Tanya Warren was taken aback. She knew just how sharp her sword was, but Evan Yang seemed completely unharmed. Even though she hadn't used much force, it should have at least scratched him.
"You lunatic, get out!" Tanya Warren shot back immediately at Evan Yang's question.
"Lunatic? You're just a naive girl. Today, I'll show you the truth, so you won't get fooled again!" Evan Yang finished, then darted over to Hank Hunter and Lily Hunter.
Hank Hunter and Lily Hunter were both taken aback by his sudden action.
"Are you going to explain, or do I kill you?" Evan Yang hadn’t planned to kill these two, but their actions were too underhanded. If his body hadn’t been so tough, he would have been cut just now.
The two quickly looked to Tanya Warren for help, pleading with her.
Seeing Evan Yang about to strike, Tanya Warren cried out, "Lunatic, if you kill them, you won’t get away with it!"
"Can't get away? With just you lot, you think you can stop me?" Evan Yang replied, scoffing in disdain.
Then Tanya Warren watched as Evan Yang launched another attack on the pair. The disciples from Purple Cloud Sect all flinched at the sight, and Tanya’s expression changed dramatically as she quickly darted down to try to save them.
Evan Yang tossed Lily Hunter aside, still holding Hank Hunter in his grasp.
Lily was already unconscious, and Hank was gravely wounded, barely staying conscious himself.
Tanya Warren took Lily Hunter and exclaimed, shocked, "You're really cruel!"
"They're the cruel ones, not me!" Evan Yang sneered, then took the axe from Hank Hunter’s waist and tossed it over.
Tanya Warren didn’t understand Evan Yang’s intention, but quickly caught it. On the axe were two engraved characters: "Hank Hunter."
"Hank Hunter?" Tanya Warren muttered, the name sounding familiar. A man nearby exclaimed, "Hank Hunter? The infamous bandit Hank Hunter!"
Reminded by the man, everyone looked at the pair’s attire and the axe, realizing these two were the infamous bandits who targeted travelers from other worlds.
Tanya Warren was taken aback, muttering to herself, "Could I really have made a mistake?"
Evan Yang hadn’t expected the axe to have such an effect. If he’d known, he wouldn’t have wasted so much effort. He laughed, "Are you still going to save them?"
"You...!" Tanya Warren was at a loss for words, feeling she really had made a mistake.
Evan Yang dropped the badly injured Hank Hunter and said, "You can ask them yourselves. I'm done playing." With that, he slipped away toward Purple Cloud Sect.
"Senior Sister, she's gone!" a young woman said, noticing Tanya Warren's dazed expression.
Tanya Warren snapped back to her senses. "Damn it, bring these two into Purplecloud City!"
Everyone obeyed, carrying the pair to Purplecloud City and handing them over to their fellow sect brothers for handling.
Once everything was settled, Tanya Warren, frustrated, led the group back to the sect, still thinking about Evan Yang's words and feeling uneasy.
Even though she knew she was in the wrong, Tanya Warren couldn't let go of how Evan Yang had spoken to her.
Evan Yang had no idea that the newly initiated girl he'd scolded would be so affected by his words.
At this moment, he had already arrived at the base of Purple Cloud Sect.
Purple Cloud Sect was indeed massive. The mountain was shrouded in strange purple mist, and at the foot of the mountain stood a stone tablet inscribed with 'Purple Cloud Sect.'
If a mortal walked up from the base, it would take at least half a day. But with Evan Yang's speed, he reached the summit in no time. Out of courtesy, he stopped before the sect gate and looked at it from a short distance away.
"Impressive indeed." Seeing the three characters above the gate, so imposing, Evan Yang was a bit surprised.
In front of the sect gate, a crowd had gathered—some were just ordinary people.
"What's going on at Purple Cloud Sect today? It's so lively!" Evan Yang muttered after looking at those three big characters.
Curious, Evan Yang suppressed his cultivation and aura, making himself appear like an ordinary person—or even more conspicuous, like a beggar.
The crowd, busy discussing, noticed a beggar approaching and gave him odd looks. One ordinary person said, "Is this beggar here because he couldn't get anything elsewhere, and now he's come to Purple Cloud Sect to beg?"
Evan Yang hadn't expected ordinary people to call him a beggar, but he didn't care. He walked forward, joined the crowd, gave everyone a friendly smile, and focused on what lay ahead.
He saw a line of big characters: 'Recruiting Herb Farmers.'
"Herb farmers?" Evan Yang muttered in confusion. An ordinary person nearby scoffed, "You don't even know what a herb farmer is? Then what are you here for?"
Just then, a burly man in plain clothes shoved that person aside. "Who says you know everything?"
Seeing such a tough guy, the ordinary person quickly backed away. The man came over to Evan Yang and said, "Don't mind them. They're just narrow-minded."
