The Fire Walker reported the origins of those six men one by one. When he finally mentioned that the person they captured was Evan Yang, everyone was stunned. "What? Are you serious?" Ignace Blaze exclaimed. "Yes, that's right. It's been hundreds of years now, so he's probably already turned to ashes in Skyfire Cliff," said the Fire Walker. "What? Turned to ashes? That's unacceptable!" Ignace was shocked. If Evan Yang was dead, who would unseal Liam Blaze and the others? More importantly, Evan Yang was a Water Temple disciple and also the Ice-fire Successor. If word got out that the Fire Temple killed him, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Ignace Blaze felt a headache coming on and immediately ordered, "Wait here. I'm going to Skyfire Cliff."
Soon, Ignace Blaze flashed away and quickly arrived at Skyfire Cliff. Seeing the six meditating men, he shouted angrily, "What's going on with you all?"
"Palace Lord." The six men woke up in shock.
"I asked what's going on! Who gave you permission to capture Evan Yang? Who said you could throw him in here?" Ignace Blaze was getting angrier by the minute.
"Palace Lord, we just couldn't swallow this humiliation," one of them said.
"I couldn't swallow it either, but do you know who he is?" Ignace Blaze demanded.
"Isn't he just some kid from the Water Temple?" the man replied.
"Just? He's the Ice-fire Successor! If the Water Temple finds out, what do you think they'll do? Hand you over to appease their fury?" Ignace Blaze snapped.
The six men were terrified. The Ice-fire Successor was someone protected by everyone, and now they'd thrown him into Skyfire Cliff. Just thinking about those powerful figures coming for them, they'd have to find a way to fend them off.
"Palace Lord, what should we do now? We've already captured him," one man asked nervously.
"You threw him into Skyfire Cliff—what do you expect me to do?" Ignace Blaze snapped.
The six exchanged glances, then one spoke up, "He's not dead yet."
"What?" Ignace Blaze was even more shocked. Without Immortal Sovereign strength, entering Skyfire Cliff means certain death. That's why it's the Fire Temple's forbidden ground—no one dares trespass.
"Where is he?" Ignace Blaze regained his composure and asked eagerly.
The six exchanged glances, then tried to control the fire ring. But when they saw its condition, they were dumbfounded—the ring looked corroded, melted away.
What could melt a magical artifact? Other than the fire in Skyfire Cliff, nothing else. If that's really what happened, it means Evan Yang sacrificed himself.
Seeing this, Ignace Blaze was shocked. He immediately flashed into Skyfire Cliff. Even Ignace Blaze was extra cautious when entering.
After a while, he reached the bottom and searched everywhere, but couldn't find any trace of Evan Yang. He frowned and muttered, "Damn it, could he really be dead?"
Furious, Ignace Blaze flew to the edge of Skyfire Cliff and glared at the six. "Look at what you've done!"
"Please, Palace Lord, think of a solution," one man pleaded.
"You'd better pray the Water Temple doesn't find out. Otherwise, you know what the consequences will be," Ignace Blaze warned angrily.
Ignace Blaze then left. The six men stared gloomily at the melted artifact. It had been fine just moments ago—how did it suddenly melt? No matter how they thought about it, they couldn't figure it out.
As for Evan Yang, at this moment he was somewhere deep beneath Skyfire Cliff, in a particularly dazzling spot. He was carefully hiding his aura, so Ignace Blaze never spotted him among the piles of flame.
Right now, Evan Yang thought back to the earlier situation—it had been close. When he sensed Ignace Blaze above, he immediately used the latest heat from his Sacred Flame to melt the artifact in an instant.
After melting it, Evan Yang left. Not long after, Ignace Blaze appeared. Ignace only took a quick look, and since he didn't believe Evan Yang could survive in Skyfire Cliff, he didn't search thoroughly.
Once Ignace Blaze left, Evan Yang began studying Skyfire Cliff instead of leaving right away. Meanwhile, Ignace Blaze was back in the palace, facing three people.
Liam Blaze asked anxiously, "Dad, what's the situation?"
"He's dead," Ignace Blaze replied.
"What?" Liam Blaze was shocked, even panicked. He'd always wished Evan Yang dead, but now that Evan Yang was gone, he was extremely depressed—because now they couldn't move, and only Evan Yang could fix it.
Ignace Blaze looked at the three and said, "Don't be discouraged. I'll keep looking for solutions."
"Thank you, Dad," Liam Blaze said.
"I just wonder what will happen if the Water Temple finds out. He's the Ice-fire Successor, after all..." Ignace Blaze sighed. The pressure in his heart was heavy as he left, leaving Liam Blaze and the others behind.
Ignace Blaze went to a place filled with seas of fire. He entered a furnace, where someone was sitting inside. Seeing Ignace Blaze arrive again, the person frowned, "What? It's only been a thousand years and you're back already?"
"I've run into trouble," Ignace Blaze sighed.
"Trouble? What kind of trouble?" the person asked curiously.
"That Ice-fire Successor died in Skyfire Cliff," Ignace Blaze said.
"What? The Ice-fire Successor died in Skyfire Cliff? What's going on?" the person exclaimed in shock.
Ignace Blaze explained everything from start to finish. When the person finally processed it, he asked, "Be clear—he was on the eighteenth layer? He absorbed all that fire?"
