Chapter 17 - 17

Chapter 414: Su Yu Meets Xiao'er (2)

While Bai Feng was suffering from a coughing fit, Su Yu stepped forward and patted his back. When Bai Feng finally stopped coughing, he looked at Su Yu with a complicated expression. He really didn't know what to feel anymore.

"Where did you get something like that?"

"I deduced it myself. You told me to deduce one myself previously, remember? You said that if I manage to deduce a cultural art, you will become my student instead—cough, cough. Of course, you were only joking. I definitely won't take those words seriously."

"You...deduced it yourself?" Thɪs chapter is updated by n͟o͟v͟e͟l͟f͟i͟r͟e͟.net

Bai Feng did not know what to say anymore. Please stop messing with him.

"Thank you for the blood character, Teacher."

Bai Feng stared at his student silently. If this brat dared to make the character a scapegoat one more time, he would beat the brat to death. Even in his current injured state, he was still strong enough to beat this brat to death.

Blood character? Bullshit!

At this point, Hong Tan could no longer stay silent. He said, "You deduced it yourself?"

Did the brat take him for a fool? A kid like this could actually deduce a cultural art himself?

Su Yu gave a hollow laugh and said, "Not all by myself. Teacher helped me a lot. And some of the research materials left behind by you had been very helpful as well. Also, the water guy in the prison had been helpful. There's also Teacher Liu's teachings. Only with all these helps was I able to come up with the Water Origin Art, a cultural art suitable for humans."

"So you have 36 apertures opened?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

Hong Tan looked at Bai Feng, then looked at Su Yu, before looking at Bai Feng again. After a while, he sighed, "I might be getting old, but I'm in a better condition than Great Xia King since I'm still not senile yet. But I've discovered something. After my return, the two of you have been treating me like I'm a senile old man."

Unfilial students!

The two kids were definitely spouting lies to him like he was a fool. One claimed that he had easily deduced the existence of racial ability characters and a disassembly method for character techniques.

One claimed to have deduced a foundation cultural art with 36 apertures and the Soul Devouring Art that specialized in harming willpower. If these two were really telling the truth, wasn't he a piece of trash in terms of research?

After decades of research, character fusion and ability blood essence were the only notable research results he had come up with. But these two had surpassed him in a matter of months?

He shot Su Yu another look before saying with a tired voice, "Do you know how many apertures a human has in total?"

Su Yu was at a loss for words. He did not know the answer.

"Do you know the classification of apertures?"

No answer.

"Do you know about aperture fusion?"

No answer.

But Su Yu still maintained an innocent expression.

"You know nothing, yet you claim to have deduced a cultural art. Do you think your Grandteacher is a fool?"

Hong Tan had the urge to roll his eyes.

But at this moment, Su Yu had a look of realization as he said, "Oh, I understand now!"

What did the kid understand this time?

"Congratulations, Grandteacher, for coming out with the Water Origin Art, a foundation cultural art with 36 apertures. My grandteacher is truly mighty and incredible."

Su Yu congratulated his grandteacher unhesitatingly.

It was Hong Tan's turn to feel like coughing blood. This was what the brat got out of everything he had said?

Fuck!

Too tired to keep talking about the same topic, Hong Tan asked, "Who else knows about this?"

"Nobody. Wait, no. The prefect's son, Xia Huyou, has the instructions to open 35 of the 36 apertures. He's still missing one."

"Xia Longwu's son?"

"Yeah."

Bai Feng asked in astonishment, "You actually know Xia Longwu's son?"

"It's that fatty. The little fatty, Xia Huyou. You met him before, Teacher."

"That's Xia Longwu's son?"

Bai Feng, who had remained calm throughout the entire conversation, was finally shocked. That was unbelievable.

Holy shit!

Even if he started telling others about it, nobody would believe it. It might sound more believable if he said that the little fatty was Marquis Xia's son instead.

Hong Tan was getting even more tired listening to the conversation between his student and grandstudent. He berated, "Is this even the main point?"

Were these two not aware of the crux of the issue here? This kid was actually capable of coming out with a cultural art with 36 apertures. That was the crux of the issue. Yet these two were talking about Xia Longwu's son? What was so interesting about that kid?

He knew that kid as well! It was just a little fatty! He had met everyone of note from the Xia Family, including Great Xia King! Just how did the brains of these two work? Why did their brains work so differently from his?

After he cursed at the two, they finally stopped talking. Only then did Hong Tan said, "Xia Huyou, right? That little fatty really does resemble that Fatty Xia a lot. I reckon Xia Longwu must have suspected the same as well. That was why he had Fatty Xia raise the little fatty instead. Hahaha!"

"..."

Su Yu and Bai Feng exchanged gazes speechlessly. The old man was laughing very happily. Was he not afraid of being beaten to death by the Xia Family for making such jokes?

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Hong Tan hurriedly stopped and assumed a solemn expression as he said, "Hand it over to me later. Don't spread it around anymore. I'll work on it for a bit and give it a complete makeover. Water Origin Art? What nonsense. That's not its name. Its called the Thirty-six Souls - Heaven Shaking Sutra, a result of my hard work over a period of 50 years."

Su Yu hurriedly flashed a fawning smile and said, "Exactly! You're right, Grandteacher!"

Hong Tan rolled his eyes and waved his hand, "You may leave now."

Su Yu laughed awkwardly and hurriedly left the room.

The moment he left, Hong Tan solemnly asked, "What's up with this kid?"

Bai Feng gave a short summary of Su Yu's history before saying, "He has probably stumbled on a fortuitous encounter to obtain a unique character inheritance or some sort of memory fragment inheritance. Over the years, I have peeled a lot of memory fragments during my experiments. He might have encountered a relatively complete memory fragment. That's very possible."

"Memory fragment?" Hong Tan thought about it and said, "I'll ask my senior brother about it. If that was a pure fortuitous encounter, it would be fine. I'm only afraid that there is more to that. Don't forget that we have an Invincible as an enemy."

Bai Feng said, "I wasn't even aware of that before this. You can only blame yourself for not telling me anything. But I believe he isn't a spy."

"Cut the crap. It never hurts to be cautious."

Hong Tan had a solemn expression. Communicators were unsafe, so he directly left the research center and visited Liu Wenyan personally.

A super genius with incredible luck had joined the declining multiple character faction. He had no choice but to be careful about it. And if the kid was really a spy, it was probably already too late for him to do anything about it.

His silly student had told the kid everything, including the disassembly method and character fusion theory...

All those were supposed to be top secrets. But Su Yu already knew all their secrets. Hong Tan sighed. That student of his was too trusting.

...

Eighteenth Secondary School. Rear mountain.

"Ruin inheritance?"

"That's my guess." Liu Wenyan smiled, "Don't worry too much. If he's really a spy planted by our enemy, your senior brother won't be so stupid to remain fooled for so many years. Also, if he is really a spy, that person would have known everything he wants to know. And he would have killed all of us already by now."

"So he's fine, Senior Brother?"

Liu Wenyan nodded, "Most likely. My only worry is the ruin. I'm only worried about the very unlikely possibility that he had been possessed by some old monster in the ruin."

"You're referring to a willpower soul?"

"Exactly."

Liu Wenyan nodded, "But something like that is very rare. Most of these willpower souls have unclear minds. After all, these ruins have been around for too many years. Any soul left from back then would no longer be in a good condition. I doubt something like that has happened to Su Yu. He must have accidentally stumbled upon some recordings of the past in a ruin."

"Back then, he mentioned that he kept dreaming about being killed by monsters. I suspect if there is really a ruin in Nanyuan, then this ruin must be something related to research in the past. The ruin must have been used for something related to beast taming. A lot of beasts must have been reared there a long time ago."

Su Yu had entered the secondary school at 13. And Liu Wenyan had been teaching him since then. At 13, Su Yu was most certainly not as crafty as he currently was. Thus, when he encountered Liu Wenyan, someone who he viewed as a knowledgeable sage, he inquired about his dreams.

In fact, Liu Wenyan was the one who had suggested that Su Yu start learning about the myriad races and their languages. That would make it easier for him to recognize the beasts killing him in his dreams. Thus, Liu Wenyan actually knew Su Yu quite well. If Su Yu had really been possessed by a soul from the past, he wouldn't be stupid enough to expose himself so easily.

"I see."

Hong Tan exhaled and said, "As long as he's not a spy, it's fine. By the way, Su Yu also asked me if Liu Hong is a spy I sent to the single character faction. Is that your spy?"

"Who?"

"Liu Hong. A genius teaching assistant in the academy from the single character faction. He's Old Zhao's student. Previously, he studied under Zhang Ruoling in the Eighteenth Secondary School."

"Ruoling's student?"

Liu Wenyan thought about it and shook his head, "No. That's not true. Ruoling would have informed me about it if he had really accepted a disciple."

"Then this person is a cheat."

Hong Tan found himself somewhat speechless. "These days, all sorts of people roam the academy. A genius from the single character faction like him had actually lowered himself to lie to a student, telling the student that he was my spy for us in the single character faction? The galls of him!"

