Splitting the Heave

Shang Jian wasn’t hurrying Shang Xia for fun. After all, not too many treasures had appeared in the gathering and Shang Xia’s chance of success would be the highest if he went up now.

If he continued to wait and the gathering reached the later stages, most cultivators would have obtained the treasures they desired. The chances of obtaining the items he wants would be greatly reduced.

Of course, that didn’t apply if Shang Xia was going to bring out truly valuable treasures. As long as something was valuable enough, everyone would bid like crazy for it.

After thinking about it, Shang Xia got to his feet the moment the person on the central platform completed their deal. He caught the attention of many people as he made his way up.

The number of cultivators who joined the gathering had broken through the 50 people mark, and every one of them had completed their third divine sense transformation. Before the gathering started, many people had already disguised themselves, and around half of them were hiding their appearances and auras.

The other half were members of the institution. Deacons, instructors, and members of the new five great families of the You Continent felt no need to hide their presence.

For someone like Shang Xia, there was no point in hiding his identity anyway. He was like a star that was shining in the night sky at the moment. Regardless of his background, cultivation, or his actual combat strength, no one could deny that he was one of the strongest Martial Intent Realm experts in the Azure Origin World at the moment. His reputation rose sharply in the past two years, and the fall of two Martial Extermination Realm experts from the Azure Spiritual World was rumored to be related to him. Even if he didn’t do anything new, he would still be the center of attention anywhere he went.

No matter how prepared he was when he made his way up to the central platform, he still felt a little lightheaded. 

Standing on the central platform, he swept his gaze across those present before opening a jade box carefully. He revealed the contents to everyone present.

“This is a rank four item. It’s the Scarlet Gold Silk Brewer’s…” 

Shang Xia didn’t even manage to complete his sentence when everyone in the venue broke out into hushed discussions. At the same time, several dozen divine senses extended to examine the treasure inside the box.

“It’s a rank four treasure! Another rank four treasure appeared!” 

“It’s actually a rank four brewer’s yeast! It’s definitely a key to crafting a rank four advancement medicine!” 

“Shit! We just started and two rank four treasures appeared! Looks like I didn’t make this trip in vain.” 

“Someone actually brought out something so precious to make a trade… I wonder what he wishes to get in return?” 

“...” 

The chaotic discussion filled the skies and the venue seemed to turn a little rowdy all of a sudden.

Clearly, without someone strong enough to suppress the entire crowd, situations like that were bound to happen.

The Martial Extermination Realm expert who was presiding over the gathering wasn’t there to deal with situations like these. Perhaps he or she would make a move during a critical moment to suppress the masses, but they were there primarily to prevent the Azure Spiritual World from wreaking havoc. As such, Shang Xia could only stand on the central platform like a fool. With an expression of displeasure forming on his face, Shang Xia felt that he resembled a clown in the circus as everyone else was talking among themselves.

With his expression turning dark, Shang Xia coughed aggressively to catch their attention. “Ahem!” 

His voice was low, but it was like a thunderbolt that blasted in the ears of those present. The jolt they felt to their divine sense caused their bodies to tremble involuntarily. 30 percent of the cultivators who were present felt their heads spinning as they shook their heads violently to get rid of the feeling. The rest who were a little strong turned to stare at Shang Xia in fright as a new sense of fear for him appeared in their hearts.

With a single action, Shang Xia forced the venue to return to its original quiet state as everyone looked at the young figure in the middle with a strange gaze.

Without a doubt, they discovered that every single one of them was unable to stand up to him despite it being a simple cough.

Luckily for them, Shang Xia had no evil intentions when he jolted their divine senses earlier. He managed to suppress dozens of them. If anyone carried out a sneak attack…

Shang Xia’s gaze swept across the venue and he continued, “I wish to trade this for another rank four brewer’s yeast, the Crimson Crystal Valley Brewer's Yeast, or the Spirit of Summer!” 

Of the various herbs and treasures he required to craft his rank four advancement medicine, Shang Xia knew how precious all of them were. He needed 9 rank four treasures in total. 4 of them were the Spirit of the Four Seasons, and 4 of them were supplementary ingredients. The final one was his Crimson Crystal Valley Brewer's Yeast. 

When he brought out the Scarlet Gold Silk Brewer’s Yeast, he knew that he could either trade it for a brewer’s yeast of the same level or one of the four spirits.

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Herbs like the Nine Leaf Lotus might also be rank four herbs, but they paled in comparison to either the brewer’s yeast or one of the spirits.

After naming his price, the atmosphere immediately sank into a freezing state. The discussions that broke out earlier when he brought out his treasure were nowhere to be heard and Shang Xia’s expression sank and he couldn’t help but mention, “What’s the matter? Is there no one willing to make the trade?” 

