Evan rapidly circulated the Chaos Immortal Force within his body. This battle was bound to be earth-shattering, and he had no intention of holding back—if it meant getting a Sunstone, he wouldn’t hesitate to kill the Golden Crow King.
The Heart of Frostflame, which had been floating in the air, now fell to the ground. Its blue flames had vanished, but it still radiated a powerful chill.
Before the fight started, Evan picked it up and put it into his storage ring. The Heart of Frostflame was a rare treasure—getting one wasn’t easy, so he couldn’t afford to waste it.
Right now, the Golden Crow King was wrapped in black flames. The surrounding mist instantly evaporated as he glanced at Evan and said, “Let me show you the terrifying martial arts of the Golden Crow clan!”
As soon as he finished speaking, the black longsword in his hand slashed out. A destructive attack erupted from the blade, instantly filling the air with sword qi and endless black flames.
Don’t underestimate these flames—each one was packed with powerful sword qi. One careless move and you’d get hurt. The whole space trembled under his strike.
Evan wasn’t about to back down. The moment the Golden Crow King’s sword came slashing out, he activated the Unicorn Arm and Divine Cleave at full power. He was confident that even if his attack couldn’t kill the king outright, it would deal serious damage—after all, the Golden Crow King hadn’t reached the Heavenly God Realm.
Evan’s Divine Cleave could even heavily injure a Heavenly God Realm powerhouse, so he had plenty of faith in this strike.
Their attacks collided in midair. Instantly, winds howled and thunderous explosions rang out. The sheer force of their sword qi blasted both of them thousands of meters back before they managed to steady themselves.
Even as their bodies were knocked back, their sword qi kept attacking. Evan’s body was slashed with dozens of wounds, but none were very deep—thanks to his powerful defense. If he hadn’t broken through to the eighth layer of the Starforge Body, he’d be seriously injured right now, with wounds down to the bone.
Black flames, carried by sword qi, burrowed into Evan’s wounds—but he absorbed every bit into his body. For anyone else, those wounds would keep expanding, and even if the sword qi didn’t kill them, they’d be finished by the terrifying black fire.
The wood element in Evan’s body automatically activated, rapidly healing his injuries. Within a few breaths, the wounds stopped bleeding. In a flash, Evan appeared before the Golden Crow King.
The Golden Crow King, on the other hand, was in a far worse state. Dozens of massive wounds covered his body, flesh curled back and blood pouring out. The pain twisted the muscles on his face, making him look downright terrifying.
He lay sprawled on the ground, unable to stand for a long moment. Evan’s strike had once again devastated the Golden Crow clan’s territory—thousands of li flattened, sky thick with dust and water mist so heavy that it blurred all vision.
Evan glanced at the Golden Crow King and said, “If I wanted you dead, it’d be easy. I’ll give you one last chance—hand over the Sunstone and I’ll spare your life, and let your clan go. Otherwise, I’ll wipe out the Golden Crow clan and erase you from the Netherworld.”
The Golden Crow King’s eyes burned with murderous fury, but his strength just wasn’t enough. He’d thought using the Sunstone’s power would let him beat Evan, but hadn’t expected Evan to come prepared with a treasure that completely countered the Sunstone. Clearly, Evan had planned this from the start.
“Just kill me if you want. The Golden Crow clan has no cowards. If you think you’ll get a Sunstone, you’re dreaming—give up already!” The Golden Crow King had fallen into despair. Even if Evan spared his clan, their sacred fire-tree land was destroyed, cutting off their source of fire energy. The clan was basically crippled now.
“So you really don’t care about your clan, huh? Fine, I’ll let you live, then drag your people in front of you and kill them one by one. I bet you’ll change your mind then,” Evan said coldly.
“You’re shameless! A man can be killed, but not humiliated! If you’re a real man, give me a quick death and stop dragging this out!” the Golden Crow King roared. Only now did Evan realize how badly the king was hurt—half his internal organs were ruined. If he weren’t so strong, he’d already be dead.
Evan hesitated. Truthfully, he didn’t want to kill the Golden Crow King. As fellow powerhouses, there was a kind of mutual respect, and he had no real grudge against the Golden Crow clan. Plus, he’d be leaving the Netherworld soon—there was no need to make more enemies.
But if he didn’t kill him, he couldn’t get the Sunstone. That put Evan in a bind. After a moment’s struggle, he hardened his heart and pointed the Frostbane Divine Sword at the king’s heart—just a little force and the Golden Crow King would be dead.
When the Frostbane Divine Sword touched the king’s chest, his whole body trembled—Evan saw it clearly. The Golden Crow King was afraid of death; he was just pretending not to care.
“Go to hell!” Evan shouted, but didn’t press down with his sword. He wanted to see if, at the last moment, the king would change his mind.
If the king didn’t change his mind, Evan might really have no choice but to kill him—which was the last thing he wanted.
The Golden Crow King’s face went pale. In a panic, he coughed up blood—and at the same time, a single tear slipped from his eye, rolled down his cheek, and landed on the ground, instantly crystallizing into a dazzling golden stone.
That was a Sunstone—a freshly born Sunstone, right before Evan’s eyes. It was almost unbelievable; he’d actually witnessed the creation of a Sunstone.
The birth of a Sunstone was pure luck. Golden Crow tears were already incredibly rare, and even if one fell, it’d normally evaporate instantly in the blazing heat. That’s why Sunstones were so scarce.
But this time, Evan’s use of the Heart of Frostflame had lowered the temperature, so the king’s tear didn’t evaporate and was able to crystallize into this rare Sunstone.
Evan instantly snatched the Sunstone into his hand. It was still warm, not nearly as terrifying as he’d imagined, but the energy inside was immense.
The Golden Crow was a fire-attribute divine beast, but here in the Netherworld it was called a Netherbeast. It was hard for them to shed tears—those tears were actually a kind of essence crystal formed within their bodies, though most Golden Crows didn’t even know this.
Evan put away the Frostbane Divine Sword and said, “I have the Sunstone now. Give me the one you’ve already used, and I won’t kill you. My mission here is complete. For the sake of your clan, I trust you won’t choose to become a sinner for the ages.”
The Golden Crow King was utterly defeated. For his clan’s sake, he could only agree to Evan’s demand, reluctantly handing over the nearly depleted Sunstone…