Martial Sage from the Vajra Skill

"I wonder how many people will die today." Xu Yang’s gaze turned icy.

After Marrow Cleansing, his body was in a state of constant transformation, and his five senses had become incredibly sharp.

He could instantly tell if someone’s gaze held malicious intent. He could even detect killing intent aimed at him from dozens of yards away, whether they were looking at him or not.

Instead of dodging and weaving through the streets to lose his pursuers as he might have before, he now walked openly toward the city gates.

As soon as he started walking, Su Che immediately followed.

"Should we follow them and watch the show?" An Ping asked eagerly, desperate to see Xu Yang’s downfall.

Guo Huai said, "Go ahead, if you’re not afraid of being silenced along with the target."

It was a rare thing for one of the Purple Sun Sect’s Ten Heroes to dare to kill another so brazenly.

If Su Che were to make a move on Xu Yang, he would undoubtedly silence any witnesses.

An Ping and Tang Xiao sighed in disappointment, while Shen Liang’s brow furrowed. He never thought the relationship between Xu Yang and the others would deteriorate to this point.

He wanted to warn Xu Yang, but he didn’t want to get on the wrong side of narrow-minded curs like Guo Huai.

"If you don’t want to bring trouble upon yourselves, it’s best you take what you know to your graves," Guo Huai warned.

Although the Su Family wasn’t one of the top families in Cyan Yang City, they were still very powerful, boasting more than one or two Bone Marrow Cleansing Martial Artists.

"What if Xu Yang kills Su Che?" Shen Liang asked instinctively.

He always felt Xu Yang was too mysterious, his true depth impossible to gauge.

"If Su Che is the one who dies, that’s even more reason to stay out of it," Guo Huai said.

"If Xu Yang already has the power to crush a master at Gang Qi Great Success, that’s even more terrifying. Getting involved would be asking for trouble."

...

Perhaps because his purchases this time weren’t valuable, Xu Yang noticed only a single, faint gaze on him as he walked out of the city.

’Su Che.’

Even without seeing its owner, he knew the gaze belonged to Su Che.

His senses had become so incredible that he could identify a person just from the feel of their stare. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

When he glanced back, he saw Su Che had donned a Conical Hat and changed his clothes.

As one of the Purple Sun Sect’s Ten Heroes, Su Che didn’t dare to track and kill him brazenly, even if he was burning for revenge.

Once outside the city, Xu Yang picked up his pace. Su Che followed, unhurried.

A couple of miles out of the city, Xu Yang veered off the road and into a mountain forest. Thinking Xu Yang was trying to flee, Su Che immediately unleashed the power of his Gang Qi Great Success cultivation and gave chase.

About a hundred meters in, he found Xu Yang standing with his hands clasped behind his back, a faint smile on his face as he watched him.

’Why isn’t he running?’

Su Che was full of suspicion. ’Is this a trap? Did he lure me here on purpose?’

He scanned his surroundings but found nothing out of place.

"Trying to scare me off with a cheap bluff? Xu Yang, die!"

Su Che roared, launching himself through the air like a great bird. He released the full aura of his Gang Qi Great Success, the force of it shaking leaves from the surrounding trees.

A torrent of immense Gang Qi surged forth, coalescing into a giant hand that shot forward. Before the palm even arrived, a fierce gale swirled up the fallen leaves around Xu Yang.

"So narrow-minded. I can’t let you live," Xu Yang said softly.

’He wants to kill me just for outbidding him fair and square at an auction. Keeping someone like him alive would only bring more harm to the world.’

Facing the incoming palm, he simply pointed a finger.

WHOOSH!

A burst of Gang Qi erupted. The incredibly condensed Finger Force shrieked through the air, piercing through the giant hand in the blink of an eye.

KRAK!

Spiderweb-like cracks spread rapidly across the Gang Qi hand before it exploded with a BOOM.

"What?"

Su Che’s pupils contracted violently, his face a mask of horror.

He was a Martial Artist at the very peak of Gang Qi Great Success, just one step away from Marrow Cleansing. And yet, the palm he had just unleashed was shattered by a single, distant point of Xu Yang’s finger.

A golden light flashed before his eyes as the same sharp Finger Force shot straight toward his chest.

With no time to think, Su Che frantically pulsed his Gang Qi, shifting his body half a foot to the left in mid-air.

PFFT!

With irresistible force, it tore through his foot-thick Protective Gang Qi. The terrifying Finger Force scraped past his ribs, carving out a gash deep enough to reveal bone.

"How is this possible?" Su Che was on the verge of despair.

If he hadn’t reacted so quickly, shifting his body in mid-air, that attack would have pierced his heart and killed him instantly.

