Martial Sage from the Vajra Skill

"Patriarch Zhu is getting desperate. He’s put out the word to that Pill Master that everything is negotiable, but unfortunately, the Pill Master hasn’t shown up."

"Serves them right. I heard that because they controlled the Guiyuan Pill, two hundred Blood Coagulation Pills a month from that Pill Master wasn’t enough for them—they demanded he make three hundred. The Pill Master pretended to agree, then just disappeared."

"Tsk tsk... Three hundred pills. Those Pill Masters in the Inner Sect are considered diligent if they refine thirty elixirs a month. I can’t believe Zhu Xiancheng had the audacity. I’d run away too. They really don’t treat Pill Masters like people."

"I heard a rumor. The Zhu Family has secretly posted a bounty: a thousand taels of silver for anyone who can provide information on that Pill Master."

"It’s useless. The great clans of Cyan Yang City have also made generous offers to find that Pill Master. Even if the Pill Master wants to cooperate with someone, he won’t choose the Zhu Family again."

"I heard the Li Family’s offer is that they won’t take a single cent of the elixir profits, he’ll get one Profound Yuan Qi Transformation Pill every month, and they’ll even gift him a Gang Qi Pill Formula."

...

Hearing this, Xu Yang’s heart skipped a beat. ’Other clans in Cyan Yang City are looking for me too?’

’Now that the news has spread to the Purple Sun Sect, those clans probably suspect I’m a disciple here.’

"Pill Masters are really in high demand. If only I were a Pill Master!" Jiang Ping’s eyes lit up.

A Pill Master was a treasured figure anywhere.

Sun Tao shot him down. "Stop dreaming. Not just anyone can become a Pill Master. Xu Yang bought a Pill Formula to study; ask him if he’s learned anything."

Hearing this, Jiang Ping looked at Xu Yang curiously. "Junior Brother Xu, have you managed to learn Alchemy?"

Xu Yang shook his head. "Alchemy is too difficult. I burned through a lot of money and only managed to create a pile of goop. I’ve already given up."

Sun Tao comforted him, "It’s good that you gave up. Don’t waste any more money. Alchemy isn’t something for people like us to even think about. I heard those Pill Masters are all trained from a young age, with another Pill Master teaching them personally."

Xu Yang smiled and nodded. "Don’t worry, Senior Brother."

「The next day arrived quickly.」

Xu Yang gathered the piece of Spirit Iron, all his contribution points, and the fifty-year-old Ginseng he had obtained from Qingfeng Stronghold, then hurried to the Qingyuan Association with Sun Tao and Zhang Yong.

He didn’t plan on selling these items, but if something suitable came up that required them for a trade, he would consider it depending on the situation.

Of course, besides these things, he also brought a good amount of silver banknotes and the three Gang Qi Martial Technique manuals he acquired at Qingfeng Stronghold, just to be prepared for anything.

"Junior Brother Xu, what did you bring? Are you planning to trade?" Sun Tao asked curiously.

Xu Yang shook his head. "Just some worthless trinkets. I’m bringing them to see if I can trade for anything useful."

He looked at Zhang Yong and asked, "What did you bring?"

Zhang Yong was holding a box, though it was impossible to tell what was inside. It was probably something he had gained in the Yunling Mountain Range.

Zhang Yong opened his mouth to speak, but just then, a figure walked over, cupped his fist toward Sun Tao, and said, "Congratulations, Senior Brother Sun, on reaching Gang Qi Minor Achievement."

The newcomer was none other than Lu Ren.

Zhang Yong snorted coldly, completely forgetting to answer Xu Yang.

Although Sun Tao didn’t care for Lu Ren either, he still smiled and cupped his fist. "Junior Brother Lu Ren, it’s good to see you’re well. I heard you also went to the Yunling Mountain Range. When did you get back?"

"I just got back a few days ago."

Lu Ren’s gaze swept over Xu Yang and Zhang Yong before finally landing on Zhang Yong. "I heard you two got played? If you had just listened to me and teamed up to enter the Yunling Mountain Range, something like this never would have happened."

His tone was dripping with schadenfreude; he already knew that Jiang Ping had lost an arm.

He was clearly still resentful that Zhang Yong had refused to team up with him and had come over now just to mock them.

Zhang Yong’s face was impassive. "It was poor judgment on our part. We ran into someone just like you."

"You..."

Lu Ren was choked speechless, his face flushing red. "I already told you, I helped you back then! Believe it or not, I don’t care."

Then, he turned to Xu Yang. "Are you going to keep being so timid and cautious? Look at you, Zhang Yong has almost caught up. I, on the other hand, will reach Gang Qi Great Success in two or three months at most.

If you change your mind, you can come find me anytime. I won’t harm you.

And you, Senior Brother Sun. Follow me, and we’ll be brothers through life and death."