Liu Wenyan smiled, "Since he had the galls to make such a claim, just go along with it. Liu Hong...I remember this name. I think Bai Feng told me about him before. He is a genius as well. Old Zhao's student...Old Zhao..."

At the mention of Elder Zhao, Liu Wenyan shook his head, "This Old Zhao is an old man from Teacher's generation. We didn't have a good relationship with him back then, but we weren't hostile either. How has your relationship with him been these years?"

"Not too bad. We basically minded our own business. That old man is fully focused on the Sunmoon Realm. For a period of time, he even had more influence than Zhou Mingren. But he never cared about status or power. What a pity. The Sunmoon Realm is not easy to reach. I'm afraid...he will reach the end of his lifespan soon."

"His lifespan isn't supposed to be this short, right?" Liu Wenyan frowned.

Hong Tan sighed, "After several failed attempts at entering the Sunmoon, he lost some lifespan from the backlash. If he had taken it slow, he would still have some time to keep trying."

"What a pity." Liu Wenyan shook his head, "This is a struggle between the young. Let them experience it lest they grow up sheltered. Just let Su Yu deal with Liu Hong himself."

"I understand." Hong Tan looked at Liu Wenyan and asked, "Senior Brother, any other instructions?"

"Instruction my ass." Liu Wenyan laughed, "Enter seclusion and reach the Sunmoon Realm as soon as possible. Don't step out of the academy again before reaching the Sunmoon Realm. By the way, is the repeling force of your characters strong? It has been quite a while since a human has last reached the Sunmoon Realm..."

Back then, people at the level of Zhou Mingren and Jin Yuhui should already be in the Sunmoon Realm. That also applied to Elder Zhao, who was currently deep in seclusion. Alas, all of them had yet to break through successfully.

Otherwise, Great Xia alone would be able to produce between three to five additional Sunmoons. Currently, the entire Human Realm had around seventy to eighty cultural researchers with the potential to step into the Sunmoon Realm. But all of them were stuck.

In fact, Director Ji was the only person who had stepped into the Sunmoon Realm in recent years. As for General Zhao, he was a warrior. Meanwhile, Administrator Hu was an old Sunmoon. He wouldn't have been appointed the administrator otherwise.

And there was also Wan Tiansheng. It was quite likely that he was already a Sunmoon more than 50 years ago. Liu Wenyan couldn't even be bothered to say anything about that scheming principal anymore.

Marquis Xia was also a recently advanced Sunmoon, but he had advanced through physical cultivation. Liu Wenyan was unsure about the level of Marquis Xia's willpower cultivation.

Chapter 415: Su Yu Meets Xiao'er (3)

"The repelling force is very strong."

Hong Tan nodded, "Fortunately, you have a character technique. Your characters have been forcefully fused to some extent. Even with the repelling force, you can still suppress it. The single character faction members will have an even harder time entering the Sunmoon Realm. How confident are you in your breakthrough?"

"I'm quite confident. But I doubt I can go further and step into the Invincible Realm. Then again, it's still too early to talk about that."

"We'll see in the future."

Liu Wenyan nodded. Yeah, it was still too early to talk about that.

"For now, help me reorganize my characters. Take Bai Feng along with you as well. After we leave, you can enter seclusion and focus on your advancement."

"Alright." Hong Tan nodded and switched to voice transmission, "Senior Brother, would that fellow that the chance to make a move against you at the Allheaven Battlefield?"

"I doubt so. There are too many Invincibles there."

"Senior Brother, don't take things for granted. Don't forget what happened to Big Brother Liu."

Hong Tan had a solemn expression. The Liu Family's fate was the prime example. Back then, they had decided to base their family on the Allheaven Battlefield. But they ultimately ended up getting wiped out. And that had happened in an area that was supposedly under the watch of Invincibles.

Liu Wenyan shut his eyes.

After a short silence, he opened his eyes again and said, "I understand. I won't be careless. I am not my big brother. A lot more eyes are on me. Not even Invincibles can keep paying attention to the entire Allheaven Battlefield, but the Vanguard Regiment has always been the place to receive the most attention from the Invincibles. And I will be at the very center of all that attention. It is actually safer for me to be there."

"That's true. But..." Hong Tan was still worried, "The casualty rate of the Vanguard Regiment is too high. Most of them are criminals sent there to be used as cannon fodder. Senior Brother, in your current condition...and also Bai Feng's condition...sigh."

This was giving him a headache.

Liu Wenyan smiled, "Don't worry. I will be entering the Mountainsea Unit while Bai Feng will be entering the Skysoar Unit."

"Mountainsea Unit?" Hong Tan's expression changed as he exclaimed in alarm, "How can they send you to the Mountainsea Unit?"

"Why else? I unleashed the strength of a Sunmoon to kill a ninth-stage Mountainsea. I naturally have to be treated like a Mountainsea. Are they supposed to treat me like a Skysoar? But since Bai Feng is a proper Skysoar, they won't send him to the Cloudbreach Unit."

"But still...Senior Brother, how about this? Let me go with you..."

"There is no need for that." Liu Wenyan said, "Just stay here. The Great Xia City is still a safe place. And the academy is even safer. I won't be bringing anyone with me. My uncle is still alive. He will be going with me."

"Uncle Liu is still alive?"

Hong Tan was astonished.

Liu Wenyan nodded, "Back then, he was seriously injured and nearly died. But I managed to get someone to help him. This time, he will go with me. He might have fallen from the Sunmoon Realm to the eighth-stage Mountainsea Realm, but he is good enough to protect me."

"Uncle Liu...dropped in rank?"

"Yeah. But I'm already happy to see him alive. It's a good thing for him to stay with me as well. With all the attention on me, it will be harder for people to make a move on him."

Liu Wenyan smiled, "Besides, it is better to die fighting on the battlefield than die to the ambush of a so-called ally."

"Senior Brother, I..." Hong Tan clenched his teeth, "If I can reach the Invincible Realm, I won't spare those bastards!"

"Talk after you reach the Sunmoon Realm." Liu Wenyan said, "Since I've come out of hiding, all the attention will be on me. Things will be relatively safe for you. I will try to drag this out as much as I can. You guys need to grow as fast as possible. Yunji and the others can't be relied on yet. They have yet to fully assimilate their characters. Watch over them as well. Help them work on their characters too."

"How about the graves of Ruoling and the others?"

"It's fine. The Xia Family is still around. Desecrating the dead? Previously, nobody knew their true intention. But now that this matter has spread far and wide, the Xia Family won't turn a blind eye."

He paused shortly before adding, "Furthermore, how sure are you that the characters are still in their graves?"

"Hmm?"

Liu Wenyan smiled, "Don't ask. It's not a bad idea to keep this secret. The multiple character faction will not die off that easily. Although most of our old brothers are already dead, that doesn't mean that their legacy has been severed. They have merely been keeping their successors hidden. I have a list of names in my brain. If I die, the list will die with me. They can keep their secret identities for the rest of their lives."

"Senior Brother, their legacies survived?"

At first, Hong Tan was overjoyed. But soon, grief welled within him. Since when did the successors of the multiple character faction started needing to hide their identities? If his teacher came back to live, he would probably get angered right back to death.

"Don't act like a child." Liu Wenyan stood up and gave Hong Tan a kick. The smile on his face vanished, "Of course their legacies have not been severed. Everyone has been struggling hard during the past 50 years. But not all of us are dead. That in itself is a form of victory."

"It's not like nobody from the Knowledge Seeking Realm and War Shrine is supportive toward us. They have merely been keeping silent to avoid a fallout with Great Zhou King."

Liu Wenyan said, "I don't care what Great Zhou King wants. If he's not the culprit, then it doesn't matter. But if he is the culprit, a day will come when we get our revenge."

"Sigh." Hong Tan said, "Then I won't say anything else. I'll take Su Yu to get the Sky Sundering Saber from Fatty Xia. I wonder if Fatty Xia would agree..."

"He will." Liu Wenyan smiled, "He will only ask for some money. Just pay him. This is a bad habit of his. Even if he is willing to give it to you, he must get something in return or he won't be able to sleep well at night."

"I don't have any money."

Liu Wenyan rolled his eyes. What a broke old man. The most update n0vels are published on novel•fire.net

"Ask for money from Wu Yuehua..."

"I already owe her a lot of money."

"You..." Liu Wenyan was starting to get a headache. "Look for Hu Ping and Zhao Mingyue. Both Administrator Hu and General Zhao are rich. Just borrow as much money as you can. Worry about paying back after you have the money to do so."

"Fine." Hong Tan sighed, "Good thing my sister-in-laws are around. Otherwise, we would probably all starve to death."

"Piss off."

Liu Wenyan scolded unhappily. This fellow was truly a piece of trash. Just what had he been doing for the past decades? He was already on the cusp of reaching the Sunmoon Realm. Why was he still so poor?

