Chapter 366: The Strong Su Yu (1)
Early in the morning, there were very few pedestrians in the academy. The air was fresh. Walking along the road framed by towering trees, Su Yu was not in the mood to appreciate the serenity and fresh air. Instead, he was in a bad mood.
He was wondering what Wan Tiansheng was thinking. The conflict between the two character factions was starting to get out of hand. It was no longer a simple matter of competition. Instead, it had escalated to a matter of life and death. As the principal, was Wan Tiansheng going to ignore that?
Was he only concerned about the academy? Outside the academy, he wouldn't care what everyone does? Even if there were outsiders involved in this conflict between fellow academy members?
If this continued, could the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy maintain its prestige? Su Yu tried putting himself in Wan Tiansheng's place. What would he do? What should he do?
After a while, Su Yu sighed. Perhaps their considerations were different because of the different positions they were in. Wan Tiansheng was the hardest person for him to understand in the academy. It was said that Wan Tiansheng was the leader of all cultural researchers in Great Xia instead of only the leader of the academy.
But he really wasn't looking like a leader right now. Was his silence due to his strength? Was he still below the Sunmoon Realm?
While thinking about all that, Su Yu reached the books depository.
Some students and researchers could be seen entering and leaving the building. Some of them noticed Su Yu and greeted him warmly. Some merely looked at him indifferently. Su Yu wasn't bothered. He returned the greetings one after another with a smile on his face. As for the one acting indifferent, he ignored them.
He wasn't a merit point. He couldn't make everyone love him. Thus, his best option was to rope in the majority and suppress the minority. Ensure that his enemies would fear him, his friends would like him, and the neutral ones wouldn't be swayed by his enemies.
That was actually something he had learned from Chen Hao's father. When Chen Qinghe was the deputy head at the Traffic Department, he was not the only deputy head. There was a deputy head who was greatly prejudiced against him.
Thus, he silently roped in a few other deputy heads. He showed kindness to those under him, showed his ability to those above him, and showed goodwill toward the other deputy heads. Only the deputy head prejudiced against him was constantly targeted by him.
During the conflict, a majority of people in the department agreed that the other deputy head was at fault. And public opinion was strong enough to bend the truth. Even in situations when Chen Qinghe was at fault, the blame would still be assigned to the other deputy head.
Ultimately, the deputy head retired as he could no longer withstand the pressure of being targeted by the entire department.
Thus, Su Yu had to let everyone in the academy understand that in this conflict, the single character faction was the villain.
If they ended up fighting, it wasn't Su Yu looking for trouble. Rather, it was the single character faction bullying them. It was their fault. Even if Su Yu was very heavy-handed during his fights with them, it was merely self-defense. They were the ones who had forced his hand.
Perhaps the opinion of the masses wouldn't give him any tangible benefits, but he would gain an excellent reputation.
These days, both strength and reputation were important. With a bad reputation, it would be hard for him to carry out any other plans in the future.
When the guards saw Su Yu, they smiled and stepped aside. Su Yu also smiled and gave them a slight bow before walking into the books depository.
...
10th floor.
This time, Su Yu wasn't here to look for Chen Yong. Instead, he was here to see his senior sister, Wu Jia. After a short greeting with Chen Yong, under Chen Yong's astonished gaze, Su Yu went downstairs with the friendly Wu Jia.
"Junior Brother, why are you looking for me?"
Wu Jia followed Su Yu downstairs cheerfully and asked. It was so early in the morning. Why was her junior brother looking for her?
"Senior Sister, it's October."
"Yeah. What about it?"
"If you can't enter the top 100 after December ends, the academy will launch a second review on Martial Uncle. Even after plugging the holes in the account, it's pointless. The second review is a deep review with multiple elders involved."
Wu Jia's expression changed. She was naturally aware of that. She listlessly said, "I know, but...Junior Brother, I'll try to enter the ranking in December!" Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn novel★fire.net
Su Yu smiled, "Senior Sister, if you do that, there will be too many variables."
"Then..."
Su Yu slowly said, "The multiple character faction is being targeted. Why can't we be the one doing the targeting for once? If Martial Uncle can be reviewed, what about the others? If you fail to enter the top 100, Martial Uncle will be subjected to a review because of the poor results of his student. What about those from the single character faction? Would their teachers be subjected to a second review if they all dropped out of the top 100? And would the review discover anything bad about them?"
Wu Jia looked at Su Yu blankly and asked, "What do you mean, Junior Brother?"
"Counterattack." Su Yu smiled, "Senior Sister, offense is the best defense. We can't keep staying passive. My fight with Huang Qifeng and what I did to him was acceptable as I have a proper reason for what I did. But if I do the same to anyone else, everyone will start believing that the multiple character faction is needlessly cruel and domineering."
Su Yu said, "The single character faction does not care about public opinion. But we must care about it. Because we are small. Because we are weak. Thus, we still need to protect our reputation. We are already the weaker party. We can't stand against the public as well."
Wu Jia nodded with a pensive look. She looked at Su Yu curiously. This junior brother of hers really spent a lot of time thinking.
"Junior Brother, what do you need me to do?"
"Challenge the top 100 students." Su Yu said, "Challenge the people from the single character faction. Wait, no, let them challenge you. The single character faction is currently pretty helpless against me. But they won't stop targeting you."
Su Yu thought about it and asked, "Have you been challenged recently?"
"Yes." Wu Jia gloomily answered, "There are a lot of them. A bunch of bastards not in the top 100 are challenging me every single day. If Teacher hadn't stopped me, I would have fought them long ago. This is intolerable. If not for my injuries, would those bastards even dare to challenge me?"
"Good." Su Yu smiled, "Accept the challenges, Senior Sister. Don't fight girls. Fight the guys. Don't use your willpower. If you have to sustain physical injuries, just take it. Remember to cough more blood. Let everyone see that despite your injuries, you are still fearless.
"It would be even better if you can win. After winning your first fight, challenge a top 100 student. It doesn't matter if you lose since you're still recovering from your injuries. They only need to know that you have only issued the challenge because you can't stand their bullying anymore. As a result, you fall into their ruthless hands once again."
Wu Jia looked at Su Yu with a dazed expression. She was starting to understand what he wanted her to do.
"Junior Brother...you mean...I need to gain the sympathy of the public? I need to act pitiful?"
"No. You're really pitiful. There is no need to act." Su Yu smiled, "Let the entire academy see how big of a bully the single character faction is. You're an injured girl yet they keep going after you, bullying you relentlessly. It's like they are shitting on your face and forcing you to swallow."
"Junior Brother, that's gross. Don't use that metaphor."
Wu Jia had a gloomy expression. Why was her junior brother using that as a metaphor?
Su Yu found himself speechless. Wu Jia suddenly smiled, "Junior Brother, you have this slimy look on your face. Are you planning to do something against them again?"
"..."
Su Yu blanked out slightly. He hurriedly flashed her an honest smile and said, "Senior Sister, I'm not being slimy. I'm"
"Don't explain." Wu Jia did not care about that. She happily said, "I love slimy snakes like you, Junior Brother. You look really cute when you act all treacherous like this."
"..."
Su Yu wanted to say that he was not a slimy snake. He was not treacherous. He was an honest man! Something was wrong with this senior sister of his. She was slandering him!
"Alright. I understand."
Wu Jia wasn't really a stupid person. In truth, very few cultural researchers were truly stupid. Some of them were simply more innocent and inexperienced, but none of them was a fool.
"Junior Brother, I am confident I can defeat the students at the bottom 10 of the top 100. I have only been worried about the endless challenge that might come after that. Some might even drop their ranking to challenge me."
Su Yu's eyes lit up, "So you can win?"
"There is hope."
"Good! Let them drop their ranks to fight you. Maybe we can even let them challenge you endlessly."
Su Yu's eyes lit up in excitement, "Remember to look really miserable when you fight them. Also, be careful about your sea of willpower. Don't further damage it. After launching the opening salvo, you can leave the rest to me."
Wu Jia nodded.
