Three days had passed since General Yeh Muni arrived in Monka City.

  On the surface, the city looked calm.

  In reality, it was chaos behind closed doors.

  Yeh Muni’s Lion Guard, together with the operatives sent by Elias Zhao’s man Zhang Fantie, had swept through every hotel, inn, bathhouse, and nightclub in the city. The next logical step was obvious—rental apartments.

  The official explanation was simple:

  “We are searching for a corrupted evolver who may have infiltrated the city.”

  Evan, Wendy, and Yvonne weren’t fooled.

  They had already heard whispers from underground channels.

  Monka City was no longer safe.

  They needed to be ready to run at any moment.

  But the city was sealed on three sides by the Lion Guard.

  Only the direction leading toward the Blackrock Mountains remained open.

  A direction they had hoped never to return to.

  Evan finished his daily Swan Dance training, collapsed into a chair, and scrolled through his phone while dripping sweat.

  “The Muke Republic and Rovan Federation are all bark and no bite,” he muttered. “Their Saint?tiers have been here for three days, and neither one has taken a single step into the mountains. People online are furious.”

  Yvonne chuckled. “Let them complain. Both governments already issued statements. The Blackrock Mountains aren’t part of their territory. They’re only responsible for defending their own borders.”

  Wendy pushed her glasses up. “And from the beginning, neither country intended to actually kill Quentin Vilewind. You can tell from who they sent.”

  Rovan sent Yeh Muni, a newly ascended Saint?tier.

  Muke sent Marcus Langford, an elderly Saint?tier whose prime had passed decades ago.

  Wendy continued, “To kill a corrupted Saint?tier like Quentin, you’d need at least two top?tier Saints like the Muke King, or three to four ordinary Saints. And that’s assuming Filthsoil doesn’t intervene. Quentin is still their elder—they won’t let him die easily.”

  Evan nodded grimly. “So both nations are stalling.”

  “Exactly,” Wendy said. “They’re waiting for Filthsoil to clean up their own mess.”

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  Evan switched to a group chat he had joined recently—

  ‘Muke Citizens in Monka.’

  “People in the north side of the city say their rental buildings are already being checked,” he said. “At this rate, they’ll reach our area in two or three days.”

  Wendy’s expression tightened.

  Two or three days wasn’t enough for Yvonne to fully recover.

  If they were discovered before then…

  Evan took a breath. “If it comes to it, I’ll leave alone. They’re after me. You two shouldn’t be dragged into this.”

  Yvonne shot him a cold look. “You’re Eastern Dawn now.”

  Wendy added, “And you’re on my household registry.”

  Yvonne crossed her arms. “Worst case, we hide in the mountains for a few days. Once I recover, I’ll carve us a path out.”

  Evan didn’t argue further.

  But he wasn’t convinced they’d have that much time.

  That night, the world answered his doubts.

  A thunderous boom ripped through the silence, shaking the entire city.

  Evan jolted awake and sprinted into the courtyard.

  Wendy and Yvonne were already there.

  “Look,” Wendy said, pointing.

  Far in the distance, above the Blackrock Mountains, a pillar of green evolutionary light shot into the sky, illuminating half the horizon.

  Explosions echoed like rolling thunder.

  “That’s a Saint?tier battle,” Wendy said with certainty. Her Evolution Eye could distinguish the signatures—two distinct Saint?tier lifeforms.

  Evan’s heart pounded. “Is it Yeh Muni or Marcus Langford? Even for Saints, this is… huge.”

  “One of them is definitely Quentin,” Wendy said. “The other… isn’t human. The life signature is massive. Likely a Tier?4 beast.”

  Evan stared. “A Tier?4 beast? But the Blackrock Mountains have never—”

  “It might have evolved recently,” Yvonne said.

  The battle lasted less than ten minutes before abruptly stopping.

  Silence fell.

  Then a furious roar erupted from the direction of Monka City:

  “Quentin Vilewind! If you dare step onto Rovan soil, you will not leave alive!”

  A streak of green light shot across the sky toward the mountains.

  A cold voice answered:

  “Wind goes where it wishes.”

  BOOM.

  A single earth?shaking collision.

  Then the night sky fell silent again.

  Wendy and Yvonne watched the distant horizon with sharp, focused eyes.

  Evan squinted uselessly.

  He saw nothing.

  He heard everything.

  He understood nothing.

  But he had a solution.

  He pulled out his phone, opened the live?streaming app, and instantly saw the top trending broadcast:

  《Outdoor FangBro — Live?Streaming a Saint?Tier Battle at the Risk of My Life!!!》

  Evan clicked it without hesitation.