Simon Driftwind’s warning reached everyone’s ears loud and clear. Evan Chu reacted fastest, charging into the cave immediately.
The others quickly followed. Evan soon reached Simon’s side, finding him crouched behind a large boulder jutting out inside the cave.
“Simon, what did you find? Why are you so shaken?” Evan asked immediately.
Simon steadied himself and said, "Boss, about three hundred meters deeper, there’s a monster beast dozing off. Behind it, there’s a stone gate that looks just like the one we used to enter here—I think it’s a teleportation portal."
"A monster beast? A teleportation portal?" Evan was surprised. He hadn’t expected Luna’s hint about a surprise to be real. As long as the beast wasn’t one of the truly terrifying kinds, it wouldn’t be a problem. And if this portal led straight to Heavenly Dragon Academy, then no matter how dangerous it was, they had to try.
“Evan, don’t rush in. We need to check what rank this beast is first. If it’s something like Goldwing, even all of us together would just be throwing our lives away.” Rhea Yang said urgently. She knew Evan well enough to worry he’d try to kill the beast head-on.
Rhea had a point. Evan nodded to her, saying, “I know what to do. If the beast really is that strong, we’ll try to lure it out of the cave and figure something out.”
"Be careful. You’re always too impulsive. Go check on the beast first—we’ll wait here for your signal. If you can kill it, we’ll come in; if not, we leave immediately." Rhea said seriously.
"Alright, wait here. I’ll be right back!" Evan said, heading deeper into the cave.
"Everyone get ready. There’s a life-and-death battle ahead—stay sharp, and don’t lose your lives," Rhea instructed the group. At that moment, her standing among them rose even higher.
Evan didn’t dare move too quickly—waking that beast would be a disaster. The cave grew wider and more humid, with puddles forming in sunken spots, making progress awkward and slow.
After about two minutes, Evan finally saw the beast Simon had described—a creature the size of a small mountain, dozing in front of a massive stone gate.
Evan watched carefully. As he entered, the giant actually opened its eyes for a moment—just once, but it was enough for Evan to see clearly.
Maybe the beast thought Evan was just an insignificant ant, not worth bothering with. Still, Evan didn’t dare relax. He stopped about twenty meters away, keeping his distance.
“What kind of beast is this? The cave entrance is so narrow—how could it possibly be here?” Evan wondered, full of questions.
Luna spoke up. “Evan, do you see that big gate? That’s definitely a teleportation portal—an ancient one at that. This beast must have come through it.”
“Luna, can you tell what kind of beast it is? It feels incredibly strong—maybe even stronger than Goldwing,” Evan asked inwardly, sensing the faint but overwhelming aura radiating from the creature.
“It’s not one of the other two high-tier beasts Goldwing mentioned. I didn’t expect it to show up here—how could that be? If I’m not mistaken, this isn’t a monster beast, but a true spirit beast: an ancient Heaven Ape.”
“An ancient Heaven Ape? No way!” Evan’s head spun. If that thing really was a Heaven Ape, even calling Goldwing for backup would be suicide. He could only hope the portal led to Heavenly Dragon Academy, but he felt helpless.
“A Heaven Ape’s strength is on par with the Bloodshadow Berserker Lion. In ancient times, they were a nightmare to deal with. For one to suddenly show up here is suspicious. Normally, a Heaven Ape would attack us on sight, but this one is strangely calm—maybe something’s wrong with it?” Luna speculated.
Even Luna, with her strong soul sense, didn’t dare probe an ancient spirit beast lightly. If its spirit was stronger than hers, she’d be the one getting hurt—and she couldn’t afford that risk.
Evan thought it was possible—the Heaven Ape might be badly wounded, or maybe something was restricting its movements. "I’ll go test it out!" he said.
With that, Evan stepped forward, pulling the Frostbane Sword from his storage ring, ready to probe the beast with his Heart-Sword technique.
“Wait, Evan! That Heaven Ape’s strength has already broken through ninth-rank Spirit Beast—it’s King-tier now. You should get everyone out of the cave first. If it gets angry, I guarantee this whole cave will collapse, and you’ll all be in danger,” Luna warned, seeing Evan prepare to probe the beast.
Evan stopped in his tracks. Luna was right—if the cave collapsed, they’d be doomed. Cold sweat broke out on his back.
He quickly headed back. When Evan returned, the others rushed to meet him.
Lily Tang spoke up first: “Evan, what’s the situation? Should we go in together?”
Evan gave a wry smile at their hopeful faces. “You’re going together, alright—but out of here. That beast is even stronger than Goldwing, and this cave could collapse at any moment. Leave now—the faster, the better.”
Evan’s words shocked everyone. Stronger than Goldwing meant unbeatable—they couldn’t help but feel a wave of disappointment.
"Rhea, Simon, get out—find somewhere hidden and wait. I’ll see if I can lure the beast out of the cave," Evan said, face serious.
Inside, Evan was bitterly amused. The beast was the size of a mountain—no matter how strong he was, luring it out seemed impossible. Still, no matter how dangerous, he had to figure out the portal. Even if it didn’t lead to Heavenly Dragon Academy, it was still a gateway to somewhere else.
Rhea wanted to say something, but when she saw Evan’s determined gaze, she held back, worry written all over her face.
"Be careful, Evan. If it’s too much, don’t force it—we’ll wait for you outside!" Gabe Goldstone called.
“Alright, everyone, go! That beast is almost awake—if it does, none of us will get out. You know how fast I am, so don’t worry about me!” Evan said, then turned and headed back into the cave.
“Be careful, Evan!” Lily Tang added. Her usual fiery temper was gone—maybe that’s the power of love.
"Got it. Now go!"
Evan returned to within twenty meters of the Heaven Ape, ready to make his move, when a voice filled with ancient gravitas echoed in his mind: “Descendant of the Divine Dragon, do not be afraid. I have been waiting for you a long time...”