Martial Sage from the Vajra Skill

Having returned safely to the Purple Sun Sect, Xu Yang stored the rough ore that might be Spirit Iron and took out several Secret Manuals to study carefully.

An hour later, he had mastered Secret Transmission, allowing him to transmit his voice within a twenty-zhang radius.

He also learned the Breath Concealment Skill. Upon activating it, his Gang Qi became dormant, and his aura retracted until he seemed like an ordinary person.

As for the Celestial Demon Dissolving Technique, it was a last-resort, life-or-death art. It couldn’t be cultivated in the usual sense; one simply had to memorize the energy circulation pathways and activate them directly when needed.

He focused his efforts on comprehending the Pure Essence Gold-Splitting Finger. After studying it meticulously five or six times, he relied on his formidable Comprehension to force his way to the Entry Level of the technique.

Sitting on his bed, he began to cultivate according to the Heart Method Mantra. After circulating his Gang Qi a few times, it transformed into a more condensed Finger Force that gathered at his fingertips.

He felt his fingers grow hot as his flesh, blood, tendons, and bones were nourished and slowly strengthened by the Gang Qi. The condensed Finger Force felt as if it was on the verge of bursting forth.

...

The next day, the first thing Xu Yang did upon opening his eyes was look at the panel.

[Acquired Breath Concealment Skill. Points +3]

[Acquired Secret Transmission. Points +1] 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

[Acquired Celestial Demon Dissolving Technique. Points +10]

[Acquired Pure Essence Gold-Splitting Finger. Points +5]

[Acquired Spirit Iron. Points +3]

[Martial Arts Longevity Points: 176]

Among the string of notifications, the largest point reward surprisingly came not from the Pure Essence Gold-Splitting Finger, but from the Celestial Demon Dissolving Technique—the art used to burn one’s lifespan in a desperate struggle.

’It really is Spirit Iron!’

What delighted him was that the panel had confirmed the identity of the ore he had been uncertain about—it was indeed Spirit Iron.

This was a most gratifying harvest. His Martial Arts Longevity Points were not far from two hundred. Once the affair with the Earth Vein Spiritual Fire was over, he just needed to collect a few more Cultivation Techniques. Perhaps in less than three months, he would be able to learn how to make the Gathering Essence Pill.

...

"The Blazing Blade appeared again?"

That morning, as Lu Ren pushed open his door, he heard others in the courtyard discussing the Blazing Blade.

Zhu Tao, who lived in the same courtyard, nodded. "That’s right. I heard he showed up at the black market last night and killed Wu Nanshan—who was at Gang Qi Minor Achievement—with a single strike."

’Wu Nanshan was slaughtered by the Blazing Blade?’

Lu Ren snorted coldly. "He got off lucky!"

Wu Nanshan had mocked him at the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion’s auction. Given the chance, he would have killed the man himself. He never expected the mysterious Blazing Blade to cut him down before he could make a move.

’One day, I will become a powerhouse just like the Blazing Blade. People won’t dare to criticize me anymore. When they speak my name, they will feel nothing but fear.’

Secretly clenching his fists, Lu Ren left the courtyard.

He had passed the selection for Li Fire Peak. He heard this opportunity offered great benefits; it could temper one’s Physique and condense one’s Gang Qi. When he returned from the mission, his strength would surely take another step forward. It would also be the perfect chance to resolve the instability in his Martial Dao foundation, a side effect of consuming so many Elixirs recently.

After walking for a short while, he saw Xu Yang and Zhang Yong leaving their courtyard, and the three of them ran right into each other.

The three youths, all chosen from the dregs of the Huang Family, stared at each other, momentarily speechless.

Xu Yang shot Lu Ren a cool glance, then strode away.

He and Lu Ren had never gotten along, so he felt nothing. Only Zhang Yong, who had once been abandoned by Lu Ren, still harbored deep-seated resentment.

Upon arriving at Li Fire Peak, Xu Yang had a bad feeling. ’This isn’t good,’ he thought.

Last time, the presence of only two Ten Heroes Geniuses had been enough to draw out the Blood Lotus Sect for an assassination attempt. This time, however, a full half of the Ten Heroes were here.

There was Su Zhe, ninth of the Ten Heroes; Lu Ren, the eighth; Chen Yu, who had replaced Wen Hao as the seventh; and Xie Zhan, ranked sixth on the Ten Heroes List.

Including himself, the bottom five members of the Ten Heroes List had all gathered.

’Do people like Li Chuyang and Jiang Fan have such powerful backgrounds that the sect didn’t dare use them as bait?’

Xu Yang’s expression darkened.

His gaze swept across the crowd. He spotted a few people from the Top Ten list, as well as some disciples from the previous year’s class. Most had already reached Gang Qi Minor Achievement.

As for the five who had survived the three previous incidents, besides himself, Shen Liang, Guo Huai, and the others were nowhere to be seen.

"So that’s Xu Yang?"

"He still hasn’t reached Gang Qi Minor Achievement after all this time? What a disgrace to the Ten Heroes List."

"I don’t know who even made that list. Why haven’t they removed him?"

"I heard he bought a First-Grade Ten-Perfection Rejuvenation Pill at the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion. He’s probably hoping to use this opportunity to temper his Physique, condense his Gang Qi, and break through to Gang Qi Minor Achievement in one fell swoop."

"His talent isn’t actually bad. He just lacks status and resources, which is why he’s fallen so far behind the other Ten Heroes Geniuses."

...

Many gazes turned toward Xu Yang, accompanied by hushed discussions.

’If you could get me removed from the Ten Heroes List, I’d even thank you for it.’

Xu Yang’s expression remained unchanged. Watching these people, all unknowingly being used as bait to lure out the Blood Lotus Sect, he couldn’t help but feel that ignorance truly was bliss.

They were all fantasizing about using the Earth Vein Spiritual Fire to advance their Cultivation, little knowing that they might never return from this venture.

Soon, Gao Lin appeared. His gaze swept over the crowd, and seeing that all eighteen people had arrived, he immediately led them toward the valley where the Earth Vein Spiritual Fire was located.

When they arrived at the location of the Earth Vein Spiritual Fire, just like last time, two Inner Sect Disciples from Li Fire Peak were already standing guard.

Other than those two, Xu Yang didn’t see anyone else.

’Could it be that this isn’t a trap? Or are the Purple Sun Sect’s experts just hiding nearby?’ Xu Yang wondered.

He couldn’t figure out the exact situation, so he decided to stop overthinking it. All he could do was be as careful as possible and be ready to run the moment things went south.

He didn’t participate in the scramble for the Forging Platforms, choosing a spot on the very periphery instead.

For the next while, he simultaneously refined the Spirit Iron and cultivated.

Although the Earth Vein Spiritual Fire’s effect on him had greatly diminished, it wasn’t completely useless. The cultivation speed of his Golden Gang Skill increased slightly.

[Stepping on Gang and Chasing Wind reached Great Success. Points +5]

[Martial Arts Longevity Points: 189]

On this day, he woke up to find another point reward waiting for him.

Although he lacked a proper space to practice Stepping on Gang and Chasing Wind, he had still managed to rely on his formidable Comprehension to understand the technique up to the Great Success Realm the previous day.