Evan Chu didn’t worry about his own safety at all. With Lena Zhong’s protection, he basically had Stormtower backing him—and now, with his newly acquainted ‘old brother’ Blue‑Shade God‑Venerable, these two factions alone were more than enough. Anyone who tried to mess with him now was just asking for trouble.
Actually, the reason Evan asked Kimmie about the time was because he’d just gotten the earth elemental crystal. With his current mastery of earth element, breaking through to the fourth layer would take at most a month. By then, his diving depth would be unmatched—even God‑Venerables would find it hard to deal with him.
Of course, a God‑Venerable’s sheer destructive power could still blast attacks dozens of meters deep into the earth, but the crushing pressure down there would block even their divine sense. Pinpointing his exact location would be incredibly tough—so Evan had every reason to feel secure.
Still, he kind of wanted to go see the God Realm’s Marriage Tournament for himself. He wasn’t interested in that so-called goddess, but checking out the young geniuses of the God Realm sounded pretty cool. For a moment, he couldn’t decide what to do.
But with Kimmie saying Rainbow Court would protect him, he felt even more at ease. Maybe it was time to show his face—let his name spread across the God Realm. That way, the women who’d ascended could find him, and of course, so could Shadow and Goldwing.
After almost a full day in the VIP room, Evan finally received all his auctioned items. He kept only the Ethereal Divine Shuttle in his hand to inspect, stashing everything else into the Coiling‑Dragon Ring.
The Ethereal Divine Shuttle wasn’t big—about the size of a weaving shuttle from the lower realms. Its surface was smooth, dark brown, covered in strange patterns. Holding it, Evan felt an intense sense of familiarity.
Just then, the drop of divine blood in his dantian suddenly stirred—emitting a burst of light and flooding his body with terrifying energy. The divine blood’s reaction shocked Evan. If this got out, it could alert all sorts of powerhouses and expose his true identity. That would be a disaster.
Without hesitation, Evan sat cross-legged on the floor and began circulating his cultivation art to guide this massive surge of energy. After one full cycle, he felt much better, so he threw all distractions aside and focused completely on absorbing it—ignoring Kimmie standing nearby.
It took a whole day, but Evan finally finished absorbing the energy from the divine blood. In just that short time, his realm jumped to mid‑stage God‑Lord—and he could break through to late‑stage any moment now.
The energy packed inside this drop of divine blood was absolutely monstrous—if he swallowed it all at once, Evan was sure he could rocket straight to late-stage God-Emperor, maybe even God-Venerable! But that was just wishful thinking for now. If he dared to unleash all that power, his body would blow up on the spot. He’d be nothing but dust, not even a corpse left behind!
Evan Chu snapped open his eyes and sprang to his feet. Kimmie, standing nearby, gawked at him like she’d just seen a ghost. What was this freakish speed—he’d only sat down for a blink and already blasted through a whole realm! Was breaking through cultivator levels supposed to be this easy? It was downright absurd!
“Why are you staring at me like that? Come on, my breakthrough was a done deal ages ago. I just had a little epiphany, that’s all—it’s nothing special. I’ve been stuck at this bottleneck for decades, you know. Don’t act like it’s the end of the world.” Evan gave a lazy, teasing grin.
“Is Young Master planning to stay here or head out? Tomorrow’s the big day—our Second Young Lady’s Marriage Tournament! They say it’s going to be even wilder than the auction. Want to go see the chaos?” Kimmie asked, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
“Sounds like the perfect time to show up and stir the pot. Let’s go! With Rainbow Court backing me up, what’s there to be afraid of?” Evan flashed a fearless grin, swagger practically dripping from his words.
Outside the auction hall, a crowd of hundreds had been camped out for days. Every major faction from the Ten Great Powers was here, itching to see who could possibly be hiding in VIP Room 28—who had the guts and the fortune to throw around so many Violet Cloud Crystals and even dare to slap the faces of the Ten Great Powers!
“What, is that brat going to hole up forever like a turtle? Two whole days and he still hasn’t shown his face! I say we quit waiting—he’s clearly scared out of his wits!” sneered an early-stage God-Emperor, voice dripping with contempt.
“Quit waiting? Not a chance—I’m staying right here till he shows! Anyone who dares mess with Dominic Bai is asking for trouble. The second he steps out, I’ll drag him onto the Duel Platform and make him pay, face to face! Not even Rainbow Court can shield him from this!” snarled a middle-aged man, eyes burning with vengeance.
That middle-aged man was none other than Dominic Bai, lord of Azure Moon City, currently holed up in VIP Room 3. Fate sure loved playing jokes—if Evan knew his old enemy was waiting right outside, he’d probably have a field day with it.
Lena Zhong hung close to Master Wan, both of them still reeling after confirming the true identity of Room 28’s owner. Lena, especially, was floored—how could Evan possibly have so many Violet Cloud Crystals? She felt like she’d been played for a fool. After all, they’d made a bet...
She’d splurged over ten million Violet Cloud Crystals herself, all just to win their little bet. But Evan? That guy tossed out more than three hundred million like it was pocket change! He’d bagged the Ethereal Divine Shuttle and the first-grade darkness elemental crystal—two treasures that could flip the heavens. Lena felt she’d lost so badly, it was practically a cosmic joke.
As the crowd grew more restless by the minute, Evan finally made his grand entrance, stepping out of VIP Room 28. Instantly, hundreds of eyes snapped toward him, and the whole place seemed to freeze—the air thick with anticipation, jealousy, and burning curiosity.
Hatred, suspicion, even a few looks of awe—every emotion was on display. The moment Evan and Kimmie showed up at the entrance, Dominic Bai’s figure shot forward like lightning, blocking Evan’s path.
“Kid, you’ve got some nerve, showing up to court death! You’ve stirred up the fury of half the realm—now, as lord of Azure Moon City, I challenge you to a life-and-death duel on the Duel Platform!” Dominic Bai exploded, his voice booming with rage.
Evan shot Dominic Bai a sideways glance and fired back, “Please, you’re not the only one itching to kill me. Why should I bother with your challenge? And let’s get real—a late-stage God-Emperor wants to drag a God-Lord ant onto the Duel Platform? Have you no shame at all?”
Dominic Bai’s face twisted with humiliation—he’d been slapped right in the face! Old grudges piled on top of new, and he nearly snapped, ready to strike Evan down then and there.
Evan didn’t even blink. “What, you want to start slaughtering people inside Rainbow Court? Sure, Azure Moon City might be under their jurisdiction, but this isn’t your playground. Try anything, and my Rainbow Court disciple here will report straight to the Mistress herself. You want to pay that price?” His words were cold, his gaze sharp as a blade.
At that moment, Lena Zhong strode up, planting herself in front of Evan. “Wow, you really know how to steal the spotlight! How dare you run circles around me and make me lose face? Spill it—why’d you pull that stunt? Our bet is totally off!” she huffed, half-mocking, half-genuinely annoyed.
The instant Lena appeared before Evan, Dominic Bai’s expression shifted. Lena had reverted to her usual look—the one Evan first saw in the God Realm, though her true face was still hidden. The atmosphere changed in a heartbeat.
Something seemed to click for Dominic Bai, and he instinctively shrank back. Just then, an elder sidled up and whispered in his ear. Without another word, Dominic Bai turned and left, his retreat so abrupt it left Evan completely baffled. But Evan knew—this was just the tip of the iceberg. The real storm was still brewing...