Chapter 26 - 26

Chapter 469: Whack-A-Mole (2)

Flying in the air, Zhou Pingsheng continued looking everywhere. Before long, he noticed several areas with high willpower density. He ignored those spots. Those were probably the spots of the Skysoar and Cloudbreach cultivators.

He continued observing the grotto in accordance to the flow of willpower. He found his own student, Di Feng, some other people, and even Xia Chan. But Su Yu was nowhere to be seen.

"Junior Sister Xia, Su Yu entered with you. Did you see where he went?"

Xia Chan frowned as she opened her eyes and said, "I don't know. Senior Brother Zhou, since you're already here, focus on your cultivation. Suppressing others is the lowest method you can use to strengthen your position."

Zhou Pingsheng snorted inwardly.

Low?

Easy for her to say that when she was a part of the Xia Family.

If he couldn't suppress Su Yu, who would show him any respect? He had already embarrassed himself enough before this. In that case, why would he care about further embarrassing himself?

Of his four students, only one had been able to enter. The rest were either too badly injured or were still banned. How could he accept that? At this point, it had almost been an hour since he entered. He couldn't help but to curse inwardly.

Where was the kid?

The grotto wasn't exactly a big place. Just where had that kid hidden himself? He couldn't help but wonder if the kid was actually hiding inside one of the spots that had been claimed by the Skysoar and Cloudbreach cultivators.

...

After another half an hour.

After searching a few different spots, Zhou Pingsheng had arrived at an area with high willpower density.

He was just about to approach the place when someone yelled, "This place has been claimed by Zhang Hao of the talisman faction. I was the first to find this place. Don't try to steal from me. Find your own spot or this will turn into a personal feud between us."

Even from far away, Zhou Pingsheng could see Zhang Hao. He frowned. This kid's senses were pretty sharp for detecting him from so far away.

And the kid was also quite lucky. Although this place wasn't the spot with the highest willpower density in the grotto, it definitely ranked at the top. Most of the similar spots had been claimed by Skysoar or Cloudbreach cultivators. Surprisingly, this spot had been claimed by a mere Mental Tempering Stage student like him.

Zhou Pingsheng ignored Zhang Hao and scanned the area with his willpower. Digging a hole was impossible in this grotto, so he was starting to suspect that Su Yu had hidden himself with a concealment character. Due to that suspicion, Zhou Pingsheng had started scanning everywhere in his attempt to flush Su Yu out.

But he found nothing.

Thus, he asked, "Have you seen Su Yu?"

"No." Zhang Hao frowned and said, "Manager Zhou, you are disturbing my cultivation. Your issue with Su Yu is your private affair. My teacher had bought this slot with money. Are you intentionally disturbing me to chase me off after seeing me with a good spot?"

"You..."

Zhou Pingsheng was slightly angered. That was absolute bullshit!

He had not intended to cultivate in the grotto. Why would he do so?

Zhang Hao coldly said, "You may leave, Manager Zhou. Cultivation is a highly private affair. I do not wish to have a spectator when I'm cultivating. I might not have a Mountainsea in my family, but I'm still not someone just anyone can bully."

"Hmph!"

Zhou Pingsheng snorted unhappily.

Despite his displeasure, he said nothing more and flew away.

Inwardly, he was getting more and more suspicious. Just where was Su Yu?

Damn it!

How was the kid doing this?

...

After Zhou Pingsheng left, Su Yu checked his Perception Jade and confirmed that Zhou Pingsheng was no longer nearby. At the very least, Zhou Pingsheng was no longer scanning the area.

"Brother Zhang, the willpower here is getting denser and denser. I'll need to leave soon."

In a short period of time, Su Yu had opened three apertures. His cultivation was extremely fast. But he had also gathered too much willpower in the area. If this continued, Zhou Pingsheng would discover him sooner or later.

"He won't dare to investigate me..."

Su Yu said, "The willpower is too dense. His attention will definitely be attracted. I'll cultivate here for another half an hour to gather more willpower here. Try to open all six of the apertures before leaving the grotto, Brother Zhang."

At this point, Zhang Hao had opened two apertures. He said nothing else and resumed his cultivation in silence.

Su Yu continued gathering more willpower. With 47 apertures, he had an incredible absorption speed. He was probably as fast as a regular first or second-stage Cloudbreach.

