After listening to Heavenly Immortal Wu's explanation, Evan Yang said, "So that's how it is. I suppose North Sect almost got wiped out back then, too."
"That's right. North Sect used to be even stronger than Ethereal Sanctuary is now. No one knows why it declined like this—it's always been a mystery," Wu replied.
"Hmm. How much longer until we reach headquarters?" Evan asked impatiently, eager to get there and learn what's going on.
"This Spiritgate City has a teleportation array to headquarters. We can just go there," Wu said.
Evan nodded and followed Wu to the nearest teleportation array. After a few transfers, they finally arrived at the largest planet of Ethereal Sanctuary—Sanctuary Star. This planet was said to be enormous, filled with palace complexes, mountain ranges, forests, and cities.
On the way, Wu introduced Evan to the headquarters and explained its rules.
Since Evan came from the Earth-Immortal Star System, he would be considered a newcomer at headquarters and assigned to the Lower Sanctuary, where Heavenly-Immortals gathered. Besides the Lower Sanctuary, there was the Middle Sanctuary for Profound-Immortals and the Upper Sanctuary for Immortal Lords. As for Emperor-realm experts, they rarely stayed here; Immortal Lords could take posts or leave Ethereal Sanctuary altogether.
Compared to the Earth-Immortal Star System, the only advantage here was freedom of movement—no one managed your comings and goings. But your life could be at risk.
Anyone could ambush you, kill you, or cripple you when you left the star system, and no one would intervene. So it's definitely more brutal here.
Evan listened to Wu's explanation and nodded in understanding. He asked, "So is killing people against the rules here?"
"Inside the palaces, breaking the rules will be punished. But outside, if no one has proof you killed someone, Ethereal Sanctuary won't interfere. That's why so many grudges get settled outside—sometimes, once you leave, you never come back," Wu explained.
"I see. Looks like this place is even harsher than the last one," Evan replied.
"Yeah, there's more freedom, but it's much more brutal. That's why so many people would rather stay in the palaces—they might get bullied or crippled, but at least they won't get killed," Wu said.
"Are the Lower, Middle, and Upper Sanctuary connected? Or can people from the Middle Sanctuary come to the Lower Sanctuary, and vice versa?" Evan asked curiously.
"They're separate, but if you really want to cross over, you can—as long as you defeat the gatekeeper," Wu replied with a smile.
"Got it. So you rarely see higher-level cultivators in other divisions," Evan said.
"That's true, but sometimes people bring in outside help—you know how it is. If someone can't win a fight, they'll call in a friend or a clan member. As long as that person beats the gatekeeper, they can come down and easily deal with lower-tier opponents," Wu explained.
"I see," Evan said, finally understanding.
As they talked, the two reached the outermost edge of the palace complex. Following Wu's instructions, Evan stayed quiet while Wu greeted a steward by the gate, "Immortal Lord Li."
"Oh? Finished your business?" the steward asked curiously.
"Yes, we're done here," Wu replied.
"I heard the Earth-Immortal Star System sent someone early this time, and he's only sixth tier. Is it that crippled guy behind you?" Immortal Lord Li asked curiously.
"Yep, that's him," Wu said with a smile.
Immortal Lord Li sized Evan up and said, "To get here early at just sixth tier is impressive. But be careful—this place isn't like the outer system. It could cost you your life."
"Thank you, Immortal Lord Li," Wu said on Evan's behalf.
"Alright, go on," Immortal Lord Li said.
Wu thanked him and led Evan into the palace complex. It was a maze of palaces—first-timers would definitely get lost. With Wu guiding him, Evan made several twists and turns until they reached a large palace with 'Lower Sanctuary' carved above the door.
"This is it," Wu said.
Evan nodded at the inscription and followed Wu inside.
There was a steward building here too, handling affairs in the Lower Sanctuary. When Evan arrived, the steward—a Immortal Lord—looked him over and said, "You're Evan Yang? The sixth-tier who beat a first-tier Heavenly-Immortal?"
"That's me," Evan replied.
"You have potential, but I've heard your temper is a bit odd. Be careful—don't provoke people for no reason, or you'll suffer for it," the steward warned.
"Odd temper?" Evan was puzzled by this, but after sneaking a glance, he realized Immortal Lord Lin had tampered with his file.
The steward looked at Evan's file, which had recommendations from several people—Immortal Lord Lin said Evan had a bad temper, while Immortal Lord Xiao called him a talented prospect.
