After Evan Chu infused Chaos Qi into the Frostbane Sword in his grip, it began to emit a faint, thunderous hum—just like an old friend reunited after years apart, bursting with excitement.
The sword-glow flickered in and out of sight, making it impossible to judge the true power of this move. Yet Evan could barely hold onto Frostbane, feeling as if it might break free and fly off on its own.
Many people shut their eyes—not because they wanted to see Evan Chu injure that old man, but because they were afraid of witnessing him get slaughtered in an instant.
Roxanne Lin and Jenny Sima, however, kept their eyes locked on Evan. When he unleashed his third move, he shot them a look brimming with confidence.
Both women were exceptionally clever—they instantly understood what Evan’s look meant. He wasn’t acting out of impulse; he must have a technique capable of injuring his opponent, or he wouldn’t take such a risk.
Jenny Sima had always felt Evan hid countless secrets. Now, she was actually a little worried that Elder Wu might get hurt by him. It sounded absurd, but her intuition insisted it could happen.
After Evan Chu unleashed that seemingly plain third slash, the old man instantly stared at the Frostbane Sword as if facing his greatest enemy.
He sensed a power on that blade unlike anything he’d ever felt before, and realized that the stellar-force barrier he’d woven with his own star power might not be able to withstand it.
For the first time, he truly feared he might be injured by this strike. With a flick of his thoughts, a dark-green longsword appeared in his hand.
Though Harold Liu was gravely wounded, he watched Evan’s every move closely. That seemingly ordinary slash—Dog-Slayer Slash—had been the one to nearly destroy him.
This move looked plain on the surface, but was packed with powerful stellar sword-qi—impossible to defend against. He vaguely sensed that even a City Lord’s Mansion powerhouse could be hurt by this sword.
After Evan Chu swung Frostbane, the blade instantly reached the old man, but was still blocked by the invisible barrier.
Others couldn’t see it, but the old man could clearly watch his defensive barrier cracking like a spiderweb. In at most five seconds, it would shatter completely.
Chaos Qi was nothing like ordinary star power. The old man thought his barrier would last five seconds, but it was torn apart in just two.
Frostbane didn’t pause for a moment—it kept swinging straight for his body.
If Chaos Qi could break through a barrier forged from his own star power, its destructive force was obvious. If that sword landed, the consequences would be unimaginable.
At a moment of life and death, pride meant nothing. The old man hurriedly raised his longsword to block.
There was no time to use a martial technique—all he could do was flood his sword with star power and try to block Evan’s strike head-on.
He figured that after passing through the barrier and burning up so much energy, Evan’s slash couldn’t be at full strength anymore. It wasn’t completely spent, but it shouldn’t be too dangerous.
With his third-level Earth Martial Realm star power, he was sure he could easily take this blow. Still, Evan had managed to break his barrier and force him to use his weapon to defend—this kid really was a genius.
Just as the old man was convinced he could easily block Evan’s attack, something happened that stunned everyone.
Frostbane streaked straight for the old man. Nobody even noticed the split-second when it broke through the barrier.
The old man frantically raised his sword to block, but with a sharp crack, his longsword snapped into several pieces.
Frostbane was now driven into his chest. He gripped the blade with one hand, blood dripping steadily from between his fingers.
If Frostbane had pierced even a little deeper, the old man might have been truly, seriously wounded—or even killed outright.
At that moment, the old man swung his other fist at Evan with all his might. If Evan was hit by a third-level Earth Martial Realm attack, he could be killed on the spot.
Evan now faced a terrible dilemma: to dodge, he’d have to abandon Frostbane, which was stuck fast and couldn’t be pulled free.
But Frostbane was a prime ancient relic—how could he possibly give it up? Besides, what kind of cultivator survives in this world if he can’t even protect his own weapon?
‘Better to die in battle than retreat half a step!’ Evan resolved in his heart.
He swung his free arm, ready to meet the old man’s fist head-on. He knew it was like an egg smashing into a boulder, but he had no choice.
When everyone saw Evan Chu force the old man to fight back—and even injure him—they simply couldn’t believe it.
After all, the old man was a top-tier third-level Earth Martial Realm expert—one of the strongest in Flowing Cloud City. Yet here he was, hurt by someone who’d been called ‘trash’ just months ago.
If Evan’s defeat of Harold Liu had shocked everyone before, then injuring a City Lord’s Mansion powerhouse was next-level—enough to make people feel like their brains might explode.
As Evan swung his fist, he suddenly felt a terrifying power flood his arm, spreading through every muscle and meridian.
His muscles and meridians were stretched to the breaking point. If he hadn’t reached the first layer of the Starforge Body—remade his flesh and veins—his arm would have been ruined instantly.
That power could have destroyed his arm outright. Evan felt like if he had a bull in front of him, he could punch it straight into the sky.
People say ‘punching a bull into the sky’ is just bragging, but right now Evan could really do it—though he wouldn’t be aiming for that spot. (Xiao Xiao’s being naughty, haha!)
Evan gritted his teeth through the pain in his arm. He knew this was Luna’s power, and that after using it, she might fall into a deep sleep.
“Evan, things changed too fast—I might not be able to kill this guy, but I can still seriously injure him. Remember what you promised me...” Luna’s voice echoed weakly in Evan’s mind.
From the moment Luna’s power filled Evan’s arm to the instant he threw his punch, it felt like an eternity—but in reality, it all happened in a split second. Their fists collided.
But when the old man saw Evan refuse to abandon his sword and choose to fight fist-to-fist instead, he couldn’t help but sneer.
“You’re asking for death—don’t blame anyone but yourself!” He’d intended to use eighty percent of his power, but seeing Evan throw a punch, he unleashed his full strength.
He had to kill this kid with one blow—nothing else would satisfy his rage.
Bang! A thunderous crash echoed as their fists collided.
The ground beneath them caved in, and both were sent flying dozens of meters by the forceful rebound.
A gale of energy whipped the dirt into the air—far stronger than Evan’s Tempest Shroud technique.
In an instant, sand and stones filled the air, the sky turned dark, and it felt like the end of the world.
Many bystanders close by were swept up and vanished in a bloody rain, not even leaving bones behind—the scene was utterly terrifying.
Nobody could believe the sheer power of their clash, but they had no choice but to accept it.
Soon the dust settled, and everyone could clearly see the two fighters’ condition. They saw...