Evan Chu was blasted far away by countless shards of ice, instantly turning into an ice statue. He could have avoided all of this by using his Water Shift technique, but he chose not to—he wanted to crush his opponent mentally, not just physically.
Yet he didn’t fall to the ground—instead, he landed firmly on his feet. Everyone stared at him without blinking; if he could survive such a powerful attack, it would truly be a miracle.
At this moment, Lynne Nie’s eyes were already brimming with tears, nearly sobbing aloud. She thought Evan Chu was a fool for being so reckless—how could he possibly survive?
But no one went over to check—Evan had said that only if he took the full force of the attack and wasn’t seriously hurt would it count as his win. Everyone was waiting for a miracle.
Soaring Feather Young Lord—Ethan Feng—wore a victorious smile. He knew exactly how powerful his attack was; its force was no less than a Saint Martial Realm strike. How could someone who hadn’t even reached peak Divine Martial Realm possibly endure it?
The Frostbane Sect disciples were all deeply worried, unable to understand why Evan would risk his life like this—it was as if he was playing with death.
Selena Yale’s face showed some concern as well, but recalling Evan’s earlier words, she felt certain he would pull off something astonishing. So she simply watched quietly.
Just as everyone was convinced Evan must have been gravely injured or even killed by the blow, the ice shell around him suddenly moved—the frozen layer melted away in an instant, vanishing without leaving a single drop of water.
He just stood there, perfectly still. The crowd was puzzled—some even wanted to rush over and see for themselves. That was when Evan Chu’s hearty laughter rang out.
“So this is the strength of Soaring Feather Young Lord? What a disappointment! Didn’t I tell you to use your strongest attack? Why hold back? Look at me—I’m lively as a dragon and a tiger, not even a scratch! Or did you let me win on purpose?”
Such a huge favor—Evan, I’ll never forget it for the rest of my life. Serena and I will definitely repay you. Thank you for your generosity in bringing us together."
After speaking, Evan Chu teleported to a spot five meters in front of Soaring Feather Young Lord. His body was completely unscathed, forcing Ethan Feng to stare at him like he was some kind of monster.
The shock in Ethan’s heart nearly made him lose his balance. He stared at Evan in disbelief and blurted, “How are you unharmed? You’re at most peak Divine Martial Realm—how could you take my full-force attack and not be hurt at all?”
“So that was your strongest move? I thought you were going easy on me. Since you’ve lost, please honor our wager—soon, I, Evan Chu, will marry Serena Dream. I hope the Palace Lord will give her blessing!” Evan turned to the Freewind Palace Lord.
The Freewind Palace Lord looked at Evan and said, “Since you’ve won, I have nothing more to say. I never imagined your strength would open my eyes like this. Let’s discuss the marriage after you settle matters with the Mist Rain Pavilion Master.”
Ethan Feng was instantly deflated. Evan’s strength had surpassed all his expectations. Though he was bitterly unwilling, he couldn’t take back his public words in front of so many people, so he forced himself to say to Evan:
“I hope you treat Serena well. If you ever bully her, I swear I’ll make you wish you were dead.”
With that, he turned and left. There was no reason to stay—lingering here would only add to his misery. Leaving with some dignity was all he had left.
Watching Ethan’s departing figure, Evan laughed and said, “Of course I’ll treat her well. How could my woman ever be bullied?”
Then he walked over to Serena Dream and said, “Were you worried sick? I didn’t let you down, did I?”
“Who was worried about you? I’m still going to marry my Brother Feiyu, so you’d better give up!” Serena Dream glared at Evan, but there wasn’t a trace of anger on her face.
Evan grinned, “Your Brother Feiyu already handed you over to me. Still want to play hard to get? Besides, your master agreed too—so you have no choice! Hahaha!” Without caring what Serena thought, he turned and walked away.
He didn’t go far, stopping in an open clearing. There, he took out a Star Crystal and began to recover his Chaos Dragon Force.
Evan did this on purpose—using a Star Crystal to restore Stellar Power was something almost no one in the Azure Tide Ruins could do. The sect leaders were all stunned; just who was this kid, to have such a heaven-defying treasure?
The matches continued, but none could compare to Evan’s showdown. Most competitors just went through the motions—no one used their real trump cards.
With Evan and Soaring Feather Young Lord out of the running, the tournament lost much of its intensity. Night Young Lord’s strength was truly formidable—he took second place, while Serena Dream finished third.
After the tournament, the Freewind Palace Lord announced the results. Since Frostbane Sect had fallen on hard times, everyone agreed that Sacred Sword Sect and Freewind Palace would provide the prizes, saving Evan the expense.
If Evan had provided the prizes himself, it would have been another shock—he might have even offered Star Crystals as rewards.
Next, everyone set up camp—tomorrow would bring an unprecedented feast: the legendary duel between Evan Chu and the Mist Rain Pavilion Master. No one wanted to leave.
Some sect members even started gambling on the outcome. The more heated the betting, the better—and even the Freewind Palace Lord and Sacred Sword Sect Master joined in.
The two acted as bookmakers: betting on Evan to win paid ten to one, while betting on the Mist Rain Pavilion Master paid three to one. The minimum wager was one hundred Starstones.
Most people believed the Mist Rain Pavilion Master would win—a sure thing, so everyone wanted in. Thousands placed bets, but only a handful backed Evan.
Lynne Nie bet ten thousand Starstones on Evan. Marcus Blake and Quentin Wen each put up five thousand, while Victor Lang wagered a staggering one hundred thousand on the Mist Rain Pavilion Master. Everyone thought this was odd, but no one dared comment.
Serena Dream placed a symbolic bet of five thousand Starstones on Evan, while Ye Suping, a sect master, wagered a full million—she simply believed he could win. If not for the betting cap set by the Palace Lord and Sacred Sword Sect Master, she would have bet a hundred million and made a fortune.
But Evan knew nothing about any of this—he was completely focused on absorbing the Star Crystal. The Stellar Power inside was truly extraordinary, and he finally understood why Star Crystals were so expensive…