Splitting the Heave

Both Shang Xia and Shang Pei left the village one after the other.

Shang Xia went north as he headed for the You Continent. Shang Pei traveled south as she went towards the Five Peaks Alliance.

From what she learned, the Five Peaks Alliance was in a pretty precarious situation lately. Inheritance treasures had been found one after another in the Sixth Pass and someone seemed to be spreading rumors that the Five Peaks Alliance had been hiding a lot of treasures from the Abyssal Secret Region. They turned into a huge target in the Taihang Mountains at the moment. Members of the Five Peaks Alliance were starting to feel restless.

With the arrival of another Martial Extermination Realm expert to help stabilize the situation, things became a lot better than before. It also served as a warning for those who had malicious intentions towards the Five Peaks Alliance.

Not too long after Shang Pei entered the alliance, Fifth Uncle Cen and the others also left the mountain village to join her. They quickly became a core member of the Five Peaks Alliance.

Before Shang Xia left for the You Continent, he left behind a batch of rank two and three talismans. Every one of them managed to get their hands on a few of them to serve as life-saving treasures.

With Shang Xia's current cultivation and proficiency in the way of talismans, he could create several rank two talismans in a day as long as he had enough resources. In fact, he had the ability to craft a rank three one!

Of course, the crafting of rank three talismans didn’t involve him cutting off a part of his divine perception. That was where Fifth Uncle Cen and the other Martial Intent Realm cultivators of the Youyan Stronghold came to use. They would take turns to help him, and they would supply the divine sense required to complete the talisman.

In reality, Shang Xia had a vast and profound divine perception. Even if he were to use it to craft rank three talismans, he would be able to complete one of them a day. However, if he did it himself, he would need to rest for a day. That was why it was more efficient to use the divine sense of the members of the Youyan Stronghold.

After crafting the batch of talismans, he basically emptied out the accumulations of Shang Pei and the rest. All the treasures they had gathered painstakingly after so many years had been used up!

After entering the Four Constellation Realm, Shang Xia didn’t have much time for himself due to the sheer number of events that required his attention. Any time he could find for himself was used on crafting rank four talismans! He only managed to craft a single Golden Sun Inferno Talisman and one Spiritual Protection Substitution Talisman and he didn’t think that he improved too much in the way of talisman crafting.

Only when he started to craft rank two and three talismans for the members of the Youyan Stronghold did Shang Xia understand how much he had actually progressed. He also managed to understand the terrifying aspect of a rank four Talisman Grandmaster. He was basically a talisman printing machine!

…

On his way back to the You Continent, nothing special happened. After crossing the border, he didn’t head back to the Tongyou City immediately either. Instead, he went to Hai Min’s courtyard in the Changfeng City. he chose to stay there for some time, and he only went to visit Bu Jingshuang on his second day in the city.

At the moment, Shang Xia’s identity was a mere Talisman Master of the Talisman Hall. The Talisman Hall wasn’t exactly a major wing of the Tongyou Institution as it was governed by the Warehouse Division. As such, his status in the Tongyou Institution wasn’t exactly too high up there. He would be comparable to ordinary instructors or high-leveled deacons, but that was it. In fact, instructors seemed to hold a higher status in the institution and were a little more respected than the others.

Naturally, one would be able to hold multiple posts at once as long as they don't come into conflict with each other. Shang Xia could take on a role as an instructor as long as he felt like it. Taking Chu Jia, the rank four Formation Grandmaster of the Formations Hall, Ma Mingzheng, or even Ge Wangchuan of the Medicine Hall as an example, all of them held posts as instructors in the institution.

It also went without saying that gaining the qualifications to become an instructor was a tall task in the institution. The simplest requirement was to be at the Martial Intent Realm, but there were several more criteria one had to meet.

Even with the institution increasing their recruitment, the requirements to become an instructor had never changed.

Obviously, it was difficult for ordinary cultivators to meet those requirements. However, there was no need to mention Shang Xia. He was not only a Martial Extermination Realm expert, he was also a rank four Talisman Grandmaster!

