Cole Wood originally planned to defeat Evan Yang with his own strength. But now, seeing how terrifying Evan truly is, he realizes he can't win relying only on himself. So, under Lan Wind's temptation, Cole decides to use Soulbane Weed.
To make use of the Soulbane Weed's liquid, Evan Yang must be caught off guard. But with Evan's current vigilance, that's impossible.
So Cole Wood manipulates the ground, causing numerous vines to sprout. These vines grow rapidly, soon surrounding Evan Yang. Although they don't fully encircle him, Evan is curious why Cole is suddenly creating so many vines for no apparent reason.
Palace Lord Rowan and the others are also curious about what Cole Wood is up to.
The vines form a net that wraps around Evan Yang, but they don't touch him directly. The purpose is to avoid being destroyed by Evan in a single move.
Naturally, Evan Yang isn't going to let these vines grow unchecked for no reason, so he calls up flames and burns them all. But Cole Wood doesn't lose heart. Like Zeke Wood, he transforms, his whole body covered in vine armor, and then unleashes an even stranger vine technique. These vines can burn for a long time, and with absolute speed, they grow rapidly.
Suddenly, a vine lashes out and binds Evan Yang. Just as Evan is about to burn it with fire, the vine abruptly sprouts thorns.
The thorns pierce directly into Evan Yang's skin. Startled, Evan quickly shatters the vines, but several needles remain embedded in his body.
Evan Yang lets out a shout, forcing all the tree needles to fly out. He thinks it's nothing serious—just some needles, he'll be more careful next time. But soon, he senses something wrong: a poisonous force within his body is trying to damage him.
Seeing Evan Yang's change in expression, Cole Wood mutters inwardly, "Finally got him." Meanwhile, Lan Wind laughs to himself, thinking they've finally dealt with Evan.
Evan Yang quickly calms down and frowns. "These tree needles are poisoned?"
"That's right. Are you starting to feel your soul trembling?" Cole Wood says with a smile.
The people around exchange glances, unsure what's really happening now.
"What is it?" Evan Yang asks.
"Soulbane Weed. It's a herb that can briefly muddle someone's soul. The liquid has already entered your body, and soon you'll faint. Then I'll win by default," Cole Wood replies.
The crowd is shocked. No one expected Cole Wood to use such a liquid, but most people don't know what Soulbane Weed actually is—even Palace Lord Rowan and the others are clueless.
So Morgana Dreamhaven frowns and asks Palace Lord Rowan, "What exactly is this Soulbane Weed?"
"I don't know. I have no idea how he got it. But from the way he describes it, it sounds pretty formidable," Palace Lord Rowan says with a frown.
"Looks like Evan Yang is going to lose after all." Hearing about its effects, Morgana Dreamhaven sighs helplessly.
On the arena, Evan Yang asks, "How did you get this stuff?"
"I obtained it by chance, why?" Cole Wood replies with a smile, secretly thinking, "As long as you faint, I win. It doesn't matter what method I use."
"It's nothing. I just want to say, this stuff is useless against me," Evan Yang suddenly says with a smile.
Cole Wood is stunned by these words, unable to believe it. Could Evan be lying? Yet Evan Yang stands there perfectly fine. Not only that, he suddenly flash-steps behind Cole Wood at extreme speed, and his ice-fire power surges, instantly freezing Cole solid.
Cole Wood is shocked and desperately struggles, but Evan Yang keeps intensifying his ice-fire power. Eventually, Cole realizes the poison doesn't affect Evan at all, or maybe he was simply tricked and the stuff was fake.
Lan Wind is shocked—his supposedly powerful Soulbane Weed has no effect on Evan Yang.
"I concede." After struggling for a long time, Cole Wood finally admits defeat under Evan Yang's relentless freezing power.
No one in the crowd expected this outcome. They thought Evan Yang was poisoned and Cole Wood would win, but instead Evan wasn't poisoned at all and took advantage of Cole's brief lapse in vigilance to launch a surprise attack and win.
The moment Palace Lord Rowan hears Cole Wood concede, he knows Evan Yang has taken first place, just as Elder Woodspirit predicted. He announces, "Evan Yang is now the champion. As you all saw, that's how it is. He'll receive his rightful reward. I'll take him to claim it now. The rest of you, stay in the Wood Temple for a few days—further arrangements will be made."
With that, Palace Lord Rowan comes over to Evan Yang and says, "Follow me."
Evan Yang glances at Morgana Dreamhaven. Morgana is already excited and says to Evan, "Go on, I'll handle things here." Hearing her words, Evan follows Palace Lord Rowan, inwardly eager to see who Elder Woodspirit really is.
Without Evan Yang's ice-fire power restraining him, Cole Wood quickly breaks free from the ice. He's furious and unwilling to accept the outcome, glaring at Lan Wind and eventually following him into a forest.
"You lied to me!" Cole Wood shouts angrily.
