"What's so difficult about this? Everyone here is sensible enough to realize the benefits I'll bring once I become Human King. Honestly, I'm a little disappointed in you—it took you so long to kill the Poison King and his son," Lillian Zhang said with a laugh.
Evan Chu glanced at the royal city experts behind her and saw that only one elder had died, while the elder whose son she'd killed was perfectly fine. He couldn't figure out how she'd managed that. Could killing just one person really make everyone submit? It seemed impossible.
But Evan knew now wasn't the time to ask. Since Lillian had already handled these people, it was time to return and let her officially become Human King. Once she announced her ascension and summoned the Nether Lord and Shade Lord, everything would be settled, and he could finally enter the Death-Tower Grounds.
"Alright, since no one objects to Lillian becoming Human King, let's head back. There are still things to take care of," Evan said.
With a wave of his hand, Tom Chu's true body appeared in Evan's palm, then he slipped it into his storage ring. Instantly, the scene shifted back to the ruined City Lord's Mansion, with everyone standing inside the collapsed main hall.
Most people didn't even bother to question this bizarre phenomenon anymore. Evan Chu was a freak—nothing he did could be explained by common sense. Being able to pull everyone into an illusion world in an instant was just par for the course.
At that moment, Lillian Zhang said, "Everyone go back to your duties. Do what you need to do. Once the City Lord's Mansion is rebuilt, I'll officially become Human King. Evan and I have business in Shadowlin City first. I trust none of you will let me down."
"Rest assured, Your Majesty. I'll complete the tasks you've assigned as quickly as possible. But what about Cindy Cheng—how should we handle her? Please give your orders," the elder said.
"Keep her here at the mansion. Give her a separate courtyard and attendants. If she refuses to be grateful, then confine her. Work hard—I will honor my promises to you," Lillian said.
After that, the crowd gradually dispersed. Evan glanced at Lillian and asked, "What did you say to that old guy? Didn't you kill his son? Why is he still so respectful to you? Be careful—humans are treacherous."
"Is that so? Aren't you supposed to be a gentleman? You actually took advantage of me when I was vulnerable—I've yet to settle that score with you. So, what do you think I should do about it?" Lillian Zhang didn't answer Evan's question directly. Instead, she brought up the embarrassing incident during the detoxification.
"What do you want to do about it? There's no one else around—why don't you touch me back? Not just any woman is qualified to lay hands on my body," Evan joked.
"Go to hell!" Lillian instantly exploded in anger, slamming her palm down with such force that she blasted a huge crater into the ground.
"Hey, are you serious? That's attempted husband murder!" Evan laughed, and before Lillian could get angrier, he teleported away toward Shadowlin City.
"Evan Chu, stop right there! I'm going to beat you half to death!" Lillian's furious roar echoed behind him. Evan just gave a bitter smile: "I've already got too many women—how could I possibly add you to the mix?"
"Heh, I was waiting for you to say that. Evan, you said it yourself—don't regret it later!" Luna, the Sword Spirit, suddenly chimed in.
"What do you mean by that? I feel like I'm being set up here. Luna, can you please explain?" Evan asked, startled.
"Lillian Zhang is actually a stunning beauty—she's using a disguise technique called Celestial Veil, probably learned in the Death-Tower Grounds. It's an art that can change your face, but only to make you uglier, never prettier. I know it too."
"I spotted it the moment I saw her—sword flight, Sword Trace, and Celestial Veil are all Immortal-Realm techniques. She must have inherited them from someone in the Immortal Realm. That explains why the Death-Tower Grounds are so mysterious—there's likely an immortal soul hidden there. Going in will be extremely dangerous," Luna said seriously.
After hearing this, Evan made up his mind—he'd just ask Lillian directly. Before he could, she caught up, demanding, "Why'd you stop running? Are you finally ready to apologize to me? If it weren't for you helping me become Human King, I'd have killed you with a single sword strike."
"Lillian, can I see your real face? I know you're a devastating beauty—why keep hiding yourself like this? Now that you're Human King, who would dare bully you? I doubt you'd refuse, right? Don't forget, you lost our bet," Evan said, showing his shameless side.
"This is my real face, there's nothing to see. Don't change the subject—what are you going to do about what happened? Now that I'm Human King, I barely have any Netherstones. You got Xiang Shaolong's storage ring, so I bet there's plenty in there," Lillian replied.
