Capturing a living Mutated Rain Swallow and taming one was a completely different concept!
Selling and buying a live Mutated Rain Swallow was one thing, but taming one had a much deeper meaning!
Shang Quan and Ji Sheng’s reactions were more than exaggerated.
If Shang Quan felt both relief and excitement when Shang Xia returned, the feeling he had when he saw Yan Ni’er standing obediently on Shang Xia’s shoulder could be described as endless reverence!
Naturally, his reverence had nothing to do with Shang Xia. That little brat wasn’t worthy of his veneration! He stared at Yan Ni’er like she was a precious treasure!
As for Ji Sheng, the look on his face turned pretty colorful. He tossed Jiang Changyu to the back of his mind and no longer cared about his existence. His tongue was twisted together and talking became a little difficult.
“Little brat, you made a real contribution… No! This is a great contribution to our faction!” Shang Quan didn’t know how else to express his joy. He could only slap Shang Xia’s shoulder happily.
If not for the fact that his body became a lot stronger after entering the Martial Extremity Realm, Shang Quan’s slaps would have shattered his bones.
“Uncle Quan, how important is the Mutated Rain Swallow exactly?! I’ll make things clear first. Since Yan Ni’er agreed to follow me, I won’t allow anyone to kill her…” Shang Xia could guess that the Mutated Rain Swallow was extremely important to the Wind Swallow Race of the Azure Spiritual World, but he didn’t know what the Tongyou Peak wanted to do with her.
“Chirp, chirp!” Yan Ni’er flapped her wings aggressively as though she understood what Shang Xia meant.
“Umm…” Shang Quan scratched his head and muttered, “You’ll know when we arrive at the Tongyou Peak… At least, I don’t think they’ll kill her…”
Shang Quan’s words were completely useless at reassuring Shang Xia.
“No! We won’t let her die!” Ji Shang spoke all of a sudden.
Meeting Shang Xia’s bewildered gaze, Ji Sheng explained, “If you only managed to capture a live Mutated Rain Swallow, they might not care so much. Now that you tamed the bird, the patriarch will definitely not allow them to kill her!”
Ji Sheng’s cultivation level was comparable to Shang Quan, and their status in their respective families were about the same too. However, Ji Sheng’s identity as a captain in the Protection Division allowed him to learn some things Shang Quan couldn’t.
His words managed to calm Shang Xia to a certain extent, but due to their reluctance to say anything about what they wanted to do to Yan Ni’er, Shang Xia felt extremely irritated.
In the short time that it took for them to conclude their conversation, a rumbling sound could be heard coming towards them.
Other patrol squads were gathering towards their location because of the signal they sent out earlier.
Indeed… Five disciples riding on Scarlet Cloud Horses approached.
The captain of their group pulled on the reins and he looked at Shang Xia and the others as a trace of surprise crossed his face. “Huh? There’s actually so many of them… Brother Ji, you made a great contribution by finding the outer disciples! I’ll congratulate you in advance.”
The disciples dismounted after he spoke.
A bitter laugh left Ji Sheng’s lips and he waved his hands to dismiss the other captain’s blessing. “Junior Brother Tang, you’re mistaken. Anyway, it’s a long story. I’ll tell you when we return. We’re taking a short break here. When Junior Brother Li comes, we’ll return to the Tongyou Peak.”
Three patrol squads would be sent out to secure a single area. As they wouldn’t venture too far away from each other, they could assist the other squads in case anything happened.
Tang Youqian, the other captain, tossed his reins to another disciple. He walked to the side with Ji Sheng and Shang Quan, and they seemed to be discussing something. Shang Xia felt their gaze on him from time to time.
“Shang Xia!” A young disciple whose age was comparable to Shang Xia ran over all of a sudden. “I heard that you managed to comprehend your martial intent and teach Zhu Ying a lesson! Is that true?”
Shang Xia raised an eyebrow and gasped, “Ju Hang? When did you enter the Protection Division and join a patrol squad?”
The youngster chuckled happily, “Haha, you definitely didn’t expect it. After all, I entered three months before you. I managed to catch Master Tang’s eye and when he invited me over to enter the Protection Division, I had to accept!”
As long as a disciple in the outer division entered the Martial Realm, they would be allowed to do whatever they want!
Previously, Ju Hang was a disciple of the second outer division. He was fighting for the position of the leader of the outer division with Shang Xia, but he chose to enter the battlefield between two worlds eventually. He didn’t even take part in the final evaluation!
The two of them could be considered acquaintances back in the institution and when Shang Xia heard the smugness in his voice, he was slightly taken aback. How important did one have to be for one of the heads of a division to personally invite them? Shang Xia could tell that Ju Hang probably received a letter of appointment, but he was blatantly exaggerating in Shang Xia’s face.
However, there wasn’t a need for Shang Xia to expose him. “Congratulations, Brother Ju!”
