Martial Sage from the Vajra Skill

The night grew darker. The heavy snow buried every other color, but it couldn’t bury the gloom in the hearts of the Huang Family members.

Lu Ren’s betrayal and the third young miss’s recent death—her body not yet cold—had dealt a heavy blow to the rising family. The laughter and cheer of the past were gone.

As soon as darkness fell, every household grew quiet. Only the howling, frigid wind raged on.

Huang Jin crunched through the ice and snow, pushed open the door, and shook the flakes from his clothes. He then strode inside and said to his second brother, Huang Ping, "Xu Yang still refuses the marriage alliance. However, he did state that if the Huang Family needs him, he can leave the Liu Family."

Fury flashed in Huang Ping’s eyes. "My Huang Family is willing to marry a noble daughter down to him, yet he dares to refuse repeatedly? Does he think a noble lady of the Huang Family isn’t good enough for him?"

He subconsciously ignored Huang Jin’s point about Xu Yang being willing to leave the Liu Family at any time to repay their kindness. He only felt that the Huang Family’s willingness to marry a daughter to Xu Yang was a heavenly blessing in itself.

Huang Jin’s brows furrowed. Xu Yang had even turned down the Liu Family’s daughter; it wasn’t that he looked down on the women of the Huang Family. His second brother’s words clearly showed he believed that once the Huang Family had spoken, Xu Yang had to obey, no matter the matter.

It was just like with Lu Ren before—demanding repayment for a past kindness, forcing things Lu Ren didn’t want upon him, and assuming that as long as it was a gift from the Huang Family, Lu Ren had to accept it, whether he liked it or not.

Although the main issue was that Lu Ren had long harbored a treacherous heart, his second brother’s methods were still problematic.

In his second brother’s mind, both Xu Yang and Lu Ren were still those starving lackeys, not the grown Martial Artists they had become.

"Second Brother, he just doesn’t want to get married; it’s not that he looks down on the women of our family. I also don’t think we must bind him to us through a marriage alliance.

An ungrateful person like Lu Ren... what good did a marriage alliance do? If you can’t give him enough benefits, he’ll abandon the Huang Family all the same.

I think Xu Yang is someone who understands gratitude. We don’t have to marry him into the family to sponsor him; we can just support him directly. If he remembers the Huang Family’s kindness, he will naturally gravitate toward us..."

"Enough!"

Huang Ping waved his hand, cutting Huang Jin off. "I never thought much of him in the first place. He has a mere Lower C-class Root Bone. How much money would our Huang Family have to sink into him to train him? It was only because you kept insisting he was a malleable talent that I even gave him a chance.

The nerve of him, rejecting a gesture of goodwill. He’ll live to regret this. If not for that little bit of history between us, I wouldn’t have given his paltry talent a second glance."

"Second Brother..."

"That’s enough. You may go. Tomorrow, release the news that the Huang Family will once again select promising individuals to cultivate. This time, I will personally oversee the selection of talent."

Huang Jin wanted to say more, but Huang Ping impatiently cut him off, even blaming the affair with Lu Ren on him, believing he had made a mistake in his judgment.

He opened his mouth, but in the end, he could only retreat helplessly.

Even now, his second brother still didn’t understand that talent wasn’t the most important thing. Lu Ren’s talent was good, but wasn’t it all for nothing in the end, unable to be used by the Huang Family?

The Huang Family didn’t need a genius; it needed someone who would remember their kindness, be loyal to them, and serve them.

Xu Yang had good Comprehension but a poor Root Bone. If Huang Jin were to help him now, he was certain he could win Xu Yang’s loyalty.

But he wasn’t from the main family line. With their eldest brother in seclusion seeking a breakthrough to the Marrow Cleansing realm, Huang Ping was the one who truly called the shots in the Huang Family.

No matter how many of Xu Yang’s good qualities he listed, it was useless if Huang Ping looked down on his Root Bone. Huang Ping hadn’t learned the lesson from Lu Ren at all; he just wanted to gamble big with a small stake, using little money to cultivate experts.

’Forget it!’

His second brother was convinced Xu Yang would never amount to anything. Nothing more he could say would be of any use.

After a cupped-fist salute, he turned and left immediately.

...

[Martial Arts Longevity Points: 42]

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

He had slaughtered Bao Gang yesterday and received a ten-point reward. Added to the previous reward for reaching Qi Gathering Minor Achievement, his points had accumulated to over forty.

