Chapter 51

When Shang Xia took out a pair of willow-leaf curved swords from his sleeve, Shang Quan almost popped his eyes out.

"Sharp weapons? And a pair?"

Shang Quan managed to pull himself back from the brink of losing composure, quickly scanned the surroundings, and, finding no one paying attention, hurriedly pulled Shang Xia into the Shang building.

"Where did you get these curved swords?"

Once they were on their own territory, Shang Quan directly asked Shang Xia about the origin of the willow-leaf curved swords, his tone serious and direct.

Although Shang Xia was surprised, he still recounted the process of his battle of wits and bravery with the female warrior Yan Ming.

After listening to Shang Xia with great attention, Shang Quan, though visibly relieved, did not relax in the slightest. He said, "Although the origin of these curved swords is not a problem, the loss of a pair of sharp weapons will certainly make you a target that the Fengyan Tribe will want to eliminate at all costs."

Shang Xia thought to himself that due to the mutated swifts, he had probably already become a thorn in the side of the Fengyan Tribe.

However, he still put on a shocked expression and said, "It can't be that serious, can it? They're just a pair of low-grade sharp weapons, right?"

It wasn't that Shang Xia was being pretentious; he had two sharp weapons on him, one being a low-grade ivory fan and the other a medium-grade flexible sword, the Jade River.

Although Shang Xia knew that sharp weapons were rare, he didn't think that a pair of sharp weapons would make a tribe target him to the point of wanting him dead.

Shang Quan, with a face full of frustration, said in a pained tone, "You don't know hunger when you're full! Do you know what a low-grade sharp weapon, even a low-grade one, means for a family like ours?"

Even if Shang Xia was slow, he realized that his understanding of sharp weapons was flawed. He cautiously asked, "Do we have very few sharp weapons?"

Even though Shang Quan, who managed the family business on the Mystic Peak, had a good temper, he couldn't help but say irritably, "What do you think? The entire Shang family has only five sharp weapons, and two of them are on you!"

"So few?"

Shang Xia thought Uncle Quan was lying to him.

Shang Quan sighed, "Not only are they few, but their quality is not high. Among the five sharp weapons, two are medium-grade, and the remaining three are low-grade."

Shang Xia immediately said, "Uncle Quan, that's not right. My grandfather's Nine Fire Spear is a high-grade sharp weapon!"

Shang Quan said weakly, "That's not our family's property. The Nine Fire Spear belongs to the Mystic Academy. Your grandfather, as the vice chancellor and head of the teaching department, is allowed to wield it. Once he is no longer the vice chancellor, the high-grade sharp weapon will have to be returned to the academy."

Shang Xia was stunned, clearly not expecting this.

Shang Quan looked at him and continued, "Among the five sharp weapons of the family, one medium-grade weapon is in Uncle Ke's hands, and the other two low-grade weapons are in the hands of two other martial realm experts in the family. Even your aunt Shang Xi doesn't have a suitable sharp weapon."

"Then these two sharp weapons on me..."

Shang Xia suddenly felt the two sharp weapons in his hands were burning hot.

Shang Quan said with a half-smile, "Now you understand the importance of these two sharp weapons, right?"

Shang Xia nodded hurriedly and immediately planned to return the flexible sword "Jade River" and the ivory fan to the family.

Shang Quan smiled and said, "There's no need for that. These two sharp weapons can remain in your possession for now. Otherwise, how could they be considered family treasures and be so easily flaunted?"

Shang Xia, recalling how he had once shown off the two sharp weapons in the academy, felt his face flush.

"Why?" Shang Xia was puzzled.

Shang Quan explained, "Among the family's martial artists, there is no one skilled in using these two sharp weapons. Occasionally, someone might use them to boost their status, so these two sharp weapons have been idle in the family, available for public use. Otherwise, do you think they would let you show them off so easily?"

Shang Xia suddenly remembered that after he had "appropriated" the two sharp weapons, his aunt Shang Xi had taken the flexible sword "Jade River" from him twice, each time for a few days, before returning it.

Shang Xia said awkwardly, "Uncle Quan, then... these two curved swords..."

Shang Quan carefully examined the small notches on the blades and smiled, "Don't worry. Our blacksmith may not be qualified to forge low-grade sharp weapons, but he has some confidence in repairing these notches. In fact, this might be something he's looking forward to."

"That's good, that's good..." Shang Xia smiled sheepishly.

Shang Quan thought for a moment and said seriously, "The materials for repairing the curved swords will be provided by the family. These two curved swords will remain your spoils of war, but as a member of the family, you will contribute to the family's strength."

"Of course!" Shang Xia immediately said.

"Moreover, although these curved swords are only low-grade sharp weapons, the fact that they come as a pair makes their value comparable to that of a medium-grade sharp weapon. This will help narrow the gap between our family and the other three major families in the Mystic City."

At this, Shang Quan's expression became somewhat excited.

Shang Xia,不服气地说道, "Our family is also one of the four major families in Mystic City. Is the gap between us and the other three families really that obvious?"

