Evan Chu hid deep within the soil, quietly absorbing the green liquid—completely unaware of the tense exchange between Heaven Ape and Fox King Cyril on the surface above.
Soon, Bear King Bran arrived as well. Seeing that Heaven Ape and Fox King Cyril hadn't started fighting, he found it odd and demanded, "Fox King, why haven't you killed that stinking ape yet? Are you just waiting for me, Bear King Bran, to show up?"
"Bear King, you can't kill Heaven Ape just yet. I've discovered something serious that needs handling—otherwise, the fox clan's rise will be near impossible," Fox King Cyril replied helplessly.
"Fox King, you might be scared of him, but I'm not! That bastard just smacked me with his staff—if I don't smash him with my copper hammer, how can I vent my anger? Watch me teach him a lesson!" Bear King Bran roared, swinging his massive hammer at Heaven Ape.
Heaven Ape looked at Bear King Bran with utter disdain. That guy was just a single-minded brute—nothing but raw strength and zero brains. In truth, his power was still a notch below Fox King Cyril's, but his sheer strength made even other monster beasts wary, and his defense was nothing short of terrifying. Bear King Bran was born with earth affinity.
When it came to earth-element mastery, Bear King Bran was almost Evan Chu's equal. The only difference was, he couldn't use Earthshift to merge with the ground—otherwise, he'd have ruled the Monster Beast Forest ages ago.
Seeing Bear King Bran attack, Heaven Ape felt a surge of anger. As long as Evan Chu wasn't in danger, he'd risk his life today if he had to. Instantly, his black staff whipped up a flurry of shadows, smashing toward Bear King Bran.
Both their blows packed over ten thousand jin of force. The explosive energy shattered the surrounding trees in an instant, flattening dozens of meters of forest and leaving a massive crater beneath their feet.
Bear King Bran and Heaven Ape were each blasted backwards by the other's strength. Neither was hurt—at Saint Martial level, taking damage was nearly impossible unless caught off guard or struck by a truly overwhelming blow, and that was a rare event.
Underground, Evan Chu was anything but comfortable. The violent tremors from their clash made it impossible for him to keep absorbing the green liquid's energy.
Right now, Evan Chu wasn't sure if he should come out or not. With his current realm, escaping through the earth was impossible, but if he stayed hidden, he'd only heap more pressure onto Heaven Ape. As long as he was safe, Heaven Ape could always look for a chance to retreat.
Just as Evan hesitated, the two monsters' attacks crashed down again—this time landing dangerously close. If he'd been just two meters nearer, that massive energy would have struck him head-on. The risk was truly unimaginable.
Evan felt suffocated hiding underground. A real man shouldn't keep his head buried—he'd spent too long sneaking around, and it was getting pointless.
With a fierce resolve, he burst out from the soil, appearing on the surface. If there was going to be a fight today, he'd make it earth-shattering. If he survived, he'd pay back every humiliation twice over.
Evan's sudden appearance stunned all three—Heaven Ape, Bear King Bran, and Fox King Cyril. He'd emerged soundlessly from solid ground, and not a speck of dirt clung to him.
"Lin Feng, run! You can't handle these two!" Heaven Ape saw Evan gripping the Frostbane Sword, clearly ready to fight, and shouted urgently.
Bear King Bran laughed. "Kid, you think you can take me on? You're not even qualified. If you hand over the Wood Spirit Pearl, I'll let you keep your whole corpse. Otherwise, I'll swallow you whole and leave nothing behind!"
"Stinking bear, who are you trying to scare? I'm not some coward! With your pathetic strength, I can't even be bothered with you. Just look at your half-baked humanoid form—honestly, it's worse than pigs and dogs. If you don't know how to transform, just stay a beast. What a disgrace!" Evan shot back, totally unafraid.
Bear King Bran felt even more furious at Evan's words. Heaven Ape had already pissed him off, and now this so-called ant dared to mock him—nothing could make him angrier.
"Brat, how dare you look down on your Grandpa Bear! Today, you die here!" Bear King Bran raised his copper hammer and smashed it down toward Evan.
If Bear King Bran's hammer actually landed, Evan Chu would be nothing but a pile of meat paste. But Evan wasn't stupid—he might not match Bran's raw power, but his speed was far superior. After absorbing the green liquid underground, his Chaos Dragon Force had already recovered to about sixty percent, which was one reason he dared to come out.
With a flicker of thought, Evan unleashed Shifting Position. An afterimage appeared in front of Bear King Bran, while Evan's real body flashed fifty meters away.
Even Fox King Cyril and Heaven Ape were shocked by Evan's speed on the surface. Bear King Bran's attack missed completely, blasting a huge pit into the ground and spiderwebbing cracks everywhere. The terrifying power of his strike was obvious.
"Stinking bear, with that pathetic strength you still dare to brag in front of me? Your skin must be thicker than a city wall. Seriously, how did a pus-filled weakling like you ever become Hall Lord of the Southern Beast King Hall? Don't tell me you got the job through some dirty trick!" Evan sneered, oozing contempt.
Evan was deliberately provoking Bear King Bran. The guy was clearly a dim-witted brute—once enraged, he'd attack wildly. That would give Heaven Ape the chance to land a heavy blow, and then Fox King Cyril wouldn't be a problem either.
Bear King Bran instantly lost control. His true form—a colossal brown bear—appeared, filling most of the newly-flattened clearing. He roared in fury, the sound piercing the clouds and shaking the whole space, making Evan's eardrums ache.
Fox King Cyril was startled to see Bran revert to his true form and hurriedly warned, "Bear King, don't be reckless! This space is way too cramped—transforming now only makes things more dangerous for you!"
But Bear King Bran was too blinded by rage to listen. All he saw was Evan Chu—the human. He ignored Heaven Ape entirely, as if the top expert didn't even exist.
He charged straight at Evan, a massive paw reaching to crush him alive.
Heaven Ape wasn't about to let that happen. With Bran in his true form, he was a much bigger target—Heaven Ape flashed forward, black staff raised, swinging it at Bran with stone-shattering force. As the staff whistled through the air, the space itself seemed to twist.
Even though Bear King Bran was furious, he recognized the spatial distortion as Heaven Ape's attack. He spun around, bracing himself to block the devastating blow...
...