Chapter 513: Chapter 295: Breaking Up

Only Qi Xuancheng wore a smile, for he knew Li Chuyang’s "weaklings" did not include him. Li Chuyang had already promised to help him enter the Celestial Strategy Academy.

Bai Shaoling’s brow furrowed. The rankings in the Secondary Dragon Ascension determined one’s treatment after entering the Celestial Strategy Academy. Since Li Chuyang refused to team up with the other Purple Sun Sect disciples, he couldn’t very well force the issue.

"Alliances are entirely voluntary. If Junior Brother Li doesn’t wish to team up with the others, the Sect will not force him," Bai Shaoling said helplessly.

The real purpose of this banquet was to bind disciples like Zhang Hanzhou and Ye Qiuling to Li Chuyang and the Young Master Marquis. He had hoped to leverage the power behind those two, helping this entire generation of Purple Sun Sect disciples successfully enter the Celestial Strategy Academy.

But to his surprise, Li Chuyang had refused outright, showing him—the Young Sect Leader—no deference whatsoever.

"Thank you for your understanding, Young Sect Leader," Li Chuyang said with a smile, clasping his hands in a salute.

Bai Shaoling shook his head. His gaze swept over Xu Yang and the others. "Do the rest of you have any objections?"

Zhang Hanzhou clasped his hands. "I have no objection to teaming up with everyone. However, back when I was with the Haisa Sect, I heard that Huo Xiaochen of the Iron Sword Sect has vowed to target Xu Yang during the Secondary Dragon Ascension. If we ally with him, what happens if we’re dragged down as well?

The Young Sect Leader should be aware that Huo Xiaochen is a genius of Root Bone Perfection. If he were to target all of us, no one here would be his match."

As soon as he said this, all eyes turned to Xu Yang.

Even Li Chuyang’s expression turned grave at the mention of Huo Xiaochen’s name. Without a Spirit Bone Celestial Pride to intervene, few would dare claim they could suppress a genius of Root Bone Perfection.

Xu Yang also frowned slightly. He hadn’t expected Gao Lin to be right—even with Zhang Jingyuan’s intervention, Huo Xiaochen hadn’t let the matter go.

"I have no desire to be targeted by a genius of Root Bone Perfection. Xu Yang, you should pull out," Qi Xuancheng said.

He wasn’t about to risk his future for some notion of sect camaraderie. When the Secondary Dragon Ascension was on the line, even blood brothers would prioritize their own prospects, let alone mere fellow disciples.

’These idiots!’ Jiang Fan couldn’t help but laugh to himself.

No one understood Xu Yang’s talent and strength better than he did. Even though he himself had broken through to the Celestial Essence Realm and grasped a Martial Dao Imagery, the Exotic Treasure he carried still sent out a warning whenever he drew near Xu Yang. This proved that Xu Yang could still kill him with ease.

’The Sect was giving them the chance to ally with an expert like Xu Yang, and not only were they unwilling, but they were also worried about being implicated. They had no idea who the real burden was.’

"Since everyone is worried about being implicated by me, I’ll withdraw from the alliance," Xu Yang said, clasping his hands toward Bai Shaoling.

He had no desire to look after the weak, either. An alliance was a partnership between equals; otherwise, it was just saddling oneself with a burden.

He had been looking for a way out of teaming up with them, but unlike Li Chuyang, he didn’t have the background to openly disrespect Bai Shaoling. After all, while he could leave, Xu Qing was still in the Purple Sun Sect.

He hadn’t expected Zhang Hanzhou to conveniently provide him with an excuse.

Zhang Hanzhou and Qi Xuancheng were both delighted, surprised that Xu Yang was sensible enough not to make the situation ugly.

Ye Qiuling also breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Though she hadn’t voiced her opinion, she hadn’t wanted to be dragged down by Xu Yang either.

Bai Shaoling’s brow knitted. Li Chuyang had quit, and now Xu Yang had quit. What good would an alliance between the remaining few even be?

From the perspective of Qi Xuancheng and the others, their reasoning made sense. But from his position as Young Sect Leader, even if allying with Xu Yang meant inviting trouble, he wanted the Purple Sun Sect disciples to stand united against a common foe, not scatter like birds when disaster looms.

