"Hey, don't die on me yet! You still haven't answered my question!" Evan Chu shouted as he saw the giant python about to kick the bucket. Still, he didn't dare get any closer—he remembered Sword Spirit Luna's warning all too well: if this thing self-destructed its beast core, he'd be toast unless he used the Timewheel Bracelet.
After a long pause, the python finally spoke: "The teleportation arrays in the Monster Beast Forest are only controlled by the Four Beast King Halls. The Azure Tide Ruins have four major beast kings, each ruling a palace in the east, south, west, and north. You're currently in the territory overseen by the Western Beast King Hall."
Evan Chu got his answer, but he was still frustrated—using the teleportation array here was going to be as hard as ascending to the heavens.
"How far is it to the Western Beast King Hall? Who's the hall master?" Evan asked. Right now, he needed the most useful intel he could get, so he didn't bother answering the python's dying question.
The python's whole body started to convulse—it was clearly on its last legs. Its massive head flopped weakly to the ground, and it rasped, barely audible: "At your... your... speed, you still need... need a whole day. The hall... hall master is the Ape King. How did you... how did you do it?"
Evan Chu glanced at the python and said, "The martial arts I practice let me fully merge with water and fire, so of course you couldn't sense me. These techniques are beyond saint-grade martial skills. You can rest easy now."
A look of bitter resentment flashed in the python's eyes. She never imagined she'd be slain by a human, and one whose cultivation was only at the First Layer of the Divine Martial Realm. She really couldn't rest in peace.
Maybe it was Evan's answer, but the light faded from the python's eyes all at once. She lay motionless on the ground, but Evan didn't dare approach—he had no idea if she was really dead.
"Luna, is this thing dead or not?" Evan Chu called out.
"Dead. You finished her off. Feeling proud that you managed to slay a beast with strength equal to the Ninth Layer of the Divine Martial Realm?" Sword Spirit Luna said.
"Nothing to be proud of. If I'd really fought it head-on, I'd have been totally outmatched. It just got fooled by my heaven-defying skill—so I guess I should thank you for that!" Evan Chu grinned.
The few broken bones in his body had already healed completely—his recovery ability was seriously heaven-defying. Evan glanced at the python, then walked right up to its corpse.
With a thought, he summoned Shadow. After absorbing the blood essence of hundreds of thousands of soldiers on the battlefield last time, Shadow's power had skyrocketed—he was now as big as the leopard Evan just killed.
Shadow appeared, grumbling, "Bro, next time you call me out, give me a heads-up first! I was having a great dream, you know."
"Oh yeah? Then go back and keep sleeping." Evan Chu shot a glance at the giant beast.
"Wait—whoa! What a powerful monster beast, and the blood essence is so thick! Bro, did you call me out just to let me absorb it?" Shadow cheered.
"No kidding. I'm on the clock here, so hurry up. There's a leopard corpse over there too—should be a big help for you. And next time, shrink your body before coming out, or I'll smack you myself." Evan Chu snapped.
Shadow shot Evan a look, but didn't say anything. Instead, he trotted right over to the python's corpse, opened his jaws wide, and started munching away.
If you weighed it, the python's corpse would be at least tens of thousands of jin. But Shadow finished eating the whole thing in less than five minutes—Evan was absolutely stunned.
Then Shadow absorbed all the blood left on the ground, his body flashed red, and he shrank down to puppy size, trotting over to Evan's side.
"Bro, check this out—it's a real treasure!" Shadow said, spitting out a red bead. Evan Chu knew right away it was the python's beast core.
"You don't need this one. Save it for Alex Xiao or Old Goldwing. I'm sure eating that python will boost your strength plenty." Evan Chu said, taking the red bead from Shadow and stowing it in his storage ring.
"Bro, where's the leopard corpse?" Shadow didn't mind Evan taking the beast core—he knew Evan always played fair.
"Let's go, it's right up ahead!" With that, man and beast hurried forward.
Soon Shadow had devoured the leopard corpse and let out a satisfied burp. "Bro, the energy in these two monster beasts is crazy strong. Once I finish refining it, I'm sure I'll break through to Sovereign Rank. Then you'll be able to unleash the Lion Spirit Fist whenever you want—trust me, that move is seriously overpowered."
"Yeah, let's hope so. If I find any good monster beast corpses, I'll let you know!" Evan Chu replied.
With a flash of red light, Shadow merged into Evan's arm. Evan surveyed the wrecked forest, then shot into the sky—he needed to reunite with Selena, Goldwing, and the others, fast.
Evan Chu flew at full speed for nearly an hour before finally spotting Selena and Claire Ouyang up ahead. Of course, there was also the monster beast disguised as a middle-aged man.
Evan quickly reached the two women. Seeing Selena's pale face and blood at Claire's lips, his anger flared. "Step aside—leave this guy to me!" he snapped.
As soon as he finished, a thick layer of white stone armor covered his body, and he charged straight at the middle-aged man.
Right now, all three of them had burned through a ton of Stellar Power. The middle-aged man was shocked to see Evan Chu alive—by rights, he should've been killed by the protector long ago. Seeing him now made zero sense.
"Kid, what are you doing here?" the middle-aged man demanded.
Evan Chu couldn't care less about talking—his women were hurt, and he had to get justice for them. He closed the distance to less than two meters.
Evan steeled himself—he was ready to take a hit if it meant seriously injuring the guy. He swung a punch at the middle-aged man.
That punch wasn't all that strong. Evan was using the same split-focus trick he'd used back in the Heavenly Dragon Empire to attack the great bell—the real strike would come with the second punch.
Seeing Evan attack, the middle-aged man got even angrier. "You're looking to die!" he roared, slashing at Evan with his sword.
The sword struck Evan squarely, shattering his stone armor and slicing a few centimeters into his flesh. His first punch was easily deflected, but his other fist unleashed the sixth form of the Demon-Breaking Fist—fused water and fire elements plus chaotic dragon force detonated right against the man's chest.
It all happened in a split second. The two women screamed as Evan took the sword blow—the attack shattered his stone armor and even cut into his flesh.
But hardly any blood flowed out. The pain from Evan's punch hit the man's chest instantly, followed by a deafening explosion right in his ears.
The blast sent Evan flying dozens of meters, but the monster beast disguised as a man now had a gaping, transparent hole in his chest—Evan's strike had pulverized all his internal organs. He was dead as dead could be.
The middle-aged man plummeted from the sky, slowly revealing his true form—a mountainous, tusked wild boar...