The Fiend Palace Lord knew the real reason, but he still put on a surprised expression and said, "How could this happen?"
"I don't know either," Evan Yang sighed.
"You need to rest more in the future, otherwise how will you take care of my daughter?" said the Fiend Palace Lord.
"Don't worry, Palace Lord. I'll be fine, and this sort of thing is nothing to me. Maybe it'll be gone by tomorrow," Evan Yang said with a smile.
"Idiot, he doesn't even realize he's been poisoned," Quinn Qing snickered from a short distance away.
The Fiend Palace Lord was also secretly amused, but Evan Yang didn't say much. Instead, he followed the Palace Lord as he introduced him to everyone.
Starting today, Evan Yang had become the Palace Lord's son-in-law, meaning he was now part of the Sanctuary. He'd have some reputation in the palace, but it was all just for show.
Once everyone was more or less acquainted, the Palace Lord held the wedding for Evan Yang and Hannah Nangong. Although he wasn't very willing, it was his own announcement, so he had to go through with it. At the same time, thinking Evan would soon die made him feel much better inside.
"Thank you all for coming to my daughter's wedding today, so please drink to your heart's content," the Palace Lord said with a smile.
The people below naturally raised their cups and began drinking wildly. Evan Yang didn't know anyone, so he felt awkward whether he stayed or left. After the Palace Lord finished speaking, he had Evan go around to toast everyone, while he left with a few clan and sect leaders.
Evan Yang watched those people leave and naturally sensed something was up. After mingling with the crowd for a while, he gradually slipped away from their sight, heading in the direction where the Fiend Palace Lord and the others had disappeared.
He stopped outside a palace, went invisible so no one could detect him, and entered the area. Inside, he saw many experts gathered, all talking among themselves.
"How are things going with what I mentioned to you all a few days ago?" the Fiend Palace Lord asked the group.
"I want to know what the actual odds of victory are," one manager asked.
The Fiend Palace Lord repeated what he'd told Quentin Qing before to these people, while Evan Yang listened outside. Hearing they were discussing the Territory War Contest, he finally understood. Just as he was about to leave, he overheard something that piqued his interest.
"Could the Palace Lord reveal who these external helpers are?" someone asked.
"Even if I told you, it wouldn't help. They're friends from some remote clans," said the Palace Lord.
"Remote? Which clan exactly?" another person asked.
"The Yang Clan," replied the Palace Lord.
"The Yang Clan? Which Yang Clan?" the person who had asked earlier was puzzled.
"Of course, it's the Yang Clan that once stirred up the Immortal Realm, the very one whose bloodline is notorious for its problems," said the Fiend Palace Lord.
"That Yang Clan!" The crowd was shocked when they heard this.
"That's right. In about a hundred years, they'll send some people to help us. All we have to do is give them a few planets; they don't need much, since their base isn't here," said the Palace Lord.
A few planets meant nothing to them, so with such powerful support, everyone was eager to agree. The Fiend Palace Lord hadn't expected such a strong reaction, but was very pleased. He smiled and said, "Alright, when the time comes, I'll organize things. We'll all submit the planets we're contributing together."
"Alright." The representatives from each clan and sect smiled. In their eyes, with those Yang Clan monsters involved, victory was assured.
Outside the door, Evan Yang was both shocked and excited. The Yang Clan they spoke of sounded just like his own situation—could it really be a bloodline issue?
He really wanted to know if his father was from this Yang Clan. If so, he'd definitely have to investigate. But at that moment, he remembered Celestial Resonance Sect, so he decided to go there first, find the teleportation array, and deal with everything else later.
After their meeting ended, everyone left, and Evan Yang quickly found a direction to leave as well. Returning to the banquet hall, he saw the Fiend Palace Lord looking for him.
"Where did you go?" the Palace Lord asked curiously.
Evan Yang smiled, "I got a bit tipsy, so I went to clear my head."
"So that's how it is. Kid, you'd better work hard. Today is your big day," the Palace Lord said with a smile, though deep down he hated Evan Yang.
But the Palace Lord could only pretend to be cheerful, and everyone around understood his true feelings, silently sighing. The Palace Lord laughed, "Let's drink heavily today."
Then the Palace Lord drank with everyone. They were happy because of the Territory War Contest, while Evan Yang played along, acting as if he knew nothing.
When night fell, the Palace Lord sent Evan Yang to Beryl Waters Palace and had someone prepare a special surprise.
Evan Yang had no idea what the so-called surprise was, but when he arrived at Beryl Waters Palace, he found everyone had been withdrawn. "Is clearing out the people the surprise?" Evan Yang chuckled.
When he walked inside, he saw Hannah Nangong packing up, not acting like a newlywed at all.
