Longevity Increase

"Congratulations, Junior Brother Xu Yang. You've exceeded everyone's expectations once again." Sun Tao walked over with a smile.

Just when everyone thought Xu Yang would be completely left in the dust by Lu Ren, he had actually succeeded in gathering his Qi. Many in the Inner Courtyard were calling it a stroke of blind luck.

"Greetings, Senior Brother Sun Tao!" Xu Yang cupped his hands in salute.

Sun Tao wore a beaming smile. "If not now, when will you enter the Inner Courtyard? Come, Junior Brother Xu Yang, let us go see Master at once."

Xu Yang nodded and followed Sun Tao into the Inner Courtyard.

"I told you he wasn't as good as Senior Brother Lu Ren. When Senior Brother Lu Ren successfully gathered his Qi, how many senior brothers came to greet him? Yet when he makes a breakthrough, only Senior Brother Sun Tao shows up. It just goes to show that the senior brothers in the Inner Courtyard don't think much of him."

Only after Xu Yang's back had completely disappeared from view did Luo Dehu dare to speak up again.

"Sycophant. Looks like Senior Brother Xu Yang's palm strike earlier was too light."

Qiu Wenjie let out a cold snort and turned quickly to leave Wei Yuan Hall.

He had to inform his father of the news that Xu Yang had gathered his Qi.

"He actually succeeded in gathering his Qi!"

Qian Jiaxing stood beside Luo Dehu, a wave of regret washing over him.

If he hadn't completely picked a side, he could have maintained good relations with both Xu Yang and Lu Ren. But now, Xu Yang no longer spoke to him.

In all honesty, he actually liked Xu Yang better.

Xu Yang treated him as a friend, whereas Lu Ren treated him like a lackey and a follower—it was completely different.

A lackey is useless and can be kicked aside at any time, but a friend will always stand by your side.

"That you could gather your Qi so quickly truly exceeds my expectations. However, your natural aptitude is average; if you wish to advance further, you must work hard to earn money."

Lin Cheng sat in his chair, eyeing Xu Yang with a look of slight surprise.

"This disciple understands!" Xu Yang cupped his hands.

"The Huang Family has terminated your contract. If you have nowhere else to go, you can seek help from your Senior Brother Sun Tao. If someone tries to recruit you and you wish to know their background, you can also ask him to inquire for you.

Your foundation is shallow; think thrice before you act in all things..."

For once, Lin Cheng finally looked like a proper master, offering Xu Yang plenty of advice.

However, regarding joining a faction, he still had to wait for the Qiu Family's decision.

If the Qiu Family hired him as a retainer, he would naturally serve them; everything depended on the choice the Qiu Family made.

Only if the Qiu Family could not afford to hire him would he reconsider other factions.

"Junior Brother Xu, come quickly, let me introduce you to the senior brothers of the Inner Courtyard."

No sooner had Xu Yang left Lin Cheng than Sun Tao pulled him into a pavilion to introduce him to the Inner Courtyard disciples gathered there.

After a full round, he had met almost all of them—about eleven or twelve in total.

However, according to Sun Tao, this was not the entirety of the Inner Courtyard; many were absent due to their duties and did not come to Wei Yuan Hall every day, while others had already left Qingyuan County.

The attitude of these disciples toward Xu Yang could not be called cold, but it wasn't warm either; they were far less welcoming than they had been when Lu Ren made his breakthrough.

"Junior Brother, if you are looking for work, you can come to me at any time," Sun Tao instructed.

After thanking him, Xu Yang found a spot to sit and quietly felt the changes in his body.

Gathering Qi was a world of difference from before; the changes in every aspect were immense.

[Remaining Lifespan: 60]

Even the lifespan shown on the panel had changed from "57" to "60," a sudden increase of three years.

"Greetings, Great Uncle! Greetings, Fifth Uncle!"

The first people Xu Yang waited for were not Qiu Yongqiang, but his Great Uncle Zhou Shunchang and Huang Jin.

"Good, good, good! I knew you could do it." Zhou Shunchang grabbed Xu Yang's hand, his face full of excitement.

Now that Xu Yang had become a martial artist, he felt he had done right by his late sister.

The two spoke for a while before Zhou Shunchang's stirred emotions finally calmed down.

Only then did Huang Jin step forward.

The Huang Family still would not hire him as a retainer, but due to their previous history of support, they had prepared five taels of silver as a congratulatory gift.

"I actually still think highly of you. Lu Ren has great talent, but he is too arrogant and conceited. I fear the Huang Family will only be making wedding clothes for someone else in the future," Huang Jin sighed.

