Splitting the Heave

“What?! Spirit Initiation Stone? This doesn’t look that impressive…” Shang Xia sneered in contempt after hearing a short explanation from his grandfather about the item in the wooden case. 

“What do you know?!” With his temper rising slightly, Shang Ke resisted the urge to slap Shang Xia. “A Spirit Initiation Stone can’t be created naturally! Only experts at the peak of the Martial Intent Realm can leave something like this behind! When they achieve enlightenment, a Spirit Initiation Stone will be created!” 

“Huh? Doesn’t that mean it’s artificial?” Shang Xia snorted slightly.

“Oi! Don’t you know what achieving enlightenment means?! One can only achieve it through luck! Even the person who created the Spirit Initiation Stone wouldn’t know how it happened!” Shang Ke roared with rage. 

A helpless look eventually replaced his angry expression as he explained patiently, “Every single piece contains its own spiritual nature. You need to remember that it doesn’t contain the cultivator’s divine sense directly. When a cultivator uses it, it serves as a guide for one to condense their individual divine sense.” 

Taking the piece of rock out of the wooden box, Shang Xia tossed it around and muttered, “This looks like something someone played with for a long time. Could the spirituality inside have faded?” 

“That’s impossible.” Shang Ke shook his head. “The moment the spirituality in the rock disappears, it will crumble to dust. From the looks of it, it should be perfect. You can only rely on luck if you wish to receive the approval of the spirituality within.” 

“So… Doesn’t that mean that absorbing it will come down to luck too?” 

“Exactly!” Shang Ke nodded in affirmation.

Putting the rock back into the wooden case before tossing the entire thing into his Embroidered Cloud Case, Shang Xia asked, “Oh right, isn’t this something created by a cultivator of the Azure Spiritual World? Bloodline cultivators are different from us to begin with. Can I really use the Spirit Initiation Rock?” 

“Relax. Many people tried it before and succeeded in refining the treasure. You’re not the first person to obtain something like this anyway.” 

After hearing the explanation, Shang Xia heaved a sigh of relief.

Shang Ke added, “Just obtaining this piece of Spirit Initiation Rock made our trip to the Four Spiritual Peak worthwhile!” 

The two of them continued to hunt for treasures in the Four Spiritual Peak after he had plundered the Music Pavilion. Shang Ke might be injured and unable to take part in the battle on the Spiritual Swallow Peak, he was more than capable of blocking the shockwaves of the battle.

The two of them ran into some fortunate members of the Four Spiritual Peak who survived along the way, causing those who were thanking their lucky stars for being able to survive to curse their fates. Their fortunes were turned into misfortune as all of them ended up being practice targets for Shang Xia’s sword techniques.

At that moment, Shang Xia had learned six different sword arts. He understood the essence behind four of them, fusing them into his Yin Yang Sword Formation. He had to train in the other two the best he could! He was practicing the Quandary Sword Art at the moment, and he was trying to comprehend the martial intent after reaching the highest achievement in the technique. 

The Quandary Sword Art seemed a little unorthodox as it made the victims of the technique live with a pain worse than death. When Shang Ke saw the state of those disciples of the Four Spiritual Peak after they were struck by the technique, he knew he had to speak up about it. 

“Your sword technique is a little too evil. You look like you’re torturing your opponents on purpose! In the future, stop using it.” He berated.

Falling deep into contemplation, Shang Xia didn’t seem to hear what his grandfather said.

When Shang Ke saw the look on Shang Xia’s face, he thought that the kid wasn’t taking his words seriously. He wanted to add several more warnings, but he discovered that Shang Xia wasn’t as stupid as he looked. The kid looked like he was comprehending something and Shang Ke decided to let the matter go.

However, a sudden change in the situation caused Shang Ke to raise an eyebrow in shock. Three feet away, a massive boulder exploded. Tiny shards flew through the air and a black figure shot straight towards Shang Xia. He held a long sword in his hand as a weird hissing sound filled the air. There was a faint indication of a martial intent behind his attack. 

The figure who appeared was a Martial Extremity Realm disciple of the Four Spiritual Peak and he was also well-versed in the way of the sword!

Afraid that the sudden disturbance would affect Shang Xia’s comprehension, Shang Ke decided to step in. However, he hadn’t even moved when a resplendent ray of sword light emerged from Shang Xia’s Jade River Sword. A tyrannical sword light slashed towards the opponent, giving him no chance to dodge.

The appearance of the sword light caused the swordsman who just arrived to feel extremely pressured. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to stop the sword light even if he gave it his all, but he had no way out! He could only risk everything and take the strike head-on.

He never would have thought that the sword light would twist in the last second, avoiding his desperate counterattack. Avoiding the swordsman’s defenses, Shang Xia’s sword light drew a distinct line across one of his arms, causing a spurt of blood to spray into the skies.

Shang Xia could have easily taken his opponent’s life. However, he chose to avoid the vitals, showing a shred of mercy. The sword light was merely meant as a warning.

However, things were different in Shang Ke’s eyes. He was much more insightful than a disciple at the Martial Extremity Realm. He could tell that Shang Xia was using the same sword technique as before, but the sword light that emerged possessed a grand and imposing aura compared to the dark and sinister one it had before!

Anyone who saw how Shang Xia dealt with his previous opponents would think that he was humiliating them and toying with their lives. However, this particular strike gave Shang Ke the impression that Shang Xia was sincerely sparing his opponent’s life! The change was too abrupt!

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It was too bad the Four Spiritual Peak and the Tongyou Peak were mortal enemies. Shang Xia’s actions of sparing his opponent’s life would never be appreciated by the other party. 

Grabbing his sword firmly with his other hand which was unaffected, the swordsman continued to press closer to Shang Xia.

At that moment, Shang Xia was stuck in a peculiar state. His mind was blank but his senses were sharp. It was as though he was looking at himself from a third party point of view.

If Shang Xia’s earlier strike transformed the sinister intent into a glorious one, his next move would knock the socks off everyone's feet. His understanding of the Quandary Sword Art broke through a particular bottleneck and he managed to convert the core of the entire technique!

He might have shocked himself by the sudden flash of inspiration, but Shang Ke was truly on the verge of fainting in fright.

“Ethereal Mind! That… That… That’s the sign of him forming his divine sense!” Shang Ke gasped. A complicated expression appeared in his eyes as he stared at the kid in front of him. “I thought that he progressed a little too quickly from the Martial Realm to the Martial Extremity Realm. According to our estimations, he would need a little more time and accumulation to advance! Shang Bo probably sent me out to protect him while giving him some advice, but from the looks of it, our actions were unnecessary! Looks like I have to give him the advancement formula for the Triple Loop Coalescence Needle.” 

As the battle between Shang Xia and the swordsman of the Four Spiritual Peak reached its climax, Shang Xia broke through the defenses of his opponent multiple times. However, he would withdraw at the very last moment, allowing his opponent to survive.

The swordsman who had been spared multiple times not only failed to discover Shang Xia’s mercy, he even tried to push his luck!

“Enough!” The swordsman yelled while retreating slightly. 

Snapping back to reality, Shang Xia awakened from the mythical state and stared blankly at his opponent.

“I’m not your opponent, and there’s no point in dragging his battle out any longer. Now that the Four Spiritual Peak is destroyed, I have no way of escaping. I hope that you can experience my final attack!” 

Turning serious, Shang Xia growled, “Alright, go ahead.”