Evan Yang paused, then turned and said, "I can only help you get out of here, but once we're outside, you'll have to go your own way."
"Why?" Sharla was naturally averse to being refused, and after everything that had happened, she was completely unsure what to do next.
"I've got important matters to handle. And what happened between us—that was only because we had no other choice," Evan said.
"Are you disgusted with me?" Sharla asked.
"No, you're overthinking it. Once we're out of here, I'll explain everything," Evan said, worried that if he stayed too long, that lord might notice, so he spoke quickly.
Sharla knew she'd already offended her master; if one day he decided she was no longer useful, he might just kill her. So now, given the chance, she wanted to leave with Evan.
Hearing Evan say this, she nodded. "Alright, we'll talk after we leave."
Evan put Sharla into his tower treasure, then, just like before, slowly walked out of the inn.
After Evan left, that important figure felt something was off, went next door, knocked on the door, found no response, and pushed it open—only to see the room was completely empty.
"Damn it, this is bad!" The man was shocked when he found no one inside.
Soon, the hidden sentries lurking in the shadows all appeared as well.
"Quick, catch that kid from earlier!" the man exclaimed in shock.
The group rushed out of the inn, but the place was crowded and they couldn't find Evan's whereabouts. By then, Evan had already changed his appearance and left the city.
After leaving the city, Evan walked a long way before finally stopping a day later and letting Sharla out.
"Where exactly did you go? Why did it take so long?" Sharla asked, surprised after spending fifty days inside the tower.
"I didn't go anywhere, actually outside only a day has passed," Evan replied.
"A day? How is that possible?" Sharla asked, confused.
"It's because of my treasure. Let's not talk about that. Let's discuss our situation—now that we've come so far, they shouldn't be able to find us," Evan said.
"Alright, take me with you. Wherever you go, I'll go," Sharla said.
Evan shook his head. "No, you know why things are the way they are between us. I don't want you following me just because of a mission, and besides, I've got important things to do—it's not suitable to bring someone along."
At this point, Evan just wanted to travel alone. He had something very important—and very dangerous—to do, so he wasn't bringing any friends along.
But in Sharla's eyes, Evan was rejecting her, which left her feeling frustrated.
Seeing her expression, Evan sighed helplessly. "Sorry, let's end things here. If fate lets us meet again someday, we'll have a good talk then."
With that, Evan flashed away—he was afraid that if he stayed any longer, he'd go soft, so he chose to leave quickly.
Watching Evan's departing figure, Sharla took out her Transmission Stone. It was full of messages from her master—mostly asking for updates, and finally threatening severe consequences if she didn't return.
Holding the Transmission Stone, Sharla simply tossed it into the air and walked away, thinking to herself, "Where should I go? Or should I follow him? Yeah, I'll follow him."
Sharla gradually followed after Evan. Even though he was fast, she'd left her own unique tracking item on him.
This thing could track Evan's location even across several planets, so Sharla wasn't worried about him getting too far away.
Evan had no idea that Sharla had tampered with him long ago. Back when she thought he was Gary Li, she not only poisoned him but also planted a trick. She'd originally planned to tell Evan and have him remove it, but today she secretly left it in place without telling him—so Evan left believing she wouldn't follow.
And so, Evan set off on his own, heading for the main world of the eighth great power—Mistmount Star.
Mistmount Star, as the main world of the eighth great power, was enormous—and with the upcoming Territory War Contest, the whole planet was buzzing.
There were still several months before the contest began, but as soon as Evan arrived on the planet, he could feel the tense pre-contest atmosphere. Many sects and clans had already booked up the luxury hotels and inns, so even wealthy rogue cultivators could only find smaller places to stay.
"So many people... This is probably the most I've ever seen since coming to the Immortal Realm, and there are plenty of experts among them," Evan remarked, surprised at the sheer number of people—and the many hidden masters lurking about.
Evan was using a different appearance now; he didn't want to draw attention. What he really wanted was news about Blaze Mountain, so he was planning to find the Yang Family. As for when they'd show up, he wasn't sure—he could only wait for the contest to begin.
After entering, Evan discovered that a whole area had been set aside as the contest zone. Without the proper qualifications, you couldn't get in. Powerful formations protected the perimeter, making it nearly impossible to sneak in or out.
Evan walked up to the formation entrance and asked, "What are the requirements to enter?"
