Splitting the Heave

Not giving half a shit about the bomb he just threw, Shang Xia returned to his secret chamber to take a nap. Gong Hang and the other Talisman Masters who were gathered outside stared at each other in shock as they didn’t know how to react.

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Only after a long time did Gong Hang release a soft sigh. He kept the 8 pieces of Gale Thunderbolt Talisman carefully in a sealed spirit case.

When he was done, one of the rank two Talisman Masters behind him muttered softly, “Teacher Gong, did he already produce a few pieces of Gale Thunderbolt Talismans? Maybe he brought them out earlier to make us think that…”

Glancing at him, Gong Hang didn’t let him finish before he snapped, “Are you blind? Can’t you tell the state of the ink on those talismans? The strokes on the talisman were made extremely recently. We can clearly feel the divine sense that was sealed into it. There is no way any of these were produced more than 2 months ago.” Gong Hang paused for a second before grunting, “Don’t let your suspicions cloud your judgment. For Talisman Master Shang to complete the Gale Thunderbolt Talisman is a blessing for our Talisman Hall!” 

The rank two Talisman Master bowed respectfully, but he couldn’t help but add, “No matter what, he probably had some experience with the talismans before this. Otherwise, it’s impossible for him to craft 8 of them in 2 short months. The Gale Thunderbolt Talisman is one of the most difficult rank three talismans to craft. It’s a little hard to believe he made eight of them from scratch…” 

This time, Gong Hang didn’t say anything to refute him. The rank two Talisman Master wasn’t the only one who was doubting Shang Xia. Even Gong Hang had a trace of suspicion in his heart.

However, he merely paused for a moment before speaking up., “Even though your guess might be correct, what do you think of his talisman crafting abilities? He managed to craft 8 of them in 2 short months” 

The disciple felt his lips trembling slightly while streaks of light flashed through his eyes. Eventually, he revealed a bitter smile. “I’m afraid he can already be considered to be at the peak of his craft even among rank three Talisman Masters.” 

Gong Hang tilted his head downwards slightly and seemed to be content with his disciple’s response. “Not bad. At least you didn’t let your jealousy cloud your judgment.” 

A crooked smile was all that was left on his disciple’s face.

Turning to look at everyone else standing around Shang Xia’s secret chamber, Gong Hang muttered, “Let’s go. Talisman Master Shang managed to reduce a lot of pressure on us this time around. However, we still have a lot to do!” 

Everyone present realized that the Talisman Hall was about to be thrown into a whole new round of changes the moment Shang Xia handed over 8 pieces of Gale Thunderbolt Talismans. 

Before Shang Xia joined the Talisman Hall, Gong Hang and Fan Yuanhui were the only rank three Talisman Masters present. Regardless of whether it was experience or quality, Gong Hang was considered slightly better than Fan Yuanhui in all aspects.

With his years of service in the Talisman Hall, Gong Hang had provided pointers to many younger Talisman Masters. Even though they couldn’t say that Gong Hang was the only voice of authority, there were many Talisman Masters and disciples who would follow anything he said.

Even when Shang Xia entered the Talisman Hall as a rank three Talisman Master, Gong Hang’s position wasn’t affected in the slightest. 

Of course, Shang Xia didn’t plan on wresting control over the Talisman Hall from Gong Hang and neither did Gong Hang try to suppress Shang Xia with his status.

At the end of the day, their skills were what spoke the loudest. 

After Shang Xia completed 8 Gale Thunderbolt Talismans in 2 months, not a single soul dared to question his abilities as a rank three Talisman Master. Naturally, his prestige shot through the roof now that he had proved his abilities. Achieving something Gong Hang was unable to do, Shang Xia instantly became the number 1 Talisman Master among them.

Anyone who had a little insight could tell that Gong Hang had reached the peak of whatever he could achieve in the path of talisman creation and cultivation. 

Fan Yuanhui was a little better as he had some room for improvement, but at the moment, he hadn’t reached Gong Hang’s level. 

Compared to the two of them, Shang Xia’s cultivation was publicly acknowledged to have reached the peak of the Martial Intent Realm. He was a mere step away from entering the Martial Extermination Realm and he was extremely likely to become a rank four Talisman Master in the future.

