Martial Sage from the Vajra Skill

Li Qiang smiled. "In that case, I’ll treat you all. As for the matter with Junior Brother Lu Ren, I’ll look into it later. If it’s truly as you say, I won’t acknowledge him as a junior brother either.

"If there’s been a misunderstanding, I’ll do my best to resolve it. For all us martial brothers to have come this far, we shouldn’t let minor issues create rifts between us. We must stand united and advance together."

Xu Yang scoffed internally. ’All Li Qiang talks about is "standing united and advancing together." He’s probably cooking up some big, nasty scheme.’

He couldn’t be bothered to call him out and make an enemy; no matter what Li Qiang said, his plan was simply to refuse.

Li Qiang stood up and said, "Let’s go. I’ll treat you junior brothers to some drinks."

Sun Tao and the other two didn’t decline, rising to their feet as well.

Xu Yang cupped his fists. "Thank you for your kind offer, Senior Brother Li Qiang, but I am currently trying to break through to Gang Qi Minor Achievement, so I won’t be going. When I have time, I will be the one to treat you, Senior Brother."

’If I actually go, it’ll be hard to refuse whatever comes next.’

’As long as I don’t get too close to Li Qiang, whatever he’s plotting won’t matter. Besides, it’s not like I’m desperate for a free meal.’

’He dared to rush back for the Outer Sect Grand Competition, so his Cultivation must be at least at Gang Qi Great Success. There’s no need to provoke someone like that.’ 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

A look of displeasure crossed Li Qiang’s face, and he was about to speak when Sun Tao cut in with a laugh, "Breaking through is more important. We shouldn’t force Junior Brother Xu."

He knew Xu Yang’s personality well. If he let Li Qiang continue speaking, things might turn sour, so he decided to speak up first.

Sure enough, after he spoke, Li Qiang smiled. "Junior Brother Sun is right, Cultivation matters most. In that case, I’ll be waiting for you to break through and buy me that drink, Junior Brother."

Xu Yang smiled and cupped his fists. "I hope you’ll do me the honor then, Senior Brother."

Watching the three of them leave, Xu Yang returned to his room, sat down cross-legged, and took out and swallowed an Eight-Treasure Body-Strengthening Pill.

The scorching medicinal power spread throughout his body, and the Golden Gang Skill began to slowly circulate.

Specks of a faint yellow color appeared on his skin, quickly spreading to cover his entire body.

By now, his Gang Qi was no longer a pure silver-white, but had begun to show hints of a faint golden-yellow.

Once the color became a pure gold, his Golden Gang Skill would be considered to have reached Great Success.

As the Gang Qi circulated, it was like a spring rain nurturing his very flesh and bone while his strength slowly increased.

[Golden Gang Skill·Minor Achievement (941/4000)]

Two hours later, his entire body burning hot, Xu Yang ended his cultivation session.

It had been less than three months since he reached Minor Achievement in Golden Gang Skill, and his progress was already approaching one thousand. In the past, achieving this much progress would have taken at least ten months. This was the effect of Root Bone Perfection, which made even a Water Grinding Technique like the Golden Gang Skill advance quickly.

When he walked out of his room, Sun Tao and the other two had already returned, carrying the scent of alcohol.

"Junior Brother Xu, it’s a shame you didn’t come," Jiang Ping sighed. "During the meal, Senior Brother Li Qiang taught us many techniques for surviving and treasure hunting in the Yunling Mountain Range."

Ever since being backstabbed by Gu Haoming and Lu Ren, he had come to appreciate people like Xu Yang and had always wanted to become true friends with him.

But he could always sense that even though he and Xu Yang chatted and laughed normally, in Xu Yang’s eyes, he was no different from the others in the courtyard, like Wan Hai and Xu Cheng.

He was just an ordinary acquaintance you could exchange a few words with.

He wanted to improve this situation, but Xu Yang always remained distant.

"The Yunling Mountain Range... that’s the place we should be going," Zhang Yong said, a look of yearning on his face.

Xu Yang was secretly amazed. He had no idea what Li Qiang could have said to make the three of them develop such a yearning for the Yunling Mountain Range.

The Yunling Mountain Range was no paradise; countless people lay buried there.

Of course, some had also obtained peerless treasures from within and soared to prominence overnight.

’These guys aren’t me, after all. It’s only normal for them to be drawn to a place full of opportunities.’

’If it weren’t for my panel, I’d have no choice but to go treasure hunting in the Yunling Mountain Range myself.’

However, he still planned to give Sun Tao a warning. As for whether Zhang Yong and Jiang Ping lived or died, he couldn’t be bothered to care.

The next day, the Outer Sect Grand Competition officially began. Of the seven or eight hundred Outer Disciples, it was said that fewer than a hundred had signed up.

Seven or eight fighting arenas were set up on the huge training ground at the sect entrance.

After finishing their morning cultivation, Xu Yang, Sun Tao, and the others hurried to the training ground to watch. In the first round, everyone from their cohort who had signed up was eliminated.

Not even Li Chuyang, number one among the Ten Heroes and the first of their cohort to reach Gang Qi Minor Achievement, made it past the first round.

Because they were the only ones at Gang Qi Minor Achievement. Without exception, the rest had reached Great Achievement in Gang Qi Cultivation. Xu Yang even spotted several masters who had already undergone Marrow Cleansing—at least five of them.

