Following the tracks, Evan Chu and Rhea Yang darted swiftly through the forest, each secretly determined to outdo the other. For Evan, this whole contest felt a bit over the top.
"Rhea Yang, if you were facing a third-layer Earth Martial Realm cultivator, how many moves would it take you to kill them?" Evan asked as they hurried along.
"Hmm, that's a tough question. You really want to know?"
"Of course I want to know! Why else would I ask?" Evan retorted, thinking Rhea was even more troublesome than Lily Tang.
"I can kill a second-layer Earth Martial cultivator in three moves, a third-layer in under twenty moves, and maybe even take down a fourth-layer one—though I'd get hurt myself. Does that make sense to you?"
"That strong?" Evan stared at Rhea in disbelief. He hadn't expected her to be even more formidable than Roxanne Lin. Maybe he should avoid provoking her in the future.
Someone who could kill a fourth-layer Earth Martial expert—if he ever pissed her off and she stabbed him in secret, his life would be forfeit. Not to mention, she had those terrifying poisons and fire-weapons too.
Rhea caught Evan's skeptical look and smiled. "It's Yang Gate's exclusive technique—'wound the enemy a thousand, harm oneself eight hundred.' I won't use it unless I have no choice, so don't expect me to bail you out!"
"Wow, you really have a skill like that? That's unbelievable!" Evan was genuinely shocked.
"Roar!"
Suddenly, a furious beast roar echoed from the distance—clearly someone had provoked it in battle and sparked its rage.
Evan glanced in the direction of the roar. "Someone's fighting a monster over there—not far off. It's probably Sea Dragon Academy's people. Our contest is about to start."
From afar, Evan could see about ten people surrounding two massive monster beasts, locked in a fierce battle.
"Ten people—I'll kill seven, you kill three. If you can get four, you win. How about it?" Evan whispered.
"You said it! And if you lose?" Rhea replied cheerfully—only an idiot would turn down a deal this good.
Evan grinned. "And if you lose?"
"If I lose, I'll grant you one request. What about you?"
"Same here—except I'll owe you two requests!"
Evan gripped the Frostbane Sword and burst forward, leaving a blur in his wake. Rhea refused to be outdone—she was just as fast, arriving less than two seconds after Evan.
The Sea Dragon Academy students attacking the monster beasts were startled by the sudden intruders, but relaxed when they saw Evan and Rhea weren't from their own academy—they all started laughing.
"Another pair of idiots come to die. Are we lucky or what?" one of the Sea Dragon students laughed.
"Not here to die—they're here to deliver Magic Crystals. I bet those two have plenty on them. The guy, just kill him. But the girl, don't kill her yet—we can take turns having fun with her later." Another youth, looking particularly disgusting, sneered.
"Courting death!" Rhea hadn't expected such vile words. She instantly fired three streaks of crimson light from her hand.
Bang! Bang! Bang! With three thunderous explosions, the foul-mouthed youth was blown to bits—nothing left but scorched earth.
Evan was stunned—he hadn't realized Rhea's fire-weapons were this powerful. That guy was at least a second-layer Earth Martial Realm, and she wiped him out with a single gesture. Terrifying.
"Everyone, attack! Kill that bitch—and the brat too!" shouted one, clearly the leader of the group.
Evan seemed to think of something. He darted forward, slashing out with the Frostbane Sword, and roared, "Today you'll learn that Heavenly Dragon Academy isn't a place for Sea Dragon scum like you to mess with!"
With those words, Evan's Frostbane Sword flared with a blade of light over a meter long. He let it fly from his hand, sending it hurtling straight at the nearest student.
The student sneered when he saw Evan using his sword as a throwing weapon. "Heavenly Dragon Academy really does produce trash—"
Before he could finish, Evan's Frostbane Sword had already pierced his heart—and kept going, straight toward another student.
In less than three minutes, five students had fallen—all victims of Evan's uncanny Frostbane Sword. Even in death, they couldn't comprehend how the blade could turn on its own, seek new targets, and unleash such overwhelming power.
Meanwhile, Rhea had taken down three herself—two of them with her fire-weapons. With Evan's five, eight were already dead. If she killed one more, she'd win their bet.
Evan's longsword danced even faster now, every strike echoing with the sound of wind and thunder, making the three survivors tremble with fear.
Evan was starting to get anxious—Rhea was even more formidable than he'd thought. If he lost, he'd be humiliated.
"Wait! Who are you people? How are you this strong?" one of the Sea Dragon Academy students gasped, his face full of shock.
"Still talking nonsense on the brink of death? We're from Heavenly Dragon Academy. Time to die!" Evan declared, preparing to unleash the eighth form of the Windchaser Sword Codex: Windswept Dominion.
"I know we're doomed today, but one thing puzzles me—this area is supposed to be for the Ordinary Class. Why are you here?" another Sea Dragon student asked, still unwilling to give up.
"If you can show up here, so can we. Strange, isn't it?" Evan replied with a grin.
"Impossible! You couldn't have known our plan. How could Elite Class students end up here? No way!"
Evan's face darkened at those words. It was clear from what they'd said that Sea Dragon Academy had broken the tournament rules, letting Elite Class students into the Ordinary Class zone. The consequences would be dire.
"Are you saying your Elite Class ended up in the Ordinary zone too? What a coincidence!" To test the truth, Evan gave Rhea a look—telling her to hold off for now.
"Since we've run into Heavenly Dragon Academy's Elite Class, guess we're unlucky. But you won't last long—soon you'll run into our academy's Elite experts, and then you'll die even more miserably!" The youth finished, a firework-like device appearing in his hand.
"Not good! He's trying to warn his allies—stop him!" Rhea instantly recognized the device as a signaling fire-weapon and called out urgently.
"Courting death!" Evan erupted in fury, slashing out with the Frostbane Sword and unleashing the eighth form of the Windchaser Sword Codex: Windswept Dominion.
Countless wind blades instantly surrounded the youth and the student behind him.
This strike didn't just contain star power—it was infused with Chaos Qi, making it even more devastating. Before the youth could send his message, the wind blades shredded him and the student behind him to pieces.
Rhea was stunned by Evan's move, a look of awe flashing across her face. "You're a complete madman—your strength is unreal!" she exclaimed.
"Hahaha! Done! Time to collect the spoils!" Evan knew he'd won, but kept quiet about it. He rummaged through the dead Sea Dragon students for storage belts—there might be Starstones and Magic Crystals inside.
PS: I hope readers will join our group. If we reach 200 members, I'll release three chapters the next day!