After hearing the Strange Fiend's explanation, Evan Yang finally understood, but he was still very curious about the Ancestor of Ten Thousand Insects, so he smiled and said, "How about a deal?"
"You really want it?" The Strange Fiend asked in surprise.
"Yeah." Evan Yang nodded.
"Let me think about it." The Strange Fiend began to ponder, while Evan waited nearby until the Strange Fiend finally spoke, "What do you want to trade?"
"Freedom. If you give me that, I'll release you. You can go wherever you want." Evan Yang smiled.
"Where could I go right now? How about this: I give it to you, you release me, and you also agree to let me cultivate here?" The Strange Fiend had already figured out that Evan Yang's artifact was anything but ordinary, so he wanted to stay here. Even if he couldn't leave, he could cultivate in peace and avoid those Three Palaces people.
"Here?" Evan Yang hesitated a bit. After all, his friends were also here, and he and the Strange Fiend were enemies. Who knew if the fiend would try to threaten him by targeting his people?
Seeing Evan Yang's expression, the Strange Fiend laughed, "Relax. Back on your planet, we were enemies because you got in the way of my plans. But here? This artifact is your space—whatever you say goes. Are you really afraid I'll cause trouble?"
Evan Yang thought over the Strange Fiend's words and realized he had a point. Plus, the tower could be shaped however Evan wanted. If he wanted to split off a small area for the fiend and restrict his movements, that would be easy.
So Evan quickly agreed to the Strange Fiend's request. He moved his hands a few times on the fiend, and the Strange Fiend was finally able to move—though still injured, he didn't have the strength to do anything to Evan even if he wanted to.
The Strange Fiend had already accepted his fate. Since he was here, he might as well focus on cultivation and survival. At least the man before him wasn’t a hypocrite, so he chose to trust Evan Yang. He took out a box from his ring, opened it, and revealed to Evan a palm-sized, transparent, and oddly cute insect—the Ancestor of Ten Thousand Insects.
"This is the Ancestor of Ten Thousand Insects. Just feed it your blood, and it will lay one insect every year. Each insect evolves every ten years, and eventually reaches a strength close to your own cultivation." The Strange Fiend explained.
"One insect per year? And it evolves every ten years? How long does it take to reach Spirit-Wandering Realm?" Evan Yang asked curiously.
"About two or three hundred years," the Strange Fiend replied.
Evan Yang thought about it. In the outside world, that would seem slow, but inside the Sky-Piercing Tower, it was different—ten years outside meant five hundred years inside. He could easily cultivate a whole swarm of his own.
This realization made Evan Yang ecstatic. The Strange Fiend hadn’t yet experienced the fiftyfold time difference, so he felt as if he’d been inside for ages, unaware that only a short while had passed outside.
Now the Strange Fiend handed the box over to Evan Yang, then went to find a quiet corner to heal his wounds. After Evan marked out a restricted area for him, Evan himself found a peaceful spot and began to inspect the insect.
"Let’s give it a try." Evan Yang squeezed out some of his blood and fed it to the insect. The insect absorbed Evan’s slightly greenish blood, and Evan watched in surprise until the insect settled down.
When the insect stopped absorbing blood, Evan put it away, intending to check again after a year. He left a clone to guard the box, while his main body went to another area for secluded cultivation.
While Evan Yang was in secluded cultivation, he had no idea what was happening outside.
After more than a month had passed outside—nearly five years inside the Sky-Piercing Tower—Evan Yang’s main body emerged, now noticeably stronger.
"I wonder how things are outside." Evan Yang had stayed here for over a month. By now, those watching him should have left, so he decided to come out of seclusion.
Stepping out of the cultivation room, Evan found that Tanner Xiao was no longer there.
"He’s not here? Well, that works. Time to slip away." Seeing Tanner Xiao absent, Evan planned to leave quietly and avoid everyone’s attention.
But things rarely go as planned—reality always surprises you. Just as Evan was about to find the secret passage and leave, he heard a commotion erupting from the main hall.
"What’s going on?" Curious, Evan Yang activated his thousand-mile hearing and divine sense to see what was happening in the hall.
What he saw shocked him: Tanner Xiao, covered in blood and grievous injuries, was being carried into the hall. Cyril Xiao was desperately pouring spiritual energy into him, trying to keep him alive.
Seeing this, Evan couldn’t bring himself to just walk away. In a flash, he entered the main hall, passed through the crowd, and knelt beside Tanner Xiao to examine his condition. The crowd recognized Evan and didn’t stop him.
"What happened?" Evan squatted down and checked Tanner Xiao’s injuries, discovering he’d been savagely beaten—his attacker hadn’t held back at all.
"Sigh, it’s all my fault." Cyril Xiao withdrew his hands, cursing himself bitterly.
"Cyril Xiao, what exactly happened?" Evan Yang asked, frowning.
