Chapter 674: Choice


    “Alright, our opponents have been drawn. We’re facing the second-ced team from the fifth group. They’re a team from the Outreach Division,” Ju Hang frowned as he spoke. However, he quickly regained hisposure andughed, “Just do what you normally do. Let’s show them the strength of our Fifth ss. Since we already managed to advance from the group stages, we have already achieved our goal. If we get anything more, that will be great. However, you don’t have to feel pressured!”


    When he was done with his speech, Ju Hang sent them away to practice. He then turned to Shang Xia with a serious expression. “Have they really started to act against us?”


    “They’re acting against the battle formation. Do you think the Fifth ss will be the only ones to know the principles behind it after thepetition ends?” Shang Xia chuckled.


    Ju Hang grumbled softly, “That isn’t fair! Didn’t the First and Second sses also learn the battle formation? Why aren’t they targeted?”


    Shang Xia smiled, “Not everyone can practice the Extremity Yin Yang Formation. Otherwise, those sses would have used it during thepetition. The Second ss was eliminated, and the First ss was barely ranked second in their group.”


    Ju Hang didn’t stopining. “Didn’t they say that they didn’t have too much time to practice their battle formation and failed to grasp the core of it? Isn’t that why they didn’t use it during thepetition?”


    Shang Xia didn’t reply and he merely maintained the smile on his face. Instead, Ju hang fell into contemtion as though he had realized something.


    With Shang Xia’s instructions, the members of the Fifth ss could challenge Ju Hang after a period of training. The stronger students from the First and Second sses didn’t choose to listen to Shang Xia’s personal instructions. They chose to train alone, and even after half a month, they failed to grasp the fundamentals of the Extremity Yin Yang Formation.


    It wasn’t as though both sses didn’t think to use their battle formation. However, some of them had a strong resistance to the principles behind it and they were unable to coordinate with the others. Even Sun Haiwei was unable to do anything about it. She could only allow them to make their own decisions.


    What Shang Xia and Ju Hang didn’t know was that the students of the First and Second sses had a falling out because of the Extremity Yin Yang Formation right after the group stages were concluded. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    There wasn’t a need to mention the Second ss. They were eliminated from the group stages and their discussion of the formation mostly revolved around if they could have advanced if they worked harder and utilized the battle formation well.


    If they were honest with themselves, there was no need for any doubt. They would definitely have done better if they used the formation. After all, the reason the Fifth ss could emerge victorious was because of it!


    No one would think that the Fifth ss managed to get so far based on their personal cultivation level. After all, the teams they defeated weren’t exactly useless. There were 2 teams from the Protection Division and it was impossible for the Fifth ss to have defeated them easily.


    There was only one reason behind their victory, the Extremity Yin Yang Formation.


    The students from the Second ss managed to get the chance to learn the same battle formation used by the Fifth ss thanks to Sun Haiwei’s rmendation, but they chose to give it up.


    That led to the stronger members in the Martial Extremity Realm facing a lot of doubt from the other members.


    …


    The chief disciple of the First ss of the Inner Division, Zhuang Su, had already reached the grandpletion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm. Facing the pressure and doubt from his fellow students, his face flushed red with rage and he yelled, “That battle formation walks down the unorthodox path and I’m sure our cultivation will be negatively affected if we choose toprehend the principles behind it! We’ll just get further and further off the path of cultivation and never be able to advance again!”


    “Chief Zhuang, are you so sure?”


    “Wouldn’t the other members of the institution discover its weakness if it’s as bad as you say? Wouldn’t our teachers, or the various Instructors know?”


    “That’s right! Teacher Sun is an expert at the Martial Extermination Realm and she brought us over to Teacher Shang to learn the battle formation. Are you saying that she nned to harm us by doing so?”


    “We managed to advance from the group stages and doubled our cultivation resources for the year. What if we manage to advance again and enter the top 8? We will be able to enter the Prity Essence Gathering Pool to cultivate!”


    “Heh, Chief Zhuang has already entered the Prity Essence Gathering Pool in the past. He has already reached the peak of the Martial Extremity Realm and is a step away from entering the Martial Intent Realm. The Prity Essence Gathering Pool is useless to him!”


    “...”


    Zhuang Su could no longer endure his anger and he snapped at the rest, “If you wish to use the battle formation, go ahead! I won’t stop you, but I will not be joining no matter what!” He stormed off after speaking.


    A portion of students from the First ss left with him, including some in the Martial Extremity Realm.


    It became a little awkward after they left, but the next moment, one of the students in thergepletion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm coughed once before breaking the silence, “We’re going to face a team from the Contribution Division next and I went to ask around. They swapped out several disciples during the group stages and we can’t be sure who their strongest disciples are and their respective cultivation levels. In their final battle in the group stage, they sent out 5 disciples at the smallpletion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm. The only thing we can be sure of so far is that they have at least 4 disciples in thergepletion stage. We have no idea if there are any grandpletion stage Martial Extremity Realm experts among them.”


    With someone breaking the strange atmosphere, everything became lively again.


    “There might be very few cultivators who entered the grandpletion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm, but we cannot forget that we’re up against the Contribution Division. They are in charge of judging the sinners of our institution and they wouldn’t be able to do that without sufficient strength!


