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Rhea Yang’s attacks were little more than a tickle to the giant serpent, leaving only shallow wounds on its body. The serpent seemed to possess intelligence, completely ignoring Rhea’s strikes and keeping its huge eyes locked on Evan Chu. Maybe, in its eyes, Evan was the true target.
Just as Rhea turned after her attack, the serpent’s tail whipped over and slammed into her with indescribable speed. She had no time to dodge and was struck directly, sent flying as droplets of bright red blood scattered in the air—clearly, she was seriously injured.
Rhea, collapsed on the ground, tried to get up, but her body simply wouldn’t cooperate. Maybe her injuries were too severe—she actually lost consciousness at that moment.
Evan Chu didn’t have time to check on Rhea’s condition. He’d already prepared a seemingly plain sword strike, knowing that the task of dealing with the giant serpent was his alone. He could only hope this sword would inflict serious damage.
Gripping Frostbane Sword tightly, Evan poured all the Chaos Qi from his Earth Star Pellet into the blade, then casually swung the sword. It looked effortless, as if he’d used no strength at all—but Evan felt himself growing faint. That single swing had nearly drained half the Chaos Qi from his body.
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The giant serpent noticed Evan’s odd sword strike, but seemed confident in its massive horn and met the blow head-on.
Frostbane Sword collided with the giant horn again, unleashing a deafening explosion. The invisible sword energy formed from Chaos Qi rained down on the serpent’s body, but the recoil also sent Evan flying several meters.
This time, the serpent wasn’t so lucky. Evan had burned through most of his Chaos Qi for that sword strike, and its power was obvious—Frostbane Sword sliced through the horn as if it were butter, cutting it cleanly in half.
Evan Chu struggled to his feet, ignoring the blood trickling from the corner of his mouth and gritting his teeth against the pain. While the serpent was writhing in agony, he locked onto the white patch under its jaw and used Heart-Sword to launch an attack.
Frostbane Sword shot forward like a meteor in the night, piercing straight into the white spot under the serpent’s jaw. But the outcome wasn’t as Evan had hoped—the serpent didn’t die instantly. Its blood gushed out like a flood, pouring everywhere.
The giant serpent’s body thrashed wildly, tossing stones and uprooting trees all around. Dust and debris filled the air, and the stench of blood was overwhelming—it was a terrifying sight.
After unleashing Heart-Sword, Evan’s mind was wracked with pain. His teeth ground together, his facial muscles twisted, and the blood in his mouth made him look downright savage. “Just what rank is this monster beast? How can it be this strong?” he muttered inwardly.
He thought to himself, ‘Even that plain sword strike should have seriously injured a seventh-layer Earth Martial expert, but this serpent still isn’t down.’ Evan couldn’t help but worry.
Looks like I’ll have to use Lion Spirit Fist. But I can only use it three times in total—every use is one less for the future. Honestly, I hate to waste it, but right now if I don’t use it, I’ll lose my life and won’t have a chance to regret it.
Even as these thoughts flashed through his mind, Evan’s hands didn’t stop moving. He recalled the method the Bloodshadow Berserker Lion had taught him for unleashing Lion Spirit Fist.
Following those instructions, the mysterious energy in Evan’s dantian visibly dimmed, but his right hand began to blaze with dazzling red light.
If his meridians hadn’t been tempered twice by Starforge Body training, his arm might have been crippled by now. The energy was simply too intense—even Evan’s strong will was barely enough to withstand it.
The serpent, wounded by Evan’s plain sword and Heart-Sword, was no longer rampaging. Its movements had slowed considerably, but the vicious light in its eyes was still enough to send chills down anyone’s spine.
When Evan felt that one third of the energy had gathered in his fist, he roared, "You damned piece of trash, die for me!" In that instant, a world-shattering aura erupted from his body.
If Rhea Yang were awake right now and saw Evan’s display, she’d think she was dreaming. The aura he unleashed was far beyond anything she’d imagined—she might even start seeing him as a monster.
The giant serpent seemed to sense Evan’s terrifying aura and the strange light blazing from his fist. It tried to twist its huge body around to block the attack with brute force.
Evan swung his fist with all his strength—a massive crimson lion phantom appeared before him, accompanied by a deafening lion’s roar, and lunged straight at the serpent.
Boom! A thunderous crash erupted outward from Evan’s position, the shockwave blasting in all directions and whipping up a fierce wind that swept across the area.
Dust and debris flew everywhere, trees were snapped in half and sent flying, and the dense mist was blown away without a trace. This time, Evan wasn’t knocked back—the power of Lion Spirit Fist was far beyond what the serpent could withstand. Its massive body was torn into several pieces, blood splattering all over Evan and turning him into a figure soaked in red.
Evan collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath. If a second-layer Earth Martial cultivator showed up now, they could finish him off effortlessly. He was completely exhausted and injured; even though his recovery was strong, the wounds from the serpent wouldn’t heal quickly.
After slaying the serpent, Evan eyed its severed corpse with lingering fear. But he wasn’t in the mood to harvest its Magic Crystal—right now, he had to restore his stamina and Chaos Qi. If he ran into Sea Dragon Academy disciples now, he’d be in serious trouble.
He pulled out a starstone from his storage ring and began slowly absorbing its power. After dozens of minutes, a voice rang out in his mind—the Bloodshadow Berserker Lion cub, Shadow, said, "Master, I want to come out!"
Evan immediately opened his eyes. The little Bloodshadow Berserker Lion, Shadow, was currently on his arm; due to the secret art, it couldn’t come out on its own and needed Evan’s help.
Only now did Evan remember that it had been almost five days since they entered the Monster Beast Forest—the little guy must be starving. He couldn’t believe he’d forgotten something so important.
Letting Shadow out was actually simple—just like retrieving something from his storage ring, all he had to do was focus his spiritual sense and think about releasing it.
Shadow appeared, took one look at Evan’s current state, and sent a message into his mind: "Master, don’t worry. When I grow up, I’ll definitely protect you!"
Before it finished speaking, Shadow pounced straight onto the serpent’s corpse and started ravenously devouring it, leaving Evan speechless in shock...