What happened today unknowingly planted a seed in Evan Yang’s heart. Even though they were powerful now, Evan felt no fear, and his hatred for them was as deep as anyone’s.
"Here we are. This is where you'll stay from now on—the First Palace," the Heavenly-Immortal said with a cold laugh.
Evan ignored him completely and walked in by himself. The Heavenly-Immortal just sneered behind him, "Let's see how long you can keep up that backbone!"
"I’ll keep my backbone until the day you die," Evan replied with a smile.
"Kid, you’re pretty arrogant. Do you believe I could kill you right now?" the Heavenly-Immortal snorted.
"Then do it. At worst, you kill me. If you can't, one day I'll definitely kill you," Evan said.
"You—fine, not bad. You’ve got backbone, but sometimes backbone just means you’ll suffer more. In a few days, I’ll come back and see how much backbone you really have." The Heavenly-Immortal didn’t make a move. Evan’s four limbs were already broken, and he’d need at least decades to recover. Killing him outright wasn’t as entertaining as letting him suffer here, until even his backbone was gone.
Evan ignored him and walked into the palace appearing before him. Its name was the First Palace. He didn’t know why it was called that, but as he entered, crowds gathered; seeing the newcomer covered in wounds, those already abused and twisted by stronger cultivators now looked at Evan as if he were a toy.
Ten people surrounded him, led by a bald man whose body and hands were covered in scars. He said to Evan, "Hey, kid, you’re new here, right?"
"Yeah," Evan replied.
"You’re not the first to come in here injured, but you’re definitely the most miserable. Others just had a broken arm or leg—your limbs are all shattered," the man clicked his tongue.
"Can’t help it. Too many people act tough just because they’ve got powerful backers," Evan said.
When Evan said this, everyone stared at him as if shocked. Even the bald man froze for a moment, then asked, "Are you looking to die?"
"Isn’t it true?" Evan sneered.
"Enough talk, let’s get down to business. I’m not trying to scare you, but this place is all about survival of the fittest. That’s why I suggest you join us—at least you’ll have some protection," the bald man said to Evan.
"Forming cliques?" Evan asked suspiciously.
"Exactly, forming cliques. So, what do you think?" the bald man replied.
Just as Evan was considering what to do, another group showed up—also ten people, led by an Earth-Immortal fifth tier. He moved strangely, and when he spoke, his voice had a twisted, mocking tone.
"Brother Sun, what’s this? A newcomer? You want to snatch him up? Why not wait for us?" the man laughed.
The yin-yang voiced man snorted coldly, then waved his hand, conjuring a sphere of water.
"That won’t do. Even if you’re a four-limb cripple, we still want to fight over you," the man laughed.
Everyone expected Evan to be doused like a soup chicken, but instead, as a waterfall of water surged around him, his flames didn’t go out—instead, steam and white mist billowed from his body.
The yin-yang voiced man stopped, watching as the steam slowly faded. The crowd saw Evan’s silhouette still there, flames flickering around him, and they were stunned.
"Is it my turn now?" Evan said.
"What!" The crowd was shocked, not understanding what Evan meant. Evan, unable to endure any longer, suddenly released a massive blaze—boom! The flames engulfed everyone, trapping them inside, unable to escape.
"Trying to escape? Ask the Sacred Flame first," Evan thought, controlling the fire and watching carefully—whenever someone was about to faint or die, he tossed them out with his aura.
One, two, three—gradually, all were tossed out, their faces unrecognizable. The only one easily identified was the bald man, his head gleaming.
"This is the consequence of offending the wrong person," Evan said, then turned and left, his body heavy as he searched for his assigned room.
Those burned looked at each other; some couldn’t endure the pain and fainted.
"Damn it, I’ll get my revenge," the bald man gritted out, unable to move, his whole body aching as if every muscle had been burned.
"That guy is terrifying. We have to find a chance to teach him a lesson," the yin-yang voiced man said.
For the first time, the bald man and the yin-yang voiced man joined forces. They didn’t want to be bullied by a newcomer, and only by teaming up could they hope to teach Evan a lesson.
