The two clasped their hands in a salute, then turned and left.
...
’Junior Brother Xu is finally showing his brilliance.’
In the Outer Sect, news that Xu Yang had reached Marrow Cleansing Minor Achievement had already spread, causing an uproar. When Sun Tao heard the news, he was ecstatic.
’I can’t believe he’s so brilliant.’
Qin Ze and Liu Qian were reeling in shock, their hearts flooded with regret.
Liu Qian felt as if she had lost the most important thing in her life. If she hadn’t made the wrong choice back then, perhaps something different might have happened between her and that genius.
Unfortunately, she came from a prominent family, so her first instinct was always to weigh personal gain and loss rather than friendship.
"If we hadn’t disbanded the Alliance back then, we’d probably be Inner Sect Disciples by now," Qin Ze said with a bitter look.
He glanced down at his empty sleeve; he was missing an arm.
Across from him, a hideous, centipede-like scar marred Liu Qian’s face, making her once-delicate features look grotesque.
They had teamed up for an assessment mission. One was maimed, the other disfigured. Despite paying such a heavy price, they had failed to complete the mission and were still Outer Disciples to this day.
If they hadn’t kicked Xu Yang out back then, they probably would have completed the assessment mission with his help.
’That kid... he’s embarrassed me again.’ Li Songhe was at a loss for words.
He was the one who created the Ten Heroes and Top Ten lists, as well as the Inner Sect’s Ten Heroes List.
After all, as an Outer Elder, he was the person who knew the most about all the disciples of the Purple Sun Sect.
But who would have thought that just over a month after the Ten Heroes List was published, someone not even on it would reach Marrow Cleansing Minor Achievement before the listed geniuses.
’Those old geezers, Ding Yuan, Chang Chun, and Tie Fu, are probably kicking themselves raw right now.’
He quickly recalled those other old fools who had misjudged just like him.
"Li Songhe, you old bastard! You’ve ruined the Ding Family!"
Ding Yuan was indeed regretting it to his core. He was currently cursing Li Songhe’s name.
If that old bastard Li Songhe had properly gauged Xu Yang’s true talent instead of ranking him so low among the Ten Heroes, how could the Ding Family have missed out on such a genius?
With talent like that, backed by the full support of the Ding Family, they could have produced a Secondary Dragon Ascension genius in just two or three years.
"Second Elder, what should we do now?" Ding Xu asked, clasping his hands.
The look of shock on his face had yet to fade.
Upon hearing the news of Xu Yang’s Marrow Cleansing Minor Achievement, he had rushed back to the family to report, and he was still reeling from the shock.
The man the Ding Family had turned away simply because he refused a marriage alliance had actually reached Marrow Cleansing Minor Achievement just a few days after the Du Family’s genius, Du Chuan.
Ding Yuan was agonized. "What else can be done? You expect me to go and apologize to him in person? Just prepare a gift and send it over."
Ding Xu clasped his hands, turned, and withdrew.
"I’ve failed the Yuan Family!"
Yuan Qiang was so frustrated he felt like spitting blood. Of everyone, he was the one who regretted it the most.
He had once recruited such a genius for just two hundred taels of silver and a single Profound Yuan Qi Transformation Pill. For talent like that, such a price was practically no different from shooing away a beggar.
But he still wasn’t satisfied. He’d wanted a marriage alliance to truly make Xu Yang one of the Yuan Family’s own, and in the end, they had parted ways.
Before, he thought Xu Yang didn’t know what was good for him. Now, if word got out, people would just call him an idiot.
"He reached Marrow Cleansing Minor Achievement?"
On Beast King Peak, when Cao Jin heard from his returning junior brothers that Xu Yang had already reached Marrow Cleansing Minor Achievement, he felt as if his head was about to explode.
Reaching Marrow Cleansing Minor Achievement in just over three years since joining the sect... such talent terrified him. His so-called status as a disciple of the Cao Family was worth less than dog shit in the face of such talent.
He had spent three years in the Outer Sect and five in the Inner Sect—eight years in total—and he was still struggling with the bottleneck to reach Marrow Cleansing Minor Achievement.
The worst part was that he had threatened Xu Yang—a genius who had reached Marrow Cleansing Minor Achievement in three years.
For a moment, Cao Jin had the urge to flee the Purple Sun Sect, find some place to hide, and never show his face again.
...
"So this is what you meant when you said Xu Yang had no talent?"
On Medicine King Peak, Elder Chang Chun glared fiercely at his disciple, Sun Jian.
