Evan Yang had originally planned to go outside, but after one hundred and fifty years in seclusion, his Soul-Gathering region underwent further changes. Eldon, the Ancient Tree Soul, said to Evan, "You're about to break through."
"Yeah, I know. Please step out for a bit," Evan said to Eldon.
Eldon obediently withdrew from Evan's Soul-Gathering region and hovered nearby, watching as Evan's Soul-Gathering region expanded.
Time passed bit by bit. After about half a year, Evan finally opened his eyes. At this moment, his cultivation had already advanced to late Soul-Gathering Realm.
"Whew, late stage already." Evan hadn't expected that over a hundred years of seclusion would let him reach the next realm so quickly.
Eldon excitedly returned to Evan's Soul-Gathering region.
As Evan prepared to withdraw his divine sense, he noticed that whenever Eldon cultivated in his Soul-Gathering region, a glow would radiate out.
That glow was a pale green, very similar to the energy of the Heaven‑Cold Seed. Both his Primordial Spirit and soul would absorb that light together.
"What's this?" Evan asked in surprise.
After observing for a while, Evan asked Eldon what was going on. Eldon's answer was that whenever he entered a certain cultivation state, this energy would appear.
Evan finally understood why he had advanced so quickly to the next stage: his Primordial Spirit and soul absorbed the radiance Eldon emitted, gradually growing larger until even his Soul-Gathering region could no longer contain them, forcing a breakthrough.
This was just Evan's guess—he didn't bother to study it further, only knowing that reaching the next realm would still take a long time.
So he quickly exited his Soul-Gathering region, glanced at the scene outside the tower, and found that after just a day had passed, those two outside were starting to get restless.
"With my current strength, it's time to go out and test it." Evan had just entered late Soul-Gathering Realm and was eager to try out his power.
So, while General Ross and General Chiba were complaining about whether Evan had gone mad yet, a figure appeared by the river not far away.
"That's him!" General Ross shouted loudly when he saw the figure.
General Chiba was shocked as well. The two quickly moved to encircle Evan, wanting to block him, but Evan's speed was astonishing—faster than either of them.
"How can this be?" General Ross exclaimed in shock after seeing Evan's speed.
"What's wrong?" General Chiba asked. He had never fought Evan before and didn't know Evan's true strength.
"His speed is much faster than before, and his cultivation has reached late Soul-Gathering Realm," General Ross replied.
"Is that possible? Looks like he's been cultivating there for all three years," General Chiba exclaimed in shock after hearing this.
"So what do we do now?" With Ross's Snare Net already destroyed, it was nearly impossible to block Evan—so he looked to General Chiba for a solution.
General Chiba glanced at General Ross, then at Evan, and said, "I'll fuse with my treasure and block his escape route. The fighting will be up to you."
"No problem." General Ross knew all about Chiba's treasure—its defense and blocking power were formidable. The only downside was that once Chiba activated it, he would merge with the treasure and could only trap, not attack, until the technique ended.
So Ross understood Chiba's plan: Chiba would trap Evan, leaving the fighting to Ross.
Evan had no idea what they were planning—he just wanted to split them up and defeat each one separately. But the two moved at the same speed, never separating, so he could only fly around, waiting for a chance to strike.
Just then, a wall appeared before Evan—then to his left, right, behind, above, and below. All six sides became walls, and inside were only Evan and General Ross.
"Ha! Kid, you can't escape now!" General Ross laughed loudly.
"Where's the other one?" Evan realized this place was sealed—besides Ross, he couldn't see General Chiba anywhere.
"This cage is me. I am the cage. Kid, you can't escape." General Chiba's voice echoed.
Evan finally understood where the walls came from—they were the result of that person's magic treasure, and it seemed he was still maintaining it, so inside, Evan could only see General Ross.
"Be smart, kid. Hand over your treasure and cripple your own cultivation," General Ross said with a grin.
"Treasure? Cripple my cultivation? You make it sound so easy," Evan replied with a smile.
"If you don't, I'll just kill you and take your treasure anyway," Ross sneered when Evan showed no fear and refused to comply.
"Go ahead and try." Evan had already released his divine sense, watching for changes in the cage and Ross.
"Fine! Then I'll kill you!" Seeing Evan refuse, Ross sneered and stepped forward, clad in silver armor, and threw a punch.
Evan didn't dodge; he punched back as well. At this moment, he could unleash fiftyfold stacking fist gear, doubled, reaching a hundred times attack power.
A hundredfold late Soul-Gathering Realm attack, stacked together, could surpass an ordinary Soul-Gathering cultivator. When his punch landed on Ross's hand, Ross's arm trembled and even went numb, forcing him to pull back. "Kid, after just three years, your attacks are way stronger!"
Evan laughed inwardly: "From mid to late Soul-Gathering, most people only gain one realm's worth of attack power, but I can stack mine—no wonder it's so extraordinary." Out loud, he said, "I told you I'd remember you. Today, consider this a little interest!"
"Ridiculous! Just late Soul-Gathering and you think you're all that?" Ross laughed loudly at Evan's arrogance, but deep down he knew Evan's changes in three years were astonishing—especially that punch, which he dared not take again.
Evan was much better off facing Ross's punch now—no numbness like before. He even had a one percent chance of unleashing a hundredfold stacking, doubled to two hundred times attack power. If he managed it, his opponent would be seriously injured.
So, as always, Evan started fighting Ross wildly. Ross's speed was clearly no match for Evan's, and he cursed inwardly, "You freak, what kind of speed is that?"
General Chiba, fused with the cage, was also shocked—especially since Evan was only late Soul-Gathering but could pressure a Seventh-Rank General of Fiend Palace like Ross. If it were him, he might not keep up with Evan's speed either.
Throughout the whole arena, Evan was in control. Every time Ross touched hands with him, he had to grit his teeth and endure the pain, which left him quite frustrated.
But there was nothing he could do—Evan was faster, just as strong, and his body was far tougher than Ross's.
Now that Evan was late Soul-Gathering, his body was far stronger than Ross's. After dozens of rounds, Evan's hands were only red, while Ross's were covered in wounds and blood.
Ross was clearly starting to fear Evan, and began to threaten him, "Kid, you'd better stop now. If you keep this up, Fiend Palace will never let you off!"
Hearing this, Evan guessed the gist of it and sneered, "So if I stop now, you'll just let me go? I'm not that naive!"
"If you stop and hand over your treasure, we'll let you go right now," Ross said, glaring at Evan but then trying to coax him.