Splitting the Heave

Deacon Ge Qingzhu of the Tongyou Institution successfully entered the Martial Extermination Realm, increasing the number of experts by one!

Ge Qingzhu couldn’t be considered an extremely well-known figure in the institution before that, and most people had no idea of his existence. Fortunately, he ran into a massive fortuitous encounter in the battlefield between the two worlds. It was said that he obtained an entire pool of spiritual lotus, and taking advantage of the opportunity, his cultivation skyrocketed. After making all his preparations, he successfully entered the ranks of true experts of the institution.

Shang Xia had to praise Ge Qingzhu’s approach. He took everything step by step and succeeded with a stroke of luck. Everyone had their way of cultivation and there was no need for Shang Xia to envy any of them. 

As such, Shang Xia made his preparations to leave while everyone was still captivated by the energy fluctuations in the air.

However, he was interrupted by Shang Tai before he could leave the battlefield between the two worlds.

Like Shang Quan, Shang Tai was also a second generation member of the Shang Clan who was born in a branch family. 

Because Shang Quan felt as though he had reached a bottleneck in his cultivation several days ago, he chose to enter seclusion. He was making his preparations to enter the Martial Intent Realm and handed his responsibilities to Shang Tai.

Before Shang Xia returned to the Talisman Hall a few months ago, Shang Quan brought Shang Tai over to meet Shang Xia to make the introductions.

When he heard that Shang Quan was about to enter seclusion, Shang Xia picked out several training resources, that might be of use like rank two and three Monkey Wine, for him. 

“Uncle Tai, did something come up?” Shang Xia asked when he saw the rush Shang Tai was in.

Shang Tai heaved a sigh of relief when he saw Shang Xia and he muttered, “Yan Qi… Yan Qi is back! He wishes to see you…” 

“What happened to him?!” Without hesitation, Shang Xia started running in the direction of the Shang Clan’s territory on the Observation Peak. 

Shang Xia was extremely clear about Yan Qi’s personality. If he really needed to report anything to Shang Xia, he would do so personally. He wouldn’t ask Shang Xia to look for him unless something unexpected happened…

“Um…” A strange expression appeared on Shang Tai’s face but he quickly continued, “You’ll know when you get there.” 

Hearing that, Shang Xia became even more curious. Luckily, he wouldn’t take a lot of time to travel across the Observation Peak. He quickly returned to the Shang Clan’s territory.

The moment he returned, he caught sight of Yan Qi who had gone missing for a few months now. He instantly realized why Shang Tai wasn’t willing to tell him what happened on the way back.

Yan Qi used to be a buff young man with muscles bulging to the point where they were visible through his clothes. Now, he was extremely shriveled and his face was deathly pale. He had a listless gaze as he sat there waiting for Shang Xia to arrive.

“Seventh Uncle, this…” Shang Xia gasped in fright.

“Oh… It’s a long story…” Yan Qi perked up slightly when he saw Shang Xia. A trace of red finally returned to his face and after coughing lightly, he changed the topic. “I heard that you were missing some treasures to craft your rank four advancement medicine.” 

Shang Xia didn’t push further about Yan Qi’s injuries since he wasn’t willing to talk about it at the moment. However, he couldn’t deny that he was feeling a trace of excitement when Yan Qi mentioned the treasures. “Seventh Uncle, do you have a plan to get them?”

Yan Qi nodded slowly before glancing at Shang Tai. “I heard from your Uncle Tai that you were missing some important treasures. I might have a way to get my hands on the Crimson Crystal Valley Brewer's Yeast.”

Shang Xia’s eyes lit up instantly. “For real? What do you need in exchange?” 

Yan Qi released an awkward chuckle before muttering softly, “Actually, you only need to trade a rank four treasure for it.” 

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Shang Xia could tell that Yan Qi wasn’t exactly feeling very comfortable at the moment, but Shang Xia would believe whatever he said without hesitation. As such, he quickly replied, “I have some rank four treasures that I can’t make use of right now. One of them is called the Essence Bone Ember, and the other is a Scarlet Heart Cinnabar Wood. Choose whichever you wish!” 

“Essence Bone Ember?! Young Master, you actually have Essence Bone Ember?!” A hopeful light flashed through Yan Qi’s eyes and excitement filled his heart. “If you really have that, it would be much easier to trade for a portion of Crimson Crystal Valley Brewer's Yeast.” 

Before he could complete his sentence, Shang Xia was already retrieving a sealed case from his spatial artifact. Yan Qi didn’t hesitate either as he took the case from Shang Xia. 

He got to his feet before making his move. Without turning his head, he cried, “Young Master, please give me a little time. At the very latest, I’ll bring back a portion of Crimson Crystal Valley Brewer's Yeast in 5 days!” 

Yan Qi arrived and left like a gust of wind. With a look of confusion, Shang Xia could only turn to Shang Tai for an answer. “Uncle Tai, did Seventh Uncle tell you about what he experienced recently?” 

Shang Tai glanced at Yan Qi’s figure that was some distance away before turning back to Shang Xia. He grunted softly and tried to evade the youngster’s gaze.

Shang Xia didn’t know if he was mistaken, but he felt that there was a trace of envy and embarrassment mixed within.

Shifting his body to the side slightly, Shang Tai replied, “Yan Qi didn’t say too much about it. Maybe it has something to do with the old patriarch’s order, but he went to contact the members of the four great races of the Liao Continent.” 

“Four great races of the Liao Continent? Does it have nothing to do with the Changbai Holy Land?” Shang Xia frowned.

