Splitting the Heave

“It’s not enough.” After Chu Jia examined the talisman paper made from the Stormy Lightning Leaf, she shook her head. As the Formation Master most likely to enter the fourth rank in the future, her words carried a lot of weight.

Gong Hang’s expression turned a little ugly after hearing what she said. However, Zhang Haogu wasn’t too disappointed when he heard Chu Jia’s evaluation. In a calm voice, he asked, “According to Instructor Chu’s estimations, how many talisman papers like that do we need before it can reach your standards?” 

Chu Jia was a talented Formation Master of the Tongyou Institution, and she had been promoted to an instructor recently. Her position was similar to Zhang Haogu’s own before he advanced.

After thinking for a second, she muttered, “Instructor Zhang, this isn’t about the quantity of talisman paper made from the leaves. It’s about the strength of wind and lightning contained in them.” 

Perhaps some of them around had no idea what she was talking about, but Chu Jia surprisingly decided to explain a little more. “Even if we start the transformation process and modify the grand formation, we would only be able to modify a third of it. Even if we use 17 Formation Talismans made from this talisman paper, the effects won’t be too visible. Unless…”

“Unless?” Zhang Haogu followed up quickly.

“Unless we have a corresponding rank three talisman of the wind and lightning attribute to supplement it. Moreover, it will bring about a substantial boost to the grand formation.” Chu Jia concluded.

“Rank three Wind and Lightning attributed talismans?” Zhang Haogu muttered out loud before turning to Gong Hang. “Do we have a wind and lightning attribute talisman inheritance?”

“We have an inheritance for a wind talisman, and a lightning talisman. As for a talisman with both attributes…” Gong Hang muttered. At the end, he could only shake his head helplessly. 

Seeing his reaction, Chu Jia shot Zhang Haogu a helpless gaze.

When everything thought that the situation had been concluded, a surprising figure strolled into the hall. The moment they saw Shang Bo’s face, everyone snapped to attention.

“Deputy Patriarch Shang!” 

“Head Instructor!” 

Everyone bowed in unison as they greeted him respectfully.

Signaling for everyone to be at ease, he turned to Chu Jia and spoke, “Shang Xia managed to find the Lightning Bird and its flock of Mutated Wind Swallows. This old man made a trip over the other day and discovered that the Lightning Bird is at the edge of breaking through. It doesn't seem hostile towards me and I can tell that it will be willing to return to nest on our Observation Peak.” 

He then made some simple introductions of the Lightning Bird to everyone present before he continued, “There aren't any more tall mountains in our territory and we need to construct a region that contains the power of wind and lightning for them to nest. If we can integrate it into the formation, we can use the power of wind and lightning to nurture the nest during times of peace. When we need to activate the formation, we can draw on their power to face the threat. No matter what, our Tongyou Institution will benefit from it.”

Zhang Haogu’s interest was piqued after he heard about the Lightning Bird and he continued, “When the Lightning Bird breaks through in the future, wouldn’t that mean that our Observation Peak will possess a guardian beast of the fourth rank and its flock?!” 

Shang Bo nodded happily. That was his intention in the first place.

Everyone’s gaze returned to Chu Jia since she seemed to be the person in charge of the formation now. Without a doubt, none of them would be willing to give up a chance to make the Lightning Beast and its flock nest on the Observation Peak.

Chu Jia understood the principles and importance of it but if they were truly going to do it, the modification they talked about earlier wouldn’t be enough. They were going to have to undergo an actual large scale project.

Everyone present was extremely patient as they stayed silent to wait for Chu Jia to give an answer.

No matter how everyone present was probably her senior, none of them tried pestering her to give an answer. An unknown amount of time had passed before she finally released a soft sigh. “It would be great if we manage to make the Lightning Bird and its flock make their nest here…” 

Only then did audible sighs fill the air. Ma Mingzheng and Bai Luming, who were a little more familiar with Chu Jia, understood since she was able to give a reaction like that, she should probably have an idea on how to proceed.

“However…” Chu Jia spoke up again, causing everyone’s heart to thump violently again. “We most definitely need more Formation Talismans crafted with these paper. Also, I need to meet Shang Xia! Hmph! We came up with a proper plan to lay down the grand formation and he’s making a mess of it now. We even need to change the formation core that has already been completed. I know that he managed to comprehend a lightning-attributed martial intent called the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm or something. I wonder if he can produce a wind and lightning attributed talisman. Heh, watch me suck all his lightning essence dry!” 

The smile on Chu Jia’s face became more sinister the more she spoke, and everyone else could only stare at each other in confusion. The atmosphere quickly became weird. 

Hey my great grandaunt, why are you talking about messing with Shang Xia when this monstrous grandpa is standing right in front of you?! What the f…

Who would have thought that Shang Bo would nod in agreement. “Yes! That’s the spirit! Go ahead and do what you need to. I’ll give you all the support you need.” 

Puffing her chest up, a triumphant smile plastered itself onto her face as she stomped away.

Zhang Haogu looked at everyone around who was coughing and yawning to pretend not to see Chu Jia’s antics and he quickly broke the awkward silence. Even so, he couldn’t help but shoot Shang Bo a strange gaze. “Old Man Shang, isn’t your grandson twenty years old or slightly younger this year? Instructor Chu is already thirty… Don’t you think the age gap is a little…” 

Shang Bo returned Zhang Haogu’s suspicious gaze with one of his own and snorted, “Old Man Zhang, is your brain filled with filth? You don’t seem to act like a teacher at all!” 

