So everyone witnessed a shocking scene: an eighth-tier cultivator was actually humiliated by a sixth-tier, and the sixth-tier didn't even need to make a move—yet the eighth-tier was set aflame.
Burned—everyone finally realized Evan Yang was a fire cultivator, and his mastery was so advanced that even an eighth-tier was left writhing in pain.
"Ah!" The eighth-tier cultivator screamed in pain and retreated.
Seeing the injured man, the leader frowned and asked, "Which Palace are you from?"
"First Palace," Evan Yang replied.
"Since when did the First Palace have someone like you?" the leader frowned. The others were also curious—when did the First Palace get such a figure? Although the Ten Palaces rarely interact, the top ten in each Palace are familiar with each other, so they know most of the main players.
Everyone knew the First Palace had a top ten, but they'd never seen Evan Yang among them.
"Just joined recently," Evan Yang replied.
"A newcomer?" the leader asked suspiciously.
Evan Yang nodded, "That's right. Anything else? If not, I'm leaving."
With that, Evan Yang started to leave.
But the leader blocked his path. "Hand over all your Shard Bug corpses."
"Why should I?" Yang Han replied calmly.
Yang Han's words were clearly a provocation, so the others grew restless. Although Yang Han's flames had frightened everyone earlier, they hadn't done any real harm. In their eyes, his fire just happened to counter that particular person.
"Looks like you really think you're something. Lu, go teach him a lesson," the leader said.
Another man stepped forward, his expression unchanged. "Kid, don't say I'm bullying you. You go first."
"So polite? Then I won't hold back." Evan Yang summoned his flames once more.
The man sneered, "Flames? Same trick again, but it's useless against me." As he finished, water poured from the sky like a waterfall, targeting Yang Han.
Evan Yang immediately recognized his opponent's water attribute. In everyone's eyes, Evan Yang was doomed—water counters fire, and fire is usually extinguished. This was common knowledge among cultivators.
But to everyone's surprise, the flames devoured the water, evaporating it until nothing remained. All they saw was mist, with the water-user shrouded inside.
As everyone wondered how the mist had formed, a scream echoed from within. When the mist cleared, they saw the water-user's face was bright red, as if he'd been scalded by boiling water.
Anyone with a sharp eye could see it was Yang Han's doing. The group stared suspiciously, and the leader asked, "Lu, what happened?"
"My water was useless against him. His flames are so hot they evaporated it instantly," the man said, enduring the pain.
"Damn it. You two, go!" the leader ordered the other two.
The other two stepped forward together, confident they could handle a mere sixth-tier if they joined forces. Little did they know, Yang Han was a monster—he couldn't be judged by normal standards.
"Kid, do you know who we are?" one of them asked.
"Road blockers," Yang Han replied.
"We're from the Fifth Palace—he's A-Five, I'm A-Six, ranked fifth and sixth. Our Fifth Palace is stronger than the others. No matter which Palace you're from, hand it over, or we'll cripple you right now and no one will help you." They assumed Yang Han was a newly promoted top ten and tried to intimidate him with their Palace's reputation.
But Yang Han just laughed. "I don't care which Palace you're from—it has nothing to do with me. So you're wasting your breath. If you're going to fight, just fight." The leader said, "A-Five, A-Six, stop talking and get on with it."
The two exchanged a glance, then advanced. One's hands suddenly grew stronger, the other's feet did too, and as they combined, it felt as if they merged into one.