When he left the institution, they ran into Yan Qi who was about to break down in panic.

“Young master, are you alright?” 

An unpleasant expression formed on Shang Xi’s face and she laid down a torrent of abuse on Yan Qi. 

“Brother Yan Qi, what do you think?! If not for my timely appearance, who knows what would have happened to him.” After she was done with Yan Qi, she sighed, “Your Seventh Uncle notified the clan as soon as he heard the news of you comprehending your martial intent.”

Grinning silently in his heart, Shang Xia gave Yan Qi a double thumbs up secretly before speaking, “Aunt, the Training Division, Scripture Depository, and Protection Division looked for me right after the battle. From what I know, many cultivators comprehended martial intent other than me. Why are they so concerned about my Chaos Essence Lightning Palm?”

“Heh, weren’t you gloating silently about how everyone was trying to win you over?” Shang Xi pouted.

Sniggering, Shang Xia revealed an awkward smile to his aunt who knew him best. “Hehe, I was a little afraid too…” 

“You should be!” Shang Xi rolled her eyes and continued, “That’s because you managed to comprehend your martial intent in the Martial Realm! Not many people can do what you did. Now that the news has spread, god knows how many powers in the city have their eyes on you!”

Shang Xia thought of what Zhang Haogu said previously, and he quickly repeated it back to Shang Xi. “... Is this the reason behind it?” 

Shang Xi nodded solemnly. “Instructor Zhang is right. Comprehending martial intent means that the inner qi in your body has reached a terrifying level. Not many people can comprehend martial intent in the Martial Realm, and if you manage to pass down your experience to the institution, you’ll definitely be held in high regard.” 

A light flashed in Shang Xia’s eyes as his thoughts started to spin.

…

On the fifth of the sixth month of the 843 year of the Divine Martial Calendar, the fourth day of the holidays arrived.

Under the blazing sun, a topless Shang Xia laid casually in the shade of a tree in his courtyard. He drank ice water from his straw as a profound look could be seen in his eyes.

Twisting his body suddenly, he looked at the entrance of the courtyard.

Yan Qi entered with a small case, and a smile could be seen on his face. “Young master, the clan has sent over a hundred year old Lightning Wood Charm.”

Shang Xia glanced at the item and muttered, “It's pretty lacking… Whatever, I’ll use it anyway. After all, I can probably only use it once.”

The corners of Yan Qi’s mouth twitched, but he was ready for Shang Xia’s response and he quickly managed to calm himself. “Young master, is the Lightning Wood Charm really useful for comprehending the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm?” 

Glancing at Yan Qi from the corner of his eye, Shang Xia wasn’t surprised that Yan Qi could guess that the item was beneficial for his martial intent. Since there was no point in hiding it, he explained everything. “Far from it! In order to start comprehending it, you’ll definitely need the core of the Lightning Tree! Moreover, it has to be a Lightning Tree more than five hundred years old!”

Yan Qi sucked in a cold breath. “That… That… That is pretty rare.” 

“Even though Lightning Trees are rare, one can probably find them in the Thousand Leaves Mountain Range. Isn’t the Tongyou City connected to the outside world?! The world is massive. You can find anything if you put your mind to it.” Shang Xia sneered.

“Of course, the number of Lightning Trees with a core is much lesser than the number of Lightning Trees out in the wild. Do you think comprehending a martial intent is something anyone can do?! Besides, getting the core of the Lightning Tree is only a start.” Shang Xia continued, “It can assist one in their comprehension, but it’s no godly item! If it’s so easy, everyone can choose the two techniques and get a Lightning Tree Core themselves to fully comprehend the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm!” 

Yan Qi raised his eyebrows in shock. “This… Young master, did you reveal the use of the Lightning Wood Charm on purpose?”

Sucking the last of his water, Shang Xia snorted, “More than twenty years have passed since the great tribulation of the You Continent. No matter what, the Tongyou City has some sort of reserve built up. Let’s not mention the others right now. Didn’t our family already collect more than two chests of Lightning Wood Charm?”

“If we’re able to do it, what do you think about the other three clans? Do I even need to talk about the Tongyou Institution?” 

Yan Qi hesitated for a second, and he stuttered, “This… What if they really choose to bring out their treasures? Are you really planning on revealing your experience?” 

A sarcastic laugh left Shang Xia’s lips instantly. “What do you think? Without enough resources, how am I supposed to discover a way to comprehend the martial intent? If it’s so easy, everyone who died trying to comprehend the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm in the past 500 years will probably turn in their grave.” 

Yan Qi nodded solemnly, but laughed secretly. Their young master managed to extort a bunch of resources before he even started! … The word ‘extort’ might be a little too much, but you know what? That was exactly what Shang Xia was doing anyway!

“Not many people can comprehend a martial intent. Even with my experiences, close to no one will be able to comprehend the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm.” Shang Xia muttered.

Yan Qi nodded as he knew Shang Xia was right.

Even if Shang Xia managed to produce the way to comprehend the martial intent, the technique would be secretly guarded! Not many people could get their hands on it.

That was how the path of cultivation worked anyway. No one would give away techniques to other people easily!

