Martial Sage from the Vajra Skill

Early morning, gazing at his beautiful young wife still fast asleep, a faint smile graced Huo Xiaochen’s lips.

As the legitimate daughter of the Xiao Family, even if she wasn’t as beautiful as a celestial fairy, she was still an earthly beauty. She wasn’t far behind Ye Qiuling in terms of looks, and more importantly, she possessed the cunning and boldness befitting a legitimate daughter of a Thousand-Year-Old Noble Family. In the future, she would be a capable and virtuous wife.

"Wake up, we still need to serve tea to our parents and my master," he said softly.

After gently waking his wife, servants brought in hot water. Once they finished freshening up, Huo Xiaochen led her out of the room.

After serving tea to the Xiao Family’s Patriarch and the ruling matriarch, Huo Xiaochen asked the servants, only to learn that his master, Jiang Wang, hadn’t stayed at the Xiao Family estate last night. Instead, he had returned to the city overnight.

He didn’t mind, figuring his master had probably gone back to the city to show off. After all, they were now in-laws with a Thousand-Year-Old Noble Family. Given his master’s personality, it would be strange if he didn’t rush back to boast about such a face-saving achievement.

The day passed quickly, and soon it was the next morning.

Huo Xiaochen was roused from his sleep before he even had the chance to get up on his own.

"Steward Xiao, why did you come looking for me?" he asked, looking at the Xiao Family’s steward, Xiao Yun, with a hint of displeasure.

Xiao Yun ignored Huo Xiaochen’s expression and said in a deep voice, "The Iron Sword Sect has sent someone here to look for Elder Jiang."

"Couldn’t you just tell them my master isn’t here?" Huo Xiaochen froze for a moment.

"They said that after the wedding banquet the day before yesterday, Elder Jiang never returned to the Iron Sword Sect’s residence, and they didn’t see a trace of him all day yesterday," Xiao Yun explained.

"Master didn’t return to the Iron Sword Sect’s residence the night before last?" Huo Xiaochen’s expression darkened. If Jiang Wang wasn’t at the Xiao Family estate and wasn’t at the residence either, the only explanation was that something had happened.

"Correct!" Xiao Yun nodded. "Unless Elder Jiang has a habit of spending the night in brothels, I’m afraid something has happened to him."

"My master never visits such places." Huo Xiaochen took a deep breath. "I’m afraid something really has happened. I’ll go out and take a look right now; please inform my father-in-law about this on my behalf."

With that, Huo Xiaochen hurried out the door.

By the afternoon, the entire Yunzhou City knew that Jiang Wang—who had been basking in infinite glory and sitting as an equal with the Xiao Family Patriarch just two days prior—had disappeared.

He vanished on his way back to Yunzhou City on the night of his disciple Huo Xiaochen’s wedding. Now, dead or alive, there was no trace of him. The Xiao Family mobilized all their connections to search the entire city.

"Haha... Brother Zhang, Miss Liu, Junior Brother Xu and I were just discussing paying a visit to the Cold Water Sect in a few days. We didn’t expect you to beat us to it."

After receiving a message from a disciple at the Purple Sun Sect’s residence, Sun Tao hurried to the side hall, only to find Zhang Jun and Liu Rumei already seated there.

"My junior sister was passing by and happened to hear a piece of news, so we thought we’d come over and share it with you and Brother Xu!" Zhang Jun said with a laugh.

Sun Tao sat down opposite them. Noticing the joyous looks on their faces, he casually remarked, "Seeing how happy the two of you look, it must be good news. Hurry up and tell me."

Liu Rumei covered her face and chuckled softly. "It is indeed good news. We just heard outside that something has happened to Huo Xiaochen’s master, Jiang Wang."

Sun Tao’s eyes widened. Something had happened to Jiang Wang?

This was Huo Xiaochen’s esteemed master, the very man who had just become an in-law to a Thousand-Year-Old Noble Family. With Jiang Wang’s current status and limelight in Yunzhou City, who would dare touch him without fearing retaliation from the Thousand-Year-Old Noble Family?

No wonder Liu Rumei and Zhang Jun were so thrilled. Given the deep-seated grudge between the Cold Water Sect and the Iron Sword Sect, they were the ones who most wanted to see the Iron Sword Sect suffer.

"Is he dead?" Sun Tao asked.

