While the others were furious and despairing about being dragged into the City Lord’s Mansion, Evan Lin was actually delighted—he felt like he’d finally gotten what he wanted. If anyone found out, they’d probably think he was insane.
Soon, Evan Lin and the others were brought before a massive, imposing building—the City Lord’s Mansion of All‑Stars City. It was even grander than the Frostbane Imperial Palace back in the Immortal Realm, and the two huge stone lions at the gate looked so lifelike that just seeing them made people feel a sense of dread.
There were guards posted at the entrance, each one standing there with pride and arrogance. When they saw Evan Lin and his group being escorted in, they looked puzzled. One of them asked, “What did these people do to get themselves thrown in here?”
“Anyone who dares to disrespect the City Lord’s Mansion naturally has to be brought in. Who knows, maybe they’re even the ones who killed Protector Liu. If that’s the case, we’ll have made a huge contribution.” The lead guard said this, clearly no higher in rank than the other gatekeepers.
“So that’s how it is. Go on in, then. Anyone who dares to look down on the City Lord’s Mansion is just asking for death!” the guard said.
Evan Lin ignored their chatter completely. From the moment he entered the City Lord’s Mansion, he discreetly extended his spiritual sense, but he did so with extreme caution—after all, the mansion was crawling with experts, and with his meager strength, he could easily be discovered.
The scenery inside was beautiful too—rock gardens and pavilions everywhere, and little bridges and ponds scattered all around. Evan Lin’s first impression was that the City Lord of All‑Stars City really knew how to enjoy life.
On the way, they passed a few servants, but these people acted as if they hadn’t even seen Evan Lin and his group—clearly, they were used to this kind of thing.
Before long, Evan Lin and the others were escorted to a huge martial training ground. There were already dozens of people there, and two of them were being tortured, their miserable screams echoing through the air.
An old man walked over. Seeing Evan Lin and the others being brought in, he asked the lead guard, “What crimes did these people commit? Why are they being sent to my Punishment Hall?”
“Hall Master, these people disrespected the authority of the City Lord’s Mansion and even attacked our guards. People like this can’t be tolerated—they must be dealt with. I hope you understand,” the lead guard said.
“So that’s how it is. You did well. The City Lord’s Mansion is short on manpower right now, so these guys came at just the right time. Still, I’ll have to let them suffer a little first—otherwise they won’t know how powerful the City Lord’s Mansion really is.” The old man smiled.
Several people turned pale, their bodies trembling and cold sweat breaking out on their foreheads—they were terrified. Evan Lin, on the other hand, just watched the old man indifferently, curious what tricks this geezer would pull.
“Then I’ll take my leave. Hall Master, you can interrogate them at your leisure—maybe you’ll get some useful clues.” The lead guard didn’t linger and turned to go.
The old man smiled and said, “Once you’ve entered the City Lord’s Mansion, forget about escaping—no one has ever gotten out. Coming here is both your fortune and your misfortune; opportunity and danger go hand in hand. Don’t say I’m cold-blooded. I give everyone who makes a mistake one chance.
If you can meet my conditions, you won’t be punished. If you fail, you might just lose your life here.”
“What does the Hall Master want us to do? Please tell us directly, City Lord. If it’s something I can do, I’ll do my best.” a middle-aged man suddenly said.
“You’re good at flattery, and I like that. It’s simple—I want to watch your life-and-death duels. Whoever survives will be favored; whoever dies, well, there’s nothing more to say.
There are ten of you, so split into five pairs. It doesn’t matter if you’re strong or weak—sort yourselves out. Only the last one left standing can leave the City Lord’s Mansion directly. Of course, you don’t all have to die; I’m just saying, if you die in the fight, you’re out of chances.
I trust you’re all smart people. Who will be the last survivor? Let’s wait and see—start now!” the old man shouted.
Evan Lin cursed inwardly—this old freak really was twisted, using methods like this to torment people. If the weak ended up facing the strong, it was basically a death sentence. But the guy actually enjoyed finding amusement in it; it was just plain bullying.
Soon, the ten people split into five pairs. The strong immediately picked the weakest opponents to preserve their strength for later, while those in the middle ended up facing each other. Evan Lin’s opponent was a middle-aged man at early-stage Heavenly God Realm.
The City Lord’s Mansion’s martial field was huge—maybe the lead guard had brought them here just so the Hall Master could enjoy their bloody spectacle. This kind of thing probably happened all the time; who knew how many people had died here? Evan Lin felt this place was a giant tumor—if he ever became strong enough, he’d definitely rip it out, roots and all.
The fights started quickly. Evan Lin’s opponent wielded a long saber, its pitch-black blade glinting eerily. Here, Evan couldn’t afford to look too strong—but he couldn’t look weak, either.
He had to circle carefully with the middle-aged man, waiting for a chance to defeat him. As for killing him outright, that would depend—if the guy tried to go all out against Evan, Evan wouldn’t hold back either. Whether the man lived or died would be up to fate.
For a while, the martial field shook with wind and thunder, energy storms blasting everywhere. Evan Lin noticed the ground here in the God Realm was nothing like the Immortal Realm—if this were the Immortal Realm, the earth would already be cracked wide open, maybe even spewing magma. But this field was completely intact, not a scratch on it.
It was strange, but Evan didn’t have time to think about it. Just then, the middle-aged man’s saber, wreathed in powerful blade-qi, slashed toward him—if it hit, Evan would be split in two. There was no way he’d let that happen.
With a thought, Evan used Shifting Position. In the God Realm, this technique wasn’t especially fast, but it was enough to dodge the attack. He didn’t dare use the Frostbane Divine Sword here, so he pulled out a longsword he’d once gotten from the Emerald Immortal Emperor’s treasure in his storage ring.
He still had weapons inside the Coiling-Dragon Ring, but now was definitely not the time to use them. Any weapon left behind by a God-Venerable would be far from ordinary—if someone noticed, that would be real trouble…