Evan Chu stood quietly in place, with no intention of burrowing into the earth. Since escape was impossible, why not just fight a big battle? Worst case, he could always retreat into the Timewheel Bracelet at the last moment.
"Surrender? Show me mercy? You think you're qualified?" Evan said coolly. He knew that saying this would provoke someone to attack him—and the first person to make a move would be the first one he would kill.
Unless absolutely necessary, he wouldn’t use the Icefire Divine Eye. Evan was confident that if he did, he could break through this invisible barrier. For now, he’d just play with them—use the fight to hone his combat skills, and maybe even trigger a breakthrough.
“Kid, you’re at death’s door and still spouting off. Today, I’ll show you what real power looks like!” a middle-aged man roared, unable to hold back his anger as a massive bronze hammer appeared in his hand.
That hammer had to weigh at least ten thousand jun—clearly, this guy was a brute-force powerhouse. But Evan had ways to deal with muscleheads like him. With a thought, he instantly activated Earthshift.
A small mountain suddenly appeared in midair, crashing down toward the middle-aged man. Evan rarely used Earthshift offensively, so this was a perfect chance to test its power. The same went for his other elemental shifts—might as well get some practice in.
The mountain appeared right over his head—catching the middle-aged man completely off guard. There was no time to dodge; all he could do was swing his bronze hammer up at the earthen mountain.
A deafening crash rang out as the mountain was smashed into countless fragments, raining stones from the sky. He wasn’t injured, but getting covered in dust was more than enough to ruin his dignity.
“Hahahaha! How’s that taste? That was just an appetizer. You really think I’m afraid of you? If you’ve got guts, come at me together! Save me the trouble of dealing with you one by one—I hate hassle more than anything,” Evan laughed loudly.
“You’re asking for death!” The middle-aged man had already lost face from Evan’s Earthshift, and now Evan’s words only stoked his fury. In a flash, he lunged forward, swinging his bronze hammer straight at Evan.
When the hammer smashed down, Evan could clearly see fiery red light blooming in the sky, and the whole space trembled as if this blow might punch a hole in the heavens. The attack power of a late-stage God-Venerable really couldn’t be underestimated.
Evan didn’t just stand there waiting. As the middle-aged man struck, he quickly unleashed Absolute Cleave with the Frostbane Divine Sword. He knew this attack wouldn’t hurt his opponent, but it would be enough to break through that hammer strike.
The massive sword-qi and the hammer’s crushing force collided, shaking the space once again. Energy storms erupted in the air and scattered in all directions, sending both Evan and the middle-aged man flying back hundreds of meters. Neither was injured.
If Evan had used Ninefold Divine-Dragon Metamorphosis, that middle-aged man might have been wounded. But right now, Evan didn’t want to reveal his trump cards. He needed to perfect his Absolute Cleave—reach a point where he could unleash it freely, even with pure heart-sword intent.
If he could really reach that level, his attack power would soar, and he could kill opponents without anyone even realizing what happened. It sounded crazy, but Evan believed that one day he’d pull it off.
“So the East Sea Domain Palace is nothing special after all. You can’t even handle a casual strike from me—what right do you have to talk big? You’d better just leave quietly. I’ll keep my mouth shut and won’t let word of your humiliation get out,” Evan said with a laugh.
Everyone has a temper, and Evan was clearly pouring fuel on the fire. The Grand Elder’s patience was at its limit—his facial muscles twisted together, making him look downright sinister.
He glared at Evan and said, “No one has ever dared speak to my East Sea Domain Palace like that. Kid, even if you’re from the Mainland, I’ll still kill you. Before I do, I’ll extract every memory from your mind. I gave you a chance, but you didn’t treasure it—don’t blame me for bullying the weak.”
“Hey, old man, are you serious? No one dares talk back to your East Sea Domain Palace? Didn’t I just do it? What if it was the Sea Dragon Hall Master—would he even qualify? Honestly, even the Sea Dragon Hall Master would have to treat me politely. So who are you, some elder from East Sea Domain Palace, to act all high and mighty?” Evan retorted.
The Grand Elder was stunned. He hadn’t expected Evan to say something so outrageous. Who was the Sea Dragon Hall Master? The strongest expert in the Sea Regions, rumored to have reached the God-Emperor Realm. Evan claimed even he would have to be polite—how could that possibly be true?
But seeing how calm he looked—not at all like he was lying—everyone had to wonder: just what was this young man’s background? So young, yet so powerful… his identity was a real mystery.
The other God-Venerables found it strange that the Grand Elder was hesitating. One of them said, “Grand Elder, you’re not actually buying this kid’s bluff, are you? He’s just trying to make you think his background is terrifying. If you won’t act, let me take care of him.”
The Grand Elder wanted to retort, but Evan cut in: “Another one with a death wish, huh? You really think I’m joking with you all? If I don’t show you some real power, you’ll think I’m a fraud. Fine, come on—I’ll end your life myself!”
The God-Venerable was so furious at Evan’s words he almost coughed up blood. His status wasn’t quite as high as the Grand Elder’s in East Sea Domain Palace, but he was still respected by many. Evan’s mockery left him with no face at all.
“I’ll kill you!” the God-Venerable snapped, unable to endure any longer. He swung a fiery red longsword, unleashing a wave of sword-qi straight at Evan.
The hammer-wielding God-Venerable also roared, “His life is mine—I want him dead too!” As soon as he finished speaking, both men attacked Evan at once.
For a moment, the space trembled and giant cracks split the ground. Energy storms ripped up the earth and swept across the sky—it felt like the end of the world.
Evan’s mind moved in a flash—he instantly activated Ninefold Divine-Dragon Metamorphosis. Frostbane Divine Sword in his left hand, Snowbound Divine Sword in his right, he controlled both at once, unleashing one Absolute Cleave and one Wind-God Sword Art nearly simultaneously.
This time, Evan didn’t use Chaos Divine Power. Instead, he drew on the Stellar Power stored in his other dantian, wanting to see if its attack strength could match or even surpass Chaos Divine Power.
Starlight flooded both the Frostbane and Snowbound Divine Swords, and a world-destroying aura filled the air. The Grand Elder and the others turned pale with fear, staring at this mysterious youth—so shocked they almost forgot he was the one they most wanted to kill…