"Netherstones? That's easy. Once you officially become Human King, I'll give you thirty million. That should be enough for you to spend. Celestial Veil is a one-of-a-kind disguise art in the Netherworld—it's amazing you learned it. If you want Netherstones, you'll have to show me your real face," Evan grinned.
"Celestial Veil? You actually know about Celestial Veil!" Lillian stared at Evan in shock. She couldn't understand how he knew the secret of this disguise art. The elder who taught her had said she was the only one in the world who could use it, and no one else could ever see through it.
When she learned Celestial Veil, that elder had made her swear never to reveal her true face to anyone, especially not to any man—unless he was the man she loved. Otherwise, anyone who saw her real face had to be killed.
Lillian's heart was in turmoil. Evan Chu had even more secrets than she did—it seemed he'd inherited something from another world, or he wouldn't know all this. She was intensely curious about where his inheritance came from.
"Celestial Veil isn't from this world, and neither is Mind-Reading Arts. I know you learned them in the Death-Tower Grounds. If you have reasons you can't tell me, I won't force you. If one day you want to show me yourself, just let me know," Evan said gently.
As soon as he finished, he felt a stabbing pain in his head. Evan forced himself to bear it, turning away and saying, "Let's get back to Shadowlin City first."
After teleporting again, Evan finally couldn't hold back: "Luna, I promise you, no matter how beautiful Lillian is, I won't make her my woman. Please stop torturing me—my head's about to explode."
"Now you see what I'm capable of? You'd better remember what you said—if you ever get improper thoughts about her, you know the consequences," Luna warned.
"I won't. We're trapped in the Netherworld—even if I made her my woman, I couldn't take her away. Faye and Ivy are already suffering with me here; why add another to the pain? I don't want to hurt another woman," Evan said.
Gradually, the pain in Evan's head faded. He still had no idea how Luna managed it—the agony was bone-deep, even worse than breaking through the Seventh Layer of the Starforge Body. Evan secretly swore that once he restored Luna's physical body, he'd make her pay for three days and nights in bed, just so she understood his power.
Soon, the two returned to Shadowlin City. Sean Xiao and the others immediately came out to greet them. "Evan, how did things go?"
"Smoothly. Lillian has conquered the royal city's experts. Once the City Lord's Mansion is rebuilt, she'll officially become Human King. With the Human Clan unified, I can finally relax," Evan said.
"Evan, what are you planning next? We're bored here—why not take us traveling?" Princess Ivy interjected.
"I'm planning to find Ryan Ouyang. We'll leave tomorrow. Tonight, let's have a proper celebration—if we don't get drunk, it's not a real party," Evan said, grinning at the three women.
His gaze was a little strange; the three women saw it and instantly blushed, knowing exactly what he meant. This guy really was shameless.
Evan had the mansion staff set up a few tables of food and wine, inviting the guards and guest experts for dinner. Meanwhile, Lillian briefly explained the new City Lord arrangements for Shadowlin City.
This time, the three women were smarter—they didn't drink much, afraid Evan would pull his usual tricks. After several rounds, Evan turned to Ethan Fenn and said, "Once we find Ryan Ouyang and I've explored the Death-Tower Grounds, we'll return to Azure Tide Ruins. Your clan and your mother must be worried. This time, we'll wipe out the Mystic Whale Clan and let the Obsidian Tortoise Clan rule Darkfrost Island."
"Evan, meeting you and becoming your friend is the proudest achievement of my life. No matter how strong or talented I am, I can't compare. I sincerely hope you'll become the strongest, unmatched by anyone before or after," Ethan said emotionally.
"Ethan, you're exaggerating. We're friends, so don't say things like that. Don't forget, you have sacred beast blood—one day you'll achieve great things too. Don't underestimate your bloodline's power," Evan said.
Afterward, everyone left. Evan returned to his room, feeling strangely empty. As a man with multiple women, how could he sleep alone? He needed at least one to keep him company.
But with three women to choose from, picking any one would upset the other two, and not picking at all was uncomfortable. Evan shamelessly decided to lure all three into his room—even if he didn't do anything, just chatting and enjoying their company would be nice. With that plan, he left his room and headed toward Roxanne Lin's quarters...