Evan Chu’s Star-Cleave attack and the silver-haired elder’s martial skill were about equal in power—neither could truly injure the other. The violent energy collision sent both men flying, but the elder was utterly unable to withstand Evan’s lightning strike.
Now that Evan had reached the Da Luo Golden Immortal Realm, the lightning force he could gather was far stronger than before. This blast of lightning struck the silver-haired elder as he was sent flying, smashing him into the ground and blasting open a bottomless crater dozens of meters wide. As for whether the elder was killed outright by the lightning, Evan couldn’t be sure for the moment.
The sudden appearance of golden lightning caught both the middle-aged man and the red-robed elder off guard. As Evan was blasted backward, he quickly stabilized himself with Windshift, sent the Frostbane Sword flying toward the middle-aged man, and simultaneously finished gathering fire-element particles. In an instant, flames erupted around the man, engulfing a radius of dozens of meters.
The fire-element particles Evan had gathered were already at Glassfire Crystal quality, and the flames he unleashed rivaled earth-fire in intensity. The middle-aged man never imagined such a thing could happen—scorching fire began to burn rapidly across his body just as Evan’s Frostbane Sword arrived before him.
Being burned alive was agony. Although the man had reached the Ninth-Heaven Arch-Immortal Realm and could quickly erect an energy barrier, it wouldn’t last long against this fire. Nor could he block the sudden sword strike; all he could do was twist his body at the last moment to avoid a lethal blow as the Frostbane Sword stabbed into his chest.
Even so, a massive hole was torn through his body. With a thought, Evan commanded the Frostbane Sword to pass clean through him, curve in midair, and attack again. The agony shattered the man’s energy barrier, and he was instantly swallowed by flames. The Frostbane Sword pierced him from behind, emerging from his chest in a single thrust.
Within just a few breaths, the flames burned him to nothing—body, bones, and even his Immortal Infant were destroyed. The fire vanished as suddenly as it had appeared, as if it had never existed at all. The only change was the sharp rise in temperature throughout the space.
The red-robed elder was completely stunned. He’d never seen such terrifying, bizarre attacks before—this kid didn’t seem human at all. Evan could conjure golden lightning out of nowhere, summon a sea of scorching flames in an instant, and wield a weapon as both a sword and a flying artifact. Any one of these powers was hard enough to accept, let alone all at once. Only when Evan strode up to him did the elder snap out of it.
"You’re the only one left. I’m sure I can kill you before your backup arrives—prepare to die!" Evan barked, his voice cold and ruthless. He had no patience for pointless talk; he needed to kill this man, rescue Gavin Jin, and get out of Coldriver City as quickly as possible.
Now that his true strength was exposed, Evan knew it would be easy to attract even more powerful enemies—especially since this guy had already called for backup from someone at the Immortal Lord Realm. Right now, Evan couldn’t afford to recklessly clash with an Immortal Lord-level expert.
With a graceful sweep of the Frostbane Sword, Evan unleashed a razor-sharp sword-light that instantly appeared on the red-robed elder’s body. It all happened so fast that the elder barely had time to react. He tried to retreat, but Evan’s speed was simply on another level.
The sword-qi slashed across the elder’s throat, sending a jet of blood spraying out. He was lucky his head hadn’t been severed, but death was close at hand. Evan didn’t waste a moment—while the elder was still reeling, he unleashed Star-Cleave with the Frostbane Sword.
The wounded red-robed elder, unable to resist at all, was obliterated by the savage power of Star-Cleave—nothing remained but a bloody mist hanging in the air. Evan, like a falling meteor, shot down into the huge crater to check whether the silver-haired elder was truly dead. Anyone who dared attack him with the Heaven-Shatter Token would never be allowed to live.
Evan was shocked when he saw the silver-haired elder at the bottom of the pit—the man had no trace of life, not even his Immortal Infant survived. The lightning had split his body clean in two, leaving him charred and reeking of burnt flesh.
He hadn’t expected the lightning to be so powerful—a mid-stage Ninth-Heaven Arch-Immortal had been killed in a single strike. Clearly, he’d have to use this lightning more often; maybe it could even seriously injure an Immortal Lord.
Evan conjured a fireball in his palm and tossed it onto the silver-haired elder’s corpse, then quickly flew out of the crater. He was about to head for the City Lord’s Mansion to find Gavin Jin, but as he soared into the sky, a middle-aged man with a furious expression sat atop a four-winged avian immortal beast, staring coldly at him.
Evan’s heart skipped a beat—the aura around this middle-aged man was terrifying, and he radiated a dangerous pressure. Evan knew instantly: this was the Immortal Lord-level backup the Lord of Coldriver City had called for. He hadn’t expected the man to arrive so quickly. The real battle was about to begin, but Evan wasn’t afraid; with Tom Chu and Jade Chu by his side, he was confident he could survive.
"Kid, did you kill the Lord of Coldriver City?" the middle-aged man asked, his voice icy cold, as if Evan had been plunged into a freezing cellar.
"Who are you?" Evan shot back, refusing to answer immediately. He wasn’t familiar with the Immortal Realm’s factions and didn’t want to make enemies at random. If this guy was just a wandering cultivator, killing him wouldn’t matter—but if he belonged to some powerful sect or clan, Evan would have to find a way to escape.
Now that the Lord of Coldriver City was dead, Evan was sure Gavin Jin could be saved even if he didn’t personally intervene—he was confident Gavin Jin had strong allies in Coldriver City.
"Arrogant, aren’t you? Sure, you’ve got the talent to be cocky at your age—but you picked the wrong place and killed the wrong person. That arrogance means you’re destined to die here today." The middle-aged man sneered.
"You really think you can kill me? Early Immortal Lord Realm doesn’t scare me—show me what you’ve got." Evan retorted, quietly gathering lightning-element particles in the sky.
"Hahaha, I forgot to mention—I broke through to the mid Immortal Lord Realm decades ago. Do you really think you can escape me?" the middle-aged man laughed, staring at Evan...
(Bonus chapter for the book’s Grandmaster supporter coming later tonight! Before 6:30!)