"You're pretty ruthless!" Evan Yang stared at the Straw-Hat Envoy Reed.
"Anyone who can make me use these kinds of tricks is impressive, so you should feel honored." Reed didn’t seem bothered—in fact, he felt proud.
Evan Yang smiled. "Aren't you afraid I'll come looking for payback if I get strong in the future, after inviting people like this?"
Reed burst out laughing. "That's a funny thought, but honestly, I hope you do reach that level!"
His laughter startled the surrounding Purple Cloud Sect disciples.
Evan Yang had no desire to leave with them, and even less to go to this so-called Genius Pavilion.
"Let's talk about it later. I need to handle things here first," Evan said to Reed.
Reed chuckled. "Alright, I'll wait for you outside Purple Cloud Sect. But you'd better not try to run—otherwise, next moment, not only will the Black Hand Syndicate assassins come after you, but other Star Lord's men will hunt you down too."
"Thanks for the warning," Evan replied, then watched Reed leave with his group.
Once everyone had left, Evan turned to Sect Master Victor Yun and said awkwardly, "Sorry for causing trouble for Purple Cloud Sect."
"I never thought, never imagined, I'd one day meet someone who refused the Genius Pavilion." Sect Master Victor Yun had doubted the rumors about Evan refusing the Pavilion, but now seeing it firsthand, he wholeheartedly believed it and laughed.
"Hmph, genius or not, he's a Star Lord killer. He should hurry up and leave, or else I'll hand him over to our Star Lord myself and see what happens." Third Elder Colin Chu snorted coldly from the side.
The mood was tense, but Evan ignored it. He'd finished what he needed to do here, so it was time to go. He said to Victor Yun, "Sect Master, looks like I should leave now."
"Are you sure you want to go?" Victor Yun asked, a bit surprised.
"You heard it just now—the Black Hand Syndicate and some Star Lords are all after me. If the Genius Pavilion spreads the news, Purple Cloud Sect will be in big trouble." Evan explained.
Victor Yun hesitated. He hated to see such a promising talent just walk away.
"I’ll keep my promise—if I ever have the ability, I’ll do what I said." Evan told Victor Yun before leaving.
Seeing Evan was determined to leave, and hearing his final words, Victor Yun nodded. "Go on, then."
So, under everyone's gaze, Evan Yang walked out of Purple Cloud Sect.
After Evan left, Victor Yun instructed everyone, "Do not speak of today’s events to outsiders! Anyone who does will be punished according to sect rules!" With that, he turned and left.
Little did anyone know, Colin Chu’s eyes flashed as he secretly thought, "If I leak the news, you won’t even know. I don’t want this kid getting strong and coming after me one day."
Knowing Evan Yang was someone the Genius Pavilion had their eye on made Colin Chu uneasy. So, no matter what, he was determined to expose Evan’s whereabouts.
Evan Yang had no idea Colin Chu was so narrow-minded. By now, he’d already reached the big stone stele at the foot of Purple Cloud Sect’s mountain.
It was nighttime. Several people stood before the stele, watching Evan.
"Not bad—I thought you’d run!" Reed said with a smile.
"Honestly, I did think about just taking off. But with the Genius Pavilion inviting me so sincerely, how could I refuse?" Evan Yang replied, smiling.
Before Reed could speak, someone behind him cut in, "Watch your mouth!"
Reed raised his hand to signal the person to be quiet, then laughed. "That’s best. Only there will you be truly safe—from the Black Hand Syndicate and from the Star Lords’ pursuit."
"I agreed to go with you, but don’t forget—you forced me today. So if I get strong in the future, don’t blame me for being ruthless to the Genius Pavilion." Evan was still a bit resentful, so he had no fondness for the Pavilion.
Reed wasn’t angry—instead, he laughed. "I said it before: if you have that kind of strength, just come for us."
"Let’s go," Evan said.
Reed smiled, then told his companions, "Go back to your own business. I’ll take him to headquarters for evaluation myself."
The others exchanged glances and left. Reed turned to Evan and said, "Let’s go."
Evan followed Reed. He could have left at any point, but didn’t. Instead, on the road, he asked, "Does the Genius Pavilion always threaten cultivators to join?"
"Threaten? You’re overthinking it. We just recruit talent—whether they join or not is up to them," Reed replied with a smile.
"But aren’t you threatening me right now?" Evan Yang laughed.
"You? That doesn’t count. I’m just taking you for evaluation. Whether you join or not is still your own decision," Reed answered, smiling.
"Then why go through all this trouble? If I refuse in the end, wasn’t your whole trip chasing me a waste?" Evan asked, confused.
"Trouble? Even if I have to cross several star systems, I’ll bring you back—just so those guys can see what a real genius looks like, instead of always laughing at me." Reed said with a smile.
