However, a rift had formed in the Alliance.

Qin Ze said in a low voice, "Brother Xu, if you ever confirm that this isn’t a personal grudge but suppression from the Eagle Society, we will act according to our pact."

Liu Qian said, "If I hear any relevant news, I’ll let you know. Even if the rest of us don’t get involved, we should at least try to warn Brother Xu if we get any information."

The others agreed.

Xu Yang cupped his hands. "Thank you!"

With no more information to share, the gathering quickly came to an end.

After leaving the restaurant, Xu Yang hurried to Li Fire Peak to refine Profound Iron.

Before long, thanks to Qin Ze and the others spreading the word, many disciples from Qingyuan County learned that Xu Yang had comprehended Wind and Thunder Strength.

"Failed again. The bottleneck for Qi Cultivation Gang is nothing like the one for Qi Gathering Great Success."

Lu Ren sighed and walked out of his room.

"Junior Brother Lu, did you fail again?" Zhao Zhifei guessed instantly upon seeing the look on Lu Ren’s face.

Lu Ren nodded. "Yes."

Zhao Zhifei comforted him, "Don’t be impatient. It’s been less than a month since you reached Qi Gathering Perfection, so it’s normal not to have broken through yet. Usually, even someone who has comprehended Wind and Thunder Strength needs to spend one or two months consolidating their power after reaching Qi Gathering Perfection before they can even touch upon the opportunity for Qi Cultivation Gang..."

As he spoke, he looked like he wanted to say more but stopped himself, ultimately deciding against it.

Lu Ren’s brow furrowed. "Senior Brother Zhao, just say what’s on your mind. Are there rumors spreading outside because I haven’t reached Qi Cultivation Gang yet?"

He noticed Zhao Zhifei’s hesitation. Thinking it over, the only thing that could be used against him was how he had loudly proclaimed reaching Qi Gathering Perfection but had yet to break through to Qi Cultivation Gang.

Zhao Zhifei thought for a moment. "Promise me you won’t let it affect your state of mind after you hear it. How about it?"

A cold light flashed in Lu Ren’s eyes. "Speak. Mere rumors can’t affect me. Besides, even if you don’t tell me, I can find out myself."

As one of the Ten Heroes, he had his own pride.

Hearing this, Zhao Zhifei knew he couldn’t hide it. He took a deep breath and said, "The rumor outside is that Xu Yang has comprehended Wind and Thunder Strength."

Lu Ren: "..."

An uncontrollable panic surged in his heart. Lu Ren felt as if a shadow had fallen over him, and the sky itself had turned gray.

He had thought that by comprehending Wind and Thunder Strength, he had finally left that person far behind. But just like always, that person had haunted him like a lingering ghost and followed right behind, comprehending it as well.

No matter how well he did, no matter how hard he worked, that person was always trailing unhurriedly behind him, as if mocking him.

A strange look appeared on Zhao Zhifei’s face. The rumors about his failure to reach Qi Cultivation Gang couldn’t affect Lu Ren’s state of mind, but a single sentence about Xu Yang comprehending Wind and Thunder Strength had thrown this Ten Heroes Genius into chaos. Xu Yang had truly become his inner demon.

Lu Ren took a deep breath. "Who spread this? Has anyone confirmed it?"

Zhao Zhifei replied, "It seems to have been spread by Qin Ze and the others in his Alliance. As for whether it’s true or not, no one has gone to confirm it."

Without another word, Lu Ren stood up and walked out.

Zhao Zhifei’s expression changed, and he hurriedly got up to follow.

As the Golden Crow fell in the west, Xu Yang descended Li Fire Peak with Chen Chao and the others, walking back to his residence under the evening glow.

Lu Ren stood quietly in front of the courtyard gate. Passersby eyed him with curiosity, wondering why this Ten Heroes Genius was just standing there.

Not far away, Zhang Yong, Sun Tao, Jiang Ping, Gu Haoming, Zhao Zhifei, and a dozen other disciples from Qingyuan County stood together, all silently watching the scene unfold.

"I heard you comprehended Wind and Thunder Strength. Use it now, or you will get hurt."

Lu Ren strode forward, his presence overwhelmingly powerful.

He covered ten feet in a single step, reaching Xu Yang in just three. His palm struck out silently, devoid of any grand commotion, yet a powerful force lay dormant between his fingers. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Wind and Thunder Strength—as light as the wind, as fierce as crashing thunder.

Xu Yang’s expression didn’t change as he, too, sent a palm out with feather-light grace.

The next moment, their palms collided, and Force surged between them.

"CRACK!"

Lu Ren felt as if he had slammed his palm onto a bed of needles. Piercing pain shot through his entire hand, and his flesh felt like it was being shredded.

"Wind and Thunder Strength! It really is Wind and Thunder Strength! Junior Brother Xu wasn’t bluffing," Sun Tao exclaimed.

Just when everyone thought Xu Yang had only been lucky in the past and was no match for Lu Ren, he had done it again—following right behind Lu Ren and comprehending Wind and Thunder Strength.

Zhang Yong murmured to himself, "No wonder Master was willing to sponsor his training."

He had wondered about it before. With Lin Cheng’s disposition, he didn’t even think highly of Lu Ren, so why would he favor Xu Yang? It turned out Xu Yang’s talent was not much less than Lu Ren’s.

