As soon as Evan Chu finished speaking, the four people outside the door immediately rushed in. When they saw Roxanne Lin sitting at the table, all four were stunned—especially Doctor Yao, whose beady little eyes nearly popped out of his head. He stared at Roxanne as if he'd seen a ghost, his mouth hanging open wide enough to fit a whole egg.
Roxanne Lin was equally confused, not understanding why the four of them were staring at her like that. Did she have flowers on her face, or was she just too dirty? The whole thing left her speechless.
At that moment, Doctor Yao couldn't help but ask Evan Chu, "You... you really brought her back to life? How did you do it?" His face was full of disbelief, making Evan Chu laugh.
"You don't need to know how I did it," Evan said, grinning. "What matters now is that you owe me twenty Netherghost Violet Orchids. You lost the bet, so don't even think about going back on your word. But I trust the Netherworld's number-one healer will keep his promise."
Doctor Yao's face turned ashen. Only now did he remember the terms of their wager, and he was filled with regret and unwillingness. He could tell he'd been thoroughly played, but he had only himself to blame for walking right into Evan's trap. He bitterly regretted ever making the bet.
"Don't worry, I'll give you the twenty Netherghost Violet Orchids," Doctor Yao said helplessly. "But I hope you'll agree to one condition in return. Since you went out of your way to set me up, you should at least satisfy one request of mine!" With the Shade Lord here, he knew he had no choice but to accept reality.
Princess Ivy walked over to Roxanne, looked her up and down, and said, "Roxy, you're really okay? That's amazing! I was scared out of my mind—this little rascal really does have some skills, actually healing you like that."
"Ivy, Evan isn't as simple as you think. He's got a ton of secrets, and someday he'll tell you all about them," Roxanne said, still puzzled. "But what exactly is going on here? Who is that old man, and why did Evan ask him for twenty Netherghost Violet Orchids? How could he possibly have so many?"
"Heh, that old man is actually a really big deal—the number-one healer in the Netherworld and a close friend of my father, the Shade Lord. He’s lived in Skyspear City for years and came all the way here just to treat your injuries. But your wounds were too severe—your heart-meridian was nearly severed. Even with his legendary skills, he couldn’t save you.
But Evan said he could heal you, so they made a wager—if he could bring you back, the old man would give him twenty Netherghost Violet Orchids. I never expected Evan’s medical skills to be so insane; in just half an hour, you were not only revived but completely restored! It’s honestly unbelievable. How did he do it?" Princess Ivy asked, still baffled.
"No need for me to answer that—he’ll explain it himself soon enough. I can’t believe how sneaky he is, tricking that old guy out of twenty Netherghost Violet Orchids. Amazing," Roxanne said with a laugh.
Evan Chu stood up and said, "Old man, take a look at this." As he spoke, a surge of dense wood-element energy appeared in his palm, instantly flooding the room with a powerful aura of life.
"Is... is that the legendary wood element? Such a strong life aura! How did you do it? How can you summon such powerful wood element?" Doctor Yao asked, utterly shocked.
Doctor Yao was stunned. The Shade Lord and Sean Xiao were just as shocked—both of them were top experts with deep understanding of the five elements, and now they looked at Evan as if he were some kind of monster, hoping he would give them a reasonable explanation.
Ivy, on the other hand, was completely puzzled. "What’s the wood element? I’ve never even heard of it. Roxy, do you know?" she asked Roxanne beside her.
"Wood element is one of the five fundamental elements, and it’s the most mystical of them all. It carries a powerful life aura and is the fastest, most direct way to heal injuries. It’s also the rarest element there is. The fact that Evan can control it—and with such density—is honestly terrifying," Roxanne explained.
Evan smiled. "Old man, you know about wood element, right? Since I can unleash such dense wood element, do you really think I couldn’t heal her injuries? Isn’t it about time you handed over those Netherghost Violet Orchids?"
Seeing the sly grin on Evan’s face, Doctor Yao was so frustrated he nearly coughed up blood. But he had no choice—he fulfilled the wager and took out the Netherghost Violet Orchids from his storage ring, his face so twisted with pain that everyone burst out laughing.
Evan accepted the Netherghost Violet Orchids without ceremony, stashing them in his own storage ring. Then, he took out a million Starstones and handed them to Doctor Yao. "Old man, I know you’re not happy about this. Take these million Netherstones as compensation. Let this be a lesson—there are no absolutes in life."
"My medical skills may not be as good as yours, but I have something even stronger—the wood element. Still, I really do thank you for taking care of Roxy. If you ever need help in the future, Evan Chu won’t turn you down."
Doctor Yao nodded, but he didn’t take Evan’s promise seriously at all. What was so special about a brat’s promise? In the Netherworld, he was respected by everyone—if something ever happened, he certainly wouldn’t need Evan’s help.
