Evan Yang's outstanding performance made many people wary, but others were delighted. The atmosphere inside and outside the arena was especially intense. As Darren West stood there, he began to change—everyone noticed his aura rising from fifth-tier to seventh-tier Immortal Lord. "What’s going on?" The crowd looked at Darren suspiciously. Elder Pineleaf smiled, the tension on his face easing. Lewis Yang watched the arena with curiosity, as did everyone else. "This..." Evan was curious too. At first, he thought Darren was suppressing his cultivation, but on closer inspection, he realized Darren was forcibly raising his realm, not just holding back.
At the same time, something seemed to appear in Evan’s mind. A wave of information came—"Demonic qi?" (Demonic qi: a corrupt energy associated with demonic cultivators, often destructive and dangerous in xianxia worlds.)
Evan could hardly believe he could sense demonic qi on his opponent. In the past, he was never afraid of demonic qi, but now he could actually detect it. What caused this change? Evan examined himself carefully and found it was most likely due to his Demon-Ward Eight Arts. (Demon-Ward Eight Arts: a soul technique that allows the user to resist and sense demonic energies.)
“Who invented the Demon-Ward Eight Arts? It’s so incredible.” Evan was full of curiosity. What exactly was this Demon-Ward Eight Arts, and who created such a powerful technique? Not only did it resist demonic arts, it also resisted demonic qi. Now that he had advanced to eighth-tier Profound-Immortal, he could even sense demonic qi on his opponent.
At the same time, the presence of demonic qi in Darren West’s body made Evan even more curious. How could his opponent use demonic qi? Was it because of the demonic qi itself? While Evan was speculating, Darren already moved, looking at Evan with a cold smile. “Kid, you forced me into this.”
Evan smiled. "You think just because you used demonic qi, or some demonic art to boost your cultivation, you can defeat me?" Evan’s words clearly hit a nerve in Darren. Only Darren and Elder Pineleaf knew about his use of demonic arts; no one else could possibly know, especially not Evan, whose cultivation was so much lower.
Not only Darren, but the people around him also fell into deep thought after hearing Evan’s words, trying to figure out if there really was such a demonic art that could stimulate someone's cultivation in this way.
Elder Pineleaf was shocked. He hadn’t expected Evan to see through it. Yang Tian and the others naturally had no idea what was going on, but Darren didn’t care—as long as he could defeat Evan, it didn’t matter what technique he used.
Outside the arena, the Wine Beggar cursed, “Damn it, demonic arts?” (Demonic arts: forbidden cultivation techniques that draw upon corrupt or evil energies.)
“It’s starting to look that way,” Steward Lewis Yang said.
"Is there something wrong with Evan?" the Wine Beggar asked anxiously.
"Don’t worry, Third Brother. Don’t forget, he has another attribute, plus his stealth arts. If he uses those, Darren won’t even know what hit him." Lydia Yang said confidently. (Stealth arts: special movement or concealment techniques used in xianxia to evade detection or attacks.) "That's true. I'm actually looking forward to it," replied the Wine Beggar.
On the arena, Evan was also preparing his countermeasures. After Darren West grew stronger, his speed and attacks improved as well. More importantly, his flames now contained moisture. To outsiders, it looked like dual attributes, but Evan knew it wasn’t really water—it was the flames themselves changing, because Darren had turned part of his fire into liquid. That took tremendous skill.
Especially since this liquid wasn’t ordinary—it was even more terrifying than fire, capable of burning people. When the flames surged forward, the liquid followed. Evan dodged aside, but after the liquid hit the spot where he’d been standing, it corroded the ground as if eating away at it. It was frightening—even the earth could be corroded.
The crowd outside looked shocked, while Terry Yang and the others were overjoyed. As long as that liquid touched Evan, he would surely lose. Seeing Evan dodge, Darren realized he could only win by spreading the liquid everywhere, so that the air was filled with droplets at intervals.
So Darren West laughed, “Take this!” With that, he sprayed the liquid like a sprinkler, covering everything.
Evan knew that only water or earth could counter this attack. In this situation, he had to use the earth attribute, which was already known to some. So, with a wave of his hand, he surrounded himself with walls of earth. The crowd was amazed.
“He has earth attribute too!” Elder Pineleaf was shocked, as was Darren West. The Wine Beggar and Lydia Yang were delighted. Steward Lewis Yang, after seeing the answer, looked amazed. As for the clan patriarch watching in secret, his smile froze, as if something had deeply shaken him.
“It’s him—it’s really him!” Terry Yang couldn’t sit still anymore. He refused to believe there could be two people with so many similarities, so he was certain this was the Evan Yang he once killed.
At this moment, Terry Yang’s parents had no energy to care about anything else. On the arena, Evan relied on his dual attributes to suppress Darren, weakening Darren’s momentum. Evan knew Darren was about to break, so he kept using earth and fire, combining speed and his own advantages to close in.
