The clash between Evan Chu and Victor Zhang ended in a draw—neither gained the upper hand. Victor Zhang had planned to seriously injure or even kill Evan with that strike, but he hadn’t expected Evan’s strength and speed to be so formidable.
Evan, for his part, was probing his opponent. As expected, Victor Zhang’s power was on a whole different level than Young Lord Feiyu’s, and Evan now had a clear sense of his true strength. The next attack wouldn’t be so simple.
Dust slowly settled from the air. Both men stared at each other, neither launching an immediate attack—perhaps each was waiting for an opening or preparing to unleash a powerful martial technique.
Though the Freewind Palace Lord and other sect leaders stood far away, they could see the battle perfectly. They were astonished that Evan Chu could take Victor Zhang’s full-force strike without injury—this already defied the common sense of martial cultivation, since Evan hadn’t even broken through to the Saint Martial Realm.
A First-Layer Saint Martial expert could easily slaughter several Ninth-Layer Divine Martial Realm cultivators, while a Second-Layer Saint Martial could wipe out dozens without any trouble.
But Victor Zhang, the Mist Rain Pavilion Master, was a Third-Layer Saint Martial expert—and he’d lingered at this level for many years. Even a hundred Ninth-Layer Divine Martial Realm cultivators would be no match for him. Yet now, he couldn’t do anything decisive to Evan Chu. If that wasn’t strange, what was?
“Looks like we all underestimated him. Evan Chu may only be Ninth-Layer Divine Martial, but his attack power is no weaker than ours. This guy is no ordinary character—I’ve never heard of him before. What do you all think?” asked the Freewind Palace Lord.
“Isn’t he the Frostbane Sect Master? He probably inherited Lord Frostbane’s true legacy. This kid’s courage, talent, and cunning are all heaven-defying. I’ll bet that within five years, Frostbane Sect won’t be any weaker than our own sects,” said the Sacred Sword Sect Master.
“Stop guessing. You all know Evan’s background—he’s actually Lord of Frostbane, a true ancient powerhouse. Otherwise, do you think Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion would ever ally with him?” said Selena Yale.
“Selena, are you saying he’s actually Lord Frostbane? That’s impossible! If he really were the ancient Lord Frostbane, he could shake half the Azure Tide Ruins with a single stomp,” exclaimed the Sacred Sword Sect Master in shock.
“I know this is hard for you all to accept, but he really is Lord Frostbane—just reincarnated. His memories haven’t fully awakened yet. If they do, you’ll understand what that means. As his friend, I hope we can help him revive Frostbane Sect. Otherwise, with his personality, I can’t imagine what he might do,” said Selena Yale.
“How do you know? That’s a closely guarded secret, isn’t it? If he truly is Lord Frostbane reborn, of course we’ll support him with everything we have. Even if he’s not, we’ll still back him—a genius like this deserves our help,” said the Freewind Palace Lord.
“That’s right. Selena, I know your relationship with him isn’t simple. Even if you didn’t say so, we’d still help him. Don’t worry about this!” said the Sacred Sword Sect Master.
At that moment, Victor Zhang’s longsword flashed with fiery red light once more. The flames on the blade stretched over a foot long, instantly raising the temperature within dozens of meters.
Seeing the flames on his sword, Evan Chu was reminded of the fire he could unleash with the Flame Dragon Sword. He hadn’t expected Victor to reach this level—after all, Evan had fully mastered the fire element and learned Fireshift, plus the Fire Dragon King’s aid, just to produce flames like that.
Yet Victor did it without any of that. Evan’s respect for his opponent deepened, and he prepared his own evasive strategy.
“Die, brat!” Victor Zhang roared, swinging his longsword with all his might. The sword strike echoed with wind and thunder, tearing a huge hole in space and sending a crushing wave of pressure at Evan Chu.
The sheer scale of the attack terrified many sect disciples. Only now did they truly realize how frightening a super-expert’s power was—many instinctively retreated even farther.
Evan Chu gripped the Flame Dragon Sword tightly and charged straight at Victor Zhang, leaving a blurred afterimage behind. The instant he touched Victor’s flaming sword-qi, he unleashed the second form of Soul Rend—a dim gray sword light shot out from the Flame Dragon Sword, striking directly at Victor.
Boom! The earth-shaking sound erupted around them as Evan Chu was blasted dozens of meters away by Victor’s sword strike. Even with his heaven-defying defense and Earthshift’s protection, he was still injured.
Evan Chu crashed to the ground, smashing out a deep pit. After a moment, he finally climbed back up, looking battered and disheveled.
His body bore several deep, bone-revealing wounds, bleeding openly—but his blood wasn’t ordinary red, it was golden, and surprisingly little of it flowed out.
If you looked closely, you’d see his wounds healing at a speed visible to the naked eye. Then, in front of everyone, he did something shocking—he stretched lazily and rolled his shoulders, even flexing his joints as if warming up.
Evan Chu being blasted away by Victor Zhang’s sword instantly set off a wave of chatter. Some faces showed worry, but seeing Evan’s nonchalant actions left them speechless, caught between laughter and tears.
“I’ve never seen anyone with defense and recovery like this. His body-refining technique must be at least top-grade heaven-rank. I’m certain Victor Zhang’s death is only a matter of time,” said the Sacred Sword Sect Master.
“Why are you so sure, Sect Master? That last clash clearly showed Evan’s attack was weaker. Even if he wasn’t badly hurt, that doesn’t mean he can kill Victor,” asked Selena Yale.
“You’re too emotionally involved. That move of his didn’t have much physical attack power, but it dealt massive internal damage. I’m now completely convinced he’s Lord Frostbane reborn—Victor Zhang is already heavily wounded,” said the Sacred Sword Sect Master.
“Heh, Sect Master, I’m honestly curious—I didn’t even see how he hurt Victor!” said the Freewind Palace Lord, puzzled.
“The light from his second sword was a dim gray. According to an ancient text in my sect, Lord Frostbane’s signature move, Soul Rend, looked just like that. It doesn’t damage the body but wounds the soul directly. Just imagine what it means to suffer a soul injury.
He used his monstrous defense to withstand Victor’s full-force strike, then countered with a soul attack. Look at Victor Zhang now—doesn’t he seem a little off?” said the Sacred Sword Sect Master...