But the Secondary Dragon Ascension concerned their future prospects, and he had already stated that any alliance was voluntary. He couldn’t now demand that Zhang Hanzhou, Qi Xuancheng, and the others team up with Xu Yang.

"Junior Brother Xu, please be careful on your own. Huo Xiaochen isn’t invincible, and there’s still almost a year left. Once we reach Yun Province, the Sect will do its best to help you resolve this situation, perhaps by finding an expert who can match him," Bai Shaoling said.

The Purple Sun Sect had high hopes for Xu Yang and naturally didn’t want to see him fail the Dragon Ascension because he was being targeted by Huo Xiaochen.

In fact, today’s gathering was partly intended to help Xu Yang. If he could ally with both Li Chuyang and Jiang Fan, the issue with Huo Xiaochen would be easily resolved.

He just hadn’t expected Zhang Hanzhou and Qi Xuancheng to make their move so quickly, forcing Xu Yang to withdraw.

"I’m sure you’re all aware of the situation with my Marquis Mansion. That being the case, I won’t implicate everyone. I’ll withdraw from the alliance as well," Jiang Fan declared, also clasping his hands.

When he said this, Xu Yang noticed Ye Qiuling, Zhang Hanzhou, and Qi Xuancheng all secretly sigh in relief. Apparently, they didn’t want to team up with Jiang Fan, either.

He was suddenly curious. ’Why is even Jiang Fan being shunned? He’s the Young Master Marquis. How could teaming up with him be seen as a liability?’

He glanced at Bai Shaoling and saw that the Young Sect Leader’s expression was grim.

"Does anyone else want to quit?" Bai Shaoling asked, his voice tight with suppressed anger.

Li Chuyang and Jiang Fan were supposed to be the linchpins of this alliance. After Li Chuyang quit, he had thought at least Jiang Fan would remain to lead Zhang Hanzhou and the others. He never imagined Jiang Fan would quit too.

He had a good idea why. Jiang Fan and Xu Yang were close.

The two had shared a courtyard as Outer Disciples and had stood together against Li Chuyang after entering the Inner Sect.

Given Jiang Fan’s personality, it was impossible for him to look after Zhang Hanzhou’s group after they had ostracized Xu Yang. His withdrawal was inevitable.

Three of the seven disciples had quit in an instant—and the three most talented ones, at that. What could the rest of them possibly achieve? Only Sun Tao, who had risen against the odds, showed a glimmer of hope.

"Since none of you are willing to ally with my Junior Brother Xu, then I will withdraw as well. As martial brothers, we must advance and retreat together," Sun Tao said with a clasp of his hands.

He was making his stance clear: if they were afraid of being implicated by Xu Yang, then there was no point in allying with him either.

Bai Shaoling’s expression soured further. Zhang Hanzhou and Ye Qiuling grew restless in their seats. Qi Xuancheng, however, had Li Chuyang as his safety net, so he remained unconcerned.

"Brother Sun, you’re a fine Senior Brother," Jiang Fan said with a laugh.

Anyone who knew them was aware that Xu Yang and Sun Tao’s relationship was special. They became disciples of the same master after their time in Qingyuan County and had lived together ever since arriving at the Purple Sun Sect.

If Sun Tao had chosen to stick with Zhang Hanzhou’s group for the sake of his so-called prospects, he would have had to reconsider his opinion of the man.

"Senior Brother Sun, there’s no need for this," Xu Yang said.

It wasn’t as if he couldn’t handle the Secondary Dragon Ascension without them; he was glad to be rid of the dead weight. He just hadn’t expected Sun Tao to quit as well just to stand up for him.

"This concerns your future. Sun Tao, are you sure you want to act so impulsively?" Zhang Hanzhou demanded.

He valued Sun Tao highly, as Sun Tao had broken through to the Celestial Essence Realm even before Li Chuyang. Sun Tao had been his ideal partner for the alliance. He never imagined Sun Tao would quit just for Xu Yang.

Suddenly, only he, Ye Qiuling, and Qi Xuancheng were left.

