"How can you be so shameless? It's because your background is so humble—how could you possibly deserve my daughter." The Fiend Palace Lord said bluntly.
Evan Yang finally understood. He never intended to become this so-called son-in-law, but the words provoked him, so he replied without hesitation, "Fiend Palace Lord, I may not come from a major sect or a big family, but I will fight for first place."
"You—" The Fiend Palace Lord hadn't expected Evan Yang to be so stubborn.
"Thank you for the reminder, Fiend Palace Lord. As for Quinn Qing in second place, I won't let him surpass me. You might be disappointed." Evan Yang said with a smile.
"You really are stubborn!" The Fiend Palace Lord hadn't expected Evan Yang to speak to him like this despite his authority.
Evan Yang knew there was no benefit in angering the other party, but he couldn't let himself be belittled and mocked like this.
"Fiend Palace Lord, I'm a member of Ethereal Sanctuary, and I'm also participating in this husband-selection. I trust you'll be fair." Evan Yang smiled, subtly reminding the Fiend Palace Lord not to mistreat him—otherwise, his reputation would spread throughout the Immortal Realm.
"Fair? Of course I'll be fair. I'm just afraid you won't make it to the end! I advise you to withdraw early." The Fiend Palace Lord said angrily.
"Thank you, Fiend Palace Lord, but I'll stick it out to the end—future father-in-law." Evan Yang replied, then added, "I have some business to attend to, so I'll head back now."
He left the Fiend Palace Lord in a mess of anger. "That kid is truly stubborn. Let's see how long you last in the Sanctuary!"
At this moment, Evan Yang was already marked as a target on the Ethereal Sanctuary Blacklist in the Fiend Palace Lord's eyes—a priority for punishment. But since Evan Yang was currently competing in the palace, the Lord couldn't pull any tricks; he'd have to wait to "teach" him later.
Evan Yang returned to Hannah Nangong's residence. After waiting for a while, Hannah rushed over and asked, "What did he say to you?"
"What did he say? Basically, he wants me to quit. Looks like your father cares a lot—he insists on finding you someone with a powerful background or a big family." Evan Yang smiled. "What? He said that to you? Damn it, I'm going to confront him! How can he be so shameless!" Hannah Nangong said angrily. "No need, I already made it clear—I'm fighting for first place no matter what." Evan Yang replied.
"You really said that?" Hannah Nangong hadn't expected Evan Yang to be so bold, answering the Fiend Palace Lord of Ethereal Sanctuary with those words.
"Yeah, what else could I do? I can't just quit halfway—that's not my style. Besides, this Fiend Palace Lord seems to look down on people, but whatever. I can still fight for first place." Evan Yang said confidently.
"Did he say anything nasty to you?" Hannah Nangong felt uneasy, as if she had dragged Evan Yang into trouble. Even if he won, there would be no place for him in Ethereal Sanctuary, and he'd likely face abuse from those in the Lower Sanctuary.
Having grown up in Ethereal Sanctuary, Hannah Nangong naturally understood what kind of place it was—a world where the strong get stronger and the weak get weaker. Evan Yang was only a sixth-tier Earth-Immortal, while the Lower Sanctuary had ninth-tier Heavenly-Immortals; he'd only be trampled there.
"It's nothing. I've forgotten." Evan Yang smiled.
"How could you forget? Tell me!" Hannah Nangong pressed, worried.
"It's nothing, don't worry. I'll fight for first place—I'm not taking that million for nothing." Evan Yang smiled.
"Are you really risking your life just for that million?" Hannah Nangong suddenly asked, leaving Evan Yang momentarily speechless.
Evan Yang paused, then smiled. "You're asking me this now? You were the one who asked me to participate."
"I..." Hannah Nangong was at a loss for words. Before, she only thought about someone taking first place so she could handle things easily, but as the tournament went on, and seeing Evan Yang fight desperately each time, she grew more and more worried about his future.
Because the husband-selection inevitably offended many people, and now even the Palace Lord, there was no way things would end well.
Seeing Hannah Nangong at a loss for words, Evan Yang smiled and said, "Don't get all tangled up. I'm going to rest for now—there's still one more day tomorrow."
Evan Yang went off to his cultivation spot from yesterday, leaving Hannah Nangong watching his back and quietly saying, "Is he really doing this for the million? Risking his life?"
Sometimes Hannah Nangong really wished Evan Yang was helping her for her sake, but she didn't know why she felt that way—every day she wrestled with this contradiction.
So the fourth day arrived. Everyone was watching Evan Yang—if he won all five matches today, it would mean twenty victories. His score was already ninety-five, the highest in the field, far ahead of Quinn Qing in second place.
The Fiend Palace Lord sat beside Hannah Nangong with a sour expression. Since yesterday, Hannah had become unusually quiet, barely speaking even when the Fiend Palace Lord addressed her.
"Why are you spacing out?" The Palace Lord asked curiously.
"It's nothing," Hannah Nangong said quietly, then kept her eyes fixed on Evan Yang, as if afraid he might disappear.
The Palace Lord glanced at Hannah Nangong and thought to himself, "Could she really like that kid?"
Meanwhile, Evan Yang on the ground entered his sixteenth match—and won again, tightening everyone's nerves. Soon came the seventeenth, eighteenth, nineteenth, and finally, the twentieth match.
