Martial Sage from the Vajra Skill

"You..."

Li Sanhe’s eyes widened, and he coughed up more blood in a fit of rage.

He had actually been naive enough to believe Xu Yang had reconciled with the Sanhe Gang. After decades in the Jianghu, he had been tricked by a mere youth.

"If you want me dead, you’re coming with me!" 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

He gathered his last ounce of strength and lunged fiercely at Xu Yang, recklessly blasting out a surge of True Qi.

Xu Yang didn’t meet the attack head-on, instead stepping to the side to evade.

BANG!

With a massive explosion, dirt flew everywhere. The spot where he had just been standing was blasted into a crater over two feet wide by the terrifying True Qi.

SPURT!

In mid-air, Li Sanhe seemed to let out his final breath. He fell to the ground with a THUD, his powerful aura gradually dissipating.

Xu Yang blasted a stream of True Qi from a distance, but Li Sanhe showed no reaction.

Still not entirely convinced and worried that Li Sanhe was feigning death, he found a rock and hurled it at the man’s head from afar. Only when he saw brains splatter out did he confirm that Li Sanhe was truly dead.

After a quick search, he found a twenty-tael silver banknote and a few taels of loose silver on Li Sanhe’s body. There was nothing else of value.

"Your death served a good purpose, I suppose!"

Xu Yang finally broke into a wide grin.

How could he not smile after gaining seventy-three taels of silver all at once?

He had been a little worried that with everyone going out to clear the mountains of Exotic Beasts, the Martial Arts Ascension Dragon trials would be troublesome. But with this windfall from Li Sanhe, he had nothing to worry about anymore.

Ignoring Li Sanhe’s corpse, Xu Yang went straight home.

He had used Wind and Thunder Strength this time, so the attack wouldn’t be traced back to him. Besides, no one would believe someone with only a Minor Achievement in Qi Gathering Cultivation could kill Li Sanhe. He also wanted the people of Bai Shi Workshop to know that the tyrant was dead.

’A bit of a hassle, but not a big problem.’

Back home, Xu Yang pulled open his clothes. A swollen handprint marked the spot where Li Sanhe had struck him, dark with bruised blood.

’I’ll buy some medicine tomorrow to improve circulation and dispel the blood stasis. Combined with the Turtle and Snake Grand Posture, it should be gone in a few days.’

After practicing the Turtle and Snake Grand Posture for a while, the swelling did indeed go down significantly.

He had taken a risk today, but he’d had no choice. If he hadn’t acted, the situation would have become even more dangerous.

Fortunately, while he had been struck by Li Sanhe’s palm, it wasn’t a full-powered blow from a Qi Gathering Great Success master. His body, tempered by the Vajra Skill, had withstood it.

[Martial Arts Longevity Points: 53]

The next day, the first thing Xu Yang did upon opening his eyes was check his panel. He had received a reward of 20 points.

Apparently, the panel had judged Li Sanhe to be a significant threat to his Martial Arts Longevity, which was why he had been awarded 20 points for killing him.

He didn’t get rewarded for every kill; it depended on whether the person was a threat to his life. He hadn’t received any points for killing Hong Feng last time.

He used the 20 reward points to raise his Root Bone to "62" and saved the rest. Then, Xu Yang began practicing the Turtle and Snake Grand Posture.

As the sun rose, the sound of firecrackers erupted from many places throughout Bai Shi Workshop.

"Uncle Yang, it’s not a holiday or festival. Why is everyone setting off firecrackers?"

Startled by the noise, Xu Qing pushed open the door and saw that their neighbor, Uncle Yang, was also setting off firecrackers.

Uncle Yang laughed heartily. "Li Sanhe was killed, and all those bastards from the Sanhe Gang have fled! You tell me, isn’t that worth celebrating with firecrackers?"

"Li Sanhe is dead?"

Xu Qing’s eyes widened.

’Has that beast who plagued our town for over a decade finally died?’

"This is definitely worth celebrating!"

With that, she completely forgot about making breakfast for Xu Yang, ran to a nearby shop, bought a string of firecrackers, and lit them.

For years, almost everyone in Bai Shi Workshop had been extorted by the Sanhe Gang. Even after Xu Yang became a Martial Artist and the gang didn’t dare harass her anymore, she still hadn’t dared to go out freely.

’That girl...’ With firecrackers going off right at his own doorstep, Xu Yang’s practice was disrupted, and he was forced to stop the Turtle and Snake Grand Posture.

"Brother, Li Sanhe is dead!"

Seeing Xu Yang come out, Xu Qing excitedly shared the news of Li Sanhe’s death.

"Li Sanhe is dead? That’s wonderful news!" Xu Yang put on a happy expression as well.

"Things might get a little chaotic for the next few days, so don’t go out if you don’t have to," he warned.

Many of the Sanhe Gang members were thugs from the nearby villages. They had followed Li Sanhe, lording their power over everyone. With a Qi Gathering Great Success Martial Artist like Li Sanhe backing them, people could only swallow their anger and endure.

Now that Li Sanhe was dead and their Martial Artist backing was gone, those Sanhe Gang members were about to face a reckoning.

As for how Li Sanhe died or who killed him, no one was investigating.

"Mm, I know."

There was no need to wait a few days. Before Xu Yang even left his house, vengeful villagers had already gathered and begun hunting down the Sanhe Gang members who hadn’t managed to escape in time.

In the three areas of Bai Shi Workshop, Li Family Village, and Dashu Village, it was said that several people were beaten to death, and a dozen more had their hands and feet crippled.

In the afternoon, Xu Yang heard another piece of news: Li Sanhe’s elderly mother—the one who celebrated two major birthdays a year—had been dragged out by a mob of villagers, hanged from a tree outside her house, and her home was burned to the ground.

「Three days later」

Zhang Yong, Zhang Hong, and the other Weiyuan Hall disciples, led by Sun Tao, departed for a five-day mountain clearing.

Suddenly, the Inner Courtyard was more than half empty, and it became much quieter.

That day, he returned home to some bad news. The Sanhe Gang was gone, but the Sishui Gang had come to take over their territory. The residents of Bai Shi Workshop still had to pay a "residence fee."

’You can never kill them all,’ Xu Yang thought, feeling helpless. He had destroyed the Sanhe Gang, only for the Sishui Gang to take its place.

Even if he wiped out the Sishui Gang, another gang would just pop up. He didn’t want to stick his neck out; as long as the Sishui Gang didn’t cause him any trouble, he would leave them be.

Time passed slowly. The mountain clearing was supposed to last five days, but on the fourth day, some of the disciples who had participated began to return.