Evangeline couldn’t help but clap when Dyon finished his analysis, not hiding the praise in her eyes even one bit.
Dyon had made everything he did seem so simple and natural, but each deduction was more impossible than the last.
Firstly, judging the viscosity change of liquid was already impossibly difficult. It required an attention to detail and Perception impossible for normal individuals. Even those with strong souls couldn’t achieve this, let alone a young man with a sealed soul.
Secondly, Evangeline hadn’t shown any signs of being an enemy. Everything from her demeanor, to the things those of the 98th quadrant said about her, were a perfect defense. For someone to be able to catch such a minute change in this situation was ridiculous.
What Evangeline didn’t know was that 16 or so years ago, Dyon nearly died because he too quickly trusted a pretty face. He still remembered the day he was stabbed by that woman pretending to be Madeleine. He would never make the same mistake twice. Never.
Thirdly, remembering and applying the odor profile of a plant to judge whether or not its concentration had changed was completely inhuman.
Fourthly, understanding the obscure rules that governed Calm Wisp Petals was even more impressive. To say there were millions of plants and sub-types of plants was an understatement.
What Dyon hadn’t explained that Evangeline understood was that Calm Wisp Petal was a Genus, not a species. This meant that there were hundreds of types of Calm Wisp Petals, all of which shared that Genus but were of a different Species. Simply put, not all species of Calm Wisp Petals had the ability to emit a pungent smell in the presence of danger.
Dyon had not only identified the Genus, he identified the species as well, all based on smell.
Then he further understood the quirky characteristics of that specific species of the Calm Wisp Petal Genus.
He was simply on a different level completely. Even old fogies who had lived for thousands of years couldn’t compare to him. In fact, if they had had heard his explanations, they might fall to their knees, begging to be taken as his disciple.
“Impressive, impressive.” Evangeline didn’t seem heartbroken that her scheme had been seen through at all. In fact, if Little Lyla had been there, she would have sensed a clear pride emitting from Evangeline’s eyes, as confusing as that was.
To feel pride about your scheme being exposed? Wasn’t that too weird?
Dyon sighed. “Why are you doing this?”
“Doing what?” Evangeline replied innocently.
“If you Soul Rending Peak bastards wanted an excuse to capture me, why would you use this method? Were you really so set on ruining my reputation?”
Evangeline blinked in confusion. “What do you mean?”
Dyon’s calmness began giving way to anger. “You’ve been exposed already. Why are you still pretending? Are you expecting to not know that the poison you’ve tried to give me is the Nine Yang Cloud Aphrodisiac?”
“Ah, I see.” Evangeline smiled meaningfully.
She realized that Dyon came to an understanding that she wanted to force feed him an aphrodisiac so he’d commit a crime of sexual passion. At that point, his reputation was be ruined and Soul Rending Peak would have every excuse to take him to Soul Market.
Veins involuntarily popped out on Dyon’s forehead. No matter how calm he wanted to remain, this wasn’t something he could accept.
“Tsk, tsk.” Evangeline shook her head. “That’s enough of that.”
Evangeline waved her hand and at that moment, an overwhelming pressure pressed down on Dyon, causing his body to freeze.
‘What?!’ Dyon’s eyes widened with shock. Even if he was beaten over the head, he would recognize that this was energy suppression. In fact, this energy suppression was of the highest order!
This Evangeline was a dao formation expert!
At that moment, Dyon couldn’t lift a finger. He couldn’t even think properly as his organs and bones threatened to shatter under the pressure.
“Do you understand now?” Evangeline said with a smile.
She stood, walking over to Dyon and sliding a long slender finger across his well-defined jawline.
Dyon grit his teeth, trying to move, but no matter what he did, it was impossible to overcome Evangeline’s pressure. The most shocking part was that when he tried to use his Presence to move under the suppression, a secondary pressure even more powerful than the first obliterated his attempt, almost making him cough up blood.
‘Emperor Level Presence! Who is this woman?!’
Evangeline’s lovely giggle seemed to make the moonlight twinkle under the night stars. Maybe if it wasn’t for the situation he was in, Dyon would be able to enjoy the deep ravine of soft flesh that was before him when she bent over to stroke his cheek, but at the moment, he was too pissed to think about such things.
The most frustrating part was that Evangeline was too clever for him. She seemed to know all of his plans before he even made them. Dyon even suspected that she had purposefully allowed a trail of clues for him to realize the existence of the Nine Yang Cloud aphrodisiac.
She was so careful that she made sure to not project her Presence toward Dyon. She only deflected the Presence he directed toward her. Which meant his mask wouldn’t activate since it didn’t feel a threat toward itself!
“Don’t be so angry.” Evangeline said gently, with an odd light in her eyes. “You’re so handsome already, yet you’re still an essence gatherer. Don’t ruin those rugged looks with frown lines, it would be too much of a pity.”
It was only now that Dyon suddenly realized that Evangeline might really be making herself appear less beautiful. A woman who was a dao formation expert would have their bodies cleansed by enigmatic energy, making them even more perfect.
‘DAMMIT!’ Dyon’s mind roared as Evangeline tapped the edge of the teacup he still held, causing the liquid to gently follow her fingers toward his lips.
There was no suspense or final savior. Not a drop was left as the poison seeped into Dyon’s tightly closed lips, sliding through the almost non-existent gaps in his teeth, and down his throat.