Marcus felt pressure at this moment, sensing Evan's qi bearing down on him. If this continued, he'd really lose face. He cursed inwardly, "Damn it, what kind of freak is this kid?"
"His qi is quite unusual. You can't just clash auras with him; use other attacks!" Suddenly a voice transmission arrived. When Marcus snapped back to attention, he realized it was the Palace Lord speaking.
The Palace Lord had watched Evan fight several times and knew his qi was very strange—he could contend evenly with people several realms above him. So even his reminder was meant to get Marcus to switch methods sooner.
Marcus listened, extended his right hand, and drew out a sharp flying knife, launching it straight into the air.
Evan saw the flying knife and tried to block it with his qi. However, Evan's aura only grew strong when directly opposing another's aura; against standalone attacks, it was less effective.
The sharp flying knife plunged straight down toward Evan's head.
The crowd was shocked. If Evan didn't retreat now, he'd surely be pierced by the knife; but if he did retreat, Marcus's qi would injure him.
He could only choose one, but either way he'd end up hurt. So Evan was already seen as doomed.
But just then, Evan flicked out his flying needles. Although he couldn't stop the knife completely, he changed its trajectory; with a screech, the knife stabbed into the ground instead.
"Phew." The whole arena let out a collective sigh. Hannah Nangong's heart, which had been trembling with anxiety, now steadied; her eyes turned red, nearly bursting into tears.
The Palace Lord slammed his fist, cursing inwardly, "Damn it, even now he hasn't managed to kill him."
Marcus was stunned. Even a sneak attack like that couldn't touch Evan—this kid really had skills. He thought for a moment and summoned his flying knife again, though oddly, he only held one blade in his hand.
Once thrown, the knife split into ten, then a hundred, then a thousand. Evan felt the scene looked familiar—he'd been attacked like this before. He focused his gaze, muttering to himself, "Isn't this the same technique used by the Black Hand Gate assassin?"
The Black Hand Gate Evan was thinking of was the one from the Human World, specializing in assassinations. Back then, Evan had fought them in the void and won.
So seeing this technique again, Evan was curious whether Marcus and the Black Hand Gate belonged to the same lineage.
Facing this situation, Evan wasn't afraid at all. He released his divine sense, locked onto every flying knife, and prepared to knock them all aside.
Those who didn't know better screamed in panic. Even the Palace Lord was excited inside, thinking, "Good, this time that kid won't have seventy-two transformations!"
Hannah Nangong was terrified—if this kept up, Evan would surely be doomed. Just as she was about to look for a way to save him, the situation on the stage changed.
Suddenly, with a clang, all the flying knives stabbed into the ground beside Evan, missing him completely. The crowd was stunned.
Some people were even frozen in shock. Quinn Qing stared at Evan in disbelief, thinking, "Just what kind of person is this guy?"
"What just happened?" The Palace Lord was shocked, while Marcus was dumbfounded. This was outrageous—his thousand-blade technique had been cracked by Evan, a move he'd used to kill many Xuan-Immortal experts.
"Any other tricks? If not, you might just lose to me," Evan said.
"Lose to you? Kid, look at your realm—you're only a Heavenly-Immortal!" Marcus snorted. The crowd also thought Evan was boasting; in their eyes, Marcus could never lose to someone so much weaker.
"Who says a Heavenly-Immortal can't defeat you?" Evan smiled.
"Arrogant!" thought everyone in the arena. Hannah Nangong was worried—she didn't really believe Evan could beat Marcus, given the huge gap in strength.
"Hmph, let me show you my attributes!" Marcus shouted. Suddenly, water appeared all around Evan.
Evan chuckled inwardly. At this moment, he was surrounded by water—even overhead—so no one outside could see what was happening to him inside.
"Let's see if you can withstand my water!" Marcus sneered. The water inside began attacking Evan, like sentient hands grabbing at him—sometimes seizing his arms, sometimes his legs.
The force was tremendous, as if trying to tear Evan apart.
Evan glanced around, thinking, "I never expected water could be used like this—it's almost alive. But water and fire are inherently opposed; that's the rule. Watch how I break you."
After speaking, Evan unleashed a burst of flame. Outside, people could only see flashes of fire through the water.
Fire inside water? The crowd already had an answer: fire would surely be extinguished, since water counters fire. Everyone was secretly pleased, but the result was not as expected—steam began rising around the water.
The steam showed signs of water evaporating. At first there was only a little, but soon it increased, filling the area with mist—and even boiling.
