"Is it this one?" Steward Fenn glanced around, then fixed his gaze on Evan Yang.
"Yes," Second Young Master Fenn replied. (Note: Evan's nickname is 'Wine Drunkard' among mortals.)
"So you're the Wine Immortal's disciple?" Steward Fenn asked Evan Yang directly.
Evan Yang answered timidly, "Yes." (Note: Hidden Dragon Elixirs, not Pills.)
As he spoke, Steward Fenn sized him up for a while, then said, "You don't have any cultivation?"
"That's right, I used to be an herb farmer," Evan Yang replied.
"Herb farmer?" Steward Fenn looked Evan Yang over again and muttered to himself.
Second Young Master Fenn stared at Third Young Master Fenn. This was clearly bringing Steward Fenn over to inspect the person he recruited. Third Young Master Fenn wore a broad smile.
"Second Young Master, I'll leave him to you. Make sure to pay attention to every detail. Skygrain Wine is immensely valuable to our Fenn Family—don't let anything go wrong," Steward Fenn said to Second Young Master Fenn.
"Yes, Steward Fenn," Second Young Master Fenn replied respectfully.
"Alright, that's all. You can go back now," Steward Fenn said to Second Young Master Fenn and the others.
Second Young Master Fenn nodded, then led everyone away. After they left, Third Young Master Fenn asked Steward Fenn, "Are you sure there's no problem?"
"Yes, no problem. He's just a mortal," Steward Fenn replied.
"That's odd," Third Young Master Fenn muttered.
"What's wrong?" Steward Fenn asked suspiciously.
"That day, I didn't use much force when I injured him, but for a mortal, it should take at least a month or two before his breathing returned to normal," Third Young Master Fenn said, puzzled. (Note: Elena Yale, not Elena.)
"Are you sure the force you used would leave him struggling to breathe for months?" Steward Fenn asked curiously.
"Yes," Third Young Master Fenn nodded.
"Have some people investigate him. Find out where he's from and whether that person actually exists," Steward Fenn said, still suspicious. (Note: Spirit Crystal Ore, not crystal source.)
"Understood," Third Young Master Fenn replied, then took his leave from Steward Fenn. (Note: Evan's nickname is 'Wine Drunkard' among mortals.)
"There shouldn't be any real problem. He's just a mortal," Steward Fenn muttered, then left.
Evan Yang caught every word they said. When he heard that Third Young Master Fenn had tested him with that attack, he was startled, and then grew wary when Steward Fenn mentioned investigating his background.
That could be troublesome. But as long as Evan Yang didn't leave any evidence behind, he wasn't afraid of their investigation. Worst case, he'd claim he'd grown up in a small mountain village, living off herb gathering. Besides, Evan Yang was far more familiar with medicinal herbs than ordinary people—if questioned, he'd have no problem answering.
This made Evan Yang more cautious toward Steward Fenn and Third Young Master Fenn. From now on, he'd have to be extra careful with everything he did.
Soon, Evan Yang returned to Second Young Master Fenn's manor under his lead.
After giving some instructions to Evan Yang and the guards, Second Young Master Fenn went into seclusion.
The guards only cared about getting the brewing recipe, so they always supervised Evan Yang closely whenever he brewed wine.
Not only that, Evan Yang noticed that outsiders often appeared near the manor, and it happened more than once.
"Could they be sent by Third Young Master Fenn?" Even while brewing, Evan Yang kept many strands of Divine Sense spread out, watching every movement around him.
This situation lasted for about a month before those people disappeared. Evan Yang then focused his attention on the Tyrant Seal Art.
After brewing ten vats of wine in a month, Evan Yang went to Mortal’s Rest. The people there flocked to him asking for wine, but Evan Yang told them brewing took time to stall them. After enjoying a day of leisure, he rented a room that night, checked it carefully, shut all the windows to block Divine Sense from outside, then lay on the bed, activated his spiritual power, and flashed into the Sky-Piercing Tower. He moved the tower under the bed so even if someone entered, no one would know where he had gone.
Inside the tower, Evan Yang found a quiet spot. He had to leave within one outside night, or 'sleeping' too long in the room would arouse suspicion.
One night outside meant nearly a month inside the tower.
Luckily, Evan Yang had learned a 360-move fitness set before. Though the two had little in common, the principle was similar: every move had to connect smoothly.
So he mastered the sequence in three days, but it still wasn’t enough to break Elena’s seal. The main issue was the inconsistency in force at each step.
The Tyrant Seal Art’s effectiveness depended on force—if every step’s force was nearly identical, the suppression effect would be much greater.
These results came from Evan Yang’s own experiments, with the test subject being a local thug.
Seeing they still hadn’t given up, Evan Yang spent his time at Mortal’s Rest, chatting with other mortals, and occasionally treating everyone with Spirit Crystal Ore the Fenn Family had given him.
Gradually, Evan Yang’s reputation among mortals soared. Nearly everyone who visited Mortal’s Rest knew him, and they even gave him a nickname: Wine Drunkard.
So, to break Elena's seal as soon as possible, Evan Yang pushed himself relentlessly inside the tower, practicing the thousand movements over and over.
So the name Wine Drunkard gradually stuck to Evan Yang.
To avoid drawing attention, Evan Yang had to leave the tower. By then, dawn had just broken outside.
