The Phoenix Clan’s Second Elder was bleeding profusely from his severed arm, his face deathly pale and twisted in pain. He nearly plummeted from the sky, but the Phoenix Temple Master shot upward, caught him, and stared at Evan Chu with utter disbelief.
"Boy, you actually dared to injure the Phoenix Clan’s Second Elder. Today, I’ll make you pay a heavy price for such foolishness!" the Phoenix Temple Master roared, his voice cold and furious, itching to kill Evan on the spot.
"Hey, old man, you really don’t know what’s good for you. If I wanted to kill him, it’d be child’s play—can’t you tell? My patience has limits, so don’t test me, or I won’t mind wiping out your whole Phoenix Clan," Evan retorted.
"Enough talk, boy. Let’s see if you’re as tough as you claim!" The Phoenix Temple Master pulled a blazing red longsword from his storage ring—a weapon that was clearly extraordinary.
"If you want to fight, I’ll humor you. But what if you lose? Should I kill you—or let you crawl away with your pathetic life? It’s a real headache. I wonder if Roxanne will blame me if I kill you…so annoying," Evan muttered to himself.
Evan’s voice was loud enough for everyone to hear. The crowd thought he was insane—after all, the Temple Master was a top expert at the fifth layer of the Saint Martial Realm, nearly breaking through to the sixth. For Evan to boast so shamelessly, he must not know the meaning of death.
"Die!" The Phoenix Temple Master had no interest in further words. His flaming longsword unleashed a three-meter sword-light, burning the air with a roar as the temperature soared—any ordinary cultivator would’ve been defeated by the heat wave before the fight even began.
His opponent was at the fifth layer of the Saint Martial Realm, so Evan didn’t dare be careless. He quickly layered a stone-and-earth defense around himself, gripped the Frostbane Sword, and let his Chaos Dragon Force surge. In an instant, he unleashed Earthsplitter—this time fused with the power of the five elements, making its attack strength rival Heaven-Cleave. Evan was deliberately testing the Temple Master’s true ability.
The Phoenix Temple Master instantly tore open space, forming a massive spatial black hole. Evan’s sword strike also ripped through the void, and two spatial black holes appeared in midair, leaving the onlookers speechless with shock.
Boom! A thunderous explosion erupted around Evan and the Phoenix Temple Master. Their combined attacks expanded the two spatial black holes into one enormous black hole, whose terrifying suction force dragged both of them inside.
This phenomenon terrified every member of the Phoenix Clan. Even Saint Martial sixth-layer experts risk death in a spatial black hole, so they all began to worry for the Temple Master’s safety—and were equally stunned by the mysterious youth’s fearsome power.
Evan’s strike ended in a draw; neither side was injured. Now, both stood inside the black hole space, watching meteorites fly past. Evan chuckled, “Why do you insist on fighting me? I only came to the Phoenix Clan to see my fiancée. Can’t you get it? Or are you interested in her yourself?”
“Watch your mouth, boy! Roxanne is our Phoenix Saintess. Her bloodline is extremely special—she may even evolve into a Netherfire Phoenix. Why do you insist on seeing her? What’s your real motive?” the Phoenix Temple Master demanded, furious.
“Netherfire Phoenix? Didn’t she undergo nirvana on the Divine Battlefield back then? Are you saying she’s really dead? That’s impossible! Even the Azure Moon White Tiger isn’t dead—I saw him not long ago. How could Roxanne become a Netherfire Phoenix? Really strange,” Evan said.
The Phoenix Temple Master was thunderstruck. These were ancient secrets—how could this kid know them? And he’d actually met the Azure Moon White Tiger! Just last year, the Temple Master had gone to Azure Moon himself, asking for the White Tiger Clan’s treasure, the White Tiger Blood Amber.
Staring at Evan in confusion, the Phoenix Temple Master asked, “Who exactly are you? How do you know so much?”
Evan laughed. “You’re not qualified to know who I am—maybe your master is, though. If I’m not mistaken, she’s in seclusion right now. If she showed up, she’d treat me with far more respect. To put it bluntly, even the Azure Moon White Tiger bows to me. If not for Roxanne, your Phoenix Clan would’ve been wiped out already.”
“I don’t care who you are! Even if you know some ancient secrets, if you threaten my Phoenix Clan, I’ll stop you—my master wouldn’t blame me for it. Prepare to die!” the Phoenix Temple Master snarled.
“Stubborn fool. If I don’t teach you a lesson, you’ll really think I’m afraid of you! This time I’ll seriously injure you—your Phoenix Clan is all about nirvana, right? Let’s see you experience it for yourself as punishment for disrespecting me,” Evan said coldly.
This time, Evan unleashed Heaven-Cleave, weaving the power of the five elements into the attack. Though it wasn’t as devastating as Star-Cleave, it was still overwhelmingly strong.
As soon as Evan unleashed the move, wind and clouds shifted inside the black hole space. A crushing pressure surged toward the Phoenix Temple Master, and—for the first time—he felt a real threat of death. He couldn’t believe this youth possessed such overwhelming power; his own attack was nothing in comparison.
Though the Phoenix Temple Master unleashed his clan’s strongest martial art, it was useless before Evan’s strike—Evan’s attack smashed through it like rotten wood, utterly collapsing the defense.
The power of the five elements was truly heaven-defying, detonating on the Temple Master’s body. If Evan had mastered this earlier, he might not have needed Star-Cleave to defeat the Blood Emperor. That’s how terrifyingly strong this attack was.
"Evan, you can’t actually kill him! That would devastate Roxanne. Withdraw your five-element power—he simply can’t withstand such an attack," Luna’s voice echoed in Evan’s mind.
Hearing Luna, Evan flashed in front of the Phoenix Temple Master and swept his hand—instantly recalling the five-element energy. The Temple Master only suffered the raw force of Heaven-Cleave, not enough to kill him.
Even so, several bone-deep wounds were carved into his flesh, blood pouring out as he writhed in pain. His twisted face showed utter disbelief.
"Surprised I spared you at the last moment? To be honest, I did it for your master’s sake. You’re no match for me—let’s leave this place. Take me to your master; maybe I can help her recover. Don’t ask who I am. Once she sees me, she’ll understand everything," Evan said...