Chapter 439: The Reliable Liu Hong (3)
While the matches were progressing.
Beyond the stage.
Five students were huddled together.
Jia Mingzhen had a wide smile on his face as he spoke with voice transmission, "Guys, do we snatch the first place for ourselves? Old Wan told us to give these students some motivation, but it doesn't feel like these students need any further motivation. Each of them is as eager as a mad dog. Do we still need to do anything?"
All five of them were elders.
And all of them had been assigned to the same team. This wasn't due to luck. Nor was it a coincidence. They had simply cheated.
"Old Jia, stop messing around."
The sole female elder in the group said, "We are not pretending to be new students for fun. Don't waste our time on needless endeavors. What is the update on your side?"
Jia Mingzhen said, "There's no rush. I think we have gone about this the wrong way. We shouldn't have pretended to be the students of elders. Because of this, some people are afraid of approaching us. But that doesn't matter. I have been selling the personal items of some elders in the black market to earn a large sum of money for myself. Before long, someone will notice what I'm doing. As long as I give them enough blackmail material, they will definitely contact me."
"That's a good idea. Keep at it, then. There is also some progress on our side..."
The female elder said, "There is actually a bounty for Su Yu in the cult. And the reward is quite high. Why don't we kidnap him and use him as bait?"
Jia Mingzhen said, "Wow. You guys sure are ruthless. That would be boring. How about forcing Su Yu to join the cult instead? With his talent, he will definitely become an important member of the cult. Maybe he can even attract the attention of some Mountainseas and Sunmoons."
"You..."
They were speechless. Was he not ashamed of calling them ruthless?
Jia Mingzhen said, "I'm serious! Of course, there are too many eyes on Su Yu. So I believe people like Huang Qifeng would be a better option instead. What do you think? Or maybe we can use a heavyweight for this plan. What do you guys think about Zhou Pingsheng?"
"..."
They looked at him and frowned.
Jia Mingzhen explained, "The names I mentioned are the people currently filled with resentment. And the cult is definitely aware of that. In fact, I suspect that the cult has already contacted some of them."
"Old Jia, that doesn't matter. We should never force one of us to join the cult. You are harboring a very dangerous thought."
Jia Mingzhen disagreed. He said, "The hearts of some people in the academy have changed long ago. Forget it. Since you guys disagree, there is no need to move forward with this plan. But I believe that if things continue as they are, either the single or the multiple character faction would start losing some members to the cult."
Jia Mingzhen did not say anything else. The conflict between the two factions was starting to get out of hand. And it was very likely that the losing side would start consorting with the cult.
After all, the cult had always paid close attention to the major academies.
...
While the elders were chatting among themselves, the matches continued.
Nothing surprising had happened during the first round. Nothing dramatic, like a dark horse, had appeared.
After about two and a half hours, the first round came to an end.
Out of the 1,666 teams, 833 teams remained.
Once again, Liu Hong stepped onto the stage. With a smile, he said, "The first round is over. There are 833 teams remaining. The academy is proud of all of you. Congratulations. But this is merely the start of the tournament. The following matches will only be more and more intense. Remember. If you encounter an opponent you clearly can't defeat, stubbornly fighting that opponent to death is a foolish choice. Naturally, the following round will also be harder than the previous round."
A wide smile bloomed on his face as he announced, "For the second round, we will be using a variation of the king of the hill format. 20 rings will be provided, and 20 teams will be allowed to defend the rings. The other teams will be allowed to challenge the defenders. The teams with three victories will advance to the next round. Feel free to get in a ring if you're confident. Just remember that a single defeat is enough to eliminate you from the tournament.
"This format will allow the truly strong students to properly showcase their abilities. A single-elimination format like the previous round is honestly too boring."
He had just finished making his announcement when someone from the Discipline Hall protested, "Teaching Assistant Liu, this won't be a fair format. There is too much room for manipulation."
Liu Hong asked, "How is it unfair? We are here to pick the strongest team. The losers will be eliminated. What is unfair about this?"
"What if three strong teams decide to challenge a single team consecutively?"
Liu Hong smiled and said, "Is that the fault of the three challengers? The defending team can only blame themselves for being too weak. If they are strong enough, they will win. This is still a valid format to pick the strongest students out of all the participants. As long as this does not change, what is the issue? As for the choices of the students, that has nothing to do with us. As cultural researchers, the ability to actually use their brains is also important.
"For example, if someone is actually capable of making three strong teams challenge and tire out Zhan Hai's team, isn't that also proof of their ability? That does not break the rules. We are cultural researchers, not warriors. Are we supposed to stubbornly fight round after round with the traditional format?
"I am doing this for everyone's benefit. This way, we will save a lot of time. With this format, a single winning team will be able to eliminate three other teams. After this round, no more than 200 teams will remain. Including the teams that end up defeated in their third match, more teams will be eliminated. The weaker students will stop wasting everyone's time while the stronger students can advance to the final round earlier.
"Having said that, this is also a good opportunity for the weaker students. Think about it. Maybe there are some stubborn strong teams that insist on challenging the other strong teams? That will be your opportunity. The strong teams will end up exhausting each other, giving you an opening to defeat them. And they can only blame their foolishness for their defeat. It is perfectly normal for those with actual brains to survive until the very end. That's life.
"Strength, luck, and intelligence. All three factors are extremely important for a cultivator. As long as you know to grab the chance when it appears and use your brain well, you might even be able to face only weak teams and advance safely to the next round. This is your chance. Think about it. Will you stand a chance in a traditional format? What's the point of participating in this tournament if you have no chance of winning? Are you merely here to receive a beating and help the strong students showcase their talent?
"If we let strength decide everything, can any of these students defeat people like Zhan Hai? We might as well cancel the tournament and just assign the slots to them."
"..."
Nobody said anything.
Liu Hong smiled and asked, "Any objections? If not, I will assume that everyone agrees to this format. And a format everyone agrees to is a fair format. Something won't be fair or unfair just because you claim so."
The person from the Discipline Hall looked at Old Huang. With a frown, Old Huang looked at Su Yu. There was clearly a reason behind this sudden change in format.
He had thought that these people would try to rig the matches, but instead, there was no need to do so. Liu Hong was basically setting up a format where the matchups could be openly manipulated without breaking any rules.
And the students would probably not object to this format. The stronger students would be more than happy to waste less time. As for the weaker students, this format would present them with an opportunity they didn't have before.
And this format would also prevent the clash of the stronger teams too early in the tournament. Old Huang stared at Liu Hong, who merely smiled calmly.
"Liu Hong..." Old Huang frowned and said, "Although this is a tournament organized by the single character faction, I hope you don't keep changing the rules."
Liu Hong smiled, "Hall Master Huang, I am merely learning from experience in real time. And look at how satisfied all the students are with this new format. The rules that everyone is happy with are the most suitable rules to have. This is only a tournament. What is the point of holding a tournament with rules that nobody is satisfied with?"
Old Huang sank into silence. Liu Hong was too unpredictable and annoying. And this fellow had not broken any academy rules, leaving him helpless. After a short silence, Old Huang nodded and said nothing else.
Liu Hong smiled and said, "In that case, the format of the second round is decided. As cultural researchers, we should use our brain more. Observe your opponents and make sure that you are the one countering your opponent instead of the one being countered."
At this time, Su Yu asked, "Teacher, for this format, would the winner be forced to stay in the ring to face the next challenger, or would they be allowed to leave the ring and pick their next fight? Also, what if no new challenger appears for a team with two victories?"
Liu Hong explained, "You are not allowed to leave the ring after winning a match. You have to stay there until you obtain three victories. As for the situation where nobody is willing to challenge a team that has won two matches, the solution is simple. That team will be allowed to pick one of the remaining teams as the challenger. If they win, they would get their third victory and advance to the next round."
