"Junior Brother Xu, why did you disappear for a few days without a word again? I thought you’d been killed."

As soon as he returned to his courtyard, Sun Tao started chiding him.

"Senior Brother, I went down the mountain to take care of some business and stayed in the city for a few days."

Xu Yang was touched, knowing that Sun Tao was genuinely concerned for him. But he had left in a hurry and didn’t have time to go explain the situation to Sun Tao, lest he attract unwanted attention.

"You should hurry to the Task Hall. You haven’t done a task in a long time. Someone from the Task Hall came looking for you yesterday and said they’ve assigned you a task," Sun Tao said.

’They’ve already assigned me a task?’ Xu Yang’s expression darkened. ’Could it be that old dog Xiao Hua again?’

Sun Tao said, "Don’t overthink it. It wasn’t Xiao Hua. It seems Li Fire Peak has another Profound Iron refining task."

Xu Yang cupped his fists. "Thank you for telling me, Senior Brother."

Now that he had Gang Qi Cultivation, he could refine Profound Iron and earn contribution points much faster.

After putting down his saber and the Eight-Treasure Body-Strengthening Pill, Xu Yang rushed to the Task Hall. It was indeed the Profound Iron refining task, but it hadn’t been assigned by the Task Hall. Rather, Gao Lin had specifically requested him for it.

He obtained the task slip without any issues. However, since it was already nearing dusk, he didn’t head to Li Fire Peak, deciding to go the next day instead.

After eating in the dining hall, Xu Yang returned to his courtyard and learned what had happened after the incident with Jiang Fan.

Jiang Fan hadn’t retaliated against Lu Ren, nor had he sought out Ah Ya again. However, Lu Ren had left the Purple Sun Sect.

He wasn’t expelled. It was said that he accepted a very dangerous task with a high contribution point reward. A day ago, he had entered the Yunling Mountain Range alone to search for treasure.

There was one more thing. The Ten Heroes List had removed Lu Ren’s name. Jiang Fan was now on the list, ranked third, pushing the previous number three, Kong Yu, down to fourth.

After chatting a bit more with Sun Tao and the others, Xu Yang returned to his room and shut the door.

[Fuyue Bear Scripture Gang Qi Chapter - Entry Level (1385/2000)]

It had been four months since he had refined his Qi into Gang, yet his Fuyue Bear Scripture had only progressed to thirteen hundred. At this rate, he would need nearly three more months of bitter cultivation before the Fuyue Bear Scripture could reach the Minor Achievement Realm.

Making a mental note of his progress, he sat on his bed and took out the Guiyuan Pill, wanting to see how much it would help his training.

A fresh, herbal fragrance wafted out as Xu Yang gazed at the jade-white elixir in his hand.

Compared to the Blood Coagulation Pills he had crudely rolled by hand, this was a true elixir—refined in a pill furnace and naturally formed, a world apart from his handmade ones.

Of course, the price was also different. His Blood Coagulation Pills had a market price of ten taels each, while a Guiyuan Pill was worth one hundred. But often, you couldn’t buy one even if you had the money.

At the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion auction, one had sold for nearly two hundred taels.

These sorts of things were often used by large families to win people over; under normal circumstances, they were impossible to buy.

Taking a deep breath, Xu Yang swallowed the Guiyuan Pill in one gulp.

THUD!

It felt like a bronze ball had just dropped into his stomach.

As the Fuyue Bear Scripture activated, the pill’s medicinal power erupted into a surging torrent of heat that rushed through his limbs and bones. For a moment, Xu Yang felt his cultivation soar, just as it did during a breakthrough, and his aura rapidly intensified.

An hour later, Xu Yang ceased his cultivation.

[Fuyue Bear Scripture Gang Qi Chapter - Entry Level (1491/2000)]

"This is the kind of elixir one should take in the Gang Qi Realm," Xu Yang sighed in admiration.

In that single hour, his Fuyue Bear Scripture’s progress had increased by over a hundred points, equivalent to more than half a month of his previous bitter training. Moreover, the Guiyuan Pill’s medicinal power wasn’t fully absorbed yet; much of it remained latent in his flesh and blood, and it would take several more days to fully process.

"I’ve heard the Profound Yuan Qi Transformation Pill is even more potent than the Guiyuan Pill. Its conversion is also more direct—you can absorb all its medicinal power in a single day."

It was just a shame that the Zhu Family didn’t have a quota for Profound Yuan Qi Transformation Pills, only Guiyuan Pills.

’If I cultivate for this month and get another Guiyuan Pill from the Zhu Family next month, I’ll be able to reach Gang Qi Minor Achievement.’

In other words, he could reach Gang Qi Minor Achievement in about a month.

After resting for a while, he practiced the Golden Gang Skill for another hour before finally going to bed.

The next day, the first thing Xu Yang did upon opening his eyes was look at his panel:

[Cooperating with the Zhu Family, Points +10]

[Killing Kong Yu, Points +5]

[Martial Arts Longevity Points: 30]

’It seems choosing the Zhu Family was the right decision.’

