The one most shaken was Blue-Shade God-Venerable. Of everyone present, if anyone truly understood Lord Frostbane's strength back in the day, it was definitely Blue-Shade God-Venerable—no one, not even Elena, who bore Evan Chu's daughter, knew him better.
In the God Realm, aside from Lord Frostbane's two sworn junior brothers, Blue-Shade God-Venerable was the one most intimately acquainted with Frostbane. But now, as Blue-Shade gazed at Evan Chu, he found it hard to believe what he was seeing.
He'd known Lord Frostbane well in their previous lives, and after reincarnation, he was the one who spent the most time with Evan Chu in the God Realm. Yet now, standing before him, Evan felt utterly unfamiliar.
The sheer power and pressure Evan radiated made Blue-Shade feel like he was nothing but an ant that could be crushed at any moment!
That feeling was all too real—no exaggeration! Remember, Blue-Shade is a peak late-stage God-Venerable! His Wind-God Sword Art is almost as strong as Sevenfold Absolute Cleave. Back then, even Lord Frostbane himself wouldn't have been sure he could beat him!
But now, it felt like Evan Chu could wipe him out with a single lift of his hand!
"Evan... What realm have you reached now?"
Blue-Shade God-Venerable simply couldn't believe that what he was seeing was just Evan Chu at late-stage God-Venerable.
"Late-stage God-Venerable, I guess. Haha! But my realm's always been unreliable. Honestly? If I fought an early-stage God-Emperor now—instant kill. Instant kill!"
Instant kill!
The moment those two words were spoken, everyone was stunned.
Before Evan Chu ascended to the God Realm, the God-Emperor realm was nothing but a legend to all of them. In the Ten Great Powers, no one had ever truly set foot in that realm. Anyone with even a hint of awareness or enlightenment was already leagues above ordinary late-stage God-Venerables. But now, Evan's words—'instant kill'—shook everyone to their core!
"Haha, good! Excellent! This time, within the God Realm, you might just be number one! Frostbane Divine Palace will rise again, and unifying the God Realm is only a matter of time!"
"That's right! With the strength we have now, we're probably more powerful than all the Ten Great Powers put together. Especially with Evan Chu here—he could take on a hundred God-Venerables by himself!"
"With this, we don't have to fear Skycloud Palace anymore. As far as I know, their Palace Master, Tia Thorn, is just a peak late-stage God-Venerable herself."
Tao Dream, Master Wan, and Blue-Shade God-Venerable spoke one after another, and everyone else clearly agreed. But Silver Dragon and Black Qilin looked much more serious, as if the future still held plenty of danger.
Evan Chu shook his head. "You're dreaming too beautifully. Maybe one day I'll be the God Realm's number one, and maybe Frostbane Divine Palace will unify everything and stand alone as the supreme force. But right now? We're still far from it."
Evan paused, gathered his thoughts, then continued.
"Honestly, the real obstacle in our way has never been Skycloud Palace. Behind them, there's an even greater power!"
"An even greater power? In the God Realm, is there really a force stronger than Skycloud Palace and Frostbane Divine Palace?"
Evan Chu nodded solemnly.
"I was puzzled before—why did Drifting Cloud Guild and Skysoar Sect merge so strangely? Where did they find so many powerful experts? Why do all those experts cultivate dark-element energy, and why can they combine their space domains so perfectly?
That's terrifying, isn't it? I'm sure some of you here have already tasted their strength. So, have you ever wondered why?"
Evan Chu rattled off question after question, poking holes in everything. But all anyone could do was force a bitter smile. Even if they noticed these problems, they still knew nothing. With just these scraps of clues, guessing the truth was almost impossible.
"This time, my bloodline is fully awakened. My memories... are almost all back. Even though my current life's mind is still in control, it doesn't stop me from seeing the truth in front of us.
Of all the God-Venerables I've fought and killed, I just realized—I actually recognized more than half of them! And before the War of the Gods, every single one of them had already fallen!"
As soon as Evan said this, not just the others—even Tao Dream and Zhong Ling, his own daughters, looked at him suspiciously, unable to believe it.
"That's right—they'd fallen. And none of them ever came back to life. You're all wondering, aren't you? Then why are they walking the world again, fighting us, standing as our enemies? The truth is, these so-called experts are nothing but meat puppets..."
At this, Evan Chu slowly closed his eyes, then pointed at Silver Dragon.
"You tell them. Tell everyone about the Dragon Clan—about the Shadow Heavenly Dragons."
Silver Dragon obeyed Evan Chu's command and began introducing the Shadow Heavenly Dragons to everyone.
"Shadow Heavenly Dragons—also known as Shadow Dragons—are one of the earliest dragon clans, carrying the aura of ancient times. Their power is terrifying. The most frightening thing? Shadow Dragons are almost impossible to kill. They're like living shadows, able to possess any dragon. Unless a Shadow Dragon dies on its own, it's basically immortal—otherwise, it lives forever."
After hearing all this, everyone calmed down. Evan Chu wouldn't have brought this up for no reason—there had to be a deeper meaning!
Tao Dream was the quickest to catch on. "Evan, are you saying those God-Venerables who fell and then came back as our enemies are really possessed by Shadow Dragons? So that's why they cultivate dark-element energy?"
And that's why their domains can merge and get so much stronger?
Evan Chu nodded, then shook his head. "That's basically it, but there are some details missing. Silver Dragon already said—Shadow Dragons can only possess other dragons."
"So what do you mean?"
"Those Shadow Dragons, like me, probably have human bloodlines mixed with Shadow Dragon blood. Only then can they devour and replace ordinary humans' souls and flesh, and keep advancing their cultivation."
"What? That kind of thing can really happen?!"
"Of course. But I still don't know who's really pulling the strings behind all this, or who the so-called Spirit Lord is! I think, to solve this mystery, we need to stop looking at Skycloud Palace and start investigating Heavenblade Sect..."
"Why them? Sure, they're close to Skycloud Palace, but that doesn't mean they're the masterminds, right?"
"Honestly, I'm just guessing based on some really old memories."
Evan Chu didn't say more, but he'd already made up his mind—sooner or later, he would go to Heavenblade Sect himself. The Ninefold Divine Sovereign was still imprisoned there.
"All right! Everything's ready. We'll hold the Frostbane Divine Palace rebuilding ceremony soon. Let's see who dares to show up and cause trouble!"
With a scornful smile, Evan Chu's bloodthirsty battle intent erupted, making it feel like the very air itself shifted with his mood.