This time, Evan Chu's voice was clearly heard by the three women. The sound was definitely coming from inside the room, but with the room being so small, there was no way it could escape the scrutiny of their spiritual senses.
There were only two possible explanations for this situation. One was that Evan could somehow turn invisible and merge his body into the air, making himself undetectable—but that was clearly beyond his ability.
The other possibility was that he was currently underground. But the palace floors here were all paved with marble—an extremely hard stone—and there was no way there could be any tunnels for him to hide in. So that option was out as well.
The three women exchanged silent glances, each feeling puzzled. It was obvious Evan was trying to give them a surprise, but this was a bit too unexpected.
After that, the three women stopped paying him any attention, knowing that Evan wouldn’t be able to resist showing himself soon enough.
Evan waited underground for a long time, but when the three women didn't say anything, he found it odd. After a moment’s thought, he realized what they were thinking, so he slowly returned to his own room and emerged from the ground.
Amazingly, there wasn’t a speck of dirt on him—it was almost magical. If he used Earthshift to secretly watch a woman bathing, it would definitely be an excellent way to do it.
Stretching lazily, Evan swaggered out of his room and walked over to Claire Ouyang’s door, calling out: “Claire, are you all inside?”
Evan’s words truly shocked the three women. The voice that had been inside the room was now outside the door, yet the door hadn’t opened at all. Could there really be someone else in the room?
Claire immediately opened the door and stared at Evan as if he were a monster. “Evan, was that you talking to us inside the room just now?”
Selena and Macy Mei wore the same shocked expressions. Evan was very pleased with the looks on their faces and laughed, “Me? No way. I just came out of seclusion and came to see you all. What’s going on?”
“N-no, it’s nothing. We’re just glad you’re out of seclusion!” Claire said awkwardly.
Evan glanced at the three women and smiled, “Really nothing? Are you hiding something from me?”
His tone sounded a bit tense, as if he really cared about whatever it was.
“Evan, just now a voice exactly like yours appeared in the room. We thought it was you, but then you showed up outside, so we were really confused,” Selena said.
“Really? That’s crazy! I don’t have any such skill to appear here like that. Maybe someone was invisible? Wouldn’t that be a disaster for you all?” Evan said, deliberately making an exaggerated expression.
“Why would that be a disaster?” Claire asked, not understanding.
“If someone’s been hiding here all along, then whenever you slept or bathed, they’d have seen everything. Wouldn’t that be a disaster?” Evan said, completely serious.
“No way, we’ve only bathed twice! Did he really see us? Don’t scare me,” Claire said, shocked.
Selena didn’t know what to say. If things were really as Evan described, she wouldn’t be able to face him at all. She couldn’t help feeling a little depressed.
Seeing the expressions on the three women’s faces, Evan realized he’d gone a bit too far. He laughed, “I was in the room the whole time, and you didn’t even notice me. Too clueless!”
The three women all stared at him, and Selena was the first to react, “You jerk, Evan! You actually dared to scare us—it really was you talking in the room!”
“Explain yourself! If you don’t make it clear today, I’ll show you what this princess is capable of!” Claire demanded.
Evan just shrugged off their attitude. “Come on, it was just a harmless joke—no need to get so worked up. Surprised, aren’t you?”
Selena asked, “Evan, how did you do it? Can you really transmit your voice directly into the room?”
Evan smiled, then with a thought, his whole body vanished from sight. His voice came from underground: “That’s how I did it—transmitting sound from below. Impressive, right?”
After speaking, he emerged from the ground—but only halfway, with the rest of his body still underground.
Macy Mei was astonished. “Big Bro, you can actually merge with the earth element! That’s incredible! Did you inherit a pangolin’s talent?”
Evan fully emerged, walked to the table, and poured himself a glass of water. “No, it’s a martial technique I’m cultivating. I’ve only scratched the surface—I can’t move fast underground yet. But once I master it, I’ll be able to travel freely beneath the earth.”
Claire inspected the floor closely—there wasn’t the slightest trace of disturbance. Evan’s actions were like magic tricks, hard to believe.
“Amazing! Evan, with this skill you’ll have no problem escaping danger in the future!” Claire exclaimed.
“True, but if he had bad intentions, it would be perfect for stealing girls’ hearts—or their treasures,” Selena said, rolling her eyes at Evan’s antics.
“Enough about that. Alex, is your problem solved now? Any discomfort?” Evan asked.
“Xiao Xiao’s secret art really opened my eyes. Now I’m just like you—unless I use demonic energy, no one can tell my real identity. Are you planning to head to the Azure Tide Ruins?” Selena asked.
“Exactly. I’m heading to see the Mermaid King right now. You go find Claire and the others. When I get back, we’ll all go to He Juan and have her take us to the Azure Tide Ruins.” Evan said, then left the room.
With his strength greatly increased, Evan felt confident about the upcoming trip to the Azure Tide Ruins. When he arrived at the palace, the Mermaid King was speaking with several ministers.
When Evan entered, the Mermaid King quickly dismissed the ministers. “Evan, your strength has improved again. When do you plan to depart?” he asked bluntly.
“I’ve already delayed long enough. I must complete the task you assigned as soon as possible. I’ll be leaving very soon,” Evan replied.
“I know Claire will go with you. She’s my precious daughter, and though I’ve never been to the Azure Tide Ruins, I know it’s full of powerful experts. Please protect her and don’t let her get hurt!” the Mermaid King said.
“I understand, Your Majesty. But there’s something I don’t get—haven’t you been at the Ninth Layer of the Divine Martial Realm for many years? Why haven’t you broken through to the Saint Martial Realm?” Evan asked.
“That’s one reason I asked you to come. Yes, I’ve been stuck at the Ninth Layer for a long time. There’s no hope of advancing further—I can only keep refining my Stellar Power. To break through to the Saint Martial Realm, I need one thing,” the Mermaid King said.
“The Netherghost Violet Orchid? That’s supposed to be extinct!” Evan said, realizing the Sword Spirit was right.
[Author’s Note: Double release tonight! Looks like readers aren’t voting much—where are those votes?]