Su Yu thought for a bit and added, "Senior Sister, remember to doll yourself up nicely for each fight. Remember to look really pitiful when you cough blood. Paste a look of stubborn indignance on your face. If you can suffer some physical wounds, it would be even better. I will supply you with scar-removal pills so everything will be fine. Would this be too much suffering for you, Senior Sister?"
That last question angered Wu Jia. She rubbed Su Yu's head roughly and said, "Who are you looking down on? Your senior sister was already in the top 100 before you joined the faction. And I had relied on my own strength to enter the top 100. I am no stranger to injuries!"
She was furious. How dare this junior brother look down on her?
She kept tousling his hair furiously, turning his handsome hairstyle into a bird nest. Only then was she satisfied. "Don't worry. This is nothing. But Junior Brother, are you confident in your plan?"
"In the top 100, Di Feng is the only troublesome opponent from the single character faction. As for the others...they won't be difficult to deal with."
Su Yu smiled, "Those not in the single character faction won't bother dropping their ranks to challenge me. Thus, the strongest opponent I might face is the 9th ranked Di Feng."
"I am still not confident against Di Feng. Even if I can put up a fight against him, I doubt I can seriously injure him. In that case, fighting him is pointless."
Wu Jia nodded, "I know what to do. When do we start?"
"Today." Su Yu smiled, "You'll accept a challenge first. I'll go get some people to hype up the fight and draw more spectators. We will let more people know that we are not the one finding trouble. It's the fucking single character faction being a damn bully."
Pa!
Wu Jia slapped Su Yu and unhappily said, "Junior Brother, watch your language."
"..."
Su Yu had a helpless expression. Meanwhile, Wu Jia smiled and said, "Smile. Smile happily. You look very good when you smile. Alright. I know what to do. I'll go take a stroll. Those bastards will challenge me without any provocation the moment they see me."
Chapter 367: The Strong Su Yu (2)
"Alright." Su Yu nodded, "I'll be leaving first, Senior Sister. I might not be around even during your fight. I will probably head over after your fight. Be careful. Don't force yourself. If you can't win, just concede defeat. Or you can cough some blood and collapse on the ground..."
"Yeah, yeah, got it." Wu Jia complained impatiently, "Why are you being as naggy as Teacher?"
Su Yu smiled and left without saying anything else. Looking at Su Yu's departing back, Wu Jia sighed.
She felt slightly bad. She was so weak. She couldn't even defeat her junior brother anymore. How embarrassing. She even needed her junior brother to strike back against her bullies. She went back upstairs and entered her room. After changing into a beautiful outfit, she walked out.
Chen Yong was reading in the living room. When he saw Wu Jia, he asked in astonishment, "You're going out?"
"Alright."
"Be careful. Don't leave the academy. Ignore all provocations."
"Alright."
Wu Jia nodded obediently. Inwardly, she was intending to ignore her teacher and fight those annoying bastards today!
...
Su Yu went to Xia Huyou and made a simple arrangement with him. Then, he returned to class and started attending his lessons for the day. Very few senior class students were present that day.
Wan Mingze and the others were not present. It was unknown if they were busy cultivating or challenging the top 100. Su Yu looked like he was focusing on the class, but in truth, his mind was completely not on the class. How was his senior sister doing?
Eventually, some of the students started fiddling with their communicators under the tables. Many of them had suddenly received a message. In front of the classroom, the old teacher was still droning on and on.
Suddenly, someone knocked on the window from outside impatiently. Ignoring the old teacher, the person shouted, "Class Monitor, the single character faction challenged Senior Sister Wu Jia again! She was on the verge of being beaten to death!"
The newcomer was an intermediate class student. Su Yu knew him, but they weren't too close to each other. Su Yu abruptly stood up with a thick killing intent.
He gave the old teacher a bow as he grimly said, "Teacher, I wish to apply for a leave."
The old teacher sighed. The single character faction again. How troublesome. Wu Jia...she had already been seriously injured previously. Even now, she had yet to recover from her willpower injury. Why were they targeting her again?
He nodded and said, "Go take a look. Su Yu, don't do anything rash. The academy will not allow any student to die during spars."
"Thank you, Teacher."
Su Yu nodded and rushed out of the classroom. More and more people had arrived outside. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ N0veI.Fiɾe.net
One of them anxiously said, "Class Monitor, Senior Sister Wu is on the verge of being beaten to death. Those bastards are too cruel..."
Su Yu's source qi erupted as he picked up the pace. He was the one who had told Wu Jia to put up an act, but was that senior sister of his really someone who would let go of her pride and concede defeat so easily? He was unsure.
After leaving the block, he saw that many people were heading toward the area housing the challenge rings.
One of them saw Su Yu and hollered, "Junior Brother Su, go advise Wu Jia to concede defeat. If not, she might really end up crippled."
Su Yu did not say anything and ran even faster.
With so many people heading toward the ring, some of the clueless students asked, "What's happening?"
"What else? The single character faction suffered a defeat in Su Yu's hands previously. This morning, Wu Jia was on her way to purchase some healing medicines when a bunch of single character faction members blocked her path, provoked her, and challenged her..."
"You know Wu Jia's temper. She couldn't hold her anger back and agreed to fight despite her injuries. After defeating a few challengers, her injuries had worsened."
"The single character faction is too shameless. A bunch of guys are fighting a girl one after another. Wu Jia's clothes are already dyed red with blood. After a few victories, the ranked 98th Zhu Hong provoked her. And she foolishly challenged Zhu Hong. The fight is still ongoing. When I left earlier, Wu Jia was already on the verge of death..."
"Damn that single character faction! They are being too much of a bully!"
"That's right. Previously, they targeted Su Yu and ended up losing so many willpower texts. But they shamelessly reneged on the debt and tried to shut our mouths with only some public classes. And now, they're acting up again."
"What a disgusting bunch of people."
"Is the principal not doing anything?"
"They are getting more and more shameless."
"Previously, I only thought that Huang Qifeng and his people are shameless. But it seems the entire single character faction is the same. Why is that damn principal doing nothing?"
"Watch your tongue!"
"..."
Righteous indignation burned in their hearts as they rushed toward the ring. As for the person who had spread the news to them, he ran off to spread the news somewhere else. He had to let more people know about this! The more people he could send to the ring, the better it was! After all, his pay depended on the number of people he could send over!
...
Challenge ring.
The ring was already surrounded by students. Inside the ring, Wu Jia was dyed red with blood. Opposite him, Zhu Hong was frowning. Why was she not conceding? If they continued fighting, he might really end up killing Wu Jia.
And if that happened, he would be in great trouble. As for the referee, it was still Zhao Ming. But Zhao Ming had the expression of someone here to watch a show. He did not look like he was going to stop them.
While coughing blood, Wu Jia gripped her sword and stumbled back up with a pale face and said, "Zhu Hong, you're truly worthless. I'm not even using my willpower and Divine Characters. Is this all you can do? What a piece of trash."
"Hmph!"
Zhu Hong snorted coldly and stabbed his sword at Wu Jia. A crisp sound rang out.
Wu Jia managed to block the attack with her sword, but the webbing between her fingers tore apart. Her opponent's willpower pressed down on her, causing her to suffocate. With a roar, her sword twisted around Zhu Hong's sword as she dashed forth and threw a punch with her left hand.
Zhu Hong's eyes were frosty. He ignored the punch and activated a Divine Character. A bunch of sharp qi erupted from his body, stabbing into Wu Jia's body. More wounds were left on her body.
"Wu Jia, concede."
Someone near the ring shouted, "You can't even use your willpower. Stop the fight. Wu Jia, don't be stupid. Someone has notified Su Yu. Just concede!"
Yes. Some of the crowd couldn't keep watching anymore. This was too excessive. Wu Jia couldn't even use her willpower. And she had just finished fighting four single character factions earlier. She had only fought Zhu Hong after defeating four opponents in a row.
Was Zhu Hong not ashamed of fighting an opponent like this? Was he not ashamed of bullying someone who was still recovering from a willpower injury? The schoolgirls around the ring were furious.
Looking at the blood-soaked Wu Jia, one of them clenched her fists and scolded, "Is this how all top 100 students behaved? All of you are just watching as Zhu Hong bullies an injured girl?"
