Raising his Protective Gang Qi and holding his breath, Xu Yang stepped inside. His gaze swept past the large chests and landed on a shelf at the very back.
The shelf was large, but mostly empty except for a pillow-sized iron box placed right in the center.
From what he could tell, the box was forged entirely from Profound Iron and was worth several hundred taels of silver on its own.
A chain ran through a loop on the box, securing it to the wall.
Xu Yang reached out, and with a powerful twist, he forcibly snapped the Profound Iron lock. Several Secret Manuals came into view. Without a second glance, he tucked them into his robes.
There were a few smaller chests on the adjacent shelf. Just as he was about to inspect them, a sharp voice called out, "What did you hide?"
He turned to see three figures striding in from outside, their robes stained with blood, the killing intent still thick on them.
The man in the lead was none other than Yun Heng.
None of them were fools. After killing their opponents, they all knew it was better to quickly search for spoils than to offend others by fighting over kills.
With so many Blood Lotus Sect disciples here, there was bound to be plenty of good stuff.
However, Yun Heng hadn’t expected someone to be even faster than them, having already blasted open the Treasure Vault and seemingly taken the best items.
Xu Yang glanced back at Yun Heng coolly, then ignored him and turned toward the next shelf.
"Xu Yang?"
Yun Heng was taken aback. He’d thought the figure looked familiar from behind, but he never expected it to be Xu Yang.
"Xu Yang, I’m talking to you!"
Seeing Xu Yang ignore him, Yun Heng, his killing intent not yet subsided, flew into a rage. ’Just some mud-leg who got lucky with a bit of talent and entered the Inner Sect, and he dares to disrespect me, a young master of the Yun Family?’
’This isn’t the Sect. There’s no rule here against fighting fellow disciples.’
A cold glint flashed in Yun Heng’s eyes. His body vanished from the spot. With fingers bent like a hook, his arm shot out like a bolt of lightning, tearing through the air as he clawed for Xu Yang’s neck.
"Yun Heng, don’t!" someone shouted.
But it was too late. With a single step, Yun Heng crossed the three-meter distance, appearing like a streak of blood-red light wrapped in a ferocious gale. A sharp whistle echoed as he unleashed the full might of his Marrow Cleansing Minor Achievement cultivation, pressing down on Xu Yang with his tyrannical aura.
Even without a physical strike, the pressure from his Minor Achievement in Bone Marrow Cleansing Cultivation alone should have been enough to give Xu Yang a hard time.
’He’s making a move on me? Did he not notice me earlier?’ A sharp glint flickered in Xu Yang’s eyes.
’I made a brief move outside just now. Yun Heng probably didn’t see me, so he doesn’t know I’ve already reached Marrow Cleansing Minor Achievement. He’s only daring to attack because he’s lashing out in anger after being ignored.’
Although his back was to Yun Heng, at his level of cultivation, his five senses were more effective than his eyes.
He had detected the instant Yun Heng’s anger flared.
He turned around unhurriedly, his gaze meeting Yun Heng’s furious eyes. Golden Gang Qi surged forth, and the aura of a Marrow Cleansing Minor Achievement expert swept out, repelling the oppressive aura Yun Heng had directed at him.
"Marrow Cleansing Minor Achievement!" Yun Heng’s face fell. ’How can Xu Yang be at Marrow Cleansing Minor Achievement?’
He wanted to pull back his hand, but it was already too late.
Xu Yang’s tendons tightened like springs, and his joints rumbled. In the instant he turned, his fist shot out like a great spear, precisely striking Yun Heng’s clawing hand.
BAM!
Fist and claw collided. Vigorous Energy erupted, blowing apart the nearby shelves and sending splinters flying.
The shock on Yun Heng’s face froze as he felt an incomparably fierce power surge from Xu Yang’s fist. It was like a landslide, an earthquake, that crushed his own Force with unstoppable momentum.
CRACK!
The crisp sound of a bone breaking echoed. Yun Heng’s face flushed red, a stifling pressure built in his chest, and his feet left the ground as he was sent flying backward.
Aaaargh...
A heart-wrenching scream tore through the air. Pain caused cold sweat to bead on Yun Heng’s forehead. He felt as if his organs had been displaced, and he couldn’t catch his breath.
"Brother Yun!"
His two companions cried out in alarm and reached out to catch him, but the force of the impact knocked them back several steps before they could stabilize themselves.
PTUI!
Yun Heng hit the ground and spat out a mouthful of blood. One of his arms hung limply at his side, like a wet noodle.
He stared at Xu Yang with a look of shock and terror. "Marrow Cleansing Minor Achievement... How could you possibly have reached Marrow Cleansing Minor Achievement?"
’On the Ten Heroes List, even Du Chuan has only just reached Marrow Cleansing Minor Achievement! Even Han Feng will probably need another year or two to get there. How could Xu Yang possibly have this kind of talent?’
"Idiot. Get lost!"
Xu Yang suppressed the killing intent in his heart. ’If they weren’t here, Yun Heng would already be dead for daring to attack me. Just breaking one of his arms is letting him off easy.’
"You..."
Yun Heng’s chest heaved violently. He had just been berated by a mud-leg. Just a few months ago, at the Qingyuan Association’s trade fair, Xu Yang had to lower his voice when speaking to him.
"Junior Brother Xu, please calm your anger. We’ll leave right now," the man who had tried to stop Yun Heng said with an apologetic smile.
He wasn’t like Yun Heng, who had been blinded by rage. He knew that for Xu Yang to have reached Marrow Cleansing Minor Achievement at this time meant he possessed a level of talent they could not afford to provoke.
Besides, he had already known about Xu Yang reaching Marrow Cleansing Minor Achievement. A moment ago, when Xu Yang had killed two members of the Blood Lotus Sect, the first one had been his opponent.
When he had tried to stop Yun Heng earlier, it wasn’t because he was worried Yun Heng would hurt Xu Yang, but because he knew Xu Yang had reached Marrow Cleansing Minor Achievement and was not to be trifled with. Unfortunately, Yun Heng hadn’t listened to him at all.
"None of this stuff belongs to him. Why should we be the ones to leave?" Yun Heng was extremely dissatisfied with his companion’s sycophantic words.
Hearing this, the man’s expression shifted slightly, and he decided he no longer wanted to deal with the rage-blinded Yun Heng.
’Reaching Marrow Cleansing Minor Achievement just over three years after entry... Even if he can’t achieve a Secondary Dragon Ascension, reaching the Celestial Essence Realm in the future will be no problem. If you make an enemy of someone like that, even if he can’t kill you now, he’ll have plenty of ways to deal with you later.’