Chapter 497

Walking into Elder Huoyun's main hall, Elder Huoyun was sitting on a gilded chair, reading a yellowed book.

On the desk in front of him, blue smoke curled upward, emitting waves of faint fragrance; smelling it made one feel clear-headed and invigorated.

Hearing the footsteps of the two, Elder Huoyun slowly put down the book in his hand and looked over with a smile.

Xu Yang and Gao Lin stepped forward quickly and bowed, saying, "Disciple pays respects to Master."

Elder Huoyun nodded slightly and looked at Gao Lin with a smile: "You handled the matter well; it can be considered avenging your third and fourth junior brothers. You will inform their families of the news later."

In this battle, three Blood Lotus Sect members at the Marrow Cleansing Major Success stage died, and basically all the Blood Lotus Sect disciples who took action at the Earth Vein Fire Valley that day were among them.

Gao Lin nodded: "Disciple will handle it later."

Elder Huoyun's gaze swept toward Xu Yang: "I didn't expect that everyone underestimated you. It actually let me pick up a bargain. Even I misjudged you; you brat, you hid yourself really deep."

Three years after entering the sect, at Marrow Cleansing Minor Success, this was the first time he had received such a stunning disciple.

In the past, when such disciples appeared, they were either taken by the Sect Master or the Peak Masters of the three peaks. Of course, disciples with such talent would not look up to an elder like him.

I didn't expect that this time, it would be a bargain for me.

Elder Changchun didn't want him, the Peak Master didn't want him, and Elder Tie Fu didn't want him either. In the end, they shoved the person to him. He accepted him reluctantly, never imagining that it was a precious pearl covered in dust, and that there was hope for a genius capable of a second Dragon Ascent to emerge from under his tutelage in the future.

"Disciple must thank Master for being willing to take me in back then." Xu Yang bowed.

Elder Huoyun shook his head: "If you had shown your talent earlier, these things wouldn't have happened. Why did you hide your light?"

He was very curious about this question.

If it weren't for the Earth Vein Fire Valley incident, where Xu Yang was suspected of being a Blood Lotus Sect mole, and he sent Xu Yang to the Qiushui Villa, where his cultivation could no longer be hidden, Xu Yang would probably still be hiding.

Gao Lin was also curious about this question. Showing one's talent, taking a Peak Master or even the Sect Master as a teacher, and having sect resources tilted toward you—isn't that good?

If Xu Yang had shown his talent earlier and had sect resources tilted toward him, he would probably have reached Marrow Cleansing Minor Success long ago.

"Disciple is afraid of death."

Xu Yang sighed: "When I was in Qingyuan County, the number one genius was Kong Yu, but his reputation was too great, and he was killed by someone just months after entering the sect.

The first time at the Earth Vein Fire Valley, at that time I hadn't even made it onto the Ten Elites List, but the people from the Blood Lotus Sect still named me to be killed.

The second time I encountered the Blood Lotus Sect at the Earth Vein Fire Valley, they named me and Qiao Yong to be killed. I luckily escaped with my life, but Qiao Yong remained there forever.

Sect resources are indeed important, but if one loses their life, what use are resources?"

These words made both Elder Huoyun and Gao Lin feel a bit ashamed.

If it weren't for them, Xu Yang could have continued to hide.

Now that his reputation is so great, he is likely to become a must-kill target for the Blood Lotus Sect.

Next, he has resources, but he is also in danger; it's hard to say whether the gains outweigh the losses.

He is not like Du Chuan or Li Chuyang, who have experts following them in secret when they go out, and are not afraid of Blood Lotus Sect assassinations.

"A martial artist is better off being vigorous and courageous. Hardship is just your whetstone. A person's lifespan is limited; delaying for one day may affect your climbing to a higher realm in the future."

Elder Huoyun shook his head.

Xu Yang's words make sense, but on the path of martial arts, if one does not compete for resources and advance courageously, even the most talented person will eventually only exit the stage in sorrow.

Take Marrow Cleansing, for example; if one cannot break through by the age of fifty, it is basically impossible to break through later.

For the Heavenly Origin Realm, if one cannot break through before the age of eighty, there will be no chance later.

Once a martial artist's Qi and blood begin to decline, nothing can make up for it.

But I have already achieved immortality, and my body remains at its peak forever.

Xu Yang bowed and said: "Disciple will strictly follow Master's teachings."

