Splitting the Heave

“How far can you extend your divine perception?” Ge Qingzhu asked impatiently now that Yan Su’er and Wei Yunyang were gone. 

Who would have thought that Shang Xia would stare in the direction where they left with a strange look on his face?

After Yan Su’er and Wei Yunyang disappeared, a soft voice rang in Shang Xia’s mind. “Brat, this old lady’s granddaughter is similar to you in age. Her appearance is heavenly and you have definitely seen her before. There’s no need for me to praise her any more than that. Are you willing to take her as your wife? Hehe, if you are, I’ll go talk to your grandfather Shang Bo right now!” 

Yan Su’er words nearly caused Shang Xia to cry out in fright. 

Luckily, he didn’t lose his composure after hearing what she said. Turning back to Ge Qingzhu, Shang Xia gasped softly before extending his divine perception outwards. He instantly knew how far it stretched, and he replied, “Close to 8 miles. I just broke through and haven’t been able to make proper measurements.” 

Widening his eyes in fright, Ge Qingzhu cried, “It’s no wonder you managed to locate us after your breakthrough. Then again, the range of your divine perception seems a little too large. After entering the Martial Extermination Realm, I can only detect a radius of 6 miles around myself. Even Instructor Liu thought I was pretty good. Haha, looks like my achievements are nothing compared to you.” 

“Mister Ge, you’re exaggerating. You can’t say that!” Shang Xia quickly refuted. 

Ordinarily, one’s physical body and soul would undergo a transformation when they enter the Martial Extermination Realm. That would mean that their divine sense would improve greatly. When the transformation was complete, a Martial Extermination Realm expert’s divine sense would be referred to as ‘divine perception’!

According to the usual standards, a Martial Intent Realm cultivator’s divine sense would be able to cover a hundred feet around themselves. After entering the Martial Extermination Realm, their divine perception would be able to envelop a 5 mile radius at the very least.

For experts like Ge Qingzhu to be able to cover 6 miles with their divine perception after breaking through was a testament to his deep foundations. 

Unfortunately, comparison was the thief of joy. Compared to Shang Xia’s divine perception that could reach up to 8 miles, Ge Qingzhu felt a little overwhelmed.

What Ge Qingzhu didn’t know was that Shang Xia wasn’t telling the truth. Shang Xia understood that his divine perception was probably a lot stronger than cultivators of the same level and he didn’t wish to embarrass Ge Qingzhu who had broken through to the Martial Extermination Realm before him.

Because of the Man and Heaven Synergy Chapter Shang Xia comprehended, his divine sense in the Martial Intent Realm was already leagues ahead of cultivators of the same level. Now That he had advanced, his divine perception was able to cover a distance of ten miles.

…

Seeing as there were no other disturbances, Shang Xia returned to the Yuxi Peak with Ge Qingzhu and Zhang Haogu in tow. Along the way, Shang Xia mentioned the process of his breakthrough briefly and introduced the current state of the Yuxi Peak.

As they stood at the top of the mountain, Ge Qingzhu and Zhang Haogu finally revealed some of the institution’s secrets to the youngster. 

Now that he had entered the Martial Extermination Realm and truly entered the upper echelons of the institution, he gained the qualifications to learn some of the secrets the institution had been hiking.

Among the secrets he was told, one of them consisted of the reason behind the disappearance of the strong Martial Extermination Realm experts from the battlefield between the two worlds close to a year ago.

The institution seemed to have entered an alliance with the Changbai Holy land to fight other factions over a broken continent floating deep in space. 

“Since they have yet to return, doesn’t that mean that the operation is still ongoing?” Shang Xia muttered softly.

“Yeah.” Zhang Haogu replied.

“Since that’s the case, will they need further reinforcements?” Shang Xia asked.

Zhang Haogu understood Shang Xia’s intentions immediately. “Do you wish to go?”

Before Shang Xia could reply, Ge Qingzhu chirped in from the side. “I’m afraid you won’t be able to head over even if you want to. Only Patriarch Kou and those old monsters in the Martial Dipper Realm will be able to force their way deep into space. If you wish to head there alone…”

Ge Qingzhu shook his head slowly at the side and decided to not speak any further.

Zhang Haogu took over and continued, “We need some experts to remain in the Tongyou City and the battlefield between the two worlds. The battlefield between the two worlds wouldn’t matter too much even if all of them left for the broken continent, but the Tongyou City is another story altogether. At the moment, our You Continent can be said to be an empty fort.

“That’s right. You might think that we’re safe because of the alliance we formed with the Changbai Holy Land, but you cannot forget that their foundations run deep. They have a lot more Martial Extermination Realm experts among them and they might play dirty to try to gain an upper hand. Now that you entered the Martial Extermination Realm, they will be forced to restrain themselves a little.” Ge Qingzhu added.

Shang Xia nodded and realized that his request to join the expedition didn’t seem too realistic. The two of them made sense and he could only agree helplessly.

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

After telling Shang Xia about the recent happenings, they shifted their attention to the Yuxi Peak.

“This is definitely a massive treasure trove, especially the flower garden. It is actually able to produce Hundred Flower Essence Extermination Origin… Looks like the experts of the institution will be able to choose among more extermination origins now.” Zhang Haogu said while stroking his beard.

“After Shang Xia entered the Martial Extermination Realm, the chaotic extermination qi surrounding the Yuxi Peak disappeared. We need to lay down a formation if we wish to retain control over this area and someone has to be stationed to guard the place.” Ge Qingzhu muttered.

