Chapter 279: The Fifth Move

“Die!” It was too late to run. The only thing Shang Xia could do was fight.

With the mid-grade Scarlet Star Spear in his hand, Shang Xia unleashed his strongest skill against a Martial Extermination Realm expert.

It was also the move he comprehended in the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range but had no spear to practice with.

The fifth move he created from his comprehension of the Providence Spear during his seclusion, Woundless Spear!

Five spots of starlight emerged from the tip of the spear, and a gash appeared on Shang Xia’s left shoulder. A stream of blood trailed down his arm.

The Martial Extermination Realm expert of the Azure Spiritual World who had entered Shang Xia’s attack range discovered the frightening fluctuations of heaven and earth qi. His expression changed drastically and he used some sort of special movement skill to retreat several feet backwards.

By the time he stabilized himself, he discovered that there were five huge wounds on his left hand.

Despite them being external injuries and the blood he was losing couldn’t be compared to the injury Shang Xia suffered from the backlash from his strike, he was shocked nonetheless. He was a Martial Extermination Realm expert! However, he was injured by a cultivator at the Martial Intent Realm!

He was a proper Martial Extermination Realm expert who possessed an extermination origin. Examining Shang Xia from head to toe, he shrugged his left shoulder to reveal his extermination origin. As soon as it emerged, the wounds on his arm closed.

“You… What spear technique is this?!” After suppressing his fright, a trace of admiration could be heard in his voice.

Shang Xia withdrew his spear slowly and he spoke casually, not minding that his opponent was a Martial Extermination Realm expert from the Azure Spiritual World. “Providence Spear Art, Woundless Spear.”

“Providence?” Looking at the injuries on his arm that had healed, he turned to look at the wound on Shang Xia’s shoulder. “What an amazing Woundless Spear…”

Shang Xia didn’t know if he was mistaken, but he thought he heard a trace of admiration from the other party. Even so, he didn’t dare to be careless. “The Changfeng City is right there. If you leave me with no other choice, I can only choose to fight to the death. Let’s not waste any more time.”

Even if their cultivation realms differed by one huge level, a Martial Intent Realm cultivator would be able to cause a huge disturbance.

Of course, Martial Extermination Realm experts would be able to raise even larger waves. Ordinarily, a Martial Intent Realm cultivator would be taken care of as long as the Martial Extermination Realm expert wills it. However, this Martial Intent Realm kid was clearly different.

.

They might have only exchanged one move, but Shang Xia had proven his strength!

He might not be a match for the Martial Extermination Realm expert from the Azure Spiritual World, but it wouldn’t be a problem for them to fight for a while.

If that happened, the powers in the Changfeng City would definitely take notice and the Martial Extermination Realm expert of the Azure Spiritual World would be revealed!

To put things simply, Shang Xia was basically betting that the other party wouldn’t want to be exposed.

Of course, that was the only thing Shang Xia could do. Turning his back to a Martial Extermination Realm expert to run away was a surefire way to get killed.

He was betting on the fact that the Martial Extermination Realm expert wasn’t clear about the situation in the Azure Origin World. From the look on the other party’s face, it seemed like he lucked out.

Glancing at the Changfeng City, a strange look of amusement could be seen in his eyes. His gaze paused on Shang Xia for an additional second before the Martial Extermination Realm expert of the Azure Spiritual World turned to leave.

Only after the figure of the Azure Spiritual World’s Martial Extermination Realm expert disappeared into the forest did Shang Xia’s taut nerves relax.

The person who came was one of the two Martial Extermination Realm experts who was brought over by Chen Sanyang the previous day. However, Shang Xia left before he arrived.

A soft chirp from the air above brought Shang Xia back to reality. He stretched out his hand and Yan Ni’er quickly perched on his shoulder.

“Are you able to follow that person?” Shang Xia whispered.

A long cry from Yan Ni’er told Shang Xia that she found it possible.

Thinking about it for a moment, Shang Xia continued, “Alright, follow him. Stay as far away as possible and locate their hiding spot. However, you need to be careful. Stay safe and protect yourself. If anything goes wrong, run!”

“Chirp, chirp!” Yan Ni’er flapped her wings and shot into the skies. Turning into a gray streak, she quickly disappeared into the skies.

Now that he had seen her speed up close, he discovered that he had underestimated how fast she flew.

From the looks of it, even Martial Extermination Realm experts would have to eat her dust if she flew at full speed.

Moreover, she was an aerial creature to begin with. She could fly for a long time. Martial Extermination Realm experts might be able to soar through the skies, but they would have to take a break at some point.

That was precisely the reason Shang Xia was willing to get her to track down the Martial Extermination Realm expert of the Azure Spiritual World. He believed that she was smart enough to protect herself too.

There was one other thing. After the short exchange, Shang Xia knew that he couldn’t remain there for much longer. Arranging the gains he obtained from his hunt, he quickly got ready to return. After all, he had to get back before the city gates closed!

Along the way, he didn’t forget to forage for branches and trees to make a makeshift nest for the four little birds. When he was done, he called for the four of them to bring them with him.

Just like that, his appearance returned to that of an ordinary hunter. The longbow was slung to his back, and a quiver of arrows hung on his waist. There was a rabbit and a hairy fox strapped to his waist as he dragged them back to the city. He hugged a nest that he covered with a piece of cloth and he headed back without much misfortune.

