The elder refused to sit and wait for death. When he saw Evan Chu charging at him, he gripped his longsword and struck out with all his might, desperately hoping this blow could at least wound his opponent. The odds were slim, but he had no choice—there was no way he could outrun Evan Chu.
Even if he couldn’t hurt Evan Chu, maybe he could buy a little time—perhaps someone would arrive to help, and then he’d have a chance to survive.
But dreams are beautiful, and reality is cruel. Evan Chu’s strike shattered the elder’s longsword, and the overwhelming force split his body cleanly in two. Blood rained down from the sky, followed by the heavy thud of a corpse hitting the ground, kicking up clouds of dust.
Evan Chu hadn’t expected his attack to kill the elder outright—maybe it was the man’s fear that made him so easy to finish.
Evan Chu rushed to the ground, quickly searching the elder’s body. He found a storage ring, snatched it off, and tucked it away in his own storage ring without hesitation.
Then he unleashed Fireshift, burning the corpse to ash. After handling that, Evan Chu moved to the first elder he’d killed, grabbed his storage ring as well, and made sure the body was completely destroyed.
Evan Chu didn’t bother checking the loot inside the two rings. Right now, escaping with Roxanne Lin and the others was the priority. From what the elder had said, Silver Lotus Guard Corps and Gold Lotus Guard Corps experts might show up—and their power would be even more terrifying, maybe even Saint Martial Realm ninth-layer.
Evan Chu used Earthshift to bring Roxanne Lin, Ethan Fenn, and Ryan Ouyang up to the surface. All three gasped for breath. “Damn, that was torture—I nearly suffocated!” Ryan Ouyang shouted.
“Let’s get out of here, fast! There’s a good chance even stronger experts are rushing this way!” Evan Chu urged.
“Evan, what happened to those two elders just now? Don’t tell me you already killed them?” Roxanne Lin asked.
“That’s right, I already killed them. But from what they said, there are Silver and Gold Lotus Guard experts around here—seventh or eighth layer Saint Martial Realm. Enough talk, we need to get moving.” Evan Chu said urgently.
The four of them shot into the sky, flying deep into the mountains at top speed. No one spoke a word—all their focus was on escaping as fast as possible. Facing a single seventh or eighth-layer Saint Martial Realm expert might be survivable, but if three or four showed up, Evan Chu would be the only one with a chance. The others would be doomed.
After nearly two hours of flight, they arrived at a boundless expanse of dark-red grassland. It looked almost like the prairie back in Azure Tide Ruins, except for the color—and the total lack of cattle or sheep.
But this dark-red grassland was crawling with another kind of creature: wolf-like beasts with glowing dark-red eyes and bodies over two meters tall. There must have been at least a thousand Netherbeasts roaming the area.
The four stopped on a hillside. Evan Chu’s Chaos Dragon Force was nearly spent—after using Heaven-Cleave twice, he had to recover fast. If real danger showed up now, the consequences would be disastrous.
“Evan, are those wolf-like things Netherbeasts? They don’t look that tough. Why are Netherbeasts here? Didn’t that shopkeeper say they usually stay near Beast King City? Are we close to Beast King City now?” Roxanne Lin asked.
“You’re overthinking it, Roxanne. These Netherbeasts might look weak, but I bet they’re not simple. We should keep hidden and focus on recovering our Stellar Power. I’m sure those powerful pursuers are still on our trail.” Evan Chu replied.
The four immediately began absorbing energy from their Starstones. Evan Chu had made sure everyone stocked up on Starstones beforehand, so no one would run dry and be unable to recover.
Roxanne Lin, Ethan Fenn, and Ryan Ouyang hadn’t used up much Stellar Power—they were back to full strength in about two hours. Evan Chu was different; even after absorbing supreme-grade Starstones, he was only halfway recovered.
Seeing Evan Chu completely focused on recovery, the other three quietly moved away to chat. “Do you guys think we’re cursed on this Netherworld trip? We just got here and we’re already fugitives! The Netherworld’s so huge—who knows when we’ll finally get a safe place to sleep?” Ryan Ouyang complained.
“Didn’t you say you love this kind of thrill? How come you’re already complaining after less than a day on the run? That’s not like the White Tiger young lord I know!” Ethan Fenn teased.
“I never said I regret coming. It’s just that running for our lives isn’t a real solution—we need to find a place nobody knows about. Once Evan Chu’s done recovering, let’s ask him. He seems to know the Netherworld way better than we do.” Ryan Ouyang replied.
“Of course he knows more—don’t forget, he’s Lord Frostbane reborn, with ten thousand years of memories. That’s why he’s so damn strong now.” Ethan Fenn said.
“Enough talk—look at all the Netherbeasts gathering around us. What do they want, circling us like this? Are they planning to eat us?” Roxanne Lin said, her voice tense.
Just as Roxanne Lin spoke, a bunch of wolf-shaped Netherbeasts started closing in. With Evan Chu still focused on absorbing Stellar Power, they couldn’t let him be disturbed. “Let’s go scare these things off! Honestly, I didn’t get enough action back in Shadowlin City before Evan finished the fight. Now’s the perfect chance to stretch our legs on these Netherbeasts.” Ryan Ouyang suggested.
“I’m all for it. If those Silver and Gold Lotus Guard experts were coming, they’d be here already. We’re probably safe for now—let’s see what these beasts can do.” Ethan Fenn agreed.
Even though Evan Chu was deep in recovery, he was fully aware of his companions’ movements. He didn’t stop them; honestly, he was curious about Netherbeasts himself—he wanted to see how they compared to the magical beasts of the surface world.
“Evan, stop them! These Netherbeasts might not look strong, but killing them will attract much scarier ones. I don’t have time to explain—if you do it, escaping from here will be a nightmare!” Luna’s voice rang urgently in his mind.
Evan Chu was startled, immediately leaping up and shouting to Roxanne Lin, Ethan Fenn, and Ryan Ouyang, “Get back here! Don’t kill those Netherbeasts—otherwise we’ll all be in serious danger!”
His words shocked the three of them—they stopped in their tracks and turned to Evan Chu. “Why can’t we kill them? What, do these Netherbeasts have three heads and six arms or something? Evan, are you getting cold feet?” Ryan Ouyang joked.