Evan Yang, just like last time, found the place where water-Soul power was taught. Right now, the hall was packed—completely the opposite of the previous fire class.
"Strange, are so many people water attribute?" Evan muttered to himself. With people constantly coming and going, nobody paid attention to him—except for one person who was staring at him.
Evan noticed him too—it was the burly man he’d scorched last time.
"Finally caught you," the burly man muttered, then whispered to his friends on either side. Soon, all their eyes were fixed on Evan.
Seeing their attitude, Evan knew trouble was inevitable—but he didn’t care. He just walked to the back row, where it was emptier, and sat down.
He closed his eyes. Around him, the room buzzed like a marketplace—chaotic and noisy.
When the noise suddenly stopped, Evan opened his eyes. As soon as he saw the lecturer, he understood why there were so many people here—the instructor was like a flower among leaves, stunningly beautiful.
Overhearing the chatter around him, he learned that only a handful in Soul-Heaven Palace could wield true water-Soul power, and the instructor was one of them—a beauty. Most people were here for her looks.
"Why are all the instructors women?" Evan wondered inwardly, but his eyes stayed focused on her every move.
The woman smiled and said, "You can call me Senior Dream."
"Senior Dream, how old are you?" someone suddenly asked, full of curiosity.
"Women don’t like being asked their age—it makes us sound old. Don’t let it happen again." She smiled, drawing laughter from the crowd.
"Such strength, yet so approachable—that’s rare," Evan thought, noticing she had none of that aloof, untouchable aura.
Seeing everyone laugh, the woman continued, "Alright, today I’ll explain water-Soul power. Listen carefully—I only teach this class once a year. If you miss it, you won’t get another chance."
Her words instantly quieted the crowd. "Once a year? That means everyone here only gets one shot," Evan thought, feeling lucky he’d chosen to attend—otherwise he would’ve missed out.
The woman began her lecture, not caring whether anyone listened closely or not. Her explanation was similar to the fire-Soul class: you could freely control water before you, and the strength depended on your Chaotic Soul-Force.
Two hours later, she finished and smiled, "Hope you all learned something. Goodbye, everyone."
"Goodbye, Senior Dream!" the crowd cheered.
Everyone rushed out together, leaving only Evan, the burly man, and his friends inside.
"Kid, you finally showed up. Today, I’m going to make you look bad," the burly man said.
"Still playing with fire?" Evan laughed instead of being surprised.
"I can’t beat you with fire, but my buddy here is good with water," the burly man said. A man stepped forward, eyes locked on Evan, and grinned, "You dared bully my friend—take this!"
He launched a stream of water straight at Evan. In everyone’s eyes, even if Evan controlled fire, water would just put it out.
But with a wave of his hand, Evan superheated the water—it turned into boiling water and splashed right onto the attacker’s face. The man screamed in pain.
The burly man was shocked and hurried to help his friend, who clutched his face and cried, "So hot, so hot!"
"Overestimating yourself," Evan said, then slipped away. He was secretly pleased—he’d used his fire to make their water boil, and could freely control their water too. It was all because their Chaotic Soul-Force was too weak.
The burly man was furious as Evan walked away, but didn’t dare go after him. He cursed inwardly, "Damn it, this kid’s fire control is so strong he can make water boil."
The injured man opened his hands and asked, "How’s my face?"
"Just some blisters, nothing serious," the burly man replied.
"I want revenge," the injured man said angrily.
"You’ll get your chance," the burly man replied.
Evan walked outside, shaking his head helplessly. He muttered, "Water, fire—just missing lightning. Sigh, better go back and cultivate in seclusion until the year’s up, then blend into Soul-Heaven Palace."
Just as Evan was planning his next steps, a girl suddenly blocked his way. He looked closely—it was the same girl as last time, Bella.
"Why are you stopping me?" Evan asked curiously.
"I want to be your friend," Bella said.
"Not interested," Evan replied, then turned to leave.
"You—you! I’m seriously trying to be your friend, and you act like this? I’ll teach you a lesson!" Bella said angrily.
A ball of fire appeared behind Evan, but he’d already sensed it. He immediately ran Chaotic Soul-Force and seized control of the fire—it froze in mid-air, unable to attack him.
"How can this be?" Bella exclaimed, shocked that her fire wouldn’t move.
"If you don’t have the strength, stop causing trouble," Evan said, leaving her behind as the fire gradually faded.
