Martial Sage from the Vajra Skill

The day began, and everyone entered the stone chamber to refine Spirit Iron.

Less than an hour later, Zhang Yong was the first to give out. He felt a searing pain in his Dantian and meridians, forcing him to hurry out of the stone chamber to circulate his energy and expel the fire poison.

A while later, Xu Yang also feigned a fire poison attack and ran out of the stone chamber to sit down and circulate his energy.

He appeared to be expelling fire poison, but in reality, he was cultivating.

With his Golden Gang Skill at its current level, the Earth Vein Spiritual Fire had little effect on him. He had no problem enduring one or two hours of the fire poison’s assault.

However, his superficial cultivation had not yet reached Gang Qi Minor Achievement, so he couldn’t act too out of the ordinary.

He had also purposefully not bought any Vein-Protecting Pills or Ice Spirit Pills this time. Having just splurged at the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion, it would surely arouse suspicion if he still had the silver to buy these items.

Besides, the Earth Vein Spiritual Fire wasn’t very useful to him anymore. There was no need to waste money like that.

Zhang Yong, on the other hand, was truly broke. The small family he had married into could no longer support him, so he couldn’t afford Vein-Protecting Pills or Ice Spirit Pills to counter the fire poison.

After the two had been circulating their energy for a while, Lu Ren ran out next, a pained expression on his face, and sat down to do the same.

He was also out of money, having spent it all at the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion. He, too, could only endure the fire poison with his own body.

Soon, the disciples in the stone chamber came out one after another. They took an Ice Spirit Pill and dispelled the fire poison in less than fifteen minutes.

"How pathetic. Without Vein-Protecting Pills and Ice Spirit Pills, they can only rely on their bodies to endure."

"To waste time expelling poison in a treasured land like this... what an utter waste."

"If they can’t even afford Ice Spirit Pills and Vein-Protecting Pills, I doubt they’ll get far on the Martial Dao."

The disciples who had finished detoxifying sized up the trio and commented on them before casually returning to the stone chamber to continue tempering themselves with the Earth Vein Spiritual Fire.

The three of them felt as if they had returned to the time they first joined Weiyuan Hall. They were mud-legged peasants scratching out a living, while everyone around them was a young master from a wealthy family.

’I need to maintain my peak condition to handle any sudden situations that might arise. Besides, the Spirit Iron refining isn’t calculated based on labor. There’s no need to spend over a hundred silver a day just to counter the fire poison.’

Zhang Yong and Lu Ren were not as calm as him. They almost lost their composure several times, their fists tightening in secret.

In a treasured land blessed with the Earth Vein Spiritual Fire, they had no money for Ice Spirit Pills and Vein-Protecting Pills. Wasting so much time expelling poison was indeed a great squander.

They never thought that even after reaching this stage, they would still be ridiculed because of money.

Finally, after expelling the fire poison from his body, Lu Ren opened his eyes and said in a low voice, "It wasn’t easy for us to get this far. It’s time we truly joined forces.

The last time I entered the Yunling Mountain Range, I discovered a treasure site, but I didn’t dare go deeper because I wasn’t strong enough. Once things are over here, let’s team up and barge in. I guarantee there are Spirit Medicines inside.

When that time comes, we’ll make all those snobs who look down on us shut their mouths."

Zhang Yong opened his eyes, a mocking look on his face. "Join forces? So you can stab me in the back again?"

He had been exploited by Sharp Wind Hall, yet Lu Ren, this friend who had come with him from the Huang Family, chose to hide in Cyan Yang City. He had long been disappointed in Lu Ren and held no more hope for him.

No matter how Lu Ren embellished his words, he would never trust him again.

Lu Ren shook his head and said earnestly, "I tried to fight for you, but I had no influence. My words were useless. I know you don’t believe me, but I really argued with Yun Feng and Cao Rong for your sake.

Besides, that’s not important. There are no permanent enemies, only permanent interests. The Spirit Medicines at that treasure site—there’s definitely more than just one or two.

If we can get even one, with our talent, we’ll be able to achieve Marrow Cleansing very soon.

If we hadn’t clawed our way out of the mud together, I would never tell you something like this."

Zhang Yong sneered, "I believe you! And if I believe you again, I’d be a fool. You’ve only come to us now because you’ve been deserted by everyone and have no one else to turn to.

If you, Lu Ren, were still riding high, would you even deign to glance at Xu Yang and me?"

With that, he refused to listen to any more of Lu Ren’s nonsense and strode back into the stone chamber.

His old wounds reopened by Zhang Yong, Lu Ren’s face turned ashen.

He then looked at Xu Yang and said, "Xu Yang, how about we team up? Look at you. You’re clearly a Ten Heroes Genius, but because you lack resources, countless wastes less talented than you have surpassed your cultivation. Can you accept that?

A bunch of wastes inferior to you mock you every day. Can you stand it?

