Evan Chu smiled faintly and said, "Looks like the Poison King's toxins really are formidable. To think they can actually block a person's Netherforce... I guess coming here today was a real miscalculation."
"Kid, you realized it too late. If you'd figured it out the moment you walked in, maybe we could've had a proper fight. But right now, you're just a lamb waiting to be slaughtered—no more strength to resist," the elder said.
"Evan Chu, today I'm going to personally avenge my master and senior brother. Prepare to die!" Cindy Cheng's face was twisted with rage as she summoned a longsword and lunged straight at Evan Chu.
Evan Chu didn't dodge at all, just stood there straight. He didn't even take Cindy Cheng's attack seriously—instead, he turned to ask Lillian Zhang behind him, "How do you feel?"
"It really does feel like I can't circulate my Netherforce. Guess they weren't lying. We counted everything except the Poison King's toxins... Looks like I've become your burden now," said Lillian Zhang.
Evan Chu chuckled, "This poison is tough, but it's not enough to stump me. Let me deal with this little girl first, then I'll detoxify you."
Just then, Cindy Cheng's sword reached Evan Chu—but he simply caught it with one hand. "Even if I can't circulate Netherforce, dealing with you is still more than easy. A speck of dust dares to compete with the bright moon!"
With a slight squeeze, Evan Chu snapped Cindy Cheng's sword clean in two. Then, with a casual wave of his other hand, he sent her flying several meters away. Blood spurted from her mouth—she'd been struck with a heavy injury.
Everyone present was shocked by Evan Chu's move. This kid was supposed to be poisoned, yet he still had this kind of strength—almost unbelievable. But the one most horrified was the Poison King himself. He knew his own toxins inside-out: normally, no one could fight back at all. Even if this kid was strong, he shouldn't be able to pull this off. The only explanation was that Evan Chu hadn't been poisoned at all.
The toxin used by the Poison King in this hall was called Seven-Souls Incense—a colorless, odorless poison incense. Anyone who inhaled it after it was lit would be unable to use Netherforce for two hours. But it only worked once; after that, it had no effect.
Everyone in the hall had already been exposed to the Poison King's toxin once ahead of time, which was why they could stand here unaffected. But for Evan Chu and Cindy Cheng, this was their first exposure—they were definitely supposed to be hit. Everyone in the hall had tried it before; not a single person escaped.
"Kid, I didn't expect you to still have this kind of attack power at this point—I'll admit, I'm surprised. But do you really think you can survive today?" the elder said.
At that moment, Hugo Xiong had already helped Cindy Cheng up and fed her a pill, then moved her to a corner of the hall to rest. Evan Chu just laughed, "Your poison really is impressive. Even if I suppress it, I can only hold down seven-tenths of the toxicity—there's still three-tenths I can't suppress. Just what kind of poison is this, that it's so fierce?"
"You can suppress seven-tenths of the toxicity? That's impossible! My Seven-Souls Incense can completely lock down a martial artist's Netherforce. You're obviously lying—trying to play tricks in front of me, kid, you're still too green," the elder retorted.
Not only was this elder Hugo Xiong's father, he was also Evan Chu's true target in coming to the capital—the Poison King himself. Evan had been worried about who the Poison King was, but now there was no need. For now, though, he had to detoxify Lillian Zhang.
Just thinking about detoxifying made Evan Chu feel annoyed—he hated the idea of injuring himself. But if he wanted Lillian Zhang to become Human King and get himself into the Death-Tower Grounds smoothly, he had no choice but to endure it.
Right then, an elder said, "Kid, you still want to act tough at a time like this? Let me see if you're telling the truth." As soon as he finished speaking, an elder burst out from the crowd and threw a punch at Evan Chu. The force of the punch carried wind and thunder, as if it could destroy the entire hall, and it struck at Evan Chu with lightning speed.
"This is outrageous!" Evan Chu roared, immediately swinging his own fist. He put in eighty percent of his strength and infused it with five elemental energies and thunder. As his punch landed, the energy shockwave cracked the floor of the hall, and the entire building started to shake.
When experts at Evan Chu's level fight, even a casual blow can easily destroy a building. That's why the five Netherworld races strictly forbid Venerable Martial experts from fighting inside city limits.
In an instant, the two fists collided. The elder attacking Evan Chu had Third-Layer Venerable Martial strength, but out of fear of destroying the hall, he only used sixty percent of his power. He thought Evan Chu was crippled by the Poison King's Seven-Souls Incense, so even if Evan was strong, he should be spent—his own sixty percent should be enough to seriously injure or even kill him.