"There are lots of ways to qualify. If you're with a sect, clan, or force, you can go in under their banner. If you're a rogue cultivator, you'll need to pay ten million upper-grade Immortal Source stones and register your information into the formation. That way, if anything happens, we can track you down," the guard explained.
Evan considered it. Ten million upper-grade stones wasn't impossible, and there was still time. He decided to look for a way to get the money, so he left to think.
All the big hotels and inns were full, so Evan had no choice but to go to a regular restaurant.
After sitting down, Evan was thinking about how to get Immortal Source stones when someone walked over and said, "Fellow Daoist, look—I have some great Immortal artifacts here. Are you here for the contest? With my gear, you'll definitely do well!"
Evan thought the voice sounded really familiar. He turned around—and was stunned.
It was none other than Liam Willow, known as the Weird-Hair Thief. Back when Evan first arrived in the Earth-Immortal Newcomer Star System, he'd run into this guy selling Immortal artifacts. Evan hadn't bought anything, but Liam stole one of his items and tried to resell it to him—only to get caught and forced to lead Evan to the sect.
That's why Evan found him so familiar. Once he saw Liam's face, he understood. Liam, of course, didn't recognize Evan's new look and thought he was just some newbie—so he tried to sell him stuff and make a little Immortal Source.
Evan decided to mess with him a bit, so he asked, "What grade are these? They're all so low-level?"
"Depends on what grade you want," Liam said with a grin.
"Got any eighth-grade ones?" Evan asked with a smile.
Liam froze, then replied, "Fellow Daoist, if I had eighth-grade artifacts, would I be here hawking wares?"
"That's true. If you had eighth-grade stuff, you'd be living the good life," Evan said with a laugh.
"Exactly," Liam laughed. Just then, someone shouted from not far away, "Weird-Hair Thief, stop right there!"
Hearing the shout, Liam Willow tossed out a quick excuse: "Urgent business, gotta run! See you next time!" Then he bolted.
"Is he scamming people again? Getting chased?" Evan sighed at Liam's antics, but seeing the group of pursuers—who brought some strong fighters—he started to worry about Liam's safety.
Thinking it over, Evan figured there was still time before the contest. He might as well let this slick kid come up with some ideas to earn Immortal Source, so Evan got up and headed in the direction they'd disappeared.
They stopped in a distant spot out in the wilderness. Liam looked a bit injured, surrounded by seven or eight people. The man who'd called out to him sneered, "Weird-Hair Thief, you've got guts—stealing my stuff!"
"Nonsense! It was mine in the first place—you guys just took it from me!" Liam said angrily.
"You sold it to me, so it's mine," the man said with a laugh.
"Sold it to you? You snatched it! Just like a bandit!" Liam retorted, furious.
"Enough talk, hand it over," the leader ordered.
"I'd rather die than give it to you!" Liam snorted.
"Didn't expect the Weird-Hair Thief to be so stubborn. But the more you resist, the more I like it. Everyone, attack together—let's see how long you can hold out!" the man sneered.
Liam Willow braced himself—today was the most miserable day he'd had, running into such a disaster.
The group was ready to attack. Liam had his defenses up, but he knew he was bound to get badly hurt. There was nowhere to run—every escape route was blocked.
Just as the attack was about to hit Liam, a burst of light shielded him. A few screams rang out, and the leader cursed, "Damn it! You'll pay for this!"
Then everything went quiet. "You can open your eyes now," someone said.
Liam had been waiting to die, but was shocked to see someone smiling at him.
"Weren't you the guy from earlier?" Liam exclaimed, amazed to have met a benefactor today.
It was none other than Evan. Though the attackers were Earth-Immortal level, they were nothing to Evan.
As for Liam, after all these years he'd only reached eighth rank Earth-Immortal. That was fast for most, but Evan was a monster—no comparison. Liam didn't realize the benefactor was Evan, just thought he'd lucked out.
So he exclaimed, "Thank you, Senior!"
"Senior?" Evan replied with a strange smile.
"Is something wrong?" Liam asked suspiciously.
"Liam Willow, never thought you'd end up like this," Evan said with a smile.
"You know me?" Liam asked, confused.
"I know you all too well—you once stole from me!" Evan laughed.
"Huh?" Hearing that, Liam quickly stepped back. He'd stolen from plenty of people—was this one here for revenge? The thought made his hair stand on end.