Chapter 621: Kou Chongxue’s Next Step

“Shang Xia, what do you say? Do you think I should refine this fate dipper?”

Kou Chongxue’s question caught Shang Xia completely off guard. An astonished expression hung on his face.

Before Shang Xia could say anything, Shang Bo spoke up, “This concerns your cultivation! Why are you messing around?!”

Surprisingly, Kou Chongxue snorted at him in annoyance. “How am I messing about? Don’t forget, he’s an expert at the grand completion stage of the Martial Extermination Realm now. No matter if it’s his cultivation level or combat strength, he’s ranked right under Chief Ji, You, and I. Moreover, he created a new path of cultivation. Do you think he has no idea how cultivation works?”

“This…” Shang Bo was stumped and he didn’t know how to respond.

Kou Chongxue wasn’t done. “Also, did you forget that he was the one who suggested for me to go into seclusion in a space rich with water element when I was heavily injured back then? That is how I managed to regain a portion of my fighting strength back during the War of the Tongyou Mysterious World. He was also the one who directed me to refine the Water Origin Fate Dipper after obtaining it back then. That was how I dealt with the hidden injuries that were caused by my imbalanced fate dippers.”

Shang Bo could only chuckle bitterly in response.

Kou Chongxue turned to look at Shang Xia again only to be greeted by an awkward and forced smile.

“Speak your mind! There’s no need to care about anything else. You better not hide anything from us… This old man here is really ambitious. I have hopes of breaking through to the legendary Sixth Order of the Primary Realm in the future…” Kou Chongxue chuckled.

Glancing at his grandfather and not receiving any response, Shang Xia eventually revealed a proper smile. “Patriarch Kou, you must be joking, I only know a little and…”

Kou Chongxue raised his hand to stop Shang Xia from speaking any further. “Don’t give me all that nonsense. Just tell me if I should refine the Flowing Wind Formless Fate Dipper.”

“This disciple thinks that you should think twice.” Shang Xia continued without any prompting from the others. “I don’t know how to put it, but I feel that there should be some sort of connection between the fate dippers experts at your level refine. They should form a complete cycle, and you have refined the Primal Yang Copper Fate Dipper, the Origin Water Fate Dipper, and the Eternal Spring Fate Dipper. Back then, your fate dippers were in a state of disequilibrium and you used the Origin Water Fate Dipper to restore balance. There, you formed some sort of mutual restraint.”

“In other words, the Origin Water Fate Dipper is the key to maintaining the balance between your fate dippers at the moment.”

“If my guess is correct and one’s fate dippers have some sort of relationship where they complement and restrain each other, your next fate dipper should either be connected to your Primal Yang Copper Fate Dipper or your Eternal Spring Fate Dipper.”

“No matter how I look at it, the Flowing Wind Formless Fate Dipper doesn’t correspond to either of them.”

When Shang Xia was done with his lengthy explanation, Yun Jing asked, “How are you able to determine that they aren’t connected?”

“Disciple doesn’t know. Perhaps… It has something to do with my instincts…” Shang Xia shook his head and sighed.

It wasn’t as though Shang Xia really didn’t know what was going on. At the very least, he had some basic understanding of the five elements. However, it was easy for him to say since he knew the principles behind it. Those who didn’t know would find it hard to understand. Moreover, if he tried to explain the matter, he would inevitably drag other topics in. They would definitely dig deeper, and that would only bring even more questions. Shang Xia wouldn’t be able to answer them as even he had no idea about those concepts.

In the end, he chose to not talk about the topics he wasn’t really clear about and used his instinct as a reason to shut everyone up.

Shaking her head slightly, Yun Jing clearly expressed her doubt that Shang Xia’s explanation would be able to convince those present.

However, Kou Chongxue didn’t seem to agree with her. He had an unconcerned expression on his face as he laughed before asking another question. “Do you have any suggestions as to what fate dipper I should be refining next?”

Shang Xia thought about it for a second and replied, “You should probably refine a fate dipper that is related to the element of fire. In fact, you could also refine one that is related to the earth.”

“Oh.” Kou Chongxue seemed to have thought of something and he smiled at the side, “A fire element fate dipper and an earth element fate dipper… You didn’t just give me a suggestion for my fourth fate dipper. You even thought about my fifth!”

Yun Jing looked at Kou Chongxue who seemed serious and she couldn’t help but yell, “Are you serious?!”

“Of course!” Kou Chongxue responded with confidence.

He then turned to address Shang Xia again. “Chief Ji’s Earth Core Fate Dipper should be related to the earth element, right?”

Shang Xia nodded in affirmation.

Kou Chongxue seemed to have thought of something else and he fell deep into contemplation.

Everyone fell silent after seeing the state he was in and no one had the guts to interrupt his thought process.

Luckily, he didn’t remain in that state for a long time. Snapping back to attention, he laughed, “Haha! I was distracted by what he said. Anyway, Fourth Brother Shang, carry on. Let’s take a look at what the expert of the Spirit Abundance World had!”

Shang Bo nodded and placed another cube-like crystalline object on the tablet.

Yun Jing couldn’t help but reveal a shocked gaze and she exchanged a glance with Shang Xia. “Fate dipper fragment! He actually had a fate dipper fragment on him!”

Kou Chongxue learned about the existence of fate dipper fragments from the experts of the institution back then and he picked it up curiously. “Is this actually a fate dipper fragment? Isn’t it said to be able to transform into a complete Origin Dipper after being nurtured by a strand of fate dipper essence? Hmm… It has really pure world origin. It’s no wonder…”

Shang Xia thought about it for a second before taking out his own. He placed it beside the fate dipper fragment and muttered, “These fate dipper fragments are really similar. Looks like the other one is also produced from the Manyu Continent. For a Martial Dipper Realm expert to possess one… It’s probably a tribute by the Martial Extermination Realm experts they sent to the Manyu Continent.”