Shang Tai couldn’t help but burst into laughter from his response. “If he’s really communicating with the Changbai Holy Land, there’s no need to cover it up! We won’t need to send Yan Qi to do it either. After all, everyone else thinks that Yan Qi is a mere servant of our Shang Clan. They won’t pay too much attention to him.” 

Shang Xia nodded subconsciously. Even though he never treated Yan Qi as a servant, everyone outside the clan might not think so.

With the news Yan Qi had brought him, Shang Xia knew that his trip back to the Tongyou City would be delayed once again. 

Patiently waiting for Yan Qi’s return, a surprising event broke his dull and mundane life. An invitation was delivered to the Shang Clan and it was addressed specifically for Shang Xia.

“Huh? Ge Qingzhu?” Shang Xia received the invitation from Shang Tai while muttering to himself, “He just entered the Martial Extermination Realm and should be trying to consolidate his foundations. Why will he be looking for me?” 

Shang Tai shook his head slowly and sighed, “I don’t know either. The person who came with the invitation left the moment I took it.”

Shang Xia might be curious about the reason behind Ge Qingzhu’s sudden invitation, but he wouldn’t turn it down. After all, he would still respect the new addition to the Martial Extermination Realm ranks of the institution.

Waiting till the next day, Shang Xia didn’t receive any news from Yan Qi either.

Originally, Shang Xia wanted to look for Shang Jian and Shang Xi to ask about matters regarding him, but as it turned out, Shang Jian had left for the Tongyou City a while ago.

According to him, Shang Dong and Shang Bei were about to break through and he needed to head back to protect them during their cultivation.

His plan to look for Shang Xi also fell through. She had been in seclusion the moment she got back from the gathering with the various Martial Intent Realm experts. She might have completed her third divine sense transformation and could be considered to be ahead of her peers, her cultivation was still far too lacking when she compared it with her abnormal nephew. She would be lying to herself if she said that she didn’t feel any pressure. She wanted to raise her strength as much as possible which led to her entering seclusion for such a long time.

Helpless, Shang Xia could only wait for Yan Qi to return alone. With nothing else to do, he started to head for the central region on the Observation Peak.

That was where the giant wooden pillar was located, and it was also the home of the Lightning Bird. With such a giant structure in sight, it wasn’t difficult for Shang Xia to locate it.

When Ge Qingzhu advanced into the Martial Extermination Realm, he broke through in a secret chamber not too far away from the pillar. Shang Xia knew that he would be cultivating there and decided to look for him.

When he arrived, many Upper Division Disciples greeted him respectfully before pointing out the way.

When Shang Xia arrived, he noticed that Ge Qingzhu hadn’t left seclusion for long. In fact, they were meeting in his cultivation chamber for the first time.

They met back at the gathering near the Yuxi Peak. However, there were too many people present and Ge Qingzhu seemed to want to hide his presence. As such, Shang Xia didn’t examine him carefully.

Now that Ge Qingzhu had advanced, his aura changed drastically. He looked a lot more elegant than before and emitted a feeling of being free from all restraints. Everyone would feel a little more comfortable just by looking at him.

“Shang Xia greets Mister Ge!” 

There hadn’t been a single deacon in the Tongyou Institution with a Martial Extermination Realm cultivation. As soon as one of them advanced, they would be quickly promoted to be one of the heads of a division. Their status would be comparable to the instructors of the teaching divisions and that was the reason Shang Xia didn’t call him ‘Deacon Ge’ any longer.

Ge Qingzhu revealed a smile as he nodded as Shang Xia. No one knew if he was pleased with Shang Xia’s presence or if it was just the way Shang Xia was addressing him.

“Young Talisman Master Shang, do you still need a Nine Leaf Lotus?” Ge Qingzhu got straight to the point.

Shang Xia clearly didn’t expect Ge Qingzhu to be so direct and his eyes widened in surprise. After getting over his initial shock, he quickly regained his composure and replied, “This disciple is truly in need of the lotus. However, the Nine Leaf Lotus has to be harvested in the Summer!” 

Instead of replying to his question directly, Ge Qingzhu continued, “Young Talisman Master Shang, you must be curious about why I denied having the lotus back at the gathering…” 

Shang Xia was taken by surprise once again, but he quickly burst out chuckling, “Mister Ge, you definitely had your reasons for doing so.” 

Nodding slightly, Ge Qingzhu explained, “A Nine Leaf Lotus is a treasure that would be of use to someone entering the Martial Extermination Realm.”

Shang Xia immediately understood that Ge Qingzhu probably required the lotus to craft his advancement medicine, but his confusion quickly set in. Since Ge Qingzhu sent him an invitation, he wouldn’t call Shang Xia over just to tell him that he used up the Nine Leaf Lotus.

Shang Xia’s heart trembled slightly in anticipation of what he was about to hear. He couldn’t help but feel slightly more excited.

Ge Qingzhu chuckled in response, “Looks like you already guessed it. I obtained two Nine Leaf Lotus back then and I didn’t say anything before advancing in case I needed the second one.” 

Shang Xia nodded slightly in acknowledgment.

Pausing for a second, he continued, “Fortunately, I got lucky this time. Now that I succeeded, there is no need to hide the second Nine Leaf Lotus. I wouldn’t mind trading it with you.”

Shang Xia finally calmed himself and after a short moment of silence, he asked, “Mister Bu, have you harvested the other lotus?” 

“The rumors out there were actually correct. I obtained a pool of spirit lotuses, and that meant that I know its location. I haven’t harvested the lotus, but Summer is coming soon…”