Evan smiled. Although he was angry at the steward for trying to harm him, he understood it was for his master's sake. Now that even his master had chosen to follow Evan, there was nothing left to hold against him.
Besides, Evan already had a good impression of the old steward, so he didn't lose his temper. Instead, he laughed and said, "You should keep managing things here. If I need your help in the future, I'll come find you."
"Understood. But I wonder if I may ask something?" The old man hesitated for a long time before finally asking bravely.
"Go ahead," Evan replied.
"If one day your strength becomes great enough, please release my master's consciousness and let him have his own body again," the steward said.
Evan looked at the steward, then smiled after understanding. "Don't worry. I've already decided—when I reach the realm where I can separate Divine Sense, I'll let his Divine Sense become independent and give him his own body."
"Thank you," the steward said gratefully.
"No need to thank me. Can you send me back now?" Evan smiled.
"Of course," the steward laughed. He grabbed Evan and departed. When they reappeared, they were already in the Gods' Quarter.
As soon as they arrived in the Gods' Quarter, the steward said to Evan, "Your friends are in trouble."
"My friends?" Evan asked suspiciously.
"That's right, those girls. Come with me." The steward grabbed Evan again, and with a flash, they disappeared. When they reappeared, they were outside a Blood-Mark Platform, where Lynn Lin was dueling a Desert Tribesman.
Below the platform, Ember Yang looked unwell, and Melody Wood was treating her wounds.
Evan walked over. When Ember saw Evan arrive, she was overjoyed, and Melody was pleasantly surprised, saying, "You're finally back."
"What happened to her?" Evan asked curiously.
"The Desert Tribesmen used those insects against her—the same ones they used on you last time. She tried your method, sealing the insects inside her body, but she still hasn't expelled them. She was just defeated, lost her Blood-Marks, and her body became even more fragile. So I'm trying to help her remove the insects," Melody explained.
"I see. Let me do it." Evan took Ember Yang, sent his power into her body, sealed the insects in a corner, then infused his Sacred Flame and Heaven-Cold qi, burning the insects alive and forcing their remains out.
Once Ember's complexion improved, she smiled and said, "Dad always has a way."
"Good thing I came in time. Otherwise, those insects would have damaged your body badly," Evan said.
"I thought I could get rid of those insects too, but they're just greedy bugs. However much power I poured in, they just devoured it all. If you hadn't come, I think I'd really be done for," Ember said, frustrated.
Evan knew that the real reason he could destroy those insects, aside from his flames, was the continuous power of his Heaven-Cold qi. That was what burned them to death. Ember didn't have that, so she couldn't get rid of them quickly.
"It's fine now. Let's check on your sister Lynn," Evan said. The group stood up and looked at Lynn Lin on the platform.
At that moment, the steward sent Evan a sound transmission: "If you want anyone on the Blood-Mark Platform to win, I can make it happen."
Evan was surprised to hear this, realizing the steward could control the platform. Impressive, but he didn't agree and just smiled, "Let's watch."
On the platform, Lynn Lin fought fiercely. In the end, she relied on her spear to defeat her opponent and won the Blood-Mark.
The defeated Desert Tribesman hurried away in disgrace. Lynn Lin jumped down, smiling when she saw Evan, "You finally came back! Otherwise, Ember might not have made it."
"I'm not that fragile," Ember retorted.
"Alright, alright, as long as you're okay," Evan laughed.
"It's boring now. Besides the Desert Tribesmen, everyone else avoids us," Lynn Lin complained.
"Well, you guys are already strong among your peers. It's normal not to find opponents. Why not try fighting stronger ones?" Evan laughed.
"Forget it, I can't beat the higher-level ones," Lynn Lin said.
Ember Yang chimed in, "I've beaten a few stronger ones, but the rest are out of my league."
Seeing that Lynn and Ember had no more goals here, Evan thought for a moment and said, "In that case, let's leave the Bloodfiend Ground."
"Oh right, how's your Blood-Mark cultivation going?" Lynn asked, remembering Evan had gone to train it.
Evan smiled when Lynn asked about his Blood-Mark cultivation. "It's fine, pretty much finished training it."
"Really? Let me see what's different about your Blood-Mark cultivation," Lynn said excitedly.
"You'll get your chance. For now, let's leave." Evan didn't want to transform into his green form just yet—it's his most secret trump card.
Seeing Evan unwilling, Lynn said, "Stingy."