Before he could speak, he was interrupted by a cry of shock. “What?! He saved them?”
Ju Hang and the others turned to look at Tang Youqian who just yelled out loud. Shang Quan slapped his shoulder and snapped, “Little brat, there’s no need to shout!”
Tang Youqian looked at Shang Xia once again, but he was dragged even further away by the other two and their voices became softer.
Ju Hang stared at Shang Xia as a confident expression returned to his face. He clearly didn’t understand what was going on. “Let’s compete again, what do you think?”
His words drew the attention of the other disciples.
Jiang Zihua looked at Ju Hang and asked, “You know that Senior Brother Shang has already comprehended his martial intent… Did you also comprehend your martial intent?”
Ju Hang chuckled lightly without giving an answer.
“You did?!” Huang Zihua cried. This time, more people started paying attention to them.
Shang Xia finally turned serious when he looked at Ju Hang. Clearly, he wasn’t the only one who ran into some sort of fortune! Indeed… It was difficult for him to be the only outstanding cultivator in his generation!
Ju Hang revealed a crafty laughter and explained, “I’ve long since had enough of you! Hehe, you’ve been sitting in the position of the leader of the outer division… Today, it’s time…”
“WHAT?! That little brat managed to tame a Mutated…” Ju Hang couldn’t complete his sentence when he was interrupted once again.
Turning to look at his captain, Ju Hang didn’t know what was going on there.
“Can you shut up?! Keep your voice down at least! Are you trying to tell the whole world what happened?!” Ji Sheng snapped at him again. Grabbing Tang Youqian by the neck, the three of them lowered their volume.
With the repeated interruptions, Ju Hang couldn’t maintain his haughty attitude any longer. His feelings were slightly affected. After all, he entered the Protection Division before entering the inner division! Wasn’t he supposed to be special since they broke the rules for him?! Weren’t the disciples of the outer division supposed to be admiring his prowess?
Moreover, he managed to comprehend a martial intent too!
When he was trying to show off to everyone, he was interrupted time and time again!
The person who did it was none other than his own captain! He didn’t even know how to react!
Noticing the awkward expression on Ju Hang’s face, Huang Zihua couldn’t hold it in any longer. A mischievous smile formed on his face and he asked, “Ju Hang, are you trying to challenge Senior Brother Shang?”
Even though he was interrupted several times, Ju Hang felt that he had to at least uphold the inspiring momentum he had! He tilted his chin up slightly and spoke, “That’s right! Chief Shang, do you dare to take me on?”
Shang Xia snickered, “You…”
“Are you fucking joking?! Didn’t you see that at least five of them entered the Martial Realm?!” Tang Youqian’s voice came from the side once again. However, no one yelled at him after he spoke.
Shang Quan, Ji Sheng, and Tang Youqian stared at the outer disciples all of a sudden. Ji Sheng and Shang Quan failed to hide the shock on their faces.
Ju Hang wanted to smash his head in the ground due to the interruption once again. He seemed to have forgotten his identity as a newcomer to the patrol squad and he grumbled at Tang Youqian, “What are all of you on about?! Aren’t you afraid of scaring us to death?!”
He turned around and stared at Shang Xia. Afraid that someone would interrupt him, he spoke quickly, “Do you accept or not?!”
Shang Xia was helpless. When he wanted to reply, he caught sight of someone and a strange look appeared in his eyes.
Ju Hang didn’t have to turn his head when a giant hand pressed down on his head. A familiar voice entered his ears. “Little brat, don’t you know that he has already entered the Martial Extremity Realm? Are you sure you wish to challenge him?”
Tang Youqian scraped his knuckles on Ju Hang’s head and slowly turned to look at Shang Xia. There was an incredulous look in his eyes. He seemed to have forgotten that Ju Hang was yelling in pain beside him until the kid spoke up. “Captain, can’t you address me by my name?!”
After speaking, he turned to look at Shang Xia with a suspicious look on his face. The pain he felt seemed to disappear. “What?! You… You entered the Martial Extremity Realm?!”
Shang Xia couldn’t be bothered with Ju Hang as he looked at Tang Youqian who was staring at him. There had to be something off about how the man was looking at him…
Shang Xia explained helplessly, “I was hunted down by the members of the Azure Spiritual World and I had no choice but to risk it all. Luckily, I managed to break through and survive…”
“...” How the fuck were they supposed to fight? They weren’t even on the same level!
Ju Hang’s expression froze on his face, but he slowly raised his thumb at Shang Xia. “Alright, you’re something else indeed…”
After escaping from Tang Youqian’s grasp, Ju Hang returned to his mount in dejection.
Shang Quan and Ji Sheng approached Shang Xia and asked in disbelief, “How did they do it?”
“Oh, about this… I found six intact carriages in a hidden valley. It should still be there now…” Shang Xia explained the matter entirely.