As long as we join forces, I guarantee that from now on, when they see us, they’ll feel nothing but fear. No one will ever dare to laugh at us again." 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Not interested!"

Xu Yang said calmly. He didn’t believe a single word Lu Ren said.

Even if it were true, he still wasn’t interested.

After speaking, he also got up and strode into the stone chamber.

"You..."

Lu Ren gritted his teeth in anger. ’How can they both be so stubborn? Spirit Medicine, for crying out loud! How is neither of them tempted?’

Time slowly passed. Lu Ren tried to persuade Xu Yang and Zhang Yong several more times, but both remained unmoved.

One day, Xu Yang achieved Great Success with his Phantom Star Gang Fist. With a single punch, he could unleash four tangible fist projections to conceal his real fist.

’Even without the Fiery Sun Gang Saber, with this Great Success Phantom Star Gang Fist, killing an ordinary Gang Qi Minor Achievement cultivator would be as easy as slaughtering chickens and dogs.’

Xu Yang stood up, satisfied. As his trump cards increased, his wariness of Xiao Hua diminished.

In the blink of an eye, half a month was over. The Blood Lotus Sect had not appeared. A middle-aged man with a profound aura walked out from the forest, and two Inner Sect Disciples from Li Fire Peak hurried to greet him.

Xu Yang understood that this must be the expert Li Fire Peak had sent to wait for the Blood Lotus Sect. Unfortunately, the Blood Lotus Sect hadn’t taken the bait.

"It’s Elder Huoyun! What’s he doing here?"

Xu Yang heard someone exclaim, clearly recognizing the middle-aged man.

Elder Huoyun ignored the crowd, whose eyes were filled with fanaticism. A tyrannical force swept up the refined Spirit Iron and the Tower Furnace, and he took them with him as he stepped into the sky and departed.

The shocking scene left all the Outer Disciples dumbfounded. Many secretly clenched their fists, vowing to become as powerful as Elder Huoyun.

’Elder Huoyun’s Martial Dao has likely reached a godlike state. It must be beyond the Bone Marrow Cleansing Realm.’

Xu Yang was secretly alarmed. The powerful aura made his Heart Spirit tremble. He felt that if Elder Huoyun wanted to kill him, a single glance would be all it took.

Soon, the group followed the two Inner Sect Disciples back to the Purple Sun Sect. They settled their contribution points at the Task Hall, and each person received fifteen points.

"Any gains, my two junior brothers?"

Back in the courtyard, seeing that the two were unharmed, Sun Tao greeted them with a smile.

Zhang Yong smiled. "In ten to fifteen days, I should be able to reach Gang Qi Minor Achievement."

Although most of his time was spent circulating his energy to expel the fire poison, it was also a form of tempering. His gains were significant, and he felt he was on the verge in all aspects.

He just needed a period of secluded cultivation to be certain of breaking through to the Minor Success Realm of Gang Qi.

"And you, Junior Brother Xu?" Sun Tao looked at Xu Yang.

Xu Yang said, "I’m about the same. I can reach Gang Qi Minor Achievement in ten to fifteen days."

’Zhang Yong is about to reach Gang Qi Minor Achievement. If I keep pretending, it will inevitably arouse suspicion.’

Sun Tao was overjoyed. "Congratulations, Junior Brothers! I wish you both a successful breakthrough to Gang Qi Minor Achievement."

The two smiled and sat down with Sun Tao.

Jiang Ping was also there. He said, "By the way, the Outer Sect Grand Competition has started. If you want to participate, you can go register now. Registration ends in three days."

’Registration for the Outer Sect Grand Competition has started?!’

Xu Yang was momentarily dazed. In the blink of an eye, a year had passed since they arrived at the Purple Sun Sect.

Looking at the people beside him, their faces had matured, their childishness gone. He, too, was now twenty years old.

’But I’m still at my peak.’

For the past year, he had insisted on adding a point to his lifespan every day. Time had left no mark on him. He could feel that his body remained in the peak condition of an eighteen or nineteen-year-old.

His energy was vigorous, his qi and blood were abundant, his Life Energy remained youthful, and his body was full of vitality.

"We need to register? Doesn’t everyone participate?" Zhang Yong asked.

He was clearly very interested in the Outer Sect Grand Competition. If he could distinguish himself, his path on the Martial Dao would become much smoother.

Sun Tao said, "Participation in the Outer Sect Grand Competition is voluntary, not mandatory."

Between their batch, the previous one, and some old-timers who had been in the Outer Sect for seven or eight years—even with Outer Disciples frequently dying outside the sect—the Purple Sun Sect still had at least seven or eight hundred Outer Disciples.

If all those people competed, it would take more than ten or fifteen days to finish. The Sect wouldn’t let so many people stop their duties to fight for that long, so they use a voluntary registration system for the competition.