"I'll accept your terms, but just remember—when the time comes, I'll make sure you die a truly miserable death. Luna is leaving with me, no matter what." Logan Vaughn shot Evan Chu a look of utter contempt as he spoke.
Right now, Luna wanted nothing more than to beat Logan Vaughn to a pulp. For Evan to fight him was basically a suicide mission—she couldn't let him throw his life away. "I don't agree. If you really want to take me, then fight me for it. If you can beat me, I'll go with you. Simple as that!"
"Luna, this is between men. You don't need to get involved. For you, I'm not afraid of anything—so don't worry about me. Believe me, I'll pull off a miracle." Evan Chu's voice was rock-solid.
Luna felt like she might cry, but no tears would come. For a moment, she was at a total loss for words. She stared at Evan, her heart surging with pride, pain, and a bittersweet tenderness.
"Enough talk. Since you don't want anyone else hurt, let's settle this inside the black-hole space. Relax—once I tear open this black hole, you won't be breaking out. Just wait to be slaughtered by me. As for Luna, you won't even get to watch her leave with me. Hahahaha!" Logan Vaughn's laughter rang out, arrogant and cruel.
"Don't get ahead of yourself. Nobody knows who'll win yet!" Evan Chu shot back, eyes blazing. He knew facing Logan Vaughn wasn't hopeless—there was still a chance to fight.
"Be careful, Evan! Mom knows you can do it. I'll be right here, waiting for you to come home." Celine Tang called out, her voice full of faith.
"Don't worry, Mom. I swear I'll come back. I still have to reunite you with Dad, and besides—Luna isn't my wife yet. How could I die so easily?" Evan Chu said, then glanced at Luna, whose eyes were already shimmering with tears.
Logan Vaughn was already losing patience. He whipped out his longsword and swung it, unleashing a tidal wave of energy that made the whole crowd shudder. A black-hole space ripped open next to him. "Come on, kid. This fight is just between us. I don't want anyone else stepping in—not even Luna."
Logan's figure flickered and vanished into the black-hole space. Just as Evan Chu was about to follow, Luna rushed up and threw her arms around him, pressing her lips to his in a fierce, lingering kiss. When she finally let go, her voice trembled: "Evan, for my sake, you have to come back alive. If you can awaken your ultimate bloodline power, Logan Vaughn won't stand a chance. Promise me you'll find a way to awaken your bloodline!"
"Luna, I won't let you down. I swear I'll make it out alive—it's a promise." Evan Chu strode into the black-hole space without a backward glance. The entrance sealed shut behind him, swallowing him whole.
Inside the black-hole space, Evan immediately tuned into the lightning element surging around him. To beat Logan Vaughn, he'd have to pull off something unorthodox. Awakening his bloodline was the key, but also the hardest part—whether he could do it was anyone's guess, and he couldn't bet everything on it.
Logan Vaughn sneered at Evan Chu, "Kid, this black-hole space is where you'll be buried. Luna's not someone a bug like you could ever touch. Today, I'll show you what real power looks like."
"Big talk means nothing. Luna's mine, and you're not taking her!" Evan Chu shot back, his tone sharp as a blade.
"Take this!" Logan Vaughn didn't bother with more words. His longsword flashed, weaving a blur of sword afterimages that instantly formed a shimmering sword-net, whipping toward Evan Chu.
Evan saw the dense sword-net, packed with deadly sword-qi. If it broke, all that sword-qi would shoot at him like hidden darts. He'd never seen a move like this before, but he didn't hesitate—he unleashed his strongest technique: *Star-Cleave* (a high-destructive sword art fueled by Chaos Dragon Force).
*Star-Cleave* smashed into Logan Vaughn's sword-net, just as Evan expected. The instant the net broke, sword-qi exploded everywhere, filling the black-hole space and shaking it violently as astral winds howled.
"So strong!" That was all Evan Chu could think as he witnessed Logan Vaughn's attack. It was probably the most terrifying strike he'd ever faced. *Star-Cleave* canceled most of the sword-qi, but a few strands still shot toward him.
The sword-qi came so fast, Evan had no time to dodge—it slammed straight into him. He'd layered his body with *Earthshift* (the earth-element transformation art) for stone armor as soon as he entered, but the overwhelming force shattered his defense in an instant.
But Evan's *Earthshift* was only at the lowest tier, so its defense was weak. If he'd absorbed the Dormant Earth Crystal and leveled up *Earthshift*, maybe he could've barely held out. With the stone armor shattered, several bone-deep wounds instantly opened across his body.
The sheer force of the blow sent Evan flying back hundreds of meters before he finally crashed to a stop, chest heaving. Just from that one sword strike, he'd taken internal injuries.
Logan Vaughn, by contrast, barely looked scratched. Most of Evan's *Star-Cleave* sword-qi was absorbed by the sword-net, so only a few wisps reached him. With his monstrous defenses, *Star-Cleave* just left a few shallow cuts, and he was only knocked back a few dozen meters. The gulf between their true strength was painfully obvious.
Evan couldn't believe it—even after breaking through to the Ninth-Layer Saint Martial Realm, he still couldn't take a single move from this guy. The hit to his confidence was brutal. The lightning element wasn't fully gathered yet, and he couldn't risk using the Unicorn Arm (his forbidden, trump-card right arm) recklessly. For now, all he could do was stall for time.
Logan Vaughn threw his head back and laughed. "Hahaha! With trash like that, you actually want to fight me for Luna? I seriously don't get what Luna sees in a bug like you. Just existing is an insult to her—today, I'm ending that disgrace!"
A wave of murderous intent exploded from Logan Vaughn, his killing aura instantly blanketing Evan Chu. Evan felt like he was suffocating—just that aura alone felt lethal, as if it could snuff out his life on the spot.
But at that moment, Evan's lightning element finally finished gathering. Logan's longsword dipped, and his figure shot forward like a bolt of lightning, sword slashing out as he snarled, "Die, ant!"
As Logan's killing intent surged, Evan channeled all his *Chaos Dragon Force* (his unique fusion of dragon blood, chaos, star-force, and elemental power) into his right arm. The instant Logan struck, Evan unleashed *Star-Cleave* again—refusing to hide behind Tom Chu's protection, since he knew Tom couldn't withstand Logan's blow and would be destroyed or worse.
Everything came down to this one clash. The Frostbane Sword (Evan's life-bound divine blade) trembled in his grip, as if thirsting to meet Logan Vaughn's overwhelming strike head-on. Their heaven-shaking attacks collided in the sealed black-hole space...