Martial Sage from the Vajra Skill

Enthusiastic applause erupted from all around. To achieve such a result after only a year of training showed that his Martial Dao foundation was remarkably solid.

Though nearly collapsing from exhaustion, Lu Ren forced himself to walk off the field. The Weiyuan Hall disciples in his group and those from the Gu Family faction hurried forward to congratulate him.

"He’s too strong!"

Zhang Yong felt a pang of bitterness.

He had always seen Lu Ren as his goal to catch up to, but he had only managed an Upper D-class result, while Lu Ren had achieved Middle C-class.

"He really is amazing!"

Xu Yang couldn’t help but sigh in admiration as well.

His own Cultivation had risen to the Middle Stage of Qi Gathering, using the one hundred fifty silver he’d obtained from the Sishui Gang and the three Qi Replenishing Pills from Lin Cheng. And he had even broken through before Lu Ren.

Xu Yang wondered just how much silver the Gu Family must have spent to heap resources on Lu Ren and raise his Cultivation to this level. No wonder Lu Ren was willing to earn a bad name and abandon the Huang Family. He had likely already been chosen as Gu Haoming’s follower when the latter entered a Martial Arts Sect.

Lu Ren and Yang Jun were in the same group. After Lu Ren stepped down, it was Yang Jun’s turn.

He struggled to lift the one-thousand-jin iron lock. After fifteen reps, he was exhausted and failed to get a score.

’It’s over!’

Yang Jun’s face was ashen. He was already over eighteen this year, which meant in two years, he would no longer have a chance to take the test.

He hadn’t even gotten a score, so forget Dragon Ascension—he wouldn’t even earn the title of Martial Scholar.

He walked off the field, utterly dejected. After standing there for a moment, he shot a venomous glare at Xu Yang.

’If Xu Yang hadn’t injured me and caused a delay, I wouldn’t have ended up with this result.’

Soon, a few more disciples from Weiyuan Hall took the field.

Zhao Hui, Lower D-class!

Fang Xing, Middle D-class!

Xiong Kui, Middle D-class!

Yang Lin, Middle D-class!

The next few people were all Middle D-class, with only Gu Fang achieving a decent result of Middle C-class.

On the high platform.

"Brother Lin, your Weiyuan Hall disciples’ foundations seem universally lacking this year," Ji Yun said with a smile.

His Gale Hall disciples, on the other hand, had produced several Upper D-class results in a row.

Lin Cheng’s expression remained unchanged. "It’s just lifting locks. Can’t you see everyone is conserving their strength? Only your brainless Gale Hall disciples would go all out in the first round. The second round is the true test of strength."

"Keep making excuses. My Gale Hall disciples will perform just as brilliantly in the second round."

Just as he spoke, Ji Yun suddenly noticed that the Weiyuan Hall disciple who had contradicted and mocked him that day was starting to take the field.

Lin Cheng also saw it was Xu Yang’s turn and immediately turned his gaze upon him.

’This kid is too damn cautious. I hope he doesn’t hold back even at an event like this.’

He hoped Xu Yang would stun everyone and win back some face for him.

Between breaking through right after Lu Ren several times, being abandoned by the Huang Family, having Huang Ling’er reject his marriage proposal, killing Hong Feng, and confronting Ji Yun, Xu Yang had built up quite a reputation in Qingyuan.

As he took the field now, gazes from all over converged on him.

He paid the stares no mind. Walking past the one-thousand-jin iron lock without any hesitation, he strode toward the two-thousand-jin Stone Lock.

Sun Tao’s gaze darkened. "Why would he choose the two-thousand-jin Stone Lock?"

Although Xu Yang’s talent was no less than Lu Ren’s, he ultimately lacked Lu Ren’s resources.

If he chose the one-thousand-jin iron lock, he might have been able to fight for an "Upper D-class" result. By choosing the two-thousand-jin one, he might not even manage twenty reps and would end up with no score at all.

"Just a grandstander. Trying to prove to everyone you’re not that much worse than me?" Lu Ren sneered.

’Everyone usually puts him on the same level as me, and he’s probably started to believe it. Lifting the locks is a test of one’s Martial Dao foundation, not something you can get through with just talk. There’s no room for faking it.’

’He actually had a chance to earn the Martial Scholar title, but now it’s all going to be for nothing. Is a hollow reputation really that important?’ Gu Fang shook her head secretly.

’Good thing I never got involved with such a clueless egomaniac.’

"Xu Yang is being too impulsive!" 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Zhang Hong and Zhang Yong never expected the usually steady Xu Yang to do something so foolish at a crucial moment, trying to lift the two-thousand-jin Stone Lock.

Someone at the Early Stage of Qi Gathering could indeed lift a two-thousand-jin Stone Lock if they used every ounce of their strength, but what was the use of lifting it only once or twice?

"What an idiot!"

If not for the occasion, Yang Jun would have almost laughed out loud. Even a place like Gale Hall didn’t have many disciples at the Middle Stage of Qi Gathering. On what basis did a bumpkin like Xu Yang think he could reach the Middle Stage of Qi Gathering after just over a year of training?

