Between Heaven and Earth, My Words Must Be Believed

Ben Moran's residence in the Zheng Estate was a quiet courtyard, simply furnished. It was clear he wasn't the type who cared for luxury.

All the way there, Ben Moran wore a faint smile. Every now and then, he'd glance at Evan Lin, his eyes full of genuine admiration.

Once they reached his place, Ben Moran pushed open the door and walked in. After Evan Lin entered, Ben turned and closed the door behind them.

"My injuries were left by an old enemy. He was ruthless—he severed fifteen of my meridians. Because of that, my inner force can't circulate smoothly. Not only is my cultivation stuck, but I'm actually getting weaker day by day."

"And that Thousand-Poison Gu—that was just me being careless."

Ben Moran stood before Evan Lin, shaking his head with a bitter smile.

"Let's deal with your gu poison first."

After listening, Evan Lin spoke blandly, then reached out and tapped his finger to Ben Moran's chest.

Ben Moran's expression changed slightly as he felt a warm current flow from Evan Lin's fingertip. The next moment, a sharp pain shot through his chest, and he instinctively opened his mouth—instantly, a pitch-black centipede-like bug shot out.

The bug had sixteen legs and a vicious look. Forced out of Ben Moran's body by Evan Lin, it flared in anger and shot straight toward Evan, trying to invade him instead.

But before it could get close, Evan Lin casually exhaled a wisp of flame, burning it to ash.

Previously, Evan Lin had forced the Evil Zombie Gu out of Damon Wang. Compared to that, this Thousand-Poison Gu was much weaker. If not for Ben Moran's meridian damage, he could've expelled it himself.

Seeing Evan Lin in action, Ben Moran was visibly surprised—he hadn't expected it to be so easy.

"Next is your meridians. This part might hurt a bit."

With that, Evan Lin tapped out with several fingers, channeling five streams of spiritual qi from his fingertips. Each stream entered Ben Moran's limbs, then spread along his meridians, searching for the damaged spots.

An hour later.

Evan Lin withdrew his hand. Ben Moran stared at him, eyes shining with amazement.

Over the years, he'd tried every method he could think of, and consulted countless so-called experts—but without exception, all had failed.

Ben Moran had assumed Evan Lin was just freakishly strong, but he hadn't expected his medical skills to be this impressive too.

"Thank you!"

Ben Moran could feel his inner force gradually filling up again, power surging in his muscles. For the first time in ages, he felt truly alive.

He clasped his fists, face beaming with joy.

"No need to thank me. Just stay with the Zheng family and do your job well—that's all I ask."

Evan Lin nodded slightly.

Healing Ben Moran—especially reconnecting his meridians—was a delicate job, and it had taken a fair bit out of Evan Lin.

Still, Ben Moran had left a good impression, and besides, Evan didn't want any trouble in the Zheng family right now—otherwise, Zheng Jiayun might get anxious, and that was something he wanted to avoid.

"In a little while, you should be able to recover to peak first-grade Vajra. But looking at you, I get the feeling your original realm was more than just first-grade Vajra, wasn't it?"

Evan Lin glanced at Ben Moran, a playful look in his eyes.

Ben Moran's expression stiffened. He suddenly looked up at Evan Lin, his face shifting through a range of emotions.

"Don't worry. I'm not interested in your secrets, and I don't care why you lost your realm. I just don't like trouble—if you behave yourself and don't cause me any headaches, I won't say a word."

"I'm really not a fan of trouble."

Evan Lin looked at Ben Moran. "But if you do cause me trouble, killing you won't be any harder than killing a chicken."

Ben Moran let out a long sigh of relief, then managed a wry smile. "It's really not much of a secret. What I said was the truth."

"I really was injured—fifteen meridians severed, all true. But my enemy also left a lock inside me, and that's the real root of it all."

"With the lock in place, I'm just a first-grade Vajra. But if it ever opens, I could step straight into the Pointing-to-Mystery Realm..."

Ben Moran glanced at Evan Lin, saw his calm expression, and continued: "The lock doesn't do any harm, and it doesn't affect me day to day. It only appears when I try to condense my inner force."

"The difference between first-grade Vajra and the Pointing-to-Mystery Realm is really just a matter of understanding inner force. Vajra cultivates internal strength, while Pointing-to-Mystery means learning to use external power. But in the end, it's still about gathering inner force—and that lock scatters mine, blocking me from advancing."

Ben Moran exhaled heavily, looked at Evan Lin, and gave a bitter smile. "Since you were able to defeat Morgan Yang, who'd already reached the Pointing-to-Mystery Realm, I suppose you're at that level too?"

"Not even eighteen, and already at the Pointing-to-Mystery Realm... that's monstrous. Maybe in a few years, you'll break through again—who knows."

"As for me... maybe this is as far as I'll ever go."

Ben Moran was full of admiration. Talented youths always inspired more hope than fading heroes.

That razor-sharp edge—ordinary people simply couldn't compare.

"What if I told you I could unlock that lock inside you?"

Evan Lin's tone was calm.

Ben Moran stiffened, hesitating. "That... shouldn't be possible."

"After all, the one who left that lock was..."

He stopped himself mid-sentence, cutting off the rest before he could say more.

"Just do your job well. If I say I can unlock it, then I can. But today isn't the day—maybe when I'm in the mood."

"If I can reach the Pointing-to-Mystery Realm before I'm even eighteen, then in this world, you can trust what I say."

Evan Lin's tone was calm.

Ben Moran trembled all over. He watched Evan Lin's departing figure and bowed deeply, his expression especially complicated.

It was only long after Evan Lin had left that Ben finally straightened, sighed, and muttered to himself, "The power he used to repair my meridians just now..."

Ben Moran seemed to think of something, then sighed again. "A once-in-a-century prodigy!"

Evan Lin left Ben Moran's courtyard. After a few steps, he yawned. "You can come out now—still following me?"

As soon as Evan Lin spoke, a woman emerged from the shadows.

"Is Master Ben's injury healed?" The woman approached Evan Lin gracefully, her voice gentle.

"Are you hoping I'll say yes, or hoping I'll say no?"

Evan Lin turned around, raising an eyebrow as he looked at the woman, a playful glint in his eyes.