"I have comprehended Wind and Thunder Strength."

Faced with Yue Gui’s question, Xu Yang thought for a moment before admitting he had indeed comprehended the Wind and Thunder Strength.

’The Alliance was originally formed to avoid being targeted by the Eagle Society and Sharp Wind Hall. Qin Ze had sought me out primarily for my potential. It wouldn’t be a bad thing to show some of what I can do, to prove my worth to the Alliance.’

’Without connections or a powerful background, if I don’t even have potential, why would they share important intelligence with me?’

’The Alliance is built on mutual benefit, not charity. Proving my value is the only way for us to cooperate smoothly.’

Yue Gui was stunned. "Well, I’ll be. You really did comprehend Wind and Thunder Strength."

He had only asked on a whim, not really expecting anything to come of it. He never thought Xu Yang would have actually comprehended the Wind and Thunder Strength. And by the looks of it, if he hadn’t asked, Xu Yang would have never brought it up on his own.

’Even though he’s still behind Lu Ren, as usual, he still managed to comprehend the Wind and Thunder Strength.’

"Congratulations, Brother Xu, on comprehending Wind and Thunder Strength. Once you reach Qi Gathering Perfection, achieving Qi Cultivation Gang will be much simpler," Chen Jiang said, standing up with a smile plastered across his face.

At first, he had looked down on Xu Yang, not thinking he was qualified to form an alliance with them.

But with the reveal of the Wind and Thunder Strength, he was suddenly the least qualified member. Among the five of them, both Qin Ze and Yue Gui had long ago comprehended a special Force on par with it.

Although Liu Qian hadn’t comprehended such a Force either, she was from the Liu Family and had an older brother among the Outer Disciples who had placed third in the last term. Her numerous sources of information gave her a greater advantage than him.

So now, he had suddenly become the one at the bottom.

"Congratulations, Brother Xu. With such talent, it’s no wonder you looked down on the conditions my father offered back then."

Liu Qian also offered her congratulations. The terms the Liu Family had offered were indeed not enough to sway a genius who had comprehended Wind and Thunder Strength after practicing martial arts for just over a year.

With this level of talent, even if he couldn’t make it onto the Ten Heroes List, he wouldn’t be far off.

Defeating Lu Ren at the Martial Arts Examination was, it seemed, no fluke.

Xu Yang shook his head. "The Patriarch’s offer was good, but I’m just not one for being controlled by others."

Liu Qian pursed her lips into a light smile and said, "I know. If you were that kind of person, Brother Xu, we probably wouldn’t have become allies today."

Qin Ze stood up and said, "Congratulations. I knew my judgment wasn’t wrong. Your talent is on par with Lu Ren’s."

With Xu Yang comprehending Wind and Thunder Strength, much of the gloom brought on by the breakthroughs of Gu Haoming, Han Xing, and the others dissipated.

’The Alliance’s strength has soared!’

Yue Gui laughed. "Brother Xu, that personality of yours won’t do. It’s not a bad thing to show your edge now and then. If you had announced that you’d comprehended Wind and Thunder Strength sooner, Li Rui’an probably wouldn’t have targeted you today."

Li Rui’an’s attack on Xu Yang was a play to bring the Dawn Association into the spotlight. He chose Xu Yang mainly because he was a loner with no faction or backing, so there was no fear of offending someone powerful.

Xu Yang shook his head. "I just comprehended it. I can’t just go up to everyone and tell them I’ve comprehended Wind and Thunder Strength, can I? It’s not like I’ve reached Qi Cultivation Gang. I’d probably just get mocked."

Although few people comprehended a Force like Wind and Thunder Strength, among the three hundred-plus new disciples, there were still twenty or thirty such people.

He continued, "Besides, Li Rui’an coming after me probably wasn’t just bad luck. It was Kong Yu’s handiwork."

Although he hadn’t overheard Ji Jincheng and Kong Yu’s conversation, his five senses were keen enough to notice the difference in their gazes compared to others.

Qin Ze’s brow furrowed. In a deep voice, he asked, "Brother Xu, are you certain?"

’If he wasn’t just unlucky to be targeted by Li Rui’an, but this was arranged by Kong Yu, then according to our pact, this is no longer just Xu Yang’s problem. It’s a problem for the entire Alliance.’

Xu Yang nodded. "It’s more than likely."

Liu Qian, Yue Gui, and Chen Jiang also frowned, their brows tightly knit. ’So the Eagle Society has finally made its move.’

"Then from now on, whether it’s the Eagle Society or the Dawn Association that makes a move against Brother Xu, we can’t just stand by and watch," Yue Gui said.

Chen Jiang was silent for a moment before saying in a low voice, "According to the pact, that should be the case. However, during the Martial Arts Examination, Xu Yang killed Kong Yu’s senior brother, Zhu Yang. According to another clause in our pact, this should be considered a personal grudge."

If it was a personal grudge, then according to the pact, they wouldn’t have to get involved.

’If it were just the Eagle Society, I wouldn’t have said such a thing. But after what happened today, Xu Yang might have also angered the Dawn Association.’

’The Dawn Association has backing from the Inner Sect. It’s best not to provoke them if it can be avoided.’

The most important thing was that Xu Yang really did have a personal grudge with Kong Yu. Many people knew that Kong Yu had always wanted to avenge Zhu Yang, so this matter wasn’t necessarily the work of the Eagle Society. It was highly probable that Kong Yu was acting on a personal vendetta.

Liu Qian said, "Suppression or personal grudge... it’s hard to tell the difference."

Just as Qin Ze was about to speak, Xu Yang cut in first, "Let’s just call it a personal grudge. Kong Yu does want revenge on me. I’ll handle this myself. The Alliance doesn’t need to confront this with me."

’I never expected Qin Ze and the others to become the kind of friends who share weal and woe. Besides, this really is probably just Kong Yu’s personal revenge.’

’If we don’t separate official business from personal affairs, then I’d be dragging them into my problems today, and they could drag me into theirs tomorrow.’

’For this kind of alliance, I’d rather keep business and personal matters separate. I don’t want them helping me, only to create a precedent where I have to step in whenever someone else is dealing with a personal vendetta.’

’Besides, I could see their hesitation, so I just spoke up first. I never really expected the Alliance to solve my problems anyway. For me, it’s just a place to get information.’

None of them spoke. Since none of them wanted to confront the Dawn Association, Xu Yang admitting it was a personal grudge was the best possible outcome for everyone.

Otherwise, if he had insisted it wasn’t a personal grudge, they would have either had to bear the consequences with him, or the Alliance would have disbanded then and there.