Evan Yang frowned suspiciously after noticing the surrounding space was completely sealed. "What kind of space is this?"
"This is a space provided by the White Tiger Divine Beast. Kid, let's see how you escape now." The White Tiger King snorted coldly.
"White Tiger Divine Beast? That divine beast descendant? But it doesn't seem to be pure-blooded." Evan Yang asked.
"That's right, but he hates it when people say he's not pure-blooded. Today you're dead for sure." The White Tiger King smiled.
Evan Yang ignored his threats and continued, "If that's how it is, then let's fight and see who lasts to the end."
The two immediately began fighting in midair, just like last time in the garden. Neither could gain the upper hand. But the White Tiger King knew the space was protected now, so Evan Yang had little chance to escape and he wasn't worried at all.
After a quarter hour of fierce fighting, the White Tiger King saw Evan Yang wasn't weakening. He started thinking of ways to bring Evan Yang down—there was only one option: borrow the White Tiger Divine Beast's power.
So the White Tiger King mentally reached out to the White Tiger Divine Beast.
"White Tiger Divine Beast, I need your help. There's someone outside I can't defeat." the White Tiger King sent mentally.
"I've said it before, I'm not leaving my cave. Don't waste your breath. And you haven't brought me that girl you promised. Figure it out yourself." The White Tiger Divine Beast was sleeping, but snorted coldly when it heard the message.
The White Tiger King hurriedly replied, "You're mistaken, I did bring the girl, but she was snatched away by the man outside. There's nothing I can do. If I don't stop him now, he'll take Ember Yang away."
The White Tiger Divine Beast became anxious when it heard someone was about to take Ember Yang away. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah, he took Ember Yang away," the White Tiger King said.
"Damn it, bring him down here. I'll make sure he suffers," the White Tiger Divine Beast said angrily.
"He's in that space right now. Just activate it and he'll arrive in your cave along with the space," the White Tiger King said.
"I see, got it," the White Tiger Divine Beast replied. Suddenly, the space where Evan Yang and the White Tiger King were began to shift. Evan Yang frowned. "What now?"
"This is the space sending you to meet the White Tiger Divine Beast," the White Tiger King sneered.
Suddenly everything went dark, and Evan Yang found himself somewhere else. Outside the space, a White Tiger Divine Beast was crouched, staring at him.
"White Tiger Divine Beast, that's him. He took Ember Yang," the White Tiger King said.
"Human, I'll give you a chance. Hand over the fire-breathing girl—Ember Yang—and I'll let you go," the White Tiger Divine Beast said to Evan Yang. The White Tiger King became anxious, "White Tiger Divine Beast, you can't let him leave no matter what."
"Are you going to defy my orders?" The White Tiger Divine Beast glared at the White Tiger King.
The White Tiger King had no choice but to reply, "No, I obey White Tiger Divine Beast."
Evan Yang heard the White Tiger Divine Beast's words and knew it meant Ember Yang. He sneered, "You're just a White Tiger Divine Beast descendant and still call yourself White Tiger. And you think I'll just hand someone over because you say so? What do you take me for?"
"Kid, you should know what Ember Yang's identity is, right? She's very useful to me. If you give her to me, I'll reward you generously—even help you ascend to the God realm." The White Tiger Divine Beast tempted.
"That's a tempting offer, but Ember Yang is my daughter. Do you really think I'll hand over my own daughter? So stop joking," Evan Yang laughed.
The White Tiger Divine Beast heard Evan Yang's words and sneered, "So you're set on not negotiating with me."
"That's right. Whatever you've got, bring it on. Or maybe you two together?" Evan Yang laughed.
"No need, I can handle it myself. Step out," the White Tiger Divine Beast said to Evan Yang. Suddenly a tunnel appeared before Evan Yang.
"Whew, let's walk around and see," Evan Yang muttered. He walked through the forest and arrived at a grassland full of cattle and sheep—quite a sight.
"Cattle and sheep? That's interesting," Evan Yang smiled and stepped onto the grassland. But as soon as he entered, the cattle and sheep vanished, the grass disappeared, and it turned into barren mountains.
"No need for your offer. Let's just get this over with," Evan Yang laughed.
"Sigh, I really don't want to kill you," the White Tiger Divine Beast sighed. In its mind, killing Evan Yang would make it much harder to find Ember Yang, cutting off its best lead.
"No need for regrets, just do it. If you don't, I'll attack first," Evan Yang said.
"No rush. First, let me send you into my space," the White Tiger Divine Beast chuckled, then flung Evan Yang into a space it had created. The space was filled with forest, leaving Evan Yang puzzled about the White Tiger Divine Beast's intentions.