A different person asked, "If that's the case, even winning three matches won't guarantee you an advancement. Even a team that has won three victories can be picked as the challenger in this situation. Am I understanding this right?"
Liu Hong answered, "Simply put, if there are two teams with two victories with no other opponents, the two of them can simply fight each other. Toward the end, there will definitely be a team with only one or two victories and no challengers left. That team will naturally be allowed to challenge any of the remaining teams. They might end up eliminating themselves or eliminating one or two teams with three victories. It's very simple. Don't say that this isn't fair. If you're capable enough, you can still win."
"In that case, won't some of the teams be forced to fight more matches than others?" someone questioned.
Liu Hong said, "Yes, but that isn't necessarily a good thing for the team that has waited until the very end to challenge the teams that have already won three matches. In fact, that is a stupid choice. They have avoided the weaker teams in the beginning and have instead waited until the very end where only the stronger teams are left. So it will be hard to say who are the actual ones benefiting from this." The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the novelFɪre.net
Nobody else had any questions.
Liu Hong was right. If one didn't get their three victories earlier, one would only be left with the choice to challenge the stronger teams. After all, no weak team would be able to snatch three victories.
"If there are no other issues, let us begin. Remember, it's not necessarily a bad thing to fight first. Some people enjoy showing up late because they are strong, but the longer you wait, the stronger your opponents will be."
With that final reminder, Liu Hong announced, "The second round starts now."
The students started looking at each other. Should they go first, or should they wait? As for Su Yu, he couldn't even be bothered to say anything. He started walking toward a ring with no hesitation.
It would be better to finish his matches earlier so that he would have enough time to rest. His enemies would definitely target him, so he might as well get it over with. The expressions of Liu He and the others changed.
This fellow was indeed behaving in an unpredictable manner. It did not make sense that a strong team would be the first to go up. Just look at Zhan Hai and the others. All of them were still waiting and observing.
The first teams to fight could easily end up being targeted by the other teams. Was Su Yu confident, or was he simply stupid? Shouldn't he make his decision after people like Zhan Hai fought? That way, he could at least avoid fighting the stronger teams.
In fact, a lot of people were thinking the same thing. As a result, Su Yu became the first person to step into a ring.
Ignoring his teammates, he looked down from the ring and said with a smile, "Let us set an example for everyone. Any challengers? Feel free to get into the ring. If you're here for a proper fight, we won't have any problems. But if you're deliberately targeting me, well, I can't promise what will happen to you in the ring."
After saying that, he looked toward a certain team in the crowd. That was the strongest team of the single character faction. Two of Zhou Pingsheng's students were in that group. Zheng Yuming's student was also there.
Silence descended.
Many gazes landed on the single character faction's team. Would they rise to the challenge now? Or would they wait until Su Yu's team was done with their second match before issuing a challenge?
But the other teams weren't stupid. Nobody was willing to waste their strength and test the strength of Su Yu's team for the single character faction. It was more likely that all three challenges to Su Yu's team would come from the single character faction.
In the spectating zone, Elder Sun's lips moved as he transmitted his voice to someone. This was the perfect opportunity. What were they still waiting for? The time to deal with Su Yu had finally arrived.
Liu Hong was indeed reliable. He had actually created such an excellent opportunity for them to openly take their revenge on Su Yu.
Chapter 440: The Crazy Su Yu (1)
Su Yu was standing in the ring.
His loud voice rang out, "The quarrel between the single and multiple character factions has persisted for many years, throwing the academy into disorder. The people of the academy have also strayed from their paths because of this conflict. They no longer focus on research and cultivation. Everyone is busy scrambling for power and wealth. Everyone is fighting each other over our existing resources instead of developing new resources.
"This is not the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy I had imagined before joining. Here, people are busy fighting and scheming against each other. If it is something as simple as competition, it will naturally not be an issue. But even a simple tournament like this has turned into a big conspiracy. If the single character faction is really unwilling to let go of those slots, why bother holding this tournament?
"Since you have decided to hold the tournament, at least make an effort to follow some rules. Are you not embarrassed of having your reputation plummet even further?"
Su Yu had a look of contempt as he glanced at Liu Hong, Elder Sun, and the other single character faction students. Liu Hong said nothing. Elder Sun frowned.
Su Yu smiled, "Since you have schemed and plotted, why bother trying to cover up your dirty deeds? Just be honest about it. I'm your target. Well, here I am. I don't care about the slot. But I have still decided to come.
"Since you have decided to be a snake, embrace it. Don't learn from Teacher Liu and turn into a hypocrite instead of a proper snake. What's the point of keeping up the act if everyone already knows you're a hypocrite?"
Liu Hong's voice rang out, "Su Yu, watch your words. You know the punishment for slandering a teacher. Just a few days ago, some students have been punished for the same offense."
"The punishment is for the offense of slander." Su Yu smiled, "But that's not what I'm doing. I'm telling the truth. Who doesn't know about the conflict between the single and multiple character factions? You're already dirty. Why pretend to be clean? Teacher Liu, let me ask you something. Will the single character faction not target me if I hadn't said all these words?"
Looking down at the crowd from the ring, Su Yu raised his voice, "Since you're here for me, stop pretending. I'm here. You have managed to stuff even some of your people into my team. What are you still waiting for? What are you afraid of?"
"Has the single character faction fallen so far? Is it so difficult for you to deal with a mere new student? If you are capable, I welcome the challenge. If you are incapable, learn to shut up and mind your own business. You won't get far playing around with petty tricks every single day. Produce a few Sunmoons or cultivators unrivaled within the same cultivation level first before talking about replacing us."
"..."
Su Yu's words were deafening. A clamor slowly erupted from the crowd. In the ring, Liu He and the others had their heads lowered.
Su Yu had a look of disdain as he asked, "So after all this, none of you dares to meet me in a ring? Also, stop wasting time with a simple spar. Since you want to target me, let's make things simple. Let's fight to the death. This is what you want, right?"
Among the spectators, Chen Yong's expression changed.
He stood up and called out with a frown, "Su Yu!"
Su Yu looked over and smiled, "It's fine, Martial Uncle. These people are not enough to deal with me. If they have the guts to do so, I am willing to fight any single character faction in the same cultivation level to the death. If they can kill me, so be it. If they end up killed instead, they can only blame their lack of skill. If you keep creating trouble even when you don't have the ability to back your own actions, you deserve death."
Elder Sun stood up and coldly said, "Su Yu, you intend to fight to the death?"
Su Yu calmly asked, "Why not?"
Elder Sun looked at the single character faction students. But many of them avoided his gaze and looked down. When he saw that, his face fell.
Su Yu smiled, "Anyone with the courage is free to step into the ring. This is the only reason I've decided to leave my seclusion. You guys need to learn that as pieces of trash, you should shut your mouth and stop making so much noise.
"This tournament is a great chance for us to solve things. I will give you a chance. I doubt you dare to face me one on one. But we're now fighting in teams of five. As long as my teammates stay still and not stab me in the back, I will accept their inaction in the match and fight five of you alone. The losers will die. Do you dare to accept my challenge?"
Su Yu's voice grew even louder as he said, "Fine. How about this? Even if they decide to stab me in the back, I will still fight all nine of you alone. As long as you have the guts to make a move, I will have the guts to kill you. Do you dare?"
"..."
Silence descended.
After a while, someone snorted coldly, "This is blind arrogance."
"Blind arrogance?" Su Yu looked at that person and sneered, "You! Get in the ring. Sign the waiver and fight me to the death. If you're capable enough, feel free to kill me. Are you pieces of trash really so scared? You don't even have the courage to face me? What a waste of academy resources. Yes, as a member of the multiple character faction, I have used way more resources than any of you in cultivation. I have spent tens of thousands of merit points for my cultivation. So what? So what if you can use the same amount of resources to produce 10 single character faction students of the same cultivation level? Get in the ring and I'll show you that those 10 students are the same as lambs I can slaughter as I please."
