Warren Wong naturally assumed Evan Yang's identity, so he didn't send more people here. First, to prevent news from leaking; second, he didn't want the so-called 'little beggar'—Evan Yang—to be killed and discovered by outsiders.
Tiger Sun wasn't stupid. Although he didn't know the true identity of the little beggar in front of him, he still mustered his courage and said, "Brother Beggar, thank you for saving my life. You should hurry and leave, don't sacrifice yourself for nothing."
"Tiger, do you think I would leave you behind?" Facing Tiger Sun, Evan Yang finally revealed the truth with a smile.
"You are...?" Tiger Sun looked at Evan Yang in disbelief.
"It's me, Evan Yang. Sorry you had to suffer." Evan said apologetically, looking at the badly injured Tiger Sun.
When Tiger Sun heard it was Evan Yang, instead of feeling sad, he smiled happily and asked, "You—you really are Evan?"
"Yeah." Evan Yang nodded.
"I never expected your cultivation to be so powerful." Tiger Sun could sense Evan Yang's aura was far stronger than his own, so he laughed excitedly.
Evan Yang turned his back to Warren Wong, took out the teleport talisman Elder Lee had given him during his training at the Rising Sun Sect, placed it in Tiger Sun's hand, and gestured for him to use it soon. Then he said, "See you at the cliff."
Tiger Sun wasn't stupid. He knew that staying here would only cause trouble for Evan Yang, so without hesitation, he activated the teleport talisman.
Warren Wong originally assumed Evan Yang would be burdened by Tiger Sun and couldn't possibly defeat him, but to his shock, Tiger Sun vanished right before his eyes.
"Damn it, filthy beggar, what did you do!" Warren Wong demanded, still unable to believe what he'd just seen.
"Did you think you were the only one with a teleport talisman?" Evan Yang knew how important the talisman was, and was deeply grateful to Elder Lee for giving it to him. He hadn't planned to use it, but today he had no choice but to let Tiger Sun leave first—otherwise, Tiger Sun would just become Warren Wong's target.
"You..." Warren Wong, now certain Tiger Sun had been teleported away, stepped back angrily, staring at Evan Yang.
"Today, you're going to die." Evan Yang drew his dagger, aiming to strike a fatal blow.
Suddenly, someone walked out from behind the main hall, startling Evan Yang. Warren Wong, seeing the newcomer, cried out excitedly as if he'd found his savior, "Sect Master Duan, he's Evan Yang!"
The person was Damon Duan, the sect master. He had known someone was in the main hall, but only now stepped out, sensing Evan Yang's killing intent. He didn't want the Wong Clan's genius to die here, or else the Wong Clan would pursue the matter endlessly.
"So, it's the sect master." Evan Yang looked at the man before him, realizing his cultivation had reached the Core-Formation stage. He knew he was no match for him now.
Damon Duan walked down and asked, "You are Evan Yang?"
"That's right." Evan Yang replied warily.
"Cripple your own cultivation." Because of Evan Yang, the Wong Clan and that alchemist kept harassing the Rising Sun Sect for over a year, making Damon Duan miserable. Now that he'd found Evan Yang here, he couldn't wait to hand him over.
"Sect master, do you really plan to side with the Wong Clan?" Evan Yang sneered when he saw Damon Duan had no intention of showing mercy.
"You're just an outer disciple of the Rising Sun Sect. Ultimately, you're under my authority. You broke the sect rules—shouldn't you be punished by crippling your cultivation?" Damon Duan said righteously.
"Fine, so I broke the rules. Sect master, you'd better remember today, because I'll be back." As soon as Evan Yang finished speaking, three daggers shot out—two stacked together to shake a Core-Formation expert, the third aimed at Warren Wong, who was watching from the side.
The sudden attack caught Damon Duan off guard. He barely blocked the daggers, but their power forced him to use extra strength. Warren Wong wasn't so lucky—he didn't expect Evan Yang's move at all, and his left thumb was sliced open, the bone even fractured.
Evan Yang instantly recalled his daggers and left.
Warren Wong screamed miserably, unable to dodge the daggers. His hand was cut open, and he never expected Evan Yang's daggers to be so sharp that they could sever bone instantly.
Damon Duan was furious—a mere Foundation-Building disciple escaped right in front of him, and Warren Wong was screaming in pain. Damon could only rush over to help Warren stop the bleeding.
"Sect Master Duan, hurry up! You must catch that brat for me!" Warren Wong cursed through gritted teeth, furious and in agony.
Damon Duan wanted nothing more. Seeing Warren Wong could still speak, he flashed out of the main hall.
Warren Wong cursed, "Evan Yang, I swear I'll skin you alive!"
As soon as Evan Yang left the main hall, he found a crowd of disciples had already gathered outside, drawn by Warren Wong's screams, surrounding him.
"Talk about bad luck," Evan Yang muttered to himself, seeing he was surrounded by Rising Sun Sect disciples.
Damon Duan had already rushed out and was hovering in the air, looking down at Evan Yang. "Evan Yang, I'll say it one more time—cripple your cultivation."
"Why not just take me down directly? I really don't get what you're thinking." Evan Yang muttered to himself, glancing up at Damon Duan floating in the air.