’Marrow Cleansing!’

’Xu Yang has already undergone Marrow Cleansing! Only a Bone Marrow Cleansing Martial Artist could unleash such a terrifying attack.’

BOOM!

A terrifying aura, as powerful as a volcanic eruption, exploded through the forest, whipping up a violent gale.

Seeing that his first attack hadn’t killed Su Che, Xu Yang made a grabbing motion with his hand, and a golden Saber Gang materialized instantly.

A sharp, domineering aura radiated from him, and the surrounding grass and trees were sliced apart as if by invisible blades.

A tyrannical pressure descended. Su Che felt as if he’d been struck on the head. His Protective Gang Qi rippled, and the terrifying pressure slammed him down from mid-air.

’Fiery Sun Gang Saber!’

Amplified by his flawless Golden Gang Qi, the power of this Saber Technique surged to new heights.

It was as if a great sun had risen in the woods. Rolling heatwaves radiated outward, threatening to ignite the forest and causing clouds of steam to rise from the damp earth.

"No! My father is Su Qiming! If you kill me, you will die too!" Su Che shrieked, his face a mask of terror.

’Marrow Cleansing!’

’Xu Yang really is a Bone Marrow Cleansing Martial Artist! How could so many people in the Purple Sun Sect get it so wrong? They all said his reputation was overblown, that he wasn’t worthy of being one of the Ten Heroes.’

’Not worthy? It’s the other way around! The rest of them aren’t worthy of sharing the title of Ten Heroes with him!’

’Li Chuyang is still struggling, but Xu Yang has already achieved Marrow Cleansing.’

But Xu Yang had no idea who Su Qiming was. Besides, at this point, he wouldn’t have shown mercy even if Su Che’s father were the Sect Leader of the Purple Sun Sect.

The golden Saber Gang radiated a scorching heat as Xu Yang slashed down from above.

BOOM!

The golden Saber Qi shot out in a crescent arc, fast as lightning, tearing through the air with a deafening roar.

With a sickening squelch, a thin line of blood appeared, running from Su Che’s forehead down to his chest. Wisps of green smoke rose from the wound.

Under the impossibly sharp Fiery Sun Blade Qi, he and his Protective Gang Qi were cleaved in half.

RUMBLE...

The Saber Qi passed through his body and carved a fifty-foot-long trench in the earth behind him, sending dirt and dust flying into the air.

"It was the Blazing Blade who killed you. What does that have to do with me, Xu Yang?"

Su Che’s body fell to the ground in two halves. The edges of the wound were charred black, cooked through by the intense heat.

Xu Yang quickly stepped forward to search the body, finding only a little over three hundred taels of silver.

"Hm?"

Suddenly, Xu Yang felt something hard in Su Che’s sleeve. He pulled it out to find a book. The title, "Elixir Introduction," was written across the cover in two large, flamboyant words.

’What a find!’

He couldn’t help his eyes from lighting up.

He had been searching for information on Elixirs for a long time but had found nothing. Whether in shops, bookstores, or even at the Purple Sun Sect itself, books on the subject were nonexistent.

Thankfully, Su Che had tucked the book into his sleeve. If it had been in his breast pocket, the attack would have destroyed it.

After quickly stashing his loot, Xu Yang left the body as it was and shot into the distance like a bolt of lightning.

A short while later, he returned to the main road and continued his journey to the Purple Sun Sect as if nothing had happened.

THUD! THUD!

As he crested a steep hill, the sound of clashing Gang Qi reached him from up ahead.

Xu Yang looked up to see a figure shrouded in black, exuding a powerful aura, locked in combat with three Purple Sun Sect disciples.

The man was at Gang Qi Great Success, but he must have broken through recently, as his Protective Gang Qi was only four or five inches thick.

His Fist Technique was fierce and domineering, full of wide, sweeping movements. With every punch and palm strike, he forced the three Purple Sun Sect disciples back, leaving them able to do little more than parry.

The three were acquaintances. One was Gu Haoming. The other two were Li Shun and Gao Peng, former disciples of the Tiger Roar Boxing Hall who had once sought an alliance with Xu Yang at Weiyuan Hall before later joining Sharp Wind Hall.

Both were at Minor Achievement in Gang Qi Cultivation. Xu Yang recalled that at the earlier auction, Gu Haoming had won a bottle of Ten-Perfection Rejuvenation Pills, likely purchased with the combined funds of Li Shun and Gao Peng.

"Brother Xu, please, lend us a hand! Help us defeat this foe!"

Li Shun yelled upon seeing Xu Yang appear.