Lena King was extremely worried, and even the Spirit Monkey seemed to sense the threat. It stood motionless, no longer causing the commotion it had earlier.
As the Spirit Monkey's master, Lena knew that it only became this quiet when danger was near. Judging by the current situation, this was indeed the case.
Outside the arena, the Fire Walker muttered inwardly, "This kid is really going all out. What should I do now?"
Seeing that the situation inside had gone beyond his control, the Fire Walker started to worry.
Bruno Huo, his eyes blazing red, glared at Evan Yang as if he could spit fire from them. Evan stood there, watching Bruno and his spirit beast, thinking to himself, "This danger is getting worse. Looks like I need to prepare a backup plan."
So Evan began calculating in his mind. After about a quarter-hour, Liam Blaze laughed, "A quarter-hour of charging is enough to wipe out Evan Yang."
"That's right. Can't wait to see it," said Darren Fang.
The crowd took a few more steps back. Bruno Huo stared at Evan Yang and said, "Go die!" With that, the sword left Bruno's hand, and in an instant, flames exploded outward with a thunderous roar, rapidly spreading.
The moment the flames touched the ice, they lasted only a breath before crackling and shattering completely. Evan Yang was instantly engulfed by fire. All the onlookers saw was a giant fireball enveloping both Evan and Bruno inside the crater.
The blazing flames were so intense that no one dared open their eyes. Everyone could only brace themselves defensively, afraid of being caught in the blast.
Lena King was shocked to find Evan Yang's aura had vanished. Liam Blaze and the others noticed it too and, overjoyed, opened their eyes. As the flames inside the crater dwindled, they found no corpse—only a bull dragging the barely alive Bruno Huo to the edge of the volcano.
"Bruno Huo has won!" the Fire Walker exclaimed in surprise. Liam Blaze and the others cheered, while Lena King was deeply saddened and was about to go over and curse Bruno, when a voice rang out: "Who said he won?"
Everyone saw a person slowly float up from the abandoned volcano crater. It was none other than Evan Yang, completely unharmed and not at all looking like someone who had suffered a catastrophic explosion.
Seeing Evan Yang alive, Lena King joyfully flew over. "Why did your aura disappear just now?" she asked.
"I just did a little trick, so none of you noticed me," Evan Yang replied with a smile.
"You really scared me," said Lena King.
"It's fine, it's fine," Evan Yang said.
As for Bruno Huo on the bull's back, he was covered in severe injuries, looking as if he had been scorched, and both his hands were gone. Only his soul still trembled there.
This time, Bruno Huo wasn't so lucky. He used his strongest move and ended up hurting himself, now looking like he was about to die.
The Fire Walker and the others looked at each other, and finally Evan Yang spoke up, "Do you still want to continue?"
The scene was silent. Everyone knew Evan Yang had surpassed their expectations. They had thought Bruno Huo's strongest move would at least leave Evan battered, if not dead—but Evan was completely unharmed.
"You've won, but you still have to come with me to the palace. As agreed, you must go yourself," said the Fire Walker.
Liam Blaze was both shocked and furious. He had thought they could at least cripple Evan Yang, but now they had to respectfully ask him to go to the palace.
"Then let's go," Evan Yang said without hesitation.
So the Fire Walker led the way, with Evan Yang and Lena King following behind. Liam Blaze and his two cousins naturally trailed them—they were determined to pin the blame on Evan.
Meanwhile, Bruno Huo and the bull were left isolated. Bruno slowly opened his eyes, wondering, What happened to me?
Bruno Huo tried to recall what had happened. He remembered that at the instant of the explosion, someone suddenly appeared behind him, and a strange force entered his body, preserving his soul.
He thought carefully and finally realized who it was. "Was it him? Why would he save me?"
Bruno Huo couldn't understand why that person would save him. In truth, it was Evan Yang who had saved Bruno's life at the last moment.
The reason Evan Yang saved him was because the bull-spirit, at the moment of the explosion, saw its master about to die and pleaded with Evan. Evan wrapped himself in Sacred Flame, which rendered Bruno's fire powerless, and at the bull's request, he helped Bruno survive.
As for that miraculous bull-spirit, Evan Yang ultimately chose to help it, saving its master.
Only Evan Yang and the bull-spirit knew what had happened. The others thought Bruno Huo was just unlucky, hurt by his own explosion, and never considered why the bull-spirit was unharmed.
Only Evan Yang and the bull-spirit communicated, and he noticed it was different from other spirit beasts. But he had no time to investigate now, as he was being led to the palace.
The three Palace Lords were originally discussing matters in the palace when they suddenly saw a group approaching outside. Ignace Blaze stood up, frowned, and asked the Fire Walker, "What's going on?"
"Reporting, Palace Lord. A disciple of the Flame Temple has been killed. Judging by the method, it seems to be ice-related, and only the two from the Water Temple have this ability. According to Young Master Liam Blaze, Evan Yang is the one who killed him. Please investigate, Palace Lord," said the Fire Walker.