And since he was a Mental Tempering Stage student, his acupoints were also much easier to open. Within the grotto, he was able to open an average of one aperture every half an hour.

He could still see the indistinct silhouette of Zhou Pingsheng in the distance. Zhou Pingsheng was still busy scanning everywhere for him.

Staring into the distance from under the robe, Su Yu smiled. It wouldn't be easy for Zhou Pingsheng to find him without openly scanning the entire grotto. Just wait. It was time to give Zhou Pingsheng some trouble.

Taking out his talisman, Su Yu asked around for Di Feng's location. He was planning to stealthily absorb the area around Di Feng dry of willpower before running off.

Half an hour passed. Su Yu had successfully opened his 48th aperture.

Su Yu said, "Brother Zhang, I'll be taking my leave. When that fellow comes again, you should stand up before scolding him. I'm afraid that he's starting to suspect you."

"Sure!"

Zhang Hao said nothing else and watched on as Su Yu left. Su Yu was moving while sticking close to the ground. A certain darkness seemed to envelop him as he moved while his surroundings continued twisting and turning.

With the deceit character, he was sealing all his acupoints and apertures.

With his blood character, he was constantly producing a mirage around him. Unless someone was performing a detailed scan on the area, nobody would notice him.

After about 15 minutes.

Zhou Pingsheng had arrived yet again. He looked at the distance Zhang Hao with a frown.

With Su Yu's strong talent, he was definitely hiding somewhere with high willpower density. The other spots had been claimed by the people of the single character faction. This spot, on the other hand, had only been claimed by a Mental Tempering Stage like Zhang Hao. Was it possible that Su Yu was hiding here?

"Zhang Hao..."

Zhang Hao opened his eyes with an unsightly expression. He clenched his teeth and said, "Manager Zhou, you must be deliberately doing this. Are you trying to cause me to suffer from cultivation deviation? This is the second time you've disturbed me. I won't tolerate a third transgression. My teacher and my grandpa won't let this slide."

Zhou Pingsheng frowned and stayed silent for a short while before explaining himself, "This is a misunderstanding. I came here because I was worried about you. The willpower here is too thick."

After saying that, his willpower erupted and dispersed the ambient willpower around them.

The air rippled and Zhang Hao's body shook slightly. Then, he furiously said, "Zhou Pingsheng, unless you kill me right here, I will be getting an answer from you for this after leaving the grotto."

After saying that, he staggered, nearly collapsing onto the ground.

Zhou Pingsheng's eyes flickered as he smiled and said, "This is a misunderstanding. I'm really sorry. I only did that because I was really worried about you."

His willpower erupted again. This time, he gathered back all the willpower he had dispersed earlier.

He didn't absorb any of the gathered willpower. With a smile, he said, "Calm your anger, Student Zhang. That was really a misunderstanding."

He then flew away.

Zhang Hao snorted coldly and resumed his cultivation.

Somewhere in the distance, Zhou Pingsheng was frowning. Su Yu was not in the area. Just where was that person hiding?

"Maybe I can check Wu Jia's area..."

That thought had just crossed his mind when he heard a furious roar far away.

He hurriedly flew over.

...

A short while later, he arrived.

He saw his student, Di Feng, roaring furiously with blood dripping down the corner of his mouth.

"What's going on?"

"Teacher!" Di Feng furiously said, "The willpower around me has suddenly vanished! I was in the midst of my cultivation when that happened. I nearly suffered a backlash!"

"Vanished?"

Zhou Pingsheng frowned and scanned the area. Sure enough, a willpower vacuum had appeared.

Di Feng was in the midst of nurturing his willpower when the ambient willpower suddenly vanished. A backlash was inevitable. It wasn't too serious a backlash, but it was still enough to delay his cultivation. In fact, this was exactly what Zhou Pingsheng had been trying to do to Su Yu.

"Who was it?"

Zhou Pingsheng frowned.

Who was the culprit?

Or was this a coincidence? Or perhaps something had happened to the Mountainseas maintaining the grotto outside, resulting in a temporary willpower vacuum?

He looked around before saying with a frown, "Continue your cultivation. I'll look around."

"Teacher, have you found Su Yu?"

Zhou Pingsheng did not answer.

How the fuck was he supposed to find Su Yu?

That kid had vanished into thin air!

...

At the same time.

Outside the grotto, Elder Sun, who was one of the elders in charge of maintaining the grotto, cursed in annoyance.

