Chapter 529: Shocking Everyone
With the current situation he was in, Mister Ren didn’t have the luxury of speaking. The continuous pressure his opponent was putting on him didn’t even give him the chance to escape!
Moreover, he understood that with the commotion they were causing, those back in the core region of the Tongyou Institution definitely noticed their actions. If the battle were to drag on, the experts of the Tongyou Institution would definitely head over to check things out. When that happened, he might even need to leave his sorry little life behind!
After thinking about it, he no longer cared that his weapon was damaged by Shang Xia earlier. Risking it all, he rose into the air and swung his weapon directly at Shang Xia’s Abyssal Blade. When the weapons clashed, he felt as though a bolt of lightning had torn through his body and his figure trembled violently. He managed to block Shang Xia’s Lesser Snow eventually and using the recoil from the blast, he turned to flee.
Shang Xia was clearly enjoying himself during the fight. Moreover, he hadn’t unleashed the full power of his Abyssal Blade. There were no external factors or help at play and Shang Xia relied solely on his combat abilities to suppress Mister Ren, a third layer Martial Extermination Realm expert.
Mister Ren might have run away at the end, but there was no doubt about it, he was defeated by Shang Xia. That was about the extent of Shang Xia’s strength if he wasn’t going all out. To kill a third layer Martial Extermination Realm expert wasn’t going to be easy without external help.
With the battle high finally over, Shang Xia recalled that Mister Ren seemed to want to speak to him earlier. Watching Mister Ren’s leaving figure, Shang Xia yelled loudly, “Mister Ren, why are you in a rush to leave? Don’t you have something to say to me?”
Even though he had already run more than 10 miles away, his extermination origins flickered unsteadily under his feet. He nearly fell to the ground below after losing control of his emotions.
What the fuck? I told you to stop but you wanted to fight anyway. Now that I wish to retreat, you wanna talk?!
Mister Ren didn’t know if that was a ruse Shang Xia was using to get him to stop. In his mind, Shang Xia was a shameless prick who would attack a defenseless man. Who knew if the kid would rush over and continue fighting if he stopped?
Hmph, I might be alone right now, but even if I can’t beat you, I can hide!
Mister Ren acted as though he didn’t hear Shang Xia and he increased his speed slightly.
“If you miss this chance, there won’t be a next one!” Shang Xia’s voice traveled through the air and rang clearly in his mind.
With his expression changing slightly, Mister Ren slowed down considerably before stopping. He turned to stare at Shang Xia who was more than a dozen miles away by that point.
With a slight intention, the space around Shang Xia started to distort and he covered the distance between them in an instant.
That was an evasion art he comprehended not too long ago. He gained inspiration after traveling through so many spatial tunnels and after traveling in the void with the use of his Abyssal Void Shattering Talisman. The spatial tunnel that brought him from the Beyond Heavens Pavilion to the Manyu Continent also played a huge role in the development of that technique.
Even though it didn’t allow him to travel freely in the void, he could twist the space around him to shorten the distance between himself and his target location.
Unfortunately, he could only move across short distances at the moment.
Well, Mister Ren didn’t know how strong Shang Xia actually was, and the technique he used only served to increase the mystery shrouding him. As he was overwhelmed with fright, Mister Ren quickly retreated to increase the distance between them.
“You… How should I address you?” Mister Ren asked. Because of Shang Xia’s age, Mister Ren had always been calling him ‘that kid’ or ‘that brat’. However, with the strength Shang Xia displayed earlier, Mister Ren finally chose to address him properly and with respect.
“I am Shang Xia of the Tongyou Institution. Is something the matter for you to draw me over intentionally?” Shang Xia replied while cupping his fists at Mister Ren.
Hesitating slightly, Mister Ren eventually cupped his hands to return Shang Xia’s greeting and replied, “My name is Ren Bainian and I have been alive for more than a hundred years. Back then, I made a move on your institution because I had no other choice. I would have to trouble little brother to help make the introductions and make a report that I wish to negotiate with you guys about something.”
