"Let's find someone to teach him a lesson, so we can vent the anger we've been holding in these past few days," Shawn Bai said with a smile.
Colin Green agreed. A few days ago, he'd been polite to Evan Yang out of caution, but now, if they didn't get some revenge, he couldn't let it go.
Besides, Shawn Bai also wanted to find an opportunity to interrogate Evan Yang about his magic treasure.
As for Evan Yang, he hadn't noticed anyone coming to bother him yet, which felt odd. But eventually, someone did show up to harass him.
Evan Yang was sweeping the floor and chatting with the old man when a stranger walked up and stared at him. "Kid, are you stupid or something? You do this every day. I really can't stand it anymore."
"Who are you?" Evan Yang asked curiously.
"I'm from another branch. I heard you act pretty dumb, so I came to see if you're really that stupid. How about it? Want to compete?" the man said with a laugh.
There were quite a few people watching from behind, all laughing, eager to see if this "fool" Evan would accept. As expected, Evan replied, "I'm not interested."
Then he kept sweeping, while the old man glanced at him, smiled, and continued sweeping nearby as well.
Seeing Evan ignore him, the provocateur laughed, "Looks like you really need someone to knock some sense into you. Let's see how long you can hold out."
After saying that, the man threw more trash onto the area Evan Yang had just swept, and others joined in, messing up the clean floor.
Just like that, Evan's sweeping was wasted. He glanced at them but ignored it, continuing his work.
A while later, Evan swept up another pile, but the group wouldn't give up and kept messing it up. Evan just kept sweeping, and so it went, back and forth, for about half an hour. The bullies lost patience—they wanted nothing more than to punch Evan, but the sect rules forbade attacking fellow disciples except in sparring. Since Evan refused to spar, they had no choice but to keep pestering him.
Evan stayed calm and kept sweeping. He wasn't unwilling to act, but a certain intuition held him back, helping him remain composed.
The man, frustrated by Evan's attitude, kept mocking him, scattering trash everywhere and even cursing loudly. More people gathered, curious why the newcomers were being treated like this.
But these guys were shameless and just wouldn't let up. Shawn Bai even said they had to teach Evan a lesson, or else they'd lose face.
At this point, they were both provoking Evan and getting impatient—why wouldn't he accept the challenge?
Others were curious too—was Evan just a coward, or was he too weak to accept and had to endure the insults?
Angry, the man shouted, "Fine, you won't spar, huh? Let's see how long you can take it. Everyone, spit on him!"
Spitting? What was this? Wasn't that something only ordinary people did? How could it come to this? Evan was curious, but the power within him kept him calm.
So Evan Yang calmed himself. When the bullies saw he still didn't react, they opened their mouths and spat, aiming straight at him.
Just then, a gust of wind blew in—perfect timing—coming from behind Evan and blowing toward the bullies.
Before they realized what was happening—smack!—all the spit landed right back on their own faces.
How could there be wind here? It was impossible—this place was surrounded by buildings. The bullies were furious and shocked, and the crowd was stunned.
Everyone thought Evan must have used some trick to make it happen.
Actually, Evan hadn't done anything. Then a voice reminded him, "Don't overthink it. Just keep sweeping."
Evan immediately recognized the old man's voice. Seeing him still quietly sweeping, Evan felt a surge of respect. It was definitely this senior who had just helped him, using some method to stir up the wind at just the right moment, causing all their spit to land back on themselves.
So Evan kept sweeping calmly. The bullies, now with their own spit all over their faces, grew furious just thinking about it. Finally, one of them couldn't hold back anymore. "You! You dare mess with me? I'm going to kill you!"
"You want to visit the Enforcement Corps?" The old man suddenly said from the side as he swept the floor.
"The Enforcement Corps." Those three words shut them up instantly. Now they were speechless. Even though they'd suffered a loss, they couldn't retaliate against Evan, and they had no proof he made the first move.
"Let's go!" one of them said angrily, storming off.
After they left, Evan smiled and said, "Thank you, Senior."
"I've seen plenty like them. They come here to cause trouble all the time. So, don't butt heads with them or try to show off—it's always you who suffers in the end. What you did was right. As long as you don't let them catch you breaking the rules, you win by default." The old man explained while sweeping.
Evan understood what the old man meant—as long as you don't let anyone see you strike first, just keep playing dumb. That way, no one can do anything to you. So this is how you exploit the loopholes in Fire God Palace's rules.
Seeing Evan catch on, the old man smiled. "Keep sweeping. With their interruption, looks like we'll be working late tonight."
"It's fine, Senior. I'll take care of it," Evan said with a smile, then continued sweeping alongside the old man.