Zhang Jun shook his head. "If he isn’t dead, he’s probably close to it. It’s said that on the day of Huo Xiaochen’s wedding, he absolutely refused to spend the night at the Xiao Family estate and insisted on returning to the city. After leaving the Xiao Family, he vanished without a trace. It was only this morning that they realized something was wrong.

"The Xiao Family sent people searching everywhere—they scoured the entire city but found nothing. He was likely murdered and his body destroyed to erase the evidence. It’s truly a satisfying turn of events."

His face was full of smiles, and he looked as if he could barely hold himself back from laughing out loud.

Because of the blood feud between the Cold Water Sect and the Iron Sword Sect, ever since Huo Xiaochen’s reputation began to spread, their lives had been even harder than Xu Yang’s. They were practically deserted by their allies.

Even if Xu Yang and Huo Xiaochen had friction, the worst that could happen was being targeted during the Secondary Dragon Ascension and eliminated.

But the Cold Water Sect faced the risk of utter annihilation. Many sects that were once on good terms with the Cold Water Sect had severed ties with them, terrified of being implicated if Huo Xiaochen were to wipe them out in the future.

"They found absolutely nothing? Not even traces of a struggle? He’s a dignified Celestial Essence Strong Person; it’s impossible for him to die silently," Sun Tao pointed out.

Zhang Jun nodded. "He vanished just like that, completely silently. Considering Huo Xiaochen just married the legitimate daughter of the Xiao Family, whoever dared to strike must have been confident they could do it without leaving a trace. Otherwise, who would dare kill him?"

"That makes sense," Sun Tao agreed.

Liu Rumei sneered coldly. "He thought he could latch onto the Xiao Family’s coattails, little realizing the danger of getting dragged into the factional struggles of a Thousand-Year-Old Noble Family. As a mere Celestial Essence First Layer cultivator, he wouldn’t even know how he died."

"So you mean an enemy of the Xiao Family made the move?" Sun Tao asked.

"Could it have been your Cold Water Sect?" he thought. After all, with the Iron Sword Sect clinging to the Xiao Family, the Cold Water Sect was undoubtedly the most anxious. However, he only kept this thought to himself; it wasn’t something he could say out loud.

"That’s the general speculation outside," Zhang Jun said. "The alliance between the Xiao Family and Huo Xiaochen was far too high-profile. While the Xiao Family’s enemies might not have had the chance to slaughter Huo Xiaochen, slaughtering Jiang Wang as a warning was entirely within their capabilities."

"What warning?"

A voice chimed in. The group looked up to see Xu Yang striding over.

Sun Tao and Zhang Jun both stood up to wave him over, with Sun Tao eagerly speaking first, "Junior Brother Xu, great news! Huo Xiaochen’s master, that old geezer Jiang Wang, was slaughtered on the night of Huo Xiaochen’s wedding."

Xu Yang feigned an expression of utter shock. "Jiang Wang was slaughtered? Who would have the nerve to kill Huo Xiaochen’s master?"

He hadn’t expected the Iron Sword Sect and the Xiao Family to react so slowly. Only today did they realize something had happened to Jiang Wang. With so much time having passed, the likelihood of anyone tracing the deed back to him was virtually nonexistent.

Sun Tao and Zhang Jun chimed in one after another, recounting their earlier conversation. This put Xu Yang completely at ease.

They had realized something was wrong this morning, yet they hadn’t come knocking on his door. His fear that a Thousand-Year-Old Noble Family might possess some special tracking methods had proven unfounded.

Let alone suspecting him, the Xiao Family hadn’t even figured out where Jiang Wang was killed.

"I heard the Xiao Family has publicly announced a reward. Anyone who can provide useful information will receive five hundred spirit coins," Zhang Jun said with a laugh.

"Five hundred spirit coins. That’s incredibly generous," Sun Tao remarked, visibly moved.

Five hundred spirit coins were roughly equivalent to five hundred stalks of the low-grade Spirit Medicine, Dragon Beard Root. It was likely that even the Purple Sun Sect couldn’t produce that much Spirit Medicine all at once.

Even if those prominent families in Cyan Yang City sold off their entire estates, they probably wouldn’t be worth that many spirit coins.

"To the Xiao Family, five hundred spirit coins is just pocket change," Zhang Jun said, standing up. "But it’s essentially useless. Even if they offered a bounty of five thousand spirit coins, they probably wouldn’t find any clues.

