Martial Sage from the Vajra Skill

[Vajra Skill - Pre-Introduction (3/100)]

"This really is a Water Grinding Technique!"

An hour later, Xu Yang resignedly opened his eyes.

His True Qi showed almost no discernible change, and his Vajra Skill progress had only increased by 3.

He wasn’t worried, though. He closed his eyes and went to sleep.

[Martial Arts Longevity Points: 33]

The next day, the first thing Xu Yang did upon opening his eyes was look at the panel.

Yesterday, after obtaining the Vajra Skill, the panel had rewarded him with thirty points. Without hesitation, he used all thirty to increase his Comprehension.

[Comprehension: 34]

Satisfied, he closed the panel, got out of bed, and practiced the Turtle and Snake Grand Posture for a while before rushing to the Liu Mansion.

"Last evening, while committing a crime at the Gu Family estate, Jade Butterfly was discovered by their experts. He was besieged by several masters at Qi Gathering Great Success but managed to escape with severe injuries by relying on his Lightweight Skill."

"This is his portrait. Take a good look. If you run into him and manage to capture him, the reward is two hundred taels of silver."

Zhang Bo took out a portrait as he relayed the latest news about Jade Butterfly.

Wang Yun, Wu Yongfeng, Bao Gang, and the others swarmed forward to get a closer look at the portrait in Zhang Bo’s hand.

’Isn’t that the guy from yesterday?’

Xu Yang looked and saw that the person in the portrait was indeed the man who had attacked him outside the Bai Shi Workshop yesterday. He had dumped the body in a cave.

He had thought the man was being hunted because of the Vajra Skill. He never imagined it was actually Jade Butterfly, the lecherous fiend who had thrown all of Qingyuan into a state of unease.

’So that guy was Jade Butterfly... Should I go for the reward money?’

Two hundred taels of silver was a lot of money—more than Xu Yang had ever seen in his life.

If he went and retrieved Jade Butterfly’s head, he could claim those two hundred taels of silver.

At the same time, the fact that he had killed Jade Butterfly would become widely known, bringing him both fame and fortune overnight.

’I can’t take it!’

After a moment’s thought, he decided to give up on the reward money.

He didn’t know anything about Jade Butterfly’s background. What if he had a powerful master or senior brothers who might come seeking revenge?

And that Vajra Skill manual had been so carefully sewn into his pants leg; it was probably stolen.

Now that he had started practicing it, if the original owner tracked him down, they might cripple his Martial Arts or just kill him outright.

After weighing the pros and cons, the risks clearly outweighed the rewards.

He had plenty of time to slowly grind and improve. There was no need to invite an unpredictable crisis for a mere two hundred taels. It was better to let the secret of Jade Butterfly’s death die with him.

That Vajra Skill manual alone was worth far more than two hundred taels. It wasn’t necessary to take such a risk for a bit of small change.

’It’s a shame I didn’t find a Lightweight Skill secret manual,’ Xu Yang thought with regret.

Jade Butterfly’s greatest strength was his Lightweight Skill. The fact that he could escape an encirclement by several Qi Gathering Great Success masters was terrifying. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Of course, his combat abilities didn’t seem weak either. According to Zhang Bo, one of the Gu Family’s Qi Gathering Great Success masters was killed on the spot, and the other experts also suffered serious injuries.

The Vajra Skill was even mentioned, though only described as a "hard-style technique" that gave Jade Butterfly an astonishing Physique, and that one must be extremely careful when facing him.

It was worth mentioning that the Gu Family Zhang Bo spoke of was the same one Gu Fang from Weiyuan Hall belonged to. It seemed Jade Butterfly’s target had been Gu Fang herself, but he hadn’t succeeded.

Soon, the patrols began again!

Even though Xu Yang knew Jade Butterfly was dead, he still patrolled diligently.

At the end of the day, he returned home and continued to cultivate the Vajra Skill.

Three days later, with still no news of Jade Butterfly, the security at the Liu Mansion began to relax.

Ten days later, the major families of Qingyuan County concluded that Jade Butterfly was either dead or had left the county, and everything returned to normal.

[Vajra Skill - Introduction (1/1000)]

On this very day, Xu Yang’s Vajra Skill finally reached the Entry Level. His True Qi now carried a hint of Vajra True Qi, making it purer than before.