"Go challenge Su Yu if you're so strong. Are you proud of bullying an injured student?"
"Isn't this how their faction has always been? They only dare to bully the weak. They would never dare to draw their sword against the strong. Just look at how they are leaving Su Yu alone."
"Di Feng was even more shameless. As the 9th rank student, he does not have the courage to challenge the eight students above him. Instead, he spends all his time targeting Su Yu, a student who has only been in the academy for two months. This is a so-called genius? Genius my ass!"
The girls were not holding back at all. This was intolerable. And Wu Jia was too pitiful. Even though they weren't close with Wu Jia, they believed that they should at least say something when they saw her being bullied so badly.
Zhu Hong had also heard all the voices. He was furious. Since Wu Jia was refusing to concede, was he supposed to concede instead? He was feeling very gloomy. Wu Jia was completely defenseless right now. But she was stubbornly hanging on. And the referee was not doing anything.
What could he do? He had tried throwing Wu Jia off the ring several times, but she had been able to escape him each time.
"Fine. I'll kill you. I refuse to believe the referee will still keep watching when you're on the verge of death."
He did not wish to continue this fight. Wu Jia's injuries were worsening. If she really ended up dead, the referee might suffer, but he would suffer even more. Just what was this Zhao Ming thinking? Wu Jia had clearly lost the ability to fight. Why was he not declaring an end to the fight?
Meanwhile, Zhao Ming was completely silent. Ending the fight? How boring would that be?
Wu Jia was clearly going to fight until the end. She seemed willing to even fight until death. Sure, he couldn't let her die for real, but the more miserable she looked right now, the better it would be. Perhaps...a better show was waiting to unfold.
When he glanced to the distant, he saw someone rushing over with large leaps. That person was moving rapidly. The main character had arrived.
The main show is starting. Zhao Ming thought to himself. Next, he reached out and grabbed Zhu Hong's sword. With a frown, he said, "Enough. Zhu Hong is victorious. You could just kick her off the ring. Why are you trying to kill her?"
Zhu Hong frowned, but he said nothing.
Bullshit. If he could kick her off, he would have done so long ago. No matter what, Wu Jia was a ninth-stage Great Strength cultivator. She only looked so weak because she couldn't use her willpower.
Meanwhile, Wu Jia was starting to lose consciousness. She had lost too much blood. Zhao Ming sent a white ray of light toward her. Slowly, her wounds started healing. Next, a figure leaped and landed loudly in the ring.
Su Yu helped Wu Jia up and took off his white robe before draping it over her. Then, he looked at Zhu Hong and gloomily said, "Well done. The single character faction is truly incredible. You are afraid of the strong and bully the weak. You spend all your time humiliating an injured schoolgirl, constantly provoking her and instigating her to fight..."
With Wu Jia in his arms, Su Yu looked around the ring expressionlessly and said, "Again and again. We are in the academy to learn, not to fight among our fellow students. Even if you want to fight, you should have sparred against someone your size to compare notes and learn. Why are you bullying an injured girl repeatedly?"
"Has the single character faction fallen this low? Are you guys only capable of these dirty and shameless tricks? When my teacher challenges someone, he only challenges those stronger than him. He would never bully the weak. I, Su Yu, would only challenge those stronger than me as well."
Su Yu's tone turned cold, "The multiple character faction is weak. We are small. But that doesn't mean that you can humiliate and bully us repeatedly. Since you don't care about your reputation anymore, then I suppose I can do the same. Today, my senior sister was seriously injured once again. You animals have thoroughly angered me."
He turned to face Zhu Hong. With a thick killing intent in his eyes, he said, "Piece of trash that fears the strong and bullies the weak, I hereby challenge you. Do you dare to accept my challenge?"
Chapter 368: The Strong Su Yu (3)
Su Yu looked around the ring and said, "Pieces of trash from the single character faction. Do you dare to accept my challenge? Get into the ring. You guys love fighting your fellow students, right? You guys love challenging our faction, right? Get in the ring! Today, I will enter the Top 100 Ranking and clean it completely of trash like you."
More and more people had arrived.
Su Yu roared, "You worthless dogs. You only dare to bully my senior sister? You only dare to bite her because she's injured? Looks like you guys are really dogs."
Apart from those from the single character faction, not a single person present felt that he was being rude. In fact, they felt great satisfaction listening to him. The single character faction was too excessive! They only dared to bully Wu Jia. Before she was injured, where were all these people?
In the ring, Zhu Hong had an ugly expression. Should he accept the challenge? But even Huang Qifeng had been crippled by Su Yu. How would he be Su Yu's match?
Su Yu sneered at Zhu Hong and said, "Piece of trash. Garbage. I know you're afraid of me. Scum like you only dare to fight your fellow students. You only dare to fight those weaker than you. How would you dare to fight me?"
Someone from the crowd coldly said, "Su Yu, why don't you challenge me?"
Su Yu looked at the speaker and snorted, "Di Feng, who do you think you are? Since you wish to die, I'll fulfill your wish sooner or later. But like my fight with Huang Qifeng, I'll climb the ranking until I reach a high enough level before settling scores with you, scumbag."
He then addressed the crowd, "Since this garbage Zhu Hong lacks the courage to accept my challenge, where are the pieces of trash who had fought my senior sister earlier? I'll fight all of you at once! Come on! You guys can join hands with Zhu Hong and fight me together! Since you slimes are afraid of fighting alone, I'll allow you to come together."
The moment that declaration was made, many people looked at Su Yu in shock. One ought to know that the ones who had fought Wu Jia earlier were almost as strong as regular top 100 students. After all, they wouldn't have dared to challenge Wu Jia who was a ninth-stage Great Strength cultivator if they were too weak. Was Su Yu getting overconfident?
Everyone knew he was strong. But he still wasn't at the Infinite Strength Realm. It would be hard to fight against quantity. Even actual Infinite Strength cultivators would be defeated when facing too many Great Strength cultivators.
The perfect example would be the Infinite Strength cultivator from the Myriad Race Cult in Nanyuan. That person had been defeated by a bunch of Great Strength cultivators. Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn novel⦿fire.net
"Garbage. Are all of you so scared?" Su Yu roared, "Do you only dare to bare your teeth against the weak? Is the single character faction filled with garbage like this? In that case, the single character faction should be disbanded. People like you are future members of the Myriad Cult Race. You will desert the moment you are sent to the Allheaven Battlefield.
"Is the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy meant to produce people like this? People who are scared of fighting me even when they have the numbers? People like you will probably drop to your knees and kowtow to the first myriad race enemy you meet on the battlefield."
All those provocations angered the single character faction members so much their faces were flushed red. Zhu Hong's expression was incredibly ugly.
Di Feng continued staring at Su Yu coldly. Su Yu looked at him and sneered, "Di Feng, do you disagree? Don't worry. It will be your turn soon. I will climb the ranking one step at a time and defeat all single character faction members I encounter. The single character faction can completely forget about your reputation. None of you have the courage to face me. I will show the academy that garbage will always be garbage."
Di Feng coldly said, "Su Yu, you are someone who has defeated Wang He. Now, you are challenging others"
Su Yu interrupted, "I'm sorry to tell you that I'm currently not a top 100 student. As for how I dropped out of the ranking, that's all thanks to your shameless faction. Are you trying to drag my reputation through the mud because of that? Why don't you use your brain and think about the reason for my drop in ranking."
Su Yu sneered, "Looks like the single character faction can do no wrong. When I got into the ranking, you people shamelessly dropped your ranks to challenge me. When I dropped out of the ranking, you claimed that I am too strong to challenge those weaklings. Are you not disgusted with yourself?"
Su Yu spat, "I don't know about you, but I am so disgusted I feel like throwing up. I can cripple these pieces of trash even with both hands tied. You guys are too disgusting. I wouldn't have bothered to waste my time fighting bugs like you otherwise. Do you think people like you are even worthy of fighting me?"
Su Yu pointed at Zhu Hong, "Is he worthy? If these clowns had not injured my senior sister, would this clown be worthy of even standing beside me?"
No matter what, Zhu Hong was a top 100 student. And he was someone who had fought hard for his position. Over the past few days, the ranking had been changing repeatedly.
