"What happened to Evan Chu? Tell us, quick!"
Lily Tang had spent over half a year hoping Evan Chu would come back. But now, it was only Jenny Sima who returned. Seeing the tears on Jenny’s face and hearing her trembling voice, a wave of dread crashed over Lily—she couldn’t help bursting into tears.
Rhea Yang wasn’t as emotional as Lily, but her eyes turned red and wet. She choked out, "Jenny, did something happen to Evan Chu? Or… did he leave you?"
Jenny Sima acting like this could only mean two things. Rhea Yang desperately hoped it was the second—if Evan Chu had just left Jenny, at least he’d be safe.
"Don’t make it harder for her. Evan Chu’s unconscious right now, getting treatment in Dean Xu’s secret chamber. Let’s take Jenny back to rest—she’s about to collapse." Gabe Goldstone said, voice tight with worry.
"Unconscious? What happened?" Rhea Yang blurted out, her voice rising in alarm.
With what she knew of Evan Chu, he was basically a cockroach you couldn’t kill. Hearing he was unconscious now, how could she not be shocked?
"Let’s talk about this back at the dorm! All this crying—what a mess! Evan Chu’s fine, you’ll jinx it if you keep bawling!" Gabe Goldstone scolded, half joking, half serious.
The group made their way to Roxanne Lin’s dorm. Roxanne was sitting by her bedside, lost in thought, when she suddenly saw the crowd walking in and jumped in surprise.
But when she spotted Jenny Sima, her eyes lit up with excitement—even if her face was hidden behind a veil, no one could miss the emotion in her voice.
"Jenny, what’s going on with you guys? Did Evan Chu come back?" Roxanne Lin asked, unable to hide her anxiety.
Jenny Sima walked over to the desk and sat down, saying, "Evan Chu came back—but you can’t see him right now."
Roxanne Lin was sharp—she caught the looks on everyone’s faces in an instant. Especially Lily Tang’s tear-streaked cheeks; with her temper, only something serious about Evan Chu could make her cry.
"Just tell me—what happened to Evan Chu? Don’t keep me in the dark. I might be his fiancée, but you’re all his chosen girls too. I can handle it." Roxanne Lin said, voice steady but trembling.
"For months, I’ve been thinking about him day and night, imagining every possible outcome—even the worst. I’m ready for whatever you tell me. I won’t break." Roxanne Lin declared, her eyes shining with resolve.
"Sister-in-law, it’s not as bad as you think. Evan Chu came back and fought Sea Dragon Academy’s top expert for Heavenly Dragon Academy’s honor. He won—killed the guy outright—but got seriously injured and fell into a coma. Right now he’s in Dean Xu’s secret chamber, getting treated. So don’t worry too much." Gabe Goldstone said, trying to reassure her.
"I know Evan Chu will be fine, I know he’ll be fine!" Roxanne kept repeating, but tears kept streaming down her face anyway.
Everyone’s mood was in the dumps. No one knew what to say, and for a while, the only sound in the dorm was quiet sobbing.
After a long silence, Gabe Goldstone finally spoke up: "Jenny, you and Evan Chu were gone for half a year. What happened out there?"
Gabe’s question was what everyone wanted to know. Jenny Sima forced herself to focus and slowly recounted how they climbed the ice mountain, rescued Evan Chu from a giant snowball, fought Flame Serpents in the desert, and faced the Ice-Fire Twin Dragons in the illusion.
Everyone was stunned and curious. Those who hadn’t gone through all that with Evan Chu felt regret—and a bit of envy that Jenny Sima got to be by his side through it all.
Jenny Sima finally said, "Actually, we could’ve left with Zack Zhao and the others, but Evan Chu insisted on staying. He said he had to find something—something super important to him."
"What was it?" everyone asked in unison.
"The Iceflame Crystal!" Jenny Sima announced, her voice ringing with drama.
"Iceflame Crystal? What’s that? Why would Boss go looking for something like that?" Gus Bullard asked, scratching his head in confusion.
"After surviving nine deaths and one life, Evan Chu finally got the Iceflame Crystal. Roxanne, he really did all this for you!" Jenny Sima said, her words full of emotion.
Only now did Roxanne Lin realize that Evan Chu had gone through so many dangers just for her—to break the seal on her body. Thinking of him lying unconscious, she broke down in tears again…
Meanwhile, Evan Chu was lying quietly in Dean Xavier’s secret chamber. His breathing was weak, but his heartbeat was steady—he was truly unconscious, but not in any real danger.
Dean Xavier and Marcus Gongsun checked Evan Chu’s injuries thoroughly. They found only surface wounds, nothing internal. But why was he still unconscious? That was a real puzzle.
The two elders gave Evan Chu a fifth-grade healing pill and watched quietly for any reaction.
"This kid never lets me down! Marcus, didn’t I say he’d show up at the last possible moment?" Dean Xavier said, grinning.
"You got it right. I’ve got to admit, you win this round—this kid’s really something. He was gone just half a year, but came back with his strength through the roof. Born genius, I’ll give him that," Marcus Gongsun said.
"He’s hiding all sorts of secrets we don’t know. Did you see him roar like a dragon—and that golden dragon phantom on his body? What do you think that means?" Dean Xavier asked, eyes sharp.
Marcus Gongsun shook his head. "It’s wild, sure, but if you’re saying he’s a Dragon Clan descendant, I just can’t buy it."
"Legend says the Dragon Clan and humans can’t intermarry. If it happens, dragon girls or dragon men get punished hard. In ten thousand years, less than five Dragon Clan descendants ever showed up. He can’t be one of them." Marcus insisted.
"There are always exceptions. I think this kid might be one. Otherwise, how do you explain those signs? Maybe his bloodline’s sealed, and the injuries just triggered a bit of it." Dean Xavier mused.
Actually, Dean Xavier was only half right: Evan Chu’s body couldn’t handle the sudden surge of bloodline power, so he fainted. But the real reason was that using Heart Sword had left his spirit severely wounded and not yet recovered.
Two days later, Evan Chu woke up. He opened his eyes and saw Dean Xavier and Marcus Gongsun staring straight at him. It felt a little weird.
"Hey, old man, what are you staring at me for?" Evan Chu shot back, his usual cheekiness returning.
"Kid, I’m the dean of this academy! You keep calling me old man—want me to knock you out again?" Dean Xavier snapped, half annoyed, half amused.
"Don’t give me that sour face—I’m not buying it. Help me up, I feel like I’ve been run over by a beast. By the way, how long was I out?" Evan Chu grumbled.
"Not long, just two years. We kept you alive with spirit medicine every single day—let’s see how you’ll pay me back!" Marcus Gongsun teased.
"Two years, huh? Not bad—I figured it’d be five. Seriously, two years and nobody changed my pants? They’re still caked in blood! Who are you trying to fool here?" Evan Chu groused.
After being helped up, Evan Chu still felt a stabbing pain in his heart—a sign of spiritual injury. But what worried him most right now was Jenny Sima and Roxanne Lin. He’d been unconscious all this time; they must have been worried sick…