Seeing Barry Li leave Leo Summer alone, Evan Yang headed for the Purple Cultivation Hall.
The Purple Cultivation Hall was on a separate mountain, surrounded by grand halls. The largest was named Purple Cultivation Hall, and many cultivators lived there.
Evan’s arrival attracted a lot of attention. Whether it was Colin Chu spreading the news or someone else, many cultivators outside watched as Evan walked into the Purple Cultivation Hall.
Using his divine sense, Evan estimated there were at least a thousand cultivators on the mountain, not counting those who were hiding.
Inside the main hall, two rows of disciples stood on either side, their strength unknown. At the very front was Colin Chu.
"Evan Yang, right?" Colin Chu asked.
Evan nodded.
"If you want to join our Purple Cultivation Hall, you need my approval. Since the sect master asked me to assess you, I can't play favorites." Colin Chu said. Just then, someone arrived—it was the sect master Evan met yesterday.
Aside from Colin Chu and Evan, no one expected the sect master to return. Everyone looked surprised, wondering why Evan had earned such favor that the sect master would personally observe his assessment.
Colin’s words were directed at both Evan and the sect master. The meaning was clear: even for the sect master’s sake, he wouldn’t go easy—he’d assess Evan however he wanted.
"Senior brother, you came too?" Colin Chu said with a smile.
"No problem, go on." The sect master said to Colin Chu, then smiled at Evan as he passed, "Go for it, I have high hopes for you."
His words stirred dissatisfaction among many—why should a beggar of unknown origin get such treatment, while others had cultivated here for years and barely seen the sect master?
Evan didn’t know why, but the sect master seemed interested in him. As long as the sect master meant no harm, Evan didn’t mind and smiled, "Thank you."
Colin Chu glanced at the sect master beside him and said to the crowd, "Our Purple Cloud Sect has many forms of assessment. Evan Yang is already at Spirit-Wandering Great Perfection and likely strong, so he must prove he stands apart. Today, ten Spirit-Wandering Great Perfection disciples will fight him together. If he lasts a quarter hour, he wins."
When they heard "ten," the crowd gasped. That meant facing ten equally skilled opponents at once.
Evan nodded calmly. "Alright."
Colin Chu waved his hand and ten disciples stepped forward, each with a powerful aura. They surrounded Evan and activated a formation, sealing off the area.
The fight began. Evan didn’t hold back, and in just a few moves, he defeated two disciples. The others were shocked.
Evan’s strength was overwhelming. The remaining disciples couldn’t hold out, and soon, all ten were defeated.
"Alright, senior brother sect master, for fairness, you and I will be referees. If he lasts a quarter hour, he wins." Colin Chu announced.
The sect master tried to persuade him further, but it was no use. Colin Chu picked out ten disciples from the two rows.
Among the ten, some felt it was unfair and believed the sect master was biased. Determined to defeat Evan and keep him from lasting a quarter hour, they were confident that ten against one could easily suppress him—maybe even defeat him in just a few breaths.
But was it really so simple? When Evan and the others arrived outside the main hall, there was a battle platform with an active formation. The eleven entered, while the sect master and Colin Chu stood aside to watch.
"Begin!" Colin Chu said, expression unchanged.
At his words, the ten disciples attacked, targeting Evan. Ten against one—everyone was drawn over, crowding around the formation.
Yet Evan was incredibly fast. After the first wave of attacks, he remained untouched, so they launched a second wave.
Colin Chu frowned as he watched, muttering to himself, "His speed is impressive."
The sect master also noticed Evan’s speed was above average, so his previously worried expression eased a bit.
Evan’s performance on the platform made the surrounding disciples exclaim in surprise, wave after wave. It felt as if they themselves were being attacked by ten equally skilled opponents.
Inside the formation, the ten disciples looked grim. Even with numbers on their side, they still couldn't take Evan down. For the sake of their pride, they fought even harder.
Just then, a group returned from outside. When they saw the scene inside the formation, they all looked surprised.
This group was Tanya Warren and her team. They knew how strong Evan was—he had single-handedly subdued two Out-of-Body bandits—so they weren't worried about these ten Spirit-Wandering Great Perfection disciples. At a glance, they could tell Evan wasn't even trying.
"Sect master, Elder Chu." Tanya Warren saw the sect master and hurried over to greet them.
The sect master and Colin Chu nodded.
Tanya Warren, curious after their nod, asked, "Sect master, Elder Chu, who is that? Is he here to cause trouble?"
