Led by Jax Jia, who explained things along the way, Evan Yang gradually formed a deep impression of this place. What pleased Evan most was that, when someone recognized him as the infamous little beggar causing a stir outside, instead of arresting him, they drew closer, wanting to chat or even asking him to refine cultivation pills.
"Looks like you're pretty popular here!" Jax Jia thought to himself that Evan Yang, being a genius Human‑Rank Alchemist, would naturally find his place in a place like this as long as he was willing.
"I didn't expect this either," Evan Yang admitted. If outside he was a moving 'treasure' everyone wanted to catch, then here he was a 'living pill' everyone sought out for alchemy.
Jax Jia, familiar with the area, quickly led Evan Yang into a patch of woods and brought him to a small wooden hut built from logs. Opening the door, he said to Evan, "This was where I used to stay. You can live here from now on if you want."
Once inside, Evan Yang felt it suited him quite well and looked forward to a new life. News quickly spread that a genius Human‑Rank Alchemist had arrived, and people rushed over, surrounding Jax Jia's hut. At first, Evan was startled—if everyone was here to capture him, even his skills wouldn't let him escape.
Luckily, everyone just wanted him to refine cultivation pills, caring little about his reputation outside. Some came seeking pills, others simply to observe the legendary genius.
"Everyone, head back for now! If you want cultivation pills refined, come again tomorrow!" Seeing the crowd, Jax Jia hurriedly stopped them.
Only after Jax Jia spoke did the crowd reluctantly disperse, leaving Evan Yang standing there in a daze. He said innocently, "People here are really hospitable!"
"It's all because of your identity as a genius Human‑Rank Alchemist!" Jax Jia replied, a bit annoyed.
"What? You don't seem happy about my identity?" Evan Yang asked curiously.
"How should I put it? This place already has its own system. Now that you've arrived, you've naturally disrupted it. Sooner or later, someone's bound to come challenge you to a pill-refining duel," Jax Jia sighed.
"Well, there's not much I can do. Survival of the fittest, I guess. Or should I just announce that I'm not refining pills anymore?" Evan Yang understood what Jax Jia meant, since pill-refining here was a win-win system: clients provided materials, and the alchemist split the finished cultivation pills half-and-half.
Thanks to all the hype, Evan Yang's pill-refining reputation soared—rumors of seven supreme‑grade cultivation pills even made it inside. Normally, resident alchemists here could only manage one or two supreme‑grade cultivation pills per batch. Now that someone could refine several at once, it was clearly threatening their livelihood.
The half-and-half pill-refining system was something Jax Jia had explained to Evan Yang. When Evan suggested not refining pills, Jax Jia shook his head and said, "If you refuse, people will look down on you—they'll say you're snubbing them!"
"What if he deliberately provokes us?" one of the men asked curiously.
"You four families—Bai, Chu, Stewart, and Wong—are in charge of this area. So you'd better behave. Don't let me catch you targeting him! If the higher-ups blame us, I can't protect you!" Seeing Gerald "Old Ghost" Bai's anger, the Yellow Envoy dropped his smile and spoke with authority.
They assumed no one cared about them, but in a cave somewhere in the base, three men were sitting together. All wore black clothes and capes with a dove-like symbol on the back. Each had a different character on his chest: Bear, Tiger, and Wolf.
The man with the wolf symbol on his chest laughed, "Didn't expect that little beggar to show up at our base!"
"Oh?" The other two were curious and sent out their divine sense.
After a moment, the other two started laughing as well.
A simple conversation around a table had decided Evan Yang's future path.
Among them was a member of the Chu Family. After returning home, he went straight to Tara Chu.
After hearing the news, Tara Chu asked in surprise, "Father, is the Yellow Envoy really going to turn a blind eye?"
"Those people are all one-eyed wolves. Even if the little beggar gets to participate in the centennial and helps them, they might just deal with him afterward." This man was Tara Chu's biological father and the current head of the Chu Family.
"Should we warn the little beggar? Tell him not to join?" Tara Chu said, conflicted.
"Sigh, let's not meddle. Whatever happens, happens," Tara Chu's father sighed.
"But, Father, if he hadn't carried me out, I might have been trapped inside for ten years!" Tara Chu protested.
"Well... fine, I'll send some people with you. If you can help the little beggar, do it. If not, don't force it," the Chu family head looked at his youngest daughter and said helplessly.
"Thank you, Father!" Tara Chu said excitedly.
