A young man's voice rang out.
His words reached everyone's ears.
His tone was indifferent, with not a hint of fear or fatigue.
He simply stood there, right where the wood chips and dust had settled.
Calm and aloof, he was like an unshakable stone mountain, silently watching the Rowe clan crowd from the flat ground.
"How... is that possible!"
"That giant tree—how could it not even scratch him!"
"Impossible!"
Rowe One and Rowe Two shouted in unison, their old faces still twisted with disbelief.
"Such petty tricks, and you dare show them off?"
Evan Lin shook his head slightly, sighed, and twirled his sword. Inner strength surged throughout his body, and everyone saw the dust floating beside him seem to be infused with a mysterious aura.
They froze in midair. Dust and wood chips that had been settling toward the ground suddenly began to rise again.
Countless specks of dust hovered beside Evan Lin.
Under the pouring sunlight, everyone could see the wood chips and dust shimmering with a hazy gray light.
"What is he trying to do?"
Second Elder Rowe's expression changed instantly. Everyone stared at Evan Lin like he was a deadly threat.
The Rowe Patriarch's face was grave, and First Elder Rowe's heart was already in turmoil.
The rest of the Rowe clan grew even more uneasy; even the air seemed to become restless.
"A giant tree can be shattered or restored. You gave me a giant tree, so I'll return it to you."
Evan Lin's voice was mild: "Reciprocity—that's all there is to it."
Evan Lin smiled faintly. In that instant, Second Elder Rowe felt as if some invisible force had locked onto him—his entire body's momentum, from head to toe, seemed frozen in place!
"What did you do?!"
That's qi-force!
Second Elder Rowe's hair stood on end, eyes wide. He tried to resist with his own momentum, but the subtle pull of that qi-force left him utterly unable to break free.
"What's wrong with you?!"
First Elder Rowe noticed Second Elder Rowe's strange state, his expression suddenly shifting.
Everyone's attention had been locked on Evan Lin, but now Second Elder Rowe's urgent, anxious outburst caught the crowd completely off guard.
The Rowe Patriarch's face darkened as he watched. Even he couldn't tell what Evan Lin had done.
The momentum Second Elder Rowe had built up was meant to resist Evan Lin's next strike.
Second Elder Rowe's face flickered with shifting colors, veins bulging on his forehead. The qi-shadow behind him surged in waves, rising again and again.
His mind grew unstable, unable to control his momentum—leaving him burning with anxiety.
Daniel Ward and Sun Yao's faces changed at the same time.
"He hasn't actually done anything, but why does it feel like Second Elder Rowe's about to be driven mad by him?" Chloe Cheng's expression was unsettled.
"It's an invisible 'momentum'... This guy—he's honestly terrifying." Daniel Ward, more insightful than most, couldn't explain it fully, but he could sense the truth.
The atmosphere was heavy, as if dark clouds pressed down and a storm was about to break.
"I'll fight you to the death!"
Second Elder Rowe felt as if chains and locks bound him from head to toe, no escape possible, and thunder could strike at any moment.
Under the crushing weight in his heart, he suddenly roared and lunged forward.
The shadow behind him, wild and fierce, surged like a herd of untamed horses, charging straight at Evan Lin.
"Second Elder!"