"You want to kill me, but expect me to let you go? Ridiculous. You can just perish on your own." Evan Yang snorted coldly, then tossed him aside. If he was lucky, someone might save him; if not, he’d become food for the savage beasts.
Evan Yang didn’t spare him out of mercy—he simply gave him a chance, leaving his fate to luck.
As Evan Yang walked away, he heard the man’s howling cries for help. Soon, the noise died down, as if he was afraid of attracting the savage beasts.
Ever since that incident, Evan Yang trained with extra caution. Anyone who got close was treated as a suspect.
A few days passed, and a month had already gone by, but Evan Yang didn’t leave. He planned to keep cultivating here, since this place was perfect for training and finding powerful beasts.
So Evan Yang continued his training here, paying no attention to what was happening outside.
Reed Kong didn’t send Evan Yang any messages, afraid of drawing suspicion and causing trouble for him. But Reed himself wasn’t doing well either.
"Elder Mu, you called for me?" Reed Kong was summoned as soon as he returned to the Genius Pavilion.
"Yes, come. Someone from Ninefold Palace wants to see you," Elder Mu said.
Reed Kong knew it must be about Evan Yang, but he calmed himself and pretended to know nothing, following Elder Mu to a meeting hall. Inside, several powerhouses were seated—representatives from all four factions.
"He’s here," Elder Mu said to the group as he entered.
A member of Ninefold Palace asked, "Are you the one responsible for that beggar genius?"
"I am," Reed Kong nodded.
"Alright, then tell us—where is he now? What’s his true strength? Is he hiding anything?" the Ninefold Palace member pressed.
"I don’t know where he is. As for his strength, he’s early-stage Out-of-Body, Green Fourth-Tier, no hidden cultivation." Reed Kong knew they wanted to dig out Evan Yang’s real power and whereabouts.
"Are you sure?" the Ninefold Palace member frowned.
"I’m sure," Reed Kong replied.
The Ninefold Palace member frowned, and Elder Mu called Reed Kong outside, leaving only the four factions’ representatives in the hall.
"Alright, that’s how things stand. As for Evan Yang, we can’t reach him. Do you have any opinions?" a Genius Pavilion powerhouse asked.
"He killed so many of our Ninefold Palace Star Lords and thinks he can just run? No way. If you hear anything about that kid, Genius Pavilion had better not cover for him," the Ninefold Palace member said coldly.
"No problem," the Genius Pavilion member replied.
"Since that’s settled, let’s discuss who gets ownership of Nameless Star," another faction’s representative said.
Everyone began tallying up their side’s kill scores.
"Our Genius Pavilion scored fifty-three thousand and forty points," reported the Genius Pavilion member.
"Our Hundred-Bloom Palace scored forty-nine thousand points," the Hundred-Bloom Palace member reported.
"Our Sky-Mystic Palace scored fifty thousand one hundred and ten points," the Sky-Mystic Palace member replied.
"Our Ninefold Palace scored fifty thousand one hundred points," the Ninefold Palace member replied.
After comparing the four scores, it was clear at a glance—the Genius Pavilion had won ownership of Nameless Star.
The Genius Pavilion member stood up and smiled, "Then this planet belongs to the Genius Pavilion."
"Hmph, lucky you. But you’d better find that kid for me. If it weren’t for that news, our score wouldn’t be so low," the Ninefold Palace member said, clearly disgruntled.
Everyone knew that Ninefold Palace’s score was only a few hundred points less than the Genius Pavilion’s, but they’d spent a lot of effort on Evan Yang’s case. If not for him, they would have won this round.
The Genius Pavilion didn’t argue with Ninefold Palace over the planet. Instead, they smiled and said, "We will. If we hear anything about him, we’ll definitely bring him in."
"And you two palaces, if possible, help us search as well. Ninefold Palace will reward you." Losing ownership of the planet and dealing with Evan Yang’s case left Ninefold Palace feeling unbalanced—they were eager to find Evan.
The other two palaces nodded, then the Sky-Mystic Palace member said, "Since the Genius Pavilion won Nameless Star, it belongs to you now. But that place is truly a blessed land, so the three palaces must have quota rights—at least enough to let our people freely enter and exit with passes."
The Genius Pavilion knew these factions wouldn’t simply hand over Nameless Star. To avoid future trouble, their member smiled and asked, "How many quotas do the three palaces need?"
"How about ten thousand quotas for each palace?" the Sky-Mystic Palace member said with a smile.
"Ten thousand?" The Genius Pavilion member frowned. That meant thirty thousand non-Pavilion cultivators could access Nameless Star.
