Martial Sage from the Vajra Skill

Chapter 297: Chapter 169: Imagery 2

His body rapidly expanded, his knotted muscles nearly bursting through his clothes. A violent, tyrannical aura erupted from him, instantly enveloping the room.

An invisible power seemed to flow through the air. Behind him, the phantom image of a ferocious, savage Fuyue Bear, its body entirely golden, gradually took shape.

The terrifying aura was so strong that not even the specially constructed room could contain it, and it began to seep outside.

...

"You guys don’t know, but back in Qingyuan County, his reputation was on par with Lu Ren’s. He even defeated Lu Ren at the Martial Arts Examination, which made him famous for a time."

Qiao Yong’s face was full of disdain.

He was finding it harder and harder to respect Xu Yang. A dignified Gang Qi Great Success Martial Artist, yet he just hid inside the Purple Sun Sect all day.

Ma Yong was shocked. "He defeated Lu Ren at the Martial Arts Examination? He actually has such a glorious past? How is his reputation so different from Lu Ren’s now?"

Qiao Yong scoffed, "He doesn’t have Lu Ren’s ambition. He’s timid, cautious, and a hopeless case. He came to a Martial Arts Holy Land like the Purple Sun Sect and still doesn’t strive to improve.

Lu Ren spends his years tempering himself in the Yunling Mountain Range, seeking out opportunities, while he just holes up in the Sect. How can he possibly compare to Lu Ren?

If he fought Lu Ren now, I doubt he’d last ten moves."

Peng Yu and the others nodded, thinking Qiao Yong had a point. They were just about to agree with him and offer some flattery.

Suddenly, the group felt a terrifying pressure seep out from Xu Yang’s room. It was as if a thousand-pound boulder was pressing on their hearts, and their bodies began to tremble uncontrollably.

Under this pressure, they felt like ants being stared down by a tiger, not even daring to look up.

"Did... did he achieve Marrow Cleansing?" Ma Yong’s face was pale, and his whole body was trembling.

This pressure was so violent and tyrannical, he felt as if his Heart Spirit could be torn to shreds at any moment, killing him instantly.

He tried to get up and flee, but found it difficult to even move a finger.

Qiao Yong’s face was also pale. He gritted his teeth and said, "Impossible. He couldn’t have achieved Marrow Cleansing. Not even people like Han Feng, Xiong Kun, or Lu Ren have reached Marrow Cleansing yet. How could he?"

This is the aura of the Gang Qi Great Success Realm. You all haven’t even achieved Qi Cultivation Gang yet, which is why it feels so terrifying to you."

Although he also felt like an ant under this pressure, he refused to believe that Xu Yang had broken through to Marrow Cleansing.

Xu Yang was barely one of the Ten Heroes. Even he, the top of this generation’s Ten Heroes, wasn’t confident he could achieve Marrow Cleansing at this stage. How could Xu Yang possibly do it?

’This must be the aura of a Gang Qi Great Success Martial Artist!’

"Brother Qiao, you really are knowledgeable," Qian Tong said, forcing back his fear to flatter Qiao Yong.

After that, the four of them didn’t dare to speak again, desperately channeling their Cultivation Techniques to resist the terrifying pressure that threatened to shatter their Heart Spirits.

Gradually, all of them became drenched in cold sweat, their faces completely drained of color. They wanted to escape, but they couldn’t even move a finger.

Finally, just as they thought they were about to be crushed to death by Xu Yang’s pressure, the terrifying aura receded like a tide.

"Hmph!"

"Hmph!"

...

Caught off guard, they couldn’t help but let out muffled groans as blood trickled from the corners of their mouths.

"He must have done that on purpose!" Qiao Yong hid a trace of fear in his heart, panting heavily.

He had always looked down on Xu Yang, yet he couldn’t even withstand his pressure. He felt his face burning with shame.

’He did it on purpose. Xu Yang must have heard what I said and wanted to humiliate me.’

’You’ve only cultivated a few years longer than me. Just you wait,’ he roared internally.

Peng Yu collapsed limply onto his stool and said with a tremor in his voice, "From now on... we should talk about him less behind his back."

Gang Qi Great Success was this terrifying.

They couldn’t even withstand his pressure. If Xu Yang wanted to kill them, wouldn’t it be as easy as crushing an ant?

If they weren’t in the Sect, Xu Yang might have killed them directly.

Once these words were spoken, even Qiao Yong didn’t dare to say anything more, afraid that the terrifying pressure would reappear at any moment.

In their eyes, this was Xu Yang’s warning to them.

...

[Fuyue Bear King’s Palm · Perfection]

"So this is Martial Dao Imagery?"

Inside the room, the majestic power receded. Xu Yang felt utterly drained, an uncomfortable weakness washing over him. His Heart Spirit was completely overdrawn.

He now understood Martial Dao Imagery. He knew this was not a power that a Martial Artist who had just entered Marrow Cleansing could grasp. Forcing its use would only overdraw his Heart Spirit.

