Martial Sage from the Vajra Skill

"Master Xu, everything is packed."

At that moment, Yuan Qiang appeared and told Xu Yang it was time to go.

Xu Yang packed the silver banknotes, elixirs, secret manual, and the old ginseng. He had Yuan Qiang carry a chest of silver, and then they headed down the mountain.

...

「The Yuan Estate!」

Ever since Xu Yang’s departure, Yuan Gang and his son had been waiting for news.

Rumors were already swirling through Cyan Yang City, claiming that Elder Li Yang no longer cared if the Yuan Family lived or died, which was why he had only sent a disciple at the Minor Achievement level of Gang Qi to deal with Qingfeng Stronghold.

Many other families were just waiting for the outcome at Qingfeng Ridge before they moved to swallow up the Yuan Family’s businesses.

"There’s still no news. Could Xu Yang have failed?" Yuan Yi said, his voice laced with worry.

The Yuan Family had no deep foundation. They had only managed to establish themselves as a family because of the now-deceased Yuan Jie.

If the other families in Cyan Yang City decided to act, the Yuan Family would be powerless to resist.

"Father, you should write to Elder Li Yang at once. If we wait for those families to make their move, we’ll have made new enemies even if Elder Li Yang intervenes."

Even with the confidence that Elder Li Yang’s backing provided, they couldn’t just wait for the other families to strike before reacting.

The Yuan Family was already hanging on by a thread; making more enemies was not a wise move.

Yuan Gang’s voice was grave. "Calm down. How can I report to Elder Li Yang before we have a result? Qingfeng Ridge has three leaders. Xu Yang needs to outwit them. How could he possibly resolve it in less than three days?"

It wasn’t that he didn’t understand Yuan Yi’s point.

But writing to Elder Li Yang over every trivial matter would only earn his annoyance.

No matter how anxious he felt, he had to wait for a result from Xu Yang. Only then could he go crying to Elder Li Yang. At that point, neither Qingfeng Stronghold nor Xiao Hua would be able to escape the consequences.

"Patriarch! Ah Xian is back!"

Just then, an excited shout came from outside.

Yuan Gang and his son shot to their feet.

’Ah Xian is back this soon? Could Xu Yang have failed and been killed? How else could he be back so quickly?’

The father and son walked out of the main hall to see the family servant, Ah Xian, hurrying toward them, covered in dust from his journey.

"Reporting to the Patriarch and Young Master! Qingfeng Stronghold has been annihilated! The goods have been recovered, and the heads of the three stronghold leaders are being escorted back with the convoy right now!" Ah Xian said excitedly, dropping to one knee.

As a servant of the Yuan Family, he shared in their fortunes, so with the matter resolved, his excitement was only natural.

’He actually did it!’

A sharp glint flashed in Yuan Gang’s eyes. He ordered in a deep voice, "Gather everyone! We will go out of the city and into the mountains to welcome Little Brother Xu!"

He wanted to make a grand display, to show everyone waiting to laugh at the Yuan Family’s downfall that Elder Li Yang was still their backer.

Anyone who dared to move against the Yuan Family would share Qingfeng Stronghold’s fate.

"He actually destroyed Qingfeng Stronghold and killed the three leaders all by himself."

Yuan Yi’s face was filled with disbelief. "With talent like this, if we recommend him to Elder Li Yang, the Elder will surely take him as a disciple."

A Ten Heroes Genius might be rare to the outside world, but within the Purple Sun Sect, ten new ones appeared every two years.

But aside from the top three, an average Ten Heroes Genius was nothing special to an Elder of one of the Four Peaks.

Yuan Gang nodded. "This isn’t the talent of someone ranked tenth on the Ten Heroes List. I fear even the top three are no better than this."

In his heart, he had already resolved to bind Xu Yang to the Yuan Family.

Xu Yang had talent but no backing.

The Yuan Family had connections but lacked a genius to maintain them. It was a match made in heaven.

Ah Xian’s expression turned strange. ’Don’t tell me the Patriarch and Young Master think Xu Yang single-handedly crushed Qingfeng Stronghold, do they?’

"Do you know how Xu Yang destroyed Qingfeng Stronghold?" Yuan Gang suddenly asked, turning to Ah Xian.

Ah Xian replied, "He invited several other disciples from the Purple Sun Sect, and they destroyed Qingfeng Stronghold together."

Yuan Gang was baffled.

The father and son stood there, stunned. ’So this was what Xu Yang meant by outsmarting them?’

’How very wise indeed.’

They couldn’t believe they hadn’t thought of it. They had assumed Xu Yang would have to face Qingfeng Stronghold alone.

The Purple Sun Sect had so many disciples at Gang Qi Minor Achievement and even Gang Qi Great Success, yet the thought of hiring help had never even occurred to him.

"Everyone, halt!"

Yuan Gang waved his hand, and the assembled servants came to a stop.

He had wanted to build up a grand reputation for Xu Yang—and by extension, the Yuan Family—but how could he do that now? It turned out Xu Yang hadn’t destroyed Qingfeng Stronghold by himself at all.

"Father, are you still going to try and recruit him?" Yuan Yi asked curiously.