Which bastard was running around emptying random spots of willpower? That was probably a high-stage Skysoar or a Cloudbreach. That person was running around randomly absorbing willpower everywhere.

Prior to this, there were only several fixed spots with higher willpower expenditure, so they had been able to focus on stabilizing those spots. But suddenly, the expenditure of one spot dropped while a different spot was cleared of willpower.

And that area just so happened to be the area he was in charge of. The sudden disturbance in the flow of willpower had even slightly destabilized the grotto.

Elder Sun couldn't help but curse furiously.

Who was that?

Zhou Pingsheng?

Xia Yuwen? Or Hu Wensheng? ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ novel⚑fire.net

That was a powerful absorption force. And it happened so fast.

Only a Cloudbreach or a peak Skysoar was capable of something like that. Was that Liu Hong?

This was infuriating.

Just what were those bastards doing in the grotto?

While he was thinking about all that, a massive absorption force had suddenly appeared at a completely different spot, instantly clearing the willpower there.

The sudden pressure caused Elder Sun's body to shake. He furiously muttered, "Weren't they told to not roam around randomly before this?"

Fuck!

That was probably Zhou Pingsheng!

That fellow was doing this to mess with Su Yu!

Su Yu was probably running everywhere with Zhou Pingsheng following behind him while constantly clearing their surroundings of willpower. That damn fool! Was he not aware that this would subject them, the Mountainseas in charge of keeping the grotto active, a far greater pressure?

Couldn't he deploy a willpower barrier around Su Yu and keep the kid at one spot? He could easily get away from that. He had not laid his hands on Su Yu. The kid was the one insisting on entering the barriers he had placed. That was definitely not his fault! That would be the perfect way of dealing with the kid.

What an idiot. This was too infuriating!

Not far away, Zhou Mingren was also busy stabilizing the grotto. He was somewhat speechless. This was such a simple task yet Zhou Pingsheng had still found a way to mess things up.

What a fool.

Nearby, Hong Tan smiled and asked, "Do you need my help? I am quite strong. I can easily maintain the grotto for a day or two."

They ignored him.

They wouldn't allow anyone to get involved before reaching their limits.

...

Inside the grotto.

Su Yu had cleared the willpower around yet another single character faction student. He was feeling very pleased with himself.

This was great.

The student would need to wait some time before the willpower level in the area returned to normal. Su Yu did not dare to waste any time and hurriedly left the area. Before long, he saw a familiar face.

"Brother Lin!"

When Lin Yao heard the voice, he looked around in alarm. Suddenly, the space in front of him warped before Su Yu appeared out of thin air.

"I need to hide here for a bit." Su Yu hurriedly said, "I need to digest what I just absorbed. You can continue cultivating as usual."

Right after saying that, Su Yu slithered under Lin Yao's robe like a snake before sticking close to his back.

"Act natural. Don't panic even if Zhou Pingsheng himself is here."

"Sure!"

Inwardly, Lin Yao's heart was racing. His Brother Su was truly brave. If they were caught...wait, if they were caught, wouldn't he be the one who would be in trouble?

A helpless expression covered Lin Yao's face. But at this moment, Su Yu whispered something to Lin Yao, instantly turning that look of helplessness into a look of excitement.

The opening method of one aperture for this favor? Was that...true? He wasted no time and instantly started trying to open the aperture. He would know if that was real by trying it out.

As for the fact that he would drill a hole out of his sea of willpower if it was fake...well, he wouldn't be so unlucky, right?

Su Yu had just absorbed the willpower from two different spots without stopping to digest what he had absorbed. Thus, he started cultivating silently without absorbing any additional willpower.

After about half an hour, he opened his 49th aperture.

"Brother Lin, I'll empty this area of willpower. Just shout loudly in indignation..."

Su Yu said nothing else and emptied the area of willpower.

After doing that, he ran off.

Lin Yao waited until Su Yu was far away before shouting loudly.

A short while later, Zhou Pingsheng arrived. With a frown, he asked, "Something happened here as well?"

This was the third spot!

Who was the culprit?

Su Yu?

Impossible! How could that kid do this?

But who else could it be?

Lin Yao had a gloomy expression as he said, "Manager Zhou, I don't know what happened. I was in the middle of my cultivation when the willpower suddenly vanished. I nearly suffered from a backlash."

"Did you see anyone?"

