Sure enough, the speed was much faster. Gradually, after an hour, the dagger disappeared, and the flame returned to his dantian.
Seeing the vanished dagger, Evan Yang knew it had been refined by him and was now orbiting his green core. Looking inside his body, he saw a dagger circling the green core. Although rusty, it was anything but ordinary.
"Phew, everyone else has a golden core and shiny treasures, but me? My core is green, it even has leaves, and my Life-Bound Weapon is a rusty dagger." Evan Yang laughed to himself.
This didn’t make Evan Yang feel inferior to others; instead, he was genuinely happy. Without them, he had no idea how many times he would have died already.
Just as he was about to get up and test its power, dawn had already broken outside, and the sounds of business could be heard from the street. Evan Yang walked out of his room and saw Jax Jia pacing back and forth, looking anxious.
"What's wrong?" Evan Yang asked the anxious Jax Jia.
"You finally came out! I was just about to look for you because something urgent came up," Jax Jia said.
"Why didn’t you just come in?" Evan Yang asked, confused.
Jax Jia blushed at first, then regained his composure and said, "I just didn’t want to disturb your sleep."
"Come on, what kind of status do we have—who still sleeps?" Evan Yang said with a wry smile.
"Ugh, fine, forget it, let's not talk about this. Hurry, I'll take you to see something." Jax Jia grabbed Evan Yang, called over Ethan Lin, and rushed out of the inn.
When the three stopped, they weren’t at any other place—it was yesterday’s gambling house.
"What's going on? Don’t tell me we’re gambling again today?" Evan Yang asked, confused.
"No, just look for yourself." Jax Jia called Evan Yang over to the gambling house entrance and pointed at a plaque.
Evan Yang looked up at the announcement board and nearly fainted on the spot. "Who did this?"
"No need to guess, it’s definitely that Justin Wu from yesterday," Ethan Lin cursed.
"He really thinks highly of me, putting up that kind of reward." Evan Yang realized the notice was calling for challengers to defeat him—whoever could beat Evan Yang would get a million low-grade Spirit Crystal Ores.
"Looks like you won’t be able to enter these gambling houses anymore," Jax Jia commented from the side.
"These? You mean other gambling houses have it too?" Evan Yang asked in surprise.
"Yeah, every one has this notice. Looks like Justin Wu is determined to make you lose and win back his stuff—otherwise, he wouldn’t spend a million low-grade Spirit Crystal Ores just to buy a win against you," Jax Jia explained to Evan Yang.
"So that means I can't go to any gambling house?" Evan Yang thought Justin Wu was really over the top—not only was he barring him from the casinos, but if he ever went in, people would challenge him. Whether he gambled or not, it wouldn’t cost them anything, they'd just make trouble for him.
"He's just making sure you can't go to the gambling houses," Ethan Lin said resentfully.
"Forget it, I just won’t go." Evan Yang sighed. Although there were plenty of treasures to win in the casinos, he didn’t want to deal with so much trouble.
Even Evan Yang was so calm about it, so the other two had to calm down as well.
But as soon as they turned around, they ran into Justin Wu, who had come early to try his luck at the gambling house. Seeing Evan Yang and his friends, his eyes reddened with hatred. He sneered, "Kid, this city isn’t a place you can stay. You’d better crawl back where you came from!"
"Boring!" Evan Yang replied, ignoring him, then left with Jax Jia and Ethan Lin. As they passed Justin Wu and his men, Ethan Lin even shot Justin a glare.
That really infuriated Justin Wu. Usually, walking down the street, no one dared act so arrogant toward him. He immediately ordered his bodyguards, "Go teach them a lesson!"
Scenes like this seemed common—many people gathered to watch. Justin Wu sneered, "Kid, if it weren’t for those two clueless attendants yesterday, I would’ve taught you a lesson already!"
"So he’s just a kid under supervision," Jax Jia said directly, making the crowd burst into laughter.
"You—you—just wait and see how I deal with you. What are you all looking at? Grab those two! As for Ethan Lin, you'd better stay out of this, or don’t blame me for ignoring your sect!" Justin Wu now hated Evan Yang and Jax Jia to the bone, but as for Ethan Lin, who had a sect backing him in the city, Justin didn’t want to stir up too much trouble, so his last words were aimed at Ethan.
But Ethan Lin was not the kind to fear death. Seeing Evan Yang and Jax Jia about to face five bodyguards, he quickly stepped forward and said, "Justin Wu, this whole thing started because of me. If you want trouble, come at me!"
"Oh please, do you think I don’t know your strength? I could crush you with a single finger!" Justin Wu sneered.
Ethan Lin ignored Justin Wu’s threats and stood next to Evan Yang, ready to face them together.
"Looks like we’re in a bit of trouble, Evan," Jax Jia said with a grin, feeling no pressure. Evan Yang glanced at their cultivation—just Foundation-Building Great Perfection for the bodyguards. As for Justin Wu, he was at early Core-Formation, but he preferred watching from the sidelines rather than fighting himself.
"Are we really going to fight?" Evan Yang asked, looking at the five men who were already closing in.
The five were stunned at first, then burst out laughing. Who asks that before getting beaten up? Justin Wu laughed louder, "Kid, just wait and see how I teach you a lesson. Everyone, get them!"
"Looks like we have no choice but to fight." Jax Jia flashed a strange smile, then used a few Phantom Steps to appear before the group, taking down two of them in no time.
Three remained, still confused. Evan Yang, seeing Jax Jia use Phantom Steps, followed suit—three Phantom Steps later, the other three were knocked down.
Their speed was so odd that by the time everyone reacted, the five men were already rolling on the ground, clutching their stomachs in pain.
Seeing Evan Yang and Jax Jia’s strange footwork, Justin Wu cursed inwardly, "Who are these two? They even use the same technique!"
"Are we still going?" Evan Yang glanced at the stunned Justin Wu. As for Ethan Lin, he was already shocked—he never expected the two people he knew could take down five Foundation-Building experts so easily.
The onlookers started speculating about Evan Yang and Jax Jia’s identities—some said they must be disciples from a major family, or out training from a sect.
Justin Wu had taught plenty of outsiders a lesson before. Hearing the crowd, he growled, "You two aren’t all that. Just relying on your technique—think I don’t have anyone left here?"
"Are you planning to fight yourself?" Evan Yang replied with a smile.
"Of course! Dealing with two Foundation-Building stage punks is no problem!" Justin Wu prepared to attack.
Jax Jia smiled at Evan Yang, "Do you know Phantom Joint Attack?"
"Phantom Joint Attack?" Evan Yang had never heard of it before.
"Just follow my lead and you’ll see what Phantom Joint Attack is all about." Jax Jia had taught Evan Yang the footwork, so he knew what the technique could do—it was just Evan who didn’t understand yet.
Justin Wu had no idea what they were talking about and cursed, "Whatever joint attack you’re planning, today I’ll show you what real power is!"
Justin Wu’s Core-Formation stage power instantly enveloped Evan Yang and Jax Jia, while Ethan Lin was tangled up with the bodyguards who had gotten back up.