The boy's voice echoed from within the waves of wheat.
Night Autumn, standing at the formation core, thought he was hearing things.
"You waited all this time—was it just to see the Autumn Gate reach full strength?"
Night Autumn's expression shifted, finally realizing where that unease was coming from.
It was just too quiet—a stark contrast to how Master Lin from Seacrest had acted moments ago. Beside him, qi blades danced wildly, sweeping forward without needing any extra control from him.
Even if Master Lin from Seacrest had spent a lot of qi earlier, he was still the same Master Lin from Seacrest. Against Master Lin from Seacrest's qi, the wheat waves' qi barriers were nothing but paper—they collapsed at a touch.
There's no way he'd just sit and wait for death.
"He moved!" The qi hidden in those wheat waves surged violently.
The newly grown wheat waves all had even stronger qi barriers for protection, but no matter how tough their defenses got, they still collapsed instantly before the qi blades.
In everyone's eyes, the wheat waves that had been calm a moment ago suddenly erupted with gusts of wild wind.
Wind swept across the wheat waves, rising and falling. In the golden fields, countless wheat spikes danced in the air. But as I said, this formation really is trash.
The wild wind was like blades, each gust slicing forward, cleaving through the waves of wheat. Aren't you curious why, even as it absorbs my qi, I can keep pouring out qi endlessly, without the slightest sign of exhaustion?
The wheat waves broke and revived, growing at an astonishing speed. But as fast as they regrew, the qi blades cut even faster. At these words, Night Autumn suddenly fixed his gaze on Evan Lin, as if trying to see through him completely.
The boy, completely hidden by the towering wheat waves, stepped forward at this moment. "Why?"
Beside him, qi blades danced wildly, sweeping forward without needing any extra control from him. Night Autumn felt his throat go dry, and his voice grew hoarse.
The wheat waves grew madly, and the qi danced wildly. "It's simple."
This was pure brute force—opening a path with nothing but raw qi. Evan Lin stretched out his hand and snapped his fingers.
"Is he crazy or what?" Snap.
Lin Beixun frowned, muttering to himself, "All the qi he's burning is being turned into fuel for the Autumn Gate. If this keeps up, just how much qi does Master Lin from Seacrest have left to spend?" As the sound rang out...
"If he's really this arrogant, does he think the Autumn Gate is as easy to break as the last two formations?" Everyone saw that, in the instant after Evan Lin snapped his fingers, the wheat waves that had been swaying in the wind, surging and regrowing, all froze in place.
If this formation were up against Lin Beixun, he'd break it before it ever finished forming.
That way, not only would he save time, he'd also cut down on his own energy loss.
But Evan Lin, waiting for the formation to fully mature and then choosing to fight it head-on using its strongest aspect—that just seems downright stupid to Lin Beixun.
Evan Lin walked forward with his hands behind his back, striding through wheat waves that towered far above any person.
Beside him, force blades danced wildly, sweeping forward without needing any extra control from him.
But no matter how powerful the qi barriers hidden in those wheat waves were, they couldn't stop the boy who strolled forward as if walking in a garden.
He never stopped. Qi surged around him, and step by step, he tread over the fallen wheat waves, walking straight through.
All the way forward, Evan Lin walked at a steady pace, calmly carving out a path through the dense wheat waves.
The newly grown wheat waves all had even stronger force barriers for protection, but no matter how tough their defenses got, they still collapsed instantly before the force blades.
Collapse, revive, collapse again.
Evan Lin's expression stayed calm, but Night Autumn—the formation core of the Autumn Gate—was completely frozen.
"Impossible. Impossible!"
"Inside the Autumn Gate, every bit of force you use gets absorbed by the formation. In other words, you're not just fighting the array—you're fighting yourself."
"How can a single person be this strong? How can someone outmatch their own energy while taking on a formation?"
Night Autumn had never seen anything like this. The Autumn Gate was spinning faster and faster, and the newly grown wheat waves were far stronger than at the start.
But no matter how powerful the force barriers hidden in those wheat waves were, they couldn't stop the boy who strolled forward as if walking in a garden.
He never stopped. Force surged around him, and step by step, he tread over the fallen wheat waves, walking straight through.
"So this is the Autumn Gate?"
By the time Evan Lin reached Night Autumn, the wheat waves behind him had grown over ten meters tall.
Compared to the start, the wheat waves had doubled in height, and their force had grown just as much.
But even so, nothing could stop Master Lin from Seacrest now.
"How did you do it? How is this possible?"
Night Autumn stared at Evan Lin, then glanced at the Autumn Gate, which was still frantically absorbing Evan's qi.
The energy inside the formation kept growing stronger. Every patch of wheat waves was getting tougher too.
But it was useless.
Against Master Lin from Seacrest's qi, the wheat waves' qi barriers were nothing but paper—they collapsed at a touch.
Patch after patch of wheat waves fell. What was meant to be a cage, blocking the boy ahead, now seemed utterly useless.
If Night Autumn couldn't still sense the Autumn Gate's power, couldn't feel the qi hidden in those wheat waves, he'd have thought this array was a total fake.
"In the face of absolute power, nothing can stop me from moving forward."
Evan Lin shook his head. "I gave you time. I gave this formation time, too."
"But as I said, this formation really is trash."
"Aren't you curious why, even as it absorbs my qi, I can keep pouring out qi endlessly, without the slightest sign of exhaustion?"
At these words, Night Autumn suddenly fixed his gaze on Evan Lin, as if trying to see through him completely.
"Why?"
Night Autumn felt his throat go dry, and his voice grew hoarse.
"It's simple."
Evan Lin stretched out his hand and snapped his fingers.
Snap.
As the sound rang out...
Everyone saw that, in the instant after Evan Lin snapped his fingers, the wheat waves that had been swaying in the wind, surging and regrowing, all froze in place.