"Big Brother, of course I can! I'm the Illusion Sprite—just let me bring everyone straight into an illusion realm, and that way the royal capital won't get damaged. If Jade Chu hadn't reminded you, were you planning to ignore me?" Tom Chu's voice sounded out.
"Tom, what are you saying? You're my little brother—how could Big Brother ever ignore you? When we go to the Death-Tower Grounds, I'll bring you and Jade Chu out together. I'll be counting on you two to protect me then." Evan Chu hurried to reassure him. You really can't afford to offend kids like these, or they'll be impossible to coax back.
"Heh, I knew Big Brother wouldn't ignore me! Don't worry, I'll show you just how awesome my illusion realm is today! But first, you need to let me out—my true body has to appear for me to cast the illusion." Tom Chu said.
Evan Chu focused his mind, and a pale yellow pearl appeared in his hand. Instantly, the pearl flew up from his palm and hovered above the crowd, radiating a yellow glow.
A strange power swept out in front of everyone. Their vision blurred for a moment, and it felt as if they'd been teleported into a boundless desert of yellow sand stretching as far as the eye could see.
The elder who had just tried to kill Lillian Zhang now stared in shock at the surroundings. Not just him—everyone present was dumbfounded by the bizarre environment. It was simply too strange.
Evan Chu knew that this was inside Tom Chu's illusion realm. Here, Tom was the absolute ruler—even Evan himself couldn't leave without the Sword Spirit's help. For these people, escaping was out of the question.
Lillian Zhang glanced at Evan Chu and asked, "What's going on? How did we end up here? This seems like an illusion realm—do you actually know illusion arts too?"
"This is indeed an illusion realm. Only here can we avoid destroying the royal capital. Since you want to become Human King, of course I'll help you—but from here on, it's up to you. I'll only deal with the Poison King and his son. Whether you can make the rest submit and establish your authority, that's all on you." Evan Chu said.
Lillian Zhang nodded, her face showing renewed confidence. "Thank you, Linfeng. I will absolutely become Human King. If I get the chance, I'll repay you someday!"
"Repay me? What, you planning to offer yourself to me? Forget it—I wouldn't want some old woman anyway!" Evan Chu teased, laughing.
"Get lost!" Lillian Zhang snapped, rolling her eyes.
At that, Evan Chu addressed the crowd: "Right now, this place is a separate world. No one can leave without my permission—unless you're at least Seventh-Layer Venerable Martial Realm. The reason I'm doing this is simple: I don't want the royal capital to be wrecked. Your wives, children, and families are all here. Anyone with brains should know what that means."
"Evan Chu, all you want is for us to accept that woman at your side as Human King. But I refuse! What makes her qualified to rule our Human race?" another elder shouted.
The elder who'd lost his son finally recovered from his shock and stepped in front of Evan Chu. "A father's grief for his murdered son can never be forgiven. I might have been willing to submit to you, but I must kill that woman. If you want to help her, I won't back down—worst case, I'll just join my son a little early."
"Your son's death was his own fault. If you want to die, I can oblige you too. The law of the strong rules this world—doesn't matter if she's a man or a woman, it's all the same. I won't interfere in your internal struggles. Anyone who refuses her as Human King can challenge her, but you'll be responsible for your own life and death.
The only ones I'm here to kill are the Poison King and his son. If you don't want to die, you'd better step aside. You can go avenge your son right now." Evan Chu said.
As soon as Evan finished speaking, the crowd parted, revealing the Poison King and Harold Hong. Evan looked at them and laughed, "So, how do you want to die? Your poisons are useless against me, and you can't beat me in martial arts either. I'll give you a chance—run as fast as you can, I'll let you go for a few breaths. If I don't kill you in half a stick of incense, I'll let you live."
As soon as Evan finished, the Poison King and Harold Hong exchanged a look and immediately flew off in different directions, moving so fast that even the crowd was startled. Evan's real goal was to give Lillian Zhang a chance to face everyone alone—only through this could she make them submit. Of course, plenty of people would die in the process, but if it meant crowning a true Human King, it was worth the cost.
Once the two had vanished from sight, Evan Chu said, "Here's your chance—attack her together, or test her one at a time. See if she really has what it takes to be Human King. But let me warn you: anyone who attacks her will die for sure. Even I have trouble blocking her sword!"
With that, Evan Chu flashed away, flying in the direction the Poison King had escaped. Inside this illusion realm, he wasn't worried about losing track of them—Tom Chu could bring them back to him at any moment. The real reason he left was so the others wouldn't see what happened next.
An elder stared at Lillian Zhang and said, "Since Evan Chu claims you're so formidable, let me test your strength myself! Let's see if you really deserve the Human King throne."
"Wait, let me avenge my son first!" the bereaved elder interjected.
"No need. You two can attack together—save us all some trouble. If you want to die, I'll oblige you. I have no use for subordinates who harbor dissent; better to deal with such people early!" Lillian Zhang said coldly.
"Insolence! Killing a brat like you doesn't require both of us—I'll handle it alone!" the bereaved elder roared, his longsword blazing with red fire once more.
He darted forward, his sword swirling into a sword-flower, then unleashed a fiery dragon phantom from the blade. With a roar, the fire-dragon shot toward Lillian Zhang.
Lillian Zhang met his attack with a look of scorn. Her own sword spun up several sword-flowers, each radiating Mystic Ice. The temperature plunged, and frost spread across the ground for several li, forming a thick layer of ice visible to the naked eye.
If Evan Chu were here, the Sword Spirit would surely be shocked—this was the true Frozen Thousand Miles technique. Lillian Zhang's cultivation was too low to unleash its full power, but even so, it was terrifying.
Those who scattered managed to escape by flying into the air, but anyone caught by Frozen Thousand Miles was instantly frozen into an ice statue—their hearts shattered, and they died on the spot.
Frozen Thousand Miles was originally the ultimate art of the Immortal Realm's Ice Fairy. For it to appear in Lillian Zhang's hands was astonishing. The fire-dragon was instantly smothered by the overwhelming ice energy, vanishing before it could even touch Lillian. The elder was left in shock.
Before he could attack again, the ice energy froze him solid. With a crisp crack from within, thick Mystic Ice encased his body. Blood trickled from his lips as his eyes closed forever.