Lora Luo and Hannah Nangong saw that Mad Elder's words were true and not a trick, so they squatted down in curiosity and examined the stone. It really looked like Evan Yang—nose, eyes, everything—but it was lifeless, with no movement at all.
"Elder, when will he wake up?" Lora asked worriedly.
Mad Elder shook his head. "I don't know about that."
"He won't stay like this forever, right?" Lora exclaimed. Hannah muttered, "What kind of cultivation method did he use to end up so strange?"
"Whatever method it is, he should be fine," Mad Elder said.
"Then let's wait here until he wakes up," Lora decided after thinking for a moment.
Hannah nodded. "That's right, we'll wait here for him."
Mad Elder knew these two women were worried about Evan, so he didn't stop them. Instead, he said, "Alright, you two can stay and watch over him. I have things to do."
After speaking, Mad Elder turned and walked outside, muttering as he looked at the mountain, "What exactly did this kid cultivate, or discover, to be so miraculous? When he wakes up, I have to ask him properly."
Seeing Evan still unmoving, Lora and Hannah could only sit and wait. Time passed bit by bit, and Evan just felt extremely sleepy, so he remained in deep slumber, completely unaware of anything happening outside.
A year passed, but Evan still didn't move. Lora and Hannah could only keep waiting.
Just like that, many years went by. Evan had no idea he had been lying there for hundreds of years; only a few decades remained before he had to return to the Yang Clan. In his sea of consciousness, a clump slowly condensed—the initial form of a strengthened earth spirit.
The moment it formed, Evan's mind began to clear. He felt as if his body was bound by something, so he moved slightly. With a squeak and a crackling sound, the outer layer of stone broke apart. Only then did Evan realize he was encased in rock. "Strange, what happened to me?"
Just as Evan was wondering, someone walked in from outside—it was Mad Elder. Seeing Evan sitting there, he was overjoyed. "You—you finally woke up!"
"Senior, what happened to me?" Evan asked curiously.
"I was about to ask you! After you absorbed the earth attribute, you said you wanted to sleep. Who knew you'd lie there for hundreds of years? Those two girls came to check on you countless times, guarding you over and over." Mad Elder was extremely excited to see Evan awake.
"Earth attribute? Sleeping?" Evan tried to recall, then seemed to understand. "Could it be I absorbed too much, and that's why this happened?"
"Kid, what exactly did you discover? Why did you fall asleep, and why is there no earth attribute left outside?" Mad Elder asked.
"What? There's no earth attribute outside?" Evan was confused. Back then, he had sat absorbing for decades, until there was nothing left, and he felt so sleepy he just went to sleep.
"That's right, so I want to ask you," Mad Elder said suspiciously.
Evan shook his head. "I don't really know. All I remember is absorbing earth attribute, then feeling there was nothing left to absorb, so I lay down. Who knew something like this would happen?"
Mad Elder, seeing Evan didn't understand either, asked curiously, "Do you know the swallowing method?" "Swallowing method?" Evan asked suspiciously. "That's right—the technique that activated automatically after you lay down, freely absorbing earth attribute and digesting it inside your body." Mad Elder knew Evan had absorbed too much and used the swallowing method to completely refine the earth attribute. "I don't really understand. I just fell asleep," Evan replied, having forgotten everything that happened. All he knew was that after waking up, his earth attribute felt much stronger, almost to the point of bursting.
Right now, Evan felt he could move a mountain if he tried—that was how he described his earth attribute.
"You don't know either? That's really strange," Mad Elder muttered.
"Senior, what's up with the earth attribute outside? Why is it gone? Did I absorb it all?" Evan asked, feeling a bit guilty.
"Maybe. But don't worry, it's not a bad thing. At least now, this place is no longer a secret," Mad Elder said.
"Senior, you're joking. What kind of secret is here, anyway?" Evan asked curiously.
"I wish I knew. I've been here for who knows how many years, but found nothing. I've explored everywhere underground, but still discovered nothing," Mad Elder replied.
Evan thought for a moment. "Looks like I'll have to search around when I get a chance."
"Yeah, do it when you have time. For now, you should hurry to find those two girls. If they find out you're awake, they'll be thrilled," Mad Elder said with a smile.
Evan smiled, just about to get up, when he heard the voices of two women outside.
"Elder, has Evan woken up yet?" It was Lora speaking. Mad Elder and Evan heard her voice and smiled.