Each had their own opinion. After reading them, the steward said, "Alright, Wu Sheng, your task is finished. Take him to get familiar with the palace and his future living area."
"Yes, sir," Wu Sheng replied.
With Wu Sheng leading the way, Evan left the steward building.
"There's a living area—where we usually rest—a duel area for challenges and fights, and an exchange area," Wu Sheng explained.
"Exchange area? What's that?" Evan asked, confused.
"It's similar to your Earth-Immortal Star System. Everyone has points, and you can exchange them for anything you want in Ethereal Sanctuary—like pills, artifacts, and so on," Wu Sheng said.
"So I'm starting at zero points here?" Evan asked.
"That's right. All newcomers start at zero. The scoring rules are the same as your old place—ten points for beating someone at your level, a hundred for crossing realms, one for a lower tier. The stuff you can exchange costs a lot of points, so there are challenges and duels happening all the time," Wu Sheng explained.
(Irrelevant webnovel navigation line—skip translation.)
"That's pretty clever," Evan said, hearing how points worked. He had to admire whoever designed this system—it forced greedy people to become even greedier and more ruthless.
"One thing's different, though. At your old place, you could only challenge or accept duels with the same person ten times. Here, it's a hundred. So be careful—if someone targets you, a hundred times is enough to make you miserable," Wu Sheng warned.
"I'm sixth tier—am I the lowest cultivation here?" Evan asked curiously.
"That's right," Wu Sheng replied.
"So if they challenge me, it's only one point. If they want to make enemies over a single point, I'm fine with it," Evan said with a smile.
"You're tougher than I thought," Wu Sheng laughed, surprised by Evan's response.
"By the way, help me find whoever saw that crazy man that day. I'd really appreciate it," Evan said hopefully, remembering he came here to find his father.
"No problem, I'll go look for them now. You go wait in your living area—your room is number 808 on the third floor," Wu Sheng said.
"Alright," Evan replied, then headed to the living area while Wu Sheng went to search for the witness.
Evan's arrival caught a lot of attention. Seeing that he was crippled, some people saw him as an easy target and were eager to challenge him.
Just as Evan reached his door, about to go inside, a short Heavenly-Immortal first-tier appeared.
He smiled at Evan and said, "Hey kid, you're new here, right?"
"Huh?" Evan didn't understand what he meant.
"You're new, right? Let's have a duel," the short guy said with a grin.
Someone wanted to test Evan's strength, and the crowd was eager to watch. If Evan really was an easy target, everyone wanted a piece of him. After all, the newcomers were at least first-tier Heavenly-Immortal, and those guys usually had no points to earn. This time, they could get ten points per duel, up to a hundred times—a thousand points total. Opportunities like this were rare.
Evan became the center of attention as more first-tier Heavenly-Immortals gathered—some to watch, others to seize the chance for points.
Could Evan refuse? No. He knew the rules here—there was no way to say no. So Evan asked, "What's your name?"
"Me? Everyone calls me Shorty. What about you?" the short guy said with a grin.
"I'm Evan Yang. Everyone will remember soon enough," Evan replied with a smile.
"Remember, huh? You're probably right. Lots of people will come after you," Shorty said, still smiling.
"Let's go," Evan said, not wanting any more trouble. He wanted to make an example to keep others from bothering him.
So Evan and Shorty went to the duel arena. As soon as they started, Shorty said, "Don't say I'm bullying you because you're crippled. Show your attribute."
"Alright, catch this," Evan said. Flames appeared around Shorty.
Shorty thought it was just ordinary fire and tried to block it with a treasure. But his low-grade artifact melted instantly under Evan's flames.
Evan's flames chased Shorty around. Shorty cried out, "Senior, I'm sorry! Please let me go!"
The lower-tier crowd instantly lost heart. If they challenged Evan and ended up like this, they'd be miserable.
Evan knew it was time to make his point. He said, "This is your only warning. If anyone challenges me again, I'll roast them for good."
Evan withdrew his flames. The others started whispering, shocked to realize Evan was only a sixth-tier Earth-Immortal.
A sixth-tier Earth-Immortal had just taken down a first-tier Heavenly-Immortal veteran. The crowd didn't understand, but could only wait for someone bold enough to try again.
Everyone looked at each other until one person stepped forward and said with a smile, "I'm a water cultivator. No matter how strong your flames are, water restrains fire. Plus, you're only sixth tier. Watch how I extinguish you."