’At this rate, it’ll be difficult to even compete for the top three next year,’ Xu Yang thought.

However, it wasn’t like he had to get into the top three next year, since it would be pointless even if he did. Disciples of their cohort had to stay in the Outer Sect for a full three years before they could enter the Inner Sect.

’I just need to get into the top three during the third year.’

He saw Li Qiang. The man’s combat prowess was impressive; he easily defeated an opponent at Gang Qi Great Success and advanced.

"Senior Brother Li Qiang is so strong! He’ll probably make it into the top twenty!" Jiang Ping exclaimed in delight.

Placing in the top twenty of the Outer Sect Grand Competition meant there was a high probability of entering the Inner Sect in the future.

If he could befriend an Inner Sect Disciple, even Sharp Wind Hall wouldn’t dare to push him too far.

He had already heard that Cao Rong had recently been putting out feelers about increasing the number of contribution points they had to hand over, though it hadn’t been formally announced yet.

"If we follow Senior Brother Li Qiang, we might have a chance to make something of ourselves," Zhang Yong said, his eyes filled with anticipation.

’Liu Xiao is strong!’

Xu Yang saw Liu Xiao defeat an opponent at Gang Qi Great Success in less than thirty moves, advancing smoothly.

’Top three is out of the question, but he has a shot at the top twenty.’

Shi Yong of the Heroic Assembly was fierce, defeating his opponent in less than ten moves. He had a high chance of securing a spot in the top ten.

Xu Yang watched for the whole morning. Having gotten a feel for the top experts in the Outer Sect, he lost interest in the Grand Competition.

’They’re all future rivals, but who knows how many will even be alive in a year? Their Cultivation levels will have changed, too. There’s no point in watching any more.’

He returned to his courtyard to practice the Pure Essence Gold-Splitting Finger. This Finger Technique mainly involved tempering the fingers and refining Pure Yuan Gang Qi, and progress was a bit slow.

Refining Pure Yuan Gang Qi was one thing; with the Gang Qi from his Golden Gang Skill as a foundation, it wasn’t difficult. But tempering his fingers was a Water Grinding Technique and very time-consuming.

「Three days later,」 the Outer Sect Grand Competition concluded. Li Qiang placed eighteenth, and Liu Xiao placed fifteenth.

Shi Yong of the Heroic Assembly surprisingly didn’t make the top ten, placing eleventh.

"Without a top-three finish, gaining entry to the Inner Sect will still be an ordeal," Xu Yang said, shaking his head.

Sun Tao said, "Senior Brother Li Qiang is already working on entering the Inner Sect. As long as one of the Four Peaks is willing to accept him, he just needs to complete an assessment mission to become an Inner Sect Disciple."

The entry requirements for the Four Peaks of the Purple Sun Sect were reaching Gang Qi Great Success and spending a full three years in the Outer Sect.

Of course, whether an Elder from one of the Four Peaks was willing to take you as a disciple was up to the Four Peaks. If no Elder was willing to take you on, you wouldn’t even get the chance to take the assessment mission.

Several more days passed. When a month was up, Xu Yang once again went down the mountain to refine Blood Coagulation Pills for the Zhu Family, returning with one Guiyuan Pill, thirty Eight-Treasure Body-Strengthening Pills, and one Ten-Perfection Rejuvenation Pill.

After the last auction, his spending at the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion had accumulated to five thousand, allowing him to purchase one Ten-Perfection Rejuvenation Pill from the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion each month.

One day, Zhang Yong ran over excitedly to announce that he had reached Gang Qi Minor Achievement. Xu Yang had no choice but to announce that he himself had reached Gang Qi Minor Achievement the day before.

"Congratulations to both of you junior brothers on reaching Gang Qi Minor Achievement!"

Hearing that both of them had achieved Gang Qi Minor Achievement, Sun Tao was overjoyed, a look of undisguised envy on his face.

You had to understand, at this point, among the three hundred-plus new disciples in their cohort, only about thirty had reached Gang Qi Minor Achievement.

To be one of those thirty-odd people, their talent spoke for itself. If not for the lack of resources, the two of them could have reached Gang Qi Minor Achievement even sooner.

Jiang Ping suggested they celebrate. He also mentioned Xu Yang’s earlier promise to treat Li Qiang to drinks after reaching Gang Qi Minor Achievement. Unfortunately, Jiang Ping couldn’t find Li Qiang when he went looking for him, so in the end, just the four of them celebrated together.

Soon, news that Xu Yang had reached Gang Qi Minor Achievement spread throughout the Outer Sect. The fact that this "Ten Heroes Genius" had only just broken through now drew ridicule from many.

"My Junior Brother Xu Yang at least managed to reach Gang Qi Minor Achievement! A lot of you who are laughing at him are probably still in the Qi Gathering Realm, without even having formed your Gang Qi yet."

Whenever Sun Tao heard such talk, he would always fire back.

Most of the people mocking Xu Yang and saying he was unworthy of being a Ten Heroes Genius were those who hadn’t even cultivated Gang Qi themselves.

Those who had truly achieved Qi Cultivation Gang, on the other hand, wouldn’t mock him. Because only those who had cultivated to this realm knew how difficult it was to reach Gang Qi Minor Achievement.