Chapter 525: Shang Xia’s Cultivation Journey

Returning to where he stood previously, Shang Xia and Chu Jia made their way to visit Deputy Patriarch Yun. Along the way, the way Chu Jia looked at Shang Xia felt a little weird.

Unable to endure the way she was looking at him, he sighed softly, “Are you curious about something? Can you ask whatever you want to ask?”

“I heard that you refined four extermination origins simultaneously. Is it true?” Chu Jia asked right after Shang Xia spoke. She had obviously been holding in her curiosity for a long time. “What stage have you reached in your cultivation? Are you in the third layer of the Martial Extermination Realm or are you in the fourth layer?”

Shang Xia shook his head and sighed, “Strictly speaking, I should be considered a first layer Martial Extermination Realm cultivator.”

“Are you kidding?!” Chu Jia raised her head slightly and snorted with disdain. “Even if you want to act arrogantly in front of me, you need to restrain yourself! First layer of the Martial Extermination Realm… Hehe, do you think your grandaunt here believes that we have the same cultivation realm but a huge difference in combat strength?”

Chu Jia entered the Martial Extermination Realm several months earlier than Shang Xia, but she was still stuck at the first layer of the Martial Extermination Realm.

My dear Young Lady Chu, you’re thinking too much into it…

That was what Shang Xia wanted to say. However, he stopped the words from coming out his mouth and he quickly changed his tone. “Alright, alright, you can consider me as a third layer Martial Extermination Realm expert.”

Even though Shang Xia didn’t interact much with Chu Jia, he had a pretty good understanding of her personality. After looking past her arrogance and desire to win, he knew that she didn’t like people to go against whatever she said. As long as there was no point in arguing with her, it was best to just go with whatever she said.

“Hmph! That’s more like it.” Chu Jia looked at Shang Xia with a look like she expected as much. The next moment, she continued with a trace of jealousy in her voice, “Does refining four extermination origins at once make you so much stronger? How long has it been since you entered the Martial Extermination Realm? I thought that you were only able to kill so many of them because you caught them by surprise and you used rank four talismans like they were free… Also, I thought that those you killed were already exhausted from the prolonged battle with our experts. Who would have thought that you would heavily injure a third layer Martial Extermination Realm expert in a head-on clash earlier?”

The more she spoke, the greater the sense of dejection in her voice.

Both of them were considered geniuses of the Tongyou Institution. One of them was a Talisman Grandmaster and the other was a Formation Grandmaster. Originally, they were supposed to be stars shining at the same level.

From a certain perspective, Chu Jia was close to 10 years older than Shang Xia and she became an instructor of the institution a long time ago. She could be considered his senior and she felt that she was supposed to be superior to him.

If she wasn’t slightly superior in some way, wouldn’t the term ‘Dual Star of the Tongyou Institution’ be somewhat of an insult to her since she started cultivating before him?

That was also one of the reasons she had been ‘purposely’ making things difficult for him when he was crafting talismans back on the Observation Peak.

As the two of them strolled over to the core region, Shang Xia recognized it immediately. It was where Chu Jia had been defending during the war.

Stopping suddenly, Chu Jia raised her head to look at the Spirit Extermination Gourd in the air and muttered, “I really admired the way you chased those freaks who harbored bad intentions for us away. However, that would mean that we offended every one of them. Is it really worth it to offend the other powers who are also on the Manyu Continent at the moment?”

Shang Xia chuckled in response, “Do you think they won’t plot against us if I don’t threaten them? Who should we pin the deaths of our comrades on? Do you think we should blame those experts of the Manyu Continent for getting them killed?”

Chu Jia was at a loss for words and she didn’t know how to respond to Shang Xia’s question.

Before she could say anything else, Shang Xia had already entered the core region and he was making his way towards Yun Jing’s cultivation chambers.

After receiving Yun Jing’s approval, Shang Xia entered the chamber only to be greeted with a strange sight. The elegant and poised Deputy Patriarch of the Tongyou Institution was looking really haggard. From her fluctuating aura, Shang Xia could also feel that she wasn’t in her best state at the moment. Liu Qinglan was also in the room to make the report and Shang Xia could see the worry in her eyes.

