Martial Sage from the Vajra Skill

Every one of these people was the center of attention when they went on stage, with an even greater impact than Lu Ren. However, it was clear they had no Force; lifting the locks was just for show.

When Kong Yu, reputed to have the best Root Bone of this year’s participants, took the stage, it similarly caused a sensation.

However, because he had been practicing Martial Arts for a relatively short time, he ultimately only achieved a C-class score.

’His strength should be close to the Late Stage of Qi Gathering Great Success, and his Martial Dao foundation is very solid.’

Xu Yang could tell that Kong Yu was likely playing it safe and conserving his strength, which was why he hadn’t chosen the three-thousand-jin iron lock.

Although Kong Yu had his breakthrough after him, in terms of Cultivation, he had already surpassed Xu Yang.

This wasn’t surprising. His own Root Bone had only been elevated to Kong Yu’s level a few days ago. With Kong Yu’s resources, it was perfectly normal for him to have surpassed Xu Yang.

By afternoon, the first stage of the examination had concluded.

’Damn it, Xu Yang! Can’t you just stop getting in my way?’

Lu Ren watched Gu Fang immediately run to find Xu Yang, and a surge of fury rose in his heart.

If Xu Yang were to be recruited by the Gu Family, the importance placed upon him would diminish.

"Junior Brother Sun, where is Junior Brother Xu?"

Gu Fang finally squeezed her way over to Sun Tao and his two companions, only to find that Xu Yang had already vanished.

"Senior Sister Gu, what did you need Junior Brother Xu for? He’s already left," Sun Tao said.

In his heart, however, he had a pretty good idea why.

Gu Fang had been ordered to join Weiyuan Hall and befriend talented individuals to pave the way for Gu Haoming to compete for the top three spots. Now she had failed to establish a relationship with Xu Yang. If the Gu Family found out, both her Cultivation Resources and her influence within the family would be severely curtailed.

"Which way did he go?" Gu Fang asked.

She had no interest in answering Sun Tao’s question.

"Quick, help me find Xu Yang! Find him and bring him to me," she then ordered Zhang Hong, who was with Sun Tao.

As a Tributor of the Gu Family, Zhang Hong immediately accepted the order and departed. Gu Fang followed close behind.

"Senior Sister Gu is actively searching for Xu Yang..." Zhang Yong felt it was all a bit unreal.

The Gu Fang of the past wouldn’t have deigned to give Xu Yang a second glance.

He still remembered when Lu Ren achieved the Entry Level in the Turtle and Snake Grand Posture and entered the Inner Courtyard, both Gu Fang and Jiang Ping had sent gifts. But when it came to Xu Yang, neither of them had given him so much as a glance.

The moment Xu Yang achieved success in the examination today, Gu Fang’s previous arrogance vanished completely, as if she were desperately seeking Xu Yang to save her life.

"Junior Brother Sun, where is Junior Brother Xu?"

Just as he was in a daze, Jiang Ping also came looking for Xu Yang.

After learning that Xu Yang had already left, Jiang Ping also departed in a hurry.

"I still remember when Xu Yang reached Entry Level with the Turtle and Snake Grand Posture, he said he’d wait until Xu Yang successfully achieved Qi Gathering and entered the Inner Courtyard before considering him," Sun Tao said, somewhat dazed.

But Xu Yang had already reached Qi Gathering Great Success, and still, Jiang Ping had never paid him any mind.

To see him so frantic now was almost laughable.

...

Xu Yang walked out of the inner arena, heading toward the spot where Xu Qing and her two companions were. He had only been walking for a moment when a middle-aged man stepped into his path.

"Greetings, Fellow Xu. I am Cao Gang, the third brother of the Cao Family Patriarch. A pleasure to meet you."

"Greetings, Third Master Cao."

Xu Yang cupped his fist in greeting, a thought flashing through his mind.

’The Cao Family, one of the Four Great Clans... It seems Guan Xiaojie was the one they sent to find me. Of course, that’s just a guess. But the Cao Family did put a bounty on me on behalf of the Sishui Gang and the Sanhe Gang, and that bounty is still active.’

Cao Gang smiled. "I hear that Fellow Xu has not yet formally joined a Noble Family. Would you be interested in becoming a Tributor for our Cao Family? If you are willing, we can offer a daughter from our main lineage in marriage, a courtyard residence in the Inner City, and Cultivation Resources worth fifty taels of silver every month."

"In addition to that, you would be permitted to study and practice our Cao Family’s Secret Martial Arts."

"And finally, my Cao Family can guarantee that you will successfully achieve Dragon Ascension."

"Of course, the condition for all of this is that you must follow my nephew into the same Sect and pledge your loyalty to him."

Xu Yang was stirred. For the first time, he was beginning to understand the true power of the Four Great Clans. They could even offer a guaranteed spot for Dragon Ascension just to recruit someone.

In that moment, he began to understand why Lu Ren had abandoned the Huang Family, earning himself a reputation for being ungrateful.

When one of these great Noble Families set their sights on you, they made an offer you simply couldn’t refuse.

If he weren’t already confident in achieving Dragon Ascension on his own, relying only on the skills he had shown so far, he would have likely accepted Cao Gang’s offer. After all, only by entering a Sect was there any hope of advancing on the Martial Dao.

Taking a deep breath, Xu Yang cupped his fist. "Thank you for the generous offer, Third Master Cao, but I’m afraid you’re a step too late. I have already given my word to someone else."