"My junior sister and I mainly came to warn you about this. Since we all have grudges against the Iron Sword Sect, we might be suspected. It’s best you two exercise caution and refrain from leaving Dragon Ascending Street for the time being."

As long as they stayed on Dragon Ascending Street, even if Huo Xiaochen suspected them, he wouldn’t dare cause trouble there. Even if the Xiao Family stepped forward, they wouldn’t dare make a scene on Dragon Ascending Street either.

Zhang Jun and Liu Rumei soon bid their farewells and departed.

Xu Yang and Sun Tao chatted for a while longer before returning to their respective rooms to cultivate.

At the Xiao Family estate.

"There’s still no news at all!"

Hearing Xiao Yun’s report, Huo Xiaochen’s heart sank to rock bottom.

It had been over three days since his master, Jiang Wang, had gone missing. The complete lack of information virtually confirmed that he had been murdered.

"The Purple Sun Sect? Or the Cold Water Sect?"

He began to ponder who would dare strike against his master. The first ones to come to mind were the Purple Sun Sect and the Cold Water Sect.

However, he quickly dismissed the thought.

While the Purple Sun Sect and the Cold Water Sect had people capable of killing Jiang Wang, they couldn’t possibly do it without leaving a single trace. The members of those two sects who had come to Yunzhou City lacked that level of skill.

Moreover, they had no reason to kill his master. Huo Xiaochen was their biggest threat; they should have targeted him instead.

Most importantly, those people didn’t have the guts to provoke a Thousand-Year-Old Noble Family. Therefore, this incident likely wasn’t aimed at the Iron Sword Sect, but rather at the Xiao Family.

It was a classic case of killing the chicken to scare the monkey—a stern warning aimed at shaking them up and striking a blow to the Xiao Family’s morale just as it was soaring following his marriage into the family.

"Does the Xiao Family really have no suspects?" Huo Xiaochen asked, looking at Xiao Yun.

Xiao Yun shook his head. "The Xiao Family has too many enemies, both in the open and in the shadows."

With so many enemies, could they really go knocking on doors one by one? If the Xiao Family possessed that kind of absolute power, their enemies would have been wiped out long ago.

Half a month passed in a flash.

The death of Jiang Wang had already been forgotten by the outside world; only Huo Xiaochen and the Xiao Family continued to investigate in secret.

Over the past half month, Xu Yang had kept a low profile. Whether or not Huo Xiaochen and the Xiao Family suspected him, he hadn’t taken a single step off Dragon Ascending Street.

[Li Fire Technique · First Layer (9754/10000)]

"In just over a month, I’ll be able to push my Li Fire Technique to the Second Layer Realm," Xu Yang thought.

Xu Yang casually closed the interface. The Celestial Strategy Academy had yet to announce the date for the Secondary Dragon Ascension Selection. If he achieved First Layer Perfection in his Li Fire Technique and the Celestial Strategy Academy still showed no signs of movement, he would have no choice but to break through to the Celestial Essence Second Layer first.

Stepping out of his room, he originally planned to invite Sun Tao to grab a meal, but Sun Tao didn’t seem to be in his room. He had no choice but to head to the tavern alone.

With the increasingly tense relationship with Qi Xuancheng and the others, he and Sun Tao barely interacted with the rest of their group anymore.

After ordering a few side dishes, Xu Yang sipped his drink while listening to the surrounding chatter, hoping to gather some useful information. However, he found that these people were mostly discussing trivial matters—largely gossip about the geniuses on the Lingyun List or rumors about various women.

There was even some gossip involving Ye Qiuling and Liu Rumei.

After finishing his meal, Xu Yang settled the bill and left the tavern, heading back toward the Purple Sun Sect’s residence.

"Brother Xu, may I have a word with you in private?"

Just a hundred meters or so from the tavern, someone called out to him from nearby.

Xu Yang turned around and saw a middle-aged man he didn’t recognize.

The man was dressed in a plain gray robe, his hair tied casually behind his back, and he wore a friendly smile.

"And you are?" Xu Yang cupped his hands in greeting.

The middle-aged man shook his head. "This is not the place to talk. Please come with me, Brother Xu, and I will explain my origins then."

Xu Yang’s heart sank. In this world, there was only one origin that was inconvenient to speak of—the Demon Sect.

"If it’s inconvenient for you, my friend, then let’s just forget it. I will take my leave."

With that, Xu Yang turned and walked away. He had absolutely no desire to get involved with those lunatics from the Demon Sect.