Not even worth treating as a joke!
Pathetic?
Hearing Evan Lin's words, Blake Lin's expression turned cold.
Selina Wu and the others felt their hearts tighten.
Blake Lin!
He was a true powerhouse, through and through.
Not to mention, behind him stood the terrifying Upper-Grade Lin Clan.
Yet, they had indeed heard Evan Lin's words loud and clear.
His tone was flat.
As if he were describing the simplest thing in the world.
The words were wildly arrogant, yet not a trace of arrogance could be heard in his tone.
All that was left was calm.
Blake Lin stared at the youth standing atop the Froststorm Vortex and clenched his fist.
He squinted, his gaze now as cold as ice.
"Very good. Very good."
"Master Lin from Seacrest, you’ve really managed to make me angry this time."
Blake Lin spoke, his voice like thunder. Each word he uttered seemed to make the ground tremble.
Even the boiling qi surrounding Blake Lin grew more restless at that moment.
It looked as if it might burst forth at any second to challenge Master Lin from Seacrest at the top.
All around were walls of qi condensed by Blake Lin.
The boiling qi wrapped the entire Ju ancestral hall, forming barriers on all four sides.
These qi shields were originally meant to handle the Froststorm Vortex, but now Blake Lin hadn't removed them—saving himself the trouble.
"I had no interest in fighting you, so-called Master Lin from Seacrest."
"But now, it seems you really know how to piss people off."
"So, why not let me teach you a lesson and show you what it means to have a sky beyond the sky, a person beyond the person."
"And let you remember me: I am Blake Lin, Blake Lin of the Upper-Grade Lin Clan."
Blake Lin's tone was mild; gone was the earlier loss of composure and coldness, replaced by absolute arrogance.
It was the confidence of a true powerhouse.
He was about to act. The boiling qi surrounding the Froststorm Vortex now locked firmly onto Master Lin from Seacrest.
"Still don’t get it?"
Standing there, Evan Lin looked down at him and shook his head slightly: "Take a look at the sky."
"The sky?"
Hearing this, Blake Lin squinted, originally not intending to pay any more attention to Evan Lin's words.
But he couldn't help himself and once again looked up at the sky.
It was still the same empty blue sky, still scattered white clouds, still sunlight made cold by the Froststorm Vortex.
"Are you messing with me?"
Blake Lin's gaze darkened, just as he finished speaking.
Standing atop the Froststorm Vortex, Evan Lin, who had remained motionless until now, suddenly lifted his foot and stepped down.
That step landed squarely on the Froststorm Vortex beneath his feet.
A thunderous boom echoed out.
The entire Froststorm Vortex, under Evan Lin's step, shattered into a mass of broken ice.
Within the ice and snow, immense qi surged toward the sky.
Blake Lin's pupils contracted sharply.
Before his eyes, the fragments of shattered ice floated upward, blotting out the sky above his head.
Evan Lin looked up, step by step ascending into the sky, his feet landing on the solid ice formed from the exploded Froststorm Vortex.
The ice fragments beneath Evan Lin's feet gathered on their own, forming step after step.
From afar, it looked like an immortal ascending the Ascension Terrace, climbing a staircase in midair.
"All you see is blue sky, white clouds, and sunlight."
Evan Lin didn't even glance at Blake Lin below, nor did he pay any attention to the boiling qi barriers Blake Lin had condensed around the Ju ancestral hall.
He ascended step by step; with every footfall, he rose an inch higher, and the ice fragments beside him grew further.
Layer upon layer, crisscrossing and merging, forming a sheet of ice that completely covered the sky above the Ju ancestral hall—cold and chilling, appearing out of nowhere.
The ice reflected the sunlight, making it even colder. Looking up through the ice, Blake Lin felt its brilliance—almost like watching stars at night.
"What is this thing?"
Blake Lin's heart shook, then his face darkened: "Is this what you wanted me to see? Some kind of stage trick?"
"You really think these flashy moves will make me respect you?"
"Master Lin from Seacrest, it's useless! Today, let me see if you really live up to that title!"
Blake Lin waved his hand, and with a thought, the boiling qi barriers from all directions rushed toward Evan Lin as if guided by some force.
The massive qi barriers converged like indestructible walls, closing in from every side.
Wherever they passed, the remnants of the Froststorm Vortex were swept away, vanishing completely.
Blake Lin stood in place, hands behind his back.
Evan Lin suddenly halted in midair.
He turned his head, looking at the boiling qi closing in from all sides, his figure vast and distant. He spoke softly: "That's enough."
With a single glance.
Evan Lin's eyes flashed. He spoke, a single word, calm and light.
"Break."
The word floated out, light as air.
One word became prophecy.
The moment before, Blake Lin's face was cold—then suddenly, he felt every connection to the qi barriers around him get severed, just like that.
In his daze, he watched as all the boiling qi barriers vanished in an instant.
Like shattered glass, they disappeared with a sound. All those qi barriers—couldn't stand up to a single word from Master Lin from Seacrest?
"How did you do that?"
Blake Lin frowned, confusion filling his heart.
But, coming from the Upper-Grade Lin Clan, he was well-traveled and knew the world was full of wonders.
Maybe this Master Lin from Seacrest had mastered some special secret technique, which allowed him to easily break through Blake Lin's qi barriers.
But that was all.
When it came to strength, Blake Lin would never admit defeat.
He didn't believe that Master Lin from Seacrest could be his match.
After all, he was Blake Lin of the Upper-Grade Lin Clan!
A true prodigy from the Upper-Grade Lin Clan!
Destined to stand at the pinnacle of martial arts.
"Why bother with ants?"
Evan Lin hovered in midair, hands behind his back, looking down. The fragments of ice and snow beside him had fully formed.
Above the sky-covering layer of ice, qi and cold surged together like waves.
"I won’t kill you today."
"Blake Lin, today you’re not even worth a kneel."
As Evan Lin spoke, everyone saw him standing in midair, flipping his hand downward and pressing lightly.
With that press, heaven and earth changed color.