With the Tiger Bone Grass and thirty-year-old ginseng he had saved, he now had enough primary ingredients for another batch of Gathering Essence Pills.

He wasn’t in a hurry to head down the mountain for alchemy, however, as he still had some Gathering Essence Pills left.

Xu Yang’s life continued in peace as various pieces of news trickled in.

Of the top twenty selected from the last Outer Sect competition, several had already successfully completed their assessment missions and joined the Inner Sect, including Liu Xiao.

Of course, several had also died during their assessments, while others were still struggling to complete them.

It was said that some in the Outer Sect went a year or two without ever completing their assessment missions.

Half a month later, Sun Tao and his two companions bid farewell to Xu Yang and entered the Yunling Mountain Range.

Another half-month passed. Having used up all his elixirs, Xu Yang’s Gang Qi finally reached its limit. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

At this point, even the lower-ranked members of the Ten Heroes List had yet to achieve Great Success with their Gang Qi.

’The biennial Martial Arts Examination is coming up again.’

A quick calculation told him the Martial Arts Examination was less than two months away. Before he knew it, he’d been at the Purple Sun Sect for nearly two years.

’That little lass is taking the Martial Arts Examination. With the elixirs I sent her, she should be able to reach Qi Gathering Great Success by then. As long as her luck isn’t too terrible, Dragon Ascension will be no problem.’

He really should have rushed back, but the Purple Sun Sect had a rule: no one was permitted to return to their hometown without the Sect’s approval.

Even Jiang Ping, who was now half-crippled, wasn’t allowed to return to Qingyuan County. He had to serve a full ten years outside before he could leave.

’With a death rate like this, they were probably afraid that if word got out, they’d run out of fresh cannon fodder.’

[Golden Gang Skill·Minor Achievement (3743/4000)]

’The Golden Gang Skill will reach Great Success in a month at most. Once it does, I can begin my breakthrough to the Bone Marrow Cleansing Realm.’

For the time being, Xu Yang focused his cultivation on the Golden Gang Skill. The golden hue of his Gang Qi grew richer and more intense.

One day, Xu Yang received another notice: the Qingyuan Association was holding a trade fair.

’Although I’m not expecting much, I might as well go. I have nothing better to do, and who knows? Maybe I’ll get lucky and find a rare treasure.’

Just as he reached the restaurant that housed the Qingyuan Association’s hall, he ran straight into Lu Ren.

Lu Ren was glowing, his face triumphant. A tyrannical aura radiated from his body, so potent he could barely contain it.

"I have achieved Great Success with my Gang Qi," Lu Ren stated calmly.

BOOM!

His words struck the crowd like a thunderclap, and looks of utter shock appeared on the faces of those nearby.

What?!

’Lu Ren achieved Great Success with his Gang Qi?’

Countless hearts trembled, and faces filled with astonishment.

After all, on the Ten Heroes List, aside from the top five, even Xie Zhan and Chen Yu, ranked sixth and seventh respectively, had yet to achieve Great Success with their Gang Qi.

For him, ranked eighth among the Ten Heroes, to achieve it before those two... how could that not be shocking?

Not far away, Gu Haoming and Cao Rong appeared.

The two of them wore complicated expressions, tinged with regret.

’If only we had known Jiang Fan wouldn’t hold it against Lu Ren... If only we had stood our ground... Lu Ren would still be one of us.’

Gu Haoming was the one who regretted it most.

The Gu Family had invested thousands of silver taels in cultivating Lu Ren, only for it to end like this.

’Not only has Lu Ren proven useless to me, but if he gets the chance out there, he might even try to kill me.’

"And?" Xu Yang’s expression was placid.

’If I wasn’t so focused on achieving Great Success with the Golden Gang Skill, I would have already reached the Marrow Cleansing realm by now. Lu Ren achieving Great Success with his Gang Qi means nothing to me.’

Of course, he was, in fact, a little surprised by Lu Ren’s progress.

After being abandoned by Gu Haoming and the others, the guy’s life seemed harder, and he was shunned by all, yet his cultivation had progressed even more ferociously than before.

He trained daily in the Yunling Mountain Range, and his progress was terrifying. He’d actually achieved Great Success with his Gang Qi before Xie Zhan and Chen Yu.

"Don’t you get it? At this rate, your road to Dragon Ascension ends here."

Dragon Ascension!

The process didn’t end with becoming an Outer Disciple of the Purple Sun Sect. That was just the first step of Dragon Ascension. Joining the Inner Sect was the second.

After casting a cold glance at Gu Haoming in the distance, Lu Ren strode into the restaurant.

A smile touched Xu Yang’s lips. ’The trauma I inflicted on Lu Ren must have been pretty significant. Even after such a drastic change in personality, he’s still obsessed with competing against me.’

’If I told Lu Ren I achieved Gang Qi Great Success even before Li Chuyang did, the guy would probably just shut down completely.’

