"I understand, Evan—I'll wait for you to come back!" Monica choked out, her voice trembling. Seeing each other only to part again so soon was almost unbearable.
"Trust me, Monica. I promise I'll give you an answer you'll be satisfied with. We're heading out now—help me let your brother know we left without saying goodbye!" Evan said.
With that, he and Blue‑Shade God‑Venerable vanished in a flash. Technically, flying was forbidden in Freewind City, but the two moved so quickly that most people didn’t even notice before they were gone.
Monica stared blankly at the spot where Evan had left. After a long while, she murmured to herself, "Frostbane, next time I see you I know you won't reject me again. I know exactly what's in your heart—the blood feud of Frostbane Imperial Palace must be avenged, and Monica will give everything to help you."
"Monica, are they gone?" Tao Dream’s voice suddenly sounded behind her, making Monica jump in surprise.
"Brother, when did you get here? You keep popping up out of nowhere—one of these days you’re going to scare me to death." Monica shot Tao Dream a glare as she spoke.
"I came as soon as they left. I saw you spacing out and didn't disturb you. The 'Frostbane' you mentioned is Evan, right? Don't be surprised—you're my little sister, of course I know you. In this world, no man but Frostbane would ever catch your eye.
Only Frostbane reincarnated could have such heaven‑defying cultivation speed, and his space artifact is obviously the Timewheel Bracelet. I know all of this, but I just never said it out loud. Right now his strength isn't enough, and he made plenty of enemies back then—if his identity gets exposed, it's incredibly dangerous." Tao Dream said.
"Brother, you don't blame him, do you? He's so outstanding—besides him, I could never fall for another man. He has so much to handle right now; maybe you could help him. Right now, he's really too alone in all this." Monica said.
"Monica, I understand everything you said. Back then, I really admired Lord Frostbane. For you two to come together now is no small feat. That makes me his brother‑in‑law, so of course I'll help him. Don't worry about it!" Tao Dream replied.
"Thank you! Brother, I'm really so happy—after all these years of waiting, he's finally come back. You can't imagine how this feels, unless your wife could come back too." Monica said.
Tao Dream looked up at the sky and said, "There's no way your sister-in-law will ever come back. In the War of the Gods, Demon Lord Stonehaven wiped her out—body and soul. I was there, but I was gravely wounded and passed out. It was Frostbane who avenged her, dying together with Stonehaven. If you think about it, Frostbane is my great benefactor, and now that benefactor has become my brother-in-law. I never would have imagined it."
"None of that matters now. I just want to help him fulfill his wishes. Making it this far couldn't have been easy for him. The person who sent his women to the Slave Ward must be found and handed over to him personally, or else he'll always feel a barrier in his heart." Monica said.
"Alright, I'll have the Grand Elder handle it. Don't worry about it. Come on—walk with your big brother for a while!" Tao Dream said.
At that moment, Evan and Blue‑Shade God‑Venerable were flying at full speed, locked in another contest. Blue‑Shade had to use almost ninety percent of his power just to keep up with Evan. He couldn't help but admire Evan's flying speed.
"Old bro, how much farther to Stormtower?" Evan asked.
"About a day's journey left. What, tired already?" Blue‑Shade God‑Venerable teased.
"Not really. I'm just wondering why there aren't any Teleportation Arrays. Flying like this is exhausting, and I'm afraid of running into spatial turbulence if I use instant movement. It's honestly a headache." Evan said.
"With your current strength, long‑distance teleportation isn't a good idea. Spatial turbulence is extremely fierce—once inside, it's hard to get out. Even for us, escaping takes a ton of effort. Unless it's absolutely necessary, nobody uses teleportation for travel." Blue‑Shade God‑Venerable explained.
Evan had never seen spatial turbulence himself, but hearing Blue‑Shade describe it, he got the general idea: it was like a spatial black hole—if you went in, you'd have to break through to escape, and without enough strength, you'd be trapped inside.
"So that's how it is... By the way, old bro, I have another question. Besides the Ten Great Powers, are there any other major forces in the God Realm? Also, I remember I have a junior martial brother—Lord Thunder. He supposedly controls heavenly thunder tribulations and such. Do you know anything about that?" Evan asked.
"The God Realm is enormous. The so‑called Ten Great Powers are just the tip of the iceberg. There are far more forces out there than you can imagine. No one has ever reached the true edge of the God Realm. The Ten Great Powers only rule our region. The Monster Beast Domain is one area, and in parallel spaces, there's the Netherworld and the Demonic Realm—separated by invisible seals and restrictions.
There are probably dozens of such powerful regions in the God Realm, so don't get too hung up on it. Back in the War of the Gods, countless top experts fell—most of them came from these other regions. Otherwise, do you really think just the Ten Great Powers and a few second‑rate sects could produce so many apex fighters?
As for your junior brother, Lord Thunder, I haven't seen him for tens of thousands of years. I don't know if he's still alive. He was born with a thunder attribute constitution, and his mastery of lightning was number one in the God Realm. But I've never heard about him literally controlling heavenly tribulation or thunder punishment.
Maybe when we get to Stormtower, we can ask Master Wan—his intelligence network is the broadest around, so he might know something. Back then, Lord Thunder was a terrifying figure; the only person he ever listened to was you. He didn't give face to anyone else. I suffered plenty at his hands myself." Blue‑Shade God‑Venerable said.
The more Evan listened, the more shocked he felt. He remembered Lord Thunder once saying that reviving Frostbane Imperial Palace would depend on Evan alone, that he couldn't help, as if some invisible force was restraining him. What kind of power could imprison someone like Lord Thunder?
Blue‑Shade had said the God Realm was unimaginably vast—finding Lord Thunder again would be incredibly hard. Evan could only wait until he got much stronger before even trying.
Setting aside his worries, Evan pushed his flying speed to the max, instantly leaving Blue‑Shade far behind. "You little punk, so you were holding back this whole time!" Blue‑Shade shouted from behind.
The two kept chasing each other through the sky. Originally, it would have taken a full day to reach Stormtower, but Evan and Blue‑Shade managed to cut the time in half, arriving at Stormtower's territory after just half a day.
"Lena Zhong, I'm here!" Evan suddenly shouted, his voice echoing far into the distance...