Shang Quan smiled bitterly, "You were born after the fall of Youzhou and don't know the power of the five major families back then. The four major families in Mystic City, the Ji, Liu, and Yun families, are the remnants of the five major families after the fall of Youzhou. Compared to them, our family is a true latecomer."

"As the saying goes, 'A dead camel is still bigger than a horse.' Although the three families no longer have the prestige of the five major families, their centuries of heritage far surpass ours."

"Let's not even talk about other things. Just take the high-grade sharp weapons. The chancellors of the other three families are also vice chancellors of the Mystic Academy, and they all have high-grade sharp weapons belonging to their families. In this regard, our family can't compare."

Shang Quan's words gave Shang Xia a clear understanding of his family, but also made him feel stifled.

Shang Quan seemed to notice Shang Xia's low mood and comforted him, "You don't have to be disheartened. In recent years, our family's rise has been steady, and the gap with the other three families has been narrowing. Today, you bringing back this pair of curved swords has almost closed the gap in the number of sharp weapons. If you bring back another low-grade sharp weapon, we might even surpass them!"

Shang Xia thought for a moment and said seriously, "Uncle Quan, if our family had one more sharp weapon, would we be stronger than the other three families?"

Shang Quan was slightly taken aback and said uncertainly, "I suppose... I suppose so?"

"Oh," Shang Xia nodded, then bent down and pulled a dagger from his boot, "Uncle Quan, what do you think of this 'Yuan Guang' dagger? It's also a low-grade sharp weapon!"

"..."

Shang Quan felt his head spinning.

...

Although Shang Xia had not known Shang Quan for long, Shang Quan had always given him the impression of being composed and measured.

However, thinking about how his uncle had been holding three sets of sharp weapons an hour ago, looking like a frightened hen, Shang Xia couldn't help but laugh.

At this moment, Shang Xia was in a quiet room arranged by Shang Quan.

He lit a brazier of incense to calm his mind.

In Shang Xia's mind, the cultivation techniques and martial arts he had obtained from the scripture cave began to flow.

After confirming that his memory was correct, Shang Xia focused all his attention on the cultivation technique, "The Three Profound Two Extremes Technique," carefully pondering and understanding its meaning word by word.

Meanwhile, the large amount of yuan qi that had accumulated in his dantian seemed to be stirred by some kind of calling, starting to stir.

However, under the suppression of the central Taiji diagram, the dantian remained unimaginably stable.

After advancing to the Martial Apex Realm, the true core of Shang Xia's dantian was the Taiji Yin-Yang diagram that had manifested through the refinement of the advancement elixir.

The rest of the yuan qi that had accumulated in the dantian, besides the original Martial Essence Realm yuan qi, included a large amount of heavenly and earthly yuan qi that had surged in during the advancement process.

If any newly advanced Martial Apex Realm martial artist were to face the situation in Shang Xia's dantian, they would likely be terrified, walking carefully to avoid accidentally causing their dantian to explode.

However, Shang Xia had no such concerns.

Even after advancing to the Martial Apex Realm, he had engaged in several battles, and both his dantian and the yuan qi in his body remained stable.

From the beginning, Shang Xia knew that the core of his strength in the Martial Apex Realm was not the cultivation technique, not the martial arts, and not the supernatural abilities, but his unique understanding of this realm and the manifestation in his dantian—the Taiji Yin-Yang diagram!

Therefore, Shang Xia's desire for a Martial Apex Realm cultivation technique was not primarily about controlling yuan qi and preventing it from going out of control.

After all, the appearance of the Taiji diagram had already nearly perfectly solved this problem.

One could even say that when the Taiji Yin-Yang diagram manifested in his dantian, Shang Xia had already created half of a high-grade Martial Apex Realm cultivation technique.

What Shang Xia lacked was merely the method of controlling and mastering yuan qi in the cultivation technique.

In other words, Shang Xia chose "The Three Profound Two Extremes Technique" solely to integrate its concepts into his own Yin-Yang philosophy, refining it into a unique cultivation technique of his own.

"Starting with the extremes of water and fire..."

With a thought, the Taiji diagram in Shang Xia's dantian began to change.

One half flowed like water, while the other burned like a raging fire.

"The extremes of water and fire, as one of the most common paths for Martial Apex Realm cultivation, may seem ordinary but have been deeply studied and are known for their stability."

"The creator of this cultivation technique chose this path as the beginning, clearly aware of the dangers in the transition between extremes, thus opting for the most stable method."

As Shang Xia agreed, the water and fire Taiji diagram in his dantian began to slowly rotate.

Instantly, the vast amount of yuan qi that had accumulated in the dantian seemed to awaken, gradually converging towards the center of the dantian while slowly rotating along the outer edge of the Taiji diagram.

At the same time, the yuan qi scattered throughout his body, as if attracted, slowly flowed through the meridians towards the final destination—the dantian!

---

First update, please follow!