Little did he know, the youth before him was already a top-tier powerhouse in the Netherworld. Getting a promise from Evan was no easy feat. Luckily, Doctor Yao hadn’t refused, or Evan wouldn’t have ended up saving his life later on.
"Alright, now that Roxy is safe, and everyone here is family, Evan, what’s your plan?" the Shade Lord asked.
"We’ve all taken some serious injuries this time. I think we should rest for a few days, then go straight to seize the Ghost Clan and Beast Clan territories. We can’t let the humans or Netherkin profit from the chaos for free—this can’t wait. How about we set out in three days? As for Nine-Shade City, it’s already gone, so there’s no point going back.
Skyspear City is pretty good—why not make it the Shade Clan’s new capital? Expand the surrounding facilities, and we’ll save ourselves a lot of trouble," Evan said nonchalantly.
He made it sound so easy, but to everyone else, it was like a thunderbolt out of the blue. Doctor Yao especially thought Evan was delusional—he actually wanted to seize Ghost Clan and Beast Clan territory, and turn Skyspear City into the Shade capital? The Ghost King and Beast King weren’t exactly pushovers; how could a kid like him just take over whenever he felt like it?
Forget about the distant threats—just inside Skyspear City alone, there were plenty of experts whose strength rivaled the old Nine-Shade City. And now, with the Shade Lord gravely injured, how could he possibly stand against other powerhouses? Doctor Yao sneered, "Kid, aren’t you afraid the wind will snap your tongue, spouting such nonsense? Skyspear City has Saint Martial Ninth-Layer experts who could kill you in a heartbeat, and you want to seize the Ghost King and Beast King’s territory? What gives you the right to talk so big?"
Evan just laughed. "You’re right, old man, I don’t really have the qualifications to talk so big. But soon enough, you’ll see whether I’m bluffing or not. It’s getting late—everyone should go rest. I’ll stay here tonight to take care of Roxy."
No one objected, but Ivy chose not to leave. "I’ll stay and look after Roxy too—see if there’s anything I can do to help Evan."
After the Shade Lord and the other two left, Doctor Yao said to him, "Shade Lord, is your son-in-law out of his mind? How can he spout such nonsense and not be stopped? If anyone else hears this, it’ll damage your reputation and bring you all kinds of trouble."
"Doctor Yao, you really shouldn't judge people by appearances. Yes, he's my son-in-law, but he's also a top-tier powerhouse. In terms of strength, even I can't beat him. He's actually being polite to you today—if you were anyone else, you might not have left this room alive," the Shade Lord said calmly, pausing in his tracks.
"Stronger than you? No way. He hasn't even broken through to the Venerable Martial Realm! You must be joking—I don't believe it!" Doctor Yao scoffed, thinking the Shade Lord was pulling his leg.
"Believe whatever you want. Just don't go provoking him for no reason—if you do and he gets upset, don't blame me if you end up dead. Consider yourself warned," the Shade Lord said, then left without another word.
Doctor Yao watched the Shade Lord leave and muttered to himself, "Could he really be telling the truth? Is that kid actually a top-tier powerhouse? No way—I must've misheard!"
Evan looked at the two girls and grinned. "Now that no one's here to bother us, isn't it time to get down to business? I told you I'd keep you both in bed for days—you didn't forget, did you?"
"Can you be serious for once? Is this really the time to think about that stuff? Are you actually planning to take over Skyspear City?" Roxanne asked, suddenly serious.
"Of course I am. The experts in Skyspear City don’t impress me at all. I’ve already killed the Ghost King and Beast King—these guys are nothing. You should trust my strength. In the Netherworld, the only ones who can fight me now are Zander Xiang and the Nether Monarch," Evan said with a smile.
Princess Ivy glanced at Evan and laughed. "You’re serious? You really killed the Ghost King and Beast King? How is that possible? Evan, what realm are you at now? This is insane!"
"I’m just at Saint Martial Fifth Layer, but the Chaos Dragon Force in my body is as strong as a Venerable Martial Third Layer expert’s Netherforce. Add in my unique martial arts and defenses, and it’s easy to kill them. So, do you think Skyspear City is still a threat to me?" Evan replied.
"Monster!" "Freak!" the two girls exclaimed in unison, their faces full of disbelief.
Seeing their shocked expressions, Evan felt quite pleased. He scooped Roxanne into his arms and said, "Roxy, it looks like your injuries aren’t fully healed yet. Let me check you over again!"
"I don’t feel anything wrong—put me down, now!" Roxanne protested immediately.
But Evan refused to let go. "Stop fussing. I need to check you, or you might end up with lingering problems!" His face was so serious, the girls couldn’t tell if he was joking or not.