Seeing that message, Ryan Ling nearly shot straight up from the bed. He crushed his phone in an instant, and his rage shook the whole room so hard it felt like an earthquake.
You can insult me, but never my parents—especially when they’re already gone. For Peter Ling to use them as leverage against me? Of course I’m furious.
"Was that an earthquake?" Tina Tian jumped up in bed, her face pale at Ryan’s twisted expression. She was so scared she didn’t even dare to speak.
“Peter Ling, you’re seriously asking for it!” Ryan spat, the phone in his hand already reduced to a mangled lump of scrap.
After a few minutes, Ryan finally managed to calm down a bit and regain some composure.
"Sorry, Teacher Tian—I didn’t mean to scare you." Ryan turned and glanced at Tina Tian.
"N-no, it’s fine! You must be dealing with something serious, right? Do you need my help?" Tina scooted closer, then suddenly realized she wasn’t wearing anything and quickly wrapped herself up in the blanket.
"No need. Your illness is pretty much cured now. I’ve got something urgent to deal with, so I have to go!" Ryan took a deep breath, his mind in total chaos.
"Okay!" Tina nodded, but instantly grabbed Ryan’s hand, blurting out, "Will—will I still get to see you? You’re my first man, after all! Even if it was just for treatment!"
"Silly, you’re my teacher. I still have to come to class!" Ryan turned back and gave Tina a gentle smile.
"Right, but when other people are around, call me 'Teacher.' When it’s just us, can you—can you call me Yao-Yao?" Tina blushed and lowered her head.
"Sure, no problem!" Ryan nodded immediately, thinking to himself how adorable this teacher really was.
"Wait!" Just as Ryan was about to leave, Tina suddenly hugged him from behind, acting all clingy: "I really want to stay with you a little longer, even if it’s just one more minute!"
"Come here!" Ryan spun around and kissed her right away. Tina was caught off guard at first, but quickly melted into it and kissed him back, enjoying every second.
They kissed for a good two or three minutes—long enough that Tina’s lips went numb and she finally let Ryan go.
"Alright, you should go now. My tongue’s gone numb—I really can’t take any more!" Tina said, cheeks flushed.
"That’s all you can handle? Next time I’ll just kiss you somewhere else!" Ryan teased, giving Tina’s butt a playful squeeze.
"You little devil, Ryan Ling—just wait and see how I’ll keep you in line at school!" Tina squealed.
"No worries—in class, you’re the boss. After class, I’m the boss. The bathroom, the office, the little grove—anywhere works!" Ryan finished, dodging a playful punch from Tina.
"Alright, get going, you little perv!" Tina laughed, shoving Ryan out the door.
But when Tina turned around for one last look, Ryan was already gone!
...
After leaving Tina’s place, Ryan went straight to Lily Yan. He knew Peter Ling was just trying to embarrass him—his own branch had been humiliated, and Peter even spent a night in the police station. There’s no way his family would let this go. But Ryan never expected Peter to drag his parents’ spirit tablets into it. That hit Ryan’s most sensitive nerve.
"Master, your prediction was spot on—Peter Ling really does want to use this so-called ancestral ceremony to hit you with family law. He even invited some local celebrities, hoping to stomp on your reputation as a rising star!" Lily Yan reported, clearly having done her homework.
"Peter Ling, Jinling noble? What a joke—he’s just a smuggling-made upstart. If he wants to play, we’ll play. You get some fake celebrities, we’ll get some real ones. Let’s see whose guest list wins!" Angie Chen snapped, fired up by Ryan’s story.
"Exactly! Honestly, just the Yan Family alone could crush Peter Ling. The Yan clan is one of Jinling’s Four Great Houses—he probably couldn’t invite them even if he tried!" Sophie Su chimed in, clearly having gotten close with Lily Yan these past few days.
"No problem—the Yan Family will back Master all the way. However many people you need, just say the word!" Lily Yan nodded eagerly, clearly excited.
"I think the Yan Family alone isn’t enough. I know Peter Ling—he’s the kind of rat who always finds loopholes. If we’re going to hit back, it needs to be a full-on sea, land, and air face-crushing operation. Plus, this is Ryan’s first time honoring his ancestors and his parents. We should go all out, make it a high-profile spectacle, and let Peter Ling—and everyone who ever looked down on us—see that Ryan is now East River State’s number one, a big shot with real clout!" Lily Liu, Ryan’s big sister, was clearly fired up. She remembered all too well how Peter Ling used to bully their family.
She continued, "So I’m thinking, first wave: all the heroes from Haizhou, plus Herb-King Sun from Wuzhou, Angie’s family in the Provincial Capital, and Commander Gabriel Xue—these East River State big shots all need to be there. Second wave: outside the province. Ryan’s epic battle in the Provincial Capital made waves—even if the news was suppressed, anyone who really knows will want in. I guarantee at least half the surviving Void-Realm masters in the three neighboring provinces will show up if Ryan invites them. Third wave: Jinling City itself. The Yan Family, obviously, and Lily will handle that, plus the Jinling Military Region. Ryan’s a major general now, so at least a few division commanders should come, and with Commander Gabriel Xue’s reputation, even corps commanders aren’t out of the question. With these three waves, we’ll drown Peter Ling in the East Sea—he’ll never recover!"
"Sis, you really are the best—this plan is genius! I’m in awe!"
"I’m in awe too!"
"Totally in awe—bowing down over here!"
Angie, Lily Yan, and Sophie all joined in, laughing and pretending to bow.
(This chapter isn’t over yet~.~ Click next page for more awesome content!)
"Alright, enough flattery! At the end of the day, it’s all because Ryan’s skills and strength are on another level—he’s the reason everyone’s paying attention!" Lily Liu finished, and all the girls nodded. Clearly, in their eyes, Ryan wasn’t just powerful—he was getting more handsome by the day.
"Ryan, count me in too! That Peter Ling is scum, threatening you with your parents’ spirit tablets—he deserves whatever’s coming. Don’t worry, on ancestor-worship day, I’ll show up with Granny Soul and a bunch of old ghost-clan brothers to back you up. I’d like to see anyone try to touch your parents!" Even the System was fired up, shouting from inside Ryan.
"Thank you. My parents were kind and honest—they endured humiliations nobody else could imagine. Now it’s time for them to finally hold their heads high. As their son, it’s my turn to honor them." Ryan’s eyes grew misty as he listened to the System.
...
Over the next few days, Peter Ling threw himself into preparing the Ling Family of Jinling’s first ancestral grand ceremony. The event was set for Jinling’s famous Confucius Temple—a holy site honoring Confucius, one of China’s Four Great Cultural Temples, where major families hold ancestral rites to flaunt their status and glory.
While Peter Ling hustled all over, inviting guests and arranging the ceremony, Ryan’s side was just as busy. Jason Lin, Harvey "Million" Jin, Warren Yuan, and the rest of the brothers fanned out to deliver invitations. Commander Gabriel Xue even sent soldiers to invite key figures. By now, everyone in the know had heard of Ryan’s reputation.
Ryan became famous after the East River State war. When word got out that he was inviting people, they were thrilled to accept—especially since the Jiangnan Martial Arts Tournament was about to kick off in Jinling. Many top fighters planned to sign up, and meeting the hottest, most mysterious figure in the region before the tournament was a huge honor.
With Commander Gabriel Xue personally leading the charge, not just division and regiment commanders but all corps-level officers showed up. Partly to give Gabriel face as the new Jiangdong Special Operations Corps commander, and partly for Ryan—the eighteen-year-old major general with unlimited potential!
With everything in place, the Ling Family’s ancestral grand ceremony was finally ready to begin...