And in comparison, to be honest, even though he was in the same camp as Lu Ren right now, he much preferred Xu Yang.

’He’s such a sandbagger!’

Lin Wei, who happened to be passing by, was rendered speechless.

’What do they mean, "just comprehended" Wind and Thunder Strength? She knew for a fact that Xu Yang had comprehended it six months ago. By now, he might have even grasped Mixed Element Strength.’

’These people are making such a big deal out of it. They have no idea Xu Yang only revealed a fraction of his skill to avoid more trouble because Li Rui’an put him down yesterday.’

"Well?"

After that single strike, Xu Yang stood with his hands behind his back, not making another move.

’To be honest, this is the first time I’ve experienced someone else’s Wind and Thunder Strength,’ Xu Yang thought. ’But it feels... underwhelming. It can’t even shake my physical body, which already possesses a trace of the Vajra Indestructible Attribute. I barely felt a thing.’

’I feel like even if it hit a vital spot like my heart, the Wind and Thunder Strength probably wouldn’t hurt me. Not unless it was Mixed Element Strength, or True Qi on the same level as Vajra True Qi.’

Lu Ren suppressed the piercing pain in his palm and said calmly, "It really is Wind and Thunder Strength. Very good. I thought I was finally leaving you in the dust, but you’ve caught up again. Excellent. Let’s see just how long you can keep up."

With that, he wasted no more words and strode away.

A smile touched the corners of Xu Yang’s lips. If not for the fleeting grimness in Lu Ren’s eyes, he might have actually believed him.

’My palm strike isn’t easy to take. When we clashed with Wind and Thunder Strength, Lu Ren didn’t have a tyrannical body like mine.’

Zhao Zhifei, Gu Haoming, and their group followed Lu Ren away, while Zhang Yong and the others crowded around Xu Yang excitedly.

"Junior Brother Xu, you really surprised me!" said Sun Tao.

"It’s a shame. If you’d comprehended it earlier, you might have made it onto the Ten Heroes List," Zhang Yong said with a look of regret.

Jiang Fan shook his head. "His Comprehension may be comparable to Lu Ren’s, but his Root Bone is much worse. It’ll still be difficult for him to become one of the Ten Heroes."

Zhang Yong retorted, displeased, "Listen to you, talking as if you’re one of the Ten Heroes. Who are you to critique Xu Yang? Do you know him better than I do?"

Jiang Fan’s face immediately flushed red.

Wan Hai laughed. "To think a genius comparable to the Ten Heroes has moved into our courtyard."

He seemed to have forgotten their previous unpleasantness, his smile now incredibly warm.

"Senior Brother Jiang, why so quiet?" Xu Yang asked, looking at Jiang Ping with a beaming smile.

Jiang Ping forced a smile that was uglier than a crying face. "Congratulations, Junior Brother Xu."

He had thought Xu Yang had been completely left behind by Lu Ren. Reverting to his old ways from their time at Weiyuan Hall, he had looked down on Xu Yang at every turn. Now, a chill ran down his spine.

He had offended a genius on par with Lu Ren; his future days were not going to be easy. What he regretted even more was that he could have become true junior and senior brothers with Xu Yang, but now their relationship was only surface-deep.

Perhaps if they were outside, Xu Yang would kill him if given the chance. He had already witnessed the guy’s ruthlessness during the Martial Arts Examination.

"Junior Brother Kong, this is bad! I just got word that Xu Yang has comprehended the Wind and Thunder Strength of the Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist."

Meanwhile, Ji Jincheng also heard the news about Xu Yang comprehending Wind and Thunder Strength and rushed to find his junior brother, Kong Yu.

This type of Force was a Killing Move specifically aimed at Qi Gathering Great Success Martial Artists. It couldn’t be taken lightly.

"Is that so? I didn’t expect him to have that kind of skill. Good. This way, it won’t be like I’m bullying the weak," Kong Yu said, a sharp glint in his eyes.

Ji Jincheng said urgently, "Don’t be careless! Wind and Thunder Strength is a Killing Move for Qi Gathering Great Success Martial Artists. It specifically targets the internal organs!"

Kong Yu smiled. "Senior Brother Ji, don’t worry. As it happens, I too have comprehended the Hidden Strength of the Shocking Wind Palm today!"

He raised his hand and placed it lightly on Ji Jincheng’s arm. With a pulse of the force lying dormant in his palm, a vicious, insidious power shot into half of Ji Jincheng’s arm, making his blood feel as if it were about to freeze.

Ji Jincheng was overjoyed. "Excellent! Junior brother, you actually comprehended Hidden Strength too! Haha... Amazing! You truly are worthy of being the third-ranked genius of the Ten Heroes."

"Ah, no—comprehending Hidden Strength this quickly, I’d say your ranking should move up even higher."

Xu Yang had been practicing martial arts for over a year and a half, while Kong Yu had been at it for barely a year.

Not only did his Root Bone crush Xu Yang’s, but his Comprehension did as well. ’How laughable,’ he thought. ’I was actually reminding Junior Brother Kong to be careful. The two of them are on completely different levels.’

Kong Yu smiled. "Senior Brother Ji, let’s be low-key. The two ahead of me have powerful backgrounds. We shouldn’t provoke them. I’m fine with being third."