Xu Yang was about to head downstairs with Qin Ze, Yue Gui, and the others when a familiar, gentle laugh suddenly reached his ears.

He looked over and saw Lin Wei by a nearby window, smiling beautifully. Opposite her sat the debonair Xiao Chen.

The two sat facing each other. Xiao Chen was paying her compliments, which made Lin Wei laugh.

Xu Yang shook his head to himself and quickly departed.

Lin Cheng had asked him to look after Lin Wei as best he could, but this sort of thing was clearly outside his purview. Besides, Xiao Chen wasn’t necessarily a bad match, and if he interfered, Lin Wei might get the wrong idea and think he was interested in her.

Back in Weiyuan Hall, countless disciples had been infatuated with Lin Wei, approaching her both openly and in secret, but she had never been swayed. He had assumed her heart was set on the Martial Dao, and that was why she showed no interest in romance.

It turned out she simply hadn’t been interested in any of her martial brothers at Weiyuan Hall.

"If there’s any urgent news, don’t wait for the meeting. Just contact everyone."

Qin Ze instructed as they parted ways.

Back in the restaurant, the five of them had already agreed to meet there on the same day each month to share information and exchange insights on the Martial Dao.

The five of them went their separate ways. After walking for a bit, Xu Yang suddenly spotted someone he knew.

Jiang Fan was trailing after a woman like a lovesick puppy. "Ah Ya, let me treat you to a meal."

He had a fawning expression on his face, and his voice was gentle, as if he were afraid that speaking too loudly would startle the woman named Ah Ya.

Ah Ya was clearly annoyed. A flicker of disgust crossed her face as she said, "I’ve already eaten."

Jiang Fan pressed on, "You haven’t picked up a mission yet, have you? Whatever you want to do, I’ll go with you."

Ah Ya couldn’t take it anymore. She stopped and snapped, "Can you just stop pestering me? If you don’t do any missions, you’ll be expelled from the Sect sooner or later."

Xu Yang never would have imagined that the warm and cheerful Jiang Fan was such a simp.

Just then, a group of people approached from the other direction. One of them was none other than Lu Ren, and another was also an acquaintance, Gu Haoming.

With the two of them was a woman. Xu Yang seemed to recall her name was Yang Wanqiu, and that she was also from Qingyuan.

Ah Ya spotted Lu Ren’s group as well, and her eyes instantly lit up. "I see my friends now. Stop following me."

With that, she ditched Jiang Fan and walked over to Lu Ren and his companions.

She clearly knew all three of them, and she quickly started chatting and laughing with the group, subtly leaning her body closer to Lu Ren.

Jiang Fan looked crestfallen. He fell back, trailing the group of four from a distance.

Lu Ren’s group soon reached Xu Yang. Lu Ren and Gu Haoming both stopped, and Yang Wanqiu followed suit.

Ah Ya looked at Xu Yang curiously, wondering why Lu Ren and the others had stopped for him.

Lu Ren looked at Xu Yang with a complicated expression. "I’ve reached Qi Gathering Perfection," he said, "and I’m starting my breakthrough to the Qi Cultivation Gang realm."

Xu Yang’s expression was calm. "I heard from Brother Jiang Ping," he said. "Brother Gu’s family must have spent a pretty penny on you."

Gu Haoming: ...

Lu Ren didn’t get angry. He said calmly, "I didn’t come here to show off. I came to tell you that you can’t get anywhere fighting alone. You, me, and Zhang Yong... we all struggled out of the mud together. It wasn’t easy to get this far. We should be supporting each other.

Come to Sharp Wind Hall, and I guarantee no one will give you any trouble."

Gu Haoming’s expression shifted slightly.

In Sharp Wind Hall, the only ones on bad terms with Xu Yang were him and Jiang Ping.

The implication of Lu Ren’s words was that he had the authority to make both him and Jiang Ping stop giving Xu Yang a hard time.

Although he was unhappy about it, he didn’t say anything. It wasn’t worth disrespecting Lu Ren over such a small matter.

Xu Yang shook his head. "I’m doing fine on my own. I have no intention of joining any faction."

Lu Ren said nothing more.

Gu Haoming sneered, "You’re clueless. You’ll regret it when you’re beaten to a pulp. Don’t think you can rest easy just because you cobbled together some little Alliance with Qin Ze and his ilk. The waters of the Outer Sect run deeper than you imagine. If you don’t change, the gap between you and Lu Ren will only grow wider."

"Brother Gu, let’s go!"

Lu Ren said, then strode away.

Xu Yang’s eyes narrowed as he watched them leave. Gu Haoming was obviously still holding a grudge over his past refusal. ’Judging by his tone, he’s still looking to cause trouble.’

"Brother Xu, you know them? That Lu Ren, is he the one from the Ten Heroes?" Jiang Fan asked as he walked up to Xu Yang.

Xu Yang nodded. "That’s him."

"So that’s Lu Ren," Jiang Fan sighed. "No wonder he has such an extraordinary air about him."

"Brother Jiang, I’ll take my leave now!"

Xu Yang cupped his fist in salute and quickly made his way to the Merit Hall to pick up a mission.

The Purple Sun Sect was extremely strict with its Outer Disciples. Every month, they had to complete missions worth at least ten contribution points. If they failed to earn ten points, their three Qi Replenishing Pills would be confiscated.

Failing to earn ten contribution points for three consecutive months would result in expulsion. In short, the Sect was treating them like workhorses, expecting them to toil tirelessly to create value.

The hall was crowded, and the missions were plentiful: escorts, transport details, bandit suppression, hunting notorious outlaws, as well as capturing specific Exotic Beasts and gathering Spirit Medicines.

These missions generally had one thing in common: they required leaving the Sect and were all very time-consuming.

Of course, the pay was excellent.

There were also tasks like assisting with alchemy or sorting medicinal herbs, which required some knowledge of the ingredients. A few other missions were even restricted to women only.

Basically, any missions that hadn’t been taken usually had some sort of catch; otherwise, they would have been snatched up long ago.

Xu Yang’s attention was soon drawn to a particular mission: refining Profound Iron on Li Fire Peak. It was a month-long assignment, and the pay was piece-rate: one contribution point for every hundred pounds of Profound Iron refined.

The mission description stated that a diligent worker could earn at least twenty contribution points by the end of the month and was also provided with a daily lunch that included Exotic Beast meat.

He immediately found a Steward to accept the mission and was surprised to see it was an acquaintance: Xiao Hua.