King Victor Zhao saw the look on the Beast King's face and laughed, "Beast King, you don't look so good. Took a loss this time, huh? Seeing you like this, I feel really sorry for you."
"King Zhao, save your sarcasm. If you ran into that flame giant, you might end up even worse than me—maybe you'd just die right there. That guy's Heavenfire is way too fierce." The Beast King retorted, clearly unconvinced.
"Even if you die, I won't. It's just a flame giant, right? Next time we see it, I'll take it on myself and show you I'm no pushover." King Victor Zhao chuckled.
"Quit bragging. If you want to prove yourself, you can go back right now. I'm sure those fire-attribute Netherbeasts would be happy to 'take care' of you. Honestly, I'd love to see how you handle that flame giant." said the Beast King.
Evan watched the two bicker and couldn't help but smile. "Alright, enough with the squabbling. If real danger shows up, none of us are dying—I'm not about to just stand by and watch. That flame giant is no joke though. Beast King couldn't have killed it without using the Dragon Clan's secret art, and now he's paying the price."
Using that secret art comes with brutal backlash, so King Zhao, don't tease him. Let's focus on what to do next. The Golden Crow is definitely in the hottest area around here, but looking at you two, I doubt you can reach that spot. I think you should just wait here for me to come back—how about it?"
"No way we're staying behind this time. No matter how high the temperature gets, I believe we can handle it. I don't buy that the whole central zone is Heavenfire, and if it is, we can leave then. We're top powerhouses, after all—it'd be pretty embarrassing to chicken out now." King Victor Zhao declared.
"King Zhao's right. We're sticking with you this time. I don't believe the Extreme South is scarier than the Extreme North—if we run into fire monsters, we'll just fight to the death." The Beast King agreed, and for once the two were united.
"Alright, then let's keep moving. Hopefully we won't run into any more troublesome beasts. If there are fire-attribute Netherbeasts, we'll just go around them. As long as we keep heading south, we'll run into the Golden Crow sooner or later." Evan said.
With that, the three of them took a wide detour to avoid the fire-attribute Netherbeasts, heading into an even hotter region. Along the way, countless Glasswinds battered them—each one so scorching it felt like their bodies could ignite at any moment, stinging their faces with burning pain.
Of course, Evan didn't feel a thing—the only ones suffering were King Victor Zhao and the Beast King. While flying, both kept energy barriers up around themselves, but the drain was huge, and sweat poured off them like rain.
They had to stop at least three times along the way, each time for King Zhao and the Beast King to recover their Netherforce. Evan, on the other hand, never needed a break. After two days, they finally came to a complete stop.
Before them now stretched a forest of flame-red trees—fire trees, each one glowing with crimson light. Every so often, the air crackled and popped, as if it might ignite at any moment.
"So many fire trees here—it's just bizarre. If my guess is right, the Golden Crow is probably nearby, which means real danger is coming." Evan said.
King Zhao and the Beast King were both drenched in sweat—this was the absolute limit of what they could endure. Any deeper, and the heat would probably melt their energy barriers right off.
"This place really isn't fit for humans. Every extra second here is torture. Honestly, I'm starting to regret coming this far. I have no idea how you don't feel a thing, Evan—not a single drop of sweat from you the whole way." King Zhao complained.
Evan just smiled and said, "I'm stronger than you two, so this doesn't bother me. Even Heavenfire doesn't feel hot to me anymore. Seeing you guys suffer, I guess I'll help out."
With a thought, he instantly used Watershift to conjure several massive blocks of Mystic Ice and tossed them to the pair. The Beast King and King Zhao were both stunned—how many secrets did Evan have? It was almost unbelievable.
But using Watershift meant he couldn't use Fireshift at the same time, so the scorching heat finally got to him. For the first time, Evan truly felt what King Zhao and the Beast King had been suffering. He quickly switched back to Fireshift to cancel out the discomfort.
Gripping the Mystic Ice, King Zhao and the Beast King immediately felt the burning sensation ease up—a lifesaver if ever there was one. They were extremely grateful, but in this heat the ice melted in an instant, soaking their bodies before evaporating into steam.
The water quickly evaporated in the heat, turning into a thick mist. For a moment, the area was shrouded in fog, but at least their bodies felt much better.
Evan glanced at the two and said, "You guys really should head back. This place just isn't for you. If we run into the Golden Crow, I doubt you'll even be able to fight. It's not about strength—here, being a hero is useless."
They wanted to argue, but seeing the determination in Evan's eyes, they held back. King Zhao finally said, a bit reluctantly, "Alright, we'll go wait for you. But you need to be careful too—if the Golden Crow is too strong, don't force a direct fight. If you get in trouble, we can't save you."
"I get it. You two take care of yourselves too!" Evan replied.
No sooner had he finished speaking than a deafening bird cry echoed from the distant sky. The sound was so piercing it made all three men's eardrums ache, and their faces changed at once. Instinctively, they all blurted out, "Golden Crow!"
"Get out of here—now! Just from that cry, you can tell how strong this Golden Crow is. I don't get why such a powerful Golden Crow hasn't ascended. Do Netherworld powerhouses just not need to ascend?" Evan urged anxiously.
"It's not like we can leave now—we really have become your burdens this time. As for why the Netherworld can't ascend, I honestly don't know. All I know is you need at least God Realm to trigger ascension. Why those two Hidden Clan Old Ancestors you killed never ascended, I can't say. But if the Beast King and I ever reach God Realm, you can bet we'll ascend." King Zhao answered.
Evan looked up and saw that three Golden Crows had appeared all at once—their bodies enormous, about the size of Golden-Winged Rocs, and wreathed in flame. Both wings burned with black fire, which made Evan feel a faint unease.
Black fire is almost on par with Heavenfire, and Evan had never experienced it firsthand before. It was all instinct, but he knew: "Looks like we're in for a real fight. Hope you two can hold out long enough for me to save you."
PS: Just a few more days—I'll update again after the busy farming season!