Evan Chu looked at Serena Hua, his expression growing more and more awkward.
"Uh... ahem!"
"What Chase said is true."
"Huh?" Evan Chu choked for a moment.
"The engagement really does exist. My father did promise me to... Lord Frostbane."
Serena Hua tried her best to stay calm, but the bright flush on her cheeks gave her away completely. For a girl to say something like this out loud—it was just too embarrassing!
"Lord Frostbane, that's me, isn't it? I... Alright, I get what you mean!"
"You don't get shit!"
"Then what do you mean?"
Honestly, Serena Hua felt incredibly conflicted inside. She had always known that Hadeon Hua had promised her to Lord Frostbane—otherwise, she wouldn't have chosen to fight and die at Lord Frostbane's side during the War of the Gods, never retreating even a single step.
So, this is also another reason Serena Hua blames Lord Frostbane for her father's death—the damned engagement! She always thought Lord Frostbane was just a weakling with an empty reputation. Otherwise, why would he have lost all those years ago?
That's why, whether in the past or the future, she can't go through with the engagement and marry Lord Frostbane!
But now, ever since she met Evan Chu in the lower realms—even if she doesn't know everything about his journey, she's at least heard most of his deeds. And the Evan Chu of today really is frighteningly strong!
Just now, those three rebel Nether Emperors were killed in an instant—she can't even imagine that kind of power! And honestly, if she ignores the whole Lord Frostbane thing, she's always had a soft spot for Evan Chu.
But when she found out Evan Chu was actually Lord Frostbane reincarnated, she just couldn't get past that mental block! Still, on the other hand, Hadeon Hua already accepted Chase Chu as his grandson—so is she really going to refuse the engagement?
Chase Chu accepted everything from Hadeon Hua—his power, his status, even calling her 'Aunt.' So is she really still going to deny the engagement?
"Evan Chu!" Princess Serena Hua thought for a long time, then turned around with her beautiful eyes fixed on Evan Chu and asked,
"Am I beautiful?"
"Yeah, you're pretty beautiful."
"Then would you marry me?"
Evan Chu's heart skipped a beat. Wasn't that a bit fast? But he still blurted out,
"If you want to, I wouldn't mind."
"Get lost! What do you mean you 'wouldn't mind'?! Are you saying I'm forcing you? Or that my father was so desperate to marry me off, he shoved me at you?"
"Uh! No, that's not what I meant, I just didn't want you to..."
"Enough! Shut up! That's the end of it—no more talk about the engagement. Let me put it this way: If you can completely slay Supreme Titus and conquer the Demonic Realm, then I, Serena Hua, will be your woman. I mean it!"
Evan Chu was stunned. So straightforward? She should've just said so! Stonehaven was going to be killed sooner or later, and the Three Realms unified—snagging a Netherworld princess along the way didn't sound bad at all.
Finally, Evan Chu could breathe easy and put the whole thing aside for now. After that, he stayed in the Netherworld for many days, and during that time, Chase Chu's actions truly made him see his son in a new light.
The kid was totally on top of things rebuilding the Nether Imperial City, stabilizing the Netherworld, and commanding the armies with real talent. Evan Chu was genuinely proud—his son had grown up!
He gave Chase Chu plenty of advice—reminding him to visit the God Realm and check on his mother at Frostbane Divine Palace, and not to forget gifts for all his aunts. Also, once the Three Realms War breaks out, the Netherworld must fully cooperate with Frostbane Divine Palace's plans; the main enemy will probably be the armies of the Demonic Realm.
He also told Chase Chu to keep training hard and never slack off, because right now the Netherworld was still recovering and, in terms of power, lagged far behind the Demonic Realm. Once Stonehaven finishes reviving, his cultivation will be able to match Evan Chu's, completely overshadowing Chase Chu.
Chase Chu said he understood everything and would always be ready to follow Evan Chu's orders.
Before leaving, Evan Chu wanted to see Princess Serena Hua again, but she shut her door and went straight into closed-door cultivation! Training was one reason, but more importantly, she didn't want the Netherworld leaders to see her and call her 'Elder Princess.'
Everyone in the Netherworld knew that Princess Serena Hua had married the master of Frostbane Divine Palace, Evan Chu, and that the new ruler of the Netherworld was his son. Naturally, Serena Hua became the Elder Princess—something that annoyed her to no end.
Since he couldn't see Serena Hua, Evan Chu didn't push it. He quickly set off, using the Ethereal Divine Shuttle to return to the God Realm and arrive at Frostbane Divine Palace.
But the first news Evan Chu heard made him frown: the entire northern half of the God Realm had lost contact!
With Heavenblade Sect at the center, all transportation was paralyzed, teleportation arrays destroyed, cities locked down, and not a single intelligence agent sent out had returned—not even soul jade transmissions worked. It seemed disaster had struck...
In other words, the northern region of the God Realm was now a complete blind spot. Frostbane Divine Palace's control over that area was like a blind man and a deaf man. Even knowing Heavenblade Sect might be doing this on purpose, Evan Chu was still shocked—such ruthless tactics!
This was basically making an enemy of the entire God Realm. Heavenblade Sect's actions would spark outrage among all the top experts! By now, Frostbane Divine Palace had taken in millions of fleeing God Kings and God Lords, and even the number of God Emperors had surpassed thirty thousand.
Even though Frostbane Divine Palace seemed to be growing stronger, the drain on resources was terrifying. And the more Evan Chu thought about it, the more he suspected Heavenblade Sect's isolation meant their long-standing plan was about to succeed.
And if Evan Chu was right, once that plan succeeded, the chaos of the Three Realms War would erupt soon after.
Evan Chu sat in the main hall of Frostbane Divine Palace, unable to calm his mind for a long time. He was stuck at a bottleneck—he wanted to break through to late-stage God Emperor, but no matter how hard he trained, it just wouldn't happen!
The only thing that comforted him was that, after the Elemental Spirit and Geocore Soul Mother complemented each other and absorbed the power of the Sea-Eye Spirit Spring, they had given him the essence of wood element power. Now Evan Chu had fully mastered the laws of the wood element.
But that barely improved his combat strength. What mattered more was: if the Spirit Lord's plan succeeded, and the Crimson Demon Star event arrived, how could he counter it?
The Spirit Lord had waited a hundred thousand years, planned for a hundred thousand years! Willing to gamble everything, even start another War of the Gods after all that time, just to wait for this one thing. Besides the Crimson Demon Star, Evan Chu couldn't think of any other possibility.
So once the Crimson Demon Star appeared, how should he respond? Of the Big Dipper's seven stars, only five had lit up so far. He needed to advance his cultivation, and fast!
"Enough thinking—I'll head to Heavenblade Sect and find that Ninefold Divine Sovereign, get to the bottom of the so-called Gods' Necropolis secret. Maybe that'll help me."
With a slap to his thigh, Evan Chu stood up, took Old Jin and Shadow with him, and once again secretly left Frostbane Divine Palace, heading north.
(There should be another update tonight, if everyone keeps supporting!)