Phantom Step

This movement technique is called Phantom Step, and its power is obvious—because Jax Jia suddenly appeared before Evan Yang as two identical figures, moving so fast that even Evan couldn't tell which one was the real Jax.

Jax explained, "This technique is pretty tough to train, and it only gets harder as you progress. Even I have only reached the second layer—Phantom Two-Step. They say you can cultivate up to the eighth layer and produce eight phantoms."

"Eight?" Evan was shocked. Two phantoms already let the user stall for time and make it impossible for an opponent to tell which is real. If eight figures appeared at once, that would be a truly formidable ability.

"Yeah, eight. But you can only advance further once your cultivation is high enough. Each phantom needs its own energy stream, so eight means you need eight sources of power. That's why, nowadays, reaching Eight-Step is basically impossible." Jax shook his head helplessly.

"Where did you get this technique?" Evan asked, curious.

"Don't worry about it. I'll pass you the core method in a bit, then you can practice on your own. How far you get depends on your own luck." Jax snapped, glaring at him.

"Alright, alright, I'll learn it," Evan said, immediately dropping the questions. With Jax's recitation and demonstration, Evan gradually grasped the essentials.

Seeing Evan slowly getting the hang of it, Jax stopped and said, "I've got something to handle, so I'll head out. You focus on training if you want a shot at winning tomorrow!"

"Where are you going?" Evan asked, surprised.

"None of your business. Just focus on training." With that, Jax left the hut.

Watching Jax leave, Evan muttered to himself, "Who is he really? For him to have such a profound movement art—could it be inherited? It sure suits a thief; with such speed, you could steal anything in an instant, and escaping would be a breeze."

If Jax knew Evan was judging his movement art like this, he'd probably chop him to pieces.

Finding things dull, Evan tried cultivating the movement art Jax had just passed on—Phantom Step. Only the basics were clear; the later stages had to be figured out slowly through personal insight, since there was no complete follow-up formula.

Even so, just mastering the basic movement art benefited Evan immensely.

He stood on the ground, channeling spiritual energy from his dantian to his feet, then suddenly stepped forward, drawing part of his qi back to the spot he’d just stepped from. After performing this step, Evan felt as if he’d floated away from his origin point to another. When he looked back, he saw a figure identical to himself lingering for a moment.

When the afterimage faded, Evan returned to normal, inwardly cursing the danger of the technique—if his control slipped, he could get stuck between origin and destination, stranded mid-step as a perfect target.

Aside from its heavy qi consumption, the technique was excellent. It could create illusions for opponents, giving Evan a chance to defeat them, and its speed was famous—his stride was much faster and longer than usual. With a few repetitions, he could travel far; it was a great escape art.

"Would Phantom Eight-Step be even faster?" Evan muttered.

Evan, having mastered Phantom Two-Step, was already thinking about Phantom Eight-Step. But for now, even three steps were hard to pull off—three would require three energy sources, and even if he could manage it, he couldn’t sustain it for long. The result would be getting slaughtered like a scrawny elephant.

Thinking about this, Evan felt both curious and disappointed. Helpless, he went to the door for some fresh air, taking in the nighttime scenery of the stronghold.

Night fell, and the stronghold was lit up like a big city, with lamps and torches everywhere. From his perch halfway up the mountainside, Evan looked down and found the view had a unique charm.

He walked along the mountain path, soon reaching a pool. Listening to the water and the distant animal sounds, Evan sat on a big rock, gazed at the night sky, and drifted into childhood memories: playing by a riverside, his parents laughing nearby—fuzzy yet deeply etched images.

"Dad, Mom, where are you?" Evan asked the endless sky, sorrowfully.

His mother vanished when he was six, his father’s mind became unstable, he entered the Rising Sun Sect at thirteen, and when he learned to cultivate at fifteen, his father disappeared too, leaving only a vague “immortal” character and unresolved mysteries.

Over time, Evan felt increasingly lost, until a loud splash from the river snapped him out of it.

Shaking his head, Evan scolded himself, "Evan, you have to get stronger. You can’t give in to despair, or you’ll never find your family or protect yourself!"

Luckily, that splash brought Evan back to reality. Just as he was about to check what caused it, a young man’s voice sounded: “Little Lan, you finally came out!”

“Isn’t that Warren Wong?” Evan jumped down, hiding on the other side of the rock, and judged the speaker’s identity by the voice.

The girl’s voice was none other than Lana Stewart’s; she sounded angry: “Warren, you’ve sent me notes again and again. What’s your deal?”

“Don’t you know? Six years ago, when we started cultivating, we went to different sects. During an inter-sect competition, we fought, and I fell for you. A year ago, after my younger brother died, I left the mountain and formally proposed to your clan, but you rejected me and embarrassed me in front of everyone!” Warren said, a bit resentfully.

Just as Evan sat down, Jax came over and said, "From what I heard, the Alliance leaders want to see your strength. That's why they approved your duel."

"Them? I have no grudge with the Alliance. Why make me fight?" Evan wondered, secretly thinking Jax might have gone to investigate.

"It's because you're so famous—a genius alchemist, and the beggar who walked out of the Flame Forbidden Zone." Jax glared at Evan, blaming him.

"So it's because I'm too famous?" Evan smiled bitterly.

"That's right. Now, hurry up and cultivate. Don't embarrass yourself tomorrow!" Jax said.

Evan asked, "Did you spend all night investigating this?"

Jax scoffed, "Who would investigate that? I just overheard it by chance." He then found a spot to cultivate, ignoring Evan.

Evan thought to himself, "What a strange guy," noticing Jax's mood swings.

Jax had no idea what Evan was thinking, and Evan couldn't guess what was on Jax's mind either.

Seeing Jax motionless, Evan closed his eyes to cultivate, waiting for tomorrow. He was curious if the Bai Family and Alliance leaders would come to watch.

For cultivators, night passed quickly. With just one closed-eye meditation, morning came. Led by Jax, Evan arrived at the stronghold's largest battle arena.

It looked like a coliseum—Evan's first impression. There was a platform at the center, surrounded by seats. Arrays separated the platform, letting spectators see clearly while protecting them from stray attacks.

Jax explained this setup. For Evan, it was his first public duel, and he felt uneasy. He already hated the Bai Family, cursing them inwardly: "Damn Bai Family, showing off and dragging me into a duel. Are you really going to cripple me here, just to satisfy yourselves?"

Evan guessed right—the Bai Family wanted to cripple his cultivation today, leaving him barely able to refine pills, so the higher-ups wouldn't blame them.

Whether it was Evan's reputation or the Bai Family stirring things up, the arena was already packed with people.

"You're faking it, aren't you? Did you go meet a girl? Which one—someone from the Chu family or the Stewart family?" Jax had noticed Evan's looks at Tara and Lana earlier, and was sure he was involved with both.

"What are your eyes made of? Where did you see me meeting them?" Evan grumbled.

"Really not?" Jax looked at Evan strangely.

Of course not—Evan stubbornly insisted. Otherwise, Jax would mess everything up again, and besides, eavesdropping on Lana's conversation was something only he knew.

"Alright, get to training. You have a match tomorrow." Jax's mood flipped 180 degrees—he'd been fierce, but now showed concern, catching Evan off guard. Evan blinked, then found a place to cultivate.