Reaching Marrow Cleansing Minor Achievement three years after joining... he had never accepted a disciple with that level of genius. Originally, he had considered taking Xu Yang in, but after listening to Sun Jian’s analysis, he had given up on the idea.
Not only had he missed out on a genius, but he would also become a laughingstock for those old geezers, who would mock him for being blind, for being unable to recognize a diamond in the rough.
He would have willingly taken in a genius like that and used his resources to nurture him, even if he had no talent for Alchemy whatsoever.
"Master, he hid his talent too well. I made an error in judgment. Please punish me," Sun Jian said, bowing his head low.
He hadn’t been targeting Xu Yang specifically back then; he had simply analyzed the information he had, and his Master had agreed with him.
Now that Xu Yang had displayed astonishing talent, his Master was turning around and blaming him instead.
He actually felt some regret himself. He had known Xu Yang not long after he joined the sect, but he had never taken him seriously, even teasing him a few times for overestimating his own abilities whenever they met.
If he had known Xu Yang was so talented, he would have put in a good word for him with his Master back then and had him taken in as a disciple. Now, his Master would be praising his good judgment, and Xu Yang would be grateful to him.
But now, he had managed to please no one.
"Forget it. What’s the use in punishing you? That old geezer Huoyun just got lucky," Elder Chang Chun said, shaking his head.
He had made the decision himself, so he was just venting. How could he bring himself to actually punish Sun Jian?
Sun Jian breathed a silent sigh of relief and said, "Thank you, Master. By the way, Master, Xu Yang has a sister in the Outer Sect. She’s currently tending to the herbs in the medicine garden. She’s applied to learn Alchemy several times but has always been rejected. Should we do Xu Yang and Elder Huoyun a favor?"
He had known before that Xu Qing was Xu Yang’s sister but had paid her no mind. Now that Xu Yang had reached Marrow Cleansing Minor Achievement and revealed his extraordinary talent, he was also eager to curry favor.
Xu Yang might not be much now, but what about in eight or ten years? If you wait until he’s a big shot to try and curry favor, he won’t even give you the time of day.
"His biological sister?" Elder Chang Chun asked.
Sun Jian nodded.
"Go take care of it now. And keep an eye on her from now on. Make things convenient for her. If her talent for Alchemy is decent, report back to me immediately," Elder Chang Chun instructed.
"Yes!"
Sun Jian clasped his hands and hurried away.
’Only a hundred more plants, and today’s task will be finished.’
In a medicine garden, Xu Qing was infusing herbs one by one with Cyan Wood Qi, which was the Cyan Wood Gang Qi she cultivated herself.
However, after being converted by a special Cultivation Technique, the Gang Qi was no longer overpowering but gentle, which could make the herbs grow better.
Of course, cultivating Spirit Medicine required more than just this technique; it had to be combined with other things as well.
The work of cultivating Spirit Medicine was arduous. Most of the Gang Qi she cultivated each day had to be fed to the herbs, but she had never once complained to Xu Yang.
It had already been very difficult for her brother to raise her to this point. She couldn’t trouble him over such a small hardship.
"Xu Qing, how much more do you have left?" a woman’s voice called out from a short distance away.
Xu Qing looked back and saw it was Senior Sister Zhang Juan, who also cultivated Spirit Medicine in the garden. "Senior Sister Zhang, I still have a hundred plants left," she said.
"Come over and help me finish mine first, then you can slowly work on yours. I have something to do today, so I need to leave early," Zhang Juan said.
In truth, she didn’t have anything to do; she just wanted to slack off.
The female disciples like them who were able to take on tasks on Medicine King Peak all came from powerful families. They had been exposed to medicinal herbs since childhood, which was why they were chosen to cultivate and tend to them.
Xu Qing had no background, so Zhang Juan would order her around every now and then, making her do her work so she could slack off a little.
Xu Qing had a soft personality and knew she couldn’t afford to offend her. Basically, whenever Zhang Juan asked, Xu Qing would grit her teeth and do the work for her.
"What? You don’t want to help your Senior Sister?" Seeing that Xu Qing didn’t come over immediately this time, Zhang Juan’s tone turned hostile.
"Senior Sister Zhang, I have something to do today. I’ll help you next time," Xu Qing said, gritting her teeth.
She hadn’t seen her older brother, Xu Yang, in over a month. She was especially worried after hearing that he had left the Sect in the last few days, sent on a mission to hunt down a Blood Lotus Sect Demon. She planned to finish her work early today and go to Li Fire Peak to ask for news.