Immortal Lord Lin didn't doubt Evan Yang's words much. In his view, Evan's four limbs were crippled, and his flames and artifacts couldn't possibly harm the Shard Bugs, so his abilities couldn't be that impressive.
This let Evan easily fool him again, and Evan's points suddenly shot up to over two hundred thousand. What did that mean? He had soared to fifth place.
When the First Palace residents saw the change in the Points Leaderboard, they were all stunned. The 'madman' dropped out of the top ten, Evan moved up, and the madman's top-ten Pass Token was revoked while Evan received one.
That Pass Token signifies top-ten status and is also the credential for leaving Ethereal Sanctuary.
Seeing Evan obtain a Pass Token so soon after arriving surprised many, but most wouldn't dare object. In their eyes, Evan's strength was enough for the top ten—especially after his showdowns with those three.
At this point, Hugh Hu and the other two were already suppressed by Evan; even their points were behind his. The madman lost his token, meaning he couldn't come and go freely anymore, which infuriated him—but he was helpless. Even combined, the three couldn't defeat Evan, and the previous fifth-ranked, Bi, was now sixth, whereabouts unknown.
Actually, they had no idea that person was already dead—dead in a truly miserable way.
"Go ask Chris Lee about the Spirit Power Stone." Evan had received the Pass Token, meaning he could come and go as he pleased, but that Heavenly-Immortal was still watching him. Evan ignored it and went straight to find Chris.
Chris Lee had been hiding in his room all along. When he saw Evan, he looked like he'd seen a savior. "You're finally back!"
"What's wrong?" Evan asked curiously, seeing Chris's expression.
"Those Shard Bugs are gone," Chris said gloomily, opening his clothes to reveal wounds all over his body.
"They were stolen?" Seeing the wounds and hearing Chris's tone, Evan knew something bad had happened to Chris's Shard Bugs.
"Yeah, they were stolen. But the thief didn't want the Shard Bugs—they wanted to provoke you," Chris said awkwardly.
"Provoke me? What's going on?" Evan asked, curious.
"It was Skyler Xiao, ranked sixth. He said he'd beat you, and if you didn't show up, he wouldn't return my Shard Bugs." Chris said, embarrassed.
"Skyler Xiao? He's not sixth anymore—he's seventh now," Evan replied.
"Seventh? Why?" Chris asked, confused.
Seeing Chris had probably been hiding in his room and knew nothing, Evan explained. When Chris learned Evan had taken fifth place and pushed the others back, he stared in shock. "You're really fifth?"
"Yeah, look." Evan showed him the Pass Token.
Seeing the coveted Pass Token, Chris said excitedly, "That's awesome! Someday I hope I can have one too—then I can leave Ethereal Sanctuary."
"Don't get too excited. You'll have your chance someday. But first, let me ask you something," Evan said.
"What is it?" Chris asked, curious, not knowing what Evan wanted.
"Do you know about Spirit Power Stones?" Evan asked.
"Yeah, but they're said to be really rare. Usually only big sects or powerful clans have a few, since they're used to boost elemental attributes," Chris explained.
"Boost elemental attributes?" Evan asked, curious.
"Yeah. For example, your flame can be strengthened either by cultivation or by external means, and Spirit Power Stones are one type of attribute stone. Different stones have different attributes, so even if you get one, it might not be the type you need. That's why they're so expensive—even at auction, they can go for tens of millions of upper-grade Immortal Source," Chris said.
After understanding, Evan asked, "Do you know how to use it? Do you just crush it, or...?"
"I've only heard you need to channel Immortal Essence directly into it, and then its attribute power will flow into your body. But the process is slow—a single stone takes about ten years to fully absorb," Chris replied.
"Ten years? For me, it'll only take about a month," Evan muttered to himself, then smiled and said, "Thanks. Come on, let's go find that guy. Since he wants to provoke me, I can't just hide—otherwise everyone will think I'm afraid of him."
"You're really going?" Chris was a bit worried for Evan. He knew Evan was strong, but Evan's ranking was mainly due to Shard Bug points.
"Yeah, don't worry. I've advanced two minor realms—I'll be fine," Evan said confidently.
"You're sixth-tier now?" Chris hadn't noticed before and still felt something was off.
"Yeah, let's go," Evan said with a smile.
Chris found it hard to believe, but he was filled with hope. Evan had beaten the ninth-ranked expert when he was only fourth-tier, so this time should be no problem. He had no idea Evan had already defeated the previous fifth-ranked, Brandon Bi.
