Martial Sage from the Vajra Skill

"I really misjudged him. My fifth brother is a better judge of character than I am."

Huang Ping and his daughter had eventually learned that Xu Yang had stood up for the Qiu Family and killed Hong Feng, and they couldn’t help but sigh.

It was too late to say anything now. His daughter had done what she did, and Xu Yang hadn’t stepped forward to explain himself. Clearly, he intended to use this to settle the small debt of gratitude he owed the Huang Family.

"Dad, so what if he’s reached Qi Gathering Minor Achievement? His Root Bone is still Lower C-class. He still has very little hope for the Martial Arts Ascension Dragon," Huang Ling’er said with a pout.

She admitted that Xu Yang had indeed exceeded her expectations, but that was all. She didn’t regret what she had done.

Compared to her own pride and the Huang Family’s reputation, what was one Martial Artist with a Lower C-class Root Bone? As long as the Huang Family was willing to spend the money, they could quickly cultivate a Martial Artist to Qi Gathering Minor Achievement from the next batch of recruits.

Huang Ping shook his head. "It’s not his talent I admire, but his character. If Lu Ren had even half his sense of gratitude, he wouldn’t have betrayed the Huang Family. This man is truly worth cultivating. I was a poor judge of character."

...

"We owe this all to Xu Yang. Otherwise, even if my Qiu Family wasn’t wiped out, our business would have been lost."

After seeing Xu Yang, Zhang Yong, and the others off, Qiu Yongjian felt a wave of relief.

Fortunately, his second brother hadn’t listened to him and had continued to secretly fund Xu Yang. Otherwise, the Qiu Family would have been ruined by his own short-sightedness.

Qiu Yongqiang shook his head. "That wouldn’t have happened. Even if I had listened to you, Big Brother, Xu Yang wouldn’t have ignored this matter. He values loyalty.

"If that weren’t the case, how could a mere three taels of silver convince someone with a chance at the Martial Arts Ascension Dragon to fight a life-or-death battle against an expert of the same level?"

Qiu Wenjie nodded in agreement. When he had found Zhang Yong, he had told him to name any price, but Zhang Yong had flatly refused.

For Xu Yang to take action, it was never about the money.

Qiu Yongjian nodded. "I was short-sighted before. Go to the bookkeeper and withdraw twenty taels of silver. Prepare some other gifts as well, and deliver them to Xu Yang’s home personally. We can’t afford to give much more, but we must show our appreciation.

"From now on, the funds for his support will also come from the family’s accounts.

"Once we’ve taken over the Hong Family’s businesses and expanded our own, we’ll increase Xu Yang’s stipend."

Qiu Yongqiang nodded. "Leave it to me. Big Brother, you just focus on recovering. Taking over the Hong Family’s businesses will still require your leadership."

With Xu Yang backing them, taking over the Hong Family’s businesses was now a certainty.

...

"Greetings, Brother Xu!"

"Junior Brother Xu Yang!"

...

When Xu Yang returned to Weiyuan Hall, everything was different. The senior and junior brothers who used to ignore him on sight now greeted him with smiles, their attitudes completely changed.

’How pragmatic.’

He knew this change was because he had killed Hong Feng.

To reach Qi Gathering Minor Achievement at his age meant that even if he couldn’t succeed in the Martial Arts Ascension Dragon, he could at least reach Qi Gathering Great Success in the future. That was why these people were now trying to befriend him.

People like Jiang Ping could look down on him, but not everyone had the same standing as Jiang Ping and his ilk.

"Junior Brother Xu!" Sun Tao strode over.

Xu Yang cupped his fists. "Greetings, Senior Brother Sun."

No one in Weiyuan Hall dared to disrespect Sun Tao.

Although everyone called Lin Cheng "Master" and were nominally his disciples, only Sun Tao had truly kowtowed and served him the ceremonial tea, making him Lin Cheng’s one true formal disciple.

Sun Tao smiled and nodded. "Your duel with Hong Feng was fair and square. If any experts from Tiger Roar Boxing Hall try to bully you because of it, you can come find me. Weiyuan Hall will back you up."

