The Swain Family Patriarch was shocked. "Steward Hu, are you insane? Do you realize the consequences of what you're saying?"
"Patriarch, what's said is said. What can they do about it?" the steward said nervously via sound transmission.
The Swain Patriarch's expression changed dramatically. Seeing the fire about to consume his soul, he finally spoke up: "Fine, go ahead and tell them."
Evan Yang hadn't expected the two to cooperate so smoothly and began explaining to them.
So Ye Chen, Evan Yang, and Derek listened as the steward explained. Evan had already put away the Immortal Fire Painting, but even so, they had just been partially devoured by its strange flames, leaving their souls badly injured.
The steward began, "Here's how it is. Derek's father had a special ability, so we wanted him to cooperate with us. Unfortunately, his father died, so we started watching the child to see if he might have that same ability."
"What kind of ability?" Evan Yang asked suspiciously. Ye Chen was curious too, and Derek himself had no idea what special ability his father had—otherwise he wouldn't have been a miner for so long.
"He could attract Fiend Star Sources," the steward replied.
"What is that? What's so special about it?" Evan Yang asked, still suspicious.
"A Fiend Star Source is a special energy node hidden in certain mountain ranges. As you can see, our clan has a mountain behind it, but Fiend Star Sources are extremely hard to find and quite cunning—they even have their own awareness and can escape. To capture one, it takes massive manpower and resources, sometimes stripping an entire mountain just to maybe locate one," the steward explained.
"Go on."
"But his father could absorb them—we discovered it by accident. As long as he stood near the mountain, the Fiend Star Source would automatically drift toward him, and then we could capture it," the steward replied.
"Is that really possible?" Evan Yang glanced at Derek, but couldn't see anything special about him.
"Yeah, that's why we targeted his child. We tried capturing him, but he wasn't like his father. Still, we didn't give up—we thought maybe some method could awaken it, so we had that thug provoke him." The steward's explanation turned to how the thug bullied Derek.
"What benefits does this energy have?" Evan Yang asked suspiciously.
"This kind of energy..." The steward hesitated, not daring to go on, and the Swain Patriarch signaled him not to speak recklessly.
Seeing their expressions, Evan Yang smiled. "Not going to talk?"
"I'll say everything I know," the steward said nervously.
Just then, a lively commotion broke out outside.
"We're saved, we're saved!" The Swain Patriarch was overjoyed, and so was the steward. As for the thug, he was hoping to escape—otherwise, getting caught by the Swain Family would mean a miserable fate.
Curious, Evan Yang released his divine sense and found that the area was surrounded—not just by Swain Family members, but also by a young man talking to the city guards.
These guards were the very ones who had brought Evan Yang and Ye Chen for their trial.
"Listen up, everyone inside! Release the hostages, and you'll be spared. Otherwise, you'll all be executed." the city guards shouted.
"Why are they here too?" Ye Chen exclaimed in shock.
"As a neighboring clan, of course they're involved. Since we've captured the Swain Patriarch, we should've expected this," Evan Yang said calmly, showing no fear.
"So what do we do now?" Ye Chen asked curiously.
Evan Yang glanced at the Swain Patriarch and the steward, then directly sealed their mouths. With their mouths sealed, neither could utter a word, and Evan wasn't worried they'd pull any tricks.
"Let's throw them outside. If the crowd still refuses to leave, we'll retreat," Evan Yang said.
Ye Chen thought for a moment, then followed Evan Yang's instructions and tossed the Swain Patriarch and steward outside.
With a thunderous crash, two bodies flew out of the house. Outside, not only were Swain Family members gathered, but also city guards and countless onlookers.
The young man hurried forward to help the Swain Patriarch up. "Father, are you alright?"
But the Swain Patriarch could only stare blankly, unable to speak. The guards checked the steward and found he was in the same state.
"Damn it, they must've used some trick!" the young man said angrily.
"Young Master Swain, what now?" the city guard captain asked.
"Captain Lee, help me capture them," the young man said, letting go of the Swain Patriarch.
"Alright." Captain Lee stood up and addressed those inside. "Listen up, everyone inside! Either surrender, or come out and you'll all be executed."
Just then, a figure darted out from inside. Only those with high cultivation could see who it was.
Then, the figure flashed and vanished before everyone's eyes.
"It's him!" Captain Lee exclaimed. The young man also caught a glimpse of Evan Yang's face, but his speed was so fast that he only saw it for a moment before Evan disappeared.
Seeing this, the crowd quickly gave chase. Young Master Swain ordered some people to escort the Swain Patriarch and the steward back, while he and Captain Lee led their own men in pursuit of Evan Yang.
But Evan Yang was so fast that he vanished from sight in moments—even their divine sense couldn't keep up with him.
Reaching the city gates, Young Master Swain cursed, "Damn it, who is that kid anyway!"