’I don’t even rate Qi Xuancheng, and I’m only interested in Ye Qiuling’s beauty, not her fighting ability. I never thought that just by trying to get rid of Xu Yang, Sun Tao would quit too, all for some misplaced sense of brotherly loyalty.’

"Call it impulsive if you like. You’re all afraid of Huo Xiaochen, but I’m not."

Sun Tao smiled at Xu Yang. "What, are you afraid I’ll drag you down? Unwilling to team up with me?"

Xu Yang shook his head. "Of course not."

"Then don’t try to talk me out of it. I happen to be looking forward to a run-in with this Huo Xiaochen," Sun Tao said with a laugh, exuding a newfound confidence.

"Arrogant! What do you take a genius of Root Bone Perfection for? And you want to have a ’run-in’ with him?" Zhang Hanzhou’s face was ashen.

The others stared at Sun Tao in shock, completely baffled as to where this once-unremarkable man found the audacity to speak of facing a genius of Root Bone Perfection.

"Then just think of me as arrogant," Sun Tao said, not bothering to explain further.

"I’m quitting too," Qi Xuancheng spoke up.

With things having reached this point, he no longer wanted to be allied with Ye Qiuling the Pill Master and Zhang Hanzhou. He had Li Chuyang as a safety net, so he might as well shed these two burdens completely.

Besides, with only three of them left, an alliance was meaningless anyway.

"I’m quitting too!" Ye Qiuling said softly.

She had never thought much of Zhang Hanzhou in the first place; otherwise, she would have agreed to his alliance proposal the first time he asked.

Zhang Hanzhou wore a dazed expression. In the end, he was the only one left.

’I just wanted to get rid of Xu Yang so I wouldn’t be targeted by Huo Xiaochen! How did I end up the only one left?’

So it turned out he was the one nobody wanted to team up with, not even Qi Xuancheng and Ye Qiuling.

Bai Shaoling’s face was ashen. He had organized this entire gathering, and Zhang Jingyuan had even bestowed them with Spirit Wine. He’d never imagined the outcome would be the complete fracturing of the group qualified for the Secondary Dragon Ascension, with each disciple left to fend for themselves.

"Senior Brother Bai, if there is nothing else, I shall take my leave!" Li Chuyang said with a smile, rising to his feet and clasping his hands.

He had been the catalyst, but even he hadn’t anticipated things would turn out this way.

’A bunch of weaklings. Instead of uniting, they scheme against and ostracize one another. Good thing I didn’t team up with them; they would have only dragged me down.’

’Zhang Hanzhou was at fault for raising the issue, but if Ye Qiuling and Qi Xuancheng hadn’t just stood by and let him play the bad guy, things wouldn’t have escalated to this point.’

’If just one person had spoken up for Xu Yang, he wouldn’t have quit, and then neither would Sun Tao and Jiang Fan.’

Li Chuyang and Qi Xuancheng departed, and Xu Yang, Sun Tao, and Jiang Fan followed right behind them.

"I shall take my leave as well!" Ye Qiuling also rose and departed.

In the vast Wind Listening Pavilion, only an ashen-faced Bai Shaoling and a dazed Zhang Hanzhou remained.

"Are you satisfied now?!" Bai Shaoling could no longer contain his fury.

"Qi Xuancheng has Li Chuyang as a safety net, so the failed alliance means nothing to him. And though Ye Qiuling is a Pill Master, with her beauty, she’ll have no trouble finding experts willing to team up with her once we’re in Yun Province. If Xu Yang and Sun Tao want to, Jiang Fan will surely ally with them. The one who’ll truly be on his own, the one who’ll have the hardest time finding partners, is you, Zhang Hanzhou! And yet you just had to play the villain and bring up Huo Xiaochen targeting Xu Yang, causing this whole group to disband!"

"But it’s a fact that Huo Xiaochen is targeting Xu Yang! If we hadn’t removed him, even if the alliance had formed, we’d still face the same outcome when Huo Xiaochen eventually came for us," Zhang Hanzhou retorted.

Though the result was unexpected, he didn’t believe he had done anything wrong.

One genius of Root Bone Perfection was enough to annihilate their entire group. Now, even though the alliance had failed, at least they still had a chance at the Dragon Ascension.

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