Evan Yang hadn't expected that everything had been orchestrated by the other party, so he raised his eyebrows and asked, "How did you discover me?"
"You? As long as you're from the Chaos World, I can find you. As for how I do it, there's no need for you to know." Special Envoy Caleb Xiao smiled.
"Then why are you standing here talking to me now?" Evan Yang asked curiously.
"Simple. You're just about at your limit, and we don't want to keep fighting you. So I'll be honest: submit to us, and you'll avoid unnecessary trouble." Special Envoy Caleb Xiao said to Evan Yang.
Evan Yang smiled. "Submit? Do you really think I'd submit?"
"You don't have a choice, kid. If you don't submit, sooner or later you'll have to join us anyway. In the end, isn't it all the same? Why fight us to the death now?" Special Envoy Caleb Xiao laughed. Given Evan Yang's current situation, he couldn't think of any other way to force him—his only option was to make him submit.
Evan Yang chuckled. "What, you want me to submit now? Weren't you just thinking of all kinds of ways to torment me before?"
"Because the goal's already been achieved—there's no reason to keep going." Caleb Xiao smiled. Evan Yang said, "Forget it. I have zero interest in your World-End Society. And you want to make me your tool? That's even less likely."
"Oh? Then why did you come here today?" Caleb Xiao asked. Evan Yang grinned, "Obviously, I'm here for you."
"What, you don't plan to take me down here, do you? Kid, do you even know what my cultivation is?" Caleb Xiao sneered when he heard Evan Yang's words.
Evan Yang smiled. "I know you're powerful—maybe even eight hundred strands of Heavenly Dao Intent. But since I dared to come, I'm not afraid."
"Kid, you're way too arrogant. Fine, today I'll teach you a lesson." Caleb Xiao snorted. He stretched out his hand, and a staff appeared, glowing faintly and radiating a terrifying aura.
That aura surged over, overwhelming Evan Yang. Sure enough, eight hundred strands of Heavenly Dao Intent—it was as terrifying as the aura he'd sensed from Jalon Drake. Evan Yang shouted, and a wave of heat erupted around him: his newly created Colorless Sacred Flame. Caleb Xiao, caught off guard, was immediately trapped inside the flames.
Startled, Caleb Xiao shouted, "Damn it, what technique is this?"
"It's exactly what you all forced me to comprehend. Heh, inside this Colorless Sacred Flame barrier, your power is slashed." Evan Yang laughed.
Caleb Xiao hadn't expected Evan Yang to be so terrifying. Inside Evan's barrier, his strength really was massively reduced—at least halved. In other words, right now, Caleb Xiao was only at the level of four hundred strands of Heavenly Dao Intent before Evan Yang.
"Damn it, kid, you've got some nasty tricks—but it won't change your fate!" Caleb Xiao raged, then let out a furious roar. His shout startled all the guards in the fortress, who rushed over. Seeing Caleb Xiao trapped, they frantically tried to help, but their strength was all suppressed too.
Meanwhile, Evan Yang unleashed his power, fighting Caleb Xiao with full force and forcing him to break out of the barrier. Caleb Xiao escaped in a sorry state, but Evan Yang didn't dare rush after him—after all, Caleb was still an eight-hundred-strand expert.
The others weren't so lucky—many were trapped and fell one by one. Seeing this, Caleb Xiao shouted, "Evan Yang, stop! If you keep going, you'll regret it for the rest of your life!"
"It's not the first time I've killed your people. What, you still think you can threaten me? Not happening." Evan Yang chuckled.
Caleb Xiao cursed, "You—damn it! I'll kill you!"
"You? Maybe you should worry about your own situation right now." Evan Yang smiled.
Caleb Xiao realized he was alone—everyone else had already suffered defeat. If he didn't leave now, he might be next. He shouted, "Evan Yang, just you wait! I won't let you off!"
Fuming, Caleb Xiao left. The castle instantly became ownerless, and Evan Yang quickly subdued everyone inside. Standing alone atop the fortress, he sighed, "In the end, it's just a barrier—it can't really trap someone like him."
Letting Caleb Xiao escape was something Evan Yang had already expected, so he wasn't worried. He simply waited for them to come looking for him again.
Evan Yang left behind a clone and slipped away, hiding somewhere in Stonevoid World.
After Caleb Xiao stormed off, he found another castle elsewhere in Stonevoid World. Its owner was another Envoy—Special Envoy Luke Lu. When Caleb Xiao arrived, disheveled, Luke Lu frowned and asked, "What happened, Caleb Xiao? Did some force wipe out your base?"
