When Shang Xia finally emerged from the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool…

“Did your cultivation reach the large completion stage?” Sun Haiwei asked when she felt the energy fluctuations around his body.

Liu Qinglan glanced at Shang Xia and snorted softly, “Hmph! Of course he managed to enter the large completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm. He absorbed half the energy in the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool alone! Anyone else who did the same would probably be close to breaking through to the Martial Intent Realm!”

Sun Haiwei giggled at the side. “Teacher Liu, other people wouldn’t be able to absorb as much energy as he did!” 

He thought of a proper excuse for his rapid increase in cultivation before emerging. He wanted to blame it on the Scarlet Crystal he ingested during the war, but from what they were saying, it seemed as though they thought his increase in strength was too little! 

Turning to look at the remnant energy in the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool, he thought of something.

“Did I… Did I absorb a lot of energy?” 

In Sun Haiwei’s eyes, Shang Xia was obviously bragging.

Liu Qinglan snapped at the side before Sun Haiwei could say anything. “Brat, stop acting like you don’t know what’s going on! Scram! Stay away from our Polarity Essence Gathering Pool! Didn’t you experience a rapid increase in strength? Go back to the Shang Pavilion and consolidate your foundations! Get as far away from our Polarity Essence Gathering Pool as you can!” 

Shang Xia examined himself and discovered that the control he had over his inner qi was indeed lacking. He only managed to forcefully keep them under control with the Yin Yang Diagram. Otherwise, he would have exploded a long time ago!

Liu Qinglan reversed the energy flow in the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool while Shang Xia fell deep into thought. There was no way she was going to allow any energy contained within to go to waste. As the heaven and earth qi contained in the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool started to return to the essence qi stones, those stones that dimmed considerably started to glow brightly once again. Of course, there was no saving those stones that turned into dust.

Shang Xia was in no rush to leave the room. He just entered the large completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm and managed to get a reaction from the blood-red tablet! Countless doubts remained in his heart.

There was a great expert at the Martial Extermination Realm standing right in front of him! If he didn’t make full use of the chance to get some pointers from her, wouldn’t he be wasting the heaven-sent chance? 

He turned to look at the energy contained in the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool before turning to Liu Qinglan, “Instructor Liu, I cultivated the Triple Mystery Polarity Art and learned that the three types of qi can be transformed into each other. After learning the River Sword Policy to complement the soft and strength attributed qi, I have a question. I wish to train in another sword technique to deepen my understanding of ice and fire attributed qi. I hope Instructor Liu can point me in the right direction…” 

Liu Qinglan didn’t bother turning to look at him and she muttered, “You should head over to the Scripture Depository for this…” 

Shang Xia sighed helplessly, “I won’t be able to return to the Scripture Depository in the institution anytime soon. Moreover, the Scripture Depository in our Tongyou Peak doesn’t contain the full inheritances…” 

Finally turning her head, Liu Qinglan glanced at Shang Xia from the corner of her eye. “Even if there’s someone who managed to learn what you wish to know, they wouldn’t be able to teach it to you without the institution’s permission. If you wish to look for a suitable sword technique, you have to return to the institution…”

Because of his desire to start comprehending the Yin Yang Sword Formation as soon as possible, Shang Xia couldn’t afford to wait for his return to the institution. He could only bite the bullet and continue to pester Liu Qinglan. “Is there no other way?” 

Liu Qinglan raised an eyebrow and stared at the kid. “You seem to be in a rush. Even so, you came to look for the wrong person. Your Shang Clan has deep foundations and there should be something for you there. From what I know, there was once a swordmaster who hailed from your Shang Clan. Shouldn’t he have left some inheritance behind?”

“What?! A swordmaster from our Shang Clan? Why didn’t I learn of it?!” Shang Xia gasped in shock as he looked at Liu Qinglan.

For Liu Qinglan to classify him as a swordmaster, the expert’s cultivation was definitely in the Martial Intent Realm or higher.

How could he remain an unknown figure in the Shang Clan? 

Shang Xia’s mind moved quickly. If such a famous figure was hidden in the history of the Shang Clan and remained unknown to someone like him, there had to be some complications. Things might not be as simple as they seemed.

Noticing the impatient look on Liu Qinglan’s face, Shang Xia quickly bade his farewell before she flew into a rage.

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Before he left, Sun Haiwei spoke to him, “There’s another expert who uses the sword on the Tongyou Peak!”

“Is he Chief Shang of the Contribution Division? I don’t think anyone wants to be dragged into the mess and be associated with him now…” Shang Xia muttered.

However, Sun Haiwei rolled her eyes in response, “Not him! I’m talking about Mu Jianyin of the Outreach Division! After you left to chase after Jin Guanchao, she joined forces with your aunt to kill another spy in the Martial Intent Realm!”

A look of surprise appeared on Shang Xia’s face. “Mu Jianyin?” 

“I think she has some weird connection with your aunt… You can try looking for her!” Sun Haiwei nodded seriously. 

Understanding that Sun Haiwei had good intentions for telling him that, Shang Xia thanked her before leaving.

