After circling Mad-Blade Li's vault, Evan Chu honestly found nothing that truly caught his eye. He was just about to follow Jun Yang's advice and take some Starstones as compensation, when his gaze suddenly locked onto a massive saber half-buried in a corner—a blade a zhang long and a chi wide.
Evan Chu walked over and ran his hand along the intricate patterns on the blade. Traces of dried blood still lingered, proof that this saber had seen countless battles.
"Little Brother Evan, you like this saber?" Mad-Blade Li asked in surprise.
"This saber... is excellent!"
The moment Evan Chu touched the blade, a powerful sense of familiarity surged in his heart, leaving him shaken and unable to calm down.
The saber looked pitch-black and profound, covered in ancient, dried bloodstains. Its appearance was completely ordinary—so why did it make him feel this way?
"Yeah, this saber really does look domineering. I'm a blade fanatic myself, and I loved it when I first got it. But in actual combat, it's just plain and clumsy—can't bring out the best in my saber arts, and it actually drags down my performance."
Honestly, it's just a heavy, ordinary saber. Other than being ridiculously heavy, there's nothing special about it. It's fine for display, but in a real fight, it's basically useless."
Mad-Blade Li shook his head. As a blade saint emperor and master of saber arts, his opinion carried serious weight.
But Evan Chu felt that while this saber might be useless for others, it might be a different story for him!
"Brother Li, this is the one!"
"You really want to choose this? Honestly, you'd be better off taking some Starstones so I could rest easy. You pick this broken saber and leave me at a loss." Mad-Blade Li gave a wry smile, wondering if Evan was just trying to spare his feelings by picking a useless blade.
But Mad-Blade Li never expected that Evan Chu genuinely felt something for this saber. Without thinking, Evan reached out to pull it up from the ground!
"Careful, little brother! Nobody knows what this saber is made of—it's tens of thousands of times heavier than my Ghost-Lock Warblade forged from Starstone Crystal, weighing millions of jin!"
When Mad-Blade Li first got this saber, he almost couldn't hold it steady and dropped it to the ground, and that was when he was at peak Saint Venerable realm.
Even though Evan Chu's strength was monstrous, he surely couldn't be stronger than Mad-Blade Li was back then—so the warning was sincere.
But as soon as Evan Chu gripped the hilt, he lifted the giant saber with ease. The blade even began to tremble, as if excited—like it had finally found its long-lost master!
"Whoa... Little brother Evan, your strength is unreal!"
"Brother Li, this saber is exactly what I need. I hope you'll let me have it."
"If you like it, take it! Otherwise, leaving it here is less useful than scrap metal."
"Thank you!"
Evan Chu was beyond excited. The moment he lifted the giant saber, his Primordial Dragon Bloodline boiled fiercely inside him.
Still, Evan didn't do anything reckless. He just stored the giant saber in his Chaos World, planning to study it later.
"Since you've chosen this weapon, little brother, I won't be stingy—let me add something else for you."
"No need. With this saber, I'm already satisfied."
"That's not enough! Just a saber won't do—you need the right saber art to unleash its true power."
Jun Yang laughed, "Lin Feng, just accept it. Old Li's obsessed with sabers—any saber art he actually gifts is guaranteed to be extraordinary."
Evan Chu thought about it—he really did need more combat techniques.
Stellar Power was strong, but he couldn't expose it too often—especially the Big Dipper and Crimson Demon Star. The ten ordinary meteor stars he'd just absorbed weren't enough to support the bloodbath ahead.
As for the Nine Elemental Laws, their power was single-attribute and lacked suitable battle skills. Close combat was still his weak spot. The Frostbane Divine Sword had already been sealed back into Frostbane Divine Palace, waiting for the next inheritor. Now, apart from his insights into Time and Space Laws, his greatest trump cards—the Frostbane Divine Sword, Ethereal Divine Shuttle, and Timewheel Bracelet—were all gone.
Now that he'd chosen a giant saber, Evan Chu really did need a powerful saber art to expand his combat options.
This saber art is called Asura Tyrant Saber Art. I picked it up by chance on campaign, and I don't know its rank—but by my estimate, its power is immense, already surpassing the Ghost-Lock Mad-Blade Art I've cultivated!
Unfortunately, I've already spent years mastering my own saber art, which perfectly suits my attributes. So this manual was never really useful to me.
But little brother, you have an all-attribute bloodline foundation, so any saber art should be easy for you to master.
When Mad-Blade Li brought out the manual, Jun Yang was stunned!
In the Star-River Dominion, combat arts and manuals are divided into five tiers: Transcendent, Saintly, King-Rising, Emperor-Ascending, and Emperor-Sealing.
These five tiers match the five major cultivation realms: Transcendent for Saints, Saintly for Saint Lords, King-Rising for Saint Venerables, Emperor-Ascending for Holy Emperors, Emperor-Sealing for peak Holy Emperors.
So a King-Rising level combat art can only be cultivated up to Saint Venerable, but an Emperor-Sealing level art can be practiced all the way to peak Holy Emperor!
From what Jun Yang knew, Ghost-Lock Mad-Blade Art was a peak Emperor-Ascending saber art. If Asura Tyrant Saber Art really surpassed it... then it's Emperor-Sealing tier?
Your kindness is unforgettable, brother. I promise to repay you in full one day!
No need for thanks—we're all working for Frostbane Dynasty's future. I can't afford to hold you back. Just remember you're the dynasty's hope and future, and I'm content.
Don't worry, brother—I will fulfill your wish.
Evan Chu was deeply moved. Mad-Blade Li knew his own talent was limited, and would never pass mid Holy Emperor. All his hopes lay with the next generation—such loyalty and duty was truly admirable.
With his new saber and the Asura Tyrant Saber Art, Evan Chu returned to the city where Lin Hai first received him.
Notice arrived that in three days, all new recruits who passed the trial would be assigned positions in the Seven Great Legions. Until then, everyone had to wait here.
With nothing to do, Evan Chu entered his Chaos World and took out the giant saber to study it.
He hadn't acted rashly outside, afraid of causing uncontrollable consequences. Now, he took the saber out, cut his arm, and let a few drops of golden Primordial Dragon Blood fall onto the blade.
Suddenly—boom! A huge burst of light erupted, radiating an aura that shook the entire world. The Elemental Spirit, Chaos Spirit, Geocore Soul Mother, and Sea-Eye Spirit Spring all sensed it and rushed over.
Chaos Spirit exclaimed, "Such powerful desolate-ancient energy!"
A dragon's roar shook the heavens. A blood-shadow giant dragon coiled in the sky, and the zhang-long, chi-wide saber suddenly expanded several times, golden patterns flashing as four golden characters appeared in the air.
Desolate Dragon Saber!