"He might be handsome, but he’s clearly overestimating himself. No wonder you looked down on him, Ling’er."

Huang Ling’er’s few close friends had started to develop a good impression of Xu Yang and were even beginning to doubt the story behind the rejected marriage proposal.

But seeing him choose the two-thousand-jin Stone Lock now, they felt that a grandstander like him was definitely the kind of person who would have the audacity to approach the Huang Family and propose marriage.

"It’s a good thing he never became a Tributor for our Huang Family. Otherwise, our family would be sharing in this embarrassment right now."

Listening to the sneers from all around, Huang Xu felt a surge of relief.

From all sides, anyone who knew the name Xu Yang was pessimistic, thinking him a grandstander who didn’t know his own limits.

If he had a backer like Lu Ren and was being groomed by a great clan like the Gu Family to be a young master’s follower in a Martial Arts Sect, then perhaps one could have some expectations.

But everyone knew he was only sponsored by the Qiu Family—which could barely be considered a family clan—and was just an ordinary Tributor at the Liu Mansion. He simply didn’t have enough resources to raise his Cultivation to the Mid-Stage Qi Gathering Great Success in such a short time.

BANG!

The ground beneath his feet cracked as Xu Yang lifted the two-thousand-jin Stone Lock with both hands.

’This is a little light.’

Having tempered his body daily with Vajra True Qi, he didn’t actually know his own specific strength.

With this first lift, he found the two-thousand-jin Stone Lock was lighter than he had imagined. He felt that even if he went for the three-thousand-jin Stone Lock, he could still achieve a Grade B Lower result; twenty reps would be no problem.

Still, he put on a show, making it look like his aura was surging and his blood was boiling.

One!

Two!

Three!

...

Those who were paying close attention counted silently along with him. The higher the count went, the more their expressions changed. The way Xu Yang looked, it didn’t seem at all like he would fail to reach twenty reps.

"He’s passed twenty reps!"

someone suddenly shouted, a look of shock on their face.

Being able to lift it twenty times meant Xu Yang wasn’t grandstanding—he truly possessed the Cultivation of Mid-Stage Qi Gathering Great Success.

"I knew a guy like Xu Yang wouldn’t do something like that." Zhang Hong regretted his earlier, hasty conclusion.

’Grandstanding? If only this kid knew how to grandstand.’

A faint smile touched the corners of Lin Cheng’s mouth. He actually wished Xu Yang were a little more hypocritical, a little more ostentatious.

But the kid was too damn cautious; he would never do something like that.

’It seems we’ve underestimated him a little.’

Gu Fang had a bad feeling. Weiyuan Hall had such a disciple, yet she hadn’t managed to recruit him. If her family were to investigate, her resources would be downgraded.

"He was always hailed as someone on par with me... But this is as far as it goes." Lu Ren’s tone was already a bit strained.

He too had a bad feeling.

In the past, people might have said Xu Yang was about the same as him, but that was just talk. Now, lifting the Stone Lock was a tangible display of one’s Martial Dao foundation.

If, after using so many resources, he still hadn’t created a significant gap between himself and Xu Yang, people probably wouldn’t think Xu Yang was a genius. They’d think he, Lu Ren, was just too much of a good-for-nothing.

"He can still keep going..." Huang Ling’er’s expression was a little flustered.

After twenty reps, Xu Yang showed no signs of exhaustion and was still persisting.

"This is impossible!" Yang Jun’s eyes were bloodshot.

He had trouble lifting the one-thousand-jin iron lock twenty times, yet Xu Yang could lift the two-thousand-jin one.

This bumpkin had surpassed him once again. There was now a high probability he would achieve Dragon Ascension.

"Thirty reps. He’s already achieved a Middle C-class result and has a great chance at Dragon Ascension. This kid is not bad. How is it that Weiyuan Hall has such a disciple and I’ve never heard of him?" The master of the Tongbi Fist Hall looked at Lin Cheng.

Lifting the lock thirty times demonstrated a truly profound Martial Dao foundation. His True Qi and physical body were both well-honed.

As long as his luck wasn’t too bad, Dragon Ascension shouldn’t be much of a problem.

"I’m afraid this must be a Direct Disciple Brother Lin has been secretly training, keeping him under wraps. How insidious," Ji Yun said in a sarcastic tone.

Lin Cheng just smiled and said nothing. He had secretly given Xu Yang resources, so strictly speaking, it could be considered secret training.

’This should be about right,’ Xu Yang thought to himself.

’If I perform too well, I’ll be noticed by those great clans and recruited as an enforcer for their scions in the Sects.’

’If I perform too poorly, securing a Dragon Ascension spot will seem abrupt and be equally disadvantageous.’

’Matching Lu Ren is good enough. It also fits my usual performance, so everyone will find it natural.’

Lu Ren had lifted the lock thirty-three times. Xu Yang stopped at thirty-one, used his True Qi to force out a torrent of sweat, and put on a show of gasping for breath.