The man was laughing wildly. With this kind of treasure in his hand, Evan Yang had no way to break through—the flames couldn't touch him, kept at bay, and when the flying needles appeared, he could easily dodge them.
This kind of treasure was specifically designed to counter Earth-Immortals, though it was of little use against Heavenly-Immortals.
Just as everyone thought Evan Yang was out of options and about to lose, something shocking happened. The protective layer was suddenly breached—he felt as if some invisible force pushed the shield aside right before his eyes.
Flames then surged in like venomous snakes. "Ah!" The man was caught completely off guard, never expecting Evan Yang to break through the shield. The crowd was stunned, especially the person who had lent out the treasure—it was hard to believe, since this treasure was supposed to be the best for countering Earth-Immortals.
But Evan Yang broke through it, and his flying needles followed straight after. The man, already injured by the flames, screamed again and was sent flying across the stage, landing hard. Of the three challengers, he suffered the worst; the other two were secretly relieved—their fate would have been the same if the Tenth Palace expert had given them the treasure instead.
The whole arena fell silent. Evan Yang had won his third match—meaning a perfect record and guaranteed entry into the fourth round. Since he could only accept three matches, even the three top contenders had no chance to challenge him now.
The three contenders exchanged glances and went to find other opponents. There were nine people total; Evan Yang had used up his three chances, while the three powerhouses still had theirs and could easily target the remaining five.
So the three powerhouses avoided each other and only challenged the others, leaving those five with no way to escape. They deeply regretted challenging Evan Yang—if not, there would have been one more person to share the pressure now.
The results came quickly. The three powerhouses also swept their matches, each winning all three. As for the others, some won and some lost.
The organizer looked over the results and smiled, saying, "It's clear now. There are four people in the fourth round, but we only pick three. And even among those three, the cultivation spots are ranked—the first place gets the best, the second slightly worse, and the third the least. So it's simple: in the fourth round, you not only have to eliminate one, but also determine the rankings."
Those who didn't make it to the fourth round all envied Evan Yang, curious about his background. No one had ever seen him before, but now he suddenly appeared and seized a fourth-round slot. Not only that—he was only sixth-tier, not as domineering as the top three, but he still left a deep impression on everyone.
Still, no matter what, in everyone's eyes, he was just a foil in the fourth round—the top three were guaranteed to take the first three spots.
"Ranking is simple. There are four of you, so let's assign numbers by Palace: Evan Yang, you're Number 1; Nate Nalan, Number 2; Hugh Hei, Number 3; and Zeke Zishan, Number 4," the organizer said.
Evan Yang and the others memorized their numbers, as did everyone else. Many looked forward to seeing the strong contenders face off, though in their eyes, Evan Yang was just there to make up the numbers.
"Everyone got it? Good. Number 1 versus Number 2, Number 3 versus Number 4. Then the winners fight for first and second place, and the losers for third and fourth. Understood?" the organizer said.
Of course everyone understood—it was simple. Most favored Hugh Hei and Zeke Zishan, while for Nate Nalan and Evan Yang, Nate was the obvious winner.
"All clear? Then let's begin. You two go first," the organizer said to Evan Yang and Nate Nalan.
Evan Yang and Nate Nalan stepped onto the stage. Nate Nalan smiled and said, "Looks like my luck's good—I picked up an easy win."
"An easy win? Are you sure I won't resist? Or are you so certain you'll win?" Evan Yang replied with a casual smile.
Evan Yang's words were like a jab to everyone watching. This kid—of all people, he provoked the top three. They were the top contenders in all Ten Palaces, with overwhelming strength.
But Evan Yang didn't see it that way. Their strength was their own business—he wasn't going to give up his chance and wanted to see what that place was really like.
"You're pretty interesting, but I won't hold back—so watch yourself," Nate Nalan said with a smile.
"Thanks, that's even better. I won't hold back either," Evan Yang replied with a grin.
"This kid is way too cocky," the crowd muttered quietly, but Evan Yang just kept smiling, exchanging grins with Nate Nalan.
Nate Nalan finally couldn't take Evan Yang's provocations anymore and laughed, "Then I'll send you down first!" With that, a surge of qi rose up—the same qi that had defeated Skyler Xiao. As it swept toward Evan Yang, he felt its power was much stronger than Skyler's.
Faced with this, Evan Yang knew he had to counter qi with qi; otherwise, his flames and flying needles would be disrupted by the aura.
So besides Skyler Xiao, many people witnessed something shocking: Evan Yang had comprehended qi at sixth-tier. Everyone was stunned—it was almost unbelievable.
But the facts were right in front of them—they had to believe it. Zeke Zishan finally understood why his treasure had been broken: the opponent could wield qi.
