Babata threw himself straight into Rowan's arms the moment he appeared.
Rowan chuckled at the sight of the little mechanical lifeform clinging to him. "What's this? You act like we've been separated for years."
"You still have the nerve to say that?" Babata thumped Rowan's chest in frustration. "You vanished for more than three months! I thought you were dead!"
Rowan couldn't help but grin. "Relax, I'm back, aren't I?"
Babata crossed his arms, still fuming. "You drive me crazy, you know that? You disappear without a word, and then come back acting like it's nothing."
Rowan waved a hand dismissively. "You worry too much."
Then, with a spark of curiosity, Babata asked, "By the way where's the Golden-Horned Beast?"
Rowan's lips curved upward. "It's under my control now."
Babata froze. "What?!" His electronic voice cracked in disbelief. "You enslaved the Golden-Horned Beast? Are you insane or just the luckiest man alive?! Do you have any idea what that creature is worth? If any Sector Lord found out, they'd tear you apart just to steal it!"
His astonishment quickly turned into exhilaration. "Rowan, you've struck gold no, a cosmic gold mine!"
"Don't get too excited," Rowan said calmly. "I've placed it on Jupiter for now. That creature's energy signature is too unique if I left it anywhere else, it could attract unwanted attention from alien civilizations. Hiding it there is the safest option."
Babata nodded in approval. "Smart move. I'll make sure to erase all traces of it from Earth's network right away."
"You can do that?" Rowan asked, genuinely surprised.
Babata smirked. "Please. Your planet's computer systems aren't even at the level of basic AI. They won't even notice me."
"Then delete everything," Rowan ordered. "Every video, every article, every mention of the Golden-Horned Beast. And make the term itself untypeable."
Babata made an "OK" gesture with a mischievous grin. Within moments, he invaded Earth's global network. Across the world, every record, video, and document containing those three words vanished into digital oblivion. Anyone trying to type the phrase found it impossible, and even handwritten or phonetic attempts would be automatically scrubbed from existence.
"Done!" Babata said proudly.
Rowan was checking his mail when a flood of messages caught his eye. Both Venina and Yao Rao had sent him dozens of letters over the past months at first, asking where he'd gone, then filled with longing and worry. A faint smile tugged at his lips.
Time to see them.
He turned toward the door, but Babata zipped in front of him. "Where are you going?"
"Out. To find my women."
Babata nearly exploded. "You've been gone for three months, and the first thing you do is chase women? Shouldn't you be training?"
"My business," Rowan said flatly, giving him a side glance before walking away.
"I won't let you go!" Babata snapped. "Don't forget I'm your acting instructor! You have to listen to me!"
He locked down the entire room, sealing the exits with tenth-grade Kro Metal.
"You've already wasted three months!" Babata scolded. "You want to waste even more time?"
Rowan sighed. "Idiot."
He raised his hand, and a faint purple flame rippled across his skin like liquid sunlight. It was his domain compressed, refined, and now fused seamlessly with his body. The temperature in the room skyrocketed, even though he deliberately suppressed most of the heat.
Within seconds, wood, cloth, and other materials around him ignited spontaneously. Babata scanned the readings and froze in disbelief.
"Seventy-two thousand degrees… this is a triple-layer domain?!"
His synthetic voice trembled. "That's… that's impossible. You're still only planetary-level, and you've already reached triple domain control? That temperature exceeds most first-rank stellar warriors!"
Rowan ignored him, placing a single finger against the Kro Metal door. The metal hissed, bubbled, and vaporized in an instant, leaving behind a perfectly round hole. Without another word, Rowan stepped through and disappeared into the sky aboard his shuttle.
Babata hovered in silence, his processors buzzing in awe. "Triple-layer domain… at planetary level? This kid's a monster." He chuckled weakly. "I've followed warriors across half the galaxy, and even among the most gifted, this level of talent is unheard of."
Meanwhile, far away, Luo Feng another Earth warrior was deep in training under Babata's guidance. His progress had been astounding, but as his strength grew, so did his awareness of the gap separating him from Rowan.
After three months of intense cultivation, Luo Feng had reached Planetary Level Five and mastered his arc blades to near perfection. Against anyone of equal rank, he was nearly unbeatable except for Hong and Thor, humanity's twin titans.
Even so, he realized the bitter truth: Rowan was still far beyond his reach.
Babata sensed his frustration and tried to encourage him. "Don't look so gloomy. You're improving faster than ninety-nine percent of warriors in the universe. Keep this up, and you'll catch up eventually."
Luo Feng managed a small smile. "Thanks."
At that very moment, Rowan was racing across the skies toward Venina and Yao Rao. Only Babata and Luo Feng knew of his return; to everyone else, he was still presumed missing.
He soon reached Northern Europe, where the Veninas family controlled vast territories. Just as he was nearing their ancestral castle, his spiritual sense detected something unusual a battle, not far from the family estate.
Two elite warlord squads were clashing in the forest below. One group, led by two high-ranked War Gods, was chasing a smaller team of three a man, a woman, and another wounded warrior carrying a sealed box.
Rowan's mind swept over them all, reading the fight in an instant. He would've ignored it until he heard one of the pursuers mention a familiar name.
"Hand over the Spirit of the Ancient Tree!" the attacker shouted. "Venina has already fallen! The HR Alliance now belongs to Lord Yan Hai!"
Rowan's gaze sharpened. Venina… fallen?
A cold fury surged in his chest.
He descended silently, appearing behind the laughing War God like a shadow. None of them even saw him move until his voice sliced through the chaos.
"Repeat what you just said. What happened to Venina?"
Every warrior froze. The laughter died. When they turned and saw him, fear erupted across their faces.
"R–Rowan?!"
The ones who had mocked Venina moments ago dropped their weapons, trembling. Even the wounded loyalists looked at him with sudden, desperate hope.
Rowan's eyes glowed faintly crimson. "Speak."
The lead War God's knees buckled under that killing intent. A few subordinates tried to flee only to be shredded in an instant. Three hundred and sixty-five arc blades burst from Rowan's domain like a storm of death, slicing through armor and bone alike.
In less than a heartbeat, the forest floor was painted in blood. The air reeked of iron and smoke. Only one War God remained alive, shaking violently.
Rowan lifted him off the ground with one hand, fingers tightening around his skull. "Talk."
Terrified beyond reason, the man stammered, "L–Lord Rowan, please! About a month and a half ago, word spread that you died fighting the Golden-Horned Beast. Lady Venina was devastated she stopped overseeing the Alliance. Lord Yan Hai took advantage, staged coups, killed her allies even her brother! He's been hunting for the Spirit of the Ancient Tree to increase his power. Lady Venina went after him for revenge, but he vanished before she could strike."
Rowan's eyes flickered like a volcano on the verge of eruption.
Yan Hai…
With a sharp twist of his wrist, he crushed the War God's skull.
The body crumpled to the ground as Rowan conjured a flame in his palm, reducing it to ash.
He turned to the trembling survivors. "Where is Venina now?"
The question hung in the air like the blade of a guillotine.
Even the wind dared not answer.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————
Already hooked? Tell me what reeled you in leave a review, spark the fire with a comment, and if we hit every 250 Power Stones, a bonus chapter drops!
The evolution's just begun. Dive deeper into Unbound Evolution and stay leagues ahead!
[email protected]/_tey
Change @ to a.