The three Blaze cousins felt reassured after hearing Liam Blaze's words. At least now they were all in the same boat. With the Palace Lord backing them, Evan Yang stood no chance of leaving the Flame Temple alive.
Bianca King listened to Lena King's words and laughed, "Those three fools really overestimate themselves."
"Exactly, they're so despicable—even tried to frame Evan Yang," Lena said.
"Don't worry, that ice is nothing like Evan's. No matter how they try to pin it on him, it won't work. Actually, Evan, you're even stronger than I expected," Bianca said.
Evan Yang replied, "You flatter me, Palace Lord."
"Alright, that's enough. For the next three days, you all stay here and keep out of trouble. I know you aren't afraid of any hassle, but the less drama, the better right now. In three days, I'll send you to a special training ground—I don't want this mess to delay things," Bianca said.
"Training? Where?" Evan Yang asked, puzzled.
"You don't need to know yet. You'll find out when the time comes," Bianca answered.
Evan grew curious about what kind of place could be chosen by all three palaces for training. He was eager to see it for himself—maybe it really could help him strengthen his cultivation.
So, over the next few days, the three of them and the Spirit Monkey stayed by the abandoned volcano. With the Palace Lord guarding this place, no one dared approach. They might not fear Evan, but no one wanted to cross the Palace Lord—after all, she was from the Water Palace, and definitely not someone to mess with.
Meanwhile, over at the Earth Palace, four people were present: three disciples and the Palace Lord. The Palace Lord addressed them, "You've all examined the corpse, right?"
"Palace Lord, we've all looked at it. What's going on here?" one of them asked.
"This man was from the Fire Palace, but he had a conflict with the Water Palace. Some say he was killed by someone from the Water Palace. Does the method seem right to you?" the Earth Palace Lord asked.
"Looking at the ice, it should be water-type. So it's probably the Water Palace person who killed him," one disciple analyzed.
The other two also discussed, and all three concluded that Evan Yang was the killer.
"On the surface, that's true. But since we cultivate earth, we're sensitive to earth attributes. Did you notice there's a bit of condensed earth inside the ice?" the Earth Palace Lord said.
The three disciples listened and examined the corpse again, discovering several spots inside the ice—especially on the man's back—were full of dust and weeds.
So the three quickly realized something. Seeing their understanding, the Earth Palace Lord smiled and said, "That means he fell first, then was frozen. But according to the Fire Palace people, he was defeated and killed, and when they arrived, he was already frozen before death."
"The Fire Palace people lied?" one disciple said.
The other two agreed. The Earth Palace Lord nodded, "That's right. Judging by the earth traces, it's impossible he froze before death—it happened after. Several parts of the body have earth, showing the ice formed postmortem."
"Looks like the Fire Palace people are trying to frame the Water Palace," one disciple said in surprise.
"That's right. Do you know why they're framing him?" the Earth Palace Lord asked.
"Probably some argument or conflict between them," one disciple replied.
The other two felt it wasn't that simple. The Earth Palace Lord spoke up, "I just asked the Fire Walker—do you know how powerful the Water Palace person is?"
The three disciples shook their heads, so the Earth Palace Lord explained Evan Yang's situation. After hearing it, all three were shocked.
"If that's true, it means he's stronger than any of you," the Earth Palace Lord said.
"So what do you plan to do, Palace Lord?" one disciple asked, sensing something.
The Earth Palace Lord smiled, "Let's not say anything more. We'll just report that he died from an ice attack, and let the Fire Palace handle it."
"Wise decision, Palace Lord."
Bianca King hadn't expected the Earth Palace Lord would simply ignore it, acting as if nothing had happened and insisting it was an ice attack. Though he didn't say it was definitely Evan Yang, he still pushed Evan into the suspect's position.
Three days later, when everyone gathered, Liam Blaze asked the Earth Palace Lord, "Palace Lord Lan, did you find anything in your investigation?"
"After repeated examination, I can say this: he died from an ice attack," the Earth Palace Lord replied.
Bianca King was taken aback, locked eyes with the Earth Palace Lord for a moment, while Liam Blaze secretly laughed and said, "Palace Lord Bianca, what do you have to say now?"
"Palace Lords, there are many types of ice in the world. Even among water cultivators, the ice produced is different. Look closely at the corpse—the ice can't have been made by our people," Bianca said.
"What's impossible about that? Can you really tell ice apart by its origin? That's a first for me," Liam Blaze said.
