Martial Sage from the Vajra Skill

Chapter 291: Chapter 166: Cruelty (2)

Sun Tao chuckled. "Maybe he’s mad that a genius like him wasn’t fawned over by you."

As they spoke, the group arrived at a restaurant.

The restaurant was even busier than usual. With the arrival of the new disciples, the number of banquets had skyrocketed.

Xu Yang’s group nearly failed to find a private room, but a waiter recognized Jiang Fan and managed to arrange one for them.

Ma Yong, Qian Tong, and the others who were unaware of Jiang Fan’s status stared at him in utter shock.

Though they were new to the Purple Sun Sect and unfamiliar with its inner workings, they knew that anyone capable of opening a restaurant within the Sect had to have incredible connections. For even the staff to show Jiang Fan such deference, one could only imagine his true status.

The meal ended two hours later. The group dispersed, leaving Xu Yang with Xu Qing, Qiu Wenjie, and Tian Li.

Xu Yang led the three of them out of the restaurant, intending to walk them back and learn where they lived.

Tian Li was introverted and didn’t say much. Qiu Wenjie, on the other hand, was quick-witted and seized the opportunity to ask Xu Yang a barrage of questions.

Xu Yang told him only this: this place would chew you up and spit you out. Once you left the Sect, your life was in your own hands, and you could trust no one.

His words sent a chill down their spines.

"Brother Xu, why would you describe the Sect in such a terrifying way?" Qiu Wenjie asked, his face paling.

The Purple Sun Sect that Xu Yang described was a far cry from the Martial Arts Holy Land they had imagined.

Xu Yang’s expression was impassive. "This may be a Martial Arts Holy Land, but it is just as dangerous. Of the sixty people in our Dragon Ascension class, only thirty-something are still alive. It might not even be thirty by now.

Did you notice Zhao Zhifei isn’t around? He’s dead.

So are Kong Yu, Han Xing, Yun Feng, Gu Haoming, and Yue Gui—all those geniuses who were once renowned in Qingyuan County. They’re all dead.

And I can tell you that most of them died at the hands of our own people after leaving the Sect."

He wasn’t just trying to scare Xu Qing and the other two. The people he had listed were all killed by him, so of course they had "died at the hands of our own people."

"What? Kong Yu, Han Xing, and Yun Feng... they’re all dead?"

Xu Qing didn’t recognize those names, but Tian Li and Qiu Wenjie, who had started their martial arts training earlier than her, certainly did.

Back in Qingyuan County, they had all been prominent figures, each more brilliant than the last. They were top contenders expected to place in the top three of the entrance trials, yet every single one of them was dead.

Hearing this brutal truth, Qiu Wenjie and Tian Li were horrified, their faces turning pale.

That something so significant had been completely hushed up in Qingyuan County... They had all reached the Qi Gathering stage, so they weren’t fools. They instantly understood the news had been deliberately suppressed to avoid scaring people away from throwing their lives away for the Purple Sun Sect.

"Brother Xu, you have to help us!" Qiu Wenjie pleaded, his face ashen.

’If I’d known it was this terrifying, I never would have come,’ he thought.

Xu Yang said, "Do your best not to leave the Sect. Don’t trust anyone. And don’t join any organizations..."

Xu Yang imparted his philosophy of survival to the three of them, teaching them his methods for staying alive. He also advised them that if they needed Qi Gathering Pills, they should buy them from those who had already reached the Qi Cultivation Gang stage, like Sun Tao and Zhang Yong.

He had told them everything he could. Whether Qiu Wenjie and Tian Li chose to listen was up to them.

After seeing off Qiu Wenjie and Tian Li, only the brother and sister remained. Xu Yang led Xu Qing to a quiet spot to sit down.

Xu Qing spoke first. "Father... Xu the Second came to see me again."

Xu Yang said nothing. Xu Qing continued, "He and Zhang Cuiting had a falling out. He was thrown out with nowhere to go, so I let him stay at the old house."

The old house in Bai Shi Workshop was more than twenty years old. Xu Yang wasn’t concerned about it. "Have you reached Qi Gathering Perfection?" he asked.

He had left Xu Qing some Qi Gathering Pills before he departed. If she had been diligent in her cultivation, she should have reached Qi Gathering Perfection by now.

Xu Qing nodded. "I’m trying to break through to the Qi Cultivation Gang stage, but it’s incredibly difficult."

"Don’t be anxious. You haven’t comprehended Mixed Element Strength yet, so it will take at least a few months to grind through the bottleneck. Starting tomorrow, I’ll guide you in the Mixed Element Strength. Once you master it, breaking through to Qi Cultivation Gang will happen naturally."

"You’re amazing, brother. My master couldn’t even teach me these things!" Xu Qing never doubted her brother’s words.

