"None of you outer disciples are leaving today. If the person responsible doesn't step forward, then all of you will have to accompany me!" Leon Wong, seeing no one come forward, was determined to punish everyone rather than let the culprit escape.
As soon as he said this, the outer disciples stirred restlessly. Some even tried to slip away, but their escape route was immediately blocked by inner disciples, most of whom were close friends of Leon Wong. Today, they were helping him out—partly to curry favor, hoping it might earn them a shot at becoming a closed-door disciple.
Facing this situation, Leon Wong grinned as if he’d expected it all along. "Go ahead and run! Try running!" Having never suffered a setback, he was now bent on crushing others—especially after being humiliated so badly. If word got out that he 'accidentally' slipped into the pool, he'd be a laughingstock in the cultivation world.
Soon, the outer disciples were herded into the water like ducks, and they cursed angrily, "Leon Wong, just because you're an inner disciple doesn't mean you can punish us however you want!"
"Hmph! And what if I do want to punish you?" Leon Wong acted as if he had some special privilege, speaking without a care. Evan Yang wondered curiously—didn’t the sect have anyone in charge?
"You!" The outer disciples in the water gnashed their teeth in frustration.
"What now? If the culprit doesn't come forward, none of you are leaving for days—just soak here obediently." Leon Wong wouldn’t rest until he found the person responsible.
The Human-Rank Alchemist was also curious which outer disciple was bold enough to provoke Leon Wong, who was at the eighth layer of Qi-Refining.
The scene was chaotic. Inner disciples surrounded the pool, forcing the outer disciples closer and closer to the water.
Seeing that everyone was about to be pushed into the water, Evan Yang finally couldn’t hold back. He stepped forward and said, "Let them go. This has nothing to do with them."
Suddenly, an outer disciple spoke up, drawing everyone's attention to the unfamiliar face—Evan Yang.
Even the outer disciples were surprised. Few had ever seen Evan Yang before, and no one knew where this newcomer had come from.
Leon Wong didn’t care who he was. With an angry glare, he marched over, ready to shove Evan Yang into the pool and hold him under for a while.
But to everyone’s shock, something unexpected happened—a splash echoed, and it was Leon Wong who fell into the water for the second time. After this, he didn’t dare underestimate Evan Yang, but the humiliation only fueled his rage. He roared, "You—you—today I’m going to kill you!"
Everyone realized things had gotten serious. No one would accept being knocked into the water twice, especially in front of a crowd—a 'genius' was now being humiliated by an outer disciple.
Inner disciples were curious how such a figure could exist among the outer disciples, and the outer disciples themselves wondered how they’d never seen someone like Evan Yang before.
Evan Yang ignored their speculation and instead addressed the furious Leon Wong, "Let them go. This has nothing to do with them."
"Damn it! You knocked me into the water and now you dare order me around!" Leon Wong, enraged, couldn’t hold back his furious shout.
The inner disciples acted like Leon Wong’s servants; without his permission, they stood at the pool’s edge, blocking anyone from climbing out.
Evan Yang frowned and said, "Do you really like relying on others to help you?"
Leon Wong, having lost all rationality after being pushed into the water twice by Evan Yang, snorted coldly, "Kid, today you’re going to die right here!"
"Looks like you still haven’t learned your lesson," Evan Yang replied. He took a step forward, using his aura to completely suppress Leon Wong’s momentum.
As Evan Yang drew near, Leon Wong and the inner disciples sensed something was off. The inner disciples next to Leon instinctively retreated to get some breathing room, while only Leon held his ground, unleashing his full aura to stare down Evan Yang. Secretly, he was shocked: "Damn, how does an outer disciple like this exist?"
"Do you really think you have a chance against me?" Evan Yang glanced at the disciples in the water—some looked at him with admiration, thinking that no outer disciple had ever forced inner disciples back like this. Anyone that strong would have already joined the inner sect.
Humiliated beyond measure, Leon Wong realized that if people found out he’d been knocked into the water twice by an outer disciple—and suppressed besides—he’d never live it down. He had to kill the person before him, no matter who it was. He turned to the alchemist and said, "Wu-brother, I might need your help today."
Wu Zidi—the Human-Rank Alchemist—had already sensed something was wrong. Hearing Leon Wong’s request, he stepped forward and addressed Evan Yang, "Kid, you’d better withdraw your aura and cripple your own cultivation, or things will get much worse for you."
