Chapter 142

"His strength should be close to the late stage of Qi Gathering Major Success, and his martial arts foundation is also very vigorous."

Xu Yang could see that Kong Yu should be seeking stability and conserving his strength, which was why he didn't choose the three-thousand-jin iron lock.

Although he broke through after him, in terms of cultivation base, Kong Yu had already surpassed him.

This was not surprising. His innate talent had only reached the same level as Kong Yu's a few days ago, plus Kong Yu's resources—it was normal for him to surpass him.

In the afternoon, the first hurdle of the examination had already ended.

"Damn it, Xu Yang, can you not go against me?"

Lu Ren looked at Gu Fang, who had run to find Xu Yang at the first opportunity, a wave of anger in his heart.

If Xu Yang were recruited by the Gu family, the level of importance placed on him would decrease.

"Junior Brother Sun, where is Junior Brother Xu?"

Gu Fang had finally squeezed to where Sun Tao and the three were, only to find that Xu Yang had already disappeared.

"What does Senior Sister Gu want with Junior Brother Xu? He has already left," Sun Tao said.

In his heart, he actually had a seventy or eighty percent guess.

Gu Fang was ordered to join the Weiyuan Hall to make friends with talented people and pave the way for Gu Haoming to compete for the top three, but now she hadn't established a relationship with Xu Yang. If the Gu family discovered this, her cultivation resources and her right to speak in the Gu family would be stripped away significantly.

"Which direction did he go?" Gu Fang asked.

She had no intention of answering Sun Tao's question at all.

"Quick, help me find Xu Yang and bring him to see me," she ordered Zhang Hong, who was with Sun Tao.

As a retainer of the Gu family, Zhang Hong immediately took the order and left, and Gu Fang followed.

"Senior Sister Gu Fang is actively looking for Xu Yang..." Zhang Yong only felt somewhat unreal.

In the past, Gu Fang didn't even have the interest to look at Xu Yang.

He still remembered when Lu Ren entered the inner courtyard after the Turtle-Snake Grand Stance reached entry-level, Gu Fang and Jiang Ping both sent gifts. When it was Xu Yang's turn, the two didn't even look at Xu Yang.

Today, Xu Yang only achieved a result in the examination, and Gu Fang's past arrogance was gone, as if she were looking for Xu Yang to save her life.

"Junior Brother Sun, where is Junior Brother Xu Yang?"

Just as he was stunned, Jiang Ping also came to look for Xu Yang.

Learning that Xu Yang had already left, Jiang Ping also left in a hurry.

"I still remember when Junior Brother Xu Yang's Turtle-Snake Grand Stance reached entry-level, he said to wait until Xu Yang successfully gathered Qi and entered the inner courtyard before talking." Sun Tao felt somewhat dazed.

But Xu Yang had already reached Qi Gathering Major Success, and he hadn't seen Jiang Ping care about Xu Yang at all.

Now, flustered, they looked somewhat ridiculous.

Xu Yang walked out of the inner arena and walked toward the position where Xu Qing and the others were. However, just after walking for a while, a middle-aged man blocked his path.

"Greetings, Little Friend Xu. I am Cao Gang, the third brother of the Cao family head. I have met Little Friend Xu."

"Greetings, Third Master Cao!"

Xu Yang cupped his hands, his heart moving slightly.

The Cao family of the four great families—it seemed Guan Young Lady was the one they sent to find him.

Of course, this was a guess, but the Cao family did indeed put out a bounty for him on behalf of the Zhang Si Shui Gang and the Sanhe Gang, and the bounty was still there today.

Cao Gang smiled: "I heard Little Friend Xu hasn't truly joined a noble family yet. Are you interested in being a retainer for my Cao family? If you are willing, my Cao family can promise a marriage with a legitimate daughter, gift a courtyard in the inner city, and provide fifty taels of silver in cultivation resources every month."

"Besides this, you can also contemplate and practice the secret martial arts of my Cao family."

"Finally, my Cao family can guarantee that Little Friend Xu will definitely be able to ascend the dragon."

"Of course, the premise of these is that Little Friend Xu must follow my nephew into the same sect and work for him."

Xu Yang was somewhat moved; it was the first time he knew what kind of existence the four great families truly were, that they could actually bring out dragon-ascending quotas to recruit people.

At this moment, he finally understood somewhat why Lu Ren would abandon the Huang family and bear the infamy of being ungrateful.

If these noble families took a fancy to you, the conditions they offered were simply ones you couldn't refuse.

If he didn't have the confidence to ascend the dragon and only had the skills he showed on the outside, he would likely have agreed to Cao Gang; after all, only by entering a sect would there be hope for the martial path.

Taking a deep breath, Xu Yang cupped his hands and said: "Many thanks for the elevation, Third Master Cao, but you are a step late; I have already promised others."

He didn't directly refuse. If these great families were denied face, they might destroy what they couldn't get.

If the Cao family deliberately targeted him in the second hurdle, even if he were confident, he might still flip the car.

Even the Gu family could prepare so many people for Gu Hao, and the Cao family's Cao Rong was aiming for the top spot, so they must have also recruited a batch of experts.

