Seeing that Evan Yang couldn't even be bothered to explain, the woman became furious. "Unbelievable! So arrogant—let's see how I deal with you!"
With that, she extended her hand, and a long whip appeared in her grasp. Clutching one end, she swung the whip at Evan Yang, aiming to strike him.
Evan quickly leapt away. There was nothing around but the lake, so he jumped straight into the water. Right now, Evan didn't want to fight her—after all, he really had intruded by accident, and no explanation would make him look innocent.
Seeing Evan jump into the water, the woman snorted coldly. "You think hiding in the water will let you escape? Hmph! Watch this."
She swung her whip into the water. Evan was puzzled—could whipping water really be powerful? But as soon as the whip struck, the water surged like a massive wave, tossing Evan around as if his organs were turned upside down.
Still, it didn't really affect Evan. He quickly steadied himself in the water and said to the woman, "Miss, you've misunderstood. I only wandered in by accident."
"Accident? Do you look like someone who just wandered in? Hmph, watch how I deal with you." The woman didn't believe him and kept swinging her whip.
The water churned wildly under her whip, tearing apart the surrounding flowers, plants, and buildings. Seeing the chaos, Evan realized if this kept up, someone would definitely come. He quickly called out, "Sorry, I'm leaving now."
With that, Evan flashed away, heading back the way he came. The woman refused to give up—she chased after him, using her mirror artifact to reveal Evan's location.
Evan dashed ahead, the whip always striking close behind him—several times it nearly hit him, making his heart race. He thought, if he wanted to shake her off, he'd have to make sure she couldn't track him. Otherwise, if she discovered where he came from and chased him to the outer sea, he'd be in real trouble.
Suddenly, Evan stopped. As the whip was about to strike him, he dodged and grabbed the whip mid-air. He said to the woman, "I told you it wasn't on purpose. How long are you going to chase me?"
"You? You're pretty bold, daring to grab my whip. Fine, since that's how you want it, I'll show you how powerful my whip is." The woman snorted coldly. The whip started to shake, getting faster and faster, and Evan felt his grip slipping.
Not only that, the whip suddenly extended, and the new length wrapped around Evan, binding him tightly. The woman laughed, "Let's see if you can escape now, you shameless pervert."
"I really don't want to fight. You should just let me go." Evan sighed. If he truly tried to escape, her fifth-tier Emperor strength wouldn't be enough to stop him.
Hearing this, the woman felt Evan was looking down on her and snorted, "How dare you underestimate me!"
"I'm not underestimating you—I'm just stating the facts. If it weren't for this whip, your fifth-tier Emperor strength couldn't threaten me at all." Evan replied.
"You! Fine, I'll show you what happens when you underestimate me!" The woman was furious and tightened her control over the whip, making it wrap even more tightly.
Evan wasn't about to let himself be tied up. He grabbed the middle of the whip and pulled hard, trying to wrest control from her.
Noticing Evan's strength increasing and the whip being pulled toward him, the woman grew even more furious. She gripped it with both hands, refusing to let go.
Nearby, the spirit monkey hopped about, even picking up stones to throw at Evan. He was annoyed—being harassed by a monkey—but he had no time to deal with it. Besides, the monkey's attacks were barely a tickle; the real challenge was the woman's control over the whip. Evan knew he had to use all his strength to wrest it away, so he shouted and yanked hard—the whip snapped toward him at incredible speed.
The woman was strong too, but before she could react, Evan yanked her right over—the three-step gap between them vanished in an instant, and they crashed together at high speed. Both refused to let go, so they collided and were sent flying.
With a crash, they both flew backward. Evan plunged into the water, and so did the woman. Unfortunately, when Evan regained his senses, he realized her lips were pressed against his, her chest crushed against him by the force of the impact.
In that instant, a rush of warmth spread through the woman's body. Evan quickly supported her and noticed a smear of blood on his lips—left by the impact with her.
The woman trembled, as if something shocking had happened—her mind went blank. Evan didn't hesitate; realizing this was his chance to escape, he immediately took off.
The spirit monkey saw Evan leave while its mistress was still in a daze and started chattering non-stop, until a noisy group approached from behind.
