Martial Sage from the Vajra Skill

Chapter 304: Chapter 173: Killing Intent

"Here’s the settlement slip for your mission!" Fan Chongde said, handing the written note to Xu Yang.

The three-month garrison mission at the Divine Weapon Pavilion was over in a flash, and it had concluded without any incident.

"Shopkeeper Fan, we’ll be on our way."

After taking the settlement slip, Xu Yang, Zhou Zhichao, and the others left the Divine Weapon Pavilion and headed back toward the Purple Sun Sect.

"Brother Xu, have you reached Gang Qi Perfection?" Zhou Zhichao asked.

"I was fortunate enough to reach Perfection a few days ago," Xu Yang said with a smile.

The annual Outer Sect Grand Competition was only half a year away. If he revealed his Gang Qi Perfection cultivation now, it would be a natural and believable progression for him to participate in the competition at the Bone Marrow Cleansing Realm when the time came.

Even if Zhou Zhichao hadn’t asked, Xu Yang had already planned to announce his Gang Qi Perfection in a few days and let it be known that he was starting to push for the Bone Marrow Cleansing Realm.

"As expected of a Ten Heroes Genius!" Zhou Zhichao said, cupping his fists.

Internally, however, he was calculating. ’If he’s only just reached Gang Qi Perfection now, it’s impossible for Xu Yang to reach the Marrow Cleansing realm by the time of the Outer Sect Grand Competition.’

’In that case, if he wants to enter the Inner Sect, he’ll definitely have to complete an assessment mission.’

His mind raced, and an idea began to form: he could ally with Xu Yang to complete the assessment mission together.

Xu Yang put on a slightly chagrined expression. "Brother Zhou, you know a lot of people. Do you know if anyone among the Ten Heroes has reached the Marrow Cleansing realm yet?"

Aside from the top three on the Ten Heroes List, the earliest of the others to reach Gang Qi Perfection had done so nearly five months ago. It was possible someone had already successfully broken through to the Marrow Cleansing realm.

He naturally had to keep an eye on these future rivals for the Outer Sect Grand Competition.

Zhou Zhichao swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue. "I doubt it," he said. "Reaching the Marrow Cleansing realm is incredibly difficult. I’m well acquainted with Han Feng, and he’s still trying to make the breakthrough. The others probably haven’t managed it either."

Li Yi added, "I know someone who’s close to Xiong Kun, and he says Xiong Kun hasn’t reached the Marrow Cleansing realm yet either."

Xu Jun chimed in, "Anyone who reached the Marrow Cleansing realm wouldn’t hide it. The first one to do so would basically be number four among the Ten Heroes. That would give them an advantage when it comes to finding a master later on. Only a fool would deliberately conceal it."

’Does this guy always have to be so insulting?’

Xu Yang said, "In that case, it seems no one has reached the Marrow Cleansing realm yet."

"But there’s still half a year to go. Someone is bound to have broken through by then."

As he spoke, Zhou Zhichao looked at Xu Yang and said, "Brother Xu, have you ever thought about forming an alliance to complete the assessment mission together in the future?"

’An alliance?’

Xu Yang immediately understood Zhou Zhichao’s intentions. ’He thinks I can’t place in the top three of the Outer Sect Grand Competition, so he wants to team up to help each other with the assessment mission later. Of course, I can’t just tell him that I’ve already reached the Marrow Cleansing realm and a top-three spot is guaranteed, so I won’t need to do any assessment mission.’

He smiled. "I have thought about it."

A hint of joy appeared on Zhou Zhichao’s face. "Then what do you think of me, Brother Xu? My talent may not be on par with yours, but I’m confident I can also reach Gang Qi Perfection by the end of the three-year term. I’m definitely qualified to team up with you."

"With your skills, Brother Zhou, you’re certainly qualified to team up with me. However, I’ve already promised a few friends that I’d form a team with them."

Instead of rejecting him outright, Xu Yang simply invented a few non-existent friends on the spot.

"That’s a real shame."

Zhou Zhichao hadn’t expected Xu Yang to have already teamed up with others. All he could do was sigh in disappointment.

The group soon arrived at the Task Hall, handed in their mission, and collected their contribution points before going their separate ways.

Xu Yang’s life settled down again. In his free time from cultivation, he would go to the Peach Grove every evening to instruct Xu Qing for an hour.

The little girl’s Root Bone was only average, but she had decent Comprehension. Her progress with her martial techniques wasn’t slow; the Fine Rain Shocking Wind Sword she was primarily practicing was already approaching the Minor Achievement Realm.

She had her own contribution points, so with Xu Yang’s guidance, she redeemed them at the Hidden Skills Hall for Stepping on Gang and Chasing Wind, which she had already cultivated to the Entry Level.

As for her cultivation, she was probably still a few months away from the Minor Achievement realm.

Since she was on Medicine King Peak and had access to many medicinal herbs, Xu Yang simply gave her the copy of *Elixir Introduction* that he’d obtained from Su Che. He told her to find time to read it every day. If she could become a Pill Master, he would feel much more at ease about her future.

Of course, there was no rush. Fully mastering *Elixir Introduction* would take at least a year or two.

Occasionally, he would get together with Qiu Wenjie and Tian Li for a drink, or offer them some guidance on their martial techniques.

The two of them took his words to heart. Aware of the dangers of the outside world, they wouldn’t dare take a single step outside the Sect, even though they had already reached the Qi Cultivation Gang stage.

One day, Xu Yang finished collecting the primary ingredients for another batch of Gathering Essence Pills. The following day, he rushed to Cyan Yang City to refine them.

After finishing the refinement process, he once again visited the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion to purchase Guiyuan Pills.

The main ingredients for Gathering Essence Pills were incredibly difficult to collect, and his supply often ran out. While it wasn’t the most cost-effective solution, what he lacked right now wasn’t money, but a steady supply of elixirs.

"Master Xu, the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion is holding another auction in seven days. Will you be attending?" Zhou Yong asked after fetching the elixirs.

"Of course!" Xu Yang replied without hesitation.

If he hadn’t missed the last auction because of Xiao Hua’s threats, he wouldn’t be in this situation of running low on elixirs. He had later heard that all three of the main ingredients for the Gathering Essence Pill had appeared at that auction.

Seven days passed in a flash. Xu Yang prepared his silver banknotes and hurried to the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion. His seat was in the same location as last time, next to Guo Huai and his group.

"Brother Xu!"

Seeing Xu Yang appear, Shen Liang stood up to greet him. But when he noticed that Guo Huai, An Ping, and the others remained seated, he sheepishly sat back down.

"Brother Shen!"

Xu Yang cupped his fists in return. He extended his senses for a moment and found that they had all reached Gang Qi Great Success. ’No wonder they have the confidence to ignore me,’ he thought.

Taking his seat, Xu Yang scanned his surroundings and saw very few familiar faces.

Lu Ren was nowhere to be seen, nor had Qin Ze, Liu Qian, and the others come.

Not far away, Cao Rong saw Xu Yang’s gaze pass over him. He smiled and cupped his fists in greeting, and Xu Yang smiled and nodded in return.