Martial Sage from the Vajra Skill

"They’re all disciples of the Purple Sun Sect!" someone recognized.

"Killing our own," Jiang Fan shouted, "The Purple Sun Sect is rotten to the core, and so is the whole world! The Noble Families are entrenched, the great clans are everywhere, the common people can’t even survive. The dynasty is in its twilight.

Once that certain someone dies, heroes will rise up all across the land."

Many broke out in a cold sweat. Only Jiang Fan would dare say something that could get him beheaded.

Forget the world—just look at the Purple Sun Sect. Every Outer Disciple knew they were treated like beasts of burden, but no one ever dared to breathe a word of complaint.

If the Purple Sun Sect cared at all about the lives of its Outer Disciples, would anyone dare to rob and kill their own on this road?

"Watch your tongue!" Jiang Yan barked.

His cold gaze then swept over everyone as a powerful aura erupted from his body. The pressure made everyone’s faces turn pale, and they stumbled back in discomfort.

Xu Yang tensed up. It was half an act, but he was also genuinely shocked by the pressure coming from Jiang Yan. He had to put some distance between them in case Jiang Yan suddenly decided to attack.

He knew Jiang Fan was special, but he hadn’t realized to what extent. ’Saying things like that in public...’

"Brother Yan, what are you doing?"

Sensing the killing intent radiating from Jiang Yan, Jiang Fan stepped in front of him.

Jiang Yan took a deep breath and said angrily, "You and your big mouth! Do you have any idea what will happen if what you just said gets out? The entire Jiang Family will be slaughtered!" 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

For anyone else, saying such things would be a crime punishable by the extermination of their entire clan. For the future Young Master Marquis, it was even worse.

The dynasty might not be able to control the entire world, but it could certainly make an example out of a Marquis Mansion to reassert its authority.

Jiang Fan’s expression changed. He growled, "Let them go. I won’t say it again."

Blood trickled from the corner of Gu Haoming’s mouth as he forced a pained smile. "Senior Brother Jiang, rest assured. We also despise this rotten dynasty. We won’t breathe a word of this to anyone."

He knew Jiang Yan had been about to kill them all to prevent Jiang Fan’s words from spreading and bringing disaster upon the Jiang Family. That’s why he immediately chimed in, echoing Jiang Fan’s sentiment.

Who would have thought? Jiang Fan had saved them, only for them to be on the verge of death because of him moments later.

Prompted by Gu Haoming, the others also started cursing the dynasty, swearing they wouldn’t leak a single word.

Jiang Yan’s killing intent gradually subsided. "Don’t go looking for death," he warned. "I’ll let you go today. If word of this gets out, the Jiang Family of the Marquis Mansion might be fine, but I guarantee you, if a single word escapes—no matter from whom—all of you will die."

The crisis averted, the group returned to the Purple Sun Sect.

As Xu Yang and Jiang Fan stepped into the courtyard, they saw Sun Tao and a few others chatting.

After greeting them, Xu Yang returned to his room and shut the door. He first carefully put away the two stalks of Pure Yang Grass before taking out the book, *Elixir Introduction*, and began to read.

[Blood Boiling Powder (2/50)]

A quarter-hour later, his panel flashed. It had recorded an elixir called Blood Boiling Powder.

He now had a better understanding of *Elixir Introduction*. The book was entirely dedicated to explaining the pharmacological properties of various medicinal herbs.

It also used various pill formulas as examples to illustrate its points.

It was, however, just an introduction, as the name implied. The pill formulas listed were all for low-level elixirs used by those in the Qi Gathering Realm or those who had not yet begun gathering Qi.

He flipped to the end and found that the most advanced was the pill formula for the Qi Gathering Pill.

Even so, this copy of *Elixir Introduction* was a priceless treasure. It could serve as a family heirloom for a minor family. If someone were to study it diligently for a decade or more and had the herbs to practice with, they might actually be able to train a Pill Master.

That evening, a few figures stepped into the Purple Sun Sect.

"I’ll go ask around and see if Xu Yang is dead yet."

An Ping volunteered and immediately walked over to a few disciples guarding the mountain gate. "Junior brothers," he said, "I’d like to ask, has Xu Yang returned to the sect yet?"

"Oh, it’s Senior Brother An."

Someone who recognized An Ping smiled. "Xu Yang came back around noon. He was with Jiang Fan and Senior Brother Jiang Yan from the Inner Sect."

"Thank you for the information, junior brother."

Greatly disappointed, An Ping strode away with Guo Huai and the others.

"Looks like he got lucky again. To think he’d run into Jiang Fan and Senior Brother Jiang Yan," Guo Huai said, shaking his head in disappointment.

With Jiang Fan and Jiang Yan at his side, Su Che wouldn’t have dared to touch Xu Yang even if he had ten times the nerve.

