’Either he dies or I do. If I make a move, I have a chance to live. If I don’t, I’ll just be waiting for him to kill me in the future.’
’A genius who dies young is no genius at all. It’s a pity you don’t understand restraint. You’ve already revealed your edge before you’re even fully grown.’
Luo Xin slipped out of the Forging Pavilion. After returning to his courtyard to make some preparations, he quickly descended Li Fire Peak.
He also had a Minor Achievement in Bone Marrow Cleansing Cultivation and was not confident he could kill Xu Yang on his own.
But that didn’t matter. He had been secretly gathering information on Xu Yang. He knew that in the battle at Qiushui Manor, Xu Yang had broken one of Yun Feng’s arms. He also knew that back when they were Outer Disciples, Cao Jin of Beast King Peak had once threatened to kill Xu Yang.
And then there was Li Chuyang, who had also clashed with Xu Yang.
’Wang Jianxing from Medicine King Peak came to offer an apology but was shamelessly driven away. He must want Xu Yang dead, too.’
He wasn’t confident on his own, but if he joined forces with four or five others with Minor Achievement in Bone Marrow Cleansing Cultivation, they could kill even a top-ten genius.
He was sure these people felt the same way he did—they couldn’t just stand by and watch Xu Yang become more powerful.
’If I can torture the Cultivation Technique for the Golden Gang Qi out of him... reaching the Celestial Essence realm might not be a guarantee, but Marrow Cleansing Great Success would be no problem at all.’
With their shared grudges and the allure of the Golden Gang Qi Technique—a technique that had even piqued Li Chuyang’s curiosity—he was confident he could persuade them.
Soon enough, he found Cao Jin on Beast King Peak.
"May I ask why Brother Luo has come to find me?" Cao Jin asked, looking at the man before him in confusion.
He had met Luo Xin before, but they were not friends.
Luo Xin took a sip of tea and spoke via voice transmission. "Brother Cao, let’s not mince words. I have a feud with Xu Yang that won’t end until one of us is dead. Today, Elder Huoyun punished him with an assignment to garrison Moon Lake. He has already left the Purple Sun Sect and is heading there now."
"I’ve come to you, Brother Cao, to propose we join forces... and finish Xu Yang."
’Xu Yang has left the Purple Sun Sect?’
Cao Jin’s heart skipped a beat, but his expression remained impassive. "You have the wrong person, Brother Luo. My issue with Xu Yang was merely a verbal spat, and we’ve already reconciled. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear a word you just said."
’Pretend he didn’t hear it?’
The moment Luo Xin heard this, he knew Cao Jin still wanted to kill Xu Yang. He immediately continued via voice transmission, "Brother Cao, you’re being too naive. Ask yourself, would you truly reconcile with someone who once threatened to kill you? Once you become a Celestial Essence expert and he’s still just an ant, are you saying you wouldn’t crush him just for the convenience of it?"
Cao Jin’s expression faltered.
Judging by his own standards, he knew that if he were in Xu Yang’s shoes, he would never spare someone who had once threatened to kill him. Not once he had the power.
Besides, he hadn’t gone after Xu Yang for no reason. He was fairly certain Xu Yang was the one who killed his nephew, Cao Rong. He just never imagined Xu Yang would end up as the fifth-ranked of the ten prodigies.
"Don’t hesitate, Brother Cao. This is our only chance to live. If we don’t take this risk now, we will be dead men in the future—and I guarantee it will be within five years. Besides... aren’t you the least bit tempted by the Cultivation Technique for the Golden Gang Qi?"
He drew out the words "Golden Gang Qi." As expected, a flicker of greed appeared in Cao Jin’s eyes.
"Moon Lake may be outside the Sect, but there are other Sect experts stationed there. The two of us alone can’t kill the fifth-ranked prodigy."
"Yun Heng from Tianquan Peak also has a Minor Achievement in Bone Marrow Cleansing Cultivation, and Xu Yang shattered his arm with a single punch."
Cao Jin finally relented. Luo Xin’s words had convinced him.
Luo Xin smiled. "Yun Heng only just reached the Minor Achievement level. I can’t say I could shatter his arm in one punch, but I’m confident I could kill him in fewer than ten moves."
"It’s true, the two of us can’t kill Xu Yang at Moon Lake. But what if we add Yun Heng and Wang Jianxing from Medicine King Peak? We’re not the only ones who want Xu Yang dead."
"Once we torture the Cultivation Technique for the Golden Gang Qi out of him, you and I might have a shot at reaching the Celestial Essence realm one day."
Celestial Essence!
Hearing that term, the greed in Cao Jin’s eyes intensified. A Celestial Essence expert possessed not only tyrannical martial power but also a lifespan far greater than that of a Bone Marrow Cleansing Martial Artist.
Why were Xu Yang, Li Chuyang, Jiang Fan, and Du Chuan the cream of the crop among the younger generation? Because they all practiced superior Anomalous Gang Qi Techniques.
