Evan Chu felt a sharp pain in his ear and instantly sensed trouble. He quickly withdrew his hand from Selena’s soft body, and only then did the pain in his ear gradually fade.
"Behave yourself! Did you really think I was that easy?" Selena’s voice rang in Evan’s ear.
"I... I just touched you by accident, why are you reacting so strongly?" Evan replied shamelessly.
"Quiet, the show’s about to start!" Selena said.
Sure enough, footsteps sounded outside the room. One of them said, "Looks like they’ve been knocked out. Boss, let me go in and check first?" It was clearly the inn runner speaking.
"Let’s go in together. Even if they aren’t drugged, they won’t escape my grasp. Haven’t tasted a woman in ages—tonight I’m going to enjoy myself!" the middle-aged man said.
The inn runner pried open the door and entered with the middle-aged man. Thinking Evan and Selena were already drugged, they boldly lit the lamp in the room.
With the room lit, they saw Evan and Selena lying quietly on the bed and were instantly delighted. "Boss, this knockout drug lasts for most of the day. These two are definitely out cold. Let me kill the boy first, then you can enjoy the girl to your heart’s content."
After speaking, the inn runner drew a broadsword and walked straight up to Evan, ready to strike him down. But just as he raised the blade, Evan opened his eyes and grinned foolishly at him.
The inn runner jumped in shock. "Y-you... how are you awake?" As soon as he spoke, the middle-aged man rushed over to see for himself.
At that moment, Selena opened her eyes and sat up, swiftly striking out with her palm and landing a blow squarely on the middle-aged man’s chest, sending him flying several meters and knocking all the food and wine off the table.
Seeing things go south, the middle-aged man tried to escape, but Selena used spatial confinement to lock him in place, unable to move.
The inn runner, in desperation, swung his broadsword down with all his might and tried to run, but Evan blocked it with his arm. The blade instantly bent with a huge notch, and the force sent the inn runner stumbling several steps back.
Evan immediately sprang up from the bed, appeared in front of him in a flash, and punched the still-stunned inn runner with full force.
He sent the inn runner flying several meters, straight out the window. With Evan’s punch, there was no doubt—the inn runner was dead.
The middle-aged man, now immobilized and unable to escape, was terrified. He immediately dropped to his knees and begged, "Miss, spare me! Young master, spare me! I didn’t know who I was dealing with—please, I beg you, let me go!"
Selena and Evan walked up to the middle-aged man. Evan smirked, "You dare run a black-market inn and even think about laying a hand on my woman? You really think you’ll walk out of here alive?"
Selena glanced at Evan and said, "Forget it, this isn’t even fun. The room’s a mess, can’t stay here anyway. Let’s just destroy this black-market inn and go."
Just as Selena was about to finish him off, Evan said, "Let me do it. I want to see how much stronger my attacks are after my breakthrough."
A fireball suddenly appeared in Evan’s hand, its heat instantly making the whole room scorchingly hot.
Then, with a casual wave, Evan sent the fireball straight onto the middle-aged man. A miserable scream rang out, and within five seconds the man was reduced to ashes, vanishing before their eyes.
Evan was very satisfied with the power of Fireshift—it was the perfect way to destroy evidence. But even Selena, standing beside him, felt a chill; the fireball in Evan’s hand had made her uneasy.
After leaving the room, Evan casually launched two more fireballs at the window and door. Instantly, raging flames erupted, and the two of them dashed outside.
For a moment, screams echoed from inside the inn. The whole building burned to ashes in less than five minutes, showing just how terrifyingly powerful it was.
Hearing the screams, Evan felt a bit helpless. "I actually forgot there were other guests inside. Now I’ve burned them all to death. That’s... kind of hard to justify."
"Haven’t you killed enough people already? What’s a few more?" Selena said indifferently.
"Let’s just head straight for Weakwater. You’ve rid the world of some scum—nothing to feel guilty about!" Selena said.
The inn was only a few hundred li from the Weakwater checkpoint—no need to summon Goldwing. Evan grabbed Selena’s hand and said, "You fly me over. I still can’t handle flying on my own."
Selena didn’t say much, just took off into the air. Before long, the two of them arrived at the Weakwater checkpoint. Guards were posted all night, but Evan didn’t bother talking—he just showed the pass token and walked in with Selena.
From afar, they could hear the sound of rushing water. But since it was dark, they didn’t go any further. Evan knew there were mountains on both sides of Weakwater, but what it really looked like, he’d have to wait until morning to see.
Selena found a rock and sat down, apparently absorbing starlight. Evan decided to further consolidate his current strength and realm as well.
At dawn, both of them stopped cultivating. Looking around, they were startled to find the area was nothing but rocky mountains, with no vegetation at all. It was the first time they’d seen anything like it, and they found it very strange.
"Selena, do you think this has something to do with Weakwater?" Evan stood up and asked.
"Probably," Selena replied. "But I sense a strange smell in the air. Weakwater is just ahead—let’s go see for ourselves. Maybe that smell is coming from Weakwater."
Soon, the two came to a river tens of meters wide. The water was pitch-black, like ink, and gave off a pungent odor.
"This is Weakwater? Damn, it looks like this? Even if the Water Spirit Pearl was right in front of me, I’d never find it!" Evan was dumbfounded.
Selena was just as surprised—she hadn’t expected Weakwater to look like this. "Since we’re here, Evan, shouldn’t you try going down and take a look? Maybe the Water Spirit Pearl glows, like a light in the darkness. It’d be easy to spot."
Selena’s reasoning made sense, but Evan disagreed. The Mermaid King had gone down before—if it were that easy, he wouldn’t have come back empty-handed.
Looking at the Weakwater River, Evan said, "The current is pretty strong here. If I go down, I should find a calmer spot. They say Weakwater is incredibly dense, and moving inside is really tough."
Selena replied, "If that’s the case, you should go down right here in the rapids. You can use the flow to help you move more easily."
"Alright. Selena, wait here for me. If anything goes wrong, don’t come after me—you know how dangerous Weakwater is. The consequences could be disastrous!" Evan said.
"Okay. Be careful. If you really can’t find it, just give up—I’m sure there’s a Water Spirit Pearl in the Azure Tide Ruins too," Selena said.
Evan nodded. With a thought, the Goldscale Coat on his chest shone brightly, forming a transparent shield around him. After a glance at Selena, he leapt straight into Weakwater...