Some people had been kicked out of the ranking and some new people had managed to enter the ranking. With great difficulty, he finally managed to get into the ranking. Yet Su Yu was humiliating him like this. He couldn't take it anymore. With his face flushed red, he roared, "Su Yu, don't think that nobody can defeat you!"
"At the very least, I can kill a piece of trash like you without trouble." Su Yu's killing intent rose as he asked, "Clowns, I'll face all of you. Do you dare to fight me?"
Zhu Hong's heart was shaken as he took a step back. Just a moment earlier, he felt like he was facing mountains of corpses and rivers of blood. But immediately after, he regained his clarity of mind. He felt thoroughly humiliated. He...had actually been scared by Su Yu!
"Pfft!"
"Hahaha!"
"He's afraid before the fight! Looks like he's really scared of Su Yu!"
Around the ring, the crowd started jeering.
How humiliating.
"Accept the challenge! There are five of you. And four of you are nearly as strong as top 100 students. Why are you afraid? How useless."
"Yeah. You're afraid even with a numbers advantage? You only know how to bully an injured student? Wu Jia is an injured student. The single character faction is really getting more and more useless."
The students started chiming in.
At this point, some researchers had arrived as well. A Cloudbreach cultivator stared at the students who had spoken. Some were afraid after being stared, some were indifferent, and some were getting even more agitated.
"What are you looking at? Oh, I get it. A Cloudbreach is going to beat me up. Understandable. This is the tradition of the single character faction. Sending Cloudbreach cultivators against Mental Tempering Stage students. Incredible."
This student was none other than Zheng Yunhui. He looked incredibly excited. He wished for nothing more than to sow more chaos.
Looking at the researcher, he laughed heartily, "Why are you still looking at me? Was I wrong? Everyone is looking at you. Your people are truly worthless. If this is the war academy, even if the students aren't a match, they would have accepted the challenge long ago.
"Look at them. They have less courage than a girl! Wu Jia is injured yet she dared to fight after being provoked by Zhu Hong. She is a real woman! Your single character faction is filled with cowards worse than women!"
A lot of schoolgirls glared at him angrily, but they couldn't help but to agree with his sentiment. How shameful. Wasn't the single character faction supposed to be the strongest faction in the academy? Was this the extent of their capabilities?
The researchers started conversing through voice transmissions. They could ignore the provocation of anyone else. But this was Su Yu. If they ignored him, then they would really lose all their prestige.
"Zhu Hong, all of you will accept the challenge. If you feel that you're not his match, promptly concede. Since he had challenged all of you together, just go. None of you is his match individually. You can't show fear here or everyone in the single character faction will start wavering."
The researchers could clearly feel that something was off here. They could see that a lot of the new members of the single character faction were starting to lose faith in the faction. Some had complicated expressions, some looked disdainful, and some looked disappointed.
Was this the so-called strongest faction in the academy? Even if they weren't Su Yu's match, they should still fight. Just look at Wu Jia! Even with her injuries, she had still fought until the very end.
Meanwhile, people like Zhu Hong had only embarrassed them again and again. If Su Yu was allowed to keep swaying the public opinion, the new students would lose faith while the old students would be disappointed. Even some researchers were feeling extremely ashamed. If this continued, the single character faction would be reduced into a clown.
It wouldn't matter if they lose. But they lacked the courage to even fight! What was that shameful performance?"
"Accept the challenge!"
The researchers reached an agreement and transmitted their voices to the students, telling them to accept the challenge.
Zhu Hong clenched his teeth and said, "Fine. Su Yu, since you wish to fight, since you have agreed to fight all five of us, then we will be fighting you together!"
The other four students jumped into the ring. They all looked furious and ashamed. This was too embarrassing.
Su Yu smiled. He carried Wu Jia off the ring and placed her down. She had already regained her consciousness. He softly said, "Thanks for the hard work."
He then turned around and leaped into the ring. Time to beat these people up!
Zhao Ming grew excited as well. He said, "You know the rules. Shall we start now? Su Yu, are you sure you want to challenge all five of them?"
"Yes."
"In that case, match start."
Instantly, Zhu Hong and company found their vision darkening. Next, their willpower was corroded. All of them wailed in pain. That was painful. Too painful. The pain felt even worse than death.
An invisible hammer slammed into Zhu Hong's sea of willpower. Zhu Hong could only feel his sea of willpower destabilizing, his willpower burning, and his vision blacked out. The gap between them was too big. In the blink of an eye, all five of them were waiting in pain from Su Yu's Soul Devouring Art.
And with the hammer strikes, all five of them were stunned. With a thick killing intent in his eyes, right after the hammer strikes landed, Su Yu swept his leg out.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
All the bones in Zhu Hong's body were broken as he was sent flying away. Even after falling on the ground, Zhu Hong did not react to his physical injuries since his willpower injury was even heavier.
At almost the same time, the other four received the same fate. All five of them were instantly brought down like training dummies who didn't know how to hit back. They were completely helpless.
Then, Su Yu took out his saber and swung at all five of them.
Zhao Ming was about to stop him when he said, "I'm not killing."
Zhao Ming blanked out slightly before stopping. The saber was actually aimed at empty air.
"Ahhh!"
A succession of wails rang out. Su Yu had actually cut through their exposed willpower.
Bang!
Then, he kicked all five of them out of the ring, piling them up before the injured Wu Jia.
"Garbage."
Su Yu snorted and looked at the researchers from the single character faction with disdain. Silence enveloped the area. They knew that Su Yu was strong, but he seemed to have grown even stronger. This was way too scary. Five students, including a top 100 student, had been defeated before they could even surrender.
This was a defeat. An absolute defeat. The expressions of the researchers changed. This fellow had grown even stronger. He was much more terrifying than before. It was the Soul Devouring Art! It had corroded the willpower of his opponents! That was the bane of cultural researchers!
Chapter 369: First Encounter With Xia Yuwen (1)
"Soul Devouring Art!"
"Did they really finish deriving it?"
"Su Yu has really cultivated it. He didn't use any blood essence this time."
Near the ring, the expressions of several researchers changed. Corroding and burning willpower. Was this really something source qi could do? Was this the result of source qi mutation?
Wave after wave of willpower advanced toward the ring. They were careful to keep some distance from Su Yu to prevent any misunderstandings. Instead, the waves of willpower were sent toward Zhu Hong and company. Their willpower injuries were studied by the researchers. Were the injuries caused by source qi or willpower?
In the ring.
Su Yu was standing there indifferent. Ignoring what those people were saying, he said, "The first top 100 single character faction member ranked above me, please get in the ring."
Among the crowd, Liu He's face turned unsightly.
"It's me." He clenched his teeth and refused to enter the ring. He sullenly said, "I concede."
Previously, he had been kicked off the ranking by Su Yu. With great difficulty, he had finally climbed to the 92nd rank. It was pointless to fight Su Yu here since he already wasn't Su Yu's match previously.
Nobody said anything. Some of the researchers were unhappy with his choice, but they chose to keep their mouths shut when they recalled Zhu Hong's fate. Heavy injuries. Su Yu was too strong and overbearing.
"The next student ranked above me. Where are you?" Su Yu hollered, "Do all of you lack the courage to enter the ring? Since you don't have the courage, then you should learn your place and shut your mouth. Do you feel good about yourself for being able to bully my injured senior sister? Enter the ring!"
Su Yu's voice was loud and clear.
"You don't dare? Are top 100 students so cowardly that they don't even dare to accept a challenge?" Su Yu's source qi erupted to further increase the volume of his voice, "Fine. Those wishing to fight for the single character faction can enter the ring. People love to bully those who are kind. Today, I will personally witness the strength of the shameless and girl-bullying single character faction."
"Su Yu."
Near the ring, a researcher coldly berated, "Enough. Don't keep bringing the single character faction up. The challenge between students is allowed by the academy rules. Everything that has happened is allowed by the rules. You are speaking rudely like a barbarian. Do you still look like a cultural researcher?"
Su Yu looked at the researcher and loudly replied, "Speaking rudely? Teacher, if you believe that I'm being rude, then so be it. Dozens of perfectly healthy students were bullying my injured senior sister yet you think you're right? Fine. I hereby challenge Huang Qifeng. Get his ass out here. How about a fight to the death?"
