Chapter 409: Multiple Character Faction's Class (1)
Wentan Research Center.
Third underground floor. Main laboratory.
It was already the 12th of October. Su Yu and the others had stayed almost exclusively indoors for the past two days. The injured ones were focused on recuperating, while the rest were focused on cultivating.
Bai Feng had recovered considerably. But due to the loss of his characters, his combat strength had dropped considerably.
Bai Feng wasn't too worried. He still looked calm and indifferent. Every now and then, he would secretly read some of Su Yu's willpower texts. Bai Feng believed that Su Yu had too many willpower texts to even remember how many he had.
But today, Bai Feng was not reading any willpower texts. Since he had some free time and was about to leave this place soon, he suddenly remembered that he was also a teacher.
"Today, I'll be teaching you my newest creation, the character technique disassembly method."
Not far away, Hong Tan was seated cross-legged in cultivation. Obviously, he was pretending to be cultivating. He was too embarrassed to openly learn from his student, so he was pretending to be cultivating while eavesdropping on the lesson.
Su Yu and Bai Feng did not bother exposing him. This old man would really beat them up if they exposed him.
While talking, Bai Feng took out a small sword. It was very small. And there were only four dots of light inside it.
"Back then, my character technique required 12 foundation characters. After entering the Skysoar Realm, I formed 16 additional characters. In total, I had 28 characters.
"During the battle with Xia Yuwen, I had to crush 24 characters before I managed to deal him a serious injury. That fellow is really quite impressive.
"Xia Yuwen has been known to be unrivalled at the same cultivation level. That actually isn't too wrong. He is very strong. Not even those weak fifth- or even sixth-stage Cloudbreach cultivators in the academy could be his match. What does that mean?"
Su Yu instantly understood, "That can only mean that you are incomparably heroic and powerful, Teacher. If you decide to fight for real, you can instantly kill a fifth- or sixth-stage Cloudbreach cultivator."
"Exactly."
Bai Feng had the urge to raise his thumbs at his student. It felt incredible to have a smart student who could say the words he left unsaid.
Not far away, Hong Tan started looking at Su Yu suspiciously.
This kid...no longer looked like a simple and honest person.
"Of course, I also paid a high price. Honestly, anyone else would not be willing to sacrifice 24 characters for this. The separation of a character technique is not as simple as forcefully tearing it apart. If that's really how you do it, we would have discovered this method long ago during our peak when we had numerous experts."
"In fact, my disassembly method was inspired by my racial ability character research. Since characters can be brought together, why can't they be taken apart again? In that case, how should we take them apart without destroying the character technique? How do we keep the character technique strong even after it is taken apart? Not even your grandteacher has the answer to this. But I..."
Su Yu gave his teacher a pitiful look. It didn't matter what his teacher said in the past since his grandteacher wasn't around. But now, the grandteacher was sitting not far away.
Meanwhile, Hong Tan's eyes remained shut, acting like he had heard nothing.
Bai Feng also realized this fact. He coughed awkwardly and said, "Forget about this. Let's move to the main topic. How should we perform this disassembly?"
He took out his Dragon Slaying Sword again.
"Each character is different from each other. They will have different properties and abilities. They will also differ from each other in strength..."
Bai Feng stopped straying from the topic and started giving Su Yu a class on the disassembly of character techniques while ensuring that these techniques would still possess some combat prowess.
"Even a disassembled character technique with only one character is stronger than a single independent character. Do you know why?"
Su Yu shook his head.
Bai Feng smiled, "You can say that a character technique with only one character can't even be considered a proper character technique. But why is it still stronger than a regular character? Because even after disassembling your character technique, there is still a connection between them. There is still a resonance. Do you know about Zhao Li's Hundred Sword Box?"
Su Yu nodded.
"At its peak, his Hundred Sword Box is capable of creating a formation of a hundred swords. These swords will resonate with each other and amplify their power. That's the case with character techniques."
After saying that, Bai Feng instantly disassembled his Dragon Slaying Sword into four smaller swords.
The four swords started circling around Su Yu. They were completely in sync with each other, yet each of them had different properties.
One of them emanated an aura of frost; one emanated an incomparably sharp aura; one emanated a destructive aura...
"This is the difference between a single character in a character technique and one outside a character technique."
The four swords erupted in strength at the same time. They moved in sync, their power resonated with each other, and a balance was reached.
"They can work together as a formation."
Su Yu nodded. After thinking for a bit, he said, "Teacher, at times, the single character faction will also use multiple characters together in some sort of system, such as a system of wind, fire, mountain, and forest. Is that system of theirs similar to what you're showing here?"
"More or less."
Bai Feng nodded, "In truth, those systems they are using also originated from our faction. Back then, your grandteacher was the one who had come up with the methods of using characters as a system. The single character faction had merely adopted these methods. Of course, they had subsequently performed their own research and improved upon these methods, but the core of their systems is still utilizing the fusion method created by your grandteacher."
At this time, Hong Tan clarified, "I am not the creator of character systems. Your great grandteacher had left some incomplete information behind. I had merely improved upon those methods before releasing them."
Su Yu nodded. True. Back then, Hong Tan was still too young. It would be too difficult for someone that young to come up with an entirely new system of utilizing Divine Characters. Nevertheless, one should also not underestimate the difficulty of actually improving upon a system left by the fifth principal.
In truth, Su Yu felt like both his teacher and grandteacher fit the image of real cultural researchers in his mind.
Prior to entering the academy, Su Yu believed that despite the strength of cultural researchers, they should still spend more of their effort and energy on research. But after entering the academy, he saw that such researchers were actually quite rare.
Zhao Li could be considered one of them. He would spend most of his time in his research center. And Bai Feng was definitely one of them. He had basically been living in his laboratory.
Su Yu didn't know too many other researchers. He knew that there were a decent number of them who enjoyed hiding in their research centers, but he also knew that there were a lot who spent the majority of their time outside their research centers.
Bai Feng ignored his teacher and continued speaking, "Your character technique requires 18 foundational characters. It is a character technique with 18 nodes..."
"Hmm?" Hong Tan asked in astonishment, "How many?"
Bai Feng looked at his teacher and gloomily said, "Teacher, aren't you cultivating? Aren't you focusing on your breakthrough? You should enter seclusion now. I'm in the middle of teaching my student."
He was finally giving his student an official lesson, but why was his teacher interrupting again and again? That was so annoying! Yes! Irresponsible teachers like Hong Tan were the most annoying!
Hong Tan shut his mouth and gave Bai Feng a glare. Fine. He decided to shut his mouth. Eighteen foundational characters? That was basically the same as his senior brother!
Su Yu was unbothered by that little episode. He hesitated slightly and said, "Teacher, according to your words, we can disassemble our techniques and continue adding foundational characters even after the techniques solidify? In that case, does this mean that it no longer matters whether I need 18 or 88 foundational characters?
"For example, if I have a character technique with 99 characters, I will first split a part with only 9 characters and enter the Skysoar Realm. After entering the Skysoar Realm, I can continue forming the remaining 90 characters. In this situation, needing 99 foundational characters no longer changes anything, right?"
"There is still a difference." Bai Feng explained, "Upon reaching the Skysoar Realm, you will have one chance to solidify the character technique. That is also the reason why we used to need our members to form their characters before the Skysoar Realm. The solidification process is essentially a strengthening process. And you can only do it once.
"Using your example of 99 characters, if you split a part with only 9 characters before advancing, those 9 characters will receive this chance. But the other characters that you form after entering the Skysoar Realm will not have such a chance."
Su Yu nodded. He finally understood, "Does the solidification make a big difference in strength?"
"Yes. The difference is considerably big." Bai Feng said, "In normal circumstances, it is basically a free upgrade. Take me as an example. Back then, I advanced into the Skysoar Realm with 12 characters. After the solidification, all 12 of those characters reached the second tier. Prior to that, all of them were first-tier characters. As for the other 16 characters I formed after, even after years of working on them, some of them had still not reached the second tier."
"So it basically saves you time."
"Is that not good enough? The strength of a character technique is greatly dependent on the tiers of characters in the technique. With stronger characters, the technique would naturally be stronger."
"So the characters that have not gone through the solidification process can be just as useful as long as I can upgrade them?"
"Yeah. But you will need a lot of time and resources."
"..."
