When Madam Li arrived at the Elite Palace, Bella had already made her move and was questioning Han Yang.
Han Yang didn't want to make a scene and said directly, "Go find the person in charge."
"No need. He won't come out," Bella replied.
"What do you mean by that?" Han Yang felt she was being too arrogant, acting so high-handed.
"It's simple. You have to duel me, and there must be a wager," Bella said.
"Save your wager for yourself," Han Yang shook his head helplessly, planning to find a place to avoid her.
But Bella wouldn't let him go. Madam Li saw Bella about to make a move and hurriedly stepped out, saying, "What are you doing?"
"I want to duel him!" Bella declared.
Madam Li shook her head and said, "Duel for what? Go back and cultivate."
"If I can't duel, I'm not going back!" Bella said anxiously.
Madam Li was even more anxious than Bella. She didn't want Bella to run out in the middle of things, so she could only quickly agree to her proposal. "Fine, a duel it is," she said.
Of course Han Yang couldn't agree right away. Madam Li turned to him and said, "Just agree to it."
"Why should I?" Han Yang replied helplessly.
"Because you're part of Soul-Heaven Palace, so you have to listen," Madam Li said.
"That's just unreasonable," Han Yang muttered.
"One word: duel or not?" Madam Li asked patiently.
"No," Han Yang answered.
"You... Fine, just wait. I'll make sure you have to duel whether you want to or not," Madam Li said, then left with Bella.
"I want to duel," Bella said.
"Don't worry. You'll get to duel him soon," Madam Li replied. Han Yang didn't understand—whether to duel or not was up to him, could they really force it?
He had barely walked away when his words came true—the officer in charge called Han Yang over and said, "There's a match arranged for you."
"What match?" Han Yang had never heard of any competition in the Elite Palace, so he responded without explanation.
"A match against someone from your intake. I want to see your cultivation progress," the officer said, secretly cursing, "It's not like I wanted this either, sigh."
Han Yang frowned. He knew this was Bella's doing, and it confirmed her identity was anything but ordinary.
"You have no grounds to refuse, or you'll be expelled from Soul-Heaven Palace," the officer said painfully. After all, Han Yang was an elite, not someone easily recruited—he'd passed layer after layer of selection.
Hearing this and seeing the officer's expression, Han Yang sighed, "So there's no way out?"
"Yes," the officer replied.
"Alright, we'll go with her wager. But tell her this: if she loses, she can't bother me anymore," Han Yang said.
The officer looked awkward, and at that moment, Bella stepped out from next door and snorted, "Fine. If I lose, I won't look for you. But if you lose, you have to do what I say."
"Deal," Han Yang agreed. He really didn't want to be constantly pestered by this strong, protected girl who seemed to appear out of nowhere.
"Alright, we'll start in an hour. The Elite Palace just happens to have a dueling area. I'll be the referee," the officer said.
Han Yang and Bella had no objections. Soon the news spread—two elites from the same fifteen-year intake were going to duel, attracting a crowd.
When Han Yang arrived at the arena an hour later, he was surprised to see so many people. He thought to himself, "Usually you barely see anyone in the Elite Palace, but now there’s a crowd. This is rare."
Bella was already waiting there, Madam Li stood nearby, and the officer maintained order. When Han Yang arrived, the officer called him over and cleared a space for Han Yang and Bella.
"Both of your wagers are noted, so win or lose, you have to follow the rules," the officer said.
"No problem," Han Yang replied, and Bella said, "Alright."
Madam Li wasn't too worried about Bella. After all, Bella was different from the others, while Han Yang was just a slightly stronger ordinary person.
But reality always surprises those present.
As soon as Bella entered the arena, she activated her Chaos Soul power. Fierce flames descended upon Han Yang. The crowd was in an uproar—after only fifteen years, she possessed such powerful Chaos Soul force. It was truly baffling.
But Han Yang's actions were even more unbelievable. He stood in the center of the flames, yet the fire posed no threat to him at all.
"Do you still want to continue?" Han Yang said calmly.
The officer and Madam Li were both shocked, and Bella couldn't believe it. Ten years ago it was like this, and now it's still the same. She refused to accept it and intensified her flames.
The flames on Han Yang grew stronger and stronger.
Han Yang knew that Bella's Chaos Soul power was about equal to his own, and at this moment he was relying entirely on ice and fire to resist the heat.
As the fire grew, Han Yang realized that if he didn't stop it soon, things would get out of hand. After all, he was no longer the same as before—everything would escalate.
