Chapter 42

After calmly and contentedly putting these three items into his pocket, although there were still many good things in the six Jin Yun carriages, Shang Xia no longer continued to collect them.

The reason was the same as what he had said before: no matter how many things there were, carrying them would be a burden.

They were, in fact, not yet completely out of danger.

This made Shang Xia involuntarily miss the Jin Yun box in his aunt Shang Xi's hands again.

He wondered when he would have a spatial item of his own.

At this moment, a clear and high-pitched long cry suddenly came from above the valley, making Shang Xia snap back to his senses.

When he looked up, he saw a silver glow diving down from the sky.

Shang Xia suddenly smiled, not dodging or avoiding the silver glow as it approached.

"Brother Shang, be careful!"

The few fellow students still in the valley were all shocked and quickly shouted a warning.

But Shang Xia actually waved to them with a smile.

A dissatisfied cry came, seemingly upset that Shang Xia was not frightened.

However, the silver glow suddenly paused in mid-air when it was still about ten to fifteen feet away from Shang Xia. Then, the form of a thunderbird appeared, circling a few times above Shang Xia's head before reluctantly landing on his shoulder.

"Thunder... Thunderbird!"

The students, who had been attacked by this culprit initially, were now all staring at each other in disbelief, as if they had seen a ghost, and were too shocked to react.

"Was it really the thunderbird that cut off the head of that Cang Ling martial cultivator?"

Compared to the other students' uncertain and surprised expressions, Jiao Haitang was looking at Shang Xia with a gleam in his eyes.

"Chirp chirp—"

The thunderbird stood on Shang Xia's shoulder, tilting its head as if looking at Shang Xia sideways, urging him to give it the second half of the lightning essence as promised.

Before Shang Xia could respond, another long cry came from the sky outside the valley.

A smaller bird, a variant swallow, which did not have the lightning glow and was flying slower, dove down and landed on Shang Xia's other shoulder.

"Chirp chirp—"

The variant swallow chirped at the thunderbird, as if saying, "Why are you in such a hurry? Since we've already promised, we won't go back on our word. Do you not trust us?"

Could this be the variant swallow that Brother Shang captured alive?

The students in the valley had become numb to the shock.

The thunderbird was about to open its mouth to chirp again, but Shang Xia suddenly turned his palm, and a small ball of lightning essence formed in his hand, which was the second half of the lightning essence he had promised to the thunderbird.

The thunderbird eagerly slid off Shang Xia's shoulder, swallowed the lightning essence, and then let out a long cry. Its body was surrounded by lightning, and it transformed into a silver glow, shooting straight up into the sky and disappearing into the clouds.

The variant swallow, standing on Shang Xia's shoulder, chirped loudly, as if it wanted to follow the thunderbird into the sky but ultimately stayed, keeping its head up as if waiting for something.

Shang Xia could guess that the thunderbird's transformation was about to happen, and he felt a bit regretful for giving the lightning essence too early.

This was a critical period for the other students to advance, and the thunderbird's transformation would certainly cause a commotion, which might disturb the other students who were advancing.

However, Shang Xia's worries were unnecessary, as the thunderbird's transformation would not be completed in a short time. At this moment, someone was climbing over the hill and entering the valley.

"Brother Meng, congratulations!"

Shang Xia could already sense the uncalmed aura around the person from a distance.

Meng Liangchen, who usually had a somewhat gloomy expression, now had a rare smile on his face. He bowed seriously and said, "Brother Shang, thank you! I will repay you in the future!"

After saying this, he nodded slightly and then turned to go to the Jin Yun carriage.

"Brother Meng is quite rare, to say such words!"

Jiao Haitang looked at Meng Liangchen's back and said, but his tone was somewhat sour.

Shang Xia knew Meng Liangchen's character and was not surprised. He smiled and said, "Meng Liangchen has already advanced to the Wu Yuan realm. The other students will likely follow soon. I wonder how many of the five will advance."

Not long after, another person climbed over the hill from another direction and entered the valley. This time it was Huang Zihua, who was closer to Shang Xia.

"Did you succeed?"

Jiao Haitang could not yet sense the aura, but from Huang Zihua's proud expression, he knew the result.

"Of course!"

Huang Zihua chuckled and then bowed to Shang Xia, saying, "Brother Shang, I did not fail you!"

Jiao Haitang rolled his eyes and pouted, "What are you so proud about? Someone got there before you!"

