Martial Sage from the Vajra Skill

Chapter 286: Chapter 164: Provocation (Part 2)

Su Zhe, ranked ninth among the Ten Heroes, publicly announced that Xu Yang was afraid of being exposed on stage, and that was why he didn’t dare register for the grand competition. He even claimed he could defeat Xu Yang within ten moves.

The moment he said this, the news spread like wildfire. Everyone wanted to know if Xu Yang truly lacked even the courage to participate in the grand competition.

"If Xu Yang were to show his true strength, he could kill you in a single move."

Sun Tao was furious when he heard this, because this Su Zhe was none other than a disciple of the Su Family—and apparently Su Man’s younger brother.

It was obvious that Su Zhe had targeted Xu Yang.

’Trying to provoke me into getting on stage?’

Xu Yang knew this probably wasn’t about Su Qiming. If the Su Family knew he had killed Su Qiming, their revenge wouldn’t be as simple as trying to get him on stage. It was likely because of Xiao Chen.

’But none of that matters. I can’t expose my true strength in front of everyone. I can’t face the Su Family or Xiao Hua head-on right now. I have to keep lying low.’

’Xiao Hua will be back in a few months. I can’t let a few taunts ruin all my efforts.’

When the registration period ended, Xu Yang still hadn’t signed up. Many in the Outer Sect couldn’t help but feel a pang of disappointment.

They had thought they would get to see Xu Yang fight Su Zhe in the grand competition, but unexpectedly, Xu Yang didn’t seem to care at all about the challenge Su Zhe had issued from afar.

Soon, the Outer Sect’s grand competition began.

On Li Fire Peak, all tasks were halted so that the Outer Disciples would have time to watch the grand competition.

In the morning, after breakfast, all the Outer Disciples headed straight for the training grounds.

When Xu Yang, Sun Tao, and the others arrived, they found the place already teeming with people. However, a careful observer would notice that the crowd was much smaller than last year’s.

His gaze swept across the crowd, and he saw that many acquaintances were still alive: Qin Ze, Liu Qian, Gao Peng, Li Shun, Cao Rong...

He looked at them, and they looked back at him, their gazes filled with scrutiny.

"I never thought you’d truly lack the courage to even get on stage for the grand competition. How disappointing. To be ranked among the Ten Heroes alongside someone like you is a disgrace."

A young man with an arrogant face walked up to Xu Yang, a longsword studded with gemstones hanging from his waist.

It was none other than Su Zhe of the Su Family.

His older sister, Su Man, had told him to teach Xu Yang a lesson during the Outer Sect’s grand competition. Unfortunately, Xu Yang hadn’t registered. Even though Su Zhe had tried to provoke him, Xu Yang remained unmoved.

Sun Tao’s eyes blazed with fire as he listened, but he knew they absolutely could not reveal that Xu Yang had already achieved Marrow Cleansing.

Xiao Hua had already reached Marrow Cleansing Minor Achievement. If he found out that Xu Yang had also reached Marrow Cleansing, he would undoubtedly use all his power to eliminate him, root and stem.

Xu Yang glanced coolly at the arrogant Su Zhe and was about to speak when Jiang Fan strode over.

"Bullying the tenth-ranked when you’re ninth doesn’t prove any real skill. If you’ve got what it takes, fight me on the stage. If you can beat me, then you’ll be a true hero."

Jiang Fan spoke calmly, releasing a formidable pressure toward Su Zhe. Su Zhe’s expression instantly changed, looking as sick as if he’d eaten a dead rat.

He certainly didn’t dare fight Jiang Fan, who had already achieved Marrow Cleansing. He didn’t even have the courage to talk tough.

His status as a Young Master Su was worlds apart from a Young Master Marquis. He never imagined that Jiang Fan and Xu Yang were on such good terms that Jiang Fan would step in on Xu Yang’s behalf and publicly put him in an impossible position.

Instantly, his arrogant expression vanished, and he didn’t even dare to show the anger in his heart.

As the gazes of the surrounding people fell upon him, his face burned with shame, as if they were mocking him for how his backbone had instantly vanished in front of Jiang Fan.

"You coward, bullying the weak and fearing the strong. Get lost. Forget about defeating me; if you can beat Lu Ren, who’s ranked ahead of you, I’ll count that as having some skill. Picking on someone ranked lower than you with a lesser family background only makes you a laughingstock," Jiang Fan snorted coldly.

He wouldn’t use his status to bully others, and he hated those who did.

Hearing this, Su Zhe subconsciously glanced at Lu Ren in the distance, a flicker of battle intent rising in his eyes.

In this Outer Sect’s grand competition, his goal was to defeat the eighth-ranked Lu Ren, the seventh-ranked Chen Yu, and the sixth-ranked Xie Zhan, raising his rank among the Ten Heroes from ninth to sixth.