For him, using Martial Dao Imagery was like using the Celestial Demon Dissolving Technique.

Of course, as long as he didn’t overuse it, it wouldn’t burn through his Life Energy like the Celestial Demon Dissolving Technique did.

"Martial Dao Imagery is truly powerful."

He would never forget that rapid surge of power, the feeling that he was capable of Mountain-Shattering and Mountain-Breaking.

After calming his turbulent aura, Xu Yang fell directly asleep. He had no idea his pressure had nearly killed Qiao Yong and the others; he didn’t even have time to check his own condition.

Comprehending the Fuyue Bear King’s Palm and instinctively using it had completely drained his Heart Spirit. Right now, all he wanted was to sleep.

[Fuyue Bear King’s Palm Perfection, Points +50]

[Martial Arts Longevity Points: 241]

He slept until the sun was high in the sky. When he opened his eyes, he found another nested notification.

Reaching Perfection in the Fuyue Bear King’s Palm had awarded him fifty points from the panel.

Sitting up in bed, Xu Yang began to perform Introspection on his body.

His Golden Gang Qi now carried a trace of the aura of the Ancient Wilderness. It had become more condensed and violent. A formidable power lay dormant within his flesh and blood, and his physical body had been significantly enhanced.

The circulation of his Fuyue Bear Scripture had also changed, incorporating some of the Fuyue Bear King’s Palm’s energy pathways, making it even more profound.

’This is the true Fuyue Bear Scripture.’

A realization dawned on him. Only by cultivating Martial Dao Imagery had he truly unified the Fuyue Bear Scripture and the Fuyue Bear King’s Palm, two Cultivation Techniques that were always meant to be one.

Lin Cheng once said that the Fuyue Bear Scripture focused on strength. Because he had been tempering his physical body by cultivating the Golden Gang Skill, he had never really felt the Fuyue Bear Scripture’s effect on his power.

But now, with every circulation of the Fuyue Bear Scripture, he could feel his strength increase, his bones and tendons solidify, and his body constantly produce new blood.

[Fuyue Bear Scripture Marrow Cleansing Chapter - Introduction (1687/3000)]

Looking at the panel again, he saw the progress of his Fuyue Bear Scripture had increased significantly, equivalent to about half a month of hard cultivation.

He pushed the door open and walked out of his room. Qiao Yong and the others were chatting idly in the courtyard.

When they saw him emerge, they all fell silent, subconsciously turning their heads away. A flash of fear flickered in their eyes.

Xu Yang was puzzled. He had no idea that when he had comprehended the Martial Dao Imagery yesterday, the room hadn’t fully contained his aura, and that it had almost crushed them to death. He didn’t know that they no longer dared to be hostile toward him.

’What happened? Why is even Qiao Yong looking at me with fear in his eyes?’

After pondering for a moment and finding no answer, Xu Yang couldn’t be bothered with it. He walked straight out of the courtyard and headed to the dining hall.

A short while later, Gao Peng also appeared.

’Sharp Wind Hall!’

A cold glint flashed in Xu Yang’s eyes as he began to eat.

After finishing his meal, he realized his appetite had grown much larger. Or rather, it wasn’t that his appetite had increased, but that his digestive power had become more terrifying; he was digesting as he ate.

By the time he finished, much of what he had eaten earlier was already digested and converted into nutrients absorbed by his body.

’I haven’t felt this way in a long time.’

This feeling of insatiable hunger had only happened when he first started practicing martial arts, back when he couldn’t get enough meat to eat.

He got up and got another portion of Exotic Beast Meat. This time, he finally felt full.

「The next day」

He arrived at the Task Hall, where several people were already waiting.

One of them was Gao Peng, the one monitoring him. The other three were also Dragon Ascending Disciples from his batch, though he wasn’t familiar with them.

Xu Yang sensed their cultivation. Among the three, one had already reached Gang Qi Great Success, while the other two, along with Gao Peng, were only at Minor Achievement in Gang Qi Cultivation.

As time went on, more and more of the Dragon Ascending Disciples from their batch were achieving Great Achievement in Gang Qi Cultivation, while the majority had reached Gang Qi Minor Achievement.

"Brother Xu!"

Seeing Xu Yang arrive, they all politely clasped their fists. Gao Peng, in particular, put on a show of great enthusiasm.

No matter how timid and cautious Xu Yang was, he was still one of the Ten Heroes Geniuses with a genuine Great Achievement in Gang Qi Cultivation. Few dared to be disrespectful to his face; most only dared to gossip behind his back.

"Greetings, everyone," Xu Yang replied, also clasping his fist.

After a short wait, Xiao Hua appeared. "Take your Task Tokens and go to the Divine Weapon Pavilion. Someone there will make arrangements for you."

As he spoke, his eyes met Gao Peng’s for a brief moment.

Taking the Tokens, the group immediately departed.