According to his usual habit, these points could be used to improve his Root Bone. This time, however, he didn’t touch them.

Yesterday’s incident with Bao Gang had taught him to keep some points in reserve. In an unexpected situation, if he found himself outmatched, the points could be used to temporarily upgrade his Cultivation Technique.

If the one who had ambushed him yesterday hadn’t been Bao Gang, but an expert at Qi Gathering Minor Achievement, he wouldn’t have had such an easy time, even if he could have killed them.

"Brother, time to eat!"

After practicing the Turtle and Snake Grand Posture for a while, just as the sky was dimly lit, Xu Qing had already prepared breakfast.

Xu Yang pushed open the door. The snow outside was already calf-deep.

"What heavy snow. I’m afraid many people will freeze to death this year." 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

The snow this year was heavier than in previous years. It was only the second day, yet it was already this thick.

After eating, with the snow still falling, Xu Yang first swept the snow from the roof to prevent it from collapsing, then took a hatchet and a rope and headed into the mountains.

Half an hour later, he returned carrying a load of firewood on his shoulder pole.

"Don’t go out. I’ll buy grain from the city."

The snow was too deep, and he was worried Xu Qing would get frostbite. After instructing her, he set out for the Liu Family estate.

Heaven and earth were a single color, the world a vast expanse of white.

Goose-feather-like snow fell relentlessly. His qi and blood were so vigorous that his body was like a furnace. After walking for a stretch, the snow and ice landing on him melted continuously, soaking his clothes.

His furnace-like body constantly emitted high heat; he looked like a walking steamer, giving off clouds of vapor.

’They say experts at Qi Gathering Great Success can cover their bodies with True Qi, forming a protective shield that no water can splash and no fly can land on. Unfortunately, I haven’t reached that realm yet.

Otherwise, I could walk for hours in the snow without a single flake landing on me.’

Although he didn’t feel the cold, constantly having to circulate his qi and blood to evaporate the melted snow from his body wasn’t a pleasant experience.

When he arrived at the Liu Family estate, a group of servants and retainers were clearing the snow.

Xu Yang walked to the Sacrificial Hall. The snow here had already been cleared. Wu Yongfeng and the others weren’t training; instead, they were gathered in a room, warming themselves by a charcoal brazier, steam rising from their bodies.

With the snow this heavy, there probably wasn’t much to do today.

He went over and noticed that besides Bao Gang, Zhang Bo was also missing.

The others didn’t pay much mind to Bao Gang’s absence, assuming he was delayed by the heavy snow.

It wasn’t until an hour later that Zhang Bo rushed in. "Did any of you see Bao Gang yesterday?"

???

Everyone had a questioning look on their face. They had all seen Bao Gang yesterday. He had even asked Xu Yang for money.

Zhang Bo said with a serious expression, "Bao Gang is missing. His family came looking for him, saying he never returned home last night and they can’t find him."

Wang Yun spoke up, "He’s gotten addicted to gambling recently. We got paid yesterday, could he still be at the gambling den?"

Zhang Bo shook his head. "I’ve already asked at the gambling den. He left yesterday afternoon."

"Then we don’t know. We haven’t seen him since he left here yesterday."

Not at the gambling den, the Martial Arts Hall, or the Liu Family estate. Everyone realized something had probably happened to Bao Gang. The faces of the few who had lent him money turned ugly.

’If you’re going to die, you should at least pay back your debts first!’

"Something has likely happened to him. All of you, be careful. This might be the work of the Liu Family’s enemies. I’ll go ask the Patriarch to send people to investigate."

Zhang Bo said this, then hurried away.

Everyone’s expressions changed again. It really could be the work of the Liu Family’s enemies. It seemed they needed to be more careful.

’They shouldn’t be able to trace it back to me,’ Xu Yang mused.

’Bao Gang intended to rob and murder me on the road. He wouldn’t have told anyone about something like that. Plus, the heavy snow has covered all traces. Even a divine constable would be helpless.’

"Good thing you didn’t lend him money yesterday," Wang Yun said with a laugh.

Xu Yang shook his head. "For a gambling degenerate like him, not lending him money was for his own good."

The others nodded in agreement, soon forgetting about Bao Gang and starting to chat about interesting stories from the Jianghu.