Elder Huoyun nodded with satisfaction: "Now that you have reached Marrow Cleansing Minor Success, you are my inner-room disciple. If you have any problems with your cultivation in the future, you can come to ask for advice at any time."

Once Marrow Cleansing Minor Success was achieved, the relationship between Xu Yang and him was different.

Xu Yang bowed again: "Disciple thanks Master."

Elder Huoyun turned his head to look at Gao Lin: "Xu Yang has extraordinary talent and is expected to achieve a second Dragon Ascent in the future, revitalizing our lineage. From now on, you will allocate one Dragon-Tiger Great Golden Pill to him from my share every three months."

Gao Lin was shocked. He, who was to succeed to the position of Elder in the future, did not even have this treatment. Elder Huoyun only sponsored him with one Profound Origin Qi-Transforming Pill every month, which simply could not be compared to one Dragon-Tiger Great Golden Pill every three months.

"Yes!" Gao Lin bowed.

Xu Yang also bowed immediately after: "Disciple thanks Master!"

This time, the gratitude was truly from the heart.

A Dragon-Tiger Great Golden Pill requires three hundred contribution points to exchange for one at the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall, and it is limited to one per month. Of course, for many disciples, being able to exchange for one every four or five months is already quite good.

Showing his talent, although dangerous, also has benefits. In the future, whoever wants to provoke him will have to weigh whether they can afford to offend Elder Huoyun.

"Master, the Ten Elites List has already been released. According to the rules, it will only be re-ranked after a year. With Junior Brother Xu's talent, he could at least make it into the top five or six. If we delay for a year, the loss will be great," Gao Lin said.

Elder Huoyun smiled: "Rest assured, I will go to negotiate this matter with the Sect Master and that old scoundrel Li Songhe. What belongs to my disciple, no one can take away. If their old eyes are dim and they misjudged the person, the consequences cannot be borne by my disciple.

They don't have to change the Ten Elites List, but the benefits must be given."

Xu Yang thanked him again!

Elder Huoyun waved his hand: "Go down. You haven't rested for several days, go and rest."

The two bowed and then turned to leave.

"Junior Brother Xu has finally shown his edge."

In the outer sect, the news of Xu Yang reaching Marrow Cleansing Minor Success had already spread, causing a sensation. When Sun Tao heard this news, he was extremely excited.

"He is actually this stunning."

Qin Ze and Liu Qian felt stormy waves in their hearts, and their hearts were drowned in regret.

Liu Qian only felt that she had missed the most important thing in her life. If she hadn't made the wrong choice back then, perhaps something different would have happened with that genius.

Unfortunately, she came from a wealthy family and would only consider gains and losses first, not friendship, when doing things.

"If we hadn't disbanded the alliance back then, we should already be inner sect disciples, right?" Qin Ze's face was full of bitterness.

Looking down, one of his sleeves was empty; he had actually lost an arm.

Opposite him, there was a hideous scar like a centipede on Liu Qian's face, making her originally exquisite face look somewhat ferocious.

They teamed up to do the assessment task; one was crippled, and the other was disfigured. Having paid such a high price, they failed to complete the assessment task and are still outer sect disciples to this day.

If they hadn't kicked Xu Yang out back then, with Xu Yang's help, the assessment task should have been completed.

"This brat has slapped this old man's face again." Li Songhe was speechless.

The Ten Heroes and Ten Strong lists were all from his hands, and the inner sect's Ten Elites List was also from his hands.

Because only he, this outer sect elder, was the person who knew all the disciples of the Profound Heaven Sect best.

Who would have thought that just over a month after the Ten Elites List was released, a person who was not on the list would be the first to reach Marrow Cleansing Minor Success ahead of the geniuses on the Ten Elites List.

"Old things like Ding Yuan, Changchun, and Tie Fu are probably regretting it so much their guts are turning green."

He soon thought of these old guys who, like him, had misjudged the person.

"That old scoundrel Li Songhe has ruined my Ding family!"

Ding Yuan's guts were indeed turning green with regret, and he was currently cursing Li Songhe.

If it weren't for the fact that this old scoundrel Li Songhe didn't figure out Xu Yang's true talent and made Xu Yang's ranking among the Ten Heroes so low, how could the Ding family have missed such a genius.

With such talent, if he added the full support of his Ding family, in two or three years, his Ding family could produce a genius capable of a second Dragon Ascent.

"Second Elder, what should we do now?" Ding Xu bowed and said.