Evan Chu's temper snapped the moment the girl attacked—no warning, no mercy. He fired off Shifting Position in a flash, his afterimage streaking through the air as he dodged her strike with style.
"Hey, can you be reasonable? I'm human just like you—why won't you believe me?" Evan Chu stood to the side, looking at the girl as he spoke.
"Thief! I didn't expect your strength to be this impressive. There's no way I'm letting you escape today!" The girl finished speaking and quickly fired a brilliant signal firework into the sky, visible for miles around.
Evan spotted the firework and instantly knew it was a call for backup. Just my luck—step one into the Azure Tide Ruins and I'm already neck-deep in trouble. Figures.
Evan Chu scanned the area—empty, just him and the gate girl. Must be the gate warden, he figured. With a quick leap, he shot into the sky, hell-bent on making his escape.
"Trying to run? In Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion, that's just wishful thinking!" The girl rocketed into the air to block him, eyes blazing.
"Hey, why are you so stubborn? I don't want to be your enemy—why do you insist on pestering me? You really think I'm scared of you?" Evan Chu said angrily.
Just as he finished speaking, something occurred to him. "Did you say this is Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion? The Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion, one of the Nine Great Sects of the Azure Tide Ruins?"
"Damn right. Getting scared now? You broke into my Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion and still want to run? This time, you're dead meat!" The girl glared at Evan Chu, voice icy and cutting.
Dead, my ass! Piss me off and I'll erase you—body and soul! I don't mess with people unless they mess with me. So what if it's Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion? I'm nobody's punching bag! If I can't win, I'll bail—what's so hard about that?
What, you think dragging me back gets you a fat reward from your pavilion master—makes you look big? Building your status on someone else's misery is just pathetic. You look all prim and proper, but pulling this kind of psycho move? Wow, you've really opened my eyes!" Evan Chu deliberately used harsh words to tick her off.
He already saw dozens of people flying toward him in the distance. He didn't want trouble, but he wasn't afraid of it either. Still, he needed to clarify things and make the other side feel guilty.
Sure enough, the girl's face darkened with anger at Evan Chu's words. Her beautiful features were clouded over, looking so fierce it seemed she could wring water out of the air.
She glared at Evan Chu and said, "I was going to take you to see the pavilion master, but since your mouth is so filthy, I'll just kill you here! People from Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion aren't the kind you can insult—go to hell!"
Furious, the girl’s sword flashed with Stellar Power, and a sword beam over a meter long shot toward Evan Chu. Judging from her move, she should be at least Fifth-Layer Earth Martial Realm.
For Evan Chu, this kind of attack was like an ant bite. Even if he stood there and let her hit him, she couldn't do a thing to him—his Starforge Body and Earthshift defense made him practically invulnerable to her.
But Evan Chu wasn’t about to show off. Revealing his true strength in a sect as powerful as Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion would be suicide. Playing the weakling is way more fun—and it often leads to unexpected results.
He quickly put on a terrified look, watched the sword’s trajectory, and dodged skillfully. His movements were so close and messy it looked like he barely escaped injury, making him seem genuinely flustered—no one could tell if he was really outmatched or just faking.
Seeing her sword throw the guy into a panic, the girl figured he wasn’t that strong. She even regretted firing the signal flare—if she’d known, she could’ve handled him herself and wouldn’t have needed backup.
Since Evan Chu planned to act, he had to sell it. He hurriedly ran to the side, not too fast. He’d originally wanted to leave, but changed his mind—he wanted to stick around and see what kind of power Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion really had.
If he could build a good relationship with them, it would help him a lot. One more friend means one less enemy—in a world where the strong prey on the weak, everyone understands that.
Soon, the people summoned by the girl arrived and surrounded Evan Chu. One of them flew up to the girl and asked, "Junior Sister, what happened? Why did you send an emergency signal?"
"This guy came out of the teleportation gate—I suspect he's a monster beast in disguise. He won't tell the truth and he's strong, so I sent an emergency signal. Please, Senior Sisters, help me capture him and bring him to the pavilion master." the girl said immediately.
If she didn't claim Evan Chu was strong, she'd be laughed at by her fellow disciples for sending an emergency signal without good reason.
Evan Chu glanced at the newcomers—they were all women, and each one was beautiful. A couple were even as attractive as Claire Ouyang. It really was surprising.
Evan Chu vaguely felt that everyone in Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion was likely female—and all stunningly beautiful. For a guy like him, this could mean serious trouble.
At that moment, one of the women looked Evan Chu over and asked, "Why did you come out of our Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion teleportation gate? That gate only connects to the Monster Beast Forest. What kind of monster beast are you, and why did you come to the Azure Tide Ruins? If you don't answer honestly, you can forget about leaving here."
"Evan, none of these people are very strong—the strongest is only First-Layer Divine Martial Realm. What do you plan to do?" the Sword Spirit said.
"I want to check out Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion. If they’re one of the Nine Great Sects, they must be extraordinary. If I can build a good relationship, it'll be a huge help for Frostbane Sect's rise," Evan Chu said.
The girl who asked the question saw Evan Chu ignoring her and got angry. "Hey, are you mute or deaf? I'm talking to you and you won't answer—are you looking to die here?"
Evan Chu glanced at her and said, "I'm not a monster beast. I'm human, just like you. I came to Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion by accident—I escaped from the Monster Beast Forest. I didn't expect your sect's hospitality to be like this. Honestly, it's kind of disappointing."
"You're human? Then why would you show up in the Monster Beast Forest?" The girl felt something was off with Evan Chu's story and immediately pressed him.
"I'm not from the Azure Tide Ruins. Of course I'd have to pass through the Monster Beast Forest to get here—don't you all know that?" Evan Chu shot back.
"What a load of nonsense. Looks like you need to be taught a lesson about how powerful Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion really is. Sisters, activate the Heavenly Fragrance Formation and capture this guy for the pavilion master to deal with!"