Chapter 246: On the Verge of Breaking Out

With Shang Xia in the mix, there was a Martial Intent Realm disciple from each institution present.

“Why would Chief Shang call all of them out at the same time? Don’t tell me he plans to challenge them all on his own?”

“Hmph, this guy is getting too cocky. Does he think that he’s unbeatable in the Martial Intent Realm? There’s always someone stronger out there! It’s time for someone to put him in his place.”

“He’s strong in the Martial Extremity Realm, but that doesn’t make him unbeatable in the Martial Intent Realm. The strength of their divine sense has nothing to do with their previous cultivation anyway.”

“That’s right. There were too many previous cases of cultivators who dominated their peers at the Martial Extremity Realm but failed to adapt when they entered the Martial Intent Realm. They couldn’t take the sudden change and turned into wastrels. Comparatively, there were unknown Martial Extremity Realm cultivators who condensed a powerful divine sense after breaking through.”

“Hah, for someone like Shang Xia who’s backed by the Shang Clan, his journey of cultivation has been smooth sailing. There are countless experts helping him out in the open and in the dark. He hasn’t been through any dangerous situations… He won’t be able to form a powerful divine sense!”

“Yeah, you’re right!”

“Don’t forget, the Martial Intent Realm disciples of the other institutions are definitely geniuses if they were sent to represent their institution in our Tongyou City. They can’t be weak.”

“Exactly! Not to mention that Shang Xia is the youngest of the five. The others are at least several years older than him. Even though cultivation isn’t really about age, they definitely experienced more than him. Hah, it has barely been half a month since Shang Xia entered the Martial Intent Realm. That’s not enough time to consolidate his foundations. There’s no way he had time to practice a martial art fit for cultivators at the Martial Intent Realm.”

“...”

…

As those standing around whispered under their breath about Shang Xia, the five Martial Intent Realm disciples standing in the middle of the training plaza started their exchange in the dark.

Shang Xia stood in the very center, with the four disciples from the other institutions surrounding him in all four directions.

Their positions gave Shang Xia a huge disadvantage as he wouldn’t be able to focus the entirety of his divine sense on any one person but they could easily pressure him in unison.

However, he was able to remain unperturbed even in the face of the four of them. That alone shocked them.

Even though the four of them looked calm, the impression of Shang Xia they had in their heart increased by several times.

Testing each other out with their divine senses was only an initial probe. At the very best, it allowed them to gauge each other’s strengths.

If they truly wanted to decide upon a victor, they could only do so through battle.

A casual light flashed through Shang Xia’s eyes. Even though he looked relaxed, his nerves were taut. Of course, he had to maintain his appearance. “Since senior brothers and sisters have taken the chance to show themselves, let’s decide on how we should do this. Why don’t we establish who goes first?”

Tan Xinya of the Beibai Institution was known for her straightforward attitude. She was naturally the first to speak. “We’ll follow the intentions of the host here. After all, you called us out here. You should decide on how to proceed.”

“I only entered the Martial Intent Realm recently and I’ve been wanting to receive pointers from all of you here. Since Senior Sister Tan said so…” Shang Xia muttered.

However, someone interrupted him before he could finish his sentence. “Junior Brother Shang, don’t tell me you’re planning to challenge us one by one?”

A frown formed on Shang Xia’s face. He turned to look at the person who spoke. “Senior Brother Qin, I wonder what advice you have for me?”

Cupping his hands together, Qin Daxing laughed, “Junior Brother Shang, you exaggerate. Regardless, it’s difficult for all of us to be gathered together. If we fight you one by one, you’ll achieve your goals. However, we won’t get anything in return. Why don’t we fight a free for all instead? Last man standing wins!”

Song Yushu of the Jianmen Institution ran his fingers through his hair and said indifferently, “Sounds good to me.”

However, Ma Jianfan didn’t look so good. His eyebrows were furrowed tightly together and he asked, “The idea sounds good, but it’s a little inappropriate, isn’t it? It might sound like a good idea, and I’m sure we would really get a kick out of a battle royale like that, but there are only five of us. If anyone forms an alliance to get rid of any party, won’t that be unfair for the person eliminated?”

Taking a second to think about it, Tan Xinya continued, “It’s easy! If it ever becomes a two-on-one, they can only exchange three moves at best! If it's a three-on-one, they can only exchange two moves! If it ever becomes a four-on-one, the victorious side will be decided in one move. The side that breaks the rule will be eliminated.”

Tan Xinya’s explanation was simple, but everyone was able to understand how the battle would be carried out.

When exchanging pointers, no one dictated that only one on one battles could be fought. A messy and chaotic battle was also one of the ways cultivators used to train themselves. Naturally, there would be rules set by earlier cultivators who adopted the tactic.

The rules that Tan Xinya set were actually rules that were adopted by Martial Intent Realm cultivators whenever they chose such a chaotic mode of battle.

Since that was settled, Tan Xinya flashed a toothy smile at Shang Xia. “I wonder if Junior Brother Shang finds it acceptable?”

Seeing as everyone had already come to a conclusion without him getting an input until that very moment, he knew that there was no way of rejecting it. He chuckled in response, “Sure.”

Song Yushu of the Jianmen Institution spoke up yet again. “Wait. There’s another problem. This place isn’t suitable for the five of us to spar.”

The training plaza might be several hundred feet long and reinforced with some type of formation, but it could only withstand the might of cultivators in the Martial Extremity Realm and below.

Once Martial Intent Realm cultivators started manipulating the heaven and earth qi, the power contained in their blows would become a lot more terrifying. There was no way the training plaza could withstand the shockwaves of their battle, much less the lower-leveled cultivators in the crowd.

As the words left his lips, several runes appeared in the air around them.

Gasps of fright could be heard, but the runes that filled the air didn’t stop. As the runes slowly linked with one another, the heaven and earth qi started to gather around the plaza. It formed a giant screen that surrounded the five Martial Intent Realm cultivators.

“Our Tongyou Institution might not possess a strong foundation, but we can at least create a space for Martial Intent Realm cultivators to spar.” A voice came from afar and students who recognized it could tell that it belonged to Ji Wenlong.

As soon as he spoke, the space within the formation started to expand. The distance between the five people in the formation increased greatly.

The crowd in the plaza quickly quietened down and the five Martial Intent Realm cultivators got ready for battle.

Retrieving his low-grade Waning Moon Spear from his Embroidered Cloud Case, Shang Xia grasped it firmly in his hands.

Tan Xinya’s weapon was a pair of foldable hooks.

Song Yushu pulled out his sword that he slung on his back, and the body of the blade resembled the finest of jade.

As for Song Daxing, his weapon was a nine segmented metal mace that he held on his right shoulder.

Ma Jianfan, the last of the four, pulled out a hatchet that had a weirdly exaggerated bit.

The battle between the five Martial Intent Realm disciples of the various institutions was about to begin!