Soon, Ivy Xiao was sent to the cave entrance. Standing at the entrance, Evan Yang said to Ivy, "Alright, I've brought you here."
Ivy Xiao looked at Evan Yang curiously, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't find the words. Evan Yang, however, simply turned and went back inside.
"Strange, he's from Fire God Palace, so why is he so familiar with this place? And that guy—I need to track him down and get my revenge!" Ivy Xiao thought, her mind drifting back to the issue.
After Ivy Xiao disappeared, Evan Yang made his way back to where he was before. He checked the ferocious beast and muttered suspiciously, "Water-aligned power, and it's natural. Looks like there's at least natural water element here."
Evan Yang thought about his Ice-fire Sacred Flame; he needed to absorb something like water-aligned energy. If there really was such a thing here, that would be perfect. So Evan Yang went deeper, searching the area, opening his divine sense to clearly observe everything inside.
Inside, there were many passages, and not just one ferocious beast—there were many scattered throughout. "Strange, why are there so many ferocious beasts here? Is this a beast lair?" Evan Yang wondered aloud.
Driven by curiosity, Evan Yang kept moving forward. After a while, he killed many ferocious beasts. All these beasts had one thing in common: after they died, Evan Yang could find water-aligned energy in their bodies. "Looks like there really is water element here." The closer Evan Yang got, the more he felt a dampness in the air. These beasts must have been transformed by the humid energy around here.
Soon, Evan Yang discovered that at the deepest part of the cave, all the energy converged at a single point. At that spot was a pool of water—just an ordinary pool, nothing special.
But strangely, as soon as Evan Yang approached the pool, it seemed to be disturbed and began boiling. Clusters of vapor started rising.
"Water-aligned qi?" Seeing this, Evan Yang was overjoyed. He grabbed the vapor and absorbed it one by one.
After absorbing it, Evan Yang felt his Ice-fire Sacred Flame slowly changing. This was definitely a good thing for him. "Who would've thought that coming to save someone would lead to such a discovery."
Evan Yang was delighted with the situation, so he kept absorbing the water bit by bit. After about two days, he had absorbed a lot, and the pool stopped releasing vapor. More importantly, the pool's water was completely gone. "Did it all turn into water vapor just now?" Evan wondered. He began checking the pool and found that it seemed to hide something. After searching around, he finally spotted a bead in the very center of the pool—white with a hint of blue, standing out vividly.
"Let me take a look." Evan Yang reached out and felt a wave of icy coldness.
Luckily, Evan Yang's body wasn't afraid of the cold, or he would've frozen solid right then.
"This is pretty amazing. How could there be something like this here?" Evan Yang was very curious and started studying the bead, wondering if it was the source of the effect. But he couldn't figure it out. He recalled the earlier scene and noticed his hand felt a bit wet.
After a while, Evan Yang felt his hand getting wetter and wetter. "So it really is the bead causing this." He thought for a moment, then carved a groove in his tower-type spatial treasure and placed the bead inside.
Then he left the tower. About an hour later, Evan checked inside and found that, after an hour, there was already a large bowl of water.
When Evan Yang approached, the water automatically turned into vapor and floated up as water-aligned qi. He absorbed it and found its effect was weak—not nearly as satisfying as the vapor he'd absorbed before. He muttered, "Looks like it hasn't accumulated enough yet. The outside must've built up over many years. I don't know what this thing really is, but I'll leave it here to accumulate slowly."
After saying that, Evan Yang left the tower. This time, he definitely gained something, and he had to thank those two people—if not for them, he wouldn't have come here.
"I wonder if Ivy Xiao is still looking for that person?" Evan Yang thought for a moment, then left the area and returned to Fire God Palace.
After arriving at Fire God Palace, Evan Yang received notice that the newcomer selection would begin in three days. Many newcomers were curious about it, but Evan already knew, so he didn't ask any questions and simply prepared himself.
Besides that, Evan Yang also planned to look for those two people. He didn't see Ivy Xiao, but he did spot Mason Li. "He's part of this branch too?"
Evan Yang thought it was possible, so he curiously passed by, still carrying his broom. Everyone knew Evan was a bit odd—coming here just to sweep floors and hang out with the old man.
So naturally, many people recognized Evan Yang, though he didn't know any of them.
While sweeping, Evan Yang came up beside Mason Li. Mason glanced at Evan and sneered, "Really weird—coming here just to sweep floors."
"Sweeping? There's happiness in sweeping too," Evan Yang replied with a smile.
"Heh, you really think so? Then tell me, what happiness do you get?" Mason Li laughed.
"Happiness? It's in the heart, can't be explained," Evan Yang smiled.
"Uh, that's pretty philosophical. But I'm not really into philosophy," Mason Li replied.
"So, senior brother, when did you join this branch?" Evan Yang asked.
