Evan Lin sat there, relaxed and at ease.
The Three Maiden Spirits stood flanking him.
Now, each of the Three Maiden Spirits was already close to first-grade Vajra strength.
The Blue-Flame Blood Python still remained inside Evan Lin’s Spatial Ring.
But ever since the Blue-Flame Blood Python gathered the remains of various Vajra and Pointing-to-Mystery experts, it had fallen into a deep sleep.
If Evan hadn’t checked carefully, he probably wouldn’t even have noticed its presence.
It seemed that after being enlightened by the Left-Hand Dragon, the Blue-Flame Blood Python was undergoing a series of transformations.
This was its opportunity.
Evan had no intention of disturbing it, just letting it be.
"Nephew, you've waited long enough."
The Liang family patriarch walked out from the villa hall, came up beside Evan Lin, and plastered a warm, eager smile on his face—his gaze full of ambition and the urge to win Evan over.
Hearing the patriarch’s words, the Liang clan members who knew the inside story exchanged secretive looks. Meanwhile, the other families—those who didn’t know what was happening—mostly shot Evan Lin suspicious, puzzled glances.
The young man before them looked totally ordinary—nothing about him seemed worthy of the Liang patriarch’s attention. Naturally, a wave of speculation started spreading among the crowd.
Some who’d seen Evan Lin in action before understood just how terrifying he was, and began explaining things to the others.
Word was, Evan Lin had caught the eye of the Shang clan. With that, everything suddenly made sense.
"The one I’m waiting for isn’t you."
Evan Lin shot him a calm glance. As soon as those words came out, the Liang patriarch’s voice stalled. Though he felt annoyed inside, he didn’t push the issue any further.
In his eyes, Evan Lin was now tied to his own bright future—especially that ten billion yuan the kid supposedly brought along, enough to make anyone’s heart race.
"No problem, no problem."
The Liang patriarch smiled. "Your friend, Sisi Shao, she’s over in the hall chatting with the Shang patriarch. She’s perfectly safe, so don’t worry. If she doesn’t come over soon, you can just go in and find her yourself."
The Liang patriarch still thought Evan Lin was waiting for Sisi Shao.
He had just finished speaking.
“Right, Sisi might end up as Ben’s wife someday. You’re her friend, so that makes you a friend of the Liang family. And since the Liangs and the Shangs are tight, you’ll have a great connection with the Shang family too.”
Ben Liang’s mom nodded eagerly. “So later, you can go meet the Shang patriarch—get your face known.”
“With the Liang family backing you, the Shang patriarch will definitely be willing to see you.”
She spoke with exaggerated pride, deliberately loud and full of confidence.
The Liang patriarch nodded along in agreement.
As long as this kid cooperates and hands over his ten billion yuan, he’ll have a solid foothold with the Shang family.
Best case, Evan Lin will be grateful to the Liangs for helping him out.
But if he refuses to play nice—if he doesn’t know what’s good for him—the Shang family will take care of things.
The Liang patriarch just needed to keep Evan Lin steady for now; once the Shang patriarch was ready to see him, he’d bring Evan over. Simple as that.
“I actually want to meet him too,” Evan said, casually.
Evan Lin’s calm reply made the Liang patriarch’s face light up with excitement. He thought Evan was finally getting smart—ready to hand over his ten billion yuan to the Shang family.
“That’s best,” the patriarch said.
The Liang patriarch laughed heartily, exchanged a knowing look with Ben Liang’s mom, and the two of them grinned in tacit understanding.
While this chatter kept rolling, on the other side—
A black Honda came roaring in from outside the compound.
The car reflected cold, sharp glints in the sunlight. The plates were fake, and the man driving had eyes like blades—clearly no ordinary fighter.
The car sped straight into the Shang family villa compound, nobody stopping it, no obstacles at all. On the way, it even slammed into a few second-generation heirs walking on the road, sending them flying.
The guys who got hit howled in pain, but not a single one dared step up and demand justice from the driver.
“Payne Shang is back!”
“What could’ve happened to make the Shang clan’s second uncle drive himself?”
“He’s a Pointing-to-Mystery-Realm powerhouse—who could be important enough for the Shang family to treat them like this?”
As the people got out of the car, the crowd erupted in shocked whispers.
Evan Lin turned his head to look.
Second uncle Payne Shang, third uncle Sheldon Shang, fourth uncle Mason Shang—
Plus Quentin Shang, the one Evan took out in Beijing.
Right now, Evan saw four members of the Shang clan.
Three Pointing-to-Mystery-Realm experts and one first-grade Vajra.
This was pretty much the Shang clan’s strongest lineup.
What surprised Evan Lin a bit was that the Shang clan actually had at least three Pointing-to-Mystery-Realm experts—and that’s not counting any others he hadn’t met yet.
It really showed just how powerful these families were around the capital.
As for the ancient-martial Rowe clan, they probably had even more heavy hitters.
“See that? Payne Shang is a huge deal around here,” someone whispered.
The Liang patriarch saw Evan Lin watching and jumped in: “If it weren’t for the Liang family, you’d never get a chance to see someone like that in your whole life.”
“Those guys are the cream of the crop—absolute monsters, terrifyingly strong.”
The Liang patriarch was about to keep hyping up the Shang clan, hoping Evan would be awed enough to obediently hand over his money when the Shang family asked.
“The people I’ve been waiting for are here,” Evan said.
The Liang patriarch hadn’t finished his spiel before Evan’s words made him freeze. “The people you’re waiting for?”
“Who exactly are you waiting for?”
The Liang patriarch frowned, totally confused.
The first time Evan Lin said something like this, he hadn’t paid it any mind—but now Evan had said it again.
Was this guy some distant relative of the Shang clan?
The Liang patriarch followed Evan’s gaze and turned to look.
He saw a few more people getting out of the car.
One was a burly man tied up with hemp rope, unconscious and covered in blood.
Even lying down, the guy’s build was impossible to ignore—a human tank.
The other was a frail old man, barely alive, his eyes swollen shut, skin split and bleeding, looking like he had only a breath left.
The last two men each grabbed one captive by the arm. They were big, muscular—and clearly the Shang clan’s other Pointing-to-Mystery-Realm experts.
None of them spared a glance for the crowd of second-generation heirs and family members gathered nearby. They marched straight toward the Shang family villa.
Their stride was powerful, unstoppable.
In just a few steps, they disappeared inside the Shang family villa.
And at that very moment—
The young man sitting there finished the last sip of water in his glass, then slowly stood up.