’I can’t refuse him directly. If these great clans lose face, they might just decide to destroy what they can’t possess. If the Cao Family decides to target me in the second stage, I could fail no matter how confident I am. Even the Gu Family has gathered so many people for Gu Haoming. Cao Rong of the Cao Family is aiming for the number one spot, so they’ve surely recruited a batch of experts as well.’

"May I ask which family in the city it is? To have acted so quickly."

However, Cao Gang was not so easily fooled. Before seeking out Xu Yang, he had naturally made inquiries and learned that Xu Yang had already rejected the Liu Family and the Huang Family.

"The Lin Family," Xu Yang stated.

Cao Gang paused, then it clicked. "Master Lin?"

"That’s right."

He wasn’t just using Lin Cheng as a shield—Lin Cheng had genuinely sponsored him.

"So you are a disciple Master Lin has been secretly training. My apologies for the intrusion. If you and my nephew happen to enter the same Sect, Fellow Xu, I hope you two can become good friends."

Cao Gang didn’t press the matter further, giving face to Master Lin. Of course, the main reason was that hearing Xu Yang was a disciple secretly trained by Master Lin greatly diminished the boy’s perceived talent in his eyes.

Reaching this stage on one’s own merit was completely different from reaching it with Master Lin’s guidance.

Not long after Cao Gang left, Zhang Bo appeared, representing the Liu Family to recruit him once again.

In addition to their previous offer, the Liu Family added a new condition: they would leverage their entire network of connections to help him achieve Dragon Ascension.

The Liu Family was clearly a step below the Cao Family, as they didn’t offer a guaranteed Dragon Ascension.

Xu Yang again refused, citing his prior commitment, not wishing to make enemies at this critical juncture. However, now that he had claimed to have pledged himself elsewhere, he could never work for the Liu Family in the future.

Several more groups of people came after, but each offer was worse than the last. Looking back, the Cao Family’s offer was truly impressive; every single condition they named was a direct hit to a martial artist’s vulnerabilities.

"Junior Brother Xu, you were quite hard to find."

Gu Fang, Jiang Ping, and Zhang Hong strode over, all smiles.

"Greetings, Senior Sister Gu, Senior Brother Jiang."

Xu Yang cupped his fist and gave Zhang Hong a slight nod in acknowledgement.

"Junior Brother Xu, your stunning performance today certainly came as a great surprise to all of us," Jiang Ping said with a chuckle.

Xu Yang’s expression remained unchanged. "My meager skills are nothing compared to those of Senior Brother and Senior Sister."

Gu Fang said, "Junior Brother Xu, Senior Brother Jiang and I have booked a private room at the Fulin Building and invited many of our fellow disciples to a banquet. We’ll be discussing strategies for tomorrow’s trials. We came specifically to invite you."

’Discussing strategies for the trials? More like discussing how to be cannon fodder for Gu Haoming. Do they really take me for a fool? Even the Cao Family came with actual benefits. Gu Fang and Jiang Ping, however, are trying to get something for nothing, expecting me to join them without offering anything in return.’

"Junior Brother Xu, besides our brothers from Weiyuan Hall, experts from other Martial Arts Halls will be at the banquet as well," Jiang Ping added. "This is an opportunity you don’t want to miss. If you happen to run into one of them on stage tomorrow, they won’t be too harsh."

Xu Yang shook his head. "Thank you, Senior Sister Gu and Senior Brother Jiang, but I have some urgent matters to attend to and cannot make it to the banquet. Please forgive me."

The smiles on their faces instantly froze. They never expected that Xu Yang would refuse, even after they had come to invite him personally.

"Junior Brother Xu, this is a rare opportunity," Gu Fang pressed on. "If you don’t unite with your fellow disciples, trying to achieve Martial Arts Ascension Dragon on your own is nothing but a fool’s dream."

Xu Yang cupped his fist. "I really do have urgent business. Farewell."

As Xu Yang walked away, the faces of Jiang Ping and Gu Fang turned utterly cold and glacial.

’A mud-legged peasant who crawled out of a bog actually dares to refuse us.’

"So ungrateful," Gu Fang said, her voice frigid. "If we run into him tomorrow, I’ll have someone cripple him. He actually thinks he can achieve Dragon Ascension without Family Secret Martial Arts."

Zhang Hong’s heart trembled when he heard this. Just because Xu Yang had refused to be cannon fodder for Gu Haoming, Gu Fang wanted to have him crippled. It was both vicious and tyrannical.

"Don’t cause unnecessary trouble," Jiang Ping said. "The Martial Arts Ascension Dragon is our priority. The people from Gale Hall will deal with him."

Jiang Ping cursed her inwardly, ’Stupid woman. Even without Family Secret Martial Arts, Xu Yang has a genuine Mid-Stage Qi Gathering Great Success Cultivation and has comprehended the Bear-Bursting Strength of the Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist. To cripple him, you’d need an expert at Lu Ren’s level fighting for their life. Even if they succeeded in crippling Xu Yang, that expert wouldn’t come out of it unscathed. To sacrifice an expert like that just to save a little face? She must be insane!’

"You’re right."

Gu Fang took a deep breath, then turned and strode off, her mind already racing to figure out how she was going to explain her failure to recruit Xu Yang to her elder brother, Gu Haoming.

"I know you and Xu Yang used to be on good terms. If a word of what was just said gets out... well, you can imagine the consequences."

Jiang Ping warned Zhang Hong before following after her.