After noting the situation, Shang Xia couldn’t help but ask despite Chu Jia’s reminder. “Deputy Patriarch Yun, you shouldn’t be dealing with all of these. You should be resting.”

Yun Jing nodded at Shang Xia and Chu Jia slightly with a smile on her face. She gestured for them to sit before replying to Shang XIa, “You’re right. I should be recuperating…”

Shang Xia nodded and didn’t speak of the matter any longer.

It seemed as though the two of them established some sort of understanding with each other with a single sentence.

Turning to Liu Qinglan, Yun Jung muttered, “I will hand the matter of taking care of our territory. I should be able to recover in 3 months to half a year.”

Liu Qinglan agreed and a solemn expression remained on her face as she replied, “Don’t worry about anything else and focus on recovering. Since Grandmaster Shang brought out that gourd, we shouldn’t be running into any problems in the short term.”

Chu Jua thought that Shang Xia’s wanton provocation would cause a huge backlash from the other powers and even those from the Manyu Continent, but from what Liu Qinglan was saying, it seemed as though she agreed with Shang Xia. Even Yun Jing was showing signs that she agreed with what Shang Xia did. Chu Jia sighed helplessly in her heart and chose not to speak of the matter.

Yun Jing finally turned to Shang Xia again before asking curiously, “What stage have you reached in your cultivation? You forced Zhuang Youwei back with a single palm and heavily injured Lu Sanyin earlier. Even I might not be able to do what you did and break his leg in a head-on clash.”

Shang Xia hadn’t gotten the chance to reply, but Chu Jia’s jaws had dropped at the side.

She thought that Shang Xia was incredible for reaching the third layer of the Martial Extermination Realm but from what she heard, she was still underestimating his strength.

Thinking about it for a moment, Shang Xia muttered, “I refined four extermination origins at once and it is difficult for me to gauge my own strength. According to the official classifications, my cultivation should be at the first layer of the Martial Extermination Realm.”

Asshole! He’s starting this all over again!

Chu Jia cursed inwardly. She thought that Shang Xia was messing around with her earlier, but with Liu Qinglan and Yun Jing present, he probably wasn’t spouting nonsense.

But if that is the case, could it be?

Chu Jia wasn’t the only one who had a hard time believing him. Liu Qinglan frowned in confusion. “Are you really at the first layer? I thought that you were hiding your true cultivation and aura. But your combat abilities… They’re truly an eye-opener!”

Yun Jing sighed at the side, “Refining four extermination origins at once… If you’re still considered a first layer Martial Extermination Realm cultivator, that would mean that you hadn’t fully refined any one of your extermination origins.”

Shang Xia nodded and acknowledged. “That is correct.”

Yun Jing clearly understood Shang Xia’s cultivation method a lot more than the other two.

Liu Qinglan also connected the dots and she mentioned, “Wouldn’t that mean that you would have to refine any one of your extermination origins right now? Or… If you refine them all at once, will your cultivation immediately jump to the fourth layer Martial Extermination Realm? Would you be able to step into the large completion stage once you complete the refinement process?”

Only then was Chu Jia convinced that Shang Xia wasn’t bullshitting her. She couldn’t help but ask, “Can others replicate the way you cultivate?”

Shang Xia hadn’t opened his mouth when Liu Qinglan replied in his stead. “I’m afraid that wouldn’t be possible. Even if it was, the probability of it happening will be slim to none.”

Glancing at Shang Xia from the corner of her eye, Liu Qinglan muttered, “Even without talking about the advancement formula, the cultivator would need to find 4 extermination origins ready to be refined at the same time. That alone would eliminate 90 percent of anyone trying to break through the same way. Even if they managed to gather 4 extermination origins, they would need to ensure that they are compatible.”

“It is true that the way I entered the Martial Extermination Realm involved a lot of risks. There was an element of luck behind my breakthrough, and it won’t be easy to replicate.” Shang Xia finally added. After all, he was afraid he was the only one with enough knowledge of the Four Constellation Realm at the moment to try what he did.

