Empress Myra, provoked by Evan Yang, snorted coldly. "Then let me show you the power of the Snowfrost Sword." With that, she swung her sword at Evan. Everywhere it passed, ice formed. Evan wielded the Soul-Devouring Divine Sword, slashing down to shatter the ice, and the sword's soul-devouring aura surged toward Empress Myra.
Empress Myra was shocked and quickly retreated, then attacked again with her sword. Evan countered each strike, the duel now a test of endurance. Evan was waiting for the right moment; if the opponent's energy waned, he would unleash the Soul-Devouring Divine Sword's full power to knock her down.
But it was obvious that this initial plan wouldn't work. As a God-realm Empress, Myra's power was abundant, while Evan relied on the Heaven-Cold Seed to circulate energy, plus the energy absorbed in the Immortal-Fate Grotto, which kept him from falling.
However, in the Immortal-Fate Grotto, Evan's Heaven-Cold Seed absorbed a large amount of energy, which he was now gradually releasing. This was enough for him to hold his own against Empress Myra.
So the two fought from night until daybreak. Empress Myra couldn't believe that Evan, not yet a God, had such incredible endurance.
"What on earth is going on?" Empress Myra wondered, unable to believe what she was seeing.
For Evan, the opportunity had arrived. Empress Myra's power was loosening, no longer as strong as at night. After all, even Gods couldn't wield the Snowfrost Sword forever, and its consumption was immense.
Seizing the moment, Evan suddenly gathered a huge amount of power. The Soul-Devouring Divine Sword erupted as if it had taken medicine, unleashing overwhelming force that struck the Snowfrost Sword, sending it flying. Empress Myra was wounded by the divine sword, her soul heavily injured as well.
Seeing his success, Evan flashed in front of Empress Myra and smiled. "Admit defeat," he said.
"What happened? Impossible! How did you suddenly have such immense power?" Empress Myra exclaimed in disbelief.
"I've been storing up this power for a long time, just waiting for the right moment," Evan said with a smile.
"Damn you," Empress Myra pointed at Evan in disbelief. But with her injuries, she had no hope of escaping his grasp.
"Go on, it's time for our agreement to take effect, isn't it? Or do I have to destroy your physical body before you'll tell me your origins?" Evan asked.
Empress Myra knew she had lost. Though unwilling, she had sworn an oath and had to speak. "I come from the Chaos World, from the Xuantian Demon Cavern Clan. We record many things about divine beasts, and the Fire Phoenix is one of the strongest among us, but it vanished. By chance, I found some forbidden secrets in the demon cavern and learned the Fire Phoenix suffered disaster, leaving behind a single egg in this world. So I came, but it was guarded by thirteen illusions."
"So that's how it is. Xuantian Demon Cavern, huh? That's the first time I've heard of it," Evan said with a smile.
"Can you let me go now?" Empress Myra asked.
"I'll let you go, but you must swear never to trouble me again, or your soul will be destroyed," Evan said, taking precautions against future threats.
Empress Myra gritted her teeth. "Fine." She swore on her soul, barely escaping Evan's final blow. However, the Snowfrost Sword was taken by Evan, who found it to be a fine sword, at least a divine weapon.
Although the Snowfrost Sword and Soul-Devouring Divine Sword struggled against each other, under Evan's control they settled down. Watching Evan's departing figure, Empress Myra dragged her battered body and cursed, "Damn it, just wait. I promised not to trouble you, but others will."
Empress Myra then vanished without a trace. Evan returned to the city, and from that day on, everything was much safer. Evan released Ember Yang and the others.
Except for the daily deaths, nothing else happened. So, safely, they reached the day before the tunnel opened, with countless people gathering here.
The city was decorated with lanterns and banners, looking very beautiful.
"Wow, does the tunnel opening always look like this? That's pretty interesting," Ember Yang said with a laugh.
"This city is quite special. It doesn't belong to any region, yet it's lasted so many years," Melody Wood said with a smile.
"No matter what, after tonight, each of you will have your own trial, so today you can go wild for a day," Evan said with a smile.
Hearing the word 'trial,' Lynn Lin groaned, "Ugh, can you stop always talking about training with me?"
"You're the weakest here. Soon, even Ember Yang will be much stronger than you," Evan said with a laugh.
"One has the power of a divine avatar, the other is a divine beast who grows just by eating. How am I supposed to compete?" Lynn Lin protested, glaring.
"That just means you haven't worked hard enough, Sister Lynn," Ember Yang said with a laugh.
"You brat, don't get cocky. Even if you're stronger now, you still have to listen to me," Lynn Lin retorted, glaring.
