Evan Chu had originally wanted to teach these Freewind Palace disciples a lesson, but as the saying goes, you have to consider the dog's owner before you strike. He could only swallow his anger and endure for now.
"I am the master of Frostbane Sect. I wonder if you've heard Young Lord Ethan mention me?" Evan said.
"So you're the Mad Young Lord who killed White Sun Sect's master in Golden Ram City? I can't believe you actually dared to show up at Freewind Palace. Let's see where you run today!" the leading disciple said.
Evan looked at the disciple with a face full of confusion and said, "Hey, are you sure you’ve got the right person? I haven’t offended Freewind Palace at all, so why are you treating me like this?"
"Ha! Kid, let me spell it out for you. White Sun Sect has already submitted to Freewind Palace. So when you killed their sect master, you were really killing one of our own. Do you really think we'd let you off?" the lead disciple sneered.
Evan was momentarily at a loss for words. This was obviously a setup. Back then, Young Lord Ethan and Serena Dream were both present. If White Sun Sect had truly submitted to Freewind Palace, why didn’t they step in to stop it, or even say a word?
He wasn’t someone who shied away from trouble. If push came to shove, he could always cause a scene at Freewind Palace. But if he wanted Frostbane Sect to rise again, that would make things a lot harder.
Evan said, "I don't want to be your enemy. I hope you don't force my hand. If this really is the Palace Lord's order, then I have nothing more to say."
"Enough with the nonsense. Brothers, let's work together and take him down for the Palace Lord to deal with. Freewind Palace isn't a place just anyone can walk into," the lead disciple barked.
Evan was speechless. He kept backing down, but these fools just kept pushing their luck. Did they really think he was afraid of Freewind Palace? With a surge, his domineering aura erupted, forcing several disciples around him to retreat in fear.
"You still dare to act tough in Freewind Palace? You think you're so wild, huh? Brothers, don't be afraid of him—show him what Freewind Palace can do!" the lead disciple shouted.
Several disciples immediately attacked Evan with their longswords. Most of these guys were only at Heaven Martial Realm, with maybe the leader having broken into Divine Martial. Evan didn’t even bother with these small fry—their swords couldn’t hurt him even if they landed a hit.
He couldn’t be bothered to deal with them and just walked straight toward the mountain gate. That was already being as merciful as possible. If Freewind Palace really wanted to push him, he’d have no choice but to turn the gate into a bloodbath.
The disciples’ swords struck him as if hitting stone, failing to injure Evan at all. Everyone was shocked, and fear started to spread—after all, this youth could one-shot peak Ninth-Layer Divine Martial experts. If they really pissed him off, they’d all be wiped out.
"Alert the sect guardians—this one’s tricky. We’ll have to use our best techniques," the lead disciple ordered.
Evan really wanted to cut down this annoying guy with a single sword strike, but in the end he just gritted his teeth and kept walking up the mountain. The disciples attacking him were sent flying by his force, but none were seriously hurt.
Everyone became extra cautious. Then, one disciple suddenly fired off a bright flare—it was a signal fire, Evan knew, used for communication.
At that moment, Evan pulled out the Flame Dragon Sword from his storage ring and unleashed the Tempest Shroud technique. He only used thirty percent of his power—he just wanted to stop these privileged disciples, not kill them.
Even at thirty percent strength, his attack left several people badly injured. Evan then used Shifting Position to sprint toward the palace gate.
After running for a mile or two, Evan stopped—because at that moment, dozens of young men in white robes with gold trim blocked his way.
Judging by their aura, Evan could tell these disciples had all broken through to Divine Martial Realm. They must be Freewind Palace’s main force—or rather, its core disciples.
"Formation!" one of them suddenly shouted.
In no time, dozens of disciples surrounded Evan. He immediately felt an invisible pressure forming around him. He only half-understood this sword formation, but he knew for sure it was powerful.
Looking closely, Evan realized every disciple’s sword-qi was tightly linked together, forming a sword-net that completely trapped him.
He felt the sword-net growing stronger and stronger. If he attacked any one of them, the others would instantly counterattack together—a combined strike that could seriously injure him if he wasn’t careful.
He couldn’t help but fear Freewind Palace’s true strength. This was just a formation set up by not-even-top-tier disciples—if he faced someone even stronger, wouldn’t he be doomed?
"Evan, this is one of Freewind Palace’s strongest sword formations—the Godsnare Sword Formation. Its offensive power isn’t overwhelming, but its defense is terrifying. Their sword-qi is fully linked, so if you attack one, you’re attacking them all. Don’t act rashly," Sword Spirit Luna advised.
"So what, I’m just supposed to let them trap me here? This sword-net is getting stronger—I can’t just sit and wait to die. Luna, do you have any ideas?" Evan asked.
"You’re really asking me about something this simple? Just dive into the ground and slip out of the sword-net. Or do you actually want to test its power?" Luna replied, speechless.
"I thought you’d have a better idea. Of course I know about Earthshift, but if I use it, I’ll be exposing my elemental talent—and then they’ll be ready for me next time," Evan said.
"If you think Earthshift isn’t an option, then just let them capture you alive. That way, you might get straight into the core palace. I just worry you won’t be able to swallow your pride," Luna said.
"It really is humiliating. Isn’t there any other way?" Evan asked.
"You don’t want to go to war with Freewind Palace right now, but you still want to get inside. This is your only option—think it over," Luna said.
Freewind Palace is nothing like White Sun Sect—Evan had to handle this carefully and avoid trouble if possible. The sword-net’s pressure kept increasing, so he steeled himself and collapsed to the ground, letting a trace of blood trickle from his lips.
He had deliberately reversed his meridians to fake an injury, just to fool the Freewind Palace disciples.
One disciple saw Evan collapse and laughed, "Tie him up with Snowworm Silk and bring him to Freewind Palace."
Evan was immediately trussed up five-flowers style, pretending to be unconscious, eyes closed. "I thought you were supposed to be so tough. In front of our sword formation, even you get seriously injured. Not even Young Lord Ethan dares to test this formation, let alone you..."