Splitting the Heave

Seeing how Shang Xia killed two beasts at once to close the distance between them and revealed his cultivation level at the large completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm, the two of them were unwilling to fall behind.

They revealed both their martial intents and killed two more rank one beasts in an instant.

In a split second, the number of beasts they killed increased to five, once again opening up the distance between themselves and Shang Xia.

At that moment, the two of them had already left the funnel provided by the disciples of the Protection Division. They revealed their strength, receiving some acknowledgment in the process.

“The second form of their martial intent… Who would have thought that they would learn to fuse their martial intents into their technique so quickly? No wonder they had the confidence to challenge him… They probably wish to take the chance to show their value to the institution and outshine Shang Xia!” Gu Yi sighed. “If we kept the protection formation open for longer, we might actually bring in some stronger beasts and enrage the rank four Rare Beasts… If their anger causes them to lay siege on our Tongyou Peak, we would lose a lot more than we gain! Too bad we had to close the protection formation after luring in a few creatures… It won’t be easy for him to win against those two with the conditions they set…” 

…

Even though they seemed to kill the beasts really quickly, it wasn’t the case for every other cultivator. Ordinary cultivators would take a long time to defeat beasts of the same cultivation level. After all, the life force of the beasts was extremely powerful. 

Also, cultivators of the Tongyou Peak had the chance to temper themselves in the safety of the protection formation. They would drag the battle out as long as they could in order to practice their techniques!

If Shang Xia didn’t bet with Ju Hang and Zhang Jianfei, the battle between the beasts and cultivators would take a much longer time!

…

“Maybe not… Don’t you see that Shang Xia’s martial intent is much stronger than the other two? He uses it so much more naturally too…” A voice came from behind. When Shang Xi and Gu Yi turned to look, they saw Mu Jianyin walking towards them.

“Oh? Senior Sister Mu… Long time no see! I didn’t think that you would also be on the Tongyou Peak…” Gu Yi laughed.

Unlike Gu Yi, Shang Xi had a weird expression on her face and she asked, “Why are you here?” 

Mu Jianyin greeted Gu Yi with a laugh, but her expression returned to normal when she spoke to Shang Xi. “I came to let you know that there’s something off with the beast tide. The stronger beasts might be making their retreat soon. The moment the rank four beasts leave, the lower-leveled beasts that lost their mind wouldn’t have a leader. They might start an all-out attack on us. We should make our preparations.”

Shang Xi frowned, but she didn’t say anything in response.

Gu Yi sighed softly, “Alright. Let’s end this battle soon… Wait… Senior Sister Mu, do you think that Shang Xia will come out on top?” 

“The power displayed by his Chaos Essence Lightning Palm has already exceeded the level of martial intents comprehended in the Martial Realm. He might not lose to the two of them!” Mu Jianyin muttered.

“Well… The power displayed by one’s martial intent will increase with their cultivation level. Shang Xia has already entered the Martial Extremity Realm. The martial intent he comprehended in the Martial Realm will definitely grow stronger! If the martial intent one comprehended in weaker levels failed to grow stronger, what’s the point of training?” 

Mu Jianyin shook her head and sighed, “You don’t understand what I mean… Of course one’s martial intent will grow stronger with their cultivation. However, the martial intents they comprehended are from the time when their cultivation was still at the Martial Realm! The three of them might have instakilled their targets, but Shang Xia killed rank two beasts while the other two killed rank one beasts. According to our logic, a martial intent comprehended at the Martial Realm should be enough to kill a rank one beast. Martial intents comprehended at the Martial Extremity Realm would be enough to kill rank two beasts! Shang Xia’s Chaos Essence Lightning Palm was comprehended when he was in the Martial Realm, but he wields it with extraordinary power!” 

Gu Yi finally realized the problem. “Wait… Even if one grows stronger, their martial intent won’t grow that much stronger! How is his Chaos Essence Lightning Palm so powerful?!” 

He continued, “Right… I heard that the kid provided the institution with the way to comprehend the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm. Do you think he hid some parts of it?” 

Shang Xi sneered in contempt. “Of course he did! Training the Lighting Collection Art alone requires a piece of a five hundred year old Lightning Tree. If you’re feeling it, you can always go look for a thousand year old piece. In fact, go find a ten thousand year old piece! The martial intent comprehended will definitely possess a terrifying amount of power. As long as you can find it and withstand the lighting power contained within, you can even go look for heavenly lightning if you’re up for it.” 