He turned and followed Lu Ren upstairs, where he found a place to sit down.

The trade fair began soon after!

Yun Heng didn’t appear this time. In his place were Liu Qing, Cao Jin, and a man named Luo Lie, who represented the last of the Four Great Clans of Qingyuan County.

This time, Xu Yang changed his strategy. Instead of actively approaching people, he simply laid out the manuals for the Wind-Breaking Fist and the Fine Rain Shocking Wind Sword in front of him, letting others come to him.

Sure enough, this was far more effective than last time. While he didn’t manage to trade for the three primary ingredients for the Gathering Essence Pill, he did acquire a good number of contribution points and silver taels.

"It’s time!"

After returning from patrol one day, Xu Yang dove into his room and locked the door.

[Golden Gang Skill·Minor Achievement (3998/4000)]

The Golden Gang Skill was at its final stage.

Although this Body-Protecting Martial Art required a slow and steady effort, it had one major advantage: achieving Great Success was a natural culmination, unlike other martial arts where the final step was notoriously difficult.

’Today is the day the Golden Gang Skill reaches Great Success.’

He swallowed an Eight-Treasure Body-Strengthening Pill, and the Golden Gang Skill roared to life within him.

Specks of gold light surfaced on his skin, spreading in an instant to cover his entire body. He looked like a statue cast from solid gold.

The golden sheen on his body had already become quite rich, but it still seemed to be missing something.

Golden Gang Qi coursed through his body, tempering his flesh, skin, and bones. With each complete circulation, the Gang Qi grew a fraction more condensed.

Golden Gang Skill!

Only by producing a truly perfect Vajra Gang Qi could the skill be considered to have reached Great Success.

After circulating the Golden Gang Skill for four straight hours, a domineering aura suddenly erupted from Xu Yang.

In an instant, all of his Gang Qi spun out of control, circulating at a terrifying speed. His blood began to surge like boiling water.

Xu Yang’s hair stood on end. His muscles bulged, and his entire frame of bones and sinews seemed to writhe, emitting a series of sharp CRACKLES and POPS.

A blinding golden light erupted from his body, illuminating the entire room.

The true Golden Gang Qi had been born!

It was both domineering and condensed, yet also brimming with vigorous life.

His flesh, blood, and bones greedily absorbed the Golden Gang Qi, their strength and resilience rapidly increasing.

Xu Yang used Introspection to look inside his body. He saw his bones vibrating at a high frequency as new blood, dense as mercury and as clear and red as a ruby, was generated from within them.

In an instant, it was as if a floodgate had opened within him. Formidable power gushed from his bones, and his qi and blood surged violently.

’I’m actually starting Marrow Cleansing! It all just fell into place!’

Xu Yang was overjoyed. He hadn’t expected that achieving Great Success with the Golden Gang Skill would allow him to so naturally enter the Bone Marrow Cleansing Realm.

A rumbling like muffled thunder echoed from his very bones. The Golden Gang Qi transformed into a great hammer, surging forth to strike his skeleton and shake loose fine bone dust.

His pores began to exude a bloody, red-tinged sweat.

Muscle and Marrow Cleansing!

An unpleasant, tingling numbness and searing heat spread through his bones, as if they were being reforged by an invisible hammer, undergoing a complete reconstruction.

Xu Yang hastily stripped off his clothes. Within moments, his entire body was covered in the red sweat.

’Even someone with an A-class Root Bone would typically get stuck for four or five months before they could actually begin the Marrow Cleansing process, but my breakthrough just happened naturally!’

Xu Yang felt his physical strength surging. His body was brimming with vitality, and his five senses spread out like a great net, extending over seventy yards. The slightest rustle of grass seventy or eighty yards away was instantly captured by his perception.

RUMBLE!

With a thought, he began circulating the heart method from the Fuyue Bear Scripture’s Marrow Cleansing Chapter. This caused the Golden Gang Qi to transform into an even more turbulent tide, which he directed to surge into his bone marrow and refine it.

[Golden Gang Skill·Great Success]

[Fuyue Bear Scripture Marrow Cleansing Chapter - Introduction (1/3000)]

[Remaining Lifespan: 92]

By achieving Great Success with the Golden Gang Skill and stepping into the Bone Marrow Cleansing Realm all at once, his lifespan had shot up by more than a decade.

And this was only the beginning. As his bones continued to be refined, he could feel his lifespan still slowly increasing, his life force growing ever more abundant.

Marrow Cleansing: complete!

Joy filled Xu Yang’s heart. He felt as though his very being had undergone a quantum leap. His qi and blood were as vast as the sea, his flesh and bone as dense as iron. His life force felt young and vibrant, flourishing and growing stronger.

The greatest change wasn’t just in his power, but in the fundamental essence of his life, which had begun to transform. He was like a seedling that had finally broken through its shell, now possessing the potential to witness the true scope of the world. This was the true essence of Marrow Cleansing.