The air around them turned scorching hot.
With the Molten-Fire Array boosting him, Gavin Duan's fist crashed straight through, cleanly snapping a fist slave's neck.
The sound of bones fracturing and grinding together was especially harsh.
Landing the first blow, Gavin didn't pause for a second—he struck again.
One man died instantly.
The remaining three fist slaves couldn't hold the Four-Point Ironstone Fist Array anymore. Under Gavin's hands, they fell back step by step, and in the end, each one followed the first—down to Yellow Springs.
"Not even thick-skinned, can't take a beating, and still dared to act tough?"
Gavin stood up, spat on the floor, ignored the four cooling fist slaves, and strode right back into the main hall, stopping in front of Evan Lin.
He was still towering; after that round of fighting, Gavin's presence was even more imposing.
Now standing before Evan, Gavin looked over at Logan Rowe and Fourth Elder Rowe, raising his brows: "You two, which one wants to fight me?"
He barked out a command, the Molten-Fire Array still blazing on his body. Of his five internal arrays, only the Mao Metal Array hadn't been activated; the other four were fully open, their power surging without limit.
"Then I guess I'll have to see for myself!"
With a sharp shout, Fourth Elder Rowe suddenly sprang up from his seat.
Gavin's face changed instantly. Before he could react, Fourth Elder Rowe had completely vanished from sight!
"Where'd he go?"
A jolt shot through Gavin's heart.
A split second later, his scalp tingled. He didn't even have time to look up—he just punched straight overhead.
"Too slow!"
Fourth Elder Rowe sneered as he dropped straight down from above Gavin's head. His shriveled hand reached out, five fingers curling into a claw, aiming right for Gavin's crown.
That skinny-looking arm twisted around Gavin's swinging fist. The clawed hand, three fingers already digging into Gavin's skull, suddenly shot out its index and middle fingers, aiming straight for Gavin's eyes!
That claw strike was blindingly fast and vicious, the angle absolutely lethal.
Everyone watching felt a chill—almost able to picture the gruesome scene about to unfold.
But just then, Evan Lin—who had been sitting motionless—finally stood up.
Right as Fourth Elder Rowe's two fingers were about to stab into Gavin's eye sockets, a single finger thrust out and blocked them cold, stopping the killing move dead in its tracks.
With his attack foiled, Gavin's fist was already swinging in close to Fourth Elder Rowe.
Not daring to take it head-on, Fourth Elder Rowe twisted in midair with uncanny agility, flipping down from above Gavin's head and landing far away. He glared back, his expression shifting, and sneered, "So you want to gang up on me, huh?"
"Maybe you should look in the mirror. Who was outnumbering whom just now?"
Fourth Elder Rowe's heart skipped a beat. That finger just now had met his own full-on, and normally, his claw would have snapped it like a twig, then gone straight for Gavin's eyes.
But the moment his fingertips touched Evan's finger, Fourth Elder Rowe was shocked to find that the 'frail-looking' youth hid a terrifying force within that single digit.
His two attacking fingers were forced apart by pure, violent strength!
Not only that—Fourth Elder Rowe's fingertips were still aching and trembling slightly.
He kept his hands behind his back, so no one could see. While talking, he quietly tried to recover, his face dark and sullen.
"If we're talking numbers, last round you had four men."
Evan shook his head, his tone flat and cold.
That line made Fourth Elder Rowe's face twitch, his gaze flickering.
Gavin finally snapped out of it. Remembering what just happened, he felt a chill—cold sweat soaking his back. But his mood flipped fast, and his fighting spirit burned even hotter.
"Sneak attacks? That's your skill? Let me rip your head off today!"
He was about to charge forward, but Evan reached out and stopped him.
"You need to rest now."
With just one sentence, Evan made everyone wonder what was going on. Gavin opened his mouth to protest, but didn't say a word—he just nodded and stepped aside.
With four out of five arrays activated, Gavin's strength was massively boosted for a short time. That's why he was able to wipe out the Four-Point Ironstone Fist Array and its four fist slaves so quickly.
But the real reason he couldn't open all five arrays was that his body couldn't handle the strain. Even running four at once was unsustainable.
Evan wasn't the type to stubbornly force Gavin into a life-or-death struggle while he just watched from the sidelines.
Gavin stepped aside to recover.
Evan looked over at Fourth Elder Rowe, who squinted back, sizing Evan up.
"I underestimated your man."
Fourth Elder Rowe spoke in a low voice, his gaze sweeping behind Evan: "Your confidence comes from that hidden master of yours, doesn't it?"
"But you should know—the Rowe clan has never been anyone's punching bag! Aren't you afraid that you and your master will become our enemies?"
He was still weighing things—losing four fist slaves was something Fourth Elder Rowe hadn't expected.
Fourth Elder Rowe didn't really care about Evan, but he couldn't ignore the one who killed Brandon Rowe. If he died here, he'd feel deeply unwilling.