The appearance of this black figure instantly put Evan Chu on high alert. He hadn't expected to actually encounter a peerless powerhouse here—though he couldn't tell if this guy would attack him right away.
Evan Chu saw the figure, and naturally, the figure saw him too. The shadow started walking toward Evan, countless bolts of lightning striking his body in a dense barrage, but he acted like it was nothing at all. Evan even noticed that lightning flickered in the man’s eyes.
"Evan, this guy is insanely strong—you better stay alert and be ready to run at any moment. He’s already been refined by the Thunder Pool’s lightning into a thunder spirit body, which means ordinary lightning can’t hurt him anymore. Only something as terrifying as apocalyptic divine thunder could possibly injure him," Luna, the Sword Spirit, warned.
Evan Chu stayed silent, but the black figure suddenly spoke: “I never thought a little brat would show up in the Thunder Pool. Ten thousand years—you're the first human I’ve seen here. How rare.”
“Who are you? Why are you here?” Evan asked—even though he already guessed this was one of those hidden experts from the ancient clans, he couldn’t help but ask.
“Who am I? I think I’ve already forgotten my own name. And who are you? Why have you come here? Anyone who can make it this far must have impressive strength and defense. Heaven must truly favor me today,” the black figure replied.
Evan didn’t understand what he meant, but just as he was about to speak, Luna said urgently, “Evan, this guy is actually a soul body—how is that even possible? He’s managed to survive here in pure soul form in a place filled with lightning. That’s insane! From his words, it’s obvious he’s planning to seize your flesh and possess your body.”
“We don’t know each other, and I don’t have time to waste on you. Goodbye!” Evan snapped after hearing Luna’s warning, addressing the black figure. He couldn’t understand how a soul body could still have a visible form, or why lightning kept flashing in the man’s eyes.
As soon as Evan finished speaking, he bolted to the side. He didn’t dare use short-range teleportation here—if he got hit by dozens or even hundreds of lightning bolts at once, he’d be paralyzed instantly, and then he’d just become a vessel for the soul body’s possession.
“Trying to run? I finally found you—there’s no way I’ll let you escape!” the black figure roared, then quickly chased after Evan.
Bolts of lightning kept striking Evan Chu, making his movements painfully slow, while the black figure seemed completely unfazed by the thunder. In just a few breaths, he had already caught up to Evan.
“You’re not going anywhere, kid. You’d better surrender now or you’ll suffer later. Otherwise, I’ll make you wish you were dead!” the black figure threatened.
Since his opponent was a soul body, Evan already had a plan. The weird part was that this soul body still had half a remnant fleshly form, but he knew his Soul Rend technique could seriously injure a spirit. He decided to use Soul Rend for a surprise attack.
“You think you can just make me surrender? Judging by your appearance, you were probably destroyed by the Thunder Pool’s lightning ages ago. Surviving this long is pure luck, and now you shamelessly want to possess my body—have you even looked at yourself lately?” Evan retorted.
At the same time, he gripped the Frostbane Sword, ready to unleash Soul Rend when the enemy let his guard down. Even if he couldn’t win outright, he could at least buy time to escape.
“What an arrogant brat! You dare talk big in front of me? If my fleshly body were still here, I could squash you with a finger! Since you want to see my strength, I’ll show you what real power looks like,” the black figure snapped.
The black figure’s body flickered, gliding toward Evan Chu like a ghost, and shot a bolt of black lightning from his eyes. The sight of this lightning made Evan feel suffocated—he’d never seen lightning of this color before.
“Careful, Evan! That’s soul lightning—it’s deadly to the spirit. Don’t try to block it, just dodge!” Luna cried out, clearly knowing how dangerous soul lightning was.
Evan had planned to hit the enemy with Soul Rend right then, but after Luna’s warning, he quickly sidestepped several meters and dodged the soul lightning attack.
It all happened in a split second—if Evan had been half a second slower, he might have been struck by the black figure’s soul lightning, and the consequences would be unimaginable.
The black figure was a bit surprised that his soul lightning hadn’t struck Evan, but he quickly realized that anyone who could reach this place had to be tough. Without hesitation, he moved to attack Evan again.
But after dodging the attack, Evan unleashed Soul Rend with the Frostbane Sword, sending a greenish sword light straight at the enemy. Without even looking back, he immediately used Earthshift to burrow into the ground.
Once underground, Evan discovered that the soil was filled with lightning too, just as strong as the bolts falling from the sky. A numbing current surged through his whole body.
He hadn’t felt anything like this in ages. Still, at least he could move underground—slowly, but better than waiting above to die.
The black figure screamed in pain as Soul Rend struck him—clearly, the attack had wounded him. But Evan’s body vanished underground, leaving the figure stunned.
“That attack… It’s so familiar. Isn’t that Soul Rend, Qing Shuang’s ultimate move? How does this kid know Qing Shuang’s secret technique?” the black figure muttered to himself.
Seeing Evan disappear, the black figure wasn’t worried—instead, he laughed. “So you know Earthshift, kid? Too bad you don’t realize the lightning underground is even stronger. You’ll show up soon enough, and then I’ll see how you try to escape.”
Of course, Evan didn’t hear any of this. He was busy enduring the numbness as he crawled forward underground. “Luna, why is there so much lightning in the soil, and why is it so powerful?” he asked.
“Evan, the lightning from the sky keeps falling to the ground, so naturally some gets left behind in the soil. Over countless years, it’s accumulated and grown stronger—this kind is called Earth Thunder. It’s extremely fierce, so be careful. Of course, you could use it for body refinement if you’re brave enough,” Luna explained.
“Perfect—this lightning is just within my tolerance. If I use it for tempering, it’ll be ideal. Let that guy keep searching for me!” Evan said.
If the black figure knew what Evan was thinking, he’d probably tear up the whole ground searching for him. Evan didn’t start refining his body right away; instead, he kept crawling forward—body tempering by stealth. Before he knew it, he’d already put dozens of miles between himself and the black figure…