As Joe Di approached the entrance to Miles Phantom's cave residence, he saw a long-bearded man at the seventh layer of the Transforming True Stage. Just as Joe Di suspected this was the person Edward Carter had invited to block Miles Phantom, the man stared at Joe Di in astonishment. "How can you be here?"
"Get lost. You don't need to guard the door anymore," Joe Di asserted, certain of his guess and showing no courtesy to the man.
If he didn't have his own strength, then this man stopping Miles Phantom would be the same as letting Edward Carter kill him.
"You..." The Transforming True cultivator was furious, but after uttering just one word, his anger subsided. Edward Carter was a sect leader; he had no reason to lie to him. Since that was the case, it meant Edward Carter had already met Joe Di. If Edward Carter had met Joe Di and Joe Di was still unharmed, something must have happened. Until he figured things out, he wouldn't act rashly against Joe Di.
Seeing that the man had no intention of fighting, Joe Di ignored him and entered Miles Phantom's cave residence.
Miles Phantom clearly knew Joe Di was returning, as the cave's restrictions opened immediately.
"You really are unharmed!" Miles Phantom laughed heartily upon seeing Joe Di return safely, his tone full of excitement.
After hearing Garrett's words, Miles Phantom was about to go looking for Joe Di, but Garrett told him Joe Di had killed Leonard Huang of Axe King Hall with a single slash. That made Miles Phantom reconsider.
First, he knew there was an elder waiting for him outside the Destiny Guild. Although he had separated from the guild, the entanglements weren't over. Second, since Joe Di could kill Leonard Huang in one strike, it meant he was capable of escaping from Edward Carter.
"Joe Di, how are you unharmed? Edward Carter isn't exactly known for being reasonable." Sean Zell was much less at ease than Miles Phantom. He was worried. If Miles Phantom hadn't told him Joe Di could handle it and that his help might be counterproductive, he would have rushed over long ago.
"Sect Master Carter is actually quite reasonable. I explained a few things to him, and he realized his mistake. He even offered to help me with a small favor. I figured we're all struggling cultivators, so I didn't dwell on it."
Sean Zell stared at Joe Di, thinking, 'As if I'd believe that.' Edward Carter was the type who never let things go when he had the upper hand. Back on Evernight Continent, Sean had nearly fallen into his hands.
"Joe Di, are you confident?" Miles Phantom suddenly asked Joe Di.
Joe Di understood what Miles Phantom meant and nodded. "As long as there aren't any late-stage Transforming True cultivators or domain-level powerhouses, I believe I can make it into the top three."
"Good!" Miles Phantom slapped the tea table, his eyes shining with excitement.
"Senior Miles Phantom, there's still a few years before the True Domain Genius Competition. After tonight's auction, I plan to visit Reed Isle. When I return, I'll help Junior Sister Sherry Jing establish the Starstream School." Joe Di also intended to visit the Fivefold Dao Tower after Reed Isle.
The Fivefold Dao Tower wouldn't open for a few more years, but Joe Di thought he could use the golden Dao Mark in his Spiritual Sea to try entering early.
Having reached the Transforming True Stage, Joe Di had a vague grasp of the rules of cosmic Dao rhythm. The golden Dao Mark remained in his Spiritual Sea, likely because he'd acquired the Graystone. The golden Dao Mark had chosen the Graystone as its vessel, and the Graystone was content to stay with him, creating this strange situation.
Joe Di couldn't find any information about the Graystone in the World Tome.
Since the golden Dao Mark was only temporarily residing in his Spiritual Sea, Joe Di wanted to make use of it while he could. He didn't want to regret not using it enough if it suddenly left one day.
Miles Phantom nodded. "That's fine. I've already left the Destiny Guild, so I'll stay at your newly founded Starstream School for now. I don't have much to offer, but I do have a high-grade spirit vein."
Sean Zell added, "Me too. I'll stay at the Starstream School as well."
Joe Di was overjoyed and was about to say he didn't need the spirit vein, when he saw Miles Phantom's expression change. The cave's restrictions were suddenly torn apart.
Bang! Bang! Two figures were thrown inside, followed by a fat man.
Miles Phantom abruptly stood up, coldly staring at the fat man. "Who are you? I may not be a top expert, but not just anyone can tear apart the restrictions on my cave."
Most sects' restrictions in the Central Star Plaza are symbolic. No one sets up top-tier defensive arrays here, since fights rarely break out and most people leave after just one night. The simpler the restriction, the more confident the sect. It was like when Joe Di visited Axe King Hall—they only had a soundproofing array.
Joe Di said nothing and rushed over to help the two cultivators thrown in by the fat man. They were his friends, Vaughn Che and Ben Stone. After spending ten years in the Starlight Nexus, both had reached the Void Spirit Stage, showing just how much they'd gained there.
"We'll talk later," Joe Di signaled to Vaughn Che, then turned his attention to the fat man who had thrown them in.
