Ever since the battle along the street the other day, You Haibiao’s death was confirmed and the city was thrown into a slight flurry.
Even though there were many rumors about the reason behind You Haibiao’s death, the higher-ups of the various institutions chose to remain silent about it.
Under the guise of their indifference, more than half a month passed. The news of You Haibiao’s death also started to fade.
In the half a month, the convoys of the Ji, Liu, and Yun clans returned to the city in succession. Every time one of them returned, a huge commotion would break out in the city.
It was especially so when the Liu Family returned. Liu Jitang’s death spread through the city, bringing a huge amount of attention to the Liu Clan.
If not for the fact that Liu Zhiyuan’s advancement to the Martial Extermination Realm was also revealed to the city, the Liu Clan might have already been flattened by their enemies.
That wasn’t the only effect Liu Zhiyuan brought to the city. With the attention the Liu Clan was getting, the topic of Martial Extermination Realm experts quickly became all the rage. It didn’t take long before the details of the war on the Tongyou Peak were dug up. The cultivators in the city finally learned about the true experts hidden in the Tongyou Institution. The upper division instructor, Liu Qinglan, Shang Lubing (Shang Bing) of the Contributions Division, and Dong Qianzui of the Scripture Depository were actually hidden experts in the Tongyou Institution!
After the events that happened in the battlefield between two worlds, Dong Qianzui and Liu Jitang sacrificed their lives. But it didn’t end there. Liu Zhiyuan, Shang Ke, and Kang Ci broke through to the Martial Extermination Realm! Because of that, the Institution became even stronger than before!
After hearing the news, many cultivators finally realized an extremely important point. Shang Ke of the Shang Clan also broke through to the Martial Extermination Realm! That would mean that they possessed two peak-level experts in their ranks!
How could that not surprise the various powers in the city?
Was the ranking of the four great clans about to change?
One had to know that the Shang Clan was only able to rise because of Kou Chongxue’s strong support. That reason alone caused many second rate families to develop a sense of hatred and jealousy for the Shang Clan.
Many people thought that the Shang Clan lucked out to be chosen by Kou Chongxue. They felt that if their clans were chosen instead, they would be able to achieve the same! However, Shang Ke’s ascension shut them all up.
Now, the Shang Clan was really about to soar into the heavens. With two Martial Extermination Realm experts at their helm, along with Shang Bo being said to have reached the fourth layer of the Martial Extermination Realm, they could do as they wished in the Tongyou City.
When speculations were going around, another piece of news shocked the public. In fact, it was so sudden that even the higher-ups of the other institutions were caught off guard.
Shang Bo resigned as the patriarch of the Shang Clan and formally took on the role of the institution’s deputy patriarch. Unlike before when he was holding both positions in the clan and the institution, he was solely focused on the institution now. Shang Ke would take his place as the patriarch of the clan, freeing him from his original responsibilities.
“What the hell! Did the original patriarch of the Shang Clan kick himself out of his clan?!”
“Hah. It’s just for show. If the Shang Clan really runs into trouble, there’s no way he will sit back and watch!”
“Are you stupid? There’s practically no difference between the Tongyou Institution and the four great clans at this point! So what if Shang Bo isn’t the patriarch?”
“If we don’t count Shang Bo as part of the Shang Clan’s strength anymore, wouldn’t that mean that the Shang Clan would still rank last out of the four clans?”
“Don’t forget about the allocation of resources in the battlefield between two worlds. The Shang Clan gained the most this time! The institution cleared out the Coral Forest and dominated the Four Spiritual Peaks and split some of the profits among the four great clans. From the number of carriages in each clan’s convoy, we can easily tell that the Shang Clan obtained close to three times the resources allocated to the other clans! If there’s no mistake, the Shang Clan’s strength will experience a sharp rise in a bit.”
As the city broke out into a flurry of discussion, Yu Chengjin appeared at the gates of the Shang Clan after speaking to the higher-ups of the institution and strategizing his approach.
“It’s our honor to host Elder Yu! Please come in!” Shang Ke welcomed Yu Changjin personally. Even though he was a little flabbergasted by his arrival, he still acted politely.
After the tea was served and the two exchanged several words of pleasantries, Yu Changjin revealed his actual intentions.
“I wonder if Young Master Shang Xia is currently at home? I have something I wish to request from him.” Yu Changjin asked.
Shang Ke’s eyebrows shot upwards and he couldn’t be more confused. What the hell did a Martial Extermination Realm expert want with a brat that was at the Martial Extremity Realm? It even sounded like he needed something from the kid!
A thought flashed through Shang Ke’s mind suddenly but he wouldn’t be dumb enough to speak of it out loud. He seemed to realize what Yu Changjin was there for.
He could guess that it had something to do with the battle back then.
Without asking for any more details, he yelled for someone to bring Shang Xia over.
When Shang Xia completed the last rune on his talisman, he heard a report coming from outside the door.
Placing his brush down, he gently blew on his newly refined talisman and watched as the ink dried. He chuckled to himself. “Hehe, he’s finally here. ?Mister three hundred silver essence… Hehe…”
When Shang Xia entered the hall where Shang Ke and Yu Changjin were waiting, Yu Changjin’s expression turned serious. He was unable to see through Shang Xia’s cultivation at all. Turning to Shang Ke, he chuckled softly, “Your clan is about to welcome another Martial Intent Realm expert. Haha. This kid isn’t even twenty yet! When we were his age, our achievements were far from his!”
A tinge of admiration could be heard in his voice.
“Senior, you’re too kind. I don’t deserve your praise.” Chuckling softly, Shang Xia continued, “I wonder why you have summoned me? Is there something you require?”
Clearing his throat, Yu Changjin explained, “I won’t hide it from you. After watching you fight Li Xi and Yang Chao, I planned to let a disciple in my charge broaden his horizons. I summoned him over to challenge you but he acted too arrogantly and you taught him a lesson. He finally understood what it meant for there to be a taller mountain out there. Your great achievements in the way of the sword really impressed me. However, that little brat was too useless. Ever since he was defeated the other day, he can’t get over his defeat. He might not have suffered any external injuries but there seems to be a weird seal in his dantian. I had no choice but to come and look for you. Little friend, do you have any ideas on what I can do?”
Just the way Yu Changjin spoke to Shang Xia was shocking enough. For him to put down his pride as a Martial Extermination Realm expert to speak to Shang Xia so cordially, Shang Xia didn’t dare to reject the man at all! In fact, he might even start a massive feud between the Shang Clan and Yu Changjin if he dared to spout any bullshit like he was used to doing.
Without bothering with Shang Ke who was signaling him with his eyes, Shang Xia brought out the talisman he just created and handed it over to Yu Changjin. “Elder Yu, there’s no need for such formalities. This only happened because I was unable to control my strength properly. I injured fellow brother Hou on accident, and I hope that he doesn’t hold a grudge against me. Please take this sword talisman as a sign of my apology. Apply it to his Guan acupoint and he should be cured.”
Yu Changjin received the talisman with a strange look on his face. Seeing the sincere look on Shang Xia’s face, he felt that there was no way the kid would mess with him.
However, he gasped in shock when he studied the runes on the talisman. “This… This is a new type of talisman!”
Shang Xia nodded his head while ignoring Shang Ke who was gasping audibly at the side. “Indeed.”
Keeping the talisman hastily, a smile returned to Yu Changjin’s face and he asked, “How much would it cost to make a talisman ?”
Chuckling out loud, Shang Xia replied, “I wonder if Brother Hou won his pai gow game the other day? Didn’t he bet 300 silver essence on it?”