After he displayed his ability to control the entire flock of Mutated Rain Swallows, Yun Yishu realized that Shang Xia shouldn’t be risking his life in the upcoming battle. However, his plan was immediately rejected by Shang Xia.
Not to mention the fact that traveling alone in the battlefield between the two worlds could prove to be much deadlier than staying on the Tongyou Peak. Even if he managed to find traces of Liu Jitang, they might not be able to hurry back in time.
In the worst case, locating Liu Jitang might throw him into a situation that proves to be a whole lot more frightening.
The Tongyou Peak hadn’t revealed Liu Jitang’s actual intentions of leaving the peak. Shang Xia guessed that he was heading for the Zhu Family’s inheritance, but that was merely a guess.
Yun Yishu chuckled helplessly when he received Shang Xia’s response.
Of course, Shang Xia came up with another plan. He didn’t necessarily have to look for Liu Jitang himself!
On the way back to the peak, Shang Xia received Ji Wenlong’s permission and brought Yan Ni’er over.
Because of the little bird’s significance in the grand scheme of things, Ji Wenlong gave it permission to freely enter the Tongyou Peak. The only drawback was that Shang Xia had to be present whenever it was crossing the protection formation.
With the help of the Lightning Bird, Shang Xia could command the Mutated Rain Swallows to keep tabs on the activity at the Four Spiritual Peak.
The moment they received news that the enemy was about to attack, the Tongyou Peak would be able to make sufficient preparations.
Due to the fact that Shang Ke and the others still had to discuss defensive measures with Ji Wenlong, Shang Xia decided to take his leave.
After leaving the main hall, he returned to the Shang Pavilion.
Even though the Four Spiritual Peak could attack at any time, he would never be wrong to choose to raise his strength.
As he ascended the mountain, he noticed that the once deserted streets were filled with people.
Clearly, many people noticed the battle looming over their heads. Everyone was trying to make their final preparations.
“Senior Brother Shang!”
Turning his head in the direction of the voice, Shang Xia noticed Jiao Haitang and Huang Zihua walking towards him.
A smile formed on his face when he saw Jiao Haitang this time. “Congratulations on breaking through!”
“It’s all thanks to Senior Brother Shang’s assistance. Otherwise, I won’t be able to find suitable herbs to advance. Luckily for me, I broke through before the upcoming battle.”
Shang Xia nodded and turned to Huang Zihua, “What about the rest?”
“Three other disciples failed to gather enough herbs. As for those who did, all of them advanced except for one!”
There were sufficient spaces to train on the Tongyou Peak, and cultivators from the institution could use any of them to advance.
The situation was much better than the time they had to advance in the wilderness.
After receiving the report from Huang Zihua, Shang Xia muttered, “It’s alright to fail. There will be chances in the future. The most important thing is to remain calm and not lose confidence in themselves.”
Huang Zihua laughed, “Even though Liang Shuai seems dispirited, he should be alright. The success rate of our breakthroughs is too high! Disciples from the other divisions are looking at us in envy.”
Shang Xia chuckled. “Indeed… Anyway, when Liang Shuai tries to break through in the future, there should be nothing stopping him.”
Jiao Haitang interrupted them as she could no longer suppress the curiosity in her heart. “Senior Brother Shang, do you know what is going on? Everyone on the Tongyou Peak is behaving like a headless fly right now. No one cares about us and they’re not telling us anything!”
Raising an eyebrow in shock, Shang Xia asked, “How is that possible? Didn’t a few instructors enter the Tongyou Peak too? Are they not saying anything?”
“Senior Brother Shang, you might not know about this, but our division was the last to depart from the institution. By the time we came, the other instructors had already been called away. None of them came back!” Huang Zihua explained.
It was then Shang Xia realized that the instructors were probably also brought away by Liu Jitang.
“The disciples of our third outer division are doing better than the rest. At the very least, we have you, Senior Brother Shang, to stabilize the situation. Those of us who broke through have a direction of what to do. Those who hadn’t are trying desperately to advance. Disciples of the other outer divisions aren’t as lucky as us. Many of them can’t even afford the most basic of herbs… They’re really pitiful…” Jiao Haitang added.
Shang Xia nodded. It was too bad he couldn’t do anything to help them.