"Bastard!"
"He has only been in the academy for a few months! How dare he be so arrogant!"
"Does he really believe that nobody can defeat him?"
"..."
One single character faction student after another shouted in anger. But the other students remained silent. None of them said anything.
They couldn't understand why Su Yu had decided to pick this moment to challenge the single character faction. This didn't seem like the smart thing to do. Was he not afraid of death?
The answer was yes. He was afraid of death. But at this very moment, he wanted nothing more than to fight to his heart's content. To fight without holding anything back.
Thus, he continued challenging the single character faction, "The single character faction, or to be precise, the Character Faculty, has changed long ago. Members of the single character faction will be given preferential treatments and good teachers. I have nothing to say about their prejudice toward me since I am a member of an opposing faction. But how about the other students? Those with slightly lacking talent or background will be sidelined. And after suffering such prejudice for a few years, these students will reach 30 years old. The academy will then consider them hopeless and give up on them.
"Because of the single character faction's prejudice, these people have missed out on the chance to properly cultivate during their prime. They are left wasting their lives away. And after reaching an old age, they will be forced to join a tournament like this and compete against people young enough to be their grandchildren just for an opportunity.
"To these people, I have something to say. I hate to be honest, but this tournament is being held for my sake. Without me, there would be no meaning to this tournament. Those important individuals will merely watch with amusement while all of you are out here fighting with everything you have. Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on novelꜰire.net
"Is this what you want? Is this what you pursue? Is this the great cultural research academy of your dreams? How ridiculous. The academy has indeed grown after Principal Wan became the principal. But only a bunch of selfish individuals have benefited from the growth. The influential families rose in power and numerous factions formed. Any dissident or outlier will be suppressed. The blooming of a hundred schools of thought? Numerous teachings prospering together? That is nothing but a joke. In the current academy, the various factions such as the beast taming faction, the pillmaking faction, and the talisman faction are all left playing second fiddle to the single character faction."
Standing before thousands of people, Su Yu preached on and on.
There were a few times when Elder Sun wanted to stop Su Yu, but he was kept still by a certain powerful pressure.
Su Yu continued, "The academy has long declined. It looks strong, but it no longer has stable foundations. I am a weakling. I do not know the thoughts of our principal and elders. I only know that if I have to go to the battlefield with these people, I would probably spend more time worrying about being stabbed in the back than the enemies. Rather than putting so much effort to guard against backstabs, I might as well take this chance to take them out. That way, I will be able to give my all in fighting the actual enemies when the time comes for me to enter the battlefield as well."
At this point, someone interjected. The cold voice said, "Su Yu, there is no need to sing yourself praises while stepping on your rivals. The conflict between the single and multiple character factions has nothing to do with us. We are only here for the slots. Why waste our time with this speech?"
Su Yu looked over and said, "You're right. Sure enough, nobody cares about things that do not directly concern them. Zhan Hai, this matter might not concern you. But let me ask you a question. If you are sent to the battlefield with the single character faction members, would you dare to leave your back to them?"
Zhan Hai indifferently replied, "There is no need for me to do that as I will never fight alongside them."
"Hahaha!" Su Yu roared with laughter, "Look at how great the single character faction is! Fifty years ago, did the people dare to leave their backs to the predecessors of the multiple character faction?"
Su Yu looked at the elders and said, "Do you understand now? The conflict between the single and multiple character factions is no longer a personal grudge. It has long since escalated to a level where the entire academy, the entire Great Xia, or even the entire Human Realm is affected."
A lot of people frowned and sank into thought.
Su Yu said, "I guess it's pointless to keep preaching. Someone once said that everyone is a bystander when it is someone else facing the blade. When it is their turn to face the blade, the others will be the bystander as well, leaving them to fight alone. Thus, even if these people end up suffering from their inaction, they deserve it."
At this time, Liu Hong asked, "Are you done with your speech? If you are, let's continue with the tournament. A mere student like you is still incapable of changing the state of affairs in the Human Realm, in Great Xia, and in the academy. The higher you stand, the more you see. Su Yu, what you see might not be the same as what we see."
"Are you standing very high?" Su Yu smiled, "As a cultivator, if I lack the courage to even voice my thoughts, what's the point of my cultivation? I say what I have in my mind. I don't follow the trends and echo popular sentiment just so that I can feel good about myself."
He then looked at the students again. "What are you waiting for? Are all of you afraid? You don't have the courage to fight me to the death? I was worried that you guys would be too scared to fight me alone. But even when I'm offering to face five of you alone, you're still scared?"
"Su Yu, do you really think that you're very strong?" Zhan Hai frowned and said, "Like I said, we are only here for the slots. Stop wasting our time. This is not your lecture hall. If you enjoy lecturing so much, hold a public lecture after the tournament. You are free to talk as long as you want then."
"You are a callous man." Su Yu raised his voice, "Even if you manage to grow into a powerful cultivator in the future, you will only be a selfish expert who does not care even if all your comrades die."
Zhan Hai coldly said, "Don't waste your time throwing accusations at everyone who disagrees with you. Su Yu, don't make the mistake of believing that you are the smartest person in the world."
He knew very well what Su Yu was trying to do here. But that did not concern him. What could Su Yu change? Nothing!
Apart from swaying the minds of some fools who would join him in his resistance, he wouldn't be able to accomplish anything. And those hot-blooded fools would only end up dying miserable deaths because of him. They would be nothing but cannon fodder.
Chapter 441: The Crazy Su Yu (2)
As far as Zhan Hai was concerned, Su Yu was basically trying to instigate the common students to rise up against the single character faction. These students would be used as cannon fodder.
He disliked Su Yu. This person looked honorable on the surface, but inwardly, he was a cold person. Liu Hong might be a hypocrite, but so was Su Yu.
He wouldn't be able to change anything. The only thing he could achieve here was leading a bunch of people toward suffering. In the end, he would survive due to his backers. How about the common students who had supported him? Had he considered that?
...
Su Yu smiled and said, "It doesn't matter if you agree or disagree with me. Since none of you have the courage to protest this injustice, I will do it. I will be the one to question the academy and Great Xia about their policies."
"A mere child who is not even a Skysoar is unqualified to say these words."
Someone else berated Su Yu.
Looking at the old student who had spoken, Su Yu smiled and said, "Get in the ring. I'll let you know if I am qualified to say all that."
The old student's face sank. He really wanted to step into the ring.
Su Yu raised his voice, "Everyone who is unhappy with me! Feel free to get in the ring! I won't stop at three matches! As long as there are still challengers, I will remain in the ring."
"Su Yu, can you speak for your entire team?"
Su Yu smiled, "They can leave if they disagree. I won't force anyone to stay."
"You are indeed bold, but it is unfortunate that you lack the strength to match your courage." Someone sneered at him.
...
Among the crowd.
Wu Jia had a worried expression. Her junior brother had always been a cool-headed person. Why had he provoked so many people today?
Something bad would happen if this continued. He only needed to fight in the tournament and win a slot for himself. Why was he doing this?
Beside her, Li Minyu nonchalantly said, "Your junior brother is quite an ambitious person."
Wu Jia looked at her in confusion.
Li Minyu explained, "Your junior brother has only entered the academy for a few months yet he is already trying to become a leader of the students. Can't you see that? In the past, this was what the super geniuses of the multiple character faction like Liu Wenyan would do after entering the academy. They would win the worship of their fellow students and the acknowledgment of their teachers. Before even reaching the Skysoar Realm, they would obtain a large number of supporters. Everyone believed that those people would be the ones to lead the academy to a new height. Alas, things had not ended well for those people."
Today, Su Yu had suddenly said all those words, questioning the principal and Great Xia...
Was he trying to walk the same path? More importantly, was he capable enough to walk that path?