Hong Tan had nothing to say. What could he do about it? He was broke. What could he do about it? With how poor he was, it hadn't been easy for him to reach his current cultivation level. All the resources had been earned with his own two hands. There was nobody he could rely on.

He even needed to raise Chen Yong, raise Bai Feng, and keep his research center operational...

He was very pitiful as well! He was often forced to go to the Allheaven Battlefield and hunt some beasts just to feed their broke faction. It was easy for his senior brother to talk, but his senior brother wasn't the actual person shouldering all those responsibilities.

If he had a few intimate female friends of his own as well, he would have started living his life in comfort long ago. Would he still need to go hunting at the Allheaven Battlefield just for some money?

Liu Wenyan had evidently thought of all that as well. He said, "Things have been hard for you as well. I guess we should be thankful that you are actually still alive. Where have you gotten all your cultivation resources?"

"Me?" Hong Tan laughed dryly, "By selling blood essence."

"Hmm?"

"I'm rearing some Mountainsea beasts in the prison zone. I have been extracting their blood regularly to be sold. In fact, I am the biggest black market blood essence seller in Great Xia. I specialize in selling Mountainsea blood essence. Senior Brother, I have no other choice. I won't be able to survive without selling blood."

"How many beasts are you keeping there?"

"Only three. I think they are probably on the verge of death now. What a waste. It has been a while since I last took any blood from them. Hopefully they can recover."

Liu Wenyan was completely speechless.

Fortunately, both Su Yu and Bai Feng weren't here. Or their jaws would drop from shock.

There were indeed a few rooms at the back of the prison zone. But that area was normally very quiet. Neither Su Yu and Bai Feng could enter that area. And they had never tried. Bai Feng had even guessed that some Mountainsea beasts were locked there. And he was actually right.

The Mountainsea blood seller was the most mysterious of the black market merchants in Great Xia. And that person was actually Hong Tan.

After a while, Liu Wenyan said, "Don't push it too far. Just killing someone is better than endless torture. The same applies to beasts. Just kill them if you want, but you should be careful to not cross the line."

"Alright." Hong Tan gave a hollow laugh and said, "I was forced to do this. We're too poor."

Liu Wenyan waved his hand. He could no longer be bothered to say more.

Hong Tan did not waste any time and left after ending the conversation.

...

Afternoon.

Prefect's manor.

It was grand and imposing.

This was Su Yu's first time here. The manor was located at the core of the capital city. This was a place where one legend after another had been born.

Great Xia, Xia Longwu, Marquis Xia, and the previous prefect, Xia Longwu's father who was a top expert who had perished at the Allheaven Battlefield.

Su Yu had arrived with a heart of admiration.

The Xia Family had an excellent reputation in Great Xia. Apart from Marquis Xia, of course. But even Marquis Xia would generally only act against the rich and powerful families. He had never touched the poor. Perhaps that was because he wouldn't be able to get much from them anyway.

Under Hong Tan's lead, Su Yu entered a large hall. There, they waited for Marquis Xia to arrive.

He had seen Marquis Xia once during the day of the battle. But he had not spoken a word to the marquis. Thus, his impression of Marquis Xia was still greatly influenced by the rumors.

That was a ruthless merchant.

A merchant who would not let any profit go.

An unscrupulous businessman!

He had done a lot of bad things, but thanks to the backing of the Xia Family, he had not suffered much consequences for his actions.

According to the rumors, Marquis Xia would wash his hands and rinse his mouth with source qi liquid, use cultural weapons as carpet, use talismans to warm himself, eat precious pills as snacks, and wipe his ass with willpower texts.

Not one rumor had mentioned that Marquis Xia was a top expert. But Su Yu had personally witnessed how strong the marquis was. This was someone who had fought and prevailed over the character clone of a super expert.

Ohhh! Su Yu also knew that the marquis' name was Xia Xiao'er (little two).

While he was thinking that, a fatty was standing behind him with an unsightly expression. Xia Xiao'er had arrived!

Was this kid aware?

As a mere Mental Tempering Stage student, he would be able to sense the kid's thoughts if it involved him.

Was the kid aware that he was a fifth-stage Sunmoon?

Boom!

During their first official meeting, Su Yu fainted.

He had been knocked unconscious from the back.

The ambusher was a Sunmoon.

Hong Tan rolled his eyes. A Sunmoon had actually ambushed a Mental Tempering Stage kid. He was completely speechless. How could someone be so shameless?

The pitiful Su Yu fainted on the floor. Nobody bothered to help him.

With a dark expression, Marquis Xia scolded, "Did you bring this little bastard here? If it wasn't for you, I would have buried him alive immediately!"

Bastard!

Xia Xiao'er...that name was the greatest shame in his life. If it wasn't for the fact that he wasn't his father's match, he would have given his father a beating as well!

Chapter 416: Teaching (1)

Su Yu had no idea what just happened. He only knew that his head was hurting. In his dazed state, he seemed to hear some people talking. When he was finally able to open his eyes, he saw that he was seated on a chair. He seemed to have fallen asleep.

Fallen asleep?

Impossible!

He was here to meet Marquis Xia. How could he fall asleep for no reason? And his head was hurting badly. Had he been ambushed? But wasn't his grandteacher right beside him?

It was then that he noticed that his grandteacher was chatting with a fatty. That fatty was none other than Marquis Xia.

Marquis Xia turned to look at Su Yu with a smile and asked, "You're finally awake? Children nowadays sure cultivate hard. You worked yourself too much. Your sea of willpower nearly exploded from overworking itself. Don't be so ridiculous in the future."

Su Yu stared blankly. What was the meaning of that? He had suffered from cultivation deviation? But that shouldn't be the case. Although he had cultivated very hard, he didn't feel any discomfort at all.

Despite his suspicion, Su Yu stood up and bowed before saying, "Greetings, Marquis." Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on novel~fire~net

"You may rise."

Marquis Xia had a gentle expression as he said, "No need for the formalities. Just be careful when you cultivate in the future. You're lucky that happened when you were in the prefect's manor. What if you were on a battlefield? You would lose your life."

Su Yu looked at Hong Tan blankly.

Had he really suffered from cultivation deviation?

Hong Tan did not meet his grandstudent's gaze. For some reason, he was extremely focused on the chess pieces in front of him. He had been playing chess with Marquis Xia prior to this. As for the fact that Su Yu had been knocked unconscious, whatever. What could he do if the ambusher was a Sunmoon?

Su Yu was suspicious, but since he had no idea what was wrong with himself, he could only say, "Thank you for the reminder, Marquis."

Marquis Xia nodded and said nothing else. Inwardly, he was greatly overjoyed. This was the sweetest form of revenge. After hitting someone, that someone still had to thank you!

After a light cough, Marquis Xia pushed the chess board aside and messed up the chess pieces on it. Not waiting for Hong Tan to say anything, he asked, "You want to learn the Sky Sundering Saber?"

Su Yu nodded and replied, "Yes."

"Do you know how many editions the Sky Sundering Saber has?"

"No."

Marquis Xia explained, "The Xia Family is not stingy with what we have. Over the years, we have taught a decent number of people the Sky Sundering Saber. The stronger Great Xia is, the stronger the Xia Family will be. As long as you're not a traitor or a piece of trash, the Xia Family will be willing to teach you."

"There is no need to explain further our reason for refusing to teach a traitor. As for a piece of trash, we can't have someone untalented learn our Sky Sundering Saber and embarrass us outside, right?"

He smiled and continued speaking, "According to your grandteacher, what you want isn't the regular Sky Sundering Saber. Instead, you want the 144-acupoint version. Am I right?"

"Yes."

"I can see that you've opened a lot of acupoints. So you are probably capable of opening the 144 acupoints of this cultivation method as well. But how many of these acupoints will you be able to fuse in the future?"

"Don't tell me that you will only fuse seven or eight acupoints for your advancement into the Infinite Strength Realm. With a 144-acupoint cultivation method, you need to fuse at least 16 acupoints. That is the maximum number allowed by this cultivation method. Since cultural researchers do not focus on physical cultivation, even their geniuses will mostly stop at 10 acupoints. But even that is enough to make someone a true Infinite Strength cultivator."

"The Xia Family's cultivation method is not something we teach for fun. Thus, there are more people in the war academies who have been taught our cultivation method while in cultural research academies, very few people apart from those from the Xia Family know our cultivation method."

Su Yu solemnly promised, "If you're willing to teach me this cultivation method, I will naturally try to fuse 16 acupoints for my breakthrough."

"Try?" Marquis Xia smiled, "That is not enough. You must do it. If you fail, the Xia Family will take the cultivation method back from you. How do we do that? We will cripple the 144 acupoints you have opened through this cultivation method and make you shift to a different method. Even if you already know the method, you won't dare to openly use it anymore."

Su Yu looked at Hong Tan. His grandteacher smiled and explained, "This is indeed one of the rules of the Xia Family. But you're not required to fuse the maximum number of acupoints. Generally, you will be left alone as long as you can fuse 12 or more acupoints. Am I right, Marquis?"