Seeing Darren West about to collapse, everyone thought Evan was about to win. Just as they were shocked, Darren’s face suddenly twisted, and a faint gas wafted from his body—demonic qi, exposing him completely.
Elder Pineleaf muttered under his breath, "Damn it, it’s been forced out."
At this point, Darren West had completely lost his mind, thinking only of defeating Evan. His body was out of control, slowly being devoured by demonic qi. His eyes began to turn red, and he was slipping into a frenzy. If this continued, it would only get more terrifying.
The Wine Beggar knew that if things kept going, Evan would surely be affected, so he stepped forward and said, "He’s already lost control. Evan has won."
“Lost control? Who says he’s lost control? He’s still fine. As for winning, we’ll see about that.” Elder Pineleaf knew Darren West was beyond saving and decided to sacrifice him. His words shut down the Wine Beggar—no matter what he said, the duel continued.
The Wine Beggar quickly said to Steward Lewis Yang, “Steward, you must go!”
Steward Lewis Yang nodded and stepped forward. "This match is already clear—Evan has won." “Steward, that’s not right. Didn’t we agree the match would go until one side wins? No one has won yet, so you can’t declare victory. That’s unfair to my disciple,” Elder Pineleaf said.
At this moment, Terry Yang’s mother also spoke up, “That’s right, he hasn’t lost yet. How can you just jump to conclusions?”
This chapter isn’t over yet. (Webnovel navigation line skipped in translation as it is irrelevant to the story.)
Actually, everyone could see Darren West was on the verge of madness, but as long as he could get rid of Evan, they didn’t care whether Darren went mad or not. “First Madam, Elder Pineleaf’s disciple is about to go berserk. If this match continues, he won’t be himself anymore,” Steward Lewis Yang said. “Whether he’s my disciple or not, I know. You don’t need to tell me. Continue the match,” Elder Pineleaf replied, leaving Steward Lewis Yang speechless. Even if the Wine Beggar, Steward Lewis Yang, Lydia Yang, and others wanted to intervene, Elder Pineleaf and Terry Yang’s parents stopped them.
On the arena, Evan was fighting Darren West, who was on the verge of demonization. Darren had become reckless, ignoring any pain from Evan’s attacks—he seemed utterly fearless. “Damn, he’s not afraid of pain? Isn’t that just like a death soldier?” Evan thought in shock.
Lydia Yang and the others were extremely worried about Evan’s safety, afraid he would be caught up in the chaos. She shouted, “Big Brother, First Madam, he’s Second Young Master Liam’s son! Are you really going to let him die?” “Fourth Sister, everyone says this is a fair match—until it’s over, it doesn’t count. Do you want people to accuse us of being unfair?” Terry Yang’s father replied, sounding impartial. “Big Brother, you’re just like before—you can’t stand anyone being better than you. Today is no different; you can’t stand Evan being better than Terry.” The Wine Beggar said angrily.
The Wine Beggar’s words hit home for Terry Yang’s father, but he refused to admit it. Instead, he said, “Third Brother, this is a fair match. The outcome isn’t up to me.”
“Isn’t it? You’re all hypocrites!” the Wine Beggar said angrily.
“Third Brother, watch your words. Is that how you speak to your big brother?” Terry Yang’s father said.
“Am I wrong?” the Wine Beggar snorted.
Terry Yang’s father ignored him. He just wanted to stall for time, hoping Darren West would finish off Evan after demonization.
The crowd continued watching the changes in the arena. No one intervened to save Evan; instead, it seemed they were waiting for something unexpected to happen.
Darren West chased Evan like a madman. Evan narrowly avoided several attacks. Once, just as Darren was about to land a blow, Evan suddenly dodged and vanished from Darren’s sight, prompting Darren to roar, “Come out!”
Darren West’s eyes had turned completely red as he rampaged across the arena, attacking wildly. Some attacks threatened the spectators, so several people stepped in to maintain order and prevent Darren from harming anyone outside.
When Evan judged the timing was right, he suddenly appeared behind Darren and struck him hard. Even though Darren felt no pain, his body was knocked forward, crashing to the ground with a thunderous sound.
Dust and earth flew up. Just when everyone thought Darren West was down for good, he got up again. Though he looked terrible—his face pale, blood on his body, and his aura unstable—he kept fighting.
Evan knew that if this went on, Darren might explode from madness. Facing this, Evan flashed behind him again and struck even harder than before.
Darren West fell once more. After a while, he got up again, like an undying cockroach—no matter how many times he was knocked down, he kept getting up.
It all seemed horrifying—almost inhuman. Evan realized this couldn’t go on, so he summoned flames to surround the heavily injured Darren. Everyone saw a figure wreathed in fire, howling wildly, his aura chaotic. Not only that, it soon became clear Darren was about to go berserk and grow even stronger.
Evan was startled. At the moment Darren West fully lost control, Evan stabbed a dagger into his back, destroying his body. Even as Darren’s soul drifted out, Evan grabbed it. But Darren’s demonized soul was completely incoherent, reacting only with murderous instinct.