After Selena left, Evan Chu found himself with nothing to do, so he circulated Chaos Qi throughout his entire body for a full cycle, consolidating his breakthrough to the ninth layer of the Earth Martial Realm.
After completing the cycle, Evan Chu felt thoroughly refreshed. As dawn broke, he was about to get up and see if Selena had returned when Sword Spirit Luna's voice echoed in his mind.
"Evan, now that you've broken through to the ninth layer of the Earth Martial Realm, your Chaos Qi should be double what it was at the eighth. You can try reviewing the sixth form of the Demon-Breaking Fist technique."
Luna's reminder made Evan Chu genuinely happy. He hadn't touched that upper-grade Earth-tier martial manual since his last attempt, but now that he'd broken through, it was worth another look.
He took out the martial manual from his storage ring and slowly flipped through it. From the first to the fifth form, there were no issues—he had fully mastered those five techniques.
He remembered that when he’d tried to study the sixth form before, a stabbing pain had ripped through his mind and forced the martial demonstration to a stop. He was still worried—could he master the sixth form with his current strength?
He slowly turned the yellowed page with his finger, and sure enough, a stabbing pain shot through his mind. But compared to last time, it was clearly much milder.
Evan Chu endured the pain and began reading the martial technique's instructions on the page. After finishing the brief, under-one-hundred-character description, he was drenched in sweat.
Gradually, the pain in his mind faded. Evan Chu began silently pondering how to perform the sixth form, knowing its power was definitely several times greater than the fifth.
The fifth form only consumed half of his Chaos Qi at the eighth layer of the Earth Martial Realm, but now, after breaking through to the ninth layer, his Chaos Qi had nearly doubled. Yet just reviewing the sixth form was still so exhausting.
Goldwing quietly stood to the side, watching Evan Chu. He knew this might be a critical moment and Evan couldn't be disturbed, so he kept an eye on their surroundings.
After an hour, Evan Chu felt he had grasped the basics of the sixth form. Just as he was about to stand and test it, a vivid demonstration of the entire sixth form suddenly appeared in his mind—just as miraculously as last time.
Comparing his own insights with the demonstration, Evan Chu made rapid progress. By the time the vision ended, he had mastered at least seventy percent of the sixth form; the rest would depend on real combat practice.
Evan Chu calmed himself, then stood up and said, "This sixth form really is overbearing—it requires at least second-layer Heaven Martial Realm strength to learn. But here I am, cultivating it at ninth-layer Earth Martial. That means my Chaos Qi is already on par with a second-layer Heaven Martial expert."
But just one use of the sixth form of Demon-Breaking Fist would consume at least seventy percent of his Chaos Qi. This martial technique was really a brutal drain.
Goldwing had already taken on the form of a middle-aged man, watching Evan Chu mutter to himself. Unable to help himself, he asked, "Boss, what are you talking about? Did you break through again?"
"Yeah, not only did I break through, I also learned a new, incredibly powerful martial technique. I’m confident that this move could kill even second- or third-layer Heaven Martial Realm experts." Evan Chu laughed.
Boss really is something else. You haven’t even reached the Heaven Martial Realm, but you can already kill across realms—and with such a freakish move, too." Goldwing grinned.
Evan Chu shot Goldwing a glare. "Quit the flattery. I'm definitely going to pluck your Goldenwing Plumes one day. Anything moving around us?"
Goldwing was speechless for a moment, then said, "Nothing moving yet. Your 'wife' should be back soon, right?"
"Wife? Goldwing, you—" Evan Chu hadn’t finished speaking when Selena’s voice rang in his ear: "Of course he should call me that. Are you going to deny it?"
Evan Chu looked up and saw a black figure speeding through the distant sky. In the blink of an eye, it was right in front of him—the speed was so astonishing that Evan was secretly amazed.
Selena said, "They’ll pass by here in at most half an hour. The enemy is a bit tricky this time—you need to be careful."
"Aside from those four Heaven Martial Realm experts, what about the rest? There aren’t any Divine Martial Realm experts, right? If so, I’d just be walking to my death," Evan Chu said worriedly.
"There are two Divine Martial Realm cultivators—one is Yuetian Wu, and the other I don’t recognize; their strength isn’t that impressive, probably between the second and third layer. There are also four Heaven Martial experts, and you might know one of them," Selena replied.
Evan Chu thought about it and realized he didn’t really know any Sea Dragon Empire Heaven Martial Realm experts—except for Flynn Yun, the Sea Dragon Academy dean. Could it be him?
"You mean Flynn Yun? No way, isn’t he supposed to be in the army camp? Why is he with the transport convoy?" Evan Chu asked.
"That's right, it's him. Our odds are fifty-fifty—the key is you. I'll take out the Divine Martial expert first, then duel Yuetian Wu. During that time, I probably won't be able to protect you—you’ll have to rely on yourself," Selena said seriously.
"Aside from those four Heaven Martial Realm experts, what about the rest?" Evan Chu asked worriedly. If they were all eighth- or ninth-layer Earth Martial Realm, he’d be doomed.
"The rest aren't worth worrying about—just ordinary soldiers, none above sixth-layer Earth Martial. You and Goldwing only need to deal with the four Heaven Martial experts. If I have time, I might help you kill one, but Yuetian Wu’s strength isn’t much different from mine—if I’m distracted, he could hurt me," Selena said gravely.
After pondering for a moment, Evan Chu asked Goldwing, "Old Goldwing, what level of Heaven Martial Realm experts can you handle now?"
"Boss, I can handle a second-layer Heaven Martial expert head-on. If things get dangerous, I can definitely grab you and escape—at my current speed, very few could catch us!" Goldwing replied.
Evan Chu instantly understood: he would have to face three Heaven Martial Realm experts by himself. The pressure was immense.
"Let's move down and get ready. In a moment, let me assassinate the Divine Martial expert first—then you two show yourselves. Otherwise, a single move from a Divine Martial expert could wipe you both out in an instant," Selena instructed.
The three of them moved to hide behind scattered rocks near the roadside at the foot of the mountain. Selena and Evan Chu concealed themselves separately, so when Selena struck at the Divine Martial expert, Evan’s presence would remain hidden.
Before long, the rumble of wagon wheels reached them. Evan Chu knew their target had arrived. Peering through the cracks between the rocks, he saw the convoy—over thirty people, just as Goldwing had reported.
As the target drew nearer, Evan Chu felt his tension mounting. Facing three Heaven Martial Realm experts alone was something he’d never imagined—yet today, he had no choice but to confront it.
When the convoy was about five meters from Selena, she erupted from behind the rocks, leaving a blur of afterimages as she shot straight toward a middle-aged man—her chosen Divine Martial target.