A sigh echoed in the air.
Following it was a voice, cool and detached.
"The blood flowing in your veins belongs to my Upper-Grade Lin Clan."
"Your strength comes from my Upper-Grade Lin Clan, and today you choose to stand against us. Are you truly set on a fight to the death?"
The voice wasn’t loud.
Yet every word carried an undeniable authority.
"Whether we’re enemies or not—that’s for you to decide."
"As for me, I’ll simply do what I must."
Evan Lin looked toward the chariot: "As long as I’m here, no one behind me will be touched."
"And as for the karma between me and your Upper-Grade Lin Clan—maybe today’s the day to settle it."
Evan Lin’s voice was calm.
As soon as those words left his mouth, everyone from the Upper-Grade Lin Clan changed expressions.
"You? Just Master Lin from Seacrest? What right do you have to settle things with our Lin Clan?"
"You’re just some stray left outside by our clan, lucky enough to survive this long! Now you want to forget your ancestors?"
"You’ve flipped the heavens! Do you really think you’re invincible?"
"It’s only because you had that person’s protection that so many of us held back when we tried to deal with you! Otherwise, do you really think you’d still be standing here alive?"
The crowd was fired up, emotions running high.
"You keep talking about ‘that person.’ Who exactly is this ‘that person’ you all keep mentioning?"
Evan Lin frowned slightly, looking at them: "If he’s here, let him come out."
"Perfect. I need to settle a score with him!"
"He’s just a heartless coward, hiding for years like a turtle, and even now he won’t show himself?"
"He owes my mom an explanation."
There was a chill in Evan Lin’s words now.
All these years...
Joy Zheng raised Evan Lin all by herself.
Through all those years, Evan felt again and again the suffering Joy Zheng endured.
Everything from back then...
...was all because of that guy from the Upper-Grade Lin Clan.
"His status in the Upper-Grade Lin Clan is extraordinary. You can’t just meet him because you want to."
Inside the chariot, the clan leader’s voice carried a hint of age: "If you want to talk about debts, who in this world hasn’t owed someone something?"
"What he owes your mother is between him and your mother."
"What does it have to do with you?"
The speaker’s voice was forceful, leaving no room for doubt.
"My mother never complained all these years. If she hadn’t endured humiliation back then, she would’ve been killed long ago."
"What he owes my mother should be paid back by him, but if he won’t, then as her son, I’ll repay it for her."
"If he won’t pay, then that debt falls on your Upper-Grade Lin Clan!"
"Anyone here who wants to step forward—go ahead."
Evan Lin stood there, expression indifferent, facing over a hundred members of the Upper-Grade Lin Clan.
His words hung in the air.
Everyone watching the screen was stunned by Evan Lin’s declaration.
"This Master Lin from Seacrest is way too arrogant!"
"Is he really not afraid of dying, or does he have something up his sleeve?"
"Even the clan leader of the Upper-Grade Lin Clan has stepped out! And he’s still not backing down at all!"
"But who is this ‘that one’ they keep mentioning? Why does it feel like his status within the Upper-Grade Lin Clan is even higher than the clan leader’s?"
Everyone was full of questions.
On one hand, they were shocked by Evan Lin’s tough stance.
On the other, they were stunned by the identity of ‘that one’ mentioned by the clan.
Looking at the scene now—a single Master Lin from Seacrest standing before a crowd of Upper-Grade Lin Clan members—no matter how you looked at it, the visual impact was intense.
"Are you really not going to back down?"
The voice from inside the chariot had turned cold and distant.
"Stop wasting words with him! Clan leader, just give the order—we’ll cut him down right now!"
"The spirit spring is about to emerge—this is the chance for our Upper-Grade Lin Clan, and for the whole world! We absolutely cannot let this kid ruin it!"
"We’re running out of time, clan leader!"
The faces of everyone in the Upper-Grade Lin Clan changed dramatically.
They all turned to the chariot, waiting for the command.
Inside the chariot, a long silence fell.
At that very moment...
Suddenly, everyone felt the ground tremble.
They all turned to look toward the source of the shaking, and saw a massive crimson chain rising from deep underground. One end was buried in the depths, while the other dragged a huge bronze sarcophagus from afar.
Atop the giant bronze sarcophagus stood a statue of a woman.
The statue was ancient in style, gazing upward toward them. Even though it was just a lifeless sculpture, it radiated an overwhelming sense of pressure.
Beside the statue, a mass of persistent darkness swirled, never dissipating.
Ninewood Forest.
Eric Wang had been in seclusion, but was just called out and saw the livestream.
He watched Evan Lin facing the entire Upper-Grade Lin Clan, his expression changing. Just as he was about to head to Beijing to help, he suddenly sensed something and looked up at the giant wooden coffin floating in midair.
The massive wooden coffin, suspended in the air, suddenly exploded as if summoned by something.
From within, a statue of a woman shot skyward, instantly transforming into a streak of light that sped off in a single direction.
Whitewood County, Jadeglow Town.
Inside a dilapidated old house...
A statue of a woman placed on the table suddenly lifted off and vanished before long.
Southriver Sword Sect.
In a secret chamber beneath the grand hall, a faceless statue of a woman suddenly stepped forward.
She opened the stone chamber’s door, then soared into the sky!
Thousand-Saints Mountain.
The place where Mark Yang died.
A headless statue of a woman spun in circles for ages, as if searching for its missing head.
But after searching for a long time, she couldn’t find it.
So she simply grabbed a huge stone from the ground, hacked it into a rough head with a few quick chops, jammed it onto her neck, and then tore through the sky!
Far away...
A place unknown.
A colossal statue of a woman, hundreds of meters tall, carved from mountain stone and rooted in the earth itself, with bright eyes and gleaming teeth but a chilling aura, was striding forward—each step spanning a hundred miles.
...
Beijing.
Thunderous booms echoed from every direction.
This scene was broadcast live to countless viewers.
"What are those things?"
"Are they women?"
"They look like stone statues!"
"What are they, and what are they doing?"
A crowd of people changed color, watching everything unfold and feeling like the whole world had been turned upside down.
Why are the statues moving?!
Not only moving—they’re flying!
What in the world is happening?!
"They’ve arrived."
Inside the chariot, the Upper-Grade Lin Clan leader’s voice was utterly indifferent as he spoke: "This is the great trend."
"You, just Master Lin from Seacrest—are you really going to stand against this unstoppable tide?"