Martial Sage from the Vajra Skill

"Bastard! Weren’t there supposed to be only five at Gang Qi Minor Achievement? Why was there an extra one?"

In a cave somewhere in the Yunling Mountain Range, the group from the Blood Lotus Sect that had attacked the valley during the day was gathered.

Beside them, along with a pile of special materials they had brought, was a cold corpse.

Throughout the entire raid, only this one person had died; the rest had merely suffered minor injuries.

"SMACK!"

The robust man slapped him, and a red Palm Seal immediately appeared on Zhu Yong’s face as blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

"Your intel got my brother killed, you bastard." The robust man was furious.

Zhu Yong endured the excruciating pain, a look of terror in his eyes. He said, "Blood Envoy, please calm your anger. I didn’t know that Xu Yang would have a Minor Achievement in Gang Qi Cultivation either. The man’s talent is extraordinary; he almost ranked among the Ten Heroes. He must have broken through after I left."

"Xu Yang?" A murderous glint flashed in the robust Blood Envoy’s eyes. "I want him dead, to accompany my brother to the grave."

"You can’t!"

The man who was as thin as a bamboo pole said, "We’ve already alerted the Purple Sun Sect. We shouldn’t stay here long. The Purple Sun Sect’s control over Cyan Yang City is too strong. If we remain, we’ll be found sooner or later."

"Zhang Sai, are you trying to teach me how to do my job?" the robust Blood Envoy asked, glaring viciously at the bamboo-thin man.

His brother was dead, and he wanted revenge. This wasn’t just any brother—it was his biological brother.

Zhang Sai’s face darkened. "Li Shao, have you lost your mind? I’m trying to save you. These materials are of great use to the Sect. Escorting them back as soon as possible is what matters. If anything goes wrong, have you considered the consequences?

You can get revenge for your brother anytime. Do you have to do it while the Purple Sun Sect is hunting for us everywhere?"

"Blood Envoy," Zhu Yong said, "sometimes, Outer Disciples of the Purple Sun Sect don’t leave the Sect for half a year or even a full year. It’s impossible to kill Xu Yang in a short amount of time."

Unless they charged directly into the Purple Sun Sect, killing Xu Yang right now was simply impossible.

Li Shao’s chest heaved. Remembering the Blood Lotus Sect’s punishment for those who failed their tasks, he forcibly suppressed his rage. He knew it was impossible to kill Xu Yang anytime soon.

"Bury my brother properly. Remember this place. I will bring Xu Yang’s head here to pay tribute to him."

「...」

[Minor Achievement in Golden Gang Skill, Points +10]

[Slaying Yun Feng, Points +3]

[Martial Arts Longevity Points: 123]

Xu Yang’s heart sank. He had killed a member of the Blood Lotus Sect to escape the valley, which should have earned him points, but it hadn’t.

This meant that killing someone from the Blood Lotus Sect would likely cause trouble for him later.

No one in the Purple Sun Sect knew he had killed a Blood Lotus Sect disciple, but the Blood Lotus Sect did.

At dawn, all the bodies were buried on the spot. The group prepared to depart. It was unclear how heavy the Tower Furnace was, but it actually took four Inner Sect Disciples working together to lift it.

Gao Lin gathered Xu Yang and the other four, his voice grave. "Don’t go blabbing about what happened here when you get back, especially not about the Blood Lotus Sect. The Sect’s upper echelons will handle it. If word gets out and you’re punished by the Sect rules, don’t blame me for not warning you."

Shen Liang, Guo Huai, and the others nodded in agreement. Xu Yang wasn’t very surprised either.

The death rate for Outer Disciples of the Purple Sun Sect was terrifying, yet the outside world heard nothing of it. This was undoubtedly due to a deliberate cover-up.

After all, if everyone knew how dangerous the Purple Sun Sect was, not so many people would fight desperately to join. And if no one joined, where would the Purple Sun Sect find so many workhorses to order around?

Moreover, two Inner Sect Disciples had died this time. If the Outer Disciples found out how ruthless the Blood Lotus Sect was, no one would accept missions to go outside anymore.

"You will still receive your contribution points as usual. Just follow me to the Task Hall in a bit. Twenty for each of you," he added.

Hearing that there would still be contribution points, the expressions on their faces improved considerably. As long as it wasn’t all for nothing.

Soon, the group returned to the base of Li Fire Peak. The other Inner Sect Disciples from Li Fire Peak carried the Tower Furnace up the mountain, while Gao Lin led the small group to the Task Hall and successfully secured twenty contribution points for each of them.

After leaving the Task Hall, Gao Lin departed quickly.

Shen Liang declared magnanimously, "Come on, I’ll treat everyone to a meal. I’ve been chewing on jerky for half a month, I’m about to puke."

At the mention of jerky, they all felt a bit nauseous. Without hesitation, they found a restaurant, requested a private room, and the five of them sat down inside.

The food and drinks arrived quickly. Shen Liang raised his cup and said, "A toast to the five of us surviving this ordeal."

"Cheers!"

The others raised their cups with him. After downing the first glass of wine, they all fell silent and began to dig in.

For over half a month, every meal had been jerky and flatbread. Xu Yang was fine with it, but for young masters like them who had grown up in luxury, it was no better than pig slop.

When they had eaten most of the food, Shen Liang raised his cup. "I’d like to propose a toast to Brother Xu. The day we exchanged a Palm strike, you overpowered me. You truly are a genius on par with Lu Ren."

"That day doesn’t count. If we fought for real, I might not be able to beat you."

Xu Yang said humbly, clinking his cup against Shen Liang’s.

An Ping put down his chopsticks and asked curiously, "Brother Xu, forgive my ignorance, but I’ve never heard of a prominent family named Xu in Qingyuan."

The others had known each other before and were familiar with one another’s backgrounds and origins. The only one they didn’t know about was Xu Yang.

Xu Yang’s expression didn’t change. "I don’t come from any prominent family. I was born to a farmer, so it’s natural that you’ve never heard of me, Brother An."

An awkward expression flashed across An Ping’s face.

Shen Liang laughed. "For Brother Xu to have come this far from a farmer’s background, you’re much stronger than we are."

Tang Xiao nodded. "That’s right. If we had the same background as Brother Xu, we definitely wouldn’t have made it this far. In my years of practicing martial arts, I’ve spent at least ten thousand taels of my family’s silver."

The others didn’t seem to mind Xu Yang’s background. The fact that Xu Yang could force Shen Liang back with a single Palm strike meant he was qualified to be on equal footing with them. As for who would go further in the future, that was truly hard to say.