Chapter 526: Shang Ke’s Real Thoughts

After leaving Yun Jing’s quarters, Shang Xia basically learned of his responsibilities in the coming future.

With Shang Bo cultivating in seclusion earnestly and Yun Jing being forced to enter seclusion to recover, the responsibility of dealing with the matters in the Tongyou Institution’s territory landed on Liu Qinglan’s shoulders.

Everyone might know that Shang Xia was the strongest person in the Tongyou Institution now that the two Deputy Patriarchs were absent, but he lacked the experience and seniority. In fact, he was probably the person with the least experience in dealing with administrative tasks among those present.

Of course, he still had his tasks to do. The duty he was allocated might be straightforward and easy to understand, but it was also extremely dangerous. He would have to leave the protection formation and regain control over the territory the Tongyou Institution lost!

He was basically acting as a hired thug. All he had to do was to ensure that there was no foreign presence in the territory they had lost due to the war. After making sure it was safe, that would signify the end of his job. He knew that Chu Jia already had plans to deal with the reclaimed territory.

When Shang Xia ran into Shang Ke again, the old man seemed to be in surprisingly high spirits. He didn’t look like someone who had his path of cultivation cut off.

“This…” Shang Xia stared at Shang Ke with a trace of confusion in his eyes. He didn’t know how to bring up the topic.

“I’m pretty much recovered!” Shang Ke chuckled happily. “I can guess what Yun Jing sent you to do. Right now, I should be in a good condition to assist you.”

Shang Xia felt a wave of guilt smashing against his heart after recalling what happened to his Fifth Grandpa. “I should have left you more talismans back then… Otherwise, you wouldn’t be…”

“Hahaha!” Shang Ke roared with laughter and interrupted him before he could finish speaking. Waving his hands casually, Shang Ke mentioned, “Brat, there’s no need for you to worry about me! Actually, this is a good thing for me.”

Seeing the strange look on Shang Xia’s face, Shang Ke calmed down a little and became slightly more serious. He sighed softly, “All these years, I have been pushing myself to the limit in order to keep up with your Grandpa Bo and to strengthen the clan.

“To make me stronger, your grandfather spared no expense and resources in my cultivation. Unfortunately, my talent is really lacking. Both my cultivation and combat abilities can’t be compared to others.”

“Back then, thoughts of giving up had always filled my mind. However, our clan was too weak. Those in your Uncle Shang Quan’s generation haven't matured and have yet to start displaying their talent to their full extent. I could only force myself to take on the responsibilities of holding up our clan.”

Shang Xia frowned, “No matter what, don’t you feel like it’s a waste for your cultivation to be forced to stop at your current level?”

An enlightened smile appeared on Shang Ke’s face and he shook his head slightly. “In the past, I was holding your grandfather back. However, at the very least, I was the Patriarch of the Shang Clan. There wasn’t too much for us to be concerned about because we’re brothers at the end of the day. Now, even you youngsters have to start taking care of me. Hehe, doesn’t that make me seem useless?”

“You can’t say that! All these years, you’ve been…” Shang Xia yelped.

Gesturing for Shang Xia to stop speaking, Shang Ke said seriously, “Kid, our Shang Clan isn’t the Shang Clan of the past. With your Grandpa Bo, myself, your Third Aunt, Shang Pei, and yourself, our Shang Clan has 4 Martial Extermination Realm experts. In fact, we’re no weaker than the Zhu Family before the calamity. Moreover, your Second Uncle, Shang Jian, should have already succeeded in his breakthrough. It’s a shame he can only remain in the Tongyou City for now because of the state we’re in.”

A look of regret appeared on Shang Ke’s face and a trace of dejection filled his heart. “Shang Xia, your Grandpa Ke is tired. I’m also starting to feel a little afraid of all the intense battles. Rather than wasting everyone’s time fighting for a chance for me to grow stronger, it’s better than all hope is severed. It’s time for me, a senior of the Shang Clan, to start doing my part for all of you juniors.”

