"Acquired NewAir Airlines?"
Evan Lin was stunned for a moment when he heard Autumn Zheng's words.
He'd called Leon Zheng to ask for a little help, just hoping Leon would use the family’s influence to put some pressure on them. He never expected Leon to be so decisive—he went ahead and directly acquired the whole company?
Facing Autumn Zheng’s gaze, Evan Lin nodded, not bothering to deny it.
"I thought so. The takeover was so sudden—it mobilized a huge amount of capital in one go. But NewAir Airlines has good prospects, so it counts as an investment."
Autumn Zheng didn’t dig deeper into the reasons. She could tell Evan Lin didn’t really want to get bogged down in this topic.
During lunch, Autumn Zheng and Evan Lin chatted about a bunch of recent happenings at school—stuff that seemed kind of distant from the Evan Lin of today.
When Evan first came back to this world, he just wanted to live like a normal person. But now, more and more things keep piling up.
The Moonshade people hadn’t contacted Evan Lin yet, and he wasn’t in any hurry to go looking for them.
Sometimes, Evan Lin would recall the Orthodox Lin Clan. But ever since he defeated Blake Lin that day, everything about the Orthodox Lin Clan seemed to have vanished from his world.
After lunch, Evan Lin walked Autumn Zheng back to campus. Then he headed alone toward the athletic field, found a quiet corner, and sat down. He glanced at the man in blue robes drinking from a wine gourd not far away, his eyes indifferent.
"You've been tailing me for so long—why not just come out and have a meal together?"
Evan Lin's tone was casual. He’d already noticed Azure Dragon following him back when he went to find Autumn Zheng.
The king-level powerhouse of Hidden Dragon—the man in blue robes whose legend is everywhere—had his longsword hanging at his waist. Even though he appeared in a bustling school, not a single person noticed his presence.
"Not hungry."
Azure Dragon replied simply. As he spoke, his gaze stayed fixed on the distance—watching the students playing basketball, with girls cheering around the court. The whole scene was lively and peaceful.
Further out was the teaching building where Autumn Zheng’s office was located.
"Did you come here to spar with me?"
Evan Lin shifted positions, pillowing his head on his hands and lounging back on the stone steps of the field, blue sky overhead and a breeze on his face—pretty comfortable, honestly.
"I'm here to deliver a message."
Azure Dragon’s tone was as calm as ever. Unless he was in front of Autumn Zheng, he always gave off a restrained, razor-sharp vibe.
It was like the weight you feel after a sword is sharpened—heavy and quiet. But every so often, Azure Dragon would suddenly radiate a massive aura you just couldn’t ignore.
"Go ahead."
Evan Lin yawned. Lunch hadn’t needed to drag on so long—he was just curious about Azure Dragon’s patience.
Though honestly, that patience seemed reserved for Autumn Zheng alone.
Still, Evan Lin was also curious—how could someone as strong as Azure Dragon, a top Hidden Dragon operative, not even have the guts to face Autumn Zheng?
"Did you hear about the anomaly in Hong Kong a while back?" Azure Dragon’s eyes were calm, his robes fluttering lightly.
"Yeah," Evan Lin nodded, not bothering to explain further.
Evan Lin didn’t care how much Azure Dragon knew about the inside story. For people like them, Heavenly Tribulation was something nobody could really understand anyway.
The anomaly over there loosened the barrier of the Mysterious Ruins. Now is the perfect time to enter.
Azure Dragon explained further, worried Evan Lin might not get it: "The Mysterious Ruins are places passed down from ages ago. There are all kinds of strange beasts and phenomena there, along with magical artifacts and array formations."
"Hidden Dragon and Moonshade have spent years developing these Mysterious Ruins—exploring, searching for their secrets, and making sure their existence doesn’t upset the balance of the world."
As Azure Dragon spoke, his gaze shifted to Evan Lin.
He saw Evan Lin still lounging in the same pose, not even blinking as he listened. It left Azure Dragon feeling oddly unsettled.
The Mysterious Ruins were a secret shared by Moonshade and Hidden Dragon. Usually, anyone recruited into Moonshade would be brimming with curiosity and excitement at the mention of such places. But Evan Lin—no matter how you looked at him—showed not a hint of emotion.
It was as if, to him, these places were nothing special—just ordinary, not worth mentioning.
"Go on. What do you need me to do?"
"Yvette Ye will contact you soon. Your entry into Moonshade has been approved—from now on, you're one of Moonshade's people."
"Once you enter the Mysterious Ruins, be careful. If you're lucky, you might find a magical artifact."
Azure Dragon paused, looked at Evan Lin, as if wanting to say more—but in the end, he stayed silent.
Azure Dragon had wanted to remind Evan Lin not to get too close to the Lin family, but now, the words just wouldn’t come out.
That battle between Evan Lin and Blake Lin had caught Azure Dragon off guard, especially when Blake Lin lost and left Beijing, and it was Master Lin from Seacrest who came out on top.
Both of them carried Lin family blood, but Azure Dragon knew all too well—those from the Upper-Grade Lin Clan were born proud.
Even if Evan Lin had Lin family blood, Gloria Zheng’s identity was never recognized by the clan.
With Gloria Zheng unacknowledged, Evan Lin was nothing but a bastard in the eyes of the Upper-Grade Lin Clan.
And the Upper-Grade Lin Clan had their own ways of dealing with bastards...
Azure Dragon shook his head. He didn’t want to think about any of it.
If it weren’t for Autumn Zheng standing between them—and for the fact that the Lin family man really had wronged Gloria Zheng back then—Azure Dragon would’ve just taken Master Lin from Seacrest and handed him over to the clan.
"This little matter hardly needs someone like you to come looking for me, does it?"
Evan Lin watched Azure Dragon stand up. "You’ve got a woman you like but can’t even say it—Azure Dragon, isn’t your life a bit too stifled?"
"Autumn Zheng hasn’t dated anyone all these years because of you. You wasted a woman’s youth, but don’t have the guts to face her. Now you’re using me as an excuse just to see her again. Honestly, you’re kind of pathetic."
Evan Lin spoke lightly, his voice calm.
Azure Dragon, rising to his feet, trembled slightly, his expression complicated.