Back then, people like Liu Wenyan had dominated their peers. Their sheer talent and strength had gained them the support of even those from the older generation. Was Su Yu qualified to say all those words?
...
Not far away.
Wu Lan looked at her elder sister and asked in confusion, "Sister, why is he provoking Zhan Hai?"
Had Su Yu gotten way too cocky? That was Zhan Hai! The number one cultivator below the Skysoar Realm! But Su Yu was showing him zero respect or fear. It even felt like Su Yu was trying to challenge Zhan Hai. He wouldn't have said all that otherwise.
Wu Qi frowned as she sank into thought. But after a short moment, she smiled, "I thought he's a patient man. Looks like he is actually an ambitious man. He is unhappy with the current status quo. He wants to use this chance to get himself a group of supporters before he enters the Skysoar Realm. These supporters would be his voice in the academy."
"Would this work?"
"I don't know."
Would that work? Maybe. Or maybe not. Who could say for sure?
Wu Qi had an amused expression as she looked at the high-spirited Su Yu. If he had continued enduring, he would slowly turn into a second Liu Hong. But instead of doing what was logical, he changed his tune and was starting to show off even more? Had he grown too confident? Or had he really grown strong enough to defeat anyone below the Skysoar Realm?
...
Sounds of discussion broke out everywhere.
And one researcher after another arrived.
It would seem like this was truly not a peaceful year for the academy. That was especially true for the past six months. One incident after another had happened.
This was only a normal tournament for a few grotto slots. But even during such a tournament, someone had still created enough ruckus to attract the attention of the entire academy.
Among the crowd, someone laughed heartily and asked, "Su Yu, what will change if the multiple character faction wins?"
That was Zheng Yunhui. With a happy smile, he said, "Can you talk for the multiple character faction? Can you promise everyone more benefits? Don't forget that even the slots offered as the rewards of this tournament are given out by the single character faction. Your faction is too poor to even open the grotto."
A lot of people nodded in agreement. The two factions could fight as much as they wanted. Ordinary students like them did not care about that. Everyone would do the same thing once they reached the top.
There was no guarantee that the multiple character faction would treat the common students better upon gaining power. In that case, why should the masses care? They only needed to care about themselves.
As long as the conflict did not affect them, they would not care. Perhaps they might even get the chance to benefit from the conflict of the two. This tournament was the perfect example of this. The incident involving Su Yu and his thousands of losses was another example.
"Benefits?"
Su Yu smiled, "What is the foundation of a cultural researcher? Willpower? Divine Character? No. It's the brain! It's research! It's development! Some people have forgotten that they are cultural researchers. I have been curious. Since we only care about combat strength nowadays, why don't we shift all our support to the war academies? Why waste our time and resources on cultural research academies? Why don't we call ourselves mages instead of cultural researchers?
"Cultural researcher. Culture. Our main purpose is to act as chroniclers of culture, transmitters of culture, and scholars of culture. That is the foundation of a cultural researcher. That is our true source of strength. What can I bring everyone? I can bring everyone back to our roots. To erase the chaos and dirt from the academy.
"I will allow everyone to experience the true grace of being a cultural researcher. The current practice where the one with the stronger fist can decide anything shall be eradicated.
Zheng Yunhui laughed and said, "But you can't deny that the strongest fist can indeed decide everything."
"But the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy's fist is not strong enough. Just with the small number of Mountainseas we have, we want to dominate the Myriad Realms? Are you dreaming? Back in the day, we still had Sunmoon experts among our ranks. But now, we don't even have a single Sunmoon. Is this the so-called strength you talk about all the time? Is this the fist you rely on?"
"..."
"What do you want to say? What do you want to do?" Zheng Yunhui asked.
Su Yu smiled, "Nothing for now. But not long after this, I will be applying for a research center from the academy. I will be inviting all talented individuals to join me in my research. We shall do what we can and contribute to all cultural researchers, to all warriors, to all cultivators, and even to all of humanity."
"Hahaha!"
A lot of people started roaring with laughter. What a boastful kid. They couldn't resist laughing. Su Yu must have gone mad. A student who had only entered the academy for a few months wanted to apply for a research center? And he was recruiting a group of people to join him in his research? Get full chapters from novel•fire.net
Was he crazy? Had he gone mad from the single character faction's suppression? Only a fool would join him in this endeavor.
Ridiculous. Rather than wasting their time with him, they would rather spend more time cultivating and gaining more strength.
Even Chen Yong felt slightly disappointed. Previously, he had been confident that Su Yu would keep growing, one steady step at a time. But what was Su Yu doing? He knew that Su Yu had obtained an inheritance through a fortuitous encounter. But had the kid overestimated his inheritance?
Did he believe that the knowledge he had gained from his inheritance was enough to support the operation of a research center? How about money? How about manpower? He had nothing!
At this point in time, Su Yu should instead be practical and advance one step at a time. Standing here and boasting to the entire academy was not something he should be doing.
Chen Yong was disappointed. He had been planning to pass on some things to Su Yu after Su Yu reached the Skysoar Realm. But now, he started doubting his decision.
At this point, not even Elder Sun was angry anymore. The pressure on him had also vanished. With a smile, he said, "Su Yu, if you wish to found your own research center, you will have my vote during the meeting of elders. You are truly an interesting person. But I do hope that no other people will go crazy and join you in your hopeless endeavor. We won't be able to allocate any funds to you, but we won't have an issue giving you an actual research center."
This was too funny.
Suddenly, he felt like it would be better for Su Yu to stay alive. He even looked forward to the establishment of Su Yu's research center. That would turn the multiple character faction into a joke.
A student who had only been in the academy for a few months was actually brazenly claiming that he would establish a research center? Was the kid even aware of the significance of a research center?
That research center of his could very well turn into the joke of the academy or even the entire Human Realm.
Su Yu, a genius of the multiple character faction, had established a research center at the Mental Tempering Stage. How incredible. He led a bunch of fools in his research center only to end up empty-handed even after spending decades on research.
The research center might even fall apart after only a few years. And Su Yu would be forever known as a disgrace to all cultural researchers. His name would forever be used as a bad example. And that would be a truly fatal blow to the multiple character faction.
They had actually viewed someone like that as the final hope of the multiple character faction? That was laughable.
Chapter 442: The Crazy Su Yu (3)
"Su Yu, the hope of the multiple character faction. Hahaha!"
Su Yu showed no anger. He calmly said, "Thank you for your support, Elder Sun. I hope you will stay true to your words."
"Don't worry." Elder Sun smiled, "We are very supportive of more research. You will naturally have our support. There is an abandoned research center near the Wentan Research Center. You can put it to use after a slight renovation. The Character Faculty has the authority to assign that building to you."
There was no lack of land in the academy. And they had no lack of abandoned research centers either. If Su Yu wanted one, they would gladly give him one. A research center required talented individuals, money, resources, projects, creativity, innovation, and land. None of that was too important for the single character faction.
"But you need to fulfill the minimum requirement of having five members before you can submit the application. Additionally, you need to provide a research topic during your application. You are expected to produce a research result for that topic within a set period of time. Otherwise, you won't be able to even start your research center."
Elder Sun had a toying look as he said, "By the way, you won't be able to use the names of Hong Tan, Bai Feng, and Chen Yong. They are all registered under the Wentan Research Center. And of the five names you gather, one must be at least a Skysoar. I do hope to see a Skysoar willing to join you. If you can't find one, we will get Liu Hong to volunteer. Liu Hong, we will have to trouble you to give Student Su some help."
Liu Hong smiled, "Since Elder Sun has promised to help, feel free to look for me, Su Yu. This won't be easy for you. If you still need more members, you can even use the names of both of my students. I will gladly give you any help you need."
The crowd started roaring with laughter.