If Shang Xia was willing to take on a role as an instructor in the institution, every single teaching division would be fighting to recruit him.

That might be the case, but Shang Xia still wasn’t an instructor of the institution. His position in the institution was actually a little awkward when they thought about it.

He was just too young compared to the rest! There wasn’t a need to mention the Martial Intent Realm cultivators in the institution who used to be his seniors. Even some Martial Extermination Realm experts would feel awkward when they ran into him. The irregularity caused Shang Xia to be placed in a very strange spot. He wasn’t considered a lone existence, but there was a feeling of estrangement even if people were treating him politely.

That was also one of the reasons Shang Xia didn’t choose to return immediately.

Moreover, Shang Xia had a strange feeling that Kou Chongxue and the others were up to something after his breakthrough to the Four Constellation Realm back on the Yuxi Peak.

Almost every single Martial Extermination Realm expert in the institution, including those from the great families in the Tongyou City, had either chosen to remain in seclusion in the battlefield between the two worlds or chose to fight against the experts of the Azure Spiritual World. Either way, they disappeared in the eyes of the public.

Originally, Shang Xia thought that Kou Chongxue’s goal was the Abyssal Secret Region after seeing his appearance the other day. However, after the massive battle in the Sixth Pass, he discovered that the Abyssal Secret Region was merely something they dealt with in passing. It appeared more like a coincidence than anything else. 

Perhaps, it was something they were using to draw everyone else’s attention away from what they were actually doing!

If Shang Xia returned to the institution at that moment, he was afraid that not many people would be able to give him a proper answer on what was happening. At most, he would be given some half-assed task and be turned into some random tool for the institution. The only exception would be if he managed to meet Kou Chongxue or Ji Wenlong. That didn’t seem too possible considering most people in the institution had no idea where either of them were.

Luckily, Shang Xia knew that he had another avenue to gain information at the moment. Bu Jingshuang, the Changfeng City Lord, was Kou Chongxue’s sworn brother! Aside from Kou Chongxue and the four deputy patriarchs of the institution, he should be the other person who knew the most about what was going on.

Bu Jingshuang wasn’t surprised by Shang Xia’s arrival. However, he couldn’t help but suck in a cold breath in admiration of Shang Xia’s speed of growth.

The battle that took place for the Abyssal Secret Region shook the Azure Origin World since so many Martial Dipper Realm experts took part in it. However, anyone who was paying little attention to the event would learn that other than the Martial Dipper Realm ancestors who appeared, Shang Xia was actually the star of the show!

Obtaining the Abyssal Blade, origin dipper, and revealing his cultivation path where he refined four extermination origins to enter the Martial Extermination Realm. That wasn’t all. He didn’t just escape from a Martial Dipper Realm ancestor’s avatar. He managed to keep his life even when up against Feng Yezi’s true body! Any one of those feats was eye-catching enough, but Shang Xia managed to accomplish all of them!

The moment Bu Jingshuang saw Shang Xia, he wasted no time in telling Shang Xia that he had already entered the sights of every single superpower and super expert of the Azure Origin World.

Chuckling bitterly, Shang Xia muttered, “Do you think I should be glad or worried about them?” 

Bi Jingshuang was too lazy to reply to the youngster. Instead, he followed up with another question. “Damn brat, why are you looking for me anyway?” 

Adjusting his attitude, Shang Xia became a little more serious and asked, “Senior, do you know why the institution has called me back?” 

Raising an eyebrow in surprise, Bu Jingshuang muttered, “Haven't they told you?! … Right… you’re not in the You Continent and they probably wouldn’t leave behind too many details since transmission talismans might be intercepted by our enemies.” 

Shang Xia wasn’t in a rush to continue as he waited patiently for Bu Jingshuang to resume his explanation.

After thinking for some time, Bu Jingshuang added, “This might be a chance for you to enter the Beyond Heavens Pavilion. You might also be sent to the foreign continent beyond the heavens.” 

Shang Xia heard about the foreign continent from Zhang Haogu and he wasn’t exactly shocked to hear about it again from Bu Jingshuang.

Thinking for a second, Shang Xia asked, “Is the institution not doing too well in the foreign continent?” 