Evan Yang didn’t know the alchemist’s background; he only heard Leon Wong call him "Wu-brother." Seeing Wu Zidi’s arrogant attitude, Evan Yang fixed his gaze on him and said, "This is a personal grudge between me and him. Fellow Daoist, please don’t interfere."
Wu Zidi sneered, "Ridiculous—who do you think you are?"
Leon Wong was even more furious. For Evan Yang to openly ask his friend not to interfere was a blatant insult to his reputation.
"Whatever tricks you’ve got, just bring them on," Evan Yang said coldly. Just because he didn’t want to make enemies didn’t mean he’d let Leon Wong keep bullying the outer disciples.
"Looks like you really don’t understand what it means to face an alchemist. Today, I’ll show you—even at the same realm, I can beat you!" Wu Zidi himself was at the ninth layer of Qi-Refining, and he’d already noticed Evan Yang’s cultivation when Evan released his aura.
"You’re ninth layer too?" Evan Yang asked calmly, unfazed by Wu Zidi’s tone.
"Glad you recognize it," Wu Zidi replied proudly.
"Ninth layer? Could this outer disciple also be ninth layer?" The question rang out among everyone except Wu Zidi, full of disbelief.
Evan Yang was ready for battle—there was no turning back now.
Wu Zidi had Leon Wong clear a space for him and Evan Yang, then sneered, "Watch the pill!"
"Pill?" Before Evan Yang could react, a pill flew toward him. Wu Zidi muttered, "Explode!" With a loud boom, the pill detonated, shrouding Evan Yang in black smoke.
"Did he just die like that?" The outer disciples whispered in disbelief, both fearful and impressed by the alchemist. The inner disciples felt the same way. Leon Wong saw the black smoke and laughed, "Trying to fight an alchemist at the same level? That’s suicide!"
But just as Leon Wong finished speaking, a voice cut him off: "Is that all an alchemist can do?" Evan Yang stepped out of the black smoke, very much alive.
Evan Yang had narrowly escaped disaster. The pill’s explosion caught him off guard, but he discovered that the essence of the pill was absorbed by the seed within his body before it could harm him. By the time the pill exploded at close range, most of its power was gone, and Evan Yang counted himself lucky to have survived.
Wu Zidi, unaware of the strange seed inside Evan Yang, stared at him in shock. "How are you unharmed?"
"Does getting hit by your pill mean I should be injured?" Evan Yang retorted with a cold laugh, though inwardly he was still shaken by the close call. He was also curious how an alchemist could detonate a pill like that.
Wu Zidi, who had never failed against Qi-Refining disciples and was confident in his Exploding Pill Art, felt his temper flare. He was also intrigued by Evan Yang’s survival. Still angry, he asked, "Do you have some treasure on you?"
"Ridiculous. Blame your shoddy technique, not some imaginary treasure!" Evan Yang had no treasure—just the seed within him, but he’d never reveal that secret.
At Evan Yang’s words, the outer disciples burst into hearty laughter. "Hahaha!"
The inner disciples’ faces turned sour, especially Leon Wong. His friend had suffered a setback, unable to deal with Evan Yang. Leon quickly hatched another plan: "Kid, I’ll let them go, but you have to come with me!"
Go or not go? Evan Yang was alarmed. If he went, Leon Wong might call for experts from the sect; if he refused, the outer disciples would suffer.
"What’s wrong, scared?" Seeing Evan Yang hesitate, Leon Wong seized the moment to mock him. Wu Zidi also looked at Evan with a sneer, while the inner disciples jeered, "Got cold feet, kid?"
"Birds of a feather," Evan Yang thought, seeing how the inner disciples rallied around Leon Wong. He felt sorry for the outer disciples.
"Do you dare or not?" Leon Wong taunted again.
"Let’s do it." Evan Yang looked at the praying outer disciples and steeled himself. He shouted, "Fine, I’ll go! Do you really think I’d be afraid of you?"
"Good, that’s more like it. I’ll let them go." Leon Wong agreed, signaling the inner disciples to disperse. He secretly mocked Evan Yang, already plotting how to torment him next.
For the first time since joining the sect, both Wu Zidi and Leon Wong felt utterly humiliated by a Qi-Refining disciple. No matter what, they were determined to kill this strange youth today.