Martial Sage from the Vajra Skill

Chapter 280: Chapter 161: Coercion (Part 2)

"Who are you two, and why have you gone to such lengths to kill me here?"

Xu Yang’s gaze was ice-cold. He wasn’t concerned about their threat; his main goal was to figure out their identities.

He didn’t recognize either of them and had no idea why they had specifically come here to ambush and kill him.

"Do you remember Su Che? I am his father, Su Qiming," Su Qiming roared.

Xu Yang’s heart stirred. ’So this middle-aged man with Bone Marrow Cleansing Cultivation is Su Che’s Pill Master father. I wonder if this old fellow has any Pill Formulas on him.’

"I didn’t kill Su Che. The Blazing Blade did. Why are you seeking revenge from me?" Xu Yang said.

Anger surged in Su Qiming’s eyes. "You may not have killed him, but if you hadn’t gotten into a dispute with him, causing him to leave the city to kill you, how would he have ever run into the Blazing Blade?"

’He comes out of the city to hunt me down, gets killed by someone else, and it’s still my fault? This father and son are truly cut from the same cloth. No wonder Su Che wanted to kill me over such a trivial matter.’

’They’re so used to being high and mighty, they can’t tolerate the slightest defiance. How tyrannical.’

Killing intent flared in Xu Yang’s heart, and his gaze grew even colder. "Cut off one of your arms right now, and I’ll let him go. Otherwise, you can wait to collect your disciple’s corpse."

He didn’t believe Su Qiming would refuse.

It wasn’t that he was certain of the deep bond between master and disciple, Su Qiming and Su Jie. Rather, he knew how precious a Pill Master was. A Pill Master was worth more than their weight in gold.

And that was just the cost of their daily practice; what was truly precious was how few people had a talent for Alchemy.

Out of a hundred Martial Artists, there might not even be one with a talent for Alchemy.

"You dare!" Su Qiming yelled, genuinely afraid that Xu Yang would kill Su Jie.

"You’re already trying to kill me, so what wouldn’t I dare to do? If I’m going to die anyway, having a Pill Master from the Su Family accompany me in death is worth it."

Xu Yang shouted, "I’ll give you ten breaths’ time to consider. Cripple one arm and retreat ten miles, and I’ll let him go. Otherwise, I’ll take the Su Family’s Pill Master down with me."

Su Qiming finally realized how troublesome this was. "We concede. Let Su Jie go, and I promise we will never bother you again."

"You’re in no position to negotiate. Words from people like you are like farts—worthless. I don’t believe you. You have ten breaths to decide. Either do as I say, or I die together with your Su Family’s Pill Master!"

"Ten!"

"Nine!"

Xu Yang began to count down.

"Xu Yang, don’t push it. Do you really want a fight to mutual destruction with the Su Family?" A cold light glinted in Su Qiming’s eyes, his killing intent blazing.

He was afraid that even crippling one arm wouldn’t be enough to save Su Jie.

It never occurred to him that Xu Yang might be able to kill him even with a crippled arm.

"It seems your disciple’s life isn’t as precious as your arm. Then let’s all die together." Xu Yang moved as if to kill Su Jie.

"Wait!" Su Qiming shouted hastily.

’Su Jie had studied Alchemy by his side since childhood. Though not his biological son, the emotional bond was nearly the same. More importantly, the Su Family couldn’t afford to lose a Pill Master.’

"I hope you keep your word. Otherwise, the Su Family will hunt you to the ends of the earth." Su Qiming finally gave in.

’A broken arm can be healed, but if Su Jie died, he couldn’t be brought back.’

’At this moment, he wished he could slap himself. If he had known Su Jie was this useless, he would have killed Xu Yang himself.’

’He had intended to temper this disciple, but who would have thought things would turn out like this.’

Raising his palm, he struck his own arm without hesitation. A fierce wind howled as Gang Qi erupted.

"CRACK!"

Accompanied by the crisp sound of a bone fracture, Su Qiming let out a muffled groan of pain, and one of his arms hung limply.

The intense pain made his vision go black and his body stagger. The feeling of breaking his own arm caused a surge of killing intent to well up in his heart, and he swore he would kill Xu Yang.

’Fortunately, he had known how much force to use. Although the bone was broken, it would fully recover after a period of rest.’

’He actually did it!’

A smile played on Xu Yang’s lips. "I said to sever it, not just break the bone."

Hearing this, Su Qiming, who had been about to retreat as demanded, was absolutely livid.

A broken bone and a severed arm were two completely different things.

Even for a Bone Marrow Cleansing Strong Person with a powerful body, a reattached arm could never be fully restored to its former state unless one had a Divine Elixir like the Life Pill, which can mend severed limbs.

Otherwise, even if reattached, its function would be greatly impaired.

