"You silly girl, you actually believed it!" Evan Chu couldn't help but laugh inwardly. But Lily Tang's attack was no joke, so he didn't dare take her lightly. Instantly, he used Shiftstep to flash ten meters away.
Lily Tang felt a strong sense of familiarity with this youth's movement technique. After her attack missed, she stared at him in confusion and asked, "Who... who are you, really?" That was obviously Evan Chu's movement art.
Seeing that Lily Tang wasn't attacking anymore, Evan Chu grinned and said, "Really, you're all boobs and no brains. You can't even recognize your own man. I'm speechless!"
Lily wanted to get angry, but at that moment Evan Chu switched back to his original voice. The only thing that hadn't changed was his appearance, but his build and way of speaking were just like Evan Chu's. For a moment, Lily didn't know what to do.
"Are you Evan? How is that possible?" Lily felt like she'd been played. She glanced at Rhea Yang, who didn't seem to be lying—her expression and tone were just too convincing.
Gus Bullard also found it strange. "Hey, who the heck are you? If you don't explain, I'll beat you to death today!"
"Old Bull, are you itching for a beating? I don't mind sending you flying!" Evan Chu said with a sly grin.
"Ha! I knew it was you, Evan Chu. Only you would call me Old Bull! Bro, why do you look like this? What's going on?" Gus Bullard immediately figured it out and got ready to give Evan a bear hug.
"Stop! I’m not into that. Aren’t I super cool right now?" Evan Chu struck a deliberately smug pose after speaking.
"Evan, you jerk! Is this how you mess with people?" Lily Tang finally realized this youth was the man she'd been thinking about day and night—Evan Chu. For a moment, she lost control of her emotions, and tears welled up in her eyes.
"You even dared to lay hands on your own man—now that's some guts!" Evan Chu grinned, stepped right up to Lily Tang, and swept her into his arms. He continued, still teasing:
"Come on, don't cry. If anyone's to blame, it's Rhea Yang and her Oscar-worthy acting. Now, why were you all fighting? What happened here?"
Rhea Yang shot Evan a glare, then walked over to Lily's side. But seeing Evan hug Lily, a sharp pang of jealousy twisted in her heart.
"Lily, don't be mad. We just wanted to give you a surprise, that's all." Rhea said, her voice playful and reassuring.
"Surprise? You nearly scared me to death! Forget it, I'm just glad you're both okay! Now, let's handle our business. Since you're here, this mess should be easy to sort out." Lily wiped her tears and managed a smile.
Just then, the purple-robed youth walked over, noticing that the two newcomers were close with Gus and the others—and not ordinary at all. But since leadership was at stake, he couldn't afford to back down.
"Hey, you new kid! Done hugging yet? There are plenty of people watching—try to keep it together, will you? We still have important business to deal with, so stop wasting our time!" the youth barked.
Evan Chu glanced at the youth and chuckled. "You sure talk tough—arrogant too. But do you actually have the skills to back it up? If you keep barking in front of me, believe it or not, I'll split you in half with a single sword!"
"Don't, Linfeng! He doesn't have any deep grudge against us. We're all from the same academy—no need to go that far!" Lily quickly stepped in to calm things down.
"Looks like you're pretty strong yourself. Even with Gus on your side, I couldn't care less. Split me in half? You're still too green for that!" the youth sneered, swaggering.
Evan Chu's strength was something Gus and Lily had witnessed firsthand. As for Rhea, in her eyes, Evan was a total monster. Clearly, this purple-robed youth was about to get a lesson.
"How about we settle this with a duel? If you win, we all listen to you. If I win, you all follow me—and you have to call me big brother from now on!" Evan grinned, eyes sparkling with challenge.
"Didn't think you had guts. Fine, I'll make sure you lose fair and square today!" The youth spun his longsword, sword flowers blooming in the air, and lunged at Evan with a fierce surge of sword-qi.
Typical—he wants to fight at the drop of a hat. Evan didn't even take the attack seriously; he quickly pushed Lily aside, and just as the sword tip was half a meter away, he unleashed Shiftstep, vanishing in a blur and leaving only an afterimage behind.
The youth stared in shock at Evan, now ten meters away. "Not bad, you're pretty fast. No wonder you act so cocky. But speed alone won't cut it—let me show you what real martial arts look like!"
As he spoke, his sword flared with a blazing red glow—proof he'd mastered the fire element. Fiery sword-qi shot from his blade, making the air crackle and pop like firecrackers. If you wanted to roast meat, you wouldn't even need firewood.
Evan's lips curled into a smile. Instantly, he unleashed Wave-Skimming Steps, then activated Tempest Shroud—the seventh form of Windchaser Sword Codex. Sharp sword-qi spun into a mini tornado, colliding head-on with the youth's blazing attack.
Evan only used half his strength—he didn't want to accidentally take the guy out. Maybe he underestimated his opponent, because the Tempest Shroud tornado barely scratched him.
The youth was no pushover. Their sword-qi collided with a deafening hum and roar, and the stone ground beneath them began to crack outward like a spiderweb.
Evan's Tempest Shroud was just a bit weaker than the youth's fire sword-qi. Both attacks faded away—Evan's first, then the youth's.
Naturally, the youth's sword broke clean through Evan's defenses and came straight at him.
Everyone watching was stunned—except Rhea Yang, who just rolled her eyes. Evan could slay seventh-rank beast kings, and now he was just playing dumb for show.
Gus and Lily both secretly worried for Evan. They'd seen his strength on the Life-and-Death Platform, but they knew this youth was even stronger than either of them.
But judging by Evan's attitude, he seemed to lack real combat experience—easy pickings for a sneak attack.
Just as Gus and Lily thought Evan was doomed, Evan vanished from right in front of the youth, leaving only an afterimage—then reappeared ten meters away with Shiftstep.
The youth stared at Evan, wide-eyed. "Your dodging skills are as sharp as your mouth. If you want to be the boss, you need more than that. Show us your real strength—I don't have time to waste!"
Evan sneered, "I'm worried I'll accidentally kill you and there'll be no one left to call me boss. Don't be clueless—beating you only takes one move. Killing you too, it's just a matter of how hard I hit. So, which do you want?"
"Fine! You're cocky as hell, and your mouth really is something. I don't care—do whatever you want. Let's see this 'one move' you keep bragging about!" The youth scoffed, daring Evan to prove himself.
"Watch closely!" Evan called out. Frostbane flew from his hand—his Heart-Sword technique now fully mastered, the sword moved by his will, streaking straight for the stunned youth...