"Got it, got it," Ember Yang replied.
"Alright, go crazy. Shop as much as you want—especially you, foodie," Evan said to Ember Yang with a smile.
Ember Yang nodded, and the group went wild shopping again, preparing for tomorrow's journey.
The night passed in lively chaos. Evan had already calmed his mind, ready for the tunnel tomorrow. Ember Yang and the others slowly settled down, and by the next day, everyone arrived at the spot where the tunnel was expected to appear.
At the mountain pass, crowds gathered. According to rumor, when the time came, the tunnel would appear here and everyone could enter.
"Be careful. Once you're inside, you'll be my prey," the youth leading the squad sneered as he passed Evan's group.
"No one knows who will be whose prey!" Ember Yang retorted, glaring.
"You'll find out soon enough," Prince Leng sneered.
Prince Leng led his group to the front, while Evan's group stayed back. Ember Yang kept cursing, and Evan quietly told Lynn Lin, Melody Wood, and Ember Yang, "You need to be careful of them."
"What's there to be careful about? They're just tall and bulky, but actually pretty fragile," Ember Yang said.
"You can ignore most of them, but there's one you should watch out for—namely that youth. He has a swarm of strange insects," Evan said.
"Insects? I'll just burn them," Ember Yang said.
"It's not that simple. Don't be naive. Do you know who's been killing all those people these days?" Evan asked.
Lynn Lin frowned. "Don't tell me it's him?" Ember Yang shivered remembering the victims, and Melody Wood raised her eyebrows. Evan smiled, "You're right. It's him—and it looks like he's collecting something."
"No way. He's killed so many people just to collect something?" Ember Yang said, suspicious.
"Every person he's killed was a previous entrant in the Bloodfiend Ground who carried Blood‑Marks," Evan explained.
"You mean he's targeting Blood‑Marks?" Melody Wood quickly deduced.
"Exactly. He refines the Blood‑Mark artifacts and collects the resulting qi," Evan said.
"Could it be... he's cultivating the legendary divine art?" Melody Wood exclaimed in shock.
"What art?" Evan asked, curious. Lynn Lin and Ember Yang were also eager to know what kind of technique would require all this.
"The Blood‑Mark Divine Art! It's said to have been created by the master of the Bloodfiend Ground. This technique is similar to artifacts that bear Blood‑Marks, but instead of imprinting Blood‑Marks on a weapon, you cultivate them on your own body, forming a belt of Blood‑Marks around yourself. That way, you don't need artifacts—your own defense is greatly enhanced. It's a monstrous technique," Melody Wood explained.
"Wow, that's so powerful. But why has no one ever cultivated it?" Lynn Lin asked, skeptical since it was her first time hearing about it.
"It's normal you haven't heard of it. Cultivating this art is extremely difficult—not only must you collect Blood‑Marks, but you have to spend years inside the Bloodfiend Ground to achieve even minor success. Most people can't endure that long, and many don't even know where to find the technique. It's practically lost," Melody Wood said.
"If what you say is true, then he's preparing to cultivate that art. Smart kid—he's been staking out here for a month and collected quite a bit," Evan said with a smile.
"Yeah, he's a terrifying person. So it's right for everyone to be careful," Melody Wood said, now understanding why Evan warned them.
"I'd like to see what he looks like after cultivating Blood‑Marks," Ember Yang muttered.
"You brat, with your strength, you're no match for his insects," Evan said helplessly.
"That's right. Those insects are Holy Insects—desert Holy Insects. They're terrifying, able to devour any attribute," Melody Wood explained.
"Definitely terrifying," Evan muttered. Still, he was curious—why did Melody Wood know so much? He remembered she once told him she rarely left home. Could her master have taught her all this? But it seemed too much; she always had an answer for every question.
Suddenly, Evan felt that Melody Wood was somehow different from before, but he couldn't figure out what it was.
Melody Wood noticed Evan staring at her and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, just thinking about something," Evan said with a smile.
"He's definitely up to something again. Are you planning to throw us into some new trial?" Lynn Lin glared.
"Bloodfiend Ground is just one place. What else could I do to you? Once you're inside, you'll each train on your own—life and death are up to you," Evan said.
"So ruthless? You're really not going to look after us? What if we're killed by that guy's poisonous insects?" Lynn Lin exclaimed.
"What benefit does he get from killing you? Killing you won't earn him Blood‑Marks, unless you gain a lot of Blood‑Marks inside. Then he might consider it—but who knows when that might happen," Evan explained.
"Either way, it doesn't matter. He could still target us," Lynn Lin said, now a bit afraid of the youth after hearing Melody Wood's explanation.