Martial Sage from the Vajra Skill

"Have the rewards been announced?" Zhang Yong pressed.

This was their first Outer Sect Grand Competition since joining the Purple Sun Sect, and there was still a lot no one had told them.

Jiang Ping replied, "They’ve been announced. The top three are exempted from the Inner Sect assessment mission and can choose any one cultivation technique they want from the second floor of the Hidden Skills Hall."

As soon as he said this, both Xu Yang’s and Jiang Ping’s eyes lit up.

On the second floor of the Hidden Skills Hall, good cultivation techniques cost over a thousand contribution points. The sophistication of some of the heart methods there far surpassed the Fuyue Bear Scripture they were cultivating.

The same went for martial techniques. A good one cost four or five hundred contribution points. Even if you did missions every day without spending a single point, it would still take two or three years to afford one.

Xu Yang knew he didn’t stand a chance, however. Even if he played all his trump cards, it would be impossible for him to place in the top three.

It was said that among the outer disciples, there were some powerhouses whose strength was on par with inner sect disciples. They were only stuck in the Outer Sect because they had to wait out the mandatory three-year period.

Besides, he didn’t dare play all his cards. Doing so would only provoke Xiao Hua into crushing him prematurely.

’By next year, I’ll be a senior disciple myself. Then I’ll have the confidence to vie for the top three.’

Sun Tao added, "Fourth and fifth place get to choose one cultivation technique from the Hidden Skills Hall. Places six through ten get a reward of two hundred contribution points, and places eleven through twenty get one hundred. There are no rewards after that."

’I’m afraid I’ll have a hard time even breaking into the top twenty,’ Xu Yang mused.

Their batch had the Ten Heroes and the Top Ten, and so did the previous year’s. Although those from the previous year had already participated in one Grand Competition, this would be their first one as senior disciples.

The main contenders in this competition would likely be the geniuses from the previous batch, as well as some lesser geniuses from the batch before that who hadn’t managed to enter the Inner Sect.

He feared no one from their own batch would be able to break into the top twenty.

There were actually many formidable people in the Outer Sect; they just spent most of their time away from the Purple Sun Sect, adventuring and treasure hunting in the Yunling Mountain Range.

Since the disciples from Xu Yang’s batch didn’t have high enough cultivation yet, they all stayed cooped up in the Purple Sun Sect.

Once their cultivation improved, most of them would also choose to enter the Yunling Mountain Range—a natural treasure vault—to seek their fortunes. Just finding a single stalk of spirit medicine and turning it in to the Sect could earn them contribution points in the thousands.

In the end, neither Zhang Yong nor Xu Yang signed up.

From their batch, it was said that only seven or eight people registered, all of them members of the Ten Heroes or the Top Ten. Xu Yang heard that Lu Ren had also signed up.

Over the next two days, everyone noticed the Outer Sect getting livelier. Many disciples they had never seen before, all with frighteningly powerful auras, returned from the Yunling Mountain Range. This made the new batch of disciples afraid to even go out much, worried they might accidentally offend someone they couldn’t afford to provoke.

One day, Xu Yang returned from practicing his Pure Essence Gold-Splitting Finger and saw a burly man sitting in their courtyard, casually chatting with Sun Tao and Jiang Ping.

The man was about twenty years old and radiated a lean, powerful aura. He was like an exotic beast that had just walked out of the mountains, brimming with a wild energy.

"Junior Brother Xu, over here!"

Seeing Xu Yang, Sun Tao quickly stood and waved him over. "Come meet Senior Brother Li Qiang! He’s also a disciple from our Weiyuan Hall. He’s usually treasure hunting deep in the Yunling Mountain Range, but he’s back for the Outer Sect Grand Competition and took the time to come see us."

Xu Yang frowned inwardly.

In the last Martial Arts Examination, three disciples from Weiyuan Hall had also achieved Dragon Ascension.

After they arrived at the Purple Sun Sect, Sun Tao had asked around. He learned that aside from this Li Qiang, the other two were already dead.

’He hasn’t come to see his fellow disciples from Weiyuan Hall in over a year, yet he shows up now? I don’t buy that this is about some brotherly bond. There’s no way Li Qiang would stay in the Yunling Mountain Range for a full year straight; people like him usually come back every month or two.’

’If he truly cared about camaraderie, he would have sought them out long ago.’

Keeping his expression neutral, Xu Yang cupped his fist. "I am Xu Yang. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Senior Brother Li Qiang."

Li Qiang let out a hearty laugh. "No need to be so formal, Junior Brother Xu. You live up to your reputation as a Ten Heroes Genius—a truly impressive individual. I didn’t expect our Weiyuan Hall to have two people make the list in your batch."

Xu Yang sat down. Li Qiang then inquired about his cultivation. When he learned that Xu Yang had yet to reach Gang Qi Minor Achievement, an almost imperceptible flicker of disappointment crossed his eyes.

He then asked about Lu Ren. Upon hearing that Lu Ren had already reached Gang Qi Minor Achievement, he clapped his hands in praise.

"Well now, you’ve all been at the Purple Sun Sect for so long, and I haven’t even treated you to a meal as your senior brother," Li Qiang said suddenly. "I’d like to invite all of you junior brothers to eat. Could one of you go get Junior Brother Lu Ren?"

Jiang Ping said angrily, "Senior Brother Li Qiang, that Lu Ren is an ungrateful, treacherous, and despicable person! None of us get along with him."

In truth, it was only he, Zhang Yong, and Xu Yang who were on bad terms with Lu Ren. Sun Tao had never had a falling out with him, but he remained silent now.

He too was disappointed by Lu Ren’s behavior and therefore didn’t associate with him much.

Forgetting everything else, the fact that Lu Ren never even asked about Lin Wei when she was in trouble was enough to make him dislike the man.

She was the daughter of the man he called Master, after all. To play deaf and dumb at a time like that... his character was truly questionable.

Li Qiang was taken aback. He frowned and said, "Isn’t there just some misunderstanding between you and Junior Brother Lu Ren? As martial brothers, you should be united and friendly. In a place like the Purple Sun Sect, it’s even more important to support one another. Didn’t your master teach you that?"

’United and friendly, my ass. Lin Cheng barely taught us any martial arts, let alone teaching us about brotherly unity.’

But no one said that out loud.

Zhang Yong said, "There’s no misunderstanding. Of course, if Senior Brother Li Qiang wants to see Lu Ren, we can help you find him. But we’ll pass on eating together."

His resentment for Lu Ren was no less than Jiang Ping’s. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Jiang Ping added, "If you don’t believe us, Senior Brother Li Qiang, you can ask around the Outer Sect about Lu Ren’s character. Nobody in the Outer Sect can stand him now."