Chapter 39

In the valley, Shang Xia brought Huang Zihua and Jiao Haitang back over the ridge again.

"Senior Brother Shang, what should we do next?"

"Yes, Chief, we'll follow your lead!"

The dozen or so students in the valley immediately gathered around, clearly regarding him as their mainstay.

Shang Xia's gaze swept over the group, and his heart sank. "Why are three people missing?"

The students, who had been excited by their rescue, were suddenly doused with cold water, and the lively atmosphere quickly turned silent.

Shang Xia had a bad feeling and turned to look at Huang Zihua.

Huang Zihua's face showed pain and regret. "Zhang Wei, Li Qi, and Zhou Sitian are gone."

Although all the students of Tongyou Academy knew that once they entered the Two Realms War Zone, they could face life and death at any moment, this was something the instructors repeatedly emphasized to prepare them mentally for the worst.

However, when they truly realized that their classmates, who were lively and full of hope just moments ago, had died right before their eyes, the shock was unprecedented.

Jiao Haitang added, "Zhang Wei was scared... he ran away and was caught and killed by a palm strike; Li Qi was beaten to death by the Yellow Sparrow while protecting Zhou Sitian, and Zhou Sitian later tried to stab the Yellow Sparrow with a dagger but was killed with a backhand blow to the head."

Shang Xia was also a student of House C, and the mutual affection between Li Qi and Zhou Sitian was no secret in House C. He never expected they would be willing to do so much for each other.

As for Zhang Wei, Shang Xia could sense from Jiao Haitang's tone that there was more to the story, possibly out of concern for their classmate's reputation.

Although there had been some minor conflicts between them, Shang Xia was not the type to gloat over someone's death.

"We will remember this grudge and avenge them from those Cangling martial artists in the future!" Shang Xia declared loudly.

"Right, blood for blood!"

The thirteen students shouted in unison.

"Everyone, gather the dry rations and water bags, eat something, and rest a bit. Once we're rested, we'll leave this place and head to Tongyou Peak!"

"Alright!"

The students' morale was reignited.

"Chief Senior Brother, what about those Jin Yun carriages and Chi Yun horses?" someone suddenly asked.

Only then did everyone realize that the entrance to the valley had been blocked by the collapse of the cliffs on both sides, making it impossible to transport the large amount of supplies in the six Jin Yun carriages out.

If left behind, there was a fear that the Cangling martial artists who had left might return and benefit from them.

Shang Xia seemed unconcerned about the six Jin Yun carriages and said, "We'll discuss that later. Everyone, eat first!"

After being captured, the Cangling martial artists, though they considered the students valuable, did not treat them well. Moreover, they were not extraordinary martial artists, and after several days, they had been exhausted by hunger and thirst.

This was also why Shang Xia did not immediately lead everyone out of the valley.

In fact, even if the students were well-fed and rested, Shang Xia had no confidence in leading them to Tongyou Peak.

Without the protection of the Academy Guard, a group of students who were not even extraordinary martial artists, only slightly stronger than ordinary people, appearing in the Two Realms War Zone would be like delivering themselves to various demons and monsters. How many could Shang Xia protect alone?

Shang Xia had clearly thought about these issues, but it was unclear what his plan was.

At this moment, Shang Xia's attention was not on the other students but on the loot he had found on the three dead Cangling martial artists.

Huang Zihua and Jiao Haitang were very conscientious and had handed over everything they found on the two Cangling martial artists outside the valley to Shang Xia.

Together with the items from the Yellow Sparrow, who was the first to be killed by Shang Xia, a small pile of loot was formed in front of him.

First were three small cloth bags, made of ordinary coarse cloth, but the crisp sound inside was enticing.

These three small cloth bags were the money pouches of the three Cangling martial artists. After counting the coins inside, there were a total of thirty-seven silver coins and a hundred or so copper coins.

Among the three dead Cangling martial artists, the Green Sparrow and the Yellow Sparrow were only at the Wu Yuan realm, but the Ling Sparrow was at the Wu Ji realm.

The total amount of coins on the three extraordinary martial artists was not much, not because they were stingy, but because the coins themselves were very valuable.

This also confirmed that the fifty silver coins added by the female martial artist Yan Ming that day was a sincere gesture.

Shang Xia's gaze moved from the coins to a pair of gloves.

