Even the Patriarch of the Battle-Wind Clan didn't know exactly what kind of blessing Evan Yang had received here. He only knew that this blessing would boost certain aspects of a person, but it was also a curse: it meant you could only ever stay here, guarding this place forever. That was the double-edged nature of the blessing.
After staying here for a few days, Evan Yang felt his speed slow down, and everything seemed about right. He checked his own body—his strength was now immense, but how immense, he couldn't say for sure. More importantly, he worried about what would happen when his soul returned to his body. Would it affect him physically? That was his main concern.
Just then, the plump Patriarch arrived. Seeing Evan Yang, he laughed, "Your blessing really is strong—but that also means the damage you'll take when you leave will be even stronger."
"So you really can't leave?" Evan Yang asked curiously.
"It's not absolute," the plump Patriarch replied. "There's one place where you can leave without being affected by the blessing. But to pass through there, you have to defeat an opponent who's exactly twice as strong as you. Do you think you can manage that?"
"How would I know if I don't try? Senior, please take me there," Evan Yang said.
"Let me warn you first," the plump Patriarch said. "If you can't pass, you'll have to stay here with us and become one of our warriors."
Evan Yang thought for a moment and said, "Alright. But I'll definitely give it my all."
"That's the spirit. Let's go." The plump Patriarch led Evan Yang away from the magical pool. Soon, they arrived at a cave. Pointing at the cave, the Patriarch explained, "This leads to a certain place in the Purple-Mystic Sea, but along the way you'll face an illusion—an opponent who's exactly twice as strong as you. If you can get past, you'll make it out to the Purple-Mystic Sea. If you fail, you'll either die or, if you're lucky, barely crawl back."
Evan Yang smiled, "Thank you, Patriarch. I'll definitely make it through."
"Here, this is the Battle-Wind Champion Medal. If you win, you can take it with you—even outside, it symbolizes something special, and sometimes it might bring you unexpected benefits. But if you fail, it's still yours." The plump Patriarch said with a big smile.
The medal looked just like a gold medal, about the size of a palm, radiating a soft golden glow.
"Mm, thank you." Evan Yang took the medal and smiled.
"Good luck," said the plump Patriarch. Evan Yang said goodbye and went inside.
After Evan left, the plump Patriarch sighed, "How many is this now? It's a pity I have to go in and collect bodies every time. Hopefully this time I won't have to do that again."
With no other choice, the plump Patriarch left. He soon saw Gale Ward returning from the tower. "Why are you back again?" he asked.
"I wanted to see how he's doing," Gale Ward said curiously.
"Oh, he insisted on going into that tunnel, so I let him," said the plump Patriarch.
"What? Patriarch, hasn't no one ever succeeded there?" Gale Ward exclaimed in shock.
"Who says no one? At least two people have succeeded," the plump Patriarch retorted.
"But over the years, at least tens of thousands have gone in, and only two have succeeded. That success rate..." Gale Ward shuddered at the thought.
"Who knows, maybe he'll really make it. Last time, a Saint King and an Evil King succeeded. If this time a non-Saint King, non-Evil King makes it, that'd be great." The plump Patriarch laughed.
"Easier said than done," Gale Ward replied helplessly.
"Alright, go back to your tower. I'll check in after it's over," said the plump Patriarch. Gale Ward left reluctantly, still worried about Evan Yang.
As for Evan Yang, he had been walking in the tunnel for a long time without seeing anyone. He wondered if the plump Patriarch had tricked him. But after about half an hour, he came upon a huge platform. On the platform was a beam of light, and as Evan approached, the light formed an illusion—an exact copy of himself.
"Are you my illusion?" Evan Yang asked.
"That's right. I can copy your power—and double it. You'd better be careful," the illusion said with a smile.
"Is that so? But can you copy my body’s ability to keep getting stronger?" Evan Yang asked with a strange smile.
The illusion looked at Evan Yang and saw his body growing stronger. The illusion frowned, "I see. Even so, I still have to defeat you. That's the rule here."
With that, the illusion charged at Evan Yang. Evan’s speed was naturally no worse than his opponent’s, so at first he relied on speed to contend with the illusion. But as his body kept growing stronger, his speed only increased, and his strength kept rising.
This battle dragged on for more than half a month. The illusion was nearly driven mad, while Evan Yang laughed, "Your speed and strength are twice mine, but now I'm several times stronger than you. Time to finish this."
With that, Evan Yang darted behind his opponent, landed a punch on its back, then struck from the front. After a few exchanges, the illusion shattered on its own.
"All done," Evan Yang said with a smile. He saw the beam of light stretch downward, revealing a tunnel below. Without hesitation, Evan jumped in.
