Leo Liu and the other two were stunned for a moment. Someone who had only just arrived dared to speak so boldly. As for Evan Yang, he'd originally planned to keep a low profile, but for some reason all three top experts suddenly challenged him this time. If he didn't teach them a lesson, they'd probably keep doing this in the future.
This was the perfect chance to topple nearly all of the First Palace's top three. Once they were dealt with, no one else in the First Palace would dare provoke him again. It would also secure the North Sect's safety here.
"Kid, you sure talk big. Let's see if your mouth is bigger than my fists." Leo Liu snorted coldly.
With that, the duel between Leo Liu and Evan Yang began. Everyone around watched closely—this newcomer, Evan Yang, had only just arrived, and they'd seen him rise through the ranks with their own eyes. No one expected things to turn out like this today.
Leo Liu exploded with power as soon as the fight started—ninth-tier Earth-Immortal. This was a major threshold; crossing it meant becoming a Heavenly-Immortal. The gap between Heavenly-Immortal and Earth-Immortal was huge, since reaching Heavenly-Immortal meant you could leave this place and seek tougher training grounds elsewhere.
Not only that, Heavenly-Immortals no longer belonged to the Earth-Immortal Newcomer Star System—they could venture out into the wider world.
Although ninth-tier seemed extremely powerful, everyone wondered if Evan Yang could hold his own as before. With his sudden leap to sixth-tier Earth-Immortal, people were left guessing what had caused his strength to skyrocket.
Seeing a sixth-tier go up against a ninth-tier—and not just hold his own, but dominate—sent a clear message: a sixth-tier could challenge a ninth-tier, not only succeed, but force the ninth-tier into repeated retreat.
Adding Evan Yang's flying needles and flames to the mix, Leo Liu was both furious and frustrated. He also cultivated fire, hoping to counter fire with fire, but his flames were no match for Evan's.
In just a quarter of an hour, Leo Liu's eyebrows and hair were singed off. His forehead was still blackened as he glared at Evan Yang, growling, "You bastard, you actually burned my eyebrows!"
"Well, your eyebrows were too long anyway. I just helped you trim them," Evan Yang said with a grin.
"You—I'm going to destroy you!" Leo Liu roared, refusing to give up and charging in again. But he still couldn't withstand Evan Yang's flames, and kept falling back in defeat.
In the end, Leo Liu's body was covered in wounds. He finally collapsed, forcing out a breath and said, "Brothers, it's up to you two now."
"Don't worry, I'll avenge you." One of the other two stepped forward. He was handsome and young, and wore a mysterious gauntlet on his right hand.
The gauntlet shimmered with five layers of light. Anyone with sense could tell—it was a fifth-grade immortal artifact.
If the first three grades of immortal artifacts were common, then anything fourth-grade or higher was rare and precious. The higher the grade, the more valuable—and the more scarce. People in the Immortal Realm often fought, argued, and even killed for these treasures.
"I'm Eric Lee, second on the Points Leaderboard. Your performance today has surprised me, but you're still not my match. So do yourself a favor—cripple your cultivation in advance," Eric Lee said.
"You want me to cripple myself? I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. Why don't you do it yourself?" Evan Yang replied with a smile.
"Crippling you won't be that easy. I'll make sure you suffer," Eric Lee said coolly.
"Then I suppose I'll have to experience it for myself," Evan Yang answered.
"Alright, I won't hold back. Let's begin." Eric Lee stepped onto the stage, and Evan Yang faced him. The crowd kept watching, curious how this supposedly crippled man could use sixth-tier power to stand against someone about to advance to Heavenly-Immortal.
The arena was filled with excited voices—many found it hard to believe that Evan Yang's speed was actually on par with Eric Lee's.
Eric Lee was terrifying too. That fifth-grade gauntlet could unleash attacks, and anyone within a meter of Evan Yang could feel about one-fifth of a ninth-tier expert's peak power radiating from it.
"That artifact of yours is pretty impressive. I almost fell for it just now," Evan Yang admitted. He'd pulled back a bit slowly, stopping right at the one-meter boundary, and could feel the gauntlet's power. By his estimate, it was at least a fifth of a ninth-tier peak expert's strength.
"Your reactions are pretty fast," Eric Lee said, surprised at how quickly Evan Yang responded. If he hadn't reacted so swiftly, Eric would have landed an attack within that meter, then followed up with a punch—enough to seriously injure him.
But calculations never matched Evan Yang's speed—Eric Lee kept misjudging, again and again.
"Since you use fire, I'll try it out—let's see if your fire is stronger, or my water." After several rounds with no hits, Eric Lee decided to use his attribute to counter Evan Yang.
"Water? I'd like to see that," Evan Yang said with a smile.
Suddenly, the gauntlet unleashed a water-jet attack. The strike was fast, and as Eric Lee moved, the water followed his motions, tracking Evan Yang.
"That gauntlet of yours is really something—even the water can be controlled like this," Evan Yang observed, noticing that every stream of water carried attack power.
Whenever Evan Yang got within a meter, invisible pressure pressed in from all directions—every bit of it coming from the water.
