Evan Yang looked at Palace Lord Rowan, eager to know how Elder Woodspirit could possibly be aware of his secret. Morgana Dreamhaven also turned to Evan, asking curiously, "Is this true?"
"I know a little, but I can't guarantee anything," Evan replied, growing more curious about Elder Woodspirit—especially now, he really wanted to meet him.
"Then I'll leave it to you," Palace Lord Rowan said.
Evan thought for a moment and said, "Give me one hour. But I hope that during this time, no one tries to probe this area. If anything unexpected happens, I can't help it."
Palace Lord Rowan naturally agreed, leading everyone away.
Morgana Dreamhaven called Miss Cloud, "Let's go, we'll wait outside."
Miss Cloud was reluctant, but Morgana kept urging her, so she had no choice but to leave. Soon, Evan was alone. He originally planned to set up a formation so no one could see what was happening, but suddenly, the surroundings seemed to be enveloped by a formation.
"It really is a forbidden ground." Seeing the changes around him, Evan realized Palace Lord Rowan must have activated the protective formation.
Inside the protective formation, Evan observed for a while, then approached the trees and released Heaven-Cold energy from his hand. The Heaven-Cold energy quickly spread over the Wood-Water Pool.
Under the influence of Evan's Heaven-Cold energy, the withered trees gradually returned to their original state. In less than half an hour, a large area had already revived and turned evergreen.
Evan muttered, "All done. Might as well rest for a bit."
He planned to leave after an hour. For now, he stood before the Wood-Water Pool, gazing at the trees and murmured, "Why are these leaves so tough?"
Curious, Evan tried to break off a branch, finding it very hard—only something sharp could cut through. "I wonder what happens after cutting it," Evan thought to himself.
His curiosity piqued, Evan took out his sharpest weapon—the Divine Sheath Sword. He gently sliced a leaf, and as soon as it was cut, the leaf instantly withered.
Evan wondered, "That fast?"
From the cut, green sap flowed out. Evan felt it looked a lot like his own blood, so he collected some and dabbed it with his finger.
After touching it, the sap quickly seeped into his hand, absorbed by the Heaven-Cold Seed into his blood.
"It has a similar effect, just not as powerful as the Heaven-Cold Seed," Evan murmured as the cut quickly sealed up.
Seeing the sealed cut, Evan stood up and looked at the strange trees in the water. He checked their roots—connected to the water, which flowed outward.
"If you use this water, you could neutralize a lot of poisons," Evan murmured.
Soon, after Evan's research, an hour passed. Evan stepped outside, where Miss Cloud, Palace Lord Rowan, and the others were waiting. When Evan emerged, Palace Lord Rowan removed the outer formation. As everyone extended their divine sense and saw the Wood-Water Pool revived from death, they all wore shocked expressions.
At this point, Palace Lord Rowan had to seriously reassess Evan. If before he only trusted Elder Woodspirit's words, now he was slowly starting to believe in Elder Woodspirit's choice.
Morgana Dreamhaven was also surprised; she hadn't expected Evan to possess such ability.
Seeing everyone's shock, Evan said, "Alright, it's done. Can I leave now?"
"Of course. You're welcome anywhere in the Wood Temple," Palace Lord Rowan replied with a smile. The surrounding people were full of envy and jealousy—after all, Evan was from the Water Temple, and with this power, he could revive many precious trees.
After Palace Lord Rowan confirmed it, Evan turned and left with Morgana Dreamhaven.
Seeing that things were settled, Palace Lord Rowan dispersed the crowd.
Meanwhile, Zeke Wood and Cole Wood were recovering elsewhere. Zeke, feeling more and more uneasy, asked, "Senior brother, what happened after I fainted? Why was Master so angry?"
Cole sighed, "You dare ask? After you fainted, that girl exposed how you trapped them both in the forbidden ground. Of course Master was furious."
"What? So that's what happened?" Zeke Wood exclaimed in shock.
Cole asked, "Do you like that girl?"
"Well, yeah, a little," Zeke Wood admitted.
"No wonder. Looks like Master is really angry this time. I'm just curious why he's so concerned about that kid," Cole wondered aloud.
"I find it strange too. Master shouldn't have to compete with me over some outsider. Seriously," Zeke Wood grumbled, frustrated.
"Whatever the case, focus on healing. When the tournament comes, you'd better recover as much as you can," Cole said.
Zeke Wood nodded, then asked curiously, "Senior brother, there's something I don't get. Why didn't you deal with that kid? Did Master arrive early?"
"Arrive early? I fought him for a long time. Master and the others were only drawn over later," Cole replied.
"What? Senior brother, are you serious?" Zeke Wood exclaimed in shock.
"I'm serious," Cole replied.
