Young Master Song dragged Tina Cloud along, while the others searched for Evan Yang.
Evan Yang's sudden disappearance made these people uneasy. Some were excited, thinking they might obtain his treasure, but others were wary, feeling a sense of danger.
Suddenly, one person vanished. The group was shocked and quickly rushed to where he disappeared, clearly entering Evan Yang's formation. His array trapped them long enough, so Evan stepped out and smiled at Young Master Song, "Do you still plan to block our way, Young Master Song?"
Both Young Master Song and Tina Cloud were stunned. Evan Yang, with strength below Earth-Immortal, had wiped out people far stronger than himself.
"Kid, what trick did you use? Where are they?" Young Master Song asked unwillingly.
"Them? They're busy killing each other," Evan Yang said with a smile.
Young Master Song didn't understand what Evan meant. Tina Cloud also raised her eyebrows curiously at Evan. Evan just smiled and said, "Watch." With that, he lifted the formation.
The moment the array was lifted, those people were already broken and battered, some even clutching each other's throats. When they regained their senses, they realized they had attacked their own teammates.
"How could this happen?" Young Master Song exclaimed in shock.
"Aren't you going to leave? Or do you want to end up like them, Young Master Song?" Evan Yang asked with a smile.
"You, you... Everyone, let's go!" Young Master Song felt he had encountered something unbelievable and shouted in shock.
The injured but still conscious ones quickly followed Young Master Song and left, leaving Tina Cloud staring at Evan Yang in amazement. "How did you do that?" she asked.
"Just some tricks. Let's hurry up and head to Cloud's End Palace," Evan Yang said.
"If you have this kind of ability, why didn't you help the Cloud Family?" Tina Cloud stared at Evan Yang.
"This only works on people like them. If someone stronger shows up, it might not be effective," Evan Yang replied.
"You're really surprising me. I never expected you to be like this," Tina Cloud couldn't help but sigh.
"Alright, let's not talk about this. Hurry up and go—if any real experts show up, we'll be in trouble," Evan Yang said to Tina Cloud.
At this moment, Tina Cloud found Evan Yang hard to read, feeling he was simply incredible. With the Cloud Family out of reach and uncertain circumstances, she could only hope to follow Evan and wait for her father to contact them someday.
Young Master Song brought the seriously wounded back to the Cloud Family estate, only to find it in ruins, with not a single person left who could fight. "My father and the others must have already left. Let's go," he said, seeing that Patriarch Song was gone. He then led the wounded away, returning to the Song Family. In the Song Family's secret prison, a person was being held—Lynton Cloud.
Standing before Lynton Cloud was Patriarch Song, who smiled and said, "Patriarch Cloud, stop struggling. Your daughter will be brought to see you soon."
At that moment, Young Master Song came in and whispered a few words to Patriarch Song. The patriarch's face changed drastically. "What? They escaped?"
"Yeah, and the people we sent were all injured," Young Master Song replied.
Hearing this, Lynton Cloud burst out laughing. "Patriarch Song, how about it? You lost, didn't you?"
"Damn it! Patriarch Cloud, don't get too happy yet. With you in my hands, I'm not afraid they won't show up," Patriarch Song snorted. He turned and asked Young Master Song, "What exactly happened?"
"That kid used some unknown method and made our people kill each other," Young Master Song explained.
Hearing this, Patriarch Song frowned. "Is that even possible?"
"Yeah, that's why I hurried back, hoping for your advice," Young Master Song said.
"Come on, let's talk outside," Patriarch Song said to Young Master Song, then turned and left. Lynton Cloud muttered, "Evan Yang really has that kind of power? Looks like the girl shouldn't be in much danger now."
Evan Yang and Tina Cloud had already left the Cloud Family's territory and continued toward Cloud's End Palace. It took them more than half a month to reach their destination.
"Why are you so slow? I really don't know how you managed to stop them," Tina Cloud complained, thinking about Evan's slow pace over the past half month.
Evan Yang was helpless. Right now his strength was even below Earth-Immortal, so he could only fly slowly, naturally making their pace much slower.
"If it were before, I could have left you far behind at just one percent of my speed," Evan Yang replied.
"Enough. Instead of worrying about nonsense, you'd be better off thinking about what's happened to my father," Tina Cloud said, unable to let go of her concerns for him.
Evan Yang knew it wasn't the right time to search for anyone. If he left now, he might lose Tina Cloud before finding help.
"Just stay with me. If there's any news about your father, we'll go find him," Evan Yang said.
"Why are you going to Cloud's End Palace anyway?" Tina Cloud asked curiously.
"To take on some kind of challenge," Evan Yang replied.
"A challenge? What challenge? I've never heard of it," Tina Cloud asked, curious.
