At this moment, Evan Chu had already absorbed two high-grade Starstones, restoring about thirty percent of his Chaos Qi. Suddenly, he stopped.
With a thought, he called out, "Old Goldwing, come out—I have something for you!"
Goldwing instantly appeared before Evan, shifting into human form and asking, "Boss, what are you planning to give me?"
"Take a look at this." Evan pulled out the Mystic Ice Toad's beast core from his storage ring and waved it in his hand.
Staring at the beast core in Evan's hand, Goldwing couldn't help but swallow hard. This was the kind of treasure he'd dreamed of. He didn't know what beast it came from, but he could tell the energy inside was immense. If he could swallow and refine it, he'd at least break through to King Rank.
"Boss, where did you get this beast core? Are you really giving it to me? What about Foxy Macy?" Goldwing wanted it badly, but he knew Evan had more than one contracted beast, so he asked right away.
"I've already prepared something for Alex Xiao—once he hatches, it's his. This one's for you specifically. But this core is from the Mystic Ice Toad, so its energy is extremely cold. I'm just not sure if you can handle it." Evan said worriedly.
If Goldwing absorbed all that energy and ended up frozen into an ice bird, that would be a real problem.
"Heh! Boss, you don't know—any beast core can be absorbed, no matter the attribute. It's pure energy, the most refined part, and it won't hurt my body at all." Goldwing explained.
"Then take it! I hope you break through soon. Times are turbulent, and anything could happen. If you reach King Rank, your speed will be even greater." Evan said.
"That's right. If I break through to King Rank, even ninth-layer Heaven Martial experts won't be able to catch me in the sky. You'll have one more safety net, Boss." Goldwing finished speaking and swallowed the beast core in one go.
A flash of golden light, and he shrank into a mini-bird form. Evan considered letting him merge back into his body, but decided against it—if Goldwing wanted to, he'd bring it up himself.
Evan resumed absorbing stellar power to replenish his Chaos Qi. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Winston Ying and his three top experts had already arrived at the Capital Training Field, arguing with General Roland Lowell.
"General Roland, why isn't my son in your training field? Do you know what happened to him?" The Prime Minister demanded, face dark with anger.
General Roland had no idea what had happened. During the Third Gate trial, he sensed energy fluctuations in the sky and saw the three experts from the Prime Minister's Manor arriving with Winston Ying.
"Prime Minister, your son isn't here—how would I know where he is? He's got hands and feet, doesn't he? Am I supposed to tie him up? If something happened, why don't you enlighten me? I'm not sure what you're talking about." General Roland replied, openly impatient.
Roland privately despised Winston Ying. Even as Prime Minister, Winston was notorious for abusing the people, and his three experts were even worse—always running wild, robbing and killing with Winston's backing.
Lately, spies had reported that all three had close dealings with the Sea Dragon Empire, but Roland hadn't caught them red-handed yet. Otherwise, he'd have punished them long ago.
These three weren't pushovers either—the middle-aged man and woman were both eighth-layer Heaven Martial experts, while the elder had reached the Divine Martial Realm, just one major realm below Roland himself.
Winston Ying, sensing Roland was trying to dodge responsibility, snapped, "My son was killed today! I want a satisfactory explanation, or don't blame me for turning hostile!"
"Killed? No way—Aiden Ying is the number-one young tyrant in the Royal Capital. Who'd dare do it? Everyone knows he's got three powerful masters backing him. Prime Minister, that's a pretty bad joke. Why not just get to the point?" General Roland said, his smile cold.
But inside, Roland was shocked. If Aiden Ying really was killed, it could cause a city-wide storm. Could it be that kid Logan Zhao? But his strength shouldn't be enough.
Even if Logan Zhao was strong, he was still just at the Earth Martial Realm. Compared to a Heaven Martial expert who'd mastered spatial lockdown, there was no contest.
Still, aside from Logan Zhao, there really wasn't anyone else who'd dare challenge Aiden Ying—at least not in the Royal Capital.
"Stop playing dumb, Roland. I heard my son clashed with a kid called Logan Zhao during the trials, and this kid's no pushover—he took first in both the first and second trials. I believe he's tied to my son's death. You'd better hand him over, or else..." Winston Ying snarled.
"Or else what, Winston Ying? This is the Capital Training Field—you'd better watch yourself. Others might fear you, but I don't. You want someone from my field? Even the king couldn't just take people away, let alone you!" Roland snapped back.
The two had always been at odds, and now that Winston was giving him no respect, Roland saw no need to give any back.
Winston Ying heard this and it was like pouring oil on the fire. "Fine! Roland, so you're sheltering my son's killer? Let's see what you can do about it today."
He immediately ordered his three experts, "Find that Logan Zhao kid—dead or alive!"
"How dare you! Winston Ying, if you really try it, I won't hesitate to kill all three of them. This field isn't yours to run wild in." Roland's killing intent erupted—his battle-hardened aura made all four of them feel real fear.
"You think we're afraid of you? I've heard for years that General Roland Lowell is the top martial commander in the Heavenly Dragon Kingdom. Today, old man, I'll see if your reputation is deserved or just empty hype!" Elder Yan declared.
"Good! If you're so eager to die, I'll be happy to oblige!" Roland replied, his fighting spirit surging.
"Wait! Roland, I'll give you some face today. But if you don't hand over that Zhao kid tomorrow, I'll destroy this training field—and you with it!" Winston Ying threatened.
"We'll talk about tomorrow when it comes. Take care, gentlemen—I'm not seeing you out." Roland said, not taking Winston's words to heart at all.
"Let's go!" Winston Ying barked, and the four of them left the training field, flying straight toward the Prime Minister's Manor.
"Prime Minister, why'd you give him any face? The three of us together couldn't handle Roland Lowell?" Back at the manor, Elder Yan asked.
"This is the Royal Capital, and Roland Lowell is in charge of its security. If I stir up trouble here, even I could be punished. You three are strong, but fighting in the training field would cause a huge commotion—could even alarm the king. That'd be real trouble." Winston explained.
"So what do you suggest, Prime Minister?" Elder Yan asked. He knew Winston must have a plan—he'd followed this old fox for years and knew how sly he was.
"We can't go head-to-head, but we can work in the shadows! That Logan Zhao kid passed the first two trials and skipped the third—he's probably in a tavern, restaurant, or lodging. Search for him, and if you find him, bring him straight to me." Winston ordered.
"Yes, Prime Minister! We'll get on it right away!" the three replied in unison, then leapt into the sky...