"Today was the Decennial Ten-Clan Tournament. Every Ten Great Families clan has to send a direct descendant to compete, or else they forfeit. I wanted this kid to represent the Shaw Family, to show we still have heirs—but look what happened." Cyril Xiao said helplessly.
Hearing it was the Ten Great Families’ tournament, Evan didn’t ask further. He told Cyril Xiao, "Move him to a quiet place. Let me see if I can help."
Cyril Xiao, hearing Evan might have a way, quickly had the butler arrange a quiet room. He carried the unconscious Tanner Xiao there, and the butler helped clear everyone else out, leaving only Evan and Tanner inside.
The room was sealed and soundproof, perfectly quiet. Evan could concentrate on healing—he sent spiritual energy into Tanner Xiao to begin repairing his injuries.
"Patriarch, is he really that capable?" the butler asked Cyril Xiao, full of doubt.
"Let’s hope so." Cyril Xiao had no confidence—Tanner Xiao was gravely wounded, his primordial spirit nearly dissipated. If it got worse, he might become soulless, even a living idiot.
The butler, seeing Cyril Xiao silent, secretly smirked: "Let’s see if you die this time!"
"That was vicious." As Evan slowly repaired Tanner Xiao, he found the area near his primordial spirit completely destroyed—even the soul itself was badly damaged.
Evan took out a Mind-Recall Pill. "Lucky I have this." He fed it to Tanner Xiao and continued healing both his body and primordial spirit.
Tanner Xiao’s primordial spirit slowly awakened. Seeing Evan Yang had helped him, he said gratefully, "Thank you, Brother Evan."
"Don’t speak. Guard your primordial spirit—I’ll repair your body. You’ll be fully awake soon." Evan Yang sent a message to Tanner Xiao’s soul.
Tanner Xiao's primordial spirit was fragile, so he calmed down and waited as Evan worked. When both his body and soul had recovered, he finally returned to full consciousness.
Tanner Xiao opened his eyes. Evan Yang stopped his healing and smiled, "Good thing I had spiritual medicine on hand—otherwise, I wouldn’t have known how to fix your primordial spirit."
The Mind-Recall Pill is usually used to awaken deeply comatose souls. Evan Yang used it to revive Tanner Xiao’s primordial spirit, then combined it with his unique spiritual energy to pull him back from the brink of death.
Though Evan Yang made it sound easy, Tanner Xiao knew it was anything but. He thanked Evan deeply, "No matter what, you’re my benefactor now. My life belongs to you."
"Don’t be ridiculous—I don’t want your life. Just rest up." Evan Yang laughed.
"Yeah." Tanner Xiao checked his body and confirmed his injuries had nearly healed. His respect for Evan’s medical skills grew even deeper.
Seeing Tanner Xiao inspecting his body, Evan Yang asked curiously, "Your father said you joined the Ten Great Families tournament—what kind of opponent did you face to end up like this?"
"Sigh, the tournament’s held every ten years. I’ve competed before, but never got hurt this badly. This time, my opponent was about the same strength—both late-stage Soul-Forming Realm—but he used a soul-targeting artifact that knocked my primordial spirit unconscious. By the time I came to, he’d already attacked me. That’s how I ended up like this." Tanner Xiao explained.
"A soul-targeting artifact? That’s vicious—are there any restrictions on using it?" Evan Yang asked, worried for Tanner Xiao.
"Restrictions? Not really. As long as you don’t kill, anything goes," Tanner Xiao replied.
"What if someone is killed?" Evan Yang pressed, knowing Tanner would’ve died without his intervention.
"Since most participants are direct heirs, a death could spark a war between families. The Old Man of Northridge forbids it, so there’s a rule: if you kill your opponent, you’re punished—either your cultivation is abolished or you’re executed on the spot," Tanner Xiao explained.
"The Old Man of Northridge presides? So what happened to your attacker?" Evan Yang asked, surprised.
"I don’t know what happened—I was unconscious," Tanner Xiao shook his head.
"We’ll have to ask your father then." Evan Yang realized Tanner wouldn’t know, so he stepped outside.
Seeing Evan Yang come out, Cyril Xiao asked nervously, "How is he?"
"Patriarch Shaw, come in alone." Evan Yang said, then led the anxious Cyril Xiao inside. Outside, the butler grumbled, "Is he dead or alive? Such a hassle."
Cyril Xiao entered and hurried to the bedside, overjoyed to see Tanner alive and smiling. "Thank heaven—we’re not losing the Shaw Family’s heirs after all!"
"Dad, aren’t you exaggerating?" Tanner Xiao said helplessly.
"You have no idea how scary it was—I nearly thought you’d become a living idiot," Cyril Xiao said.
"A living idiot?" Tanner Xiao didn’t understand, but Evan Yang knew: if Tanner’s primordial spirit had gone comatose, he’d be soulless—no different from an idiot.
"You don’t know—everyone thought you were dead. I rushed up to punish that guy, but the Old Man of Northridge said your primordial spirit was only comatose, not dead, so the attacker wasn’t punished," Cyril Xiao said angrily.