One was asking, one was answering. Not far away, Hong Tan was gratified to see this.
Such a scene of a teacher teaching a curious student while the grandteacher watched over them not far away had not been seen in the multiple character faction for a very long time.
Sure, Chen Yong had a student as well. And Chen Yong quite enjoyed giving his student lectures. But Wu Jia would merely sit there and listen silently without asking a single question.
Slowly, Su Yu came to learn more and more things.
At this time, Bai Feng said, "You have formed five characters"
"Six now."
"..."
Bai Feng looked at Su Yu. Su Yu looked at Bai Feng as well.
What? Was there a problem with that? But that was the number of characters he had.
Bai Feng told himself that he was a calm person. This was nothing. The previous time they met, this kid only had five characters. It was only natural that the kid had improved since then.
"A human character?"
"Yeah."
"Then you can try to remove all six of your characters from the character technique." Bai Feng said, "If you can remove these characters, you can form a small saber with them. By the way, have you named your character technique? It's better to give it a good name. Like mine. The Dragon Slaying Sword. I only need to pull my sword out, and everyone will know what's coming."
"Giving it a name?" That thought had never crossed his mind. With Bai Feng's suggestion, he thought about it and said in hesitation, "Why don't I name it the Sealing Saber?"
"..."
What was the meaning of that? Bai Feng looked at his student blankly. He couldn't understand the reasoning behind that name.
Su Yu said, "I'll pull my saber out while loudly shouting its name. My enemy will think that I specialize in sealing. But in truth, that's not the case. My enemy will be looking out for sealing abilities. But instead, I'll simply cut him down with my blade. What do you think about this, Teacher?"
"..."
Bai Feng had nothing to say. Meanwhile, Hong Tan looked at the ceiling. He was mistaken. An honest person? This grandstudent? He must have been blind to think that. Just the reasoning behind the name of a saber was enough to tell Hong Tan that he had greatly misunderstood his grandstudent.
"Sealing Saber..." Get full chapters from novel•fire.net
After some thought, Bai Feng said with a regretful expression, "You're right. Why had I named my sword the Dragon Slaying Sword? With that name, everyone knows that my sword is meant for slaughter. What a pity."
His student made a lot of sense! With that naming sense, they would be able to confuse their enemies! That was such a good idea!
"Sealing Saber...very good! This is a good choice!" Bai Feng praised his student and said, "You have a cultural weapon as well, right? Are you giving it the same name as well?"
"Yeah." Su Yu nodded, "Yeah. I'll give it the same name. After I become popular, even if everyone knows that I walk the path of offense, the name of my saber will still mislead them if they have never actually seen me before."
"That's right." Bai Feng smiled, "You can first separate your six characters from the technique and use them to form a small Sealing Saber. Then, you can send this small saber into your cultural weapon. That way, you will be able to properly apply the power of your character technique.
"This is a character technique, so it will still greatly increase your combat strength. Sure, it is not a complete version, but you will still be much stronger than before. By doing this, you will no longer be stuck below the Skysoar Realm. You can always fill up the remaining characters after your breakthrough."
Chapter 410: Multiple Character Faction's Class (2)
Su Yu did not say anything. The Skysoar Realm would provide a single chance to strengthen all his existing characters. If he had 99 characters, then he would be able to upgrade all 99 of them to the second tier. But if he broke through now, he would need to spend a lot of time and energy to grow those characters.
Of course, he could use the breakthrough as a trump card as well. He would stay one step away from the next realm and take that step forward during a critical moment to give himself a boost. Bai Feng continued telling Su Yu more about his disassembly method, also teaching him how to reassemble his character technique.
Finally, he reminded, "With my characters destroyed, I don't know if I can even replace them. Don't try anything before I prove this theory right. Otherwise, you would only greatly weaken yourself for the wrong theory."
Hong Tan could no longer keep silent and furiously said, "What are you even talking about? Destroy his own characters? Have you gone mad? Are you teaching your student to destroy his own characters?"
Just what nonsense was Bai Feng saying?
Bai Feng was speechless. This old man was interfering even when he was trying to teach his own student. The old man was interfering too much.
Was the old man even aware of how ferocious his grandstudent was? The old man was speaking like Su Yu was a pitiful lamb! He knew nothing!
Ignoring his teacher, Bai Feng said, "Also, at a higher stage, I suspect that you can fuse all the characters in your character technique into a single character. It's the same as the fusion of acupoints and apertures. I believe that there is a unique, undiscovered path involving Divine Characters. You can fuse your characters, reaching a level where you only need one character for your character technique."
The moment those words were spoken, Hong Tan trembled slightly. He said nothing.
As for Su Yu, his eyes lit up brightly, "Teacher, is this the actual path leading toward the formation of a racial ability character? The different characters and the quantity of characters fused will result in different racial ability character for each person?"
"Exactly." Bai Feng smiled, "I am only giving you my theory, my idea of how this should work. I'm not talking about how it would actually work. But I do believe that we should be able to fuse characters as well. For example, I will probably need to fuse 12 characters to reach the point where I can utilize the Dragon Slaying Sword with only one character. The 12 characters will form a brand new character. And that will become my true main Divine Character. Of course, I can also try to expand upon this system and increase the number of fused characters.
"This is basically similar to the Mountainsea Realm of warriors. At that cultivation level, they aim to fuse all their acupoints together, reaching a level where they only need one acupoint for a technique or a cultivation method. When you do this with characters, you will be able to utilize a character technique with one character, having each character house a different racial ability."
Often times, a single theory was all it took to encourage the development of an entirely new system. In fact, many independent branches of study had developed from a single theory.
Su Yu's eyes were shining brightly as he said, "Teacher, in that case, the racial ability character of the human race would clearly be different than what the myriad races have. Would our racial ability characters still be able to produce source qi abilities?"
Bai Feng smiled, "You are letting the existing beliefs trap your mind. Racial abilities do not refer to only source qi abilities. Willpower abilities are also abilities. Do you understand now?"
Realization dawned on Su Yu.
True. Some races actually had willpower abilities as their racial abilities.
Su Yu had learned a lot from this little lesson. He thought for a bit and said, "Teacher, I have opened a lot of acupoints, but I am not able to link them all into a system. I can only connect 108 of them. Can I modify my cultivation method and come up with something capable of utilizing all my acupoints?"
"How many acupoints have you opened?"
"186."
"..."
Bai Feng was already used to these outrageous answers by now, so he didn't react. Oh, 186 acupoints? Whatever.
But nearby, Hong Tan was having a headache. So this was his grandstudent?
Fuck!
Where did a kid like this come out from? Could this kid really be his senior brother's illegitimate child?
No, that wasn't right. He had seen the kid's father on the battlefield. The two actually bore some resemblance to each other.
While Bai Feng was still in thought, Hong Tan said, "Activate your acupoints. Show me your 186 acupoints."
Su Yu did not hesitate and removed the shadow barriers covering his characters. Immediately after, 186 dots of light appeared on his body. His source qi was incomparably pure. And his acupoints were blinding.
He had cultivated the Pure Source Art and opened all its acupoints. Thus, he no longer needed the clearbright bird blood essence to purify his source qi and acupoints. Even his newly opened acupoints were shining brightly.
Hong Tan was completely stunned.
It was not enough that this kid had opened so many acupoints, but his source qi and acupoints were actually so pure. If this kid was placed in a war academy, he would be a super genius.
"186 acupoints..."
He took a look at Su Yu, paying close attention to the leg acupoints. With a frown, he said, "A small cycle had been formed with your leg acupoints. And a different sort of power seems to be coming from it. Is this...the power of time?"
He frowned deeply. Was he mistaken? This wasn't possible, right? Was this still a martial technique?
Hong Tan looked at Su Yu and Bai Feng before asking, "Is this a heaven-grade martial technique?"
Su Yu and Bai Feng exchanged gazes. Su Yu had a look on his face that was asking Bai Feng if he should come clean.
After an awkward cough, he said, "Yes, Grandteacher."
"It feels quite strong." Hong Tan thought about it and said, "This martial technique...let me think about it. It looks familiar..."
Once again, Su Yu coughed and said, "Grandteacher, this is a technique called Time. It has moves like Crushing Mountainsea, Suppressing Sunmoon..."
