Liam Li never expected Yang Han's flame to be so strong. If he kept going like this, he really would lose. Not daring to continue, he secretly boosted his firepower.
Yang Han noticed and laughed, "You raised your fire? Doesn't that break the rules?"
"When did I raise it? Stop bluffing." Liam Li sneered. The crowd around them were his friends, so nobody objected to Liam's actions. Yang Han looked around and laughed, "So that's how it is. Then I won't be polite either."
With that, Yang Han suddenly powered up his flame and launched a counterattack. Boom! He even engulfed Liam Li in flames. The crowd witnessed a hilarious scene: the examinee teaching the examiner a lesson.
"Ah!" Liam Li screamed, stumbling back, discovering his hair and eyebrows were scorched. The crowd burst into laughter.
"Sorry for any offense." Yang Han knew there was no rule against using heavy hands on the examiner here.
"You—" Liam Li was furious but dared not move. His face was burned in many places, and he was extremely angry, but the fact was clear: Yang Han hadn't been troubled at all, and instead had taught Liam a lesson.
Not far away, Shawn Bai and Colin Green saw this and sucked in a cold breath. Shawn Bai cursed inwardly, "Damn it, this guy..."
Seeing that Yang Han had already qualified and left, Shawn Bai walked over and asked, "Are you alright?"
"Alright? Let me burn you and see!" Liam Li said gloomily.
"We'll definitely get revenge. Find a few trustworthy newcomers and have them teach him a proper lesson inside—don't let him gain any insights." Shawn Bai said.
"Yeah, inside is the perfect chance to teach him a lesson." Liam Li snorted.
Shawn Bai thought for a moment and added, "Just teach him a lesson, don't kill him, or else there'll be nothing left to play with." Actually, he was worried that if Yang Han died in there, his treasures would disappear too.
"Huh? Fine." Liam Li was startled for a moment, then nodded. He also didn't want Yang Han to die in there—he hadn't personally taught Yang Han a lesson yet. This was already his second failure: the first time, he went after Yang Han and got spat on for no reason; the second, he tried to test Yang Han and got burned by his flames instead.
"Come on, let's go have some drinks and get rid of this frustration." Seeing Liam Li so gloomy, Shawn Bai laughed.
Liam Li nodded, and followed Shawn Bai out.
Yang Han was naturally keeping an eye on their every move. He sneered, "Want to mess with me? You'd better be ready for it."
With Yang Han's Thousand-Mile Echo, the group had no idea their conversation was being overheard word for word.
"Drinking? Then I'll play with you first." Yang Han thought to himself with a smile, then disappeared into the crowd.
As for the three, they arrived at a special palace on the main star. Even at the entrance, the scent of wine and delicious aromas could be smelled.
The three entered, found a spot, and sat down. This was a special palace restaurant in Fire God Palace, famous for its excellent chefs—and its steep prices.
So the three of them ordered a bunch of food and wine, then started chatting and tasting everything.
Not far away, Yang Han saw all this, thought for a moment, and decisively walked over. As Yang Han approached, Shawn Bai realized their relationship hadn't openly broken down yet, and that he'd only privately asked Liam Li to come. Now, Liam was here too.
Shawn Bai immediately shifted gears and smiled, "Brother Mu, I didn't expect you to come too. Come on, sit with us."
Yang Han walked over with a smile and said, "Didn't expect to see Senior Brother Bai and Senior Brother Green here too, and even the examiner."
"You guys know each other?" Shawn Bai pretended to ask.
"Yeah, he was the examiner for my assessment this morning," Yang Han replied.
Liam Li nodded a bit unhappily.
"Ah, I see! Well, if we're all brothers, let's have a drink and bury the hatchet," Shawn Bai said.
Everyone could tell Shawn Bai was putting on an act, but only he thought Yang Han had no clue. Yang Han just smiled and played along. "If that's the case, I'll drink first."
He downed a cup, so Liam Li had no choice but to raise his glass and drink too. Shawn Bai laughed, "From now on, we're all brothers. No more grudges."
Just then, Yang Han suddenly spat on the floor. The three immediately tensed, thinking he was about to flip the table. But Yang Han's next words put their minds at ease.
Yang Han sighed, "This wine is too bland. It’s not as good as the stuff I brought myself."
"Oh? What kind of wine do you have? Is it really better than the best here?" Shawn Bai asked suspiciously.
"Don’t believe me? Just try it," Yang Han said with a grin.
The three looked at Yang Han curiously, but deep down, they all had their doubts. What if Yang Han had poisoned it? That would be trouble.
"What, you’re afraid I’ll poison you?" Yang Han teased when none of them moved.
"Not really, but I’ll drink first," Shawn Bai said, while secretly sending a message to the other two: if anything happens to him, grab Yang Han and drag him to the Enforcement Corps.
Yang Han just smiled, "Go ahead, drink."
Shawn Bai nodded and took a sip. The aroma hit him right away—it was truly fine wine. He couldn’t help but drink it all in one go.
Normally, insults like this weren’t a big deal. But this time, with so many people involved, it was different.
The Enforcement Corps member watched the recording and was stunned—even he couldn’t stand it. He turned to the three and said, “You guys are gutsy, insulting so many people in public.”
“We don’t know what happened,” Shawn Bai replied, feeling miserable.
“Don’t know? Don’t tell me you were just drunk and lost control. Take a look for yourselves,” the Enforcement Corps member said, handing them a wood slip to watch.
After the three watched the recording, they were dumbfounded. Now they finally understood why so many faces looked familiar—it was all their own drunken nonsense.
At this point, Shawn Bai and the others couldn’t even explain themselves. The Enforcement Corps member snorted, “You dare insult your fellow disciples like this? Unbelievable! I’m cutting a hundred years off your cultivation. You’d better behave from now on!”
“What? A hundred years?” Shawn Bai blurted out, miserable. Losing a hundred years of cultivation over a single drink wasn’t much in the grand scheme, but it still stung.
“Yep, a hundred years. And for the next century, you’ll be under investigation—meaning you’ll be watched at all times. If you screw up again, the next penalty is at least a thousand years,” the Enforcement Corps member said without hesitation.
The three were completely deflated. Now they’d be under constant surveillance, making it even harder to do anything to Yang Han. All they could do was curse under their breath—especially since they’d not only been punished, but still had to face the wrath of fifty or sixty furious people.
Everyone in the crowd started cursing them, and the trio were led away. When they finally reappeared, it looked like they’d been through hell—completely drained.
Then the crowd shouted, “Serves you right!”
Yang Han watched from a distance, secretly laughing to himself. “Never thought your hearts were so filthy—always thinking about so many people. This is your karma.”
None of them realized Yang Han was watching the whole thing. If they had, they’d definitely have come after him for revenge.