Everyone in the Hall of Judgment respectfully greeted the Holy Saintess, saying, "Saintess," before continuing on their way.
However, a few people, though speaking politely, couldn't help but mutter inwardly.
News of the Saintess bringing people to the Hall of Judgment quickly spread. In the public court hall, a crowd gathered, including a Law-Protector and various guards.
"Saintess, what brings you here?" the Law-Protector asked.
"Protector Shen, someone has gone missing, and may even have been killed. I need your help for a public inquiry," said the Saintess.
"Oh? Who is it?" Protector Shen asked in surprise. He had assumed the Saintess was aloof from worldly affairs, so her interest in a disappearance piqued his curiosity.
"He was sent to the Guard Hall for training by me. His name is Evan Yang, but he vanished mysteriously. Steward Chao knows about this, but I want you to handle the inquiry," the Saintess replied.
Protector Shen nodded, then looked at Steward Chao and asked, "Steward Chao, what's your take on this?"
Steward Chao recounted the events between Evan Yang and the Four Great Guards, as well as Evan's subsequent disappearance.
When everyone heard about Evan Yang's battles with the Four Great Guards, they all showed suspicious looks, curious about his identity, why he was favored by the Saintess, and how he possessed such strength.
"According to Steward Chao's account, does that mean the Four Great Guards are the culprits?" Protector Shen asked.
"That's how things appear, but as for the details, I'll leave it to Protector Shen to judge," Steward Chao replied.
Protector Shen secretly cursed Steward Chao for being so shrewd—he hadn't directly accused the Four Great Guards of causing Evan Yang's disappearance, only mentioned their prior entanglement, and left the judgment to him.
The people involved on both sides had powerful backgrounds, so Protector Shen frowned and asked Green Guard Gavin, "Green Guard, do you know anything about this?"
"No, we don't even know who Evan Yang is," Green Guard Gavin replied.
"You don't know him? Then let everyone see these images." Steward Chao smiled and projected scenes of Evan Yang's battles with the Four Great Guards.
After seeing the images, everyone looked curiously at Green Guard Gavin, wanting him to explain.
Green Guard Gavin laughed, "These are all fabricated by Steward Chao. If you don't believe it, the Hall of Judgment can throw us in front of the Memory Divine Mirror to see if it's true."
The Memory Divine Mirror? Everyone looked shocked. This was a treasure of the Hall of Judgment, capable of revealing a person's memories to verify their past. Gavin's suggestion raised doubts—either he and the guards really had nothing to do with Evan Yang's disappearance, or he was deliberately provoking.
"What do you think, Steward Chao?" Protector Shen asked.
"Memory Divine Mirror it is," Steward Chao agreed. Protector Shen led the group to another room, where all four walls were mirrors—not ordinary ones. Protector Shen said, "You three, go inside."
The three Green Guards entered, and Protector Shen activated the mirrors. The mirrors gradually revealed their memories—showing only their previous cultivation and how they were injured.
These injury memories were actually fake, implanted by Law-Protector Eldon Liu, so nothing shown in the mirrors had any connection to Evan Yang.
But Steward Chao didn't believe it—he had clearly witnessed things himself, so he showed a suspicious look. When the three guards emerged, Green Guard Gavin laughed, "Anything else you'd like to say, Steward Chao?"
"With things as they are, I have nothing to say. Let's just say I was seeing things," Steward Chao said, suppressing his anger.
Green Guard Gavin laughed, "In that case, I hope Steward Chao won't do this again. If you slander us in the future, I'll ask Law-Protector Eldon Liu to uphold justice for us."
"I won't," Steward Chao replied.
Green Guard Gavin smiled, then the three guards left. Seeing the matter settled, Protector Shen turned to the Saintess and asked, "Is there anything else, Saintess?"
"No, you may go about your business," the Saintess said, then turned to leave, with Steward Chao following behind.
On the way out, Steward Chao didn't know how to explain. After leaving the Hall of Judgment, the Saintess asked, "What is really going on here?"
"Saintess, if you still trust me, I can tell you what I saw was real. As for why those three's memories appeared that way, I have no idea," Steward Chao said.
"This isn't so simple. Go back for now. If there's any news about Evan Yang, inform me immediately," the Saintess instructed.
Steward Chao nodded, "Understood."
After bidding farewell to the Saintess, Steward Chao felt frustrated, eager to figure out what had happened. He realized that if memories could be altered, there was only one possibility—they had been changed. It would take tremendous skill to do this, and Chao immediately thought of Law-Protector Eldon Liu, cursing inwardly, "Damn it."
