Evan Chu spent another three days in the Netherworld, during which he had Cole Chu try absorbing energy from Immortal Stones. Cole could absorb it too, so among the six of them, only Princess Ivy was unable to, leaving her quietly disappointed.
But Evan Chu was even more troubled. If you can't absorb Immortal Stone energy, you can't ascend to the Immortal Realm. He might have to return to the Netherworld to find her in the future, which would be a huge hassle. And with the Netherworld's dangers still unknown, if something unexpected happened, there'd be no way to predict the outcome.
"It's time to leave here. I know leaving again hurts you all, but there's no way around it. You should understand my situation. If you truly want to reunite with me soon, then work hard on your cultivation. The faster you ascend to the Immortal Realm, the sooner you'll see me again," Evan Chu said.
"Evan, we'll do our best, don't worry. Just the fact that you came back specially to see us this time already makes us so happy. Only after parting can reunion bring surprises. Go ahead!" Lillian Zhang said.
Even though she said that, her face was still full of reluctance and sadness. Evan Chu saw it all, but there was nothing he could do.
Faye Knox and Princess Ivy were the same, and even Lena Chu and the other children wore the same unwilling expressions. But Evan Chu wasn’t one to hesitate or drag things out; with a flash, he shot straight up into the sky.
Over these three days, he’d made sure to ‘feed’ and satisfy his three wives. Everything that needed to be done was done. If fate allowed, maybe another son or daughter would be born, but Evan Chu wasn’t going to let that happen again.
Once in the sky, Evan Chu immediately unleashed his Heart-Sword and tore open the Netherworld’s spatial barrier. Now, breaking through Netherworld space was easy for him—it wasn’t like before when he needed the combined power of the Four Sacred Beasts.
After breaking through, he stepped right into the spatial passage. He was afraid that if he hesitated, he’d end up staying longer and wasting even more time.
Watching Evan Chu’s disappearing figure, Lillian Zhang said, “Let’s all go back. Evan must be feeling terrible too. Everyone work hard to get stronger so we can ascend sooner.”
Faye Knox, Princess Ivy, and the other four stayed for one more day before leaving. Determined to reunite with Evan Chu in the future, they resolved to work hard on their cultivation.
Evan Chu returned to the Azure Tide Ruins, but instead of heading straight back to Frostbane Sect, he went to the Heavenly Dragon Empire. After all, his parents were still there, and forgetting them would be unfilial.
With his speed, reaching the Heavenly Dragon Empire was easy—he arrived at Skylar Yule’s residence in less than an hour. By now, Skylar had three children, and Luna Chu had given him two sons and a daughter.
After seeing Dominic Chu and Celine Tang, Evan Chu gave them some Immortal Stones and shared basic Immortal Realm cultivation methods. He did the same for Skylar Yule and Luna Chu. After two days in the Heavenly Dragon Empire, Evan Chu returned to Frostbane Sect.
This round of lower-realm tasks was mostly complete, and Evan Chu was ready to leave. After all, Frostbane Imperial Palace in the Immortal Realm still needed him, and no one knew when the Immortal Beasts or Demonic Realm would launch their attack. He couldn’t afford to just sit and wait.
Back at Frostbane Sect, Evan Chu satisfied all his wives, then publicly released the suppression on his cultivation. In front of everyone, he soared into the sky and directly ascended to the Immortal Realm. When his power erupted, the sheer pressure made everyone present struggle to breathe.
Evan Chu quickly arrived at the Ascension Pool. The four guardians saw it was him and immediately came forward, respectfully greeting him: "Welcome, Lord Chu!"
"My daughter ascended not long ago. Where is she now?" Evan Chu asked bluntly.
"The young palace lord has already been sent to Frostbane Imperial Palace. Please rest assured, Lord Chu—everything is perfectly safe!" replied the middle-aged Immortal Emperor.
"Excellent, excellent! There should be more people ascending soon, so please take good care of them. Frostbane Imperial Palace will not treat you poorly. I have matters to handle, so I won’t linger!" Evan Chu said.
He then summoned Goldwing from within his body. The four guardians said in unison, "Farewell, Lord Chu!" Evan Chu mounted Goldwing, flashed with golden light, and vanished before their eyes.
Evan Chu headed straight back to Frostbane Imperial Palace. He’d been gone for nearly a month, and he had no idea how Blazefire Immortal Lord and the others were progressing with recruiting Immortal Lords and Ninth-Heaven Arch-Immortal experts. This was crucial for the coming wars against the Immortal Beasts and the Demonic Realm—he couldn’t afford to be careless.
Arriving at Frostbane Imperial Palace, Evan Chu went straight into the main hall. A large crowd had already gathered—most of them were unfamiliar faces, clearly the newly recruited experts. Even the weakest among them had reached the early Immortal Lord Realm.
Seeing Evan Chu return, everyone rose to their feet. Lynn Chu hurried over: "Dad, you’re finally back! I’m about to be driven crazy by these people—so many refuse to stay and are scheming how to leave!"
"I understand. I’ll handle it," Evan Chu said with a faint smile. He walked up to the seat at the very top of the hall and sat down, with Lynn Chu at his side. While Evan Chu was away, she had been sitting in his place.
Many in the crowd felt some resentment, but Lynn Chu’s status left them no choice—they could only swallow their anger and keep silent.
Evan Chu glanced around the hall—there were over a hundred people. He smiled and said, "I hear Lynn Chu says you want to leave, refusing my arrangements. Is that true?"
His tone was gentle, with not a trace of anger. Many present knew the palace lord was a youth, but had never seen him before—now that they did, they were surprised.
"Why should we join your special army against the Immortal Beasts? We have our own freedom—you have no right to interfere," said a mid-stage Immortal Lord, his face full of disdain.
Evan Chu glanced at the man. "Very well. If you dare speak to me like that, anyone else who wishes to leave Frostbane Imperial Palace and refuses to join my special legion, step forward. Let me see who’s willing to follow me."
His tone remained neither warm nor cold, leaving the crowd unsure whether he was angry or simply indifferent.
The crowd below began muttering and debating, and more than ten people immediately stepped forward to express their refusal to join.
"Is there anyone else unwilling? This is a rare opportunity—if I regret it later, you won't have another chance. Think it through carefully," Evan Chu said with a smile.
After a few more breaths, another seven or eight people stepped forward, making a total of nineteen openly unwilling to join, most with expressions of naked disdain.
"Is there anyone else? Very well. Why do you refuse to join? Is it because you think I'm too young to lead you, or that Frostbane Imperial Palace is too small for such 'great gods' as yourselves?" Evan Chu asked.
"You think you're fit to rule us? What are you, anyway? If it weren't for the relationship between Martial Spirit Dominion and Loveless Sword Tomb, you wouldn't have become palace lord of Frostbane Imperial Palace. Naturally, we refuse to accept you," sneered a late-stage Immortal Lord.
"Do you all think this way?" Evan Chu asked again, his gaze sweeping the crowd.