Chapter 21: Zhu Family

“In the past, our disciples found a corpse that was wearing the clothes of the Zhu Family too…”

Jin Guanchao’s revelation managed to pique Shang Xia’s interest. 

“Zhu Family?!” 

Meng Liangchen gasped in fright. “Are you talking about the Zhu Family that reigned supreme in the You Continent twenty years ago?” 

Meng Liangchen’s looked at both Tian Mengzi and Jin Guanchao, expecting them to continue their explanation.

However, Jin Guanchao seemed to be done talking. Everyone could only turn to Tian Mengzi, the more friendy of the two.

Tian Mengzi forced a smile and he muttered, “Indeed… However, that’s a rumor going around the Tongyou Peak.”

“I got it!” Huang Zihua yelled suddenly.

When everyone turned to look at him, they saw a contented smile on his face. His voice deepened and he muttered, “Did all of you forget how Zhu Ying challenged Chief Shang the other day?” 

Before they could react, he continued, “Don’t you find it weird? Zhu Ying wouldn’t normally provoke anyone. He even remained in the outer division for another year. How did he break through to the Martial Extremity Realm without any warning to challenge Chief Shang?” 

The look in the eyes of everyone present turned weird. Wasn’t it because of Mu Qingyu?!

Shang Xia’s expression remained the same, but the look in his eyes turned gloomy. Brat, are you trying to badmouth me here?

Huang Zihua felt a formless pressure pressing down on him suddenly, and he didn’t dare to look in Shang Xia’s general direction.

Jiao Haitang followed up, “Didn’t he improve quickly because of Teacher Liu Zhifei’s support?” 

Huang Zihua could tell that she was trying to help him change the topic there, and he was more than happy to avoid p*ssing off Shang Xia even more. “Of course… However, if Zhu Ying received help from Custodian Liu, he wouldn’t have remained in the outer division for one extra year.” 

That was true. With the Liu Family’s resources, they could make a useless fool enter the Martial Realm in a year. If Liu Zhifei was hell bent on helping Zhu Ying, he would have entered the inner division a year ago! 

Of course, it was even less likely for him to be able to increase his cultivation to the Martial Extremity Realm in half a year! One had to know that Zhu Ying was barely at the peak of the Qi Gathering Realm when they last saw him. 

Wasn’t that itself a clear indication that there was a huge problem?!

The Liu Family was strong, but they wouldn’t throw unlimited resources into training an outsider! No matter how great the relationship between the Zhu Family and Liu Family, such a situation was impossible!

Unless…

A light flashed in Meng Liangchen’s eyes. “There were signs of the Zhu Family’s inheritance on Zhu Ying! In order to get to the bottom of the matter, the Liu Family chose to help Zhu Ying cultivate!” 

Shaking his head slowly, Meng Liangchen sighed, “Wait, that’s not right. Even if the Liu Family covets the Zhu Family’s inheritance, they wouldn’t do it so openly! The only reason behind Zhu Ying’s sudden increase in strength was because he discovered the Zhu Family’s inheritance himself! He even managed to hide it from the Liu Family!” 

Jiao Haitang followed up, “Did Zhu Ying enter the battlefield between two worlds previously?”

“Haha! It’s not impossible for him to do so as an outer disciple! With the Liu Family’s influence, sneaking a disciple into the battlefield between two worlds is as easy as pie!” Meng Liangchen snorted.

“From the looks of it, Zhu Ying might not be working as closely with the Liu Family as we thought. The Liu Family wants the inheritance left behind by the Zhu Family, but Zhu Ying has his schemes too. He won’t allow them to do as they wish.” Meng Liangchen seemed to have thought of something more and he continued, “I heard that Zhu Ying entered the battlefield between two worlds again…” 

Silence filled the air. Now that Zhu Ying has entered the battlefield between the two worlds again, his objective was clear for all to see.

Huang Zihua coughed dryly and he muttered, “Is it really alright for us to be making so many deductions behind his back?” 

Hold up… Didn’t you start it?!

Their discussion wasn’t as private as they thought. Tian Mengzi, Jin Guanchao, and several disciples of the inner division had long since taken note of their discussion.

One had to know that the Liu Clan was part of the four great clans in the Tongyou City. The patriarch of the Liu Clan was another deputy patriarch of the institution, and their roots ran deep. Who knew if there were spies of the Liu Clan among them?

Realizing the severity of the matter, the three of them revealed unnatural expressions. It was especially so for Meng Liangchen.

When they had their conversation earlier, the three of them spoke as if they knew exactly what was going on. They reveled in the attention they were getting, but after realizing how serious the accusations were, they felt as though their butts were on fire.