However, Su Yu continued standing there with a calm look on his face. Eventually, Elder Sun and the others got tired of laughing. This suddenly felt pointless. Su Yu had basically gone crazy. It was embarrassing to get too petty against a madman.
Elder Sun said, "Let us continue the tournament. As for your request for a fight to the death, your team members might not agree. Remember, you are not fighting alone. You need to take your team members into consideration as well. Also, only brutes talk about killing all the time."
Basically, he didn't dare to accept Su Yu's challenge. Despite Su Yu's apparent madness, this kid was still quite strong. He suspected that even if they could kill Su Yu through this tournament, they would lose a lot of students doing so. And it wasn't like their students would really dare to face Su Yu in a fight to the death.
If he forced them to do so, he might even cause an internal conflict within the single character faction. Hearing Elder Sun's words, Su Yu smiled.
"Since you guys are scared, forget it. Let's compete normally. Any challengers?"
Rather than killing a few of them, destroying their confidence was naturally an even better option. They were fearful of him.
When Su Yu requested for a fight to the death, not one single character faction student had answered his challenge. That alone was enough. Even Zhou Hao, who was standing beside Su Yu, had a look of disdain in his eyes.
Su Yu was right. These students were all cowards. This was such a large academy. Yet Su Yu was the only student who had earned his admiration. How lamentable. Official source ıs novel_fіre.net
"Get into the ring."
Elder Sun's voice rang out as he looked at the single character faction students. He had already prevented the fight to the death from happening. With the risk of death gone and the advantage of five versus one, why were these students still so scared?
Damn it! Were they going to embarrass the single character faction more? Su Yu's ridiculous declaration had lessened the impact of all he had said earlier, but if the single character faction continued refusing to fight him, they would truly destroy their own reputation.
A team of five looked at each other before making up their minds. All of them entered the ring. And the other spectators started waiting for the show to unfold.
Su Yu might be arrogant, but he was truly not weak. The only question was whether he was strong enough to back his arrogance. For many people, it would be more apt for Zhan Hai to be the one uttering those words.
...
"Su Yu, you—"
The single character faction students were about to say something heroic to make themselves look better when Su Yu interrupted them, "Stop wasting time. Referee, we are ready."
"You!"
They were furious. All five of them were old students, but they were not yet past their prime. Each of them had the combat strength of seven or eighth-stage Infinite Realm cultivators. When working together, they could even put up a fight against a Skysoar.
Su Yu was too arrogant.
The referee was not Zhao Ming. It was a different Skysoar cultivator. He wasted no time and announced, "Start the match."
Liu He and the others were still hesitating when Su Yu vanished. An illusion appeared. The five opponents instantly released bursts of willpower to break through the illusion. They were well aware of Su Yu's ability to generate illusions.
But Su Yu's blood character had grown much stronger than before after absorbing the intent of several destroyed Eternal characters. And his willpower had also grown stronger. Thus, his opponents were unable to break free despite being aware of the illusion.
Both the kill and lightning characters had reached the second tier. Even the battle character was not far away from an upgrade. One could say that the characters, willpower and cultural weapon of Su Yu were similarly powerful.
A dark saber wreathed in lightning appeared soundlessly and descended from the sky.
Behind Su Yu, Zhou Hao was about to make a move when Su Yu's indifferent voice rang out, "I can deal with these weaklings myself."
Right after saying that, his Sealing Saber reached his opponents.
Rumble!
All five of them started coughing blood. One of them opened his eyes wide, seemingly on the verge of breaking free from the illusion. But the first thing he saw after leaving the illusion was a rapidly approaching leg. The leg moved so fast that it almost felt like it could affect even the passage of time itself.
Boom!
Crushing Mountainsea!
Crack!
All the bones in that student's body were broken. Like unwanted trash, the student, who was also the leader of his team, was sent flying out of the ring with a single kick from Su Yu.
Wasn't the single character faction rich? Very well. They could use their money to heal these students.
Su Yu refused to believe that it would be cheap to heal these injuries. Huang Qifeng had been healed due to his status as Zheng Yuming's student. Zhou Hao had been healed due to his status as Xia Yuwen's student.
These heavy injuries would require thousands of merit points to heal. Would the single character faction waste their money on these old students? Unlikely.
"How weak."
Su Yu sneered. At that moment, his weapon lashed out again, releasing a burst of lightning and turning a different student into a lump of mangled flesh. The cultural weapon that the student had just taken out was completely destroyed.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Su Yu moved rapidly, leaving afterimages all over the ring. He did not forget to use his Soul Devouring Art to burn his opponents, causing them to wail in pain.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
One student after another was sent flying out of the ring. They were left with broken bones and burnt willpower. They were in great pain, and even now, some of them were still trapped in Su Yu's illusion.
...
In the ring.
Su Yu had ended the fight in less than five seconds.
After putting his weapon away, he looked at the crowd and smiled, "My apologies, but I won. I couldn't hold back so I hope the single character faction can work hard in healing those senior brothers. Be sure to heal them well and not leave any hidden injuries in their bodies. Since I was fighting one against five, I really couldn't afford to hold back."
The crowd sank into silence.
Five strong students at late-stage Infinite Strength Realm had been easily defeated by Su Yu. This was inconceivable. One ought to know that two of them were former top 100 students. And they had only grown stronger since then. But these people had been defeated so easily?
A researcher from the single character faction stepped forth and sent rays of white light toward the five injured students to heal them. He had an unsightly expression as he scolded, "Su Yu, this is not a fight to the death. You are clearly stronger than them. Why had you inflicted such heavy injuries on them?"
Yes. Those were heavy injuries. Numerous bones had been broken, multiple internal organs were bleeding, and some of them had even lost their cultural weapons and characters from the fight.
Su Yu was too heavy-handed.
Su Yu nonchalantly said, "You misunderstand me, Teacher. I had actually held back against them. Otherwise, all of them would be dead already. The referee is here. Since he hadn't stopped me, I had clearly not crossed any lines. You can only blame your students for being too weak."
"You!"
The researcher was furious. Inwardly, he was greatly shocked. Su Yu had grown even stronger than before. These five students were actually stronger than even Di Feng when working together. Yet Su Yu had defeated them so easily.
Su Yu was probably as strong as a ninth-stage Infinite Strength cultivator already. Coupled with a large number of characters and the high tier of his characters, not even regular ninth-stage Infinite Strength cultivators would be his match.
Silence descended among the students. Even people like Zhan Hai had solemn expressions. Su Yu had yet to display enough strength to challenge a Skysoar, but with his current strength, he was nearly unrivaled beneath the Skysoar Realm. More importantly, he hadn't even been in the academy for long.
Zhou Hao was also looking at Su Yu with a grave expression. This fellow was much stronger than before. Was this even Su Yu's full strength? That was highly unlikely.
Chapter 443: The Crazy Su Yu (4)
Elder Sun and the other single character faction elders frowned.
Was he really so strong? Damn him! Those with the courage to challenge Su Yu would naturally not be weak. But they had been defeated just like that.
Liu Hong suddenly smiled and said, "Su Yu, you are strong. Looks like even Zhan Hai might have a hard time against you. No wonder you were so arrogant earlier."
"Childish." With a calm tone, Su Yu said, "Anyone interested in courting death is free to step into the ring. What a pity that we can't have a fight to the death."
Su Yu then flashed a smile as he said, "I hope to see these senior brothers healthy again after a few days. At their age, it will greatly delay their cultivation if they still have to spend years bedridden."
He was provoking the single character faction with every word of his. He was basically asking them if Elder Sun and the other elders would spend the money to heal them from their injuries.
Broken bones, damaged organs, destroyed characters...would the single character faction really administer treatment to these students?
Elder Sun could sense that some of the students were starting to hesitate. He announced, "As long as you are a student of the single character faction, you will be healed regardless of your injuries as long as you are not dead yet."
