Evan Chu saw the two of them walking over hand-in-hand and smiled, "Looks like you two get along pretty well!"
"Of course we do. We're not like you!" Rhea Yang glared at Evan and retorted.
At this moment, Gabe Goldstone spoke with a grave expression, "Evan, we suffered heavy losses this time. Over ten brothers are gone, and more than ten are wounded to varying degrees. Sterling Yates's injuries are the most severe."
Evan Chu frowned and, after surveying the area, said, "Big Brother, please take a few men and give our fallen brothers a proper burial. Take good care of the wounded too. Let's find a place to rest for two days before we set out again."
"Don't worry, I'll handle everything. And you shouldn't blame yourself too much—death and injury are inevitable. We're lucky to have survived; just think about the Sea Dragon Academy students, and you'll realize how fortunate we are." Gabe finished speaking and even glanced at Goldwing.
Afterward, Gabe Goldstone picked a few uninjured students to help with the aftermath. For a moment, everyone’s mood was a bit heavy.
"Gus Bullard, Simon Driftwind, you two take a few brothers and sweep the battlefield. I’m sure we’ve gathered enough monster crystals to complete our mission this time." Evan instructed.
Gus Bullard and Simon Driftwind perked up at the mention of sweeping the battlefield. Their earlier gloom vanished as they quickly gathered a few people and rushed off toward the area where the Sea Dragon Academy students had fled.
Roxanne Lin’s sudden appearance also surprised many. Not everyone knew about Evan Chu and Ryan Ouyang’s fight on the Life-and-Death Platform, so seeing such a beauty at Evan’s side made them secretly envious.
Soon, Gabe Goldstone, Gus Bullard, and the others returned. Gus was excited as he reported, "Boss, we’ve made quite a haul this time—over six hundred monster crystals, more than a hundred Starstones, and plenty of pills and supplies!"
"Yeah, not bad! But remember, all of this was bought with the lives of our fallen brothers. Never forget it. Distribute the monster crystals and Starstones according to our current numbers—there should be a few dozen monster crystals left over." Evan Chu said with a bitter smile.
After the distribution, Evan Chu said, "Let’s find a place to recover from our injuries and replenish our stellar power. Once we’re ready, we’ll head straight to the teleportation gate. The mission’s done—it’s time to leave."
Hearing that they could finally leave, everyone let out a sigh of relief. This bloody life really wasn’t something ordinary people could endure.
Evan Chu and the others stopped several kilometers away, since the original spot was just too soaked in blood, making everyone uncomfortable.
At night, everyone sat beneath the stars, absorbing stellar power. The brutal fight with Sea Dragon Academy had drained them; most had burned through all their stellar power and were holding on by pure willpower until Goldwing arrived.
Evan Chu went off alone to a secluded spot. Roxanne Lin, Rhea Yang, and Lily Tang didn’t follow—they knew he had many secrets and didn’t want to upset him by prying.
"The Chaos Qi I burned through this time—I have no idea when it’ll be fully restored. What a pain. If it were just stellar power, one night’s absorption would almost get me back to normal," Evan Chu muttered to himself.
"Heh, don’t be so ungrateful. Once you break through to the Heaven Martial Realm, this won’t be a problem anymore. When you reach that level, your body will automatically draw in stellar power from the world around you. Got it?" Luna, the Sword Spirit, teased.
"I’m only at Earth Martial Third Layer right now. Who knows how long it’ll take to reach Heaven Martial Realm? Whatever, I’ll worry about the future when it comes." Evan Chu looked up at the stars and gave a bitter smile.
He took out a Starstone and started to absorb it, only to find his absorption speed had clearly increased. He couldn’t figure out why—a low-grade Starstone used to take several hours to finish, but tonight it only took one hour.
"Try taking out two Starstones and see what happens. Split your focus and absorb both at once—I think you can do it. That fast absorption earlier was probably because you were already using 'one mind, two uses.'" Luna, the Sword Spirit, said again, sounding a bit exasperated with Evan Chu.
She didn’t know when she’d be able to restore her true body, so all she could do was help Evan Chu grow stronger as quickly as possible. In this world where the weak are prey, every bit of strength means more safety.
Evan Chu took out two Starstones and began absorbing them. He felt the stellar power around his Earth Star Pellet growing denser, and the energy flowing into it was faster and faster. This discovery thrilled him.
But even with two Starstones, the absorption still only took the same time as before. Evan Chu was a bit frustrated—by rights, it should’ve taken twice as long.
"Heh, so that’s the reason. Turns out, after you grasped 'one mind, two uses,' you actually broke through right then. You should be at Earth Martial Fourth Layer now."
"Wait, I broke through? How come I didn’t notice?" Evan Chu was even more surprised by Luna’s words.
"Take a look at your Earth Star Pellet and see what’s different. Breaking through like this really makes you a genius!" Luna laughed, clearly delighted at Evan Chu’s progress.
Evan Chu checked his body and found his Earth Star Pellet was much bigger than before, and the Divine Dragon’s shadow on its surface was even clearer.
Even stranger, his Earth Star Pellet now held two-tenths Chaos Qi. He’d only been absorbing for two hours, but before, it took most of a day to reach that amount.
But there was one thing Evan Chu hadn’t noticed—beneath his dantian, wisps of black gas were slowly flowing. It was faint, but definitely moving.
After withdrawing his divine sense, Evan Chu felt incredibly excited. Now that he'd broken through to Earth Martial Fourth Layer, his strength had another layer of protection. Even at his peak, he wouldn’t fear a master at Earth Martial Seventh Layer.
Just thinking about it was scary—he could now leap three layers in battle. Maybe no one before or after him could do this!
Evan Chu spent the whole night absorbing stellar power from the Starstones. Chaos Qi in his Earth Star Pellet converted rapidly; by dawn, he’d reached sixty percent.
"One more night of absorption and I’ll be fully restored. Once I send these brothers back to Heavenly Dragon Academy, I’ll find a way to check out the Honors Class domain. I wonder how Jingyi is doing." Evan Chu muttered as he stood up.
When they got back, many students sat together chatting enthusiastically. Roxanne Lin, Rhea Yang, and Lily Tang sat off to the side, talking among themselves.
Seeing Evan Chu return, everyone stood up. "After a night of recovery, how do you all feel? Should we stay another day?"
"Boss, I’m totally recovered! Absorbing stellar power from the Starstones was really fast—one night and I finished one. Feels great!" Simon Driftwind laughed.
"Me too, boss! Should we go look for the other Sea Dragon Academy elite class students still around?" Gus Bullard asked.
"No need. The two left aren’t a threat. We’ll leave tomorrow—Sterling Yates is still pretty badly hurt, so another day of rest won’t hurt."
"Boss, I’m fine! The pill you gave me and Goldwing’s spirit herb worked wonders—I’m seventy percent healed and ready to go!" Sterling Yates grinned.
After saying that, he thumped his chest. "Ow!" he cried, then cursed, "Damn, it still hurts!"
Everyone burst into laughter at his antics, and all the gloom from yesterday vanished completely.
"Alright, since everyone’s fine, let’s get moving! The teleportation gate is to the west—not far from here. I think we’ll reach it soon."