Evan Chu's appearance instantly had Jenny Sima and the others laughing so hard they couldn't breathe. He looked almost like a beggar, leaving Evan at a total loss for words.
"Had enough laughing? Who said I was just going to sit inside that snowball and wait for someone to save me?" Evan said darkly, his face clouded.
How dare they laugh at him! Sure, he'd been blasted by Macy Mei's purple lightning, but he still looked pretty cool—what was there to laugh about?
Goldwing's face turned green the moment he heard that—Evan was obviously talking about him. "Boss, you're out now, aren't you? Don't be mad, tell us what actually happened!"
Goldwing reacted quickly and changed the subject—otherwise, Evan would definitely beat him up.
Everyone was eager to know what had happened—how Evan ended up inside a snowball. Evan then explained, step by step, how he broke open the ice pillar, dodged Glacial Coldflame, jumped off the cliff, and triggered the avalanche.
Seeing Macy Mei's pale face, Evan realized she'd burned through too much energy rescuing him. His gratitude toward her deepened.
"Macy Mei, why is Glacial Coldflame so terrifying? I still feel scared just thinking about it," Evan said, still shaken.
"I don't know all the details," Macy Mei replied. "But in my inherited memories, Glacial Coldflame ranks third among all Coldflames. It's insanely powerful. Big brother, you were just incredibly lucky to escape."
"Third place among Coldflames? Then what are the first and second?" Evan asked, totally clueless about all this.
"Uh, well... I really don't know either. I just know it's ranked third, haha!" Macy Mei deliberately left Evan hanging, making him even more curious.
"Evan, are you really okay now?" Jenny Sima asked worriedly.
"I'm fine. Let's go up and take a look. I have a feeling something unexpected will show up at the summit," Evan said.
The four of them climbed to the top of the mountain again, and what they saw was almost unbelievable—after Coldtide, dozens of ice pillars of all sizes had appeared.
The snow on the ground had turned completely into a layer of ice. Even stranger, the powerful astral winds were gone, no more snowflakes fell, and the bone-chilling cold had eased up a lot.
Everyone stared quietly at the scene for a long time before Evan finally spoke: "Let's go check ahead. Things are feeling really weird here, so everyone stay sharp."
They stopped at the spot where the giant ice pillar had shattered. The fragments were gone, replaced by an ice gate radiating a strong energy fluctuation.
"Is this a teleportation gate? How could a teleportation gate appear here?" Evan said in shock.
"Boss, could this gate send us straight back to your academy?" Goldwing asked.
"No idea. I doubt it. None of the students who came in could've broken the gate's restrictions, and Coldtide would've wiped them all out. I bet this leads somewhere else entirely. Should we go in and check it out?" Evan said.
Evan was always drawn to unknown places—especially since Luna, the Sword Spirit, had hinted at unexpected gains and the Iceflame Crystal. All this made Evan decide to go in and take a look.
"I think we should forget it. What if we can't get out once we're in? Don't forget, you still have a mission. If you fail, Dean Xavier will skin you alive," Jenny Sima said anxiously.
"Big brother, since a portal showed up here, we should go check it out. I've been stuck here for hundreds of years, and I've never seen anything this weird. Everything worthwhile comes with risk—just like when you shattered that ice pillar. If you're always scared of everything, what's the point?" Macy Mei said.
Clearly, Macy Mei was all for entering the portal. She'd been trapped here far too long and was sick of it. Otherwise, she wouldn't have let Evan take her out. Now that she had this chance, there was no way she was passing it up.
"Let's go in and check it out. Looks like this portal doesn't need Starstones or Magic Crystals, so everyone stay sharp," Evan said, then strode straight toward the gate.
"Evan, think this through—this isn't a game," Jenny Sima called out.
"I know what I'm doing, Jenny. Don't worry, I'll go first!" Evan said, then stepped into the portal and vanished from sight.
Once Evan entered, the other three followed. A completely unfamiliar world appeared before their eyes.
All around them was endless yellow sand. The blazing sun above baked the sand until it was scorching hot, and the heat could be felt clearly through the soles of their feet.
Waves of heat slammed into them, almost as if they could set their clothes on fire. Occasionally, violent winds would whip up the sand, covering the sky in a rain of sand.
"What kind of hellhole is this? Why is it so hot? There's sand everywhere—if we don't die from the heat, we'll die of thirst! Boss, what do we do?" Goldwing asked.
The situation caught Evan completely off guard. He hadn't expected the portal to dump them in a place like this.
One side had nearly frozen them to death; now, the other side felt like it would roast them alive. The contrast couldn't be more extreme.
"Don't panic. We have to stay calm. The portal sent us here for a reason—I have a hunch we'll find something special here, just like those Ice Crystals," Evan said.
Macy Mei was just as frustrated. She'd finally escaped her old prison, only to end up in an even harsher environment. She glanced back—the portal was already gone.
"Big brother, we need to get out of here as soon as possible. The temperature's insane, and in a desert, sandstorms can hit any time. If that happens, we'll be in real danger," Macy Mei warned.
Evan looked around and gave a bitter smile. "Which way should we go? It's all sand—there's no way to tell direction. As for sandstorms, I doubt they're that scary."
"Sandstorms aren't the real danger. The real terror is Blazeglass Flame that can appear inside them. Blazeglass Flame isn't quite as deadly as Glacial Coldflame, but it's still more than enough to kill us. Both are terrifying," Macy Mei said seriously.
She hadn't seen it herself, but her inherited memories warned her about it. She couldn't help but worry.
Evan wasn't surprised Macy Mei knew about such things. He was just thinking about how to get out—and Luna's so-called 'surprise.' This really was a massive, life-threatening surprise.
"Evan, the surprise is definitely here. This environment is exactly what I imagined, and the Iceflame Crystal you want is right here. But getting it won't be easy—the dangers here are no less than the frozen domain," Luna's voice sounded in Evan's mind.
Evan was about to ask more when a strange rustling sound rose from all directions in the sand...