Martial Sage from the Vajra Skill

"After him!"

A few soft shouts rang out. The moment Xu Yang disappeared into the mountain forest, several people on the road suddenly donned black cloth masks and followed him into the woods.

"You two, we brothers have our eyes on Xu Yang. Pick someone else."

One of them suddenly spoke. It turned out two groups had targeted Xu Yang at the same time.

"You’re the ones who should get lost. Otherwise, don’t blame us for taking you out first."

The other group spoke, both of them simultaneously releasing the aura of Gang Qi Minor Achievement.

The pupils of the man who had spoken first constricted. He immediately scurried away in defeat.

Although he was also at Gang Qi Minor Achievement, his companion was not.

"Good, you know your place!"

Retracting his released aura, the man in green robes began to sprint through the forest like an agile leopard.

"Brother Wang, are we just robbing him, or are we robbing and killing?" his companion asked, leaping to catch up.

The man called Brother Wang replied, "A Ten Heroes Genius cannot be left alive. Even if he got onto the Ten Heroes List by a fluke, letting him live is a future disaster. If he grows stronger, he might track us down."

"Understood!" his companion said.

Because they too were disciples of the Purple Sun Sect, once they acted, their auras would be remembered. In the future, Xu Yang would likely discover who they were.

"Get lost!"

Suddenly, a furious roar exploded by their ears, seeming to shake the very forest.

"Gang Qi Great Success!"

The two looked back in shock, only to see a figure exuding a powerful Gang Qi aura speeding toward them from behind. Fierce winds rose in his wake, and an immense pressure spread through the forest like a tidal wave.

The man wore a conical hat and mask. Most striking was the cage he carried, inside which a white mouse was squeaking, seemingly pointing the way.

’This is bad. This Gang Qi Great Success master is also after Xu Yang.’

For a Gang Qi Great Success expert to kill two at Gang Qi Minor Achievement, it wouldn’t take more than ten moves.

Brother Wang’s expression changed drastically, and he and his companion immediately turned to flee.

The man with the conical hat and cage paid the two no mind. Following the guidance of the white mouse in the cage, he vanished into the distance like a streak of light.

After sprinting through the forest for a while, Xu Yang sensed a terrifying commotion behind him. It was as if a giant beast was rampaging through the trees, causing the air to rumble.

He looked back and saw a figure surging with Gang Qi speeding toward him, treading on branches and carrying a cage with a white mouse inside.

’It’s the one who marked me!’

Xu Yang stopped and ran no further.

He had run not because he was afraid of the people from the auction, but because he was afraid of Xiao Hua.

The auction had caused quite a stir. If Xiao Hua was paying attention, he would inevitably find out that Xu Yang had left the sect.

CLANG!

With a pulse of Gang Qi, he made a grasping motion, and the saber on his back flew into his hand.

This wasn’t the Cold Moon Saber, but the one he had confiscated. After he reached Gang Qi Minor Achievement, the Wolf Fang Saber could no longer withstand an infusion of his silver-white True Qi.

"To think a single bottle of Ten-Perfection Rejuvenation Pills would attract a Gang Qi Great Success master. Should I be honored, or are your sights just set too low?"

Xu Yang pointed his long saber diagonally toward the ground and began to channel his Gang Qi.

"I didn’t come just for the Ten-Perfection Rejuvenation Pills."

The man with the conical hat and cage descended from the sky, his voice somewhat familiar to Xu Yang.

The man yanked the conical hat from his head, revealing a young face.

Ma Jun!

Ma Jun, the Hall Master of the Dawn Association.

Xu Yang’s heart stirred. "Senior Brother Ma, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

Ma Jun put down the cage and smiled. "Someone hired me to take care of you. The things you’re carrying are just an unexpected bonus. Junior Brother Xu, you should just kill yourself."

"As your senior brother, I’ll leave you with a whole corpse and even help bury you, so you can rest in peace. I won’t let your body be exposed in the wilderness for beasts to defile. How about it?"

Xu Yang’s heart sank. ’Xiao Hua really made his move, just not personally.’

"Did Steward Xiao send you?" Xu Yang asked.

Ma Jun looked surprised. "Impressive, you actually guessed it. Looks like you knew Steward Xiao wanted you dead. I’m not interested in your grudge, though. Now, tell me your choice. Will you do it yourself, or should I kill you and leave your corpse to rot in the wild?"

Xu Yang gave a bitter smile. "I’m a coward. I can’t bring myself to do it. You’d better help me, Senior Brother Ma."

Ma Jun’s expression turned mocking. "Trying to trick me into getting closer for a sneak attack? A pity you have no idea what a Gang Qi Great Success expert truly represents."

"If you were at Gang Qi Minor Achievement, a sneak attack might have grazed me. But with your Initial Stage of Gang Qi cultivation? I could stand here with my hands tied and let you hit me, and you wouldn’t even leave a scratch."

The way Xu Yang stood holding his saber, he clearly had no intention of surrendering without a fight. Ma Jun couldn’t have failed to see this, but he didn’t care.

’A mere Initial Stage of Gang Qi. I could kill him with a backhand slap.’

"Since you don’t want to die with dignity, I’ll accommodate you."

A vicious look appeared on Ma Jun’s face. Propelled by a surge of Gang Qi, the ground beneath his feet cracked and exploded. His body abruptly vanished, transforming into a streak of red light.

BOOM!

A gale surged, and a tyrannical pressure spread like a tidal wave. In an instant, dust and smoke billowed everywhere.

Ma Jun’s figure tore through the wave of dust, shooting forward like an arrow loosed from a bow. His palm, wreathed in surging Gang Qi, struck out. He unleashed the full force of his Gang Qi Great Success cultivation, intending to kill Xu Yang in a single, decisive blow.

Before the Palm Force even arrived, the powerful wind it generated was already whipping Xu Yang’s robes and lifting his hair.

Xu Yang felt the pressure. The Gang Qi in his body roared to life as his Golden Gang Skill began to circulate wildly.

Specks of silver-white light appeared like stars, rapidly spreading over his entire body. In an instant, he looked like a man cast from molten silver.

Ma Jun’s pupils contracted violently as he sensed the sharp, domineering aura emanating from Xu Yang.