The Fire Dragon's mighty sword-qi slammed into the Timewheel Bracelet—yet, there was almost no reaction at all. Just a faint tremor, and then, silence. The bracelet didn't budge, as if nothing had happened. Evan Chu couldn't help but be shocked. Was this the true power of a top-grade divine artifact?
Surprise flashed across the Fire Dragon's face. He tried again and again, but each time the result was exactly the same. No matter how fierce his attack, the Timewheel Bracelet barely responded! The Fire Dragon grew more and more dejected. He finally said, "King, the restriction on this Timewheel Bracelet is unbelievably strong. My attack power is still just a little bit short of breaking it. If you trust me, why don't I go find some help?"
Evan Chu instantly understood—he wanted to go find the other Four Apex Savage Beasts to help. Evan said directly, "Of course I trust you! But you need to make everything clear to them: if they want to leave this place, they must obey my orders. If not, I won't take them out. And one more thing: stop calling me 'King.' From now on, call me 'Young Master.' I don't want my identity leaking out everywhere!"
"Fire Dragon understands, Young Master. Please wait here for a while—I'll go call them right away!" The Fire Dragon finished speaking, his figure flashed, and he disappeared in an instant.
Right then, Evan Chu's heart was a tangled mess. The Four Apex Savage Beasts—every single one of them possessed God-Venerable-level strength! If he could really make them submit, his own power would soar to the heavens. But making savage beasts obey was no easy feat. His own strength was still far, far too weak. How could he possibly command such terrifying beings?
With just God-Lord Realm strength... to put it bluntly, if any one of the Four Apex Savage Beasts sneezed, Evan Chu might be blasted half to death! This was absolutely not something he could rush. Maybe, maybe after his own strength grew, he could try again.
Evan Chu had already made up his mind. After he got out this time, he'd go straight back to Mine Tunnel No. 29 for closed-door cultivation. He wouldn't come out until he was strong enough! Only then would he do what needed to be done.
Suddenly, Evan Chu thought of something and immediately sent his divine sense sweeping through his body. Right—there was still the Lifebane Cursebug cocoon inside him! It couldn't threaten him, but it was still a huge hidden danger. He had to get rid of it, no matter what!
This Lifebane Cursebug was truly bizarre. If it had invaded anyone else, they'd be wishing for death right now! Dragon blood was its nemesis, but the Cursebug could actually form a cocoon to protect itself. Unbelievable—really, just unbelievable!
Evan Chu tried circulating his Chaos Divine Power, wanting to force it out of his body. But he found he could only slowly move it along his meridians—expelling it directly was impossible! Unless he could push it all the way into his arm and cut open a path, there was simply no way.
Thinking of this, Evan Chu didn't hesitate—he immediately began. He sat cross-legged on the ground, slowly circulating his Chaos Divine Power, moving the cocoon little by little through his meridians. Every movement, every inch, he could clearly sense the vibrant life force inside that cocoon!
He had no idea how much time passed—an eternity, or just a moment? Eventually, Evan Chu stopped. By then, the Lifebane Cursebug cocoon had reached his right wrist. Without hesitation, Evan Chu drew the Frostbane Divine Sword and slashed hard across his wrist. Golden Dragon blood gushed out!
As he cut his wrist, Evan Chu instantly surged his Chaos Divine Power. The cocoon was forced out through the wound—it floated in midair, not fleeing, not moving. It just hung there, eerily silent.
At the same time, the cocoon radiated a terrifyingly powerful energy—so pure, so intense, it made Evan Chu instinctively want to absorb it! This sudden change caught him completely off guard. He could only stare at the cocoon, waiting to see what would happen next.
Dragon blood stained the cocoon. After half a stick of incense—a traditional unit of time, about fifteen minutes—a small hole suddenly appeared in its shell. The Lifebane Cursebug was trying to escape! Evan Chu didn't know if the Cursebug could communicate with others, but if someone else got their hands on it, his identity would be exposed. That was something he absolutely could not allow!
Without a second thought, Evan Chu slashed his wrist again with Frostbane Divine Sword, guiding streams of golden Dragon blood straight into the hole in the cocoon. He made sure the Lifebane Cursebug was completely surrounded by Dragon blood—no escape!
In these conditions, no matter how fierce the Lifebane Cursebug was, death was its only fate! Evan Chu finally breathed a sigh of relief. But the cocoon suddenly erupted with violent motion—spinning, crashing, smashing into the ground. It was tiny, but every collision shook the earth like thunder. It was as if mountains were trembling!
After a long moment, the cocoon finally stopped moving and dropped to the ground. Had the Lifebane Cursebug died? The earlier chaos must have been its death throes!
Everything was so bizarre, so strange—Evan Chu could only sigh at the mysteries of the world. But suddenly, the cocoon burst forth with dazzling golden light! A wisp of golden energy shot out from the opening, streaking straight toward Evan Chu!
This sudden transformation left Evan Chu no time to react! That golden energy, like a strand of sword-qi, pierced straight into his body. Instantly, a searing, tearing pain exploded throughout him—so intense that even with his terrifying defense, Evan Chu couldn't help but cry out in agony!
Evan Chu was shocked to discover that the mysterious energy flooding into his body was unimaginably powerful! It was like the energy from the cocoon earlier, but countless times stronger—an ascended, purified version, far surpassing even the power of a God Crystal. Right now, it was rampaging wildly through his meridians and muscles, tearing everything apart!
There was no time to think about what this energy really was. Evan Chu had to either force it out or absorb it—there was no other option! He frantically circulated his Chaos Divine Power, enduring wave after wave of agony, trying again and again to expel it. But it was useless! In the end, the only way forward was to absorb it!
The mysterious energy kept ravaging his meridians and body—on and on, without end! Evan Chu had no idea how much time had passed before it finally stopped. By then, his body was covered in wounds, looking absolutely terrifying. But slowly, the pain began to fade away.
Right now, Evan Chu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. It felt just like the aftermath of breaking through the Starforge Body—though he hadn't really advanced, the feeling was almost the same. Gradually, he realized that in each torn meridian and muscle, traces of that mysterious energy remained!
Even more shocking, his meridians and muscles were slowly healing! Evan Chu started circulating his Chaos Divine Power again—and this time, the mysterious energy began to flow with it, gradually shrinking as it was refined away.
At the same time, Evan Chu's Chaos Divine Power was growing stronger and stronger! Suddenly, a crisp sound rang out from his dantian—the sound of a realm breakthrough! That sound was so beautiful, so thrilling, Evan Chu was stunned, unable to react for a moment.
He never expected the mysterious energy from the cocoon could actually push him through a breakthrough! Evan Chu forced himself to stay calm, circulating his Chaos Divine Power again and again. As the mysterious energy faded away, another crisp sound echoed from his dantian—another breakthrough!
That crisp sound meant only one thing: Evan Chu had broken through to the God-King Realm! In just a short span of time, he had leaped two realms in succession—something he never would have dared to dream of! But this miracle had truly happened. Right now, all Evan Chu felt was joy, pure joy—he couldn't understand why or how, but it didn't matter. Only joy!