Evan Yang sized up the man and found his words honest. Judging by his attire, he was among the lower class of commoners.
Evan Yang, not sure what was happening, started chatting with the man. It turned out Purple Cloud Sect was recruiting people to plant medicinal herbs. The sect was famous for its herbs and needed many hands to manage them. Since cultivators often focused on their own training, they regularly hired commoners to do the work and provided them with living expenses.
The man's name was Leo Summer, an ordinary resident of Purplecloud City. He wanted to become a herb farmer, but also admired the cultivators who flew across the skies, hoping to spend a few years inside and maybe learn some spells.
After hearing Leo Summer's explanation, Evan Yang understood and realized Leo was an honest, unprejudiced man—just a simple, uncorrupted soul.
Evan Yang found chatting with him peaceful, sticking to everyday topics and rarely talking about cultivation.
"Are you here to be a herb farmer too?" Leo Summer asked curiously.
"Yeah." Evan Yang felt this job suited him well. Once inside, he wouldn't be easily noticed—everyone here was a commoner, and he looked just like one now.
"Perfect, let's go in together later." Leo Summer said with a smile.
Evan Yang nodded. After most people had gone in, he and Leo Summer went to the recruitment desk, where a registrar asked their names and whether they'd ever grown plants.
Leo Summer said he'd grown some before, even helped big families plant valuable crops, so he passed easily.
As for Evan Yang, he smiled and told the registrar all the details about his herb-planting experience back at Rising Sun Sect.
The registrar laughed, "Which sect were you in before?"
"Just a small sect, you probably haven't heard of it," Evan Yang replied with a smile.
The registrar nodded and smiled, "Not bad. One of you is honest, the other has sect experience. You two will start in the Middle-Tier Fields."
Neither Leo Summer nor Evan Yang knew what the Middle-Tier Fields were, so they just smiled. A disciple led them away, and Evan overheard some who hadn't entered yet muttering, "How did those two get to plant in the Middle-Tier Fields right away? Aren't you supposed to start at the lowest grade?"
Hearing this, Evan Yang realized Purple Cloud Sect's herbs were divided into several grades.
Sure enough, the two were led to a house. It was simple, but had all the usual farming tools.
The disciple who brought them said, "This is a new area of the Middle-Tier Fields. See? You have one mu of land. You need to meet the yield target within a year, or you'll be dismissed next year. Here are the planting methods."
With that, he left Evan Yang and Leo Summer behind.
"He just left? Do they provide meals?" Leo Summer asked curiously after the disciple left.
Meals? Evan Yang suddenly remembered that commoners had to eat, or they'd starve. It was a real hassle. The two looked at the hundred mu of empty land in front of them and could only shake their heads helplessly.
Just then, another disciple appeared and said, "Here are your uniforms. Put them on and go to the Middle-Tier Fields gathering spot. That's where all the herb farmers are, and you'll find everything you need for daily life there."
Evan Yang and Leo Summer looked at a hill outside their mu of land. On it was a huge wooden building, the most prominent structure besides the herb fields.
After giving instructions, the disciple left again.
"This mountain is really unusual—it's surrounded by fields." Evan Yang looked around and saw many different areas. His own plot was ringed by trees, making a large estate. Each mu had a small hut for the herb farmer, with a path leading up to the hill.
There were five such areas, each with some planted herbs and some empty, waiting for new crops. There were also several special areas dominated by buildings, some towering structures standing tall.
In those areas, Evan Yang saw many cultivators—presumably the ones who practiced cultivation.
Taking it all in, Evan Yang felt like he'd arrived at a massive farm, with the cultivators acting as foremen.
Evan Yang examined the Middle-Tier Fields' herbs and found their medicinal properties could only be used to refine Heaven-Rank pills—still not enough for his needs.
"Why aren't you putting on your uniform yet?" Leo Summer, already dressed, asked Evan Yang.
Evan Yang smiled, "I'll go change now." He went into the hut, changed, and came back out.
When he came out, he saw Leo Summer reading the rules. Evan Yang was curious too and saw that if they could finish planting within the set time, or even double the yield, they could apply to enter the High-Tier Fields.
If they didn't double the yield, they'd have to succeed for five consecutive years, or else they'd be kicked out of Purple Cloud Sect.
"High-Tier Fields?" Evan Yang thought, since the herbs here couldn't meet his needs, he might as well aim for the High-Tier Fields. So he planned to handle the herbs here within a year.
He was more familiar with planting herbs than anyone. In the past, he'd always exceeded the standard.
But would things really go that smoothly? When Evan Yang and Leo Summer arrived at the management building for the Middle-Tier Fields, they learned there was fierce competition here.
Inside the building was a ranking board, listing planting yields and the information of the top growers.
Evan Yang and Leo Summer's names were already on it.