Martial Sage from the Vajra Skill

"Congratulations, Junior Brother Xu Yang. You’ve surprised everyone once again." Sun Tao said, approaching with a smile.

Just when everyone thought Lu Ren would leave Xu Yang completely in the dust, Xu Yang actually succeeded in Qi Gathering. Countless people in the Inner Courtyard were calling it a stroke of dumb luck.

"Senior Brother Sun Tao," Xu Yang said, cupping his hands in greeting.

Sun Tao was all smiles. "What better time to enter the Inner Courtyard than now? Junior Brother Xu Yang, hurry and come with me to see Master."

Xu Yang nodded and followed Sun Tao into the Inner Courtyard.

"I knew he wasn’t as good as Senior Brother Lu Ren. When Senior Brother Lu Ren achieved Qi Gathering, how many senior brothers from the Inner Courtyard came to see him? But for his breakthrough, only Senior Brother Sun Tao showed up. It just goes to show that none of the other senior brothers think much of him."

Luo Dehu didn’t dare to speak again until Xu Yang’s back had completely vanished from sight.

"Bootlicker. Looks like Senior Brother Xu Yang’s palm strike earlier was too light."

Qiu Wenjie snorted, spun around, and quickly left Weiyuan Hall.

He had to tell his father the news about Xu Yang’s successful Qi Gathering.

’He actually succeeded in Qi Gathering!’

Standing beside Luo Dehu, Qian Jiaxing was filled with regret.

’If I hadn’t taken a side so decisively, I could have stayed on good terms with both Xu Yang and Lu Ren. But now, Xu Yang won’t even speak to me.’

’To be honest, I actually liked Xu Yang more.’

’Xu Yang treated me like a friend, while Lu Ren treated me like a toady. It wasn’t the same at all.’

’A toady gets kicked to the curb when they’re no longer useful, but a friend will always have your back.’

...

"That you were able to achieve Qi Gathering so quickly is quite unexpected. However, your Root Bone is average. If you wish to advance further, you’ll have to work hard to earn money."

Lin Cheng sat in his chair, sizing up Xu Yang with a slightly surprised expression.

"This disciple understands!" Xu Yang replied, cupping his hands.

"The Huang Family has already terminated their agreement with you. If you have nowhere else to go, you can ask your Senior Brother Sun Tao for help. If anyone tries to recruit you and you want to learn more about them, you can ask him for information as well.

"Your foundations are weak, so think carefully before you act..."

This time, Lin Cheng was finally acting like a proper master, offering Xu Yang a great deal of advice.

’However, when it came to joining a power, he still had to wait for the Qiu Family’s decision.’

’If the Qiu Family hired him as a Tributor, he would naturally become one. Everything depended on what the Qiu Family decided.’

’Only if the Qiu Family couldn’t afford him would he reconsider other powers.’

"Junior Brother Xu, come! Let me introduce you to the other senior brothers of the Inner Courtyard."

Xu Yang had just left Lin Cheng when Sun Tao pulled him into a pavilion to introduce him to the Inner Courtyard Disciples gathered there.

After a round of introductions, he had met basically all of them—about eleven or twelve Inner Courtyard Disciples in total.

According to Sun Tao, however, this wasn’t all the disciples from the Inner Courtyard. Many had duties that kept them from coming to Weiyuan Hall every day, and some had already left Qingyuan County entirely.

The attitude of these disciples toward Xu Yang wasn’t cold, but it wasn’t enthusiastic either—a far cry from the warm welcome Lu Ren had received upon his breakthrough.

"Junior Brother, if you’re looking for work, you can come to me anytime," Sun Tao reminded him. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

After thanking him, Xu Yang found a spot to sit and quietly perceive the changes in his body.

Achieving Qi Gathering made a world of difference; the changes in every aspect of his being were immense. It was like night and day.

[Remaining Lifespan: 60]

Even the lifespan displayed on his panel had changed from "57" to "60," a sudden increase of three years.

"Greetings, Uncle. Greetings, Fifth Master!"

The first person to arrive was not Qiu Yongqiang, but his maternal uncle, Zhou Shunchang, and Huang Jin.

"Excellent, excellent! I knew you could do it." Zhou Shunchang’s face was flushed with excitement as he grabbed Xu Yang’s hand.

Now that Xu Yang was a Martial Artist, he felt he had fulfilled his duty to his late sister.

The two spoke for a while before Zhou Shunchang’s excitement finally subsided.

Only then did Huang Jin step forward.

The Huang Family still wasn’t going to hire him as a Tributor, but out of goodwill from their previous sponsorship, they had prepared a gift of five taels of silver to congratulate him.

