Changning City.

On a city bus, Ethan Everett stared out the window, lost in thought.

Thirteen years. He was finally back.

Ethan had grown up in an orphanage. One night, thirteen years ago, a fire broke out. Only eight at the time, he collapsed in the flames.

But fate had other plans. He woke up in a completely different place, with only an old man by his side.

From that day on, the old man became his everything—his guardian, his teacher.

At eighteen, Ethan completed his training. The old man threw him a simple ceremony and left without warning, leaving only a letter behind.

“When you stand above the world,” it said, “we’ll meet again.”

For the sake of that promise, Ethan spent the next three years traveling across the globe, defeating elite warriors from every nation, shaking the world to its core.

He became a living legend.

Not just that—he built his own powerhouse: the Heaven's Temple.

This organization spread worldwide, its influence so strong that even the world’s biggest factions felt crushed under its weight. People whispered, “Where the Heaven's Lord walks, all other powers crumble.”

Ethan waited three months at Heaven’s Temple for his master. The old man never showed.

Disappointed, he turned around and came back—to Changning.“Old man, you totally played me, huh? Who knows if I’ll ever see you again. You better not have kicked the bucket somewhere with nobody around to give you a proper send-off."

Ethan Everett let out a small sigh and curled his lips in mild annoyance.

That “old man” was his master.

They say once someone becomes your teacher, it’s like they’re your family for life.

In Ethan’s eyes, the old guy was more like a grandfather.

Shaking off his thoughts, he reached into his jacket and pulled out a faded photo. Eight smiling faces beamed up at him—his mouth curved into a small smile as he gently brushed his fingers over it.

Back at the orphanage, he was always the weak kid getting picked on. But every single time, those seven girls would show up, stand up for him, and stick by his side like it was nothing.

He eventually started calling them his sisters.

And he’d made a promise to himself—to look after them once he grew up.

Now he was back to follow through on that promise.

“Ah—!”

Suddenly, a soft cry cut through his thoughts.

He turned toward the noise.

Further down the bus aisle, two sleazy dudes were pressing in on a young girl, practically trapping her. Behind them stood an older pervy-looking guy getting way too handsy.

The boldness of it pissed Ethan off right away.

What made it worse? Nobody on the bus was doing a damn thing. Everyone just sat there, choosing to stay out of it like it wasn't their problem.

“Enjoying yourself, are you?”

Ethan stepped forward, stopping right next to the creep."Ahh, that feels—huh?"

The moment the sleazy man turned around, Ethan Everett grabbed him and flung him away like a ragdoll. He hit the floor hard.

"Boss!"

His two lackeys rushed over to help.

Groaning in pain, the man scrambled up, face twisted with fury. He pointed at Ethan, yelling, "You nosy punk! You looking to die or what?"

"Three grown men harassing a girl. You sure you qualify as men?"

"Ain’t that a joke! What proof you got I was harassing her?"

"Still playing dumb, huh?"

"Hey, watch your mouth. Got evidence? Ask anyone here if I touched her." The man swept a threatening look across the passengers.

The crowd looked away, clearly afraid. Then, reluctantly, a few spoke.

"Sorry, I didn’t see anything."

"I wasn’t paying attention."

"Same here. Could’ve been a misunderstanding..."

The man smirked, rubbing his hands. "See? People back me up. You, on the other hand, assaulted someone. Now, cough up three grand or we let the cops settle it."

Ethan’s face turned cold, eyes burning with restrained rage.

He looked to the girl. "Miss, tell us what really happened."

"Uhm... I..."

Her voice trembled as she stared down at her shoes, too afraid to speak.

The man puffed up, full of arrogance. "Three thousand, and I’ll let it slide. Or we all go to the station—and you’re looking at a fine and time behind bars.""Tsk tsk, this is getting interesting."

"What do you want?!"

Watching Ethan Everett approach, the sleazy guy suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. Trying to sound tough, though his voice was shaky, he shouted, "Don't mess around, man! We live in a lawful society—"

"Oh? So you *do* know about the law?"

Just then, the bus reached a stop and the doors swung open.

Without a second thought, Ethan kicked the three of them off the bus like kicking out the trash. They hit the ground, groaning and clutching their groins in pain.

The driver, sharp as a tack, quickly shut the door and drove off before any more drama could unfold.

The sleazy man tried to chase after the bus but couldn’t even get up. Lying on the ground, he screamed in frustration.

"My boss is Brother Xiong! This whole area’s his domain... ah—You’re dead, punk! Just wait! I’ll find you and crush your—ahhh!"

Ethan didn't even bat an eye at the threats.

He was the master of the mighty Hall of the Supreme. Top-tier figures from all over the world bowed to him. And this loser? Not even worth his time.

*Ding-dong.*

Soon, the bus arrived at Ethan’s stop.

He stepped off.