A thunderous boom exploded in the sky, unleashing a massive wave of energy that rippled out in all directions. The ground shook violently, and some of the weaker bystanders were instantly killed by the shockwave—dying so pitifully it was barely worth a second thought.
Evan Chu's strike fused the power of the five elements with lightning, unleashing devastating destructive force. The Yang Family Patriarch had thought his palm would kill Evan outright, but he never expected Evan's attack to be so fierce—his arm instantly went numb and throbbed with sharp pain.
Both men were blasted back dozens of meters by the collision, but Evan seemed completely unscathed. With a quick teleport, he reappeared in his original spot, smiled at his opponent, and mocked, "So these are Skyspear City's so-called experts? Way too weak! What a letdown—I thought you'd give me a real surprise, but you're all just weaklings and trash. Boring!"
His words were cutting, making the faces of several people in the air turn grim—especially the Yang Patriarch, whose entire arm now hung limp, sweat streaming down his face as terror overtook his expression.
At that moment, City Lord Thomas Jia fixed his gaze on Evan and demanded, "Who exactly are you? You dare challenge the experts of Skyspear City? If you don't explain yourself today, don't even think about leaving here alive."
Thomas Jia was genuinely shocked by Evan's strength. The Yang Patriarch was one of Skyspear City's top experts, but his face twisted in pain, making it clear he was suffering greatly.
For someone to make the Yang Patriarch show pain with a single punch—this was no ordinary feat. Just based on that, this youth was clearly not as simple as he appeared. Suddenly, Thomas recalled rumors about the Shade Lord's son‑in‑law, who was said to have taken a direct blow from the Nether Monarch.
Evan glanced at Thomas Jia and laughed, "Skyspear City? I don't care about you at all. Today, if you don't submit to me, there's only one outcome—death. Since you're the City Lord, we'll start with you. Your son is in my hands; you have three breaths to decide, or he'll die right in front of you."
"Dad, I don't want to die! Dad, save me! Just agree to his demands!" Jace Jia screamed, his usual arrogance nowhere to be seen.
"Don't worry, son. I won't let anything happen to you. No one who dares threaten me has ever lived. If he so much as touches a hair on your head, I'll make him pay a hundred‑fold." Suddenly, murderous intent surged from Thomas Jia, making the whole space seem to freeze.
Evan wasn't surprised by Thomas Jia's reaction at all; instead, he just laughed, "So you're really not planning to submit? Good. Very good. Do you really think I'm joking?"
He immediately turned to Sean Xiao: "Since the City Lord of Skyspear doesn't care about his son's life, there's no point keeping him around. Kill him—letting this kind of trash live is just a waste of food!"
"You dare!" Thomas Jia shouted in shock, darting forward to charge straight at Sean. But Sean was already watching him closely and dodged away before Thomas could reach him.
Evan nodded to Sean, then teleported away in midair. Sean also teleported, and as he did, he struck Jace Jia's head with a single palm. The full force of a Fourth‑Layer Venerable expert was something this kind of trash could never withstand—Jace's skull was smashed to pieces, killing him instantly.
"Jace!" Thomas Jia screamed, his voice ripping through the air. Watching his son be killed right before his eyes sent him into a frenzy. "I'm going to kill you both!" he roared, chasing after them at full speed.
For Evan, killing Thomas Jia would be easy—but he knew doing so might destroy Skyspear City itself, making conquest meaningless. That's why he used Jace's execution to lure Thomas and the other top experts away from the city.
After two rapid teleports, Evan stabilized his position. Sean caught up a few breaths later and complained, "You're way too fast! I used everything I had and still couldn't keep up. We've really gone too far this time."
"Scared now? With me here, what is there to fear? Every single one of them dies today! Just focus on staying alive—leave Thomas Jia to me, and do your best to stall the others. Once I finish him, I'll come help you!" Evan said.
Sean's face darkened. Following this guy was sure to get him killed one day, but for the chance to return to the Azure Tide Ruins, he could only grit his teeth and endure.
Just then, Thomas Jia caught up, a massive golden greatsword appearing in his hand. He glared at Evan and Sean, voice cold and furious: "You killed my beloved son—now I'll show you the power of my Gold Domain!"
With a wave of his golden sword, Thomas Jia unleashed an invisible pressure that filled the heavens and earth. Evan and Sean were instantly immobilized—this was the true power of a Fifth‑Layer Venerable's domain, and even Sean couldn't resist.
Evan immediately attuned himself to the gold element in the surrounding space. Within a few breaths, he resonated with the gold‑element particles, stripped the pressure off Sean, and began gathering gold element around himself.
Of the Five Elements, gold is the most violent—representing unstoppable sharpness. Evan planned to condense the gold element into a massive gold-element sword and strike Thomas Jia with a sneak attack. Even if it didn't kill him outright, it would surely leave him gravely wounded.
"You can't even break my Gold Domain, yet you dare talk big about making us submit? You killed my son—now you two will pay in blood!" Thomas Jia roared, slashing his golden sword and sending a massive gold sword‑light hurtling toward Evan and Sean.
He thought this strike would kill them both, but to his shock, Evan and Sean—who were supposedly locked down by his Gold Domain—dodged in an instant. At that exact moment, Evan's condensed elemental sword appeared behind Thomas Jia, striking with deadly silence.
But Thomas Jia was still a Fifth‑Layer Venerable. At the last moment, he barely avoided the strike, shifting sideways several meters—the golden sword grazed his body, missing him by a hair's breadth.
Even so, Thomas Jia's back was left a bloody mess. The gold element's violence was truly unstoppable, but these were only superficial wounds—nothing that could truly harm him.
Still, the shock in his heart was beyond words. He couldn't understand how his Gold Domain had been breached—Evan and Sean were clearly weaker than him, yet they'd broken free so easily...