Cooperating with the Zhu Family had earned him a reward from the panel. This meant the partnership was beneficial for his Martial Arts Longevity. The reward from the panel was even greater than the points he’d received for killing his great, genius enemy, Kong Yu.

He used one point to increase his lifespan and saved the rest. Xu Yang sat up in bed and began cultivating the Fuyue Bear Scripture. After sunrise, he swallowed an Eight-Treasure Body-Strengthening Pill and hurried to Li Fire Peak, where he successfully met with Gao Lin.

"Greetings, Senior Brother Gao." Xu Yang cupped his fists.

Gao Lin didn’t ask why Xu Yang had only just arrived. He just smiled, nodded, and said, "You’re not a novice anymore. Go on and get to work."

Xu Yang turned and left, soon arriving at the place for refining Profound Iron.

The furnaces had just been lit, and the Profound Iron Ore was not yet glowing red, so the group of Outer Disciples there for the task were still idle.

Xu Yang saw several familiar faces, some from the last time he had refined Profound Iron here. Chen Chao was surprisingly also there, along with Yun Feng and Hu Fengyi. He didn’t recognize the others.

However, there were even more people than last time; it seemed every forging platform had already been claimed.

"Haha... Junior Brother Xu, you’re finally here." Chen Chao walked over with a smile.

Xu Yang cupped his fists and said, "Greetings, Senior Brother Chen."

Then he voiced the question on his mind, "Senior Brother Chen, why are there so many people this time?"

The Profound Iron refining task offered a lot of contribution points, but it was also grueling work. Swinging a seventy- to eighty-jin hammer all day would leave even a Gang Qi master exhausted by day’s end. Most people would rather do a task with fewer contribution points than take this one.

Chen Chao was taken aback. He lowered his voice and said, "You don’t know? Rumor has it this Profound Iron refining session is related to some kind of selection, which is why so many people are here. A lot of them paid money and still couldn’t get this task. How did you manage to get it?"

A selection?

Paying to get a task?

Xu Yang was stunned as well. "Senior Brother Gao told me to come. Do you know what kind of selection it is, Senior Brother Chen?"

Realization dawned on Chen Chao. ’So Xu Yang has really caught Gao Lin’s eye.’ He said, "I don’t know the details either. I just heard them talking about it."

He gestured toward the people Xu Yang didn’t recognize.

Since Chen Chao didn’t know, and Xu Yang couldn’t possibly go ask strangers, he had to drop the matter.

"They’re all competitors. Be careful not to offend anyone," Chen Chao cautioned before he left.

’People with inside information like this are usually not to be trifled with.’

Soon, the furnace fires were roaring, and the Profound Iron Ore was glowing red. Xu Yang picked up a large hammer and began to refine it.

CLANG!

With his Gang Qi Cultivation and Great Success Level Mountain-Shaking Hammer, a single strike sent impurities sputtering away in a shower of sparks. His refining efficiency was far greater than when he was in the Qi Gathering Realm.

"Great Success Mountain-Shaking Hammer!"

The unfamiliar faces looked over in shock. Chen Chao and the others, however, seemed unfazed. After all, during the last task, Xu Yang, with only his Qi Gathering Cultivation, had earned almost as many contribution points as they, the Gang Qi masters, did.

Xu Yang paid no mind to their stares and continued swinging the heavy hammer, circulating his Golden Gang Skill.

The rebound force still had some body-tempering effects, but it wasn’t as good as when he was in the Qi Gathering Realm. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

By evening, he had refined his first piece of pure Profound Iron. His refining speed was a full three times faster than before; previously, it would have taken him three days to produce a single piece.

In the days that followed, Xu Yang fell into a routine. He refined Profound Iron on Li Fire Peak during the day, practiced the Phantom Star Gang Fist and Fiery Sun Gang Saber in the Peach Grove in the evening, and cultivated the Golden Gang Skill and Fuyue Bear Scripture at night.

In the blink of an eye, several days passed. Kong Yu’s continued absence finally caught the attention of the Eagle Society members. Upon investigation, they discovered that it wasn’t just Kong Yu—Li Xu and Fang Wei were also missing and hadn’t been seen for days.

They hurriedly sent someone to the Heroic Assembly to ask for help in finding Kong Yu.

The Heroic Assembly took the matter very seriously. Shi Yong personally led a group down the mountain to Cyan Yang City to search, but they found nothing.

A day later, the Heroic Assembly reported the matter to the Outer Sect Stewards. The Sect itself then mobilized people to search, but they still couldn’t find Kong Yu and the others.

Kong Yu, the third-ranked genius on the Ten Heroes List with a Lower A-class Root Bone, had vanished without a trace.

The incident caused a huge uproar in the Outer Sect. But what couldn’t be found, couldn’t be found. Even after a bounty was posted, no one knew where Kong Yu and the other two had gone.