That placated a lot of the students.
Su Yu smiled and said, "What's the point of only healing them? That will still delay their cultivation. You also owe them some consolation rewards. For example, you should reward each student with the courage to enter the ring with 1,000 merit points. Everyone, this is me fighting for more benefits for you. You're welcome."
"..."
Elder Sun was infuriated. What joke was that? 1,000 merit points for each student? Did merit points fall from the sky or something?
"So you're not willing to even give that much? You're asking these students to fight with their lives and future on the line. Why is it that some people can easily get tens of thousands of merit points while some can't even get a thousand merit points? Elder Sun, you know who I'm talking about. If the ones who are actually staking their lives aren't going to be rewarded, why should they fight?"
"Bullshit!" Elder Sun roared, "Su Yu, if you keep babbling nonsense, I'll kill you where you stand!"
Su Yu nonchalantly said, "Is it a crime to speak the truth now? You want to kill me? Bring it on. I honestly don't mind using my life to drag a Mountainsea down with me. This would be totally worth it. I only worry that Elder Sun wouldn't be willing to perform such a trade."
"You! Audacious!"
Furious, Elder Sun stood up and glared at Su Yu murderously. How impudent. Clearly, Su Yu was here today to challenge them. This kid had provoked him again and again!
"Chen Yong, is this how the students of the multiple character faction speak to their elders?"
Elder Sun then looked at Huang Chen and said, "Huang Chen, a mere student is running his mouth against an elder. Do the rules still exist?"
Old Huang frowned and chided, "Su Yu, stop babbling nonsense!" Orıginal content can be found at novel⚑fire.net
Su Yu calmly said, "Hall Master Huang must have misunderstood me. I would never dare to violate the academy rules. I am merely speaking the truth. Even if you demand the name of the person I'm talking about, I won't hesitate in giving it. Some people have been allowed to get away with embezzling tens of thousands of merit points from the Character Faculty. Do you want me to actually file an official complaint about it?"
Su Yu looked at Elder Sun and indifferently said, "If Elder Sun believes that I am saying all that to offend you, I don't mind making a proper report so that the academy can launch a formal investigation. If it is found out that I am lying, I will kneel in front of you for three days and three nights, accept 500 whips, and forfeit all my benefits as a student of the academy. Is this acceptable, Elder Sun?"
Elder Sun's eye became even colder. Formal investigation? To hell with it! He naturally knew who Su Yu was talking about.
Zhou Pingsheng!
That piece of trash had placed their faction in a tough spot again and again. Su Yu had been able to make use of the openings created by that useless fellow to inflict numerous losses on them.
If possible, he wanted to kill both Su Yu and Zhou Pingsheng. But he had no choice but to swallow his anger and coldly said, "I will spare you this once. Su Yu, do not provoke me over and over again. Do you really think that a Mountainsea is a being you can easily insult?"
"I naturally wouldn't dare to do so." Su Yu smiled and ignored Elder Sun. Looking at the single character students, he said, "Where are the next challengers? There are two matches remaining. Where is your courage?"
Elder Sun glared at Su Yu coldly. He stopped talking. Su Yu was a mere student. He was being too provocative today.
"Li Shiyun, go. Find a chance to kill him. If you can kill him, each member of your team will be rewarded with 1,000 merit points and a slot into the Willpower Grotto. If you can seriously injure him, you will still get the merit points, but you won't be getting any slots."
He gave his order to the strongest team of the single character faction through voice transmission. All five members of that team were old students who had been in the Mental Tempering Stage for decades.
In fact, this team was the single character faction's trump card to snatch back the slots they had offered as the rewards of this tournament. Even Di Feng was only as strong as one of them.
This was basically a team of students at the level of top five students. Would they be able to defeat Su Yu? The five exchanged gazes with solemn expressions.
If they could defeat Su Yu, they would be given slots even if they failed to win the tournament in the end. They would also be given 1,000 merit points each. That was a massive reward. But Su Yu was very strong. If he started fighting with his life on the line, something bad might really happen to some of them.
Elder Sun transmitted his voice again, "Go! Are you all garbage? Do you want the faction to completely abandon all of you?"
He was furious. These students were actually so scared of Su Yu? Were they waiting for Su Yu to humiliate them more? Each of them was almost as strong as a Skysoar. With five of them together, would they even fail to defeat Su Yu?
"If you refuse, you will be fully abandoned. All your benefits will be canceled, and you can live in obscurity until you die."
Were Zhou Pingsheng's students so brazen that they dared to even disobey an elder like him? Not even Zhou Pingsheng himself had the courage to disobey him!
One of the five, Li Shiyun, sighed and said to his team members, "Let's go."
The others nodded with solemn expressions. If they did not get into the ring, they would offend Elder Sun. The single character faction would also abandon them.
"After getting into the ring, fight with all your strength. I will be the one to break his illusion. Wang Chao, break on his cultural weapon. Xie Hu, try to seal him up. Sun Qian, weaken his physical body with your character. Xu Ming, engage him in physical combat and break his acupoints."
Order after order was given by Li Shiyun. All of them were strong combatants. And they had known each other for quite a while. He knew them very well. They were among the strongest old students of the single character faction.
Even Zhan Hai would suffer a heavy injury facing the five of them alone. Was Su Yu better than Zhan Hai? Impossible. They could all see that Su Yu was still at the Great Strength Realm.
...
They stepped into the ring while the crowd watched with solemn expressions.
They had thought that a clash between strong students would only happen near the final round. But it had actually happened so early in the second round. More and more people arrived to watch this fight.
Among the crowd, Wu Jia was anxious, Xia Huyou had a solemn expression, while Wan Mingze and the rest were frowning.
It wouldn't be surprising for teams this strong to encounter each other near the end of the tournament. It was still too early for them to meet. All the other participants were caught by complete surprise.
"Finally, you guys are here." Su Yu smiled.
These were exactly the people he had been waiting for. These were five students near the Skysoar Realm. If he could defeat them even when they were working together, then the single character faction would be reduced to a complete joke today.
His battle intent erupted.
His killing intent soared.
Liu He and the others distanced themselves from him.
Liu He had a look of struggle on his face. Five strong opponents had appeared. Were they still going to stand there and do nothing? But those five opponents were people from his faction!
The more he thought about it, the more furious he was. He felt like a fool, standing there like he was a piece of furniture. He was nothing but a joke. He was infuriated. This was not what he wanted. He wanted to fight until the very end. But he knew he couldn't do so.
If this were any other time, he might be able to get away with fighting alongside Su Yu. But so many people were looking. The moment he made a move, even his elder brother and teacher would be implicated.
Rage started simmering in his heart.
This was not the kind of life he wanted to live. He wanted to live like Su Yu, to say and do as he pleased. Even if the opponent was someone he couldn't defeat, he would still be willing to fight. Beside him, Zhou Hao grinned.
But when Zhou Hao looked at Su Yu, Su Yu merely shook his head. He did not intend to let Zhou Hao reveal his hand so early. More matches were waiting for them. Way too many people were waiting to take advantage of them after they were weakened.
Zhou Hao...would be his gift for the next team to challenge them.
As for their current opponents, he alone would suffice.
One acupoint after another was activated in his body.
A storm of source qi swirled around him.
As his battle intent soared, his battle character started showing signs of advancement.
His saber appeared before gathering all his characters in it. The sheer presence of the saber forced the weakest member of the team, Lin Yao, to take several steps back. The pressure was so great that he almost lost his footing.
That was too powerful.
At that moment, Su Yu felt more like a primordial beast than a frail human.
All five of his opponents turned solemn. Just how many acupoints had he opened to produce such a pressure just from activating his acupoints? The aura he radiated was too scary.
Chapter 444: Violent Victory (1)
The Skysoar Realm referee had a solemn expression as well. The students of both teams were experts.
