"Your disciple?" Elder Joe Qiao frowned, while Sean Shen and Bald Lee kept their eyes on Evan Yang, both of them full of hatred for him.
Bald Lee, who had been defeated by Evan Yang and lost all face, was itching to challenge him again right now.
Before Mad Elder could speak, he sensed Bald Lee and Sean Shen's anger. He was curious—did they already know? But then he realized that couldn't be the case, and said directly, "He's my disciple."
"What?" Sean Shen and Bald Lee exclaimed in shock, while Elder Joe Qiao frowned again. "He's your disciple? Just joined? You never liked taking disciples on your own."
Mad Elder chuckled, "I want to take him in, and he's got enormous potential. I'm optimistic about him."
Evan Yang felt awkward at the exaggeration. Elder Joe Qiao seemed to catch the meaning, "You said you're cheering for your disciple—does that mean he's guarding a gate today?"
"That's right, he's guarding a gate today." Mad Elder laughed.
Elder Joe Qiao said doubtfully, "Him? Guard a gate? I think he'd be better off going home to rest."
"Don't underestimate him. You'll see soon enough." Mad Elder smiled.
Bald Lee and Sean Shen were already stunned, especially Sean, who exclaimed, "You're guarding a gate?"
"That's right, exactly." Evan Yang said.
"In that case, I'll definitely beat you to a pulp!" Sean Shen snorted coldly.
"Anytime. But if you lose just one match..." Evan Yang left the sentence unfinished, his words carrying a deeper meaning.
Sean Shen snorted, "I'll win them all—including you. Just wait."
"I'll be waiting." Evan Yang replied.
Mad Elder and Elder Joe Qiao hadn't expected things to get so heated even before the fighting started. Mad Elder laughed, "See? That's why I back my disciple."
"Oh? Then I'll have to see if your new disciple is actually useful, or just for show." Elder Joe Qiao smiled.
"Watch all you want." Mad Elder laughed. Elder Joe Qiao could only sigh and say, "Let's go." In his eyes, Mad Elder's strength was unfathomable, and in the Blue Robe Sect, he feared Mad Elder most. He never dared to contradict or criticize Mad Elder, which explained his helpless expression.
Evan Yang noticed it too—otherwise, Elder Joe Qiao would have been mocking or angry, but today he wasn't at all.
"Let's go too." Mad Elder laughed.
Evan Yang nodded and followed Mad Elder, with Chase Chu tagging along behind them.
After a while, they arrived at Yi Mountain. The mountain was surrounded by mist, looking like an immortal peak. Mad Elder led Evan Yang through the clouds, and before them appeared a platform—a vast, leveled mountaintop. At one end, there were rows of seats; Evan counted and saw there were thirty spots, already filled with many people.
Mad Elder explained to Evan Yang, "Those thirty seats are for the Sect Master, two vice sect masters, and twenty-seven elders."
"I see." Evan Yang nodded in understanding.
"I'll be up there soon. The rest is up to you." Mad Elder said.
"Alright." Evan Yang replied.
At that moment, Hannah Nangong, Lora Luo, and Aurora Qing were already there. Seeing Evan and the others arrive, they happily walked over. Evan landed and smiled, "You’re early."
"Master said we should get here early, so we did." Lora Luo laughed.
"When does it start?" Evan Yang asked.
"As soon as everyone’s here." Lora Luo replied.
Evan Yang nodded, then stood with Lora Luo and the others, waiting for the Trial of Gates to begin.
Mad Elder took his seat and started chatting with the elders beside him. Evan listened closely—turns out they were all talking about his potential, and how that’s why Mad Elder took him as a disciple.
"Would it kill them not to brag?" Evan Yang sighed helplessly.
"What did you say?" Lora Luo asked curiously.
"Nothing, just overheard some interesting stuff." Evan Yang smiled.
"I thought it was something else. But look over there." Lora Luo said.
Evan Yang glanced across, and saw Sean Shen and Bald Lee staring at him.
"Master said Sean Shen recruited Bald Lee." Lora Luo said.
"Why recruit Bald Lee?" Evan Yang was puzzled—wasn't this Sean Shen's duel? Why bring Bald Lee into it?
"During the matches, Sean Shen can have someone fight on his behalf for one round. In other words, out of five bouts, he can pick one to substitute." Lora Luo explained.
"Oh? So that's how it works. He’s bound to lose, then. I think he should just stay off the stage." Evan Yang laughed.
Lora Luo had seen Evan Yang defeat Bald Lee yesterday, so she laughed, "That's true."
Actually, Sean Shen and Bald Lee were well aware—when they learned Evan Yang would participate, they were both shocked and furious. Their plan was to keep Bald Lee from facing Evan Yang, since he'd surely lose, so Sean Shen intended to deal with Evan himself.
Evan Yang asked Lora Luo, "So what position am I in?"
"Third." Lora Luo replied.
"Third? Why?" Evan Yang asked curiously.
"Master said the first and second positions are meant to test Sean Shen's true strength, while you observe and figure out how to counter him." Lora Luo explained.