"I remember now!" Hong Tan interupted him and said in astonishment, "It's that person's martial technique! That fellow-cough, cough. That man is a big shot. He is not weak at all. How did you get your hands on his technique? When did you get it?"
Bai Feng asked curiously, "Teacher, who is that?"
Since even Hong Tan was being so careful when speaking about that person, it was clear that was an extremely powerful person.
Hong Tan had an odd expression as he said, "Silk Destroying King."
"..."
What kind of a name was that? Su Yu didn't know who that person was. He had never heard of that person.
Bai Feng also shook his head after thinking about it. There was no such leader among the 36 prefectures.
"Cough, cough. That was not his original title. He changed it after."
Hong Tan did not say much. Not many people knew about that. He had only learned of it from the fifth principal.
Back then, a certain someone was swallowed by the Silkwrym King before being shat out. That certain someone had been holding a grudge against the Silkwrym King since then. He had even changed his title to the Silk Destroying King. That little episode was a funny story among the Invincibles. The fifth principal was only aware of that because he was strong enough to join their circle.
Naturally, Hong Tan wouldn't dare spread this story around. That was a petty fellow. If he was angered, he might really start killing.
Hong Tan moved on from the topic and asked, "So where did you get it? You sure are lucky. I have heard of the Time technique before. It is very strong. In fact, it is no weaker than the Xia Family's Sky Sundering Saber. Of course, the Sky Sundering Saber comes in multiple versions. I don't know how many moves the Great Xia King has created so far."
Su Yu remained silent.
Hong Tan looked at Bai Feng and Su Yu. What was the meaning of this silence? Was this a secret? He already knew who the creator was. What was the big deal about it?
Bai Feng thought about it before shrugging. He looked at Su Yu with an expression that was telling his student to be the one telling Hong Tan. He was definitely not going to be that person.
Thus, Su Yu softly said, "Grandteacher, this technique came from our research center..."
"Nonsense!"
Hong Tan rolled his eyes. Was the kid joking?
"It's true. I found it in a book. The book is called...the Mountainsea Peace Seeking Stratagem."
"..."
Silence descended.
The silence was deafening.
Su Yu slowly moved behind Bai Feng. When Bai Feng saw that, he rolled his eyes.
Hong Tan was very silent.
Mountainsea Peace Seeking Stratagem.
What a good book.
That was his favourite book.
He had been curious when he found that the book was missing after his return.
So...the book had been taken by someone else?
And that someone had even discovered a heaven-grade technique in the book?
After a short while, Hong Tan chortled, "Not bad at all! You actually found it! I had already noticed that years ago. I have been planning to leave it for Bai Feng, but he has been too disappointing. He has failed to discover it. What a pity. But you have actually discovered it. Well done, kid!"
Why was he unaware of the name of the technique before this? Well, that was naturally because he had not cultivated it!
Hong Tan smiled, "I am not a physical cultivator, so a heaven-grade technique won't be that useful for me. At my level, even opening one acupoint would be very difficult. I couldn't be bothered to open new acupoints so I decided to not cultivate it. Your teacher is blind. He has failed to discover it even after so many years. Not bad at all, Su Yu. Like me, you have sharp eyes."
"..."
Both Bai Feng and Su Yu said nothing. Sure, old man. Sure.
The old man was basically claiming that he had ignored a heaven-grade martial technique like it was a piece of trash. He had also hidden it from his students. Who was he trying to fool?
Hong Tan resisted the urge to punch someone and smiled, "Su Yu, how did you find it?"
"Uhm...Grandteacher, the suanni told me."
Su Yu betrayed the suanni unhesitatingly. He had no choice. He couldn't show off his good eyes too much, right? What if he invited the envy of his grandteacher? What if his grandteacher decided to suppress him out of anger?
Thus, he had to show his grandteacher that his eyes weren't that good. He had only learned about the technique from the suanni.
Hong Tan nodded with the same smile on his face. At this time, Bai Feng transmitted his voice to Su Yu, "The next time you go downstairs, you might find that one of them is no longer there. Your grandteacher will probably start researching the suanni race in the near future."
Su Yu could only mutter a prayer for the suanni. What a pitiful suanni. May the suanni survive. Please don't blame him.
Hong Tan rolled his eyes. He moved on and said, "186 acupoints. That is actually quite impressive. But you have opened so many acupoints from multiple cultivation methods and martial techniques. You might have a lot of acupoints, but they don't work that well with each other. You still won't be able to utilize these acupoints better than someone with a proper heaven-grade cultivation method. Is that what you're worried about?"
"Yeah."
Hong Tan smiled, "Cultivation methods are essentially the tools you use to properly utilize the strength of all your acupoints. Currently, the strongest known cultivation method only utilizes 144 acupoints. Su Yu, we have so many experts in the world. Why have none of them created cultivation methods with more acupoints?"
Su Yu hesitated slightly and said, "Is it because of the acupoint fusion process during the Infinite Strength and Mountainsea Realms?"
"Exactly." Hong Tan nodded, "That's the reason. If there is a cultivation method with 180 acupoints, how many Infinite Strength cultivators can fuse all of them into 9 acupoints? And how many Mountainseas can fuse all of them into a single acupoint? Are you sure you can do it?"
Su Yu himself was aware of how difficult that would be.
"Cultivation methods are something to be cultivated, not something to obstruct one's cultivation." Hong Tan said, "Thus, those Invincibles stopped at cultivation methods with 144 acupoints. That's because with a better cultivation method, you might be stuck at the Great Strength Realm for life."
Su Yu nodded. So this was an issue of usability. Even if they could create a cultivation method with 180 acupoints, it would be pointless if nobody could cultivate it. They would have wasted their time and energy for nothing.
Hong Tan said, "I understand what you're saying. You want to utilize all your acupoints to unleash more strength. But listen to your grandteacher. You're better off using the effort to advance into the Infinite Strength Realm. You can't feel the stress right now, but you will understand at the Mountainsea Realm. At that time, you will need to fuse all your acupoints into one. Naturally, all the acupoints you have opened before will be a form of accumulation and foundation for you."
"In fact, all the realms before that are merely the preparatory stage for someone to enter the Mountainsea Realm and fuse all their acupoints into one."
He solemnly said, "Sure, you will benefit from opening more acupoints right now. And if you have what it takes to fuse all these acupoints at the Mountainsea Realm, you will probably be the strongest Mountainsea ever. At that time, your cultivation method will no longer be important. With all your acupoints fused, you will be able to unleash the strength of 186 acupoints either way. How would those geniuses with 144 acupoints be your match?
"As for the acupoints you couldn't fuse, all your efforts would go to waste. At the Mountainsea Realm, the source qi you can gain from one additional acupoint is negligible."
Su Yu had a pensive look as he asked, "Grandteacher, can I switch to a heaven-grade cultivation method right now?"
Even if he couldn't utilize all his acupoints, switching to a heaven-grade cultivation method would still be good for him.
Hong Tan looked at him and asked, "Are you sure? You can do so, but you will need to open even more acupoints. And the difficulty of acupoint fusion will increase as well. Let me put it this way. The stronger the cultivation method, the harder the fusion. That applies to both the Infinite Strength and Mountainsea Realms."
Su Yu nodded, "I want to switch, but I don't have a heaven-grade cultivation method. No, that's not right. I have one, but it's not good enough. I don't have a top-tier heaven-grade method..."
"You have one?"
This time, both Hong Tan and Bai Feng were stunned. He had a heaven-grade cultivation method?
Why were they unaware of that?
In fact, Su Yu had more than one. The Body Strengthening Art was actually quite powerful. But it focused too much on the physical body. Su Yu was already considering cultivating that method. That way, he could stop consuming mountainbreak bull blood essence to cultivate. He was afraid that they would go extinct from his consumption.
As the Body Strengthening Art required quite a lot of acupoints, Su Yu had not been able to gather enough time and blood essence to cultivate it. As of now, he had cultivated the Soul Devouring Art, War God Art, Lightning Source Blade, Skybreak Technique, Pure Source Art, and the first move of the Time technique.
At this point, it wouldn't be that bad an idea for him to proceed with the Body Strengthening Art. He would be able to keep strengthening his body and increase the speed of his future acupoint opening. He would also stop relying on the mountainbreak bull blood essence for acupoint opening.