But he had completely underestimated Evan Chu. The instant their fists collided, he realized something was wrong—a force unlike anything he'd ever felt shot from Evan's fist into his arm. It didn't break his arm outright, but it basically crippled it; every tendon and meridian was shattered, the five elemental energies rampaged through his body, and the thunder element left his face charred black, hair standing on end and smoking.
He shot through the air like a broken kite, blood gushing from his mouth—clearly, he'd suffered a heavy blow. But that wasn't even the worst of it. In that instant, the entire hall collapsed; the energy storm from their clash radiated out from the center, destroying every building in the City Lord's Mansion and even damaging houses in other parts of the city.
As the buildings collapsed, Evan Chu instantly used Earthshift to shield Lillian Zhang completely. He knew her defenses were strong enough, but as a man, protecting a woman was only natural.
Everyone in the hall was stunned by Evan Chu's attack, caught completely off guard. Many shot into the air, while others were buried under the rubble. They weren't really hurt, but they were definitely left in a sorry state.
But soon, everyone realized this guy hadn't been poisoned by Seven-Souls Incense at all—otherwise, there was no way he could defeat a Third-Layer Venerable Martial expert with one punch. Instantly, the crowd grew wary, and many turned their eyes to the Poison King, silently asking why his poison hadn't worked.
The Poison King was totally stumped. His Seven-Souls Incense had always worked perfectly, but against this kid, it was useless—something was seriously off. But now wasn't the time to worry about that; the key was to kill Evan Chu as soon as possible.
Because right next to him, someone else had been poisoned. That meant Evan Chu had an insanely strong immunity to toxins. As long as he could capture the woman, Evan Chu would be forced to hold back—that was the most direct and effective solution.
Evan Chu didn't pay any attention to the crowd's shocked stares—instead, he laughed, "A loser like that dares to fight me? He deserved what he got. If I wasn't worried about destroying the whole capital, I'd have killed him with one punch. Anyone else who doesn't believe me, come up and try!"
After Evan Chu withdrew his earth-element shield, Lillian Zhang was amazed. "How did you do that? It looks like you'd need to fully comprehend earth element to pull it off. Are you an earth-attribute martial artist?"
"Earth-attribute martial artist? I honestly don't know. Now's not the time for that—I'll tell you once we're in the Death-Tower Grounds. Right now, detoxifying you is what matters," Evan Chu said.
"You have an antidote?" Lillian Zhang looked at Evan Chu in surprise, growing even more curious about his mysterious abilities.
"Nope, but I have blood!" Evan Chu replied casually. At that moment, the city's experts all eyed Evan Chu warily—none dared approach, let alone attack. The fact that he hadn't been poisoned was just too terrifying.
"Blood? What are you going to do with blood? Don't tell me your blood can detoxify poison?" Lillian Zhang gasped.
"Smart girl. This stuff's precious—no amount of eggs could replace it. You'd better treat me well from now on," Evan Chu joked.
He then took out the Frostblade from his storage ring. Now that his strength had broken through, his defenses were stronger too—it wasn't easy to cut himself. Gritting his teeth, Evan Chu slashed his wrist, and pale golden blood began to flow.
Lillian Zhang never expected this usually arrogant guy would injure himself for her. She felt a strange sense of gratitude. "What are you waiting for? Hurry up and drink—this blood is really precious!" Evan Chu urged.
"I'm not drinking it! I'm not a Netherbeast—how could I drink someone else's blood?" Lillian Zhang protested immediately.
"You silly woman, if you don't drink it soon, the wound will heal. Or do you want me to cut myself again?" Evan Chu said, not caring about her protests. He pressed his wrist to her mouth, his actions forceful and domineering, leaving Lillian Zhang no chance to resist.
The city's experts were baffled by Evan Chu's bizarre actions. Could his blood really detoxify poison? It sounded absurd!
Just as everyone was confused, the Poison King suddenly exclaimed, "I get it! This kid's body is half-human, half-dragon—that pale golden blood is a perfect antidote. No wonder he wasn't poisoned; it's because of the dragon blood in his veins. Quick, capture that woman! If she recovers her strength, none of us will survive—not even the whole capital!"
The crowd was instantly thrown into chaos—the Poison King's words hit them like a bomb. To save themselves, they ignored the city's welfare, drew their weapons, and prepared to attack Evan Chu and capture Lillian Zhang...