Evan Chu stared in shock at the sheer number of Starstones before him, unable to believe his eyes. "Hell, I’m probably standing on a pile of Starstones right now," he muttered, gazing at the Starflare Stone.
This time, Evan drew the Frostbane Sword. He stepped up beside the Starflare Stone and swung with all his might. Sparks flew everywhere, and the Frostbane Sword shuddered violently in his grip.
"Damn it! Why is this thing so tough?" Evan grumbled, frustrated. He saw that the spot he’d hit only showed a tiny crack—barely a scratch on the surface.
Refusing to admit defeat, Evan channeled his Chaos Dragon Force and unleashed Tyrant Cleave. "Boom!" The impact sent him crashing to the ground, staring helplessly at the spot he’d struck—only a few fragments, not even the size of an egg, had chipped off.
Evan was stunned. Tyrant Cleave was his strongest move, yet it barely made a dent. How long would it take to break open this thing and get the Starflare Stone at this rate?
"Didn’t I tell you this would take time? You think Star Crystals are that easy to get? Sure, there are Starstone mines in the Azure Tide Ruins, but why do you think Star Crystals are so rare? Even Starstones aren’t exactly common. Mining them is a huge pain in the ass." Luna, the sword spirit, spoke up, exasperated.
"But running into a Starstone vein this massive is insanely rare. You only find these in places like the Divine Battlefield. Just use this as a training ground—maybe you’ll even break through to a new realm," Luna said, shaking her head.
Evan wanted to ask Luna if there was a shortcut, but it was clear there wasn’t. He could only get up and keep slashing away with Tyrant Cleave. After a few more attempts, his Chaos Dragon Force was spent, but with all the Stellar Power here, he didn’t have to worry about running out of energy.
Evan burned through his Stellar Power, absorbed more, burned through it again, and kept repeating the cycle. He lost track of how many times he’d done this, but finally, after one last Tyrant Cleave, a Starstone the size of an egg broke free.
He picked it up and saw it was a high-grade Starstone. Evan grinned. "Finally scored something! If I had to buy all the Chaos Dragon Force I just burned through with Starstones, I’d have blown through a hundred million by now. Good thing this business doesn’t need upfront capital!"
Evan examined the Starstone closely, not rushing to break open more of the rock. He knew he needed to find the best way to succeed faster.
Suddenly, Evan remembered the Demon Lord’s promise: once he reached the Eighth Layer of the Divine Martial Realm, he could learn the third sword technique hidden in the Frostbane Sword. He hadn’t tried the second technique yet, but he knew it was powerful—just not useful here.
That technique attacked the soul—totally useless against lifeless rock. With that thought, Evan sat down and started absorbing Stellar Power. He had to break through to the Eighth Layer of the Divine Martial Realm.
Stellar Power surged inside him, his Divine Star Core turning golden, the golden dragon phantom growing clearer. Evan ignored it all, focusing everything on his cultivation.
Once the Stellar Power in his body transformed into Chaos Dragon Force, Evan cycled it through his meridians again and again, then absorbed more. Hard work pays off—when his Divine Star Core finally hit full saturation, he stopped.
At this moment, the only light in the spatial black hole came from the Starflare Stone. Evan sat with his eyes shut, pushing for his Eighth Layer breakthrough with everything he had.
"Crack!" After circulating Chaos Dragon Force dozens of times, a crisp sound echoed in Evan’s dantian—like music to his ears.
"I did it! I finally broke through—man, that wasn’t easy!" Evan opened his eyes, elated.
Now that he’d reached the Eighth Layer of the Divine Martial Realm, Evan figured he could even take on a Second-Layer Saint Martial expert. He might not win, but at least he wouldn’t go down easy—his defense was off the charts.
Evan calmed himself down and started consolidating his breakthrough, circulating Chaos Dragon Force through his meridians to stabilize his realm.
He soon realized his Chaos Dragon Force was overflowing—if he could do ten Tyrant Cleaves before, now he could manage twenty. The leap from the Seventh to Eighth Layer was no joke.
It took Evan two days to stabilize his new realm. Then he drew the Frostbane Sword again and contacted the Demon Lord: "Alright, Demon Lord, teach me the third sword technique now."
After a moment, the Demon Lord’s voice echoed in Evan’s mind: "Frostbane, you’ve improved fast. From Fifth to Eighth Layer in less than twenty days—how’d you pull that off?"
Evan couldn’t help but roll his eyes. Twenty days in here was nearly two years outside, with all this dense Stellar Power. Honestly, his breakthrough speed wasn’t that impressive.
"Didn’t you notice how crazy the Stellar Power is here? If I couldn’t break through in this environment, I’d be useless," Evan shot back.
"I didn’t expect to find Starflare Stone here. Looks like you plan to enter the Netherworld, huh? The requirements for that are brutal. Are you ready?" the Demon Lord asked.
"Let’s talk about that later. Just give me the sword technique—I can’t break these Starstones without it," Evan said, getting impatient.
"Fine. The stronger you get, the sooner I’ll be free. The next technique requires a Saint Martial breakthrough, so don’t bother me unless it’s important—my soul power’s limited," the Demon Lord replied.
Suddenly, a flood of runes and images filled Evan’s mind—no need to worry, Luna would handle the decoding.
A moment later, Evan asked Luna, "Luna, tell me how to use this technique!"
"This technique is insanely powerful. With it, you should be able to take down a Second-Layer Saint Martial expert. Congratulations, Evan!" Luna said.
Luna didn’t spell out the details, but Evan could tell just how terrifying this move was.
Soon, the method for executing the move became clear in his mind. Evan lost himself in its intricacies. The technique was called Earth Cleave—meaning, with enough power, you could split the earth itself. Just imagining its destructive force was thrilling.
After grasping the essence of Earth Cleave, Evan began mentally rehearsing the move…