When Shang Fu came to visit Shang Xia earlier, his hasty knocks made Shang Xia think that someone was out to beat the kid. After opening the door, he saw Shang Fu’s mischievous smile.
According to Shang Fu, he actually had nothing important when he came to look for Shang Xia. His main intention was to reminisce with Shang Xia. As the two joked about, Shang Fu casually brought up someone else in the Shang Clan. They were the third oldest among those of the second generation.
Shang Fu was a little disappointed when Shang Xia brushed over the topic. After all, Shang Xia didn’t feel too much for people he hadn’t seen before.
After the time it took for them to finish a cup of tea, Shang Fu decided to take his leave.
Watching Shang Fu walk away from his courtyard, Shang Xia couldn’t help but smile. He was truly amused by the kid’s antics. Finally closing the door, he decided to change his plan. Instead of crafting his talisman, he chose to practice his sword art.
Thinking back to Shang Dong and the others, Shang Xia sighed inwardly. The larger the family became, the more complicated the relationship between each other. The way people think would differ greatly too. Shang Xia didn’t think too much about it.
Moreover, in a world of cultivation, the way others think doesn't matter. They would have to submit to the will of the strong anyway.
Shang Xia understood why Shang Fu brought up the other member of the Shang Clan, but he wasn’t really affected by it. Their thinking was on two completely different levels. Things that Shang Fu found important could barely pique Shang Xia’s interest. Stuff that Shang Xia strove for couldn’t even be comprehended by Shang Fu in his current state!
Returning to his task at hand, Shang Xia continued to practice his Irregular Sword Art. It was a sword art that made use of two swords, and Shang Xia’s swords differed in length, easing his comprehension on the dao of distance.
According to the sword manual, one could choose to give up on dual wielding after they reached a certain achievement in the sword art. With only one sword, they could touch upon the essence of the dao of distance.
To go one step further would mean that the cultivator would comprehend the sword intent behind the Irregular Sword Art. That was also what Shang Xia was aiming for. When he comprehended his seventh sword art, he would master the Seven Laceration Sword!
It was too bad he was stuck at the final bottleneck of the Irregular Sword Art.
Initially, he thought that he would have to practice for some time before he caught the essence behind the Irregular Sword Art. Who would have thought that he would reach enlightenment when Xu Huizhu drew her sword earlier?
Strictly speaking, she wasn’t the sole reason behind his understanding. Shang Jian’s arrival also had something to do with his flash of inspiration.
After thinking deeper into their actions, Shang Xia could confirm that they didn’t act that way on purpose. However, it also allowed him to notice a key point when Shang Jian appeared.
Before the enemy could react, one would strike. With the ability to manipulate distance, nothing is too far away!
Holding the Jade River Sword in one hand, Shang Xia stabbed it outwards slightly as a ray of sword light emerged. A hole was pierced in the wall on the other side of the courtyard!
Retrieving his sword, he couldn’t help his smile.
In his dantian, the Yin Yang Diagram was rotating about lazily as per usual. However, with Shang Xia’s final strike, he broke through the bottleneck. His inner qi transformed rapidly around the Yin Yang Diagram, forming the seventh sword above the Yin Yang Diagram.
At that instant, Shang Xia finally mastered his martial intent, the Seven Laceration Sword!
When Shang Xi entered Shang Xia’s courtyard after kicking down the doors herself, she quickly discovered the lingering sword qi.
“Huh? This kid actually covered his entire courtyard in his sword boundary. This is weird… Didn’t he reach the peak of the Martial Extremity Realm? How the hell is he improving so quickly? It’s not like he had broken through…” Shang Xi muttered to herself.
The moment he showed himself, Shang Xi got to the point. “I heard you got into a scuffle with your second uncle’s family. Is that true?”
Nodding his head, Shang Xia chuckled in amusement, “Did he look for you to mediate the situation?”
“How did you know?” Shang Xi stared at him in shock. However, her tone quickly changed. “Well… I just hope you can see the bigger picture and came here to make sure you don’t harbor any grudges against them.”
“I understand. Actually, they should be really worried about the situation right now, right? It’s not like they can actually affect me anyway…” Shang Xia chuckled softly.
Snorting softly, Shang Xi snapped at him, “Brat, can’t you put it in a nicer way?”
“It’s not like you don’t know what I mean…”
As the two of them joked around, Shang Xi seemed to have thought of something and she retrieved a jade box and placed it carefully in front of Shang Xia. “Triple Loop Coalescence Needle. Here, your advancement medicine has already been prepared.”
“What?! How did you guys complete it so quickly?” Shang Xia gasped. Opening the case, he saw three silver needles that were nearly five inches long. They were arranged neatly in the case and they were the key to Shang Xia’s promotion to a Martial Intent Realm expert.
Even though the needles looked metallic, they were crafted from many different types of rare ingredients. The moment he stabbed it into his acupoints, the entire needle would melt, releasing all the medicinal properties into his body.
“Of course we completed it quickly. Master Ge Muchen personally made it for us!”
“Why would he do it?” Shang Xia raised his eyebrows in shock.
As the only rank four chemist in the Tongyou Institution, Ge Muchen was extremely well respected.
The Triple Loop Coalescence Needle was only a rank three advancement medicine, and rank three chemists were more than enough to craft a portion of it! There were many rank three chemists in the Tongyou Institution and Shang Xia was surprised that the clan chose to hire none of them. Instead, they went for the only rank four chemist.
Shang Xi shook her head and teased, “Grand swordsmaster Shang, your performance was too eye-catching the other day. Have you thought that it was the great chemist that wanted to form a closer relationship with you?”
A bitter smile appeared on Shang Xia’s lips.
However, Shang Xi wasn’t done. Retrieving another item from her Embroidered Cloud Case, she handed it over to Shang Xia. “This is a bottle of Intent Gathering Powder. I got it from the institution too. Luckily, they kept a portion of it in the treasury.” Pausing for a second, she continued, “The Triple Loop Coalescence Needle and the Intent Gathering Powder are provided by the institution. It’s your reward for your contributions in the battlefield between two worlds. Haha, the clan managed to save a lot of money this time! Oh right, that’s not all. The institution promised to upgrade any low-grade weapon you bring to them as long as you provide the necessary ingredients. Their craftsmen are more than capable of improving a low-grade weapon.”
Shang Xia couldn’t help but ask, “That’s generous of them… However, those are the rewards bestowed by the institution! What about our clan? Shouldn’t I be getting some sort of reward too? Hehe.”
“Due to our abrupt rise, our resources have been allocated to all deserving members of the Shang Clan. In order to get any rewards, you have to make a suitable amount of contribution.” Taking out a jade bottle, she placed it before Shang Xia. “Didn’t your Grandpa Ke already give you your reward? You get to choose any martial art or secret art after breaking through! Oh right, there’s this too.”
Shang Xia sniffed the bottle after popping the cork and a look of surprise flashed across his face. “Essence Separation Liquid! We actually succeeded in creating it?”