Yuan Gang snapped, "If I don’t recruit him, should I offend him instead? Go get the gift you prepared. Regardless of how it happened, he ultimately helped the Yuan Family re-establish its might. We can’t be lacking in proper courtesy."

Yuan Yi nodded and left.

The convoy stopped before the main gates of the Yuan Estate. Yuan Qiang stepped forward, lifted the carriage curtain, and said, "Master Xu, we’ve arrived."

Xu Yang nodded, put away the secret manual he was holding, and stepped down from the carriage.

"Little Brother Xu, thank you for your hard work."

Yuan Gang approached with a smile, inviting Xu Yang to a banquet that had been prepared in advance.

CLAP! CLAP!

After a few rounds of wine, Yuan Gang clapped his hands. A servant carrying a medicine bottle walked over and stood beside Xu Yang.

Yuan Gang said, "Inside is a Profound Yuan Qi Transformation Pill. It’s a small token of my appreciation. Please, Little Brother Xu, accept it."

To a Gang Qi Martial Artist, a single Profound Yuan Qi Transformation Pill was far more useful than several hundred silver.

Even if you had several hundred silver in hand, you couldn’t necessarily buy a Profound Yuan Qi Transformation Pill.

"In that case, it would be rude of me to refuse." Xu Yang did not decline.

He had risked life and limb for the Yuan Family; he deserved a Profound Yuan Qi Transformation Pill.

After putting the item away, Xu Yang said, "Patriarch Yuan, I have one more presumptuous request. My friends and I destroyed Qingfeng Stronghold, but the loot we seized is difficult to sell off. I was wondering if the Yuan Family has channels to help us with that?"

"Rest assured, Patriarch Yuan, I can offer a commission."

It wasn’t that he had nowhere to sell the crossbows, swords, and Forging Materials, but selling them piece by piece would be too troublesome.

In truth, he wanted to sell them directly to the Yuan Family. Any family would have need of such things.

He also planned to exchange his raw silver for silver banknotes here and intended to sell the Qi Gathering Pills and Blood Coagulation Pills to the Yuan Family as well.

Sure enough, Yuan Gang offered to have the Yuan Family acquire everything.

By the end of the meal, the Yuan Family had finished taking inventory and paid Xu Yang a total of seven thousand silver. Combined with the silver banknotes he already had, his total haul from this venture was over nine thousand silver, though not quite ten thousand.

"Little Brother Xu, my Yuan Family would like to hire you as a Tributor and form an alliance with you. I wonder if you would be willing," Yuan Gang finally said, making his offer to recruit Xu Yang.

Even though Xu Yang hadn’t destroyed Qingfeng Stronghold by himself, he was still one of the Ten Heroes, and the only such genius the Yuan Family had access to.

Xu Yang frowned. Naturally, he was unwilling.

’Once I learn how to make the Gathering Essence Pill, I won’t be short on money or resources. There’s no need to tie myself to an ally who will just bring me trouble.’

Yuan Gang said, "Rest assured, the Yuan Family won’t demand you do anything. You are still a disciple of the Purple Sun Sect. We would only ask you to act as a deterrent when we encounter situations like the one with Qingfeng Stronghold."

With that, he sighed. "You’ve likely heard about my family’s situation. Goodwill fades over time. What we truly need is to find a genius who can become Elder Li Yang’s disciple and continue to maintain our connection to him."

"If you agree, the Yuan Family will provide you with at least one Profound Yuan Qi Transformation Pill and two hundred silver for your expenses every month."

"When your three-year term as an Outer Disciple is complete, I can intercede on your behalf and help you become Elder Li Yang’s disciple."

Xu Yang was instantly tempted.

The place he wanted to enter most was Medicine King Peak. Its many Pill Formulas were things that money couldn’t buy.

However, Medicine King Peak didn’t care about Martial Arts Talent when accepting disciples; it only cared about one’s talent for alchemy.

But he had no background. Although he knew alchemy, he didn’t dare reveal it.

If he could enter Medicine King Peak and become Elder Li Yang’s disciple, not only could he obtain Pill Formulas, but he could also conceal the fact that he had learned alchemy by relying on his panel.

Furthermore, with Elder Li Yang as the Yuan Family’s powerful backer, ordinary factions wouldn’t dare to provoke them. There should be very little trouble.

There was another point: the Yuan Family was too weak for him to worry about being suppressed by them after becoming their Tributor.

Of course, on the flip side, he couldn’t expect the Yuan Family to provide much help beyond the matter of becoming Elder Li Yang’s disciple. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

"Patriarch Yuan, are you serious about this?" Xu Yang asked.

He knew for a fact that after Li Qiang’s three-year term had ended, he had spent a fortune pulling strings, and only then was Elder Bai Hu of Beast King Peak willing to take him as a disciple.

Beast King Peak was not only the worst of the Purple Sun Sect’s Four Peaks, but it also had the highest mortality rate. Even then, one had to complete the mission of capturing a Phantom Leopard cub to truly become Elder Bai Hu’s disciple.

Yuan Gang said, "If I fail to get you accepted as Elder Li Yang’s disciple, this agreement can be considered void."

"Of course, if we succeed, then in the future when you become a Pill Master, the Yuan Family will want the sales rights to the elixirs you refine."