Just as Evan Yang released his qi to push Zeke Zishan away, a hidden figure unleashed a familiar qi attack at Evan's back—the same qi as that Heavenly-Immortal. But Evan detected it instantly, accelerating to his fastest speed and startling everyone around.
Zeke Zishan, still stunned by Evan's sudden retreat, was struck by a powerful surge of qi and sent flying across the stage.
"Ah!" Zeke cried out. The qi was meant to stop Evan but hit Zeke instead, making him the scapegoat as Evan quickly withdrew.
After Zeke fell off the stage, Evan returned to his original spot, searching for the Heavenly-Immortal, but the man had already slipped away. The crowd was still confused, only seeing Evan standing victorious on the stage.
The official hesitated for a long time, knowing exactly what had happened but unable to admit a sneak attack. He could only feign ignorance and announce, "The champion is clear—Evan Yang of the First Palace."
Everyone felt a strange mix of emotions—a newcomer, only sixth-tier, had utterly defeated the former number one. Was it now normal for lower tiers to challenge the higher?
Shawn Xiao, from the First Palace, watched Evan Yang claim first place and found it almost unbelievable.
Hugh Hei and Nate Nalan were even more stunned. Nate’s plan had fallen apart—Evan Yang not only survived, but was completely unharmed. How could Nate possibly enter that place now?
Soon, the crowd erupted in discussion, all talking about Evan Yang.
"Now it's your turn," the official said to Hugh Hei and Nate Nalan.
Unexpectedly, Nate Nalan voluntarily conceded, and Hugh Hei didn’t pursue the matter. Just like that, it was over—Evan Yang took first place, Zeke Zishan got second without really understanding why, and Hugh Hei was third.
With the results settled, the official told everyone to prepare and gather here again at this time tomorrow.
Evan Yang naturally returned to the First Palace, but once there, he noticed that everyone who saw him now looked at him with deep respect—there was no trace of opposition.
Curious about the change, Evan was soon approached by Chris Lee, who said, "You—you really are a genius! You actually took first place."
"Just lucky," Evan Yang replied with a smile.
"We all heard about it. Now you’re not just the First Palace’s top disciple—you’re number one in all Ten Palaces!" Chris Lee said excitedly. He could hardly believe that someone from North Sect had become the Ten Palaces’ champion.
"It’s just a title, nothing that impressive," Evan Yang said with a laugh.
"You don’t get it. As the Ten Palaces’ champion, everyone will avoid you—no one will dare cause you trouble," Chris Lee said, full of envy.
Evan Yang understood what he meant. In this place, most people lived by avoiding others—now, everyone was avoiding him.
Two very different statuses, naturally leading to different feelings. But Evan Yang didn’t care about any of that—what mattered now was going to see that place tomorrow. Before that, however, he had to stay alert for the Heavenly-Immortal, who had just tried to attack him and might make another move before tomorrow.
Evan's suspicions were correct—the Heavenly-Immortal was starting to worry that if Evan kept going like this, things would get terrifying. After all, Evan was only sixth-tier, yet he challenged ninth-tier opponents, and this ninth-tier was nearly as strong as a first-tier Heavenly-Immortal. That meant Evan could defeat even a first-tier Heavenly-Immortal.
But before that, the Heavenly-Immortal went to find Immortal Lord Lin. When Lin heard Evan had taken first place, he didn't have his usual expression—instead, his face showed suspicion, shock, and some displeasure. "These useless idiots! They can't handle a crippled kid, and now he's taken first place!"
"Let me do it—I'll cripple his cultivation." The Heavenly-Immortal said.
"If I wanted him crippled, I'd have done it myself. I don't need you for that. What I want is to see him when he loses all his backbone—beaten, humiliated, bullied by everyone." Lin spoke stubbornly, unwilling to let go until he got what he wanted.
The Heavenly-Immortal was frustrated—he could just cripple Evan and throw him inside, and many would go after him. But Lin refused, insisting that only Ethereal Sanctuary's people should target Evan.
"I know what you're thinking—sure, that's the fastest way, but it's no fun. Besides, I don't want others to see me sending you to do it. If word gets out, I'd lose face. Everyone would laugh, saying I only bully the weak." Lin explained his reasoning after seeing the Heavenly-Immortal's expression.
"So it's all about saving face," the Heavenly-Immortal sighed inwardly.
