Seeing the true forms of the two in the sky, the Soaring Feather Young Lord was taken aback. Especially Evan Chu's Golden Dragon body—it stirred a deep urge in him to submit. The flames on Roxanne Lin were clearly a tyrannical kind, with obvious overwhelming attack power.
"Ethan, why not spar with Roxanne for a bit? I'm heading out first!" Evan Chu said, though it was obvious Ethan stood no chance against Roxanne.
How could a tortoise ever outrun a flying bird? That's a law of nature. At this, Ethan said, "I think we should skip the match. Even if this tortoise can fly now, how could it possibly compare to the Vermilion Bird, born to soar? Let's just return to human form. Your true bodies are way too intimidating—I'm honestly a bit overwhelmed."
Roxanne laughed, "Ethan, you’re absolutely right. Honestly, there aren’t many people in the world who can outrun me, but Evan’s one of them. Since you don’t want to show your true form, I’ll go along—truthfully, I don’t like showing off either. It draws too much attention." With that, she returned to her human appearance.
Evan Chu, however, didn’t change back. "Roxanne, wait for me at Frostbane Sect. Be sure to tell Selena and the others—I’ll be home soon!"
"Got it. You be careful, too!" Roxanne reminded him. Evan let out a dragon roar and, in a flash of golden light, his massive dragon form vanished from their sight.
Evan discovered that, after turning into his Golden Dragon form, his teleportation range was actually farther than in human form. He found this a bit odd, but after a few jumps, he was already tens of thousands of li away.
It didn’t take long for Evan to arrive above the ruins of Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion. He glanced at the devastated site, his heart burning with rage. He swore that once he returned from the Netherworld, he’d wipe out the dark organization responsible—or he’d never be able to face Selena again.
Fortunately, the Teleportation Gate to Monster Beast Forest was still intact—small mercies in a disaster. If the gate had been destroyed, it would’ve been a huge hassle. It’s said that flying from the Azure Tide Ruins to Monster Beast Forest takes several days and nights, and it’s easy to get lost. That’s exactly why the gate was built.
With a flicker, Evan shifted back to human form and quickly passed through the Teleportation Gate. A powerful spatial force yanked him into Monster Beast Forest.
When Evan Chu first appeared, the monster beasts guarding the Teleportation Gate didn’t notice him—he’d used instant movement to vanish the moment he stepped out.
The gatekeeper beasts sensed something odd about the Teleportation Gate, but saw no one. One even ran over to check, muttering, "Weird, why is the gate acting up today? Is it broken? Better go tell a Protector."
Evan, of course, had no idea about any of this. He was already speeding toward the passage to the White Tiger Clan. Escorting Ryan Ouyang to the Azure Tide Ruins had been exhausting enough.
Without stopping for rest, Evan spent half a day rushing to Greenstate Kingdom. Standing before the Teleportation Gate, he gave a wry smile. "Finally, I can reach the White Tiger Clan. For anyone else, it’d take ten days or half a month. Chained teleportation is exhausting!"
He fed Starstones into the gate and entered, emerging in the forest of the White Tiger Clan. Then he went straight to the White Tiger Temple, where Azure Moon White Tiger was sitting outside the main hall, eyes closed in meditation. Seeing Evan appear, he nearly jumped in shock.
"Frostbane, you brat, showing up without warning—are you trying to scare this old man into an early grave?" Azure Moon White Tiger grumbled, looking at Evan.
"Cut the crap, old man. You might have old bones, but I bet you’ll live another ten thousand years. Where’s Ryan Ouyang? I’m here to take him away." Evan got straight to the point.
Azure Moon White Tiger stood up and said, "I knew you’d come for him. What took you so long? Where have you been lately?"
"I went to the Divine Battlefield and destroyed Skywind Valley and the Thunder Pool. Pretty impressive, right?" Evan replied, not bothering to hide his annoyance.
"You destroyed Skywind Valley and the Thunder Pool? Impossible. Glasswind of Skywind Valley is insanely strong—I doubt you could pull that off. And as for the Thunder Pool, that’s even less believable. Haven’t you heard the saying, ‘Not a step beyond the Thunder Pool’? One of our White Tiger Clan’s powerhouses entered once and never came back." Azure Moon White Tiger said.
"Who am I? I’m Frostbane—a Golden Dragon. Why would I lie to you? If I didn’t have the strength, how could I dare go to the Netherworld? Hurry up and take me to Ryan Ouyang, time’s tight and I don’t want to waste words with you." Evan said bluntly.
"What’s the rush? Since you’re here at the White Tiger Clan, you should at least enjoy some good wine and meat. There’s no harm in waiting until we’ve had our fill," Azure Moon White Tiger replied, completely ignoring Evan’s impatience.
