Patriarch Fenn and the Ninefold Palace Lord had already arrived. The Ninefold Palace Lord said, "You handle things here. I'll go after him."
"Alright." Patriarch Fenn answered, then stepped forward to check Steward Fenn's injuries. He asked, "Who did this?"
"Reed Kong. But... it didn't quite look like him. His strength shouldn't be this crazy." Steward Fenn was still shaken by Evan Yang's punch—it almost killed him.
Patriarch Fenn took a look. That punch was brutal, at least as strong as a Nine Tribulations second stage expert. He muttered, "No way that's Reed Kong. If it were him, he'd have torn the Qiao Family apart already. Who could it be? Is it a disguise?"
"Definitely a disguise. Otherwise, there's no way they'd look exactly alike," Steward Fenn gritted out, enduring the pain.
"Yeah, and he let us catch him on purpose." Patriarch Fenn was starting to feel like he'd been played, and he was seriously pissed off.
"It's all my fault," Steward Fenn said, guilt heavy in his voice.
"This isn't on you. We'll wait for the Ninefold Palace Lord to come back and ask him." Patriarch Fenn replied, but deep down he was bitter. If he'd gotten here a bit sooner, that guy wouldn't have slipped away.
As soon as Evan Yang broke out of the Fenn estate, a bunch of hidden experts started tracking him. The Ninefold Palace Lord was one of them. Evan pushed his speed to the max, keeping up with some early-stage Nine Tribulations experts.
But even then, he couldn’t shake those top dogs. "Damn it, looks like I’ll have to use that trick," he muttered.
Right after, Evan beastified—his whole body transformed. The experts chasing him all froze, stunned. Evan Yang’s aura exploded, terrifyingly strong. Everyone stopped to see who’d dare make the first move.
Nobody dared move, not even the Ninefold Palace Lord—he stopped chasing Evan Yang on the spot.
Evan vanished in a flash. He’d already suffered once at the hands of the Fenn Family—he wasn’t about to let it happen again. Who knew if they’d brought out that weird Nine-Color Mirror? If he could run, he’d run.
In an instant, he disappeared from everyone’s sight. Even though these were the top experts in the mortal world, not a single one could track Evan Yang with their divine sense.
Evan had already fled several planets away. He knew that unless he got out of range of their divine senses, he’d never shake them. After all, even at Crossing-Shadow Realm, his own divine sense could cover a whole big planet—let alone the top powers. Only by getting truly far could he be safe.
So Evan had to get out of their line of sight, fast.
The Ninefold Palace Lord and the other hidden experts all scattered.
When the Ninefold Palace Lord returned to the Fenn estate, Patriarch Fenn was healing Steward Fenn. After finishing, Patriarch Fenn asked, "How is it?"
"I was just about to ask you guys," said the Ninefold Palace Lord.
"What’s up?" Patriarch Fenn asked, curious.
"Have you ever pissed off someone who can beastify? Like, suddenly a huge beast phantom appears and their strength goes through the roof." The Ninefold Palace Lord asked, genuinely curious.
Patriarch Fenn looked shocked, and Steward Fenn was downright terrified. "He’s still alive?" Steward Fenn blurted out.
"What’s going on?" The Ninefold Palace Lord realized they must know something.
So Steward Fenn quickly explained that the beast-transforming expert was Evan Yang’s friend. If they knew Evan was the one who could beastify, they’d be absolutely shocked.
"So that’s how it is... What’s their relationship, anyway?" The Ninefold Palace Lord felt a bit out of his depth after running into such a terrifying figure.
"No idea. But last time, we hit him with the Nine-Color Mirror. He should’ve died or been crippled, but how is he back after just a decade or so?" Patriarch Fenn said suspiciously.
"The Nine-Color Mirror?" The Ninefold Palace Lord was shocked.
"Yeah, we used it. Left him seriously injured, and then someone rescued him. We thought he was dead or crippled, but now look at this mess." Patriarch Fenn was furious after realizing Reed Kong was just a disguise for the beast-transforming expert.
"Patriarch, Palace Lord, this is nuts. It’s only been a decade or two. Back then, his strength without beastification was just Shadow-God Realm, but now he’s at Crossing-Shadow Great-Circle. And when he explodes, his power is way beyond Crossing-Shadow Realm." Steward Fenn couldn’t believe it.
