Martial Sage from the Vajra Skill

As Xu Yang practiced the Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist, an unprecedented sense of exhilarating satisfaction filled his heart, growing more intense with every movement.

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM...

The wind from his punches stirred, sweeping up fallen leaves and snapping the surrounding weeds.

The more he practiced, the better he felt. The great dragon of his spine roared as the Force of Primordial Unity surged and thundered through his body. His bones and tendons emitted a series of crisp CRACKS.

Countless meridians his True Qi had never reached were now being pierced and opened by the Mixed Element Strength, making his whole body feel as if it were undergoing a baptism.

Only now did he understand that Mixed Element Strength was not merely a method of exerting Force. As the Force surged, it could also temper his Physique and refine his bones and tendons.

When the Force was contained and not released, it was like being forged in a raging fire—an incredibly advanced method for tempering one’s Physique.

When he finished one set, he was drenched in foul-smelling sweat, yet he still felt unsatisfied. He felt more invigorated than ever before. His internal and external states were in perfect harmony, and his face was rosy and his spirit soared as if he had consumed a powerful tonic.

The changes throughout his body were so profound, it was as if he had broken through to a new Cultivation Realm.

"Again!"

Xu Yang continued without rest, practicing the Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist several more times until his entire body was drenched in sweat. Only then did his surging emotions gradually calm.

"Time to test its power!"

He suddenly leaped up and unleashed a devastating punch at a nearby fir tree as thick as a water bucket.

"BANG!"

The Force erupted and True Qi surged forth. The bucket-thick tree swayed, a fist-sized hole punched clean through it. Wood chips flew everywhere.

"Excellent!"

Xu Yang couldn’t help but exclaim in a low voice.

With this technique, aside from Marrow Cleansing experts, he feared no one at Qi Gathering Great Success, not even those on the verge of breaking through the Marrow Cleansing bottleneck, unless they too had mastered Mixed Element Strength.

After returning home and washing off the foul-smelling sweat, he went to his room to meditate and recuperate.

"I’m meeting up with my brothers from the Martial Arts Hall tonight. Don’t worry, just go to bed when it’s time. You don’t need to wait up for me."

After eating dinner with Xu Qing that evening, Xu Yang made an excuse and prepared to leave.

"Okay!" Xu Qing, suspecting nothing, helped straighten his clothes before he left, reminding him not to drink too much.

Xu Yang left the house and waited until he was in a deserted area. With a few quick leaps, he ran to where he had hidden some clothes. These were the clothes he’d worn when he killed Qian Ming and the others. They were stained with blood, and he hadn’t brought them home for fear of frightening Xu Qing.

A few moments later, he had changed his clothes and was sneaking toward the former Sanhe Gang hall, which had now become a Sishui Gang outpost.

’I’m really missing a Lightweight Skill!’ Xu Yang thought to himself.

Weiyuan Hall had no tradition of teaching Lightweight Skills—or if they did, Lin Cheng had never taught him.

Although he could rely on his abundant True Qi and powerful Physique to leap ten or twenty feet at a time, it created too much of a disturbance and lacked the effortless grace of a proper Lightweight Skill.

Especially for stealthy business like this, not having a Lightweight Skill made him too easy to detect.

But there was nothing to be done about it. Weiyuan Hall didn’t teach it, and he didn’t know where else he could learn one.

He quickly snuck up to the hall without being discovered. Relying on his powerful hearing, he eavesdropped for a moment and realized Zhang Tong wasn’t there.

’He must have left for good after departing during the day. He might have gone back to the Sishui Gang’s Main Altar, or maybe he’s at the Sanhe Gang’s old Main Altar.’

’Of course, it’s also possible he’s not at any of those places.’

Without any intelligence, he could only search one place at a time.

The Sanhe Gang’s Main Altar wasn’t inside the city, but it was located near the outer city. After Li Sanhe’s death, it had become a branch of the Sishui Gang.

The Sanhe Gang had been entrenched here for many years, and its Main Altar had developed into a small settlement where many of the gang’s former high-ranking members lived.

But now, those people were either dead or had fled. All that remained was a collection of empty houses with very few inhabitants.

Using the cover of night, Xu Yang quickly snuck his way to the location.

He had never been to the Sanhe Gang’s Main Altar before and was unfamiliar with the layout. However, relying on his keen hearing, he moved toward the source of the most noise and soon found it.

The main gate was unguarded and shut tight. Bursts of laughter came from within; it was Zhang Tong, drinking with two women and spouting vulgarities.

Confirming Zhang Tong was inside, Xu Yang immediately covered his face with a cloth mask. He then walked to a corner of the wall, hooked his hand over the top, and swung himself over, landing in the courtyard.

"Who’s there!" Zhang Tong’s shout rang out; he had already detected the intruder.

Xu Yang felt a pang of resignation. Even though he had been as quiet as possible, he didn’t know a true Lightweight Skill. He couldn’t completely disperse the force of his landing, and it had still made a sound.

The hearing of a Qi Gathering Great Success master was extraordinary; it was impossible for him not to be discovered.

’But... it doesn’t matter if I’m discovered. I never planned on taking out Zhang Tong with a sneak attack anyway.’

"We have an intruder!"

As the furious shout rang out, the door to the room slammed open. Xu Zheng and a few of Zhang Tong’s other lackeys rushed out with sabers drawn and immediately spotted Xu Yang in the courtyard.

"Some petty thief dares to stir up trouble on our turf! Kill him!"

Zhang Tong emerged with an arm around each of the two women, his cheeks slightly flushed. He had clearly been drinking heavily.

At his command, Xu Zheng and the others charged forward.

Having just joined the Sishui Gang and being eager to prove his worth, Xu Zheng, who had some minor training, charged at the very front.

Although he had failed at Qi Gathering, he was confident that with a saber in hand, he could take on seven or eight ordinary men without fear.

"How dare you interrupt the Young Master’s pleasure! Die!"

A vicious glint flashed in Xu Zheng’s eyes. He swung his saber in a wide arc, bringing it down on Xu Yang’s head with no mercy.

’He’s got the makings of a gangster, it’s a shame he has no real skill.’

Seeing how Xu Zheng didn’t even blink as he tried to kill, Xu Yang inwardly sighed at how much he had changed.

The instant Xu Zheng’s saber was about to strike his head, Xu Yang’s right hand shot out like lightning and gently pressed against Xu Zheng’s chest.