’These people all have ordinary family backgrounds. As a Young Master Su, I’m confident I can beat them. In fact, my ultimate goal is to defeat the fourth-ranked Han Feng.’

’The Su Family has suffered a great disaster. Two Pill Masters are dead, our businesses are shrinking, and we urgently need a genius to stabilize the situation.’

’And I, Su Zhe, am the Su Family’s hope right now.’

Lu Ren felt Su Zhe’s battle intent and was as disgusted as if he’d swallowed a fly. ’Su Zhe was clearly looking for trouble with Xu Yang, so how did I get dragged into this?’

’Now that I’m all alone, I really don’t want to offend a young master like Su Zhe.’

’But Jiang Fan was the one who dragged me into this, so I don’t dare utter a single complaint. I can’t even look his way for fear of causing a misunderstanding.’

Su Zhe gave a slight bow with cupped hands toward Jiang Fan and slipped away dejectedly without saying another word.

Xu Yang cupped his hands and said, "Thank you for getting me out of that, Brother Jiang."

Jiang Fan waved his hand. "No need to be polite. A buffoon like that is just infuriating to look at."

’Xu Yang knew Jiang Fan was different from most Martial Artists. He wondered how the Marquis of the Jiang Family managed to raise such an unusual Young Master Marquis.’

"Haha... isn’t Jiang Fan just bullying the weak with his strength right here? You and that Su Zhe are fundamentally no different. If it weren’t for your status as a Young Master Marquis, he would have slapped you across the face just now."

A loud laugh rang out as Li Chuyang strode over, followed by two Outer Disciples who looked like bodyguards.

"Too scared to even get on stage. You really are a disgrace to us Ten Heroes Geniuses." His gaze finally landed on Xu Yang.

Seeing Li Chuyang, Jiang Fan’s eyes immediately turned red. "You bastard! You still dare to show your face in front of me? Die!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Jiang Fan raised his Palm to kill.

All his beautiful fantasies about love had been brutally shattered by this scoundrel, Li Chuyang. He had been driven to despair, and even after more than a year, he still hated the bastard.

"Are you crazy? I was helping you face reality."

Li Chuyang was startled. He hadn’t expected Jiang Fan to still be hung up on that incident after all this time.

Zhang Yong, Sun Tao, and the others were also startled and hastily scrambled to the sides. They couldn’t possibly withstand the aftershocks of a clash between Bone Marrow Cleansing Martial Artists.

It wasn’t just them; the surrounding Outer Disciples also fled as if from a venomous snake, terrified of being caught in the battle between the first and third-ranked fighters.

"You two, if you want to fight, there will be plenty of opportunities on the stage. Don’t use your status to break the sect rules."

Just as Jiang Fan’s palm was about to strike Li Chuyang, a voice rapidly approached.

When the voice began, it was still far away. By the time it finished, it was right upon them.

A figure appeared abruptly between Jiang Fan and Li Chuyang like a phantom, separating them. Jiang Fan could no longer bring his palm down.

Many people’s pupils contracted as they watched. They hadn’t seen how the figure appeared at all; it was as if he had been standing there the whole time.

The newcomer had a face like carved jade, with sword-like brows and star-like eyes. His entire body radiated the powerful aura of a Bone Marrow Cleansing Martial Artist, pushing back against the auras of both Jiang Fan and Li Chuyang.

With the three of them at the center, auras surged like a tide, forcing the surrounding Outer Disciples to retreat again and again.

’What an exquisite Body Technique,’ Xu Yang’s eyes narrowed slightly.

’My Great Success Level Stepping on Gang and Chasing Wind is definitely no match for this person’s speed. He must have cultivated a far more profound Body Technique.’

Jiang Fan snorted coldly and withdrew his palm. "I’ll give Brother Du some face. I’ll deal with you on the stage."

The person who had appeared so abruptly was none other than Du Chuan, ranked second among the Ten Heroes. Only he would dare to intervene in a dispute between Jiang Fan and Li Chuyang.

"I’ll be waiting!" Li Chuyang said with a smile.

Before long, a group of Outer Sect Stewards appeared and began to organize the drawing of lots for the matches.

The format of the Outer Sect’s grand competition was similar to the Martial Arts Examination. Everyone fought one match; winners advanced, while losers fought a second match. Another loss meant direct elimination, while a win allowed them to advance.

Therefore, the Outer Sect’s grand competition also had a certain element of luck involved.

However, it was different from the Martial Arts Examination. The Examination was crammed into a single day, making the schedule incredibly tight. This often led to exhausted fighters being defeated by weaker opponents who got lucky.

The Outer Sect’s grand competition, on the other hand, spanned three days. This gave participants ample time to recover their stamina after each fight, preventing such upsets from happening.