The moment Lora and Hannah came in and saw Evan truly alive, both were shocked.
"You!" Lora exclaimed in disbelief.
"You two are here?" Evan said with a smile.
Once they confirmed it was really Evan, Lora and Hannah rushed over in delight. Mad Elder quickly left the cave to give them space. "What happened to you? How did this happen?" Hannah asked curiously.
"It's nothing, probably just some lucky opportunity," Evan replied with a smile.
"An opportunity? Is that even possible? Your luck really is everywhere," Lora laughed.
"That's true. But thanks for all these years. I heard you two often came to check on me," Evan said with a smile. "Who came to check on you? We just wanted to see why you weren't coming to find us. Turns out you turned into a stone man, unmoving like some kind of monster," Lora teased.
Hannah added, "Exactly, you were like a stone."
"Stone? Maybe. By the way, how many years have passed?" Evan asked.
Lora calculated how long Evan had been asleep and told him. Evan was shocked. "Time passed so quickly—just a few decades left before I have to go back."
"Go back? Go where?" Lora asked suspiciously.
"To my clan," Evan replied. He had no intention of hiding it from the two. "Clan?" Lora and Hannah hadn't expected Evan to have a clan. Evan smiled. "Let Senior come in, I'll explain everything to all of you."
Hearing this, Lora quickly went outside to invite Mad Elder in. Mad Elder asked curiously, "What's going on? Why are you calling me too?"
"I'm going to tell you all about myself and my clan," Evan said with a smile. "Clan? Since when did you have a clan?" Mad Elder asked curiously.
Evan smiled and explained that he was from the Heaven-Battling Yang Clan, detailing the clan and his agreement with Raymond Yang. When he finished, all three were stunned—they hadn't expected Evan to have such a complicated background. "Now you all know, so I don't have much time left. I'm planning to travel outside and see if I can break through," Evan said.
"We're going too," Lora said.
Hannah nodded as well. "That's right, I'm going too."
Mad Elder sat quietly to the side. "I didn't expect you to be from the Yang Clan, and even the Heaven-Battling Clan... You must have a trace of the Yang Clan's Flameblood, right?"
"Flameblood?" Evan hadn't thought much about his bloodline before. Hearing Mad Elder mention the Yang Clan's unique blood, he grew curious.
"Don't you know? The Yang Clan is powerful because their blood is special. Flameblood is their strongest, though it's been ages since a pure one appeared. Even now, most are only partial—like Raymond Yang, who has only a fraction. That's why his explosive strength is so great. They even have a technique to make their blood boil, boosting their power. Have you learned it?" Mad Elder asked curiously.
"The Yang Clan never told me about this, nor about any techniques," Evan replied.
"That's understandable. You're newly returned, so it'll take time. Eventually, the clan leader will tell you about the bloodline," Mad Elder said.
Evan smiled. "It's fine, it doesn't really affect me. I'm doing well now."
"Do you have a grudge against the Yang Clan?" Mad Elder asked, noticing Evan's tone.
"Not really. It's just that my father ended up like this, and the clan leader wants me to compete before he'll release him. If it were someone else, they'd have fought long ago—why bother with such agreements?" Evan said bitterly.
"Kid, you're still young. You don't understand how important a genius is to a clan, especially to a leader like Raymond Yang," Mad Elder said.
"I understand, Senior," Evan replied.
"Alright, go ahead. When the Heaven-Battling Tournament comes, I'll be there to see your outstanding performance," Mad Elder said with a smile.
"Thank you, Senior," Evan said with a smile.
Lora and Hannah didn't fully understand what they were talking about, but both were shocked by Evan's identity. They never expected Evan to be from the Heaven-Battling Clan. They knew the clan was powerful, second only to the Immortal Alliance.
Because of the Heaven-Battling Clan, the Immortal Realm was much more balanced. So the two stared blankly at Evan.
After thanking Mad Elder, Evan said, "Chase Chu, I'll leave him to you. If he looks for me, tell him I've gone out to temper myself. And about his clan, he doesn't need to worry."
"Alright, go ahead. I'll take care of it," Mad Elder replied.
Evan nodded, then said to Lora and Hannah, "Go inform Elder Aurora Qing. Otherwise, if we leave suddenly, it'll look like I'm kidnapping you—what a hassle that would be."