His future was a lot brighter than both Gong Hang and Fan Yuanhui, and as long as nothing went wrong, he would become the first rank four Talisman Master of the Tongyou Institution!

Simply put, Shang Xia was the future of the Talisman Hall!

…

When Shang Xia tossed out 8 Gale Thunderbolt Talismans, the Talisman Hall wasn’t the only ones who were shocked. The news traveled over to the Formation Hall like a terrifying hurricane and caught everyone by surprise like a thunderbolt on a sunny day.

When Ma Mingzheng and Bai Luming heard of it, their reactions were basically the same.

Initially, they felt that someone was playing a prank on them and they refused to believe it. Soon after, logic took over and they became serious. Finally, they shot a glance at each other before racing over to Chu Jia’s place.

When they charged into her courtyard, they discovered her curled up into a ball on her soft chair. It seemed as though she didn’t care about her image at all. However, her mind was sharp and despite looking like she wasn’t fully awake, she pretty much guessed the reason behind their arrival. “Hoho! Don’t tell me Talisman Master Shang actually busted his dantian and completed 3 Gale Thunderbolt Talismans?”

A look of excitement appeared on her face and she couldn’t be bothered with them as she continued, “How much resources did the Talisman Hall throw away this time? What was his success rate? How many pieces of talisman paper did he waste?” 

Ma Mingzheng and Bai Luming glanced at each other and raised an eyebrow each. Ma Mingzheng eventually broke the silence, “Weren’t you banking on the fact that he won’t be able to craft a single one?”

Rolling her eyes, she yawned lazily, “If he really failed to craft a single one, do you think the two of you will be bothered enough to come disturb me from my beauty sleep?” Getting up slowly, she decided to ‘comfort’ the two of them. “Alright, alright, there’s no need to be so worked up. It’s just 3 pieces of Gale Thunderbolt Talisman. I’ve already come up with a plan to start the modifications. We’ll just let them enjoy their success this time. Anyway, they won’t be able to change a thing. We’ll be the ones telling them what to do from now on. Hehe, alright, if there’s nothing else, I’m going back to sleep…” 

Realizing that the strange look on their faces hadn’t faded, Chu Jia stopped herself mid-yawn and frowned, “What’s the matter? Did he actually manage to craft 5 Gale Thunderbolt Talismans?” 

Sinking into contemplation, the talented Formation Master Chu nodded her head with praise. “Looks like the kid isn’t a good for nothing after all. I definitely underestimated him previously. Hehe, he’s worthy to be called Deputy Patriarch Shang’s grandson! Oh well, it doesn’t matter! The modifications I’m thinking of already took 5 Gale Thunderbolt Talismans into account. Looks like I won’t be able to continue sleeping today, hmph!” 

Chu Jia slowly crawled into a seated position as she stretched her back. A helpless look was stuck to her face as she grumbled inwardly about starting work soon.

“It’s not 5 talismans…” Ma Mingzheng muttered.

Chu Jia’s movement froze and the air of laziness around her disappeared instantly. She turned her head violently to stare at him before quickly regaining her calm. She asked nonchalantly, “Don’t tell me he managed to finish 7 Gale Thunderbolt Talismans…” 

If it was anyone else, they wouldn’t be able to detect the sudden fluctuation of heaven and earth qi when Chu Jia reacted earlier. However, Ma Mingzheng could be considered to be Chu Jia’s half-teacher. He knew exactly what she was feeling when she reacted earlier. 

As someone who had been hailed a genius her whole life, practically everyone forgot about Chu Jia’s cultivation. She was also a hopeful candidate to step into the Martial Extermination Realm in the future and she should be known as a powerful expert and Formation Master. With Shang Xia’s current achievements, she was starting to feel the pressure of finally not being number 1.

Because that was the case, Ma Mingzheng felt that there was no need to hide his achievements from her any longer and he muttered, “No. He didn’t just finish 7. He made 8 Gale Thunderbolt Talismans.” 

A deafening silence filled the courtyard and Bai Luming was starting to feel uncomfortable with the crushing pressure that was starting to descend on him. He wanted nothing more than to run away immediately.