A group of women appeared behind the Young Palace Lord.
"Young Palace Lord, what happened?" an older woman asked in surprise.
The woman snapped out of it and stammered, "N-nothing happened." Then she left with the spirit monkey on her artifact, leaving the others staring at each other in confusion.
One woman muttered, "What's wrong with the Young Palace Lord now? Why did she mess up our lake like this?"
Seeing all the buildings and parts of the area destroyed, some began to complain until the group finally dispersed.
Meanwhile, the woman sat on her artifact, muttering to herself, "What did I just do?"
The spirit monkey chattered away, and the woman regained her composure. "No one can find out about this. Water Palace rules forbid any involvement with outsiders."
The spirit monkey sat there, half understanding. The woman kept replaying what happened with Evan, her face shifting from pale to bright red.
She quickly calmed herself. "No one saw—otherwise I'd be in big trouble."
On the other side, Evan was already heading back the way he came, thinking about what just happened. "I'll check this place out again after the Newcomer Ceremony. What exactly is this place?"
(This chapter isn't finished yet~ Please click next page to continue reading!)
The woman rode her artifact to a mountain filled with water, its passageways all water routes.
She wandered inside, passing many women—most of them powerful cultivators—who all respectfully called her "Young Palace Lord."
After walking for a while, she reached her resting place, surrounded by water. She lay in the water, bathing and thinking about what had just happened. "What was that shameless man doing? And why is his blood so strange?"
A smear of Evan's blood was left on her lips. She wiped it off and noticed it had a faint green tint—the first time she'd ever seen such blood. Curious, she carefully collected the drops in a small glass vial, preserving them well.
Staring at the little vial, the woman muttered, "Why can't we be involved with outsiders? And why do I feel so strange?"
Having never interacted with a man before, the woman suddenly felt a wonderful mood rising inside her. The more she thought, the more confused she became—until a voice called from her bathing area, "Why are you bathing so long?"
"Sister?" The woman snapped to attention, quickly put on her clothes, and hid the vial.
She walked out and saw another woman standing at the door, who asked, "Sister, what's wrong? You don't look well. And I heard you destroyed the back garden just now?"
"Sister, I was just in a bad mood and needed to vent. Sorry about that," she explained.
"You, you... I knew you were upset again. It's fine—this time I'll take you out to broaden your horizons," her sister said with a smile.
"Where are we going?" the woman asked excitedly.
"I heard there's a newcomer, so they're holding a Newcomer Ceremony. It's held every time someone arrives, but it's been a long while since the last one. I'll take you to see it—don't just stay here all the time." Her sister said. "Great, thank you, sister!" the woman replied, thrilled.
"Go get ready. I'll come find you in a couple of days," her sister said.
The woman nodded and went to prepare. It would be her first time leaving this place, so she was very excited. Meanwhile, Evan spent a lot of time returning, but with the current, he quickly reached the outer cavern and hurried straight back to the Coral Pavilion.
When Evan arrived at his cave, he noticed his protective formation had been disturbed. Curious about who might have visited, he heard a voice outside: "Evan Yang, are you there?"
Evan stepped out and saw Marina Wade. He asked, "Senior, what's the matter?"
"You're finally back. I've been waiting for you for a long time," Marina said. "Sorry for keeping you waiting," Evan replied awkwardly.
"It's fine. Luckily you returned in time. I can tell you now—tomorrow is the Newcomer Ceremony. You already know what it is, right?" Marina asked.
"Yes, I know." Evan nodded.
"Good, then I won't need to explain. I'll come pick you up when it's time—get ready." Marina said.
Evan hadn't expected his timing to be so perfect—he returned just in time for the Newcomer Ceremony. He rested in his cave, thinking about what had happened, and wondered, "Who are those people, really?"
A day passed. On the other side, the woman had spent two days pondering the same questions: Where did Evan come from, and who was he?
Now, she had collected herself and gone to her sister's place.
"Sister, you look so beautiful today," her sister said with a smile.
"Sister, you're joking. You're the Palace Lord—no matter what, I could never compare to you," the woman replied with a smile.
"You really know how to talk. But before we go, there are some things I need to remind you about," her sister said, her smile fading.