He was quite worried that he would not be able to stop them in time and prevent any deaths from happening. At that thought, he looked at Zhao Ming. For this match, a Cloudbreach was required or something bad might really happen.
Zhao Ming went over without any hesitation. With the murderous look in these students' eyes, it was clear they were going to cause trouble during the match.
The moment Zhao Ming arrived, he looked at the students of both teams and seriously said, "You are not allowed to kill your opponent for no reason. I will interfere when someone is at risk of death."
Su Yu smiled, "Teacher, what if we kill by accident? An accident can't be considered killing for no reason, right?"
"..."
Zhao Ming ignored Su Yu and looked at Li Shiyun's team. None of them said anything. Neither side would give up on the chance to kill the other side if such a chance appeared.
Sure, a Cloudbreach referee would make that hard. But that also meant that if even a Cloudbreach referee failed to prevent the death of a student, the killer would take no blame. The referee would be the one to take responsibility for the death. After all, he was a Cloudbreach and they were only students. It wouldnt be too surprising if they couldn't control their own strength too well.
Sure, the students might also shoulder some blame for the killing, but that was no big deal. The single character faction would be more than happy to help them deal with the aftermath if they could kill Su Yu.
Realizing all that, Zhao Ming cursed inwardly.
Fuck!
These bastards were clearly trying to create trouble for him. As the leader of the referees and a Cloudbreach cultivator, he couldn't even find a reason to request the students to hold back during their match for his sake.
"I will interfere when needed."
Zhao Ming raised his voice, emphasizing on the fact that he would interfere.
"Start!"
At the exact moment, all 300 acupoints of Su Yu activated.
"Sky Sundering!"
With a roar, he attacked with only the power of his source qi. All 300 acupoints in his body unleashed an intense storm of source qi. Su Yu's entire body shone brightly. He swung the saber in his hand.
"Kill!"
His vitality surged.
Boom!
One of his opponents, Xie Hu, was just about to seal Su Yu with a character. But his attempt was ineffective as Su Yu wasn't using his willpower at all. His valiant vitality and source qi were able to blast through the seal with no effort whatsoever.
Boom!
A character burst apart. How strong was Su Yu's body? That was a body with 300 opened acupoints. It was much stronger than the body of a regular Infinite Strength cultivator. His vitality was extremely robust. With the power of his vitality alone, he had smashed through the seal of his opponent before destroying the character that had tried to place a seal on him.
The sole female on the opposing team, Sun Qian, had also launched her attack on Su Yu at the same time. She specialized in weakening her opponents. She intended to weaken Su Yu with her character, but before she could even approach Su Yu, her willpower and character destabilized from the collision with Su Yu's vitality and source qi.
Su Yu was too fast.
Incredibly fast.
The first move of the Sky Sundering Saber was used. With a flicker, he appeared before Xu Ming, the person who Li Shiyun had told to engage Su Yu in melee combat. Xu Ming's expression changed to shock. With a roar, his willpower erupted. As he was the one charging in front of his team, he was the first person to stand in Su Yu's way.
His cultivation of ninth-stage Infinite Strength Realm erupted. It was worth noting that he was someone who had only fused eight acupoints for his advancement, making him an Eight Strength Realm cultivator. His willpower had barely surged out before an incorporeal hammer appeared and descended, instantly stunning him.
"Xu Ming!" Li Shiyun roared, "Kill him!"
His acupoints erupted in power as he sent his cultural weapon shooting toward Su Yu. The other students also attacked. Booms resounded unceasingly as they launched their attacks.
"Sky Sundering!"
Another saber attack was activated, stacked on top of the first saber attack. Before the saber even landed, Xu Ming's body had already been reduced to mangled flesh by the saber qi. It was only then that he finally regained a tiny bit of his consciousness. At the realization of what had happened to him, his expression changed massively.
"Transform!"
With a roar by Li Shiyun, a character activated and caused Xu Ming to shrink in size. That was a transformation character. Alas, that was not enough.
Whoosh!
The saber continued descending. With a horrified expression, Xu Ming started detonating his acupoints. Borrowing the temporary burst of source qi produced by the detonated acupoints, he swung his hand at Su Yu's saber.
Bang!
Xu Ming was overjoyed when his arm stopped the sabers advance. He might have been forced to destroy some of his acupoints, but he had managed to survive the attack. That thought had barely crossed his mind when he felt a sharp pain coming from his chest.
He looked down and saw a sharp blade jutting out of his chest. Without him realizing it, blood started dripping out of his mouth. When he looked up again, he saw that Su Yu had already pulled away from him.
"I"
He then staggered and dropped to one knee. His vision started turning dark as he wondered if he was dead. Impossible! He was a peak Mental Tempering Stage and ninth-stage Infinite Strength cultivator. The instant his consciousness faded, Zhao Ming pulled him out of the ring with a curse.
Holy shit!
The match had just started and it was already so intense. He started madly sending white rays onto Xu Ming's body. Xu Ming was suffering from the destruction of his acupoints, destabilization of his willpower, and a physical wound on his chest. Without immediate treatment, Xu Ming would die.
After giving Xu Ming an emergency treatment, Zhao Ming tossed him over to Elder Sun and said, "Do it yourself!"
He was furious. While he was administering treatment to Xu Ming a moment ago, Su Yu had taken the chance to appear above Sun Qian with a flicker before stomping his foot down. As his foot descended, illusions formed around it.
"Save me!"
Sun Qian cried for help. The baleful aura descending upon her was so intense that she felt like her body was going to burst apart. First, her hair disintegrated. Next, her skin split, and blood flowed out. If that kick could land, she would definitely die.
Li Shiyun, Xie Hu, and Wang Chao had desperate looks on their faces. Wang Chao roared as his arm turned into a tentacle before lashing out at Su Yu's head. But before the tentacle could reach Su Yu, it burst apart.
Beyond the mangled tentacle, Su Yu could be seen nonchalantly pulling back his bloodied saber. Su Yu was too strong. With 300 acupoints opened, his offensive power was much higher than that of a regular Sky Sundering Saber cultivator.
Apart from the Sky Sundering Saber, Su Yu also had many other heaven-grade techniques to use. After all, he had fully opened the acupoints for the first two moves of the Time technique, Crushing Mountainsea and Suppressing Sunmoon. Google seaʀᴄh novel·fıre·net
There were also the Soul Devouring Art and the Body Strengthening Art. One granted him a strong physical body while the other allowed him to corrode the willpower of his opponents. The Soul Expanding Hammer was also an incredible technique. Even a peak Mental Tempering Stage like Xu Ming could be stunned with a single strike of that hammer.
Wang Chao's tentacle had failed to stop Su Yu. Meanwhile, Sun Qian was looking incredibly miserable with her mangled head and the blood pouring down from the top of her head. She couldn't find a way to escape Su Yu's attack.
"KIll him!"
She wailed madly. In her desperation, she detonated a fused acupoint of hers.
Boom!
The explosion destroyed Su Yu's shoe, but it failed to leave any damage to his flesh. With a cold snort, he continued stomping down.
Of the other three students, Wang Chao had lost an arm while Xie Hu had lost a character. Li Shiyun was the only uninjured person left. He noiselessly appeared behind Su Yu before pushing his sword toward Su Yu's neck.
That was a very strong attack. However, Su Yu was still able to instantly react to the attack. Moving at an incomparably fast speed, he allowed the sword to dig into his neck. Ignoring the blood pouring out of his neck, he smiled and spread his arms before wrapping them around Li Shiyun.
He tightened his grip.
The Soul Devouring Art activated. Li Shiyun wailed in pain and hurriedly pulled his willpower back. But without his willpower, he lacked the strength to break free from Su Yu's hug. He might be a ninth-stage Infinite Strength cultivator, but his physical strength was far weaker than Su Yu's. With a sudden pop, both his arms burst apart due to Su Yu's tight hug.
