Breaking through to a new heart‑realm was something Evan Chu had dreamed of for ages. Just when he was struggling with it, the problem suddenly resolved itself—and the feeling in his heart could be summed up in one word: exhilarating.
Evan had always longed for the martial arts sealed inside the Frostbane Sword. If his guess was right, those techniques were at least Heaven‑tier or higher—maybe much higher.
He hurriedly asked, “What level do I need to reach to resonate with the Frostbane Sword and learn its martial arts?” This was the most practical question—after all, getting a projection of the Lord of Frostbane was no easy feat.
The next appearance would require using the Timewheel Bracelet again, but the cost was too high. The Lord of Frostbane had warned him not to use it lightly, so if he didn’t ask now, who knew how many years it would be before another chance came.
“Everything depends on fate. If the time isn’t right, you won’t be able to train them even at Divine Martial. But to even attempt the sword’s martial arts, you need to reach at least fifth‑layer Heaven Martial, because the moves consume massive amounts of Chaos Qi.
If your realm is too low, using those techniques could trigger backlash. Even if you’re a once‑in‑a‑generation genius, you’d end up crippled.”
Evan was startled—he hadn’t expected him to say Chaos Qi instead of Stellar Power. So, these martial arts really did require Chaos Qi to unleash.
Right then, the six‑pointed star flashed again, and a beam of light shot straight into Evan’s mind. A wave of piercing pain followed, then slowly, new information began to surface in his consciousness.
The information was so blurry it was impossible to make out, but Evan was sure of one thing: his understanding of martial arts was suddenly much clearer, and all those nagging doubts had been resolved.
That must be the reason for his heart‑realm breakthrough. He glanced up at the six‑pointed star in the sky, only to find it had vanished. The Timewheel Bracelet had returned to its usual form, quietly resting in his hand.
After strapping the Timewheel Bracelet to his wrist, Evan Chu took out some Starstones and began absorbing their power. He hadn’t forgotten about his duel with Aiden Ying.
By the time Evan had filled his Chaos Qi to saturation again, dawn had broken. He washed up, changed into a white fighting outfit, and stepped out of his room.
Evan walked straight out of the training field and strolled slowly along the Royal Capital’s streets. It was still early—Aiden wouldn’t be there yet—so he figured he might as well wander and see what oddities the city had to offer.
As he walked, a familiar voice suddenly echoed in his mind—Goldwing, his contracted golden vulture, was awake. “Boss, let me out!”
Evan was overjoyed. With a thought, a small golden bird appeared before him.
“Old Goldwing, you finally woke up! I can’t believe it took you so long this time.” Evan laughed.
Goldwing perched on Evan’s shoulder, glanced around at the bustling scene, and asked, “Where are we? Why are there so many people? It feels lively!”
“This is the Royal Capital. How do you feel? Has your strength dropped?” Evan asked worriedly.
“My strength is the same as before. But I never expected the Soul Contract to be so terrifying. Boss, what about Foxy Macy? With her power, she should’ve woken up before me.” Goldwing asked.
“Macy’s still asleep. She turned into a monster‑beast egg and is in my storage belt. But she should hatch soon—the Star Crystal’s almost used up, so it’ll probably be just a few more days!” Evan said.
“Why did you come to the Royal Capital? Did something happen?” Goldwing was curious when he heard that the Violet Thunder Fox had turned into a monster‑beast egg—he hadn’t expected she had that kind of trick up her sleeve. Evan didn’t explain, and Goldwing didn’t press.
Evan chuckled, “I’m a wanted man now, but nobody’s figured out my real identity yet. Soon I’m going to kill someone, and it might get dangerous—so you’d better merge back into my body.”
“Boss, now that I’m awake, I can boost your speed by twenty percent. That’ll give you a much better shot at winning,” Goldwing said.
Evan remembered Goldwing mentioning this before—a twenty percent speed boost was a terrifying advantage.
He also recalled Macy saying that if he signed a contract with her, he’d gain a special ability called Demon Eye—a kind of magical talent. Once she reached Nine Tails, her Demon Eye could instantly kill anyone at her level.
But since he hadn’t signed the contract, that terrifying talent was out of reach for now.
“Let’s head outside the city and see just how fast I am with your boost!” Evan said eagerly. He’d never managed to fuse his wind element comprehension with his movement arts, but if he could combine them with Goldwing’s power, his speed would be terrifying.
Evan soon reached the city gates, where the same guards were still on duty. He walked up and said, “Big bro, you let me down! I waited for you at the tavern for days and you never showed—don’t tell me you’re looking down on me?”
The guard immediately recognized Evan as the generous young man from before and laughed, “I wanted to, but things have been crazy lately. Especially with this guy called Evan Chu—I’ve had no time at all!”
Seeing Evan about to leave, the guard asked, “Heading out, brother? Or just passing through?”
“Just running an errand outside the city—I’ll be back soon. When I get back, you and your brothers have to come out for a drink with me,” Evan grinned, glancing at the other guards.
“Count me in! We’ll have a proper drink together this time,” the guard said, delighted to befriend such a wealthy young master.
“Alright, I’m off. When I get back, we’ll celebrate—don’t worry, I’ve got plenty of Starstones!” Evan waved to the other guards.
“Safe travels, brother!”
As Evan walked out of the city gates, he caught the expectant looks from the guards. The one who’d befriended him drew even more envy from the others.
Goldwing asked, puzzled, “Boss, why bother with these nobodies? They’re weak—what good are they to you?”
“They may be low-ranking, but they’re useful. If I build good relationships, I’ll get all kinds of intel you can’t pick up in taverns or inns,” Evan explained.
Once outside the gates, Evan picked a deserted spot and said, “Old Goldwing, let’s try your talent.”
In a flash of golden light, Goldwing merged back into Evan’s body. Immediately, a stream of green energy appeared inside Evan—he knew it was wind element power.
“Boss, that wind energy in your body is actually mine. My realm’s too low, so I can only provide so much. But if you circulate it through all your meridians, your speed will jump by at least twenty percent,” Goldwing’s voice echoed in Evan’s mind.
“What happens if I use up all that energy?” Evan asked, sensing this was an important issue.
“Easy—I just need a few hours to recover. Oh, and I’m a wind‑element flying demon beast; Foxy Macy is a thunder‑element spirit beast,” Goldwing replied.
Evan glanced around to make sure he was alone, just about to test his Shifting Position technique when Aiden Ying’s voice rang out overhead: “Kid, you’ve got guts! If you want to die in a place like this, I’ll grant your wish!”
Aiden Ying appeared before Evan, his arrogant expression making Evan bristle with annoyance…