Evan Chu figured that the Blacksteel King wasn't exactly a genius—he could probably be tricked pretty easily. If brute force couldn't settle things, he'd have to try another angle.
Right now, the Water Spirit Pearl was on the King's body. As long as he came up with the right trick, it shouldn't be hard to swindle it away. After throwing out that suggestion, Evan just waited to see how the big guy would react. If the King refused, he'd come up with another plan.
As for the Lion Spirit Fist, Evan really didn't want to use his last shot. The higher his cultivation, the stronger its power would be. He needed to save it for when he reached the Azure Tide Ruins—only then would he have a real foothold there.
The Blacksteel King heard Evan's words and immediately laughed. "Kid, you've got a pretty slick plan, huh? You want me to let you go, and you even want to be my brother? I'm afraid you're not qualified for that!"
Evan didn't mind at all—he thought the Blacksteel King's reaction was pretty normal. He just grinned and said, "Looks like your Blacksteel Clan isn't all that, huh? Turns out you're just a bunch of oath-breakers. If that's how it is, then bring it on! Don't think for a second I'm scared of you!"
The Blacksteel King hesitated for a moment, then said, "It's not that I don't want to be your brother—it's just that your strength is too weak. I'd lose face. Unless you can show me some real power and fight me head-on, if I think you're worthy, I'll agree to your condition. Otherwise, you'll die here in Weakwater. I can't let the Blacksteel Clan lose face over this."
Evan laughed. "Since you think you're stronger than me, how about you take one of my attacks and see for yourself?"
The Blacksteel King replied, "Why wouldn't I? With your attack power, you're at best first-layer Heaven Martial. What's the harm in taking one hit from you?"
Evan started circulating Chaos Dragon Force inside his body like mad, then quickly covered his palm with fire element—a massive fireball appeared in his hand.
He pushed his palm through the barrier, and that fireball actually created a vacuum in the surrounding Weakwater. Without hesitation, Evan swung his hand—the giant fireball shot straight at the Blacksteel King.
This was the biggest fire element burst Evan had ever unleashed since mastering Fireshift. He had to hurt the Blacksteel King with this strike—only then could he achieve his goal.
When the Blacksteel King saw the fireball appear in Evan's hand, he was startled. His instincts screamed that this fireball was no joke. But he'd already boasted in front of his little brothers, so he could only grit his teeth and take the hit.
He instantly swung a claw, the strike roaring with thunder and wind, slicing open the surrounding Weakwater and creating a waterless zone. Evan's fireball shot at him through the river, moving strangely—it didn't snuff out like normal flames when it hit water.
The fireball was mostly scattered by the force of his claw, but some flames still landed on him. Maybe he'd underestimated Evan's fireball—the flames that hit him actually started burning right on his body.
Agonizing pain shot through his whole body, and he couldn't put the fire out. Fire that could burn underwater—just how strong was this stuff?
The Blacksteel King frantically flooded himself with Stellar Power, trying to snuff out the flames—only to discover the fire was burning up his Stellar Power too. If this kept up, he might actually be burned alive. The heat was terrifying, and his body was starting to melt.
Evan hadn't expected this outcome, and his heart leapt with excitement. If he could kill this guy outright, it would save him a ton of trouble.
Just then, a surge of purple-gold light erupted from the Blacksteel King's body. He roared, and the flames on him finally weakened and slowly faded away.
Even though Evan couldn't see exactly what was happening to the Blacksteel King, he was sure the guy had taken a serious hit and burned through a lot of power.
After a moment, the Blacksteel King asked in shock, "Kid, what kind of flame is that? Why is it so fierce?"
"That's Nine-Nether Flame. If I kept throwing fireballs like that, you'd already be melted by the heat. I'm being totally sincere about wanting to be sworn brothers—after seeing this, I think I've earned the right, don't you?" Evan said.
The Blacksteel King looked at Evan's calm expression and said, "You do have some skill. But being my brother isn't that easy. My Blacksteel Clan has never gotten involved with humans before."
"But I can agree to let you go and leave Weakwater River alive. That's my biggest concession to you."
Evan felt a bit helpless—he hadn't expected this guy to be so stubborn. He laughed, "Do you know why I came to Weakwater River? You really think I'd leave so easily?"
"No idea. Don't tell me you came to Weakwater looking for something?" the Blacksteel King asked.
"That's right. I came to Weakwater for the Water Spirit Pearl. Now that it's on you, just hand it over and I'll leave right away. I won't make any more trouble for you," Evan said.
"No way. The Water Spirit Pearl is way too useful for me. Just forget it. If you keep pushing, I'll kill you and no one will ever know you were here. The Blacksteel Clan's reputation won't suffer at all," the Blacksteel King said.
Evan was speechless—damn, this guy wouldn't budge no matter what. Looked like he'd have to offer something sweet to tempt him.
So Evan pulled an Ice Crystal out of his storage ring and said, "How about I trade you this Ice Crystal for it?"
Seeing the Ice Crystal in Evan's hand, the Blacksteel King was secretly delighted—the energy in that crystal was super useful to him. But it still couldn't compare to what the Water Spirit Pearl did for him.
Evan immediately took out a Fire Crystal and said, "How about if I add this one too? Fire Crystals are super rare, and for energy beasts like you, they're incredibly useful."
Evan's offer definitely tempted the Blacksteel King, but he still refused. "Your stuff is rare, but it can't compare to the Water Spirit Pearl. If you can bring out something even more powerful, maybe I'll consider it."
Evan hadn't expected the King to hold out this long. He wanted to just walk away and see how the guy reacted, but if he really left and the King ignored him, tracking him down again would be nearly impossible.
Thinking fast, Evan pulled out the Iceflame Crystal and said, "If this Iceflame Crystal, plus the Fire Crystal and Ice Crystal, still can't get me the Water Spirit Pearl, then I'll just have to leave."
When the Blacksteel King saw the Iceflame Crystal in Evan's hand, his eyes burned with desire. He'd never seen one before, but his beast instincts told him it could let him break through to a whole new realm—maybe even higher.
The Water Spirit Pearl might have huge energy, but he had no idea how to absorb it—he could only get a tiny bit each day. That made him seriously tempted.
"Are you serious? You'd really trade those three things for my Water Spirit Pearl?" he asked, voice thick with longing.
"That's right. Not only do I want to trade, I want us to be brothers too. Take this as a sign of my goodwill," Evan said, seeing he was basically about to win.
"Deal! I'll trade you the Water Spirit Pearl!" the Blacksteel King said excitedly...