These gloves were made of fine iron, of good quality, but not quite up to the level of a sharp weapon. However, some extraordinary materials were clearly added during their production, otherwise, the two sword marks left by Shang Xia's soft sword would not have been the only damage.

While the gloves had some value, they were not impressive enough for Shang Xia.

However, a square box found on the Green Sparrow piqued his curiosity.

Opening the box, he saw that it was completely filled with soft material.

Pushing aside the soft material, three eggs, about the size of chicken eggs, were revealed.

"What is this..."

Shang Xia's expression was slightly odd. As an extraordinary martial artist, he could sense a faint extraordinary aura from the three eggs.

The aura felt familiar, and if Shang Xia was not mistaken, these were eggs laid by mutant rain swallows.

The size of the eggs was significant, but considering that mutant rain swallows were much larger than ordinary rain swallows, Shang Xia was not surprised.

Mutant rain swallows usually live in groups, and the Green Sparrow, being only at the Wu Yuan realm, would not have the ability to steal eggs from their nests.

Recalling the attack, the Cangling Wind Swallow Tribe was chasing a group of mutant rain swallows. Could it be that they raided the gathering place of the mutant rain swallows?

And these three eggs came from there?

After some thought, Shang Xia closed the box and decided to give the eggs to Yan Nier to see if she could hatch anything.

After carefully putting away the square box, Shang Xia's gaze fell on a dagger, which was particularly interesting.

This dagger was found on the Yellow Sparrow, who was killed by Shang Xia from behind.

It was a brand new dagger, possibly unused.

When Shang Xia touched the dagger, his internal yuan qi immediately resonated with it, indicating that the dagger was of a certain quality, at least a low-grade sharp weapon.

Shang Xia tried injecting a small amount of yuan qi into the dagger and saw the blade gradually fade, almost disappearing.

Invisible?

Shang Xia knew the dagger was still in his hand, not disappeared, but it had become transparent, blending with the surroundings, making it look as if he was holding nothing.

This was a significant find, but the mark on the dagger clearly showed it was produced by the Hundred Arts Pavilion of Tongyou Academy, and it had a name: "Yuan Guang."

The Hundred Arts Pavilion would not betray the academy, and Shang Xia knew the dagger was found by the Yellow Sparrow in the Jin Yun carriage.

A sharp weapon like the Yuan Guang dagger was a valuable item in the Jin Yun carriage, likely a custom-made item for an extraordinary martial artist on Tongyou Peak.

If the dagger had been taken by the Cangling martial artists, there would be no way to recover it.

But if it was in Shang Xia's hands, he could almost predict that the customizer would come to claim it, and the Hundred Arts Pavilion might support them.

Moreover, Shang Xia's gaze swept over the valley, and he saw that many of his classmates, while eating and resting, were eyeing the pile of loot in front of him. The news of his finding the Yuan Guang dagger would not remain a secret.

"Senior Brother Shang, that's a sharp weapon!"

Huang Zihua's eyes were fixed on the Yuan Guang dagger, his heart racing.

For a regular student like him, the number of sharp weapons he had seen was less than five, and most of them were on Shang Xia.

Shang Xia smiled, found the sheath, and casually slid the Yuan Guang dagger into his boot in front of everyone.

Jiao Haitang immediately declared loudly, "This dagger is a war trophy found on the enemy by the Chief. How to dispose of it is his decision!"

"Right, right!"

Huang Zihua quickly agreed.

Apart from the sensitive Yuan Guang dagger, the Yellow Sparrow also had a box of small particles that looked like mud. Shang Xia did not recognize the item, but the yuan qi emanating from it indicated it was at least a second-grade extraordinary material.

Considering the Yellow Sparrow's cultivation at the Wu Yuan realm, Shang Xia guessed it was an extraordinary item prepared for advancement.

Shang Xia's gaze fell on the last two items.

These items came from the Ling Sparrow, the most powerful of the three, and were the most anticipated.

However, when he picked them up, he realized he did not recognize either.

One was a transparent glass bottle slightly thicker than a thumb, containing a drop of bright red liquid that looked like blood.

Shang Xia considered opening the bottle to examine it but decided against it.

The other item was a large clump of material that looked like cotton, and Shang Xia sensed the aura of mutant rain swallows on it.

What is this? Could it be the down from mutant rain swallows?

Recalling that the Wind Swallow Tribe had found the gathering place of the mutant rain swallows, could these items have been collected from their nests?

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