Suddenly, the crowd heard a sizzling sound as a mist enveloped Han Yang. The fire gradually disappeared, and all they could see was the boiling mist.
As everyone was stunned, fire appeared in Han Yang's hand. This fire was holy fire, not ordinary flames. Using Chaos Soul power, Han Yang could control its intensity. He said, "Now it's my turn."
Bella had no idea how to defend herself. She only knew disaster was coming, and everyone exclaimed, "Ah!"
Madam Li was alarmed and quickly told the officer to intervene.
The officer rushed to Han Yang's side and stopped his hand. Han Yang withdrew his hand and smiled, "Did I win?"
"Yes, that's right. According to the rules, you win," the officer said, knowing this was the only way to resolve the situation. If Bella got hurt, it would only cause trouble for him.
Bella couldn't believe it. She stomped her foot angrily and left. Behind her, Han Yang's voice could still be heard: "Finally, some peace."
At that moment, Han Yang seemed a bit strange in the eyes of the crowd, and the officer also looked at him oddly. Han Yang quickly slipped away, or else he'd surely be bombarded with questions.
Bella walked ahead in anger, with Madam Li following behind.
"Alright, stop fussing. It's not a big deal. Losing just means he worked harder than you," Madam Li said, hoping to use this opportunity to encourage Bella to train harder.
Bella retorted angrily, "You're taking his side!"
"Isn't it true? If you, Princess, trained diligently for a hundred years, you'd surely defeat him," Madam Li said.
"Really?" Bella asked curiously.
"Yes, that's right," Madam Li replied.
"Alright, I'll keep training. I must defeat him," Bella said, acting like a naive little girl—easy to persuade. If not for her resentment toward Han Yang, she wouldn't have been so easily convinced to go back to cultivating.
After successfully persuading Bella to return to her training, Madam Li hurried to the artificial hill to report the situation.
When the woman heard that Han Yang was stronger than Bella, she asked curiously, "Logically, her ten years of cultivation is worth several hundred, maybe thousands, for others. How could she lose?"
"I don't know. Maybe he's just very strong and deliberately hid his abilities," Madam Li replied.
"That's possible. Go investigate that man's background, and find out exactly what happened since he arrived. Report everything to me," the woman said.
"Yes, Master," Madam Li replied, then left the woman and began investigating Han Yang.
Han Yang had no idea he was being investigated. At that moment, he tried to reach the fourth floor, unleashing his greatest Chaos Soul power to resist the force pushing against him.
He was about to step inside, but because his soul power was insufficient, he was forcibly pushed out.
"Whew, looks like I need to train for a few more years," Han Yang muttered, then left the third floor. An old man watching him wondered why Han Yang came down so quickly this time.
Han Yang was about to return to his room when he saw a familiar figure outside the Elite Hall.
"Is it her?" Han Yang said in surprise. He saw a woman—one he'd seen in a portrait, and whose matter he'd promised to help a young boy with.
"Fifteen years... he should be grown up by now," Han Yang sighed, and hurried out.
He saw the woman accompanied by two men in black with six stripes.
Han Yang quickly approached. The two men in black exchanged glances, and the woman watched Han Yang curiously.
"Who are you?" one of the six-striped men in black asked.
"I'd like to talk with her. May I?" Han Yang said.
"Who are you? What gives you the right to talk to her?" the other man in black said.
The woman asked curiously, "Who are you?"
"I'm Sha Qi's friend," Han Yang replied simply. His words startled the woman, but she pretended to stay calm and said, "Are you new here? I don't know you. Where are you from?"
"I've been here for more than ten years, in the Elite Hall," Han Yang answered.
"I really don't know you. I don't have any friends in the Elite Hall. Thank you, maybe you've mistaken me for someone else," the woman said.
Then she left with the two men in black, leaving Han Yang to mutter to himself, "Strange, I clearly said I was Sha Qi's friend—why doesn't she recognize me?"
Han Yang was puzzled, so he used his spiritual sense to track her. He saw her walking with the two men in black into another area, but his spiritual sense couldn't penetrate that region, nor could his Thousand-Mile Sound.
"That's it?" Han Yang muttered, deciding to investigate when fewer people were around.
But just as he was about to leave, his spiritual sense detected the woman exiting that area. She looked nervous, as if afraid of being seen.
"What's wrong with her?" Han Yang wondered, watching her. When she saw Han Yang still standing there, she was overjoyed and asked, "How is Xiao Qi?"
"I thought you didn't recognize me," Han Yang said suspiciously.