"You itching for trouble, old man? I’ve got plenty of ways to make you ‘enjoy’ yourself. We can drink after I get back from the Netherworld—there are things I can’t explain right now, and my time is really limited. Azure Moon, is Ryan in seclusion again?" Evan asked.
"Nothing gets past you. That’s right—Ryan’s in seclusion. Ever since he saw your strength last time, it was like he got hit with a shock. The moment you left, he dove into the secret chamber and hasn’t come out. I have no idea how long this retreat will last," Azure Moon White Tiger said.
Evan frowned slightly. Interrupting a closed-door cultivation could impact someone’s progress, but he didn’t have time to wait. In the end, he said, "Let’s go check the secret chamber. If he hasn’t made a breakthrough yet, he can pause—there’ll be plenty of time later."
It was the first time Azure Moon White Tiger had seen Evan this impatient. He chuckled, "All right, let’s go. But you’d better cough up something good—you must’ve hauled in plenty of treasures from the Divine Battlefield. Don’t tell me you’re stingy now!"
Evan shot him a look, "Who taught you to be such a greedy little schemer? We’ll talk when I see Ryan—I won’t let you down."
The two entered the secret chamber. There was a hidden peephole in one corner, letting them observe inside. Ryan Ouyang had already stopped cultivating and was pacing the chamber, his expression unreadable.
"Ryan, the Master of Frostbane Sect is here—come out!" Azure Moon White Tiger called.
Ryan Ouyang emerged from the chamber and, seeing Evan, said, "I’ve reached the fourth layer of the Saint Martial Realm. Am I qualified to spar with you now?"
"Wait until you reach the ninth layer of the Saint Martial Realm! Right now, you couldn’t withstand even one of my moves. Cultivation can’t be rushed—haven’t you heard ‘haste makes waste’?" Evan laughed.
"Ninth layer of the Saint Martial Realm? If I get that far, I’d probably one-shot you! Quit bragging—I don’t buy it. How about you take one of my attacks and see?" Ryan said, unwilling to back down.
Azure Moon White Tiger glared at Ryan. "Ryan, don’t get ahead of yourself. He’s not someone you can beat—even I’m no match for him. Just let it go!"
"Azure Moon, let him try. This chamber is solid—I don’t want to make a scene, so let’s do it here." Evan said, then turned to Ryan, "Use your strongest attack. I won’t dodge or defend and will take it head-on. Since you’ve reached the fourth layer of the Saint Martial Realm, let’s see what you’ve got."
"You said it! Don’t blame me if I end up killing you. Ignoring my attack—Evan Chu, you’re way too cocky!" Ryan retorted.
"You’ll see soon enough. But here’s the deal—if you can’t injure me, you’ll leave the White Tiger Clan with me and help open the Netherworld entrance. I’m sure you’ll agree. If you do manage to hurt me, you don’t have to go." Evan said.
Azure Moon White Tiger was a bit startled. If Evan really got hurt, that fourth-layer Saint Martial Realm attack wouldn’t be a joke. He shot Evan a look, as if to say, ‘You’re really overconfident this time.’
"Why wouldn’t I agree to that? Evan Chu, get ready to be disappointed!" Ryan said excitedly, as if he already saw Evan knocked flat.
The secret chamber was sturdy, about half the size of the one beneath Frostbane Sect. Evan figured that even if he blocked Ryan’s full-powered strike, the chamber wouldn’t collapse.
Once inside, Ryan could barely wait. He asked Evan, "Are you ready? I’m about to attack!"
"Go ahead, attack whenever you like. Don’t hold back—use your full strength, or you’ll regret it!" Evan laughed, secretly hoping Ryan would learn a lesson.
Ryan instantly summoned a silver greatsword, its blade flashing with energy. He shouted, "Let me show you my power!" A fierce blade aura shot out, shaking the chamber with violent ripples. If they were outside, this attack could have split the very sky.
The blade aura reached Evan, who didn’t dodge at all—he just smiled calmly. The powerful force slammed into him, while Azure Moon White Tiger closed his eyes, not out of fear of blood, but to avoid the embarrassment if Evan failed.
Having survived countless life-and-death battles, Azure Moon was used to bloodshed—he just didn’t want Evan to embarrass himself in front of him. That kind of humiliation would be hard to live down.
With a thunderous crash, Evan was blasted back several meters, but landed gracefully on his feet. Ryan, however, was sent flying by the recoil, smashing into the chamber wall and leaving a gaping hole.
There was no sign of serious injury on Evan. He stood there, smiling, while Ryan couldn’t believe his eyes. "How is this possible? How is this possible…" Ryan cried, stunned that his attack hadn’t even scratched Evan.