Xu Yang’s gaze turned cold. His body tensed, and his bones let out a series of sharp CRACKS as his dormant Gang Qi began to stir.
"You want a fight? I’ll give you one!"
But Jiang Fan was a step faster. He strode forward, shielding Xu Yang, and threw out a palm strike.
BANG!
The two palms collided with a muffled thud, like iron striking iron. Both Li Chuyang and Jiang Fan shuddered, their joints roaring as they were forced back. A turbulent wave of Force swept out from the impact.
The expressions on Xu Yang and Jiang Yan’s faces changed drastically. Zhang Yong hadn’t even reached the Marrow Cleansing stage of Cultivation, and he was standing so close. If that shockwave hit him, he would be severely injured, if not killed outright.
Zhang Yong’s face was already pale with despair. He could only watch helplessly as the roiling Force swept toward him, the terrifying pressure rendering him unable to even move.
Fortunately, Xu Yang and Jiang Yan both reacted in time. They stepped forward to shield him, simultaneously throwing a palm strike to shatter the aftershock.
"Hmph..."
A series of muffled grunts echoed from the surroundings. Several nearby disciples, their faces twisted in pain, hastily retreated.
"You damn mad dog!"
’This lunatic is actually serious!’
Jiang Fan, unable to contain his rage, shot forward and clashed violently with Li Chuyang.
"Excellent! I haven’t had a proper fight since my breakthrough," Li Chuyang let out a long cry, his fighting spirit surging.
His body flickered with a silver gleam as he traded blows with Jiang Fan. The ground outside Tianfeng Valley cracked and split under their assault, sending dust and debris flying.
"Stop!"
A sudden, explosive shout rang out. A tyrannical force washed over them, causing the dueling Li Chuyang and Jiang Fan to tremble as their Gang Qi receded into their bodies like a tide.
A stern-faced, middle-aged man had appeared beside the two at some unknown point. "This is Tianfeng Valley. Who gave you permission to fight here?"
Elder Liu Qingyuan of Tianquan Peak!
Xu Yang overheard someone whispering and learned the man’s identity.
"Elder Liu, he started it!" Jiang Fan said coldly.
Liu Qingyuan felt a headache coming on. Both of these disciples had higher status than the other, and he could afford to offend neither.
But if he did nothing, the Sect’s authority would be disgraced.
Liu Qingyuan turned to Li Chuyang, wanting to hear his explanation. "Why did you fight? Are you unaware of the Sect’s rules? The Inner Sect does not permit casual violence!"
"I didn’t attack him; he was being a busybody," Li Chuyang said, his cold gaze landing on Xu Yang.
Liu Qingyuan’s gaze also shifted to Xu Yang. "Did you cause this?"
’So he can’t afford to offend Jiang Fan or Li Chuyang, and he’s decided to make an example of me?’
’He couldn’t believe that Elder Liu was unaware of Li Chuyang’s character. As an ordinary disciple, how could he possibly have provoked Li Chuyang on his own initiative?’
"Elder, I did not cause this matter. It was Li Chuyang who tried to attack me without provocation," Xu Yang said with a cupped-fist salute.
"I asked you a question, and you refused to answer. Weren’t you just forcing me to act?" Li Chuyang snorted.
Given his status, how could he tolerate the audacity of Xu Yang daring to refuse him an answer? Besides, he was genuinely interested in the Cultivation Technique Xu Yang practiced. The only thing he hadn’t expected was that Jiang Fan would step in and fight on Xu Yang’s behalf.
"He asked you a question. Why didn’t you answer?" Liu Qingyuan demanded.
’So just because Li Chuyang asks me something, I have to answer? He’s not even pretending anymore. He’s just trying to absolve Li Chuyang of blame and pin it all on me.’
In that instant, Xu Yang understood that Li Chuyang’s background was likely even more formidable than he had imagined. Otherwise, a dignified Elder of Tianquan Peak would never show such blatant favoritism.
"Who the hell does he think he is? Does everyone have to answer him just because he asks a question?"
Jiang Fan stared daggers at Liu Qingyuan. "May I ask, Elder Liu, which rule of the Purple Sun Sect states that one must answer any question they are asked? If you’re too afraid of Li Chuyang’s status to punish him, just say so. Why make things difficult for an ordinary disciple?"
These words ripped away Liu Qingyuan’s mask of hypocrisy. His face turned visibly ashen. Everyone knew he was only using Xu Yang to deflect the conflict because of Li Chuyang’s status.
But given Jiang Fan’s own status, he had no reason to fear Liu Qingyuan and directly called him out for being afraid to punish Li Chuyang.
"Li Chuyang attacked a fellow Sect member without authorization. Considering no serious consequences occurred, he is sentenced to three months of confinement as a warning to others."
The faint voice sounded just as Liu Qingyuan’s face was at its most livid.
