Martial Sage from the Vajra Skill

’So, the cards are finally on the table?’

Xu Yang saw this and understood. Xiao Chen must have had his fun and was now ready to dump Lin Wei.

Jiang Ping noticed Xu Yang’s arrival and walked over, whispering, "Junior Sister Lin Wei somehow got together with Xiao Chen, but recently Xiao Hua found out and opposed their relationship. Now Xiao Chen wants to break up with her.

Junior Sister Lin Wei is pretty much ruined."

He explained everything, assuming Xu Yang was out of the loop.

Xu Yang knew that Xiao Chen had only ever planned to toy with Lin Wei from the start. He must have secured Su Man now, which was why he was finally laying his cards on the table with Lin Wei. Xiao Hua’s opposition was just an excuse; the father and son had never once thought Lin Wei was good enough for them.

If this had ended quietly, some other man might have eventually come along for her. But now that Lin Wei had confronted Xiao Chen and caused a public scene, everyone knew she’d been used by him. Her reputation was in tatters.

Not far away, Sun Tao’s face was ashen.

As Lin Cheng’s Direct Disciple, his relationship with Lin Wei was like that of a real brother and sister. Xiao Chen playing with Lin Wei and then dumping her was a slap in the face to Lin Cheng.

Xu Yang sighed internally. He had promised Lin Cheng he would help look after Lin Wei. With this outcome, he felt he couldn’t face Lin Cheng.

But he had tried to persuade Lin Wei before. She had just spouted some nonsense about how a fair lady was a good match for a gentleman, and there was nothing he could do.

"So what if you broke through? My father won’t agree. Your talent is nowhere near good enough for me."

Xiao Chen shook off Lin Wei’s grasp and strode away. As he passed Xu Yang, he shot him a look, warning him to keep his mouth shut.

Lin Wei stood dazed in the middle of the path, not yet grasping that Xiao Chen had only been playing with her. She even looked like she was blaming herself.

"Junior Sister, let’s go," Sun Tao said, his expression grim as he stepped forward.

They couldn’t afford to offend the Xiao family, father and son. They had no choice but to swallow this insult.

The crowd of onlookers dispersed. Sun Tao and Lin Wei then noticed Xu Yang and Jiang Ping.

The two of them walked over. Xu Yang, lost in thought, followed as they headed away.

Once they were somewhere private, Xu Yang spoke. "Senior Sister Lin, when we left Qingyuan, did Master instruct you to listen to me?"

Lin Wei nodded blankly. "He did."

"Then listen to your Junior Brother’s advice," Xu Yang said. "This business between you and Xiao Chen ends here."

"Impossible!"

Lin Wei’s reaction was intense. "Uncle Xiao only disapproves because my Cultivation has been slow to advance! Once I achieve Qi Cultivation Gang, he won’t object anymore!"

’Naive!’

’Everyone wants to take shortcuts, but are they really that easy to walk?’

Xu Yang said, "Are you going to disobey Master’s words?"

He couldn’t say too much; it would put him in danger. His only option was to invoke Lin Cheng’s name.

If Lin Wei continued to pester them, the Xiao father and son, not wanting to jeopardize their connection to the Su Family, would likely resort to murder.

If Lin Wei hadn’t been staying within the Purple Sun Sect this whole time, this might not have been a public breakup, but a quiet assassination.

Lin Wei sneered. "Don’t use a feather as a warrant. Even if my own father were here, he couldn’t control me. Stop being a busybody. My affairs are none of your concern."

With that, she strode away.

’Good advice is lost on those who are determined to die.’

Xu Yang didn’t say anything more. As long as it didn’t endanger his own life, he was willing to get involved. He didn’t care if Lin Wei cursed him out a few times; after all, this was part of his deal with Lin Cheng.

But if he couldn’t persuade her, there was nothing more he could do.

If he revealed the matter concerning Su Man, he didn’t know whether Lin Wei would live or die, but he knew for certain that by ruining the Xiao family’s plans, he would be a dead man.

"Junior Sister..."

Sun Tao started to chase after her but was stopped by Xu Yang’s grip. "Senior Brother Sun, you’d best keep a close eye on Senior Sister Lin for a while. Don’t let her leave the Sect."

Sun Tao’s heart jolted, and a look of disbelief crossed his face. "Are you saying..."

Xu Yang said, "It’s better to be safe than sorry. You and I both know what kind of people that father and son are."

Xu Yang had said all he could. If Lin Wei still insisted on courting death, he couldn’t stop her. If something happened to her in the future, he could face Lin Cheng with a clear conscience.

After speaking, he turned and walked back toward the dining hall.

...

At the Outer Sect Steward’s residence, Xiao Chen returned home with a dark expression.

He hadn’t expected Lin Wei to disregard her own reputation as a woman and air their private matters outside the dining hall, letting everyone know.

Fortunately, he had reacted quickly, using his father Xiao Hua as an excuse and claiming Lin Wei’s poor talent made her unworthy of him. That had managed to placate her for the moment.

"She’ll come pestering me again," Xiao Chen muttered, frowning.

