The news spread like wildfire through Greenwall City.
Seven days ago, Lin Fan returned.
The boy once mocked as a cripple, the fallen genius of the Lin Clan, had reappeared—no longer pitiful, but with an arrogance sharper than any sword and a cultivation far beyond what anyone expected.
He was stronger than ever.
Without hesitation, he went straight for the Wangs. After defeating a dozen of guards, he entered their main hall.
Then, he person who came to face him was Wang Tian, the proud young master of the Wang Clan. Before a crowd of disciples, merchants, and wandering cultivators of the Greenwall City, Lin Fan revealed his newfound strength at the Peak of Foundation Establishment Realm.
Wang Tian didn't even stand a chance.
Lin Fan struck him down with a single punch, shattering his foundation. Before the Wang Clan could react, several of their guards were defeated in quick succession as if they did not even matter.
Then Lin Fan claimed the Wang Family's prized treasure - the Crimson Blood Sword.
The sword was no ordinary weapon. Forged with one of the clan's most precious resources, a Crimson Blood crystal at its core, it had been reserved for the heir of the family. Although it was a mystic artifact and nothing too rare in the grand scheme of things, Lin Fan stunned the crowd.
He unleashed a strike that shook the entire city.
The arc of sword light was not something a Foundation cultivator should have been able to produce. It surpassed the full strength of a Core Formation realm cultivator.
Yet Lin Fan only laughed as he cut down their defenses. As if he had conquered them.
By the time an elder of the Wang Clan tried to intervene, it was too late. The sword's brilliance tore through their resistance. With its borrowed power, Lin Fan crushed the Wang Clan in their own house.
Their gates shattered. Their prestige trampled.
Lin Fan walked away victorious.
And then—he disappeared.
The city was left in turmoil, his name lingering like a shadow.
The Wang Clan immediately declared a bounty. Lin Fan's head, alive or dead, would bring riches, honor, and eternal favor from the Wangs, one of the most influential families in the region.
Greenwall City buzzed with noise. Mercenaries and wandering cultivators gathered in groups in preparation to hunt the newly risen genius who had turned their world upside down.
***
The crowd bustled, the market filled with voices, the scent of roasted meat, and the clatter of merchants calling out wares.
Among them walked a young man with steady, measured steps. Lin Fan, no, Fan Lin—moved like any other passerby, calm on the surface, but confidence bubbled beneath his composed facade.
He had not discarded his name, but he knew when to take caution.
Heh. No one will recognize me. This disguise is flawless.
The orb hidden in his sleeve pulsed faintly. Each time it glowed, his gaze shifted, scanning the streets. Then, his steps halted.
A young woman stood by a stall, pale white robes flowing, a sword at her hip. Her presence was serene, her expression calm.
The orb throbbed wildly.
Heavenly Treasure.
Runes flared across his vision, burning into his mind.
Lin Fan's heart skipped. For a moment, he forgot to breathe. Was this not Heaven's will? Proof that his downfall had only been the prelude to a greater rise? After all the despair, ridicule, and betrayal - even from the fiancée who had abandoned him—here, finally, was Heaven's answer.
A girl destined to stand at his side.
He approached, wearing a humble expression, though his voice carried a quiet confidence.
"Miss, forgive my sudden approach. I am Fan Lin, a wandering cultivator. Might I have the honor of knowing your name?"
Lin Yao blinked, caught off guard, then bowed politely.
"Lin Yao."
Those two words etched themselves into his memory.
After a pause, she added, "I am a disciple of the Heavenly Cloud Sect."
Heavenly Cloud Sect… of course. Fate goes deeper than I imagined.
His smile widened, voice tinged with admiration. "Ah, the Heavenly Cloud Sect. Then it is no wonder. Your bearing alone carries the elegance. To meet such a disciple here—it must surely be destiny."
Lin Yao offered a polite smile, already taking a step back. "You flatter me. I should retu...."
The orb pulsed again, but stronger as if whispering in his mind.
Take her. Bind her fate to yours.
Lin Fan leaned in slightly, cutting her off, his tone soft and warm. "Your name… as elegant as moonlight. Truly a name fit for greatness."
