In a secluded alleyway of the coastal town, a group of people appeared out of nowhere.
"This... this is... we're really back!"
When they walked out of the alley and saw the familiar surroundings, Wes Wei looked utterly shocked. In just fifteen minutes, they'd traveled from Skysea Sword Sect, millions of miles away, back to the coastal town. It was simply unbelievable.
The others wore similar expressions, and for a moment, their eyes toward Evan Chu were like those looking at a god.
"Here's a thousand taels of gold—split it among yourselves!"
Evan Chu handed a gold note to Old Yang, the sailor.
"Young Master, that's too much!" Old Yang instinctively reached out, then quickly pulled his hand back.
Evan Chu smiled. "Take it. You all spent five or six months drifting with me across the sea. Even if you didn't earn merit, you endured hardship. You deserve this—and honestly, I don't lack for a bit of gold."
"Thank you, Young Master! Thank you!"
Old Yang bowed gratefully, and the other sailors quickly followed suit. They were all ordinary people living at the bottom rung of society. With a thousand taels of gold to split, each could get nearly a hundred taels—and Evan Chu had already rewarded them generously before.
On this voyage, each of them earned at least two hundred taels of gold—a fortune by their standards.
After that, Evan Chu took out a five-thousand-tael gold note and had the twenty Spirit Sea warriors split it among themselves.
Naturally, this brought another round of heartfelt gratitude.
After sending off the sailors and Spirit Sea warriors, Evan Chu asked Wes Wei to lead the way to a restaurant in town for food and drinks.
After killing Yu Huaji, Timothy Qi, Maggie Zhang, and the others all submitted, humiliatingly offering up the Sun-Moon Heaven Canon and a batch of secret techniques. They even opened the sect's treasure vault, letting him pick and choose as he pleased.
As for the Sun-Moon Twin Blades, those also ended up in his hands.
While eating, Evan Chu overheard from nearby diners that the Insect Horde had returned in force—this time fiercer than ever. Now, a tenth of the Mystic Sun Domain had already fallen to the bugs.
Fortunately, all the major powers in the Mystic Sun Domain had responded and started sending troops and experts to resist the Insect Horde.
But the situation was far from optimistic. The bugs' numbers were simply too massive—each of the three swarms had over forty billion, totaling more than 120 billion. Worst of all, as long as the Insect Queens got their hands on human corpses, they could spawn endless new bugs.
So unless they could inflict at least fifty percent casualties, the bugs would only grow stronger with every battle.
That night.
Evan Chu settled down in the small town and entered the Divine Temple to begin cultivating the Sun-Moon Heaven Canon.
He quickly mastered the Sun-Heaven Canon, but ran into trouble when cultivating the Moon-Heaven Canon—the energies produced actually repelled those of the Sun-Heaven Canon.
"No wonder Skysea Sword Sect splits into Sun and Moon branches—they can't cultivate both parts of the Sun-Moon Heaven Canon at once!"
Since he couldn't cultivate both, Ian Song didn't force it.
Since he couldn't cultivate both, Evan Chu didn't force it.
He decided to acquire a fifth Imperial-Grade Technique as quickly as possible. That way, he could condense a Yang Spirit using all five top-tier techniques, and his strength would soar again.
This time, his target was a sect called Heavenly Moon Sect.
Among the thirteen super-sects, this one ranked twelfth.
According to what Ian Song learned from Timothy Qi, the sect's strongest expert was only at the early Law-Phase Realm.
According to what Evan Chu learned from Timothy Qi, the sect's strongest expert was only at the early Law-Phase Realm.
Early the next morning, Evan Chu appeared alone at Heavenly Moon Sect.
He couldn't be bothered with formalities, so he simply announced himself in a thunderous voice that shook the whole sect. At the same time, he made no effort to hide his aura, making every disciple who sensed it shiver with fear.
Soon enough, Evan Chu entered Heavenly Moon Sect and met the current Sect Master, Grace Wanyen, in the main hall.
"I wonder what brings Young Master Chu here today?"
Grace Wanyen asked gently, not the least bit offended by Evan Chu's lack of ceremony.
"I want your sect's Moon-Devouring Art!" Evan Chu stated his purpose directly.
Originally, Evan Chu thought she'd turn hostile on the spot, but to his surprise, Grace Wanyen just smiled and asked, "What will Young Master Chu offer in exchange?"
"Huh?"
Evan Chu hadn't expected her to react like this at all—it was completely beyond his imagination.
Still, since she was so cooperative, Ian Song didn't mind giving them extra benefits. He said, "How about the Sun-Moon Heaven Canon plus a hundred Frost-Soul Pills?"
Still, since she was so cooperative, Evan Chu didn't mind giving them extra benefits. He said, "How about the Sun-Moon Heaven Canon plus a hundred Frost-Soul Pills?"
Grace Wanyen nodded cheerfully, agreeing without hesitation.
This exchange for an Imperial-Grade Technique went smoother than any before, though Ian Song was still curious and decided to ask Grace Wanyen about it.
This exchange for an Imperial-Grade Technique went smoother than any before, though Evan Chu was still curious and decided to ask Grace Wanyen about it.
"So that's it!"
Evan Chu instantly understood the reason.
Once he got the technique, Evan Chu left right away, returned to the coastal town, and went straight back into the Divine Temple to cultivate.
In just one day, he used the five Imperial-Grade Techniques he'd mastered to condense a god-sigil and form a Yang Spirit.
With the Yang Spirit formed, Evan Chu felt his martial power had multiplied at least a hundredfold, even surpassing his Immortal-Dao cultivation. Of course, if he activated Nine Stellar Transformations with his Immortal-Dao base, martial power would still fall short.
But now his martial power was enough to shake a Human Immortal.
Back then, he'd misunderstood the System and focused on martial cultivation—but looking at it now, that was no loss at all.
If he pushed his cultivation to late Yang Spirit, he should be able to completely overpower a Human Immortal.
But for him, that was no big deal.
He'd extorted plenty of cultivation treasures from Skysea Sword Sect, and with all his own spirit crystals, by the time he walked out of the Divine Temple, his power had reached late Yang Spirit.
Now his martial power completely suppressed his Immortal-Dao base—even if he activated Nine Stellar Transformations, Immortal-Dao might not be a match for martial power.
"No wonder this is called the Goldgate World—martial strength really is king!"
An hour later.
Evan Chu brought Rosie Ning, Wes Wei, and Holly Hong to Dragonfang City.
"Young Master, you're back!"
Seeing Evan Chu return, Lena Wei was overjoyed and threw herself into his arms.
After months apart, Lena Wei's strength had increased dramatically. Evan Chu had provided her with plenty of cultivation resources and techniques, and before heading to the frontlines, he'd left her ten Frost-Soul Pills.
With the Frost-Soul Pills boosting her talent and soul, her cultivation soared, and she was now at late Sigilforge Realm.
Feeling the soft body in his arms, Evan Chu couldn't help but feel a surge of desire—after all, he hadn't tasted a woman's sweetness for months. Ignoring the stares of others, he scooped up the blushing Lena Wei and strode straight into the room.
"Wow, Young Master is such a boss!"
Wes Wei couldn't help but look on with envy.
Rosie Ning, standing nearby, suddenly felt a pang of jealousy she couldn't quite explain.
An hour later, Evan Chu emerged, hand in hand with Lena Wei, whose stunning face still glowed with lingering delight. Sherry Summers was already waiting outside, and in that instant, Evan Chu caught a fleeting trace of melancholy in her eyes.