With the tricks team beating drums and clashing cymbals to create harmonies, the atmosphere was set perfectly, and the mood of the onlookers rose to another level.

It was obvious that his skill was indeed deeper than that of the young man; not only could he gather flames and spit fire in pillars, but after eating a pellet, he could spit fire not just once, but three to five times in a row.

Immediately, the middle-aged performer ate another pellet, then circled the open space, spitting fire pillars above the heads of all the spectators, letting people feel the scorching heat. He even fetched some wood, placed it in the brazier, and ignited it with his fire breath to show that the flames he spat were no trick, but the real thing.

“Not bad, not bad…”

Elder clapped repeatedly and said, “Your fire-resisting technique is quite accomplished.”

“May I ask if you have any advice, elder?”

The middle-aged performer was quite pleased with himself for a moment.

“It’s not advice, not at all. Perhaps you folks haven’t heard of it, and I wonder if my fellow performers have? The fire-resisting technique actually has two levels.” Elder said with a smile, “The lower level requires fire pellets or fire oil in the mouth to perform, but the higher level does not.”

The middle-aged performer was instantly shocked.

The crowd also paused, then burst into an uproar, starting to discuss and shout.

“What’s this higher level? Show us!”

“Let’s have a contest!”

“Old Man, don’t just talk big!”

“You, Old Man, that’s not fair. If you want to set up a stall and make money, just go to the south of the city. This guy’s been working hard all morning—it’s not easy for him!”

At first, Elder declined, but with the crowd’s persistent coaxing and shouting, he finally stepped forward.

He moved unhurriedly, without taking any fire pellets, and simply walked to the brazier filled with wood and flames that the middle-aged performer had lit earlier. He smiled at the crowd, then suddenly bent down and inhaled.

“Sss…”

At once, the flames curled up, from thick to thin, as if alive, swirling upward and into his mouth.

The onlookers fell silent.

Looking again at Elder, there was nothing unusual.

He opened his mouth to show that there was nothing inside.

But suddenly, he opened his mouth and spat:

“Boom…”

Another pillar of fire shot skyward.

This left the crowd dumbfounded.

Henry Walton also widened his eyes.

Although this fire pillar was not as long as the middle-aged performer’s and was more diffuse, he hadn’t eaten anything, and the act of inhaling the fire and then spitting it out was far more visually striking.

For a moment, it was simply like a divine feat.

“Everyone, your enthusiasm is overwhelming, and I couldn’t refuse, so I had to come up and make a fool of myself. But please, step back a bit. I am old, not as strong as this robust man or the young fellow, and the fire I spit is more scattered. If your hair or face gets singed, I won’t be responsible.”

“Boom…”

Elder, just like the middle-aged performer earlier, circled the open space, spitting fire pillars above the crowd, letting them feel the scorching heat, even singeing some people’s hair to prove the fire was real.

With the sound of gongs and drums, the crowd’s amazement grew.

“Boom…”

A tongue of flame flew over Henry Walton’s head.

Henry Walton was one of the few who didn’t step back. Even as the flame passed by, he only shielded the opening of the basket in front of him, not his head—just as Elder had said, he wasn’t as strong as the younger men, and the fire was more diffuse. Henry Walton immediately felt the scorching, surging power of the flames.

At the same time, he felt something strange in his heart.

Suddenly, Henry Walton remembered—

Back at the Wang family ancestral hall in Heng Village, when that monster’s smoke attacked, he had felt the same sensation.

He just didn’t know if it was really as he thought.

Henry Walton, dazed, raised his hand to touch his head.

A few strands of hair were slightly curled.

Chapter 8: Fire-Resisting Technique

“Little brother, you didn’t get burned, did you?”

“No, no…”

“Your body and hair are given by your parents—if you got a few hairs burned, we’d feel guilty.”

“It was my own carelessness.”

“Just stand a bit farther away, hehe, let me take another breath.”

Elder, beaming, seemed extremely pleased with the crowd’s astonished reactions. He walked back to the brazier, lowered his head, and took a deep breath.

“Hiss…”

Immediately, the fierce flames, like smoke, entered his mouth and nose.

Henry Walton’s vision blurred for a moment, as if he saw the flames at the old man’s lips naturally transform into a glowing vapor or mist, and after entering his mouth and nose, the glow could still be seen through his skin.

But this daze lasted only an instant.

In the next moment, everything was normal.

Henry Walton couldn’t help but rub his eyes and look again, but saw nothing—only a triumphant, fire-spitting Elder.

He couldn’t help but feel puzzled and dazed.

Not long after, the two sides refused to give way, and actually agreed to a contest, drawing a line down the middle of the field. Money thrown to one side would go to Elder, and to the other, to the original performer. Both would show their skills, and the onlookers would throw money to whichever side they liked, thus deciding the winner.

The performer did the fishing trick.

Elder chopped off his own hand to show the crowd, then reattached it.

The performer did the torn-silk act.

Elder borrowed books and silk from the crowd, threw them all into the brazier to burn them to ashes, and moments later, retrieved them from elsewhere, completely intact.

It was all extremely spectacular.