"I have a heaven-grade method that I obtained through luck. It doesn't require too many acupoints. It only needs 116 acupoints. It is not a primarily offensive method"
Hong Tan stopped him, "Since it is your own fortuitous encounter, you don't need to tell us more. Things like cultivation methods can't be spread rashly unless you're sure the creator and the successors are all dead."
He thought for a bit and asked, "You want an offensive cultivation method with 144 acupoints, am I right?"
"Yeah."
After a short silence, Hong Tan said, "There are such powerful cultivation methods out there. There are quite a lot of them, in fact. But most of them are the inheritances of Invincibles. Of course, some aren't, but these methods come with a lot of disadvantages. ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ n͟o͟v͟e͟l͟f͟i͟r͟e͟.net
"For example, the famous Thousand Mountain Art is an offensive cultivation method with 144 acupoints. It is very powerful. But with this cultivation method, fusing acupoints at the ninth-stage Great Strength Realm is basically impossible.
"In Great Xia, the Sky Sundering Countless Saber is one of the proper heaven-grade cultivation methods that you can keep cultivating until the Invincible Realm.
"This is the unique legacy of the Xia Family. They are also not stingy with spreading the method. But generally, only the weaker versions are taught to outsiders. The low, middle, and high-tier versions are all available for outsiders. As for the top-tier version, very few people can learn it. Generally, only their direct descendants can learn it."
Hong Tan looked at Su Yu and asked, "Do you use sabers?"
"Yeah." Su Yu nodded. His main weapon was a saber.
Hong Tan thought about it for a while before saying, "I'll find an opportunity to take you to see Fatty Xia. Maybe we can get this cultivation method from him. But that damn fatty is very greedy. Even if he's willing to teach you, it won't be cheap."
After a short silence, he said, "I'm worried about one thing. You might need to open even more acupoints with this method. Would that delay your advancement?"
Su Yu smiled, "It won't, Grandteacher. I have only been in the academy for two months but I've already opened nearly 180 acupoints..."
"Hmm?" Hong Tan asked in astonishment, "What was your strength when you first entered the academy?"
"Ninth-stage Source Opening Realm."
Hong Tan nodded. Very good. Previously, Bai Feng said that this student had joined the academy as a seventh-stage Great Strength cultivator. Hong Tan was already suspicious of that.
Now, he finally learned that Su Yu was only a ninth-stage Source Opening cultivator when he first joined.
Opening 177 acupoints in around two months. This grandstudent of his was either a super genius or an exceptionally lucky person. Very good.
Hong Tan shot Bai Feng a glance. He decided that after Su Yu left, he would first beat Bai Feng to death before beating the suanni to death. It was time to get things in order.
He remained silent. Now was not the time for him to say anything.
Su Yu hesitated and said, "Grandteacher, the Sky Sundering Saber is the prized method of the Xia Family. Would they be willing to teach me? My teacher had just seriously injured Xia Yuwen not long ago..."
"Fatty Xia and Xia Yuwen are from different branches of the family."
Hong Tan said, "Fatty Xia...is very greedy. But ignoring his greed, he is actually a decent person. In fact, Great Xia can be considered a very progressive prefecture. Here, they are willing to invest to produce more experts. As long as you display enough potential and talent, the Xia Family will have no reason to refuse unless you're a cultist or an enemy of their family. As for the price...we'll have to wait and see."
Su Yu nodded. Inwardly, he considered asking Xia Huyou about this. After all, the little fatty was still waiting for the instructions for opening the final aperture from him. Perhaps, he could make a trade with that fatty?
The Sky Sundering Saber was very powerful. That was especially true for the top-tier version with 144 acupoints. That was a version not everyone could learn.
"If I can really get this method, I should probably consider advancing into the Infinite Strength Realm after learning it."
It wasn't like he must open so many acupoints right now. He could accept opening more in the future. But he was also unsatisfied with the War God Art that was only capable of utilizing 108 acupoints. In fact, he had been unhappy about it since his fight with Zhou Hao. If it weren't for a weaker cultivation method, he would have been able to defeat Zhou Hao with only his physical cultivation alone.
Chapter 411: Meeting Of Elders (1)
The academy had remained peaceful for a few days. Everyone was focused on either cultivating or recovering from their injuries.
But news regarding the Willpower Grotto still started spreading in the academy. When news that even the myriad race students might also be allowed to enter the grotto spread, it was as though a massive stone had been tossed into a calm lake.
...
Heart Cultivating Pavilion.
Yet another meeting was being held between the elders.
For some reason, there were a lot more meetings this year compared to the previous years. It felt as though a meeting would be held every few days. This was also the first meeting Hong Tan attended in this semester.
Meeting room.
When Hong Tan saw Zhou Mingren, he was very friendly. With a big smile on his face, he asked, "Old Zhou, I hope your injuries aren't causing much trouble for you."
Zhou Mingren ignored Hong Tan and sat down before shutting his eyes to wait for the start of the meeting.
Hong Tan mere smiled and cupped his hands at the others, "I have only been away for a few months but the academy seems to have changed completely. We now have myriad race students and even the Willpower Grotto is going to be opened. Good thing I'm back now. Any longer and I might even find myself returning to an academy with an entirely different name."
He looked at Xia Changqing and smiled, "Old Xia, maybe the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy can change its name to Changqing Cultural Research Academy. It has such a nice ring to it, right?"
Xia Changqing said nothing. He decided to ignore the angry old man.
Hong Tan did not mind. He laughed heartily, "Forget it. Sigh. Life sure is hard."
He looked at a different person and asked curiously, "Old Nie, why are you here?"
Old Nie shot Hong Tan a glance and sighed. What a pity. He had accidentally crushed the teapot. Otherwise, this would be the perfect time for him to take out the teapot in front of Hong Tan.
The other elders were similarly surprised to see Old Nie. Vice Principal Su Ziming asked, "Old Nie, what brings you here today? You don't attend these meetings often."
There were six non Mountainsea elders in the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy. Apart from the head manager of the library and the hall master of the Discipline Hall, the other four were in charge of the Grotto District.
The four biggest grottos of the academy, the Source Qi Secret Grotto, the Devil Battling Field Grotto, the Willpower Grotto, and the Imprisoned Demon Grotto, were each left behind by a different deceased principal.
The Great Xia Cultural Research Academy had welcomed six principals in total. Apart from the fifth principal, who had died without leaving a grotto, and Wan Tiansheng, who was still alive, each of the previous principals had left a grotto behind before dying.
Old Nie was the leader of the guards of the Source Qi Secret Grotto and also an elder of the academy.
Zhao Li was supposed to be the one in this position, but back then, he was only focused on weaponsmithing. And after failing his attempt to forge an earth-grade weapon, he was no longer in the mood to manage the grotto.
Hearing Su Ziming's words, Old Nie smiled, "Vice Principal Su, I heard that each of the elders attending this meeting will get a slot. That's why I'm here."
The moment those words were said, Yu Hong said, "Nonsense. I don't know who has been spreading these rumors, but that is nonsense."
Some rumors had indeed been spreading in the academy during the past few days.
First, people were saying that the myriad race students would be allowed to enter the grotto. Next, they were saying that each elder could get a slot. Then, people started saying that all the top 100 students could enter. Some people were also saying that only the myriad race students would be allowed to enter.
These rumors had caused a lot of trouble for the single character faction. Nothing seemed to be going well for them recently. In fact, they had never stopped encountering trouble since the start of the semester.
Elder Sun said, "This is a grotto we are paying a great price to open. If anyone else wishes to enter, they can pay for it as well."
These people were actually trying to reap the rewards of their hard work. This was not something they could accept!
Not more than 50 people could enter the grotto. And there were already plenty of people in the single character faction waiting to enter. But before they had even opened the grotto, a large group of sharks was already waiting to take a bite out of them.
Even Nie Qi, someone who rarely got involved in academy affairs, was here today. And Old Nie was not the only inactive elder that had appeared today. Before long, a few more elders arrived. All of them were in the Cloudbreach Realm.
The Cloudbreach elders who had rarely participated in academy affairs had all arrived. Even a few of the elders that were supposed to be in seclusion were here.
"Jia Wendao, I thought you're in seclusion? Why are you here?"
An elder greeted Jia Wendao, a fatty with an oily face. He looked more like someone who had just left a feast instead of a secluded cultivation session.