Everyone looked toward the source of the voice. A figure emerged from Tianfeng Valley, a single cyan pearl resting in his palm. The valley behind him, which had seemed normal just moments before, was now filled with a swirling, cyan-colored gale of Gang Qi.
Liu Qingyuan’s entire body trembled. He bowed with cupped fists. "Greetings, Sect Leader."
It was only then that Xu Yang realized this man was the Sect Leader of the Purple Sun Sect, Zhang Jingyuan. In an instant, everyone else bowed with cupped fists as well.
Zhang Jingyuan gave a slight nod, his gaze falling upon Li Chuyang. "After Tianfeng Valley closes, go to the Law Enforcement Hall yourself to receive your punishment."
"This disciple accepts his punishment!" Li Chuyang said with a cupped-fist salute, his attitude far less arrogant than before.
Zhang Jingyuan nodded. "Elder Liu, you may now preside over the disciples entering Tianfeng Valley for their Cultivation."
Without another word, he turned and strode away, the cyan pearl still in his hand.
"Yes!"
Liu Qingyuan bowed with cupped fists, shot a glance at Xu Yang, and then walked to the valley entrance with several Stewards. "Disciples entering the valley for Cultivation, come forward and pay your contribution points."
The disciples, who had just witnessed quite a show, snapped back to reality and swarmed forward.
"Xu Yang, I’ll remember you!" Li Chuyang shot Xu Yang a cold look before striding toward the valley entrance.
Xu Yang’s eyes narrowed slightly. He watched until Li Chuyang’s back was swallowed by the crowd, then walked over to Jiang Fan and bowed with cupped fists. "Thank you for helping me out of that tight spot, Brother Jiang!"
If Jiang Fan hadn’t intervened, he would have had to fight Li Chuyang himself, and given Elder Liu’s attitude, he was sure he would have been the one punished.
Jiang Fan shook his head. "If it weren’t for me, that madman probably wouldn’t have targeted you. My family and his don’t get along. You should be careful from now on."
Xu Yang nodded. "I will."
He wanted to ask about Li Chuyang’s background, but this wasn’t the place, with so many people around.
Jiang Yan said, "You probably shouldn’t have gotten involved. He was originally just curious about Xu Yang’s Cultivation Technique. After all this commotion, he’s probably holding a real grudge against Xu Yang now."
Hearing this, Jiang Fan’s expression flickered. "I wasn’t thinking that far ahead. I just thought he was coming after me, and I couldn’t let Brother Xu get dragged into it."
"Brother Jiang, don’t worry about it," Xu Yang said. "If he had fought me, we would have become enemies all the same."
Li Chuyang wasn’t the first person to take an interest in his Golden Gang Skill. Unless he was willing to reveal its secrets, the outcome would always be the same.
"It’s just the name of a technique. Why not just tell him instead of offending Li Chuyang?" Jiang Yan asked curiously.
Xu Yang replied via voice transmission, "The origins of my Cultivation Technique are... questionable. I’m afraid of causing trouble."
Jiang Fan and Jiang Yan came to a sudden understanding. No wonder Xu Yang was unwilling to speak of it.
Given Xu Yang’s family background, a technique with questionable origins was most likely obtained by robbing and killing someone for it.
Anomalous Gang Qi Techniques were all Superior Techniques; it was impossible for them to come from nowhere.
"Brother Xu, if you trust me, you can tell me the name of the technique. I can see how much trouble you might be in," Jiang Fan sent via voice transmission.
Xu Yang hesitated for a moment before replying via voice transmission, "The technique is the Golden Gang Skill. I obtained it after killing a Flower Thief."
He had a fair amount of trust in Jiang Fan. After all, Jiang Fan had never revealed his true level of Cultivation, proving he wasn’t a blabbermouth. Besides, he also wanted to know if the Golden Gang Skill came with baggage.
If there was trouble, he would have to avoid using the complete Golden Gang Skill in front of others in the future.
A strange look appeared in Jiang Fan’s eyes. "This Flower Thief... was his name Jade Butterfly?"
Xu Yang nodded. "That’s the scoundrel. It seems this technique really does have some trouble attached to it."
The fact that Jiang Fan could name Jade Butterfly immediately obviously meant the whole affair had been a big deal. Otherwise, Jiang Fan wouldn’t have known that the person he killed five or six years ago was Jade Butterfly.
"There is some trouble."
Jiang Fan explained via voice transmission, "This technique was originally the core Martial Arts of the Vajra Sect. After the Vajra Sect was annihilated, the Golden Gang Skill began to circulate. Several major families in Yun Province have copies of it.
"The copy Jade Butterfly had was stolen from the Qin Family of Yun Province by his father, the Flying Centipede. I don’t know if the Qin Family will come looking for trouble now that you’ve killed Jade Butterfly and learned the Golden Gang Skill."
"But if Jade Butterfly’s father, the Flying Centipede, finds out you’re the one who killed his son... I’m afraid he won’t let you go."