He saw no trace of anyone, sensed no aura at all—just the feeling that someone was watching him. Evan Chu looked up at the sky, and instantly, a bolt of Heaven’s Punishment lightning descended from the nine heavens and struck him directly!
Black smoke billowed from his head, his skin split open in several places, and golden blood spilled everywhere. Inside, his organs churned uncontrollably until he couldn’t hold it back any longer—he spat out a mouthful of blood with a loud gasp…
“That voice just now…” Evan Chu finally recovered his senses, but his heart was still pounding with fear. What happened just now terrified him so much he didn’t dare bring it up again! That voice, the instant it spoke, made him feel a threat of death—it felt like it could wipe out his soul in an instant!
Just how powerful must someone be to possess such strength? This kind of power absolutely doesn’t exist within the Three Realms!
It’s not that Evan Chu is afraid of death—it’s that this voice seems to hold dominion over all life and death. When it appears, your fate is no longer yours to decide…
“Don’t pry into Heaven’s secrets—just do what I’m supposed to do? What counts as Heaven’s secrets? Was it what I was just guessing…” At this thought, Evan Chu immediately forced himself to stop speculating!
Even though he desperately wanted to keep pondering, his rational mind warned him: absolutely not. If he kept going, the next bolt of Heaven’s Punishment might kill him outright!
In the end, he could only force a bitter smile. “Guess I’ll just do what I’m supposed to do and leave it at that.”
Wood element energy washed through his body, healing his wounds almost completely. Besides, Evan Chu had already fully mastered the laws of thunder and lightning—damage like this barely affected him anymore.
What he didn’t know was that, after he left, in the even higher layers of cloud above the nine heavens, there stood a figure, charred all over and dripping with blood. Looking closely, it was none other than Evan Chu’s second junior brother—Lord Thunder!
“Senior brother... you really are extraordinary. I never imagined that, even at your current cultivation, you could glimpse Heaven’s secrets that even I can’t fathom, and draw Heaven’s wrath! Back then, when Master handed Frostbane Divine Palace to you, gave you the three divine artifacts, and bestowed you the title of Lord Frostbane, I was still deeply unconvinced.
But now, I truly accept it—heart and soul! I’m not your equal! From now on, I’ll support you with everything I have! These remaining eight bolts of Heaven’s Punishment, I’ll take them as my repayment for all the years I envied you!”
Lord Thunder murmured softly—words only he could hear—then coughed violently, spitting blood. After that, the tribulation clouds in the sky dispersed, and even his figure gradually faded from sight.
In reality, the power of Heaven's Punishment is a full nine bolts! And each one is absolutely terrifying. If Evan Chu had taken all of them head-on, he would have been crippled and on the brink of death—if not outright killed, he’d lose half his life at the very least, maybe even his physical body, left as nothing but a soul!
And it’s not just him—such horrifying ninefold Heaven's Punishment, in all the Three Realms, there’s simply no one who could endure it unscathed. So Lord Thunder’s wounds, even though they look tragic, are really just child’s play.
That’s why Evan Chu should count himself lucky—he only took the first bolt of Heaven’s Punishment.
As for what he’s truly meant to do, even Evan Chu doesn’t know what fate is pointing to. But right now, he does know exactly what he must do next.
Above the Nether Imperial City, the pillar of light grew ever stronger. After Princess Serena Hua was blasted out, the shockwaves didn’t just rock the capital—they set off a huge uproar across all the surrounding cities.
Suddenly, countless experts tainted with powerful dark element energy appeared—Nether Venerables, and even two Nether Emperors leading the charge!
“Heh! Serena Hua, last time you lost your final chance to resurrect Hadeon Hua. Yet you still refuse to give up! I advise you to abandon your last resistance, submit to the Spirit Lord, and maybe survive the Three Realms! Otherwise, your death is only a moment away!”
A Nether Emperor at the early stage, radiating powerful dark element energy, roared in the sky. Beside him, another early-stage Nether Emperor had already led dozens of Nether Venerables into fierce combat with the defenders inside the Imperial Capital.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Explosions thundered, and below, hundreds of thousands of troops clashed with the city’s defenders in a chaotic melee.
Evan Chu saw it all clearly—those experts wielding dark element energy were obviously mind-corrupted rebels. Yet after days of probing the surroundings, he hadn’t discovered a single trace!
In truth, these rebels had always been hidden inside a mysterious pocket-space. Though not nearly as strong as the Timewheel Bracelet, it let them suppress their auras and conceal an army of hundreds of thousands.
“Submit to you? Never! Three months ago, our war made us mortal enemies—there’s no turning back! You robbed me of my last chance to resurrect my father. I will never let you leave the Netherworld alive. Today will be your death day!”
Princess Serena Hua screamed in defiance, her power erupting—she too had reached early-stage Nether Emperor realm. But unlike those two, her body bore no trace of dark element corruption.
Evan Chu was puzzled. Three months ago? Did a great war already break out in the Netherworld back then? How was it pacified so quickly? And if Serena Hua failed to resurrect Hadeon Hua, then what was that pillar of light in the capital now—it was clearly Hadeon’s aura!
“Hmph! My army of hundreds of thousands will soon slaughter the entire Netherworld! Last time, some bastard helped you, but now? Our three Nether Emperors and that defender perished together. Now, who can save you?”
As the battle raged, more than ten cities outside the Nether Imperial City fell one after another. Serena Hua’s loyalist legions were no match for the rebels!
Evan Chu’s pupils contracted sharply as he watched the two rebel Nether Emperors above the nine heavens, utterly shocked. Three had fallen together with one defender? The rebel army had once boasted three Nether Emperors!
And these Nether Emperors, empowered by dark element energy, far surpassed ordinary ones! As Evan Chu pondered this, the only Nether Emperor in his city crashed down from the sky, bloodied and defeated. He hadn’t lasted even five moves against the rebel!
“Damn it…” Serena Hua’s eyes flashed with fury as she shouted,
“All forces of the Netherworld! Rally with me and annihilate the traitors—fight for our new ruler’s ascension! Buy us time! When the moment comes, every rebel will be buried here, and my father’s death shall be avenged!!”
At this, Evan Chu could barely restrain himself from intervening. He couldn’t watch the Netherworld’s people be slaughtered by rebels—if this went on, the loyalists would be wiped out. And from Serena Hua’s words, the one being empowered by that pillar of Nether force was the Netherworld’s new emperor?
But as Hadeon Hua’s only daughter, Serena Hua wasn’t inheriting the throne. So who was the new emperor?
The next moment, an aura even more terrifying than any ordinary Nether Emperor erupted. A world-shaking dragon roar thundered from the Nether Imperial City—a six-thousand-zhang golden nine-clawed giant dragon, wreathed in intense Nether qi, soared skyward. Evan Chu’s bloodline trembled violently. He knew this aura better than his own—it was his son, Chase Chu!
Chase Chu—he was the new Nether Emperor, about to ascend the throne!