He had seen Lin Wei’s determination; she would continue to pursue the matter. He was already reaching above his station to connect with the Su Family. If they found out about this, forget the marriage—he might even face retaliation from Su Man.

"I should go to Father and figure out a plan."

Xiao Chen quickly found Xiao Hua and told him what had happened at the dining hall today.

After listening, a sharp glint flashed in Xiao Hua’s eyes. "If she’s this incapable of knowing when to back down, then our only option is to make her shut her mouth forever."

A look of reluctance appeared on Xiao Chen’s face. They had shared a history, after all. He couldn’t bring himself to be so ruthless.

Xiao Hua’s voice was harsh. "Useless! Su Jianye has already relented and told us to find a time to discuss the matter. If this scandal breaks at such a critical moment, everything will be ruined.

Your talent is even worse than mine! Without the Su Family’s support, you can forget about Marrow Cleansing in this lifetime. Do you want Cultivation or a woman?"

"Cultivation, of course," Xiao Chen answered without hesitation.

Hearing that Su Jianye had relented and was about to agree to his union with Su Man, any last trace of reluctance vanished from his heart. Compared to his future and his Cultivation, what was one woman?

Once he became a Bone Marrow Cleansing Martial Artist, he could have any woman he wanted.

A satisfied smile appeared on Xiao Hua’s face. "Then leave this matter to me."

...

Xu Yang’s life returned to its regular routine. He later heard Sun Tao mention Lin Wei once, saying she had entered seclusion to attempt a breakthrough to Qi Cultivation Gang.

He couldn’t be bothered to care. If not for the deal he’d made with Lin Cheng, he wouldn’t have given a damn whether Lin Wei lived or died.

’I did what I was supposed to do. That’s enough for a clear conscience.’

News came from the Outer Sect again: Lin Dong, fifth among the Ten Heroes, and Wen Yu, first among the Top Ten, had both successively reached Gang Qi Minor Achievement.

Clearly, although the masters of the Top Ten had high Cultivation when they joined the sect, they had now been surpassed by the Ten Heroes.

Xu Yang listened to this news, unfazed. The task of refining Profound Iron on Li Fire Peak had gone faster than he’d imagined. This time, it didn’t even take a full month—after only about twenty-five days, all the Profound Iron had been refined.

On this day, as the last piece of Profound Iron was refined, everyone who had participated in the task appeared before Gao Lin. Holding a record book, he began to tally up the contribution points for each person.

"Xu Yang, twenty-five contribution points!"

The first name Gao Lin read was Xu Yang’s. Although he had arrived a few days late, his Great Success Level Mountain-Shaking Hammer had allowed him to refine the most Profound Iron of anyone.

"Wang Yun, twenty-four contribution points!"

"Chen Chao, twenty-three contribution points!"

"Yun Feng, twenty-three contribution points!"

When he read Yun Feng’s name, Gao Lin’s gaze swept over him for a moment before continuing down the list.

After reading eight names, Gao Lin paused and said, "The eight of you, come back here in ten days’ time, at seven in the morning."

Xu Yang’s heart skipped a beat. ’Was I chosen?’

However, he still hadn’t figured out what this so-called selection was actually for. He saw the looks of pleasant surprise on the faces of Yun Feng and the others, but since no one asked what the selection entailed, he didn’t feel it was his place to ask either.

Soon, everyone received their settlement slips and went to the Task Hall together to turn in the task.

Xu Yang saw Xiao Hua once again. This time, however, Xiao Hua didn’t suspect him of altering the settlement slip and gave him his due contribution points without any fuss.

’I thought I’d have to wait until I got the Guiyuan Pill from the Zhu Family to reach Gang Qi Minor Achievement, but now I can do it ahead of schedule.’

He hadn’t expected the Profound Iron refining task to end so quickly and have the contribution points settled.

’However, since the timeline has moved up, I’m afraid one Guiyuan Pill won’t be enough for me to break through to Gang Qi Minor Achievement.’

[Fuyue Bear Scripture Gang Qi Chapter - Introduction (1904/2000)]

Xu Yang looked at his status panel. The Fuyue Bear Scripture was still nearly one hundred points away from Minor Achievement. One Guiyuan Pill definitely wouldn’t be enough.

’In that case, I’ll exchange for the more effective Profound Yuan Qi Transformation Pill.’

A Profound Yuan Qi Transformation Pill cost forty contribution points each. He could use some of the contribution points he’d acquired from Kong Yu and the others for the exchange.

In a few days, he had to go to the city to refine the Blood Coagulation Pill. If his Gang Qi reached Minor Achievement, his safety would be significantly increased.

Taking fifteen contribution points from the stash he’d gotten from Kong Yu’s group, Xu Yang immediately rushed to the elixir exchange, where he traded for one Profound Yuan Qi Transformation Pill on the spot.

He didn’t rush into seclusion to break through. Instead, he took an Eight-Treasure Body-Strengthening Pill and cultivated arduously for another two days, adjusting his mindset before finally preparing for the breakthrough.