"You're incredible." Shane Shen said, praising Evan Yang as soon as he saw him.
"Not really. The creatures here aren't as strong as the ones I've seen elsewhere." Evan Yang guessed that the local creatures were weaker than those invading other realms, though he wasn't sure why.
"No matter what, you beat it. That means you're halfway to being a Top Hunter." Shane Shen grinned.
Evan Yang caught the meaning and smiled. "Actually, I was about to ask you—where do I go to get certified as a Top Hunter?"
"You—" Shane Shen was stunned by Evan Yang's question.
"I want to be a Top Hunter, so I hunted it. If I catch one more, I'll make it." Evan Yang said with a grin.
"That kind of prey is rare, but if you want the latest news, go to the Star Lords—they always know where strong creatures show up." Shane Shen explained.
"Yeah, I know. I came here because I heard Battlefield No. 3 had some powerful creatures." Evan Yang said.
"Got it. Come back to my stronghold with me. I'll send people to investigate, and once I hear anything, I'll let you know." Shane Shen said.
(Irrelevant system prompt skipped.)
Evan Yang thought it over and agreed, so he went back to the stronghold with Shane Shen.
News of Evan Yang capturing the creature in the canyon quickly spread from planet to planet. More and more people wanted to know who he was and where he came from.
It wasn't just among humans—even the strange creatures started to hear about Evan Yang.
On a planet beside a broken space zone, inside a cave, a huge spider-like creature was spinning silk. Suddenly, a small spider with short-range spatial blink appeared in front of the big one.
"Master, bad news!" the little spider said.
The big spider, a mother, looked curiously at her child. "What is it?" she asked.
"Lord Toxic Wing was beaten by a human—and even captured!" the little spider reported.
The mother spider's limbs instantly contracted. She shifted into a half-human form, stood up, and raged, "Who? Who dares touch my Brother Toxic Wing?"
"No idea. Just some human—we heard it from their side," the little spider said.
"Damn it! Go dig up everything about this person. I want the full story. If you don't get it all, don't bother coming back!" the mother spider ordered.
The little spider hurried off, leaving the mother spider's expression dark. "Brother Toxic Wing, just wait. I'll poison whoever captured you, tear them apart, eat them, and trap their soul forever."
Ever since such a terrifying human appeared, the top strange creatures stopped hunting solo in human territory—they only dared go together now.
Right then, Evan Yang was resting in the stronghold with Max Meng and the others. Shane Shen kept sending people to gather news, but none of the so-called strong creatures in their reports caught Evan's interest.
Shane Shen knew Evan's real strength, but the others didn't. They thought Evan was deliberately making things hard for them and got angry, wanting to challenge him. But anyone who'd heard about the canyon incident gave up and just endured.
"Don't worry, I'll keep sending people to help you look," Shane Shen said, seeing Evan Yang deep in thought.
"Alright, I get it." Evan Yang replied with a smile.
Three days passed. Then someone came to the stronghold to visit Shane Shen.
"Who are you?" Shane Shen asked, suspicious as he saw the stranger.
"I'm here on behalf of Lady Iris Ying. She said, if Evan Yang wants to keep looking for strong creatures, he should meet her." the visitor explained.
Evan Yang was nearby, looking puzzled. How did Iris Ying know he was here? Shane Shen was curious too and glanced at Evan, who smiled, "Alright, I'll go now."
"Be careful, I'm worried they might..." Shane Shen said with concern.
"You're worried they'll make trouble for me over last time?" Evan Yang said, smiling.
Shane Shen nodded. He was worried, since these armies sometimes ally with mercenary groups for profit, and sometimes sacrifice them for profit. The mercenaries knew this all too well.
Evan Yang smiled. "Don't worry. Right now, none of them can beat me, let alone control me. If they want trouble, maybe I'll be the one giving them trouble."
Evan Yang's words left Shane Shen stunned for a moment, then he laughed. "You're really something."
"Not really, haha. I'm heading out." Evan Yang said with a smile.
"Will you come back?" Max Meng asked.
"If I have time, I'll definitely come back," Evan Yang said, smiling.
Evan Yang turned and left. Watching his back, Max Meng muttered, "When will I be as strong as him?"
"Just work hard at cultivating," Shane Shen said with a smile.