"Yes, why?" Ignace Blaze was confused by his agitation.
"What's his name?" the person asked suspiciously.
"Evan Yang," Ignace Blaze replied.
"No way," the person said, shocked and angry.
Seeing the man's anger, Ignace Blaze couldn't tell what was wrong. Besides, Evan Yang was dead, so such a reaction shouldn't make sense.
"That Evan Yang is really something. Not only is he the Ice-fire Successor, but he also has fire attributes—could he be dual attribute?" Ignace Blaze sighed.
"That's not the main point—the main point is, he's also the Sacred Flame Successor," the man said.
"What?" Ignace Blaze thought he'd misheard and asked suspiciously.
"You heard right. He should be the Sacred Flame Successor. Do you think anything else could absorb all the flames from the eighteenth layer?" the man said.
After thinking for a moment, Ignace Blaze said suspiciously, "Now that you mention it, that's actually possible."
"But now..." The man was clearly furious about Evan Yang's death. Not only had the Ice-fire Successor been lost, but so had the Sacred Flame Successor.
Ignace Blaze felt the situation was even more terrifying than he'd imagined. For so many years, everyone had waited for the Sacred Flame Successor to appear, and now it seemed that hope had been destroyed. What should he do?
(Irrelevant meta text: This chapter isn't finished ^.^, please click next page to continue reading!)
Seeing Ignace Blaze so anxious, the man said, "Don't worry. If he's really the Sacred Flame Successor, he shouldn't be dead yet."
"What? Impossible. The flames in Skyfire Cliff are extremely poisonous—without Immortal Sovereign strength, death is certain," Ignace Blaze protested.
"That's only true for ordinary people. For a Sacred Flame Successor, it's a different story. Don't you know Skyfire Cliff was prepared specifically for the Sacred Flame?" the man explained.
"What do you mean, Senior?" Ignace Blaze grew more and more shocked.
"Exactly. Unfortunately, I can't leave here for now, so this task falls to you. No matter what, you must ensure he's alive—understand? If you see him, send him here to find me," the man instructed.
Ignace Blaze nodded, then flashed away to the edge of Skyfire Cliff. The man muttered, "Sacred Flame Successor, don't die like this. Otherwise, the world will truly fall into chaos."
Just as Ignace Blaze reached Skyfire Cliff and was about to search again, the Fire Walker brought news: the Water Temple people had arrived.
Hearing this, Ignace Blaze forced himself to the palace. There, he saw an enraged Bianca King. "Palace Lord Bianca, you came so quickly! What brought you here?" Ignace Blaze asked curiously.
"Isn't it obvious? The Fire Temple!" Bianca King was clearly furious.
"I don't know why Palace Lord Bianca blames my temple," Ignace Blaze feigned confusion.
"Palace Lord Ignace, don't tell me you don't know. Our people were captured by your temple and thrown into your Skyfire Cliff," Bianca King grew angrier with every word.
Ignace Blaze hadn't expected the news to spread so fast. There was no way to deny it now, so he said, "Regarding this matter, I apologize."
"Palace Lord Ignace! Don't you know he's the Ice-fire Successor?" Bianca King demanded angrily after confirmation.
"Palace Lord Bianca, it's not what you think," Ignace Blaze replied.
"What's different? I bet you always wanted him dead—because he's the Ice-fire Successor, right?" Bianca King snorted coldly.
"I want him dead? Right now, I'd rather it was me!" Ignace Blaze said angrily.
"Palace Lord Ignace, you really know how to joke," Bianca King replied.
Ignace Blaze knew he had to convince her, so he said, "Palace Lord Bianca, do you know what else Evan Yang is besides the Ice-fire Successor?"
"What is it?" Bianca King was confused—why would Ignace Blaze say something like this now?
Ignace Blaze said, "Besides being the Ice-fire Successor, he's also the Sacred Flame Successor. Do you think I'd want him dead?"
"Impossible!" Bianca King thought Ignace Blaze was making things up and snorted coldly.
"It's not impossible. I just found out myself. When I got to Skyfire Cliff, he was gone. I'm furious too," Ignace Blaze said.
Bianca King saw Ignace Blaze didn't seem to be lying, so she said, "Take me to Skyfire Cliff." "Follow me," Ignace Blaze replied.
The two of them headed to Skyfire Cliff. After a short while, they arrived. When the six men saw the Palace Lord of the Water Temple, they quickly hid.
Bianca King had no interest in settling scores with them now—she only wanted to find Evan Yang and confirm whether he was still alive.
Bianca King and Ignace Blaze both jumped into Skyfire Cliff. Inside, it was a sea of flames. Bianca King, whose water and fire attributes were incompatible, felt extremely uncomfortable, but she endured it to find Evan Yang. "Evan Yang?" Bianca King called out.
But there was still no response. Ignace Blaze tried several times too, but nothing. Not far away, Evan Yang couldn't move. Something strange was happening in his body—Sacred Flame was transforming, wrapping around him. No matter what he said, his voice couldn't get out, and now he was like an invisible man—completely undetectable by the two.
So the two searched for most of the day, but finally had to return to Skyfire Cliff. Bianca King's fury hadn't subsided. "Palace Lord Ignace, I expect an explanation. I don't care if he's the Sacred Flame Successor or not," she said angrily.