As the True Qi circulated through his meridians, he felt a sharp pain as if they were being sliced by a knife.

When he channeled the True Qi to his palm and struck it, it produced a sound like clanging metal, and the defensive power of his flesh had greatly increased.

’Vajra True Qi is truly domineering. Now I just need to grind it out slowly. Sooner or later, I’ll cultivate true Vajra True Qi.’

A cool sensation washed over his mind. He allocated all the points he had accumulated recently to Comprehension, raising it to 37.

After many days, he and Wu Yongfeng returned to Weiyuan Hall.

The Outer Courtyard was now filled almost entirely with unfamiliar faces. Amidst the admiring gazes of these Outer Courtyard Disciples, the two of them stepped into the Inner Courtyard.

"Xu Yang, Senior Brother Wu, you two have finally shown up."

As the two entered the Inner Courtyard, Zhang Yong and Zhang Hong greeted them with smiles.

"It was all because of that Jade Butterfly business. Now that it’s finally over, we can get back to cultivating."

Wu Yongfeng laughed and said, "Come, Junior Brother Zhang Yong, let’s spar. Let your senior brother see if you’ve made any progress lately."

"I was thinking the same thing."

With a swift leap forward, Zhang Yong began to duel with Wu Yongfeng.

"Do you know who it was from the Huang Family that Jade Butterfly... defiled?" Zhang Hong sidled up conspiratorially.

"Who?" Xu Yang had been about to suggest a spar with Zhang Hong, but seeing his mysterious act, he held back.

Zhang Hong whispered, "They say it was the young lady betrothed to Lu Ren. Apparently, they were already engaged, and the wedding was set for three months from now!"

Xu Yang: "..."

For a moment, he was at a loss for words. He knew someone from the Huang Family had fallen victim to Jade Butterfly, but he never expected it to be the one they were using to form a marriage alliance with Lu Ren. Now, Lu Ren was in a tough spot: calling off the wedding was a bad look, but going through with it was just as bad.

He turned to look and saw that Lu Ren had also arrived. His composure didn’t seem to be affected, however, as he was in a corner practicing the Turtle and Snake Grand Posture.

’He’s much stronger than me now.’

Just by sensing his presence, Xu Yang could feel the gap between him and Lu Ren. He probably wasn’t Lu Ren’s match anymore.

Without using the panel to advance his Cultivation Technique, he only had two or three taels of silver coins a month for cultivation, while Lu Ren had fifteen. The gap between them was gradually widening.

"We have never truly fought. Do you dare to face me?"

As if sensing Xu Yang’s gaze, Lu Ren opened his eyes and issued the challenge.

At these words, all the Inner Courtyard Disciples looked on with great interest.

Back in the Outer Courtyard, Xu Yang had always been just behind Lu Ren. Now that they had both been at the Qi Gathering realm for almost two months, everyone wondered if they were still as evenly matched as before.

"I heard you’re about to marry a noble lady from the Huang Family. I wouldn’t dare fight you," Xu Yang said calmly.

The vast Inner Courtyard fell silent in an instant. Lu Ren’s face visibly flushed red.

By now, who didn’t know that his fiancée had been violated by Jade Butterfly? He was in the middle of discussing with the Huang Family how to handle the situation. Xu Yang’s words were like rubbing salt in his wound.

"You’re courting death!" Lu Ren roared, striding forward.

He only made it halfway before Sun Tao stopped him. "Junior Brother Lu, you know the rules of the Inner Courtyard."

Lu Ren’s chest heaved, but he forced himself to swallow his anger and returned to his posture training.

"Vicious mouth!" Zhang Hong gave Xu Yang a thumbs-up.

"He’s the one who tried to step on me!"

Xu Yang hadn’t wanted to provoke Lu Ren, but since the guy tried to use him as a stepping stone, he wasn’t about to be polite.

"Come on, spar with me. I haven’t had any time to practice recently. My skills are getting rusty."

"Senior Brother Xu Yang, I’ll spar with you," said Qiu Wenjie.

Zhang Hong smiled and said, "You haven’t been around for a while, so I forgot to tell you. This kid managed to succeed in Qi Gathering right at the three-month mark."

"Fine. You’re on!"

Xu Yang took a step forward, his fist tearing through the air as it shot toward Qiu Wenjie. The two quickly engaged in battle.