Feng Lin followed the riverside path, preparing to buy a bus ticket, when he suddenly sneezed.
He touched his nose and looked at the willow tree in the distance.
Under the tree, a middle-aged man with an oily and half-white head of hair robustly practiced his boxing.
Beside him stood a tall man in a suit.
Strikingly muscular, he clearly came from a family of trainers.
Feng Lin stood and watched for a while, then shook his head gently.
Although he had already mastered the Dark Energy, the injuries to his body meant he could never progress further in his lifetime.
Feng Lin was not a great philanthropist; he felt no need to give advice to passing strangers.
He walked straight past them.
Zhou Tian had been watching Feng Lin's shaking head.
He had initially thought that Feng Lin, this so-called 'cloud player,' was preparing to show off, perhaps even to flaunt his scant knowledge.
Unexpectedly, the young man hadn't said a word.
Yet this prompted Zhou Tian's interest.
"Young man!"
Zhou Tian removed the white towel from around his neck, wiped the sweat from his face, and blocked Feng Lin's path.
"What's up?"
Feng Lin asked indifferently.
"I'm just curious what your head shaking meant? I'm quite ignorant and I like to ask others for advice,"
Zhou Tian said to Feng Lin with a smile.
"I just thought it was a pity; your talent is decent, but bodily injuries and old age mean that this is as far as you'll go in life."
Feng Lin glanced at him impassively and left after speaking.
Zhou Tian's face underwent a drastic change. His hidden injury had plagued him for over twenty years.
No one outside of his family knew of it.
How had he known?
"Sir, wait a moment!"
Zhou Tian blocked Feng Lin's way again, escalating his address from "young man" to "sir."
"What now?"
Feng Lin stopped.
"I am Zhou Tian. May I ask for your honored name?"
This time, Zhou Tian's expression was one of respect.
"I'm Feng Lin. Don't be so formal; your injury is difficult to heal," said Feng Lin as he took Zhou Tian's wrist.
At the same time, the tall man standing behind Feng Lin, thinking Feng Lin was about to attack Zhou Tian, lunged at Feng Lin like a ferocious tiger.
But Feng Lin seemingly had eyes in the back of his head, easily evading the attack and casually placing his hand on the man's chest.
Boom!
The muscular man's eyes bulged; his body shook violently.
He was sent uncontrollably flying into the nearby river, causing a huge splash.
Throughout, Feng Lin hadn't so much as glanced at him.
"Dark Energy Transformed!"
Zhou Tian's voice trembled, his heart surged like a raging sea.
Since when had Jiang City harbored such a being?
Stepping onto the true path of martial arts began with the shift from Ming Jin to Dark Energy.
Zhou Tian himself was at the Dark Energy Late Stage, and it was by his hand alone that the Zhou Family had risen to become one of the four major families of Jiang City.
Yet, the person before him had clearly transcended Dark Energy and entered the Transformation Realm.
He had turned the intangible force into something tangible.
"Apologize to your man for me; that was a reflex,"
Feng Lin released Zhou Tian's wrist and continued, "As for your injury, I don't mind if you leave it untreated. Even if you do recover, progressing further would be very difficult."
"Sir, if you don't mind, please visit my home," Zhou Tian bowed respectfully.
"No need, I came here to break off an engagement, and now that it's done, I'm preparing to go back."
Feng Lin waved his hand carelessly, hands tucked into his pockets, and left.
"Breaking off an engagement?"
Zhou Tian murmured softly, then immediately turned towards the river, "Xiao Zhang, are you alright?"
"I'm fine."
The muscular man from the water climbed out.
…
Feng Lin, with his hands still in his pockets, followed the riverside path out of the eastern district.
He arrived at the bustling downtown area of Jiang City.
Looking around, Feng Lin finally felt a sense of familiarity.
He had attended three years of high school here but had never set foot in the affluent villa district where the wealthy resided.
However, he knew other areas like the back of his hand.
"Are you Feng Lin?"
Suddenly, a person blocked Feng Lin's path.
Feng Lin stared at the man in front of him, feeling that he was familiar, but couldn't recall who he was.