But the Su Family didn’t have such a thing.

’He was a Pill Master; his entire skill was in his hands. If his hands were crippled, all his abilities would be wasted.’

"In your dreams!"

Su Qiming felt like he was being played. His killing intent surged like a tide. "If you push your luck any further, we’ll all be destroyed together!"

’Compared to Su Jie, his own value to the Su Family was far greater. He absolutely could not be crippled, so there was no way he would agree to sever his own arm.’

"Mutual destruction it is, then," Xu Yang roared, his eyes flashing with ferocity.

’He knew that making Su Qiming break his own arm was already the limit; it was impossible to make him sever it. After all, no matter how valuable Su Jie was, he couldn’t compare to a veteran Pill Master like Su Qiming.’

’However, with Su Qiming having lost the use of one arm, he was now very confident he could kill him.’

"You dare!" Su Qiming raged, his anger boiling over.

’He couldn’t believe that crippling his arm still wouldn’t save Su Jie. Even if he managed to kill Xu Yang now, he would be in deep trouble when he returned.’

’He desperately wanted to charge forward and finish Xu Yang off, but since Xu Yang hadn’t killed Su Jie yet, he could only suppress the surging killing intent.’

"Say your last words to your master!"

A smile played on Xu Yang’s lips. He relaxed his fingers, releasing the Gang Qi that was sealing Su Jie’s vocal cords.

"Master, be careful! He’s already a Bone Marrow Cleansing Martial Artist!" Su Jie cried out in alarm.

The moment he could speak, he yelled at the top of his lungs to warn Su Qiming.

’He never thought Xu Yang would be so despicable as to use him to force his master, Su Qiming, to cripple his own arm.’

’Just moments ago, he had assumed Xu Yang wouldn’t dare kill him, intimidated by his status. That’s why he hadn’t immediately told his master that Xu Yang was a Bone Marrow Cleansing Martial Artist. He’d also figured his master would have guessed. He never imagined things would develop this way.’

"What?"

’Xu Yang is a Bone Marrow Cleansing Martial Artist?’

Su Qiming’s pupils contracted violently, and stormy waves churned in his heart. He finally understood why Su Jie had been subdued by Xu Yang in just a few moves.

’That little bastard, he’s already reached Marrow Cleansing? Wasn’t he supposed to have just achieved Gang Qi Great Success?’

’Despicable! Such deep scheming! The information he let out was all fake.’

’How could he not understand now? Xu Yang had been displaying a false Cultivation level and false talent all along. His true talent was so terrifying it might even surpass that of Li Chuyang and the others.’

’To think he had provoked such a poisonous snake hiding in the shadows, and had even been stalking him for days.’

At this thought, Su Qiming felt a chill run down his spine.

’Now, his arm was broken, and Xu Yang’s Cultivation had jumped from Gang Qi Great Success to Marrow Cleansing. Even though he himself had been at the Marrow Cleansing stage for many years...’

’This is bad!’

’That damned Su Jie! He didn’t tell me about Xu Yang’s Marrow Cleansing right away!’

"CRACK!"

"BOOM!"

The first sound was Su Jie’s neck bone being shattered by Xu Yang’s Gang Qi. Su Jie’s head, which had been hanging low, could no longer be lifted.

His body twitched a few times after hitting the ground, then went still.

Su Jie, the Pill Master the Su Family had spent a fortune cultivating since childhood, died on the spot, his eyes wide open in death.

The second sound was the explosion of earth from where Xu Yang had been standing. But now, there was only overturned soil, with no sign of his figure.

The moment Su Jie revealed he had reached Marrow Cleansing and Su Qiming’s Heart Spirit faltered, he had made his move.

His Golden Gang Qi and his full Marrow Cleansing Cultivation erupted. Using the Great Success stage of Stepping on Gang and Chasing Wind, his body vanished from the spot, tearing through the air and closing in on Su Qiming with lightning speed.

At the same time, his Golden Gang Skill activated with a roar. Specks of golden light appeared on his body, instantly covering him from head to toe.

A tyrannical aura surged like a tide. Xu Yang’s entire body turned golden, as if cast from molten gold.

His Gang Qi billowed, and the new blood born from Marrow Cleansing roared like liquid mercury. His power surged rapidly. He seemed about to transform into a ray of golden light, his aura powerful enough to crack the very earth.

Even though Su Qiming’s arm was broken, he didn’t dare to underestimate him.

This was the first time he had attacked with his full power since breaking through to Marrow Cleansing; he was holding nothing back.

The great dragon of his spine writhed. The bones and tendons throughout his body boomed as power surged through them into his arm. His entire arm instantly swelled, and menacing, golden-glowing veins crawled over it like worms.

With a swing of his shoulder, his arm shot out, as fierce as a great spear.