The Beast King, seeing Evan Chu now transformed into a Golden Dragon and charging straight at him, couldn't help but feel a surge of joy. His own body was nearly twice as large as Evan's—surely this was just throwing an egg at a stone. Without hesitation, he swung his dragon tail to meet the attack.
Instantly, the two massive dragon tails collided in midair, each strike carrying the force of ten thousand tons. If this tail sweep landed on a mountain, it could easily flatten it.
A terrifying energy storm erupted in the sky. The two giant dragon tails bounced apart at the moment of impact, each repelled by the other's strength. Evan Chu was blasted back several hundred meters before regaining control, while the Beast King was knocked back over a hundred meters.
Although Evan Chu was sent flying the furthest, he suffered less damage than the Beast King. Only a few dozen of his dragon scales fell, whereas the Beast King lost several hundred. In terms of defense, the Beast King couldn't compare at all to Evan Chu's Seventh Layer Starforge Body.
The pain from losing dragon scales was intense, and both of them couldn't help but unleash earth-shaking dragon roars. If the Shade Lord were here right now, he'd be utterly speechless—Evan Chu was actually a Golden Dragon! This was precisely why Evan had insisted he leave earlier.
After that exchange, Evan Chu felt confident—he could rely on his body's monstrous defense to go head-to-head with the Beast King. This kind of direct, hard-hitting battle was the most satisfying! His figure flashed as he charged at the Beast King, his golden dragon claws gleaming as they slashed toward the opponent's body.
Evan Chu's dragon claws had five talons, which was a huge advantage. In close combat, that meant two extra claws compared to his opponent—one of the reasons Golden Dragons were the kings of the dragon race.
The Beast King, on the other hand, was utterly shocked. His strength was greater than this kid's, but his defense was much weaker. This was the first time he'd ever encountered something like this. The Beast Clan was supposed to make other races tremble with their power and defense, but against this Golden Dragon, those advantages just didn't exist. Still, he refused to back down and charged in, and the two giant dragons instantly tangled in midair.
Evan Chu's five golden dragon claws were like blades, piercing straight through the Beast King's scales and into his flesh. The Beast King's own claws also dug into Evan Chu's body.
However, only about two-thirds of the Beast King's claws actually penetrated—Evan Chu's insane defense blocked the rest. One gold, one blue: the two dragons rolled and twisted through the sky, constantly entangling and clashing, creating a scene so intense it was almost terrifying.
As the two dragons grappled, their claws sank deep into each other's flesh, rapidly tearing open and widening the wounds. At this moment, the Beast King realized he was at a disadvantage.
Five wounds had appeared on his own body, while Evan Chu only had three, and those weren't even deep. What truly terrified him was seeing the wounds on Evan's body begin to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye. That monstrous regeneration was simply unbelievable—freakish beyond all reason.
But Evan Chu's attacks cut straight to the bone, making the Beast King howl in agony. Dragon blood poured from his body like rain, splattering the ground and forming bloody lines with every drop.
When it came to pain tolerance, the Beast King was no match for Evan Chu. Evan had survived the hellish agony of Starforge Body breakthroughs—this pain was nothing to him now. Compared to that, these wounds were just a scratch.
The most terrifying thing was, Evan Chu was actually gathering the power of the five elements into his dragon claws, then driving it straight into the Beast King's body. The wounds expanded even further, and not even the Beast King's massive frame could withstand such an attack. For the first time, true fear surged up from deep inside him.
Evan Chu wasn't using lightning element yet, because he was currently resonating with the lightning in the sky, focusing all his attention on gathering it for a truly insane thunder attack on the Beast King.
The Beast King knew that if this kept up, his injuries would only get worse. Desperate, he opened his massive dragon maw, trying to bite Evan Chu and force him to stop, hoping for a chance to turn the tables and deal a heavy blow.
With both of them in dragon form, martial techniques didn't matter anymore—it was all about raw power and defense. The Beast King's only option was to bite, but Evan Chu wasn't about to let him succeed. By now, the lightning element was nearly gathered, so as the Beast King's jaws snapped down, Evan released his grip and dodged away in a flash.
At the exact moment he dodged aside, Evan Chu triggered his gathered power—a bolt of fire-lightning nearly twice as big as the last one crashed down from the sky, turning the heavens a blazing red. The spectacle was visible for a thousand li in every direction, awe-inspiring and terrifying.
The Beast King was utterly shocked. He couldn't believe there was another lightning strike coming. He'd thought the first one was just some martial technique Evan used in human form, and while that attack was powerful, it made sense since Evan had killed the Ghost King. But now, seeing this unleashed by a Golden Dragon, he felt a surge of helplessness.
