Evan Chu smiled and said, "Surprised? So, whose surprise is bigger, yours or mine?"
"Dragon Bro, you're honestly too amazing. I can hardly believe this is real right now," Gavin Wei exclaimed in shock.
"It really is surprising. You hid your strength way too deep—totally not honest!" Woody Luo looked at Evan Chu, a bit unwilling to accept it. He just couldn't imagine this guy would be so strong.
Evan Chu walked up to the Royal Guard, took the five thousand Starstones, and kept a calm expression the whole time, not showing any pride in taking first place.
He knew there were at least a hundred people stronger than him. He was only at the eighth layer of the Earth Martial Realm—he couldn’t even beat Woody Luo. It was just his body’s defense and the power of Chaos Qi that let him win.
Just then, General Roland walked over. Seeing Evan Chu’s composure, a hint of surprise flashed across his face before he said, "Not bad. Reaching this level at your age is quite rare. What’s your name?"
Evan Chu looked at the Heavenly Dragon Kingdom’s top general and replied, "Logan Zhao!" Simple and direct, with no extra words.
"If I’m not mistaken, you haven’t broken through to the Heaven Martial Realm yet, right? Your body’s defense is honestly incredible!"
"Not yet, General. Good eye!" Evan answered, still neither arrogant nor servile. With people like this, flattery was dangerous—it could easily backfire.
Everyone in the training field was stunned. A youth who hadn’t even reached the Heaven Martial Realm had taken first place—no one could accept it, especially those Heaven Martial experts.
Countless envious and jealous gazes landed on Evan Chu. Five thousand Starstones wasn’t a huge sum, but it was a serious slap in the face—one that stung.
Aiden Ying’s eyes were practically spitting fire. The first place should’ve been his, but it ended up going to someone else.
When it came to the Gravity Chamber, he knew it better than anyone—his body-refining martial art was trained right inside one. His clan’s gravity room wasn’t as strong as this, but it wasn’t far off.
"Logan Zhao, you’d better not let me down in the Second Trial. Otherwise, life in the capital’s going to get rough for you." Aiden Ying muttered, staring at Evan Chu.
Evan Chu saluted General Roland, then stepped down and shot Aiden Ying a faint smile.
"Alright! The First Trial is over. Now we’ll start the Second Trial. Because this test is special, we can only test about a thousand people each day. Since many of you used up too much Stellar Power in the First Trial, to keep things fair, everyone will rest for one night and test again tomorrow morning.
A new number will appear on your token. Follow the order by number: first day, 1,200 people; second day, another 1,200; and the last day, everyone else.
Go find your assigned room by the number on your token. Remember—during the trials, fighting is strictly forbidden. If you’re caught, you’ll be disqualified. If it’s serious, you’ll be executed on the spot.
General Roland’s words shocked many. Those who wanted to test Evan Chu’s strength had no choice but to hold back. Soon, everyone started heading toward the resting area.
"Dragon Bro, what number are you?" Gavin Wei asked quietly. He didn’t dare get too bold with Evan Chu—one wrong move and he’d get lectured.
"Should be the last day for me—and probably for you too!" Evan Chu laughed. From what he understood, those entering the chamber last would be scheduled at the end.
"I have to go tomorrow? Isn’t that just my luck!" Gavin Wei said, half laughing, half crying.
"Tomorrow? You’re in the first thousand?" Evan Chu was surprised. Normally that shouldn’t happen—did he miscalculate?
"Seriously, my number is 510! I’m nervous without you around!" Gavin Wei said helplessly, his face twisted in worry.
"Relax, I’ll come watch tomorrow. That way I can get a better sense of things. Just give it your all—even if you don’t pass, don’t complain. I’ll help you figure something out." Evan Chu said.
"I’m up the second day. Will you come watch me?" Woody Luo ran over and asked Evan Chu.
"You? I won’t bother. With your strength, passing the Second Trial shouldn’t be a problem, but top ten might be tough." Evan Chu laughed. He really felt something indescribable about this girl.
"Fine, don’t come! What’s so great about it! You’ll go for your bro, but not for me? So I’m not your bro, huh? I thought we were friends! Is it because you got first place now and look down on me?" Woody Luo snapped, her voice sharp and fierce—she looked genuinely scary.
Evan Chu was left speechless. Seriously, women and petty men are the hardest to deal with—he’d just said one casual thing and she blew up.
"You’re overthinking it. Gavin hasn’t reached the Heaven Martial Realm yet, so of course I worry about him. But you’re already a Heaven Martial expert, so you’ll pass easily. Me watching wouldn’t help—better I spend the time absorbing more Stellar Power in the rest room. And when did I ever say you weren’t my friend?" Evan Chu finally replied after almost a minute.
Woody Luo glanced at Evan Chu and said, "You think I can’t make top ten? I’ll show you. Want to make a bet?"
"What kind of bet?" Evan Chu asked. He’d always been curious about this girl—being able to say she could enter the top ten in front of everyone took serious strength.
"Simple. If I get top ten, you have to make top three. If I make it and you don’t, you lose." Woody Luo shot back immediately.
Evan Chu was stunned. Forget top three—even top ten was beyond him. Competing with Heaven Martial experts in attack power was asking for trouble.
"No way I’m agreeing to that. Top three? I can’t even make tenth. I’m only at the eighth layer of the Earth Martial Realm! If you want to roast me, don’t go so hard!" Evan Chu said with a wry smile. This girl really thought highly of him.
"Looks like you’ve got no guts. First place and you’re still a coward—what a shock! Or are you planning to pull another ‘pretend to be a pig, eat the tiger’ and give everyone a surprise at the end?" Woody Luo laughed, staring straight at Evan Chu to see if he was lying.
"I’m telling the truth—believe it or not. If I can make top hundred, that’s already amazing. Top three? Don’t make me laugh!" Evan Chu said, then headed off after the others.
Soon he reached the lodging area. The temporary rooms were huge—so big you couldn’t see the end.
Each room was marked with a number matching the token. Evan Chu and Gavin Wei’s numbers were far apart, so they couldn’t room together.
After finding his own room, Evan Chu pushed open the door and went in. The furnishings were simple—a bed, a table, a water jar, and a wooden basin.
On the bed were a blanket and quilt. The table held a teapot and cup—not even a single stool. It was definitely barebones.
Evan Chu didn’t care about these daily necessities. For him, they were useless—or for most people, just extra. At night, everyone would be absorbing Stellar Power; no one would bother sleeping.
Evan Chu sat down by the bed and slowly circulated Chaos Qi. Today, he’d awakened a trace more bloodline power, and it made him excited. Even just a little felt like finding a breakthrough, so much so that he couldn’t calm down even after sitting there for ages...