Xu Yang shook his head. "Don’t mention my affairs to outsiders. It’s enough that you know."

"Okay," Xu Qing nodded.

The siblings chatted a bit more about the past before Xu Yang said, "I’ve made some enemies here. They can’t touch me, so they might try to get to you. Remember, trust no one but me, and never, ever leave the Sect.

Don’t even trust Wenjie or Senior Brother Sun. Even if you hear that I’ve died outside the Sect, do not leave."

"You have enemies, brother?"

Hearing this, Xu Qing was instantly like a cat with its fur on end, a fierce glint in her eyes.

To her, Xu Yang’s life was more important than her own. Anyone who wanted to kill him was her enemy.

But with her meager cultivation, she looked less fierce and more adorable.

Xu Yang had to resist the urge to flick her nose like he used to when they were kids. He restrained himself and said, "In the Purple Sun Sect, everyone has a few people who want them dead. This has nothing to do with you. They can’t hurt me. As long as you’re safe, I fear nothing. Just remember what I told you.

No matter who it is or what excuse they give, if they try to make you leave the Sect, don’t listen."

He was still quite confident in the Sect’s internal security. No matter how disciples slaughtered each other outside, in his two years here, there had never been a single death within the Sect’s grounds.

No matter how deep the hatred ran, no one dared to act on it within the Sect.

Xu Qing nodded seriously. "I’ll remember. Don’t worry, brother. I won’t cause you any trouble."

For the next few days, Xu Yang wasn’t in a rush to take Xu Qing to see Sun Ke. Every day after descending from Li Fire Peak, he would take her to the Peach Grove to guide her comprehension of the Mixed Element Strength and explain the essentials of breaking through to the Qi Cultivation Gang stage as described in the Fuyue Bear Scripture.

One day, the Top Ten and Ten Heroes lists for the new Dragon Ascending Disciples were finally announced.

The Top Ten list garnered little attention. Past experience had taught everyone that the Ten Heroes List was the one that truly mattered. The disciples on the Top Ten list were quickly surpassed by the geniuses from the Ten Heroes List.

In Xu Yang’s class, less than half of those on the Top Ten list had even reached Gang Qi Great Success.

Once-prominent figures like Cao Rong, now without the backing of their families, had already faded into mediocrity.

Xu Yang was surprised to see that the top-ranked of the Ten Heroes was Qiao Yong.

"This class of Ten Heroes is nowhere near as good as ours was," Zhang Yong said, shaking his head.

Qiao Yong was merely comparable to Kong Yu, yet he was ranked first among the Ten Heroes.

In their class, Kong Yu had only placed third. And that was without the hidden talent, Jiang Fan, even participating in the rankings. Otherwise, Kong Yu might have been fourth.

Sun Tao chuckled. "If you were in this class, Zhang Yong, you might have made it into the Ten Heroes."

Zhang Yong shook his head. "Impossible. Xu Yang’s sister comprehended Wind and Thunder Strength and still didn’t make the list. Even if I were in this class, I wouldn’t have stood a chance."

His Root Bone was decent, but his Comprehension was severely lacking.

The Ten Heroes ranking wasn’t based solely on Root Bone; Comprehension was also a factor.

Just then, a figure walked in from outside—it was Qiao Yong.

With the announcement of the Ten Heroes List, his fame had exploded, making him a person of great importance. As he walked through the residential area, people he knew and people he didn’t all greeted him. Various organizations had already begun to approach him.

The arrogance on his face was even more pronounced. His gaze swept coolly over Xu Yang and the others chatting idly in the courtyard, his expression seeming to say, ’Aren’t you going to hurry over and pay your respects to the number one of the Ten Heroes?’

Jiang Ping, Sun Tao, and the others made no move to greet him.

So what if he was first among the Ten Heroes? He was still just at the Qi Gathering Cultivation stage. They had already reached Gang Qi Minor Achievement. It was anyone’s guess if Qiao Yong would even live long enough to reach the Qi Cultivation Gang stage.

His Comprehension was good, but his Root Bone was far inferior to Kong Yu’s. Without one or two months to grind through his bottleneck, he could forget about reaching the Qi Cultivation Gang stage.

Besides, they had no intention of kissing up to Qiao Yong. If they were going to curry favor with someone, wasn’t the future Marquis, Jiang Fan, a hundred times more worthy than Qiao Yong?

Ma Yong scrambled to his feet and cupped his hands. "Congratulations, Brother Qiao, on placing first among the Ten Heroes."

The other two newcomers, Peng Yu and Qian Tong, didn’t dare to be slow, also rising to offer their congratulations.

Qiao Yong offered a faint smile. "It is merely a title. For we Martial Artists, what truly matters is strength."