Sure enough, after hearing Evan Yang's words, the old man was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "In that case, I was truly reckless. May I ask how I should address you, young friend?"
"Evan Yang, at your service. Thank you for your concern, senior," Evan said with a cupped-fist salute and a smile.
"Such spirit! I really was reckless today. Next time, I'll make it up to you with a proper gift!" The old man stood up and apologized.
Evan Yang also stood up and smiled, "Senior, you flatter me. It's actually I who interrupted your enjoyment, and I don't have any particularly good pill-refining techniques."
"Heh heh," the old man laughed dryly.
"What a sly old fox!" Evan Yang cursed inwardly, seeing the old man's smile.
Evan Yang secretly cursed the sly old fox in front of him, while the old patriarch continued to ask all sorts of questions. Fortunately, Evan handled them one by one, and in the end, the attendant escorted him out.
Watching Evan Yang's departing figure, the old patriarch's eyes narrowed, lost in thought. As soon as Evan left, Gavin Wu and Justin Wu walked in, looking frustrated as they stood before the old patriarch.
"Do you know what you're lacking?" The old patriarch withdrew his gaze and focused on his two grandsons.
"Grandpa, I don't know. Please enlighten us," said Gavin Wu, the elder brother, who knew Grandpa Wu's temper well and dared not argue, only asking respectfully.
Justin Wu could only stand aside; usually Grandpa Wu treated his elder brother Gavin Wu very well. Even though Grandpa Wu had scolded them in front of others today, Justin was unhappy but endured it, watching Grandpa Wu's expression closely.
Seeing his grandsons behave this way, Grandpa Wu sighed, "You lack the spirit that boy had just now. Always resorting to violence—aren't you afraid others might have powerful backers?"
"Grandpa Wu, yesterday—" Justin Wu tried to bring up what happened.
But Grandpa Wu cut him off, "Look at you, all you know is gambling. Now look what happened—our Wu Family's reputation is completely ruined!"
Justin Wu was so embarrassed by the scolding that his face turned red and he dared not say another word.
"Grandpa Wu, let me challenge him!" Gavin Wu clenched his fists, eager to compete with Evan Yang.
"You still don't understand what I just said?" Grandpa Wu's expression grew darker.
Seeing Grandpa Wu about to lose his temper, Gavin Wu quickly said, "Grandpa Wu, we'll be more careful next time."
"Go on now," Grandpa Wu said, appearing a bit weary as he spoke to his two grandsons.
Justin Wu couldn't stand the atmosphere any longer and quickly left the hall with Gavin Wu. Outside, Justin complained, "Big brother, who is that beggar anyway? Why does Grandpa Wu care so much about him?"
"He might really be something special," Gavin Wu recalled how Evan Yang had calmly seen through the contents of the five jars without using any treasures, and was filled with curiosity.
Hearing Gavin Wu say this, Justin Wu refused to accept it, "Big brother, no matter who he is, I have to teach him a lesson!"
"Of course. After making us lose so much face, how could we let him off?" Gavin Wu snorted coldly, equally unwilling to let it go.
The more they talked, the angrier they became, so they decided to go wander the city. Meanwhile, Grandpa Wu, face stern, muttered, "When will they ever learn to be steady?"
"Grandpa Wu, the young masters are just young," one of the attendants tried to explain for Gavin and Justin.
"Don't speak for them. I know exactly how much skill they have. If not for Gavin's Medicine-God Physique, our Wu Family's pill refining would really be at risk," Grandpa Wu sighed.
"Grandpa Wu, both young masters care about the family. Yesterday, the young master only wanted to win the Violetgold Iron, so he gambled with that man," the attendant continued to explain.
"You told me yesterday. If not for that man's strange pill-refining technique and his ability to casually bring out Violetgold Iron, I wouldn't have summoned him. But after meeting him, he was even sharper and more spirited than I expected. If only Gavin and Justin had his composure," Grandpa Wu shook his head.
"Uh..." The attendant didn't know how to continue defending them.
"Alright, keep investigating that boy's background. I must know who backs him. Also, report my grandsons' whereabouts at all times—I don't want them repeating their fathers' mistakes," Grandpa Wu said, a hint of sadness in his voice.
"Yes, sir." The two attendants quickly withdrew.
"Gavin, Justin, don't blame your grandfather for being so harsh... sigh." Seeing the empty hall, Grandpa Wu sighed helplessly.
Evan Yang left the Wu Family and returned to his original inn, looking for Jax Jia, but only found Ethan Lin.
"You mean he left?" Evan Yang asked in surprise when he heard Ethan Lin say Jax Jia was gone.
"Yeah, before leaving, he told me he'd be back in a few days. If anything happens to you, I'm to wait for him at the inn," Ethan Lin relayed Jax Jia's instructions to Evan Yang.