"Sect Master Duan, kill him for me!" Warren Wong, having lost all reason, charged out of the main hall and shouted.
"What a pity," Evan Yang sighed, seeing that Warren Wong hadn't died.
The disciples around them immediately began discussing after hearing their conversation.
"Is this the Evan Yang who killed a Wong clansman and that alchemist more than a year ago?" one disciple asked.
"Didn't the sect master just say so? It should be," another replied.
"Look at him now—he looks just like a beggar. His cultivation can't be much either. Why don't we just go up and kill him? Don't forget, Master Wu said that killing him would earn us pills." One bold disciple clicked his tongue.
"But the sect master hasn't made a move yet. Why are we stirring things up?" a dissenting disciple argued.
"Seriously, the sect master is up there and we're just waiting here for nothing," another disciple complained.
Some spoke loudly enough that Evan Yang, standing nearby, heard them clearly. He sighed helplessly, "Why are disciples so greedy these days?"
"Evan Yang, you can't escape now, so do as I say." Damon Duan was losing patience, secretly plotting to cripple Evan's cultivation and hand him over to the Wong Clan and Master Wu. That way, he could curry favor with both and reap the benefits.
Evan Yang had no idea about Damon Duan's shameless plan. He looked up and said, "Sect master, are you sure you want to go against me?"
His words drew waves of ridicule. Who did Evan Yang think he was, talking to Damon Duan like that—as if an outer disciple could question the sect master.
Damon Duan couldn't keep his composure. "You're a disciple of the Rising Sun Sect—you should heed my guidance, shouldn't you?" Evan Yang retorted, "Heh, sect master, I've been in the Rising Sun Sect for years and never saw you once. Who'd have thought our first meeting would be you trying to hunt me down. How amusing."
"Looks like you won't cripple your cultivation, so I'll do it myself." Damon Duan descended, quickly approaching Evan Yang, intending to destroy his dantian. But as his hand touched Evan, he saw Evan's strange smile. Suddenly, a peculiar pill flew from Evan's hand.
With a loud 'bang,' smoke billowed up, and then came the sound of people collapsing one after another.
When the smoke cleared, all the disciples had collapsed. Even Damon Duan stared at Evan Yang in disbelief, then finally fell unconscious, unwilling to accept what had happened.
At the entrance of the main hall, Warren Wong saw that only Evan Yang was still standing. Realizing something was wrong, he nervously activated his teleport talisman and fled. As he left, he threatened, "Evan Yang, the Wong Clan will never let you off!"
"What a lucky cockroach," Evan Yang muttered after seeing Warren escape yet again. He pondered how to prevent people from teleporting away—otherwise, every time they escaped with a talisman, it was like letting a tiger return to the mountains.
With the plaza silent, Evan Yang didn’t dare linger. Who knew what other strange experts might be hiding in the Rising Sun Sect? Still, before leaving, he did a little something, then hurried off, not wanting to risk the drug wearing off and everyone waking up.
"Heh, just like that—the Scented Slumber Pill really works," Evan Yang chuckled as he left. The pill was made from Slumberweed he’d bought, and he’d refined three in total. This was the first field test, and it had knocked out even a Core-Formation expert.
After leaving, Evan Yang headed straight for the cliff, where a worried Tiger Sun was waiting.
"Evan!" Tiger Sun exclaimed, thrilled to see Evan Yang rush out.
"Let’s go," Evan Yang said, not wanting to linger. He spoke directly to Tiger Sun.
Tiger Sun knew they couldn’t stay in the Rising Sun Sect any longer, so he agreed without hesitation. As they left, they heard a furious roar from inside the sect: "Evan Yang, get out here!"
Once outside the Rising Sun Sect, Tiger Sun asked curiously, "Evan, whose terrifying roar was that just now?"
"Of course, it was the tragic sect master," Evan Yang replied, amused.
"What happened to him? And how did you escape?" Tiger Sun asked, full of curiosity.
Evan Yang grinned, "I used a pill to knock everyone out, then stripped the sect master’s clothes and tied him to a pillar at the main hall entrance."
Tiger Sun was dumbfounded. "You—you really stripped the sect master’s clothes? And tied him up?"
"Of course. He tried to catch me and cripple my cultivation without even caring about right or wrong. He deserved it. I bet he’s furious right now," Evan Yang said with satisfaction.
"Wouldn't that just cause more trouble for you? Why not just kill him?" Tiger Sun wondered why Evan Yang didn’t simply kill the sect master since he had the ability.
Evan Yang shook his head. "If I killed him, the Rising Sun Sect would collapse, and others would get dragged into disaster. Better to humiliate him than destroy the whole sect."
Thinking of Elder Lee and others in the Rising Sun Sect, Evan Yang ultimately didn’t kill Damon Duan. After all, the sect needed a strong expert to keep things together.
After hearing Evan Yang’s explanation, Tiger Sun agreed—it made sense. The Rising Sun Sect had been his home for years, and he didn’t want to see it destroyed. He said approvingly, "Evan, you’ve matured a lot in just over a year away."
"Come on, if you keep saying that, I’ll blush. Let’s hurry and get out of here. If the sect master goes crazy, he can fly everywhere hunting us, but we only have two legs," Evan Yang joked.