Jia Wendao laughed heartily, "I heard we're getting free slots today so I left seclusion. Old Hong, you're back?"
Looking at Hong Tan, Jia Wendao grinned and said, "Old Hong, not long ago, I collected a set of writing tools. The set consists of a dragon-beard brush, profound turtle inkstone, and so on. In fact, that set reminds me of the set you used to have. I have been wanting to have something similar for a while now. Imagine my surprise when I found something similar being sold."
"..."
Hong Tan's face turned stiff. Yeah! Where were his writing tools? Why had he not seen them since his return? Also, where was his teapot? Where were his beloved paintings? Where was his lovely dragon-phoenix jade sculpture?
Damn it! A lot of things seemed to be missing from his room! He had been too busy for the past few days and had forgotten to ask about them.
Jia Wendao continued laughing happily. The other elders were resisting the urge to laugh as well.
Yu Hong did not bother hiding anything. He sneered and said, "Truly a lineage of unfiial disciples and immoral members. A student is actually freely selling the belongings of his teacher. This complete lack of respect toward one's seniors is probably a result of incompetent teachers and elders."
Hong Tan looked at Yu Hong and smiled, "Elder Yu, why beat around the bush if you're trying to attack me with words? I enjoy living in such an environment. What can you do about it? Even if Bai Feng wishes to sell the research center, I won't object. So what?"
He could already guess what Bai Feng had done. He cursed inwardly and decided to teach Bai Feng a really good lesson after this. Naturally, when he was among outsiders, he would have to uphold his reputation.
"In the past, I had merely been too lazy to deal with you guys. Don't think that I'm a pushover just because of that." Hong Tan smiled, "Yes, I don't really get involved in the affairs of the academy that much. However...when someone tries to step all over me...well, you guys need to understand that someone near the Sunmoon Realm is not someone you can afford to provoke. Old hag, use your brain and think about my words after this. I am not interested in waging a war of words with an old hag like you. If you keep running your mouth in front of me, you'll need to consider whether Old Zhou can really protect you from me."
Zhou Mingren frowned slightly and waved his hand, stopping Yu Hong from saying anything else. Yu Hong was only a seventh-stage Mountainsea. She was not weak, but she was far from Hong Tan's match. Of the eight elders in the single character faction, he was the strongest. As for the second strongest elder, it was none other than Elder Zhao who was in a sealed seclusion.
Zheng Yuming was the weakest, followed by Elder Li, a fourth-stage Mountainsea. Above Elder Li was Elder Ma, a fifth-stage Mountainsea who was still stationed at the Allheaven Battlefield. They also had an Elder Fang who was a sixth-stage Mountainsea and Elder Sun who was a seventh-stage Mountainsea.
Apart from Zheng Yuming, the rest of the elders were all powerful individuals. This was also one of the reasons why the single character faction held so much power in Great Xia. They had four late-stage Mountainseas in their ranks.
Hong Tan said nothing else and sat down. Before long, Wu Yuehua and a few other elders arrived. People like He Ji and Fan Jin had arrived with her. The others from the group said nothing. As for Wu Yuehua, she merely shot Su Ziming a glance before sneered with contempt.
Su Ziming remained silent. Back then, he was also a supporter of the multiple character faction. Fifty years later, he had opted to be absent from the major battle between the single and multiple character factions.
After all the elders were gathered, Wan Tiansheng leisurely walked through the door. With a cup of tea in hand, he sat down and started sipping on it.
Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Wan Tiansheng smiled, "Since everyone is here, let's make this short. It's only a Willpower Grotto. It is unrelated to most of us. Why is everyone making a big deal out of it? When Old Zhou proposed to open the grotto previously, I had given my agreement."
Zhou Mingren said, "I agree that there isn't even a need to call for this meeting. It's very simple. Anyone capable of opening the grotto can do it as well. We won't stop anyone. Since we are paying ourselves to open the grotto, what is the point of calling for a meeting about it? It's only a grotto. You're making too big of a deal out of it. There is no need to gather over a dozen elders to talk about this."
"Yeah!" Wan Tiansheng nodded, "Everyone here is a busy person. Don't waste more time and voice any objections you guys have."
An old man smiled and said, "I have nothing much to say. I believe everyone here knows who my student is. He is Zhan Hai, someone on the verge of reaching the Skysoar Realm, and occupies the first place in the top 100. He deserves a slot, right? Old Zhou, I'm willing to pay 2,000 merit points for it."
Zhou Mingren frowned. He looked at the old man and nodded, "Sure."
There was no need to offend this person. This person was not weak. And Zhan Hai wasn't a member of the multiple character faction. He was more of a neutral individual. It wasn't an issue to give Zhan Hai a slot.
"My grandstudent, Jiang Mu..."
Yet another elder opened his mouth.
Zhou Mingren frowned and raised his hand, "There are a lot of students under all of you. And there are also a lot of students in our faction. There are tens of thousands of students in the academy. It is impossible to allow all of them to enter. Everyone, you are free to open the grotto yourself if you want. As for this opening, we can only offer three slots."
A lot of elders frowned after hearing that.
Wu Yuehua coldly said, "Five of the slots are mine."
"Not anymore." Zhou Mingren calmly said, "Wu Yuehua, you should understand the meaning behind the slots I promised you before. And you are aware of what you did after that. In that case, why should we still give you those slots?"
Why would he help his enemies when the hostility between them had escalated to such a level? He was no fool.
Zhou Mingren looked at a few specific elders and ignored the weaker elders. He spoke directly to the late-stage Mountainsea elders, "The slots I promised Wu Yuehua can also be given out. In total, eight slots will be given out."
The moment those words were said, the elders who had been preparing to speak out against the injustice looked at each other and decided to shut their mouths.
Only 24 elders were present at the meeting. Excluding those from the single character faction and those allied with Wu Yuehua, there weren't a lot of elders left. Thus, eight slots would be sufficient for the rest of them.
Wu Yuehua had a cold expression. She knew that there was probably nothing she could do about this.
Unwilling to give up, she said, "In that case, I'll object to the opening of this grotto. This grotto was left behind by the first principal. It belongs to the multiple character faction. The first principal was the teacher of the third principal and the fifth principal was the student of the third principal. Thus, you guys are not entitled to make any decisions regarding this grotto."
Zhou Mingren calmly said, "The first principal left the grotto to the academy, not the individuals in it. Unless a successor related by blood can be found, the grotto will only belong to the academy.
"That is not the only grotto in the academy. A decent number of them were left behind by the predecessors of the single character faction as well, including the Source Qi Secret Grotto left behind by the fourth principal and the Imprisoned Demon Grotto left behind by the second principal of the beast taming faction. Following your logic, is everyone forbidden to open these grottos as well?"
Wu Yuehua was rendered completely speechless.
At this time, Hong Tan smiled, "True. Old Zhou is right."
Wu Yuehua glared at him.
Hong Tan ignored her. He was already used to her temper. He smiled and said, "Old Zhou is relying on his own ability to open the grotto. It would be a waste to let the Willpower Grotto remain shut. It is a good idea to open it and increase the strength of our students. I approve of this."
Zhou Mingren said nothing. He knew that Hong Tan would not be saying all that to support him.
"However..." Hong Tan sighed, "Old Zhou must have forgotten about this. I am actually the deputy faculty head of the Character Faculty. The resources Old Zhou is planning to use for the opening actually belong to the faculty, right?
"I am not normally the type of person to care about things like this. The resources allocated to us from the Knowledge Seeking Realm and the prefectural government are meant to help strengthen the academy and the students. This really has nothing much to do with me.
"Increasing the strength of our students will benefit both the academy and Great Xia. I have not helped much in running the faculty, so I am not interested in profiting off the hard labor of others.
"Nevertheless, I am still the deputy faculty head. And all those resources belong to the faculty, right? Old Zhou, I believe we need to think carefully about this before touching the faculty's treasury. I think I should get involved in the discussion regarding the opening of the grotto."
Zhou Mingren said nothing. Yu Hong was the one who frowned and said, "Those resources had all been obtained through the hard work of the students from our single character faction! It has nothing to do with you."
