Evan Lin sat there, his tone calm and indifferent.
As soon as Evan spoke, Old Master Wu and Martin Wu’s faces froze. When they looked at Evan again, their expressions had completely changed.
You could say Evan Lin was young and reckless, but the vibe he gave off was actually pretty restrained.
“Impressive—never met your match, huh? Young people should have that kind of edge.” Old Master Wu praised, then added, “But do you realize, Butcher Tu is a master among masters? For you to reach the Vajra Realm at your age is extraordinary—your talent is off the charts. Give it a few more decades and maybe you’ll step into first-grade Vajra and have a real shot at facing Butcher Tu.”
“And one more thing to set your mind at ease: Butcher Tu hasn’t left the Guan family estate in years. As long as you don’t go looking for him, he won’t come out for you.”
Even though Old Master Wu admired Evan’s boldness, in his eyes, the gap between Evan and Butcher Tu was still huge.
Butcher Tu had decades more experience—his real-world combat and cultivation were on a terrifying level. Old Master Wu’s last words were meant to reassure Evan.
“If he doesn’t come for me, I’ll go find him when I get the chance.” Evan understood Old Master Wu’s concern, but still shook his head. “This whole mess started because of me, so I should be the one to finish it.”
“I heard Selina Shi got grounded over this, not allowed out, and you’re even planning to send her to the Oceanport Guan family as an apology. That’s why I came today—to talk about this.”
Evan looked at Old Master Wu, his voice steady: “She’s got nothing to do with any of this. I’ll take all the responsibility and deal with the consequences. How about it?”
Old Master Wu fell silent at Evan’s words.
As the two exchanged looks, Wu Tian started to feel uneasy, and Martin Wu’s face shifted a bit. He glanced at Old Master Wu, still thinking about what to say.
After a brief pause, Old Master Wu nodded to Martin Wu and smiled. "Martin, you explain this one."
"Alright."
Martin Wu nodded, looked at Evan, and sighed. The contempt he’d shown before was gone—now he was all seriousness, like talking to a peer. "Selina’s been kept at home, partly because of what happened to Gavin Guan, but also because she asked for it herself."
"She asked for it herself?" Evan frowned, glancing at Wu Tian, who looked just as confused—clearly, he hadn’t known either.
Wu Tian had thought Selina was grounded for protecting Evan and refusing to give up his name, and that she’d be sent to the Guan family as an apology. But now, hearing Martin’s explanation, Wu Tian was stunned.
Martin nodded. "Back when Allen Ju and Warren Wu were still in Capitalview, Selina used to go to school with them. Now that both have left, she’s lost interest in school."
"These days, she’s been studying on her own, prepping for next year’s college entrance exam. And going to the Guan family? That was her own decision too."
Martin paused, worried Evan might not believe him, and added, "The Wu and Guan families have been close for generations. What happened with Gavin Guan made things tense. Selina looks carefree, but she’s not the type to bring trouble to her family. That’s why she made this choice."
Evan was stunned by Martin’s explanation.
If Selina had chosen all this herself, then whatever Evan did now felt kind of pointless.
He’d come here to fix things, but now it looked like he was just making a fuss over nothing.
"Where is she now?" Evan thought for a moment—he still wanted to ask Selina face-to-face.
No matter what, Selina only got dragged into this mess because of him. Evan felt it was his duty to help her settle things once and for all.
"If you want to see her now, it’s not possible. She left a few days ago to travel on her own. She’s always been the type to run off, and we can’t really stop her. If you’re willing to wait, she might be back in a few days."
Martin looked at Evan, speaking earnestly: "After what you did to Tyson Tu, things between you and the Guan family are seriously tense. The safest move is to stay in Jinnan and not rush off to Oceanport."
After a few more words with Old Master Wu and Martin, Old Master Wu had Wu Tian escort Evan and Hugh Hu out.
On the way out, they ran into Wendy Guan, who had just returned. She nodded at Evan in greeting.
Once Evan and Hugh Hu had left, Old Master Wu stayed in the Wu family’s back courtyard, lounging in his grandmaster chair, his eyes fixed on the courtyard wall beside him.
The human-shaped dent in the wall was shocking—and what was even crazier, there wasn’t a single piece of rubble or debris around it.
Normally, if a powerhouse smashed someone into a wall, the whole thing would collapse. But Evan’s punch had pressed Tyson Tu so hard into the wall that it left a perfect human-shaped imprint—without breaking the wall at all.
“His strength is already at fourth-grade Vajra. Give him a few more decades and he might make first-grade, maybe even shatter the Vajra Realm and step up to a whole new level,” Old Master Wu murmured, a hint of awe in his eyes.
“Martin, between him and Austin Guan from the Guan family, who do you think has more potential?”
Old Master Wu turned to Martin Wu, who still hadn’t recovered from everything that just happened.
He snapped to attention at the question, thought for a moment, and said, “Counting age, Austin Guan should be nineteen this year. He hit fourth-grade Vajra at eighteen with Butcher Tu’s personal guidance. He might not have made it to third-grade yet, but he’s definitely way stronger than your typical fourth-grade Vajra.”
“That kid just now looks like he’s also at fourth-grade, but he never had a master like Butcher Tu. In that sense, he’s probably a bit behind.”
Martin answered honestly, lowering his gaze.
“Austin Guan—born into a prestigious family, nineteen years old, fourth-grade Vajra. The Guan clan’s produced a real dragon this time,” Old Master Wu sighed. “If that kid had a master like Butcher Tu, he’d be a perfect son-in-law too. But now…”
Old Master Wu trailed off mid-sentence.
Suddenly, a breeze picked up.
He and Martin instinctively looked up and saw, not far away, a yellowing autumn leaf swirling through the air. It floated down and landed right on the section of courtyard wall Tyson had slammed into.
The leaf gently touched down, and the instant it made contact with the wall—
—the entire wall crumbled silently into dust, right before their eyes.