"Oh, is that so? Fine by me." Evan Yang hadn’t seen Sean Shen’s real attacks yet, so he was curious to see what he could do.
"Since he gets one chance to call in a substitute, we don’t know if it’ll be the first or second bout. But it definitely won’t be against you—Bald Lee already lost to you, so he won’t challenge you again." Lora Luo said.
Evan Yang agreed—it made sense. If he were first or second, he might not see Sean Shen’s real strength. This way, he’d be sure to witness Sean’s true abilities.
"Your master is pretty thoughtful." Evan Yang said.
"Yeah, I'm grateful to my master too. I just hope I can get through this." Lora Luo really didn’t want to be arranged by others, and especially didn’t want to be paired with Sean Shen.
Evan Yang noticed it, so he smiled, "Don't worry, I'll help you out."
"Thank you." Lora Luo said gratefully.
On the stage, everyone had arrived. A man in a blue-and-white trimmed Dao robe stood up and addressed the crowd: "Though this is just a trial, it's an important one. Representatives from every faction are here, so I'll keep it brief. Today’s challengers are Sean Shen and his assistant Bald Lee. The defenders are led by Elder Aurora Qing."
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Many spectators had gathered to watch. Sean Shen and Bald Lee stepped forward, and Aurora Qing announced, "Our team of five defenders is: Ye Fay, Li Qing, Evan Yang, Shan Qin, and Dong Ting."
Four women stepped forward, and Evan Yang, seeing them move, stepped forward as well.
Everyone was curious about the lone male among the defenders. Some who'd seen Bald Lee and Evan Yang's previous match started whispering and pointing.
Especially some elders who had watched Evan Yang and Bald Lee’s match—they were very interested to see if Evan could pull off something new this time.
Some elders wanted to see whether the outstanding disciples of the Blue Robe Sect were stronger, or if this new rising star was more impressive.
"The order of appearance is as listed." Aurora Qing announced finally.
The man in blue-and-white stood and said, "Alright, for the first round, Sean Shen, you choose."
Sean Shen thought for a moment, then said, "Bald Lee will go first." He chose Bald Lee because the first two defenders were ranked by strength, and he recognized some of them, so he wanted Bald Lee to face the weakest. He’d handle the rest himself.
Bald Lee had no objections—he stepped up for the first round.
Sean Shen didn’t participate in the first round, which disappointed Lora Luo and the others—they couldn’t gauge his abilities yet, so they’d have to wait for round two. Evan Yang felt no pressure at all.
A hundred-meter circular arena had been marked out. Leaving the arena meant defeat—either by surrender or by being beaten.
Ye Fay, a female cultivator at the first stage of Immortal Lord, stepped up. Bald Lee was also at the first stage, having just advanced. To the crowd, it seemed odd that Sean Shen would send a newcomer against another newcomer.
Bald Lee, however, was secretly confident—he was sure he could handle a first-stage Immortal Lord, especially since Elder Joe Qiao had just sponsored him with a new artifact.
So nobody knew the real plan. As the match began, Ye Fay clearly had the upper hand against Bald Lee.
Lora Luo whispered, "Go, Senior Sister Ye!"
"Is she your senior sister?" Evan Yang asked.
"Yeah, she's my senior." Lora Luo replied.
"I see. If Bald Lee doesn’t have anything special, your senior should win. But I doubt Sean Shen would take such a risk." Evan Yang said.
"I'm curious too." Lora Luo said, now feeling worried after Evan's comment.
Not only Evan and Lora, but everyone around was curious—did Bald Lee have some hidden trick? If not, he’d lose for sure.
On the field, Ye Fay suppressed Bald Lee’s attacks with water, but at the last moment, Bald Lee suddenly produced a bell. The bell rapidly expanded and trapped Ye Fay inside.
Boom—silence fell. Bald Lee stopped and laughed, "I won."
"Imprisoning Bell!" The crowd exclaimed in shock, all looking at Elder Joe Qiao. Elder Joe just smiled without saying a word, and Sean Shen grinned as well.
"What’s the Imprisoning Bell?" Evan Yang asked, seeing everyone’s astonished expressions.
"The Imprisoning Bell is a bell that traps the opponent and slowly drains their Immortal Source until they're powerless. It's a terrifying immortal artifact." Lora Luo explained.
"That powerful? Isn't it unbeatable?" Evan Yang asked in surprise. "Not quite," Lora Luo shook her head.
"Oh? What are the limitations?" Evan Yang asked.
"Every use consumes a huge amount of Immortal Source. If you fail to trap your opponent, you’ll be left vulnerable and might get defeated instead." Lora Luo explained.
"I see. Looks like your senior sister is in trouble—she had no idea her opponent had this artifact." Evan Yang said.
"Yeah, that's right. Looks like they won this round." Lora Luo sighed.
Evan Yang comforted her, "It's just one match—there are still more to come."
"But if the Imprisoning Bell is in their hands, it means Sean Shen can use it too. The rest of the senior sisters are in real danger." Lora Luo said worriedly.