Zhang Yong’s expression shifted slightly. For Lu Ren to be on the verge of Gang Qi Great Success so soon meant his trip to the Yunling Mountain Range must have been very fruitful.

Xu Yang said nothing, while Zhang Yong shook his head in refusal.

Sun Tao, for his part, would have rather teamed up with Zhang Yong anyway, as he also didn’t trust Lu Ren.

Lu Ren strode away, and the others followed behind him, soon arriving at the restaurant where the Qingyuan Association was holding its meeting.

He was clearly also there to attend the exchange.

The three of them went up to the top floor and found that quite a few people had already arrived.

Xu Yang looked around and saw many familiar faces.

Qin Ze, Liu Qian, Liu Xiao, Cao Rong, and Gu Haoming were all there.

There were others whose names he didn’t know but whom he had seen at the Martial Arts Examination.

By now, about a dozen of the Dragon Ascending Disciples from their year had already reached Gang Qi Minor Achievement.

"You three junior brothers, come with me. The exchange will begin once a few senior brothers from the Inner Sect arrive."

He Jingting led the three of them to a spot to sit down. Each person had their own separate table and stool.

Zhang Yong asked curiously, "If I may ask, Senior Brother He, which senior brothers from the Inner Sect will be coming?"

He Jingting replied, "There will be Senior Brother Cao Jin from Beast King Peak, Senior Brother Liu Qing from Medicine King Peak, and Senior Brother Yun Heng from Tianquan Peak."

Xu Yang’s interest was piqued. ’If I’m not mistaken, Liu Qing from Medicine King Peak must be from the Liu Family, one of the Four Great Clans of Qingyuan County, and Yun Heng must be from the Yun Family.’

’Three Inner Sect Disciples are showing up. The caliber of this exchange must be quite high, otherwise Inner Sect Disciples wouldn’t bother coming all this way for no reason.’

’And of the three Inner Sect Disciples, two of them have connections to me.’

"Hmph!"

Zhang Yong, sitting beside him, let out a cold snort, an icy aura emanating from him.

Xu Yang followed his gaze and saw that it was none other than Li Qiang.

The scoundrel showed no sign of guilt, sitting calmly across from them.

"Animal!" Zhang Yong hissed through gritted teeth.

If it hadn’t been for their good luck, he and Jiang Ping would have already died in the Yunling Mountain Range.

"Junior Brother Zhang, you should watch your mouth. It can be very dangerous outside the sect," Li Qiang said coldly.

"Backstabbing your own sect brothers, killing your companions for a chance to escape... an animal like you deserves a horrible death."

Zhang Yong wasn’t afraid of Li Qiang’s threats. The enmity between them was already a matter of life and death, so he directly exposed the shameless things Li Qiang had done.

"So, Li Qiang killed another companion, huh?"

"It’s not the first time for that son of a bitch. He’s already a notorious pest."

"Only new disciples who don’t know his true nature would fall for his tricks."

...

A few of the older disciples chuckled, not at all surprised, as they had long known what kind of person Li Qiang was.

In the circle of disciples from Qingyuan County, Li Qiang was already a universally despised figure; he was even infamous throughout the entire Outer Sect.

Li Qiang’s gaze turned icy. He didn’t dare cause trouble for the older disciples, so he just stared at Zhang Yong with eyes full of killing intent.

"Senior Brother Cao Jin, Senior Brother Yun Heng, and Senior Brother Liu Qing have arrived!" He Jingting’s voice suddenly rang out.

Everyone turned to look as three figures with profound auras arrived together, taking their seats at the head table.

"Everyone, it’s getting late. Let the exchange begin," Cao Jin said with a smile.

As soon as he said this, those who had brought items began to take them out and place them on the tables in front of them.

Xu Yang’s gaze swept across the room. He noticed that most people hadn’t brought any items; they had come empty-handed.

In contrast, the three seniors at the head table—Cao Jin and the others—brought out many things, including elixirs, Secret Manuals, and even Spirit Iron.

The exchange was very informal. You placed the items you wanted to trade on your table, and if someone was interested in your things, they would naturally come over to talk to you.

"What are you looking to trade?"

Just then, Xu Yang noticed that what Zhang Yong had taken out was a thirty-year-old Ginseng.

Zhang Yong was taken aback. "You want it?"

Xu Yang nodded.

Zhang Yong hesitated. "I want to trade for a Guiyuan Pill, or a Gang Qi Martial Technique."

A thirty-year-old Ginseng was nowhere near valuable enough to trade for a Guiyuan Pill.

On the market, such an item was worth about one hundred taels of silver.

A single Guiyuan Pill could easily fetch two hundred taels on the market—with plenty of people scrambling to buy it at that price—and the value of a Gang Qi Martial Technique was even harder to judge. A good one couldn’t be bought even for several thousand taels.

However, an item’s value wasn’t so clear-cut. To Xu Yang, a Gang Qi Martial Technique was just a matter of copying a manual; it was practically worthless.