Countless people looked at Master Lin from Seacrest standing there, their eyes filled with undisguised awe.
A youth like a god.
He struck like thunder, and in the blink of an eye, had dealt with all the Ma Family members.
It took no effort at all.
Your Zhan Family is still the Zhan Family. If anything like this happens again, just tell me directly.
Evan Lin walked over to the Zhan Family Grand-Patriarch, reached out, and pinched the old man's legs with two fingers.
A series of crackling sounds followed.
The Zhan Grand-Patriarch, who could barely stand before, had his leg bones fully reconnected and completely healed.
He stood up, tears streaming down his wrinkled face.
"From this day forward, the Zhan Family will heed only the orders of Master Lin from Seacrest!"
The Zhan Grand-Patriarch's voice was hoarse as he shouted.
He was excited, exhilarated, and at the same time relieved that he hadn’t compromised in front of the Ma Family, ultimately choosing to stand with Master Lin from Seacrest.
If he had chosen the wrong side, the entire Zhan Family would have faced disaster.
When the Zhan Grand-Patriarch’s words fell, countless faces changed and hearts pounded wildly.
No matter how strong Master Lin from Seacrest was, he was still just one man.
But the Zhan Family had an endless web of connections; offending them would make survival nearly impossible.
Now, hearing the Zhan Family fully submit to Master Lin from Seacrest, everyone sensed no humiliation in the Grand-Patriarch’s words—instead, he sounded proud and delighted.
It was like rushing to become someone’s little brother.
"Should we just leave now?"
Eye-Glasses Guy swallowed nervously, glancing at Muscle Guy, Cold-faced Student, and the other girls nearby.
He was utterly speechless at what he’d just witnessed.
"Let’s go, let’s go. We can’t stay here."
Muscle Guy stepped forward, helped the still-kneeling Cold-faced Student, and led the others, all with heads down, trying to slip away through the crowd.
"Leaving already?"
Behind them, a lazy-sounding voice drifted into their ears.
The group froze, their faces twisted in expressions worse than crying as they stared at the young man walking toward them.
"S-sorry."
Eye-Glasses Guy's throat was dry. Facing Evan Lin, he didn't dare show a hint of dissatisfaction or arrogance anymore.
This was Master Lin from Seacrest, the one who single-handedly wiped out the entire Ma Family!
Even the Zhan Family had submitted, and from the sound of it, the Yun Family had already been crushed by Master Lin from Seacrest as well.
Even Patriarch Yun was reduced to ashes before him, vanished from the world.
Even if they had a hundred times more courage, none of them would dare stand here now.
"Ah, Brother... Master Lin, we were blind, totally blind."
Muscle Guy forced a smile, looking extremely awkward as he tried to apologize.
He'd hoped to build connections with the Zhan Family, but instead he ended up offending the young master himself.
Now Muscle Guy felt like smashing his head into a wall.
"Still standing?"
Evan Lin glanced at him.
Thump.
Without a word, Muscle Guy dropped to his knees.
Then Evan Lin looked at Eye-Glasses Guy.
Thump.
He also immediately knelt.
Next, Evan's gaze fell on Cold-faced Student.
Cold-faced Student's expression kept changing, and everyone's eyes followed Evan's gaze toward him.
When the Ma Family members spoke up earlier, Cold-faced Student was the first to kneel, quick and thorough.
Now, Master Lin from Seacrest was speaking.
Cold-faced Student hesitated several times; just as he was about to kneel, he suddenly felt a force holding him up.
He wanted to kneel, but couldn’t!
"Looks like you have a lot of opinions about me."
Evan Lin sized him up.
"No! No, I don’t!"
"I’ll kneel right now, right now!"
Cold-faced Student’s expression changed wildly. He desperately tried to bend his knees, but the force was too strong. To everyone else, he kept shouting he didn’t have any opinions, but his body only stood straighter and straighter.
Everyone saw his face flush red with fear, but he stood ramrod straight, looking like a spear.
He kept yelling he wanted to kneel, but just wouldn’t kneel.
Cold-faced Student was sweating bullets, frantic.
"This guy’s hardcore!"
"Says he wants to kneel, but his body’s all about never bending!"
"A hero, huh? Daring to mess with Master Lin from Seacrest at a time like this?"
Everyone looked at Cold-faced Student with admiration.
Cold-faced Student was so panicked he burst into tears.
He was scared.
He felt wronged.
He missed his mom.
Since when did he not even have the right to kneel?