"Evan Lin!"
Caleb Li gritted his teeth, glaring at Evan Lin standing before him, eyes burning with hatred.
Judging by your expression, you don't seem too convinced, do you?
Evan snorted coldly, pulled out the wooden skewer from his mouth, and casually tapped Caleb Li's body a few times with it.
"Ah!"
With just a few casual taps from Evan, Caleb Li's blood began to boil all over his body. Blood gushed from his mouth, his muscles spasmed, his once-handsome face turned ashen, and his eyes bulged as if they might explode at any moment.
"Stop! What are you doing?!"
Seeing Caleb Li like this, Rachel Liu rushed to block Evan Lin. "If you keep going, he'll die! If he dies, the Li family will never let this go!"
Rachel's eyes were panicked as she gritted her teeth. "The Li family's power is beyond your imagination! Evan, you may be strong, but the Li family is the number one clan in all of River City!"
No matter how strong one person is, they can't compete with an entire family. Even the Zuo family, compared to the Lis, is nothing but an ant they could crush at will!
Rachel stared at Evan, afraid he would go any further.
"Just the Li family."
"Fine. I'll spare him—let him witness with his own eyes how the Li family he’s so proud of gets destroyed."
Evan let out a mocking laugh.
Rachel finally let out a sigh of relief, terrified that Evan would suddenly explode and kill Caleb Li on the spot. If that happened, her own Liu family would be dragged into disaster too.
"But just letting him off this easily would be way too cheap for him."
Evan's tone shifted. He spat out a spiral of qi, which shot through the air and slammed straight into Caleb Li's forehead.
The impact drove Caleb's head down, caving in the Maserati GT's front hood.
Caleb groaned once and lost consciousness.
"What happened to him...?"
Rachel looked at Caleb Li with anxious eyes.
"He can still live for three months. Let him watch his family get destroyed with his own eyes."
With that, Evan didn't spare Rachel a single glance. By the time she snapped out of it and looked for him, the street was empty—he hadn't left a trace behind.
Rachel suddenly felt a hollow emptiness inside, but she still picked up her phone and dialed a number.
Soon, a stretch Lincoln pulled up.
The driver got out and hurriedly opened the rear door. Two people stepped out of the car.
One was a stooped old man, ugly to the extreme, with bulging eyes, barely one and a half meters tall, and wrists so thin they looked almost fleshless. He wore a monocle over his left eye.
The other was a burly, imposing middle-aged man. As soon as they got out, both headed straight for the Maserati GT.
"Uncle Li."
Seeing who had arrived, Rachel lowered her head.
The middle-aged man glanced at Rachel Liu. "Hmm, it's been years since I saw you last. Rachel, you've grown up quite a bit."
He was the head of the Li family, and the richest man in River City—Aiden Li.
At eighteen, Aiden Li arrived in River City penniless. Over more than thirty years, he built his own business empire from the ground up.
His life could fill the pages of a legend.
Some say he climbed to power by stepping on women; others call him a blood-stained, bone-crushing warlord.
But one thing is certain: now he's the richest man in River City. Even the mayor and party secretary greet him respectfully as 'Brother Li.'
The middle-aged man walked over to Caleb Li, lowered his head, and saw his son covered in blood. A glint of cold light flashed in his eyes. "I just returned to River City, and someone dares do this to my son?"
"Dr. Soul, looks like I'll need your help once again."
Aiden Li's face was grim. He had five sons, with Caleb Li being the youngest.
Dr. Soul grinned as he stepped forward, placing a hand on Caleb's neck. His smile was chilling. "Your young master is badly hurt, but his vital signs are stable. Boss Li, are you really entrusting him to me?"
"Once he's in my hands, whether he lives or dies will be up to him. If he survives, he'll become a dragon; if not, his fate will be worse than death."
Dr. Soul let out a sinister chuckle and turned to Aiden Li. "Have you really thought this through?"
Aiden Li sneered coldly. "If my son could die so easily, he wouldn't deserve to live! Besides, he's already passed the first stage, hasn't he?"
"Yes, but the odds of surviving the second stage are only ten percent. Now it's up to your son's luck."
Dr. Soul chuckled darkly and waved someone over from behind.
The stern-faced driver strode over and hefted Caleb Li off the hood, not caring about his injuries at all.
"Tsk tsk, the little girl is quite pretty."
Dr. Soul glanced at Rachel Liu, grinning and showing a mouthful of yellow teeth as he adjusted his monocle.
His gaze made Rachel's heart tremble, her whole body shivering as if a snake had locked onto her.
"Speaking of which, you and Caleb once had an engagement. All these years, Caleb hasn't been in River City, but your father always wanted to see that engagement settled."
Aiden Li clasped his hands behind his back, staring at Rachel Liu with a blank face. "If Caleb comes back alive, I'll visit your Liu family again. Now, tell me—who attacked Caleb?"
"I... I don't know."
Rachel bit her lip, her eyes uneasy.
"Was it Evan Lin?"
When Aiden Li said Evan Lin's name, Rachel fell silent.
"Hmph. Your mother hasn't stopped mentioning that name these days, but I don't recall any powerful Lin family in River City."
"Rachel, don't blame your uncle for reminding you—do you know why your branch has survived in the Liu family? I don't need to spell it out."
Aiden Li stared coldly at Rachel, pinching her chin and narrowing his eyes. "Didn't your parents ever tell you? You look just like your birth mother."
"That woman gave her life for yours. You'd better behave—if you do, your uncle can guarantee your future will be much easier."
Rachel's eyes reddened as she bit her lip, refusing to speak.
Aiden Li let go of her, glanced at the empty street, and narrowed his eyes. "I heard Evan Lin fought Drake Huang to a draw recently. But if Caleb survives the second stage, even Drake Huang won't be out of reach!"