It was then that Xu Yang learned the man’s name was Hu Fengyi. He and Gu Haoming were guarding the warehouse entrance, responsible for checking the identities of those who entered.

He and Lu Ren, meanwhile, were responsible for patrolling the warehouse perimeter.

The next few days passed peacefully. Xu Yang guarded the Hundred Medicine Hall at night and returned to the Purple Sun Sect to cultivate during the day.

His time for cultivation was greatly reduced, but fortunately, he had already achieved Qi Cultivation Gang. Even while on patrol, his cultivation grew slowly.

Besides, the only things he could currently cultivate were the Fuyue Bear Scripture and the Golden Gang Skill, so having less time didn’t affect him much. Gradually, he grew accustomed to this routine.

Over these few days, he had also learned a few things. Lu Ren, Gu Haoming, and Hu Fengyi were all friends who had taken this task together. He was the only one who had been forcibly assigned to it by Xiao Hua.

Time flew by, and soon it was time for the Qi Gathering Pills to be distributed again. This time, Xu Yang received his elixir without any trouble.

He swallowed one on the spot and found that, just as the rumors said, the Qi Replenishing Pill had little effect on a Bone Marrow Cleansing Martial Artist, not nearly as potent as it was in the Qi Gathering Realm.

He put the remaining two away, planning to sell them later when he had the chance, then turned and entered a tavern, where he soon met Qin Ze and the other three.

"Let’s start with our cultivation progress. Has anyone achieved Qi Cultivation Gang?" Qin Ze spoke first.

Without strength, the Alliance was a joke, so everyone was most concerned with the issue of improving their power.

Yue Gui said, "I achieved Qi Cultivation Gang five days ago."

"I’ve also achieved Qi Cultivation Gang."

The one who spoke was Liu Qian. With a calm smile on her face, she, too, had managed to achieve Qi Cultivation Gang.

Including Qin Ze, the Alliance suddenly had three masters who had achieved Qi Cultivation Gang.

Although Qi Cultivation Gang was nothing compared to the older Outer Disciples, among new disciples, this level of cultivation was definitely far ahead of the majority.

"I’m still a little ways off," Chen Jiang said, his voice somewhat faint. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Then, everyone looked at Xu Yang.

He pondered for a moment before saying, "I should be able to break through within a month."

He had no intention of revealing that he had already achieved Qi Cultivation Gang for the time being.

Last time, he had only revealed his Wind and Thunder Strength, and the Heroic Assembly had come looking for him the very next day. Although it hadn’t caused any real trouble, it was the root cause.

He also suspected that Xiao Hua targeting him might be related to this.

If he were just a mediocre talent, Xiao Hua could slap him a few times, let alone just frame him, and he would be powerless to resist.

But now that he had become a genius nearly comparable to the Ten Heroes, Xiao Hua would naturally worry about him seeking revenge after growing stronger and would try to trip him up.

Qin Ze said, "The Alliance now has three masters who have achieved Qi Cultivation Gang. That’s excellent. By the time we meet again, everyone should be able to achieve it."

At this, everyone smiled.

Even though some had yet to form their Gang Qi, this step wouldn’t hold any of them back for long.

Yue Gui said, "This time, let’s add a resource-sharing segment. I have no use for my Qi Replenishing Pills. Does anyone need them? You can just pay me the black market price."

Qin Ze’s eyes lit up. "Trade them to me. At my Spiritual Monkey Boxing Hall, I still have a few junior brothers who haven’t reached Qi Gathering Perfection."

Although the black market was only five kilometers outside the Sect gate, not everyone had the courage or ability to make the trip. If your luck was bad, you might go and never come back.

Seeing Qin Ze speak first, Chen Jiang, whose mouth had just begun to open, didn’t make a sound.

"I have no use for mine either. The black market price is fine!" Liu Qian said softly.

"Trade them to me." This time, Chen Jiang was the first to speak.

A flicker of displeasure passed through Qin Ze’s eyes, but he didn’t say anything.

Watching this, Xu Yang also spoke up, "I’ve reached Qi Gathering Perfection, so I don’t need them either. However, I just tested one, so I only have two left. Four contribution points for them will do."

Once again, Chen Jiang spoke first. He got the two Qi Gathering Pills for four contribution points, a broad smile on his face. He completely failed to notice the fleeting displeasure in Qin Ze’s eyes.

After the exchange of elixirs and contribution points was over, Qin Ze said, "Does anyone have any intelligence to share?"

Xu Yang shook his head. "My task is in Cyan Yang City. I’ve been running back and forth between the city and the Sect lately, so I don’t have any useful news."

