Seeing Malcolm Mo, Evan Chu's heart was tense as well. It was his first time directly facing three Holy Emperor-realm powerhouses—an unprecedented challenge.
Stepping into the Holy Emperor realm is completely different from the Saint Venerable realm. Put simply, back when Evan Chu was at Saint Lord, he could slay many Saint Venerables—even those at the peak late stage weren't his match.
But if Evan Chu stepped into Saint Venerable, could he kill a Holy Emperor? No! Impossible! Even if Evan Chu reached peak late Saint Venerable, at best he could barely fight an early Holy Emperor. Winning is possible, but killing one? Nearly impossible.
Beyond the countless laws mastered by Holy Emperors, ordinary attacks can hardly hurt them. A Holy Emperor-realm powerhouse is hard to create—and even harder to kill.
"Did I do something wrong? I wonder, where exactly did I make a mistake?"
"Hmph! Your greatest mistake was making an enemy of the Duskmire Dynasty, slaughtering countless soldiers of my Ink-Blood Legion, and destroying the million-strong coalition of our five dynasties. Evan Chu, your crimes are monstrous—I must kill you! What, do you still hope to survive now?"
"Malcolm, why waste words with him? He's delusional, and so are you if you think otherwise! Let's kill him quickly, seize the Starry Void Sigil, and get out—delay brings trouble!"
"No worries. With the three of us working together, I don't believe anyone can stop us from killing this bastard!"
Evan Chu couldn't help but laugh when he heard that.
Malcolm Mo, Leon Li, and Victor Zhao—these dignified Holy Emperors—just how poor are they? Can't they afford a few Starstones to buy intelligence from Star-Treasure Pavilion? Their information is so outdated that Evan Chu dares say, even if he dies, it won't be at the hands of these three.
Just three Holy Emperors dare to come out in the open and snatch my Starry Void Sigil? Sure, I can't beat you, sure, I'm not strong enough—but do you even realize that behind you, three apex clans and four dynasties are watching, not to mention countless hidden experts? Do you really think the three of you together are invincible? Ignorant. Pathetic!
Of course, Evan Chu wouldn't say any of this out loud. In fact, he was hoping for exactly this. He'd been a little worried about his plan before, but now he had no reservations—because these idiots, despite all their cultivation, were really just brainless trash.
"Wait!"
Evan Chu suddenly put on a frightened look, glancing timidly at the three, and finally stammered, "Seniors, I know we have grudges, but no matter what, isn't there always a way to resolve them?
You want the Starry Void Sigil? No problem! I'll give it to you! And that's not all—I have loads of Starstones, even Star Crystals. Interested?"
"What did you say? Star Crystals?!"
Malcolm Mo's eyes changed. He'd barely ever seen such things! Star Crystals—what are those? They're the essence of the stars, several grades above Starstones.
The Ninefold Sacred Emperor had left Evan Chu ten thousand supreme-grade Star Crystals, but Evan still couldn't absorb them. Right now, though, they made perfect bait.
He casually pulled out a supreme-grade Star Crystal and waved it in front of Malcolm Mo. "See? Supreme-grade Star Crystal! If you let me live, I can give them to you right now!"
"This... this really is a Star Crystal! How many of these do you have?"
Leon Li's eyes were already gleaming with greed—anyone could see it.
"Tens of thousands, maybe—anyway, it's a whole lot. So, these Star Crystals—can they buy me my life?"
"Of course!"
Victor Zhao didn't wait for anyone else—he agreed instantly, then fixed his gaze on Evan Chu. "Don't play games. Hand over the Starry Void Sigil and the Star Crystals, or you'll die a miserable death!"
"Hey! Why waste words with him? Just kill him and take everything!" Malcolm Mo was getting impatient, but Evan Chu quickly stepped back.
Then Evan Chu laughed and said, "Heh, do you really think I'm stupid enough to carry such priceless treasures around, just waiting to be robbed?"
Leon Li immediately stopped Malcolm Mo from making a move.
"Heh, you can ignore Malcolm—he was just trying to scare you. How about this: you tell us where the Star Crystals are hidden, and we won't kill you."
At this point, the three Holy Emperors had completely forgotten why they'd come. Supreme-grade Star Crystals! If there really were tens of thousands, it would be enough for the three of them to break through to peak late Holy Emperor—or even higher—in no time!
And if one person absorbed them all, maybe they'd have a shot at reaching the true apex of the Star-River Dominion...
As Evan Chu tempted them, the three already began scheming in their hearts.
"Haha! We're all smart people here. If you don't kill me, I can bring you huge benefits! For example, right now I can hand over the Starry Void Sigil I just won at auction. Then, once I've escaped, I'll have someone come find you three and tell you where the Star Crystals are hidden. How about it?"
"Hmph! What if you trick all three of us?"
"Well, it's up to you if you want to gamble. Either way, you'll have the Starry Void Sigil, and me? All I get is my life. Besides, with your power, finding me anywhere in the Star-River Dominion would be easy, wouldn't it? Where could I possibly run?"
After Evan Chu finished, all three nodded—it actually made sense.
"Alright, hand over the Starry Void Sigil right now. And don't try any tricks!"
Malcolm Mo glared at Evan Chu in warning, but Evan just grinned and really did take out the Starry Void Sigil—the genuine one he'd received from Horace Hong himself.
The Sigil wasn't anything fancy, just a chunk radiating dense stellar power, marked with the Dao's spatial law.
No need to look closely—a sweep of divine sense was enough to verify its authenticity.
"It's the real Starry Void Sigil!" Malcolm Mo had been on guard for Evan Chu's tricks, but never expected him to actually hand it over.
"Alright, here's the Starry Void Sigil. Take good care of it—don't lose it. As for me, I'll go gather Starstones and send someone to your dynasties with them, along with the location of the Star Crystals."
"Huh? You're leaving?"
"Of course! If I don't go, how can I notify my subordinates in the legion?"
Seeing Evan Chu about to leave, the three didn't try to stop him. With the Starry Void Sigil in hand, each was lost in their own plans.
None of them realized this was Evan Chu's 'lure the disaster eastward' scheme! By handing the Starry Void Sigil to Malcolm Mo's trio in front of all Yellow-Blade Star City's witnesses, every faction's spies got the news instantly: the Sigil had a new owner, and they were already preparing to kill and rob as soon as the trio left the city!