Chapter 7

Leaving the academy, Yan Qi, with a worried look on his face, hurriedly approached.

"Little Master, nothing happened to you, right?"

Shang Xi, with a displeased expression, said, "Brother Yan Qi, what do you mean? I, your aunt, personally took charge. How could I let my nephew suffer any injustice?"

Although Shang Xi spoke harshly, she still explained to Shang Xia, "It was your Uncle Qi who, upon hearing the news of you displaying your divine power at the Martial Hall, immediately informed the family."

Shang Xia secretly gave Yan Qi a thumbs-up, then asked, "Aunt, the College's Teaching Office, Sutra Pavilion, and College Guard seem to be very concerned about my achieving divine power. But as far as I know, although it's not easy for Extraordinary Warriors to achieve martial divine power, it's not unheard of. Why such attention?"

"How does it feel to be noticed and pursued?" Shang Xi teased.

Shang Xia chuckled, "It does feel good, but I'm also a bit nervous."

"You should be nervous!"

Shang Xi rolled her eyes, "Because you achieved martial divine power at the Wu Yuan Realm, which is the first threshold for Extraordinary Warriors! Now that the news has spread, countless people in this Tongyou City are secretly watching you!"

Shang Xia pondered, recalling what Zhang Haogu had said, and repeated it to his aunt, "Aunt, is it because of this reason?"

Shang Xi nodded in approval, "Zhang Haogu is well-versed, so his words make sense. In short, achieving martial divine power at the Wu Yuan Realm means a complete transformation of the internal primordial energy, indicating a truly perfect state, and a solid foundation for Extraordinary Martial Arts. However, there are very few types of divine powers available at the Wu Yuan Realm. Therefore, if you can provide a practical method for cultivating the 'Mixed Yuan Thunder Hand' divine power, the entire Tongyou Academy will not be too concerned!"

Shang Xia's eyes gleamed, his mind clearly planning something.

...

On the fifth day of the sixth month of the Divine Martial Year 843, the holiday for the outer dormitory of Tongyou Academy had entered its fourth day.

Under the scorching sun, Shang Xia half-lay in the shade of a tree in the family's courtyard, sipping ice water through a bamboo straw, his gaze scattered, clearly lost in thought.

A moment later, Shang Xia's expression changed, and he focused his gaze on the entrance.

Yan Qi, holding a brocade box, quickly walked into the courtyard.

"Little Master, the family has sent you a century-old lightning-struck wood talisman board."

Shang Xia took the brocade box, opened it, and glanced inside, then said gloomily, "It's barely satisfactory, but it will do, since it's a consumable item."

Yan Qi's face twitched slightly, but he was already getting used to his young master's extravagant behavior, and his beard effectively concealed his expression. He asked hesitantly, "Little Master, does lightning-struck wood really help in cultivating the 'Mixed Yuan Thunder Hand'?"

Shang Xia glanced at him, not surprised that he had guessed the connection between lightning-struck wood and the cultivation of 'Mixed Yuan Thunder Hand,' so he didn't hide it, "It does, but these talisman boards are far from sufficient. If you want to start cultivating the 'Mixed Yuan Thunder Hand,' you need at least a five-hundred-year-old lightning-struck wood, and it must be the core!"

Yan Qi was shocked, "A five-hundred-year-old lightning-struck wood core, that's extremely rare!"

Shang Xia was unperturbed, "Although lightning-struck wood is rare, the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range has a thousand peaks and ten thousand acres of dense forests. It can be found if you look hard enough. Moreover, beyond the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range, there are even vaster lands outside the Youzhou region, and Tongyou City is not isolated from the outside world."

"Five-hundred-year-old lightning-struck wood is rare, and even rarer are those that can nurture a core. This also highlights the difficulty of cultivating the 'Mixed Yuan Thunder Hand.' Do you really think the cultivation of martial divine power is as easy as picking cabbages from the roadside?"

"Besides," Shang Xia continued, "just because you have a lightning-struck wood core, can you cultivate the 'Mixed Yuan Thunder Hand'? This thing is just a catalyst. If it were that easy, everyone would just choose to cultivate the 'Mixed Yuan Palm' and 'Thunder Palm' techniques after advancing to the Wu Yuan Realm."

Yan Qi suddenly realized, "The news about the lightning-struck wood was deliberately spread by you, Little Master?"

Shang Xia slurped the ice water from his cup, mumbling, "Over twenty years have passed since the great calamity in Youzhou, and Tongyou City still has some depth. Without mentioning other things, our Shang family, being the last to rise among the four major families, has already collected two boxes of such exquisite lightning-struck wood talisman boards!"

"If our Shang family can do this, how much more can the other three families and Tongyou Academy do?"

Yan Qi hesitated, "Then... if they bring out these items, do you really plan to reveal the method of cultivating the divine power?"

Shang Xia looked at Yan Qi with a bemused expression, "Uncle Qi, what are you thinking? Without sufficient resources for experimentation, how could I find a practical method? If cultivating martial divine power were that easy, how could the Extraordinary Warriors who died in the past five hundred years rest in peace?"

Yan Qi nodded vigorously, but inwardly thought: The matter of divine power is still uncertain, but he has already extorted a batch of resources. My young master is indeed impressive... No, I shouldn't use the word 'extorted.' Forget it...

