Only now did Evan Chu truly realize the power of Soul Rend. With this martial skill in hand, he’d have a much greater guarantee of survival—if he unleashed it against a Saint Martial Realm expert, a single sword strike could leave him virtually undefeatable.
But Evan knew that after using this move, his Chaos Dragon Force would be almost completely drained. Killing his opponent would basically be impossible—his only option would be to run for his life.
He immediately started rehearsing the move in his mind. To his surprise, what this sword unleashed wasn’t sword-qi—it was soul power. He’d be using his own soul force to control the blade and directly wound the enemy’s soul.
Maybe the stronger his soul power, the more obvious the damage to his opponent. But soul power was never easy to improve.
After running through the technique a hundred times in his mind, Evan was already thoroughly familiar with it. He slowly opened his eyes, a wicked smile appearing on his face.
As soon as he stepped out of the room, a disciple greeted him: “Young Master, you’ve finally finished your closed-door cultivation! The Palace Lord is really anxious to see you.”
Evan was baffled. “What happened? Why does the Palace Lord want to see me?”
“Did you forget what day it is? Tomorrow’s the big tournament for all the sects. If you only came out tomorrow, you’d miss the whole thing.” The disciple said.
“You mean I’ve been in that room for almost a month?” Evan asked in shock. It had only felt like a few days to him.
“Not almost a month—one month and three days! Hurry and go see the Palace Lord, she’s got instructions for you.” The disciple urged him.
Evan nodded and followed the Freewind Palace disciple to the grand hall. Inside, the Freewind Palace Lord was pacing anxiously back and forth—clearly worried about something.
“Greetings, Palace Lord. May I ask why you’ve summoned me?” Evan asked directly.
“Your breakthrough actually took a whole month—quite the surprise. How did the Heart-Piercing Tear Pill feel? Wasn’t it excruciating?” the Freewind Palace Lord asked.
“It was definitely miserable. When will you finally give me the Gloomspring Elixir? This pain is inhuman.” Evan replied, though he was secretly shocked—he hadn’t felt any agony at all, and had no idea a whole month had passed. It seemed the poison from the Heart-Piercing Tear Pill was already neutralized, and he’d just never realized it.
Evan decided to play along, pretending to be under her control and acting obedient. Maybe this way, he could really get Serena Dream.
“The tournament starts tomorrow. I’ve already registered you as a Frostbane Sect disciple. Remember what I said—even if you can’t kill the Dark Sanctuary person, you must seriously injure him. And in the final round, Ethan Feng must take first place.” the Freewind Palace Lord said.
“Understood. Since I gave my word, I won’t go back on it. But I hope after this, you’ll reconsider Serena Dream’s situation. If she ends up with Ethan Feng, it’ll only harm her. I trust you won’t let that happen.” Evan said.
“I’ve already talked to Serena about it—her choice is her own, and I won’t interfere. For now, the most important thing is to get to the tournament as quickly as possible. We’ll deal with everything else later.” The Freewind Palace Lord finished speaking and turned to leave.
Evan followed her out of the grand hall to a teleportation array. The Freewind Palace Lord said, “This array will send you straight to Despair Valley. That’s where the tournament will be held.”
With that, she stepped into the array. It was small, only big enough for one person at a time, so Evan had to wait until the Palace Lord left before he could teleport.
As soon as Evan stepped into the teleportation array, a tremendous pulling force swept over him. Wind roared past his ears, and in the blink of an eye, he found himself in a mountain valley packed with people.
This array had been set up just for this event—so Evan could arrive right on time. If he hadn’t finished his closed-door cultivation today, the Freewind Palace Lord would’ve forced him out anyway.
Evan glanced around, but the Freewind Palace Lord was nowhere to be seen. He didn’t bother asking anyone and simply blended into the crowd.
Since the real matches wouldn’t start until tomorrow, the sect disciples were just sparring on the arena—friendly bouts that stopped short of serious injury.
Evan circled the valley but didn’t spot any familiar faces. In the end, he left the crowd and picked a quiet spot to rest.
This vast valley was called Despair Valley—a name with a mournful ring to it. Evan remembered that none of the Nine Great Sects were based here; he had no idea why it was named that way.
As Evan was lost in thought, a youth dressed in black approached from nearby. He looked refined and striking—like a jade tree in the wind. The youth was heading straight for Evan.
When the youth stopped five meters in front of Evan, Evan felt a dangerous aura—not just on the surface, but deep down, as if his instincts were warning him.
Evan noticed the black-clad youth too. When their eyes met, a wave of unease washed over him—this youth was dangerous.
“Could he be from Dark Sanctuary? He’s definitely not simple—I’ll have to be careful.” Evan thought to himself.
The two exchanged a glance, then quickly looked away. That brief moment left a deep impression on both of them. The youth gave a faint smile, then turned and left.
Evan didn’t want to provoke him. If this was really the person the Freewind Palace Lord wanted him to kill, they’d settle things on the arena tomorrow.
Soon, a thunderous voice echoed from the sky: “Welcome, elite disciples from every sect, to the tournament here in Despair Valley. I am the Despair Valley Lord. There are too many guests, and rooms inside the valley are limited, so only the most important figures from each sect will be accommodated. Everyone else, please understand.”
The crowd was clearly unhappy. Everyone here was a core disciple, so being treated unequally was hard to swallow. A middle-aged man grumbled, “I came all this way for the tournament and I’m exhausted. Now there’s nowhere to rest—whose bright idea was it to hold the event here?”
“I was hoping to absorb Stellar Power all night to prepare for tomorrow’s matches, but now there isn’t even a place to train. Despair Valley really lives up to its name,” someone else complained.
Discontented voices filled the air, most blaming the Despair Valley Lord. Evan, on the other hand, thought the arrangement was reasonable—he didn’t know anyone here, and preferred peace and quiet anyway.
“I’ve been looking for you everywhere—I didn’t expect you to be sitting here.” Just then, a familiar voice called out to Evan…