At this moment, the hall was bustling with people coming and going. Evan Yang noticed that most were newcomers. Some were being tested for fire attribute, others for which branch their fire belonged to—each test was a little different.
Shawn Bai led Evan Yang inside, bringing him to a room where a line had formed. Shawn told Evan to wait a moment, so Evan and Colin Green waited outside.
After a while, Shawn Bai brought Evan Yang in. Several people were standing there. Shawn spoke to the examiner, "It's him."
"Alright, release a bit of your flame into this container," the examiner said to Evan Yang.
Evan Yang looked at the container—a square box with an opening for flame input. He thought for a moment, then released his flame inside. After a while, nothing changed; Evan's flame just sat there.
Shawn Bai, Colin Green, and Evan Yang all watched the container curiously. The examiner took out a box filled with small clusters of flame, then placed one inside.
Soon, Evan Yang's flame moved toward the other flame. After a moment, the two clusters fused together.
"The result is clear," the examiner said.
"Oh? Which branch is it?" Shawn Bai asked curiously.
"Looks like your friend here isn't too lucky—he belongs to the Absorption Branch, the natural-devouring type," the examiner replied.
That basically meant Evan Yang was assigned to the weakest branch out of the nine. Evan wasn't surprised; he already knew the nature of his flame, he just hadn't mentioned it.
Shawn Bai was stunned for a moment, secretly amused, but said with a straight face, "Got it. I'll take him to that branch now."
With that, Shawn Bai led Evan Yang away. The people around glanced over, as if this branch was something lowly. To them, Evan was basically half a fire attribute failure.
"Don't mind it. Actually, there are plenty of geniuses in this branch. There was once someone who trained Ninety-Ninefold Purefire to its strongest level," Shawn Bai said.
Evan Yang didn't care much, but Shawn's words were interesting. Evan asked, "The strongest Ninety-Ninefold Purefire?"
"Yeah," Shawn Bai replied with a smile.
"Honestly, it's no big deal. I can go check out that branch," Evan Yang said with a laugh.
"Exactly, it's just a branch. Nothing to worry about. I'll take you over now, and after a while, we can meet up and I'll introduce you to some people," Shawn Bai said with a smile.
Seeing Shawn Bai so enthusiastic, Evan Yang didn't know how to refuse, so he smiled and said, "Alright."
Then Shawn Bai and Colin Green took Evan Yang to another planet—one of the branch planets. It was also covered in palaces, but the difference was, there weren't many people.
"There are few people here, plenty of palaces, but it's nice—quiet, no one bothers you," Shawn Bai said with a smile.
"So where do I go now?" Evan Yang asked curiously.
"I just need your test results, then I'll take you to register," Shawn Bai replied with a smile.
Evan Yang nodded. "Got it."
"Let's go," Shawn Bai said with a smile, leading Evan Yang away. Meanwhile, Colin Green inwardly mocked him—this kid really was unlucky, ending up in such a place.
Shawn Bai brought Evan Yang into a large hall. Compared to before, it was much colder and emptier. Once inside, Shawn called out, "Anyone here?"
"Who is it?" came a voice. An elderly man with a broom asked.
A servant? Shawn Bai, Evan Yang, and Colin Green were all puzzled. Shawn Bai asked with a smile, "Where is everyone?"
"What's your business? Just tell me directly," the old man said.
Shawn Bai was a bit annoyed. He had brought Evan Yang here—how could he lose face in front of others? So he replied coldly, "I'm asking where the people here went, not you."
After the old man looked over Shawn Bai, Evan Yang, and Colin Green, Evan immediately sensed he was a hidden expert. The other two didn't notice anything. Evan's natural cultivation method made him sensitive, so he spoke up: "Senior, sorry, let me explain."
Shawn Bai and Colin Green were confused—what was there to say to a servant? The old man, hearing Evan's words, felt Evan was much easier to talk to.
So the old man said, "Alright, go ahead."
"I'm here to register," Evan Yang said.
"Register? Is it just you, or all three of you?" the old man asked.
Shawn Bai snorted, "I'm from another branch. He's the newcomer."
Evan Yang quickly stopped him, "Don't be like that, Senior was just asking."
"Mu, you're a cultivator! You know, you'll be training here from now on. If you can't manage even the servants, you'll get bullied to death," Shawn Bai said, secretly thinking, "Getting bullied to death would be even better."
Colin Green nodded. "That's right, Mu, you can't be so polite."
"Senior brothers, this is my business. Since I've come here, I'm now one of the people here. Doesn't matter who it is, we're all colleagues. So now that I'm here, I'll stay. You two should head back," Evan Yang said.
Shawn Bai and Colin Green hadn't expected Evan Yang to say that, but since he'd spoken up, Shawn said, "Alright, I'll leave for now. If you have any questions, just contact me—I gave you my communication method earlier. I'll come find you in a few days."
"Alright," Evan Yang nodded.
Shawn Bai and Colin Green glanced at Evan Yang, then left. Evan turned and apologized to the old man, "Sorry, Senior, they were a bit rude just now."
"Yeah, they really weren't very polite. You're much more courteous. You're new here, right?" the old man asked.
"Yes, that's right. Here's my registration info," Evan Yang said, handing over the documents.
The old man glanced over it. "You should know about our branch's situation, right?"
"Yeah. Our branch lacks resources, so cultivation progress is slow," Evan Yang replied.
"Right. Our flame relies on absorbing other natural flames. In the Immortal Realm, such resources are rare. We can only buy them, or get lucky and find some good ones, but that chance is pretty slim," the old man explained slowly.
Evan Yang felt like the old man was talking to him like a master to a disciple, so he didn't mind. He just smiled, "I already learned Ninety-Ninefold Purefire in my own world-realm, but I still stuck with it."
"Oh? Which world-realm are you from?" the old man asked curiously.
"Blue World-Realm," Evan Yang replied.
"Blue World-Realm? Isn't that a minor world-realm? Someone there also taught Ninety-Ninefold Purefire?" the old man asked in surprise.
"Yeah, that's right," Evan Yang said.
"Alright, let me see your flame," the old man requested.
Evan Yang waved his hand and summoned his flame. After the old man examined it, he muttered, "Not bad, you've absorbed quite a lot. Your flame has already reached the first stage."
"First stage? What's that?" Evan Yang asked, confused. He didn't know flames had stages.
"Looks like you don't know much about flame strength yet. Since I've got nothing else to do, I'll explain while I sweep," the old man said, picking up his broom.
"Thank you, Senior," Evan Yang said gratefully.
The old man smiled. "The Fire God Palace has nine branches. Some flames grow on their own—you've probably heard of those. Ours is the Absorption Branch, so our flames grow by absorbing others, which is slower. But there's a common point: as the flame grows stronger, it gets divided into stages. The first stage doubles the power, the second stage quadruples it, the third stage increases it eightfold, and so on up to the ninth stage, which is two to the eighth power, or 256 times. That's the highest level of Ninety-Ninefold Purefire."