"There is no true division between good and evil in this world. If you kill, you are a sinner—but this is a world where the strong prey on the weak. As long as your strength is absolute, even if you are a sinner, no one dares speak out. There is, however, one way to prove if someone is from Bloodvale Sect, and perhaps only I know this secret best," the old woman said.
"So what exactly is this secret?" the Freewind Palace Lord immediately asked. Such a hidden sect must have something extraordinary about it.
"Because Bloodvale Sect’s people have lived in that kind of environment for so long, their blood has mutated. On nights of the full moon, their blood turns from red to green. If you ever find someone with green blood, that person is definitely from Bloodvale Sect," the old woman said.
The Freewind Palace Lord understood immediately and said, "Disciple will be sure to watch for this, Master, please rest assured. Just wait for me to bring you good news!" With that, she left the secret chamber.
Inside the Sacred Sword Sect’s main hall, many disciples were gathered. The Sacred Sword Sect Master sat at the top of the hall, his face stern as he addressed the crowd: "With such a huge upheaval at Frostbane Sect, what are your thoughts?"
"Sect Master, Frostbane Sect has always maintained friendly relations with our Sacred Sword Sect. I believe we should not reject them just because of Evan Chu’s identity. Remember, if not for Frostbane Sect’s help back then, Sacred Sword Sect wouldn’t be where it is today," a middle-aged man said.
"Protector Deng is right, we shouldn’t hold prejudice against Frostbane Sect. But the current Frostbane Sect Master is in fact a Divine Dragon. If a Divine Dragon takes control of Frostbane Sect, who knows if it will be a blessing or a curse for the Azure Tide Ruins? The Dragon Clan hasn’t appeared here for ten thousand years," said the Sacred Sword Sect Master.
"Sect Master, I think it’s best for us to remain neutral and see what Freewind Palace intends to do. Right now, Frostbane Sect has formed marital alliances with three major sects. If Frostbane Sect runs into trouble, those three sects will definitely help. We shouldn’t be the first to stick our necks out, or the consequences could be severe," an elder said.
"Agreed, I also think Second Elder makes sense. Frostbane Sect’s rise has already met with much opposition from other sects, and it’s only because of our Sacred Sword Sect and Freewind Palace’s reputation that they accepted it. If other sects openly oppose Frostbane Sect, we shouldn’t intervene and should stay neutral. Of course, if even Freewind Palace and Bloodfiend Hall can’t tolerate it anymore, then we can react accordingly," another elder added.
The Sacred Sword Sect Master looked around at the group, pondered for a moment, and said, "I understand everyone’s views. But do you know Evan Chu’s true identity? He is Frostbane’s reincarnation—a true ancient powerhouse reborn. He’s not a pure Divine Dragon, but rather a descendant of both Dragon Clan and humans. That dual identity makes people very wary."
Send some scouts to check things out. For now, we do nothing—wait until those sects truly can’t tolerate Frostbane Sect anymore. Let’s keep all this buried in our hearts and not discuss it openly. If I find out otherwise, there will be severe punishment."
After everyone left the main hall, the Sacred Sword Sect Master gave a bitter smile and said, "Evan Chu, Evan Chu, you really keep surprising me. You haven’t even broken into the Saint Martial Realm, yet you can slay Saint Martial experts. Now you’re revealed as the Dragon Clan’s most noble golden dragon… What else is coming? I’m honestly starting to look forward to it…"
At this moment, Evan Chu was still using the strategy of ‘playing hard to get’—letting his divine sense continually try to pique the little golden dragon soul’s interest. This time, Evan’s divine sense did not withdraw, but quietly lingered outside the little golden dragon’s invisible barrier.
Even though Evan was anxious inside, he still waited patiently. After so many attempts at coaxing, he believed this time he could finally succeed in communicating with the little golden dragon soul.
After a while, the little golden dragon finally couldn’t hold back. It took the initiative to break its own barrier, came before Evan’s divine sense, and spoke in human language: "Who are you? Why are you here?"
Hearing the little golden dragon’s voice, Evan was both excited and amused. Is this dragon lacking a few brain cells? This is his own sea of consciousness, and it’s actually asking him who he is—he really didn’t know what to say.
"I’m the master of this place. You came onto my turf and didn’t even greet me—that’s your mistake!" Evan said.
"Why should I greet you? I’m a noble golden dragon—who do you think you are? Hmph!" The little golden dragon soul looked very displeased and actually tried to leave.
At that, Evan grew a bit worried—if this guy really left, getting it to come out again would be tough. He quickly said, "I was just joking with you. I’m Dragon Clan too, and I want to be friends. If you don’t believe me, check out my current body and see if it’s Dragon Clan. Don’t tell me the mighty golden dragon race can’t even do that much."
Evan coaxed and cajoled, treating the other party like a child. But it actually worked—the little golden dragon’s body flashed with a faint golden light. After a moment, it said, "You really are Dragon Clan. Wait, you’re a golden dragon too? But you only have five claws, not as impressive as me. I’m a seven-clawed golden dragon now, so you have to call me Big Brother."
Hearing that, Evan felt a bit sour inside. This guy was actually arrogant enough to make him call it Big Brother. But for the sake of restoring his true body, Evan could only endure it. After all, this little golden dragon was actually his own dragon soul—calling himself Big Brother was perfectly normal, nothing to lose.
"Big Brother, just staying here isn’t going to work. We need to fuse our souls, or I’ll never be able to take human form. That could get dangerous," Evan said tentatively.
The little golden dragon was very happy to hear Evan call it Big Brother, and asked, "Why do we need to fuse souls? It’s perfectly safe here—where’s the danger? Are you trying to trick your Big Brother? What are you up to?"
Evan hadn’t expected this guy to be so cunning—he’d really underestimated it. So he said, "You should know our Dragon Clan hasn’t appeared in the Azure Tide Ruins for tens of thousands of years. Now we’re seen as enemies here. If I go out, countless experts will try to kill me. If I die, you’ll die too. Isn’t that obvious?"
Evan deliberately exaggerated the danger to scare the little dragon into agreeing to his terms. Honestly, coaxing a kid was more exhausting than fighting ten top experts.
"If we fuse souls, will I still be free?" The little golden dragon was clearly wavering, and Evan was delighted to hear it.
"Of course you will. The point of fusing is just so I can take human form—then we won’t be in danger. You’re a seven-clawed golden dragon, surely something this small won’t stump you? If you don’t want to, I won’t force you. We can just wait here to die, then. The Azure Tide Ruins has lots of strange things, but it’s a shame you’ll never get to see them," Evan said.
The little golden dragon didn’t reply—clearly, it was deeply conflicted. After a while, it finally said, "Fine, but you’d better not trick me, or you’ll die a horrible death…"