"Surely the Genius Pavilion isn’t that stingy? Don’t forget, if this planet weren’t special, anyone from the three palaces could enter freely." The Sky-Mystic Palace member laughed.
The Genius Pavilion knew they had to agree—if they insisted, they’d only lose out.
Seeing the Genius Pavilion hesitate, the Ninefold Palace member spoke up: "All three palace star systems have countless planets, and ours are open to everyone except headquarters. Your Genius Star is already a headquarters—other palace members can’t enter, which is understandable. But if you block access to Nameless Star too, don’t you think that’s unreasonable?"
Hearing this, the Genius Pavilion member sighed, "Alright, each palace will have permission for ten thousand people to enter and exit."
"Good, that’s settled," the Sky-Mystic Palace member nodded, and the other two palaces nodded as well. Then the three palaces withdrew from the meeting.
"These people, honestly. That planet may be a blessed land, but it’s crawling with savage beasts—and none of them offered to help clear it," the Genius Pavilion member wondered aloud.
Elder Mu replied, "That’s the three palaces for you. Otherwise, our Genius Pavilion would have stood alone long ago—it wouldn’t be the three palaces and five tiers anymore."
[Irrelevant system message skipped.]
"You’re right, but the Genius Pavilion is mostly made up of cultivation geniuses, not management experts. Even with a planet, we can’t manage it well, and their geniuses all think highly of themselves," the Genius Pavilion member replied.
"Do you think the higher-ups know about this?" Elder Mu asked curiously.
"Yeah, I’ll go tell them soon. We’ll see if they want to help clear out the savage beasts. If so, it’ll save us a lot of trouble—if they take charge, they could clean out the whole planet in a day," the Genius Pavilion member replied.
Elder Mu nodded. As the member got up to leave, he added, "Keep an eye on Evan Yang’s case, so Ninefold Palace doesn’t accuse us of incompetence. On the surface, be proactive, but privately there’s no need. After all, we don’t have to bow and scrape to them."
Elder Mu replied, "Yes, I’ll arrange for someone to handle it."
"I’d like to see which Genius Pavilion member was so impressive—killed so many Star Lords in one go," the man said with a smile, then left.
Elder Mu shook his head helplessly and left as well.
Outside, he saw Reed Kong waiting for him.
"Elder Mu," Reed Kong greeted respectfully.
"You haven’t left yet?" Elder Mu asked curiously.
"I have something to discuss with you," Reed Kong said after thinking for a moment.
"What is it?" Elder Mu asked, suspicious.
Seeing no one was around, Reed Kong used a transmission technique: "Evan Yang, the new recruit I brought in, only killed those people because they tried to steal his prey."
Elder Mu was stunned for a moment, then sighed, "No one will believe that. Just tell him to be careful."
Elder Mu left, and Reed Kong muttered, "Be careful?"
Reed Kong was confused. Elder Mu had always pushed him to capture Evan Yang, so why was he now telling him to warn Evan to be careful?
After walking a few steps, Elder Mu sent Reed Kong another message: "There’s plenty of friction between Genius Pavilion and Ninefold Palace. Killing a few people now and then is normal—they often secretly kill our geniuses, too. If they can do it, so can we. As long as they don’t catch him, it’s fine. If they do, there’s nothing Genius Pavilion can do."
Reed Kong pondered those words, then smiled and left, departing from Genius Star.
After leaving Genius Star, Reed Kong sent Evan Yang the latest news.
"Be careful. Don’t let Ninefold Palace or the other two palaces catch you. As for Genius Pavilion, they’ll turn a blind eye as long as you aren’t caught. If you are, they’ll have to hand you over to Ninefold Palace. So no matter who it is—three palaces or Genius Pavilion—don’t let them catch you," Reed Kong messaged Evan Yang.
Evan Yang read the message and smiled. "Thanks," he replied.
"I believe your strength is greater than this. I’ll wait for you to return stronger," Reed Kong said with a smile.
Evan Yang smiled, bid Reed Kong farewell, and continued wandering Nameless Star.
He occasionally encountered savage beasts and fought them.
Another half month passed. At first, Evan saw no one, but after that period, he began to spot cultivators flying overhead.
Those cultivators seemed to be hunting savage beasts. Curious, Evan Yang hid in the forest, using his spiritual sense to observe their actions.
Over the next few days, Evan saw them clear out a patch of land, build protective walls, and finally construct a star-grade teleportation array on the walls.
Once the array was completed, many people arrived, all excited—some even flew around the area.
"Are they Genius Pavilion members?" Evan Yang noticed a group of inspectors by the teleportation array. Whenever someone emerged, they would show a token before leaving.
But soon, Evan saw people with a different kind of white token, engraved with the name of their palace.