The crowd furrowed their brows—could Evan's flames really evaporate the water? Marcus couldn't believe it and quickly increased the water volume. The water outside grew thicker, but still couldn't resist the flames inside.
The mist kept growing, and all anyone could see on stage was a cloud of fog. No one could see what was happening to Evan inside.
Just then, a ball of flame appeared in the mist, heading straight for Marcus. He was startled and quickly retreated; the water he controlled stopped, and Evan was finally revealed to the crowd.
Evan's body was completely dry, not a drop of water on him. This proved he'd avoided the water.
Marcus kept retreating, using several waves of water before finally extinguishing Evan's flame.
When things calmed down, Marcus was drenched in sweat. Evan stood there smiling and said, "Well? How was that?"
"You..." Marcus was furious—he'd been provoked. With so many people watching, losing would be humiliating, especially since his strength far surpassed Evan's.
The Palace Lord and others were stunned—they never expected Marcus, a ninth-tier Xuan-Immortal, would be forced to retreat by Evan, and become so agitated.
Quinn Qing was dumbfounded, muttering to himself, "If you run into him, you're dead for sure."
Many who wanted Evan dead now had to reconsider—he couldn't be judged by ordinary standards. If they wanted to kill him, they'd need to send someone at the Immortal Lord level.
Still, some didn't believe Evan could defeat Marcus—at most, it would end in a draw. Hannah Nangong finally relaxed, muttering, "He should be fine now."
Suddenly, earth walls appeared around Marcus.
Someone exclaimed, "Dual attributes!"
Everyone thought Marcus only used water, but he could also use earth. Even the Palace Lord was surprised, then smiled, "Now there's no problem—with earth walls as a shield."
Hannah Nangong was shocked, while Quinn Qing and the others were both surprised and delighted.
Evan wasn’t too surprised—he just smiled. "Dual attributes."
"This secret was only known to a few, but today I have to reveal it—otherwise, I really can't withstand your fire attacks!" Marcus said.
"You think your earth walls can stop me?" Evan smiled. Hannah Nangong suddenly remembered Evan also had earth attribute, so he should understand how to counter it.
"No effect? Let's try and see!" Marcus sneered. Earth walls appeared around Evan again, growing thicker. To everyone, Evan now looked locked inside; to break out, he'd have to smash the walls. But Marcus kept reinforcing them—how could Evan break free?
Inside the darkness, Evan activated Night-Eye and laughed inwardly, thinking, "You think this can trap me? You're underestimating me."
But Evan didn't brute-force it. He glanced at the walls, then used reverse control on them.
Outside, Marcus suddenly sensed something odd inside. As he wondered, the walls began cracking on their own.
To others, it looked like Evan was smashing the walls, so Marcus kept reinforcing them. But Marcus knew this wasn't just brute force—Evan had some method making the walls shatter.
Each time Marcus reinforced them, the walls cracked again, making the crowd nervous.
"Strange, this kid is terrifying," the Palace Lord muttered, shocked. If not for Marcus, he might have already lost to Evan.
Quinn Qing stared at the wall, thinking, "Hold on! Don't let it break!"
But no matter how they shouted, Evan finally shattered the wall at the last moment. To outsiders, it looked like Evan's powerful attack broke it, since he was in an attacking posture. In truth, he had used earth attribute reverse control to make the wall collapse on its own.
Marcus couldn't believe it—he was the only one who knew what really happened. He asked in disbelief, "You know earth?"
"Did your eyes really see that?" Evan refused to admit it. If he confirmed his earth attribute now, news would spread, and he'd lose a survival advantage.
"Hmph, you can fool others, but not me. I didn't expect you to be dual attribute too," Marcus said angrily.
But Evan kept denying it. The two started arguing, while the crowd watched, half believing, half doubting. Only Hannah Nangong knew for sure Evan had earth attribute.
"Alright, enough arguing. Let's continue. Any more tricks? If not, I'm going to attack." Evan said.
"Hmph! Of course I have more. I don't believe your strength surpasses mine," Marcus snorted.
"Come on." Evan was ready. Marcus moved at incredible speed; Evan, though an eighth-tier Heavenly-Immortal, was strong in attributes and other aspects, but in raw power and speed he should be no match for Marcus.
But reality was different. Evan started out dodging Marcus's attacks one by one, making Marcus furious. "If you've got guts, trade punches with me!" Marcus shouted, face red with anger.
"Trade punches? You really want to trade punches?" Evan sneered.
The crowd watched the two, amazed that a peak Xuan-Immortal would challenge an eighth-tier Heavenly-Immortal like this—it completely overturned their expectations.