"I have my reasons for not transforming. You'll see it eventually," Evan replied.
Melody Wood backed Evan up, "Exactly. He has his reasons, Lynn. Let's just leave for now."
"Alright, but before we leave, I want to teach those Desert Tribesmen a lesson," Lynn said.
"Relax, we'll definitely deal with them before we go," Evan laughed.
"But here you have to challenge them one by one, and can't go after the weaker ones," Ember complained.
"That was before. Now—" Evan smiled but didn't explain. Instead, he smiled at the steward nearby and sent a sound transmission: "Send us out, and bring those Desert Tribesmen out too."
The steward nodded and went to do it. Just as Lynn was about to ask what had changed, everyone suddenly left the Bloodfiend Ground and appeared outside.
"What's going on?" Ember exclaimed. Lynn and Melody also looked around in disbelief—they were now outside the Bloodfiend Ground.
Soon after, Prince Leng and the Desert Tribesmen appeared as well, equally shocked by what had happened.
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Seeing the Desert Tribesmen, Lynn ignored what had happened and shouted, "Now it's time to teach them a lesson!"
Now outside the Bloodfiend Ground and free from its rules, Prince Leng panicked. His strength hadn't recovered, so he couldn't withstand their attacks and tried to escape, only to find a barrier sealing the area. Evan realized the steward had helped him. The steward sent Evan a sound transmission: "You're always welcome back here, and if you need anything, just ask."
"Mm." Evan nodded.
No one knew why Prince Leng and his men couldn't leave, but Lynn and Ember, still angry, started teaching the weaker Desert Tribesmen a lesson. A few stronger ones quickly surrendered under Melody's music. In the end, only Prince Leng was left, watching the fallen Desert Tribesmen in terror. "You... you can't do this!" he stammered.
"Weren't you arrogant? Weren't you glaring at us and trying to kill us? You even used insects on me. Watch me burn you!" Ember, furious about the insects, spat out a flame straight at Prince Leng.
Prince Leng panicked and threw out a bell. Evan thought he was going to trap Ember with it and shouted, "Careful!"
But instead, Prince Leng put the bell over himself and vanished along with it.
"What just happened?" Ember exclaimed.
"That must be the Desert's strongest artifact. Not only can it fight others, it can defend and even teleport. He must have used it to escape," Melody explained.
"Teleportation?" Evan mused. He knew his own Shuttle Pen was impressive, but this guy's artifact wasn't bad either.
"What? He just ran away like that? Lame," Ember grumbled.
Lynn grabbed a nearby fallen Desert Tribesman and asked, "Is that right?"
"That's right, Prince Leng just teleported away," the Desert Tribesman replied, frustrated.
"Looks like it's true," Lynn said.
"So that's how it is. Guess we really can't kill him," Evan said with a bitter smile.
"Who says we can't? Let's go to the Desert and hunt him down!" Ember shouted angrily.
"No way. The Desert is dangerous. There's a terrifying power hidden there—some say it's connected to that strange place here," Melody warned.
"Strange place? What strange place?" Lynn asked curiously.
"The place that can mutate spirit beasts and drive people insane," Melody explained.
Lynn was shocked to hear this, while Ember didn't know and kept asking questions. Evan remembered when he first arrived, Lynn had caught him as a monster and mentioned this place.
While they were discussing, Evan suddenly said, "Let's go to the Desert."
"What? Are you crazy too?" Melody exclaimed. She thought Evan wasn't the reckless type.
Evan smiled. "Your training is almost over. Don't you think going to the Desert would be more of a challenge?"
Ember had wanted to see the Desert for a while, and Lynn was eager to hunt down Prince Leng, so both agreed. In the end, Melody had no choice but to follow along.
Before heading out, Lynn put the remaining Desert Tribesmen into her spatial ring for later use. Evan told the three, "Wait for me in town—I'll be right there."
The three were curious about what Evan had to do, but since he wouldn't say, they went to the city first. Evan summoned the steward, and the two began to discuss something.
On the way, Ember asked, "Don't you think Dad's been acting strange since he got back?"
"Strange? He's always been odd," Lynn replied.
"No, I mean how we suddenly appeared outside, and the Desert Tribesmen too, and they couldn't leave—just letting us do whatever we wanted?" Ember wondered.
"Now that you mention it, I almost forgot. You're right, it's odd. I'm curious what really happened," Lynn muttered.