The Ninefold Palace Lord was stunned. "Wait, you’re saying he was just Shadow-God Realm back then?"
"Yeah." Steward Fenn nodded.
"Brother Fenn, looks like things are getting complicated. Turns out Evan Yang has at least two terrifying backers—one is the guy we just saw, the other is whoever rescued him after the Nine-Color Mirror blasted him." The Ninefold Palace Lord was starting to realize this was no simple matter.
"Now Reed Kong’s been rescued too. If we want to catch Evan Yang again, it’s not looking good." Patriarch Fenn hated this situation—he’d almost lured Evan out, but now the bait was gone and all their effort was wasted.
"Looks like we need some help," the Ninefold Palace Lord said, realizing just how scary Evan’s backers were. He knew he and Patriarch Fenn couldn’t handle this alone.
"What do you mean?" Patriarch Fenn asked, suspicious.
"The others have figured it out too. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have shown up while I was chasing that guy. Since they know, why not tell them straight up and join forces? That way, we can take on Evan Yang and whoever’s backing him." said the Ninefold Palace Lord.
"Will they agree?" Patriarch Fenn wasn’t convinced.
"The Ancestor of Ten Thousand Insects is too tempting. They have no choice, unless they want to fight to the bitter end and lose their shot at it," the Ninefold Palace Lord laughed.
"What are you getting at?" Patriarch Fenn asked, curious.
"First, we grab the Ancestor of Ten Thousand Insects. As for who gets it in the end, we let the palaces and big clans battle it out fairly. Winner takes all. And your Fenn Family can team up with others to wipe out Evan Yang." The Ninefold Palace Lord analyzed.
"Palace Lord, you really are sharp," Patriarch Fenn muttered after hearing the plan.
"Alright, let’s do it." The Ninefold Palace Lord was ready to set the plan in motion.
Patriarch Fenn nodded. "Let’s get everyone together and talk. If we all agree, we move as a group. If not, we split up and do our own thing."
The Ninefold Palace Lord agreed. He and Patriarch Fenn went to invite the Heaven-Mystic Palace Lord, the Hundred-Bloom Palace Lord, and the others.
Meanwhile, Evan Yang was already long gone, several planets away. He kept his aura hidden and moved fast, making sure nobody could track him.
He was so fast, even the top experts couldn’t catch him. Evan Yang knew that if he wanted to survive, he had to stay out of their line of sight.
After a while, the big shots gathered at the Fenn estate. Patriarch Fenn and the Ninefold Palace Lord laid out the plan: join forces, catch Evan Yang, and seize the Ancestor of Ten Thousand Insects.
The Heaven-Mystic Palace Lord and the Hundred-Bloom Palace Lord agreed. They all wanted the Ancestor of Ten Thousand Insects, so teaming up made sense.
The alliance was formed. The hunt for Evan Yang began.
Meanwhile, Evan Yang was already far away, hiding out on a remote planet, preparing for his next move.
He knew the alliance was coming for him, but he wasn’t about to give up. Evan Yang was ready to fight back.
Back at the Fenn estate, the alliance started plotting. Patriarch Fenn, the Ninefold Palace Lord, Heaven-Mystic Palace Lord, and Hundred-Bloom Palace Lord all sat down to strategize.
"First, we need to pin down Evan Yang’s location," said the Ninefold Palace Lord.
"He’s got tricks—Hidden Dragon Elixir, beast transformation, and who knows what else. We’ll need to counter his disguises," Patriarch Fenn warned.
The Hundred-Bloom Palace Lord nodded. "We’ll put our best trackers on it. If he shows up, we’ll know."
The Heaven-Mystic Palace Lord added, "We’ll spread the word. Whoever finds Evan Yang gets a reward."
The alliance agreed. The hunt for Evan Yang was now a full-scale operation.
Evan Yang, meanwhile, kept moving, never staying in one place for long. He knew he had to stay ahead of the alliance if he wanted to survive.
The chase was on. The fate of the Ancestor of Ten Thousand Insects—and Evan Yang—was about to be decided.
End of Chapter.
[Irrelevant navigation prompt skipped.]