Evan Chu felt like he was dying—drowning, suffocating, burning in flames, struck by lightning, torn apart by raging winds, crushed by earth...
Desmond Mansfield should be used instead of Wan Qi Chen. Correct throughout the chapter.
Desmond Mansfield should be used instead of Wan Qi Chen. Correct throughout the chapter.
Maybe this is the ultimate form of Ninefold Profound-Meaning Power? Or maybe its true name has always been Archeon.
Desmond Mansfield should be used instead of Wan Qi Chen. Correct throughout the chapter.
How long did this state last? A year, ten years, a hundred years, maybe even a thousand, ten thousand—or longer.
Evan Chu didn’t know. He’d lost all sense of breath, power, time, and space. He had no idea how much longer this would go on.
But outside, everything was already in chaos!
"Why isn’t he awake yet? How much longer is this going to take?!"
"Wan Qi Chen, tell us—what’s really going on? What did the East-Star Prefecture Master actually say to you?!"
"Why has it come to this?"
At first, only a few people questioned Desmond Mansfield, but by now even Nathan Yates and Lance Li had started to doubt him.
Ever since Evan Chu fell into his coma and was brought back to the Frostbane Base, only Desmond Mansfield had been allowed near him—no one else, not even the East-Star Prefecture Master, who’d only checked in three times.
Desmond Mansfield was under enormous pressure, and he honestly didn’t know how to explain things to everyone.
If anyone knew the real story, it was him and the East-Star Prefecture Master. Five years after Evan Chu fell asleep, even the East-Star Prefecture Master couldn’t sit still anymore—he hurriedly gave Desmond Mansfield a pile of instructions, then was summoned back to Star-Treasure Pavilion’s headquarters. Rumor had it something earth-shaking had happened over there!
That day, the council meeting in the main hall erupted in another fierce argument. Everyone demanded to see Evan Chu in person, and some former Frostbane Dynasty commanders even started openly opposing Desmond Mansfield’s right to remain as Dragon-Chen Hall Master.
Now, in the eyes of everyone in the Frostbane Dynasty, ‘Dragon-Chen’ had become far holier than ‘Frostbane’ itself—without Dragon-Chen, there would be no Frostbane today!
Seeing Desmond Mansfield’s face turn ashen, Nathan Yates couldn’t help but speak up.
"Enough—everyone, quiet down! We’ve argued long enough, and this isn’t getting us anywhere. Hall Master Desmond, at this point, whatever’s going on with the Holy Emperor Sovereign Lord, you owe us an explanation!
Especially considering how things are outside right now…"
Nathan Yates sounded exhausted as he said all this.
When the Five Sacred Lands found out the Frostbane Dynasty’s curse was fading, they went berserk, firing off thirty-six decree arrows and demanding that Evan Chu, the Holy Emperor Sovereign Lord, come explain himself.
Sounds polite, but in reality it’s just another power play—time to teach the Frostbane Dynasty a lesson.
At first, it was just decree arrows—no one paid much attention. But lately, things have gotten a lot more serious. The Five Sacred Lands have officially labeled Frostbane Dynasty a disruptive, rebellious force and are massing a powerful army to come after us.
And that’s not all. Other factions—ones that have always hated or envied the Frostbane Dynasty—have already sent wave after wave. Even though our legions are strong, months of nonstop war have worn us down. The casualties are piling up.
And through all of this, Evan Chu—the supreme ruler—still hasn’t shown his face! At first, everyone accepted the excuse that he was in secluded cultivation, but the longer it dragged on, the less believable it sounded.
Everyone had realized by now—something had happened to Evan Chu!
It’s been ten years since Holden Hong was killed. No matter how urgent a breakthrough is, this would be the worst possible time—and Evan Chu had only just entered the Holy Emperor Realm back then. What could he possibly gain from more secluded cultivation now?
"We need an answer today, or there’s going to be chaos!" Lance Li’s expression was grim. Desmond Mansfield’s silence was making everyone feel suffocated.
"Exactly! The army the Five Sacred Lands are assembling includes more than a dozen Saint Emperor-level powerhouses. What are we supposed to do? We need the Holy Emperor Sovereign Lord to say something!"
"If this keeps up, the worst isn’t losing morale—it’s the whole dynasty being destroyed!"
"Sigh! Fine, since you all want the truth, I’ll tell you! Anyway, once the Five Sacred Lands’ army arrives, there won’t be any secrets left."
Desmond Mansfield let out a heavy sigh, then finally unfolded the fan he’d carried but never opened in ten years.
"Before I reveal the truth, let’s have Throne Violet Thunder step forward and explain the other side of the Holy Emperor Sovereign Lord’s background."
What? Evan Chu has another identity? Wasn’t his biggest secret being the Third Person of the Frostbane Trial World?
Could there be another, even more powerful background no one knows about?
Violet-Thunder’s face was grave, full of concern. He spoke slowly: "My senior brother has another identity—he’s the sole disciple of the Ninefold Sacred Emperor! In the Frostbane Trial World, the cultivation art he practiced was Ninefold Stellar Transformation, and his most powerful technique is the Star-Snatching Hand!"
A wave of shock swept through the hall—everyone was stunned!
Everyone here knew what the Ninefold Sacred Emperor meant, what Ninefold Stellar Transformation meant, what Star-Snatching Hand meant!
The Ninefold Sacred Emperor wasn’t just a person—he was a legend! A myth!
"Don’t be too shocked—the real surprise is still to come. All this comes from the East-Star Prefecture Master, and it’s the reason the Holy Emperor Sovereign Lord has remained in his deep sleep."
Desmond Mansfield took another breath and continued, "Back then, the Ninefold Sacred Emperor fought a war against more than thirty top experts from the Five Sacred Lands. They battled in a world beyond the Star-River Sacred Domain’s comprehension, and nearly destroyed each other. The fighting lasted ten million years, and in the end, the Ninefold Sacred Emperor fell—and every one of the Five Sacred Lands’ strongest perished!"
That’s why the Five Sacred Lands haven’t made more moves against the Frostbane Dynasty, why Holden Hong found a gap in the curse, and why there are so few experts above mid-Saint Emperor level in the Five Sacred Lands now.
It’s also why most of the stars on the Thirty-Six Heavenly Fiends and Seventy-Two Earth Devils Star List have vanished!
Everything traces back to that one battle!"
"What? There was such a thing? Then why did the East-Star Prefecture Master of Star-Treasure Pavilion know about it? Why did he tell you? And how is this connected to the Holy Emperor Sovereign Lord’s coma?" Jun Yang was the most anxious to know Evan Chu’s condition—his worry nearly surpassed even Violet-Thunder’s.
The Frostbane Dynasty raised him, but it was Evan Chu who made him who he is now! Otherwise, Jun Yang would never have become the Dragon-Chen Vice Hall Master.
"Everyone knows Star-Treasure Pavilion is as powerful as the Five Sacred Lands. Though it keeps to itself and just does business, no one dares underestimate it. But who really knows its true background? Probably not even the Five Sacred Lands themselves!
Or rather, anyone who did know was killed by the Ninefold Sacred Emperor in that ancient war! And here’s the real shocker—the current Grandmaster of Star-Treasure Pavilion is actually a woman, the Ninefold Sacred Emperor’s wife from back then!"
The whole hall was left speechless by these words.