Old Patriarch Young died without ever seeing the Profound Clarity Grandmaster he so desperately wanted to meet.
Footsteps echoed from the distant mountains, now almost upon them.
Yuna Young and Yvonne Young held their breath in unison.
Evan Lin watched that direction, his expression calm and indifferent.
It didn’t take long.
At last, someone stepped out from the pitch-black path, one slow step at a time.
It was a man about 1.4 meters tall—short and gaunt, his whole body shrouded in a jet-black robe that hid his face.
He wore no shoes, walking barefoot. Every step he took landed with an unnaturally deep echo.
At first glance, he looked almost like a child.
In his hands, he carried a spirit tablet.
It was impossible to tell what material the spirit tablet was made from, but the moment it appeared, it seemed to tug at everything in heaven and earth.
Clouds shifted in the distance, and a sudden flurry of wind and snow swept in.
"So you're the so-called Profound Clarity Grandmaster?"
Though separated by a great distance, Evan Lin spoke calmly; his voice pierced the wind and snow, echoing across the entire world.
Yuna and Yvonne were startled, glancing at Evan Lin.
They had always known Evan Lin was powerful, but never expected that a single sentence from him could carry so far.
The man paused when he heard Evan's voice and turned his head.
He raised the spirit tablet high above his head, then clenched his palm. With a sharp crack, the tablet shattered.
A streak of black light flashed from the shattered tablet and fused into the figure shrouded in the black robe.
In less than a second.
The man standing there began to emit a series of sharp cracking sounds.
His height shot up from 1.4 meters to 1.7 meters in an instant.
His once-gaunt frame swelled rapidly, like a sponge soaking up water.
"What... is this...?"
Yuna and Yvonne went pale with fright.
The scene before their eyes was utterly beyond belief.
All members of the Young Family instinctively dropped to their knees, facing that direction.
The now fully-swollen man suddenly took a deep breath.
His gaze flared from within the black robe, staring coldly at Evan Lin from afar.
"Are you talking to me?"
His voice was eerie and hoarse, as if he hadn’t spoken in ages—like a broken gong, harsh and grating: "The Young Family is just a tiny outer branch of my Profound Clarity Sect."
"Their only purpose in this world is to serve as slaves, welcoming Profound Clarity Sect’s return."
"I shouldn’t have awakened today, but since you killed one of Profound Clarity Sect’s dogs, you’ll repay that debt with your own life."
After speaking, he stepped forward barefoot and leapt into the air.
His black robe billowed in the wind. A streak of black light flashed, and in just a few breaths he was already standing at the courtyard gate.
"Yuna Young of the Young Family greets the Profound Clarity Grandmaster!"
Seeing him arrive, Yuna was so terrified she trembled all over, immediately kneeling down and kowtowing. "Today’s events have little to do with Master Lin from Seacrest."
"Master Lin from Seacrest once helped the Young Family gain recognition in the world, which is as good as helping Profound Clarity Sect’s reputation. Please, Profound Clarity Grandmaster, show mercy and spare him."
"If anyone must be held responsible, let it be me alone."
Yuna’s voice trembled.
Yvonne Young quickly knelt beside her, "I’m involved too."
"Profound Clarity Grandmaster, please let me share in the punishment."
"As for Master Lin from Seacrest, he truly has nothing to do with this!"
The two of them knelt side by side, not daring to raise their heads.
They were only a few meters away from the Profound Clarity Grandmaster.
The overwhelming pressure radiating from the Profound Clarity Grandmaster made them—and everyone in the Young Family—feel utterly powerless.
It was the seed Profound Clarity Sect had planted in the Young Family’s bloodline for generations.
A slave’s seed.
Anyone from the Young Family who saw someone from Profound Clarity Sect would always be terrified—always submissive!
"You’re all dogs of Profound Clarity Sect. Since when do dogs get to lecture their master about what should or shouldn’t be done?"
The Profound Clarity Grandmaster spoke coldly, his gaze chilling and merciless.
At those words, Yuna and Yvonne trembled even harder, unable to control themselves.
Since childhood, they had been indoctrinated with the idea that Profound Clarity Sect could never be defied.
Now, seeing someone from Profound Clarity Sect truly appear before them, what they felt was utter terror.
Even if their hearts wanted to stand up...
Their bodies simply wouldn’t obey!
"Those two are begging for you, hoping I won’t kill you."
The Profound Clarity Grandmaster glanced at Evan Lin, walking into the courtyard. When he reached the corpse of Old Patriarch Young, he casually kicked the body into the air and pointed with one hand.
A burst of flame shot from his fingertip.
In an instant, the flames reduced Old Patriarch Young’s corpse to ashes, dispersing it into the air—never to be seen again.
"But you killed one of Profound Clarity Sect’s dogs. Even if it was an old dog, it was still a dog."
"Tell me, what do you think I should do with you?"
The Profound Clarity Grandmaster’s gaze was icy as he stood less than three meters from Evan Lin.
His earlier fire technique to reduce the corpse to ashes was meant to intimidate.
Evan Lin picked up the teacup before him, drained the water, and tapped the cup lightly with his fingers. "If you ask me, you should return to wherever you came from."
"I thought the so-called Profound Clarity Grandmaster would be some extraordinary genius, but now it seems you’re just a fragment of a soul—how dare you make such a fuss before me?"
Evan Lin shook his head and sighed.
His voice carried a hint of disappointment.
"Arrogant brat."
The Profound Clarity Grandmaster snorted coldly, sweeping his sleeve. His black robe billowed, and in an instant, the courtyard’s world changed color.
It had been broad daylight, but in an instant, everything plunged into darkness.
"Watch out!"
Yuna and Yvonne cried out in alarm.
They saw the Profound Clarity Grandmaster’s figure transform into a wisp of black smoke, merging with the sudden darkness and surging toward Evan Lin.
The courtyard was shrouded in darkness.
Suddenly, pairs of crimson eyes opened in the void.
At a glance, hundreds—maybe thousands—of eyes hung in the darkness, completely surrounding Evan Lin.
The Profound Clarity Grandmaster’s body fused with the darkness, becoming indistinguishable from it.
"Such a young brat, yet so arrogant with your words."
"Let you be the gift I present to this world as I return to existence."
The Profound Clarity Grandmaster spoke with chilling intent.
As his voice echoed, the crimson eyes in the darkness condensed into hundreds of red beams, each brimming with murderous intent, shooting at Evan Lin from all directions.
"Is this the Profound Clarity Sect’s technique?"
Evan Lin sat unmoving, merely shaking his head.
He tapped the teacup with a single finger.
With a single tap, the teacup shattered.
Immediately, a sharp sword intent formed out of thin air.
-- End of Chapter --