(Happy Mid-Autumn Festival to all readers!)
Huge changes were unfolding inside the Timewheel Bracelet. After Divine Power poured in, things didn’t go the way Evan Lin had expected—rather than accumulating more Divine Power, it was all absorbed by the artifact spirit of the Immortal Crystal.
The Black Qilin knew Evan had successfully passed his tribulation the moment Divine Power entered the Timewheel Bracelet, but now, seeing all of it being absorbed by some unknown entity, he was baffled. Only after probing with his divine sense did he discover it was actually the artifact spirit of the Immortal Crystal doing the absorbing.
It was the first time he’d ever seen an Immortal Crystal develop an artifact spirit. He really wanted to take it out and examine why it could absorb Divine Power, but just as he was about to, the artifact spirit’s voice rang out in his ears.
“I know you’re strong, and maybe you want to hurt me. But if my big brother finds out, he’ll definitely blame you. I’m absorbing Divine Power to help him, so you’d better not mess with me.”
“Heh, you can actually talk? Who’s your big brother? And how exactly are you planning to help him?” the Black Qilin asked, thoroughly confused. This was just too weird for him to believe.
“My big brother is Evan Lin—you know him, right? If I absorb enough Divine Power, I might be able to change my constitution and become a God Crystal. But it’ll take a ton of Divine Power, so don’t bother me. If all goes well, I could pull it off within ten years.” said the artifact spirit of the Immortal Crystal.
The Black Qilin was completely stunned. If what the artifact spirit said was true, it would be terrifying—God Crystals were incredibly rare, and he’d never heard of one with an artifact spirit. He honestly couldn’t imagine what kind of phenomenon this might create in the future.
The Black Qilin stopped talking and just quietly watched the Divine Power in the sky dwindle bit by bit. Evan Lin having such a heaven-defying treasure made him genuinely happy.
Evan Lin himself had no idea about any of this. If he did, he’d probably be overjoyed—soon, the Timewheel Bracelet would be the place with the densest Divine Power around, which would be an enormous boost for his cultivation.
At this moment, Evan Lin was letting the Timewheel Bracelet absorb Divine Power from the Ascension Pool while also absorbing it himself. He was already saturated—if he circulated his energy a few times, he might even break through to early Heavenly God Realm.
But now, the Divine Power in the Ascension Pool had almost been used up. Evan Lin knew when to quit—if someone found out the pool was nearly empty, suspicion would fall on him. His strength wasn’t enough to face real powerhouses yet, so he had to be careful.
With a thought, he closed the Timewheel Bracelet and flew up from the Ascension Pool. To his annoyance, his appearance had reverted to its original form—he worried someone might recognize him. Even though he didn’t know exactly what Lord Frostbane looked like, caution was always best.
When Evan Lin landed at the edge of the Ascension Pool, three pairs of eyes stared at him like he was some kind of monster. After all, he’d stayed in the pool for two whole days—a feat unheard of in the God Realm.
“Kid, what’s your name? How did you manage to stay in the Ascension Pool for so long?” demanded the early-stage God-Lord, a middle-aged man.
“My name’s Evan Lin. As for why I was in there so long, I honestly have no idea. I just felt a surge of powerful energy enter my body and blacked out. Next thing I knew, I was flying out of the pool. Who are you guys?” Evan Lin replied, not quite telling the truth.
But his explanation sounded perfectly plausible to the three of them—it was the only way they could make sense of how Evan Lin had lasted two days in there.
The middle-aged man still looked suspiciously at Evan Lin, but then his expression changed and he grew excited. “You actually broke through to late-stage God-Man Realm? How is that possible? Only a truly heaven-defying genius could do that—how could it happen to you?”
This was a low-grade Ascension Pool, and its Divine Power was poor quality. Even a heaven-defying genius could only hope to reach mid-stage God-Man Realm at best, but Evan Lin had reached late-stage—no wonder the man was shocked.
“I really don’t know. I just woke up and it was like this. Who are you guys, anyway?” Evan Lin asked again.
“Good question. I’m a trusted aide of the All-Stars City Lord. The city needs talent right now, and you’ve just ascended to the God Realm and already reached late-stage God-Man Realm—exactly the kind of person we want to nurture. Meeting me is your lucky break, so come with me to All-Stars City!” the middle-aged man said.
Right now, Evan Lin didn’t want to get involved with any faction. He needed to find a quiet place to go into seclusion and only show up in the God Realm once he was strong enough. He could only politely decline the man’s offer—though he knew it wasn’t really kindness. From the man’s tone, it was obvious he looked down on everyone.
“I’m not ready to follow you just yet. I’ve just arrived in the God Realm and everything here is new to me, so I want to travel around and see the sights. I’m sure you won’t refuse such a small request, right?” Evan Lin said with a smile.
“How dare you! Kid, you really don’t know what’s good for you, talking to our lord like that. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and you don’t even appreciate it. Are you tired of living?” one of the God-Man guards shouted at Evan Lin, obviously trying to flatter the middle-aged man.
Evan Lin carefully sized up the three. He didn’t pay the two guards any mind; even though his identity wasn’t exposed yet, he didn’t want anyone to know what he looked like. In fact, he’d already considered killing all three while still in the Ascension Pool.
Normally, there’d be no need for such drastic action right after ascending to the God Realm—it was better to stay cautious. But with his identity and talent at stake, Evan Lin decided he’d keep his secret at all costs. Seeing the middle-aged man was only early-stage God-Lord, he was even more determined to kill them.
Of course, if the man had been at God-King level or at least mid- or late-stage Immortal Lord, Evan Lin might have reconsidered. But early-stage Immortal Lord was nothing to him; back in the Immortal Realm, he could kill early Immortal Lords, and now that he’d ascended and reached late-stage God-Man Realm, he really had nothing to fear.
“I just like my freedom and hate being controlled, so I’ll have to decline your kind offer. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be leaving now. Goodbye!” Evan Lin said, turning to leave without looking back.
Of course, this move was meant to provoke them. In fact, Evan Lin was already quietly circulating Chaos Divine Power in his body, ready to launch a surprise attack at any moment.
“You’re not leaving so easily! I want to see how a newly ascended God-Man dares act so arrogant in front of me!” the middle-aged man roared, flashing to block Evan Lin’s path…
PS: Happy Mid-Autumn Festival to all readers! Right now all the major websites are running anti-pornography campaigns, and many books have been blocked—even ones that didn’t break any rules. It’s nerve-wracking…