At this moment, Elder Heavenape took out a red fruit from his body and said, "Master, I know you have a Sword Spirit inside you. I can't see what grade this Sword Spirit is, but my feeling is that it's even older than I am.
This red fruit is called a Bloodsoul Fruit. It's extremely helpful for the soul. You should give it to your Sword Spirit later. I really don't have anything else valuable to offer you, Master—I'm truly sorry."
"Evan, that's a real treasure! Hurry and take it. With this Bloodsoul Fruit, I won't need any soul-nourishing medicine for the next ten years. It's several grades higher than Soul Snow Grass!" Luna, the Sword Spirit, suddenly said, her tone visibly excited.
"Oh, got it. So how are you going to repay me?" Evan Chu grinned.
"Repay you? You really want me to make you regret it for life?"
Another threat—Evan Chu was speechless. He took the Bloodsoul Fruit from Elder Heavenape and put it straight into his storage ring.
"When are you leaving?" Evan Chu asked Elder Heavenape.
"Right now. Master, you'd better get out of the cave quickly. Once I leave, this cave will collapse," Elder Heavenape replied.
Evan Chu nodded helplessly, but suddenly seemed to remember something and immediately asked, "Do you know if there are any other teleportation gates around here?"
"There are four teleportation gates here, one in each direction: east, south, west, and north. The interface you're in now should be the western one. These gates are really small, though—they only cover a range of a thousand li," Elder Heavenape said.
Evan Chu wanted to ask more, but seeing the anxious look on Elder Heavenape's face, he realized the elder must have urgent matters to handle. "I'll head out first then. Take care!" he said, turning and leaving.
After Evan Chu left, Elder Heavenape said helplessly, "Master, I have to leave. There's an invisible restriction in this cave that can suppress my aura."
If I followed you, those old enemies would quickly find out. With my current strength, I can't protect you. I hope you can unseal the Frostbane Sword soon and master the martial arts within—it might give you the power to protect yourself.
Evan Chu quickly exited the cave. Rhea Yang and Gabe Goldstone rushed over, about to ask questions, but Evan shouted urgently, "Everyone, get back! The cave's about to collapse—the falling rocks could hurt you!"
Just as Evan finished speaking, a deafening roar echoed through the air. Smoke billowed from the cave, and rocks shot out everywhere.
Everyone hurriedly ran for cover. After about a minute, the chaos subsided—the cave was now buried under a pile of rubble, leaving everyone stunned.
"Evan, what happened? Where's the monster beast?" Rhea Yang was the first to ask.
Evan Chu knew Elder Heavenape had already left. Although he hadn't found a usable teleportation gate, he had obtained the Bloodsoul Fruit for Luna and learned the exact location of the portal. It was still worth the trip.
"I killed the monster beast, but the portal inside was destroyed. Don't worry—it wasn't connected to Heavenly Dragon Academy. It's just an abandoned portal that's been unusable for years." Evan explained.
Evan said this offhandedly. He decided not to mention Elder Heavenape to them—it was better not to burden them with extra worries.
Lily Tang looked at Evan Chu, half convinced, half skeptical. When she saw how pale he was, she couldn't help but ask, "Evan, are you hurt? You look terrible—are you alright?"
With most of his Chaos Qi depleted, Evan Chu just wanted to find a safe spot to recover. This place was filled with danger.
This place was just too bizarre. Running into an ancient spirit beast here was unbelievable enough, but the strangest part was that it recognized him as its master, claiming he was the reincarnation of the Lord of Frostbane.
If he really was reincarnated, shouldn't he remember something from his past? But right now, he knew nothing. If Luna hadn't mentioned the Lord of Frostbane before, he wouldn't even know about it.
Seeing everyone so worried, Evan Chu smiled. "It's nothing. I just used up a lot of energy killing that monster beast. I'll be fine after a short rest, so don't worry."
Everyone knew Evan was making it sound easy, but the truth was definitely more complicated. He just didn't want them to worry.
"Let's head back. With all that noise, people are bound to come this way. I just hope it's not anyone from Sea Dragon Academy!" Evan said, then started walking.
Rhea Yang had a feeling Evan was hiding something. She quietly caught up and asked, "What really happened? Others might not know you, but I've faced life and death with you—you can't fool me."
Evan Chu gave a wry smile. "Rhea, would you believe me if I said I saved a monster beast even stronger than Goldwing?"
"I believe you. Simon Driftwind said the monster looked like a giant monkey—so what happened?" Rhea grew even more curious. Evan Chu's life was never short of danger and excitement.
On the way back, Evan Chu gave a brief account of rescuing Heaven Ape, but left out anything about being recognized as master, the Divine Battlefield, or being the Lord of Frostbane reincarnated—those things were just too far-fetched for most people to accept.
When Evan Chu and the group returned, everyone rushed over. Gus Bullard was the first, saying, "Boss, what happened? The noise was huge, and that roar nearly scared me to death!"
"Nothing serious, Gus. I killed a monster beast and collapsed the cave—there weren't any treasures inside. Is everyone okay? Anything happen while I was gone?" Evan smiled, though his eyes were on someone else.
"Nothing happened—how could anything go wrong with me here? But it looks like Ryan Ouyang might have figured out who you really are." Gus said, grinning.
"Oh, that explains why his look was so strange. Let's go talk to him." Evan said, heading toward Ryan Ouyang.
Ryan Ouyang saw Evan Chu coming. Though Evan's appearance had changed, his old classmates confirmed it was him, leaving Ryan feeling frustrated.
"Evan Chu, what are you trying to do? Are you here to humiliate me? I may not be your match, but I'm not someone you can insult just because you changed your appearance!" Ryan Ouyang demanded.
Evan Chu chuckled, "Easy there. Don't forget, I saved your life. You should know better than to be ungrateful!" Evan was patient with Ryan, since those with White Tiger bloodline were very rare.
"I didn't ask you to save me. If you want my life, take it—see if I care!" Ryan Ouyang was still struggling to accept the truth.