Shang Xia sneered in response. His reply was half out of curiosity, but he also had intentions of mocking Mister Ren. “If I didn’t guess wrongly, both of us should be considered mortal enemies. Because of the war more than a month ago, both sides suffered heavy casualties. The enmity between us cannot be resolved by mere words. Don’t tell me you wish to come over to try to repair the relationship between my Tongyou Institution and the Manyu Continent?”
Glancing at Shang Xia, Ren Bainian muttered, “I only hope you can help me to make a report to whoever is in charge.”
“Heh.” Shang Xia chuckled in response, “Are you looking down on this granddaddy over here? Why can’t I be in charge?”
Staring at Shang Xia in fright, Ren Bainian was afraid that shameless brat would sneak attack him if he got on the kid’s bad side and he quickly waved his hands and explained, “I didn’t mean any disrespect! I’m here today to express my sincerity!”
“Sincerity?” Shang Xia didn’t actually care about anything Ren Bainian said up to that point. He laughed coldly in response, “You say you’re here to express your sincerity, but this granddaddy here can’t see shit.”
Understanding that Shang Xia was making things difficult for him on purpose, Ren Bainian sighed, “What will it take for you to be convinced?”
“Hehe, if you’re really sincere, why don’t you personally take a trip over to our core region?” Shang Xia smiled.
Ren Bainian’s expression darkened the next moment. “So you’re just messing with me!”
If he really listened to Shang Xia and headed over to the Tongyou Institution’s core region, his fate would lie in their hands! They could do anything to him!
Shang Xia shrugged and spoke casually. “Since you’re not willing to do that, just tell me what you want. This granddaddy here will hear you out. After all, I have some authority to make some decisions on my institution’s behalf.”
Shang Xia wasn’t bullshitting. Even though Liu Qinglan was the person in charge of the Tongyou Institution when Yun Jing was recovering, Shang Xia’s words would basically be the law as long as they didn’t directly go against Liu Qinglan’s intentions.
That was because a majority of the experts back in the core region of the Tongyou Institution still owed Shang Xia big time for saving their lives. They would most likely support him as long as he didn’t make any stupid decisions.
Ren Bainian had his guesses, but he didn’t know the real details behind everything. Hearing what Shang Xia said, he started to turn serious. “I wonder what is little brother’s true identity?”
Shang Xia was finally starting to believe that Ren Bainian actually had something important to tell them after seeing how careful he was acting. He couldn’t help but sigh, “Didn’t I tell you? This granddaddy here is called Shang Xia. My grandfather is called Shang Bo. Does this make things a little clearer for you?”
Shang Xia decided that using Shang Bo’s name would be the best method to convince the other party as the other methods involved too much explaining. It seemed as though he was right.
Ren Bainian immediately gasped in shock. “As it turns out, you’re Mister Shang’s grandson! Please forgive any disrespect I may have shown, Young Master Shang!”
“Alright, Mister Ren, can you get to it now?” Shang Xia snapped.
Instead of going off about what he wanted to tell Shang Xia, Ren Bainian spoke about something else. “Young Master Shang, you need to promise me something on behalf of your institution.”
A frown formed on Shang Xia’s face and he stared at Ren Bainian with a trace of annoyance in his eyes. “I’m starting to regret my decision to talk to you. What are you even talking about right now? Should we just continue fighting and wait for the experts of my institution to arrive? You can ask them to promise you whatever you want after they arrive.”
While he was speaking, the Abyssal Blade reappeared in his hand.
Ren Bainian’s eyelids started to jump crazily and he yelled, “Wait, wait, wait! This matter concerns those who are plotting against your Tongyou Institution in the dark!”
“Do you know who’s behind it?” Shang Xia asked.
Ren Bainian nodded furiously in response.
From what Shang Xia could tell, there were only so many culprits capable of plotting against the Tongyou Institution. However, he found no harm in listening to Ren Bainian. “Alright, tell me who it is.”