He wasn’t the only one. Ma Mingzheng could also feel the change in the atmosphere. He sighed softly to himself. He knew that if not for the fact that Chu Jia was adamant about entering the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm before breaking through, she would already have entered the Martial Extermination Realm. Back during the War of the Coral Forest, she actually had 2 chances to break through.

Looks like Shang Xia lit a fire at her ass this time.

“Haha… Hahahaha…” Chu Jia’s laughter filled the air suddenly. “Interesting! I didn’t think that he would be able to do something like that! Looks like I underestimated him!” 

Footsteps could be heard the next moment as she started walking out of her courtyard. “Now, it’s our turn to be on the receiving end. I definitely didn’t expect him to finish 7 Gale Thunderbolt Talismans. I didn’t plan for it at all, but that doesn’t mean it will stop this grandaunt from modifying the formation!”

“This is really interesting! I haven't been pushed so hard in a long time!” Chu Jia growled. The lazy air that had always been around her was nowhere to be seen, and she seemed to experience a heaven-shaking transformation. Waves of heaven and earth qi emerged from her and she seemed to be walking into a great battle.

She took several steps out of her courtyard before a frown formed on her face. She didn’t notice any movement behind her and she tilted her head to the side before muttering, “Teacher Ma, Bai Luming, aren’t you coming?” 

“Little Chu…” Ma Mingzheng coughed lightly before signaling towards Bai Luming. “Actually, Mister Bai will tell you what happened.” 

An apologetic light flashed in his eyes as he threw under the bus. Bai Luming’s eyes widened and he glared at Ma Mingzheng. He didn’t expect the old man to be so shameless. 

“Bai Luming?” Chu Jia growled.

A sense of danger overwhelmed him as he quickly lowered his gaze. He was extremely helpless and he didn’t dare to hide anything from her at all. He could only whisper softly, “Actually… Actually, Talisman Master Shang said something when handed the talismans over… I’ll quote him directly. He said. ‘The Formation Hall asked for 7 pieces to start their modification process. Go ask if they can do anything with 8 talismans’.” 

The moment the words left his lips, Chu Jia glared at him. Bai Luming was so afraid he took a step back in retreat.

“Is he trying to provoke me?!” Chu Jia squealed before turning away.

Ma Mingzheng didn’t know where to look, but he sure as hell didn’t dare to look at Chu Jia at the moment. He quickly pretended to think about something.

As for Bai Luming, he couldn’t help but grumble silently: Weren’t you the one who provoked the Talisman Hall before this? 

Naturally, he wouldn’t dare to say his thoughts out loud. Even if someone beat him to death, he wouldn’t let those words come out of his lips. 

“Amazing! Hmph, does he think making 8 Gale Thunderbolt Talismans will stump me? This grandaunt here isn’t so easily defeated! Hmph, hmph!” Chu Jia started laughing maniacally.

“Ahem, about that…” Ma Mingzheng knew that he couldn’t play stupid forever and he quickly tried to soothe the situation. “Little Chu, you thought of a plan with 7 Gale Thunderbolt Talismans. I believe you’ll be able to come up with an idea to incorporate 8 of them into the talisman too! Even if he manages to produce a ninth one, it won’t be a problem!” 

Seeing the cloudy look on her face dissipating, Ma Mingzheng changed his tone slightly. “However, modifying the formation would take some time. We’re in a rush to deploy the formation and we might not have the time to think of how to fuse 8 Gale Thunderbolt Talismans into the grand formation.” 

Since Ma Mingzheng had spoken, he wasn’t going to let Chu Jia interrupt him before he could finish. He quickly added, “Alright, we’ll stick to the plan of using 7 Gale Thunderbolt Talismans, Tell the Talisman Hall to send 7 of them over. Tell them we’re pressed for time and don’t have the ability to come up with a way to incorporate 8 Gale Thunderbolt Talismans into the grand formations on short notice.” 

His actions clearly stated that the Formation Hall was going to admit defeat this time.

Chu Jia was naturally unwilling to accept such an outcome, but Ma Mingzheng was exceptionally serious this time. He knew that deploying the grand formation was more important than any ego battle at the moment. 

No matter how hard she gnashed her teeth, Chu Jia knew that she had to admit defeat for now.