Su Yu roared, "Do you dare to accept the challenge? If Huang Qifeng dares to enter the ring, I can even fight without willpower. I'll hack him to death with my physical strength. Do you dare to accept the challenge?"
Do you dare? His voice spread far and wide. The researcher who had spoken earlier had an ugly expression. He did not answer. Huang Qifeng? He had only woken up. Entering the ring? Nonsense! Were they really not worried that he would be killed?
The moment Su Yu used Huang Qifeng and Wu Jia as a comparison, the single character faction lost all ground. What else could they say? Suddenly, some of the students started moving aside. Cries of alarm rang out among the students.
Beyond the crowd, a youth clad in a black robe with his hands clasped behind him, shoulder length hair, and a cold expression was walking over. A lot of people looked at the newcomer in astonishment. Why was this person here?
Further away, Liu Hong hurriedly hid himself behind a tree, acting like a thief. Looking at the newcomer, he cursed inwardly. Wasn't this fellow supposed to return after one month? Why was he here already?
"Researcher Xia"
"Yuwen!"
A lot of people offered their greetings. The youth nodded to all of them, but he said nothing.
After shooting Su Yu a glance, he looked at the crowd and indifferently said, "If you're here to spar with your fellow students, then just do that. For disrespecting your teachers, you deserve punishment. For talking back to your teachers, seriously injuring your schoolmates, and being petty, you deserve punishment. The ignorance of a student is the fault of the teacher. Bai Feng will receive a pay suspension of three months as punishment. Su Yu will cease receiving the stipend of a high-tier student as punishment."
The youth scanned the crowd and coldly said, "Whether you want to spar, to compare notes, or to fight to the death, it's your freedom. But if you disrespect your teachers, you deserve punishment."
Many gazes landed on the youth.
Su Yu frowned as he said, "Teacher Xia, which rule are you basing your punishment on?" ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ novel•fire.net
He already knew who the newcomer was. Xia Yuwen. The super genius who had suppressed Bai Feng, Wu Qi, and the others from their generation.
Xia Yuwen looked at Su Yu again and gave a cold reply, "The punishment is not in accordance with the academy rules. But it is in accordance with military law. In the military, you will be punished for disrespecting your superiors and showing a lack of discipline. All the students of the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy have one additional identity on top of their identity as a student. They are all reserve soldiers. Do you object?"
Su Yu sank into silence. A short while later, he replied, "I have no objections. Since Teacher Xia believes that I deserve punishment, then I'll take the punishment. I accept that I have been disrespectful toward my teachers. The teachers from the single character faction do not deserve my respect anyway."
Xia Yuwen did not waste his time bickering with Su Yu. He looked at Zhao Ming and coldly said, "Why is the referee not interfering when students are being heavily injured in a match that is not a fight to the death?"
Zhao Ming stared at Xia Yuwen solemnly. After a while, he replied, "They are not dead. Even with heavily injured willpower, they can still remain a cultivator. Why should I interfere?"
"Are you not aware that a referee can judge that a student has been defeated the moment that student loses the ability to fight?" Xia Yuwen coldly demanded, "Zhao Ming, get off the ring! I hereby relieve you of your position as a referee for the top 100 challenge matches."
The look in Zhao Ming's eyes changed. He laughed, "Xia Yuwen, your authority does not extend to me. I am not someone you can order around."
Xia Yuwen calmly said, "I am already a Cloudbreach. Earlier, I was accepted into the Discipline Hall as a Cloudbreach discipline master. Since you're a Cloudbreach, you naturally fall under my purview."
Zhao Ming's expression changed again. After a short while, he laughed, "Sure. You're the boss. Xia Yuwen, you sure love supervising everyone, to the point you're even trying to supervise the spars between students. Good thing you're not a Mountainsea yet. Otherwise, I suppose you'll try to become the principal or something."
Xia Yuwen ignored those words. Zhao Ming smiled and jumped off the ring.
Xia Yuwen suddenly looked at the distant Liu Hong and said, "Liu Hong, get in the ring. You will become the temporary referee."
Liu Hong smiled and said nothing. He stepped on thin air and entered the ring.
Xia Yuwen then looked at the person standing behind him and said, "Since Su Yu is so confident in his strength, Zhou Hao, challenge him."
Liu Hong frowned slightly, but the frown disappeared immediately after. He smiled and asked, "Senior Brother Xia, this is..."
"A new student." Xia Yuwen said, "I took him as my student before the new school year started. His name is already in the system. He has been away because he was with me. Today, he has returned with me."
Behind him was a short man.
He had an ordinary face and a crew cut hair. Instead of a robe that was the preferred choice of the academy students, he was clad in a martial attire. He had been following behind Xia Yuwen, but for some reason, nobody was paying attention to him. If Xia Yuwen hadn't spoken to him, everyone would still be neglecting him.
A lot of gazes landed on the young man behind Xia Yuwen. The young man appeared indifferent. He looked at Su Yu and grinned. He had a pure look in his eyes. But Su Yu noticed that hidden deep within those pure eyes was a certain chill. That was the kind of look that would cause one's heart to palpitate just being stared at by him.
"This is someone who has taken lives before."
Su Yu judged. Not only had this person taken lives before, but he had probably taken a lot of lives before. All his killing intent was being kept inward, or perhaps he simply did not believe that killing was a big deal, resulting in a much more subdued killing intent.
Where did Xia Yuwen find a student like this? Was this someone from the Zhou Family? Unlikely, unless he was from a branch family. Someone from the main branch would not be dressed in this manner. Those from major families took their appearance very seriously. People like Wan Mingze would never be seen in such an outfit.
Xia Yuwen calmly said, "This is only a single student challenging the ranking. But for some reason, you people managed to create such a big fuss that the entire academy was alarmed, turning the academy into a joke. What are you guys trying to do here? Zhou Hao, go. Challenge him."
The young man grinned and walked toward the ring.
When he entered the ring, he flashed Su Yu another smile, "Zhou Hao. New student. Here to challenge you, Senior Brother."
New student. Su Yu could feel a sense of oppression from this new student. He looked at Zhou Hao pensively. What a dense source qi. This fellow did not look like a cultural researcher. He looked more like a warrior. His source qi was terrifyingly dense. Despite his dense source qi, he did not feel like an Infinite Strength cultivator. Rather, he felt more like a Great Strength cultivator.
Liu Hong cleared his throat and asked, "Zhou Hao, do you know the rules? You're a new student not in the ranking. Su Yu is ranked 98th. You are qualified to challenge him. How old are you this year? This challenge may proceed as long as you're not over 30."
"18."
"Then it's fine..." Liu Hong smiled, "As for your status as a student, let me verify it..."
He walked to the side and performed the verification with a device. After a short while, he nodded, "You are indeed a new student. You have been registered earlier as Researcher Xia Yuwen's student. Su Yu, do you accept this challenge?"
Should he accept? Of course he should! After saying all those boastful words to insult the single character faction, he had to accept this challenge or his earlier words would be reduced into a joke. He would be the clown instead.
People would say that Su Yu only dared to challenge the people weaker than him. Why was he afraid of a mere new student now? Su Yu looked at Xia Yuwen. This person had definitely arrived way earlier.
It had definitely been Xia Yuwen's plan from the beginning to have Zhou Hao challenge him in a situation where he couldn't refuse the challenge. This bastard had definitely returned earlier! Even if this Zhou Hao looked ordinary, Su Yu knew that he was definitely very strong.
The cold look in Su Yu's eyes receded, returning to calm as he said, "I accept the challenge."
Zhou Hao smiled, "Senior Brother Su, a mere spar is boring. Why don't we fight to the death?"
Liu Hong cleared his throat, "This requires the signatures of both teachers. Su Yu, Bai Feng has left the academy, right?"
Bai Feng was not around. A Divine Character stealthily activated in Liu Hong's eyes as he stole a glance at Zhou Hao. He was alarmed by what he saw.
Chapter 370: First Encounter With Xia Yuwen (2)
At the same time.
Among the crowd.
