Chapter 40

"… So, Zhang Weitian really believed that those Cangling martial cultivators would let him go. But just as he turned around, the Cangling martial cultivator named Huang Que smashed his head."

Jiao Haitang took the opportunity to roughly explain the cause of Zhang Wei's death to Shang Xia.

Shang Xia said somewhat strangely, "How naive must one be to believe that the Cangling martial cultivators would let him go?"

Jiao Haitang sighed, "After everyone was captured, Zhang Wei's spirit was almost broken. He told everyone that on the day of the attack, you abandoned everyone and only cared about your own escape, using everyone as cannon fodder. The academy wouldn't care about us, who haven't yet advanced to the Extraordinary Martial Realm. We would die in vain."

Shang Xia snorted coldly, "In a dangerous situation, not thinking of working together to overcome the crisis is one thing, but to spread rumors and undermine our own morale, such a person is a menace if left alive!"

Jiao Haitang added, "Those Cangling martial cultivators saw through his thoughts and deceived him, saying they would negotiate with the academy for his release. They told him that if he revealed your identity and the process of capturing the mutated rain swallow, they would let him return to Tongyou Peak to inform the academy teachers of the time and place of the negotiation. Then he told them everything."

Huang Zihua also said, "At the time, everyone tried to persuade him not to talk, but each person was punched by Huang Que. Then Zhang Wei was taken to a distance away from everyone, and he told them everything."

Jiao Haitang hurriedly reminded, "Senior Brother Shang, you need to be careful. Those Cangling martial cultivators are specifically gathering information about you. They might target you next."

Shang Xia's expression looked somewhat serious, but he quickly adjusted himself.

"Let's not talk about this anymore!"

Shang Xia waved his hand and pushed a pile of silver coins and copper plates forward, saying, "When we killed those three Cangling martial cultivators, you two also contributed. You can split these things."

Huang Zihua and Jiao Haitang hurriedly declined. They had only fired a few crossbow arrows at most, and their lives were saved by Shang Xia. How could they have the right to share the spoils?

But Shang Xia had no place to carry such a pile of burdens. He even threw the three silver coins and a dozen copper plates he found at the attack site into the pile, insisting that the two split it.

Seeing that they couldn't refuse, the two had to share the silver coins and copper plates with the other students who had helped, feeling happy inside.

Huang Zihua even laughed, "With the money we get, we might be able to buy a medicinal herb for advancing to the Martial Essence Realm on Tongyou Peak."

The Two Realms Battle Zone is the largest supplier of extraordinary materials for the entire Tongyou Academy, and Tongyou Peak is the core of the academy in the Two Realms Battle Zone. The value of extraordinary materials here might be slightly cheaper than in the academy.

However, after hearing Huang Zihua's words, Shang Xia suddenly smiled.

In the puzzled gazes of the two, Shang Xia said, "Why buy the main medicinal herb? There might be one right here."

In the astonished gazes of the two, Shang Xia stood up and loudly said to his classmates who had regained their energy, "Everyone, we are about to leave here."

Seeing everyone's eyes turn to him, Shang Xia continued, "But do you think we can reach Tongyou Peak unscathed after leaving here?"

The hopeful looks in everyone's eyes dimmed again, and many were worried.

They were not unaware of the risks, but they just didn't want to think about it.

Shang Xia saw everyone's expressions and continued, "But what if all of you, or even just some of you, successfully advance and become extraordinary martial cultivators?"

"How is that possible?" some students said instinctively.

Some of the more astute ones suddenly thought of something and looked up at Shang Xia.

"Does Senior Brother Shang mean to use the resources in these six Jin Yun carriages?" one student asked directly.

Shang Xia recognized this student as Wang Hua, who had previously asked him how to handle the resources in the Jin Yun carriages.

"Exactly!"

Shang Xia answered firmly.

Many people were both happy and worried, having the idea in their hearts but showing hesitation in their expressions.

"Senior Brother Shang, think carefully!"

Jiao Haitang hurriedly advised, "These resources are meant to support Tongyou Peak. We have no right to use them."

Huang Zihua, though tempted, was still rational and said, "Even if we use these resources and claim we didn't know, the types of resources in each carriage are recorded in the warehouse department. The supervisor, Mr. Yuan, should also have a complete list. If we check the missing items, they will immediately suspect us, especially since we will suddenly have several extraordinary martial cultivators, which we can't hide."

Shang Xia understood their good intentions, gestured for them not to worry, and then said solemnly, "Classmates, the valley exit has been sealed, and these six Jin Yun carriages can't leave. If we leave the Jin Yun carriages here and the Cangling martial cultivators return before we can inform Tongyou Peak, these resources will fall into their hands."

"Rather than let the Cangling martial cultivators benefit, we should use these resources to advance right here!"

Shang Xia's words did not excite everyone; instead, they looked at each other in surprise.

In fact, even if the valley entrance was not blocked, Shang Xia did not plan to take the six Jin Yun carriages with them.