The dispirited look on his face disappeared after speaking up to that point. Feeling a lot more energized, he regained all the excitement he had when Shang Xia found him earlier. “Honestly speaking, I felt a lot more relaxed after learning that I wouldn’t be able to advance in the future. In the past, I felt like I was walking on a tightrope that was on fire behind me. I had to keep walking forward no matter what, and I couldn't fall. Now, a huge portion of the stress I’m feeling has disappeared!”

Hearing how sincere Shang Ke was when he said all that, Shang Xia realized that he shouldn’t push his Grandpa Ke anymore. Thinking back about it, he realized that Shang Ke wasn’t an ambitious person in the first place. He had always been pretty chill and adaptable to most things thrown his way.

Because of the situation the Shang Clan was in, he had no choice but to share in Shang Bo’s burden. He had no choice but to force himself to take on the challenges. Now that his path of cultivation was severed, it seemed as though he finally got what he wanted.

After casually chatting with each other for some time, Shang Xia seemed to have recalled something and he asked, “I didn’t think that the Ji, Liu, and Yun Clans would have hidden Martial Extermination Realm experts. Did you know about this?”

Shang Ke shook his head in response. “I know of them, but I didn’t think that they were still alive. Much less having entered the Martial Extermination Realm. Well, I didn’t know about it but your Grandpa Bo definitely knew.”

Shang Xia nodded slightly. “Is this the foundation of their existence as great clans that existed before the collision of our worlds?”

“You can say that. However, our Shang Clan doesn’t lose to any of the three. It’s just that…” Shang Ke muttered.

“It’s just that?” Shang Xia pressed.

Pausing slightly, Shang Ke eventually sighed, “Ji Wenlong entered the Martial Dipper Realm recently. To enter the Beyond Heavens Pavilion, one has to be led by a Martial Dipper Realm Ancestor.”

Shang Xia understood what he meant instantly. “That’s right. The 3 of them, including Lu Siyuan and Fang Kewei were brought over to the Beyond Heavens Pavilion by Patriarch Kou a long time ago.”

“We can ignore Lu Siyuan and Fang Kewei. However, the members of the other 3 clans aren’t considered a part of our Tongyou Institution’s forces. Why would Patriarch Kou bring them over?” Shang Ke thought out loud.

Shang Xia thought for a moment before replying, “Do you mean to say that the other 3 clans have some sort of secret agreement with Patriarch Kou? Of the 3 of them, only Liu Jikun is left, the other 2 died in the war…”

Shang Ke turned serious and he answered, “I’m not afraid that they have some sort of agreement with Patriarch Kou. I’m just worried about your grandpa!”

Seeing the look of confusion and shock on Shang Xia’s face, Shang Ke continued, “You can’t forget that the four great clans didn’t exist back then. There were only 3 great clans. Our Shang Clan was merely a middle-ranked power after the calamity that struck us. However, your grandfather’s cultivation skyrocketed in recent years. Of course, a part of the reason is because of his hard work and his fortuitous encounters. However, we can’t deny that Kou Chongxue’s support was an integral part of how he grew stronger so quickly.”

Shang Xia seemed to understand the meaning behind Shang Ke’s words and he asked, “Are you saying that it’s likely Patriarch Kou would make Grandpa Bo do some dangerous mission he can’t reject because of all the assistance he was given?”

Shang Ke slapped Shang Xia’s shoulders and sighed, “Personal favors are the hardest to repay. Kou Chongxue might not possess any malicious intent, but no one can be sure of that. Before Ji Wenlong entered the Martial Dipper Realm, Kou Chongxue was the only one who had the authority to communicate with the rest of the Azure Origin World and the Azure Spiritual World. All of us were nothing more than chess pieces in his eyes.”

Shang Xia knew that Shang Ke was viewing Kou Chongxue from the clan’s perspective and he had always been careful when dealing with the institution and the patriarch.” Shang Xia seemed to understand where he was coming from.

Honestly speaking, Shang Xia also had a lot of doubts of why Kou Chongxue would assist Shang Bo in his cultivation.

