Martial Sage from the Vajra Skill

Chapter 314: Chapter 178: The Clown

"Xu Yang, you slighted me in the past. Today, I’ll make you understand just how foolish you were."

Qiao Yong shouted, directly revealing the grudge between them.

Ever since his talent was recognized, everyone he met had fawned over him. Xu Yang was the only one who didn’t give him the time of day, which to Qiao Yong was tantamount to being called a waste to his face.

"Xu Yang and Qiao Yong have a grudge?"

Hearing Qiao Yong’s words, the people below the stage were all shocked.

"I think they live in the same courtyard, so there must have been some friction."

"It’s not just the same courtyard. They’re both from Qingyuan County."

"Everyone in Qingyuan County knows about their grudge. Apparently, Xu Yang went to Qingyuan County to protect Qiao Yong for a few days. When he left, he didn’t say goodbye, and this ’number one genius of the Ten Heroes’ couldn’t accept someone treating him with such little importance."

...

Below the stage, someone quickly explained the grudge between Xu Yang and Qiao Yong.

"This Qiao Yong is way too petty."

"Not saying goodbye is a slight? Does he really think the whole world revolves around him?"

"You should stay away from someone that small-minded."

"Someone protected him for a few days, and not only is he not grateful, he even holds a grudge?"

Everyone’s way of looking at Qiao Yong changed in an instant, their gazes filled with disgust.

Having spoken too hastily and revealed his grudge with Xu Yang, Qiao Yong never expected this outcome. Everyone was calling him narrow-minded.

He didn’t care about the opinions of these people, but the great families were on the high platform. Leaving a bad impression on them could very well mean becoming the next Lu Ren.

He had heard that because of the matter with the Huang Family, Lu Ren wasn’t recruited by any of the great families, even after defeating Xie Zhan, the sixth of the Ten Heroes, in the Outer Disciple competition.

And that wasn’t the worst part. The worst part was that even now that Lu Ren had undergone Marrow Cleansing, no one dared to befriend him.

"I slighted you? I was your personal bodyguard for days. Did you ever once say ’thank you’ to me? For an ungrateful person like you, anyone who doesn’t suck up to you is giving you a slight. Aren’t you a bit too conceited?

"Just because you have a little talent, you think the whole world should revolve around you?"

Xu Yang added fuel to the fire.

Instantly, the disgust in everyone’s eyes as they looked at Qiao Yong intensified. Xu Yang had gone to protect him, but instead of gratitude, all he received was Qiao Yong’s resentment.

A person like that had even worse character than Lu Ren.

No matter how bad Lu Ren was, after abandoning the Huang Family, he never spoke a single ill word about them.

Qiao Yong, however, was not only ungrateful but also resented Xu Yang.

"That boy is a real backstabber!"

On the high platform, an important figure spoke up immediately, and the people around him nodded in agreement.

Xu Yang had protected Qiao Yong and was resented simply for not saying goodbye when he left. If they were to recruit someone like that, they feared that any slight displeasure wouldn’t just make him unhelpful to the family—it would make him an enemy.

This was precisely why these great families didn’t recruit new disciples right when they joined the sect. They needed to observe them for a year or two to ensure they wouldn’t end up nurturing a backstabber.

He had shot himself in the foot. Qiao Yong’s face turned pale in an instant.

’I have to display extraordinary talent now and defeat Xu Yang with overwhelming force. Only then will these people understand that I have the right to be proud and conceited.’

"Enough nonsense! Take this! Today, I’ll show you the gap between our talents."

Qiao Yong didn’t dare let Xu Yang say another word. He executed a Great Success Level Body Technique, his figure abruptly vanishing as his fist tore through the air.

BOOM!

Energy surged and the air roared. A piercing red light flared from Qiao Yong’s fist, and a solid, condensed Fist Gang shot out.

’A Great Success Fist Technique!’

"This boy may be conceited, but he has the capital to back it up," Ding Yuan remarked.

Qiao Yong had been in the sect for less than a year. Factoring in the time it took to accumulate contribution points to exchange for a Martial Technique, he had probably only been practicing this one for seven or eight months.

To master a Martial Technique to the Great Success Level in just seven or eight months showed outstanding Comprehension. It was no wonder he was the first of the Ten Heroes.

The Fist Gang shot forward like a meteor, aimed straight for Xu Yang’s face and carrying a powerful gale.

To others, the punch was as fast as lightning. But in Xu Yang’s eyes, while not quite as slow as a snail, it was close. He just tilted his head slightly, and the Fist Gang grazed past his ear, hitting empty air.

Qiao Yong hadn’t expected to injure Xu Yang with the first move. It was merely a feint to attract his attention; the real Killing Move was yet to come.

The moment Xu Yang dodged the Fist Gang, Qiao Yong had already closed in like a bolt of lightning and thrown another punch.

BOOM! BOOM...

The air tore with a roar as four Fist Seals, their forms shifting between real and illusory, appeared and enveloped Xu Yang in a fierce gale.

"Phantom Star Gang Fist?"

A faint smile played on Xu Yang’s lips. So, Qiao Yong was also practicing the Phantom Star Gang Fist. He was all too familiar with this Fist Technique.

He took a large step forward, his arm retracting and then snapping out like a great spear piercing the air. While easily dodging the several streams of Fist Gang, his punch landed precisely on Qiao Yong’s Protective Gang Qi.

KACHA!

A series of cracking sounds rang out. Qiao Yong’s Protective Gang Qi, like fragile porcelain, was instantly covered in a web of cracks before it exploded with a bang.

Xu Yang’s fist, its momentum unstoppable, landed on Qiao Yong’s chest.

BANG!

As if struck by a hammer, a look of pain crossed Qiao Yong’s face. His body flew backward even faster than he had charged in, soaring straight off the stage.

Qiao Yong, defeated!

In the Martial Arts Arena, packed with hundreds, if not thousands, of people, there was a moment of silence. Then, like a giant boulder dropped into a calm lake, a tremendous uproar erupted.