All that could be seen.
Second Elder Rowe, who had just been standing nearby, was now completely gone.
Even the surging inner strength he radiated was gone without a trace.
There wasn’t a hint of his presence left in the air—not a shadow, not a breath. Even the massive phantom that lingered behind him before had vanished without a trace.
It was as if nothing had ever existed there at all.
But now, where Second Elder Rowe had just stood, an ancient tree towered into the sky.
Its branches weren’t particularly lush, but the tree shimmered with a strange brilliance. Under the sunlight, it gave off an indescribable aura of mystery.
“What did you do to Second Elder Rowe?!” First Elder Rowe’s face was twisted with fury.
“Where is he?” The Rowe Patriarch glanced at the giant tree before him, waves of shock crashing through his heart. He could hardly believe it.
Even with his power on the verge of breaking through to Profound Insight, he still couldn’t figure out what happened in that instant!
Unbelievable!
A third-grade Profound Insight master just vanished right in front of us?
And vanished so cleanly—not a trace left behind!
Not even a hint of his aura remained.
“He destroyed the tree, and now he’s become the tree. If you want to find him, just look at this tree.”
Master Lin from Seacrest spoke calmly, and the whole place fell silent.
Even those who had half expected it couldn’t help but feel a surge of shock after hearing Evan’s words.
This kind of trick was just too unexpected—something no one had ever even heard of.
He turned a person into a tree!
And yet, this tree looked no different from any ordinary tree.
“How is that even possible?” Lucy Sun was completely stunned. She turned to Master Daniel Ward, but his brow was tightly furrowed—he couldn’t explain it either.
Lily Liang was frozen, her mind totally blank.
What kind of person was that?
That was Second Elder Rowe!
A third-grade Profound Insight master!
“This is outrageous—absolutely outrageous!”
First Elder Rowe took a long time to recover. When he finally did, his eyes were wide with fury, his whole body shaking. “Second Elder Rowe is my own brother, and today he suffered such a humiliating defeat at your hands!”
“Master Lin from Seacrest! What a so-called Master Lin from Seacrest!”
“A nobody from some tiny place, daring to call himself a master? I say you’re going to die here today!”
First Elder Rowe let out a piercing howl, and the phantom behind him suddenly sprang to life.
Everyone saw the mountain peaks around the Rowe estate tremble, the ground cracking open, as wild inner strength surged from First Elder Rowe like ocean waves.
That overwhelming inner strength made the ground within a hundred meters shake nonstop.
Rubble quivered on the ground, and swathes of trees toppled toward First Elder Rowe.
Centered on First Elder Rowe and his phantom, a terrifying aura condensed and spread out.
Instead of swelling up, First Elder Rowe’s body actually seemed to collapse inward.
He shrank by an inch, but the power radiating from him felt even more concentrated.
“Interesting.”
Evan looked at First Elder Rowe, amusement in his gaze. “By forcibly compressing your bones and meridians with inner strength, you make your power denser and your aura more imposing.”
“But if you do this, recovering your vitality later won’t be easy—it’ll take a long time.”
Evan’s simple explanation made both First Elder Rowe and the Rowe Patriarch shudder inside.