Huang Zihua looked in the direction Jiao Haitang pointed and saw Meng Liangchen, who had advanced first. He slapped his head and said, "Hey, advancing to the Extraordinary Wu realm, I can carry more things out!"

After saying this, he looked at Jiao Haitang proudly and walked quickly to the Jin Yun carriage, muttering, "Don't let this kid take all the good stuff."

Jiao Haitang felt a pang in his heart and said gloomily, "What's there to find? It's all what Brother Shang left behind."

Huang Zihua's steps faltered at this, almost stumbling.

Shang Xia found this somewhat amusing, wondering if he was being unfairly targeted.

The sky was getting darker, but unlike the sudden changes in the Two Realms Battlefield, the sky now seemed to be changing normally.

Shang Xia occasionally looked up at the sky and could see a silver glow flickering in the clouds, like a needle stitching the clouds together.

Could the advanced thunderbird directly influence a thunderstorm?

Shang Xia thought about this, finding it somewhat incredible.

Fortunately, at this moment, the students who were in seclusion to advance to the Wu Yuan realm began to return one by one.

Whether it was due to the more active elemental energy in the Two Realms Battlefield or the pressure that could unleash more potential, the five students who were advancing to the Wu Yuan realm all succeeded without failure!

This was a significant miracle!

If this happened at the Tongyou Academy, the entire academy would be shocked!

This made the other eight students who had not yet advanced even more envious.

Perhaps soon, they would also have the opportunity to advance to the Wu Yuan realm, but they might not be as lucky as today.

The five students who had advanced to the Wu Yuan realm went back to the Jin Yun carriage to collect more items.

Shang Xia naturally did not say anything.

After advancing to the Extraordinary realm, everyone would experience a comprehensive improvement.

Whether in strength or endurance, they would make significant progress, and it was reasonable to carry more items.

They couldn't just leave the items here for the Cang Ling martial cultivators, even though it was more likely that the Tongyou Peak patrol would find them.

Moreover, Shang Xia himself had taken the most items, and each one was a premium item from the batch!

At this moment, a high-pitched cry, almost tearing the void, suddenly came from the sky.

The students in the valley, including Shang Xia, all looked up in the direction of the sound.

In the dark, ink-like clouds, a silver glow was flickering.

Each time it appeared, a bolt of lightning seemed to be attracted from the depths of darkness, illuminating the sky for a moment before being swallowed by the clouds.

But the silver glow continued to dart through the clouds, as if provoking a giant overlooking the earth. The thickening clouds were like the giant's accumulating anger, and the occasional lightning was like his rebuke.

Finally, under the persistent provocation of the silver glow, the giant's hidden anger erupted from the depths of the clouds. After the sky was torn apart by lightning, a thunderous roar followed.

The earth trembled!

At this moment, the silver glow of the thunderbird, like a lightning spirit, danced amidst the lightning and darted through the rolling clouds.

It was like a lead dancer on a stage, with the sky and earth as its stage, guiding a grand storm.

"Is this a transformation ritual or an advancement baptism?"

Meng Liangchen, who had somehow stood beside Shang Xia, asked.

From Jiao Haitang and the other students, Meng Liangchen and the others had learned about Shang Xia's relationship with the variant swallow and the thunderbird.

Moreover, a variant swallow was standing on Shang Xia's shoulder, which made the others even more envious.

"Advancement is likely complete. This seems more like a performance or an attempt."

Shang Xia looked at him and said.

Shang Xia understood that after the thunderbird swallowed the second half of the lightning essence, it had already crossed the threshold of advancement.

The current storm seemed more like an attempt to control its new Extraordinary power.

"Will it come back after advancing?" Meng Liangchen asked.

Shang Xia shook his head, "It has never been tamed and is unlikely to be tamed."

Meng Liangchen couldn't help but look at the variant swallow on Shang Xia's shoulder again and warned, "You might be targeted by a faction of the Cang Ling martial cultivators!"

Shang Xia nodded, "I know. Jiao Haitang had already warned me."

"That's good!"

Meng Liangchen said this, but a hint of regret flashed in his eyes. He then asked, "What are your plans? I mean, if we can safely reach Tongyou Peak."

Shang Xia thought for a moment and said, "I have many things I want to do, but the most urgent is to find a suitable Wu Ji realm cultivation method."

After saying this, Shang Xia's gaze shifted from the lightning-filled sky back to Meng Liangchen, asking, "What about you?"

"Me?" Meng Liangchen smiled, "I plan to stay in the Two Realms Battlefield for a while to search for the ruins of my Meng family in Youzhou."