Marquis Xia replied with a lazy tone, "If you're going to fuse only 12 acupoints, you might as well stay with your War God Art. Opening fewer acupoints will only make acupoint fusion easier. Why bother with the Sky Sundering Saber?"

Su Yu solemnly said, "Marquis, if the Xia Family is willing to teach me this method, I will stop using the Sky Sundering Saber if I fail to fuse 16 acupoints for my breakthrough. What do you think about this?"

Marquis Xia smiled and said, "All geniuses will say the same when they meet me. Over these years, there has been no lack of confident geniuses who are sure they will be successful. They all believe that the Sky Sundering Saber is nothing special. To speak the truth, even in the Xia Family itself, very few people actually cultivate the best version of the Sky Sundering Saber. Since you wish to be taught, I can give you a chance. I need to give you a test."

Test!

Su Yu respectfully said, "I am willing to take the test."

"You sure are confident." Marquis Xia smiled and casually tossed a metallic ball out. The moment the ball landed on the ground, it transformed into a puppet."

"Defeat it and I'll give you the cultivation method. If you fail, go right back where you came from."

At that, the puppet threw a punch at Su Yu.

Su Yu was about to use his willpower when the marquis said, "Use your physical cultivation. The Sky Sundering Saber is a physical cultivation method. There is no need to use your willpower here."

Su Yu hurriedly retreated.

Rumble!

The puppet's punch landed on Su Yu's previous position, creating a violent shockwave of air. Even from further away, Su Yu could feel the immense power behind that punch.

This was an Infinite Strength puppet! Definitely! Not daring to be careless against such an opponent, Su Yu stomped on the ground and appeared behind the puppet with a flicker. He sent his palm out.

But two additional arms appeared from within the puppet and punched at Su Yu. With a boom, Su Yu was pushed several meters back. His right arm had not fully recovered, and with this exchange, it was starting to hurt more and more.

...

"Marquis, this kid is only a Great Strength cultivator. It's fine if you want to use an Infinite Strength puppet, but why use a sixth-stage Infinite Strength puppet? This is too excessive."

Hong Tan was speaking through voice transmission. Marquis Xia rolled his eyes and replied, "Is the Xia Family's cultivation method something you can learn so easily? This is only the start. Even defeating this puppet will only qualify him for a high-tier heaven-grade version. The top-tier version will require him to defeat a seventh-stage Infinite Strength puppet."

"You're being unreasonable." Hong Tan helplessly said, "He's only a Great Strength student."

"If he's not monstrous enough, he should forget about our Sky Sundering Saber. Even if I agree to teach him, my old man won't."

While the two were talking, Su Yu had already exchanged dozens of moves with the puppet. The puppet's body was too hard. Su Yu felt really helpless. Not only was this puppet strong, but it was also made of unknown materials that gave it an incredibly hard body.

He was able to land a few strikes on the puppet, but all his attacks had basically bounced off. And attacks targeting acupoints were also useless against this puppet.

Su Yu activated his eye acupoints and stared at the puppet closely. After a while, he started retreating, moving so fast that he was leaving a string of afterimages in his wake. He stopped facing the puppet head on and started moving in circles around it instead.

"This thing is definitely being powered by some energy source. I only need to exhaust that energy source."

This was Su Yu's plan. He was still a ninth-stage Great Strength cultivator, so he wouldn't be able to deal with an opponent this sturdy even with the large number of acupoints he had opened.

Drag it on! He was going to drag this out. He had 186 opened acupoints, granting him a large supply of source qi. He would use this advantage to tire this puppet to death.

...

"He's quite fast. What heaven-grade technique has he cultivated?" Marquis Xia nodded as he praised.

Hong Tan answered with a smile, "Time."

"Oh, that old man's technique?" Marquis Xia laughed, "With that fellow's inheritance, this kid will probably have a lot of trouble with the silkwrym race when he finally enters the Allheaven Battlefield."

"So what? We're not scared of them." Hong Tan indifferently said, "Even the Silkwrym King no longer dares to show up anymore. There is nothing to fear about them."

"Silk Destroying King...I don't know what to say about him."

Marquis Xia shook his head. Invincibles would very rarely hold a grudge to such an extent. He had suffered one loss at the hands of the Silkwrym King and he had spent the next hundred years taking his revenge on the Silkwrym King. The silkwrym race was truly unlucky to have provoked someone like him.

The two chatted as they watched the fight. After about half an hour, Su Yu was already breathing heavily. He was still running circles around the puppet. With a smile, the marquis suddenly flicked his finger, granting the puppet a boost in speed and strength.

Seventh-stage Infinite Strength puppet!

Su Yu was busy breathing when he suddenly felt something moving rapidly toward the back of his head. He hurriedly utilized the Time technique and moved aside.

Marquis Xia's calm voice rang out, "You won't be able to obtain victory by dragging this out. This puppet's energy source can last three hours. Can you last that long?"

Su Yu was already so tired after half an hour. Would he be able to last three hours?

"You only stand a chance if you fight it head on."

Su Yu said nothing. He continued running circles around the puppet. What a joke. Defeating this puppet head on? This puppet's body was almost indestructible. Not even his Crushing Mountainsea move could do much to it. What was he supposed to do?

That was even more true now that the puppet had received a boost of power from the marquis. Fighting it head on was impossible. He could only drag this out.

Three hours...

After making a decision, Su Yu continued running from the puppet. With his Time technique, his legs turned blurry as he moved at a rapid speed. His source qi slowly drained. His rate of source qi recovery was much slower than the rate at which he was using it now.

While using the Time technique acupoints to escape, he also constantly used his open opened acupoints to supply the Time technique acupoints with source qi. All 186 of his acupoints worked hard, providing him with a source of pure source qi. It was only during moments like this that one could see Su Yu's strong foundations.

Even Marquis Xia nodded at what he saw. This was indeed a good seedling. Pure source qi and high number of opened acupoints. This kid was eligible to cultivate their Sky Sundering Saber. But ultimately, it would still depend on how this kid would do in the test.

Right at that moment, Su Yu suddenly moved behind Hong Tan. There, he took the chance to recover his source qi. Marquis Xia's eyes flickered as the puppet moved around Hong Tan to attack Su Yu.

As a response, Su Yu moved behind Marquis Xia instead. The marquis laughed and flew into the air instead. Su Yu said nothing and ran straight out of the hall instead. Outside, a team of Martial Dragon Guards noticed the rampaging puppet and hurriedly stopped it.

Su Yu seized the opportunity to recover even more of his source qi.

Marquis Xia laughed again as he transmitted his voice to the guards, "Return to your positions. Let him deal with the puppet."

At that command, all the Martial Dragon Guards pulled back.

Su Yu wasted no time and started moving again. With that, a game of catch inside the prefect's manor began. The garden, the main hall, the bedrooms, the Martial Dragon Guards barracks...

Su Yu used everything he could to obstruct the puppet and give himself more chance to recover his source qi. He was going to keep dragging this out.

...

Inside the hall.

Marquis Xia shook his head, "What a cunning kid. He is completely unlike the people from the Xia Family. Someone like him might not be able to achieve much with the Sky Sundering Saber. Everyone in the Xia Family possesses unrivaled bravery. Even against an opponent we can't defeat, we will fight unyieldingly until the very end!"

Hong Tan glanced at Marquis Xia, seemingly asking if the marquis was sure about that.

Marquis Xia smiled and said, "Why are you looking at me like that? Back then, I was also a capable combatant. Of course, nowadays, I am a friendly businessman. Let's wait and see. If he can really drag this out until the puppet runs out of energy, I'll consider it his win."

The game of catch continued in the massive prefect's manor. Su Yu had 186 acupoints supplying him with source qi. And he had a technique that granted him an impressive movement speed.

As long as the puppet was delayed for even a tiny bit, he would be able to recover slightly. With the high density of source qi in the manor, his recovery was actually quite fast.

Time passed. One hour. Two hours...

Three hours later.

Su Yu was breathing heavily; his entire body was drenched with sweat. His white robe had long turned into a black robe. Dragging a puppet behind him, he slowly returned to the hall.

"Marquis, I won."

Beads of sweat were dripping down his body.

Marquis Xia smiled and said, "If this is an actual living being instead of a puppet, do you think you'll be able to tire them out like this?"

Su Yu seriously replied, "If this is a living being, I won't be restricting myself from using my willpower. In any case, any living being would have given up on chasing me long ago."

"Have you ever considered fighting it head on?"

"It's not worth the effort."

"Hmm?"

Su Yu explained, "This is only a puppet. You only told me to win, not put my life on the line. If I make the stupid choice of fighting this puppet until the end and heavily injure myself, I'll need to spend a lot of time recuperating even if I do manage to win. I'm better off wasting a few hours here to tire it out."

Marquis Xia laughed, "Hahaha. That is a reasonable answer. As long as you can stay alive, you will have countless possibilities waiting for you in the future. You are right. What an interesting kid! You're a lot more fun than those brutes."

