“You did well.” After hearing Shang Xia’s introductions, Kou Chongxue muttered softly with a trace of admiration in his voice. 

Waving his hand, the 12 talismans flew over to Ji Wenlong. 

“Hurry and send these to the foreign continent…” Kou Chongxue nodded at Ji Wenlong and commanded.

Clearly, Ji Wenlong was the person in charge of taking care of the path to the foreign continent.

“Are things really that urgent? It has barely been half a year since I last opened the spatial passage. Opening it so often will definitely affect its stability…” Ji Wenlong frowned.

Kou Chongxue sighed softly in response, “We can’t care about that now… The continent is about to self-destruct. There might be a final burst of world origin and a huge battle will definitely take place. We entered later than the others and our preparations weren’t as good. The moment the chaotic battle breaks out, we’ll be forced away from the good stuff by the other parties there. This batch of rank four talismans will allow us to display the might of close to 9 more Martial Extermination Realm cultivators. It’s enough to scare the other powers away and make them wary of us.” 

Thinking about it for a moment, Ji Wenlong eventually agreed. “I’ll get to it right away.” 

After he was done, his clone started to fade away with the talismans in hand.

Seeing as Ji Wenlong had disappeared, Shang Xia finally asked the question that had been burning in his heart for a long time. “Why don't the two of you act and join in the fight in the foreign continent?” 

Having long anticipated Shang Xia’s question, Kou Chongxue thought of his answer some time ago. He wanted to teach Shang Xia something about the foreign continent and he chuckled while explaining, “Brat, how do you know we didn’t do anything? Are you able to find a way to carve out a spatial tunnel to the foreign continent and sustain it for a long time? Without the two of us, who’s going to send our experts over to the foreign continent? If not for our guidance, how would we attract the broken pieces of the continent over to the Azure Origin World?” 

“That wasn’t my question! I mean to ask, why don’t the two of you personally enter the foreign continent? Even if you did the same thing back in the Cloud Water Gorge by sending your clones down, it would be much better than not providing actual assistance!” Shang Xia replied helplessly. He knew that Kou Chongxue understood his question and was intentionally avoiding it.

Pressing his lips together, Kou Chongxue muttered, “I want to head in there and have a huge fight with the others. However, the foreign continent lost too much world origin and can’t sustain the spatial barrier around it. How can it possibly withstand the strength of a Martial Dipper Realm cultivator like myself? If I step into the foreign continent, it’s going to shatter immediately…” 

Widening his eyes in shock, Shang Xia sucked in a cold breath. “You… You… You’re already strong enough to destroy an entire continent just by stepping into it. This disciple really looks up to your amazing strength… Ahem…” 

“Why the hell do you sound so suspicious?” Kou Chongxue frowned.

“No, it’s nothing! I wanted to ask, why will that be the case?” Shang Xia replied hastily.

Kou Chongxue sighed in response, “Every single world has a limit to the burden it can withstand. No one knows why the world out there lost its spatial barrier and was revealed to the rest of the worlds. Because of its lost spatial barrier, its world origin is leaking excessively. There’s no saving the continent. It’s going to be destroyed eventually. Without the protection of the spatial barrier, the continent will only be able to withstand the might of Martial Extermination Realm experts at best. A Martial Dipper Realm expert would exceed the limit of what it can hold…” 

Shang Xia thought about it for a second and asked, “Does that mean that the difference between the foreign continent out there and our Azure Origin World is a mere spatial barrier?” 

Kou Chongxue stared at Shang Xia in shock and thought about it for a second before he replied. “Actually, before the fusion of our world and the Azure Spiritual World… Yeah, I guess you can say that. However, our Azure Origin World has its own foundations. From a certain standpoint, a Martial Dipper Realm cultivator is the limit our world can produce. The stronger the world becomes, the more Martial Dipper Realm cultivators a world can contain. The number of Martial Dipper Realm cultivators a world can hold tells us how deep its foundations run.” 

From that, Kou Chongxue revealed a lot of information Shang Xia previously didn’t know.

Carefully thinking about everything he just learned, Shang Xia eventually asked, “Do you mean to say that worlds are split into different levels? Would that also limit the upper limit of cultivation there? Wouldn’t that mean that both our Azure Origin World and the Azure Spiritual World are merely a little stronger than the foreign continent out there?” 

“So… That would mean that if our worlds fuse, the world origin that is contained in both our worlds will also combine. Would that allow us to upgrade to become a higher-level world?” 

“That is why even after so many years of fighting with the Azure Spiritual World, you chose to work with them now… That is because you finally learned the secret behind the fusion of the worlds…” 

“Once our world grows stronger, that would mean that the limit of cultivation realms would increase from the Martial Dipper Realm to the next level! You would be able to break through then and grow even stronger!” 

Shang Xia fired off without stopping. 

No one knew when, but Kou Chongxue’s back had straightened while he was listening to Shang Xia’s rambling. A fire lit up in his eyes as he addressed Shang Xia. “You’re more perceptive than I thought!” 

“So what if I know all these now? It’s something Martial Dipper Realm Ancestors like yourself have to deal with…” Shang Xia sighed. 

Kou Chongxue sighed together with him. “Yeah… That’s exactly why our worlds collided in the first place…” 

With a frown on his face, Shang Xia asked, “Are you saying that the collision of our worlds is orchestrated by Martial Dipper Realm Ancestors? Could it be because of the Evil Remnants who make up the Rose Party…” 

Kou Chongxue sneered when he heard what Shang Xia had said. “The five families that make up the Evil Remnants don’t have a single Martial Dipper Realm expert among them. They can’t even break through the spatial barrier around our world, how would they communicate with those outside? They’re just the scapegoat those assholes put out there. They don’t even know that they were used!” 