Huang Zihua and Jiao Haitang fared a little better than Meng Liangchen. At that moment, Meng Liangchen squirmed around his seat.

…

As the convoy continued, the temperature in the air spiked without any warning. It didn’t take long before everyone felt as though they were stuck in a giant oven. The umbrellas that sheided them from the rain earlier reappeared, preventing them from turning into human bbq.

The dirt that was slightly moist dried up instantly. A dust cloud was kicked up by the carriage as they proceeded onwards.

Shang Xia looked at the cage hanging at the side of the carriage and saw that the Mutated Rain Swallow was pretty much recovered. It closed its eyes while laying still in its new home.

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Seemingly able to feel Shang Xia’s gaze, the bird leaped into the air and chirped loudly.

“Chirp, chirp!!”

It seemed to be verifying something with Shang Xia.

Didn’t they say that it would self-destruct after realizing that it was captured?

Shang Xia looked at the Mutated Rain Sparrow and he couldn’t see any signs of it trying to kill itself. Instead, it seemed to be yelling at him repeatedly.

“Hmm why does this bird seem like some sort of masochist…” Huang Zihua looked at the Rain Swallow in the cage before looking at Shang Xia.

One had to admit that Huang Zihua was someone with balls of steel. Not only did he ‘reveal’ the conspiracy behind the Liu Clan, he even dared to crack jokes on Shang Xia.

Couldn’t he see that Meng Liangchen was still shivering with fear in the corner?

Shang Xia glared at him in response.

“Hey! Why are there two shadows?” A yell from someone in the convoy saved Huang Zihua from Shang Xia’s attention.

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Looking down, everyone saw two giant shadows shaking in the ground.

“Look! There are two suns in the sky!” 

Everyone soon discovered the reason behind the weird phenomenon.

Regardless of their status, everyone in the convoy ignored the blazing sun and looked at the sky. Yuan Zilu was no exception. 

Even though there were many weird events that happened in the battlefield between two worlds, it was a rare sight for them to see two suns.

The rarer the phenomenon, the greater the opportunity!

“All those who cultivate fire arts, what are you waiting for?!” Yuan Zilu’s voice boomed in the ears of those present.

With two suns in the sky, the fire qi in the air had reached a whole new level.

The appearance of two suns signified the best time for cultivators who absorbed fire qi to improve their cultivation!

One had to know that one of the most common paths to walk down was to cultivate the qi of water and fire! According to a study done by the institution, nearly two thirds of cultivators did so!

It was a pity that there were only three of them among the disciples in the convoy.

The others could only watch enviously as they managed to grasp the opportunity to absorb the dense fire qi in the air.

Shang Xia saw Yuan Zilu sitting down on top of his carriage, absorbing fire qi without a care in the world. Even though Instructor Yuan had already surpassed the elementary level of controlling the elements, it didn’t stop him from consolidating his foundation. 

Shang Xia leaped on top of the carriage as he circulated the inner qi in his body.

“Huh? Didn’t you walk down a different path?” Tian Mengzi’s voice came from behind him.

With a smile spreading on his face, Shang Xia explained, “The fire qi in the air is also a type of heaven and earth qi. You don’t need to cultivate fire arts in order to absorb it.”

“Oh my, why didn’t I realize that?” Tian Mengzi slapped his forehead in embarrassment. 

Even though the appearance of two suns would allow the density of fire qi in the air to reach the peak, it didn’t mean that only cultivators who cultivated fire art would be able to benefit from it.

Shang Xia’s Chaos Essence Manual allowed him to successfully refine any type of heaven and earth qi. Even though he might not be able to break through to the Martial Extremity Realm immediately, he could still use the fire qi to strengthen his foundations.

Tian Mengzi looked at Jin Guanchao with a helpless look in his eyes.

The two of them were at the Martial Extremity Realm, but they were unable to be like Shang Xia. The cultivation of cultivators in the Martial Extremity Realm was different, and they didn’t walk down the path of fire and water qi. Absorbing the fire qi in the air would actually be detrimental to their cultivation.

A phenomenon like the appearance of two suns naturally wouldn’t last for long. After a short hour, the two fireballs in the skies started to fade. The fire qi in the air weakened slightly.

Eventually, one of the suns could no longer be seen. The other turned extraordinarily dim. Even so, it remained in the air. The fire qi in the air returned to their ordinary level.

Disciples who were cultivating opened their eyes slowly and they revealed reluctant expressions.

“If only it can last for a long time…” Shang Xia was one of them, and he sighed softly. When the disciples who couldn’t absorb the fire qi in the air heard what he said, the urge to punch Shang Xia in the face reached a whole new level.

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