Martial Sage from the Vajra Skill

Chapter 275: Chapter 159: Deduction

"I hope you’ll give me a reply soon, Brother Ding."

Xu Yang acted as if he desperately wanted to become a Tributor for the Ding Family, but simply couldn’t accept the condition of marrying a woman he didn’t know.

He maintained his smile as he watched Ding Xu depart, only turning to enter the courtyard after he was gone.

"Xu Yang rejected the Ding Family’s offer?"

"For an offer that good, I’d marry into their family in a heartbeat."

"The Ding Family has a legacy over a century old, and they’ve refined their lineage with every generation. The women in their clan are all stunningly beautiful. Beauty is enough. Who cares if there’s any real connection?"

"He’s just too young. Wait until he runs into a bitch like Jiang Fan did. Then he’ll realize that stuff is useless. As long as the woman is beautiful, nothing else matters."

...

The disciples eavesdropping nearby were stunned to hear that Xu Yang was actually unwilling to marry a woman from the Ding Family. Many of them weren’t even qualified to marry a Ding woman and climb the social ladder.

In their eyes, Xu Yang was being utterly ungrateful.

Not only was he getting free benefits, but they were throwing in a wife as well.

For someone with Xu Yang’s talent, the Ding Family’s terms were more than generous. By aligning with a powerful clan like the Ding, while he might not be able to strut around the Purple Sun Sect with complete impunity, at least very few would dare to provoke him.

Listening to the chatter outside his courtyard, Xu Yang secretly shook his head.

’The Ding Family’s offer really is excellent. Given the talent I’ve displayed, they certainly aren’t looking down on me.’

’If it weren’t for my panel, I most likely would have agreed right away.’

...

「Su Family!」

With a dark expression, Su Jie found his master, Su Qiming. "Master, I have bad news," he said. "Xu Yang has achieved Gang Qi Great Success, and the Ding Family is trying to recruit him."

’Xu Yang achieved Gang Qi Great Success? And the Ding Family wants to recruit him on top of that?’

Su Qiming’s expression darkened. If Xu Yang became a Tributor for the Ding Family, he wouldn’t dare to make a move against him.

Compared to the Ding Family, the Su Family—while not quite as insignificant as an ant—could not afford to provoke them.

"Did Xu Yang agree?" Su Qiming asked in a grave voice.

Su Jie shook his head. "They’ve only just started negotiations. Apparently, they didn’t reach an agreement. Xu Yang is unwilling to marry a woman from the Ding Family, and it’s unclear if the Ding Family will compromise."

Hearing this, Su Qiming’s expression relaxed considerably. "Good, as long as they haven’t made a deal. Keep a close watch on him. If he becomes a Tributor for the Ding Family, I want you to tell me at once."

...

「Ding Family!」

"Xu Yang is unwilling to agree to the marriage alliance."

Ding Xu found the Second Elder, the one who had tasked him with recruiting Xu Yang, to report the matter and await a decision.

Second Elder Ding Yuan sneered. "He guarantees he won’t let the Ding Family down? A guarantee is worth shit. Without a wife and children to tie him down, the day our family needs him to step up, he can just refuse if he finds it troublesome."

Great clans like theirs had the least faith in loyalty and righteousness. They had seen too many treacherous people—including themselves. They would turn on an ally in a heartbeat, so of course they wouldn’t believe that anyone else possessed a truly loyal heart.

"It’s just as well. The Grand Elder thought the terms I offered were too generous, that his talent didn’t merit such an offer. It’s better that he refused. If he had actually agreed, I would have had a hard time explaining it to the Grand Elder."

Ding Xu secretly shook his head. He knew the Ding Family was simultaneously trying to win over other prodigies from the Ten Heroes List. Someone else must have agreed to become a Tributor for the family, making them feel that the terms offered to Xu Yang were too high.

"Then how should I respond to Xu Yang?" Ding Xu asked with cupped fists.

Ding Yuan shook his head. "Don’t bother with him. Let him stew for a few days. He’ll get the message."

...

For the next few days, Xu Yang split his time between taking Gathering Essence Pills to cultivate and studying the *Elixir Introduction*.

At the same time, other families from Cyan Yang City came to recruit him, but none of them could match the generous terms offered by the Ding Family.

Of course, their influence was also no match for the Ding Family’s.

Xu Yang rejected them all, using the excuse that he was still in negotiations with the Ding Family.

Ding Xu did not return, which made it clear that the Ding Family would not accept his refusal to marry into the family.

’The Ding Family doesn’t need me to do anything right now,’ he thought. ’The marriage alliance, and the children that would follow, is the only way to bind me to them. Without it, the Ding Family will never trust me.’

In fact, he had anticipated this. Even Han Feng, who was fourth on the Ten Heroes List, had to agree to a marriage alliance after accepting an offer from a major family.

If he were number one on the Ten Heroes List, he might have some room to negotiate. But as number ten, he had no leverage with the Ding Family whatsoever.

"Junior Brother Xu, want to go to the dining hall with us?"

Xu Yang pushed open his door to see Sun Tao, Jiang Ping, and Zhang Yong just about to head to the dining hall together.

The three of them had become very close after teaming up for two expeditions into the Yunling Mountain Range.

"Sure, I was just about to go myself," Xu Yang said with a smile, walking out of the courtyard with the three of them.

"By the way, we’re planning to set off for the Yunling Mountain Range in a couple of days," Sun Tao said.

Xu Yang asked in surprise, "You’re not going to participate in the Outer Disciple tournament?"

Based on his calculations, the annual Outer Disciple tournament was just over a month away. Only after it concluded would the disciples who passed this year’s Dragon Ascension exam arrive at the Purple Sun Sect.

Sun Tao laughed. "We still have over a month, don’t we? We’ll do our best to get back in time."

"It’s mainly because of Zhang Hong," Zhang Yong added. "He’s come to Cyan Yang City and is itching to get into the Yunling Mountain Range."

Only then did Xu Yang realize that when they had returned to Qingyuan County, Zhang Yong had sent Sun Tao to find Zhang Hong and invite him to Cyan Yang City to join them on a treasure hunt in the Yunling Mountain Range.

The three of them were still a little too weak to brave the Yunling Mountain Range on their own. Since he was unwilling to participate, they had no choice but to find someone else.

But they couldn’t trust anyone else in the Purple Sun Sect, so they had to seek out Zhang Hong.

Zhang Hong, having already achieved Qi Cultivation Gang, knew that if he remained cooped up in Qingyuan County, he might never even reach Gang Qi Minor Achievement in his lifetime. He was also eager to venture out in search of opportunities, so their goals aligned perfectly.

"It’s a shame you’re not willing to take the risk, otherwise the three of us could be fighting side by side again," Zhang Yong sighed.

He knew that although Xu Yang still spoke to him as he always had, in Xu Yang’s eyes, he was now no different from Jiang Ping.