Ignace Blaze was shocked, while Bianca King was suspicious—why would Evan Yang kill someone for no reason? The third Palace Lord showed little reaction, still sitting calmly.
"Palace Lord Qiong, what do you think?" Ignace Blaze asked Bianca King.
Bianca King looked at Ignace Blaze and said, "Let everyone involved come in. Since this murder happened in the Flame Temple, I want to know what happened as well."
Ignace Blaze nodded, so Liam Blaze and his two cousins, along with Evan Yang and Lena King, were brought in.
Six people stood there, but one was clearly an ice corpse—Leroy Li. Examining Leroy's body, it was obvious he had been wounded by ice, and nothing was fake.
Bianca King asked Evan Yang, "What happened here?"
"I was just sparring with him, but I didn't take his life. As for how he died, you should ask these three," Evan Yang replied.
(Irrelevant system message, skip translation.)
Bianca King naturally trusted Evan Yang, so she turned to Ignace Blaze and said, "Palace Lord Ignace, what do you think?"
"This happened in our palace, and a person died. I must investigate thoroughly," said Ignace Blaze.
"How should we investigate? The victim is dead—no testimony," Bianca King said.
Ignace Blaze frowned, while Liam Blaze and his cousins stubbornly accused Evan Yang of murder.
But Evan Yang and Lena King naturally denied it. The process was just two sides arguing, with no proof either way.
Bianca King and Ignace Blaze discussed back and forth but got nowhere. Finally, Evan Yang spoke up, "If you want to know whether I killed him, just examine his body. Find out how he died, not just what shows on the surface."
Bianca King and Ignace Blaze agreed it made sense, so they squatted down to examine Leroy Li's corpse. Liam Blaze and his cousins held their breath, not daring to say a word.
Bianca King shook her head helplessly. "He did die from some kind of ice, but it's not the kind you use."
Everyone knew Evan Yang's power was Ice-fire Sacred Flame, which could freeze and also cause ice burns, so those wounds looked nothing like his. Bianca King was sure it wasn't Evan's doing.
Ignace Blaze seemed to notice something, but he stood up and said, "No one in the Flame Temple has water attributes. How does Palace Lord Qiong plan to resolve this?"
"What do you mean, Palace Lord Ignace?" Bianca King asked.
"Palace Lord Qiong, I don't want any discord between us. I just hope this can be resolved quickly, or else how can we continue?" said Ignace Blaze.
"So Palace Lord Ignace thinks someone from my side killed a Flame Temple disciple?" Bianca King asked.
Ignace Blaze said nothing, but seeing his father insist Evan Yang was the killer, Liam Blaze mustered his courage and said, "That's right. We saw him do it with our own eyes."
"You need evidence to accuse someone of murder. Surface appearances mean nothing. For example, if I killed you now, no one would know it was me." Bianca King knew there was a setup, and her personality wouldn't let her be bullied. Hearing Liam Blaze, she replied without hesitation.
Liam Blaze was reprimanded by a Palace Lord. He wanted to speak, but didn't dare, afraid she'd really kill him if he angered her.
"I think you two Palace Lords should stop arguing. Let the Earth Temple handle it. We're neutral, and we'll try to get to the bottom of this in three days. Then we'll report back to you. Does that sound acceptable?" Seeing the dispute, Lord Ridge, the Earth Temple Palace Lord, spoke up.
Bianca King had no objections. Ignace Blaze hesitated for a moment, then said, "Fine. I hope Lord Ridge can find the cause of death."
"Alright, we'll return here in three days." Lord Ridge took Leroy Li's corpse and left. Bianca King also made an excuse to leave, taking Evan Yang and Lena King to the abandoned volcano.
On the way, Bianca King asked Lena King about everything that had happened.
So Lena King began recounting the events to Bianca King. Meanwhile, Ignace Blaze, seeing only Liam Blaze and his two cousins left, said to them, "Are you three getting bolder?"
"Dad?" Liam Blaze didn't understand what he meant.
"You kids—do you think I can't tell this is your doing? Don't tell me you didn't use that thing," Ignace Blaze said angrily.
Liam Blaze didn't expect his father to figure it out so fast. Worried, he said, "Dad, that guy is too evil, with so many tricks. I thought he was about to die, so we used that thing to frame him."
"He's so powerful—why use such tricks to frame him?" Darren Fang asked, confused.
So Liam Blaze explained everything that had happened, including the bull-spirit's actions at the end.
After hearing it all, Ignace Blaze frowned. "Are you sure he has that ability?"
"Yes, absolutely," Liam Blaze replied.
Easton Fang and Darren Fang also explained that Evan Yang was indeed terrifying. Hearing this, Ignace Blaze said, "If he's so formidable, then we'll turn your scheme to our advantage. No matter what, he can't be allowed to live—otherwise he'll go even farther and take everything you should have gotten."