"Nope." Lin Yao wanted to delay Zhou Pingsheng more so he asked, "Manager, what's happening? I thought they said that this place has endless willpower? Why is the willpower vanishing?"

"..."

Zhou Pingsheng cursed inwardly.

How was he supposed to know that?

Was it Su Yu?

If it was, how was the kid doing this?

If it wasn't Su Yu, was it really possible that the same coincidence had happened three times in a row?

Fuck!

Zhou Pingsheng cursed again. Just what was happening?

After thinking about it, his willpower erupted and gathered some ambient willpower to the area. Although this wasn't his student, this was still a student from the single character faction. And he had worked well with Liu Hong in the past.

Furthermore, Liu Hong was now in charge of all students below the Skysoar Realm in the faction. He needed to rely on Liu Hong to take care of his own students in the future. It wouldn't hurt for him to do Liu Hong's student a favor here.

After doing so, he left. He had given up on searching the grotto. Instead, he was going to wait nearby a single character student for the culprit.

Chapter 470: Whack-A-Mole (3)

At the same time.

Outside.

Elder Sun was furious.

Zhou Pingsheng?

That was definitely the culprit!

That bastard!

Each time, the willpower of an area would be emptied. Shortly after, some willpower would be pulled over to replenish the emptied area. Zhou Pingsheng was the only person who would do something like that.

Damn that bastard!

Was he not aware of how expensive it was for them to open the grotto? Why was he creating so much trouble in the grotto?

Zhou Mingren was also speechless. Just what was Zhou Pingsheng doing?

Even Elder Qi was losing his patience. He said, "It's not easy for this grotto to be opened once. Don't waste this chance. If you guys really can't maintain it anymore, we can replace you. Stop messing around."

What the fuck was the single character faction doing? All these elders had their own people in the grotto. They had not obtained the slots from the single character faction for free.

If they kept messing around like this, these Mountainseas could very well end up reaching their limits, causing the grotto to collapse and all the students to be thrown out with heavy injuries.

It would truly be a tragedy if instead of benefiting from this grotto opening, the students had suffered instead.

Elder Sun and the others stayed silent. After inhaling deeply, Zhou Mingren said, "We don't need any help for now."

If they persevered, they would be able to provide more willpower to their Skysoar Realm and Cloudbreach cultivators in the grotto. If they allowed the other elders to take over, the distribution might become more equal while their Skysoar and Cloudbreach cultivators would receive less than they could right now.

...

At the same moment, someone cursed in the grotto, "Fuck! I demand a refund! Who did this?"

Xia Huyou was furious. "Who's messing around with me? Or is the single character faction doing this on purpose? Where's my willpower?"

A short while later, Zhou Pingsheng arrived. Xia Huyou furiously demanded, "It must be you! You have been running everywhere! You must be the culprit! In order to flush out Su Yu, you have been intentionally emptying the willpower around us, right?"

Xia Huyou said, "I paid for this slot! I paid Vice Principal Xia Changqing 5,000 merit points to enter! If you don't give me an explanation, I'll have the single character faction compensate me!"

Zhou Pingsheng cursed inwardly. Compensate his ass!

How was this related to him?

That had nothing to do with him!

"Xia Huyou, don't accuse people without proof."

Xia Huyou did not care. He said, "Just wait. If this happens one more time, I'll sue all of you for carrying out a grotto scam. You will be the first person I sue since you have been running everywhere! Don't think that I'm a pushover just because I'm not from Xia Family's main branch!"

Zhou Pingsheng was angered, but he had to hold his anger in.

It really wasn't him!

Damn it!

But this fellow's identity was somewhat complicated. His teacher had reminded him to not provoke anyone from the Xia Family. Not one of them could be provoked.

Thus, he forced himself to give an explanation, "This has nothing to do with me. Maybe the grotto itself is unstable. After all, it has remained shut for many years."

"Hmph!"

Xia Huyou resumed his cultivation after a snort, but a moment later, he said, "I don't care if it's you. I paid for this slot. Just a moment ago, the willpower here was still very dense. Now that it's gone, you need to take responsibility and gather some willpower here. If not, I'll leave immediately and sue all of you for false advertising."

"..."

Zhou Pingsheng snorted furiously, but after thinking about it, he still pulled some willpower over.

Even Xia Huyou had fallen victim. What was going on? This had been happening repeatedly. And it had happened everywhere. Of course, it was not only happening at places with people. It had also been happening to places devoid of people. Willpower was being continuously emptied all over the grotto.