When he returned, he sold the rabbit and fox for some money before buying some food. Arriving in his courtyard, he handed the bag of sesame sweets he bought for Yuanyuan who bounced away happily. However, she quickly returned when Shang Xia placed the nest carefully on the ground. Under her curious gaze, he took off the cloth to reveal four cute little birds. The little kid jumped in joy.

Even though the four birds were Mutated Rain Swallows, their growth didn’t happen too quickly. The largest among them, Yan Lei, was barely bigger than an ordinary swallow.

As for whether their appearance in the winter would cause some sort of commotion, Shang Xia had no idea. Naturally, the little girl wouldn’t find it weird either. She stared at the birds happily.

Surprisingly, she rejected Shang Xia’s suggestion of placing the nest on the tree in the courtyard. Instead, she decided to personally construct a nest for them with a random basket she found before placing it near the window of her room.

As Yuanyuan went to look for materials to build a new nest, Hai Min approached Shang Xia and muttered, “Thank you.”

Raising both eyebrows, Shang Xia turned to stare at her.

“Yuanyuan has never enjoyed such a peaceful life. She hasn’t been so happy either. In the past, she would never wait at the entrance in anticipation for anyone to come back.” Hai Min explained.

“It’s important for one to have a happy childhood…” Shang Xia chuckled in response.

Clearly, Hai Min didn’t expect him to say something like that and she was visibly stunned for a good minute.

The laughter coming from Shang Xia’s lips didn’t stop. “What are we eating tonight? I spent quite some time hunting today and I’m getting hungry!”

With her face flushing red, Hai Min muttered, “It’s ready, it’s ready! Light the lamp and we’ll be able to eat.”

Shang Xia looked at Hai Min who was walking back to the kitchen and smiled. “Looks like you’re enjoying this type of life too…”

Hai Min’s figure froze for a second, and she lowered her head slightly. Her footsteps became much more hurried.

With her back towards him, Shang Xia failed to see the gentle smile that appeared on her face.

…

As the darkness of night fell, silence returned to the courtyard.

Shang Xia, who had been in deep sleep, opened his eyes suddenly. Extending his divine sense to cover the rest of the courtyard, he discovered that Hai Min and Yuanyuan were fast asleep. Getting off his bed, he lit his lamp.

When he received the Embroidered Cloud Case earlier, he only took out the spear. He didn’t examine the rest of the contents carefully.

The first thing he took out this time was a letter Shang Xi penned personally.

There were three important points in the letter.

The first was the Scarlet Star Spear. She explained that after Duan Hong completed its refinement, the Tongyou Institution agreed to raise it to a mid-grade weapon. It was made for Shang Xia, and the weapon complemented him perfectly.

The second point was to remind him not to expose his identity in the meantime. He shouldn’t return to the Tongyou City too due to the dangerous journey he would have to take.

Even though Shang Xi didn’t state it explicitly, Shang Xia could tell that the Tongyou City was in trouble. Many different powers had their eyes on the city, and they were facing trouble from both inside and out.

If he insisted on returning, he would most probably be captured by outsiders to become a bargaining chip they would use to threaten the Shang Clan with.

Without a doubt, a terrifying storm was about to hit the Tongyou City. Everything originated from the Tongyou Institution’s plan for the Mysterious Coral World. Moreover, Kou Chongxue’s disappearance only served to cause the institution to sink into an even more dangerous situation.

The ambush on Kou Chongxue was a topic of debate, and no one was certain of his assailants. There were even rumors spreading that the second ambush on Kou Chongxue was a joint scheme from those inside the city with other powers.

As Shang Xia was also affected by the ambush, many people would try to look for him to gain information about Kou Chongxue regardless if he knew anything or not. That was also an important reason for him to keep his identity a secret.

Once he was captured, his fate was sealed. It didn’t matter if he managed to lie his way through their interrogation or if he told them the truth about how he didn’t know anything. Once they were done, death would be the only thing waiting for him.

Shang Xia’s desire to remain hidden became stronger after reading Shang Xi’s letter.

Luckily for him, no one would ever think that the legendary Thousand Illusion Young Master who had an impressive battle record in the Tongyou Institution would become an ordinary hunter! If that wasn’t a good enough disguise, having a three year old daughter and a wife should be good enough. Who in the right mind would think that an ordinary hunter with a cute little daughter would be a mere eighteen year old young master of the Shang Clan?!

Realizing that his identity wouldn’t be revealed for quite some time, Shang Xia finally read the final matter his aunt wanted to tell him.

Because of his warning that Yang Hu was working with the Ji Continent and that the White Deer Paradise was in cahoots with the Changbai Holy Land of the Azure Spiritual World, those in the Tongyou City would be able to take appropriate measures. They knew that Shang Xia would be an invaluable asset in the Changfeng City and Shang Xi informed him about a secret code he could use to connect with the members of the Tongyou City. She told him the location of a place where he could obtain assistance, but she ended off by telling him not to make rash moves.

No matter what, the entire situation was shrouded in mystery. There were peak level experts in the Martial Extermination Realm from the various powers in play, and a Martial Intent Realm cultivator like him wouldn’t be able to decide the situation alone.

When he was done with the letter, he discovered that his aunt also placed several sets of equipment used to craft talismans in the Embroidered Cloud Case.

With his ability as a second rank Talisman Master, he would be able to create some useful talismans that might assist him with the shitstorm that was about to unfold soon.