The Earth Palace Lord also said it was the first time he'd heard that. It's true that fire can be distinguished by color and temperature, but how do you tell water apart?
Bianca knew they wouldn't believe her. The Fire Palace people were already set on convicting Evan Yang, so she said, "Normally, you can't tell ice apart—but his is different. Want to see?"
"Oh? If you can tell, of course we want to see. That way we'll know if he really killed him," Liam Blaze said, secretly amused. "All ice is the same—how could anyone tell them apart?"
Not only Liam Blaze, but many others thought the same. Seeing their expressions, Bianca smiled, "Evan, show them the thing you use to make ice."
Evan knew this was the only way to clear his name. Palace Lord Bianca already knew, and she'd reveal it sooner or later, so he might as well do it now. He extended his hand, and a ball of flame appeared—but as soon as it did, the temperature around them dropped sharply.
That chill made Liam Blaze's weaker followers uncomfortable—how could it be so terrifying? They were curious what kind of flame this was, and why it was so cold. They only knew fire as hot, not icy.
But Liam Blaze and Palace Lord Lan stared wide-eyed at Evan Yang, unable to believe what they saw. "Palace Lords, you recognize this, don't you?" Bianca King smiled.
"I never expected the Ice-fire Successor to appear!" Liam Blaze exclaimed.
When Liam Blaze said that, his three cousins were shocked. They knew Ice-fire was one of the top flames, and it was cold-type.
"Now that you all know, the corpse can't possibly have been frozen by Ice-fire," Bianca said.
Bianca's words shut Liam Blaze down. The Earth Palace Lord saw things couldn't be turned around, so he quickly changed stance and smiled, "That's right, this doesn't look like Ice-fire's work at all."
Liam Blaze said, "Got it. I'll definitely get to the bottom of this."
The three Blaze cousins were shocked. They thought they'd convict Evan, but instead Ice-fire appeared.
"If there's nothing else, when will we send them to that place?" Bianca asked.
"In five hours, gather here. Then we'll send the eight of them over," Liam Blaze said.
Bianca nodded, then led Evan and Lena away. The Earth Palace Lord and Fire Palace Lord exchanged a glance and left as well.
Liam Blaze looked at his cousins. "Now you've seen it—Evan has Ice-fire. You know what that means. Unless you have a Holy Flame, you can't compete with Ice-fire. So don't mess with him anymore. Just pretend this never happened."
"Yes, Father," Liam replied, then turned to leave with Easton Fang and Darren Fang. Liam Blaze went to a secret chamber in the palace to meet others.
After leaving, Liam grumbled, "Damn it, that kid's luck is unreal—he actually became the Ice-fire Successor."
"There's nothing we can do. An Ice-fire Successor isn't someone we can challenge. Even if we tried, the Water Palace Lord would step in," Darren Fang sighed, knowing the influence of Ice-fire.
"If only I could get a Holy Flame. Too bad it's vanished—no news at all," Liam said helplessly.
Easton Fang thought for a moment and said, "This training mission—there's still a chance."
"?" Liam didn't understand.
Darren Fang was also curious. "What are you planning?"
"Right now he's only Immortal Lord Realm. Even with Ice-fire, his strength is at most ninth-tier Emperor. If we find some treasures to restrain his not-yet-formed Ice-fire, we might be able to deal with him—or even seize Ice-fire for ourselves," Easton Fang said.
Liam's eyes lit up—why hadn't he thought of it before? If he could seize Ice-fire from Evan, he'd become even stronger.
The three cousins grew excited, plotting how to deal with Evan Yang.
Meanwhile, Liam Blaze was in a chamber surrounded by flames, which twisted like serpents ready to devour. But as Palace Lord, his strength meant the flames couldn't harm him. He approached a furnace, where a person stood inside, enveloped in fire.
"Why are you here?" the person inside the furnace asked, opening his eyes in curiosity.
Liam Blaze replied respectfully, "The Ice-fire Successor has appeared."
"Oh? So soon?" the man asked, intrigued.
"Yes. If it weren't for this training mission, we might never have known about the Ice-fire Successor," Liam Blaze replied.
"Is he strong?" the man asked, skeptical.
"Very strong. With fourth-tier Immortal Lord strength, he can challenge at least sixth-tier Emperor, and even withstand the destructive fire of ninth-tier Emperor," Liam Blaze answered.