Feeling a little surprised that Shang Xia managed to grasp the situation so quickly, he nodded, “That’s right. Originally, the institution wanted to sneakily split a portion of benefits from the foreign continent without alerting anyone. Because of that, we even formed an alliance with the Changbai Holy Land.” 

“What’s going on? Did something unexpected happen? Did our plans get leaked?” Shang Xia asked.

Shaking his head, Bu Jingshuang explained, “No. The members of the Changbai Holy Land were the ones who were exposed! Moreover, Ji Wenlong brought out the Lingxuan Space Shattering Claw back during the battle in the Cloud Water Gorge…” 

“This… Is this why the other powers have a reason to suspect that we sent a portion of our experts into the foreign continent beyond the heavens?” Shang Xia seemed to understand what was going on.

Bu Jingshuang nodded. “Actually, the institution is really conflicted on how we should make use of your abilities. A portion of them feels that as a Talisman Grandmaster, you have no need to join the expedition. They feel that you should remain in a region rich in heaven and earth qi like the Beyond Heavens Pavilion to craft talismans. Your talismans would be used in the battle in the foreign continent to help members of the Tongyou Institution. Of course, the others think that you should take part in the expedition and go out there to fight.” 

“So… Should I go or not?” Shang Xia chuckled.

Bu Jingshuang also laughed in amusement at Shang Xia’s question. “That is why they called you back to ask for your opinion. However…” 

“Mister Bu, please enlighten me.” Shang Xia muttered in response.

Turning serious, Bu Jingshuang muttered, “No matter your decision, you’re a rank four Talisman Grandmaster of the institution. I feel that you should make your preparations to contribute. Even if you choose to enter the foreign continent eventually, you will need to pass through the Beyond Heavens Pavilion. That is where true experts gather. After all, only the Beyond Heavens Pavilion contains enough resources for experts like us to train.” 

…

When Shang Xia finally emerged from the City Lord Manor, he decided to make his way back to the Tongyou City after dealing with some small matters.

When he was done, he quickly returned to the Shang Clan Manor in the Tongyou City. He learned that Shang Jian had entered seclusion in order to break through to the Martial Extermination Realm, and Shang Ke was missing on the pretext that he was in seclusion. The person in charge of the clan was Shang Xi who had returned from the battlefield between the two worlds.

When he found her, she discovered that she was talking to Shang Quan about how they should send a mutated rain swallow with the Shang Clan’s convoy that was heading to the Sixth Pass. With the mutated rain swallow’s presence, Shang Pei would be able to communicate with the Shang Clan.

It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from "pawread dot com".

Looking at the bird they were talking about, Shang Xia realized that it was one of the 3 other birds Yan Ni’er had taken care of.

Back in the battlefield between the two worlds, Yan Ni’er laid a single egg that had golden runes on it. Shang Xia found 3 other mutated rain swallow eggs and got Yan Ni’er to incubate them all. 

2 years had passed since then and those young mutated rain swallows had already grown to a rank two spiritual beast after constant care. None of them was weaker than the Yan Ni’er Shang Xia ran into the first time he entered the battlefield between the two worlds! 

Their speed was also something no one could complain about. After reaching adulthood, those mutated rain swallows could give a Martial Extermination Realm expert a run for their money! Of course, they wouldn’t be able to sustain flight at that speed for long, but a short burst would be enough to get them out of a lot of trouble!

Shang Xia couldn’t help but approach them to ask, “Can’t we use transmission talismans to communicate with Third Aunt?” 

Turning around, Shang Xi muttered, “It wouldn’t be difficult for others to intercept our transmissions if we use talismans. Even though we would be writing in code, we would consume too many resources if we use transmission talismans. We would probably need to send 3 or so talismans in order for one of them to arrive safely in her hands.” 

Actually, the Tongyou Institution made arrangements with the Shang Clan for the 3 ordinary mutated rain swallows after they matured. This was the last mutated rain swallow that hadn’t been sent out, and once it was, the only birds that would remain in the Shang Clan would be Yan Ni’er and Yan Lei!