If not for the powerful defense of the Ninth Layer of the Starforge Body, Evan Chu would have been far more gravely injured by the combined strike of two late-stage God-Venerables. Even though his attack managed to block most of their force, some of it still landed on him.
The attacks of late-stage God-Venerables are no joke. To come away with his life is already something to be grateful for. Inside his body, Wood element power rapidly works to heal his wounds.
At this moment, Evan Chu felt completely dazed—this was the aftereffect of using Stellar Power. The Stellar Power in his dantian was almost depleted, meaning those two strikes had actually drained his reserves from full to empty. Just thinking about it was terrifying.
Evan Chu's condition was miserable, but those two God-Venerable realm experts were even worse off. They would never have dreamed that they'd be wounded so badly by a so-called early-stage God-Venerable 'ant.' Both of their bodies were riddled with holes—at this point, you could hardly call it a body at all.
The guy wielding the bronze hammer took Evan Chu's Absolute Cleave head-on. The devastating sword-qi shattered his hammer, erased nearly a third of his muscles and bones, and left his internal organs in tatters. The only thing left intact was his God Infant.
Right now, he was basically a bloody mess lying on the ground, unable to get up for ages. Even if he did manage to stand, he’d have no combat power left. To restore a body like this would take years, maybe even decades.
Honestly, his situation was still better than that of the guy who tried to earthshift into the ground—at least he still had a shot at recovery. That other guy could only exist as a God Infant, waiting for the right opportunity to seize a new body.
The one who faced Evan Chu's fifth form of Wind-God Sword Art had it a bit better, since its attack power wasn't as terrifying as Absolute Cleave. Plus, Evan used Absolute Cleave with his left hand—which is the Chaos Arm, far stronger than his right.
Still, since Evan Chu was burning through Stellar Power—and spent it all in one go—it packed way more punch than ordinary Divine Power. The wind-blade sword-qi didn’t break his weapon, but it did shred his muscles into fragments.
His bones were also fractured in many places, but oddly enough, they were golden. That alone was strange. This guy also had no strength left to fight; recovery would take years. Evan Chu’s terrifying power was plain to see.
The Grand Elder and several others rushed over to check the two men’s injuries. But when they saw how badly Evan Chu had hurt them, every one of them was absolutely furious—especially the Grand Elder, who now wanted nothing more than to swallow Evan alive.
Evan Chu took out a pill from his Coiling-Dragon Ring and swallowed it. It was the same Mind-Focusing Pill he’d used before to restore his mental strength—the dizziness just now was clearly the side effect of burning through Stellar Power.
Seeing that he’d managed to seriously injure two late-stage God-Venerables, Evan Chu was genuinely excited. At least now, he had the power to stand against late-stage God-Venerables—as long as he didn’t run into a God-Emperor, he wasn’t in any real danger.
But right now, he had to deal with the immediate crisis—because the Grand Elder’s murderous intent was pressing in like a tidal wave. From that killing aura alone, Evan could tell the old man’s strength was truly terrifying. Even though both were late-stage God-Venerables, the difference in power was massive.
It was like breaking through to the God-Emperor Realm required a score of one hundred, but some late-stage God-Venerables only had ten or twenty points—while the Grand Elder was at least eighty or more. In other words, he alone could go toe-to-toe with several God-Venerables at once.
Evan Chu was now on full alert. If push came to shove, he’d use the Icefire Divine Eye to blast through the barrier and escape. The Grand Elder was already giving him a real sense of danger—and when you’re facing danger, getting away safely is the smartest move. He wasn’t stupid.
“Kid, you really are strong. If you ever break through to late-stage God-Venerable, maybe no one in the entire Sea Regions could beat you. But today—you have to die!” the Grand Elder roared, eyes blazing like he was about to spit fire.
“Anyone can talk big—do you actually have the skills? If you want to kill me, show me what you’ve got! Let me see if the Grand Elder of East Sea Domain Palace is just as useless as the rest of them!” Evan Chu said calmly, refusing to lose face no matter what.
Just then, several figures suddenly appeared in the sky and swiftly landed in front of Evan Chu. One of them—a middle-aged man—radiated an even stronger aura than the Grand Elder. Evan instantly sensed this must be the East Sea Domain Lord himself.
"We greet the Palace Lord!" the Grand Elder and the others said in unison to the middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man waved his hand slightly, then fixed his gaze on Evan Chu. "Who are you? Why are you causing trouble in my East Sea Domain Palace? Was it you who killed the Sea-Sky City Lord?" His voice was icy cold, like it came straight from hell.
"So you're the East Sea Domain Lord? No surprise you're a powerhouse. Who I am doesn't matter—but yes, I did kill the Sea-Sky City Lord. Are you here for revenge?" Evan Chu replied calmly, already thinking about how to escape.
He had two options: retreat into the Timewheel Bracelet, or break through the barrier. But he couldn't understand why this barrier let people in but wouldn't let them out. He was also a bit worried—if he entered the Timewheel Bracelet, could its restrictions be broken by these enemies?
"The Sea-Sky City Lord was my son. You killed my son and now act so self-righteous, and you've even injured three of my top commanders. Do you think I'll let you off? Still, you have surprised me—an early-stage God-Venerable who can stand against late-stage God-Venerables." the East Sea Domain Lord said.
After the Grand Elder said a few words to the Domain Lord, the latter’s expression changed instantly. "Well, well, well! So you’re actually from the Mainland—that’s even more unexpected! Tell me how you got to the Sea Regions, and maybe I’ll let you die with your body intact. Otherwise, I’ll destroy you, body and soul. Don’t doubt my power; killing you would be all too easy."
"You think I’m scared? If you’ve got the guts, show me! Spouting hot air here means nothing. I’d really like to see just how strong the East Sea Domain Palace’s top powerhouse actually is." Evan Chu said coolly.
But as he spoke, Chaos Divine Power was already surging madly inside him, ready at any moment to flood into his eyes and break through the barrier to escape.
"Palace Lord, let me finish him off—and extract his memories while I’m at it!" the Grand Elder said.
"Be careful—this one’s unpredictable. Don’t let your guard down for an instant!" the East Sea Domain Lord warned.
Just then, a black longsword appeared in the Grand Elder’s hand. Its blade was pitch-black, clearly a divine weapon. But before he could strike, a hearty laugh echoed through the air: "This man is a distinguished guest of Sea Dragon Hall—no one may harm him!"