Hong Tan yawned and said, "You're right. But...I'm also a member of the single character faction! The multiple character faction has been officially deregistered from the academy. It no longer exists. Now, the entire Character Faculty is the single character faction. Are you not aware of this? Have you forgotten, Elder Yu? Sigh. I suppose you're really getting old if your memory is this bad."
"..."
All the other elders blanked out.
Zhou Mingren gave Hong Tan a deep gaze.
Hong Tan smiled and shrugged helplessly, "It's not like I want this to happen. I want to preserve the multiple character faction as well. With the multiple character faction around, you guys can keep using the excuse that we're not from the same faction. But now...well, I have no choice, right? The multiple character faction no longer exists. What faction would I be in if not the single character faction? How about this? You guys help me reinstate the multiple character faction and give me a few genius students. That way, we will no longer be in the same faction." The source of this content ɪs novel·fire.net
Hong Tan smiled, "According to the academy rules, each faction needs to spend over 10,000 merit points per year on their students. Free willpower texts and sufficient qualified teachers will also be provided by the faction to their members. And all these are funded by the faculty treasury."
Hong Tan said, "Thus, we have two options. I can veto everything with my position as the deputy faculty head and a member of the single character faction. As for the second option, we can reinstate the multiple character faction and give them their share of the resources."
Hong Tan looked at the single character faction elders and smiled, "What is your choice?"
They looked at him coldly. Damn these rules! Did the members of the multiple character faction have too much time in their hands? Why did it feel like reading the rules was the only thing they have been doing?
Hong Tan was actually right. Those were the only two options available to them. Reinstating the multiple character faction? What a joke!
Why had they deregistered the multiple character faction? To suppress them. As long as they existed, they would continue getting a share of the faculty's resources, such as research centers, data rooms, pills, talismans, weapons, and so on.
All those resources had never crossed Su Yu's mind. That was because he had never received any of them. But in truth, he was entitled to get a share as well. As a new student, he was eligible for some benefits from the academy after entering the Mental Tempering Stage. Every single student was entitled to these benefits.
Without these benefits, the ordinary students would not be able to survive in the academy.
How would they be able to afford to own cultural weapons?
How would they be able to afford pills and talismans?
All these things were supposed to be allocated to them. But the premise for that was for the students to be a part of a faction. Since the multiple character faction no longer existed, Su Yu could actually ask for all these resources as a member of the single character faction if he was willing to be shameless.
That was what Hong Tan was doing.
He had a wide smile on his face. With the multiple character faction being deregistered, they were no longer receiving any support from the academy, the prefecture, and the Knowledge Seeking Realm. Thus, they had actually been supporting themselves after their faction was deregistered.
Hong Tan thought that he might as well become an elder of the single character faction.
Wan Tiansheng merely looked on silently with a smile.
Xia Changqing remained silent as well. Not far away, Su Ziming's eyes were still shut.
Zhou Mingren gave Hong Tan a deep look and said, "How many slots do you want?"
"Twenty."
"Hmph!"
The elders snorted. In his dreams!
Chapter 412: Meeting Of Elders (2)
Zhou Mingren sank into silence. After a short while, he said, "Three slots. That's our limit. Also, Su Yu won't be allowed to enter."
Hong Tan coldly asked, "Why?"
That was not enough. After all, he would need to share his slots with those who had helped him, like Wu Yuehua and the others. After all, they might not be able to get any slots from this meeting. As for Su Yu, he was someone Hong Tan had been planning to send into the grotto.
Zhou Mingren said, "Su Yu has disrespected his teachers repeatedly. Since you are claiming to be an elder of the single character faction, the Character Faculty is no longer split into two factions. In that case, we are Su Yu's teachers as well. Shouldn't he be punished for disrespecting his teachers?"
Hong Tan frowned, "How had he disrespected you guys? He's only a student. What could he have done? Scolding you in front of your face? Defecating on your face?"
Zhou Mingren said, "With my power as the faculty head, I am forbidding his entry. Is this reason good enough? If you disagree, we will have to put this aside for now and discuss it again at a later time."
Hong Tan frowned. If he insisted on stopping Zhou Mingren from opening the grotto, he would offend even those outside the single character faction. The elders that would have been given some slots would be unhappy.
But for them to ban Su Yu from entering...
Hong Tan's expression changed repeatedly as he contemplated. Suddenly, Zhou Mingren recalled something and smiled, "Don't say that I'm not giving him a chance. And don't say that I'm not giving the other students any chances. I will take out three additional slots and organize a tournament in the academy. The top three in that tournament will be able to get these slots."
"Since Su Yu is so confident in himself, he can just join the tournament for a slot."
Zhou Mingren did not want to push Hong Tan so much that he would veto their decision to open the grotto. Thus, he left a door open for them.
The question was, would they be able to grab this chance?
This was Liu Hong's suggestion, and it was feasible.
If they really gave Su Yu zero chances, Hong Tan might really go crazy.
"Tournament?" Wan Tiansheng grew excited, "Old Zhou, this is a good idea. How about this? The academy will also sponsor the organizers with 10,000 merit points for two additional slots. Make it five slots. We will also be providing the tournament with some other rewards. This is great. It has been a while since such a tournament was last held at the academy. The top 100 is only open to those below 30. If I'm not understanding you wrongly, do you intend to open this tournament to the older students as well?"
"That's right."
Zhou Mingren nodded. Exactly.
Wan Tiansheng smiled, "Then increase the slots to five. You will get a sponsor of 10,000 merit points from the academy. Is this agreeable?" Google seaʀᴄh noᴠelfire.net
Zhou Mingren frowned. After a while, he nodded, "Yes."
"Good."
With that, a total of sixteen slots had been given out. Five were given to the tournament, three were given to Hong Tan, and eight were given to the other elders.
Zhou Mingren was not willing to compromise more than this. Thus, he said, "This is it. The remaining 34 slots will be ours. If you agree, we will proceed. If not, forget it. We wont open the grotto anymore. "
Wan Tiansheng smiled, "Old Hong, why don't we go with this? Su Yu isn't weak. And I'm supportive of the idea that a student should work for his own slot. Just take the three slots given to you. If we keep arguing until we end up not opening the grotto, it would be a loss for the academy. The students also won't be happy if they know about this. There is no need to invite the hostility of the entire academy. That won't be a good idea."
Hong Tan frowned for a long while before saying, "Sure. But three slots are really too little. I want five slots! Su Yu is excluded."
Wu Yuehua, Fan Jin, He Ji, and Chen Ji were the supporters of the multiple character faction. And they had participated in the previous battle as well. Clearly, they wouldn't be given any slots. Hong Tan needed to at least get each of them a slot and keep one for Wu Jia.
Otherwise, he would be too ashamed to face them.
His intention was clear for all to see. Zhou Mingren was about to refuse when Wu Yuehua coldly said, "Forget it. Just take three slots. From now on, the Pillmaking Faculty will no longer provide any pills to the other faculties."
"The same goes for the Talisman Faculty."
"Count the Beast Taming Faculty in."
"..."
He Ji smiled, "Since you're unwilling to give us any slots, forget it. We don't want it anymore. It's not like we won't be able to cultivate anymore without that grotto. Your Character Faculty can forget about using our tamed beasts in the future. And you can stop using pills and talismans as well. I'll contact the Weaponsmithing Faculty after this as well. You guys are too incredible to need the help of any external tools. You can solve everything with your characters."
Zhou Mingren smiled, "He Ji, if you want the slots, sure. I can allocate two more slots to you guys for 5,000 merit points each. Don't forget that we also need to pay when using your pills, talismans, and beasts."
Hong Tan agreed immediately, "Agreed. Ten thousand merit points for two additional slots."
Wu Yuehua was about to start raging when Hong Tan shook his head at her. This was probably the best deal they could get. If they had to pay, so be it.
As for the fact that he had no money, it didn't matter. Wu Yuehua was rich. He could borrow some money for her and pay her back when he had money.
Wan Tiansheng smiled, "Good. With this, nobody here is leaving empty handed. By the way, there is no need to give the Foreign Students Faculty any slots. But they can be allowed to join the tournament. We can't be too intolerant. We can also use them to test the strength of our students."
Nobody had any objections to that. Zhou Mingren agreed as well. He was already trying to think of a way to send the myriad race students after Su Yu. Thus, this was the perfect suggestion for him..