"So soon?" Evan Yang asked.
"If we stay here any longer, we'll probably die. That's why they've left, so now we can leave on our own," Hannah Nangong said.
"Isn't today supposed to be our big day?" Evan Yang joked.
"Big day? We're just pretending to be married. Your safety matters more. Let's go," Hannah Nangong said.
"Do we really have to leave so soon?" Evan Yang asked.
"Of course. What did you expect?" Hannah Nangong was already packed and ready.
Evan Yang looked at Hannah Nangong's expression and said, "Alright, let's go."
So that night, Hannah Nangong and Evan Yang left Beryl Waters Palace. Elsewhere in the palace, a guard reported to the Palace Lord, "They've left."
"Oh? That fast? Not spending the night together?" the Palace Lord laughed.
"It was the young miss who insisted on leaving," the guard replied.
"Let them leave, but did you install what I asked for?" the Palace Lord asked.
"Yes, I've placed something special on the young miss. If we need to find her, we can locate her anytime," the guard said.
The Palace Lord nodded, "You may go."
After the guard left, the Palace Lord muttered, "Back when I picked you up, I thought you'd bring some benefit. But in the end, you still turn against me! Once that brat dies, I'll bring you back."
If Hannah Nangong and Evan Yang were here, they'd definitely be shocked by what the Palace Lord just said.
At that moment, Evan Yang and Hannah Nangong were already in the capital, having left via the teleportation array.
Just after they left, more people appeared and soon departed as well.
Relying on her knowledge of Celestial Resonance Sect, Hannah Nangong began transferring between teleportation arrays, sometimes even flying along the way.
Eventually, they arrived at a planet in a star system. Hannah Nangong said, "This is the main star of Celestial Resonance Sect."
"Where do we go next?" Evan Yang asked.
"I'm not really sure. I only know the main star's location, but not where Celestial Resonance Sect's base is," Hannah Nangong replied.
"I see. So how do we find it?" Evan Yang asked.
"Let me try to contact someone." Hannah Nangong took out a messaging stone and started contacting people. After a while, she told Evan Yang, "We'll go to a nearby place called Tianxiao City and wait there. It'll take about a day for them to arrive here."
"That far?" Evan Yang exclaimed.
"I don't know either. They told me to wait in the city for a day," Hannah Nangong said.
Evan Yang nodded and followed Hannah Nangong, but halfway there, he noticed some suspicious people. He stopped and called out, "You can come out now."
Three people appeared, all wearing matching uniforms, clearly belonging to a sect or organization.
"Who are you?" Evan Yang asked.
"Brother Yang, don't misunderstand. We'd like to invite you as a guest," one of them said with a smile.
"Where to?" Evan Yang asked curiously.
"We can't tell you yet. If you come with us, you'll find out," one replied.
Evan Yang frowned, "You expect me to just go with you? What if you're planning to kill me or something?"
The three looked at each other, then one said, "Don't worry, we're definitely not here to harm you. We just want you as a guest. Someone at our place is very interested in you and wants to talk."
"Talk?" Evan Yang chuckled.
This whole thing felt a bit absurd—someone wanted to talk to him, but wouldn't even give their name.
"Brother Yang, you showed impressive strength, so we're here to talk with you. If possible, we'd like you to join us," one of them added.
Hearing this, Evan Yang finally understood—they must be from some organization or sect that wanted to recruit him because of his strength.
But Evan Yang replied decisively, "No thanks."
"Brother Yang, you really won't reconsider?" one of them asked again.
"No need. If it's about joining something, I'm not interested," Evan Yang replied, then left with Hannah Nangong.
The three were left looking at each other, until one said, "What do we do now?"
"Master said we must invite him over, and we can't use force," one of them said.
"Senior Brother, but we can't persuade him. What now?" another asked.
"He'll need our help sooner or later. Just follow him, keep a respectful distance, and don't annoy him," said the one called Senior Brother.
Evan Yang heard all this and was curious about who their master was. The three seemed polite and weren't forcing him, so he didn't mind letting them follow.
Hannah Nangong, however, was uneasy. "They seem to be following us," she said.
"Let them follow. As long as they mean no harm, it's fine," Evan Yang said. His innate cultivation method was remarkable—he could sense anyone's malice toward him, and since these people meant no harm, he ignored them.
Seeing Evan Yang so confident, Hannah Nangong didn't worry further and continued toward Tianxiao City with him. Soon, they arrived in the city.
The city was indeed tiny; a single divine sense could cover the whole place. No wonder it was called Tianxiao City.
"Let's wait at the inn. After all, it'll be a day," Evan Yang said after thinking it over. The three followed Evan and Hannah to the inn as well.