But he was not of the direct line in the Huang Family and did not have much say.

Regarding Lu Ren, Xu Yang also felt a sense of melancholy.

In just two months, the shy boy who used to stutter when he spoke had become so unscrupulous. Just because he feared the Huang Family might change their minds, he had someone drag his name through the mud the moment he made his breakthrough.

One had to admit, Luo Dehu was truly a talent.

"Though I am no longer with the Huang Family, if you ever need anything in the future, you can come to me at any time," Xu Yang said solemnly.

Although the Huang Family had broken their agreement, he held no grudge, feeling grateful for their past kindness instead.

Without the Huang Family, he might have already been persecuted to death by the Tri-Union Gang.

Zhou Shunchang and Huang Jin soon departed.

A short while later, Qiu Wenjie came to find Xu Yang, saying that Qiu Yongqiang was waiting for him outside.

The Qiu Family was a small, modest household with no partnership with Wei Yuan Hall, so Qiu Yongqiang naturally could not enter Wei Yuan Hall whenever he pleased like Huang Jin.

Upon meeting, Qiu Yongqiang offered another round of congratulations before stating bluntly that the Qiu Family could not afford him, as they could not scrape together ten taels of silver a month.

However, they were willing to continue providing him with three taels of silver each month to assist in his martial arts training.

Xu Yang was quite satisfied with this outcome.

He had never truly wanted to be tied to any specific family, whether it was the Huang Family or the Qiu Family; he had simply felt that promises made in return for favors had to be kept, and now he had gotten his wish.

If he had truly wanted to become a retainer for the Huang Family, he could have easily achieved Qi Gathering before Lu Ren. The main reason he broke through days after Lu Ren was that he had no intention of becoming a Huang Family retainer and had intentionally delayed his progress.

Large families were full of sordid affairs, and since he had been pulled from the bottom by the Huang Family, joining them would mean being inherently inferior, making it difficult to ever speak on equal footing. If any dispute arose, others would only call him ungrateful.

By choosing a different faction to serve, he might not receive resources as good as those in the Huang Family, but he would have much more freedom in his actions.

That day, he did not stay at Wei Yuan Hall to train until dark, leaving in the afternoon instead.

"A-Yang!"

Not long after leaving the city, Zhang Daniu's voice rang out from behind him.

"A-Yang, long time no see!" Zhang Daniu hurried to catch up. "I heard you were working in the city, so I went to your house a few times to look for you, but unfortunately, I never saw you.

I asked Xiao Qing where you were working, wanting to find you, but that girl wouldn't say a word.

Right, where exactly are you working? I haven't run into you even once."

Seeing him again, Zhang Daniu was more enthusiastic than ever, rattling off a string of words as if he had forgotten how he had previously distanced himself from Xu Yang.

"I'm not working; I'm actually training in martial arts at Wei Yuan Hall."

Now that he had successfully gathered Qi, there was no need to hide his training.

Training at Wei Yuan Hall? No wonder he never said anything.

Zhang Daniu was stunned. "Where did you get the money?"

"The Huang Family, a prominent household in the city, saw that I had talent and paid for me to go to Wei Yuan Hall."

As soon as these words were out, Zhang Daniu fell silent for a long time.

He had heard about this, and had even regretted hearing the news too late to participate in the Huang Family's selection.

With a tone that was slightly bitter yet seemingly concerned, he said, "I've heard the Huang Family is stingy. If you can't become a martial artist in the end, you'll likely have to pay them back. A-Yang, take my advice: martial arts isn't something people like us should be thinking about. It's better to just stay honest and steady."

Xu Yang glanced at him. "I have already become a martial artist."

"You... you're a martial artist..."

Zhang Daniu looked as if he had been struck by lightning. Only then did he notice that Xu Yang had grown taller than him, carrying an awe-inspiring aura identical to the martial artist masters he saw at the blacksmith shop.

"A—"

He wanted to call out "A-Yang," but his throat felt dry, and he couldn't get the words out.

"It's time to part ways. Let's talk again when we have time."

Xu Yang pointed to the fork in the road ahead, stepped into one of the paths, and walked toward home with long strides.

Zhang Daniu stood rooted to the spot, unable to recover his senses even after Xu Yang's figure had disappeared from sight.

"Daniu, what are you standing here for? Have you gone daft?"

Suddenly, He Laosan's voice rang out from behind.

Zhang Daniu turned his head and said bitterly, "Laosan, A-Yang... A-Yang has become a martial artist..."