Wan Tiansheng smiled and said, "By the way, Zheng Yuming and Bai Feng will be going to the Vanguard Regiment at the Allheaven Battlefield next month. Zheng Yuming can return after killing a Mountainsea enemy. Bai Feng can return after killing ten Cloudbreach enemies. Regardless of the conflict, everyone needs to take responsibility for their actions. Since Bai Fengs kill was performed outside the academy, I won't say anything about it. I can't be bothered to get involved with a warzone set up by the Xia Family. But if I find someone dead within the academy itself, the punishment would be severe."
Nobody said anything.
Wan Tiansheng stood up, preparing to leave.
Right that moment, Old Nie smiled and said, "Wait a moment, Principal."
"Oh, you have something to say as well?"
When Wan Tiansheng sat back down, Old Nie said, "Everyone knows Zhao Ming, right? A few days ago, he looked for me. He said that he had been suppressed. According to him, the Discipline Hall had interfered in his duties and obstructed him from upholding justice and fairness in the academy."
Old Nie paused to look at the Discipline Hall's master and said, "Old He, the grotto guardians, the House of Hundred, the Discipline Hall, and the academy guards are not supposed to participate in any internal conflicts. The Discipline Hall exists to maintain the standards of behavior within the academy. But a discipline master had actually removed Zhao Ming from his position as a referee. He even had Liu Hong act as a temporary referee. That is inappropriate."
Old Nie looked at Old He, the hall master of the Discipline Hall and said, "Old He, you are getting old. I reckon you no longer have the energy to run the Discipline Hall any longer. After all, you have even forgotten the vow we made to each other back then. It's time for you to retire from your position."
Old He remained silent.
Xia Changqing had been silent throughout the meeting. At this time, he frowned and said, "I already punished Xia Yuwen..."
Even now, Xia Yuwen had yet to recover from his injuries. Xia Changqing had only been able to get Xia Yuwen into the Discipline Hall after pulling a lot of strings.
But before he could finish his words, Old Nie said, "Vice Principal Xia, this matter is unrelated to you. The Discipline Hall and the grotto guardians are not under your jurisdiction. Old He, retire. Enjoy your retirement peacefully. You can spend your time gardening or with some other hobbies. We have agreed to let Old Huang replace you. Let go of the position. Old Huang has been with us for so many years. It's about time we let him enjoy the treatment of an elder as well."
They had agreed. The "they" he mentioned naturally excluded everyone in the room. The other elders had an odd look in their eyes, but none said anything.
The grotto guardians and the academy guards were not the forces under the jurisdiction of these elders. Instead, these forces were under the direct control of the principal. But most of the time, the principal would allow them to handle their affairs independently. In truth, these people were basically a faction formed by the students and descendents of the former principals. They were the neutral faction of the academy.
They were the true arbiters of justice in the academy, in charge of maintaining fairness within the academy.
Even when they had personal bias toward some people, they would not do anything unfair. Su Yu was the greatest example of this. Both Old Huang and Old Nie greatly appreciated Su Yu's talent, but none had broken any rules to give him an unfair advantage.
As for the special token in Su Yu's hands, that was the unique right of Zhao Li as the son of the fourth principal. That was not a right they could interfere with.
An old man finally sighed and nodded, "I understand. Old Nie, tell Old Huang to see me for the takeover later. I have indeed been getting too old."
"Sure!" Old Nie smiled and looked at Wan Tiansheng before asking, "Principal, what do you think? Old Huang is not weak. And he is also a veteran ninth-stage Cloudbreach..."
Wan Tiansheng smiled, "Sure. If nobody objects, I'll be reporting this change of personel to the Knowledge Seeking Realm and Talent Fostering Bureau."
"Alright. I have nothing else to say." Old Nie looked at Xia Yuwen and added, "Vice Principal Xia, we don't care about what Xia Yuwen is trying to fight for. His business has nothing to do with us. We only care about the academy rules. The Discipline Hall is not something you can touch. When you become the seventh principal, we will naturally follow your lead. Prior to that, please stop interfering in our affairs."
Xia Changqing frowned and said, "That wasn't my intention."
"I know. And I understand." Old Nie smiled, "I'm only giving you a reminder that people like us are around to maintain the stability of the academy. Ultimately, all we do are done for in service of the Xia Family. It would do the Xia Family good to not ruin their own foundations. If you guys are allowed to use us for your internal power struggles, will we be able to maintain our position of absolute fairness? What if a different Xia Family member comes to us for help the next time Great Xia needs a new prefect? What are we supposed to do?
"Vice Principal Xia, the struggle for the position of prefect should be done in an honorable manner. Nobody will get in your way. If Xia Yuwen is really capable of getting this position, he will naturally receive our support upon becoming the prefect. This includes the Devil Subduing Army and Martial Dragon Guards. All these forces exist to serve the Xia Family. Corrupting them right now will only weaken the foundations of the Xia Family and bring chaos to Great Xia. Don't forget that the current prefect and the Great Xia King are still around."
After saying all that, Old Nie stood up and left.
After Old Nie left, Hong Tan laughed and said, "Old Nie's temper is as bad as ever. But he's right. Vice Principal Xia, it isn't smart to ruin your own foundations. Xia Yuwen should focus on only carrying out his duties diligently in the Discipline Hall. What is the point in provoking these stubborn old fellows?"
He was clearly very pleased. Everyone could see that.
Xia Changqing said nothing else. He felt somewhat helpless. In fact, he was already feeling quite troubled. Even now, Xia Yuwen had yet to recover. Sure, the Xia Family did not lack the treasures to heal his injuries. But the injury to the mind was something they couldn't treat.
With the grotto guardians striking back against him, there was really nothing he could do. It would have been fine if Zhao Ming was someone easy to deal with, but Xia Yuwen just had to provoke a professional tattletale who was not afraid of anything. How would this issue be resolved so easily?
And sure enough, the hall master he had just roped in was retired.
Suddenly, Hong Tan said, "By the way, about the matter of promoting the books depository's head manager into an elder..."
Wan Tiansheng shot him a glance and said while standing up, "The grotto guardians are willing to support this if the books depository joins their faction as well. Are you sure you still want to promote Chen Yong? We can do it, but he will need to leave the multiple character faction. Do you agree?"
Hong Tan laughed awkwardly and said, "Forget about it. But let me make this clear. Since this requirement applies to Chen Yong, it better apply to the others as well."
Wan Tiansheng didn't even deign to give a reply.
Zhou Mingren had nothing to say as well. The single character faction had been trying to make Xia Yuwen the new head manager, but nobody knew just how Xia Yuwen was doing right now.
But for Xia Yuwen, the faction wouldnt matter anyway. His goal was to become the next prefect, not the next principal. As for Chen Yong, he should enter the Mountainsea Realm first before talking about his promotion. For now, his only path was to join the neutral faction for a promotion.
As the elders left one after another, Hong Tan exhaled deeply. Fortunately, things had proceeded relatively smoothly. As for Su Yu's slot, there was nothing he could do about it. He already tried his best. The kid would have to fight for it himself.
Chapter 413: Su Yu Meets Xiao'er (1)
"Tournament?"
Wentan Research Center.
Su Yu had a surprised look. Something like that was happening?
Hong Tan nodded, "Five slots. Four will be given to the others and one will be kept for your senior sister. As for you, Zhou Mingren is unwilling to give you one. When did you offend him?"
Hong Tan was quite curious. How did a student who wasn't even a Skysoar catch Zhou Mingren's attention? That man had insisted on not giving Su Yu a slot.
Instead of replying, Su Yu asked, "How about my teacher, Grandteacher?"
Was Bai Feng unable to enter as well?
"What your teacher needs right now isn't a growth of willpower. Rather, he needs to form new characters. Growing his willpower right now won't be of much help to him..."
Before Hong Tan could finish, Bai Feng grumbled, "I think it can still be very useful for me."
"..."
Hong Tan glared at his student and said, "Why do you want to go in? If you're uninjured and still have all your characters, you can definitely increase your cultivation to the ninth stage by entering. But what can you achieve in your current condition?"
"Even if I can't grow, I can still use it to nourish my willpower, right?"
Bai Feng grumbled, "Teacher, why don't you take the slot back from Elder Wu? Why does she need a slot?"
"Bullshit!" Hong Tan said, "One slot isn't even enough for her. And you're asking why? If it wasn't for our sake, would Zhou Mingren have reneged on his promise to give her some slots?"