...

Su Yu had realized something. When doing something bad, he shouldn't make it too clear who his target was. Who taught him that? His father! His father had told him about the importance of covering his tracks in the wild.

As for what Su Yu got out of that advice, well, that had nothing to do with his father. In any case, he was currently covering his tracks by targeting not only those from the single character faction. Everyone in the grotto had turned into his target.

The single character faction could take the blame for this. After all, this was a grotto opened by them, not him. And logically, this was supposed to be something only a Cloudbreach was capable of.

And all three Cloudbreach cultivators that had entered the grotto were either in the single character faction or related to them. Thus, who but the single character faction would take the blame?

Like it or not, they were taking that blame. One ought to know that among the people in the grotto, a lot of them had paid for their slots. The elders were the ones who had paid for these people. And the academy had also chipped in and paid the single character faction 10,000 merit points.

If this cultivation session proved unsatisfactory to these people, hehehe, wouldn't those elders start demanding compensation from the single character faction?

From what Su Yu knew, those people were pretty stingy. In the first place, their hearts were already aching from the money they had to pay for the slots. There was a very high possibility that they would ask for compensation if this cultivation session was problematic.

For now, it was time for Su Yu to digest the willpower he had absorbed again. He had opened his 52nd aperture.

He was having the time of his life. He was able to run wild and absorb to his heart's content. He had been leaving empty zones all over the grotto. Apart from the single character faction, the other students had also fallen victim to him.

But Su Yu did not care. They couldn't blame him for that. It was Zhou Pingsheng's fault!

If Zhou Pingsheng wasn't targeting him, he would have been able to stay at a single spot without disturbing anyone else. Since Zhou Pingsheng was searching for him everywhere, he was left with no choice but to do what he did: emptying an area of willpower before hiding somewhere to digest the willpower.

...

Time passed, and eventually, the Mountainseas maintaining the grotto reached their limits. New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on NoveI-Fire.ɴet

Elder Sun cursed, "Damn it!"

He was furious.

This was infuriating.

That was also the case for Elder Yu and Elder Li. They had ugly expressions.

Couldn't these people just stick to a single spot and cultivate?

Why were they running everywhere? This was driving the elders crazy.

"It has only been four hours..."

Hong Tan laughed. These people were already at their limits after only four hours. Was Su Yu messing around inside the grotto?

But even with 36 apertures, Su Yu's absorption power shouldn't be powerful enough to do that.

Furthermore, opening 36 apertures would be enough to put Su Yu at some sort of saturation. He wouldn't be able to open more and could only use the remaining time to nurture his willpower. Thus, there would be a limit to how much willpower he could absorb.

...

The guerilla warfare continued.

One hour later.

Su Yu returned to Zhang Hao's place. Instead of absorbing more willpower, he hid behind Zhang Hao to digest the willpower he had absorbed.

He had just returned from emptying six spots of willpower. It was time to digest what he had absorbed. This place had already been checked by Zhou Pingsheng so it should be safe for now. There, Su Yu spent half an hour to open two more apertures.

At that point, his total opened apertures had reached 54. In 5 hours, he had opened 10 apertures. This was the power of foundation cultural art.

Opening apertures were very easy at the Mental Tempering Stage. At the Skysoar Realm, the difficulty would increase by at least five times. In other words, if Su Yu was a Skysoar, he would probably be considered lucky even if he could open only two apertures after five hours in the grotto.

"See you, Brother Zhang."

Su Yu smiled and emptied their surroundings of willpower before leaving. Zhang Hao did not mind. He waited until Su Yu was away before shouting furiously, "Zhou Pingsheng! You must be doing this on purpose!"

His furious howl reverberated in the air.

"I won't let this slide!"

Far away, Zhou Pingsheng frowned, but he did not bother going near Zhang Hao.

He spread his willpower around to scan the area.

Coincidence?

Definitely not.

Just what was going on?

Su Yu?

No, Su Yu wasn't capable of this. Was it Hu Wensheng or Xia Yuwen?

He looked in two different directions. It was very far, but he could sense two intense clumps of willpower in those two directions.

He clenched his teeth and flew toward the other two Cloudbreach cultivators. He had decided to keep his eyes on them.

Damn it!

Was it Hu Wensheng?

