Maybe because it had been sealed off, there was nothing in the cave except for some bird droppings, dried up long ago, left behind at an unknown time. Feeling his control was at its limit, Ben Carter hurriedly sealed the gap he had torn open at the entrance, quickly sat down, and took a breath—he had just made it in time.

As soon as he relaxed, even a little, he felt a massive surge of energy rampaging uncontrollably throughout his body. Like a single spark that could ignite a prairie fire, once lit, it instantly spread everywhere. Ben Carter immediately lost control over most of the energy in his body and could only guide it little by little.

After sitting for a short while, Ben Carter felt his whole body boiling with blood, his vessels expanding, and waves of powerful force coursing through him with his blood, as if fiery red magma was rolling inside him. At first, he could clearly feel the blood vessels rapidly swelling wherever the hot blood passed, swelling so much they seemed about to burst, yet still stubbornly holding together.

What he couldn’t see was that a faint blue layer of energy was working hard to envelop his blood vessels, preventing them from collapsing under the impact of the explosive energy. If they did collapse, it could very likely lead to a failed advancement, or in severe cases, total destruction from the energy outburst. That’s why it was best to have an expert guard nearby during evolution, to help at critical moments.

Normally, people show signs of energy fluctuations before evolving, which last about a week, giving them enough time to prepare. His signs, however, came so quickly. In fact, this was mainly due to the parasitic beast soul: the energy was first suppressed and absorbed, then suddenly devoured a huge amount all at once. It would be strange if the energy in his body could remain stable!

Actually, after his two previous advancements, Ben Carter had always paid close attention to his own condition, avoiding overly strong stimulation. He hadn’t expected that today, under the stimulation of Emily Harris’s crystalline, alluring body, he would experience such intense mental fluctuations, finally triggering this third evolution. Otherwise, if he had relied solely on his own accumulation, it might have taken a very long time.

Because most people’s power is built up through their own training, they can generally control the energy within their bodies well. Even if they accumulate more energy than usual during evolution, they can barely manage it. But once they lose control, it’s up to fate, and the chances of success are extremely low.

This leaves many people in a dilemma when facing evolution: too little accumulated energy isn’t enough to support a successful evolution, but too much is dangerous if they can’t control it, and could even be life-threatening. The energy erupting inside Ben Carter was completely beyond his control. That he survived the first two evolutions was truly a stroke of luck—who knows if his luck would hold out.

Fortunately, he had the experience of evolving alone twice before. He realized that evolution was, to a large extent, a process where accumulated energy undergoes a qualitative change and transforms the body. If one could control this energy, evolution would be much easier to succeed. But how many people could fully harness such wild power? So, depending on how well one could utilize the energy, the results of evolution varied.

Besides using his own strength to control this energy, mental energy played an unexpectedly important role in guiding it. Although the wild power inside him was no longer under his control, he had inherited his father’s ability for mental mutation. Training physical energy was troublesome, but training mental power was relatively easier and brought many unexpected joys. So ever since discovering his mental powers had awakened, Ben Carter had used various methods to train and use them, making his mental strength and control very strong. Now, he was using his mental power to guide the evolution process and protect his blood vessels.

If an esper saw this scene with their own eyes, they would notice that, in addition to the unique white glow of physical evolution on Ben Carter, there was also a faint blue light moving everywhere with the white energy dragon, somewhat resembling the appearance of mental energy evolution. But Ben Carter’s situation was more complicated—he was a special composite ability user. Such cases were almost unheard of among the usually single-ability Zhiyuan warriors; one in a million. If discovered, he would have been taken away for dissection long ago.

The higher the number of advancements, the more violent the energy surges became. Coupled with Ben Carter’s unique situation, the massive energy inside him had long exceeded his control. To guide such a huge amount of energy, his mental power wouldn’t last long. After an unknown amount of time, his mental energy was finally exhausted. Ben Carter felt his vision blur, a sharp pain in his head, and then he fainted, letting the massive energy rampage through his body. As for the outcome, it was left to fate.

Meanwhile, as for the drunkenly sleeping Emily Harris, it was a rare chance for her to get a good night’s sleep. She slept soundly until dawn, and after seven or eight hours, finally woke up due to a dry mouth and parched throat. She opened her beautiful eyes, stretched out her white, lotus-like arms, moved them around outside the covers, stretched lazily, and sat up. The blanket slipped off her, revealing her stunning figure. Only then did she feel a bit chilly and sense that something was off.