At this moment, Shang Xia said, "Cultivating divine power has always been the affair of a select few—among Extraordinary Warriors. Even if I can provide a method, only a few can truly succeed."

Yan Qi's face showed a rare seriousness, and he nodded in agreement.

Many cultivation methods of Extraordinary Warriors are not secret, but those who can achieve success are still few.

The path of cultivation is not something you can reverse with just a secret manual!

Shang Xia finished his ice water and was about to get up when Yan Qi said, "Little Master, you asked me to keep an eye on Dou Zhong. That boy is reckless and is planning to enter the Two Realms Battlefield soon, supposedly to gain some experience!"

"A mere Qi Blood youth who hasn't even touched the Extraordinary Barrier, daring to enter the Two Realms Battlefield, what's the difference from seeking death?"

Ignoring Yan Qi's sarcasm, Shang Xia thought, "Huh, this is the rhythm of starting the protagonist mode?"

"Keep a close eye on him, but don't interfere, and don't let anyone notice!" Shang Xia instructed repeatedly.

Yan Qi agreed but did not leave, continuing, "Also, Miss Mu has emerged from her seclusion and successfully advanced to the Wu Yuan Realm."

Shang Xia's expression was calm, but he suddenly remembered something and asked, "I remember Miss Mu's family has some influence in Tongyou City, right?"

Yan Qi replied, "Miss Mu's father, Mu Jian Sheng, is an Extraordinary Warrior at the Wu Ji Realm, but the true pillar of the Mu family is Mu Jian Yin, his sister. She is one of the four directors of the Worldly Affairs Office at Tongyou Academy, a very secretive person, and even in Tongyou City, few know of her existence."

"Worldly Affairs Office?"

Shang Xia frowned at the name.

According to Shang Xia's understanding, the Worldly Affairs Office is the intelligence agency of Tongyou Academy.

The four directors of the Worldly Affairs Office are on par with the three dormitory instructors, and even a senior instructor like Zhang Haogu is a step below them.

More importantly, the cultivation level of the four directors must be above the Wu Yi Realm.

However, due to the special nature of the Worldly Affairs Office, the identities and personalities of the four directors are extremely secretive and low-key.

As a direct descendant of one of the four major families in Tongyou City, Shang Xia could only have a superficial understanding of these four directors, and he might not even recognize them if he met them.

"I didn't expect Mu Qingyu to have such a background."

Shang Xia's tone was slightly wistful.

Although Shang Xia is not petty, being used once left him feeling uncomfortable, and he naturally wanted to "return the favor."

However, the person behind Mu Qingyu made him temporarily abandon this thought.

Not because of fear, but because matters involving the Worldly Affairs Office often lead to overthinking, and a small misstep could have significant consequences.

Moreover, Shang Xia was already curious about the true reason for Mu Qingyu's engagement annulment.

The scene at Zhu Ying's house that day was truly unreasonable.

Although a teacher, two instructors, and a chief were invited as witnesses, making it seem very formal, no elders from the Mu family were present, which made it seem like a farce.

At the time, Shang Xia, being in the situation, did not notice anything unusual.

But upon reflection, everything seemed suspicious.

No wonder Teacher Zhang, when he left, called it "a farce," indicating he had already noticed something.

This made Shang Xia realize that compared to such seasoned veterans, he was still too inexperienced.

Gathering his thoughts, Shang Xia noticed that Yan Qi was still there and asked in surprise, "Uncle Qi, is there anything else?"

Yan Qi whispered, "After Miss Mu emerged from her seclusion, she is also planning to enter the Two Realms Battlefield for training. Also, Zhu Ying left Tongyou City two days ago, and his destination seems to be the Two Realms Battlefield as well."

"They all went to the Two Realms Battlefield?"

Shang Xia looked at Yan Qi in surprise, "Zhu Ying left two days ago, why are we only getting this news now?"

Given the animosity between Shang Xia and Zhu Ying, Yan Qi should have had people watching him closely and should have received the news immediately.

Yan Qi's expression was grim, "Our people were distracted, and someone helped him."

"The Liu family?"

Shang Xia quickly had a suspect in mind.

"They were all strangers, and after our people noticed something was wrong, these people quickly disappeared," Yan Qi said.

Shang Xia sneered, "In Tongyou City, how many can hide someone and leave no trace?"

Yan Qi replied, "Apart from Tongyou Academy, only the other three families."

Shang Xia smiled, "Things are getting more interesting!"

After Yan Qi left, Shang Xia opened the brocade box Yan Qi had brought under the tree.

Inside were six neatly arranged exquisite lightning-patterned talisman boards. Shang Xia could even sense the faint thunder power contained within.

The essence of a century-old lightning-struck wood, after compression, can only produce three to four talisman boards at most.

So, despite each talisman board being the size of a jade pendant, its actual weight is no less than a hundred pounds.

"Adding the previous box, there are twelve lightning-patterned talisman boards in total. I can start some experiments, hoping to create a few more martial talismans. After all, my trump cards in the Martial Hall battle have been mostly exposed."

Closing the brocade box, Shang Xia strangely fell into a light sleep again.

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