Even as a Golden Dragon, Evan Chu could unleash lightning attacks—and this one was even more terrifying than the last. The immense pressure from the lightning made the Beast King's heart tremble, filling him with a profound sense of helplessness.
He knew that if he took a direct hit from this lightning, he'd be seriously injured. The Beast King wasn't stupid; even feeling powerless, he still tried to dodge. But the lightning seemed to have eyes of its own—no matter how fast he moved, that blazing fire-lightning struck him anyway.
And the bolt landed exactly where Evan Chu's dragon claws had torn him open before. Agonizing pain and numbness shot through his body. A third of his remaining scales were blasted off, and his massive form was nearly split in two. He couldn't stay airborne and crashed to the ground.
The shattered earth was smashed into a huge pit, and the Beast King found himself completely unable to move. It was as if he'd been trapped by a space domain. His dragon blood filled the crater, and for the first time, he truly felt doomed.
He'd never dreamed that he would die at the hands of a Golden Dragon—let alone a juvenile one. His unwillingness twisted into despair, and he decided that if he was going to die, he'd drag Evan Chu down with him.
With that thought, the Beast King began to circulate his Netherforce. Even though his body was numb, his Netherforce could still flow. His only choice now was self-detonation, and he knew exactly what kind of destruction it would bring—it would flatten everything for thousands of li around, including the already ruined Nine-Shade City.
If Evan Chu knew just how powerful the Beast King's self-detonation was, he'd definitely choose to run—not because he feared for his own life, but because Roxy and Princess Ivy were both in Nine-Shade City. If they died in the blast, he'd never forgive himself. But right now, Evan was completely unaware of this.
Luckily, Roxy and Princess Ivy had already been found by Sean Xiao and the Second Elder. When the Shade Lord returned, they were just bringing the girls out of the underground chamber. Maybe it was fate, but at that moment, the Shade Lord suddenly recalled the scene of the Beast King being defeated by Evan Chu.
Netherbeasts are different from other races—they have a unique ability to instantly release all their Netherforce using a special method. The resulting explosion is many times, even dozens of times, stronger than their normal attacks. This is one of the reasons why the Beast Clan is counted among the five great races.
Of course, not every Netherbeast can self-detonate. Only those who are severely wounded and have reached the Saint Martial Realm can trigger it. Otherwise, the Beast Clan could just send tens of thousands of Netherbeasts to blow up any rival city and wipe out the other four races instantly.
"If the Beast King can't beat Evan, will he choose to self-detonate? If he does, Nine-Shade City could get caught in the blast... No, for safety's sake, we have to leave right now!" the Shade Lord suddenly realized.
"Let's get out of here, and the farther the better! I'm worried the Beast King will go for mutual destruction if he can't defeat Evan!" the Shade Lord urged, voice tense with urgency.
If Roxy were awake right now, she'd be heartbroken. She would definitely rush to Evan Chu's side, even if it meant dying with him. But at the moment, she's unconscious and has no idea what's happening.
Princess Ivy, on the other hand, was still conscious. Hearing the Shade Lord's words, her already pale face lost all color. "Father, I have to go to Evan! I can't let him die!" she cried, voice trembling with emotion.
"Ivy, Evan will be fine. The Beast King's self-detonation is just a precaution—I'm only worried about the worst-case scenario. Evan killed the Ghost King; you know how strong he is. Let's hurry and leave. Even if the Beast King does self-detonate, Evan's defense and speed should let him escape. If we die because we stayed, he'll only be heartbroken," the Shade Lord reassured her.
Sean Xiao and the Second Elder were stunned to hear that Evan Chu had killed the Ghost King. Their respect for his strength grew even deeper, and without further hesitation, they quickly flew off to safety.
At that moment, Evan Chu saw the Beast King's condition and felt a bad premonition. Before he could speak, Luna—the sword spirit—warned him: "Evan, this guy is about to self-detonate. A Fifth-Layer Venerable Netherbeast's self-destruction can obliterate everything within thousands of li. You should revert to your human form and let Jade Chu and Tom Chu shield you!"
Evan Chu's face changed instantly. He wasn't worried about the Beast King's self-detonation hurting him—he was worried about something else entirely. "Damn it! If that guy blows himself up, I'll never get his storage ring. There must be tons of Netherghost Violet Orchids in there. No way, I have to stop him!"
With that, he immediately returned to his human form and flashed toward the Beast King lying in the giant crater...