Even if he wanted to help them, the Shang Clan wasn’t a charity. There were limits to what he could do.
However, a haughty smile appeared on Huang Zihua’s face and he continued speaking, “Senior Brother Shang, you might not know this, but our fellow disciples are the target of envy right now. Everyone looks at us differently when we walk along the streets.”
Jiao Haitang slapped his arm when she saw the stupid look on his face. “Many fellow disciples in the outer division hoped to form a connection with you. However, we rejected them all. We know that the prices of herbs on the Tongyou Peak have reached a new high. Your Shang Clan helped us a bunch by giving us some of them at a low price. We can’t possibly trouble you even more.”
Shang Xia laughed, “We’re fellow disciples and we should help each other. Moreover, Teacher Sun requested me to take her place and it’s my duty to help you out.”
Laughter soon filled the air as they continued to chat a little.
Jiao Haitang could feel that Shang Xia was a little busy, and she tactfully excused herself. “There’s one last thing Senior Brother Shang needs to know. Even though the Contribution Division and Protection Division didn’t confiscate the items we have, they sent people to warn us not to reveal anything that happened throughout our journey. Is there something else behind it?”
Shang Xia thought about it for a moment and chuckled, “Nope. Just follow whatever they tell you to do!”
Jiao Haitang nodded, but she sank into thought.
Shang Xia seemed to have thought of something and he reminded them, “Oh right, all of you should check out the Scripture Depository after advancing. The inheritances and secret manuals there might not be comparable to that in the institution, but they are extremely helpful. Don’t miss the chance to raise your strength.”
After speaking, he hurried back to the Shang Pavilion.
Huang Zihua looked at Jiao Haitang who was stuck to her spot and waved his hand in front of her eyes. “Let’s go. What are you thinking about?”
“I’m thinking about the warning we received…”
“What’s the problem with that? Didn’t Senior Brother Shang tell us to follow their instructions?” Huang Zihua frowned.
Rolling her eyes at him, Jiao Haitang snapped, “It’s just that we might not be qualified enough to know what the problem is!”
“Hehe, I have no idea what you just said…” Huang Zihua sniggered in response.
Turning around in a huff, she decided to leave.
As soon as Shang Xia returned to the Shang Pavilion, he was dragged to the highest floor by Shang Quan. He was greeted with the sight of an unexpected guest.
“Aunt, why are you here?” Shang Xia nearly yelled out loud when he saw her. However, he quickly suppressed his voice. “What are you doing here?! Shouldn’t you be back at the clan taking charge of the situation?!”
Shang Xia might sound rude, but there was an unmistakable sense of concern in his voice.
Shang Xi giggled softly when she heard what he said. “Hehe, little brat, at least you have a conscience.”
Shang Xia scratched the back of his head and he realized that Shang Xi wouldn’t enter the battlefield between two worlds if there wasn’t something important. He also thought about how Shang Quan dragged him over without a word and he asked, “Aunt, did you come here on a secret mission? Who else came with you?”
Shang Quan exchanged a gaze with Shang Xi and a grin appeared on her face. “How did you know someone else came?”
Shang Xia explained, “If I’m not wrong, other than the Liu Clan, the other clans sent several experts over to the Tongyou Peak. They’re probably here to thwart the plans of the Rose Party, right?”
“Brat, you know quite a bit…” Shang Xi smacked his head playfully.
If the institution openly sent reinforcements over, the Rose Party would definitely take the chance to infiltrate the Tongyou Peak. As such, they sent members of the four great clans over in secret to protect the protection formation.
It was too bad there was no news of the Liu Clan. A great portion of their battle strength was gone, and there were only three great clans left to fight the enemy.
Shang Xia’s train of thought didn’t stop there.
Since the rumor of Kou Chongxue’s injury was spreading around, coupled with the martial law passed down in the city, the institution chose to send backup to the Tongyou Peak. Their conjecture was basically confirmed. The Rose Party probably found another way into the battlefield between two worlds, and they would use the chance to destroy the Tongyou Institution’s hard work and accumulation in the past 20 years!
Of course, the news provided by Yan Su’er helped.
The Rose Party’s main focus was on the Zhu Family’s inheritance, and they wouldn’t join in the Four Spiritual Peak’s offensive.
It was too bad they couldn’t send the news back to the institution in time.