Martial Sage from the Vajra Skill

Xu Yang was no naive youth who could be tricked into throwing his life away with a few empty words.

He would keep Qiao Yong from dying if it was within his power, but if his own life was at risk, he couldn’t care less whether Qiao Yong lived or died.

Besides, Qiao Yong’s talent was only comparable to Kong Yu’s. ’I already slaughtered Kong Yu, so what does that make Qiao Yong?’

Moreover, in the early stages, Root Bone was far more important than Comprehension, and from what he knew, Qiao Yong’s family background was quite ordinary.

Without sufficient resources, Qiao Yong’s progress after entering the Purple Sun Sect would be far slower than Kong Yu’s.

That was why Qiao Yong’s promises sounded like a joke to him.

Xu Yang smiled. "In that case, my thanks, Brother Qiao."

He thought Xu Yang had been taken in by his grand promises and had also admitted that his own talent was inferior.

A smile tugged at the corner of Qiao Yong’s mouth. "There’s no need to be so polite, Brother Xu. You protect me when my Cultivation is weak, and I will protect you when my Cultivation rises. It’s only right."

After exchanging a few more insincere pleasantries, Qiao Yong asked, "I wonder, Brother Xu, what is your current Cultivation level?"

Xu Yang said, "I am of meager talent. To this day, I am still only at Gang Qi Minor Achievement."

To have only progressed from Qi Gathering Great Success to Gang Qi Minor Achievement in the two years since his Dragon Ascension was indeed somewhat slow.

Qiao Yong comforted him, "That’s already very good. Brother Xu, there’s no need to be discouraged. In another year or so, you should be able to reach Gang Qi Great Success."

Xu Yang cupped his fists. "Thank you for the good omen, Brother Qiao."

Seeing the famous genius from the last batch, Xu Yang, act so humbly before him, Qiao Yong grew even more smug. "May I ask, what is the current Cultivation of that Lu Ren from Weiyuan Hall?"

A "grave" expression appeared on Xu Yang’s face. "He has already reached Gang Qi Great Success."

Qiao Yong was somewhat surprised to hear this. "This man’s talent is a bit stronger than the legends say. In the last Martial Arts Examination, his talent should be considered second best."

He greatly enjoyed the feeling of passing judgment on the Dragon Ascending Geniuses of the previous generation, as if he were trampling them all underfoot. "I heard that Tongbi Fist had a very talented senior brother in the last batch named Han Xing. He comprehended Heaven-Reaching Strength during the Martial Arts Examination and took fourth place. I wonder what his Cultivation is now?"

’Does the Tongbi Fist Hall not know that Han Xing is already dead? Or is it Qiao Yong who doesn’t know?’ 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Xu Yang said with "grief," "Han Xing is dead. Didn’t you know, Brother Qiao?"

What?!

Han Xing is dead?

Han Xing placed fourth in the Dragon Ascension. How could he have died in the Purple Sun Sect?

Qiao Yong’s pontificating expression froze on his face. He asked seriously, "May I ask how Han Xing died?"

Xu Yang shook his head. "That question involves Sect secrets. It’s better if you don’t ask, Brother Qiao. You’ll find out once you become a disciple of the Purple Sun Sect. You also shouldn’t spread this around, or it could cause a lot of trouble."

"I understand."

Hearing that it involved Sect secrets, Qiao Yong didn’t press the matter. He then asked, "Then what about Kong Yu? What is Kong Yu’s Cultivation now?"

Everyone said his talent was comparable to Kong Yu’s, but the arrogance in his heart told him that Kong Yu was his inferior.

Kong Yu merely had a slightly better Root Bone; his Comprehension was far worse. By the end of the Martial Arts Examination, Kong Yu still hadn’t even comprehended Hidden Strength.

In half a year at most, he was confident he could fully comprehend Mixed Element Strength—all things Kong Yu had been incapable of doing.

Xu Yang looked at Qiao Yong. "Kong Yu is dead, too!"

What?!

Kong Yu is dead, too?

Qiao Yong felt a chill shoot straight to the crown of his head, sending an icy shiver down his spine.

Han Xing’s death was one thing, but how could even a once-in-a-generation genius like Kong Yu also be dead?

Qiao Yong couldn’t keep up his act any longer. His mind was consumed with the question of why both Han Xing and Kong Yu had died.

The day of the Martial Arts Examination arrived quickly, and in the interim, there were no incidents of masters from the Demon Sect killing anyone.

Looking at the familiar scene, Xu Yang felt a momentary daze. Two years had passed by in a flash.

After seeing Qiao Yong into the examination grounds, he sat down in the seat arranged by Li He. Soon, he saw the little lass and Qiu Wenjie appear with the others.

Weiyuan Hall had quite a few disciples participating in the examination this year—a full eight of them.

The little lass saw Xu Yang as well and waved to him from across the grounds. He smiled in response, giving her a thumbs-up to encourage her.

The examination began soon after. Sun Tao, Li Qiang, and Gu Haoming all appeared and sat down beside Xu Yang.

The four of them didn’t speak, instead scanning their surroundings warily.

Time passed, and soon it was Xu Qing’s turn to take the stage and lift the iron locks.

Xu Qing was very beautiful. She’d had the makings of a great beauty from a young age; otherwise, she wouldn’t have been targeted by the Sanhe Gang at only thirteen or fourteen.

Today, she wore a set of black martial arts attire, her hair coiled up to reveal a long, snow-white neck.

Her lovely face and tall, slender figure immediately drew the eyes of many in the crowd.

"Which noble family’s daughter is this? Why have I never seen her at Sunv Hall?"

"Look, she’s with the people from Weiyuan Hall. She must be a Weiyuan Hall disciple."

...

Whispers spread from several sections of the stands. In this era, a woman’s virtue was her lack of talent.

Those who could practice martial arts were, without exception, the legitimate daughters of great families.

But after some inquiry, they discovered that this stunningly beautiful woman was not the noble daughter of any great family.

Soon, someone pointed out that this was Xu Qing. She wasn’t from any of Qingyuan’s great families but was the younger sister of the previous Dragon Ascending Genius, Xu Yang. She was the very same ruthless person who had joined forces with Qiu Wenjie to annihilate dozens of members of the Cyan Snake Gang.

All at once, the gazes directed at Xu Qing began to fill with fear.

Xu Qing chose the two-thousand-jin iron locks. After struggling to lift them forty times, she earned a C-class grade, even better than his own back in the day.

This was an excellent result. Her title of Martial Scholar was secured, and as long as her luck wasn’t too bad, Dragon Ascension would be no problem.

The little lass was thrilled. Achieving Dragon Ascension meant she could follow Xu Yang again.

"Congratulations, Junior Brother Xu. Barring any surprises, Junior Sister Xu will also achieve Dragon Ascension," Sun Tao said, cupping his fists in congratulation.

Xu Yang shook his head. "You know the situation in the Sect as well as I do, Senior Brother. I actually didn’t want her to achieve Dragon Ascension."

He had always been very careful with Xu Qing, worried that if she turned out to be some peerless genius, he would have held her back by forbidding her from practicing martial arts.