Watching Evan work, the old man thought to himself, "This kid really gets it right away."
Evan had no idea what the old man thought of him. At the moment, he felt that doing such simple work was actually quite comfortable.
After the bullies left, they found Shawn Bai. Shawn thought they'd taught Evan a lesson, but when he heard they'd been humiliated instead, he was shocked. "No way, what happened?"
"I don't know, a gust of wind came out of nowhere. It's really frustrating," the leader said angrily. "Brother Li, don't worry. We'll definitely get payback," Shawn Bai replied.
"If I don't get revenge, I'm not Li Xing," he snorted coldly.
"Brother Li, do you have any ideas to mess with him, to make him accept a duel?" Shawn Bai asked.
"Let me think," Li Xing said.
Shawn Bai also started pondering.
"How about this: we surround him again. I don't believe the wind will save him twice!" Li Xing said.
"If he still refuses, what then?" Shawn Bai asked suspiciously.
"If he won't accept? I'll just beat him up right then and there!" Li Xing said.
"That won't work. The Enforcement Corps—if you attack him in front of everyone, you'll definitely get punished!" Li Xing warned.
"So what do we do? We can't just let him keep getting away with it," Li Xing said, frustrated.
"Wait, I have an idea," Colin Green suddenly spoke up.
"Oh? What's your plan?" Shawn Bai asked curiously.
"Did you forget? After we've been here a month, we have to go through the newcomer review," Colin said.
"The review? You mean—" Shawn Bai seemed to remember something, his eyes lighting up. Li Xing caught on too and said excitedly, "Great, I'll definitely pick him then! I won't rest until I drive him out!"
"Drive him out? Not necessary. Just teach him a lesson. That way we can keep playing with him later," Shawn Bai said. He didn't want Evan to leave so soon—he still wanted to get Evan's treasures.
Hearing Shawn Bai's words, Li Xing nodded. Evan had no idea he was being plotted against. He'd already started living a simple but strangely peaceful life here.
Every night, the old man would take Evan to sit by a cliff and chat. After about half a month, the old man said with a smile, "You've been with me for half a month now, right?"
"Yes, Senior," Evan replied.
"Why do you follow me?" the old man suddenly asked with a smile.
"First, because I don't understand anything here and need your guidance. Second, because you're a true expert," Evan said, smiling.
"You're very honest. Aren't you afraid I'll be offended?" The old man smiled.
"I don't think so. If you let me stay, you must have your reasons. Did I guess right?" Evan asked.
"You're certainly not stupid. I kept you around for two reasons: one, for companionship; two, because I wanted to find someone trustworthy and not above the Profound-Immortal Realm to entrust with something. I've searched for years in this branch and never found the right person. But after seeing you and letting you follow me, half a month later, I realize you're a perfect fit." The old man smiled.
"Oh? Senior, do you have something for me to do?" Evan asked, pleasantly surprised.
"Would you like to hear a story?" the old man asked with a smile.
"I'd love to," Evan replied.
"Alright, let me tell you. Long ago, Fire God Palace was divided into nine branches. The origin of the nine branches came from nine fellow disciples. Each of them cultivated fire in a different way, and their master chose them as disciples with this in mind. So there were nine people, and the tradition has been passed down ever since. By now, no one knows how many generations it's been—each branch changes leaders every few million years or so." The old man spoke as if recalling distant memories.
"Which generation are we on now?" Evan asked curiously.
"Which generation? Let me think—at least several hundred, maybe even thousands," the old man replied with a smile.
"That long? So Fire God Palace has existed for ages?" Evan exclaimed in surprise.
"That's right. Legend has it Fire God Palace was founded by a god—the master I just mentioned," the old man said.
"Please continue, Senior. It sounds like there's more to the story?" Evan asked, intrigued.
"Back then, the nine brothers each received an artifact from their legendary master. Each artifact was sealed, but even sealed, their power was immense. Every branch treasured theirs and passed it down from generation to generation. But one day, the steward of our branch vanished, and the artifact disappeared with him. From then on, our branch began to decline, and that's why we're in this state today," the old man explained.
"What was so special about that artifact? Why did losing it make our branch fall so far?" Evan asked, puzzled.
"Because that artifact was vital to our branch. Do you know why? It automatically produced natural fire, perfect for us to absorb. Every year, vast flames would appear, and everyone would absorb them, growing stronger year after year. We weren't inferior to any other branch. But now, with the artifact gone, where can we find natural fire? Unless you're lucky, it's nearly impossible," the old man said.
Evan hadn't expected such a bizarre history behind this branch.