Chapter 18: One of the Top Ten Outstanding Philanthropists, Kensen

"Kensen?" Ye Lin frowned. "Why does that name sound so familiar?"

"He was just named one of the top ten outstanding philanthropists in Qingcheng, he's been on TV," Manager Wang whispered from the side.

Ye Lin: "..."

So that’s why it sounded familiar; a top ten philanthropist in Qingcheng on the surface, but the boss of all the underground forces in secret, right? Fine, fine, that’s how you want to play.

At the same time, Ye Lin had a headache; being targeted by such a big shot meant his days ahead wouldn't be easy.

He could only hope that the black-hearted boss was telling the truth and hadn't passed the news to Kensen behind the scenes. Otherwise, if Kensen knew he could regenerate organs, he might deduce that he was immortal, and that would be trouble.

Ye Lin wasn't arrogant enough to think he could go up against the underground king of all Qingcheng; that would be overestimating himself. Who knew how many powerful class-holders Kensen had under his command?

Strength, in the end, it all comes down to strength. If he were level fifty or sixty now, forget about Kensen, he’d be dealt with in one Forbidden Spell.

"Brother, I've told you everything I know, can you let me go?" Manager Wang asked, trembling.

Ye Lin glanced at him coldly: "Get lost. My blade does not kill cowards."

"Thank you! Thank you!" Manager Wang scrambled up in a panic, ready to flee.

"Stop!"

Ye Lin's voice suddenly rang out, scaring Manager Wang so much his sphincter nearly gave out.

"W-what is it, brother?" Manager Wang said, trembling.

"Do you have any cash on you? Take it all out and give it to me," Ye Lin said.

"Yes, yes, yes!" The feeling of escaping death left Manager Wang covered in cold sweat; he tremblingly took out the few thousand in cash he had and shoved it all to Ye Lin.

"Alright, get lost. Why are you so scared? I already said my blade doesn't kill cowards, would I lie to you?" Ye Lin rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Yes, yes, I'm sorry brother, it was my own petty mind judging a gentleman. I'll get lost right now."

Manager Wang left in a hurry, but he had only taken a few steps when he felt a scorching heat wave strike him from behind.

The purple-red Karmic Fire instantly swallowed Manager Wang whole. He let out a scream, and within a few breaths, he was burned to ashes.

"My blade indeed does not kill cowards, but unfortunately, I also happen to know a few Forbidden Spells."

Watching the fire before him, Ye Lin kindly explained for Manager Wang, then slowly raised a hand.

"Forbidden Spell — Burning Samsara!"

"Forbidden Spell — Karmic Fire Incinerates the Heavens!"

Ye Lin's face turned visibly pale as a gorgeous, terrifying lotus of fire brewed in his hand.

The moment the fire lotus bloomed, the entire farm was engulfed in boundless Karmic Fire, burning fiercely.

Perhaps some people in this farm were innocent, but Ye Lin had no way to distinguish them. With his own life at stake, he could only let them die with less pain.

Under such terrifying temperatures, the human body would be vaporized instantly, which could be considered a painless death.

After destroying all traces, Ye Lin put away the Undead Realm and disappeared into the night, leaving behind only a patch of scorched, blackened earth.

Back home, Ye Lin washed his face and took several deep breaths, but he couldn't calm his surging emotions.

He had killed someone!

Unlike killing those monsters and other messy things before, this time he had killed a living human being!

Compared to this, what made Ye Lin even more restless was Kensen's retaliation to come!

But fortunately, in three days he would be taking the college entrance exam. He would be safe when participating in the exam trials; by then, even Kensen wouldn't be able to touch him.

The problem was, where should he go for these three days? Staying at home was definitely waiting for death.

Just as Ye Lin was worrying, his front door was knocked on again.

Ye Lin's heart skipped a beat. Could Kensen's retaliation have come so quickly?

He didn't open the door directly, but climbed out the window, circled to the front of the door, and held a Forbidden Spell in his hand.

If it were Kensen's men at the door, he would throw the Forbidden Spell and run, just to see if he could blow a few of them up.

Just as Ye Lin was about to strike, he saw by the moonlight that the person at his door was actually Ji Lingyu.

Why did this kid come looking for him?

But... the problem of where to go seemed to be solved.

Seeing it was Ji Lingyu, Ye Lin put away the Forbidden Spell, climbed back in through the window, and opened the door.

"Boss, you're finally back!" Ji Lingyu was excited to see Ye Lin, completely unaware that he had just walked through the gates of hell. "I asked my dad, and the twenty million is there, but..."

"Don't say anything else, money is a small matter. I accept you as my underling. Let's go! To your place! Since you've called me boss, I must protect you personally from now on!"

Ye Lin put his arm around Ji Lingyu and walked out.

The Ji Group was one of the top enterprises in Qingcheng; no matter how powerful Kensen was, he couldn't possibly break into the Ji Group to grab him, right?

"Ah? Really?" Ji Lingyu couldn't believe his ears, and a sense of accomplishment welled up in his heart.

His dad was right after all; this guy Ye Lin was vain and poor, and he had managed to trick a free bodyguard with just a few words.

"Right! You're my boss! Come home with me!"

The two walked off with their arms around each other's shoulders like good partners in perfect sync. At this moment, two people with their own ulterior motives reached a perfect consensus, both feeling they had made a killing.

Just as Ye Lin got into Ji Lingyu's car and left, a dark shadow flashed and disappeared into the darkness from a dim corner.

Qingcheng Underground Black Market.

A man with a large cigar in his mouth sat on a sofa chair, while a beauty with a curvaceous figure knelt before him, also with a cigar in her mouth.

The man had a slicked-back hairstyle and was a bit chubby, looking kind and benevolent when he smiled. If no one told you, no one would know that the person before them was Kensen, the boss of the Qingcheng underground black market.

Kensen took a puff of his cigar, his brow furrowing slightly before instantly smoothing out. His pupils lost focus, staring blankly at the ceiling for a long while before refocusing.

"Why is there no news from that guy Zhihu? Grabbing a high school student, and it's taking this long?"

The beauty stood up, pulled out a wet wipe to clean her mouth, and replied.

"He hasn't been reachable for half an hour. When our men arrived, that farm had already been burned to ruins. Judging by the fire, it was done by a class-holder, and that high school student, Ye Lin, was picked up by Ji Lingyu of the Ji Group five minutes ago."

"The Ji Group? Their shadow is behind this too?"

Kensen's expression was uncertain.

Just today, Xu Zhihu, who was in charge of his human organ sales, told him that he had discovered something unusual about a high school student, and that the student might be hiding a big secret.

He asked Xu Zhihu what was going on, but Xu Zhihu didn't elaborate, only saying he would report back immediately after catching the student.

Immediately after, Xu Zhihu went missing.

"What secret is that high school student Ye Lin hiding? Even the Ji Group is getting involved..."

Kensen leaned back slowly, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes.

"It seems I haven't been active for too long if even the Ji Group dares to cross me! It's time to let everyone in Qingcheng know who the eternal king of the Qingcheng underground world is!"