Evan Yang and Nate Nalan's qi clashed, crackling in the air, locked in a stalemate between them.
This only added to everyone's confusion—Evan Yang's qi was strong enough to match Nate Nalan's. What they didn't know was that Evan Yang was probing, unsure if his qi was something only Heavenly-Immortals could comprehend or if it was related to his earlier insights.
Nate Nalan was frustrated—he had no idea what Evan Yang was thinking. He just wanted to overpower him and knock him down, but couldn't get through at all. So he started looking for another way.
As the two clashed, a sharp sword shot out from Nate Nalan, flying through the air and stabbing straight toward Evan Yang.
At that moment, everyone thought Evan Yang was finished. He was fully focused on facing Nate Nalan, never expecting this move—especially since it was Nate's signature sword technique, famous for its speed.
But before the sword reached Evan Yang, he launched his flying needles. The crowd saw the needles collide with the sword; while they couldn't block it completely, they changed its trajectory, causing it to stab into the stage just ahead of Evan.
The sword plunged deep into the stage. Nate Nalan was shocked—he hadn't expected Evan Yang to multitask like that. The crowd was amazed too; they thought Evan was done for, but he pulled off a surprise move halfway through.
"Trying to sneak attack? You miscalculated," Evan Yang said with a smile.
"You..." Nate Nalan hadn't expected Evan Yang's strength to exceed his imagination. Now he could only keep clashing qi with Evan while controlling his sword again. The sword buzzed loudly, rising from the stage.
It aimed straight at Evan Yang once more.
Evan Yang sneered, "Coming again? Watch out or I'll ruin your sword."
"Is that so? That depends on whether you actually have the skill," Nate Nalan snorted coldly.
Just as the sword was about to reach Evan Yang, his flames appeared again. Normally, the flying sword would pierce straight through and strike him directly.
But the sword actually resisted its master's will, hovering in midair and even retreating.
Nate Nalan was stunned and shouted, "Go!"
This kind of immortal weapon naturally had a trace of consciousness. When it encountered Evan Yang's flames, it retreated. The more spiritual the treasure, the less obedient it became.
Nate Nalan's sword radiated four layers of light—a fourth-grade immortal weapon, with some degree of spirit. But now it refused to obey him.
"What kind of pressure did that guy's flames put on the sword?" The crowd wondered, all curious to study Evan Yang's flames.
The sword wouldn't obey, instead flying back to Nate Nalan's hand. He could sense its meaning—it told him the flames were terrifying, and if it went forward, it would be melted for sure.
Nate Nalan was shocked—he hadn't expected Evan Yang's flames to be so fearsome, making the sword react that way.
"Damn it, I don't believe you can block this!" Nate Nalan's sword was out of commission, so he poured more qi into his attack—but no matter how much he increased it, he couldn't break through.
Seeing the time was right, Evan Yang ramped up his qi, forcing Nate Nalan back. The crowd witnessed something astonishing—the sparks in the middle suddenly extended right up to Nate Nalan's face.
Nate Nalan felt darkness before his eyes, as if he hit something, and was pushed backward. He cried out unwillingly, "Ah!"
Boom! Nate Nalan was blasted off the stage, meaning he lost—and his sword was still stuck nearby.
One of the top three had actually been defeated by Evan Yang, which meant Evan was at least in the top three himself—and could enter that place.
Everyone was stunned—it was almost unbelievable.
Nate Nalan struggled to get up. He'd only been blasted off the stage, not seriously injured, but he was furious.
Seeing Nate Nalan's fiery eyes, everyone knew just how miserable he felt at that moment.
Zeke Zishan and Hugh Hei exchanged glances—they knew it was their turn to face off. Both stepped onto the stage, while Evan Yang watched from the side. This was the real highlight.
Evan Yang didn't plan to miss it—he wanted to carefully observe their moves and attributes.
Hugh Hei's element was earth, but his earth was much stronger than most—he could instantly transform it into armor, walls, weapons, and more. Zeke Zishan was a bit unusual; instead of using an attribute, he wielded a spear that could freely change length.
"That spear is actually a treasure," Evan Yang observed. He realized it was fifth-tier, and the spearhead had a power-amplifying effect, similar to his own gauntlets, though not as strong.
Whenever Hugh Hei's spear was pierced by Zeke's attacks, Hugh could instantly form a wall. Both also fought with qi—a clear sign they were halfway into the Heavenly-Immortal realm.
No wonder they could defeat first-tier Heavenly-Immortals—their attributes were so powerful, even more effective than those of a typical Heavenly-Immortal.
Zeke Zishan wielded his spear with great skill, able to change its form in any direction, even knocking away earth swords, stones, and any earth-based attacks Hugh Hei unleashed.