Before Shang Xia could get to his feet, Yan Qi’s voice broke his train of thoughts. “Young master, remember when you got us to keep an eye out for Dou Zhong? He’s actually crazy. He’s trying to break his way into the battlefield between the two worlds, and he says that he’s planning to widen his horizons there! He’s just a little brat who hasn’t entered the Martial Realm! He’s clearly looking to die!” 

Ignoring Yan Qi’s comments, Shang Xia’s thoughts started to spin. That was exactly how the story of a protagonist started!

“Keep an eye on him! Do not let anyone notice you…” Shang Xia reminded him again.

After acknowledging the order, Yan Qi wasn’t in a rush to leave. Instead, he brought up another topic. “Oh right, Young Lady Mu has left seclusion. She successfully broke through to the Martial Realm.”

As a thought came to mind, Shang Xia asked, “From what I remember, her family holds some power in the city. Am I right?” 

“Young Lady Mu’s father, Mu Jiansheng, is an expert at the Martial Extremity Realm. Even though he’s the patriarch of the Mu Clan, the true expert in the family is Mu Jiansheng’s younger sister, Mu Jianyin. She is one of the four heads of the Tongyou Institution’s Outreach Division. She’s extremely mysterious and not many people know of her existence.

“Outreach Division?” A frown formed on Shang Xia’s face when he heard the name.

The Outreach Division was the Tongyou Institution’s information organization, and their leaders held much higher authority than those of the three cultivation divisions. Even Zhang Haogu would have to lower his head when meeting her.

However, their status wasn’t why they were scary. Instead, the cultivation levels of the four heads of the Outreach Division were really profound! 

Due to the nature of their responsibilities, everyone in the Outreach Division would remain low-key. Disciples like Shang Xia who had many connections in the city only knew some surface level information on the four heads. Even if they ran into each other on the streets, he wouldn’t be able to recognize them!

“Who would have thought that Mu Qingyu would have such a strong backer…” Shang Xia sighed.

Since she made use of him in the past, he wouldn’t let her off easily. He had always believed in returning the favor.

After thinking about the existence of Mu Jianyin, Shang Xia decided to hold off his plan for revenge. He wasn’t afraid of Mu Jianyin specifically, but the Outreach Division was too troublesome to deal with. He would be in big trouble if they set their eyes on him.

Thinking about the reason behind her determination to break off the engagement, Shang Xia became even more intrigued. After all, the scene that played out in Zhu Ying’s courtyard the other day made no sense.

Inviting an instructor, two custodians, and the leader of the Outer Division to witness the farce showed how serious she took the matter. Despite that, not a single member of the Mu Family showed up! There had to be something suspicious behind it.

As he was too caught up in the matter, he failed to notice the abnormalities behind their actions. Now that he thought back, it seemed as though there were many mysteries surrounding him.

It was no wonder Instructor Zhang chided all of them before leaving Zhu Ying’s courtyard previously. He probably knew something!

Shaking his head, Shang Xia realized that he was pretty inexperienced compared to the old monsters like Zhang Haogu and the others.

After thinking so much, Shang Xia finally remembered that Yan Qi was standing beside him. He couldn’t help but ask, “Seventh Uncle, is there something else you need to tell me?” 

Lowering his voice, Yan Qi continued, “As soon as Young Lady Mu left seclusion, she said that she wished to enter the battlefield between the two worlds. This… Zhu Ying left for the same place several days ago.”

?? Shang Xia looked at Yan Qi with a strange expression on his face. “Why did the news of Zhu Ying’s departure only come now?”

Due to the grudge between Zhu Ying and Shang Xia, Yan Qi should have ordered his men to keep an eye on Zhu Ying as soon as the battle ended. All of Zhu Ying’s movements should have been reported to Shang Xia at the earliest time possible.

An ugly expression formed on Yan Qi’s face. “There seems to be someone helping him in the dark. They drew our men away when Zhu Ying left.”

“Are they the members of the Liu Family?” Shang Xia quickly thought of the possible culprits.

Yan Qi replied, “No… Our men don’t recognize any of them. By the time we realized that something was wrong, the other party disappeared.” 

A snort left Shang Xia’s lips. “How many clans in the Tongyou city have the ability to hide experts from our Shang Clan?” 

“Other than the Tongyou Institution, only the three great clans can do something like that.” Yan Qi replied.

Chuckling lightly, Shang Xia revealed an expression of amusement. “Looks like things are getting interesting.”

Taking his leave, Yan Qi soon left the courtyard. As soon as he did, Shang Xia opened the case in his hand.

There were six intricately carved wooden boards in the case, and he could feel a trace of lightning energy coming from within.

After a Lightning Tree was processed, only three to four Lightning Wood Charms would be produced. Looking at the tiny charm, no one would think that it weighed more than a hundred pounds!

“With those I received before, there should be close to 20 charms… Let’s try it out now and hope I manage to craft a few talismans… After the battle with Zhu Ying, nearly all my trump cards have been revealed to the world.”

Closing the case, Shang Xia closed his eyes and profound thoughts filled his mind.