However, upon hearing that Xiao Hua had reached Marrow Cleansing Minor Achievement, his brows relaxed. He said, "Marrow Cleansing Minor Achievement... that gives him some qualification. Tell him to come by and talk when he has time. Wanting to marry my daughter—even if she isn’t from my primary wife—is not that simple."

...

In the blink of an eye, half a month had passed since Xu Yang started refining Profound Iron on Li Fire Peak. He maintained a pace of refining one piece of Profound Iron per day to earn contribution points.

At the same time, his Cultivation hadn’t fallen behind, though his progress in training Martial Techniques had slowed somewhat.

On this day, after the refining work was finished, the group of Outer Disciples began to walk away from Li Fire Peak.

"Brother Xu, please wait a moment!"

Just as he descended from Li Fire Peak, Xu Yang heard someone call out to him. He turned to see it was Yun Feng and Hu Fengyi.

Although he and Yun Feng were both from Qingyuan County, the two had never associated with each other.

"Is there something I can help you with, Brother Yun?" Xu Yang paused his steps.

Yun Feng strode over and said, "This isn’t the place to talk. Could we speak in private?"

Xu Yang glanced at Chen Chao and the others walking ahead, then nodded and stepped into the nearby woods. "What is it, Brother Yun? Go ahead and speak."

Yun Feng smiled. "Then I’ll be direct. I’m hoping, Brother Xu, that you can sell me some of your refined Profound Iron. Don’t worry, I’ll transfer the contribution points to you, and I’ll even pay you an extra two taels of silver for each piece. I just need to register your Profound Iron under my name."

’This is probably related to that selection event. Yun Feng hasn’t cultivated the Mountain-Shaking Hammer, so his refining speed is very slow. He’s probably trying to use me as a shortcut.’

’But if Yun Feng takes a shortcut, wouldn’t that cut off my own path?’

’Although I still don’t know what this so-called selection is, for Yun Feng to be this invested—to the point of spending money to buy my Profound Iron—the benefits must be significant.’

Xu Yang shook his head. "Sorry, but I have no intention of selling."

’I need a large number of officially registered contribution points to make it easier to use the ones I got from Kong Yu and the others. That’s why I’m not going to make a deal with Yun Feng.’

’Besides, I need to go into the city to refine Blood Coagulation Pills soon. If I turn in less Profound Iron, it will be difficult to ask Gao Lin for time off.’

’This will probably offend Yun Feng, but so what? It’s not the first time I’ve offended someone from the Dawn Association. One more Yun Feng doesn’t make a difference.’

’Compared to Jin Lei, Yun Feng is nothing.’

The smile vanished from Yun Feng’s face, his voice turning cold. "Xu Yang, the terms I’m offering are already a huge bargain for you. Don’t be ungrateful. Giving you an extra two taels of silver is already showing you a great deal of respect."

As a young master of the Yun Family, one of Qingyuan County’s Four Great Clans, he felt a natural sense of superiority over Xu Yang. He believed that offering an extra two taels was more than enough respect to show this mud-caked peasant.

If they weren’t in the Purple Sun Sect, he wouldn’t have offered the extra two taels, let alone the contribution points.

The smile on Xu Yang’s face also faded. "You don’t have to show me any respect."

He had already witnessed Yun Feng’s domineering nature at the Martial Arts Examination and the Dragon Assembly, so this was no surprise. He would not sacrifice his own interests to accommodate Yun Feng.

A cold glint flashed in Yun Feng’s eyes as he sneered, "You dare to turn against me? Fine. I can’t do much to you here in the Purple Sun Sect, but don’t forget you still have family in Qingyuan."

This was the source of his confidence. It was why disciples from Qingyuan like Jiang Ping and Zhang Yong allowed him and Cao Rong to exploit them—they weren’t just individuals; they had families.

But he never expected that Xu Yang would dare to refuse him.

’Courting death!’ A murderous intent surged within Xu Yang.

’What Yun Feng did wasn’t just domineering; it was despicable and shameless. Threatening someone’s family is something an ordinary person would never do.’

’Fortunately, Xu Qing has Lin Cheng to protect her, so the Yun Family can’t touch her. Otherwise, I really would have had to bow my head for now.’

Suppressing the urge to kill Yun Feng on the spot, Xu Yang turned and walked away.

He didn’t spout any harsh words to further provoke Yun Feng. Xu Qing had Lin Cheng’s protection, but his uncle’s family and the Qiu Family did not.

In his heart, Yun Feng was now on his kill list.

Whether Yun Feng was just making empty threats or would actually write home and have his family take action, he would kill Yun Feng regardless.

If the Yun Family truly dared to make a move against his uncle’s family or the Qiu Family, he would one day annihilate the Yun Family.

He could barely suppress the killing intent in his heart. After Li Hu, this was the second person to provoke such murderous rage in him.

"I told you he wouldn’t even give face to Jin Lei, so he wasn’t going to agree. Now you believe me, right?" Hu Fengyi said with a laugh.