Jia Mingzhen frowned and transmitted his voice, "Where did this barbaric kid come from? He cultivates the Thousand Mountain Art, right?"
"I think so." An elder replied, "A heaven-grade cultivation method requiring 144 acupoints. But at the ninth-stage Great Strength Realm, merging acupoints will be a very difficult task for the cultivators of this method. In fact, it is almost impossible for cultivators of this method to advance into the Infinite Strength Realm. Why did Xia Yuwen teach this method to a student? Is he not afraid that he would ruin this student?"
"He doesn't look like a willpower cultivator. His willpower percentage is too low. So he's a body cultivator?"
"Yeah. I doubt he has even formed a single character. He relies on his strong body and plentiful acupoints."
"Su Yu has quite a lot of acupoints opened as well."
"But Su Yu's acupoints have not been linked into a system. This Zhou Hao's 144 acupoints have been linked into a system. Su Yu's Soul Devouring Art is useless against him. Even with willpower suppression and Divine Characters, he might not be able to defeat this opponent."
The elders had solemn expressions. The Thousand Mountain Art was a top-tier heaven-grade cultivation method. Unfortunately, it was too difficult for the cultivators of this technique to fuse acupoints.
Back then, a lot of people coveted the might of this method. But ultimately, all of them failed in fusing their acupoints and were forced to switch to a different cultivation method. This kid had actually opened all 144 acupoints to successfully cultivate that method. He only needed to fuse his acupoints to enter the Infinite Strength Realm.
Su Yu had a lot of acupoints opened as well, but only 108 of them were linked into a system. His offensive strength was below Zhou Hao's. In terms of physical strength alone, Su Yu might not be this opponent's match.
It was clear that Xia Yuwen had his own considerations for sending Zhou Hao to challenge Su Yu. This Zhou Hao was not a willpower cultivator.
Because of that, the Soul Devouring Art would be far less effective on him. As for willpower suppression, Su Yu wasn't a Skysoar so his suppression wouldn't be too strong. With a high number of acupoints, Zhou Hao had enough explosive strength to even negate the willpower suppression.
...
In the ring.
Su Yu inhaled lightly. Fight to the death.
How confident. This person was definitely not weak. And he probably cultivated a heaven-grade manual too.
Su Yu thought for a bit and said, "My teacher is not around to give his approval for the fight to the death. How about this, since you have suggested this, we might as well enforce a no-surrender rule. Both of us will fight until the very end. The person nearest to death would be the loser."
Zhou Hao grinned, "Sure. What a pity that I wont get to kill someone today."
Su Yu glanced at Liu Hong before saying, "Fellow students, may I trouble someone to notify Head Manager Chen Yong at the books depository about this? I'm worried that a certain referee might be unfair in his judgment."
Soon, someone ran toward the books depository. Beside the ring, Wu Jia had fully regained her consciousness. She looked worried. This person had challenged Su Yu to a fight to the death even after Su Yu's valiant victory over Zhu Hong and the others. Clearly, this person was very confident in himself.
Even more worrying was the fact that this was a student brought back by Xia Yuwen. Xia Yuwen was a super genius who had suppressed the likes of Bai Feng and Wu Qi. Would his student be weak? Wu Jia was worried. Her junior brother had never mentioned that something like this would happen.
Liu Hong smiled and shrugged indifferently. Even better if Chen Yong was here. He would be happy to let someone share the burden with him. There was no way he was going to be biased with so many people watching. And even if he was going to pull some tricks, he himself wasn't sure if his target should be Su Yu or Zhou Hao.
Xia Yuwen had actually returned. How troublesome. He started cursing Zhou Mingren inwardly. Damn it. Didn't Zhou Mingren say that Xia Yuwen would take a month to return? How many days have it been? That old bastard had lied to him!
Before long, Chen Yong arrived. He looked at the two students in the ring and Xia Yuwen before looking at the injured Wu Jia. He felt a great headache coming. He had merely neglected the kids momentarily. Why had the kids kicked such a big fuss in such a short period of time?
"Martial Uncle, please keep an eye out for me. Furthermore, this is a fight of no surrender. Death and life do not matter. Only victory and defeat matters. We will keep fighting until a victor is decided."
Chen Yong wanted to say something, but he hesitated.
Seeing that, Su Yu smiled, "Martial Uncle, I enjoy challenging strong opponents."
Chen Yong sighed. He nodded and looked at Liu Hong. He said nothing. He looked at Xia Yuwen again. Xia Yuwen merely stood there with his hands clasped behind him, completely ignoring Chen Yong.
Chen Yong did not say anything with his mouth. But the next moment, Xia Yuwen's body shifted slightly.
"Xia Yuwen, we can't afford to get involved in the Xia Family's fight for the prefect's position. But it is not proper for you to make us your stepping stone. The multiple character faction does not have a lot of members left. I'll be frank. When you reach the ninth-stage Cloudbreach Realm, I'll be giving your strength a try."
Xia Yuwen turned his head.
Chen Yong smiled and nodded at him. He continued his voice transmission, "This is unrelated to you, but you insisted on getting involved. In that case, I'll be waiting for you. You're already a third-stage Cloudbreach so it won't take you long. You're growing much faster than my junior brother. Come find me after reaching the ninth stage."
Xia Yuwen's eyes flickered. Find him after reaching the ninth stage. Chen Yong.
Chen Yong ended the talk and focused on the ring. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ novel※fire.net
...
In the ring.
Liu Hong looked at the two students and smiled, "Since everyone agrees to the match, let us begin."
Whoosh!
Two figures dashed forth, leaving a series of afterimages.
As the two met, a loud rumble rang out. Su Yu was forced to take a step back. When his foot landed on the ground, the ground cracked.
Zhou hao grinned. Inside his body, 144 dots of light were shining brightly. He threw himself forward and clawed at Su Yu with both hands. He moved at an incredible speed.
Su Yu's willpower erupted and pressed down on Zhou Hao.
Boom!
A massive pillar of source qi shot forth and dispersed Su Yu's willpower.
Su Yu's face paled slightly. So powerful! And Zhou Haos source qi was also very pure. Linking 144 acupoints into a system had indeed granted him an impressive strength. This offensive power was at a level beyond Su Yu's.
"Battle!"
"Kill!"
With a roar, Su Yu decided to give up on willpower suppression. He stomped his foot on the ground and streaked forward.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The two instantly exchanged dozens of moves. With a roar, Zhou Hao clawed at Su Yu's arms, painting both his arms red with blood.
Ninth-stage Great Strength Realm.
Both were at this cultivation level, but the qi undulations from their fight were causing even some ninth-stage Infinite Strength students to be alarmed.
Su Yu, someone with 180 opened acupoints.
Zhou Hao, someone with 144 opened acupoints.
One had 108 acupoints linked into a system while the other had 144 acupoints linked into a system. The two were actually evenly matched. Su Yu's explosive strength was slightly weaker, but he surpassed Zhou Hao in terms of source qi density, body strength, and defensive prowess.
...
"Are these two still cultural researchers?"
Someone grumbled. Could they even be considered cultural researchers? More like brutes from the war academy! With their strength, they could probably enter the Infinite Strength Ranking of the war academy relying only on their body cultivation.
Why were there so many freaks this year? In the previous years, one such student from the war academy would be enough to wipe the floor with all the geniuses and freaks of their academy.
...
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Kick after kick was unleashed by Su Yu untiringly. His kicks ripped through the air, blasted the surrounding source qi apart, and forced Zhou Hao to retreat repeatedly.
But Zhou Hao also demonstrated incredible strength. The Thousand Mountain Art came with its own martial technique.
A supplementary technique.
It was similarly powerful as it was a heaven-grade martial technique.
His body had turned as heavy as a mountain, granting him extraordinary strength which he harnessed to throw fist after fist at the soles of Su Yu's feet. Suddenly, a crack rang out as Su Yu landed a kick on Zhou Hao's arm.
Su Yu also retreated. He could feel an acute pain coming from the soles of his feet. Zhou Hao grinned and charged forth again. He was using no weapon. He relied only on his two hands.
