From the day the physical test ended, the Celestial Pavilion had been constantly mentioned in the news, its online popularity remaining high.

However, most of that attention was negative—people were cursing and condemning them.

Over the past few days, the Celestial Pavilion had been persistently visiting—or rather harassing—students with excellent test data.

They tried to persuade them to abandon Gene Fusion and join the Celestial Pavilion to explore the full potential of pure-blooded humans.

Their recruitment approach was wide and aggressive.

Regardless of a student’s Gene Fusion Adaptability, as long as their physical test data was good, the Celestial Pavilion would visit and harass them with repeated invitations.

Unsurprisingly, many parents filed complaints and exposed them publicly, drawing immense criticism and backlash from society.

They were accused of misleading the youth.

They were called shameless.

They were called a cult.

Because of that, the Celestial Pavilion’s reputation worsened each year—becoming a hated presence everyone wanted gone after every round of entrance exams.

Their annual visits were almost always met with rejection.

On rare occasions, they managed to recruit a few, but only those whose physical data was decent while their Gene Fusion or Mechanical Modification compatibility was poor.

Most of those recruits only joined because of the benefits offered, not because they truly believed in the Celestial Pavilion’s ideology.

That was the impression Lin Zichen had of the Celestial Pavilion.

“Could I borrow a bit of your time to talk?”

Liu Chuanwu, the middle-aged man with a Taoist hairstyle, spoke sincerely, “We won’t take much of your time, half an hour at most.”

Before Lin Zichen could respond, he took a bag from the young man beside him and smiled as he handed it over, “Oh, by the way, here’s a small gift from our visit—a brand new Fruit phone. Please, take it.”

“Oh, I couldn’t possibly…” Lin Zichen replied politely, but his hand reached out honestly to take the bag.

A free phone was still a free phone.

‘It was just half an hour of talking—why not?’

It would be a good chance to learn more about the Celestial Pavilion and this so-called conservative faction.

Seeing Lin Zichen accept the gift, Liu Chuanwu smiled with satisfaction.

Even if recruitment failed, having half an hour to fully explain the Celestial Pavilion’s ideology to the top scorer of Southern River Province was worth the cost of a phone.

“Shall we find a place to sit and chat over a meal?”

His tone was full of sincerity, “You can choose the place. I’ll pay.”

Talking at the candidate’s home wasn’t ideal—parents might chase him out with a broom.

Students were young and easily tempted by a new phone, but parents weren’t.

Especially parents whose son was a top provincial scorer—they wouldn’t care about such a small bribe.

And if he dared to persuade their child to abandon Gene Fusion in front of them, they would absolutely beat him out the door.

“Where do you want to eat?” Lin Zichen asked Shen Qinghan.

After thinking for a moment, she replied, “Let’s go to that dessert shop at the corner ahead.”

It was nearby—just a two-minute walk—and wouldn’t waste much time.

After all, they still had to attend the evening event at He Yu’s martial arts gym.

* * *

Inside the dessert shop.

They found a quiet corner, ordered a few desserts and snacks and got straight to the point.

Liu Chuanwu did most of the talking, while Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan listened.

“The Celestial Pavilion has been quite the hot topic lately. I’m sure you’ve both heard about us—but probably with some bias. After all, everyone parrots what they hear, calling us a menace, a bad influence, or even a malicious cult. All those insults come from blind prejudice and a lack of independent thought.

Our faction—Pureblood Supremacy—shares the same ultimate goal as the Gene Fusion and Mechanical Modification paths: securing humanity’s future. We simply focus on a different approach. Our members consist mainly of martial arts faculty and students from major universities, gym owners and disciples from various schools and a number of independent martial artists with solid reputations.

We gather to research how to unlock the full potential of pure-blooded humans—to evolve into Advanced, Rare or even Epic-level beings purely through physical cultivation, without relying on Gene Fusion or Mechanical Modification. After years of experimentation, we’ve made significant progress. You’ll understand once you watch this.”

Liu Chuanwu pulled out his phone, opened a video and placed it in front of Lin Zichen, “My Biological Level is Ordinary Level 9. This video shows me killing a High-Level Gene Fuser above my rank.”

‘An Ordinary Level 9 pureblood human killing a High-Level Gene Fuser?’

Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan both looked surprised.

Curious, they leaned closer to watch.

Two figures appeared in the video.

One was Liu Chuanwu, shirtless, revealing his heavily muscled body.

The other was a birdman covered in feathers.

Lin Zichen blinked in surprise—he recognized the birdman. It was Wu Tiancheng, the former strongest student in the history of Shanhai High School.

He was now a mentor at the Evolution Academy of Shanhai University—a young but powerful High-Level Gene Fuser.

Years ago, he had single-handedly destroyed the Rat God Cult that terrorized Shanhai City for nearly a decade.

The Rat King, a monstrous ten-meter-long beast, had been shredded into pieces by countless feathers shot from Wu Tiancheng’s body.

The video showed Liu Chuanwu and Wu Tiancheng facing off.

Just like when he killed the Rat King, Wu Tiancheng launched a barrage of feathers in an overwhelming storm.

However, the feathers that could easily pierce the Rat King only grazed Liu Chuanwu’s skin, drawing a bit of blood but doing no serious harm.

After enduring the storm, Liu Chuanwu took advantage of the fact that Wu Tiancheng had lost his feathers and could no longer fly. In less than a second, he charged at him and knocked him unconscious with a single punch.

The entire fight lasted barely one minute.

Fifty-eight seconds were spent with Liu Chuanwu taking hits.

Only two seconds were spent attacking.

Yet in those two seconds, he instantly defeated a High-Level Gene Fuser capable of killing the Rat King, displaying strength and defense far beyond his level.

At the end of the video, Liu Chuanwu stood in the center of the arena, covered in blood, shouting to the audience:

“The human body alone is invincible—why rely on alien flesh? With my Ordinary Level 9 pureblood body, I have slain a High-Level Gene Fuser! Those who temper the human body are the true future of mankind!”

His voice thundered. Even through the phone, Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan could feel the intensity of his conviction.

When the video ended, their expressions were still filled with shock.

‘Body-Tempering Techniques? Pureblood humans? Able to kill a Gene Fuser above their rank?’

It was unbelievable.

Both of their understandings of the world were completely shaken.

All their lives, they had only known of the power of Gene Fusers and Cyborgs—they had never imagined that pureblood humans who trained their bodies could be this strong.