Not long after, Mad Elder appeared within Evan Yang's line of sight.
"Where did you go?" Evan ran over and asked.
"Nothing much, just went out for a stroll. So, what did you find over there?" Mad Elder laughed.
Evan gave a bitter smile. "I almost couldn't make it back."
"From now on, I'll call you Little Leo," Evan decided after some thought.
"Lion Guardian (Stone Lion), and a lion phantom." Evan answered, clarifying that the soul-shadow was Blaze's spirit.
"Got scared off?" Mad Elder mocked.
"Senior, don't laugh at me. That thing was truly terrifying, its momentum was overwhelming." Evan sighed. If the stone lion hadn't suddenly let him go at the end, his soul would have been annihilated by now.
"It's just a bluff—its aura only scares you. If you really fought, you could beat Blaze." Mad Elder clicked his tongue.
"Senior, you went to see it already?" Evan asked.
"Of course. Otherwise, how would I have gotten you to go there?" Mad Elder laughed.
Evan looked at Mad Elder, half skeptical. Mad Elder laughed, "Hurry up and go, or you'll miss out on this opportunity."
Seeing how Mad Elder spoke so convincingly, Evan pondered for a moment and said, "Alright, I'll go check again. But it's really too dangerous there. How about you come with me, Senior?"
"Me? Forget it, I'm not going. You go by yourself—I'm going to sleep." Mad Elder laughed.
He left Evan unsure whether to go now; if Blaze was truly powerful, it would scare anyone to death. Evan decided after some thought, "From now on, I'll call you Little Leo."
"Got it—if it's just a bluff, I can handle it." Evan chuckled, thinking of Mad Elder's words.
Evan arrived at the cave entrance again, extra cautious. As soon as he stopped inside, Blaze's lion phantom appeared and roared, "You dare come again? Are you tired of living?"
"Why wouldn't I dare? You're just a bluff." Evan said with a smile, though he was secretly frustrated—he really hoped Mad Elder's words were true.
Blaze roared, "Bluff? You're made of water! Watch me crush you."
Seeing Blaze truly walking step by step toward him, Evan said, "Don't come any closer. I don't want to hurt you."
"You? A lowly human, and you think you can hurt me?" The lion snorted coldly.
As the lion drew near, Evan released a powerful aura from his body, instantly freezing the lion in place and making it feel provoked.
"You have other terrifying auras on you." The lion said in disbelief.
"That's right. They're all my friends. If you try to attack me, they'll come out to help." Evan laughed.
Seeing Evan's expression and the two terrifying auras he released, the lion paused, thinking, "Could he really have the ability to take me away from here?"
While the lion was stunned, Evan knew his tactic had worked and waited, then said, "If you know what's good for you, tell me—what is this place? And what are you exactly?"
"This place? It's where I'm suppressed. Me? Of course, I'm the great Blaze, the Lion King." the lion answered, its pride evident in every word.
"Blaze, the Lion King? That's an impressive name, but how did you end up sealed here?" Evan asked, suspicion clear as he realized Blaze was imprisoned.
"That's none of your business. If not for that old fellow and those auras on you, I would've killed you already." Blaze replied, disdainful.
"Old fellow?" Evan wondered, immediately suspecting Mad Elder and confirming he'd been here before.
"Quit spacing out." Blaze (the Lion King) snapped when he saw Evan lost in thought.
"Huh? What's up?" Evan snapped out of it.
"Come on, stand still. No splitting into clones, or I'll smack you dead," Blaze warned.
"What are you doing?" Evan asked, confused.
"Just stand there, quit asking questions," Blaze said impatiently.
Evan had no choice but to stand and wait. Suddenly, Blaze's lion phantom dove into Evan's body, making him jump in shock. After circling inside him, Blaze reappeared as two palm-sized solid lions—a mini version, now fully materialized—standing at Evan's side and grumbling, "Your body is really weird."
"What are you doing now?" Evan blurted, startled as the mini Blaze looked just like a cat.
"I'm becoming your guardian beast," Blaze replied, still sounding annoyed—clearly not fully tamed by Evan yet.
"Guardian beast? What's that supposed to mean?" Evan asked, baffled.
"Watch carefully—I'll only show you once. After that, figure it out yourself," Blaze said, glaring at Evan.
Evan stood there, and suddenly Blaze's lion phantom enveloped him. Inside the aura, all his attributes were boosted.
"What the—?" Evan couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"This is the guardian beast form. You can summon me whenever you want, but with your current strength, you can only call me once every three days, and it'll drain all your spiritual power each time," Blaze's phantom hovered next to Evan, as if completely under his control.
Evan waved his hand, and Blaze's lion arm mimicked him, smashing into the wall with such force that it shook several times—like Evan himself had struck it.
Even the ground trembled. Evan panicked, worried the commotion would bring the higher-ups running, so he used Flash Step.
But after one Flash Step, he had no idea where he'd landed—it felt like he'd left several planets behind, maybe even crossed a whole star system, now floating in some hazy void.
"Is this your power?" Evan realized his strength right now was all thanks to Blaze.
"That's right. Once every three days, each time lasts about fifteen minutes. If you don't go back now, you'll have to wait three days to summon me again—or you can fly back on your own, but that'll take months," Blaze explained.
Evan's legs went weak at the thought. He was terrified Blaze's effect would wear off and he'd have to wait three days to use it again, so he quickly used Flash Step, focusing on where he wanted to go.
He landed near his tavern, and Blaze's effect slowly faded. Finally, Blaze reverted to a tiny cat-like form, jumped onto Evan's head, and clawed at him, grumbling, "You really suck. Took you so many tries to get back."