As for the relationship between Mu Jianyin and Mu Qingyu… Well, he’ll deal with it when the time comes.

…

As he left the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool, an uneasy feeling crept into his heart. He felt as though the appearance of the beast tide was too coincidental! There had to be something strange about it.

The beast tide was insanely large, and there were several weird beasts among the ranks. Even so, they didn’t charge at the Tongyou Peak en masse. In fact, they didn’t even start fighting with each other like what happened during an ordinary beast tide! As time passed, there were even signs that the beasts were forming different factions.

“These beasts seem to be split into several different ranks. Beasts that had a strong bloodline controlled beasts of weaker bloodlines. With their instructions, the lower-tiered beasts didn’t form an all-out offensive against the Tongyou Peak!” Shang Xi brought Shang Xia around the frontline and explained everything to him. The protection formation in the region was strong. It was why they had the confidence to open the formation from time to time to let in some beasts. 

“Do the stronger beasts all possess high intelligence?” Shang Xia seemed to have caught the crux of the problem.

Shang Xi nodded, “Indeed. After the beasts reach a level equivalent to our Martial Intent Realm, they would start to develop their own intelligence. Beasts at the level of a Martial Extermination Realm cultivator has the ability to rally weaker beasts. The beasts are split into several factions, and they are led by several Martial Extermination Realm beasts.”

“That doesn’t add up… Since the beasts at the Martial Extermination Realm developed a high level of intelligence, why would they join their subordinates in the beast tide?” 

“Maybe because of the appearance of our divine weapons, or there might be other factors at play. The entire population of beasts might be affected by something and they lost all sense of reasoning, creating a beast tide. The Martial Extermination Realm beasts would definitely recover quickly, but the creatures under them are still going crazy. They might have been dragged into it by accident, or something…” 

“They are most likely trying to protect their most trusted subordinates from running into trouble by charging alongside their faction in the beast tide…” Shang Xi guessed. 

Shang Xia came to a sudden realization and he exclaimed, “Oh! That’s why the giant snake joined the battle the other day! It probably lost control of its emotions at the last second!”

Shang Xi nodded. “That’s right. That’s one unlucky snake… It ran too far into our territory and it was killed by your grandpa and a few of the others. If it was in a perfect state of mind, we wouldn't be able to kill it! Killing a Martial Extermination Realm beast is too freaking difficult! Of course, the super experts on our side aren’t to be messed with as well. That should be the reason why we’re not besieged by the beasts…”

“Then… Are we supposed to wait for the beasts to leave on their own?” Shang Xia asked.

“Yeah. The beasts at the Martial Extermination Realm are all hiding among their respective factions. They wouldn’t dare to try anything funny right now. They should leave the moment the creatures under their control regain their sanity.” Shang Xi sighed.

As they spoke, the two of them arrived at the foot of the two mountains.

“Junior Sister Shang!” Someone ran over happily when he spotted the two of them.

“Senior Brother Gu!” Shang Xi grinned. “Why are you here? Are you in charge of the frontlines today?” 

Waving the bow in his hand, he laughed, “It’s easy for me to take care of the beasts. Especially with my fighting style.” He turned to look at Shang Xia and continued, “What’s the matter? Are you planning to join the battle today to work your muscles?” 

Shang Xia recognized Senior Brother Gu instantly. He was another expert in the Tongyou Institution who used the bow and arrow! After Shang Xi’s introduction, he learned that Senior Brother Gu’s name was Gu Yi, and he was at the large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm! His cultivation was slightly above Shang Xi!

“Hehe, I increased my cultivation a little and my control of inner qi is falling behind. I plan to train myself through combat! I can earn some silver essence in the meantime…” 

Gu Yi roared with laughter. “Earn some silver essence? Why would you care about that little bit of money? Of course, training yourself is a must. Say no more! I’ll ensure your safety with this bow in my hand!” 

“Many thanks, Senior Brother Gu!” Shang Xia cupped his fists before leaving for the front lines.

There were already eight cultivators who were waiting for the protection formation to open up slightly when he arrived.

Shang Xia heard Shang Xi’s voice faintly in the background as he left. “What about the snake tendon? Is Instructor Liu willing to give it to us? What did they say?”

“According to some sources, Instructor Liu only requires one tendon to…”

“Even if she completes creating the eighth segment of her whip, it won’t become a high-grade weapon!” 

“There’s no point in taking two snake tendons to make it a nine-segmented whip! Instructor Liu’s ambitions are clear. She definitely planned to craft the nine segments with the tendons of nine different beasts! When that happens, her weapon would rank among the top few even among the high-grade weapons!” 

“She’s definitely ambitious… However, this is your chance! That’s the tendon of a rank four snake! You only need some leftovers to make a bowstring! When that happens, you’ll be able to craft a low-grade weapon… Did she come up with any conditions for giving you a piece of tendon?” 

“Yeah… She wants me to return to the institution to become an instructor…” 

“Hah… You expected as much… It’s not too much actually.”

“If I manage to gain Deputy Patriarch Shang’s support when I return…” 

“Heh! That’s what you were planning all along!” 

“...”