They spent the night cramped inside the car, the cold seeping through the windows and the seats digging into their backs. It wasn’t comfortable, but it was safe—at least for a few hours.

  Evan had hoped they could hide for two or three days.

  They didn’t even last one.

  By mid?morning, a group of locals had gathered around the car, pointing and whispering. A pot?bellied man in a security uniform strutted toward them, flanked by several young men who looked like they spent more time loitering than working.

  “Suspicious vehicle,” the man barked. “Step out. We need to check—”

  Evan sighed.

  “So much for laying low.”

  They couldn’t afford an inspection. Not with his face on wanted posters.

  “We’re breaking through,” he said.

  Yvonne placed a hand on the door. “I’ll clear the way. Just drive.”

  She didn’t attack. She didn’t need to.

  A soft yellow glow pulsed in her palm—evolution energy gathering like sunlight.

  She raised her hand and waved casually.

  The effect was immediate.

  The security officer froze mid?step. His men stumbled backward, eyes wide, instinct overriding bravado. Even without releasing killing intent, a Butterfly?tier evolver radiated a pressure ordinary people couldn’t withstand.

  The crowd parted.

  Evan floored the accelerator.

  They didn’t stop until they were ten kilometers away.

  “They’ll report us,” Evan said. “Zhang Fantie’s people will sweep this whole area soon. We need to be ready to enter the mountains.”

  Wendy nodded. “The four Saints from Rovan and Muke entered the Blackrock Mountains today. They want to kill the Rooted Spirit Tree. Filthsoil will interfere. Quentin might show up too. The situation will get chaotic fast. That’s our chance to slip through.”

  Yvonne stepped out of the car. “I’ll patrol the area. If anything happens, we move immediately.”

  She disappeared into the trees.

  With nothing to do but wait, Evan and Wendy opened the livestream app.

  Of course, FangBro was already broadcasting from inside the Blackrock Mountains.

  “Alright, brothers, the Saints haven’t started fighting yet, so let me break down the situation for you.”

  The camera shook as he climbed over rocks.

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  “First, the two Saints from Rovan. One is General Yeh Muni. The other is the president of Rovan Academy—Mr. Amida. Old?school Saint?tier, extremely powerful, and a top evolutionary scholar.”

  Wendy blinked. “Amida? I’ve met him once. Brilliant man.”

  Evan raised a brow. “You know everyone.”

  FangBro continued:

  “Now for the two Saints from Muke. One is the retired elder Marcus Langford. The other is Chief Grand Judge Reginald Pierce.”

  Evan stiffened.

  “Reginald Pierce? Seriously?”

  Wendy turned to him. “You know him?”

  “He’s the biggest political backer behind Elias Zhao. If he’s here, Muke is taking this very seriously.”

  The chat exploded with questions:

  “Why aren’t they fighting yet?”

  “What are they waiting for?”

  “Start the battle already!”

  FangBro lowered his voice.

  “They wanted to start. But the moment they entered the mountains, they detected corrupted evolver traces. Not Quentin—someone else. They’re sweeping the area first. They don’t want any unstable factors interfering.”

  Evan and Wendy exchanged a look.

  Filthsoil had arrived.

  And if four Saints were cautious… the intruder was likely Saint?tier as well.

  The camera shifted as FangBro climbed to a vantage point overlooking a massive mountain split open by force.

  “Let me zoom in. You guys need to see this.”

  The image blurred as he pushed the zoom to its limit.

  Inside the fissure, a colossal trunk pierced straight through the mountain.

  No branches.

  Only countless roots—thick, twisted, alive—spreading through stone like veins.

  Wendy’s face darkened.

  “This isn’t an ordinary Rooted Spirit Tree. Its root development is close to fifth?tier. If it had a few more years, it would evolve into a Panlong Root.”

  Evan blinked. “It changes form?”

  “Yes. Fifth?tier evolution is a metamorphosis. The tree abandons its trunk and becomes a mobile mass of roots. It gains underground mobility faster than most tunneling skills.”

  Evan whistled.

  “A fifth?tier spirit plant… that would be unbeatable in the Six Nations. We don’t even have fifth?tier Saints.”

  “Not in the Six Nations,” Wendy said. “But the Dominion does.”

  Evan leaned back. “So Saints are divided into levels too? I thought everything above four evolutions was just ‘Saint?tier.’”

  Wendy shook her head.

  “Human evolvers who evolve four to six times are all considered Saint?tier, but they’re not equal. The classifications are based on social standing and historical impact.”

  She raised a finger.

  “Four evolutions: Overlords. Regional powers.”

  A second finger.

  “Five evolutions: Supremes. They can dominate an entire continent.”

  A third.

  “Six evolutions: Legends. Every one of them has shaped human evolutionary history.”

  Evan absorbed the information slowly.

  “Good to know. I feel like I’m taking a crash course in a world I’m supposed to live in.”

  Wendy smiled faintly. “You’re learning fast.”

  A sudden knock on the window shattered the moment.

  Yvonne stood outside, breath sharp, eyes alert.

  Evan unlocked the door. She slid in immediately.

  “They’re surrounding the area. A lot of them. We move now. Into the mountains.”

  Evan didn’t hesitate.

  He started the engine and drove straight toward the Blackrock Mountains.