Hearing this voice and seeing those eyes, Warren Wong felt the person before him looked familiar, but couldn't place him. He could only smile helplessly and say, "The four clans are here today—I'm sure you already know why, right?"
"Weren't you inviting us to a banquet? Why are you getting straight to business?" Jax Jia, annoyed by Warren's tone, shot back.
Evan Yang, who had originally been about to respond, glanced curiously at Jax Jia, unsure what he meant.
"You're right, that's our mistake. Please, come join us." Warren Wong said with a smile.
"This guy's cultivation has really improved!" Evan Yang noticed that Warren Wong had just scanned him, and the aura he released was at least mid-Foundation-Building, but not beyond that stage.
Besides that, Evan also sensed two other auras—Lana Situ of the Stewart Clan and a member of the Bai Family. When all three scanned him at once, Evan pretended not to notice and followed Jax Jia over.
Evan Yang sat down next to Tara Chu and even gave her a friendly smile, as a gesture of thanks.
Jax Jia glared at Evan Yang, then looked over at Warren Wong and the others.
Evan Yang withdrew his gaze from Tara Chu and looked at Lana Situ, feeling grateful toward her. If he ever got the chance, he wanted to repay her.
Seeing Evan Yang's eyes wandering between the two girls, Jax Jia cursed inwardly, "Damn pervert!"
Warren Wong and the Bai Family representative also noticed Evan Yang's actions, secretly wondering if he had a thing for beauties.
Tara Chu didn't mind Evan Yang looking at her—she was used to treating him as a friend. Lana Situ, however, was different; she didn't know the little beggar was Evan, and especially disliked men who ogled women. She snorted coldly, "Little beggar, don't let your eyes wander!"
Evan Yang sighed inwardly, thinking, 'Still stubborn as ever.' But he couldn't say it aloud—otherwise the Wong Clan would become another enemy. He just smiled and said, "So, what did you all invite me here for, exactly?"
Warren Wong had already felt uncomfortable seeing Evan glance at Lana Situ, so his reply was a bit irritable: "We invited Brother Beggar here for the Hundred-Year Pact, of course!"
"Hundred-Year Pact? What's that?" Evan Yang had already heard Jax Jia explain it, but pretended not to know so Warren Wong and the others would have to clarify.
"Why does this little beggar always stir things up?" Tara Chu thought helplessly, seeing the tense atmosphere.
"Let me explain," Lana Situ said, jumping in ahead of the others.
Evan Yang was curious why Lana Situ answered first, but what followed left him frustrated. With every sentence, Lana intensified her tone, making everyone feel dizzy; Evan barely held it together, and the others quickly circulated their cultivation to resist.
The Hundred-Year Pact is a centennial agreement between the Central Province and the Eastern Continent. Every hundred years, both sides send Human-Rank, Earth-Rank, and Heaven-Rank Alchemists to compete in three matches. Whoever wins two out of three forces the loser to give up a city. Besides alchemy, there are also contests in spell-dueling, weapon-forging, formation-laying, and one other category, with four cities as stakes.
A city with several million people is highly valued by both the Eastern Continent and Central Province. It's a brutal contest for swallowing the other's territory, which is why the higher-ups don't care about Evan Yang's conflict with the Bai Family—they just want to win first.
There's only one year left until the next Hundred-Year Pact—that much Evan Yang knew.
Once Lana Situ finished speaking, everyone snapped out of it. Jax Jia was the first to complain, "Your voice is way too loud!"
Lana Situ laughed, "I just didn't want someone to miss it and forget."
Evan Yang really wanted to tell her he was the rootless kid rescued from the Rising Sun Sect, but for now he could only endure her barrage and smile helplessly, "Are you all so sure I'll participate?"
His words made the atmosphere awkward. The Bai Family representative sneered, "Little beggar, you'd better join us. Find yourself a big tree to lean on, or else whenever you show up, our Bai Family will hunt you down!"
"Who do you think you Bai Family people are? Aren't we doing just fine now?" Jax Jia retorted with a cold snort, annoyed by their attitude.
Who is this guy, anyway? He barged in and stole the conversation—that's what everyone was thinking. Only the Bai Family member was furious, "You little thief! If he has a big tree to lean on, you won't have one. Outside, I'll catch you and rip your soul out!"
So that's the thief who stole from the Bai Family. Hearing this, the others finally understood—everyone had heard rumors about the Bai Family's loss, but pretended not to know to avoid stirring things up.
"Who's afraid of you!" Jax Jia sneered.
"You—" The Bai Family member was so angry he couldn't speak.