"I’ve always been more optimistic about you," Huang Jin sighed. "Lu Ren may be talented, but he’s far too arrogant and conceited. I’m afraid that in the future, the Huang Family will have just worked hard for someone else’s benefit."

It was just a shame that he wasn’t from the main branch of the Huang Family and didn’t have much of a voice.

Xu Yang also had complex feelings about Lu Ren.

In just two months, the once shy, stuttering youth had become utterly unscrupulous. Worried the Huang Family would change its mind, he had someone slander Xu Yang the very moment he broke through.

’You have to admit,’ Xu Yang thought, ’Luo Dehu is a special kind of talent.’

"Even though I won’t be joining the Huang Family, if you ever need me in the future, feel free to call on me at any time," Xu Yang said with conviction.

Although the Huang Family had broken their agreement, he held no grudge. In fact, he was grateful for their kindness.

Without the Huang Family, he might have been hounded to his death by the Sanhe Gang.

Zhou Shunchang and Huang Jin soon departed.

A short while later, Qiu Wenjie came to find Xu Yang and told him that Qiu Yongqiang was waiting for him outside.

The Qiu Family was a minor household with no cooperative ties to Weiyuan Hall. Naturally, Qiu Yongqiang couldn’t come and go as he pleased, unlike Huang Jin.

When they met, Qiu Yongqiang offered another round of congratulations before getting straight to the point: the Qiu Family could not afford to hire him, as they couldn’t come up with ten taels of silver per month.

However, they were willing to continue giving him three taels of silver each month to support his training.

Xu Yang was quite satisfied with this outcome.

He had never actually wanted to be tied down to a single family, whether it was the Huang Family or the Qiu Family. He simply felt obligated to fulfill his promise after accepting their help. Now, things had worked out just as he’d hoped.

’If I had really wanted to become a Tributor for the Huang Family, I could have easily achieved Qi Gathering before Lu Ren. The main reason I broke through a few days after him was because I didn’t want to be their Tributor, so I deliberately held off.’

’Great families are full of dirty laundry. Since the Huang Family raised me up from nothing, joining them would have put me at an immediate disadvantage. It would be impossible to be treated as an equal. In any dispute, people would just call me ungrateful.’

’By choosing a new power to serve, I might not get resources as good as the Huang Family’s, but I’ll have more freedom.’

That day, he didn’t train at Weiyuan Hall until dark, leaving in the afternoon instead.

"Ah Yang!"

Not long after he left the city, Zhang Daniu’s voice called out from behind him.

"Ah Yang, long time no see!" Zhang Daniu said, hurrying to catch up. "I heard you were working in the city too. I went to your house looking for you a few times, but you were never there.

"I asked Xiaqing where you were working so I could find you, but that girl refused to tell me.

"So, where are you working, anyway? I can’t believe I’ve never run into you."

Seeing him again, Zhang Daniu was more enthusiastic than ever, talking a mile a minute as if he’d completely forgotten how he had distanced himself from Xu Yang before.

"I’m not working a job. I’m training at Weiyuan Hall."

Now that he had successfully achieved Qi Gathering, there was no need to be secretive about his training.

’Training at Weiyuan Hall? No wonder he kept it a secret.’

Zhang Daniu froze. "Where did you get the money for that?"

"The great Huang Family from the city saw I had talent and sponsored me to go to Weiyuan Hall."

Zhang Daniu was speechless for a long moment.

He’d heard about that. He even regretted learning about the Huang Family’s selection process too late to participate.

In a tone that was a mixture of sour grapes and feigned concern, he said, "I heard the Huang Family is stingy. If you fail to become a Martial Artist, you’ll probably have to pay them back. Ah Yang, take my advice. Training is not something people like us can dream of. It’s better to stick to what you know."

Xu Yang glanced at him. "I’ve already become a Martial Artist."

"You... became a Martial Artist..."

Zhang Daniu looked as if he’d been struck by lightning. He only just now noticed that Xu Yang was taller than him and carried an awe-inspiring presence, just like the Martial Artist masters he’d seen at the blacksmith’s shop.

"Ah..."

He tried to say "Ah Yang," but his throat was dry, and the name wouldn’t come out.

"This is where we part ways. We can talk again some other time."

Xu Yang pointed to a fork in the road, turned down one of the paths, and strode off toward home.

Zhang Daniu stood there, stunned, not snapping out of it until long after Xu Yang’s figure had disappeared from view.

"Daniu, what are you standing here for? You look like an idiot."

Suddenly, He the Third’s voice called out from behind him.

Zhang Daniu turned, a bitter look on his face. "He the Third, Ah Yang... Ah Yang’s a Martial Artist now..."