News that Evan was seeking Skyler Xiao spread quickly, and Skyler soon showed up, full of confidence. When he saw his ranking had changed, he frowned, looked closely, and saw Evan was now fifth. His expression turned strange, then disdainful. "Using Shard Bugs for points—how shameful," he sneered.
In Skyler's eyes, Evan was just a newcomer, lacking manners and rivals, so Skyler arrogantly sought him out.
This was something Skyler had started after Chris returned a few months ago. Now, with Evan appearing, everyone knew Evan was looking for Skyler. Whether it was for revenge or something else, the two were bound to fight.
When Skyler saw Evan, he sneered, "I heard your Shard Bugs were just picked up?"
"Yeah, I got lucky and picked up a bunch," Evan replied with a smile.
"No wonder your points shot up so fast—turns out you just picked them up. Guess your luck's pretty good," Skyler said with a cold laugh.
Some people around supported Skyler and burst out laughing. Evan smiled, "Then I want to see how you, sixth—wait, seventh—got your ranking."
"Of course, I fought my way up with my own hands. Unlike you," Skyler mocked.
Ignore this line—it's a webnovel navigation note, not part of the story.
"Enough talk. Let's do this," Evan said, not bothering with him and getting straight to the point.
Skyler thought Evan's strength couldn't possibly surpass his own, but the next moment he was stunned, and so were the others. Evan's power had risen to sixth-tier; in just a few months, he'd become so strong it was hard to believe.
As for Skyler, he hadn't even fought yet before Evan crippled him. If he'd been arrogant before, now he was terrified and fled the scene.
The duel was over, just like that.
The crowd felt more awe and envy toward Evan than anything else.
Word of Evan's feat quickly reached Immortal Lord Lin. Sitting there, Lin asked skeptically, "A few months? You really think that's possible?"
"Not likely. That's way too exaggerated," said the Heavenly-Immortal.
"It really is exaggerated. I want to know why. Go ahead—send the top three to challenge him," said Immortal Lord Lin.
"Why not just let me cripple him directly?" asked the Heavenly-Immortal.
"It's not your turn yet. I want to play him to death, slowly," Immortal Lord Lin said with a smile.
"Then I'll go now," said the Heavenly-Immortal.
After he left, Immortal Lord Lin muttered, "This kid really has backbone. I never expected his explosive power to be so strong. I'll see how far you can go, then cripple you when the time comes."
Then Immortal Lord Lin showed a strange smile. Evan was glad Lin wasn't rushing to act, giving him time to grow.
Evan ranked fifth, and news of his advancement spread quickly.
Just when everyone thought no one would challenge Evan again, the rarely-seen top three all showed up at once.
All three were seeing Evan for the first time, so they were curious. When others heard the top three would challenge Evan, it felt like a world-shaking event.
There had never been such a precedent—three people challenging Evan at once. It was basically a siege, even if they fought one at a time. This kind of wheel battle would put a lot of pressure on Evan.
But Evan didn't care. Even though their wheel battle seemed designed to drain his strength, Evan had the Collection Box, now filled with Immortal Essence.
News of Evan's upcoming wheel battle with the three spread throughout the First Palace, and everyone gathered on the tenth floor. It was packed.
"You're Evan Yang?" asked the third-ranked, a short veteran nicknamed 'Old Third Liu.'
"That's right. And who are you?" Evan asked.
"I'm from the First Palace. Been here many years. Every century, I'm third place, so everyone calls me Old Third Liu," he said.
"Always third every century? That's interesting. Why are you three challenging me all at once? Am I threatening you somehow?" Evan asked, curious about their motives.
"No special reason. We just want to challenge you. We heard you've already defeated several top-ten experts. If we don't come out, we'll look weak. But we don't think we're weak, so you can't avoid this fight—and I'll go first. If you can't beat me, you won't have a chance against the other two," Old Third Liu said.
Evan smiled, "Oh? Are the other two that strong?"
The other two stood aside, saying little, but their eyes made it clear—they intended to cripple Evan.
Evan still couldn't understand why he'd provoked such intense hatred from them.
"They're not only first and second on the Points Leaderboard, they're also half a step into the Heavenly-Immortal realm," Old Third Liu said with a smile.
"That really is impressive. But even though I'm from North Sect, not some famous sect, I won't back down. Come on—I'll take all three of you, one by one," Evan said with a smile.
"You didn't retreat—just for that, you're a worthy opponent," Old Third Liu said with a smile.
Evan knew he had the Pass Token and could leave Ethereal Sanctuary without accepting the challenge, but he didn't. He wouldn't run away, and besides, these people weren't enough to threaten him.
"Retreat? I'm afraid the three of you will fall before I do—why should I back down?" Evan said with a smile.