"What a weak body."
Was this really a ninth-stage Infinite Strength cultivator? This was an Infinite Strength cultivator with 72 acupoints who had advanced after fusing only 7 acupoints. This was an incredibly weak ninth-stage Infinite Strength cultivator.
Even at this moment, Su Yu was still in the middle of stomping down on Sun Qian.
While Li Shiyun was crying out in pain, Xie Hu resisted the pain of his mangled arm and reached out toward Sun Qian before pulling her out of Su Yu's way.
Bang!
At that moment, Su Yu finally arrived. Sun Qian had already been dragged away, but one of her legs was still in the way. That leg was completely crushed by Su Yu's stomp. Su Yu still had Li Shiyun in his arms. With a sneer, he activated the power of all his apertures.
His hammer reappeared. With a rumble, it struck Li Shiyun's head, directly knocking him unconscious.
Su Yu reached out with his right hand and grabbed Li Shiyun's head. Glancing at Zhao Ming who was about to interfere, he grinned and smashed Li Shiyun into the ground.
Bang!
The impact created a massive shockwave while Li Shiyun's body started breaking apart. With a curse, Zhao Ming grabbed Li Shiyun and stabilized the explosive power running havoc within Li Shiyun's body.
But right at that moment, yet another wail rang out in the ring. Sun Qian, who had just lost a leg, had been stabbed through her chest by Su Yu's saber. By the time Zhao Ming looked over, Su Yu had already appeared above Xie Hu.
He was simply too fast. His opponents were completely unable to keep up with him. Sure, their willpower would be fast enough to follow him, but they would be burned each time they tried using their willpower.
It wasn't like they had come to this tournament unprepared. They came with defensive talismans. But they weren't even able to activate their talismans in time. The activation of talismans wasn't instantaneous. Su Yu was simply too fast.
With yet another curse, Zhao Ming grabbed Sun Qian. Yet another student was on the verge of death. In the blink of an eye, three out of five students had been pushed to the verge of death. It was now Sun Qian's turn.
Oh, there was also that Xie Hu. Zhao Ming wondered if he should wait there for a moment and took Xie Hu out while he was at it. If he did nothing, all these students would die. Su Yu was too strong. His physical body was unparalleled. His willpower was powerful. He also had unique abilities to burn and strike one's willpower.
Su Yu seemed to be incredibly good in both offense and defense. His physical body was much stronger than even the bodies of some regular ninth-stage Infinite Strength cultivators. Just look at how easily he had turned Li Shiyun into a lump of mangled flesh right after closing the distance between them.
When Su Yu saw Zhao Ming reaching out at Sun Qian, he grinned and released a strand of flame from the saber that was still stabbed through Sun Qian's chest. At the same time, a burst of lightning power erupted from the saber.
The lightning power spread everywhere, covering the single strand of fire that had come out of the saber.
Crash!
With the prowess of his second-tier lightning character, Sun Qian was instantly blasted into pieces, leaving only her head intact. The moment she opened her head, she wailed in pain.
Fire.
That one strand of fire was pushing her sea of willpower to the brink of collapse.
"Save...me..."
When Sun Qian saw Zhao Ming, she pleaded miserably.
"Impudent!" The furious Elder Sun was about to interfere when he calmed himself down and shouted, "We concede!"
Su Yu was simply too fast. Su Yu was so fast that even a Mountainsea like him was nearly unable to react in time.
Xu Ming had been crippled. Li Shiyun was almost dead. Sun Qian had also been crippled. Xie Hu was dying. In comparison, Wang Chao was in a much better condition. He had only lost a single arm.
They had been beaten too miserably. Their opponent was too strong. Even the Skysoar and Cloudbreach cultivators present stood up in shock upon witnessing Su Yu's prowess.
"Sky Sundering Saber!"
"300 opened acupoints!"
Was this kid still a human? There was no way he was a human!
Who in their right mind would open 300 acupoints at the Great Strength Realm? Furthermore, he had multiple heaven-grade techniques in his possession. From what they saw, he had a heaven-grade art that could strengthen his body, a heaven-grade leg technique, and the heaven-grade Sky Sundering Saber...
Su Yu actually had three heaven-grade techniques in his possession! And on top of all that, he also had an incredibly powerful soul technique and multiple second-tier characters.
Was this really a Great Strength cultivator? Was this really a Mental Tempering Stage cultivator? They could totally start viewing Su Yu as a Skysoar instead!
Even a regular Skysoar from the single character faction would only have one second-tier character and a body that had not been forged with blood essence. Currently, Su Yu felt even stronger than these cultivators who were the actual Skysoar cultivators.
Su Yu showed no reaction to what Elder Sun said. Conceding? It wouldn't count unless it came from the mouth of an actual combatant.
Right after Zhao Ming had saved Sun Qian, Su Yu's leg stomped down. Zhao Ming immediately materialized one of his characters and sent it toward Xie Hu. A loud bang rang out.
A blinding golden radiance appeared around Xie Hu's body. He had not created the golden radiance himself. It was Zhao Ming's character that was protecting him.
Zhao Ming was a Cloudbreach cultivator. Su Yu was still not a match for someone at that level. He had no way of breaking through that layer of defense. When Zhao Ming saw that, he exhaled in relief.
Holy shit. He almost let one of the students die!
This little bastard was too fast. In the blink of an eye, four of his opponents had been defeated. All these students were as strong as the top ten students. Even with five of them working together, four of them had been defeated in less than ten seconds!
Wait. Four? Zhao Ming's face changed.
"Stop! The victory is yours!"
With the announcement from the referee himself, the match came to an official end.
Right before that, Su Yu had been swinging his saber at Wang Chao's neck while a hammer slammed into Wang Chaos head from above, stunning him completely. Su Yu proceeded to cut Wang Chaos neck after stunning his opponent. When Zhao Mings announcement came, Wang Chaos head was a tiny bit away from being severed from his body.
Due to Zhao Ming's announcement, Su Yu stopped his attack.
Turning to look at Zhao Ming, Su Yu smiled, "Teacher, I will stop out of respect for you. If it was any other referee, I would not stop until the actual combatant himself surrenders."
He then put his saber away. Wang Chao crumpled onto the ground, a puddle of blood around him. He was barely even breathing anymore.
Xie Hu, who was protected within a layer of golden barrier, was in a much better condition than his team members. He had nothing but terror in his eyes.
Defeat.
Absolute defeat.
If it wasn't for Zhao Ming, all five of them would have been killed in less than 10 seconds. A sense of sorrow welled within his heart. Apart from a destroyed character, he had not suffered other injuries.
Sun Qian was the worst off, followed by Wang Chao, Li Shiyun, and Xu Ming. The former two had suffered willpower injuries while the latter two had suffered physical injuries. They had basically been turned into cripples.
Without extensive and expensive treatment, all four of them would not be able to recover from these injuries.
In truth, the destruction of a character could actually be considered a heavy injury. But even with such an injury, Xie Hu was actually the least injured person in the team. Without Zhao Ming, he would have been killed by that stomp of Su Yu's.
Standing in the ring, Su Yu smiled. He looked confident and at ease in his neat clothes. Apart from a tiny bit of bloodstain, his clothes still look as good as new. Right, there was also the shoe Sun Qian had ruined when detonating one of her acupoints.
Since one of his legs was bare, he tore the remaining half of the shoes off as well. Standing on the bloody floor with his bare legs, he flashed Elder Sun a gentle smile.
"Elder Sun, I hope you can treat all of them. These are all the elites of the single character faction. You don't want to disappoint your members by abandoning them after using them, right?"
With these injuries, Elder Sun would need over 10,000 merit points to heal them up. Would he be willing to spend that much money on them? They were merely some Mental Tempering Stage students. Were they worth it?