A hundred Spirit Stones—that was an enormous sum, enough to make anyone jealous.
"Liam Liu, you really think that highly of me? Willing to offer a hundred Spirit Stones? Looks like your family's coffers aren't too shabby!" Evan Chu laughed as he looked at Liam's fiery-eyed expression.
People die for wealth, birds die for food. Tempted by the lure of a hundred Spirit Stones, Liam Liu's henchmen rushed to attack Evan Chu, scrambling over each other.
Seeing the henchmen coming for him, Evan Chu gave a cold smile. In a flash, he slid his foot and unleashed Lightstep Ripple, one of the first three footwork forms from the Windchaser Sword Codex.
Before anyone could see what happened, his figure had already shifted two meters away—just as one henchman lunged at him.
"Breeze and Cloud!"
This was the fourth form of the Windchaser Sword Codex. The power of a Profound-tier technique was leagues beyond any Yellow-tier martial art. Evan Chu's Frostbane Sword traced a graceful arc through the air.
The next instant, a blood-soaked head tumbled from the henchman's neck, but not a single drop stained Evan Chu's Frostbane Sword.
One move, instant kill—so fast it was almost unreal. Evan Chu was satisfied with the result. Though he didn't like killing casually, he felt no sympathy for lackeys who sided with bullies and helped them prey on the weak.
"Hmph, not even worth a strike!"
After dispatching one henchman with a single move, Evan Chu didn’t pause for a second. He stepped in front of another, and with the same technique and the same graceful arc, yet another life was ended forever.
Two men slain in an instant—at that moment, Evan Chu seemed like a demon, making Liam Liu tremble uncontrollably on the side.
Seeing his companions slaughtered in a flash, the last henchman made a split-second decision and bolted, not caring about Liam Liu’s fate—saving his own skin was all that mattered now.
Evan Chu slowly walked up to Liam Liu and grinned. "Liam, surprised? The ‘trash’ you looked down on dares to stand up to you today. Regretting you didn’t bring more people?"
"E-Evan Chu, don’t get cocky! I’m a young master of the Liu Family—what do you think you can do to me?" Even now, Liam Liu tried to use his family’s name to intimidate him.
"Liam, what I hate most is people trying to scare me. You think the Liu Family is so terrifying?
I don’t buy it. You’d even rob an old man of the only thing he had to save his grandson? You’ve got no conscience at all. Today, I’m going to rid the people of a scourge!" Evan Chu’s eyes blazed with a fury that sent chills down everyone’s spine.
The look in Evan Chu’s eyes made Liam Liu feel like he was staring death in the face. Remembering how Evan had just butchered his two henchmen, he couldn’t help but lose control—hot urine streamed down his pants and pooled on the ground.
Evan Chu hadn’t expected this guy to actually wet himself from fear. "How do you want to die?" he asked, voice icy cold.
"I don’t want to die! Evan, please, for the sake of us both being from noble families, let me go! I swear I’ll never do it again!" Liam Liu had abandoned all dignity—he was practically about to kneel and beg.
"Trash, killing you would only dirty my hands. But what about today—how are we settling this?" Evan Chu really didn’t want to kill Liam Liu.
As much as Liam Liu’s actions were hateful, he was still a Liu Family scion. Right now, the Chu Family was in crisis—Evan couldn’t risk bringing disaster on his clan just for a moment’s impulse.
Hearing that Evan Chu was willing to let him go, Liam Liu was overjoyed. "I’ll return the monster-beast egg to the old man right away, and I’ll compensate him with another hundred Spirit Stones. How’s that?"
That outcome was good enough for Evan Chu—a hundred Spirit Stones would cover the old man and his grandson’s living expenses for ten years.
"Hand them over!" Evan Chu’s face remained expressionless. With people like Liam Liu, you had to be ruthless—otherwise, they’d never yield.
Liam Liu pulled a white monster-beast egg from his storage belt, then took out a hundred Spirit Stones and asked, "Can I go now?"
"Get lost!" Evan Chu couldn’t be bothered with him. Liam Liu and his injured henchman slunk away from the crowd, tails between their legs.
Evan Chu walked over to the old man and smiled. "Sir, here’s your monster-beast egg and your medical money. Go find a doctor for your grandson, quick!"
Then, glancing at the onlookers, Evan Chu barked, "If anyone dares go after this old man’s egg or Spirit Stones, I’ll kill without mercy. Don’t think you’ll get lucky—I mean every word."
Evan Chu was genuinely a bit worried—after all, a hundred Spirit Stones was no small fortune, and the old man had no way to protect it. He had to give these would-be thieves a serious warning first.
The old man’s face looked much better now. "Benefactor, thank you! You’re truly a good person!"
Evan Chu looked a little embarrassed. "Don’t say that. Someone like Liam Liu should’ve been taught a lesson long ago. Hurry and find a doctor for your grandson!"
Evan Chu’s actions today quickly became the talk of the crowd. Many people in Flowing Cloud City recognized him and knew some of his story.
Now, the ‘trash’ had become a hero who punished evil and helped the weak—no one had expected it at all.
Seeing Evan Chu’s concerned expression, the old man choked up. "I can never repay your kindness, benefactor. Please, you must accept this monster-beast egg!"
Evan Chu was about to refuse, but Luna’s voice sounded in his mind: "Take it! This is a real treasure—I didn’t expect to find one here."
So Evan Chu could only pretend to accept reluctantly and took the monster-beast egg from the old man. "Well, then, thank you, sir!"
After handing over the egg, the old man hurried off—his grandson’s illness was clearly urgent, and he didn’t waste a single moment.
Evan Chu didn’t leave until the old man’s figure disappeared down the street. During that time, not a single person dared go after the old man’s Spirit Stones.
Back home, Evan Chu couldn’t wait to pull out the monster-beast egg the old man had given him.
The monster-beast egg wasn’t very big—about the size of a goose egg, snowy white, and rather cute.
"Sister Luna, you said this is a real treasure—so what kind of monster-beast egg is it?" Evan Chu asked curiously.
He didn’t know much about monster-beast eggs. He’d seen people sell them before, but they were always low-rank eggs.
The beasts hatched from those eggs weren’t much—and they ate a ton. Most people didn’t want to raise monster-beasts.
Of course, there were exceptions—like Flame Horses and Sky Vultures. If you could tame them, they made great mounts, but those kinds of beasts were extremely rare.
Evan Chu remembered that only the City Lord’s manor in Flowing Cloud City had a Sky Vulture, and it was said to be bought at a huge price from somewhere else.
"Lin Feng, do you know the ranks of monster-beasts?" Luna the Sword Spirit didn’t answer directly, but asked Evan Chu instead.
"I know a little—low-rank, mid-rank, and high-rank monster-beasts."
"You really are clueless! You don’t even know this stuff? Let me spell it out for you!
Monster-beast ranks are pretty much like human cultivation ranks. First- to third-rank beasts match Profound Martial fighters; fourth- to sixth-rank beasts match Xuanwu Realm cultivators.
Seventh- to ninth-rank beasts have Earth Martial Realm strength—those are dangerous.
Beasts that break through ninth rank are called Spirit Beasts. Spirit Beasts have three tiers, corresponding to the nine levels of the Heavenly Martial Realm.
First-tier Spirit Beasts match third-level Heavenly Martial Realm strength; second-tier match sixth-level, and third-tier match ninth-level or even stronger.
Spirit Beasts that surpass third tier are called Saint Beasts—their power is terrifying, but they almost never appear in human lands."
Evan Chu was so stunned he could barely speak. "So do you know what kind of monster-beast this egg is?"