"You forgot? I'm Guo Dong, your high school classmate."
Guo Dong pointed to himself, smiling.
"Oh! It's you."
Feng Lin finally realized Guo Dong had been the class loudmouth in high school, always quick to make friends.
Back then, he was very skinny, but it seemed he had filled out now.
"Haha! So you've been developing your career in Jiang City too, I had no idea. We, old classmates, should get together when we have the time."
Guo Dong embraced Feng Lin with great enthusiasm.
After the hug, however, the short woman beside him immediately straightened his suit,
while disdainfully glancing at Feng Lin,
as if to say that Feng Lin was unworthy of contact with Guo Dong.
"This is my girlfriend, Qian Jing," Guo Dong introduced with a smile.
Qian Jing, wearing a displeased expression, glanced at her watch from time to time, showing some impatience, "Let's go, is a classmate more important than President Li?"
Feng Lin didn't mind and simply waved his hand, "Go ahead if you have business to attend to."
"Alright, let's exchange phone numbers..."
"Let's go!"
Qian Jing, not waiting for Guo Dong to pull out his phone, tugged at his arm and led him away.
"This is my classmate, what are you doing?" Guo Dong asked in a low voice.
"Classmates are either rich or poor, look at his clothes. It's better to stay away from him; who knows if he'll ask to borrow money."
As Qian Jing spoke, a Mercedes S-Class drove past them.
The car was worth a million on the road.
Envy couldn't stop brimming in her eyes, and she couldn't help but take a few more glances.
She believed she would probably never be able to afford such a car in her life.
Suddenly, her eyes bulged with shock—the Mercedes S-Class stopped right in front of Feng Lin.
At first, Qian Jing thought it might be a driver asking for directions.
Only to see a tall, stunning woman step out from the driver's seat, her arms around Feng Lin, refusing to let him go and pushing him towards the car.
Seeing this, Qian Jing was dumbfounded.
The actions of the two clearly indicated they knew each other.
"Quick! Get his phone number! Hurry!"
Even if Qian Jing were foolish, she understood what was happening.
Could an ordinary man have such a good relationship with a woman who drove a million-dollar luxury car?
Guo Dong stood frozen in place, and by the time he came to his senses, the car had already driven away.
"You're really useless! Didn't I tell you to be quick?"
Qian Jing shouted angrily, shoving Guo Dong hard.
"And you have the nerve to blame me? Who was it that looked down on him just now?" Guo Dong roared back, unable to hold back, "With the way you treated him, he doesn't bear a grudge against me, I should be grateful!"
Qian Jing sighed deeply, regretting deeply. Such an important person could probably get them a good job with just a word.
She desperately wished she could slap herself.
...
Feng Lin sat in the passenger seat, looking helplessly at Xu Ruoying, "What do you mean?"
She had just said that if Feng Lin didn't leave with her, she would publicly declare she was carrying his child and accuse him of leading her on and then abandoning her.
As a decent young man, Feng Lin didn't want to be misunderstood.
"I want to marry you."
Xu Ruoying kept her gaze forward, her expression cold.
Feng Lin suddenly became serious, "You're not actually pregnant and trying to make me happy by being a father, are you?"
"I've never had a boyfriend, everything is still there."
Xu Ruoying hit the brakes, stopping at the edge of a rural road. She turned to stare at Feng Lin, "I want to marry you."
Feng Lin was somewhat speechless, "Didn't I tell you? I don't like your type."
"What type do you like?" Xu Ruoying asked.
"I like..." Feng Lin gestured with his hand, "the really big kind..."
"I'm an E." Xu Ruoying stated flatly.
Feng Lin sneakily glanced at her, "Your appearance passes, but your personality doesn't. I like gentle older sisters."
"You're not a man. With a woman like me served up to you on a silver platter, you still don't dare to marry."
Xu Ruoying looked at her vibrating phone, pressing the speakerphone button.
"Xiao Ying, what on earth is going on? Feng Lin is a loser! Have you gone mad?" Wang Qin's shout came from the phone.
"The hell you're one to talk!"
Feng Lin couldn't hold back anymore. Even after he had called off his engagement, they still dared to ridicule him.