Warren Wang staggered out, cursing and battered, but thankfully not fatally wounded—Wang Zhan finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Are you planning to give up?
Bob Moore glanced at Warren Wang and spoke calmly.
"Forget it, forget it. I’m fine with brawling, but this sword stuff? Not interested!" Warren Wang shook his head, still a bit shaken and feeling frustrated at not being able to show his true strength.
What’s really inside?
Seeing Warren Wang come out like that, the crowd’s curiosity only grew.
At this moment, Bob Moore looked at Evan Lin and Drake Yu, saying, “The first two have failed. Which of you two will go next?”
If the first person succeeds in drawing the sword, the second will lose their chance. Please consider this carefully.
Bob Moore’s words were meant as a reminder.
In fact, both Evan Lin and Drake Yu had enough strength to earn Bob Moore’s respect.
Recently, after Byron Whitecloud emerged from seclusion and disappeared again, it caused quite a stir among the Jinnan elite families. Right now, every family needs a strong enough backer to maintain their status.
After Bob Moore finished speaking, everyone looked toward Evan Lin and Drake Yu.
In their hearts, the one most likely to draw the sword was Drake Yu, the genius disciple from the Southriver Sword Sect.
I’ll go last.
Drake Yu stood with his hands behind his back, full of confidence.
He didn’t believe Evan Lin could successfully draw the sword.
Then...
Just as Bob Moore was about to speak, he saw a backpacked youth—Evan Lin—casually step out from the crowd and head inside.
Watching Evan Lin’s back as he entered the woods, Warren Wang couldn’t help but shout, “If it gets dangerous, run for it!”
He thought Evan Lin was all right, otherwise he wouldn’t have bothered to warn him. But after saying it, Evan didn’t even turn his head, not even glancing at him.
How long can he last in there?
Bella Xiao, holding her DSLR, muttered to herself. Then, on impulse, she raised her camera and snapped a shot of the youth walking along the stone path into the woods.
Click.
The scene was captured.
Bella Xiao frowned slightly as she looked through the camera lens.
Beside her, Melissa Mu looked nervous, her gaze following Evan Lin’s back until he disappeared around the corner—only then did her expression grow serious.
Still waiting for your so-called master to come find you? Melissa, you’d better get your head straight. Drake Yu is likely your future husband, and that kid who just went in will probably come running out in disgrace. You should prepare yourself.
Victor Moore glanced at Melissa Mu and sneered coldly.
"He will come."
Melissa Mu took a deep breath, her face resolute.
Victor Moore paused, then scoffed, surprised Melissa Mu was still clinging to false hope.
The stone path wound forward through the woods, surrounded by trees over two meters tall. Fresh green leaves blocked much of the sunlight, which filtered through the branches and scattered across the ground in patches.
"It’s unusually quiet."
Evan Lin walked through, his steps crunching the fallen leaves beneath his feet.
At the end of the path, turning right, he saw a patch of rotting ground. Scattered white bones, exposed after the soil decayed, littered the area. Compared to the outer woods, this part was much denser.
"All these people came for the sword, only to die here."
Evan Lin looked around. The air was still, and the earthy scent of the forest was refreshing.
Ahead stood twelve trees, six on each side in two rows. Their trunks were bare, with no branches or leaves, giving a desolate feeling. Each trunk bore marks of varying depths.
Evan Lin examined the two rows of twelve trees. As he stepped forward, a few faint, muffled gusts of wind whistled through the woods.
No wonder they fled in panic—there are still remnants of a formation here.
For once, a faint smile appeared on Evan Lin’s face.
Whoever set up this formation just wanted to protect that sword. Let me, Evan Nine-Mysteries Lin, see what kind of power formations made by Earth’s people can really have.
With this thought, Evan Lin didn’t hesitate and stepped forward.
As he took a step forward, dust and rotting leaves swirled up from the path between the two rows of bare trees, trying to block Evan Lin’s view.
Evan Lin walked on alone, his pace steady and unhurried.
As soon as he stepped onto the rotten path, the twelve tall, silent trees seemed to be summoned. Cracking sounds echoed from their trunks, followed by invisible sword qi shooting toward Evan Lin from all directions.
Whoosh!
Each streak of invisible sword qi seemed almost alive, carrying immense power and slicing through the air.
Evan Lin let out a cold snort, instantly condensing a protective aura around himself. The sword qi slammed into his shield, producing deep, muffled sounds.
Meanwhile, the pressure around him surged.
An ordinary person would have been shredded or forced to flee in terror.
But Evan Lin was unmoved—the fierce sword qi couldn’t break his protective aura, so he simply kept walking forward.
With every step, Evan Lin felt the sword qi grow denser. By the time he reached the sixth tree, the invisible sword qi looked almost tangible.
Huh?
Evan Lin gave a soft grunt, noticing his protective aura ripple under the barrage of sword qi, as if it might break at any moment.
The shield grew thinner, its ripples growing larger.
Anyone watching would have seen the air around the youth between the two rows of trees distort under the pounding sword qi—almost visible to the naked eye.
Even a top-tier expert would perish here!
The pressure around Evan Lin kept increasing, and several tree trunks nearby began to crack.
Finally, under the relentless sword qi, Evan Lin’s protective aura shattered.
Pop…
A soft sound echoed.
The protective aura vanished completely, and the thousands of sword qi beams went wild, slashing down on Evan Lin.
Like a river bursting through a broken dam, all that force finally found an outlet!