Next up—it's your turn.
Evan Lin's voice was calm and unruffled, as if he were talking about something utterly trivial.
"Don't get too arrogant!"
A Rowe clansman stepped forward, trying hard to look steady as he faced Evan: "The Elders are nowhere near as strong as our Patriarch!"
"Our Patriarch is still standing right in front of you. Do you really think you can wipe out the Rowe clan single-handed?"
The man's words came out fast, but his voice trembled.
The Rowe clansmen beside him tried to look united against Evan, but most had lost the strength to even speak.
They could only glare at Evan Lin with a mix of grief and fury, expressing their anger with their eyes.
The Ancient Martial Rowe clan.
In centuries past, when had they ever suffered such humiliation?
Now, a youth not even twenty had forced his way in, and not only that—no one in the Rowe clan could even put up the slightest resistance.
He had crushed them all, effortlessly.
"Are you really set on making the Rowe clan your mortal enemy?"
The Rowe Patriarch's expression kept shifting as he clenched his fist, staring at Evan Lin with complicated emotions in his eyes: "Your talent is extraordinary—I have to admit, even I have never seen such a powerful youth."
"But in the end, you're just one person. No matter how strong a man is, he'll run out of strength eventually."
The Rowe Patriarch was about to say more.
But Evan Lin just shook his head, snapped his fingers, and in the next moment—the Four-Directions Sword Array rose up.
Four longswords appeared, hemming the Rowe Patriarch in from all sides.
"Are you really going to fight me?"
Seeing this, the Rowe Patriarch's face twitched. He widened his eyes and stared at Evan Lin: "You'd better think this through!"
"Shouldn't I be asking you that instead?"
Evan Lin shook his head: "Looks like you came out right in the middle of a breakthrough. But honestly, you're just tough on the outside and hollow within."
"Just now, those two idiots, Rowe One and Rowe Two, thought you, the Patriarch, were stronger than them?"
"Right now, I could wipe you out with a single thought. As the Patriarch of the Ancient Martial Rowe clan, are you planning to resist to the bitter end, or are you going to submit and recognize me as your master?"
"Make your choice."
Evan Lin's voice wasn't loud, but he made no effort to hide it. As soon as he spoke, the Rowe Patriarch's face changed instantly.
The Rowe clansmen who were still hoping the Patriarch would turn things around were all stunned on the spot.
"Patriarch!"
"Patriarch, do it now! Destroy him and restore the Ancient Martial Rowe clan's glory!"
"This kid is just talking nonsense! Our Patriarch isn't anything like what he says!"
The Rowe clansmen spoke up one after another, unable to accept Evan Lin's words.
The Rowe Patriarch was always the strongest in the Ancient Martial Rowe clan. As long as he hadn't been defeated, the Rowes hadn't truly lost.
But now, Evan Lin's words were clearly meant to sever their final thread of hope!
"Your Rowe clansmen are talking to you—aren't you going to respond?"
Evan Lin wasn't in any hurry; he watched the Rowe Patriarch with interest, his expression calm.
The Four-Directions Sword Array completely surrounded the Rowe Patriarch. Each sword gleamed coldly, like a snake ready to strike at any moment.
There wasn't much visible qi in the air—just an invisible pressure that weighed on everyone.
"You calculated all this, didn't you?"
The Rowe Patriarch gritted his teeth and, after several moments of silence, finally spoke: "Who are you, really?"
"I'm not interested in scheming against you."
Evan Lin wasn't annoyed: "I can even give you time—I'll wait until you're ready to fight before making a move."
He said it lightly, but in truth, Evan had sensed something was off the moment the Rowe Patriarch appeared.
No matter how terrifying the Patriarch's qi phantom looked, no matter how much he radiated the aura of a powerhouse, these little tricks couldn't escape Evan Lin's eyes.
Right now, the Rowe Patriarch was even weaker than Rowe Two.
All bark, no bite.
Not living up to his reputation.
Hearing the Patriarch's indirect admission, the Rowe clansmen behind him trembled, faces full of disbelief.
Some were so shocked, their eyes filled with pure despair.
When they looked at Evan Lin again, there was still resentment in their eyes, but now fear far outweighed anger.
No one wants to go up against someone so powerful he's unfathomable.
And how old is this kid, anyway?
At his age, to have this kind of strength—give him a little more time, and he'll probably defy the heavens.
"You're right. I'm really not fit to fight right now."
The anger in the Rowe Patriarch's eyes faded. He cared about Rowe One and Rowe Two, and even the fate of the other Rowe clansmen, but not as much as he pretended.
Compared to everyone else, the Patriarch cared more about his own cultivation and strength.
This time, he didn't just come out because the Rowe clan was in danger—the main reason was he'd failed his breakthrough and suffered backlash, leaving him badly injured and only looking strong on the outside.
Otherwise, with his cultivation nearly at the Pointing-to-Mystery realm, he wouldn't have been trapped by that mountain of stone, forced into such a sorry state.
"But on the other hand, there's something you might not know."
At this, the Rowe Patriarch's eyes flickered: "Besides the secret art Rowe One used to squeeze out his potential, our clan has another technique that can let me recover to peak condition for a short time."
"It comes at a huge price, but at my peak, I stand at the very top of first-grade Pointing-to-Mystery."
"Are you really planning to fight me when I'm at that level?"
"I can guarantee you—below first-grade Pointing-to-Mystery, against Rowe One and Rowe Two, I could crush them with one hand!"
"As for all those strange techniques you just used, I could break them with a single finger!"
"So—do you really want to try me?"
As the Rowe Patriarch spoke, his momentum kept rising. His face grew cold and his aura surged, and in just a moment, he seemed to match Evan Lin's winning streak in sheer presence.
"Patriarch mighty!"
"Long live the Patriarch!"
"I knew it! I knew our Ancient Martial Rowe Patriarch couldn't possibly be like that kid said!"
Hearing this, the Rowe clansmen became excited, and their morale, which had just plummeted, soared once again.
Not far away, Daniel Ward and the others watched the youth standing there.
Most of them had never seen the Rowe Patriarch really fight, but just hearing him claim to be at the peak of first-grade Pointing-to-Mystery was enough to show his power.
"If you walk away now, I'll let everything that's happened slide!"
The Rowe Patriarch spoke in a deep voice, hands behind his back, looking every bit the dignified head of a great family.
Everyone turned to look at the youth standing there.
Seeing him silent for so long, they thought he was afraid.
"Are you sure you want to try?"
Evan Lin smiled faintly, squinted his eyes, then stepped forward.