Evan Chu knew he'd let his guard down. He never imagined that Holden Hong, just to break through and grasp greater power, would do something so utterly insane.
First, he slaughtered the First Frostbane Holy Emperor, then separated his own bones from his flesh and seized the First Emperor’s body for cultivation. That way, everything he did afterward would be blamed on the First Emperor, while he used the talents and aptitudes of subsequent Frostbane trial seeds to refine his own root bones.
As for the curse of the Five Sacred Lands, it would only target the First Emperor’s flesh. Holden didn’t have to worry at all—once his bones were fully refined and his final evolution complete, he could abandon that body and escape the curse entirely. By then, everything would be in place, and he could easily step into the Sacred Emperor Realm!
After that, with all eight heaven-defying monstrous talents gathered in one body, his cultivation speed would be so terrifying no one could calculate it. By the time the Five Sacred Lands noticed him, Holden would already be unstoppable.
But for all his scheming, he never counted on one variable: Evan Chu...
Or rather, of all the people he could plot against, Evan Chu should’ve been off-limits. But Evan was also a seed of the Frostbane Dynasty’s trial world, so naturally he became Holden’s target too.
Maybe that’s just karma. Holden set everything up perfectly, but at the last step, he slipped—he never imagined Evan Chu would be strong enough to wreck his plan, forcing him to abandon that body before his bones were fully refined.
But the consequence was, before he could fully step into the Sacred Emperor Realm, the Five Sacred Lands would sense what was happening. They’d instantly realize their curse on the Frostbane Dynasty had lost its effect!
So Holden Hong hated Evan Chu—hated him for ruining his plans, for slaughtering all the loyal subordinates he could use. Now Holden would stop at nothing to kill Evan Chu.
“Heh, it’s a little troublesome, but as long as I devour you, every sacrifice will be worth it! Because I’ve realized—you’re hiding secrets even I don’t understand.”
Holden’s greedy smile made Evan Chu’s disgust burn hotter. As his dragon form whipped through the air, the power of Profound-Meaning surged in the Desolate Dragon Saber, growing even stronger.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The two colossal bodies collided fiercely. Ninefold Profound‑Meaning clashed with blood‑red light, exchanging hundreds of blows in an instant. The eruption of power threatened the Frostbane Dynasty’s base star‑region below, forcing everyone to raise defensive barriers just to survive.
Otherwise, if all that force scattered through the base, even those above the Holy Venerable Realm would suffer horribly, Holy King experts would be dead or crippled, and ordinary cultivators would be slaughtered by the thousands.
“So powerful! I never would have guessed Evan Chu’s strength could surpass us all...” The one most shaken was Night Wuming, who realized that as Flowing-Light Holy Emperor, he was utterly outclassed.
“Senior brother will definitely win!”
“That’s right!”
Violet Thunder and Wan-Qi Chen echoed their support, then everyone fell silent, watching the battle raging in the heavens. Even from a distance, the shockwaves alone rivaled the might of a peak early-stage Sacred Emperor.
Elsewhere, hidden among the stars, Kellan Lin turned to the old prefecture master and asked, "Father, do you think Evan Chu can win?"
“Of course he will!”
“You’re that sure?”
“Heh, haven’t you noticed? Holden may have schemed for everything, but he overlooked one thing—Evan Chu isn’t just any ordinary Ninth seed. He’s the key, the true First seed!”
“What do you mean?”
The old prefecture master smiled mysteriously. “Nine is the ultimate number. Everything before it is just groundwork—only the Ninth is truly crucial!
Ninefold Golden-Body Codex, Ninefold Stellar Transformation, Ninefold Sacred Emperor... Just think about it. Who do you imagine is destined to rule the Star-River Dominion—the Second, or the Ninth?
The old prefecture master’s words were a wake‑up call for Lin Kuan—he instantly understood!
While they spoke, the battle on the other side raged on. After unleashing all his power, Holden truly seemed to change—he put more and more pressure on Evan Chu, until Evan felt that even a single misstep could cost him his life!
“Evan Chu, you’re strong, but you’re also pitiful. Too bad you ran into me. Otherwise, given time and the right environment, you might’ve surpassed even the Ninefold Sacred Emperor of old.
But all of that... heh, you’ll never get the chance.”
Holden finally finished gathering his last reserves of power. As blood‑mist filled thousands of miles of space, he smiled.
Inside his Blood‑Light Domain, no living being could survive—he was the absolute master of everything!
This wasn’t just an ordinary spatial domain, but a pure law construct—an existence beyond the Heavenly Dao’s restraints. It was only an embryonic form, but Holden believed that with such a power, he was invincible not just among his peers, but even against those a realm above. That’s why he dared to face the Five Sacred Lands.
But he was too confident. If his Blood‑Light Domain could surpass the Heavenly Dao’s restraints, did he really think nothing else could do the same?
Evan Chu didn’t know how to create a battle method that transcended the Heavenly Dao’s laws, but at the final moment of crisis, he pulled out one thing.
A thing that made the old prefecture master watching in the shadows tremble with excitement; a thing that threw the Frostbane Dynasty’s core forces into chaos; a thing whose appearance shattered the surrounding space into dust and made Holden’s face change instantly...
“What is that?! That aura... it’s even stronger than my Blood‑Light Domain! How is this possible? How can you have a Heaven‑transcending treasure too? What the hell is it?!”
Skeletal Holden panicked, an unknown terror flooding his body—he simply couldn’t believe it.
"The Seven-Star Golden Tower—the artifact that will end you! You're the one out of chances, Holden. The final victor... is me, Evan Chu!"
Evan Chu roared those last words, as if to make sure everyone heard—so that from now on, everyone in the Star‑River Dominion would know and remember his name.
To make his enemies tremble, and his allies brim with confidence—that name is Evan Chu!
To Holden, that name was the coming of death itself. You’re finished—there’s no right for you to live another second!
Whoosh—a faint sound. The gigantic blood‑red skeleton and all its energy began to dissolve in a strange way. There was no resistance, and it happened fast. In just a few breaths, everything was calm again...
High above the heavens, a proud golden dragon raised its head and roared—the royal bloodline of the Sacred Dragon Emperor had finally reached its full glory.