"Enough. No matter what you think, keep finding ways to torment him, but don't attack him directly like just now. It's easy for others to notice. Don't forget, there are lots of Ethereal Sanctuary managers here—I'm just one of them. Sure, bullying is routine for us, but I don't want people saying I'm making a big deal over an Earth-Immortal." Lin instructed.
"I won't do that again," the Heavenly-Immortal replied, then left.
"This kid really surprised me. But I don't believe he can escape my grasp," Lin muttered.
Evan spent the whole day in his room, not going out, but his divine sense kept searching around. Only after confirming the Heavenly-Immortal wasn't nearby did he show a puzzled look. "Is he really not going to make a move?"
The Heavenly-Immortal wanted to act, but Immortal Lord Lin had said he could only use others, not do it himself. So he had no choice but to stop monitoring Evan, planning to attack from another angle.
So Evan quietly spent the day, and his reputation grew even more, spreading throughout all Ten Palaces.
Some people in the Ten Palaces really wanted to see this sixth-tier who beat a ninth-tier with their own eyes.
The whole place was in an uproar until the next day, when Evan returned to yesterday's location. Zeke Zishan and Hugh Hei also came. All three stood together. Zeke's gaze was full of hatred, but he couldn't do anything—losing was losing.
As for Hugh Hei, he hadn't fought Evan directly, but judging from his match with Zeke, he suspected he might not be Evan's match either.
Besides these three, everyone else who participated yesterday showed up, even though they only had one day. They all came.
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"I'll take you three over first. The rest of you wait here, I'll come back for you later," the official said.
Everyone understood. The official led Evan and the other two toward a palace, then entered a secret chamber with a teleportation array.
"Come on, follow me inside. I'll arrange your spots, but let me warn you—don't wander around in there. Besides you, there are others cultivating, and if you go somewhere you shouldn't, I can't guarantee your safety." The official warned the three especially.
Two of them had been here before and knew what to expect. Evan, though, was curious—where did the teleportation array lead, and who else would be inside?
The official led the three inside, with Evan and the others following closely. The official spoke only via voice transmission, saying little.
When Evan passed through the teleportation array and arrived on the other side, he saw a dark space filled with countless flickering lights, making the place especially dazzling.
The official explained that those flickering lights marked cultivators training here.
Besides the people here, there were others as well? Evan was puzzled, so he asked out of curiosity.
Knowing it was Evan's first time, the official explained: this space belonged to Ethereal Sanctuary. Not only could elite disciples from the Earth-Immortal Star System come, but Ethereal Sanctuary from outside often sent their elites here too.
Not only that, there were some old monsters here too. The whole dark space was a strange place—if you ran into someone with a bad temper, you could get crippled, or even killed.
After hearing the explanation, Evan finally understood—this place gathered many of Ethereal Sanctuary's elites.
When Evan asked if the strongest cultivators here included Immortal Lords, the official smiled, "This space has two layers. The second layer is for Immortal Lords—they never appear on the first. The first layer is for Heavenly-Immortals and Earth-Immortals."
"I see," Evan said, understanding.
"Since you took first place, you can enter Area A of the first layer—the fastest attribute-enhancing spot. The other two go to Area B and Area C. The rest will get the outermost Area D." The official explained.
Zeke and Hugh were frustrated. They used to be A and B, now it's B and C. It affected them a lot.
"Especially you in Area A—there's an entrance leading to the second layer. Be careful not to go the wrong way. If you do, you know the consequences—it's all Immortal Lords there." The official gave Evan a special warning.
Evan knew how terrifying Immortal Lords were, so he smiled, "Don't worry, I know my limits."
"Alright, I'll take you each to your area, then I have to get back to work. I'll return in ten years." The official said, then led the three to C, B, and finally A—Evan was the last.
The space was divided from the inside out—first C, then B, then A. The deeper the area, the fewer people there were, and the stranger it felt to Evan.
Evan sensed the attribute in his divine sense space stirring restlessly.
"This space really is strange," Evan thought. He knew something here must be affecting the attributes, otherwise they wouldn't strengthen for no reason.
Evan hadn't experienced it directly yet, but he could already feel it would change his attributes, at least to some extent.
When Evan reached Area A, the official let him pick a spot to cultivate and then left.
After the official left, Evan looked around Area A. It wasn't very big—maybe a hundred people could fit—but odd-shaped stones blocked the view, so you couldn't see others around. It felt like a maze.
Evan really wanted to see how his attributes would change, so he didn't pay much attention to the strange environment. Instead, he found a quiet spot first.