Meanwhile, the plump Patriarch sensed changes in the tunnel and muttered, "They fought for over half a month—what a long time. I should go clean up."
With that, the plump Patriarch flashed into the tunnel. When he saw the situation inside, he smiled, "He actually won! Even though it took more than half a month, it's still impressive. There will be three people with gold medals outside now."
Evan Yang had no idea the plump Patriarch had come by. At that moment, he was on the sea surface, just emerging from the tunnel. "The scene I saw from the tower should be in this direction," he thought.
After observing for a while, Evan Yang picked a direction and sped up, flying toward the opposite shore.
At the Saint King Temple, Bai Yue was now extremely haggard. She hadn't heard from Evan Yang in more than half a month and was very worried. If the Purple-Mystic Sea was really that dangerous, Evan Yang might have already died.
Seeing Bai Yue like this, Huan Wuqin was helpless. He could only say, "Don't worry so much. He'll be fine."
"I hope so too," Bai Yue said sadly.
"Get some rest. I'll go ask Saint King May and the others," Huan Wuqin said, leaving Bai Yue staring at the ceiling. Huan Wuqin quickly found Saint King May.
"How is she?" Saint King May asked curiously when he saw Huan Wuqin approach.
"She's not in a good mood, very haggard," Huan Wuqin replied.
"Sigh, there's nothing we can do. We can only detect that he's still alive, but we don't know where he is or what's really happening." Saint King May sighed.
"He should come back," Huan Wuqin said.
"Yes, he's a genius. With so many powerful things at his disposal, he won't fall so easily," Saint King May said.
After hearing this, Huan Wuqin remembered something and asked, "Saint King May, has the layer of the Spirit Prison Evil Pearl been unlocked yet?"
"No, there's a strange seal blocking it. We haven't been able to open it. If you want, I'll give it back to you," Saint King May said.
"No need. You keep it. If I had it, it wouldn't do me any good. I thought I could cultivate with it, but now it seems that's impossible," Huan Wuqin sighed.
"Don't worry. Sooner or later, Evil King Duan will be defeated," Saint King May said.
"Yes, he ruthlessly slaughtered my clan. I will never let him go," Huan Wuqin said angrily. Just then, Master Summoner entered from outside and, seeing the two, said, "You're both here."
"Any news?" Saint King May asked curiously.
"Still no news about him, but there is news about Evil King Duan and his group. I hear Evil King Duan and Scorch Evil King have allied with High-Low Evil King. With their protection, we don't dare approach them," Master Summoner sighed.
"Isn't Saint King Duan tracking them?" Saint King May asked curiously.
"No one knows. Since that day, Saint King Duan appeared and then mysteriously vanished," Master Summoner said.
"What about Saint King Jiang and Evil King Bu? Any results?" Saint King May asked curiously.
"No. I hear those two are still fighting fiercely in Severed Spirit Sky. The battle hasn't stopped," Master Summoner said.
"Those two are really something. One is the strongest Saint King here, the other is the strongest Evil King there. They're just trying to see who's the best," Saint King May sighed.
"Exactly," Master Summoner sighed.
Just then, Wood Saint King entered. Seeing Master Summoner and Saint King May, he said, "I've received the latest news. Evil King Duan and his group are preparing to strike back. We need to be ready."
"With High-Low Evil King's help, we're clearly at a disadvantage. But we have more people below, so we can hold out for a while. Hopefully, Saint King Duan will appear," Master Summoner said in alarm.
"Yes," Wood Saint King and the others could only pray for that.
Meanwhile, Evan Yang had been flying for a long time. On the fifth day, he finally returned to the shore. As soon as he arrived, he encountered a disaster in a nearby city.
He saw a group of people in the city resisting an attack from a swarm of bats in the sky.
A man in the air shouted, "You evil forces under the Evil Kings will never succeed!"
A giant bat in the sky laughed, "Just behave. Soon you'll join our fight, won't you?"
"We won't be assimilated by you—keep dreaming!" the man in the air shouted angrily.
The giant bat in the sky laughed loudly, "How ridiculous! Do you really think you can stop me? Everyone, give it your all!"
With that, the bats became even more ferocious. The humans below struggled desperately—soon, they would all be defeated.
Seeing everyone around him fall, the man in the air shouted angrily, "I, Qianshi, will never compromise! Great Wood Saint King, let me offer my life!" With that, he prepared to charge into the swarm of bats.
But he was immediately surrounded by a group of bats.
Just as he was about to sacrifice himself, someone appeared beside him and said, "Throwing your life away won't solve anything." With that, the newcomer spread his arms, and a mighty gust of wind swept the bats away.