His chest tightened with excitement. He remembered the same feeling once before—when the orb had led him to the Wang Family's Crimson Blood Sword. Or rather, the true treasure within, the crystal hidden within it. The Crimson Blood Crystal.
That sword was just a shell. The crystal was the real treasure.
His thoughts drifted further back. Years ago, when he was still a boy, he had found this dull-looking orb among his parents' belongings. The last thing they had left him before their deaths.
He had carried it everywhere, though it seemed utterly useless.
Until tragedy struck.
The day he broke through to Foundation Establishment, the orb absorbed all of his cultivation. Overnight, he became a cripple, mocked by all, his engagement annulled, his name dragged through the mud. The genius of the Lin Clan, reduced to nothing.
Yet Heaven had not abandoned him.
One day, he had formed a spiritual link with the orb—and discovered its true ability. The power to sense treasures. Ancient herbs in the northern mountains. A fallen cultivator's spatial ring buried in the forest, and many more.
Each time, the orb guided him. Each time, he claimed a treasure and rose higher.
And now… it pointed directly at her.
Not just a treasure. Not just talent. The reaction was frantic, as if she were destiny itself.
He forced his expression into that of a gentle young cultivator, the kind of smile meant not to raise any suspicion.
"Forgive my boldness, but you carry a unique aura… are you perhaps a sword cultivator?"
Lin Yao gave a polite nod with a hint of uneasiness. "I am."
"Marvelous." Lin Fan's tone was warm, practiced. "I have traveled across many lands, yet never have I met someone who radiates such clarity of spirit. If fate permits, I would be honored to share a cup of tea with you. Perhaps… we could even cultivate together someday and exchange pointers?"
His words flowed with practiced charm. Each syllable carefully measured. Each line spoken like a man convinced that destiny itself bent toward him.
"Lin Yao."
The voice cut across the street like a blade - calm, steady, and heavy enough to freeze Lin Fan's heart.
Su Ming had returned.
He walked toward them with an easy, casual step, but his eyes flicked to the young man standing beside his disciple and lingered just long enough.
One look was all it took. Lin Fan's wanted posters were plastered all over the city walls. The young man before him looked a little different — but not nearly enough to fool Su Ming.
"Disciple Lin Yao, who is this young man?"
Hearing her master use that formal way of addressing her made Lin Yao's back straight. Su Ming rarely spoke so formally to her.
Pride warmed her for a heartbeat — and then she realized something was off.
She moved closer to Su Ming and answered, "This is Fan Lin, a wandering cultivator."
Su Ming nodded once. "I see."
Fan Lin? Fan Lin????!!! That's the best you could think of?
He almost laughed inwardly at the irony. He had read enough novels in his past life to understand the pattern immediately.
Lin Fan felt the gaze and faltered for a fraction of a breath. Inside his sleeve, the Dragon Orb went silent. The runes dimmed. The sudden quiet from the orb unnerved him more than Su Ming's words.
At first glance, Su Ming seemed ordinary — simple robes, restrained aura. But Lin Fan's instincts screamed that something was wrong. He forced his smile back into place; he could not show doubt.
Impossible. He's no one. Fate chose me, not him.
Su Ming's face remained pleasant, but his eyes were sharp as blades. He stepped forward, activating his Essence Sight in a single, subtle motion that looked right through Lin Fan as if reading a page.
"Disciple?" Lin Fan's heart thudded. Not a servant. Not a brother. Her master.
Trying to salvage the moment, Lin Fan straightened and spoke with practiced politeness. "Surely, Master, you don't think disciples of righteous sects cannot make friends outside the sect?"
The words sounded thin to his own ears.
Su Ming's smile didn't widen. "Friendship is earned, not claimed at first sight. Remember that."
His tone was gentle with a tone of warning.
Lin Fan felt naked under that gaze. As if every insecurity, every lie, every failure he had faced before, Su Ming saw through them. His pride screamed to fight, but the orb that had never failed him before remained mute.
Why now? Panic came, then anger, but he chose to endure. He knew that he could always take revenge later.