Crushed... exploded?
Evan Chu swore—this really wasn’t the result he wanted. His original plan was just to use his own star-soul power to unleash Star-Snatching Hand, interfere with Malcolm Mo’s Holy Emperor Avatar’s star, and then suppress and stall for a moment.
But what actually happened? As soon as Evan Chu made his move, he directly crushed Malcolm Mo’s Holy Emperor Avatar’s star—blew it up!
“Lynton, what did you just do?”
“How should I know…?”
Lynton Chu was also stunned. Staring at a crippled Holy Emperor Avatar, he suddenly felt bad about dealing the final blow. Was it really okay to bully someone this hard?
Malcolm Mo was already furious. Building that Avatar had cost him a terrifying amount of time, effort, and wealth—an investment that could only be described as monstrous.
And now? Destroyed. Ruined in an instant!
“Damn you! I’ll kill you all!”
Malcolm Mo was now completely insane. With his Avatar’s power broken, his Space Domain instantly lost most of its strength, and Evan Chu’s Chaos World Domain immediately seized the upper hand again.
But faced with the rampaging Malcolm Mo, he was already steering his crippled Holy Emperor Avatar toward self-detonation, ready to take out Evan Chu and Lynton Chu in the blast.
But at that moment, Evan Chu's Stellar Blazeburst Battle-Array was primed and ready. He shot Lynton Chu a look, and Lynton instantly got the message.
Lynton Chu struck again, unleashing Star-Snatching Hand. Against Malcolm Mo's true body, even Star-Erasing Hand couldn't do much—his realm perception was still sharp.
Besides, the natal star Malcolm Mo had refined wasn't some ordinary trash. Even if Lynton went all out, he could only slow Malcolm's star power, not destroy it.
But that was enough. A cold killing intent flickered in Evan Chu's eyes.
"This ends here!"
Almost as if on cue, on the other side, the Avatars of Leon Li and Victor Zhao were shattered by the Mansfield Family's experts, and their true bodies took fatal blows.
The battle was a landslide—completely out of control, beyond saving.
And here, too, things were reaching their final moment.
Whoosh~
Suddenly, in the endless starry sky, more than five thousand new points of light appeared. The starlight wasn't blinding, but with so many at once, the sheer force shocked everyone present.
And every star that appeared was bursting with terrifying power. Evan Chu stared coldly at Malcolm Mo and his crippled Holy Emperor Avatar, and said:
"Go die. There's no other ending for you."
The moment those words fell, over five thousand stars exploded at once. Dazzling starlight, a silent storm of explosions swept out, centered on Malcolm Mo and his Avatar—and for miles around, terrifying blasts erupted.
"Not good, retreat!"
"This kind of power could wipe out a Holy Emperor in an instant. Even those watching from the sidelines could be seriously injured!"
The experts of the three great families and the four dynasties all moved as one—with only one instinct: run!
Jun Yang and Mad-Blade Li knew all too well what Evan Chu was capable of. So, as soon as those stars began to appear, they were already retreating with their elite legions.
Just think—power enough to kill a Holy Emperor. Even the shockwaves would be a death sentence for any legion soldier caught in the blast.
Horace Hong and the rest didn't dare act tough, no matter how strong they were. Evan Chu's power now was something even Saint Venerables and Holy Emperors couldn't withstand.
Even Evan Chu himself felt the change—he suddenly realized that as his grasp of star-soul and stellar power deepened, the Stellar Blazeburst Battle-Array's might grew with it.
In the end, Evan Chu still miscalculated. Three thousand stars would've been enough to send Malcolm Mo to the underworld, but worried that wasn't enough, he went straight for five thousand!
Of course, the instant the explosion hit, Evan Chu was totally drained—his strength emptied out. Without a second thought, he rushed himself back into the Chaos World Domain, with Lynton Chu close behind.
Not just Malcolm Mo—even Victor Zhao and Leon Li, who didn't escape in time, were pulverized by the blast, erased from the Star-River Dominion without a trace.
Malcolm Mo's end was even worse. Just as his Holy Emperor Avatar started gathering power, before he could trigger his self-destruction, the star explosion swallowed him whole.
That explosion was no joke—it lasted a full three hours. When it finally faded, the starlight dimmed and the energy storm vanished.
All that was left were countless black-hole cracks in the void. Everyone kept their distance, terrified of being sucked in—if that happened, even the noncombatants could die without warning.
But in the midst of those black-hole fissures, one figure still stood tall.
When the chaos finally settled, Evan Chu stepped out from the Chaos World Domain, clad in blinding stellar battle armor—no sign of injury, his aura back at its peak.
Boom!
Suddenly, a pillar of light shot skyward. Three mighty stars spun above Evan Chu's head—two Blood-stained Demon Stars and one Crimson Demon Star.
Bathed in starlight, star-soul renewed, Evan Chu's aura shifted in an instant—he broke through right in front of all the watching experts.
Lena Lin, Desmond Mansfield, Horace Hong, and countless other experts from every faction were left speechless. What kind of monster survives the heart of that explosion without a scratch?
Once the Stellar Blazeburst goes off, it's an indiscriminate attack—no one is spared! How did Evan Chu make it out alive?
Before anyone could figure it out, the stars above Evan Chu's head faded away, the light beam vanished, and his aura retracted. In the next instant, Evan Chu stood there—already late-stage peak Saint Lord!
"A breakthrough..."
Lena Lin felt a pang—she'd once thought she could challenge Evan Chu. But now, after slaying a Holy Emperor, he'd broken through again!
How much did this shake all the top experts watching? After this breakthrough, just how strong would Evan Chu become?
Actually, they had no idea—this little realm step didn't give Evan Chu much more power. It just qualified him to try for the next major breakthrough. His mastery of stellar power, star-soul, and star control hadn't advanced at all.
Truth is, below the Saint Venerable Realm, Evan Chu's control over these aspects was already at its peak. Unless he broke into the Holy Emperor Realm, there was no chance for further progress.
Now, the only thing blocking Evan Chu was his cultivation realm.
"Heh, breaking through feels pretty good... Maybe I should find someone to spar with."
The moment Evan Chu said this, he glanced around at the top experts. Instinctively, every one of them stepped back... looking thoroughly awkward.