Grunting softly, Zhang Haogu turned away from Shang Bo and chose to remain silent.

The next moment, Shang Bo’s mischievous voice rang in his ears again. “Heh, after a cultivator enters the Martial Extermination Realm, their longevity will increase greatly. A difference of ten or so years can’t be considered huge at all! Don’t you think that those two little brats will enter the Martial Extermination Realm in the future?” 

Zhang Haogu couldn’t be bothered with Shang Bo any longer and he simply turned the other way.

…

Obviously, Shang Xia wouldn’t know that trouble was approaching rapidly. At the moment, he had just applied the Thousand Mechanism Spirit Recovery Powder onto his temples and he was feeling a wave of comfort washing through his mind. He could clearly feel his divine sense recovering quickly.

“Damn. I was careless. I was too careless!” Shang Xia grumbled softly while massaging his temples. He stared at the final piece of rank three Formation Talisman he managed to craft with a bitter smile on his face.

Under his feet sat 3 pieces of broken talisman paper. Initially, Shang Xia thought that he would have an easy time crafting the Formation Talismans with his experience. Unfortunately, reality gave him a huge slap in the face.

He would need three days in order to complete one proper talisman and he couldn’t lose focus the entire time. However, most Talisman Masters would be distracted by many things during the entire process. That was where their strong divine sense and willpower came in. They would usually block anything that would interfere with the crafting process, but there were some things that they couldn’t fully prevent.

This time, Shang Xia only managed to finish three Formation Talismans in the twenty odd days that he was in seclusion. The six pieces of rank three talisman paper he was provided with were used up, and he quickly recovered his divine sense with a few days of rest.

Only then did he emerge from his secret chamber. 

During his last few days of rest, not only was he trying to recover, he was also reflecting on his actions and dwelling on the lessons he learned. 

Who would have thought that the moment he stepped foot outside his secret chamber, Chu Jia was standing there waiting for him.

The two of them were rank three masters in their respective halls and should be on equal footing with each other. 

It was pretty unfortunate for Shang Xia as he was still a student in the Upper Division at the moment. Chu Jia was an instructor of the institution, and she could be considered his teacher.

A quick look at "pawread dot com" will leave you more fulfilled.

There was no way a student could refuse to see his teacher, right? Moreover, he was actually curious about the reason the genius Formation Master was looking for him. 

One had to know that not everyone could be taught by Chu Jia in the institution. One had to be in the Inner Division at the very least, but there was one legendary figure who hasn’t attended any lessons ever since he was in the Outer Division. 

The only interaction said legend had with Chu Jia was their interaction in the Coral Forest and that was the only impression they had of one another. 

Now that Shang Xia was meeting Chu Jia again, he discovered that this weird Formation Master’s cultivation had already reached the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm. Which was to say that her cultivation level was similar to him, and they were both ready to break through to the Martial Extermination Realm.

Regardless, Chu Jia had always been a lazy bum. If she could get someone else to do something, she would definitely do so. As long as her eyebrows weren’t on fire or something similar, she wouldn’t deal with it herself.

The only reason the Formation Hall could operate effectively and finish the formation core was because Ma Mingzheng had been nagging her every single day. Because of that, she finally focused and completed the blueprint of the new grand formation so everyone could start work on the rest. That was probably also the reason she was extremely annoyed with Shang Xia now that she had to make large scale changes and increase her workload.

The instant Shang Xia saw Chu Jia, he wanted to make a slight bow to respect her status as a teacher. Before he could even start the motion, Chu Jia leaped in front of him and glared at him from head to toe. “You… You’re making things difficult for me on purpose!” 

Reeling back in fright and shock, Shang Xia asked, “Instructor Chu, what do you mean?” 

“Hmph, hmph!” Twisting around violently, she crossed her arms before walking back to where she appeared from. A faint fragrance was left in the air.

When Shang Xia was utterly confused and wanted to ask about the situation, she stretched out a single hand to stop him. “Do you know how to craft a rank three talisman with the properties of wind and lightning?” 

Raising both eyebrows in shock, Shang Xia didn’t give her a straight reply. Instead, he asked a question of his own, “Instructor Chu, why are you asking about that all of a sudden?” 

“Hmph, you don’t need to know my reasons. Just tell me if you know how to make one.” 

Shang Xia might be feeling a trace of annoyance creeping up on him, but at the end of the day, she was still his senior and she was a teacher to boot. He couldn’t help but answer, “I know of a talisman that possesses both the elements of wind and lightning. However, I haven’t tried making it.” 

He wasn’t bullshitting. Of the rank three talismans recorded in the Zhu Family Talisman Scripture, one of them did indeed possess what Chu Jia wanted. It was something Shang Xia had recalled after getting Ren Huan to craft talisman paper from those Stormy Lightning Leaves.

“Great!” Clapping, she hopped into the air out of the blue, surprising Shang Xia yet again.

She seemed to ignore the strange looks Shang Xia were shooting at her and she continued, “No matter what type of method you use, you need to create seven of those in the next two months. Otherwise, Hehe… You can’t blame me if the grand formation doesn't possess the power of wind and lightning.”