At this moment, Evan Chu had gained a whole new understanding of the Immortal Realm. It was an unimaginably vast place—so vast, in fact, that he couldn’t even fathom its true size. If he wanted to gain a foothold here, relying on himself alone was impossible; he needed to find a powerful backing. Just like Luna, the Sword Spirit, had once advised him to join the strongest force in the Immortal Realm—the Martial Spirit Dominion. But joining them now was out of the question; only when his own strength was truly formidable would he be qualified.
For now, he decided to start by joining Coldriver City. To do that, he needed to prove himself—enough to be valued, but not so much that he exposed his true strength. The mines were the perfect place for this: he could temper himself while quietly growing stronger. He believed that one day he would stand out and inevitably attract the attention of those who mattered.
But right now, he had a more pressing issue to resolve. Since he’d killed Terry Jiang, his older brother Jared Jiang would surely notice—and might even suspect him. He had to eliminate this threat before it could grow, making sure his identity stayed secret.
Having figured this out, Evan flashed away toward the Ascension Platform. Flying in the Immortal Realm felt much slower than in the lower world—most likely because of the dense Immortal Essence. It didn’t take long for him to arrive. Staring at the platform that had failed to light up for him, Evan couldn’t help feeling a bit speechless.
Jared hadn’t returned yet, so Evan simply sat down on the Ascension Platform to wait. He’d already put Tom Chu back into his storage ring—now was not the time to let Tom appear freely. After all, Tom was an artifact spirit countless people would kill for. If he ran into someone truly powerful, he’d be in real trouble.
After waiting for about half a day, Jared Jiang finally showed up in front of Evan. Seeing Evan sitting there alone, Jared looked a bit puzzled. “Lin, weren’t you supposed to go to the mines with my brother? Why are you still here? Where did he go?”
At this moment, Evan had already suppressed his aura to that of an ordinary Immortal. When Jared questioned him, he immediately replied, "He seemed bored and said there was nothing interesting here, so he just left. He told you to keep watch over the Ascension Platform alone. Since I don’t know where the mines are, I had no choice but to stay here."
Jared stared at Evan, half believing, half doubting his words. Terry might have complained about Ascension Platform duty, but he wouldn’t dare defy the Coldriver City Lord’s orders—this whole region was under the City Lord’s control, and leaving without permission would mean severe punishment. By rights, Terry shouldn’t be that reckless.
So there was only one possibility left: this kid was lying. Evan Lin was already a strange one—when Jared had reported his performance in the Ascension Pool and on the platform to the City Lord, even the City Lord had found it unbelievable. Still, he’d concluded that Evan was either absolute trash or a peerless genius, and ordered Jared to keep a close eye on him.
Now with Terry missing, maybe he’d been killed by Evan—or maybe not. If Evan was a genius, he might have been capable of killing Terry. If not, then maybe Terry really had just left, as Evan claimed.
"Since that's the case, I'll personally send you to the mines. It's our duty, after all. If you do well there, after three years you'll earn your freedom and some Immortal Stones—enough to live comfortably for decades." Jared Jiang said.
"Does every ascendee have to go to the mines? Is there anyone who doesn't?" Evan asked.
"Going to the mines is actually a kind of tempering. Anyone who makes it out alive will be protected by Coldriver City. Lots of people want in, but not everyone gets the chance. Come on." Jared clearly didn't want to say much more.
Evan, of course, knew the mines were a nine-deaths-one-life hell. Anyone who came out alive would be a real monster—and naturally, they'd be valued. Jared just didn't want to say it outright.
Evan then left the Ascension Platform with Jared. They hadn't gone far when Jared suddenly asked, "What do you think of the environment here?" The random question caught Evan off guard—was Jared planning to make a move right here?
"It's pretty nice. Quiet, not a soul around. If you wanted a place to bury your bones, this would be a good spot. Why do you ask, Brother?" Evan replied.
"You hide yourself well, kid. I've been probing you with Divine Sense this whole way, and I finally found something—my brother's blood aura on you. Looks like his disappearance is your doing. If I'm not wrong, you already killed him!" Jared's face twisted in anger.
"I don't know what you're talking about. How could I possibly kill your brother? He was an Earth Immortal, and I'm just a regular Immortal." Evan shot back. He wasn't going to rush things—he needed the perfect moment to strike, a clean kill with no chance for Jared to pull out some nasty artifact.
"I'm naturally sensitive to blood. The scent of my brother's blood is all over you. Turns out you really were hiding your true strength—and you knew I'd pick this place as your burial ground. Let's see what kind of ability you have to kill my brother!" Jared roared.
Evan hadn’t expected Jared to see through him so quickly. He laughed, "Your brother got what he deserved—trying to snatch my storage ring. If you’ve got any trump cards, bring them out. I want to see just how powerful your artifacts really are."
"I don't need artifacts to deal with you. Die, kid!" Jared had no intention of wasting words—he hated Evan for killing his brother and wanted nothing more than to tear him apart. He swung his silver longsword in a furious slash at Evan.
"Bring it on!" Evan laughed, summoning the Frostbane Sword and unleashing Star-Cleave at full power. Jared was stronger than Terry had been, so Evan didn’t dare hold back—he went all out. The space around them rippled as their sword-qi collided in a head-on clash.
A thunderous boom erupted between them, sword-qi screeching as it lashed toward both fighters. Evan’s strength now slightly surpassed Jared’s, and with Star-Cleave’s destructive power, Jared was sent flying hundreds of meters.
Evan himself was blasted back dozens of meters, suffering a few shallow cuts—but Jared ended up with several deep, bone-revealing wounds. Fresh blood instantly soaked his clothes, and he staggered, barely able to stand.
He never imagined that this newly ascended youth would have peak Earth Immortal strength. Too bad his only artifact had been given to Terry—now, fighting Evan was nearly impossible. The only option left was to run, and run fast...