Evan Chu took the scroll and saw that the paper was already yellowed with age. Under the faint light from an unknown crystal overhead, he slowly unrolled it—only to be confronted with a scene he could hardly believe.
On the scroll was a painting of a man—a man who looked nearly identical to him, except older, clearly middle-aged. The man gripped a sword that seemed eerily familiar, and sat astride a beast exactly like Shadow.
Jenny Sima and the Violet Thunder Fox were equally stunned by the figure on the scroll, both showing looks of utter disbelief.
"Evan, why does the man in this painting look so much like you? And that beast is identical to Shadow, while his sword looks almost the same as your Frostbane Sword. What is going on here?" Jenny Sima couldn't help but ask.
Evan Chu stood there in a daze, staring at the scroll for a long time before finally saying, "This is an ancient peerless master—the head of the Frostbane Sect. Why he would turn up here, I have no idea."
At this moment, Evan truly believed what the Heaven Ape had said before: that he was the Lord of Frostbane's reincarnation. Even though his heart was filled with countless questions, he had no idea how to answer them.
"Evan, this scroll hides a world. There is an invisible restriction on it—if you don't look closely, you won't see it. If you can break the restriction, maybe you'll find the answer." Luna, the sword spirit, spoke up, clearly as shocked by the scroll as the others.
"How am I supposed to break it? I can't even sense the restriction at all," Evan said helplessly.
At that moment, the beast—seeing Evan Chu staring so intently at the scroll—couldn't help but ask, "Great Deity, have you remembered yet?"
The tone was extremely respectful; clearly, the Lord of Frostbane once held a lofty position in the hearts of these half-human, half-beast folk.
"I'm still thinking, but I've got some clues. Do you know how the man in this scroll came to be here? What else did he say back then?" Evan Chu asked. He wasn't surprised by the idea of someone from ten thousand years ago showing up here, but the fact that these creatures had actually met him was truly astonishing. Could these monster beasts have survived for ten thousand years?
The beast lowered its head, slowly recalling, and after a while finally said, "Great Deity left here about several decades ago. Back then, he seemed to be gravely wounded and stayed with us for two years before leaving."
His kindness to our Half-Human Tribe was immeasurable. He taught us how to use fire to cook food, taught us the human language, helped us drive away the wolf that ruled this area, and..."
Once this guy started talking, it seemed endless—nothing but praise for the Lord of Frostbane, without ever getting to the real point. The whole group was left frustrated.
"I get it. I'll keep studying this scroll for a while. Is there anywhere strange around here—like places that are both very hot and very cold? Or maybe rare spirit herbs or ores?" Evan realized solving this mystery wouldn't be quick, so he decided to first ask about the whereabouts of the Iceflame Crystal.
"It's all like this here, nothing strange. I don't know what those spirit herbs or ores are," the beast replied honestly.
A hint of disappointment flashed across Evan's face, but Jenny Sima and the Violet Thunder Fox noticed. "Evan, don't get impatient. We have to find the teleportation portal out of here first—that's our top priority. Everything else comes second," Jenny Sima said.
At that moment, the beast suddenly said, "I remember, back then, Great Deity erased a place nearby that would sometimes spit out icy cold air, and sometimes spew flames. Maybe that's what you're looking for."
Evan's eyes lit up. "That's the place! Hurry and take us there!"
"That place is really far—over a hundred li from here. I'm old, so it would take me a long time to walk there. If Great Deity doesn't mind, I can have my son lead you instead," the beast offered.
"Your son? Can he actually hold a conversation?" Evan asked. If the kid was another one who could barely get a word out, maybe it was better to let the old beast lead them, even if it took longer.
Thinking of this, Evan suddenly remembered Goldwing. That guy hadn't come along—who knew what was happening with him now? Just then, a noisy commotion erupted outside the cave, as if something was going on.
"Let's go take a look!" Evan Chu said immediately, slipping the scroll into his storage ring.
Stepping outside, he saw Goldwing in human form surrounded by a crowd of beast-folk. One beast was stammering out something—Evan recognized it as the one who had led him back here.
Goldwing hadn't attacked because he was still trying to understand what the beast was saying. Otherwise, he would've already torn the place apart.
"Goldwing, don't hurt them. Come over here—I have something to say," Evan called out as soon as he left the cave. Instantly, all the beast-folk dropped to their knees at the sight of Evan, leaving Goldwing utterly confused. When had the boss become so impressive—conquering them all in such a short time?
Goldwing quickly walked over to Evan Chu, who said, "Everyone, get up. This is all a misunderstanding. He's my friend, which means he's your friend too."
As soon as Evan finished speaking, the beast-folk got up one after another, chattering in unintelligible voices—though they were clearly talking about Goldwing.
"Boss, what's going on here? Why didn't you wake me up when you left? I had to search all over for you," Goldwing complained, sounding a little disgruntled.
"Goldwing, it's a long story. How's your recovery? Do you still have the strength to fly?" Evan asked. Goldwing's arrival instantly solved his current predicament.
"I've recovered about half. I should be able to fly for several hours without any problem. Boss, are you leaving this place?" Goldwing asked curiously.
"That's right. We need to go somewhere. Transform back into your true form—we'll head out now. We've wasted so much time, who knows if the academy tournament is already over? If I'm late, those two old geezers will skin me alive," Evan said.
Goldwing's body flashed with golden light, and his massive true form appeared before everyone. The beast-folk, seeing Goldwing's true form, all showed looks of terror.
"Let's go, time to check it out." Evan said, then leaped onto Goldwing's back. The hundred-plus li journey was covered in no time.
Evan looked around the place the beast chief had mentioned, but nothing seemed unusual. It was just a big mountain, and right now they were at its foot. The surrounding trees were lush—there was no sign of anything extremely cold or hot.
"Are you sure this is the place?" Evan asked. He knew there must be some kind of restriction here, but everything looked so real—there wasn't a trace of any seal to be found.
"This is it. Not far from this cliff are some words the Great Deity left behind. Why don't you go take a look?" the beast suggested.
Soon, Evan and the others reached the cliffside where the words were carved. Sure enough, there were characters etched into the rock, each one bold and powerful, showing the deep strength of the writer. They read: "I am the master of the Frostbane Sect, having been plotted against by my enemies..."