CH 252

…

Kou Chongxue’s injury was no longer a secret. The news had already spread through the Azure Origin World. 

The various powers were concerned with where exactly Kou Chongxue was hiding in seclusion. The most likey and suitable place would be the secret region in the Tongyou Institution. However, that crafty old fellow behaved unpredictably.

As such, many experts who harbored their own thoughts tried breaking into the Tongyou Institution in order to verify the news. In response, they were met with strong retaliation from the Tongyou Institution. Regardless of where they came from, most of them were pretty much killed. Their bodies were thrown outside the city to serve as a warning for those harboring evil thoughts. 

That happened during the intense battle on the Tongyou Peak. It was also the reason why Yun Jing had to remain back in the institution to control the situation in order to avoid any displays of weakness.

The four other institutions came over on their own accord to provide reinforcements soon after that, but Yun Jing stopped them with the assistance of the Hidden Frost Sword and native cultivators of the Tongyou City. 

There was no other reason than to protect any news of Kou Chongxue from leaking. He was the hope of the Tongyou City. With his presence alone, he intimidated both the Azure Spiritual World and those in the Azure Origin World with nefarious intentions. 

The prestige of a Martial Dipper Realm expert and a divine weapon…

…

“What?! Patriarch Kou really wishes to see me?” Shang Xia stared at the person in front of him incredulously and a trace of suspicion was heard in his voice, “Right now?!” 

Not too long after he left the training plaza, he was stopped by a terrifying figure who brought him the news.

No one knew when Shang Lubing returned to the institution, but he was precisely the one who stopped Shang Xia. He couldn’t be bothered with Shang Xia’s suspicions and he chuckled in response, “Looks like you were already ready to meet him though?” 

Realizing that his words were a little disrespectful, Shang Xia quickly apologized. “Instructor, please do not misunderstand. Aren’t there many people who are trying to find out where Patriarch Kou is hiding in seclusion right now? If I visit him now…” 

The reason why Shang Xia was still entertaining Shang Lubing was because he was Kou Chongxue’s sworn brother. If it was anyone else, Shang Xia might even suspect that it was a weird plot from the Rose Party in order to lure him into a trap. 

The smile remained on Shang Lubing’s lips as he continued, “Don’t worry about it. Those losers won’t dare to show their face. They can try to track us or make an attempt on your life. But when that happens, we’ll be able to capture them in one fell swoop.”

The f…?

A look of surprise appeared on Shang Xia’s face, but a trace of reluctance filled his heart all of a sudden.

“What the hell? Aren’t you just using me as bait to catch all of them? Why am I supposed to do something like that? Those who dare to scheme against Patriarch Kou are definitely in the Martial Extermination Realm. Those weaker won’t have the guts to do anything like that! I just entered the Martial Intent Realm! I might be strong, but I’m nothing more than a worm in the eyes of those Martial Extermination Realm freaks…” Shang Xia thought to himself. 

After all, Shang Ke said something about it to him previously. In fact, the Shang Clan was also taking part in the plan.

However, Shang Xia heard Shang Lubing’s explanation soon enough. “Actually, you’re not the only one who received an invite from the patriarch…” 

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Widening his eyes in shock, he asked, “Who else?” 

“Dou Zhong, Mu Qingyu, Zhang Jianfei, and Meng Tianzi. Including you, that’s five people.” Shang Lubing maintained the smile on his face. 

Shang Xia nodded as several thoughts flashed through his mind.

Even though he had been in seclusion since he came back, he learned about some matters going on in the institution from Yan Qi.

The people Shang Lubing mentioned were those who came up mostly victorious when up against the elite cultivators of the other institutions.

Moreover, Shang Xia was pretty well-acquainted with most of them. 

As he followed behind Shang Lubing, they walked towards the depths of the institution. From the looks of it, they were heading towards the secret region where the cultivation chambers were built for disciples to break through.

That was also where Shang Xia comprehended his Chaos Essence Lightning Palm in the past. Due to a series of fortunate, or unfortunate, events, heavenly lightning was drawn over to his location. Well, everything that happened after was pretty well summarized.

The only problem was the suspicion that lingered in Shang Xia’s mind. The heavenly lightning that struck him didn’t seem to be the work of nature. It seemed like someone had drawn it over intentionally.

In the past, the incident drew a lot of attention, especially from the Shang Clan. However, no proper evidence was found and they could only conclude it as an act of nature eventually.

Soon after, the battle on the Tongyou Peak happened. The spies the Rose Party placed in the Tongyou Institution were revealed…

With the little history lesson playing out in his mind, he eventually arrived before the entrance of the secret region. He saw the four of them already waiting for him.

One of them stood out slightly and Shang Xia noticed the trace of vigor flashing through his eyes from time to time. It seemed as though he wasn’t someone to be looked down on, and he was none other than Dou Zhong.

Seeing Shang Lubing, Dou Zhong greeted in excitement, “Teacher!” 

A smile appeared on Shang Lubing’s face and he nodded slightly.

When the rest heard the way he addressed Shang Lubing, looks of envy could be seen on their faces.

It seemed slightly different from the way anyone else would address the custodians and instructors in the institution. It seemed as though Shang Lubing had really taken Dou Zhong in as his disciple. (Gonna change the way Dou Zhong calls Shang Lubing to ‘Master’ after this. Keeping this here for accuracy’s sake)

Such a situation couldn’t be said to be common in the Tongyou Institution, but it wasn’t exactly rare either. There were instances of it happening sometimes.

Once their master-student relationship was formed, it was much more solid than the ordinary teacher student relationship between those in the institution.

That wasn’t all. Shang Lubing was a Martial Extermination Realm expert. There wasn’t a need to mention his strength and authority among the five institutions. Even in the Azure Origin World, he could be considered one of the top tier existences.

Being taken in as a student of such an expert was a fortunate thing alright.

Just based on that fact alone, anyone could tell how talented Dou Zhong was. Otherwise, he would never be able to catch Shang Lubing’s eye anyway.

His achievements when battling against the disciples of the other institutions only served to back him up even further. He even caught Kou Chongxue’s interest!

Compared to the shock experienced by Mu Qingyu and the rest, Shang Xia looked a lot more calm than expected.

Shang Xia had his suspicions back in the Tongyou Peak. After all, Dou Zhong’s rise was too abrupt.

After greeting his master, Dou Zhong turned to look at Shang Xia before nodding slightly to indicate his greetings.

As the corners of Shang Xia’s lips curled upwards, he felt a trace of amusement in his heart. “Large completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm. I heard that you were only in the small completion stage several days ago. Looks like you broke through recently. You haven’t consolidated your foundations and your inner qi is leaking out of your body unconsciously.” 

“Senior Brother Tian, Junior Brother Zhang! You came back from the battlefield between the two worlds!” Shang Xia turned to greet the other two after addressing Dou Zhong.