"You—" Bella grew angrier, her eyes fixed on Evan as he walked away.
Seeing Evan getting farther and farther, Bella rushed after him in frustration, only to find he was moving faster and she couldn’t keep up. By the time she reached the Newcomer Palace, Evan had vanished.
"Damn it, how does he walk so fast?" Bella muttered, then turned and left.
Evan finally got some peace. He locked his door, isolated himself from the outside world, and continued cultivating Chaotic Soul-Force.
Just like that, a whole year passed. The next day was the assessment, and Evan received notice that he’d be tested.
"Assessment?" Evan muttered, then left his room. Outside, it was unusually quiet compared to before.
"Why aren’t you training?" The supervisor saw Evan wandering alone and asked curiously.
"I’ve been in my room too long—just getting some fresh air," Evan replied with a smile, knowing the others were surely training hard.
The supervisor smiled, "You’re the most diligent newcomer I’ve seen. Hope you pass and join Soul-Heaven Palace tomorrow."
"Thank you," Evan replied, then walked out of the Newcomer Hall, wanting to get familiar with Soul-Heaven Palace’s layout.
Watching Evan walk away, the supervisor muttered, "Strange kid."
Evan walked alone, passing many others—all Soul-Heaven Palace people, at least first-stripe officers, or staff responsible for guiding newcomers.
"Just how big is Soul-Heaven Palace?" Evan wondered, opening his divine sense. As far as he could sense, there were only buildings.
While pondering the palace's size, he suddenly heard crying nearby. Curious, Evan looked over and saw someone he knew—Little Kai?
He saw Little Kai being dragged by a first-stripe black-clad officer. No matter how Kai struggled, he couldn’t escape. Evan couldn’t just ignore it, so he stepped forward to intervene.
Little Kai saw Evan and cried out, "Brother Mi!"
"Kid, you’re new here, right? Get out of the way," the officer said.
"He’s my friend. Can you let him go?" Evan asked.
"Kid, who are you? This isn’t your business—move along," the officer said, frowning as Evan interfered.
"Brother Mi, I don’t want to leave," Little Kai said, not knowing why Evan was there, but wanting to stay.
Evan knew Little Kai's family was here, but couldn’t figure out why he’d ended up in Soul-Heaven Palace. Evan asked, "What did he do wrong?"
"Whatever he did, it’s none of your business. Move along," the officer said with a cold snort.
Evan frowned, "If you’re arresting someone, shouldn’t there be a reason?"
"Kid, are you trying to get yourself in trouble?" the officer snorted, annoyed at Evan’s meddling.
"I’ll take him," Evan said, moving to Kai’s side and grabbing his hand. Evan calmly pulled Kai away from the officer, who couldn’t do a thing to stop him.
The officer stared at Evan in shock, "You—you—"
Evan ignored him and led Little Kai away. Behind him, he could hear the officer yelling, "Kid, you’re finished! Just wait!"
The officer stormed off angrily. Evan knew trouble was coming, but wanted to get to the bottom of things, so he asked, "Kai, how did you end up here?"
"Someone said I could see my mom, so they brought me up here. But that person got punished by the officer just now, and then the officer threatened to throw me out," Kai said, barely believing Evan had managed to rescue him.
"Who was that?" Evan wondered, curious about who brought Kai up here.
"I don’t know. He just said it was arranged by my mom, but I don’t know the details," Kai shook his head.
Evan frowned, thinking, "Is his mom still here?"
While Evan was pondering, a group arrived. To his surprise, the officer from earlier brought a five-stripe officer. The five-stripe looked at Evan and asked, "Which tribe brought you here?"
"Huang Clan," Evan replied.
"You’ve got guts, daring to interfere with our business," the five-stripe officer said angrily. A crowd gathered, curious about a five-stripe officer scolding a newcomer. Kai hid behind Evan, scared.
Just then, a girl popped up from the crowd—it was Bella. Seeing what was happening, she quickly thought it through and stepped forward with a bright smile.
Evan saw Bella appear and wondered, "Why is she here too?"
The five-stripe officer, angry at Evan’s silence, said, "Today you’ll learn what happens when you defy authority."
Just as the five-stripe officer was about to act, Bella spoke up, "What’s this? A five-stripe officer bullying a newcomer?"
"Who are you supposed to be?" the officer snorted, seeing Bella was just another newcomer.