"I didn't lie to you," Lan Wind replies.
"Then why is he fine? And you made me let my guard down—I thought he'd be poisoned and I was just waiting for him to collapse. But..." Cole Wood says angrily.
"I know. If you hadn't let your guard down, you could've at least fought him to a standstill," Lan Wind says.
"And yet you..." Cole Wood is furious. Not only did he use poison, but now everyone knows about it, and the poison turned out to be fake. How can he face the people of the Wood Temple after this?
"I've told you, the poison is real. The only explanation is that he isn't affected by it," Lan Wind replies.
"You're still lying to me at a time like this?" Cole Wood refuses to listen to anything Lan Wind says.
"Why would I need to lie?" Lan Wind is also in a bad mood now, and Cole Wood has lost all value to him. He glares at Cole Wood, furious.
Seeing Lan Wind's terrifying gaze, Cole Wood is startled. "You—!"
"What do you mean, 'You—'? I thought you could handle Evan Yang, but now you're useless. Go die." Lan Wind snorts coldly, then strikes Cole Wood with a palm when he's completely off guard.
Cole Wood is shocked—he never expected Lan Wind to ambush him, too. Having just fought Evan Yang, he's exhausted and can't defend himself, so he's quickly injured and falls to the ground, staring at Lan Wind. "What are you trying to do?"
"Obviously, I'm going to kill you and let someone else take your place," Lan Wind says with a cold smile.
"What do you mean?" Cole Wood asks in disbelief.
"It means you can die now," Lan Wind says with a smile. Cole Wood sees Lan Wind's strange smile and is still confused when suddenly a bizarre hand claps his shoulder from behind. Cole Wood loses all expression.
Then something strange enters Cole Wood's body. When he opens his eyes again, half an hour has passed.
"How do you feel?" Lan Wind asks.
"Not bad. Just need a bit more time to fully merge, then I'll move freely," says the voice from within Cole Wood.
"Right. You're among the people of the Wood Temple now, so be careful. The Elder Woodspirit in this Wood Temple is not to be trifled with," Lan Wind warns.
"Firebane, you're too timid. With the two of us here, why would we fear Elder Woodspirit?" Cole Wood says.
"Darkbane, you just arrived in the Immortal Realm and don't understand it well. From my years of observation, Elder Woodspirit is definitely a major figure, so be careful," Lan Wind says.
"Alright, alright, I'll listen to you. Lord Greenguard sent me to assist you—he ran into trouble and can't come for now," Cole Wood says.
"What kind of trouble?" Lan Wind asks with a frown.
"Lord Greenguard led a large number of No. 1 Insects to attack the Demon Realm and tried to take control of it. Everything was going smoothly until ten powerful Demon Lords suddenly appeared and joined forces against him. The battle is still undecided, so Lord Greenguard sent me to help you first. We must deal with Evan Yang and Elder Woodspirit," Cole Wood says.
"So that's what's going on. I thought Lord Greenguard had met with some disaster," Lan Wind says.
"Alright, let's talk about Evan Yang. I don't want Lord Greenguard to say I'm as useless as you," Cole Wood replies.
"Fine. Just search this kid's mind for some information, and you'll know how terrifying Evan Yang really is," Lan Wind says.
Cole Wood then searches the memories within this body. Soon, he finds everything about Evan Yang. He mutters suspiciously, "This kid has multiple attributes, can revive dead plants, and, most puzzling of all, isn't affected by Soulbane Weed."
"Now you see how hard he is to deal with," Lan Wind says.
Cole Wood laughs after hearing this. "He may be formidable, but I never said he's hard to deal with. Just wait, I'll go cause him some trouble."
"Do you know where he is? And don't forget, Elder Woodspirit is here—don't expose yourself carelessly," Lan Wind says.
"Relax, I have his memories. I know all about the Wood Temple and its places. Besides, Evan Yang is supposed to meet Elder Woodspirit, right? I'll check the area and learn about Elder Woodspirit while I'm at it," Cole Wood says, then flash-steps away before Lan Wind can reply.
Lan Wind shakes his head helplessly. "Darkbane is always so impulsive and eager for results."
Meanwhile, Evan Yang follows Palace Lord Rowan to a wooden house. It's quiet outside until a voice from within tells Palace Lord Rowan to leave, leaving Evan standing alone.
"Are you Evan Yang?" the voice inside asks.
"Yes, that's me. May I ask, senior, why you've called me here?" Evan Yang really wants to meet Elder Woodspirit, but no matter how he tries, he can't see the scene inside.
"You truly are talented. To reach me so smoothly, you're even stronger than I imagined," Elder Woodspirit says.
"You're too kind, senior," Evan Yang replies.
"So modest. Alright, as your reward for taking first place, I'll give you something." The voice inside laughs. Evan Yang wonders what it could be, when a small green wooden block flies out and lands in his hand.
Evan Yang curiously takes the small wooden block and asks suspiciously, "What's this?"