"Yeah, even if you wanted to join us, I wouldn’t accept you," the yin-yang voiced man said.
"Weren’t you just fighting over me? Now that I’m not joining, I’m saving you trouble. Isn’t that better?" Evan smiled and tried to walk around the bald man.
"Alone? How ridiculous! Think you’re some kind of powerhouse? You’ve come to Ethereal Sanctuary, and it’s rare to have a chance to bully someone. Right, Brother Qing?" the bald man sneered.
"Exactly. Not joining either side, and you’re all alone—why not vent a little? We won’t get another chance like this." The yin-yang voiced man laughed.
"You’re right," the bald man said, interest piqued. The crowd, who were usually oppressed, saw a newcomer and were eager for a rare chance to bully someone.
The yin-yang voiced man, seeing the bald man agree, laughed, "Everyone saw that, right? Go ahead and attack—just don’t kill him."
"Alright!" The crowd was delighted, and started launching attacks. They didn’t dare kill Evan, so they didn’t use any treasures—just simple attacks.
Evan hadn’t expected things to turn out like this. He glared at the two and warned, "You’d better stop, or else—"
"Or else what? You’ve got broken arms and legs—what can you do? Even if you weren’t crippled, with your fourth-tier strength, you couldn’t take us all on," the bald man taunted.
The yin-yang voiced man chuckled, "Exactly, kid. Think of this as our welcome gift to you."
"You people…" Evan hadn’t expected everyone here to be so twisted.
"Go on, everyone! Don’t hold back—just don’t kill him," the bald man laughed.
Evan could accept being bullied by Immortal Lord Lin and his lot, but these people dared to bully him too? The anger he’d been holding back finally erupted. Even without fists or feet, Evan’s rage surged—his aura burst forth, and those near him were blasted back, never expecting someone with broken limbs could do this.
Boom! Boom! One after another, they were thrown aside—some even ended up with broken bones.
A man with broken arms and legs still had such presence? The crowd was stunned. The bald man and the yin-yang voiced leader realized they’d messed with the wrong person, but since they’d already started, they figured they might as well cripple him for good—otherwise, if he recovered, they’d be in trouble.
So the bald man and the yin-yang voiced man exchanged a secret message and agreed. The bald man shouted, "Get up, everyone! Letting trash like him beat you? That’s embarrassing! All together now—cripple his cultivation!"
Cripple his cultivation? The crowd was shocked. That was the harshest method of all. But they quickly understood the bald man’s reasoning—if they didn’t cripple him now, once he recovered, he’d come for them instead.
Evan hadn’t expected things to be so chaotic here—people could just attack at will, bully the weak, and even cripple someone’s cultivation without consequences.
"Are you really going to do it? Aren’t you afraid the higher-ups will investigate?" Evan asked curiously as he saw the crowd closing in to abolish his cultivation.
"Investigate? No one cares. As long as you don’t die, nobody will ask questions! Nobody will interfere!" the bald leader snorted coldly.
Evan frowned, surprised things had escalated so far. "You really intend to cripple my cultivation?"
"Kid, you think we’re bluffing?" the yin-yang voiced man snorted coldly.
The others moved in, ready to strike. Evan realized that as long as he didn’t kill them, he could fight back however he wanted.
Gritting his teeth, Evan activated his cultivation method. Even though his arms and legs couldn’t move, as soon as anyone got close, flames erupted around him.
This wasn’t ordinary fire—it was a portion of the unsealed Sacred Flame, a Saint-level power. The moment attackers touched it, they screamed like ghosts and wolves.
The entire hall filled with their shrieks and terror. The bald leader and the yin-yang boss panicked. The bald man shouted, "Aren’t you going to act? Or do you want him to cripple us all?"
Judging by his technique, he was a water specialist. In their eyes, water naturally countered Evan’s flame—especially since Evan’s cultivation was only Earth-Immortal fourth tier, one level below the yin-yang voiced leader.