Gu Yi snickered softly at the side as Mu Jianyin replied, “I heard about the time when Shang Xia was struck by lightning when he was in seclusion. Do you think that’s the reason behind this? Also, do you think it was caused by the spies of the Rose Party?” 

“Heh… We won’t be able to know for sure. The spies of the Rose Party were killed when they revealed themselves during the war. The only one left is Jia Yuntian… Oh, I mean, Murong Yuntian…” 

The change in the battlefield happened all of a sudden. The attention of the three was drawn towards Shang Xia in an instant. At that moment, he was close to the border of the protection formation and he would leave the protection radius if he took a few more steps.

The sudden burst from Ju Hang and Zhang Jianfei caused him to be slightly uneasy even though he had already expected it.

Before Shang Xia comprehended his Chaos Essence Lightning Palm, his cultivation level and strength barely surpassed the two of them.

Strictly speaking, the three of them were in a state of constant competition.

There were even some who said that Shang Xia only managed to maintain his lead because of the Shang Clan’s support. 

The rumors only started to die down after Shang Xia comprehended his martial intent. When he advanced into the Martial Extremity Realm, the rumors were finally quashed.

With their talent comparable to his when they were still in the Martial Realm, Shang Xia wasn’t surprised that they managed to comprehend a martial intent too.

After rushing close to the border of the protection formation, Shang Xia managed to kill another rank two beast. He took care of several rank one beasts along the way but that did nothing for him.

As for Ju Hang and Zhang Jianfei, they didn’t need to copy what Shang Xia did. Even without rushing all the way to the edge of the formation, they ran into several rank one beasts. Killing one, they maintained their lead of two beasts.

A group of close to a hundred beasts charged their way through the gap between the barrier all of a sudden, and the beasts who led the charge were at the third rank! There were three of them in total 

“Shit! Hurry up and retreat!” Several yells came from the experts of the Martial Intent Realm who were responsible for defending the frontlines. 

“Didn’t they say that the rank three beasts wouldn’t barge into our Tongyou Peak?” Shang Xia cursed in his heart.

With the ferocity of the beasts charging into the Tongyou Peak, retreating was easier said than done. 

Of course, it was still possible. But for Shang Xia, retreating at that moment would mean that he would have lost!

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With the Delicate Jade River Sword stabbing into the ground before him, a ball of lightning started forming between his palms as he pressed them together.

His inner qi started to circulate and the ball of lightning in his hand soon turned into a pulsating mass.

“Shang Xia, what are you doing?!” Shang Xi’s cries rang through the skies, but it was ignored by Shang Xia.

“Everyone under the Martial Intent Realm is to leave right now! Retreat!” Gu Yi roared.

With his accumulated power reaching the maximum amount he could contain, the pack of beasts arrived.

“Go!” Tossing out the massive ball of lightning in his hand, it detonated instantly. Arcs of lightning tore through the skies and broke through the void. The lightning web quickly extended to contain the first thirty beasts in the pack.

The orderly formation they came in was quickly shattered by Shang Xia’s lightning blast. They started to scatter in panic.

Of course, it wouldn’t be easy for him to deal with a rank three beast. Charging out of the lightning web, the rank three beasts were barely injured.

However, the same couldn’t be said for the other creatures. The rank two beasts that followed behind their leader suffered great casualties. Four of them were heavily injured. Rank one beasts had it the worst. Four of them died instantly and countless more were injured.

Their injuries weren’t the worst part. The destruction of the formation was the main effect of Shang Xia’s attack.

Beasts at the back who were charging with all their might crushed those affected by Shang Xia under their feet, killing a few of their comrades in the process.

Out of the four injured rank two beasts, two of them were crushed to paste by the rampaging beasts behind them.

Shang Xia’s sudden attack wasn’t deadly, but the effects it brought about to stall the charge of the beasts bought the Martial Intent Realm experts of the Tongyou Peak a lot of time.

Mu Jianyin, Shang Xi, Gu Yi, and the other cultivators quickly joined the battle.

Seeing as things were brought under control with the addition of the Martial Intent Realm cultivators, Shang Xia retrieved his sword and charged into the fray.