    “That’s right. The Contribution Division sent 3 teams into thepetition, and all of them advanced from the group stage. Not even the Protection Division or Outreach Division can match their achievement.”


    “It wouldn’t be strange if a disciple or two in the grandpletion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm appears…”


    “In that case, wouldn’t that mean that we don’t stand a chance?”


    The student who analyzed the situation earlier spoke up again. “That’s exactly the reason we should bank all our hope on the battle formation. We can’t match them in experience or cultivation, and we can only hope this works!”


    “...”


    …


    Ju Hang stared at the bunch of crossbow-wielding disciples on the tform and felt his back drenched in cold sweat.


    They released their arrows the next instant and sent 2 members of the Fifth ss off the tform. The team that consisted of 7 students was left with 5, and Ju Hang spat in anger, “Are the disciples of the Outreach Division all so sinister? They even made use of crossbows tounch a long range attack. They might as well…”


    Before Ju Hang could finish his sentence, the 5 disciples of the Outreach Division brought out 5 rank two talismans and flung them at the students of the Fifth ss.


    “... What the fuck?!” Ju Hang’s eyes widened in shock. He continued, “Are they really going to be so damn shameless?”


    “Hmph, you’re still a Custodian of the Inner Division. Aren’t you embarrassing yourself by spewing out so much vulgarities in public?” A female voice came from behind him.


    Turning around, Ju Hang red at Mu Qingyu who appeared out of nowhere. He growled angrily, “This is just apetition held in the institution. Your disciples seem to be going for the kill… What’s the matter? Are you bullying them because they are not as experienced as the disciples of your Outreach Division?”


    Mu Qingyu didn’t seem to care much about him as she turned to nce at Shang Xia whose gaze was still fixed on the battle. She replied casually, “Well, you can always buy some talismans for them with your own money.”


    “I don’t need you to try to piss me off over here… Do you really think that I don’t have the means to buy them each a talisman?” Ju Hang snapped.


    His angry reaction was met with ridicule by Mu Qingyu. “Brother Ju, of course there’s no need for me to doubt your spending power. However, it doesn’t matter if you bought them talismans. They might not be able to use them anyway.”


    Ju Hang quickly turned back to the tform to see his students fumbling around the tform. After the initial attack from the crossbows and the follow-up assault from those talismans, the students of the Fifth ss were unable to organize their battle formation.


    When 2 students from the Fifth ss were knocked out by those crossbows, there were many Custodians, teachers, and Deacons in the crowd who sighed softly.


    “Those students are just too inexperienced. They are unable to react swiftly to the changes in the battlefield.”


    “It’s going to be difficult for them to use their battle formation now that they lost 2 people…”


    “It’s a pity. After those talismans were used, those students had to fend for themselves. The battle is already over.”


    “Hmm… The power behind their formation is pretty good. However, there seems to be some sort of defect…”


    “Huh? I thought there would be something special about the battle formation. It’s a pity… We won’t be able to use those things we prepared for them!”


    “It’s already amazing for them to achieve what they did. After all, those battle formations developed by those holynds went through countless generations of changes and refinement. At the very least, our institution possesses a battle formation of our own now. In the future, we can continue to work on it. After 100 years, it will be a core part of our fighting strength.”


    “Hmph, 100 years?! You wish!”


    “I heard that Talisman Master Shang was the one who came up with the battle formation, am I wrong?”


    “Who are you calling Talisman Master Shang? He’s Grandmaster Shang now!”


    “I heard that he’s about to enter the Martial Dipper Realm…”


    “Impossible! Do you think experts in the Martial Dipper Realm are cabbages that grow by the side of the road? His grandfather, Deputy Patriarch Shang Bo, justpleted the advancement! Do you think he will be able to break through so quickly?”


    “Hey, we’re talking about the battle formation here, not Talisman Master… Not Young Master Shang. Haven’t you guys noticed the strangeness of the battle formation? It’s said that Young Master Shang is nning to work on the unification of the different types of extremities…”


    “Huh? That’s strange! Look at that! The students of the Fifth ss seem to be holding on quite well under the assault!”


    “Hey, aren’t you guys…”


    “This… This… They’re still using the battle formation! They split into 2 groups consisting of a pair and a trio respectively!”


    “What?! Wasn’t their battle formation made for 7 people?”


    “Do you still not understand? I’m afraid the battle formation Young Master Shang developed isn’t as simple as we thought. They don’t need 7 people to use the formation! If they’re able to work together when there’s only 2 or 3 of them… Wouldn’t that mean that they would be able to utilize the formation with 5 people?”


    Everyone watching the battle with a cultivation base of the Martial Intent Realm and above started to discuss fervently among themselves. Shang Xia’s attention might be on the tform, but he was able to hear everything that was going on. He was just toozy to respond to any of them.


    As the battle raged on on the tform, a shocking scene yed out on the other tform.


    There were 2 teams from the Inner Division left, and the other team was made up of students from the First ss. After losing a student at the grandpletion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm and 2 students at the smallpletion stage, they eventually managed to gather whatever fighting strength they had left. Their team of 7 was made up of 2 students in thergepletion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm, 3 in the smallpletion stage, and 2 who had just entered the Martial Extremity Realm. They managed to forcefully deploy the battle formation and defeat the team from the Contribution Division!


    Just like that, they entered the top 8, shocking everyone in the process.