He had advised Yun Feng not to come looking for trouble, but Yun Feng wouldn’t listen.

He thought that because his Yun Family was one of the Four Great Clans in Qingyuan, Xu Yang might dare to disrespect Jin Lei, but wouldn’t dare to offend him.

"That peasant... how dare he disrespect me."

Yun Feng threw a palm strike, blasting a Palm Seal into a large tree beside him.

If they weren’t in the Purple Sun Sect, he too would have barely been able to suppress his killing intent. A peasant who crawled out of the mud dared to reject him, Young Master Yun.

"Don’t waste time here. We need to hurry and talk to the others. If you don’t get chosen for the selection, the loss will be huge," Hu Fengyi reminded him.

Yun Feng’s expression changed, and he hurried off to find others who were refining Profound Iron.

Letting out a long breath, it wasn’t until he was several hundred meters away that Xu Yang finally suppressed the killing intent in his heart.

By the time he reached the vicinity of the Outer Disciples’ residences, his emotions had calmed. He turned and entered the Peach Grove to practice his Martial Techniques.

He channeled all his killing intent into his Fist Intent, unleashing it completely. For a moment, Gang Qi surged through the Peach Grove, and fierce winds kicked up.

BANG! BANG! BANG! 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Half an hour later, he threw a punch. Three solid Fist Seals materialized and shattered a peach tree in front of him.

The phantoms created by his fists now possessed powerful offensive capabilities.

Xu Yang withdrew his fist and stood still, steam rising from his sweaty body like mist as his turbulent qi and blood gradually calmed.

[Phantom Star Gang Fist · Minor Achievement (1/2000)]

[Fiery Sun Gang Saber · Minor Achievement (574/2000)]

[Stepping on Gang and Chasing Wind · Entry Level (866/1000)]

After that outburst, his Phantom Star Gang Fist had finally entered the Minor Achievement Realm. Of his three Martial Techniques, only Stepping on Gang and Chasing Wind had yet to reach Minor Achievement.

’With the Golden Gang Skill, plus my Phantom Star Gang Fist and Fiery Sun Gang Saber both at Minor Achievement, I should now be able to fight someone with Minor Achievement in Gang Qi Cultivation.’

There was no joy from his breakthrough, only the urge to kill.

’If we weren’t in the Purple Sun Sect, I’m confident I could kill Yun Feng within ten moves.’

After practicing Stepping on Gang and Chasing Wind for a while longer, Xu Yang returned to his residence.

The next day, he learned from Chen Chao that Yun Feng had managed to buy purified Profound Iron from someone else. As for the terms of the deal, Chen Chao didn’t know.

From then on, whenever the two met, Yun Feng would look at him with undisguised killing intent, while Hu Fengyi would wear a cold sneer.

Xu Yang paid them no mind, continuing to do his own thing.

Two days later, his Stepping on Gang and Chasing Wind also reached the Minor Achievement Realm, greatly increasing his speed.

...

「Qingyuan County, Gale Hall.」

Recently, the disciples of Gale Hall had noticed that their master, Ji Yun, smiled much less often. His temper had grown foul, and he would frequently beat or curse his disciples.

"How could Jincheng have died? He was such an obedient child..."

Publicly, Ji Jincheng was Ji Yun’s nephew, but in reality, he was the son born from a secret affair with his younger brother’s wife.

He still found it hard to believe that Ji Jincheng was dead. The Purple Sun Sect was indeed dangerous, but with Kong Yu looking after him, how could he possibly have died?

"Fortunately, I still have Ah Yu!"

The thought of his Direct Disciple, Kong Yu, soothed Ji Yun’s tormented heart.

A Lower A-class Root Bone, third among the Ten Heroes... his entry into the Inner Sect was a certainty. He was destined for great things.

As his benefactor and master, he would also benefit from his disciple’s success. Perhaps one day, through Kong Yu, he could step into the Bone Marrow Cleansing Realm, a goal he had sought his entire life but never reached.

Just then, a disciple hurried over. "Master, a Darts Master from the Fuwei Escort Agency is outside the Martial Arts Hall. He says he has an escort item to deliver to you personally and asks you to receive it."

’Could it be a letter from Ah Yu?’

Ji Yun’s heart leaped with joy at the words. Besides a letter, there was no other reason for an escort to be sent to him.

He immediately rose and strode out of Weiyuan Hall, where he saw several Darts Masters from the Fuwei Escort Agency standing outside the Martial Arts Hall.

"Master Ji, this is an escorted item for you from Cyan Yang City. Please inspect it." The Darts Master from the Fuwei Escort Agency solemnly handed over a letter.

Ji Yun clasped his hands in a salute. "Very well."

As he spoke, he reached out to take it. His eyes fell upon the envelope, where five large words were written: "For Ji Yun’s Eyes Only."

"This isn’t a letter from Ah Yu!"

Ji Yun felt a pang of disappointment. This was not the handwriting of his Direct Disciple, Kong Yu.

If Kong Yu were sending him a letter, he wouldn’t address him directly by name, but would have added the two words, "My Master".