"If you've got guts, stop dodging!" Eric Lee snorted, seeing Evan Yang evade his attacks.
"Fine, I won't dodge. Watch closely." Evan Yang smirked. He unleashed a wave of Sacred Flame that swallowed up the water, vaporizing it instantly—only Sacred Flame could produce such terrifying heat.
Evan pressed his advantage, sending flames straight at the gauntlet. Eric Lee suddenly felt a surge of heat, as if his artifact—and his hand—were about to be burned away.
"Ah!" Eric Lee spun in place, dragging the gauntlet with him. Right now, the gauntlet was a blazing-hot object, searing itself onto his hand.
Aside from Evan Yang, no one else knew what was happening to Eric Lee. Soon, the silent top-ranked expert finally spoke: "Take off the gauntlet, or your hand will be ruined."
"So what if it gets ruined? I can just spend a few decades cultivating to fix it." Eric Lee was unwilling—his gauntlet had never left his hand. If he took it off, its power would drop sharply, so he stubbornly held on.
The top-ranked expert said, "Whether you take it off or not, you're going to lose. What's the point?"
"Mind your own business," Eric Lee shot back, then glared at Evan Yang. "Kid, I won't forget today's grudge."
Then Eric Lee used his other hand to conjure a torrent of water to cool his right hand. Steam billowed up around him, while Evan Yang stood calmly and said, "Will you admit defeat, or do I need to make a move?"
"I..." Eric Lee was torn—admitting defeat meant losing, but if he refused, Evan Yang would strike, and he'd be even worse off.
A thought flashed through his mind—he wanted to admit defeat. But suddenly, a voice echoed, "Don't you dare surrender, or Immortal Lord Lin won't let you off."
Hearing this, Eric Lee shivered. He wanted to surrender, but didn't dare. Forced to go all out, he suddenly burst from the steam, charging straight at Evan Yang.
Evan Yang hadn't expected this sudden attack, so he quickly retreated and launched his flying needles. Eric Lee managed to block some with the gauntlet, but others pierced deep into his body.
Eric Lee dropped to one knee before Evan Yang, trembling with fear. "You..."
"Are you going to admit defeat?" Evan Yang asked again.
The voice from Immortal Lord Lin echoed in Eric Lee's ears, making him afraid to surrender. His hand kept burning, as if scorched, and everyone could smell it. The crowd stared at the two, wondering what kind of drama they were acting out.
Just then, Eric Lee suddenly jumped up, trying to ambush Evan Yang again. At this distance, with his speed, Evan had to respond instantly.
Evan Yang had no choice but to go all out—a mass of Sacred Flame appeared in front of him. Eric Lee charged straight into the fire, and a miserable scream echoed out.
Evan Yang stepped back, withdrawing the flames. Eric Lee's face was horribly burned, his features ruined, and he collapsed to the ground.
Two of the top three had fallen, leaving everyone stunned—how could Evan Yang do this? Was his Sacred Flame really that terrifying, and his speed so uncanny?
The top-ranked expert finally showed emotion. He said, "You really are extraordinary."
"Thanks. If you're just going to talk, let's skip it—let's fight." Evan Yang wasn't afraid of them coming at him one after another.
"You have personality, but I'm different from the others. Be careful." the top-ranked expert warned.
"Oh? What's different about you?" Evan Yang asked, curious.
The crowd watched the two of them closely—many had never seen the top-ranked expert fight, so now that he was finally making a move, everyone wanted to see who was truly number one in the First Palace.
Today was destined to be a showdown between first and second place. Even without hidden schemes, the top-ranked expert would give it his all—he refused to be dethroned.
"We'll know after we fight. Your name is Evan Yang, right?" the expert asked.
"And you must be Shawn Xiao, number one on the Points Leaderboard," Evan Yang replied.
"That's right. I've been cultivating in seclusion, and to emerge and find an opponent with your potential is a pleasure. No matter what happens today, I hope you'll go all out and not disappoint me," Shawn Xiao said.
"I won't disappoint you. Let's go." Evan Yang eyed Shawn Xiao—he gave off a special vibe, but not the kind that made people hate him.
It really felt like the two of them were about to spar for the sake of mutual improvement.
Evan Yang didn't dare underestimate him. After all, as the First Palace's number one, Shawn Xiao had to be special—he wouldn't go down easily.
"Let's begin," Shawn Xiao said.
Evan Yang readied himself, and the crowd backed off again, not daring to get close. But everyone could sense the two auras clashing in the air.
"Isn't this aura supposed to only appear with Heavenly-Immortals?" someone exclaimed.
But neither aura was overwhelming—just occasional sparks in the surrounding space. Shawn Xiao hadn't expected Evan Yang, at only sixth-tier, to already comprehend aura techniques.
Evan Yang was even more surprised. He'd thought only he had this kind of aura, but his opponent did too. No wonder he'd felt such oppressive force earlier—it was Shawn Xiao's aura.
So, even before they moved, their auras were already colliding.
"Unbelievable—he's only sixth-tier, and already has aura!" the hidden Heavenly-Immortal exclaimed, feeling as if something major was about to happen.