Curious, Evan Yang asked, "Hey, what's this supposed to mean? Are you testing how tough your space is?"
"No, I just want to slowly torture you until you give in," the White Tiger Divine Beast laughed.
"Nice idea, but I've never surrendered in my life. You're wasting your effort," Evan Yang replied with a laugh.
The White Tiger Divine Beast grinned. "Relax, this is just the beginning. Take your time. I won't keep you company—see you in three days."
The White Tiger Divine Beast's voice disappeared, leaving Evan Yang alone in the unfamiliar space, surrounded by endless forest.
Meanwhile, the White Tiger Divine Beast was still with the White Tiger King.
"What about him?" the White Tiger King asked curiously.
"I've sent him into my secret space. He'll learn his lesson there. When he comes out in three days, he'll hand Ember Yang over obediently," the White Tiger Divine Beast said confidently.
"But he's not an ordinary person. I'm afraid that space won't work on him," the White Tiger King said doubtfully.
"What? Are you doubting my space?" the White Tiger Divine Beast glared.
"Not at all," the White Tiger King replied.
"Alright, you're done here. Your task is finished, go do your own thing," the White Tiger Divine Beast said, dismissing the White Tiger King. Then the White Tiger Divine Beast lay back down in its cave to sleep, waiting for three days to pass.
Meanwhile, Evan Yang was examining his surroundings in the space. At first he thought the White Tiger Divine Beast had created it, but he knew a bit about space creation and felt this wasn't the White Tiger Divine Beast's space. Normally, there would be the White Tiger Divine Beast's aura, but here there was only a faint, ancient, unfamiliar presence.
"Whew, let's walk around and see," Evan Yang muttered. He walked through the forest and arrived at a grassland full of cattle and sheep—quite a sight.
"Cattle and sheep? That's interesting," Evan Yang smiled and stepped onto the grassland. But as soon as he entered, the cattle and sheep vanished, the grass disappeared, and it turned into barren mountains.
"What the—" Evan Yang was stunned. Was the scene just now an illusion?
As he wondered about the place, the ground began to shake and crack open. Strange creatures crawled out of the fissures and swarmed to attack Evan Yang.
These creatures could devour anything—including energy. When Evan Yang attacked them, they weren't harmed; instead, they absorbed his power.
"Damn, what are these things?" Seeing such bizarre creatures, Evan Yang immediately tried to retreat, but couldn't. It was as if he were trapped in an illusion.
"A Painting Array—it must be a Painting Array. I just need to find the exit." Evan Yang used speed to evade the bugs instead of attacking, searching for the array's core.
The array core was in a cave within a fissure. Evan Yang found it, flashed inside, and saw a giant creature like the previous ones, only much larger.
Evan Yang knew this was the array core's creature. If he killed it, he'd be free. He gripped the Limitless Spear, but couldn't use any attributes, so he fought with brute force, stabbing the creature directly.
The creature instantly shrank to the size of the other bugs and attacked Evan Yang. Evan Yang fought with pure physical combat, no attribute attacks, until he finally killed it.
Once it was dead, the illusion vanished and the surroundings returned to calm—a normal mountain range.
"Strange, there's a Painting Array here? Is the whole space inside a Painting Array?" Evan Yang wondered. Either way, he knew he had to find the space's weakest point to escape.
Evan Yang walked through the mountains for a while, then found an ancient stone stele covered in beast carvings: White Tiger, Fire Phoenix, and Dragon.
"A stele? What kind of inheritance is this?" Evan Yang wondered, then touched the White Tiger carving.
Suddenly, Evan Yang was pulled inside the stele. A gigantic phantom White Tiger appeared, attacking with blinding white light.
Evan Yang couldn't see clearly, so he relied on spiritual sense. He used the Realm-Shuttle Pen for short-range teleportation, dodging the White Tiger's attacks.
The White Tiger phantom was endless and its power overwhelming. Evan Yang had no choice but to retreat into the Strange Spiral Shell.
Inside the Strange Spiral Shell, the White Tiger phantom stopped moving, acting like an untriggered illusion. Evan Yang realized the shell's inner world was insulated from external sensing—even beast-soul projections.
Ember Yang and the others inside the Strange Spiral Shell were surprised to see Evan Yang appear; they thought he was still fighting outside.
Evan Yang explained what happened, then left the shell to continue the trial.
He endured the White Tiger phantom's attacks and finally found the trial's weakest point, breaking free from the stele's space.
Evan Yang stood outside the stele, breathing heavily. He looked around, trying to figure out the next step in escaping the White Tiger Divine Beast's mysterious space.