Before Su Yu could even feel any joy from the praise, Marquis Xia's face fell as he said, "However, the Xia Family's Sky Sundering Saber only suits brutes."

"..."

Su Yu was completely speechless. After an awkward cough, he said, "Actually, I am quite a barbaric person as well."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I can be very scary when I decide to throw caution to the wind."

"How scary can you get?"

"About that...Teacher Xia Yuwen has a student with 144 acupoints. He cultivates a top-tier heaven-grade cultivation method. And I had defeated him. I reckon he's still unconscious even now."

"Something like that happened?"

Marquis Xia's interest was piqued. A jade talisman appeared in his hand. He started fiddling with it, seemingly in search of some information. After a short while, he looked at Su Yu and laughed.

"You're right. You can be quite barbaric."

"However..." Marquis Xia's face fell again. "Xia Yuwen is a member of the Xia Family. Do you know that? The Xia Family is the master of Great Xia. How dare you raise your hands against your master?"

Su Yu showed no fear. With a simple and honest face, "Yes. The Xia Family is the master. And only the Xia Family has my loyalty. But I only acknowledge Brother Huyou from the Xia Family. We are akin to brothers. Previously, Brother Huyou told me that his dad is my dad. His grandpa is my grandpa..."

Marquis Xia looked at Su Yu silently. This was the first time he had ever encountered a kid who dared to talk this way to him. More importantly, the kid sounded fully serious when he made the ridiculous statement.

Marquis Xia smiled and remarked, "You're quite smart as well. But there is no need to play these tricks on me. It's obvious you already know Huyou's identity. That's not a big deal. But the struggle for the position of prefect is not something outsiders can participate in. Do you understand? This is an internal matter of the Xia Family."

"I understand." Su Yu nodded and said, "I don't have the ability to get involved, anyway. You misunderstood me, Marquis."

Marquis Xia gave Su Yu a deep look. Then, the grave expression on his face vanished, replaced by a smile as he said, "I was kidding. Don't be afraid, kid. We are all people of Great Xia. There are no masters in Great Xia. We of the Xia Family are all kind. We never abuse our power to suppress others. Xia Yuwen's student can only blame his own incompetence for his defeat after challenging you."

Su Yu smiled and said nothing. Inwardly, he was cursing.

Marquis Xia had an odd look on his face. He smirked and asked, "Su Yu, do you know how a Sunmoon Realm differs from all the cultivation realms below it?"

"Please bestow upon me your wisdom, Marquis."

"There is no need to be so ceremonious about this. Simply put, a Sunmoon will develop a crisis sense. For example, if there is a weakling thinking about you with malice, slandering and scolding you in his head, you will be able to sense it if you're a Sunmoon."

Su Yu's face instantly changed.

Holy shit!

Why had nobody told him that before?

Su Yu looked at Hong Tan. But his grandteacher merely ignored him and stared at the ceiling. What was the point of talking about all that with the kid's cultivation level? Also, was the kid really unaware of that?

Yeah, that was probably the case. Or the kid wouldn't have been thinking all those thoughts in the presence of a Sunmmon and got himself knocked unconscious. The kid had probably done the same yet again.

Marquis Xia had a wide smile on his face as he said, "Su Yu, what do you think about this ability? Isn't it a fun ability to have?"

Su Yu's face turned white.

Holy shit!

He finally realized why he had fallen unconscious earlier. He also knew why this fatty-cough, cough, this wise, brilliant, handsome, and majestic Marquis Xia had been somewhat unfriendly toward him. Marquis Xia was wise, handsome, mighty, bold, formidable, and powerful!

Chapter 417: Teaching (2)

Su Yu's willpower churned as he produced praise after praise toward Marquis Xia in his mind. All the praise came from deep inside him. Marquis Xia looked at the kid and merely maintained a faint smile without saying anything.

After a while, he finally spoke, "Hide your disgusting thoughts. I can teach you the cultivation method, but cultivation methods are never things to be taught lightly. Defeating the puppet only gives you the qualification to learn it. But if you want to leave with the cultivation method, tell me. What can you give for it?"

Su Yu cautiously said, "Marquis, I'm only a student..."

"That's fine. You can sell your body. For example, you can serve in the army for 20 years after your graduation."

"Umm...Marquis..." Su Yu softly said, "I don't even know if I can live that long. What if I can't? That would be a loss for you! In that case, you might have to protect me for 20 years to not make a loss. Is this worth it?"

"..."

Marquis Xia looked at Su Yu silently. He had never heard of such an argument before. This kid was truly a genius in sophistry.

Suddenly, he recalled something. This was the same kid who had scammed a large amount of money from the single character faction. This kid was definitely a lot more treacherous than he let on!

"Tell me, then. What can you give?"

"If you can teach me this cultivation method, my grandteacher will teach Brother Huyou a cultivation method as well."

"Cultivation method?"

"Yeah." Su Yu seriously said, "Before this, my grandteacher already agreed that we can exchange cultivation methods. My grandteacher had spent 50 years creating the Thirty-six Souls - Heaven Shaking Sutra. It is a foundation cultural art with 36 apertures. I believe it is valuable enough to be traded for the Sky Sundering Saber."

Marquis Xia frowned and looked at Hong Tan.

Hong Tan continued looking at the ceiling. But when he noticed that Marquis Xia was still staring at him after a long while, he smiled and said, "So is that agreeable? Naturally, only Xia Huyou can be taught. It's the same case as your Xia Family's Sky Sundering Saber where those taught by you can't teach it to anyone else. I'll give Xia Huyou the cultivation manual once you give Su Yu the Sky Sundering Saber's manual."

"Where did you get it?"

"I created it."

Marquis Xia snorted coldly and said, "Are you trying to lie in front of me? If you are really capable of creating something like this, you won't be Hong Tan anymore."

"What do you mean?" For more chapters visıt novel·fire·net

"Hong Tan is not someone with such ability. Which part of my statement are you not understanding?"

"..."

Hong Tan started cursing inwardly.

Marquis Xia's face fell instantly.

Hong Tan was getting tired so he said, "Just tell me if you agree to this trade or not. If not, piss off."

Marquis Xia ignored Hong Tan and asked Su Yu, "Is this the same cultural art you talked about the other day? I noticed that Huyou seemed to have gotten a new cultivation manual after that. The so-called Xia Family's cultural art you mentioned was actually this Heaven Shaking Sutra, right?"

"Yes." Su Yu smiled, "You're right."

"What a cunning kid. That way, you made the Xia Family your scapegoat. And now, you're even trying to trade the cultural art for our cultivation method? Since the manual has already been given to Huyou, why should I give you anything?"

Su Yu smiled and answered, "Marquis, Brother Huyou was only given the instructions for 35 apertures."

"It won't be that hard for us to deduce the location of the final aperture with those 35 apertures we already know about."

Marquis Xia was still calm. Could something like this stump him?

Su Yu nodded and said, "The Xia Family is naturally capable of that. But an agreement was already made between me and him. The art will only be taught to him and no one else. You will violate the agreement by looking at the manual. In that case, the Xia Family's Sky Sundering Saber will probably start being spread everywhere as well. After all, everyone is following the Xia Family's rules. Since the Xia Family is not following their own rules, nobody will bother. Marquis, this is not a loss a single cultural art can compensate for.

"The Xia Family is the soul of Great Xia. And those below will generally follow the example of those above them. The drop in morality in Great Xia will cause you far greater losses than the value of a single cultural art. Dont you think I'm right, Marquis?"

Marquis Xia smiled, "So is this a checkmate on me? Interesting. Over the years, nobody has managed to make a profit at my expense. Are you trying to be the first? Am I supposed to give you the manual without taking a single cent from you?"

"Soul Devouring Art!"

Su Yu did not waste any time. He made his offer directly, "On top of the cultural art, you'll be getting the Soul Devouring Art as well. But in return, I want a willpower text of the Sky Sundering Saber. This includes the supplementary martial technique of this cultivation method. The Soul Devouring Art might be far lower in grade as a top-tier yellow-grade cultivation method, but it is a uniquely useful method. You should understand this as well."

Marquis Xia stared at Su Yu for a long time. Finally, he smiled.

This was quite a daring young man.

One cultural art and one Soul Devouring Art for a willpower text of the Sky Sundering Saber and the supplementary technique. Which was more valuable? The value would honestly vary depending on who the recipient was.

The top-tier heaven-grade Sky Sundering Saber was not a common cultivation method. It was the unique method of Great Xia King. And Great Xia King was a top existence even among Invincibles.

"Sure!"

Marquis Xia agreed, "Only by fusing 16 acupoints will you be able to truly unleash the might of the Sky Sundering Saber. Among the younger generation of our family like Xia Huyou, Xia Yuwen, and Xia Chan, Xia Yuwen has only fused 14 acupoints for his breakthrough into the Infinite Strength Realm. Nobody from the younger generation has managed to fuse 16 acupoints yet. If you can really do so, I can give you a fortuitous encounter."

"Fortuitous encounter?"