Once again, he clawed with both his hands. Source qi itself exploded from his claw attacks as sounds of explosion rang out repeatedly. Each time his strikes hit, he would create several bloody holes on Su Yu's body. Su Yu responded with his own punches. The two continued moving at a rapid speed.
Booming sounds echoed in the area.
Suddenly, a particularly loud bang rang out.
The two figures separated once again. A new claw mark was left on Su Yu's chest while Zhou Hao had suffered a wound deep enough to show his bones on his shoulder.
"Hehe. You're very strong." Zhou Hao, who had been silent since the start of the match, licked his lips and said, "I have never encountered a match in the Great Strength Realm. Senior Brother, you have not disappointed me."
"Don't worry. You won't be disappointed."
Su Yu sounded calm and indifferent. As for the pain he was feeling, it wasn't important. Zhou Hao's killing intent was too thick. He fought like an animal, carrying an innate bloodlust with him. Clearly, this was someone who had grown through slaughter.
But Su Yu believed that he was no weaker than this opponent. He himself was very experienced with death. He had never feared death since he was a child. Once again, the two collided loudly.
Countless sparks were generated on the tough floor of the ring. And booming sounds reverberated in the area.
Legs swept across the ring.
Claws swam through the ring.
A crisp crack rang out and Su Yu's left arm drooped down. His arm had been snapped. Blood could be seen flowing down his arm. But he appeared completely indifferent as he countered with yet another kick.
An illusory mist accompanied his kick. With a pop, the tip of his leg stabbed into Zhou Hao's thigh. Blood spurted out.
Zhou Hao merely grinned and pounced forth, dragging his crippled leg with him. Taking advantage of the split second Su Yu took to regain his footing, Zhou Hao grabbed Su Yu's right arm. With the same pure look in his eyes and a warm smile on his face, he twisted and snapped Su Yu's right arm.
"Hmph!"
A cold snort rang out as a saber suddenly appeared before swinging down with the momentum to sever everything in its path. Zhou Hao's expression changed. He hurriedly let go. But right that instant, Su Yu twisted his right arm and locked it around Zhou Hao's arms.
Splurt!
The saber landed. Three arms dropped to the ground.
"Ahhh!"
The crowd exclaimed in alarm. How ruthless. To sever his opponent's two arms, he had sacrificed one of his arms. Blood poured out madly from the two stumps on Zhou Hao's shoulders, but the bleeding only lasted for an instant. However, Zhou Hao had turned incomparably pale.
Su Yu was also looking deathly pale with a broken left arm and a severed right arm. A smile formed on his face. He stepped forth. His leg swept forth like a bolt of lightning.
Boom!
With no arms left, a bestial look covered Zhou Hao's face as he met the kick with his own kick. In that manner, they exchanged over a dozen moves. A crack suddenly rang out from Zhou Hao's leg.
At this point, both of Su Yu's legs were already dyed red with blood. To be precise, both combatants were already dyed red in blood. Yet neither was conceding.
"Don't concede."
Su Yu smiled as a saber dropped down from the sky. Lightning cackled around the saber.
Boom!
Zhou Hao rolled away from the attack. After leaving a deep gash on the ground, the saber switched direction and shot toward Zhou Hao again.
Zhou Hao clenched his teeth and roared. His body enlarged, and his mouth turned even larger before chomping down on the incoming saber. Multiple cracks sounded as his teeth broke. Not all his teeth broke, so he was able to stop the saber's advance. The saber shook, trying to break free, but he refused to let go even after his entire mouth was mutilated.
Right that moment, Su Yu leaped into the air before stomping down with one leg. A bestial growl rang out from Zhou Hao's throat. His hair, that was already soaked with blood, stood on end as he rammed his head into the incoming leg.
Boom!
Chapter 371: First Encounter With Xia Yuwen (3)
Su Yu was sent flying backward while more blood flowed down Zhou Hao's head. He looked like a mad demon. Flinging the saber in his mouth away, he dashed forth and rammed his head in Su Yu's direction once again.
Boom!
Su Yu had just landed. Before he could stabilize his footing, Zhou Hao's stomp on the ground caused the ring to shake, causing him to stagger slightly. Then, Zhou Hao's head rammed into his chest. Sounds of his ribs breaking rang out.
Everything had happened too fast. A majority of the students around the ring couldn't even see the fight clearly. And a minority of them could only see two silhouettes flickering all over the ring.
Su Yu coughed a mouthful of blood from the attack. At the exact same moment, with a frosty expression, a hammer appeared. Near the ring, Chen Yong and Xia Yuwen trembled in shock.
Willpower technique?
The hammer descended.
Zhou Hao could sense the attack, but he was no longer able to release the powerful source qi beam he had released early in the match. With a roar, his source qi erupted, but it failed to block the hammer.
Boom!
A loud boom rang out in his mind. The observers saw nothing. They only saw that Zhou Hao had suddenly paused for a split second. Right that moment, Su Yu sent a kick out. With a boom, the leg stabbed through Zhou Hao's flesh.
His chest had actually been punctured. His internal organs were clear for all to see. Su Yu was showing no mercy. If it wasn't for the fact that Bai Feng wasn't around, this would be a fight to the death. And that was on Zhou Hao's suggestion.
And since Zhou Hao was still alive, he didn't intend to stop. His left leg swept out and broke both of Zhou Hao's legs. Both legs broken, Zhou Hao dropped to his knees. He had finally recovered from the hammer strike.
With a bestial roar, he rammed his head in Su Yu's direction once again. His source qi erupted with an incomparable might. He was basically a savage. The students nearest to Zhou Hao hurriedly stepped back in alarm. This fellow was still so ferocious even after suffering such heavy injuries. What a scary person.
That baleful presence of his caused their hearts to palpitate in fear. They were feeling so even when they were watching outside the ring. What about Su Yu? Just how heavy of a pressure was he withstanding in the ring? How much courage did he require to face a savage like this in battle?
But when they thought of how Su Yu was ruthless enough to cut off his own arm...
Even the researchers from the single character faction were starting to develop some fear toward Su Yu.
Xia Yuwen had produced a student so savage out of nowhere, but the refined and graceful Su Yu was able to fight just as fiercely as Zhou Hao was. Neither of them looked like a cultural researcher. They were basically beasts in human bodies.
...
"Su Yu won."
Jia Mingzhen muttered with a complicated expression. From the moment Su Yu demonstrated the willingness to sever even his own arm, he had won. With one arm as the price, he had removed two of Zhou Hao's arms from the equation. That was the main contribution of his victory. There was no longer any suspense in the match.
Even without taking such a drastic action, Su Yu still stood a chance to win against this opponent. But for a speedy victory, he had actually...Even Jia Mingzhen couldn't help but to admire the kid's ruthlessness. What a ferocious kid.
This wasn't a hopeless match. Yet to guarantee the victory, he had actually sacrificed his own arm. Jia Mingzhen thought to himself that Su Yu was definitely a student that did not need any further provocations from him to be more motivated in cultivation. The kid was already crazy enough about cultivation that he was even willing to put his life on the line.
...
And what happened next verified Jia Mingzhen's thoughts.
The moment Zhou Hao lost his arms, this match was lost for him. But he was also a ruthless individual. He wasn't willing to concede defeat. Thus, he stubbornly continued fighting Su Yu. Without his arms, he would use his legs. Without his legs, he would use his head, his teeth, his back, his chest...
Every part of his body could be used to kill.
He was much stronger than Huang Qifeng. Sure, both Huang Qifeng and Zhou Hao had had their willpower heavily damaged by Su Yu. But Zhou Hao was not a willpower cultivator in the first place. Thus, the backlash he suffered from his willpower injury wasn't too bad. He had only been assaulted by a dizzy spell.
When Zhou Hao charged at Su Yu with his head once again. The saber returned to Su Yu. There, it shrunk in size before shooting straight at Zhou Hao's head.
Liu Hong was about to stop the match when Zhou Hao roared, "I have not lost yet!"
Liu Hong was more than happy to not do anything. Zhou Hao roared and moved his head slightly to the side, allowing the saber qi to mutilate both his ears and his face before he chomped down on the saber. At this point, his mouth was so mutilated that the blood coming out of it was starting to take a purple tinge. With the saber in his mouth, he continued his charge toward Su Yu.
