Evan Yang flashed into the inn, only to see Nina struggling to fight off several guards, while Derek and the thug stood off to the side.
Young Master Swain was just about to force Evan out. Seeing Evan appear, he burst out laughing. "Keep attacking!"
Evan heard this and knew that to resolve the crisis for Nina and the others, he had to make Young Master Swain stop. He flashed straight to Swain, let out a cold snort, and said, "Hmph!"
Young Master Swain hadn't expected Evan to charge over so directly. He spread his arms, ready to fight, but was immediately taught a lesson—Evan sent him crashing into the inn's doorpost.
The guards were shocked and instantly surrounded Evan, giving Nina some relief.
"You, I'm going to kill you!" Young Master Swain struggled to his feet and roared angrily. But deep down, he knew Evan's strength was far beyond his cultivation—otherwise, he wouldn't have been beaten before he could even fight back.
Evan returned to Nina's side and asked, "How are you?"
"Good thing you arrived in time," Nina panted, clearly having spent a lot of spiritual power.
"Everyone, surround them!" Young Master Swain snorted coldly.
The crowd quickly surrounded Evan and the others. By now, the inn was already in ruins and the guests had fled. The innkeeper watched his destroyed inn in despair but, seeing so many people, didn't dare step out to argue.
Seeing over a hundred guards around him, Evan swept his gaze over them. Their cultivation wasn't particularly high—most were at the Out-of-Body stage, and the strongest was just Young Master Swain.
But Young Master Swain seemed prepared. Once everyone had taken their positions, he shouted, "Activate!"
A hundred people stretched out their hands, each sending out a beam of light that instantly enveloped Evan and the others.
"Not good!" Nina cried out in alarm.
Evan eyed the group suspiciously, then tried probing the light with his spiritual energy. He found that the light reflected attacks—whatever he sent out bounced right back.
"Don't attack the barrier; it rebounds," Evan stopped Nina, who was about to test it herself.
Seeing them trapped, Young Master Swain quickly sent a message to the Nether Patriarch, then sneered at Evan. "Kid, this is the Shaguang Formation, made by over a hundred people. Unless your strength is two realms above Out-of-Body, you can't break it. But you’re just early Soul-Gathering."
Hearing Swain's explanation, Nina was shocked. Evan, however, stayed calm. "Impressive trick. But I'm curious—how did you find us?"
"You'll never know, even if you die," Swain sneered.
Just then, a squad of city patrol cultivators arrived. Seeing Swain, his guards, and the people trapped inside, they curiously questioned Swain.
Young Master Swain feigned grief. "These two damned Human-World people came here and hurt my father and my steward. I'm here with my men to arrest them."
The patrol cultivators gave Evan and the others strange looks. One of them spoke up, "Show your tokens."
Evan knew exactly what tokens they meant, but in this hostile situation, handing them over wouldn't help. He just smiled, "You believe whatever he says? If I say he's chasing my disciple, would you believe me?"
Swain was startled by Evan's words, glanced at Derek, and hurriedly argued, "He's lying! I never tried to kill his disciple."
The patrol cultivators were confused, unable to resolve the dispute as both sides argued fiercely.
Seeing the patrol couldn't handle it, Swain quickly messaged Captain Lee, reporting the situation and asking for help.
Sure enough, the patrol received a reply. After reading it, one captain snorted coldly at Evan, "It's been confirmed you're Human-World troublemakers. You won't escape responsibility today."
Evan glanced at the patrol, then at Swain, and realized they were colluding. He stopped arguing and secretly transmitted to Nina and Derek, "In a moment, I'll send you back into the Tower and then break out."
Nina and Derek nodded.
Suddenly, everyone saw Nina and the others vanish, shocking the crowd. Even the bystanders stared in disbelief, some suspecting Evan had a spatial artifact and feeling greedy at the thought.
Evan had to let them enter the Tower to save them—even if it meant exposing himself, he had no choice.
Swain was stunned to see them vanish. "You have a spatial artifact?"
"Swain Family, remember this: I know all about the Fiend Star Source. As for your father and steward, you'll never unseal them. Want to catch me? Keep dreaming." Evan snorted coldly, already wearing his fist-gloves.
Seeing Evan ready to attack, Swain sneered, "You think you can leave? Not a chance!"