"Yes. Do you know Xia Longwu? He is someone on the cusp of reaching the Invincible Realm. If you can reach the Infinite Strength Realm with 16 fused acupoints before his advancement, you will be allowed to observe his breakthrough."

Su Yu was rendered speechless. Hell fucking no. He was scared of death. Generally, people would enter the Allheaven Battlefield for their advancement into the Invincible Realm. And that person might even need to fight other Invincibles during the breakthrough. Any random stray attack from these experts would be enough to erase Su Yu from existence.

Marquis Xia said, "Observing his advancement into the Invincible Realm will greatly benefit you. At that time, all cultivators of Sky Sundering Saber will be affected. If you're lucky, you might even be able to comprehend some of the mysteries behind the Invincible Realm. Isn't this benefit big enough?"

Su Yu looked at Hong Tan. His grandteacher frowned slightly before saying, "We'll talk about this when the time comes."

Su Yu was still too weak. If Su Yu was a Sunmoon, then he would receive an unimaginably big benefit. That would truly be a highly fortuitous encounter. He didn't know what this fatty was thinking when making this offer. It was getting harder and harder to see through this person.

Marquis Xia said nothing else. He smiled and took out two manuals before saying, "One of these is the cultivation method and the other is the martial technique. The cultivation method teaches you how to unleash the power of your acupoints. The martial technique will teach you how to utilize that power, helping you adapt to your increase in strength."

After tossing the two manuals over, Marquis Xia said, "Don't bring shame to the Sky Sundering Saber. Otherwise, my old man will personally take it back from you. In the entire Human Realm, almost no warrior is a match for those from the Xia Family in the same cultivation level."

Almost. In that case, there were still some people out there who were stronger than them. Understanding dawned on Su Yu. That was understandable. After all, Great Xia King wasn't the strongest human around.

Nevertheless, he was still slightly excited. This was a top-tier heaven-grade cultivation method. This was the strongest cultivation method he had. It was even stronger than the Body Strengthening Art. And the supplementary martial technique would probably not be any weaker than the Time technique.

Marquis Xia was starting to get tired of this. He yawned and said, "This is it. Just remember to pass the Soul Devouring Art to Huyou later. Also, you only need to teach Huyou your Heaven Shaking Sutra. We won't steal it from you. Similarly, you are not allowed to teach anyone else the Sky Sundering Saber."

"I understand."

Su Yu gave the marquis a bow.

Hong Tan was happy to see this happen. Everything would be fine as long as they didn't need to pay. Fortunately, Su Yu had something valuable enough to trade for it. Getting this cultivation method would have been much harder otherwise.

"Then we'll be taking our leave."

Hong Tan wasted no time and left with Su Yu. He didn't want to spend more time here as he could see the odd look in Fatty Xia's eyes when looking at him.

...

After the two left, Marquis Xia yawned lazily and said, "Nephew, are you aware that you're supposed to be in seclusion? Why are you moving around all the time? Do you call this seclusion?"

Xia Longwu stepped out of thin air and said, "Second Uncle, we need to figure out if there is really a ruin at Nanyuan. This Su Yu might be a future Sunmoon. When he grows strong, he will add to the strength of our Great Xia."

"I know that. You don't need to keep reminding me about it." Marquis Xia impatiently said, "Stop ordering me around. If you don't like how I do things, you're free to end your seclusion. Also, spend your own money to heal Xia Yuwen's injuries. I'm too poor for that."

Xia Longwu did not say anything about that.

After thinking about it, Marquis Xia said, "Huyou is still too weak. Should we let him advance through physical cultivation first?"

"There is no rush." Xia Longwu calmly said, "Give him some pressure and let him solve this issue himself. Members of the Xia Family can only rely on themselves if they want to grow truly strong. We have already given him everything we can."

"Sure."

Marquis Xia was indifferent. He started walking away. While walking, he asked, "Zhou Potian is near his breakthrough as well, right? The Zhou Family sure is good at producing geniuses. Both Zhou Potian and Zhou Polong have managed to reach this step. Do you think I should start cultivating my willpower as well?"

"Sure."

Xia Longwu returned the same noncommittal answer before vanishing into thin air.

Marquis Xia merely curled his mouth. Sure his ass.

He shook his head and sighed. They had a lot of powerful experts from the previous generation in Great Xia, but their newer generation was far weaker. He started wondering if he should give up on willpower cultivation and focus on physical cultivation.

This encounter did cause him to remember Su Yu's name, but he still didn't care too much about Su Yu. Great Xia had never lacked geniuses.

And Su Yu could only rely on himself in the path of cultivation. He wouldn't be able to catch more of Marquis Xia's attention before reaching the Mountainsea Realm. A future Sunmoon was not the same as a current Sunmoon.

But he was quite impressed with the kid's business acuity. Perhaps he could recruit the kid into the Xia Trade Company.

Chapter 418: Rumor Mongering (1)

Great Xia Cultural Research Academy.

Filter room.

Su Yu opened the book in front of him. This was the Sky Sundering Saber of the Xia Family, the so-called number one cultivation method in Great Xia.

The moment he opened the book, his vision blurred. A human figure appeared in front of him. That was a familiar figure. It was Xia Longwu! This was a willpower text written by Xia Longwu himself!

"Sky Sundering Saber, the prized cultivation method of the Xia Family. It is split into a cultivation method and a martial technique. But both are actually the same. They are basically different routes leading to the same destination. After all, at the Mountainsea Realm, cultivation methods can be used as martial techniques and vice versa."

Xia Longwu was speaking calmly, showing none of the aggresiveness he usually displayed.

"The Sky Sundering Saber allows you to open 144 acupoints. You can cultivate the entire cultivation method from the beginning. As for the martial technique, you need to train it one level at a time.

"Each move consists of 16 acupoints. There is a total of nine moves you can use to sunder the heavens. The first three moves can be used to behead Skysoars. The next three moves can be used to slaughter Cloudbreaches. And the final three moves can be used to exterminate Mountainseas."

Su Yu merely smiled. It was apparent that the Xia Family wasn't too good at bluffing.

Just look at the Time technique. The creator of that technique was much better at bluffing. He could crush Mountainseas with the first move alone. The second move could suppress Sunmoons and the third move could battle Invincibles.

This was not a real Xia Longwu. It was merely a projection. Thus, it ignored Su Yu and continued its explanation on the Sky Sundering Saber.

It required 144 acupoints. But a lot of them overlapped with the 186 acupoints Su Yu had opened. After reading the entire manual, he found that he only needed to open 84 new acupoints. If he was able to open all these acupoints, he would have 270 opened acupoints in total.

"84 acupoints..."

Su Yu felt a headache incoming. That was a lot of acupoints. If he really decided to open all of them, that would put his total opened acupoints at nearly double the number of those geniuses cultivating top-tier heaven-grade cultivation methods.

And even those freaks would require countless resources and time to open 144 acupoints. But Su Yu actually needed to open double the number of acupoints.

"84 acupoints..."

The more acupoints he opened, the harder it would be to open new acupoints. After a short calculation, Su Yu concluded that he needed at least 500 drops of early-stage Infinite Strength mountainbreak bull blood essence. If he could get late-stage blood essence instead, he would be able to reduce that number.

"That is enough blood essence for me to open all the Body Strengthening Art acupoints."

In that case, he might as well open the Body Strengthening Art acupoints first. After cultivating the Body Strengthening Art, he could use it to increase his absorption speed when opening the acupoints for the Sky Sundering Sword. He would only spend more time doing so.

After all, he mainly used blood essence to increase the speed of acupoint opening as he would be able to absorb source qi at the speed of an Infinite Strength cultivator.

But after opening so many acupoints, his absorption speed was already as fast as an Infinite Strength cultivator's.

Thus, it would be a better choice for him to use his blood essence to open the Body Strengthening Art acupoints. That would grant him a smoother growth, allowing him to stop relying on blood essence that much. After all, enough mountainbreak bulls had been killed to satisfy his cultivation needs.

...

Mental Tempering Garden.

Su Yu wasted no time and tossed a jade talisman to Xia Huyou. He said, "This is for you. You are not allowed to teach it to anyone else. Also, have you purchased the mountainbreak bull blood essence worth 5,000 merit points I told you to purchase previously?"

Xia Huyou ignored the question and checked the talisman. Then, he curled his lips and said, "This is a trade. Why are you making it sound like a gift for me?"

Curiosity covered his face as he asked, "Are you sure you're going to buy so much blood essence?"

"What stupid question is that? I need blood essence to cultivate your family's Sky Sundering Saber or it would be too slow."

Xia Huyou exclaimed, "Have you gone mad? Why are you still opening more acupoints? You might as well enter the Infinite Strength Realm or even the Mountainsea Realm earlier. At that time, you can fuse all your acupoints into one. A heaven-grade cultivation method no longer make much difference at that level."

"Do you think I'm dumb?" Su Yu rolled his eyes and said, "With a good cultivation method, you might be able to fuse 144 acupoints at the Mountainsea Realm. But with only the War God Art, you will only be able to fuse 108 acupoints. Fusion will be much harder with a weaker cultivation method. Are you trying to fool be because you're afraid of being overtaken by me?"