Meanwhile, the Saintess returned to her residence. Evan Yang's disappearance left her with a strange feeling, and after a while she sighed, "What is really going on?"
She had originally thought he was just a guard, and if he disappeared, she could simply find another. But as time passed, she felt increasingly upset. While watering her flowers, tears unknowingly slipped from the corners of her eyes.
"What's happening to me?" The Saintess couldn't believe she was actually crying.
The strange feeling made the Saintess uneasy, so she couldn't let go of Evan Yang. She kept going to Steward Chao to look for him—once, then again, and so on, visiting regularly over time.
With all these visits, everyone knew the Saintess often went to the Guard Hall to find Steward Chao, all for the sake of Evan Yang.
As for Evan Yang, at that moment, he was in that place with his eyes tightly shut, slowly absorbing the surrounding light. Over time, the white light that had dominated his body faded, while the purple light grew stronger.
At first, Evan Yang didn't pay much attention, but as time passed, he realized that the purple light was clearly much stronger than the white light—even with equal amounts, the purple light was far more powerful. This surprised him, and he wondered if absorbing these lights had caused the white light to weaken and the purple light to grow stronger.
(This chapter isn't finished yet ^.^ Please click the next page to continue reading!)
Thinking about this, Evan Yang was actually grateful he'd ended up here. Thanks to his cultivation technique, he hadn't died—instead, he had turned misfortune into fortune.
So, with his eyes closed, Evan Yang spent several more years until his entire body radiated purple, like a glowing person surrounded by dense purple light. Now, he no longer needed ice blocks and could stand fully exposed to the light, as the multicolored rays couldn't penetrate his purple glow.
"Could it be that I've reached saturation?" Evan Yang wondered in surprise as he saw the white light on his body had almost disappeared, with purple light taking over.
To test its power, Evan Yang looked into the distance—first activating his Fire Pupil, which instantly burned a pit, then switching to Light Eyes, which fired a purple laser and carved another large pit.
"Interesting," Evan Yang thought with a smile, seeing the two pits created by different methods.
Delighted by this discovery, Evan Yang looked around to confirm he was fully saturated, then prepared to leave.
"I've been gone for years; I wonder how things are outside." Evan Yang thought of the Saintess giving him three years—if he failed, he wouldn't become her guard.
Thinking of this, Evan Yang became eager to leave. He still wasn't sure if the Saintess was truly Hannah Nangong, but he felt there was some kind of connection between them.
So Evan Yang searched around, eventually realizing he was inside a massive barrier—so large that only someone with the power of an Immortal Lord could break through.
Still, Evan Yang refused to give up. He tried various methods, and finally recalled the barrier he'd encountered in the Forbidden Pool—"Could it be that I need light to escape this, too?"
With this thought, Evan Yang closed his eyes. When he opened them, a powerful purple light shot out, piercing the barrier and creating a hole. He was overjoyed to find it worked, quickly enlarging the hole to his own size. The opening would soon vanish, so he wasted no time and slipped through.
Outside the barrier, Evan Yang looked back at the radiant place behind him and muttered, "What exactly is this place?"
He was eager to know what kind of place it was and why it had enabled him to cultivate purple light.
But he had no time to investigate—he had to hurry back. Three years had passed, and he worried whether Hannah Nangong had given up on him and chosen someone else. This troubled Evan Yang.
So Evan Yang retraced his steps, and upon reaching the Guard Hall, many people stared at him in surprise. "What's going on?" he wondered, noticing their astonished looks.
Just then, Guang Lin emerged from the crowd, overjoyed to see Evan Yang. "You're finally back!" he exclaimed.
"What's going on?" Evan Yang asked curiously.
"Don't you know how many years you've been gone? The Saintess has been searching for you everywhere!" Guang Lin said.
"The Saintess? Where is she?" Evan Yang asked, curious.
"She's not here right now, but Steward Chao can find her for you," Guang Lin replied.
"Thank you," Evan Yang said. Before leaving, he asked curiously, "How are you doing now?"
"Me? I'm on the nineteenth lesson, just one more to go. If I succeed, I'll become an official guard. Too bad I don't have your luck—I've heard you were already the Saintess's preselected guard," Guang Lin said with a hint of envy.
Seeing Guang Lin's expression, Evan Yang patted him on the shoulder, "Keep it up. Once you finish the twentieth lesson, you'll be chosen."
"That's true. Anyway, I'll finish my lessons first," Guang Lin nodded.
Evan Yang smiled, encouraging Guang Lin, then hurried toward the hall where Steward Chao was.