Tang Xiao’s face was a mask of jealousy. "He really is a lucky bastard. Living in the same courtyard as the Young Master Marquis, getting to know someone like him."

Who would have guessed that the guy who followed Xiaoya around like a lost puppy, the one all the Outer Disciples called a simp, was actually the Young Master Marquis of the Jiang Family?

After Jiang Fan’s identity was revealed, countless people regretted not getting to know him sooner.

Even if the Young Master Marquis wasn’t the most promising, the benefits of being his friend were endless.

...

Su Family, Alchemy Room.

"Explain it to me. How did Su Che disappear!" Su Qiming demanded, his face dark as he emerged.

His son, Su Che, had striven for ten years at the Purple Sun Sect and ultimately failed to enter the Inner Sect. Still, he was a potential Martial Artist with a chance of achieving Marrow Cleansing in the future.

Moreover, having grown up around it, he had considerable exposure to alchemy.

He had just begun passing his own alchemy skills down to Su Che, and now he was missing.

The disciple, Su Jie, replied, "So far, our sources say that after Brother Che attended the auction at the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion, no one saw him again. And at the city gates, there’s no record of him leaving Cyan Yang City."

’Did he get his hands on something valuable at the auction and get ambushed for it?’

Su Qiming asked coldly, "Have you found out what he bought at the auction?"

Su Jie shook his head. "The Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion refuses to provide their auction records. We found someone who attended and asked them; they said Brother Che didn’t buy anything."

Su Qiming’s brow furrowed. If he didn’t buy anything, it was unlikely he was ambushed for his winnings. "Did he get into a conflict with anyone at the auction? Or was there an item he wanted but failed to acquire?"

’If he wasn’t the one being robbed, then he must have been the one doing the robbing.’

He knew his son’s temperament well. The boy was vengeful over the smallest slight. If he had a conflict with someone at the auction, he would undoubtedly seek retribution.

"He didn’t get into a conflict," Su Jie said, "but the witness mentioned that Brother Che bid on two stalks of Pure Yang Grass. Someone else raised the price to three hundred and fifty taels, and Brother Che ultimately backed down.

Oh, and apparently, after losing the bid, Brother Che announced his identity to the winner."

A glint appeared in Su Qiming’s eyes. ’Knowing my son’s character, announcing his identity was as good as a declaration of anger. He was making it clear he intended to teach the other party a lesson.’

’Two stalks of Pure Yang Grass driven up to three hundred and fifty taels... I’d be tempted to kill someone over that too.’

’Does he think he can buy something the Su Family wants just because he has the money?’

"Who was the person who bid against Su Che? Su Che must have gone to kill him, and that’s when something went wrong."

Su Qiming’s killing intent surged. He was almost certain now that this person had killed his son.

Su Jie shook his head. "That person is Xu Yang from the Purple Sun Sect. It couldn’t have been him who harmed Brother Che. Xu Yang is only at Gang Qi Minor Achievement, whereas Brother Che reached Gang Qi Great Success many years ago. Ten Xu Yangs combined wouldn’t be a match for him."

’Daring to bid against my son with a mere Gang Qi Minor Achievement cultivation? No wonder he was furious.’

Su Qiming said, "His cultivation might be low, but couldn’t he have friends? I don’t care who he is. Seize him and bring him to me for interrogation. Then we’ll find out."

Su Jie’s expression changed. "Xu Yang is one of the Purple Sun Sect’s Ten Heroes Geniuses," he explained.

’Even if the Purple Sun Sect doesn’t care much for its Outer Disciples, you can’t just brazenly arrest one of them. Appearances must be maintained.’

Su Qiming snorted. "You idiot! I’m telling you to arrange for it to be done privately."

Su Jie remained silent. Capturing one of the Purple Sun Sect’s Ten Heroes Geniuses was a major affair. Even with Su Qiming’s esteemed status in the Su Family, such a matter required the approval of the Patriarch, Su Jianye.

Only with the Patriarch’s consent could they dispatch skilled operatives for the task.

Su Qiming was only a Pill Master; he wasn’t skilled in captures.

Su Qiming sighed in frustration. "Fine," he said. "Let’s just find him first. Perhaps he’s just fooling around somewhere. Send people to search in the direction of the Purple Sun Sect."

Whenever an expert went missing in Cyan Yang City, you could find them nine times out of ten by searching in the direction of the Purple Sun Sect.

"If something really has happened to my son, it won’t be too late to deal with this Xu Yang then."

Su Qiming’s eyes glinted with murderous intent. In any case, he didn’t dare go to the Purple Sun Sect to seize someone right now.

With Su Che missing, the Su Family’s agents fanned out, heading in the direction of the Purple Sun Sect under Su Qiming’s orders.

Before long, a body wrapped in a white cloth was laid before Su Qiming.