Although the six Jin Yun carriages were pulled by Chiyun horses, they were still a large target!

Moreover, the extraordinary resources in the Jin Yun carriages would attract some extraordinary creatures.

Shang Xia alone could barely protect everyone; how could he spare the effort to protect the carriages?

"What if the academy investigates later…"

Wang Hua was clearly tempted. In fact, he might have already been thinking about the resources in the Jin Yun carriages when he asked Shang Xia.

"I will take full responsibility!"

Shang Xia said firmly.

"No, no, we will all take responsibility!" Wang Hua hurriedly said.

"Yes, we will all take responsibility, all of us!" Huang Zihua and Jiao Haitang quickly followed.

Seeing this, the other students also hurriedly agreed, and many showed signs of anticipation.

Shang Xia then said, "No matter what, everyone is doing this to have a better chance of survival. So, apart from finding the extraordinary materials needed for your advancement formulas, as for other things…"

The students, who had been excitedly rushing to the Jin Yun carriages, suddenly paused.

The six Jin Yun carriages were right in front of them, and without the academy's supervision, though the situation was urgent, Shang Xia's words had also released something in their hearts.

With so many resources in front of them, and so many valuable items, why not take a few more?

Many people must have had this thought.

But when Shang Xia directly exposed their thoughts, the rapidly expanding greed in their hearts was startled, and they subconsciously slowed down.

Shang Xia looked cheerful, but his tone was cold and stern, "If you think it won't hinder your escape, then take as much as you can! After all, if left here, they might fall into the hands of the Cangling martial cultivators. But if it affects your actions and you encounter danger, don't expect anyone to save you!"

Shang Xia's gaze swept over the faces of several students whose expressions kept changing, and he casually said, "After all, no matter how good the things are, you need to be alive to enjoy them!"

Shang Xia didn't care if they listened, and finally reminded, "The advancement potions, once consumed, the academy probably won't demand them back, after all, there's a reason. As for other things, that's another matter!"

Shang Xia's words, though light in tone, truly made people more disciplined when searching the Jin Yun carriages.

Seeing this, Shang Xia had a mischievous thought and said, "Of course, if you take too much, even if the academy demands it back, it's not a big deal. Just say you left it here to prevent the Cangling martial cultivators from benefiting, so you took as much as possible."

Pausing, Shang Xia reiterated, "The premise is that you can survive and return!"

The dozen or so people were unsettled by Shang Xia's fluctuating tone, feeling very uneasy.

Wang Hua wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Senior Brother Shang, everyone must be responsible for their own choices. You've made it clear. Whether to take more or less is up to each person's judgment. Please don't scare us anymore?"

Shang Xia smiled and indeed stopped talking, joining the others at the Jin Yun carriages to examine the items they found.

However, a new problem soon arose.

"What, only eight out of thirteen people have their own advancement formulas?" Shang Xia was surprised.

Jiao Haitang smiled bitterly, "The other five only recently entered the late Qi Blood stage this academic year and haven't had time for the academy's alchemists to deduce their advancement formulas."

In fact, the performance of the Bing House students was already quite good among the six outer dormitories.

Out of fifty students in the Bing House, besides Shang Xia, four others had advanced to the Martial Essence Realm. Two were second-year students, and the other two, like Shang Xia, had advanced in their first year.

However, these four had already entered the Two Realms Battle Zone for training and did not travel with them.

Including the sixteen late Qi Blood stage ordinary students who entered the Two Realms Battle Zone this time, a total of twenty-one students from the outer Bing House advanced to the inner dormitory, exceeding the average one-third ratio of students entering the upper dormitory each year.

"Is there a general direction? Let the classmates without advancement formulas refer to those with similar advancement directions, and choose the main extraordinary materials first. Even if there are mistakes, they can use these main materials to exchange for the necessary extraordinary materials when their formulas are deduced. I think the academy won't be too strict and might turn a blind eye."

After giving the instructions, Shang Xia realized he was being too optimistic.

Although the resources in the six Jin Yun carriages were numerous, the materials needed to make extraordinary potions were few.

The reason was simple: Tongyou Peak itself was the supply source for extraordinary materials for the Tongyou Academy. The caravans leaving the academy mainly carried food, potions, weapons, and other finished and consumable goods.

The caravans returning to the academy from Tongyou Peak carried mostly raw materials with extraordinary properties, collected through various means such as gathering, hunting, and mining.

Sure enough, even though each Jin Yun carriage had a cargo capacity eight times its own volume, and the thirteen students only needed the lowest-grade extraordinary materials, only five students managed to gather all the necessary materials.

The other three were mostly missing one or two important extraordinary materials.

As for the other five, who didn't even have their own advancement formulas, they could only consider themselves unlucky.

However, they still chose a few higher-value low-grade materials from what others had left.

If they reached Tongyou Peak and were lucky enough not to be confiscated by the academy, they could use these materials to exchange for the necessary extraordinary materials once they had their own advancement formulas.

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