"Cause trouble? Not at all. He's here to join our sect. We're just assessing him now," the sect master replied.
Colin Chu added, "Yes, we're assessing him right now."
"How long is the assessment?" Tanya Warren, familiar with such tests, asked out of curiosity.
"A quarter hour," the sect master replied.
Tanya Warren said confidently, "Then he'll definitely pass."
"Why?" Colin Chu asked, displeased.
The sect master was curious too. "How are you so sure he'll pass?"
"Because he hasn't used his full strength," Tanya Warren replied.
"He hasn't used his full strength? How do you know? You know him?" Colin Chu asked, astonished.
The sect master was also curious, waiting for Tanya's explanation. Seeing their interest, Tanya recounted the story of Evan defeating two Out-of-Body bandits single-handedly.
After hearing the story, both were shocked. The sect master’s worries vanished, replaced by a smile. "I never expected him to have such ability!"
"How annoying, he fooled me!" Colin Chu muttered, feeling tricked.
Evan, of course, was aware of what was happening outside. Once Tanya finished her explanation, Evan moved in a flash—so fast that only those above Out-of-Body Realm could see clearly. The rest saw only a blur, and then all ten opponents were knocked down.
"What?!" The crowd was stunned. Evan exploded with speed, subduing everyone in an instant—something they’d never imagined.
Evan was only at Spirit-Wandering Great Perfection, yet he easily handled ten equally skilled opponents. This was beyond their comprehension.
The ten fallen disciples exchanged glances, unwilling to accept defeat. They tried to stand and fight again, but Evan knocked them back down a few more times. The sect master laughed, "Does this count as passing?"
Colin Chu was unwilling, but he couldn’t take back his own words. He removed the formation and announced, "Assessment over. He passes!"
He then led the ten injured disciples off to heal, while the sect master drew Evan out of the crowd.
As Evan left, he smiled at Tanya Warren, "Don’t jump to conclusions about people so easily next time." With that, he slipped out of sight.
Once Evan left, everyone snapped out of it and crowded around Tanya Warren for an explanation.
Tanya hadn’t expected this outcome, so she explained again. When the crowd learned Evan had defeated two Out-of-Body cultivators alone, their expressions turned strange.
After that, Tanya quietly slipped away.
Meanwhile, Evan followed the sect master to the house from yesterday. The sect master smiled at Evan, "I didn’t expect your cultivation to be so strong. What rank did Genius Pavilion assign you?"
"Genius Pavilion?" Evan hadn’t expected the sect master to mistake him for a Pavilion member.
"You’re not from Genius Pavilion?" The sect master laughed after seeing Evan’s reaction.
"No," Evan nodded.
"That’s really a pity. With your ability, Genius Pavilion would surely have made you a quasi-genius and let you join," the sect master said regretfully.
"No need, I already turned them down," Evan said with a smile.
"You refused? Why?" The sect master was shocked when he heard Evan had declined Genius Pavilion.
"No particular reason. I just prefer freedom. If it weren’t for the herbs I need, I wouldn’t have joined Purple Cloud Sect either." Evan smiled and answered honestly.
The sect master was stunned at first, then laughed. "Freedom, huh? I like your temperament. In that case, you may freely enter the precious herb cave—but you must promise me one thing."
"A condition?" Evan hadn’t expected the sect master to set terms.
"Don’t worry, I won’t ask you to do anything immoral. Just make me a promise," the sect master said, convinced Evan wasn’t ordinary and finally voiced his request.
"What promise?" Evan asked, puzzled.
"In the future—if Purple Cloud Sect faces upheaval, and you have the ability, please lend a hand," the sect master said with a smile.
"Sect master, what do you mean? Is something going to happen to Purple Cloud Sect?" Evan asked, frowning.
"You’ll understand later. It’s not the right time to explain now," the sect master said after thinking it over, just smiling at Evan.
Evan thought it over. The promise only required him to help if he had the strength, so he wasn’t losing anything. He nodded.
The sect master smiled, satisfied with Evan’s promise. "You can go now. Here’s a token—if the guards see it, they won’t stop you."
"Thank you, sect master." Evan put away the token and smiled.
"Go ahead and find what you need," the sect master said to Evan.
Evan felt the sect master was mysterious, but didn’t pry. He took the token and went to the cave entrance from yesterday. The guards stopped him when they saw Evan.
Evan showed the token. When the guards saw it was the sect master’s personal token, they let him in, all the while growing more curious about Evan’s identity.