Shang ke wasn’t teaching Shang Xia to bite the hand that feeds him. He was merely teaching Shang Xia to see things from the clan’s perspective.

That wasn’t the first time Shang Xia had heard such words coming from Shang Ke.

…

As for the mission Shang Xia was given to reclaim the institution’s territories, Shang Ke expected as much. He ran into Shang Xia and wanted to follow him out there, but he was eventually rejected by the kid.

Shang Ke understood that with Shang Xia’s current strength, unless he was surrounded by multiple strong Martial Extermination Realm experts, no one in the Manyu Continent would be able to do a thing to him! If he followed Shang XIa, he would be dragging the kid down! In the event that they actually ran into danger, Shang Xia would have to protect the weaker Shang Ke from the enemy while making their escape. Understanding that he wouldn’t be of much help, Shang Ke didn’t insist on following Shang Xia out.

“Oh right, there’s one more thing!” Shang Ke slapped his forehead and took out a bunch of items from his Embroidered Cloud Case. “This is a portion of loot we obtained from the cultivators who were slain. You had been cultivating all this time and I gathered your share for you. You should keep them.”

Shang Xia glanced at the treasures in Shang Ke’s hand and noticed that even though there were a lot of items, not many of them caught his eye. Casually picking some he could use, he left the rest for Shang Ke. “Grandpa Ke, there’s no need for me to take the rest. Keep them and bring them back to the clan. Maybe other people might find a use for them.”

Understanding that Shang Xia was basically a walking treasury at this point and the number of treasures the kid had was probably a horrifying amount, Shang Ke didn’t insist. He knew that those treasures from the cultivators of the Manyu Continent couldn’t move Shang Xia anyway and he kept them in his Embroidered Cloud Case. When he was done, he spoke. “Oh yeah, we’ll just take these as your contribution to the clan and repay you with resources to craft talismans. Anyway, it should be time. Come, come take a look at this.”

He gestured for Shang Xia to follow him before walking away.

A little confused, Shang Xia followed behind him while asking, “Did something happen?”

“Nothing much. The Beyond Heavens Pavilion should be sending another batch of experts here soon.” Shang Ke explained.

Shang Xia was surprised by the sudden revelation. “Didn't they say that they would only be able to open the spatial tunnel once every half a year or so?”

Without turning back, Shang Ke replied, “How can Kou Chongxue and Ji Wenlong not respond after such a huge event happened here? Opening the spatial tunnel exhausts a huge amount of world origin and the 2 of them didn’t want others to notice them. That’s why they limited it to half a year. Because of the joint assault back then, it’s clear that our tracks have already been exposed. There’s no need to keep our actions a secret any longer.”

As they approached a region outside the barrier, Shang Xia saw several experts flying their way.

It was the first time Shang Xia was seeing a few of them as Fang Kewei, Liu Jikun, and several other experts arrived.

Unfortunately, Shang Lubing was nowhere to be seen. It was said that the old fox was so crafty that he offended too many people in the war and was surrounded and beaten near the end. He managed to keep his life, but he was severely injured. If not for Shang Xia and Yun Jing’s terrifying achievement of slaying Hu Wendao and Zhang Tianji and scaring the experts of the Manyu Continent away, Shang Lubing might be the next casualty of the institution. He was recovering somewhere in the institution’s territory and didn’t join them this time.

All of a sudden, Shang Xia felt a huge spatial fluctuation above them as it quickly approached.

In the blink of an eye, the heaven and earth qi in the surroundings scattered as the fluctuations came closer.

Raising her head, Liu Qinglan muttered, “They’re here.”

As soon as the words left her lips, a terrifying pressure descended as a circular entrance appeared in the air above the Tongyou Institution’s territory. Several figures emerged before the entrance closed and they quickly stabilized themselves in the air.

“Bu Jingshuang, Zhang Haogu, Qian Sitong, Yuan Zhen! Damn… Patriarch Kou really went all in with the Tongyou Institution’s foundations…” Shang Xia sighed inwardly when he saw who had arrived.