For this twentieth match, Evan Yang could have withdrawn—his score was already one hundred twenty-three, firmly in first place, impossible for anyone to surpass.
But the Palace Lord suddenly spoke up, "It's only the fourth day—the five days aren't over yet. You still need to finish your last match."
Is that really a rule? Everyone realized the Fiend Palace Lord was making things difficult for Evan Yang. Gradually, people saw the pattern—the Fiend Palace Lord wasn't satisfied with Evan Yang. Quinn Qing was delighted; at least a big shot wanted Evan Yang off the stage.
Hannah Nangong exploded, "When was it ever required to finish all twenty matches?"
"Can't I add it now?" The Palace Lord said sternly.
From their conversation, everyone knew Hannah Nangong was defending Evan Yang, while the Fiend Palace Lord wanted him out. The surrounding crowd was consumed with envy and resentment.
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At this moment, Hannah Nangong and the Palace Lord were arguing, but their debate didn't change the original rules—whoever took first place had to follow them. Now, though, adding new rules on the spot didn't really affect that.
Besides, the Palace Lord was the highest authority here—whatever he said, Hannah Nangong couldn't change it. She was furious.
Worse still, something even more infuriating happened: all the fourth-tier opponents were gone, which meant Evan Yang would have to face at least a fifth-tier Heavenly-Immortal.
The Fiend Palace Lord had noticed this, so he intended to use the power of a fifth-tier Heavenly-Immortal to crush Evan Yang.
Now, in everyone's eyes, Evan Yang had no choice but to fight the twentieth match—his final and strictest challenge.
Hannah Nangong was furious and even snapped, "Forget it! Let someone else fight if they want!"
"You think this is a game? Fight if you want, quit if you want? Don't forget our agreement." The Palace Lord said.
Everyone looked at each other—what kind of agreement did the Fiend Palace Lord and his daughter have? Hannah Nangong was furious, and just as she was about to argue, Evan Yang sent her a sound transmission: "I accept."
"What? Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Hannah Nangong knew Evan Yang had already done amazingly to withstand fourth-tier opponents; facing a fifth-tier was basically suicide.
Everyone saw Hannah Nangong talking to Evan Yang and realized they were communicating by sound transmission. The Fiend Palace Lord interjected, "Kid, if you want to be my son-in-law, finish the last match. Otherwise, I won't approve—no matter your score."
The crowd started to stir. "Fight, fight—if you're a man, then fight!" Voices rang out from all sides.
Hannah Nangong wished she could silence them all. Evan Yang spoke up, "Fine, I'll fight. If I really win, Fiend Palace Lord, don't forget what you promised!"
"If you win, you'll be my son-in-law. Otherwise, even with the highest score, it means nothing!" The Fiend Palace Lord said with a smile.
Hannah Nangong hadn't expected the two to make such an agreement. But could Evan Yang really withstand a fifth-tier opponent? She had no confidence—she didn't believe Evan Yang had the ability.
Evan Yang himself wasn't confident either, but he had to fight. He didn't want to be looked down on, nor let the Fiend Palace Lord succeed in making things difficult.
So, for the twentieth match, Evan Yang drew a fifth-tier Heavenly-Immortal. The chosen opponent was eager to finally show off and teach Evan Yang a lesson.
"Teach him well," Quinn Qing sent a sound transmission to the fifth-tier Heavenly-Immortal. Not only that, the Palace Lord also sent a transmission: "If you lose, I'll abolish your cultivation."
The chosen opponent hadn't expected to become the center of attention, nor to be given orders by two powerful figures. Especially the Fiend Palace Lord's threat—if he lost, he'd lose his cultivation. So, whether he truly wanted to beat Evan Yang or not, he had to go all out. If he lost, he'd pay the price.
Evan Yang and Hannah Nangong had no idea what the Fiend Palace Lord and Quinn Qing had said to the fifth-tier Heavenly-Immortal.
"Ready?" The fifth-tier Heavenly-Immortal asked Evan Yang, shaking off his nerves.
"Yeah," Evan Yang replied.
The fifth-tier Heavenly-Immortal knew Evan Yang's aura wasn't simple, so instead of clashing qi, he used his speed to instantly close in on Evan Yang.
Evan Yang was shocked—he hadn't expected such a huge difference between fifth and fourth-tier speed. He dodged quickly, but his sleeve was still slashed open; luckily, it didn't cut his skin.
His opponent wore sharp claw gauntlets.
"Kid, your reflexes are pretty good," the opponent said in surprise. The crowd had been startled too, thinking Evan Yang was hurt, but it was only his clothes.
Hannah Nangong's heart nearly jumped out of her chest, her eyes reddening. Quinn Qing and the Fiend Palace Lord both cursed—how did Evan Yang escape injury?
"Your speed's not bad either." Evan Yang knew his opponent was fast, so he had to keep up. He sent his soul power to his Fiery Flight Shoes, boosting them to maximum speed—originally four times, now eight times, since his soul had doubled the effect.
With Phantom Steps at thirty-six times speed, Evan Yang could now reach nearly three hundred times the speed of a sixth-tier Earth-Immortal—barely matching a fifth-tier Heavenly-Immortal.