But that Fifth-Rank General was no match for Evan Yang and was thrown out in just a few moves. Realizing how strong Evan was, the general shouted angrily, "Everyone, get him together!"
But even then, they were all taught a lesson one by one.
Just then, someone rushed in from outside—it was none other than Captain Ling, the one Evan had already disciplined before.
He had no idea what was going on—he'd just heard that his men ran into trouble and came to check it out. He stormed in angrily, "What's going on here?"
That Fifth-Rank General was delighted to see his new captain and quickly said, "Captain Ling, he's getting in the way of Fiend Palace business!"
"Who?" Captain Ling roared, then turned and saw Evan Yang smiling at him. Evan greeted him, "How have you been, Captain Ling?"
"It's him!" Captain Ling was shocked—he didn't even register what the Fifth-Rank General said. Something felt off, so he turned and asked, "What on earth happened here?"
"Captain Ling, this guy is connected to the master thief Xander Xu. We wanted to bring him in, but he resisted." The man explained, though he seemed confused—how did Evan know their captain?
Captain Ling's expression shifted several times before he finally asked, "Captain Mu, what's going on here?"
"I was here to capture Xander Xu, but he got away. These guys claimed I was in cahoots with him and attacked me. Captain Ling, how do you explain that?" Evan said with a smile.
"Let's go. Stop staring." Evan smiled.
So Captain Ling, furious, led his men away. Evan stayed behind to give everyone a brief explanation, then sold some of his best wine for them to enjoy. After a while, he left the winery, temporarily handing management over to the waiters.
Ever since word got out that Evan was a Fiend Palace officer, no one dared mess with the shop—even when he wasn’t around. Besides, most regulars loved the wine, and many were from powerful families. They became frequent customers and, in effect, free security.
Evan returned to Fiend Palace, changed into his armor, and headed for the Merit Hall to look for new missions. There, he ran into the Three Rogues: Captain Ling, Captain Shaw, and Captain Lee.
All three had been taught a lesson by Evan before, so naturally they held a grudge. Evan hadn’t expected them to join forces.
Captain Ling glared at Evan, still upset about what happened earlier.
"Captain Ling, why are you staring at me like that?" Evan asked with a grin.
"Hmph. Playing the ordinary guy again, huh?" Captain Ling snorted.
"I have my own way of doing things, Captain Ling. No need for you to worry." Evan smiled and ignored their looks, focusing on the mission board. He only had three thousand merit points—still seven thousand short of ten thousand. At this rate, he wouldn’t make the deadline.
"I won’t rest until that kid’s gone." Captain Ling sent a voice transmission to the other two.
The other two instantly understood Captain Ling’s meaning. Captain Shaw laughed through voice transmission, "That’s easy—just make it look like an accident."
"An accident?" Captain Ling and Captain Lee asked, sounding suspicious.
"Yeah, an accident. Make sure he dies in one. And it needs to be big enough—otherwise, even if all three of us team up, we might not be able to kill him." Captain Shaw replied coldly through voice transmission.
Captain Ling and Captain Lee quickly caught on. The three discussed their plan, then moved to stand behind Evan.
Evan was still searching for a suitable mission. There were so many tasks on the board, it was taking forever to review them one by one.
Just then, Captain Ling sighed deliberately, "Too bad—there’s a mission worth ten thousand merit, but you need at least Third-Rank General strength to pull it off."
"Oh? What kind of mission is worth that much?" Captain Shaw asked in surprise.
Captain Lee was curious too. "Let’s hear it."
Evan knew the three were putting on a show for his benefit, but he didn’t mind. While browsing missions, he listened in to see what this task was really about.
"Savagefang Mountain. There’s a spirit herb hidden in the mountain range—Fiend Palace desperately needs it, but it’s rare and the area is full of danger. Even if you find the herb, fierce beasts might show up out of nowhere." Captain Ling explained.
"Really? If that’s the case, maybe the three of us should team up and check it out." Captain Shaw said, sounding excited.
Captain Lee nodded, and under Captain Ling’s lead, they left the hall.
Evan, curious, checked the mission board to see what herb they were talking about.
"Etherleaf Herb?" Evan was shocked to see the name. According to the Herbal Heart Codex, it’s a spirit herb with extremely strong medicinal properties—too much is deadly poison, but in small, controlled doses, it works wonders.
That caught Evan’s attention. Whether for the mission or for his own cultivation, he had to make the trip.
"If it weren’t such a precious herb, I wouldn’t bother falling for their trap." Evan knew the three captains had tipped him off on purpose, but instead of getting angry, he just smiled to himself.
He slipped out of Fiend Palace in a flash.
"He’s gone." The three rogues, hiding nearby, watched as Evan left.
These were the Three Rogues. They exchanged glances, grinned, and left Fiend Palace together.
Savagefang Mountain was a strange place, much like the Void Garden from before. Outwardly it looked small, but inside it was vast, full of chaotic rocks, trees, and dense jungle. Many fierce beasts lived there, and the Etherleaf Herb hid in shadowed spots under broad leaves. Even top cultivators might fail to find it.
But the beasts here were especially savage. That’s why Savagefang Mountain was known as one of the Fiend Realm’s fierce-beast mountains—places where violent fiend beasts, similar to spirit beasts, roamed.
As soon as anyone entered, their scent would attract beasts of all levels. Many Fiend Palace soldiers and wandering cultivators had died here, ending up as food for the fiend beasts.
"One of the fierce-beast mountains, huh? They sure know how to tempt me." Evan chuckled and slipped straight into the mountain.
Not long after, the Three Rogues appeared outside—the same trio as before.
"He really went in?" Captain Ling hadn’t expected Evan to fall for their trick so easily. The other two were surprised as well.
"Should we go in too?" Captain Shaw asked curiously.
"Of course. Besides, I’ve got this." Captain Lee pulled out a small red bottle with a smile.
"What’s that?" Captain Ling asked, skeptical.
"It’s Hornfiend Mite dung. Most fiend beasts scatter when they smell it, so we’ll be safe going in." Captain Lee explained with a grin.
"Hornfiend Mite?" The other two were shocked—they hadn’t expected Captain Lee to have something like that.
"I went through a lot to buy it from an underground merchant. Cost me plenty of Fiend Star Sources." Captain Lee said.
"Normally it’s useless, but today it’ll come in handy. Let’s see how that guy dies." Captain Ling said, pleased.
Captain Shaw agreed, eager to follow Captain Lee inside.
With the red bottle in hand, Captain Lee led the other two into the mountain.
Inside was a sprawling mountain range. Evan walked among the rocks and jungle—even with multiple strands of divine sense, it was hard to spot things hidden in the shadows. Most leaves were huge, so unless he lifted them, he couldn’t check for Etherleaf Herb underneath.
"Thirty days. If I can’t find it in thirty days, I’ll pull out." Seeing how vast the mountain was, Evan set himself a goal. He didn’t want to waste three months and end up with nothing—especially when he needed ten thousand merit points.
So Evan moved through the jungle, regularly lifting leaves to check for hidden treasures.
It felt like he was living the life of an ordinary herb gatherer—but he found it relaxing. He searched small areas, then slowly moved forward.
As for the three behind him, Evan knew they were tailing him, so he left a few strands of divine sense to keep an eye on them while he continued his search.
About half a day later, Evan started hearing noises—first faint, then growing louder.
"?" Evan stopped, suspicious, and glanced around. He locked his divine sense onto the area and saw many leaves starting to tremble.
"What’s going on?" Seeing the leaves shake, Evan felt something was off. In the next moment, he was stunned—something underneath was moving.