Luna Chu saw right through Evan Chu’s little scheme, a faint smile curling her lips as she idly browsed the books on the shelf.
Luna Chu glanced at the Power Switch and muttered to herself, "You were the first to reach the Xuanwu Realm, Evan. Today, I’ll be the first to get into the second floor!"
She took a deep breath, circulating her stellar force at full speed. Only by unleashing her strongest attack could she hope for results. Luna Chu poured all her star power into her arm without holding anything back.
With a thunderous shout of "Mountain-Splitting Fist!" Luna Chu’s fist flashed out like lightning, slamming into the Power Switch.
Her fifth-level Xuanwu stellar force wasn’t weak—though it didn’t send sand flying, the air on the first floor swirled violently, forming a gust that swept through the room.
At that moment, Evan Chu was reading a compendium about rare treasures on the continent when a blast of wind swept past him, knocking several books off the shelf in front of him.
"That’s her full power? That’s incredible!" Evan Chu realized he couldn’t stir up such a commotion himself. He felt a bit uncertain about opening the second floor, but remembering the Sword Spirit’s words, his confidence steadied.
Evan Chu glanced toward the second-floor entrance. With all that noise, Luna Chu must’ve made it in, right? But when he looked, he was stunned.
Luna Chu was half-kneeling on the ground, one arm limp at her side, and the door to the second floor hadn’t budged at all.
"Didn’t open? No way! That was such a powerful attack and it still didn’t work—unbelievable!" Evan Chu rushed over. Luna Chu’s face was deathly pale, with a trickle of blood at the corner of her mouth.
"Are you hurt?"
"Not dead yet!" Luna Chu snapped back, clearly annoyed. Wasn’t he just asking the obvious?
"How could you get hurt? You couldn’t get through?" Evan Chu didn’t dwell on Luna Chu’s answer.
"Evan Chu, are you looking to die? If I’d gotten through, why would I still be here?" Luna Chu stood up and roared.
"Whoa, calm down! I was just asking. How did you get hurt? I’m really worried about you, that’s all." Evan Chu hurriedly explained, because he saw the fire in Luna Chu’s eyes.
Seeing Evan Chu didn’t seem to be mocking her, Luna Chu’s anger slowly subsided.
"The Power Switch’s rebound force is terrifying. However much force you hit it with, that’s exactly what it throws back at you. I basically had to take my own strongest attack—if I hadn’t braced myself, I’d be crippled or dead right now."
"It’s really like that? Damn, so if a sixth-level Xuanwu attack rebounds, it’s just as strong as a sixth-level?"
"Evan Chu, you’re getting dumber by the day. If it’s a sixth-level Xuanwu attack, as long as it meets the Power Switch’s threshold, there’s no rebound force."
Only if you fall short does it bounce back. Seriously, have you been eating pig brains lately? You’re getting pig-stupid." Luna Chu said, still annoyed.
From Luna Chu’s words, Evan Chu realized that while her attack was strong, it still didn’t reach the Power Switch’s preset requirement.
"Honestly, I have been eating a lot of pig brain lately—don’t laugh. It actually tastes pretty good. Want to try it? Next time I’ll take you to Drunken Immortal Restaurant."
"Go to hell! I wouldn’t touch something that gross!" Luna Chu almost lost her temper again thanks to Evan Chu’s teasing.
Evan Chu glanced at the Power Switch Luna Chu had attacked and said, "Step back a bit. I’ll give it a shot and see just how fierce that rebound force really is!"
Don’t even try. If I couldn’t do it, you definitely can’t. That rebound is no joke—my blood and Qi are still all messed up!" Luna Chu’s words were harsh, but Evan Chu knew she was genuinely concerned.
"It’s fine, I’ll just test it. Nothing bad will happen!" Evan Chu said, ignoring Luna Chu’s protests, and stopped one meter from the Power Switch.
"Sword Spirit, can I really pull this off?" Evan Chu asked anxiously in his heart. After all, Luna Chu had failed—he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t nervous.
"Just go for it! Use the Phantom Shadow Finger you learned—you’ll definitely succeed!" The Sword Spirit’s voice rang in Evan Chu’s mind like heavenly music.
His stellar force surged within. Evan Chu remembered the Sword Spirit’s warning: he had to save part of his power for flipping through martial manuals on the second floor.
Following the Phantom Shadow Finger’s technique, Evan Chu gathered half his stellar force in his right hand, then quickly struck out.
Luna Chu watched Evan Chu’s every move with a puzzled look. She saw only a faint blue glow shoot from his fingertip—like starlight—toward the Power Switch.
She’d expected him to get hit by the rebound, but Evan Chu just stood there unharmed after the strike, even giving her a deliberate smile.
"You didn’t get hurt by the rebound force?" Luna Chu asked in shock.
"Nope. Is that so strange?" Evan Chu replied.
"Not really. With your attack, there was probably no rebound at all, so of course you weren’t hurt." Luna Chu had just finished speaking when the scene before her left her speechless.
Right in front of Evan Chu, the door began to slowly open. He just stood there grinning, as if he wasn’t surprised at all.
"How is this possible? How could you open the second-floor door? Was that plain-looking attack really as strong as a sixth-level Xuanwu strike?" Luna Chu stared at Evan Chu like he was some kind of monster.
"Want to go in together?" Evan Chu said nonchalantly, clearly pleased with Luna Chu’s stunned reaction. Let’s see if she dares to underestimate him again.
Luna Chu seemed to be in a daze, not even hearing Evan Chu’s words. "Evan Chu, just tell me honestly—what level of Xuanwu Realm are you at right now?"
In her mind, Evan Chu was at most fourth-level Xuanwu, but what she’d just witnessed made her start to doubt.
"First-level Xuanwu. But I’ll break through to the second soon. As for why the door opened, I honestly don’t know.
Maybe your attack almost triggered it, and I just happened to catch a lucky break. That’s all there is to it. Or maybe I’m just ridiculously lucky!"
Evan Chu’s explanation nearly made Luna Chu cough up blood. If that were true, she’d suffered for nothing—hurt herself just to play the wedding dress for someone else, not even getting a shred of benefit.
A first-level Xuanwu entering the Book Repository’s second floor—this had never happened in Chu Family history. Luna Chu was practically drowning in envy, jealousy, and resentment all at once.
Aren’t you going in? The door only stays open for a limited time. You really lucked out. Hope you pick up a great martial art." Luna Chu had no choice but to accept reality.
"There’s a time limit? Why didn’t you say so earlier?" Evan Chu moved to enter, but paused at the doorway and turned to ask, "Want to come in with me?"
"Of course I want to, but only the person who opens the door can go in. If I try to follow you, an invisible barrier will block me.
Otherwise, if someone reached sixth-level Xuanwu, everyone could just follow them in—what would be the point of having the Power Switch at all?"
Luna Chu was speechless at Evan Chu. How could he not know something so basic? She really wondered how he’d ever been called a genius.
After hearing that, Evan Chu stepped through the doorway and headed for the second floor, leaving Luna Chu standing there in a daze.
Does he really have the power of a sixth-level Xuanwu? That whole ‘lucky break’ story is pure nonsense—why didn’t I see through it? I really did underestimate him.