The matches on the arena were still tense and fierce. Of the five from Frostbane Sect, two had been eliminated, leaving three to advance straight to the finals. Sacred Sword Sect had two, Freewind Palace one, Bloodfiend Hall one, Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion one, and the rest were from hidden-world sects.
Everyone felt this result was perfectly normal. The Frostbane Sect siblings, Ethan Chu and Lynn Chu, were already considered invincible—so long as they didn’t draw each other in the elimination round, Frostbane would always have two in the finals.
This time, the elimination round actually finished in just one hour. Most had expected the battles to drag on, but it ended so quickly that the finals, originally set for tomorrow, had to be moved up.
"Young Master, if you joined the tournament, you’d definitely make top three. I really think you have that kind of strength—it’s a shame you missed this chance." Derek Zhou said to Evan Chu.
"Top three? What’s that worth? If I compete, I’m only here to take first place—nothing else matters. But none of these people are my match, so honestly, fighting would just be boring. I’d rather not join at all." Evan Chu laughed.
His voice wasn’t loud, but it was enough for plenty of people to hear. Instantly, everyone glanced at him—this kid who didn’t know his own limits, daring to brag so shamelessly here. Did he have a death wish or what?
Naturally, Evan Chu’s words were heard by Sean Xiao and several people on the VIP platform. They all looked over, but Evan just stood there on the viewing stands, totally calm. With his disguise, there was no way they’d recognize his real identity.
Sean Xiao’s face darkened slightly, then he said, "This tournament is all about fairness. If anyone is unconvinced, feel free to come up and challenge. Sure, the ten finalists have already fought hard and burned a lot of Stellar Power—
but these are the Divine Continent’s top talents, so they don’t care about a little energy drain. If you don’t have the guts to step up, then stop running your mouth and ruining the atmosphere."
Sean Xiao’s words were clearly aimed at Evan Chu. Instantly, all eyes turned to him. Evan didn’t care about their stares, but Derek Zhou and his two brothers next to him started getting nervous—this was really stirring up public anger.
"Young Master, why not go up and compete? I’m sure with your strength you’d make the top three. Let these people see what you’re really capable of!" Derek Zhou said.
"Really want me to compete? I’m afraid I’d just take first in one go—that might be a bit unfair!" Evan Chu laughed.
The whole arena was stunned—this kind of arrogance was rare. Other than Evan Chu, Frostbane’s number one powerhouse back in the day, no one had ever dared talk like this in the middle of a crowd of top experts.
"Who’s that kid? Why does he feel so familiar?" Jenny Sima was the first to speak.
"I think he’s familiar too, but I just can’t place him. If Evan hadn’t ascended, I’d almost think it’s him in disguise." Serena Dream said.
"You’re just thinking about him too much. Who knows how Evan is doing in the Immortal Realm now? Once this tournament’s over, let’s go into seclusion again and try to ascend sooner." Selena Yale said.
For a moment, the crowd started buzzing, noisier than during the actual matches. The tournament suddenly felt a little more special.
Ethan Chu looked over from afar and said, "Brother, if you really think you’re that strong, why not come up here and show us? No need for random chatter that distracts everyone."
"Go on, Young Master—we all believe you can do it!" Derek Zhou urged.
Evan Chu laughed, "Alright, then—I’ll play along!" With a thought, he flew straight onto the arena. Of course, plenty of people could manage that move.
Sean Xiao now studied Evan Chu up close, but found he couldn’t sense his cultivation at all. That struck him as very odd, though he kept his reaction hidden.
"Who are you? If you want to challenge them, at least let us know your name!" Sean Xiao demanded.
"I’m just a nameless nobody. Telling you my name won’t matter. I’m here to see how strong the Divine Continent’s so-called elite disciples really are—hopefully they won’t disappoint me." Evan Chu replied coolly, deliberately altering his voice to avoid giving himself away.
Selena stared at Evan Chu, unable to take her eyes off him. The boy’s silhouette was identical to Evan’s, and her heart raced with a strange feeling—almost as if Evan had come back.
Evan’s words annoyed quite a few people—especially two hidden-world sect youths, who looked down on him even more. One of them sneered, "A nobody like you thinks you’re worthy to challenge us? I’ll knock you right off this stage!"
Evan glanced at the youth—his cultivation was Fifth-Layer Saint Martial Realm, decent talent, but in Evan’s eyes not even worth calling an ant.
"If you want to beat me, show me what you’ve got. Use your strongest move—you only get one chance." Evan said calmly.
Arrogance was Evan’s trademark. The youth’s face twisted in anger as he summoned a dark-green longsword. "You dare look down on me? I’ll show you how strong I am!"
"The louder you shout, the more trash you are!" Evan retorted, stoking the crowd’s anger even further.
The youth raised his sword and slashed at Evan, unleashing a two-meter blade-light. Its power was enough to kill on impact.
But Evan didn’t even look at him—his eyes were on Lynn Chu, watching for her reaction. She showed no emotion at all, completely unconcerned by the attack.
The youth’s sword struck Evan directly. The audience was stunned—Evan hadn’t drawn a weapon, dodged, or resisted at all. He seemed ready to take the full force of the attack.
"Is this kid crazy? He’s asking to die! Can he really take a hit like that? Even a giant boulder would be smashed to bits!" someone in the crowd exclaimed.
Selena Yale and Selena both turned pale, unable to understand why this stranger would act so recklessly. Even Sean Xiao next to Evan looked surprised.
Just when everyone thought this stranger would be badly hurt or killed by the sword, something happened that left the entire crowd utterly speechless...
PS: When support is lively, updates come fast...