Liu Qinglan might have deduced a little bit of how Shang Xia managed to break through, but nothing would beat him admitting it for himself.

Yun Jing nodded slightly before changing the topic. “Do you have any insights into your fourth martial intent?”

Liu Qinglan and Chu Jia turned to stare at Shang Xia with faces full of shock as soon as the question left Yun Jing’s lips. Even Shang Xia was taken by surprise.

“Why would you ask that suddenly?” Shang Xia asked.

Shang Xia was walking down the path of the blade in the Martial Extermination Realm and his Twenty Four Solar Terms was already starting to take form. When he entered the large completion stage in the future, his martial intention would definitely have something to do with the blade.

Yun Jing chuckled with amusement. “The palm strike you used to deal with Lu Sanyin earlier seems really special. Does it have a name?”

“Disciple called the strike the Four Seasons Palm. I developed it through a series of flukes in the past and looked into it a little more. I never thought of improving it to the point it would become my martial intent…” Shang Xi explained.

“Four Seasons Palm?” Yun Jing pressed. “What does it have to do with the four constellations?”

Sighing in his heart, Shang Xia finally understood what they meant by ‘with age comes wisdom’. Yun Jing went straight for the crux of his skill. “Disciple merely made a guess. I thought that all the four seasons represented the four constellations and the 4 main directions. I could see a trace of the four constellations in the elements of earth, water, fire, and wind…”

Shang Xia stopped speaking suddenly. He wasn’t trying to hide anything, but his understanding of the four constellations couldn't be put into simpler terms. He would be going too far if he started talking about the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermillion Bird, and Black Tortoise. They wouldn’t understand a thing anyway.

Liu Qinglan released a surprised gasp after hearing his explanation. “Since you refined the Four Seasons Extermination Origins back then, wouldn’t that mean that you would become the embodiment of the Four Constellations?”

Shang Xia sighed in his heart once again. He knew that they would be able to make the connection with the small hint he gave them. There was even a possibility they would deduce a lot of things from the information he gave him and their understanding of the four seasons would immediately reach a point he hadn’t comprehended.

Whatever the case, Shang Xia found no reason to hide anything from them. He chuckled softly, “Yeah. Back then, I didn’t know too much and decided to try it out. Luckily for me, my gamble succeeded.”

In front of others, Shang Xia had always attributed his success to luck so as not to make himself seem too arrogant.

Back when he wanted to refine all four extermination origins, only Kou Chongxue, Shang Bo, and other core members of the institution knew what he was up to. However, the commotion he created was too large back in the battlefield between the two worlds. The phenomenon that covered the mountain peak he fell asleep on in the Manyu Continent was also a dead giveaway. The peak he was on experienced 36 seasonal cycles in 36 days and anyone from the institution who wasn’t blind saw what happened. There was no point for him to hide anything.

Yun Jing added suddenly, “Anyway, I know that you’re training in the way of the blade after entering the Martial Extermination Realm. I noticed your blade art during the war and discovered that it possesses extraordinary power. The profoundness of your blade art is extremely deep, but I would like to give you a piece of advice. If you give up on the way of the blade now and start to comprehend the principles behind that palm of yours, the path to comprehending your fourth martial intent will be much smoother in the future.” After a short pause, she continued, “From what I can tell, the moment you complete your refinement of your extermination origins, you would be able to step into the grand completion stage of the Martial Extermination Origin with your Four Seasons Palm.”

A trace of envy appeared in the eyes of Liu Qinglan and Chu Jia when they heard what he said.

Shang Xia was shocked and a frightening thought entered his mind. He wasn’t willing to give up in the way of the blade and he asked, “Do you know if anyone managed to comprehend two martial intents when stepping into the grand completion stage of the Martial Extermination Realm?”

“Never heard of it.” Yun Jing shook her head decisively in response.

Even though he guessed as much, Shang Xia was still a little disappointed after hearing her answer. He chuckled bitterly, “Disciple still thinks that I should focus on the way of the blade…”