"Hmph!"
With a cold snort, Su Yu slammed his left foot down and leaped into the air before sending his right leg out.
Boom!
A crack rang out.
The kick was extremely powerful, and it landed right on Zhou Hao's skull. It almost looked like Zhou Hao's head was on the verge of being split apart. He spat the saber out of his mouth and roared before madly biting down at Su Yu.
Hiss!
Zhou Hao managed to tear a chunk of flesh out of Su Yu's body, but at this point, he was already out of strength. The saber flew back before stabbing toward Zhou Hao's head. Finally, Liu Hong moved and intercepted the saber. Any later and Zhou Hao would die.
The moment he caught the saber, he cursed inwardly. It turned out that a clump of black fire had erupted from the saber to burn his willpower, torturing him with intense pain.
Damn it!
That damn rascal was deliberately burning him!
At that moment of distraction, a ruthless glint shone in Su Yu's eyes as he rammed his head into Zhou Hao's face.
Bang!
Zhou Hao collapsed onto the ground. He was without both his arms while his entire head had been mutilated badly. And he was no longer showing any signs of life. The blood-soaked Su Yu was gasping for breath as he looked at Liu Hong.
Liu Hong was staring at Su Yu blankly.
Holy shit!
Was he dead?
Damn it! That damn kid had deliberately burned him to distract him! But when he scanned Zhou Hao one more time, he exhaled in relief. The kid was still alive, albeit barely. Good. What a relief. He would be in big trouble if a student was killed under his watch.
As for Zhou Hao's injuries and whether he could recover...well, that had nothing to do with him. He only needed to ensure that the student wasn't dead. Even if the student was barely alive, that wasn't his business.
He then looked at Su Yu again. What a ferocious kid. At that moment, Su Yu's left arm was broken while his right arm lay on the ground. He sent some source qi into his left arm and forcefully used it to pick up his right arm before sticking it back on his stump.
With his source, he started repairing his arm and the nerves within. Waves of sharp pain assaulted him. But he made no sound. The entire area was enveloped in silence.
Xia Yuwen shot Su Yu a glance before looking at Liu Hong. Finally, he waved his hand, causing the badly mutilated Zhou Hao to fly into his arms. Together with Zhou Hao's severed arms, he turned around to leave.
"Teacher Xia, don't forget to pay 10 merit points. That's my spoils of war."
Su Yu's calm voice rang out, "Also, Student Zhou does not cultivate willpower. That's not good since he's a student of a cultural research academy. You need to be more responsible as a teacher, Teacher Xia."
Xia Yuwen ignored him and continued walking away.
In the ring, Su Yu smiled and hollered, "Let us continue! The next top 100 ranking above me, get in the ring!"
Gasps of shock rang out from the crowd.
Everyone was shocked.
Had this fellow gone mad? He was going to continue in this state? Xia Yuwen's steps halted momentarily, but he didn't stay and hurried off. He had returned today. But instead of successfully establishing his dominance in the academy, he had humiliated himself.
Zhou Hao had been defeated. Not only was Zhou Hao nearly killed, but after the fight, Su Yu was still continuing with his challenge matches.
"Su Yu."
Xia Yuwen muttered that name while walking. His face slowly turned solemn. This was not Bai Feng the second. This was someone stronger and far more ruthless.
Right that moment, Zhao Ming appeared in front of him. With a cheerful smile, Zhao Ming said, "Tsk tsk. He's in a bad condition. I can perform emergency healing on him to preserve his life. But I'm charging 500 merit points for my service."
Xia Yuwen stared at him coldly.
Zhao Ming's smile grew wider, "1,000 merit points. Stop wasting time. If he really ends up dead, I'll report you for murdering a student."
Xia Yuwen ignored him and continued walking away.
Zhao Ming's eyes flickered as he started shouting, "Xia Yuwen, have you gone mad? He's going to die without immediate medical help. Are you still trying to save your merit points at this time? Are you trying to get your student killed so that you can place the blame on Su Yu? What a cruel teacher. You're using your student's life as the price to expel Su Yu from the academy?
"Everyone, look at this! Xia Yuwen is trying to kill his own student! I promise you that right this moment, his student is still alive! He can still be saved! I can save him for only 1,000 merit points! Is that too much? Is someone like Xia Yuwen not able to pay that much money?
"He is deliberately letting his own student die! Is someone like this still qualified to be a researcher and a teacher? He is a hypocrite through and through! Someone like him is trying to become the next prefect? Heavens! If he gets to become the prefect, I guarantee that the Great Xia will be ruined! He is too cruel!"
Countless people were alarmed.
"Shut up!"
A furious shout rang out. Next, a powerful wave of willpower descended from the sky and entered Zhou Hao's body. His life force slowly recovered.
Xia Yuwen stared at Zhao Ming coldly. Zhao Ming was still smiling as he said, "Why should I shut my mouth? Vice Principal Xia, are you trying to abuse your power to protect your own? Was I wrong? Is the academy going to start censoring us? Xia Yuwen was clearly trying to get his own student killed! I'm going to save him! 1,000 merit points! Pay up!"
Right after that, he sent a white ray of light toward Zhou Hao's body.
Looking at Xia Yuwen with a smile, Zhao Ming ignored the powerful presence in the air and softly said, "Be a good boy and return me my job as the referee. Xia Yuwen, don't mess with me. If you don't return me my job, I'll make sure you regret it."
Xia Yuwen stared at him coldly.
Zhao Ming had a toying smile as he said, "You doubt me? Sure. Let's have some fun. I entered the academy 10 years before you. Do you think I can't do anything to you? I'll file an official complaint against you at the Talent Fostering Bureau tomorrow. The day after, I'll file a complaint against you at the prefect's manor. The next day, I'll file a complaint against you at the military. And next, I'll file a complaint at the Knowledge Seeking Realm. Have you forgotten who I am?"
Xia Yuwen gave Zhao Ming a long stared before leaving with Zhou Hao. He said nothing.
Zhao Ming!
Zhao Ming sneered at the departing Xia Yuwen before looking at Su Yu and Liu Hong. Waving at Liu Hong, he said, "You have helped me with my job for a day, but the day's wage is still mine. Little Liu, don't even dream of swallowing my money or I'll make you regret it."
Then, Zhao Ming swaggered off. While leaving, he shouted, "I refuse to believe that rules no longer exist in the entire Human Realm! How dare he leave without paying after I heal his student!"
...
Heart Cultivating Pavilion.
Xia Changqing was frowning. Looking at the person beside him, he said, "Go. Pay him 1,000 merit points. Tell Yuwen to return him his position as a referee. Zhao Ming has never gotten involved in factional politics. Why provoke him for no reason?"
The old servant beside him sighed, "Young Master Yuwen is only slightly arrogant. And he doesn't know Zhao Ming well. He doesn't know that Zhou Ming is like a stubborn stain that is very difficult to get rid of."
Xia Changqing nodded, "Placate Zhao Ming. We can't let him escalate this. The grotto faction has always been neutral in the academy. There is no need to get them involved."
The old servant nodded. Latest content publıshed on novelFirｅ.net
Strictly speaking, the grotto faction wasn't an actual faction. It was merely a group of people who were in charge of guarding the Grotto District and watching over the House of Hundred. Even the academy guards were a part of them. That was a truly neutral faction. They only cared about cultivation and rules. Nothing else mattered to them.
Zhao Ming was one of them. But for some reason, he seemed to be slightly favoring Su Yu today. Naturally, everything that had happened today was still within the bounds of the academy rules.
...
At the same time.
In the ring, Su Yu smiled and asked, "Is there nobody else from the single character faction here? Fine. Di Feng has been waiting for me, right? Come on. Get in the ring."
Su Yu couldn't even stand properly anymore. His body was completely dyed red with blood, his right arm had barely been connected to his shoulder, and his left arm was still broken. The crowd was shocked. Was he really going to keep fighting?
Many single character faction students started looking at each other in dismay. Should they go? But in this situation, even a victory would cause them to lose more of their prestige. But if they refused to go, they would also lose a lot of prestige.