Over several months, Evan Yang used Mortal’s Rest and the mortals there as cover, cultivating in the tower at night. He also made plenty of Hidden Dragon Elixirs—every time he left the tower, he took one, then spent his days mingling and nights training.
About half an hour later, the place below grew lively. Only then did Evan Yang get up and mingle, chatting idly with others.
The Fenn Family guards grew anxious when Evan Yang didn’t return all night. They searched everywhere until someone spotted him at Mortal’s Rest and called him out.
"You didn’t come back last night?" one of the guards asked, a bit annoyed.
"I was having too much fun chatting with friends, so I drank a bit and just slept here," Evan Yang replied with an awkward smile.
Recalling Evan Yang used to be an herb farmer, and seeing him at Mortal’s Rest, the guard said, "Next time, let us know beforehand. We had to search everywhere for you."
"Sorry about that," Evan Yang said apologetically.
"Alright, just remember you must return next month when it's time to brew wine," the guard said, not bothering to manage Evan Yang's life after brewing.
Evan Yang was delighted that the guard didn't care about his life after brewing, but he smiled and said, "I'll definitely return."
"Go ahead, have fun," the guard said, then glanced at Mortal’s Rest behind him before leaving.
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This made Evan Yang very happy. At least now, Second Young Master Fenn’s guards wouldn’t bother him anymore. As long as they didn’t get the recipe, they couldn’t do anything to him, and Second Young Master Fenn was probably busy cultivating the Tyrant Seal Art.
Watching the guards leave, Evan Yang returned to the inn and continued chatting with everyone, though his Divine Sense stayed alert to his surroundings.
Soon, some figures appeared in Evan Yang’s line of sight.
"Those people again?" Evan Yang muttered when he saw more Fenn Family members spying on him.
Seeing they still hadn’t given up, Evan Yang spent his time at Mortal’s Rest, chatting with other mortals, and occasionally treating everyone with the crystal source the Fenn Family had given him.
Gradually, Evan Yang’s reputation among mortals soared. Nearly everyone who visited Mortal’s Rest knew him, and they even gave him a nickname: Wine Drifter.
He got the nickname because he never got drunk—no matter how many people drank with him, he stayed sober. Anyone who’d been to Phoenix Mountain knew Evan Yang was the Wine Immortal’s disciple, and had seen firsthand how terrifying the wine’s potency was, yet Evan Yang always managed.
So the name Wine Drifter gradually stuck to Evan Yang.
Not only that, Evan Yang rented a room at Mortal’s Rest for daily use, except for ten days each month when he had to return to the Fenn Family to brew wine.
Over several months, Evan Yang used Mortal’s Rest and the mortals there as cover, cultivating in the tower at night. He also made plenty of Hidden Dragon Pills—every time he left the tower, he took one, then spent his days mingling and nights training.
The reason Evan Yang hadn’t left the Fenn Family or Mortal’s Rest yet was because the Fenn Family’s trackers were too powerful—their Divine Sense followed him everywhere.
To avoid attracting the Fenn Family’s attention, Evan Yang had to stay at Second Young Master Fenn’s place for now, waiting for a chance to slip away.
Finally, one day inside the tower, Evan Yang successfully cultivated the Tyrant Seal Art to suppress five realms and summoned Elena Yale.
Elena didn’t react with excitement as Evan Yang expected. Instead, she smiled and said, "Kid, I should thank you. Thank you for risking so much to sneak into the Fenn Family for me."
Evan Yang thought she was angry, so he quickly explained, "Don’t be mad. I only sought out the Fenn Family to break your seal."
"You misunderstood—I’m not angry, I’m grateful," Elena said, her eyes brimming with tears. She especially struggled to control her emotions, knowing Evan Yang had risked so much to enter the Fenn Family for her sake.
"See? You scared me—I thought you were angry," Evan Yang said with a laugh.
"Thank you, truly. I’m really grateful," Elena said.
"Enough talk, get ready. I’ll break your seal now," Evan Yang said.
"No, don’t. It won’t work," Elena suddenly stopped him.
"Why not?" Evan Yang asked, puzzled.
"Because the Tyrant Seal Art has side effects," Elena explained.
Hearing about side effects, Evan Yang grew curious. "I’ve heard them mention it, but they never said what the side effects were."
"The side effect is: if your cultivation is suppressed for over a hundred years, once it’s released, you’ll age rapidly and lose all your cultivation," Elena said, pausing as her emotions grew complicated.
Evan Yang was stunned. "Why didn’t you tell me sooner?"
"I didn’t want you to worry. Besides, I’ve already spent several hundred years here. By now, it’s well over a hundred years. If my seal is broken, I’ll age rapidly and lose all my cultivation, just like a mortal. But my age is far beyond a mortal’s, so I’d die of old age," Elena said, struggling with her feelings.
At this moment, Evan Yang wasn’t thinking about saving her—his feelings were incredibly complicated. If he hadn’t brought her into the tower, she wouldn’t have spent fifty times more time than outside.
"Don’t blame yourself. It was my own choice. I’ve already decided to live like this. Even so, I can still live for a few thousand years," Elena said with a smile.
"A few thousand years? But in here, a few thousand years is only a few decades outside. That’s not enough, really not enough," Evan Yang said, blaming himself as if he’d made a mistake.