Evan Yang didn't know what the challenge was either, so for now he could only wait until they reached Cloud's End Palace before making any plans.
As they spoke, a guard appeared ahead. He was standing atop a magical artifact, quickly coming to a stop before them. He looked them up and down and asked, "Who are you two? Why have you come to Cloud's End Palace?"
"I'm here to take on the challenge and obtain the Willstone," Evan Yang said.
"So, another one looking for death. Go ahead," the guard said.
Evan Yang was puzzled why the guard said he was courting death. Was that place really so dangerous? Still, he was eager to see the challenge and obtain the Willstone.
As for Tina Cloud, she could only follow Evan Yang. Soon, they arrived at a tower called the Cloud-Lock Tower.
"First, go to the entrance and test your strength. Then you'll be placed at the appropriate level," the guard said.
Evan Yang nodded, then said to Tina Cloud, "Wait here for me. Remember, don't leave."
"Got it. Go ahead. I still don't understand what you're here for," Tina Cloud replied.
Evan Yang didn't explain why he was taking on this trial, but said, "If I come out of there, it means I have the power to take you back to find your father."
Tina Cloud didn't understand what Evan Yang meant and thought he was joking. Still, she remained worried about her father.
While Evan Yang went to take the test, Tina Cloud couldn't restrain herself and slipped away, heading toward the Cloud Family.
After Evan Yang's test revealed his strength was even below Earth-Immortal, the testers looked at each other, thinking he must really have something wrong with his head. So they sent him straight to the lowest level. Arriving there, Evan Yang frowned, "What kind of trial will it be?"
Just as Evan Yang finished speaking, someone appeared. This person was an Earth-Immortal. He said to Evan, "You haven't even reached Earth-Immortal, and you're here to court death? I really don't know what you're thinking."
"Since I'm here, let's cut to the chase. If I defeat you, does that count as passing?" Evan Yang asked.
"That's right," the person replied.
Evan Yang nodded. As soon as the match started, he launched a heavy attack, catching the Earth-Immortal off guard. The guy cursed inwardly, thinking there was no way Evan was weaker than Earth-Immortal—his explosive power was terrifying. In the end, Evan's flames burned him so badly that even his eyebrows were gone. Furious, he said, "You've passed. This is your Willstone."
Afterward, the man pointed to a staircase not far away, telling Evan it led to the second level, where the opponents were peak Earth-Immortals.
Evan Yang knew that facing peak Earth-Immortals would be tough with his current strength. Looking at the box in his hand, he muttered, "Maybe this thing really is useful." He opened it and saw a thumb-sized, dense white stone.
"Let's try absorbing it," Evan Yang thought, curious if it would really restore his consciousness as Lynton Cloud had said.
So Evan Yang began absorbing the stone. Once he finished, he had recovered to Earth-Immortal level. Seeing that he really could slowly recover, he was overjoyed and headed to the second level. He kept defeating opponents and obtaining more Willstones, with the rewards increasing as he climbed higher.
Evan Yang couldn't understand why Cloud's End Palace had set up such a tower—was it just to give everyone these Willstones? But he had no time to worry about the palace's purpose; right now, he just needed to hurry to the higher levels.
Meanwhile, outside, Tina Cloud spent several hours reaching the Cloud Family. She saw the estate in ruins, with many corpses already decaying.
Seeing the tragic state of these people, Tina Cloud was horrified, fearing her father might have suffered the same fate.
"My father will be alright," Tina Cloud muttered.
She searched the entire Cloud Family estate but found no trace of him. In the end, Tina thought of the Song Family.
"Go to the Song Family... But with my strength, I'll be discovered before I even get close, let alone rescue my father," Tina Cloud muttered, suspecting her father was kidnapped by the Song Family.
After thinking it over, she decided to observe the Song Family, hoping to get information from some of their people.
She went to an inn near the Song Family and carefully watched the comings and goings. One day, she saw Young Master Song leaving alone, heading out of the city. Seeing he was alone, Tina decided to target him.
Tina Cloud rushed outside the city and intercepted Young Master Song not far from the gates. Seeing the missing Tina, he was delighted. "I didn't expect you'd come to me yourself," he said.
"Tell me, did you capture my father?" Tina Cloud demanded angrily.
"That's right, we did. What, missing your father? Want me to take you to see him?" Young Master Song said with a smile.
"Damn it! Tell me where my father is!" Tina Cloud shouted angrily.
"Are you trying to force me to talk? Do you really have that kind of strength? Or is that kid hiding nearby?" Young Master Song frowned, suspecting Evan Yang might be hidden somewhere, given Tina's boldness.
Seeing Young Master Song's expression, Tina Cloud calculated her options and said, "That's right, he's somewhere nearby. You can't see him. If you don't talk, you'll die next."