The Fire Walker—the official leading the way—was startled when someone questioned Bianca King so boldly. He quickly said, "You all are really daring. Do you know who this is?"
Seeing how respectful and cautious the Fire Walker was, the others grew curious. The person who had just spoken up asked, "Who is she?"
"The Water Temple Palace Lord!" the Fire Walker snapped.
At those words, silence fell instantly. If they'd been merely curious before, now no one dared act arrogant. The face of the man who had questioned her changed completely, and he cursed his bad luck inwardly.
"Fire Walker, don't be angry. Just have him leave behind one arm as punishment," Bianca King said calmly.
For a cultivator, losing an arm was nothing—a new one could be regrown. That man was proud, but he knew his life mattered more. If he didn't offer up his arm, he might lose his life the next moment. "As long as I survive, there's always a chance," he muttered to himself, then gritted his teeth and said aloud, "Alright!"
Seeing that a single arm would settle the matter, the Fire Walker had no more worries. The crowd watched as the man tore off his own arm—a scene as cold and ruthless as it gets.
Lena King cried out in shock when she saw the arm torn off. She was the complete opposite of Bianca—so this kind of scene left her deeply shaken.
Once the matter was handled, Bianca King told the Fire Walker to keep leading the way. Evan Yang acted as if nothing had happened—he thought it was perfectly normal. A Palace Lord being disrespected, especially the Water Temple Palace Lord, would naturally get angry; even someone from a regular clan might do the same.
Seeing the issue resolved, the Fire Walker continued leading the group. The man who had just crippled himself stared at their backs as they left, cursing inwardly, "Damn it, so what if she's a Palace Lord? Stupid woman!"
No one knew what he was cursing, but the others felt relieved for him. They were glad the Palace Lord hadn’t gotten truly angry—otherwise, she could have taken his life, and no one would have stopped her.
Evan Yang, Lena King, and Bianca King followed the Fire Walker and soon arrived at a palace built right on the mouth of a volcano—a truly striking sight.
It looked just like a giant palace of flames burning fiercely.
All that fire made Lena King instinctively afraid. The Fire Walker led them to a platform, and the three of them stepped on. The platform rose automatically, carrying them up to the palace.
The moment they entered the palace, everyone felt a wave of heat. For Evan Yang and the Fire Walker, it was nothing, but Lena King was uncomfortable and quickly circulated her internal cold qi. As for Bianca King, her strength was on another level—this heat barely affected her.
"Are you alright?" Evan Yang asked, seeing Lena King’s face a bit flushed.
"I’m fine, just a little hot," Lena King replied, feeling frustrated.
"Your cultivation is still lacking. Let me help you out." Evan Yang said, then waved his hand. Lena King instantly felt much colder inside, and faint snowflake patterns began to appear on her skin.
It looked simple, but both Bianca King and the Fire Walker were surprised. Bianca knew Evan Yang wielded ice-fire power, so this was normal for him.
But the Fire Walker was deeply impressed, so he asked curiously, "I didn’t expect the Water Temple to have such talent."
Evan Yang and Lena King had no objections—they were guests in someone else’s palace, so wherever they were arranged to stay, that’s where they stayed.
The three young men led Evan Yang and Lena King down the corridor. Lena walked on Evan’s right, and the three surrounded her, chattering about this and that. They talked about all the fun things in the Fire Temple and invited Lena to join them.
Even Evan Yang, slow as he was, could tell that all three wanted to pursue Lena King.
As Evan Yang wondered how Lena King would react, Lena turned to him and asked, “Why don’t we go together?”
“Let’s wait for the Palace Lord to return,” Evan Yang replied. He didn’t want to lose track of Lena King, nor let her be harassed by these three—he felt Lena was too naive, far different from Bianca King.
Lena King had no objections, but the three young men frowned. One said, “Brother, Palace Lord Bianca needs to discuss matters with my father—it’ll take a while. Why not come play with us?”
“Your father?” Evan Yang asked out of habit.
“That’s right. My father is Ignace Blaze, Palace Lord of the Fire Temple. I’m his only son, Liam Blaze. As for them, they’re my cousins—Darren Fang and Easton Fang.” Liam Blaze introduced them, even trying to use his status to pressure Evan Yang.
Evan Yang remained expressionless. “So you’re the young masters. But I’m responsible for her safety—we can’t wander around. If you want to play, wait for the Palace Lord to return.”
“And what’s your name?” Liam Blaze frowned.
“Evan Yang,” he replied.
When Liam Blaze heard Evan Yang’s name, the three laughed. At least they could be sure Evan wasn’t related to the Palace Lord—if anything, he was just a low-ranking member of the Water Temple. Evan, however, didn’t care.
Lena King, simple as she was, frowned at their laughter. “What’s so funny? I’m not playing with you anymore. Let’s go,” she said.
The three hadn’t expected Lena King to defend Evan Yang like that. It was clear Evan held a place in her heart. They were unwilling to accept it—how could they be outranked by a mere nobody?
Liam Blaze smiled. “I didn’t expect Water Temple people to be so timid.”
“It’s not about being timid. If you still consider us guests, take us where we’re supposed to go. If you refuse, we’ll return to the palace and let the Palace Lord decide,” Evan Yang said.
“You dare threaten me? Know your place,” Liam Blaze snorted. Then he signaled Darren Fang.
Darren Fang nodded, grabbed Lena King, and separated her from Evan Yang. Lena was shocked—she was clearly no match for Darren Fang.
Lena tried to fight back, but Darren Fang kept her away from Evan Yang. Evan stared at Liam Blaze. “You’d better let her go, or you’ll face the consequences.”
“Oh? What consequences? Tell me,” Liam Blaze smiled.
“Do you know who she is?” Evan Yang asked. “Isn’t she from the Water Temple? Maybe just a palace maid or something,” Liam Blaze said, smiling.
“Her name is Lena King—she’s the younger sister of Palace Lord Bianca King. Bianca really cares for her. If you keep this up, when Palace Lord Bianca gets angry, I wonder if your father will be able to protect you,” Evan Yang said.
Evan’s words made the three frown—they hadn’t realized Lena King’s background. But Liam Blaze quickly regained composure. “So you’re Miss Lena—sorry for offending you. But we really wanted to invite you to have fun. Since you’re unwilling, we won’t bother you. But we’d like to talk to your friend, so please stay aside for now.”
Darren Fang and Easton Fang stood beside Lena King and created a barrier. The two barriers overlapped, trapping Lena inside and ensuring she wouldn’t be hurt.
Liam Blaze smiled at Evan Yang. “You think you can use her to threaten me? You’re wrong. I doubt Palace Lord Bianca would turn against my father over a mere subordinate.”
“Oh? So you mean you want to teach me a lesson?” Evan Yang said calmly.
“That’s right. You’re clever, but I’ll show you what happens when you stand in our way,” Liam Blaze said with a strange smile.