"He's from the Human World," Captain Lee replied.
"What? How do you know?" Young Master Swain asked in shock.
"We just tested them, and now they're causing trouble," Captain Lee sighed.
"Damn it, I have to catch that kid. I don't even know what trick he used—now my father and the steward can't move at all," Young Master Swain said angrily.
"I'll send word out right away and have nearby cities keep an eye out. If anyone finds him, they'll capture him," Captain Lee replied.
"I'll go to the Nether Family and see if they can break the seal on my father and the steward." Young Master Swain said, thinking the two were bound by some restriction.
Captain Lee nodded, and the two split up to take action.
Young Master Swain had people escort the Swain Patriarch and the steward to a certain location. They used a teleportation array and arrived quickly.
Stepping out of the teleportation array, they arrived in another city. A group headed toward a massive estate outside the city—one dozens of times larger than the Swain Family's, rivaling the city Evan Yang had first arrived in.
At the estate gates, the guards saw the young man and immediately let them through.
Young Master Swain made his way inside, where a steward stopped him. "What happened to you all?"
"Steward Rao, my father and our steward were harmed. I want to ask the Nether Patriarch for help," Young Master Swain said.
The steward was shocked and checked the Swain Patriarch and steward, confirming they couldn't move. "Who did this?" he exclaimed.
"I heard it was someone from the Human World," Young Master Swain replied.
"The Human World? They haven't come in ages—how come they're causing trouble as soon as they arrive?" the steward said in shock.
"Let's talk about that later—where's the patriarch?" Young Master Swain was anxious to save his father and didn't want to explain further.
Before the steward could answer, a voice came from a nearby room: "Come in."
Young Master Swain recognized it as the Nether Patriarch's voice and quickly led everyone inside.
Inside sat a middle-aged man with a fierce expression. His ears and hands were unusually large, unlike ordinary people.
A faint black aura coiled around him, but as Young Master Swain and the others entered, the aura quickly faded away.
The middle-aged man walked over, checked the Swain Patriarch and steward, and asked suspiciously, "What happened here?"
Young Master Swain explained everything to the Nether Patriarch. After hearing the story, the patriarch had the two carried to a quiet place, then he and Young Master Swain discussed matters privately in the room.
"Are you sure he's from the Human World?" the Nether Patriarch asked suspiciously.
"Yes, that's what Captain Lee said," Young Master Swain replied.
"What level is his cultivation?"
"Early Gathering Spirit stage, same as me. But he's much faster—even I can't catch him," Young Master Swain replied.
"Early Gathering Spirit? So bold! If I run into him, I'll make sure he pays," the Nether Patriarch said coldly, his eyes sharp.
"How are my father and the steward? Can they be saved?" Young Master Swain knew the middle-aged man's skills, but right now he was more worried about the two men. Only if they woke up could he find out what really happened.
The Nether Patriarch shook his head. "There's nothing I can do. Unless we catch that person, it's hopeless."
"Damn it! He's so fast—now we have no idea where he went," Young Master Swain said angrily.
"That person from the Human World—does he know that kid well?" the Nether Patriarch asked suspiciously.
"I'm not sure, but since he's willing to offend an entire family for that kid, they must be somewhat close," Young Master Swain replied.
"We must catch him quickly. And as for whether that kid can attract Nether Star Essence, he needs to be locked up and studied. We can't let other families or those ox-headed, horse-faced beings find out, or we'll lose our chance." The Nether Patriarch was alarmed.
"But right now..." Young Master Swain had no idea where Evan Yang had gone.
"Suggest to Captain Lee to use a locator," the Nether Patriarch said coldly.
"But if we do that, it might alarm others," Young Master Swain said in shock.
"Just say a human harmed the Swain Patriarch and you're looking for his whereabouts. That way, no one will suspect anything," the Nether Patriarch said.
"Alright, let's do that," Young Master Swain agreed with a nod.
Before leaving, the Nether Patriarch said to Young Master Swain, "Give Captain Lee a gift—it'll make things easier."
"Don't worry, I will," Young Master Swain nodded, then left the Nether Family.
When Young Master Swain reappeared, he was already back in his family's city, where he found Captain Lee.
"How's it going?" Young Master Swain asked.
"I've already sent out the message," Captain Lee replied.
Young Master Swain nodded, then sent a voice transmission: "Captain Lee, I have a Nether Star Essence for you. It's a gift."
Captain Lee was shocked. He looked around, then replied via voice transmission, "Where did you get that?"
"I dug it up in the mountains behind my family. With my father in trouble, I urgently need to find that person from the Human World. Can you use the locator to help?" Young Master Swain asked via voice transmission.
When he heard 'locator,' Captain Lee was even more shocked. "If others find out, they'll question me," he replied.