Someone in the crowd spoke up all of a sudden, “Young Master Shang, are you open to other trades?” 

Shang Xia’s gaze landed on a certain corner of the venue and he muttered, “I apologize. Today, I only need those two items. I have no need for other rank four herbs.” 

Shang Xia might have made his intentions clear, but there were many voices hoping he could change his mind.

When he was dealing with many voice transmissions that begged him to change his conditions, someone sent a voice transmission to Shang Jian directly. “Second Master Shang, why are you guys trying to get your hands on the Spirit of Summer? Are you planning to craft a divine weapon for your old patriarch?” 

No one knew how the transmission took place, but the five organizers of the gathering seemed to have some sort of group call function. As long as one of them spoke, the other four would be able to hear them.

Shang Jian’s expression changed drastically and he replied, “According to our agreement, you have to show some support. You can’t allow his trade to fail.” 

“Second Master Shang, are you killing us? Where the hell are we supposed to find the Crimson Crystal Valley Brewer's Yeast or a Spirit of Summer?!” Someone else chimed in.

A snort left Shang Jian’s lips. “Heh, I don’t care. That’s your problem. We had an agreement.” 

After a period of silence, someone else added, “We’ll just make a secret agreement if push comes to shove. Tell him to say that he made a deal with a mysterious party and we’ll return the brewer’s yeast secretly after the gathering is over…” 

“That’s right!” 

Everyone piped up in unison.

Shang Jian’s expression sank as he gnashed his teeth together. “You… All of you are shameless!” 

The only response he received was dry laughter from the other organizers.

Many people present were well versed with treasures. Even though the Spirit of the Four Seasons was rarely seen, most people knew that it could be used to craft divine weapons.

However, the Shang Clan didn’t seem to be ready to craft a divine weapon yet. After all, Shang Bo hadn’t entered the Martial Dipper Realm.

As they continued along that line of thought, a terrifying thought flashed through their minds. Was it possible for Shang Bo to be at the edge of a breakthrough? Or was the institution planning to let the You Continent birth its third Martial Dipper Realm expert soon and the Shang Clan was making their preparations for it?

The more they thought about it, the crazier they felt the Tongyou Institution was. They wondered if the Tongyou Institution really had the capabilities to produce two Martial Dipper Realm ancestors in succession.

When everyone was racking their brains on what Shang Xia’s intention was for requesting a Spirit of the Four Seasons, someone yelled, “I have a Spirit of Summer!” 

Shang Xia, who was slowly losing hope, was prepared to leave in defeat. He received a voice transmission from Shang Jian earlier telling him that none of the other four great families had the items he needed and to carry out their plan.

Who would have thought that someone would jump out at the last second?

Shang Xia, who had maintained his neutral expression all that while, couldn’t help but reveal a trace of excitement. He tried his best to remain calm as he muttered, “Can I please take a look at it?”

A figure appeared in the corner of Shang Xia’s eye before strolling towards him.

All of a sudden, another roar rang through the skies. “Hey! That’s Ge Qingzhu!”

The moment the words left his lips, the entire venue turned to stare at the newcomer. A trace of shock could be seen in their eyes when they looked at him.

Cultivators who didn’t know what was going on quickly made their inquiries and learned that Ge Qingzhu had finally emerged from hiding. They also learned that he found a pool full of Spiritual Lotuses during his adventures and it was something similar to a rank four treasure. From what they heard, he might have more than a single rank four treasure on him too!

Ever since he returned to the Observation Peak, the news of his gains started to spread like wildfire. Unfortunately, no one could find him no matter how hard they tried. Everyone thought that he was under heavy protection by the institution. None of them expected him to show up during the gathering.

His first move in the gathering was to trade a Spirit of Summer for Shang Xia’s Scarlet Gold Silk Brewer’s Yeast, basically confirming the rumors that he managed to obtain several rank four treasures on his adventures!

Many gazes started to heat up when they saw Ge Qingzhu and Shang Xia was no exception.

In the rumors, Ge Qingzhu managed to obtain an entire pool of Spiritual Lotuses. Even if he didn’t have any of the fourth rank, he wouldn’t be lacking in rank three treasures.

Arriving before Shang Xia, Ge Qingzhu slid a jade bottle over.

“Can I open it?” Shang Xia asked.

He had experience with the Spirit of Autumn and knew that every one of them possessed their own intelligence. He was afraid that the spirit would run the moment he opened the bottle.

Nodding lightly, Ge Qingzhu explained, “There’s a droplet of rain contained in there.” 

Opening the jade bottle with a special method, Shang Xia quickly discovered the traces of the Spirit of Summer contained within.

Nodding to indicate that he would proceed with the trade, he sent Ge Qingzhu a voice transmission. “Deacon Ge, do you have any Nine Leaf Lotus harvested in the Summer?”