"Is that so?" Evan smiled broadly.
Swain, unsure what Evan was planning, eyed him suspiciously.
Evan had already quietly activated Heaven’s Eye Sight, and had pinpointed the array’s core. All it needed was a powerful strike at that spot to shatter the formation.
No one realized Evan could see through the formation—especially since it was maintained by over a hundred people. Its rank wasn’t high, but its energy was strong thanks to their numbers.
That’s why Evan could easily see through it and locate the core.
Swain thought Evan was bluffing and sneered, "Stop pretending. Someone stronger will deal with you soon."
But just as Swain finished speaking, Evan flashed to a specific spot and struck with full force. A thunderous boom rang out, and over a hundred bodies were sent flying.
All of them were thrown back by the formation breaking and its backlash. Some died instantly, others were knocked unconscious, and many were severely injured.
Everyone was stunned—no one had expected this Human-World cultivator to be so formidable. By the time they reacted, Evan had already vanished. Only the strongest cultivators could barely trace his departure; the rest couldn't keep up with his speed at all.
"You, I'm going to kill you!" Swain roared angrily, especially seeing his hundred men—his carefully laid formation, meant to trap Evan, had been shattered. He never imagined this outcome.
The Nether Patriarch arrived with his followers and was shocked by the scene before him.
"What happened here?" the Nether Patriarch asked Swain.
Swain recounted what had just happened to the Nether Patriarch.
"Impossible! He’s only early Soul-Gathering—how could he break the Shaguang Formation?" the Nether Patriarch protested in disbelief.
"Everyone saw it!" Swain pointed at the patrol cultivators nearby.
The Nether Patriarch stepped forward and questioned them. The patrol cultivators, still in disbelief, explained what had happened again. Then the Nether Patriarch led his men into the city to search for Evan.
Still, everyone believed Evan had already left and wouldn't stay. The Nether Patriarch, furious, took Swain back to find Captain Lee.
Captain Lee was shocked when he heard Swain’s story.
"Help me investigate again. This time, I must catch him," Swain said gloomily, relying on the Nether Patriarch's influence.
Captain Lee nodded and sent out the message again, this time with a tone bordering on a wanted notice.
Evan quickly left the city, but one thing still puzzled him—how had they tracked him so easily?
Evan traveled through several places. Once he was sure no one was pursuing him, he released Nina and the others, then told Derek and Nina about the Fiend Star Source and Derek's father's unusual physique.
"Master, you mean I might attract those things too?" Derek asked in surprise.
"The chance of inheriting it is low, but you're still young—it doesn't mean you won't get it," Evan said, patting his head with a smile.
Even just the possibility made Derek happy. He looked forward to becoming strong enough to trample his enemies one day.
"So what do we do now?" Nina asked, curious after learning about Derek's potential special constitution.
"We can only stay here for three months. I don't know why, but the elder must have his reasons. So in these three months, teach Derek everything you know—help him start his cultivation journey as soon as possible," Evan told Nina.
Nina agreed, feeling the weight of responsibility as Derek's teacher, and began preparing to instruct him.
Derek understood what Evan and Nina meant, though they didn't spell it out. He knew he had to train hard and not let them down.
It would take time to help someone with no cultivation reach a decent level in three months. But Evan had the Tower—he sent Nina and Derek back inside, where three months outside equaled over ten years inside.
Those ten years would be enough for Derek to begin his path.
When Nina learned time in the Tower was fifty times faster than outside, she was shocked—and Derek was amazed as well.
"This is perfect. These ten years are yours. I'll go outside and learn more about the Fiend Star Source—maybe I can get some for you." Evan planned to obtain some for Derek, hoping it might help someday.
Nina was a bit frustrated that Evan got to explore while she stayed behind with Derek.
"If I want to leave, how do I get out?" Nina asked, curious—she knew Derek would eventually need to cultivate alone, so she planned to slip out when possible.
"Simple—just call out to the sky, I'll hear you," Evan replied. Derek made a note of this, knowing he'd be in the Tower for years and might need to ask his two teachers about cultivation problems.
With everything arranged, Evan left the Tower. Nina began teaching Derek about cultivation and the challenges he might face.
"Just who is that old man, really?" Evan muttered as he stepped out of the Tower.