Evan Chu directly released his Fire Golden Body and Earth Golden Body avatars from within his body—this lightning strike was clearly earth-type thunder. Gripping the hilt of the Frostbane Sword tighter, he rapidly circulated his Chaos Immortal Force.
Evan wasn’t afraid of this earth thunder at all. After all, he possessed the Thunder Spirit Body, and had long since mastered the power of five-element lightning within himself. What he truly worried about were the next two bolts—those were the real killers.
It didn’t take long for the earth thunder to crash down. The Fire Golden Body and Earth Golden Body avatars unleashed Star-Cleave simultaneously to attack the lightning, while Evan himself waited for his two avatars to strike before launching his own Star-Cleave—only then could they scatter the thunderbolt more effectively.
The attack power of the Fire and Earth Golden Bodies’ Star-Cleave was in no way inferior to Evan’s own. After all, these avatars had already reached late Immortal Lord Realm strength. Evan didn’t even realize that his two Golden Body avatars could now go toe-to-toe with late-stage Immortal Emperor experts.
His cultivation system was completely different from everyone else’s—in fact, he operated an entire tier below others. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have jumped straight from peak Saint Martial Realm to the Immortal ranks right after breaking through, when by rights he should have entered the Venerable Martial Realm first; only after reaching peak Venerable Martial could one ascend to the Immortal Realm.
The same logic applied in the Immortal Realm. Evan might be mid-stage Immortal Lord in terms of realm, but in reality he was equivalent to a mid-stage Immortal Emperor. Slaying mid-stage Immortal Emperors was a breeze for him. Of course, whether Evan truly counted as Immortal Emperor-level was up for debate.
Evan caught this earth thunderbolt with ease. The lightning that landed on him posed no threat whatsoever—his Thunder Spirit Body was exceptionally resistant to five-element thunder.
Evan stood unharmed in midair, and everyone below was utterly stunned. To resist such powerful lightning—he really was a freak. His two Golden Body avatars were just as monstrous. That was what everyone thought.
The tribulation cloud overhead kept churning. Maybe it was enraged that Evan had so easily resisted the earth thunder—thunder boomed, space trembled, and several bands of Glasswind appeared, their power so terrifying that the timid began to retreat. It felt like the whole world was about to be destroyed.
Right now, Evan was like a war god standing in the sky, awe-inspiring and commanding submission. Even top experts like Nolan Nangong and Qin Xiaojiao found their attitudes toward him changing, a sense of true respect and awe growing in their hearts.
Suddenly, a massive vortex formed in the tribulation cloud overhead. A crushing pressure slammed into Evan, nearly knocking him out of the sky. From the heart of that vortex, a purple lightning bolt crashed down—by far the largest bolt Evan had ever seen, its diameter spanning several meters, turning the sky as bright as day.
The Earth Golden Body and Fire Golden Body avatars both swung out Star-Cleave, but this time their attacks couldn’t scatter the lightning at all—even Evan’s own Star-Cleave failed. The entire bolt wrapped around him, trapping him inside.
For a moment, everyone was stunned. Lightning this powerful would pulverize even a Vajra body—let alone Evan, whose flesh was still mortal. But right now, there was no one who could help him.
A peerless genius vanishing before everyone’s eyes—none of them wanted to face that reality. Luna Xuan couldn’t help but cry out Evan’s name, then coughed up a mouthful of blood and collapsed, unconscious.
At that moment, Evan was blasted straight down to the ground by the terrifying lightning, smashing a bottomless crater into the earth and fracturing the ground all around. No one could even see where he’d landed.
“Did Evan really die just like that? For such a heaven-defying genius to die here—it’s truly a shame,” Qin Xiaojiao said sadly.
“Of course he’s dead. Faced with tribulation lightning this powerful, none of us would survive—Evan’s no exception. I have to admit, he was a genius, maybe even a legend of the Immortal Realm, but now he’s just a legend. If you want to blame something, blame him for defying the heavens—he was so outrageous that even the heavens wouldn’t let him live.” Zane Zuo said.
“Zane Zuo, what nonsense are you spouting? How do you know Evan’s dead? I’m sure he isn’t—you talk like that and aren’t afraid he’ll wipe out Coldshroud Imperial Palace?” Nolan Nangong snapped.
“I’m just speaking the truth. With lightning this terrifying, could you survive, Nolan? And is Coldshroud Imperial Palace really so easy to destroy? You think I’m as dumb as Hector Vaughn?” Zane Zuo retorted.
Just then, Luna Xuan slowly woke up and saw that the tribulation cloud in the sky hadn’t dissipated. She said quietly, “Evan isn’t dead. You’re all late-stage Immortal Emperor experts—haven’t you noticed the tribulation cloud is still there? If Evan had died, the cloud would’ve vanished. Honestly, you’re all underestimating him.”
Everyone looked up at the tribulation cloud overhead and saw it had only grown larger, spinning relentlessly, with lightning flickering all around its edges. They all realized Luna was right—if Evan were dead, the tribulation cloud would have vanished.
It was hard for them to believe Evan could survive such a devastating lightning attack—this completely overturned their understanding of what was possible.
Meanwhile, deep underground, Evan lay with his eyes tightly shut, his whole body charred black, still clutching the Frostbane Sword. But his mind remained clear, and he forced himself to endure the agony wracking his body.
“Just one more bolt. If I can withstand this final lightning strike, the Frostbane Sword will evolve into the Frostbane Divine Sword. But this last bolt is sure to be even stronger than the last—can I really take it?” Evan muttered to himself.
He performed an internal inspection. Spotting a drop of God’s Blood in his dantian, Evan murmured, “Since you possess such immense power, why not help me through this crisis? If you truly have a spirit, grant me your strength.”
The moment Evan finished speaking, the God’s Blood seemed to respond, flashing with a crimson light. As soon as the light appeared, Evan’s injuries miraculously healed, and his cultivation abruptly broke through to late-stage Immortal Lord Realm.
His power kept surging, and it felt like his body couldn’t possibly contain such overwhelming energy. Just a flash of crimson from the God’s Blood had unleashed this terrifying force—if it fully awakened, Evan couldn’t even imagine how strong he’d become.
Now, the only way he could withstand this power was to transform into his Golden Dragon form. Evan remembered the voice in his mind telling him he’d have to become the Golden Dragon to resist the tribulation lightning. Was it deliberately awakening part of the divine blood in his body to help him?
There was no time to think. The next tribulation lightning was about to strike, so Evan burst from the earth, unleashing a roar that echoed across the heavens. Before everyone’s eyes, a nine-clawed Golden Dragon appeared in the sky…