Shang Xia laughed when he heard their concerns. “Isn’t this an easy problem to solve? Don’t we have a Martial Extermination Realm Formation Master? Her achievements in the way of formations should increase greatly now that she advanced into the Martial Extermination Realm. She should be able to lay down a formation around the Yuxi Peak and remain here to protect the region.” 

Unfortunately, Zhang Haogu shook his head while sighing, “Instructor Chu isn’t in the battlefield between the two worlds at the moment. She joined the expedition to the broken continent and left with the others a while ago.” 

“Huh? Didn’t she just advance into the Martial Extermination Realm? Wasn’t she faster than me by a few months? How did she manage to catch them before they started the operation?” Shang Xia gasped.

“Haha, do you really think we’ll send all our experts beyond the heavens in one go? They went in batches. Luckily for her, the institution chose to wait for her to allow her to be part of the first group to head for the broken continent. As a rank four Formation Master, she would be extremely useful in the initial stages of the operation. Everyone else went over in batches after and everyone who was supposed to be there had already left.” Ge Qingzhu smiled.

Zhang Haogu waved his hand to cut their conversation short. “Alright, let’s not rush the matter of laying down a formation around the Yuxi Peak. We might not lay down a formation now, but we still need someone to protect the region to prevent troublemakers from causing damage to our resources. The two of you can choose someone to stay behind while the other returns to the Observation Peak with me.” 

A crafty smile appeared on Ge Qingzhu’s face and he turned to Shang Xia. “Why don’t you remain here for now?”

“Why don’t we start by telling me how long I spend on the Yuxi Peak for my breakthrough?” Shang Xia hesitated for a moment before asking.

“Was it 49 days or was it 50 days? We’re not too sure about the exact time, but it’s one or the other. Anyway, we’re currently in the later half of the 845th year of the Divine Martial Calendar in the Azure Origin World. You have already completed your term in the Tongyou Institution and graduated from the Upper Division. As of right now, you’re no longer a student in the institution.” Ge Qingzhu explained.

“Has that much time passed?” Shang Xia gasped. “It didn’t feel that long since I started my breakthrough…” 

He might be expressing his doubt, but deep down, he knew that everything they were saying was true. It seemed as though every cycle he experienced after ingesting his Four Seasons Samsara Wine lasted an entire day.

Zhang Haogu added, “It’s a common occurrence for you to forget the flow of time during your breakthrough. The moment you drink your advancement medicine, you will enter a mystical state of mind. There isn’t a need to mention space and time. Even your memories might be affected.” 

“Huh?!” Shang Xia nearly jumped in fright as he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

Ge Qingzhu revealed a confused expression and it seemed as though it was also his first time hearing of something like that.

Due to Zhang Haogu’s reputation as a knowledgeable senior, neither of them doubted his words. They were merely confused by what he said.

After thinking for a second, Shang Xia turned to Ge Qingzhu and asked, “Mister Ge, would you mind staying on the Yuxi Peak for a little bit more? This disciple wishes to return to the Shang Clan for now.” 

As he refined four extermination origins to enter the Four Constellation Realm, all Shang Xia had to do was to enter seclusion and slowly cultivate in order to grow stronger. Staying on the Yuxi Peak was the most ideal situation, but Shang Xia still wished to return to the Shang Clan to notify them of his success. At the same time, he wanted to retrieve some resources that would aid in his cultivation.

With a grin appearing on his face, Ge Qingzhu replied, “Of course! Don’t worry about it! The environment here is pretty good and I wouldn’t mind staying for a little while more.” 

Bidding Ge Qingzhu farewell, Shang Xia got ready to return to the Observation Peak with Zhang Haogu.

Getting ready to start their journey, Shang Xia was feeling a little worried. After all, it was his first time flying through the air by using his extermination origin.

In the past, Shang Xia had been griping about the fact that he didn’t possess a better movement technique than his Irregular Steps. Now that he thought about it, he was able to soar through the air with his extermination origins. There was no need to look for another movement technique.

As they started to make their way back, Zhang Haogu planned to slow down a little in order to wait for Shang Xia to familiarize himself with the feeling of flight.

He didn’t expect for a weird light to appear under Shang Xia’s feet before the youngster tore through the air at a terrifying speed.

Before he could express his shock, Shang Xia had already flown several miles ahead. Circulating his inner qi, he quickly gave chase. 

Staring at the two of them who just left the Yuxi Peak, Ge Qingzhu’s jaws were agape. He didn’t know what to say but it didn’t matter. He wouldn’t have anyone to speak to regardless.

Slowly learning how to control his flight, Shang Xia managed to slow down slightly to allow Zhang Haogu to catch up. As the two of them returned to the Observation Peak together, he bade the instructor farewell before returning to the Shang Clan’s territory on the Observation Peak.

Just as he landed, he saw two people staring at him with dumbfounded expressions on their faces.

Looking at the two of them, a look of joy flashed across Shang Xia’s eyes. “Uncle Quan, you left seclusion! Did everything go smoothly?” 

The two before him were naturally Shang Tai and Shang Quan, the managers of the Shang Clan on the Observation Peak. 

Shang Xia’s question seemed a little useless as he had long detected the change in Shang Quan before he arrived. The aura that came from Shang Quan was something that could only exist on Martial Intent Realm cultivators. 

Shang Xia’s joy and surprise dimmed in comparison to the two when they saw him landing before them.

“Little Xia, you managed to enter the Martial Extermination Realm!” The two of them yelled in unison. Looking at each other and then back at Shang Xia, the three of them burst out laughing.