The Grand Elder waved his hand and said, "I am the Golden Dragon Grand Elder of the Dragon Shrine. Since you appeared in Divine Dragon Valley for no reason and killed my Silver Dragon Chief, it doesn't matter who you are—you must come with me to the Dragon Shrine and give a clear explanation for this incident."
"Go to the Dragon Shrine? Not interested!" Evan Chu shot back immediately. But inside, he was secretly delighted. He’d thought he’d have to kill a few more guards before the Dragon Shrine sent their people—yet they’d come so quickly, and at such a high rank too.
"Kid, you don’t get a choice. You’re dead anyway—taking you to the Dragon Shrine is just to give the Silver Dragon clan an explanation. So, are you coming with us on your own, or do I have to drag you there myself?" the Golden Dragon Protector said.
"That depends if you’ve got the skills!" Evan replied, neither humble nor overbearing. He’d planned to just go with them, but that would look too weak. Why not play the pig to eat the tiger—mess around and have some fun with these guys first?
"Fine. Didn’t you tear open space earlier? Do it again for me—I want to see just how tough a human ant like you really is," the Golden Dragon Protector sneered.
"To deal with a little mud-eel like you, why bother tearing open space? One move’s enough!" Evan laughed, then moved in a blur and slashed his sword at the Golden Dragon Protector. This time he used Earthsplitter—its attack power was enough to match the opponent without exposing his true limits. He wouldn’t kill the Protector, but wanted the Grand Elder to step in and save him, then lose to the Grand Elder himself. That way, no one would suspect his real strength.
As soon as the human youth attacked, the Grand Elder casually waved his hand. A spatial black hole appeared in front of the two, and a powerful suction pulled Evan, the Protector, and the Grand Elder into the black-hole space.
The Golden Dragon Protector’s weapon was a longsword. Seeing Evan attack, he also swung with full force. Their attacks collided, instantly unleashing a violent energy storm in front of them. The backlash sent both men flying dozens of meters before they finally stopped.
At this point, Evan had a pretty good sense of the Golden Dragon Protector’s strength. If he used Heaven-Cleave, he could definitely beat the guy; if he used Star-Cleave, it’d be a one-shot kill.
To make the Grand Elder step in and save the Protector, he had to use Heaven-Cleave. Evan grinned, "Not bad, little mud-eel—you can actually handle eighty percent of my strength. But if that’s all you’ve got, it’s still not enough! Take this!"
The Golden Dragon Protector was truly shocked—the youth’s strength was every bit as strong as his own. Now, with the Grand Elder present, he couldn’t afford to lose face. Furious, he circulated his dragonforce and shouted at Evan, "Today you’ll learn there are people you just can’t mess with!"
Evan unleashed Heaven-Cleave in an instant, determined to seriously injure the Golden Dragon Protector. The Protector swung his sword with all his might, sending a giant wave of sword-qi crashing toward Evan. The whole black-hole space shook violently, on the verge of being torn apart.
Seeing the sword-qi Evan unleashed, the Golden Dragon Grand Elder’s face changed instantly—he hadn’t expected a human youth to have such terrifying attack power. The Protector was no match at all. "Protector, watch out!" he shouted urgently.
But it was too late. Now that Evan had broken through to Eighth-Layer Saint Martial Realm, his attack power was monstrous. Even with just Heaven-Cleave, the Golden Dragon Protector couldn’t withstand it. Evan’s sword-qi shattered the Protector’s attack, slammed into him, and sent him flying dozens of meters, blood raining down through the air.
But this strike didn’t kill the Golden Dragon Protector—it just left him gravely wounded, which was exactly what Evan wanted. The Protector’s body was slashed with several wounds deep enough to show bone; in one spot, even his internal organs were clearly visible.
Evan knew that if the guy turned into his Golden Dragon form, even Heaven-Cleave might not be enough to handle him. The Golden Dragon’s defense was insane. But the Protector had underestimated Evan—and that’s why he’d ended up in this mess.
The Golden Dragon Protector’s eyes bulged with rage, as if his fury could ignite the whole black-hole space. He stared at Evan in shock. "Kid, you actually managed to wound me? You’re dead for sure today!" he yelled, charging forward again.
Evan noticed the Protector’s wounds were healing at a shocking rate—his recovery was incredible. But just then, the Golden Dragon Grand Elder blocked his path. "You’re no match for him. In terms of attack power, this human already has the strength of a Sixth-Layer Venerable Martial. Surviving that last strike is already lucky for you. Let me handle him instead."
The Protector wanted to protest, but seeing the Grand Elder’s determined gaze, he kept quiet. The Grand Elder then said, "You really are strong—worthy of shouting loud. But the Dragon Clan isn’t a place where you can run wild. Will you surrender and come with me to the Dragon Shrine, or do I have to beat you half-dead first? The first way is painless; the second, you might wish you were dead."
"Old man, who are you trying to scare? I’m not afraid of heaven or earth, and I sure as hell don’t fear you. Show me what you’ve got—let me see just how tough you really are!" Evan said with disdain.
"Not bad, you’ve got guts—but it’s just brute courage. Today I’ll show you what real strength looks like. Hope you’re satisfied!" the Golden Dragon Grand Elder laughed.
He waved his hand and a massive golden energy orb appeared, shooting straight toward Evan. Even from a distance, Evan could sense the terrifying power inside it—if he got hit, he wouldn’t be seriously injured, but he’d definitely look miserable.
He wanted the Grand Elder to take him back, but couldn’t look too weak. So he moved in a blur and unleashed Heaven-Cleave. The sword-qi from Heaven-Cleave collided with the Grand Elder’s energy orb, and the impact instantly shattered the black-hole space—throwing all three of them into the open sky.
Evan was blasted back dozens of meters—though more than ten meters of that was him retreating on purpose, to avoid suspicion. The Grand Elder was knocked back over ten meters and looked distinctly displeased. The hidden lightning in Evan’s Heaven-Cleave had numbed his whole body, making him uncomfortable.
Evan forcibly reversed his bloodline circulation, making his face go pale. "Old man, looks like you’ve got some skills—you actually managed to injure me. But I don’t have time to mess around with you. I’m leaving now!" he snorted.