After hearing the Sword Spirit’s voice, Evan Chu hurriedly steadied his mind. If any mishap happened now, it would be a disaster. Even though he was exhausted to the point of collapse, he didn’t hesitate for a second—he would do anything to keep the Sword Spirit safe.
After channeling the Five-Element power one more time, Evan was on the verge of collapse. If the Sword Spirit asked him to do it again, he simply couldn’t—he was already at his absolute limit. Just then, the Sword Spirit said, "You can stop channeling the Five-Element power now. Recover your strength slowly, and when I call for you, channel both wind and thunder elements at the same time."
To Evan, the Sword Spirit’s voice sounded like music from heaven. He collapsed to the ground, utterly spent. Staring at the breathtaking figure before him, he felt no desire at all—even if the Sword Spirit offered herself to him right now, he simply didn’t have the strength. All he could do was watch helplessly.
Evan quickly pushed aside distracting thoughts and began circulating Chaos Dragon Force inside his body. Though channeling the Five-Element power was draining, as long as he activated Chaos Dragon Force, he would recover quickly. Time passed slowly, and Evan gradually entered a state of complete selflessness.
The Sword Spirit focused completely on reconstructing her body, dazzling rays of light flashing from her hands every so often. No one knew how much time had passed before she spoke again: "Evan, quickly channel both wind and thunder elements—at the same time!"
Anyone else would have been unable to do it, but Evan could split his mind and channel two powers at once. He immediately stood up and rapidly poured wind and thunder elements into the Sword Spirit’s body, quickly wrapping her completely in wind and thunder energy.
He kept alternating between channeling and resting, and just as Evan reached his absolute limit again, the Sword Spirit’s heavenly voice came: "Evan, you can stop now. As long as I survive the tribulation lightning, I’ll be fully restored."
Evan nodded. Channeling wind and thunder elements was even more exhausting than the Five-Element power, and splitting his focus drained his mind terribly. He felt groggy and weak all over, but still sat down to recover.
Outside, the others were like ants on a hot pan—so anxious they were about to go crazy. Evan had been inside the blood pool for over twenty days now, and with Full-Moon Night approaching, there was still no sign from within. The Golden Dragon Grand Elder paced back and forth at the entrance to the portal, unable to calm himself.
"Should we go in and check on him? There’s only one day left—we can’t wait any longer!" The Golden Dragon Grand Elder said to the equally anxious Golden Dragon Shrine Master.
"We still need to wait a bit longer. Unless it’s the very last moment, don’t disturb him. He might be breaking through in there right now—if we barge in and interrupt, it could be disastrous. Everyone, just be patient a little longer," said the Golden Dragon Shrine Master.
"That’s right. We should trust him. If he truly can’t emerge, then it’s simply our Dragon Clan’s fate—no one else is to blame. When the Seven-Star Convergence arrives, we’ll deal with it then. For now, I believe we should preserve our bloodline and open Divine Dragon Valley so the best of our clan can escape," said Third Elder Marcus.
After thinking for a moment, the Golden Dragon Shrine Master said, "You’re right. We must prepare for the worst. If Divine Dragon Valley is truly destroyed, at least our clan will survive outside. I’ll leave this task to Third Elder Marcus."
While those outside fretted, Evan focused all his energy on recovery. By now, the Sword Spirit had fully restored her human form, dressed in a pure white gown. Her exquisite figure and peerless beauty made it impossible to look away.
Dark clouds began gathering overhead, growing denser by the moment—a clear sign that tribulation lightning was about to strike. The Sword Spirit didn’t wake Evan, wanting him at his best so he’d have the greatest chance of helping her withstand the lightning.
But Evan opened his eyes on his own, slowly rising to find all his fatigue gone and his body brimming with strength. When he saw the Sword Spirit in her white dress before him, he was so shocked he took a step back.
Then joy flooded his face. He strode over and, not caring whether the Sword Spirit agreed, pulled her straight into his arms. This time the feeling was real—completely, utterly real. His hand trembled slightly on her back.
After countless nights of longing, at last he could hold the woman he loved in his arms. The feeling was bittersweet, overwhelming, and joyous—this was what it meant for suffering to finally end.
The Sword Spirit gently pushed Evan away. If he kept holding her, she feared he might lose control. With tribulation lightning about to descend, if he suddenly let his instincts take over and tangled with her, it could ruin everything. Neither her still-fragile body nor the imminent disaster would allow it.
"Evan, let go of me. I understand how you feel—and I’m no different. But do you see the tribulation clouds overhead? If I can’t survive this lightning, I’ll be utterly destroyed. You have to give it your all," the Sword Spirit said gravely.
Evan immediately let go of the Sword Spirit—he couldn’t possibly bear to see her destroyed. Glancing up at the tribulation clouds overhead, he asked, "When the lightning falls, what should I do? Should I shield you with my body, or try to break the lightning apart?"
"You need to fly up and block all the tribulation lightning yourself. There are only three bolts, and judging by how thin the clouds are, I believe my tribulation won’t be too severe," the Sword Spirit replied.
"Got it. Luna, don’t worry—even if it kills me, I won’t let you be harmed," Evan said solemnly.
Little did they know, above those clouds a shadowy figure was quietly murmuring, "Senior brother, how could you possibly die? These three bolts are incredibly weak—consider it my gift to sister-in-law. Too bad I can’t erase the tribulation entirely due to the laws of heaven and earth, but I’ve already softened it. Hope you can keep growing stronger..."
If Evan and Luna had overheard, they would’ve been utterly shocked. Someone was calling Evan senior brother—and could control the strength of tribulation lightning? That kind of power was simply unimaginable.
Soon the clouds fully converged, plunging the whole sky into darkness. Lightning flashed again and again overhead, while Evan rocketed into the air, ready to face the first bolt.
At that very moment, deep within Divine Dragon Valley at Dragon’s Abyss, a secret chamber erupted with a world-shaking dragon roar. A colossal black dragon, thousands of meters long, burst into the sky. Seeing the tribulation clouds, he muttered, "Someone’s actually crossing a tribulation at this moment!"