Emerging From the Tomb, Shocking Heaven and Earth

"Idiot. Just another puppet."

Evan Lin just shook his head, looking bored.

The man on the Imperial Dragon Throne shot up, his face twisted in rage. "No way!"

"I’ve waited thousands of years—I don’t believe she played me!"

"You dared step into my tomb? Then drop dead!"

He roared, voice echoing off the walls.

As his shout faded, the Ox-Head and Horse-Face Wardens and all the ghost-faced guardians boiled forward, flooding straight at Evan Lin.

These massive figures thundered across the floor, every stomp shaking the whole place.

Their eyes burned red, faces twisted with menace, murder in the air.

"Toss him in the blood pool—let him rot forever!"

The emperor on the throne screamed himself hoarse, desperation in every word.

All around, the Ox-Head and Horse-Face Wardens lunged in, and the ghost-faced guardians just kept coming—so many it was pitch black, a whole tidal wave crashing down.

Evan Lin didn’t even glance back—he just kept moving.

With his hands behind his back, he planted one foot and rocketed straight for the throne.

The Ox-Head and Horse-Face Wardens ahead swung their fists, smashing the ground, but Evan just vaulted up, stomped on one of their heads, and used it as a springboard.

A heartbeat later, Evan landed on the high platform. Staring down the puppet emperor’s savage glare, he grabbed him by the throat and lifted him clean off the ground.

Below the platform, a sea of ghost-faced guardians and Ox-Head and Horse-Face Wardens boiled with chaos.

All of them had been refined as tomb guardians, and now, seeing the emperor dangling in Evan’s grip, they howled and charged.

Suddenly, the calm blood pool erupted. Pale bones surged out, sweeping a whole crowd of ghost-faced guardians into the pool.

In an instant, chaos exploded across the hall.

"You should've died ages ago. Sticking around only brings disaster to the world."

Evan Lin snorted coldly and tossed the emperor straight into the blood pool.

As that shriveled body neared the surface, a giant bone skull in the blood pool snapped its jaws open and swallowed him whole.

Once the emperor's body sank into the blood pool, not a single sound remained.

The ghost-faced men and Ox-Head and Horse-Face Wardens, who'd surged forward like a tide, all scattered. Seeing the emperor vanish for good, they hesitated for a split second—then bolted like beasts escaping a fire.

The Silver Hall fell silent once again.

The Three Maiden Spirits eyed the blood pool below, drooling with greed, then glanced at Evan.

The blood fiend qi in this pool had been condensed for way more than a thousand years.

All the corpses and bones dumped in here day and night made this place a heaven-tier tonic for the Soul-Sacrifice Beauty Scroll.

Once Evan gave a slight nod, the Three Maiden Spirits cheered and dove headfirst into the blood pool.

Evan gazed at the Imperial Dragon Throne in front of him. After countless years, even the carved dragon patterns on it were worn down.

Emperors, heroes, whatever—no matter how legendary you are, if you never step onto the real path to eternal life, you end up as nothing but dust.

Just as Evan was about to leave the high platform, his eyes narrowed—something under the throne caught his attention.

There, he spotted an iron box.

Evan walked over, picked up the box, and immediately felt its surprising weight.

He opened it, revealing a plain-looking iron needle inside.

The moment he picked up the needle, Evan froze in surprise.

“How come I can sense such a strong Water Spirit fluctuation from this thing?”

As he gripped the iron needle, waves of energy surged like a tide, crashing into his palm.

“Well, I’ve got nothing but time. This place is quiet—might as well refine the needle and that Water Spirit stone together.”

Thinking of this, Evan pulled out that deep blue stone he’d snagged at the Beast Arena.

The stone was packed with wild, surging water energy.

Evan sat cross-legged on the throne, left hand gripping the stone, right palm holding the iron needle. He closed his eyes and started running his cultivation method.

Instantly, streams of deep blue light poured from both the stone and the needle, flooding into Evan’s body.

At the same time, a mist of water vapor slowly began to rise from his body.

Down in the blood pool, the Three Maiden Spirits swam wild, gulping down blood. Their eyes sparkled—each mouthful powered them up even more.

Time ticked by, second after second.

In the blink of an eye, more than a month had flown by.

Evan stayed cross-legged on the throne, his whole body glowing with deep blue light.

The iron needle and Water Spirit stone in his hands had already crumbled to dust.

After a long while, Evan slowly opened his eyes.

A faint, deep blue shimmer flashed in his pupils—so dark it looked like an endless pool.

"It’s done."

Evan murmured to himself and slowly stood up. As he rose, water vapor billowed off him in waves.

The next second, Evan stepped out of the Silver Hall’s gate, hands behind his back, striding forward without a word.

……

"Master Lin’s been missing for over a month now. He said he was heading to Thornridge Mountain—did something happen to him?"

Inside Magnolia Manor, Shawn Shi and Dong Zi hid in their room, both looking anxious.

A ton of stuff had gone down in the Ding family these past few days.

Ever since the Underground Boxing King Tournament ended, the name Evan ‘Nine-Mysteries’ Lin was everywhere.

Especially his one-day rampage where he took down a whole lineup of Vajra Realm heavyweights—word spread like wildfire.

Pseudo-Vajra Victor Frost, fifth-grade Vajra Luke Lu, fourth-grade Vajra Gavin Cheng, and of course River City’s number one, Drake Huang—not to mention a spell-cultivating Elder from Medicine King Valley!

With achievements like that, the name Evan ‘Nine-Mysteries’ Lin shook the whole region.

All over Seacrest Prefecture, anyone who mattered was talking about it.

Plenty of people tried to visit this once-in-a-generation prodigy, but most just ended up getting the cold shoulder.

His legend kept spreading, turning into the hottest gossip around.

After a month, though, Evan ‘Nine-Mysteries’ Lin had totally disappeared. The hype started to die down, and people’s attention drifted elsewhere.

But right then, rumors broke out that Elder Shui—the Water Elder, who hadn’t left Medicine King Valley in fifty years—was finally stepping out!

They said that on the day he left, it poured nonstop outside Medicine King Valley for three days straight!

"Word is, Water Elder was tight with Elder Mark Mu in the valley. Now that Elder Mu’s cultivation has been wrecked, Water Elder’s out for revenge!"

"Water Elder’s heading straight for the Ding family in Sunrise City, solo and unstoppable. Rumor is, he’s coming to kill Evan ‘Nine-Mysteries’ Lin as a sacrificial offering!"

The wind and rain outside raged on as rumors flew everywhere.

Meanwhile, inside the Ding family, Shawn Shi and the others weren’t having an easy time.

Water Elder really did show up, and he swore he wouldn’t leave Sunrise City or take a single step out of the Ding estate until Evan returned!

That kind of resolve made the Ding clan start treating Shawn Shi and Dong Zi—Evan’s crew—with a mix of cold mockery and fake smiles.