Over the days that followed, Xu Yang devoted himself wholly to cultivation. Money poured out like running water, and his cultivation steadily improved.
Whenever his points accumulated to a certain amount, he spent them on improving his bone root and comprehension.
Time slowly passed. Zhang Yong and Zhang Hong spent more and more time with Jiang Ping, Gu Fang, and the others. They rarely came to talk or spar with Xu Yang's group of three anymore, and their relationship gradually grew distant.
Even Zhang Hong, smooth operator that he was, rarely came over to chat.
Of course, they had not fallen out. They still greeted one another warmly when they met, without any cold remarks.
It was just that the two had now entered Jiang Ping's circle. Continuing to hang around with Xu Yang's group would seem a little beneath them and would not help their prospects. Nor did they have time to spend with them.
Qiu Wenjie was rather indignant about this, while Wu Yongfeng was happy to see it happen.
After all, their old friendship remained. If Zhang Yong and Zhang Hong did well, it could only benefit him. Should he encounter trouble someday, he would have a successful friend to lend a hand.
Xu Yang did not care either way. To him, they were friends whether they did well or poorly, and he would not insist that Zhang Yong and Zhang Hong revolve around him.
Half a month later, Lu Ren returned to the Martial Arts Hall after recuperating, though his injuries had not fully healed and he still could not cultivate.
Another ten days passed. Lu Ren announced that he had recovered and vowed to break through to great accomplishment of qi gathering within half a month.
That day, the true qi inside Xu Yang stopped