"What? Then we're doomed. If that kid joins the tournament, even you can't beat him," Zeke Wood said, alarmed.
"Not necessarily. Right now, we're about evenly matched. If I use my treasures, I could defeat him," Cole said.
Zeke Wood mused, "That’s good then. Still, it’s weird—why does that kid always get all the luck?"
"Well, you liked that girl, and now you’ve caused trouble. If I hadn’t shown up in time, who knows if you’d still be walking," Cole said.
"Yeah, she really is beautiful, but she just doesn’t care about me," Zeke Wood said, frustrated.
"You should give up unless you can beat that kid. Otherwise, forget it," Cole said.
Zeke Wood paused, then said, "I wish I could, but she’s like a goddess to me."
Cole snorted, "A goddess, huh? Just focus on recovering. Even if you meet him again, you won’t lose as badly."
Zeke Wood nodded, but secretly thought, "Evan Yang, just you wait. Next time, you’ll get what’s coming to you."
After some time recovering, the two were summoned by Palace Lord Rowan.
The two wondered if the tournament had been moved up—why else would they be called? When they found Palace Lord Rowan, he greeted them, "You’re here."
"Master," they both said in unison.
"How are your injuries?" Palace Lord Rowan asked.
"We’ve both recovered," Zeke Wood replied.
"This time, Zeke, you were too reckless. If he hadn’t been holding back, you’d be crippled by now," Palace Lord Rowan said.
Zeke Wood said awkwardly, "I was just angry because he destroyed the Wood-Water Pool."
"If you hadn’t attacked him first, would he have fought back?" Palace Lord Rowan frowned.
"Master, why are you protecting him? I’m your disciple, I’m from the Wood Temple," Zeke Wood said, frustrated.
"You’re still too impulsive. Cole, you fought Evan—what do you think of him?" Palace Lord Rowan asked.
"He’s very strong. It’s like he has endless power, and his attacks are completely unpredictable," Cole said.
Zeke Wood grumbled, "Senior brother, you’re exaggerating. He can’t be that strong."
"Quiet," Palace Lord Rowan said.
Zeke Wood closed his mouth in frustration. Palace Lord Rowan then asked Cole, "How much of your strength did you use?" "Ninety percent," Cole replied.
"A true genius. He’s only at the Emperor level now—if he reaches Celestial Lord, he’ll be unstoppable," Palace Lord Rowan muttered.
Cole frowned. If that was true, then Evan Yang was a truly terrifying rival.
"Alright, in this tournament, you’ll all be facing him. Even if you’re in different groups, I believe he’ll win first place in the Void Realm. As for the Real-Void Realm, that’s uncertain. I know how it might end, but I hope you’ll fight hard. Also, Zeke, because of what happened with the Wood-Water Pool, you’ll go into seclusion after the tournament," Palace Lord Rowan said.
Zeke Wood’s jaw dropped. "No way!"
"There’s no ‘no way’ about it. You’re free to move around now. There’s not much time left—go talk with disciples from other Temples. Spar with them and learn their weaknesses," Palace Lord Rowan said.
Zeke Wood and Cole Wood nodded and left. On the way, Zeke complained, "Why am I always the one getting punished? That damn Evan Yang."
"There’s nothing you can do. You caused trouble in the forbidden ground," Cole said.
"Sigh, I wonder what happened to the Wood-Water Pool," Zeke muttered.
"Let’s go see for ourselves," Cole suggested.
Zeke nodded, and together they headed to the Wood-Water Pool. When they saw the scene, both were stunned.
"Senior brother, am I seeing things? What happened here?" Zeke Wood asked.
"You’re not seeing things. It must have been Elder Woodspirit," Cole said.
"Elder Woodspirit? He’s really that powerful?" Zeke exclaimed.
At that moment, a disciple from the Wood Temple walked by. Overhearing their conversation, he said, "Senior brothers, Elder Woodspirit didn’t show up—it was someone else."
"Oh? Who else could have such skill? Was it the Palace Lord?" Zeke asked in surprise.
Cole was also curious—could it really have been the Palace Lord? The disciple shook his head. "No, it wasn’t anyone from the Wood Temple. I heard it was someone named Evan Yang. He’s only at the Emperor level, but now almost everyone knows. Didn’t you two hear?"
"What? Him? How is that possible?" Zeke exclaimed.
Cole stared at the disciple and the pool in shock. The disciple chuckled, "You really didn’t know? Looks like you’re more out of the loop than me. I’m off to fertilize these trees. You two carry on."
"Go ahead," Cole said.
After the disciple left, Zeke asked, "Senior brother, do you believe it?"
"It’s not about believing. I just want to know how these trees withered—tell me everything," Cole said.