Evan picked up his wine cup and drank it in one gulp. "From now on, just call me Evan. I’m really not used to all that ‘young master’ stuff—it makes it feel like you’re my servant or something, and that’s just awkward. In a few days I’m planning to check out Rainbow Court. I’ve heard the city there is massive, so maybe I can get an early look at what items will show up at the auction and see if there’s anything I need."
"Evan, since you’re going, I wonder if Ling’er could come along? I promise I won’t be a burden. Besides, with Stormtower’s network, it’s easy for me to get information. What do you think?" Lena Zhong asked.
Evan hesitated for a moment before replying, "Since you’re so enthusiastic, it’d be rude for me to turn you down. How about we set out in three days? We can check out some of the other God Realm cities too. You know I’m basically a total stranger here, so you’ll be my guide."
That’s what Evan said out loud, but inside he felt a bit helpless. Right now he was traveling solo, and even though this beauty wasn’t quite as stunning as Yvonne Xuan or Serena Frost, she was about on par with Jade and Lynn. If he let his guard down and got any ideas, things could get messy fast.
Judging by Lena’s tone, if Evan joined Stormtower, it wouldn’t matter even if he ‘ate her up’—she wouldn’t mind at all. From the way she acted, it was obvious she’d never experienced certain things before. Evan really didn’t want to add another sister to Yvonne and the others. For him, this was a real test of self-control.
"Deal. I’ll wait for you at the City Lord’s Mansion entrance. And you don’t have to call me ‘Miss Lena’ anymore—just call me Ling’er. I like it when you say it that way," Lena said with a smile.
Evan suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. Seriously, speak of the devil—what if this little minx really did eat him up on the road? She was definitely trouble, so he’d have to stay on guard.
After that, the two of them ate for a while longer. Lena naturally handled the bill. Evan offered to pay, but she beat him to it—though honestly, he’d expected that from the start. Stormtower was clearly willing to spend big to win him over, and the meal wasn’t even that expensive. He’d purposely ordered the pricier dishes; otherwise, it would’ve cost even less.
After leaving the restaurant, they went their separate ways. Lena headed back to Fragrant Grace Hall, while Evan returned to the City Lord’s Mansion. Elder Lee was still worried about him going out, so Evan had to check in and let him know he was safe.
"Young master, you didn’t run into any trouble, did you?" Elder Lee asked as soon as Evan got back.
"No trouble at all. In fact, I found a pretty decent guide for Rainbow Court. Surprised?" Evan said with a laugh.
Elder Lee’s expression changed slightly. "Young master, do you know the background of the Fragrant Grace Hall’s owner? I’ve had people investigating for ages and still haven’t found anything. It’s one thing not to harm others, but you’ve got to protect yourself. The God Realm may look calm, but it’s actually full of danger—especially right now, you need to be extra careful.
Don’t show off too much, or you might bring disaster down on yourself. I’m sure you understand this perfectly, but you really shouldn’t get too close to that woman. If something unexpected happens, you could be caught off guard."
Evan glanced at Elder Lee and smiled. "You’re overthinking it. I’m more wary of danger than anyone. Lena Zhong is from Stormtower, and she’s pretty high up. She approached me on purpose—Stormtower wants me to join them."
"You’re saying that woman’s from Stormtower? If that’s true, it’s unbelievable. Has she already figured out your real identity? If so, you really can’t get involved with her. If your enemies find out you’re alive, you’ll have the whole God Realm hunting you down. With your current strength, just one God-King could take you out," Elder Lee said, utterly shocked.
"Relax. In this entire God Realm, you’re the only one who knows my real identity. Stormtower wants me because of my talent. All-Stars City is crawling with their spies—they’ve tracked me since I ascended, all the way to the City Lord’s Mansion. They know everything.
It’s because I ascended so recently but broke through so fast that they noticed me. Now they want to invest in me and help me grow. You know how hard it is to get into one of the top ten powers in the God Realm—I need a strong backing to protect myself, otherwise I’ll never achieve my goals.
Stormtower is my best option. Their intelligence network is the strongest in the God Realm, and it’s almost impossible to infiltrate. If I want to dig up the truth about the past and the masterminds behind it, it’ll be much easier with their help. See what I mean? From now on, my safety is covered—so you don’t need to worry.
This auction might be a huge turning point. Get ready—we set out in three days. Let’s hope it doesn’t disappoint," Evan said.
Elder Lee just stood there like he’d been struck dumb. After a while he snapped out of it, his face full of shock and disbelief. "If you’re joining Stormtower, I have no objections. But Stormtower deals in both intelligence and assassins—if you end up a killer, things could get dangerous. Don’t ever forget that."
Evan nodded and didn’t say anything else—he just turned and left. Three days felt way too long for him; he wanted to head straight to Rainbow Court, but that would’ve been way too impulsive.
The three days passed quickly. Evan spent all that time locked in his room, and in his mind, the method for executing the final move of Sevenfold Absolute Cleave surfaced. This move was called Absolute Cleave—just the name sounded fierce enough. It was an absolute kill technique, with earth-shattering power.
But Evan didn’t actually practice it—he just ran through it in his mind. Before he could even finish, a stabbing pain shot through his consciousness. This was an insanely powerful move, and with his current strength, he just couldn’t handle it yet. That left him pretty disappointed.
Right now, he was at early-stage God-Lord Realm. If he could break through to mid-stage, he’d be able to unleash the fifth transformation of Ninefold Divine-Dragon Metamorphosis, which would boost his power even more. Add in the Chaos Arm’s attack bonus, and he was confident he could easily kill a mid-stage God-King. If he could use Absolute Cleave, even late-stage God-Kings wouldn’t stand a chance.
Everything had to be done step by step. Early the next morning, Evan left his room. He knew there’d be a young woman waiting for him at the City Lord’s Mansion entrance. Sure enough, when he opened the door, Elder Lee was already standing in the corridor—he looked even more eager than Evan himself.
"Young master, let’s set out. I’ve already reported to the City Lord—we can leave All-Stars City whenever you’re ready!" Elder Lee said.
Evan knew this time Elder Lee definitely wasn’t coming back. Even though All-Stars City was just a second-tier city, reaching his current position was already impressive. Everything had changed because Evan showed up.
The two of them walked out to the City Lord’s Mansion entrance, and sure enough, not far away, a young woman in a sky-blue dress was waiting for them…