Hong Tan had given four slots to four elders. As for whether they could get more slots through other means, that was no longer Hong Tan's business. It wasn't like there was anything he could do.
Hong Tan said, "If you hadn't acted recklessly, you would probably be able to reach the Cloudbreach Realm in two years and get the chance to enter the Luminous Domain Mansion. There, you can get some riversand back. With our own riversand, we can also open the grotto. As for entering this time, you can keep on dreaming about it."
"There's plenty of time."
Bai Feng appeared indifferent. Two years was plenty of time. He was confident he would be able to recover.
"Plenty of time?" Hong Tan was furious, "At the middle of the year after next year, the selection will be finalized. Thus, you only have around a year and a half to prepare. During the final six months, all participants will be given intensive training. After the training, they will leave for the Allheaven Battlefield. How much can you recover in only a year and a half?"
Bai Feng shrugged. How was he supposed to know? Whatever. He stopped caring.
"Xia Yuwen's injuries are as bad as mine..."
"But he has the Xia Family behind him. And his main Divine Character is still fine. Do you really think he is in the same situation as you?"
"..."
Su Yu completely ignored the two as he sank into thought.
After a while, he asked, "Grandteacher, so everyone under the Skysoar Realm in the academy is allowed to join?"
"Yeah." Hong Tan sighed, "I think you should just give up on it. There are too many of old students below the Skysoar Realm in the academy. What's so special about this grotto? It's just some willpower. I'll provide you with some pure willpower for your cultivation. The effect would be the same. The purity might even be higher!"
There was one thing he left unsaid. The amount he could provide wouldn't be too high. But as someone below the Skysoar Realm, how much willpower could Su Yu absorb?
Hong Tan said, "There is no need to make a big deal out of a single slot. After all, they are the ones paying to open the grotto. We had only taken advantage over the fact that the grotto does not belong to them to get some slots. Otherwise, nobody apart from their own people would be allowed to enter. Without any opened apertures, you won't be able to absorb much anyway. You've been in your teacher's lab before. The willpower in there is much purer. I'll get some for you later."
Bai Feng smiled, "Kid, this isn't a loss for you. In truth, you won't be able to get much benefit from the grotto anyway. Since your grandteacher is going to provide you with some purified willpower, the purity will definitely be even higher. No matter what, your grandteacher is someone near the Sunmoon Realm. This is enough for you."
He was also of the opinion that there was no need for Su Yu to join the tournament. It was obvious that the tournament wasn't a good thing for Su Yu. The single character faction would most certainly target Su Yu during the tournament. They might as well ignore them and let the ploy fail before it could even begin.
Hong Tan was already assuming that Su Yu was going to ignore the tournament. He smiled and said, "Follow me to the prefect's manor later. Let's see if we can get you the Sky Sundering Saber. Forget the tournament. Focus on cultivating. Entering the Infinite Strength Realm before reaching the Skysoar Realm should be your priority. Ignore everything else. Form more characters while you're at it. Even if you can now disassemble your character technique, forming more characters before the Skysoar Realm is still good for you."
Su Yu scratched his head and flashed an honest smile as he said, "Grandteacher, is there a lot of willpower in the Willpower Grotto? Is it endless?"
"It depends on how much resources they spend on opening it..."
"And how much willpower would you be able to produce for me?"
"..."
Hong Tan rolled his eyes. Of course he wouldn't be able to produce as much. They were too poor. He would only provide a little as a consolation for the kid for not getting to enter the grotto. It wasn't like the kid could absorb much. Why was this kid being all picky?
Su Yu said, "Grandteacher, my willpower absorption speed is quite fast. A small amount of willpower won't be enough for me."
"Fast? How fast can it be?" Hong Tan appeared indifferent.
Su Yu smiled, "For example, just that little bit of willpower in Teacher's lab would probably be gone after half an hour of absorption."
"..." Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn NoveI~Fire.net
Both Hong Tan and Bai Feng stared at Su Yu silently.
After a while, Bai Feng said, "You little bastard! Did you secretly absorb some of the willpower in my lab? No wonder I felt that the willpower in the lab had decreased a little. Was that you?"
Su Yu coughed awkwardly and said, "Of course not, Teacher! I would never do something like that! You must have accidentally absorbed some yourself."
"Nonsense!"
Bai Feng cursed inwardly. Who was the kid trying to fool?
"Did you stumble upon another fortuitous encounter and get a foundation cultural art out of it?"
"..."
Su Yu stared at his teacher silently. Bai Feng also stared at Su Yu silently. With a calm expression, Bai Feng said, "Why are you looking at me like that? You have been taking heaven-grade cultivation methods and martial techniques out left and right. You have also been taking out unique cultivation methods like the Soul Devouring Art and some supposed ability blood essence from thin air. Why should I be surprised if you can take out a foundation cultural art as well?"
Did the brat think that he would be shocked by this? Dream on! Nothing could surprise him anymore! Unless this brat could suddenly advance into the Skysoar Realm in front of him right now, nothing could shock him! He would stay calm and aloof!
Meanwhile, Hong Tan was looking at both Bai Feng and Su Yu, wondering if the two had gone mad.
Su Yu found himself somewhat speechless to see Bai Feng so calm. After a while, he finally nodded, "Teacher, you are truly amazing and smart. Yes. I know a foundation cultural art."
"How many apertures?"
Bai Feng asked calmly, "Is it 9? Or 18? Or 27?"
"36 apertures." Su Yu gave a short reply.
Bai Feng cursed inwardly, but he maintained the same calm expression as he said, "Not bad. It's slightly worse than the Myriad Text Sutra, but it's not too bad at all."
Hong Tan stared at Bai Feng silently. Go on. Keep acting.
The Myriad Text Sutra could only be cultivated upon reaching the Skysoar Realm. It allowed one to open 72 apertures. What was the point of comparing it against a foundation cultural art?
Bai Feng ignored his teacher and continued asking, "How many apertures have you opened? Four? Eight? Or..."
"All 36 of them."
In truth, Su Yu had already opened 40 apertures. But it wouldn't be a good idea to tell the truth. Otherwise, he would also need to explain the origin of the extra apertures. And it would be hard for him to explain himself. Thus, 36 was the perfect number to give.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Bai Feng suddenly started coughing madly. He felt like coughing blood. Yes, he really felt like coughing blood. He was greatly alarmed.
Holy shit!
Even he himself had only opened 32 apertures. Yes, that was why he was only an eighth-stage Skysoar. If he had 36 apertures, he would already be at the ninth-stage Skysoar Realm.
Of course, this would not apply to Su Yu due to the level of his willpower. Some of his characters had already reached the second tier, but they weren't at the peak of the second tier either. Thus, even if Su Yu could enter the Skysoar Realm now, he still wouldn't be able to reach the ninth stage.
But as long as he could increase the tier of his willpower and Divine Characters, he would instantly become a ninth-stage Skysoar. And that was why foundation cultural art was so important.
As for the Myriad Text Sutra, he could always cultivate it at a later time. After reaching the ninth-stage Skysoar Realm with 36 apertures, he would be able to easily open 36 Skysoar apertures of the Myriad Text Sutra and enter the Cloudbreach Realm with the Myriad Text Sutra as his main cultivation method.
A foundation cultural art was not enough to bring one into the Cloudbreach Realm unless the art had more than 36 apertures.
...
Hong Tan remained completely silent. He watched on with complete indifference. He was a pseudo Sunmoon! He had to stay calm and dignified. Yes. He was very calm. This was just a student with only 36 apertures. What was the big deal about that? He had opened 72 apertures! More than that, he had also fused all of them, leaving only one aperture in his sea of willpower. Amazing, right?
He was a pseudo Sunmoon!
What was Sunmoon?
Fusing apertures into one aperture that was as bright and resplendent as the sun and the moon, granting one the ability to casually pluck stars and moons out of the sky. That was a Sunmoon.
That was also the case for physical cultivators. By fusing all acupoints into a single acupoint as resplendent as the sun and the moon, one would obtain the ability to regrow one's body from a drop of blood.
This brat was just a student. It was not a big deal!
Hong Tan looked completely calm. He looked even calmer than Bai Feng. Inwardly, however, he was wondering if he should leave and come back after the two were done talking.