Martial Sage from the Vajra Skill

Chapter 311: Chapter 176: The Start (Part 2)

"We’ll go find him in a bit. He’s a Ten Heroes Genius, after all. There should be plenty of people who want to team up with him," Liu Qian said.

Her insistence on finding Xu Yang wasn’t out of guilt or a desire to take care of him, but because she coveted his talent as one of the Ten Heroes.

With a Ten Heroes Genius joining them, they would be much more confident in completing the assessment task. Although Liu Xiao had agreed to help, Inner Sect Disciples weren’t idle; they couldn’t just step in whenever they felt like it.

Besides, favors were a finite resource; each one used was one less you had. It was best to avoid using them if possible. Even though Liu Xiao was her older brother, they weren’t born from the same mother, after all.

’This is another Dragon Ascension!’

Xu Yang could feel the fighting spirit radiating from everyone around him, and his own resolve toward this Outer Sect Grand Competition hardened.

For the disciples of his generation, this Outer Sect Grand Competition was a chance to change their destiny. If they couldn’t distinguish themselves here, their future chances of entering the Inner Sect—while not zero—would be as difficult as ascending to the heavens, unless they achieved Marrow Cleansing.

However, for those who couldn’t even break into the top twenty of the Outer Sect Grand Competition by the end of the three-year period, the chances of achieving Marrow Cleansing were virtually nonexistent, barring some other fortuitous encounter.

"I thought you were going to keep hiding away."

Soon it was Xu Yang’s turn to register. The one handling it happened to be Sun Ke, with whom he was on good terms, and he greeted Xu Yang with a jest.

Xu Yang smiled. "I wasn’t hiding. My Cultivation was simply insufficient last year. I wouldn’t have placed well in the competition, so there was no point in getting on stage."

He rarely bothered to explain himself, but he did so now for two reasons. First, to give face to Sun Ke, and second, to build up his public image.

The Inner Sect Elders and Peak Masters disliked those who shied away from battle, so he needed a plausible excuse.

This was advice Gao Lin had given him, and he took it seriously. He didn’t want to win a top-three spot only to find no Elder willing to take him as a disciple.

"So he didn’t participate because he wasn’t confident of getting a good rank, not because he was afraid to fight."

A wave of realization swept through the surrounding crowd, and the way they looked at Xu Yang changed. Many of them had also skipped last year’s competition because they weren’t confident, not because they were cowards.

It turned out Xu Yang was just like them.

’Junior Brother Xu is such a smooth liar!’ Sun Tao grumbled inwardly.

’What "not confident"? He was just lying low, dragging it out until this year because he didn’t want to be in the spotlight.’

Sun Ke’s eyes lit up. "So, does that mean you’re confident of getting a good rank this year? Top twenty? Or top ten?"

Xu Yang certainly wasn’t going to say he was aiming for the top three. He replied casually, "I don’t know. I’ll just do my best."

Sun Ke shook his head. "It’s not about ’doing your best.’ You have to make the top ten at the very least. You’re one of the Ten Heroes, after all. If you can’t even break into the top ten, I’m afraid no Elder will take an interest in you. You’ve enjoyed the benefits of your reputation, now you have to accept the backlash that comes with it."

Clearly, he didn’t have much confidence in Xu Yang either, which was why he was reminding him that he absolutely had to break into the top ten.

Registration soon continued. As Xu Yang stepped aside, Sun Tao moved forward to sign up. Xu Yang couldn’t help but glance at his own panel.

[Fuyue Bear Scripture and Marrow Cleansing Chapter (2999/3000)]

’I’ll break through after the Outer Sect Grand Competition is over.’

Half a month ago, he had reached the cusp of Marrow Cleansing Minor Achievement. However, worried that revealing a Cultivation of Marrow Cleansing Minor Achievement during the Outer Sect Grand Competition would attract trouble, he hadn’t immediately attempted to break through to the Minor Success Realm of Marrow Cleansing.

As for his Golden Gang Qi, it would inevitably be exposed this time. There was no way around it, unless he was willing to enter the Inner Sect by completing an assessment task instead.

"Junior Brother Xu, let’s go."

Soon, Sun Tao and Zhang Yong finished registering, and the three of them headed outside.

Just as they left the Task Hall, they saw two figures waiting by the side of the path.

"Brother Xu!" Liu Qian and Qin Ze greeted, clasping their fists.

"You two...?"

Xu Yang was puzzled. He had long since cut ties with these two. If they had met outside the sect, he might have even tried to kill them. He had no idea what they wanted with him.

Liu Qian spoke. "I wonder if Brother Xu still remembers the words spoken when we first formed our alliance?"

Before Xu Yang could speak, Sun Tao interjected coldly, "You have the nerve to bring up the alliance? Didn’t you unilaterally kick my Junior Brother Xu out of the Alliance?