Kou Chongxue glanced at the fate dipper fragment in his hand and quickly snatched it over to take a closer look. He noticed the fate dipper essence contained within and the fact that it resembled a wisp of smoke. He couldn’t help but pay more attention to it and he carefully evaluated, “Your fate dipper fragment looks smaller than the other one. Is it because the world origin contained within is being absorbed by the fate dipper essence?”

“That’s what disciple thinks too…” Shang Xia replied. After a short pause, he continued, “Patriarch Kou, do you know what fate dipper essence is contained within?”

Examining it closely, Kou Chongxue frowned. “It seems similar to the Heaven’s Will White Dew Fate Dipper…”

“Heaven’s Will White Dew Fate Dipper?” Shang Xia gasped. “How is it compared to your Origin Water Fate Dipper?”

Kou Chongxue chuckled softly in response. “They have their own specialties and can be said to be of the same quality.”

Shang Bo glanced at Shang Xia from the corner of his eye before taking out something else. Actually, it was more accurate to describe it as a small stack of items.

“Beast skin?!” Yan Su’er, who hadn’t said anything for some time, was the first to yell. She looked surprised by the sudden revelation and she wanted to pick it up to take a look. However, she stopped herself midway through.

Kou Chongxue couldn't help but comment on it. “Elder Yan, you seem to have noticed something. Why don’t you take a closer look?”

An embarrassed smile appeared on Yan Su’er’s face and she finally picked up a piece of skin that was pretty well preserved. She looked at it closely and she nodded her head as though she had already expected as much. She turned the rest and said, “This definitely belonged to a rank five spiritual beast.”

The look in everyone’s eyes turned a little more serious when they looked at the pile of beast skins again.

Even Shang Bo couldn’t control himself and asked again, “Is it really the skin of rank five spiritual beasts?!”

“This isn’t just the skin of an ordinary beast. It belonged to an impressive existence in the fifth rank. The skin is pliable and tough, and it belonged to the Moon Worshiping Beast. The skin is extremely precious and it can be considered of the highest grade even among rank five treasures!”

Everyone had their guesses when they saw the stack of beast skin earlier, but they didn’t think Yan Su’er would give it such a high evaluation. Their minds blanked and no one knew what they could do with it for a second.

Yun Jing couldn’t help but chuckle bitterly, “Treasures like that don’t come by easily. If he actually managed to gather so much of it, does it mean that creatures of that level are everywhere in the Spirit Abundance World?”

“How could it be possible? If they were truly as rich as that, they wouldn’t think of so many ways to invade us! Why would they try so hard to locate our worlds in the vast sea of stars?” Yan Su’er replied.

To that, Kou Chongxue laughed, “Elder Yan is right! Also, about these beast skins… If we don’t have anything better to use them for, let’s just turn all of them into rank five talisman paper!”

Shocked faces could be seen all around and Kou Chongxue couldn’t help but point at Shang Xia while revealing a bitter smile, “At least the little fellow is a rank four Talisman Grandmaster. He has hopes of entering the fifth rank in the future, and he can make use of them…

Everyone couldn’t help but snicker in response, but there was a hidden trace of bitterness in their voice. Compared to the holy lands out there, the Tongyou Institution truly had a short history. They couldn’t compare in terms of foundations or accumulations as they didn’t even have their own rank five Talisman Grandmaster.

Soon after, Shang Bo took out several more items. Even though they were pretty special and precious, they paled in comparison to the first few items. There were graded weapons among them, but it was clear none of those present could be bothered with them.

After taking everything out, Shang Bo stood silently at the side. Kou Chongxue would be in charge of distributing the treasures next.

Kou Chongxue didn’t waste everyone’s time either. He turned to Shang Bo and asked directly, “Fourth Brother, does anything here catch your eye?”

Shaang Bo picked up the broken golden shuttle with a wide smile on his face. “I was given the opportunity to enter the Martial Dipper Realm by the institution and I shouldn’t make extravagant demands. However, this broken weapon seems really compatible with me. I’ll be a little shameless and choose it then. I hope everyone doesn’t take offense.”

Kou Chongxue waved his hands casually in response. “It’s just half a broken weapon. Even though it's made from rank five metals, it won’t be possible for you to turn your Champion’s Spear into a divine weapon. Just take it anyway and don’t think too much about it.”

Shaang Bo laughed before keeping the broken golden shuttle.

Kou Chongxue turned to look at Yan Su’er next. “Elder Yan, what about you?”

A trace of hesitation flashed across her face.

An amicable smile appeared on Kou Chongxue’s face as he explained, “Elder Yan, there’s no need to stand on ceremony. You will enter the institution to take on an important role. Moreover, the cultivators of your Swallow Race made great contributions in the battlefield between the two worlds. You also helped the Tongyou Island avoid a huge calamity back in the vast sea of stars. You deserve this reward.”

“Patriarch, you’re too kind!” Yan Su’er no longer rejected his offer. She casually picked 2 ordinary rank four treasures on the table for herself.

When it came to Yun Jing, Kou Chongxue didn’t let her choose whatever she pleased. Instead, he spoke decisively, “Your cultivation has already reached the large completion stage of the Martial Extermination Realm. You should try to enter the grand completion stage next. We’ll leave the Flowing Wind Formless Fate Dipper for you!”