C43: Slap Slap Slap

At the foot of the hill, a group of disciples on horses rode peacefully across the lands.

"Brother Shang, the environment here is pretty good. We traveled for an entire day and we should take a break." One of the disciples pulled on the reins of his horse and said.

His large face and thick features gave him a dignified look, until one caught a glimpse of his tiny neck.

Behind him was a disciple who had a huge forehead, and his eyes were long and narrow. He quickly pulled on the reins of his horse seeing as the person before him had slowed down.

An anxious look hung on his face, but the exhaustion in his eyes couldn't be hidden by his anxiety. After several days of searching, he had already received numerous complaints. Since he heard the captain of the patrol team suggesting they take a break, he replied softly, "We'll listen to Brother Ji's commands."

Captain Ji chuckled happily in response. "Dismount! We'll take a two hour break!"

The four other disciples behind the two of them cheered and quickly got off their horses.

The disciple with a huge forehead revealed a bitter smile, but he swallowed his words eventually.

Their group consisted of disciples from the Protection Division of the Tongyou Institution, and they were in charge of patrolling the area.

Other than the person Captain Ji addressed as 'Brother Shang', the other five formed one patrol squad. Captain Ji Sheng was at the late stage of the Martial Extremity Realm, and the deputy captain, Jiang Changyu, was at the early stage of the Martial Extremity Realm. The other three were seasoned cultivators in the Martial Realm.

The extra person in the group was called Shang Quan, and he was a member of the Shang Clan. He followed the patrol squad in order to look for traces of Shang Xia!

Ji Sheng took out a pouch of water and finished half of it, and when he was done, he tossed it over to one of his men. Turning to Shang Quan, he asked, "Brother Shang, other than the fact that they were ambushed by the bunch of cultivators from the Wind Swallow Race, is there any news from the Shang Clan?"

Shang Quan chuckled bitterly. "Brother Ji, I've been with you all this while. If I get any new reports, I can't hide it from you."

"True…" Ji Sheng sighed as he got comfortable on the ground.

"The cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World have been chased out by us. If your young master is still alive, he should have arrived at the Tongyou Peak by now… Even if he has to crawl over, three days is more than enough time."

Shang Quan's expression sank and he glared at the person who spoke, "Brother Jiang, what do you mean by that?"

Ji Sheng smiled and placed a stalk of grass in his mouth.

Martial Intent Realm cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World! It was even said that they retreated without any casualties when up against a late stage Martial Intent Realm expert!

Of course, the elite squad wouldn't patrol the path that connected the Tongyou Institution to the Tongyou Peak. They traveled around the chaotic regions of the battlefield between two worlds. They would even actively enter regions where cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World were active to slay them.

Ji Sheng turned in a particular direction and yelled, "Who's there?! Come out right now!"

The members of the patrol squad turned in unison while getting into formation. Shang Quan was left at the side to fend for himself.

A figure popped up from behind a rock and started waving at them. Before they could react, the figure started running towards the squad.

"Are you the patrol squad from the Tongyou Peak?! Uncle Quan?! It's me, Shang Xia!" As he got closer to them, the looks on their faces stiffened. Wasn't that the brat they were ordered to find?

"Xia'er! It's you!" Shang Quan looked at Shang Xia who was perfectly alright and he roared with laughter. He wanted to run over to welcome the kid, but before that he turned to look at Jiang Changyu who had an unnatural expression on his face. "Looks like you're right. I don't have to waste my time with you anymore. Moreover, I don't have to go to the Wind Swallow Race to carry out hostage negotiations… Too bad for Brother Jiang. I'll have to trouble you to look for the other disciples."

The words were like a giant palm that slapped Jiang Changyu mercilessly.

Shang Quan giggled in amusement before walking towards Shang Xia.

Jiang Changyu harrumphed coldly when he looked at Shang Quan's leaving view.

…

When Shang Xia left the area, he realized that he had no idea where to go! Even with the advice he had gotten to head towards the highest peak, there were too many people following him! There was too much to consider.

Helpless, he could only bring them back to the place they were ambushed. From there, they would follow the path the convoy took to the Tongyou Peak.

Luckily for Shang Xia, he could use the Mutated Rain Swallows to scout ahead. That allowed them to avoid many dangerous situations to arrive safely back at the region they were ambushed.

Because of that, Shang Xia traveled ahead of the group in case he ran into anything unexpected.

That was why he discovered the presence of Shang Quan and the others.

Ordinarily, he would have to verify their identities if they claimed to be a patrol squad from the Tongyou Peak. However, there was no need for that considering that Shang Quan was present.

There was no doubt about it, the patrol squad came from the Tongyou Peak and it was there to look for them.

He failed to contain his excitement when traveling over and that was how he was discovered by Ji Sheng.

…

"It's good that you're back!" Shang Quan clapped Shang Xia's shoulders and laughed. However, the harmonious atmosphere was broken by a sarcastic voice.

Ji Sheng knew that Shang Quan was no longer interested in assisting their squad now that Shang Xia was found. Even though he was unhappy about it, he could understand Shang Quan's considerations. "Since you found your nephew, you can bring him back to the Tongyou Peak. Let's not let Uncle Ke worry."

A smile formed on Shang Quan's face. "Many thanks to Brother Ji! After bringing him back, I'll return to assist you once again."

Ji Sheng hadn't said anything when Jiang Changyu's voice drifted over. "Hehe, seventeen disciples of the outer division went missing. Only one survived… What a fortunate ending!"

Shang Xia turned his head and looked at Jiang Changyu deeply.

Before anyone else could speak, Ji Sheng snapped, ?"Shut up!"

Jiang Changyu got to his feet and he ignored his captain entirely. "Are you not willing to admit it? Do you dare to tell us that you weren't the first to escape that day? Everyone was resisting the enemy the best they could. Now, all your fellow disciples are missing and you returned without the slightest trace of injury on your body. Their deaths were really unjust!"