The implication was that if someone from Tiger Roar Boxing Hall at only the Qi Gathering Minor Achievement level came seeking revenge, Xu Yang would have to handle it himself. But if someone at the Qi Gathering Great Success level made a move, Weiyuan Hall would intervene.

By killing Hong Feng, Xu Yang had boosted Weiyuan Hall’s reputation. Sun Tao had come specifically to inform him of the hall’s official stance.

After having dinner at Weiyuan Hall, Xu Yang headed back to Bai Shi Workshop under the cover of night.

"Brother Ah Yang, wait for me!"

Not long after leaving the city, Xu Zheng came chasing after him from behind, panting for breath.

Both of them were from Weiyuan Hall and were also from the Xu clan in Bai Shi Workshop, so they should have been close.

But in the past few days, Xu Yang hadn’t sought out Xu Zheng, and this was the first time Xu Zheng had actively approached him.

"Brother Ah Yang, I heard from people at the Martial Arts Hall that you also have a Lower C-class Root Bone?" Xu Zheng asked.

Xu Yang noticed that the reverence his younger cousin once had for him had vanished after he was selected by the Huang Family.

"That’s right," Xu Yang said with a nod.

A pleased look appeared on Xu Zheng’s face. "So you’re saying there’s a good chance I can reach Qi Gathering and become a Martial Artist?"

Xu Yang understood that he was trying to get some confidence from him and said, "Back in my group, there were four people with C-class Root Bone. Only one of them failed to achieve Qi Gathering."

Four people, one failure. Xu Zheng’s smile widened. "Our group is getting more resources than yours did. No one should fail."

Xu Yang remained noncommittal and simply continued, "The four of us, aside from the money the Huang Family spent, also invested over ten taels of our own silver into our training. Even then, one person still didn’t succeed."

Xu Zheng’s smile vanished instantly. One person had failed even after investing over ten taels of their own silver. No matter how confident he was, he now understood the difficulty.

"Brother Ah Yang, help me. Once I become a Martial Artist, I’ll definitely repay you. When that time comes, we brothers can join forces and surely bring glory to the Xu Family," Xu Zheng said, looking at Xu Yang earnestly.

’He’s finally dropping the act.’

Xu Yang said calmly, "I can’t help you. If you’re so confident, have your father give you his full support."

Xu Zheng lowered his voice. "Brother Ah Yang, we’re brothers. If I become a Martial Artist, it’ll only benefit you."

’He wants to become a Martial Artist, but he doesn’t want to spend his own family’s money, only mine.’

’His scheming is so obvious you could hear it from miles away.’

Xu Yang sneered, "Back when Xu the Second didn’t care if Xiaqing and I lived or died, all of you ’brothers’ saw me and stayed far, far away, afraid I’d ask you for a mouthful of food. What kind of brothers do you call that?"

Xu Zheng’s face flushed red. He explained, "That was... that was before. I was ignorant. From now on, we brothers will support each other."

’I guess I’d still underestimated Xu Zheng’s shamelessness. My words were no different from a slap to his face, yet he still has the gall to keep talking and try to take advantage of me.’

"And ’supporting each other’ means I should pay for your martial arts training?"

Seeing this, Xu Yang said no more. He quickened his pace and strode away, leaving a sullen-looking Xu Zheng behind.

When he got home, he was surprised to see Qiu Wenjie, his father, and a few other members of the Qiu Family waiting for him.

After a few pleasantries, he learned they had come to deliver gifts and specifically to thank him for what happened today.

Xu Yang didn’t refuse. Although he had acted to repay Qiu Yongqiang for his support, a debt of gratitude was something that would eventually be used up. The Qiu Family also wanted to continue strengthening their relationship with him.

If he had really refused the gifts, it would have made the Qiu Family uneasy.

Qiu Wenjie and Qiu Yongqiang soon left with the other Qiu Family members, and only then did Xu Yang have time to look at the gifts they had brought.

There was tea from the Qiu Family’s own business, a stalk of Wild Ginseng whose age was impossible to determine, and besides these, some daily necessities like rice and meat, and a bundle of silver wrapped in red silk.

Xu Yang opened it and was met with a glittering expanse of white—a full twenty taels.

"Brother, that’s so much money!" Xu Qing looked like a little miser, having never seen so much silver at once.

"Don’t be so impressed. This little bit is nothing."