Chen Jiang showed a look of surprise. "Brother Xu, didn’t you just finish the Li Fire Peak task? Why are you on another one already? You should be focusing on closed-door cultivation."

Qin Ze nodded in agreement. "Brother Xu, if you’re short on resources, I can lend you some. You can pay me back after you achieve Qi Cultivation Gang. Contribution points are important, but cultivation is fundamental."

Both of them thought Xu Yang was working so hard just to earn contribution points.

Yue Gui said, "I heard that Xu Yang’s task was forcibly assigned by a Steward from the Task Hall. Is that right, Brother Xu?"

As soon as he said this, the expressions on both Qin Ze and Chen Jiang’s faces changed slightly. So he was being targeted.

Xu Yang nodded. "That’s right."

Liu Qian said, "Brother Xu, please be careful. I heard from my older brother that the job of guarding the Hundred Medicine Hall is not a good one. Guardian Disciples often end up dead, so very few people take it.

"Trouble is especially likely to happen when the shop receives valuable Spirit Medicine."

Xu Yang cupped his hands. "Thank you for the warning. I will be careful."

Soon, the group returned to the topic of intelligence.

Yue Gui said, "I have a piece of news. There’s a power in the city called the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion that sometimes sells elixirs for the Bone Marrow Cleansing Realm. However, you must spend over five thousand taels there before you even qualify to purchase them.

"If any of you are interested, you can spend more at the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion."

Elixirs for the Bone Marrow Cleansing Realm could also be exchanged for contribution points in the Outer Sect, but it required a huge amount of them.

Many who came from wealthy families could only go outside to buy elixirs for the Bone Marrow Cleansing Realm.

Yue Gui’s words brought a look of joy to the faces of Liu Qian and the others, who didn’t seem to care at all about the five-thousand-tael threshold.

They all felt this information was very useful and thanked him one after another.

After the thanks were over, Liu Qian spoke again, this time in a gloating tone.

"I heard from my older brother that the Sharp Wind Hall and the Dawn Association have joined forces. Cao Rong and Yun Feng have started demanding that their ordinary members pay a certain amount of contribution points every month as a membership fee."

Xu Yang was a bit surprised. He hadn’t expected Yun Feng and Cao Rong to start fleecing their members so soon. He wondered if Zhang Yong and the others were among those being fleeced.

Yue Gui laughed. "Serves them right. Did they really think there’s such a thing as a free lunch? They should have considered the status of Young Master Cao and Young Master Yun. Why would they provide protection for no reason?"

Qin Ze frowned. "Don’t these people know how to resist?"

Liu Qian shook her head. "Cao Ren of the Cao Family is one of the Dawn Association’s backers in the Inner Sect. How would they dare to resist? Besides, for now, it’s like boiling a frog in warm water. The fees are small and still within an acceptable range for them.

"Yun Feng and Cao Rong aren’t fools. Demanding too much at once would only incite rebellion. They’re probably planning to do it little by little."

After a while, the group exchanged a few more pieces of less important intelligence, and the meeting came to an end.

Xu Yang got up to leave but noticed that the others remained seated.

Chen Jiang smiled. "Brother Xu, you go on ahead. We were just hoping to ask Brother Yue for some help pulling some strings to get an easy task with a lot of contribution points."

Yue Gui had connections and could use money to secure good tasks.

Xu Yang nodded, turned, and pushed the door open to leave.

The room was quiet for a moment. Seemingly after confirming that Xu Yang was gone, Qin Ze finally spoke. "Alright, Brother Yue, what did you mean by telling the four of us to stay behind after the meeting?

"Xu Yang is an ally. It’s not right to go behind his back like this."

It turned out Chen Jiang’s words were just an excuse. The four of them had arrived before Xu Yang, and Yue Gui had already told the other three that he wanted Xu Yang to leave first after the meeting, as he had something to say to them.

Chen Jiang chuckled lightly. "Brother Qin, don’t you get it? Brother Yue is looking out for us. Right now, everyone in the Outer Sect knows we’re allied with Xu Yang.

"He’s being targeted by a Steward from the Task Hall and has been assigned an extremely dangerous mission. If we continue to maintain our alliance with him, aren’t you worried that a Steward from the Steward Hall will make things difficult for us?"

As soon as he said this, Qin Ze’s expression changed.

A Steward from the Task Hall truly held their lives in his hands. If he wanted to target someone, he could just assign them a few dangerous tasks, and even ten lives wouldn’t be enough to survive.

He truly hadn’t considered the possibility of being implicated because of Xu Yang.

"Brother Yue, am I right?" Chen Jiang said with a smile, looking at Yue Gui.