What? Things not going so well for you now, so you came crawling back to my Junior Brother Xu?"

Awkwardness was written all over their faces. For Ten Heroes Geniuses, they were indeed not doing very well for themselves at the moment.

Qin Ze said, "It’s true we haven’t done that well, but our Cultivation has reached Gang Qi Great Success. We haven’t fallen that far behind Xu Yang in terms of Cultivation.

Brother Xu, we agreed back then to complete the assessment together after three years. Do you still remember that promise?"

Xu Yang nodded. "I remember. But the Alliance was disbanded. Does the promise still count?"

Liu Qian said, "But you’ll need people to complete the assessment task with anyway. Brother Qin’s and my Cultivation, though we haven’t reached Marrow Cleansing, are close to the Perfection stage. Teaming up is better than fighting alone.

If the task proves too difficult, my older brother will also step in to help."

Having an older brother who was an Inner Sect Disciple was the source of her confidence.

Xu Yang nodded. "That makes a lot of sense. But why would I team up with the two people who betrayed me, instead of with Senior Brother Sun and Zhang Yong?"

Qin Ze’s voice was grave. "Xu Yang, don’t act on your emotions. We admit we were in the wrong back then, but the most important thing now is entering the Inner Sect. Compared to a matter as crucial as that, everything else is trivial."

Liu Qian added, "If Brother Sun and Brother Zhang are willing, it would be even better for the five of us to team up."

"Not interested!" Zhang Yong and Sun Tao snorted in unison.

They had seen too much betrayal and found it difficult to trust outsiders anymore.

"I’m not interested in teaming up with you either. Being betrayed once by people with no integrity is enough."

With that, Xu Yang strode away with Sun Tao and Zhang Yong. Forget the fact he could get into the top three on his own; even if he couldn’t, he would never choose to work with Liu Qian and Qin Ze.

"He refused."

Qin Ze’s face was ashen. He couldn’t understand why Xu Yang would reject an alliance backed by an Inner Sect Disciple. Was it all because of that trivial incident back then?

"Letting his emotions rule him. I doubt he’ll ever amount to anything great."

...

August 12th. At the Outer Sect Martial Arts Arena, four rings built from special materials had been erected, with a high platform set up beside them.

A crowd of Outer Disciples had eaten breakfast early in the dining hall and rushed over.

Today, the annual Outer Sect Grand Competition officially began. Even Li Chuyang, Du Chuan, and Jiang Fan, who hadn’t been seen in a long time, made an appearance.

Some Inner Sect Disciples with nothing better to do also came out from their peaks to watch.

Members of some prominent families from Cyan Yang City had also been invited into the Purple Sun Sect to observe the battles. Those with sufficient status and standing were seated on the main high platform at the front.

Those of average standing sat in the viewing galleries on either side.

As for the Outer Disciples, they were treated like cattle. What seats? They were expected to stand all day.

Yuan Yi’s gaze swept through the crowd. He leaned toward his father, Yuan Gang, and whispered, "I don’t see Xu Yang."

Yuan Gang shook his head. "Don’t worry about him. Watch closely. The moment a genius from the Ten Heroes List appears, go and make contact. If they show any interest, I’ll step in to discuss things further. We absolutely cannot let our connection with Elder Li Yang be severed."

The Ten Heroes List he referred to was, of course, the one for the new generation of disciples. They had tried to recruit disciples from the previous generation’s Ten Heroes, aside from Xu Yang, but had failed with all of them.

Now they planned to use this opportunity to connect with the Ten Heroes Geniuses of the new generation.

"Who is Xu Yang?"

In another area, Su Man’s eyes scanned the crowd, searching for Xu Yang.

But after looking for a while, she remembered that she had only ever heard Xu Yang’s name and had never actually seen him.

"He’s not here yet!" Su Zhe said. "Don’t worry, Sis. If I get a chance to face him, I’ll defeat him within ten moves. I’ll destroy his reputation first and leave him utterly disgraced."

Su Man nodded. "Good. Killing him outright would be letting him off too easy."

Time passed. As an old man who looked to be in his sixties stepped onto the high platform, the noisy Martial Arts Arena instantly fell silent.

The old man was none other than Li Songhe, an Outer Elder of the Purple Sun Sect. He rarely made an appearance, only showing himself when major events occurred.

He stood at the front of the high platform, his gaze as sharp as lightning, and announced, "I, this old man, declare that the annual Purple Sun Sect Outer Disciple Grand Competition begins now.

This is a competition between fellow disciples. Maiming and killing are strictly forbidden. Violators will be severely punished according to sect rules.

Now, all disciples who have signed up for the competition, come up to the stage one by one to draw lots for your matches."

After speaking, he took a seat in the center. A few Outer Sect Stewards rose and stepped forward to begin organizing the drawing of lots.