"..."

Xia Huyou was speechless. This fellow was twisting his intentions into something completely different. Whatever. If this fellow didn't want his advice, so be it.

"The single character faction's tournament will start soon. Are you giving it a try?"

"When is it starting?"

"On the 20th. You might not be aware of this, but a lot of seniors from the Elderly District are going to be joining for the five slots."

Xia Huyou had a deep look on his face when he said that.

Seniors?

How old were they?

Very old!

Some of them had been stuck at the peak Mental Tempering Stage for decades and were at the end of their lifespan. The moment they heard about a chance to enter the Willpower Grotto, they got so excited that they were behaving like they were decades younger than their actual ages.

There were also instances where grandparents and grandchildren were going to be joining the tournament together. The grandfather had failed to enter the Skysoar Realm back then. Now, the grandson was near the Skysoar Realm. Thus, they had decided to join the tournament together.

Su Yu was somewhat speechless. He said, "But even if you can enter the grotto, there is no guarantee that you can break through, right?"

"But you will have a much higher chance." Xia Huyou explained, "In the past, the academy had opened the grotto as well. But back then, all the candidates had been decided internally. If it wasn't for the conflict with the multiple character faction, the single character faction would have kept all the slots for themselves as well."

"Has the academy been ignoring their old students?"

But Su Yu himself started shaking his head. It wasn't possible to take care of all the old students.There were simply too many of them around.

Those who were still stuck at an old age were either untalented or too cowardly to fight for opportunities. These were most certainly not the people the academy would pay close attention to.

Xia Huyou said, "In truth, most of these people are not worth pitying. A lot of them are at the peak Mental Tempering Stage. If they really can't materialize their willpower, they could have put some effort into physical training, joining the army, or even the Windcatcher Department. They could have fought for a future. All experts have emerged by fighting for their own opportunities. These people didn't even have the courage to fight for it. Thus, they deserve being stuck for so many years."

It wasn't like the Allheaven Battlefield was filled with only experts. There were plenty of Great Strength and Infinite Strength cultivators there. If the ordinary soldiers could go, why couldn't these cultural researchers go as well?

As Mental Tempering Stage cultivators, they would also be able to progress faster than regular physical cultivators in physical cultivation. And their combat strength would also be higher in comparison. Even with their advantages, they were still too cowardly to go.

Su Yu moved on from the topic and asked, "Cut the crap. Do you have my blood essence? I need to open more acupoints and cultivate the Sky Sundering Saber."

The tournament would be held on the 20th. He still had a week.

"You...are truly a money swallowing monster."

Xia Huyou couldn't help but be impressed by the rate at which Su Yu was spending money.

Su Yu didn't even deign to give a response. He was spending the money he had earned himself. Nobody could say anything about it.

"The mountainbreak bull race sure is pitiful to encounter someone like you..."

Xia Huyou mumbled to himself. Su Yu ignored the fatty. If the fatty really pitied those bulls so much, he could always stop selling their blood essence.

If he was going to do business with their blood essence, he should just shut his mouth.

Since it had been a few days since Su Yu made this order, Xia Huyou had already gathered the blood essence. He also knew that Su Yu would be needing some blood essence. With the Sky Sundering Saber in hand, this fellow was definitely impatient to start cultivating.

...

Su Yu followed Xia Huyou to go get the blood essence.

In total, he had obtained 200 drops of late-stage mountainbreak bull blood essence for 4,000 merit points. Additionally, he had also obtained 20 drops of Infinite Strength five elemental blood essence, bringing the total transaction value to 5,000 merit points.

This fellow would always be so precise when it came to doing business, giving exactly what Su Yu could afford to purchase at any given time. Su Yu couldn't even be bothered to say anything about how calculative the fatty was. He went straight to the Grotto District with his newly purchased blood essence.

...

"The kid is here again."

Source Qi Secret Grotto.

Old Huang sighed. He had just finished packing up. He was going to leave his post today.

"Old Nie, just what's so great about the Discipline Hall? I would rather stay here and keep my freedom. Why do you guys insist on pushing me to that position?"

Old Nie indifferently said, "Sure. Don't go, then."

"Forget it. I'll magnanimously accept this promotion."

Old Huang laughed awkwardly. Not going? What a joke! He had been here for decades! Even Old Nie was already an elder while he wasn't one. Now that his time had come, he naturally had to properly enjoy the treatment of an elder as well.

Su Yu had yet to reach the room. Old Huang took this chance to ask, "When are you entering the Mountainsea Realm?"

"There is no rush." Old Nie spoke through voice transmission, "Have you not discovered anything after studying this source character for so many years?"

"You're saying..."

Old Huang's eyes flickered as he asked, "You're planning to form a character technique?"

"Even if I can't form a character technique, I need to form a complete system and fuse them together."

Old Nie did not hide his discovery. "This source character is actually not a single character. Rather, it is a character formed of multiple characters. You should have discovered the same. From this, we can see that the multiple character faction is still quite valuable. They can't be destroyed. That is also why we decided to replace Old He with you. Keep the single character faction in check. The people above us are still showing an unambigious attitude. But from what we have discovered, we can't allow the multiple character faction to really be destroyed." Fınd the newest release on NoveI-Fire.ɴet

Chapter 419: Rumor Mongering (2)

They had spent too many years guarding these grottos. Everyone knew that the first and third principals were from the multiple character faction. The fourth principal was publicly known as someone from the single character faction.

And the Source Qi Secret Grotto was left behind by the fourth principal.

Because of that, this grotto should be something that had been formed by a single character. But after studying this grotto for decades, he discovered something. The fourth principal's character was actually not a single character. Rather, it was a combination of multiple characters.

That was very surprising.

The fourth principal was truly a member of the single character faction. Although he loved to call himself a blacksmith due to his love for smithing, he wasn't actually that good of a blacksmith. He was stronger as a single character faction member.

This grotto could only prove that the fourth principal had also been studying the fusion of characters back then and had obtained some results from it.

The significance behind that was massive. That proved that the fourth principal had actually started walking the path of multiple characters after reaching the Sunmoon Realm.

Old Huang nodded and said, "I know what to do. But we can't be too partial. We can't allow the multiple character faction to continue being suppressed like this. I will clean up the Discipline Hall. During the year end evaluation, I'll try to weaken the single character faction and protect Chen Yong."

Old Nie nodded and said, "You don't have to be too obvious about it. They aren't so weak that they won't be able to survive without our full support."

After a short chat between the two, Su Yu finally entered the building.

The moment he entered, he saw the luggage beside Old Huang. He asked curiously, "Teacher Huang, are you going on a trip?"

"No." Old Huang calmly said, "I'm having a change of scenery. From now on, Old Nie will be the only one here. I'm taking a job somewhere else."

"Where are you going?"

Su Yu was curious. Would a teacher in charge of watching over a grotto be shifted to a different grotto or something like that? But he had heard that these two had been here for many years.

"Discipline Hall." Old Huang replied, "I don't want to move, but the academy insists on having me run the Discipline Hall. This is so annoying."

"..."

Su Yu stared at the old man blankly.

Discipline Hall! Running the Discipline Hall!

Was this a joke? He had heard from Chen Yong that the hall master of the Discipline Hall would also be appointed as an elder of the academy.

Old Huang was feeling very smug as he seemed to have seen through Su Yu's thoughts. This kid had been too smug previously, delivering them shock after shock. Finally, it was the kid's turn to be shocked!

"Yes. I'm leaving to become an elder." Old Huang had a look of impatience as he said, "I have no interest in this position. It's boring being an elder. And I'm only a ninth-stage Cloudbreach. It's pointless being a non-Mountainsea elder. The Discipline Hall might not be a busy place, but it still has some official duties. This is such a tiring job."

Su Yu blinked his eyes. After a short moment, he turned incomparably passionate as he said, "Senior Hong! No, Elder Huang! You are truly amazing! Even the Discipline Hall can't escape your grasp! By the way, is the Discipline Hall in charge of the end of year evaluations?"

Old Huang calmly said, "Yeah. How troublesome. Why do you ask?"

"No reason. Teacher Huang, you sure are amazing!"

Inwardly, Su Yu was still very shocked.

This guy was just a guard...but he had suddenly turned into an elder?

Holy shit!

Just what was going on?

He was naturally unaware of the deeper workings in the academy. He also didn't know too much about the elders of the Grotto District. In fact, that was the case for the majority of the students. They didn't even know who these elders were.

The only thing everyone knew was that the academy had six non-Mountainsea elders. What a surprise. This old man in front of him was going to become one of them. Discipline Hall...Previously, Xia Yuwen had utilized his status as a discipline master from the Discipline Hall to give him trouble. That was a place with quite a lot of power in the academy.

And the old man in front of him was going to be leading that place. Truly impressive! Old Huang had an indifferent face.

Was the kid shocked? Surprised? He was now an elder!