"Me? I've been here for many years. But I'm better than you—in fact, I once entered the core grounds, though I never managed to comprehend anything powerful there," Mason Li replied.
"Oh? I saw you arguing with a woman earlier. What was that about?" Evan Yang asked curiously.
"That's none of your business. Just focus on cleaning," Mason Li said.
Just as Evan Yang was about to find another topic, a voice rang out again—it was Ivy Xiao: "Mason Li, I finally found you!"
Evan Yang and Mason Li were both stunned, and Ivy Xiao was surprised too. She hadn't expected her rescuer to be chatting with the person she'd been searching for—almost mistaking them for accomplices.
"You're still here?" Mason Li said, surprised.
"What, trying to trick me in again? Hoping I can't escape? Dream on. Still, I have to thank this senior—if not for him, I really wouldn't have gotten out," Ivy Xiao snorted coldly.
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"Senior?" Mason Li, whose real name was Mason Li, looked at Evan Yang and felt something was off. In his eyes, Evan was clearly a low-level guy.
"Senior, please step aside. I need to settle something with him," Ivy Xiao said.
Evan Yang naturally moved to the side, watching them curiously.
"Mason Li, today you dared to harm me. I'm settling accounts with you—old and new!" Ivy Xiao said angrily.
"You followed on your own, so how is it my fault? If you've got the guts, make a move. Aren't you afraid of being thrown into the Enforcement Hall?" Mason Li snorted coldly.
Ivy Xiao froze for a moment, really regretting coming to Fire God Palace. Here, everything was restricted—even questioning someone wasn't allowed.
"You—you—" Ivy Xiao was so angry she couldn't even form words.
"Go ahead, go ahead. Today you're really lucky—someone actually brought you out. By the way, did you follow us?" Mason Li looked at Evan Yang, a bit annoyed.
Ivy Xiao also looked at Evan Yang curiously. Maybe he really had followed them, but either way, he had saved her.
Evan Yang smiled, "What, you're both staring at me?"
"Senior, thank you again today. He's just a total jerk," Ivy Xiao said.
"Who's a jerk? Did I mess with your family? I already said I don't know anything," Mason Li said angrily.
"Alright, you two stop arguing. Why don't you explain what's really going on here?" Evan Yang said deliberately.
"What else? His family destroyed my home, and my father and second uncle disappeared because of it," Ivy Xiao said angrily.
"How is that my fault? Besides, I joined before you. Whatever happened there has nothing to do with me," Mason Li replied.
"Can't you contact your family? Just ask and you'd know," Ivy Xiao pressed.
"My family? I haven't contacted them in ages. Forget it," Mason Li said.
"Guilty conscience!" Ivy Xiao said.
"You're not letting go? Whatever, I'm going to cultivate." Mason Li said, then quickly left. Ivy Xiao stomped her foot and followed after him.
Evan Yang watched their direction and shook his head helplessly. Ivy Xiao was way too quick to follow others—he worried she might get into trouble again. He followed along and saw Ivy blocked outside a room, while Mason Li laughed inside, "I'm going to cultivate. If you have the ability, break through this defense."
"You! You're infuriating!" Ivy Xiao said angrily.
Seeing Ivy Xiao was fine, Evan Yang felt relieved. Still, he had no intention of revealing his identity—after all, he wasn't Evan Yang anymore, and everything had to be kept low-key.
When the day of selection arrived, Evan Yang went to the main star and saw thousands of newcomers—quite a crowd. There were also hundreds of examiners.
Each examiner was responsible for a dozen or so people, and Evan realized that the ones assessing him were the same people who had sought him out before.
"You're Mu Han, right?" Li Xing asked.
"Didn't expect it to be you. What's the assessment standard?" Evan Yang asked curiously.
"It's simple—fire confrontation. If you can beat me, you pass," Li Xing replied with a smile.
"Compete with you?" Evan Yang hadn't expected that was the standard.
"Yes, it's simple. I'll start with you. If you win, I'll let you through. If you lose, that's it," Li Xing said with a smile.
"Are you using your full strength?" Evan Yang asked curiously.
"Not quite. Based on your Heavenly-Immortal Fifth Stage, I'll use sixty percent of my power," Li Xing replied with a smile.
Evan Yang nodded, then asked, "What if you use more than sixty percent?"
"That would mean I'm breaking the rules," Li Xing said.
"I see. Alright then, when do we start?" Evan Yang asked curiously.
"Right now. Everyone's watching," Li Xing said with a smile.
Evan Yang nodded, and the two released their flames. Two balls of fire collided, each trying to overpower the other.
Evan Yang's Sacred Flame, if ranked, could be considered first tier, doubling his fire's strength. Against Li Xing's flame, it was clear that sixty percent wasn't enough to match him.
Yang Han's Sacred Flame, if ranked, could be considered first tier, doubling his fire's strength. Against Li Xing's flame, it was clear that sixty percent wasn't enough to match him.