Harold Liu was brimming with confidence in his son. "Life and death are decreed by fate; fortune is in heaven. If either of you is killed by the other, neither family will be held responsible. Of course, it would be best if no lives were lost today."
Harold Liu's words made it clear he wanted Wolf Liu to kill Evan Chu, but as both were scions of great families, true casualties would be hard to settle.
He said all that up front to dodge future headaches. Evan Chu just snickered to himself: "Old dog, young master me was waiting for you to say those words!"
None of the Chu Family members had any hope for Evan Chu challenging Wolf Liu. Breaking through to the sixth level of the Xuanwu Realm meant one's star force was more than double that of the fifth.
"Linhai, how many moves do you think that guy can survive?" Luna Chu whispered, leaning close to Chu Linhai.
"Sister Luna, I'm telling you, this loser won't last five moves. No idea where he got the guts to kill someone from the Liu Family. If he dies, he brought it on himself." Chu Linhai scoffed, not a shred of sympathy in his voice.
He even felt Evan Chu had brought disaster upon the family and deserved to die.
"I don't buy it. This guy's hiding way deeper than anyone thinks—I got a feeling he might actually pull off a win." Luna Chu grinned.
Anyone who could kill a fourth-level Xuanwu Realm cultivator in a single move had to be at least sixth-level Xuanwu—or higher. At least, she herself couldn't do that.
Now she was certain why Evan Chu had been able to enter the second floor of the Book Repository so easily: he did it with real strength, and had only pretended to struggle at the time.
By now, a large crowd had gathered outside the Chu Family estate, including people from the other three great families.
The air buzzed with constant chatter, most of it convinced Evan Chu was doomed to lose. Dominic Chu found these words deeply unpleasant.
"Evan Chu, step up! Show me what you've got—how dare you kill one of my family's disciples? Today I'll teach you that some people aren't for trash like you to provoke!" Wolf Liu strode out, eyes locked on Evan.
"Evan, spare this punk for now—save it for the family competition. If you kill him today, the Liu Family will hunt the Chu Family to the bitter end." Chu Linhai warned.
Also, hide your true strength as much as possible. It'll give you a surprise advantage in the family competition. If you show too much now, everyone will see you as a major threat and bring you even more trouble later."
Suddenly, Luna the Sword Spirit's voice echoed in his mind. As an outsider, she saw the situation with perfect clarity and analyzed it thoroughly.
"Got it, Sister Luna. I really did plan to kill him before—thanks for the reminder!" He felt genuinely grateful to her.
"This place is way too cramped. Let's take it to our training field—I've been dying to see what the Liu Family's so-called genius is really made of. If you can't even beat a Chu 'trash,' you might as well never show your face in Flowing Cloud City again!" With that, Evan Chu turned and walked off toward the training ground.
The crowd followed toward the Chu Family's training field, but the random onlookers were barred from entering, sparking a wave of complaints.
Inside the training field, Evan Chu stood calm and collected, holding the battered Frostbane Sword. Its blade was still mottled with rust, looking so ordinary it was almost laughable.
"Evan Chu, do you really think you can fight me with just an ordinary iron sword? What a joke. Let me show you what real star force looks like."
As soon as Wolf Liu finished speaking, he charged at Evan Chu, his spirit-grade longsword gleaming coldly as it sliced through the air with a piercing whistle, aiming straight for Evan at lightning speed.
Seeing Wolf Liu's sword strike, Evan knew its power was no joke. Instantly, he unleashed the Lingbo Microsteps—the first footwork of the Windchaser Sword Codex—and retreated rapidly.
He narrowly dodged the incoming blade at the last moment, causing Wolf Liu's sword to strike only empty air.
But Wolf Liu's sword was packed with star force—Evan dodged the blade itself but couldn't evade the sword-qi formed by that power. His clothes were shredded, bits of fabric fluttering in the air.
Wolf Liu's very first attack nearly injured Evan, making everyone even more convinced Evan was doomed. Harold Liu watched with a satisfied smile.
It was as if Evan Chu had already been slain by his genius son; Harold's expression was smug and triumphant.
"Could he really be that weak? Did I misjudge him—maybe he's just a total loser?" Luna Chu was full of doubt.
She didn't think Wolf Liu's move was all that strong—she could have dodged it easily herself. Yet Evan's clothes were still torn.
Dominic Chu couldn't help but worry, but at that moment Evan glanced over at him and flashed a mysterious, unreadable smile.
Seeing Evan Chu's smile, Dominic Chu finally felt reassured. He'd seen that same smile before—when Evan got engaged to Roxanne Lin, and when he fought Leon Lin.
"Heh! Son, your patience leaves me speechless. Even facing Wolf Liu at sixth-level Xuanwu, you're still holding back. I wonder what realm you've reached now," Dominic Chu muttered to himself.
"Hey! Evan Chu, is that all you've got? You couldn't even take one move from me. If you admit defeat now and kowtow, loudly declare 'I, Evan Chu, am a born waste,' I'll let you go!"
Wolf Liu didn't attack again right away. In his eyes, Evan wasn't worth his full strength—a casual strike had nearly injured him, so he didn't deserve serious effort.
Evan was a bit surprised himself. He'd deliberately slowed his Lingbo Microsteps, but the sword-qi formed by star force still grazed him. He couldn't afford to be careless.
He couldn't play the pig to eat the tiger too recklessly—if he misjudged the timing, the consequences could be dire.
"Not many people in this world are worthy enough to make me kneel. Who do you think you are, Wolf Liu? Same deal—if you kneel and holler 'I, Wolf Liu, am a born waste,' maybe I'll let you off!"
Evan shouted, completely ignoring the stunned looks the crowd threw his way.
"Hahaha! I've seen arrogant people before, but never anyone as crazy as you. If you want to die so badly, I'll grant your wish!" Wolf Liu's face twisted with fury as his body flared with dazzling starlight.
Evan knew this was Wolf Liu's true power. If he used a martial art, Evan would have to respond in kind—he just wasn't sure whether to use Phantom Shadow Finger or the Windchaser Sword Codex.
The Windchaser Sword Codex was too powerful—he feared it might kill Wolf Liu in a single move. So Evan chose Phantom Shadow Finger instead; it wasn't as strong, but it could catch his opponent off guard.
"Tenfold Mad-Slaughter Slash!" Wolf Liu bellowed. Streaks of starlight, trailing afterimages, exploded toward Evan Chu—blazing even faster than before.
Then Evan did something that made jaws drop—he casually tossed the Frostbane Sword aside and got ready to take Wolf Liu's attack barehanded.
"Has this idiot finally lost it? He just threw away his weapon—now he's really asking for death." Chu Linhai couldn't help blurting out.
Luna Chu wanted to argue, but seeing the scene before her, she was at a loss for words.
Just as everyone was convinced Evan Chu was doomed, something happened that defied belief.