The intruder was a fifth-layer Transforming True expert. Joe Di could sense that this man was almost as strong as Edward Carter at the sixth layer. He couldn't understand why someone at just the fifth layer dared to tear apart the restrictions on Miles Phantom's cave.
Joe Di's expression soon changed—he realized who this person was. The fat man was definitely from the True Domain, sent by the Starshatter Lord. He wasn't here to cause Joe Di trouble, but to find Garrett.
If the fat man was from the Central Realm or one of the five continents, Miles Phantom would recognize him. Only a Transforming True cultivator from the True Domain might be unknown to Miles Phantom.
"Hahaha..." The fat cultivator laughed heartily, his chin wobbling with every chuckle.
The anger faded from Miles Phantom's face as he began to guess where the fat man was from. Aside from True Domain cultivators, there was no Transforming True expert in the Five Continents he didn't know.
The fat cultivator stopped laughing, his face now murderous. "Who is Garrett?"
He clearly already knew who Garrett was. As he asked, his killing intent enveloped Garrett.
"That's me." Garrett stepped forward, feeling uneasy but not truly afraid. Back when he and Joe Di were only at the Foundation Establishment Stage, they'd provoked Core Formation experts. What was there to fear now?
"Not bad, fourth layer of the Tribulation King Stage. No wonder you could kill Byron Wu. Byron may have been only a concubine's son, but he was still the Starshatter Lord's child. I've never met anyone as bold as you—daring to kill the domain lord's son. Your courage must be a hundred times greater than a bear's..."
Miles Phantom's heart skipped a beat. He hadn't realized Garrett had committed such a grave offense. Before knowing Joe Di's strength, he'd planned to focus on cultivating Garrett. Now that Garrett had killed the domain lord's son—even if only a concubine's child—neither Garrett nor Miles Phantom could bear the consequences.
Sean Zell's expression was equally grim; he knew just how serious Garrett's mistake was.
"I take responsibility for my actions. I'll go with you," Garrett said. He wasn't thoughtless—he understood the gravity of the situation. Seeing Miles Phantom and Sean Zell's faces, he knew killing Byron Wu was no small matter.
The fat cultivator chuckled. "Can you really take responsibility? I heard you have an elder brother. Since he's your brother, he should come with me as well."
Garrett said nothing, knowing that Joe Di would never let him shoulder the blame alone.
Of course, Joe Di wouldn't let Garrett go with the fat cultivator alone. He stepped forward, clasped his fists, and said, "So you mean this has nothing to do with me, but Starshatter Domain just wants to cause me trouble?"
"Haha, yes, I'm here to cause you trouble. So what?" The fat cultivator spread his hand and slapped at Joe Di, but his attention was on Miles Phantom. "If you dare to interfere, Destiny Guild and you will be crushed to dust."
Already wary, Miles Phantom sighed inwardly at these words. It seemed the True Domain Competition was out of the question; he could only save Joe Di and leave with everyone.
Fortunately, Garrett had only killed a concubine's son from Starshatter Domain. If he'd killed the legitimate son, there wouldn't be anywhere in the Five Continents for them to hide.
Without moving, Joe Di threw a punch. "Old bastard, you really are shameless."
Boom! Joe Di's fist collided with the fat cultivator's slap, and violent true essence exploded.
Miles Phantom's eyes flashed. Joe Di was truly powerful. He quickly expanded his domain to shield the others from the terrifying true essence shockwave.
Bang! The fat cultivator hadn't used his full strength, but Joe Di's punch tore through the slap and easily shattered his domain. The fist landed on his chest.
'Pfft!' A stream of blood spurted from the fat cultivator's mouth as he was sent flying, blasted out through the restriction he had just torn apart.
Joe Di stepped forward, landing in front of the fat cultivator. "That punch just now was only thirty percent of my strength. If you dare attack again, don't blame me for killing you. Get lost. Go back and tell your domain lord: My brother Garrett will be exactly two hundred years old during the True Domain Genius Competition. So I'll bring him to participate. If you try to stop him from joining with tricks like this, I'll make sure everyone knows what you did."
Killing the fat cultivator would be easy for Joe Di, but he didn't dare. If he didn't kill him, the Starshatter Lord probably wouldn't act personally. But if he did, the next opponent would be the domain lord himself.
Joe Di framed the domain lord's actions as an attempt to prevent Garrett from participating in the competition. A domain lord had to maintain some reputation—if word got out that he sabotaged a genius, his name would suffer.
Joe Di wouldn't claim he was competing himself. Although he was younger than Garrett, others didn't know that. Garrett would be exactly two hundred years old at the time, and since Joe Di was his elder brother, he'd be assumed older and thus ineligible.
Even if Joe Di's age could be easily investigated, he bet the domain lord was too arrogant to bother. If he wasn't arrogant, he wouldn't have sent a fifth-layer cultivator to handle this.