“Elder Zhuang is dead and members of his clan are being massacred without his protection. I’m afraid that it won’t be long before the members of my clan follow in their footsteps. When that happens, they’ll probably blame everything on me. I’m here today to find a way for my clansmen to survive. If you can promise that you’ll bring them away when the time comes, I’ll be willing to lay down my life for you guys!”
The frown on Shang Xia’s face grew deeper after hearing what he said. “Do you know what’s going to happen next?”
“I do. The world origin will start to scatter and our continent will fall apart. Everything will return to the origin. Back when the last Martial Dipper Realm died after his lifespan had reached its end, all of us understood that the fate of our world had ended.” Ren Bainian sighed.
Shang Xia became slightly more curious after the explanation. “Returning to the origin… That would mean that the Manyu Continent would fall apart. However, that doesn’t mean that everyone will die. What do you mean by returning to the origin?”
Glancing at Shang Xia with a trace of shock in his eyes, Ren Bainian sighed, “Actually, I don’t know either. All I hope for is for the mortals who are unable to cultivate in my clan to live on. From how things are progressing, I’m afraid those people won’t give up. They might try to end us all.”
Shang Xia glanced at him and asked, “Are you still unwilling to tell me about them?”
Ren Bainian fell silent when Shang Xia shot him a deep gaze before raising his hands slowly. “Senior, did you hear all that?”
Ren Bainian’s expression changed drastically as he scanned his surroundings. No matter how hard he tried, he failed to notice another presence.
“You caused such a huge ruckus and I thought that I would need to use the Mist Dissipation Concealment Talisman to give the other party a decisive blow. Who would have thought that your opponent came here to surrender?” A voice entered their ears and only then did Ren Bainian determine where the newcomer was. As the dust cloud that was kicked up during their battle hadn't settled, the newcomer managed to use it as cover.
By the time the dust scattered, 2 people made their appearance.
Shang Xia decided to make the introductions. “This is Instructor Liu Qinglan of the Tongyou Institution and our current leader. The other is Mister Bu Jingshuang…”
When Shang Xia introduced Bu Jingshuang, he wanted to add that the old expert was Kou Chongxue’s sworn brother. That thought merely spun once in his mind before it was thrown away.
Ren Bainian quickly greeted the two and Liu Qinglan swung her sleeves casually and said, “How many people are there in your clan?”
Widening his eyes in shock, he couldn’t believe his ears. However, a look of joy quickly spread across his face and he replied truthfully. “There are a total of 810 people in my Ren Clan. I’m the only one in the Martial Extermination Realm and there are 5 others in the Martial Intent Realm. There are a total of 17 cultivators in the Martial Extremity Realm and there are 39 who just stepped through the gates of cultivation to enter the Martial Realm.”
Liu Qinglan glanced at Bu Jingshuang and Shang Xia before nodding her head. “Alright. My Tongyou Institution will protect your Ren Clan. Bring them within 10 miles of our core region within 3 days.”
“Many thanks…” Ren Bainian thanked quickly.
“However…” Liu Qinglan didn’t allow him to finish before she interrupted him. “Your clansman might be under our protection, but you need to make an oath upon the martial dao. You need to swear to be loyal to our Tongyou Institution for the rest of your life!”
Ren Bainian fell silent for a moment before sighing softly, “That’s reasonable.”
With Liu Qinglan, Bu Jingshuang, and Shang Xia as his witnesses, Ren Bainian swore an oath on the martial dao before speaking again. “In the past, I joined the others to launch a sneak attack on your territory. There was someone behind it all, but you guys might not know who they are.”
Bu Jingshuang asked, “Aren’t there just the members of the Azure Origin World and Azure Spiritual World? Could there be another party?”
Turning deadly serious, Ren Bainian replied, “That’s right. It’s another faction! They don’t hail from the Azure Origin World, and neither do they come from the Azure Spiritual World!”
Soon after, he gave a short explanation of what was going on.
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