Evan Chu had no idea what was happening with Jade or Old Goldwing and Shadow. Right now, he was inside the Timewheel Bracelet, slowly absorbing Divine Power. The Wind elemental crystal he’d won at the auction was already fully refined, and now his Windshift technique had reached the third layer.
With Windshift at the third layer, Evan’s attack speed and movement were way faster than before—especially his flying speed, which had skyrocketed. Even late-stage God-Emperors might not be able to catch him now. That kind of progress was definitely something to be proud of.
But it still wasn’t enough for him. He let out a deep, heavy breath and opened his eyes, then pulled out an Earth elemental crystal. This time, he planned to absorb it all and push Earthshift to the fourth layer—then maybe, just maybe, he’d be able to check out the mine core beneath the tunnel.
As for the Light elemental crystal, he’d have to hold off for now. You can’t rush things—he was determined to break through every realm he could during this seclusion, including summoning all possible clones with the Ninefold Golden Body Art. If the clones could train inside the Timewheel Bracelet, their power would skyrocket, and only then would he be ready to face even stronger enemies.
Evan Chu started absorbing the energy from the Earth elemental crystal, taking it slow—this crystal was high-grade, packed with power, and he had to be careful. If he took in too much too fast, he’d risk wrecking his meridians.
Absorbing energy was dull work, and breaking through the final bottleneck was even more of a grind. Evan didn’t dare slack off for a second—every nerve was stretched tight, afraid something might go wrong.
It took him a full seven days to finish absorbing the Earth elemental crystal. Now, Earth element filled every meridian, every muscle, even his dantian—his whole body was dust-gray, and from a distance he looked just like a stone statue. But if that statue moved, it would shake the world.
Once the absorption was done, it was time for the breakthrough. Following the Earthshift cultivation method, Evan slowly circulated Earth element through his dantian, and his nine-colored elemental core began to spin. The gray light representing Earth element grew deeper and darker...
At a certain moment, Evan Chu opened his eyes again and stood up, laughing. "Earthshift’s fourth layer really isn’t easy. If I’d had any less Earth element, I wouldn’t have made it. Honestly, I owe Lena Zhong for that Earth elemental crystal she gave me—without it, I’d never have pushed Earthshift to late third layer, and if I’d been stuck at mid-layer, this breakthrough would’ve been impossible."
Thinking of Lena Zhong made Evan’s heart ache a little. He knew exactly how she felt about him—and he felt something for her too. But right now, he was still weak, and there was no way he could let himself get distracted by romance. All that would have to wait until he truly stood at the top.
Feeling a bit down, Evan Chu left his cultivation cave. Spreading out his divine sense, he saw the Fire Dragon, the other three beasts, and Old Black all training hard. Cultivating in a place overflowing with Divine Power was the best thing they could ask for—no one wanted to stay weak, and even Divine Beasts were no exception.
Earthshift had reached the fourth layer, but with his current realm, it was still tough to get close to the mine core. Evan decided to keep pushing his strength higher. The Timewheel Bracelet’s time flow was different from the outside—one hundred years inside was only about one year outside. He’d confirmed this again after entering this time; it hadn’t changed much.
But now he was itching to see just how powerful Earthshift had become. With a thought, he waved his hands—and suddenly, a massive earthen wall appeared out of thin air, at least the size of a house. He could move it wherever he wanted, just by willing it.
Then Evan Chu gave a casual wave and dropped the earthen wall from the sky. The crash was earth-shattering—like a mountain collapsing. The noise startled all five beasts out of their cultivation; they shot out of their training spots, rushing to see what was going on.
Evan glanced at the scene and was a little shocked himself. Earthshift was this strong? If that wall had landed on someone’s head, they’d be a goner. Just that one blow could easily crush a God-King Realm expert to death.
Right now, he was only at early God-King Realm. If he reached God-Emperor or God-Venerable Realm, Earthshift would be able to summon a mountain-sized mass of earth. Imagine being pinned under a mountain—surviving would be nearly impossible. Earthshift was no longer just a defensive skill; it was turning into a terrifying weapon.
The Fire Dragon and the other four beasts quickly flew over to Evan Chu, all of them looking shocked. The Fire Dragon was the first to speak: "Young Master, what happened just now? It felt like the earth itself was shaking!"
"It’s nothing," Evan said. "I was just testing out one of my skills, didn’t expect it to cause such a commotion. There’s plenty of Divine Power here—everyone should focus on cultivating. Once I break through to the next realm, I might let you guys leave for a while."
"If Young Master needs anything, we’ll do it without hesitation. Since you’re training, we won’t disturb you!" the Fire Dragon said, turning to the other four beasts.
Everyone nodded and started to leave. Evan Chu called out, "Old Black, stay—I’ve got something to ask you!"
The Black Qilin didn’t know why Evan Chu wanted him to stay, but he didn’t ask. After the Fire Dragon and the others left, Evan said, "Old Black, you should know a lot about the key figures from the old God Realm days, right?"
"Young Master, whose story do you want to hear?" the Black Qilin asked, looking puzzled.
"Do you know Elena and Blue-Shade? What do you think of the two of them?" Evan asked, straight to the point.
"Elena was originally a goddess of the God Realm, pretty much on par with my clan’s princess—but even stronger. She was one of your women back then, and she was genuinely devoted to you. Because of the princess, you never fully accepted her, but everyone knew you had feelings for her.
As for Blue-Shade, he was your closest brother-in-arms. After you fell, Blue-Shade vanished too—probably blaming himself for not protecting you, so he went into seclusion. His Snowbound Divine Sword and Wind-God Sword Art were top-tier, right up there with your Frostbane Divine Sword and Sevenfold Absolute Cleave," the Black Qilin said honestly.
Hearing the Black Qilin’s explanation, Evan Chu felt a lot more at ease. He really had been close friends with Blue-Shade back in the day—and as for Elena, there was no need to doubt her feelings. After all, with what they’d done together, it was definitely real. Otherwise, who would dare touch a late-stage God-Venerable like her? That’d be suicide.
"I’ve met both of them, and they know who I really am now. Elena was the one who brought me here this time. So, Old Black, when do you plan to leave the Timewheel Bracelet? You’re not planning to hide in here forever, are you?" Evan asked.
"Of course not, but I need a bit more time. Once I recover to a certain realm, I’ll go out. I’ve got to face my Ascension Tribulation sooner or later, but I need to be confident I can handle the lightning punishment. Otherwise, if I go out too soon, I’ll get zapped to death—game over," the Black Qilin said with a wry smile.
"Go train, then. I’m about to push for another breakthrough myself. In the God Realm, you can’t go anywhere without real power. When you’re ready, just let me know," Evan said.