"What force? It was that monster." Caleb Xiao raged.
"Monster? What monster?" Luke Lu asked curiously. Caleb Xiao replied, "Who else? The one they've been cultivating up above."
"Oh, you mean Evan Yang? What, he managed to do this to you all by himself? And when did he get to Stonevoid World?" Luke Lu asked, surprised.
Caleb Xiao grumbled, "Don't even ask. Last time, he released all the Amethyst Veil prisoners, cost me six of my top officers, and now he's destroyed my castle—I nearly got taken out myself."
"What? You're an eight-hundred-strand Heavenly Dao Intent expert—how did he get so terrifying?" Luke Lu said, incredulous.
"He has a barrier—it's weird. If I'm alone, I can't break it. But if you and I work together, one inside and one outside, we could make an opening and deal with him." Caleb Xiao explained.
Luke Lu asked, "What kind of barrier is it—something magical?"
"Inside it, your power is cut in half. So at most, I could use fifty percent of my strength—just thinking about it makes me furious." Caleb Xiao said.
"Half? Are you kidding me?" Luke Lu said, skeptical.
Caleb Xiao said, "If you don't believe me, try it yourself."
"Fine, I'll wait for him here. But will he actually show up?" Luke Lu said.
"If he doesn't come, we'll lure him. I don't believe he won't take the bait." Caleb Xiao said, then told Luke Lu to gather more men.
Soon, the castle was heavily guarded, while Caleb Xiao rested at Luke Lu's place.
Meanwhile, Evan Yang learned from the captured people that the World-End Society had three strongholds in Stonevoid World—three fortresses. Caleb Xiao was most likely at one of the other two. Knowing this, Evan sent out clones to investigate both locations.
He quickly discovered that Luke Lu's fortress was heavily guarded. No doubt the defenders had already gotten word, which made it even more likely that Caleb Xiao had gone there.
After analyzing the situation, Evan's true body decided not to go to Luke Lu's stronghold, but instead headed for the third base. Arriving there, he laughed, "Why should I chase just Caleb Xiao? I can always go after someone else."
So Evan disguised himself as someone else and went to the third stronghold. The Envoy in charge there was Warren Wang, whose strength was average—only seven hundred strands of Heavenly Dao Intent—but his mind was anything but ordinary.
Warren quickly received Caleb Xiao's message. He was sitting in the fortress, and asked the old man beside him, "Envoy Tian, do you think that kid will actually come here?"
"Since Caleb Xiao already pinpointed his location, he should be coming," Warren Wang replied.
"So what do we do? What's our move?" Envoy Tian asked.
"I'm no fool. If he's really that powerful, why shouldn't we just avoid him? Come on, let's give him an empty city and go pay a visit to Luke Lu instead." Warren Wang chuckled.
Envoy Tian hadn’t expected Warren Wang to take this route, but he led all the important people away. The fortress was left with only ordinary experts, not core personnel, so they weren’t worried at all.
When Evan arrived, he dealt with the guards and made his way to the fortress’s depths, only to find it completely empty. Instead, on a table not far away, a sheet of paper floated in the air. Curious, Evan walked over. As soon as he touched it, words appeared on the page.
“Kid, want to catch me? No way. Sorry, I’ve already gone to the second stronghold.” The message was signed by Warren Wang, with a mocking tone.
Evan muttered, “This guy really is sly.”
Meanwhile, Caleb Xiao and Luke Lu watched as Warren Wang arrived with his people. The two exchanged glances, and Caleb Xiao laughed, “You sure got here fast, huh?”
"You two are teaming up—how could you leave me out?" Warren Wang said with a grin.
"Well, well, the three of us together—who’d have thought we’d be forced to gather like this by that kid? Incredible." Caleb Xiao sighed.
Warren Wang chuckled, “Alright, enough chit-chat. Let’s do something meaningful.”
“Got any ideas?” Caleb Xiao, knowing Warren Wang was clever, asked curiously.
“Isn’t he being hunted by Jalon Drake right now? Let’s call Jalon here and let them duke it out. Why should we get our hands dirty? If something happens to Evan, it won’t be our responsibility. You know how important he is to the higher-ups.” Warren Wang wasn’t stupid—if Evan got hurt because of them, it’d be bad news. Better to let someone else handle it and let any consequences fall on them.
“I like the sound of that,” Luke Lu said with a smile.
Caleb Xiao smiled, “Smart move. I’ll arrange for someone to do it right away.”
Evan Yang had no idea the three Envoys were already plotting against him. On his way to the second stronghold, his mood was heavy—after all, facing three top experts working together wouldn’t be easy.