Li Chuyang’s Three Yin Silver Palace Profound Gang True Technique, Jiang Fan’s Nine Revolutions Blood Coagulation Battle Gang, Xu Yang’s Golden Gang Qi, and the technique Du Chuan cultivated—an ancestral Anomalous Gang Qi Technique passed down in the Du Family. Even people like Yan Guiyun cultivated some form of Anomalous Gang Qi.
But people like him were stuck practicing an ordinary Red Gang Qi Technique. It couldn’t even be considered a specialized Gang Qi Technique, and its Marrow Cleansing effects were utterly incomparable to those of a superior Anomalous Gang Qi Technique.
A crazed light flashed in his eyes. Cao Jin gritted his teeth. "I’m in. I know someone on Medicine King Peak named Liu Qing who also has a grudge against Xu Yang. He’s quite talented and started grinding away at the bottleneck to Marrow Cleansing Great Success last year."
"I’ll go to Medicine King Peak to get in touch with him and Wang Jianxing. You, Brother Luo, go to Tianquan Peak and contact Yun Heng."
Luo Xin nodded. "I was also planning to contact Li Chuyang. He should be interested in this as well."
Cao Jin hastily stopped him. "Li Chuyang is still in seclusion. We might not even be able to see him. Besides, the man is too domineering. If we actually manage to torture the technique out of Xu Yang, we might not get a chance to practice it. He might even kill us to tie up loose ends."
"As long as Liu Qing agrees to help, the five of us at the Minor Achievement level will be more than enough to kill Xu Yang. Let’s keep Li Chuyang out of it."
Li Chuyang’s background was too strong. Teaming up with someone like him was like asking a tiger for its hide. Once the deed was done, he might kill them just to cover his tracks.
Luo Xin paused, just then remembering that the Sect Leader had sentenced Li Chuyang to three months of seclusion for fighting Jiang Fan in Tianfeng Valley. His punishment wasn’t over yet.
’Besides, Cao Jin has a point,’ he thought. ’As long as we have enough strength to kill Xu Yang, there’s no need to get a tyrant like Li Chuyang involved.’
"Let’s move out separately."
The two descended Beast King Peak together, then quickly went their separate ways.
...
After three days of travel, a crescent-shaped lake appeared in Xu Yang’s sight. It was surrounded by rolling hills covered in tall trees and dense forest, with miasma rising from the ground.
This was deep within the Yunling Mountain Range, where the climate was even milder than that of the Purple Sun Sect. Though autumn had already arrived, the trees here were still a vibrant green.
At the foot of a mountain not far from the lake was a cluster of buildings made from stone and wood. Outer Disciples, long sabers hanging from their waists, stood guard and patrolled the area.
This was a mining outpost belonging to Li Fire Peak, one rich in iron ore.
Of course, the Purple Sun Sect hadn’t established a mine here for common iron. Their primary targets were the Profound Iron Ore that occasionally appeared and, it was said, the even rarer Spirit Iron and Spiritual Gold.
The Spirit Iron and Profound Iron were what the Purple Sun Sect truly coveted; the rest of the iron ore was sold off.
Xu Yang had come to garrison this mining outpost, not the lake itself.
At the entrance to the mining outpost, the Outer Disciples on guard saw Xu Yang and hurriedly cupped their fists. "Greetings, Brother Xu."
They had all witnessed his performance in the Outer Disciple grand competition and naturally recognized him.
"Greetings, Junior Brothers," Xu Yang replied, politely cupping his fists.
It wasn’t in his nature to be arrogant. Besides, they would all be working together here. Putting on airs would only cause him trouble down the line.
"Brother Xu, let me take you to Senior Brother Guan Du."
One of the disciples stepped forward and led Xu Yang into the mining outpost.
Soon, in the centermost building of the outpost, Xu Yang met his fifth senior brother, Guan Du. He was a large, burly man with a full beard and deeply tanned skin.
Bare-chested and holding a Forging Hammer, he was forging Weapons in the courtyard next to a furnace that glowed red-hot.
Xu Yang’s eyes lit up. He had thought that coming here would mean putting his Weapon Forging Skill practice on hold, but he was surprised to see a Furnace Forging Platform and other equipment ready and waiting.
"Junior Brother Xu, just a moment! I’m almost finished with this blade!"
Guan Du didn’t stop his work just because Xu Yang had arrived. He kept hammering away. CLANG. CLANG.
"Please, Senior Brother Guan, don’t let me interrupt."
Xu Yang’s gaze swept over the scene. He noted that Guan Du was using only common materials as a roughly outlined blade gradually took shape.
After about fifteen minutes, Guan Du finally finished. He tossed aside his Forging Hammer and laughed. "Worthy of a top-ten genius. Junior Brother Xu, you’re every bit as impressive as they say."
Xu Yang smiled. "Senior Brother Guan, you flatter me."
Guan Du nodded, then turned to the disciple who had brought Xu Yang. "My Junior Brother Xu is here. Go get Steward Chen Yong so we can handle the mission handover."
The disciple’s name was Zhou Jiang; Xu Yang had asked him on the way over.
Zhou Jiang nodded and turned to leave.
"Wait here a moment, Junior Brother Xu. Let me go change, and then I’ll give you a tour."
With that, Guan Du strode into the house.