Shang Xia sucked in a cold breath and continued, “When our worlds collided, the five continents that bordered the battlefield between the two worlds suffered serious damage and countless lives were lost… Our You Continent was nearly completely destroyed… Could everything be because of those Martial Dipper Realm Ancestors out there?” 

“Do you feel extremely frustrated at their cold-blooded actions?” Kou Chongxue revealed a look of mockery as he continued, “Before anyone knew it, the fate of our continents were decided. In their eyes, everything that was destroyed and everyone that was killed were mere sacrifices in the grand scheme of things. The moment our worlds fuse, we would experience a qualitative upgrade. When that happens, our martial path will be extended to the next level and the limit to the Sixth Order of the Primary Realm will be broken. Because of that, a bunch of useless existences in those unlucky continents would be sacrificed without hesitation. Heh…” 

Shang Xia’s voice dropped several tones as he growled, “You entered the Martial Dipper Realm over 20 years ago… It’s a little hard to believe that you only learned of this now…” 

Glancing at Shang Xia from the corner of his eye, Kou Chongxue continued, “Obviously I knew about stuff like how worlds would be upgraded a long time ago. I always thought that the Azure Spiritual World was behind everything. At the very least, I thought that their Martial Dipper Realm Ancestors were the ones driving the whole matter…” 

A lightbulb lit up in Shang Xia’s mind. “Is that why you established the Tongyou Institution to protect the You Continent from the Azure Spiritual World back then? Were you trying to prevent our You Continent from being annexed by them?”

“Yeah… Moreover, I did a really good job at it. In the end, I became an eyesore…” Kou Chongxue muttered.

Shang Xia seemed to understand a little more of what was going on with every additional statement Kou Chongxue made. “The higher-ups of our worlds have already reached a conclusion that our worlds would fuse no matter what… However, you were trying to stop it and got in their way. Is that why they sneak attacked you in the 843rd year of the Divine Martial Calendar?” 

“Yes.” Kou Chongxue nodded.

Shang Xia wasn’t done. “Because of that battle, you learned everything that you told me earlier… That was when you realized there was no stopping the fusion of our worlds, right? Even as the Patriarch of the Tongyou Institution, you can’t stop them alone. Is that why you threw away your anger and worked with the Changbai Holy Land of the Azure Spiritual World?” 

There was even a trace of anger in Shang Xia’s voice when he spoke of the cooperation with the Azure Spiritual World.

Breaking out into laughter, Kou Chongxue asked, “Do you think that I’m starting to collude with them?” 

This time, the way Kou Chongxue was speaking to Shang Xia was surprisingly as equals. 

Shang Xia calmly analyzed, “Since the Azure Spiritual World wasn’t the one who caused our continents to fall into disarray, there has to be an even stronger power behind everything. Those Martial Dipper Realm Ancestors who caused the whole series of events are the ones to blame but because of their terrifying strength, you won’t be able to gain the upper hand even with your shockingly powerful combat prowess. That is why you wish to enter the Sixth Order of the Primary Realm. Because of that, you need the help of as many people as you can get. That is why you spared no expense to help Deputy Patriarch Ji and my grandpa and those around you to grow stronger.” 

Clapping his hands, Kou Chongxue chuckled, “Amazing… Absolutely amazing! Who would have thought that you would understand everything that I’ve been doing?!” 

“Since that’s the case, please allow me to head over to the foreign continent.” Shang Xia asked out of the blue.

“Absolutely not!” Kou Chongxue rejected him the moment the words left his lips. “You need to craft as many rank four talismans as you can in order to contribute to our efforts in the foreign continent.” 

“Are you still able to get your hands on rank four talisman paper?” Shang Xia pulled a difficult question out of nowhere.

“No one said that you had to craft rank four talismans. Even rank three talismans can be extremely useful in the hands of Martial Extermination Realm experts when used correctly.” Kou Chongxue mentioned. 

“Patriarch Kou, what do you think of my current strength?” Shang Xia changed the topic once again. 

Staring at Shang Xia with a raised eyebrow, Kou Chongxue muttered, “You probably have the combat strength of a second layer Martial Extermination Realm cultivator. If you push it, you can probably reach the standard of a third layer Martial Extermination Realm cultivator.” 

Unable to deny Kou Chongxue’s evaluation, Shang Xia continued, “What if I was using the Abyssal Blade?” 

“This…” Kou Chongxue thought back to the time in the Cloud Water Gorge when Shang Xia released two slashes against Feng Yezi.

Even though his cultivation was still low back then and his slashes couldn’t affect Feng Yezi in the slightest, there was one thing he couldn’t deny. Those two slashes shocked every single Martial Dipper Realm expert present.

To read the uncut version, go to pawread dot com.

Taking the chance when Kou Chongxue was still impressed with him, Shang Xia added, “Patriarch Kou, you know the situation with the Martial Extermination Realm experts of our institution the best. Other than my grandpa and Deputy Patriarch Yun, is there anyone with a cultivation level of the third layer or above? The difference between a second layer and third layer Martial Extermination Realm expert is massive. Of everyone we sent into the foreign continent, they’re basically noobs led by 2 ultra-strong experts.”

Seeing as Kou Chongxue hadn’t said anything yet, Shang Xia continued, “Even if they receive a batch of rank four talismans, they would only be able to threaten experts in the second layer and below. If they run into a Martial Extermination Realm expert who refined 3 or more extermination origins, those talismans wouldn’t be extremely useful when dealing with the situation.” 

“Alright, alright, go! Just take care of yourself and act appropriately!” Kou Chongxue finally relented.