A voice fell from the sky.
The cold, distant tone rode the high-altitude wind, pouring into the ears of everyone across Hong Kong Island.
"Who’s talking?" On the street, hurried pedestrians raised their heads in confusion, looking up at the sky.
"Whoa, did I hear that right? The Hong Kong Li family? Victor Zhou? Who would dare talk to them like that?" Someone was full of questions, utterly incredulous.
If the lingering echo hadn’t kept vibrating in their ears, stimulating their nerves, most people would’ve thought it was just an auditory hallucination.
On the street, people sitting in their cars poked their heads out the windows, searching all around.
Inside the skyscrapers, busy office workers snapped out of their routines, peering through giant glass windows at the sky.
All of Hong Kong Island was gripped by an eerily strange mood at that moment.
Countless voices erupted in instant debate.
The reporters who’d been camped out in front of the hotel, waiting for celebrities and planning to snap photos and write up stories, suddenly snapped out of it. Each grabbed their camera and pointed it at the sky, capturing the lingering rainbow that refused to fade.
People were already making calls, reaching out to every connection they had, trying to track down the source of that mysterious voice.
This was the kind of news that could blow up all of Hong Kong Island. Whoever got the first scoop would become famous overnight.
But even as the reporters dialed nonstop, phones ringing everywhere, nobody could pinpoint the source of that voice.
"Master Lin from Seacrest? When did Hong Kong get a Seacrest—and a Master Lin?"
A reporter who’d made several calls and still come up empty frowned, looking anxious.
"No clue. But this so-called Master Lin actually dares to mess with the Li family and Grandmaster Victor Zhou? He must have a death wish!" Another reporter, after multiple calls, still hadn’t found any useful leads.
He gave up, pulled a laptop from his backpack, and decided to just make up a story, truth be damned.
The headline: "Reliable sources say Master Lin was once Grandmaster Victor Zhou’s discarded disciple! This time he’s back for revenge!"
As soon as he logged onto the website, he saw those kinds of headlines already plastered all over the internet.
Everyone on Hong Kong Island was talking about it.
Speculation and curiosity exploded everywhere, flooding the internet.
After all, anyone who can stir up a supernatural phenomenon and broadcast their voice across all of Hong Kong—like this so-called Master Lin from Seacrest—definitely isn’t weak.
“Is Grandmaster Victor Zhou going to respond?”
“I doubt it. Grandmaster Victor Zhou is on a whole other level. He can’t just answer every random challenger, right? Does that Master Lin from Seacrest think he can ride Zhou’s name to the top?”
“Grandmaster Victor Zhou, hurry up and come out! Crush that Master Lin from Seacrest! This guy’s way too cocky!”
The forums were blowing up. Netizens were going wild.
All sorts of rumors started spreading and fermenting at the same time.
Some people pointed out that this Master Lin from Seacrest was probably the guy who recently drove Leo Li of the Hong Kong Li family out of Oceanport, and that’s why he’s got beef with the Li family now.
But the real story got buried under a mountain of gossip and speculation, so not many paid attention.
A single stone can stir up a thousand waves.
Hong Kong, Mid-Levels Villa District.
This is the most famous rich people’s neighborhood in Hong Kong.
Compared to those pigeonhole-sized apartments in the slums, these villas are built into the mountains and cover huge areas.
Only celebrities and big-shot tycoons can afford to live here in Hong Kong.
In the courtyard of the largest villa in the Mid-Levels, an old man who’d been napping in a chair now opened his eyes and stared at the rainbow in the distant sky.
He listened to the voice that had just echoed across the city, his expression turning cold and fierce.
“Master Lin! That Master Lin from Seacrest really followed us here!”
Inside the villa, a man covered in burn scars and sitting in a wheelchair was pushed out by someone.
His face was hideous now, nothing like he’d looked when he first went to Oceanport.
This was none other than Leo Li, the guy Master Lin had kicked out of Oceanport.
He’d been sleeping over there, but ever since barely escaping the fire in Oceanport, Leo Li’s legs were completely ruined.
He came home for treatment, but the burns were so bad he just hid in his room, refusing to see anyone.
Now, hearing that familiar yet strange young voice echo in his ears, he was so fired up he shouted at the old man sitting there.
“He said he’d come to Hong Kong in seven days—and he really did! He’s actually here!”
“That damn Master Lin from Seacrest! I’ll make sure he never leaves alive!”
Leo Li howled, furious like a wild beast.
The old man frowned and glanced at Leo Li, his tone icy: “We sent you to Oceanport to negotiate with Angel Epoch.”
But you went behind our backs, got Grandmaster Victor Zhou’s disciple involved, used the Beauty Pill as a springboard, and had Grandmaster Victor Zhou help you copy the Youth-Preserving Beauty Pill. You tried to snatch their whole market—and even planned to swallow Angel Epoch’s entire company and pill formula?
The old man’s voice was calm as he looked back at the rainbow in the sky. That rainbow only grew brighter, showing no sign of fading.
Hearing the old man’s words, Leo Li—who’d been hyped up in his wheelchair—instantly turned pale.
When Angel Epoch’s Beauty Pill hit Hong Kong, the Li family saw the business opportunity right away.
So they planned to send someone to negotiate with Angel Epoch, hoping to snag exclusive agency rights in Hong Kong.
But Leo Li went off-script, trying to play snake swallowing dragon—he wanted to grab the whole company, pill formula, and production process all at once.
But in the end, he got totally wrecked.
“The mess you’re in now? You brought it on yourself.”
The old man’s words were ice-cold, making Leo Li shudder all over.
“Do you realize what you did wrong?”
The old man pressed him again.
“Yeah, I messed up... I screwed up.”
Leo Li lowered his head, biting his lip, full of unwillingness.
“What exactly did you do wrong?”
The old man was in no hurry, his voice as cold and indifferent as ever.
“I messed up by not sticking to the plan, by getting arrogant, by trying to bite off more than I could chew, by making decisions on my own, by trying to forcefully swallow Angel Epoch…”
Before Leo Li could finish, the old man suddenly grabbed the teapot on the table and smashed it at him with a loud crack.
The teapot hit Leo Li’s head. He didn’t dare dodge, grimacing in pain but not making a sound.
The teapot hit the floor and shattered.
The old man stood up and glared at him. “You didn’t mess up by being arrogant, or by acting alone, or by trying to swallow Angel Epoch in one go.”
“You messed up because you failed!”
“Master Lin from Seacrest? That kind of trash actually dares to challenge the prestige of the Hong Kong Li family?”
“Who does he think he is?”
“You should’ve died in Oceanport—then Master Lin wouldn’t have followed us to Hong Kong, chasing after the Li family like a dog biting at our heels.”
“If word gets out, won’t people laugh at the Li family for not even being able to kill a dog?”