"May I ask which family in the city it is that acted so quickly?"

However, Cao Gang was not easy to fool. Coming to find Xu Yang, he naturally had inquired about Xu Yang refusing the Liu family and the Huang family.

"The Lin family!" Xu Yang said.

Cao Gang was stunned, then reacted: "Lin Shi?"

"That's right!"

He didn't use Lin Cheng as a shield; Lin Cheng truly had supported him.

"So you are a disciple cultivated by Lin Shi in secret. Sorry for the disturbance. If Little Friend Xu enters the same sect as my nephew, you can get closer."

Cao Gang didn't continue to entangle, giving Lin Cheng face. Of course, it was mainly because after hearing that Xu Yang was a disciple cultivated by Lin Cheng in secret, Xu Yang's talent in his heart was greatly discounted.

Walking to this step on his own versus having Lin Cheng's cultivation—the meaning represented was completely different.

Not long after Cao Gang left, Zhang Bo appeared, representing the Liu family to recruit him once again.

On top of the previous conditions, the Liu family added one more: mobilizing all connections to help him ascend the dragon.

The Liu family was clearly much worse than the Cao family, not offering the condition of definitely ascending the dragon.

Xu Yang once again refused on the grounds that he had already promised someone else, not creating enemies at this juncture. However, since he had already promised another family, he wouldn't be able to go work for the Liu family in the future.

Next, several more waves of people came, each offering worse conditions than the last. Come to think of it, the Cao family was still the most extravagant; every condition they offered could strike at one's weak point.

"Junior Brother Xu, you truly made us look for you."

Gu Fang, Jiang Ping, and Zhang Hong walked over with large strides, wearing smiles.

"Greetings, Senior Sister Gu, Senior Brother Jiang!"

Xu Yang cupped his hands and nodded lightly toward Zhang Hong, which counted as a greeting.

"Junior Brother Xu amazed everyone today; it truly gave us senior and junior brothers a big surprise." Jiang Ping laughed.

Xu Yang's expression remained unchanged: "With my meager skills, how could I compare to you senior brothers and sisters?"

Gu Fang said: "Junior Brother Xu, Senior Brother Jiang and I booked a private room at Fulin Tower and invited many senior and junior brothers to a banquet. Later, everyone will discuss the matters of breaking through the hurdle tomorrow, so we came specifically to invite you to the banquet."

Discuss matters of breaking through the hurdle?

It was more like discussing how to charge into battle for Gu Haoming. Did they really think he was a fool?

Even if the Cao family came to find him, they would take out benefits. Gu Fang and Jiang Ping, however, wanted to use empty hands to catch a white wolf, wanting to invite him over without taking out any benefits.

"Junior Brother Xu, besides our Weiyuan Hall senior and junior brothers, experts from other martial arts halls will also attend the banquet. This opportunity cannot be missed. In case we encounter each other on the stage tomorrow, everyone won't use ruthless tactics." Jiang Ping said.

Xu Yang shook his head: "Many thanks, Senior Sister Gu and Senior Brother Jiang, but Junior Brother has some important matters to attend to and cannot attend the banquet. Please forgive me."

The smiles on the two people's faces froze instantly; they hadn't expected that even after they personally came to invite Xu Yang, he would still refuse.

"Junior Brother Xu, the opportunity is rare. Not uniting with senior and junior brothers and wanting to ascend the dragon relying only on one person is no different from a fool's dream." Gu Fang was still trying to persuade him.

Xu Yang cupped his hands: "Junior Brother still has important matters. Farewell."

Xu Yang walked far away, and the faces of Jiang Ping and Gu Fang turned completely cold, icy and incomparable.

A mud-legged boy who walked out of the mud actually dared to refuse them.

"He doesn't know what's good for him. If we meet tomorrow, I'll definitely have someone cripple him. Without a secret martial art from a noble family, he still dares to dream of ascending the dragon," Gu Fang said coldly.

Zhang Hong felt a tremor in his heart. It was just because Xu Yang refused to charge into battle for Gu Haoming that Gu Fang wanted to cripple Xu Yang—both insidious and overbearing.

"Don't create extra complications. Take the Wu Ke Dragon Ascent as the priority. There will naturally be Gale Hall people to clean him up."

Jiang Ping cursed Gu Fang for being a stupid woman in his heart.

Even if Xu Yang didn't have noble family secret martial arts, he was still a solid mid-stage Qi Gathering Major Success expert, and he had grasped the Explosive Bear Strength of the Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist.

To cripple Xu Yang, at the very least, an expert at Lu Ren's level would have to risk their life. Even if they could cripple Xu Yang, this expert wouldn't have it easy.

To damage such an expert for the sake of a bit of face—the brain was simply sick!

"You are right!"

Gu Fang took a deep breath, turned around, and strode away, thinking about how to explain to her eldest brother, Gu Hao, that she had failed to recruit Xu Yang.

"I know you and Xu Yang had a good relationship in the past. If the previous words are spoken out, you can think of the consequences yourself."

Jiang Ping warned Zhang Hong before following her. ===== CHAPTER 143 =====