"From now on, think more about the Chu Family when you act. Sometimes it's not just about one or two people—it's about the whole clan, understand?" Before leaving, the Chu family head reminded Tara Chu once more.
"Got it." Tara Chu knew how hard her father had it, so she gladly accepted his advice.
As for Gerald "Old Ghost" Bai, when he returned to the Bai Family, he called off the hunt for the little beggar and instead invited him as a guest. This infuriated the Bai clan—how could their sworn enemy be treated as a guest?
Faced with this, Gerald "Old Ghost" Bai was helpless. The Yellow Envoy had ordered the little beggar's safety, so even if the Bai Family wanted him dead, they'd have to wait until he finished refining pills. In the meantime, they could only target his cultivation—this was Gerald "Old Ghost" Bai's plan.
Once everyone understood Gerald "Old Ghost" Bai's intentions, things quieted down a bit.
"What if he deliberately provokes us?" one of the men asked curiously.
"You four families—White, Chase, Stewart, and King—are in charge of this area. So you'd better behave. Don't let me catch you targeting him! If the higher-ups blame us, I can't protect you!" Seeing Old Ghost White's anger, Yellow Envoy dropped his smile and spoke with authority.
Worried for Evan Yang's safety, Tara Chu brought her own people and rushed to the base.
After the group fell silent, Yellow Envoy smiled again, "If he provokes you again, just push back a little—so long as he can keep refining pills, whatever else you do to him, I'll pretend I didn't see."
Those words immediately calmed Old Ghost White, who smiled insidiously to himself, "Refine pills? Fine, I'll let him refine pills—but I'll cripple his cultivation first!"
The rest glanced at each other, understanding Yellow Envoy's meaning.
A simple conversation around a table had decided Evan Yang's future path.
Among them was a member of the Chase Family. After returning home, he went straight to Tara Chase.
After hearing the news, Tara Chase asked in surprise, "Father, is Yellow Envoy really going to turn a blind eye?"
"Those people are all one-eyed wolves. Even if the little beggar gets to participate in the centennial and helps them, they might just deal with him afterward." This man was Tara Chase's biological father and the current head of the Chase Family.
"Should we warn the little beggar? Tell him not to join?" Tara Chase said, conflicted.
"Sigh, let's not meddle. Whatever happens, happens," Tara Chase's father sighed.
"But, Father, if he hadn't carried me out, I might have been trapped inside for ten years!" Tara Chase protested.
"Well... fine, I'll send some people with you. If you can help the little beggar, do it. If not, don't force it," the Chase family head looked at his youngest daughter and said helplessly.
"Thank you, Father!" Tara Chase said excitedly.
"From now on, think more about the Chase Family when you act. Sometimes it's not just about one or two people—it's about the whole clan, understand?" Before leaving, the Chase family head reminded Tara Chase once more.
"Got it." Tara Chase knew how hard her father had it, so she gladly accepted his advice.
As for Old Ghost White, when he returned to the White Family, he called off the hunt for the little beggar and instead invited him as a guest. This infuriated the White clan—how could their sworn enemy be treated as a guest?
Faced with this, Old Ghost White was helpless. Yellow Envoy had ordered the little beggar's safety, so even if the White Family wanted him dead, they'd have to wait until he finished refining pills. In the meantime, they could only target his cultivation—this was Old Ghost White's plan.
Once everyone understood Old Ghost Bai's intentions, things quieted down a bit.
A day later, all four families received word: the little beggar was at a Free Cultivators' Alliance base, refining cultivation pills for people.
News spread quickly, and thousands flocked to the base—far more than usual. Some came to watch, others to stir up trouble. Although fighting was forbidden in the base, challenges were allowed. If the little beggar accepted, the White Family would send someone to cripple his cultivation.
Worried for Evan Hart's safety, Tara Chase brought her own people and rushed to the base.
Suddenly, several thousand people showed up at the base—much more than usual. Completely unaware, Evan Hart kept refining cultivation pills. To avoid being too conspicuous, he usually refined only three supreme‑grade cultivation pills per batch, never seven. No matter how others begged, he stuck to this, not wanting to make enemies or trouble for himself.
Over the next few days, Evan Hart's Heaven‑Cold Seed absorbed plenty of energy, nearly reaching saturation. To continue evolving, he'd need to refine Earth‑Rank cultivation pills—Human‑Rank ingredients were no longer sufficient.
Seeing this, Evan Hart decided to go into seclusion to research Earth‑Rank cultivation pill refining.
But as soon as the news got out, it attracted a host of uninvited guests—including some old acquaintances.