After thinking for a moment, Evan Yang asked, "Brother Lin, how much longer until the initial competition for the Hundred-Year Grand Festival?"
"Fourteen days until the initial competition, then about a month later is the actual Hundred-Year Grand Festival," Ethan Lin replied after thinking.
"Fourteen days left. That's when Tara Chu and her group will arrive," Evan Yang muttered to himself.
"Tara Chu?" Ethan Lin asked, confused.
"It's nothing, just someone I remembered," Evan Yang smiled, coming back to himself.
"Brother Yang, what did Grandpa Wu want with you?" After everything was settled, Ethan Lin asked curiously.
"Nothing important, just asked about my background," Evan Yang said with a smile, though he couldn't stop thinking about that cunning old fox, especially his eyes.
"I thought they were going to target you!" Ethan Lin, feeling awkward as the least powerful of the group, said with an embarrassed expression.
"Brother Lin, I might need to leave for a while. Are you planning to leave too?" Evan Yang's smile faded, his tone turning serious.
Evan Yang's sudden change in tone made Ethan Lin uneasy, but not wanting to leave the bustling city, he shook his head and said, "I'll stay until after the Hundred-Year Grand Festival."
"Then I'll head out first. Farewell!" Evan Yang said goodbye to Ethan Lin, telling him he'd return before the initial competition.
After leaving the inn, Evan Yang sent a sound transmission to Old Clam, "Are you sure?"
"Yes, it's the Wu Family attendant's aura—he seems to be coming for you." Old Clam's divine sense was far sharper than ordinary people; as someone who had escaped the top expert of the Eastern Continent several times, even without a true body, his divine sense remained strong, easily detecting someone tailing Evan Yang.
"Looks like that old guy won't give up until he digs out my secrets," Evan Yang muttered after hearing Old Clam's words.
"That's easy—just change your aura and appearance a bit, and no one will recognize you," Old Clam said lightly with a smile.
Evan Yang smiled at Old Clam's ability to change a person's aura and even cultivation, "That's right. I'll find a place to cultivate in seclusion, and come out in ten days or so to see how things stand."
The attendant tailing Evan Yang followed him out of the city, thinking Evan was seeking someone important. But something strange happened—after only a few steps outside, Evan's trail and aura vanished. The attendant searched high and low, but found nothing.
"That kid..." the attendant muttered in frustration, then hurried back to the city.
When Grandpa Wu heard the news in the hall, his eyes widened, "How could you lose track of a mere Foundation-Building cultivator?"
The attendant, embarrassed by his failure, replied, "Grandpa Wu, I'll check his companions again."
"Go on." Grandpa Wu realized he'd been too harsh and nodded for the attendant to investigate Ethan Lin.
"Just who is this kid, really?" Grandpa Wu's confusion deepened after the attendant left, and he began to suspect Evan Yang's strength was not as simple as it seemed.
Meanwhile, Evan Yang was on a mountain, deep in lush forest. With Old Clam's help, even passing cultivators couldn't spot him meditating beneath the trees.
"Rusty dagger," Evan Yang muttered, gazing at the seemingly rusty yet incredibly sharp dagger within him.
After a while, a thought struck Evan Yang—since a Life-Bound Weapon could house one's soul, could his divine sense inspect its interior? He sought out Old Clam to ask if it was possible to view the inside of a Life-Bound Weapon.
"It depends. If your weapon has an inner world, of course you can. For example, that furnace—if you refine it, its interior has a space you can view. My pearl is the same; I made a space inside it long ago, and luckily it's sturdy enough or I'd have been destroyed," Old Clam explained.
"So that's how it is." Evan Yang finally understood that a Life-Bound Weapon might have its own space. He looked at the dagger, wondering, "Does it have a space inside?"
Driven by curiosity, Evan Yang tried to communicate with the dagger. At first, nothing happened, but after several attempts, he felt the dagger calling to him.
"Why do I feel this way?" Evan Yang wondered, feeling the subtle call from the dagger.
He kept trying, even probing the dagger with his divine sense, circling around it. Finally, as he willed it, everything went dark—his consciousness entered a space.
"What is this?" Evan Yang exclaimed, startled by the pitch-black surroundings.
Suddenly, ten lights appeared throughout the space.
"What are these lights?" Evan Yang noticed the ten lights were arranged in a pattern, with one especially dazzling and the other nine dimmer.
"Is that you?" Just as Evan Yang was studying the lights, a voice echoed in his mind.
The voice startled Evan Yang. As he tried to see more, the brightest light spoke, "I'm here. Come over."
Evan Yang was shocked by the voice in the space, so he guided his divine sense toward the brightest light.
"Hello," Evan Yang said as he arrived, seeing a sword standing in the light. It conveyed its meaning to him.
Startled, Evan Yang asked, "Who are you?"
"I am the Sword Spirit."
"Sword Spirit?" Evan Yang had never heard of such a thing, and his heart surged with shock.