Hearing Reed’s words, Evan felt something was off and looked at him suspiciously.
"Don't look at me like that. My job is just to bring you over and let everyone meet you," Reed explained.
"Meet me? Is that really necessary? Are all Genius Pavilion insiders like you?" Evan felt the Pavilion seemed a bit chaotic.
"Of course. You know, everyone wants face—and other things. If I bring you in, my task is done, and maybe I'll get what I want. Plus, you'll get famous, which is good for you too." Reed chuckled.
"Why don't you all just focus on cultivating instead of all this stuff?" Evan said, speechless.
"Bottlenecks, bottlenecks—everyone wants a breakthrough. It's because we can't break through that we do all this pointless stuff, right?" Reed sighed.
Evan felt uneasy, not sure what to say. Sometimes he really wanted to just leave right now.
"Don't worry, I guarantee it'll be good for you!" Reed said.
"What's so good about it?" Evan asked, bored.
"Do you know how many tiers the Genius Pavilion has?" Reed suddenly asked.
"Red, Orange, Yellow, Emerald, Azure, Blue, Violet—seven tiers." Evan replied with what he knew.
"That's right. But do you know how those seven tiers are determined?" Reed was surprised Evan could name them, then smiled.
"It's your Pavilion's evaluation method—how would I know?" Evan said helplessly.
"Same-realm challenge: beat five in a quarter hour, that's Red First-Tier. Beat ten, Orange Second-Tier. Beat fifteen, Yellow Third-Tier. Cross one realm: beat one in a quarter hour, Emerald Fourth-Tier. Beat two, Azure Fifth-Tier. Cross two realms: beat one, Blue Sixth-Tier; beat two, Violet Seventh-Tier." Reed explained to Evan.
"That's pretty complicated. But there's a minimum cultivation requirement, right?" Evan muttered.
"Of course—minimum is Spirit-Wandering Realm and above. Anyone below that doesn’t count, since with a bit of talent, you can challenge several realms, so it can’t really be evaluated." Reed replied with a smile.
Evan thought that made sense. He’d challenged entire major stages before, not even sure how many realms he’d crossed.
Seeing Evan muttering, Reed laughed. "When I heard you killed a mid-stage Out-of-Body Star Lord, I came looking for you right away. Know why? Because crossing two realms is enough to make everyone want to recruit you—at least Blue Sixth-Tier, Sixth-Tier! But I wonder how long it took you. Can you share?"
Hearing Sixth-Tier, Evan was surprised, but to hide his strength he replied awkwardly, "Honestly, it took me a lot of effort. I’d say at most Azure Fifth-Tier."
"Are you sure it took you a long time?" Reed asked, a bit skeptical.
"I’m not lying," Evan nodded.
"That's not bad—Azure Fifth-Tier. Across three star systems, there are only a few thousand people at that level." Reed was excited to have found such a genius.
Evan was shocked. A few thousand who could cross a realm and defeat more than two opponents in a short time—their strength was truly terrifying.
"What about Blue Sixth-Tier and Violet Seventh-Tier? Are there many?" Evan asked curiously.
"Those two are especially rare. Blue Sixth-Tier, at most two or three hundred. Violet Seventh-Tier, probably fewer than twenty." Reed replied after thinking.
Evan was stunned. To cross two realms and defeat more than two opponents in a quarter hour—when he killed a mid-stage Out-of-Body Star Lord, it had already pushed him to his limits. Facing two at that level, crossing more than two realms, could be fatal.
Even so, he didn’t lose confidence. Instead, he smiled, "Blue Sixth-Tier and Violet Seventh-Tier must have all gone to the Three Palaces, right?"
"Most of them, yes. But a few, like you, have issues—they don’t want to go to those places. And you’re even more unusual, since you won’t even join the Genius Pavilion." Reed laughed.
Evan wasn’t sure if Reed was praising him or criticizing him.
Seeing Evan’s expression, Reed said, "I watched your match on North Tomb Star, so I know you can cross a realm and defeat one—Emerald Fourth-Tier for sure. As for Azure Fifth-Tier, you’ll have to try it to know."
"Try? What if I don’t want to?" Evan said, speechless.
"That’s your choice. You can stick to easier challenges—Emerald Fourth-Tier. Even so, I’d still be happy." Reed chuckled.
"Haven’t you ever seen a genius before?" Evan wondered aloud.
"Of course I’ve seen plenty in the Genius Pavilion. But someone like you is rare. If I hadn’t watched your matches, I wouldn’t believe you could cross two realms and kill a Star Lord." Reed retorted, not convinced by Evan’s modesty.
"Alright, then tell me—if I get Emerald Fourth-Tier, what’s the benefit?" Evan asked helplessly, seeing Reed’s attitude.