"This place looks like it's been here for ages."
Evan Lin moved farther from the cave entrance and reached the stone pavilion. Looking around, he saw the four stone pillars supporting the pavilion, each carved with dense, intricate patterns.
Those patterns crisscrossed and overlapped, at first glance almost like a child's random doodles.
When Evan reached out and lightly brushed his palm across the patterns on a pillar, faint wisps of white mist spread out and seeped into his fingertips.
Where his hand touched, he felt a slight chill, like a cold current.
That cold current lingered inside Evan for only a brief moment before merging into the Left-Hand Dragon and completely dissipating.
"Is this a formation?"
Evan paused, frowning slightly, then looked elsewhere.
The four stone pillars of the pavilion stood at the cardinal directions—east, west, south, and north—each sunk ten inches into the ground. The patterns on each pillar varied by direction, but overall, it was clearly an ancient sealing formation.
The temperature at the pavilion had returned to normal—not hot, not cold.
"This formation doesn't look like it's meant to seal the Deep-Frost Iceflame."
Evan's mind turned, and he glanced toward the other side of the pavilion.
Over there, unlike the fiery red behind him at the cave entrance, was a faint, icy chill.
Evan started forward, about to step out of the pavilion, when a bone-chilling wind suddenly howled toward him.
"Behind me is blazing fire, ahead is freezing fire. That matches the Deep-Frost Iceflame—its other half must be inside here."
Evan pulled his foot back, pausing to think.
Suddenly, he heard footsteps behind him.
"You actually came out without a scratch!"
A figure walked over from the cave entrance, his face pale and his clothes torn by the flames, exposing solid muscle underneath.
It was Warren Hu, drenched in sweat. The transparent qi shield he'd formed in front of him weakened with every step, until he set foot in the pavilion and the pressure on his body suddenly lifted.
"What kind of magic artifact do you have on you?"
Warren Hu gripped the pillar, gasping for breath. His eyes were locked on Evan Lin. "I saw with my own eyes—you walked here from the cave without even using your qi shield!"
He licked his lips, and his gaze toward Evan grew greedy.
"You want it?"
Evan glanced at him.
"Of course I do! It's just you and me here! With your Pseudo-Vajra level, you're no match for me! I suggest you hand it over, unless you want me to take it by force!"
Warren Hu's eyes gleamed.
This was a once-in-a-lifetime chance. If he could snatch Evan's magic artifact right now and kill him, he could just say Evan made it halfway and got burned to ash by the heat in here. No one would suspect a thing.
"And if I say no?"
Evan's expression turned playful.
"Then you're asking for it!"
Warren Hu snorted coldly and stepped forward.
But before he could take a step, a sudden burning sensation flared in his chest.
It felt like molten lava was flowing through his heart, and the air filled with the smell of roasting meat.
His eyes widened, and he instinctively looked down—somehow, a three-foot-long crimson Fire-Python Spirit had appeared on his chest.
The Fire-Python Spirit slithered through his chest, its fierce heat tearing open his flesh.
The next second—
Flames erupted from inside Warren Hu's body.
He barely managed to lift his head—the last thing he saw was the calm face of the boy in front of him, eyes burning like fire.
It only took a few breaths.
Warren Hu's body turned to ash on the spot, completely vanishing.
The Fire-Python Spirit coiled around Evan's fingertip, then gradually merged into the Scarlet Flame Command inside his backpack.
"Why are you the only one here?"
Soon, a man about 1.65 meters tall walked in from outside.
He strode confidently into the blazing red fire corridor, looking completely at ease. His clothes weren't even wrinkled.
Once he reached the pavilion, he glanced at Evan Lin, then around at the others, looking a bit puzzled. "There were thirty people who tried just now. I thought at least one would make it, but there's still only you here?"
He sized Evan up and down, clicking his tongue in surprise.
His eyes held a mocking, playful glint. "Looks like your magic artifact is way stronger than I thought. Now I'm even more interested in killing you and taking it for myself!"
"The last guy thought the same, but I killed him. Want to give it a shot?"
Evan glanced at him, voice flat. "Suppressing your cultivation at this point is just pointless."
The man's face stayed calm at first, but as Evan finished speaking, his expression quickly darkened.
He clenched his fists, eyes locked on Evan Lin like a leopard ready to pounce.
Evan stood there with his hands in his pockets, expression indifferent, debating whether to finish him off with the Blue-Flame Blood Python or just snap his neck.
More footsteps echoed from the entrance.
"Just you two?"
The newcomer looked tired—he was one of the fifty participants.
When he saw Evan and the 1.65-meter man standing there, he froze in surprise.
Then, one after another, more people followed him into the pavilion.
Most of them looked exhausted, though the later arrivals seemed in much better shape.
"Out of fifty people, only five of us made it here?"
One man climbed into the pavilion, collapsed onto the ground, and gasped for breath, his expression grave.
"This path was brutal. I bet even the Locke Family won't have many who make it through!"
Before the other could finish, a mocking laugh rang out from the cave entrance.
"That's where you're wrong!"
"You outsiders have no idea how strong the Locke Family really is! Only five out of fifty made it? Pathetic!"
Trent Locke strode in from outside, hands behind his back.
He looked at Evan and the others with utter disdain.
Behind Trent Locke came Mason Locke, Locke Qiang, Locke Ranyu, and a whole crowd of Locke Family members!
A quick glance showed there were at least twenty of them!
They entered in pairs, their combined transparent qi shields sweeping forward without resistance.
"That's cheating!"