Of course, the other old man in the room was already an elder a long time ago. Old Huang had merely been ignoring that fact.

Old Huang decided to move on from the topic and asked, "Are you entering the grotto again? You're going to enter the Infinite Strength Realm?"

"No. I'm going to cultivate a new cultivation method."

"New cultivation method?"

Old Huang was slightly surprised.

Suddenly, Su Yu thought of something and said, "It's a heaven-grade cultivation method. But it wasn't written by an Invincible. A peak Sunmoon wrote it. This won't be a problem for the grotto, right?"

The previous time he brought a willpower text into the grotto, there seemed to be an issue. Would it be fine this time?

He was going to enter with a willpower text as well.

"..."

Old Huang was feeling tired. He had only basked in the limelight for a short moment and this kid was starting to say something outrageous again. Were heaven-grade cultivation methods not valuable anymore? Were peak Sunmoons so common these days? Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on n0velfire.net

"It should be fine. As long as the willpower text does not produce something like an independent pocket space, there won't be much issues."

"Good. Thank you, Teacher." Su Yu was relieved.

Old Huang curiously asked, "What cultivation method is it? If it's a secret, you don't need to tell me."

"Oh, it's not a secret. It's a pretty common cultivation method, the Sky Sundering Saber."

"..."

Common cultivation method? Really? Fine, fine. That was really quite impressive.

Not just everyone could learn the Xia Family's cultivation method. It would seem like even the Xia Family viewed this kid as someone worth nurturing. That was the only reason the kid could get his hands on their cultivation method.

After a short chat, Su Yu brought up something else, "Teacher, I have a friend from the war academy. He wishes to enter the grotto with Teacher Zhao's token. Is that possible?"

"Old Zhao's token..."

Old Huang gave it a thought and said, "We are only supposed to allow the students of our academy to enter. That serves as a precaution against the infiltrating of the Myriad Race Cult. But if you act as your friend's guarantor and promise to compensate the academy with an Eternal character should any problem arise, there won't be a problem."

"..."

Old Nie shot Old Huang a glance but said nothing.

In truth, even with a token, someone from the war academy wouldn't be able to enter so easily. A deep investigation needed to first be conducted on the visitor's background. And it would be even better if the visitor could get a Mountainsea from the war academy to serve as a guarantor.

But when he thought about it, he decided that it would be fine. Since Old Zhao himself trusted Su Yu enough to give the kid a token, there was no need for them to worry about it too much.

"I understand. Thank you, Teacher."

Su Yu hurriedly thanked Old Huang for the confirmation.

Old Huang couldn't even be bothered to say more. After accepting the entry fee of 100 merit points from Su Yu, he kicked Su Yu into the grotto. Then, he said, "This kid is using Old Zhao's token so freely. This is only a borrowed object. Why is the kid taking it so lightly?"

"He is already qualified to enter the grotto. The only reason he had asked for the token is to help others enter. If even Old Zhao is fine with it, why are you grumbling?"

Old Nie did not seem to mind. He started nagging again, "At the Discipline Hall, take note of the year end evaluation. It's starting soon. Don't do what Old He has been doing. He always love to smooth things over. Don't learn from him. Clean the academy up. It would be better of you can use this year end evaluation to set an example out of someone. The people in the academy has almost forgotten about the existence of the Discipline Hall. Nobody cares about the first evaluation anymore. Everyone acts like it's just a procedure. We'll teach them that they're wrong."

"Yeah, I know."

While talking to each other, the two looked at the grotto entrance curiously. How long would the kid stay inside this time?

The single character faction was going to hold a tournament with several slots up for grabs soon.

The kid was most likely here to learn the Sky Sundering Saber and prepare himself for the tournament.

...

At the same time.

Single character faction's building.

Inside an office.

Zhou Pingsheng calmly speaking to several students, "Although I have promised to take out five slots, I have never promised that the slots will be given to outsiders. Thus, the best case scenario is winning all the slots back ourselves. Even if we can't win all the slots back, we must ensure that those who are hostile to us can't get them.

"I have gathered you here because you are the more talented ones among the young students. But you will probably not be a match for the old students. Even Di Feng might have a hard time against them."

Di Feng disagreed, but he kept his mouth shut.

Some of those old students were even older than his grandfather. Why were they competing against these young students? He felt ashamed on their behalf.

"But that doesn't matter. None of you are weak. If you really end up encountering a strong old student in the tournament, you can always choose to tire them out.

"This time, our main targets will still be Su Yu and those friendly toward him. He Ji, Wu Yuehua, and the other fellows from their side have obtained a slot each as well. They definitely won't be satisfied with just one slot. You will need to prevent them from benefiting from this tournament."

Di Feng nodded and asked, "Teacher, Su Yu has yet to register for the tournament. Is it possible that he's not joining?"

"Maybe."

Zhou Pingsheng was unsure. After thinking about it, he said, "If he does join, make sure he leaves with nothing. If he doesn't join, he won't be able to enter the grotto. By the time you guys are out, the luckier ones might already be in the Skysoar Realm. Even the unlucky ones will be at the peak Mental Tempering Stage. At that time, he will no longer be a treat."

Zhou Pingsheng might be saying that, but he still hoped to see Su Yu join the tournament. That fellow had seriously injured several single character faction geniuses.A lot of strong students were going to be participating in this tournament. Not even the number one student in the top 100, Zhan Hai, could be sure that he would place first in the tournament.

If Su Yu did join, they would be able to to rig the matches and make him suffer.

Zhou Pingsheng said, "This time, Hong Tan has obtained a slot as well. That slot will definitely be given to Wu Jia. We can't allow her to enter the top 100. But if she manages to enter this grotto, she will grow stronger. At that time, it might no longer be possible to stop her from ascending to the top 100. With Hong Tan around, she has probably recovered from her willpower injury."

Di Feng couldn't help but to grumble, "How could Grandteacher give them the slots? If Wu Jia manages to grow stronger, it will be much harder to keep her outside the top 100."

This would be very unfavorable for his own teacher.

Originally, with Wu Jia out of the top 100, Zhou Pingsheng had a good chance to become the new head manager. He would then be able to use that as the stepping stone to become the new faction master and an elder. But with what was happening, that wouldn't be so easy anymore.

"Your grandteacher has his reasons."

Zhou Pingsheng was naturally unhappy as well, but there was nothing he could do about it. That was the decision made by his teacher and the other elders.

Deciding to stop talking about his teacher, Zhou Pingsheng said, "After her recovery, Wu Jia has been going out of the books depository frequently. Compared to that cunning Su Yu, Wu Jia is a lot more green. Your grandteacher has personally given your Junior Brother Huang a treatment. He is on the verge of full recovery as well..."

"He's near full recovery?"

Di Feng was surprised to hear that. Could someone recover so fast from such heavy injuries? What kind of a price had his grandteacher pay for that? His grandteacher sure was generous.

Zhou Pingsheng observed his student's reaction but did not remark about it. He continued, "Wu Jia hates your junior brother. After all, he has nearly crippled her during their previous fight. When you have time, take a stroll around the academy with your junior brother. And if you happen to encounter Wu Jia during one of these strolls...you know what to do. It would be the best if you can cripple her before she can even enter the Willpower Grotto."

A fierce glint appeared in his eyes as he added, "Remember to follow the rules. Do this in a way that the multiple character faction won't be able to complain about anything. Your Junior Brother Huang did well previously. If it wasn't for Su Yu, they wouldn't have been able to make a comeback."

He had a good opinion of Huang Qifeng. Even though Huang Qifeng was Zheng Yuming's student instead of his own student, that didn't stop him from appreciating the ability of this student.

Sure, this student was somewhat weak and unlucky, but he was very good at harming his opponent without getting in trouble. If it wasn't for Su Yu's sudden rise, Wu Jia would probably need to give up on entering the top 100 again this year. Not even Hong Tan's return would change anything.

"Is Junior Brother Huang willing to do this?"

Di Feng was unsure. After all, Huang Qifeng had received such a terrible beating from Su Yu not long ago. Would he still dare to show himself?

"As long as we break no rules, there is nothing to fear."

Zhou Pingsheng coldly said, "Are we supposed to just wait as they make a comeback? The moment the multiple character faction regains their glory, with their talent and strength, the at least a third of the academy's resources will be allocated to them. At that time, would you still be able to enjoy all the benefits you're enjoying right now? Right now, you have everything you want. Cultivation methods, cultural weapons, pills, talismans, you don't lack anything."

Zhou Pingsheng snorted after saying that. If the multiple character faction was allowed to rise up again, these students would no longer live such carefree lives.

Their faces turned solemn when they heard his words. Finally, Zhou Pingsheng waved his hand and said, "Leave. Do as I said. Also, I believe you are as good as Su Yu in creating trouble. Since Su Yu can incite the masses and turn them against you, can't you do the same against him and Wu Jia? Are all of you garbage?"

Di Feng nodded and said, "I understand, Teacher. Don't worry. I won't give Wu Jia the chance to enter the Willpower Grotto."

"You may leave."