Senior Brother Zheng had been seriously injured while he had been in a terrible position recently. Xia Chan would never be promoted to an important position in the faction. Thus, Hu Wensheng would be the person with the highest possibility of receiving his teacher's support after entering the Cloudbreach Realm. After all, Hu Wensheng was also from the same line as him.

And after running all around the grotto, he had invited the hostility of many people.

Was this Hu Wensheng's goal?

Damn it!

That couldn't be the case, right?

It was rather unlikely, but it wasn't impossible. Anything could happen when power and benefits were on the line. In the beginning, he suspected Su Yu. But since so much willpower had been absorbed, he would be stupid if he continued suspecting Su Yu.

As a mere Mental Tempering Stage student, even with some opened apertures, he wouldn't be able to absorb so much willpower. That was basically impossible. Way too many spots had been emptied of willpower.

As for Su Yu's hiding place...well, he was no longer in the mood to care about that. The damn kid was probably still hiding in a concealed spot.

This grotto wasn't large, but it wasn't exactly a completely flat area. There were still some places for people to hide if they wanted. Perhaps he had simply passed by Su Yu unknowingly.

He only wanted to see if the random spots would continue being emptied of willpower when he was keeping his eyes on the other two Cloudbreach cultivators. If it continued, then he would know that those two weren't the culprits.

If it stopped...hmph!

One of them must be trying to set him up!

Damn these bastards!

They were basically kicking a dog while it was down!

They were intentionally making things harder from him after seeing that his life had been difficult recently!

Chapter 471: Curious Coincidence (1)

Outside the grotto.

Elder Sun and the others were too tired to even curse anymore.

That fellow had been messing around repeatedly in the grotto, greatly increasing the difficulty of maintaining the grotto. Even Zhou Mingren didn't have much energy to spare for talking. Elder Sun and the others were already reaching their limits. Thus, they were all relying on him to keep the grotto active.

Inwardly, however, they were all cursing at Zhou Pingsheng. As far as they were concerned, Xia Yuwen and Hu Wensheng wouldn't do something this stupid.

...

Inside the grotto.

Su Yu was busy digesting the willpower he had absorbed from Zhang Hao's spot.

He was having a great time.

This grotto was filled with dense and pure willpower. The purity was lower than the willpower he had absorbed from his teacher's laboratory previously, but it was much higher than the willpower in the fragment room. The amount was also much higher.

In truth, Su Yu hadn't dared to go all out when absorbing the willpower in the fragment room. He didn't want to suck the room dry and leave nothing for the newcomers after him.

After a while, he opened yet another aperture.

At this moment, he had opened a total of 55 apertures.

Su Yu took out his voice transmission talisman and sent a message to Xia Huyou, "What is Zhou Pingsheng's current location?"

These friends were why he had been able to hide from Zhou Pingsheng for so long. People like Xia Huyou, Lin Yao, Zhang Hao, and Wu Jia were serving as his eyes and ears. Each of them had received a voice transmission talisman from him. With all these people, he had been able to stay informed of Zhou Pingsheng's whereabouts.

"He's not near me. I think he went near Hu Wensheng."

Xia Huyou had his own source of information.

As someone who was doing business with everyone, including the single character faction, he had eyes and ears everywhere too.

"Hu Wensheng..."

Su Yu wondered if Zhou Pingsheng actually thought that he was hiding near Hu Wensheng.

He didn't even know Hu Wensheng that well. Ahh, but there was someone he knew very well in the grotto: Liu Hong. He had already used most of the people he could rely on as his cover so far. If he kept using them as his covers, he could very easily expose himself.

His eyes flickered as he thought of someone. He took out a different talisman and said, "Teacher Liu, do you want to have a chat?"

"..."

After some time, Liu Hong replied, "Su Yu?"

The talisman he had received could be used for both direct messages or group chat rooms. But he had yet to discover Su Yu's username. Seeing that this unknown username was calling him Teacher Liu, he was able to guess that this was Su Yu. He couldn't help feeling somewhat nervous.

Su Yu must be transmitting the message to his talisman instead of his username, right? There was no way Su Yu knew his username, right?

Su Yu was definitely unaware that he was Yellow99, right?

Su Yu did not know about him calling someone else grandpa in the chatroom, right?

He was unsure. So he was nervous. When he had called the other person grandpa, he had forgotten about Su Yu. The kid was unaware of that, right? It would be too embarrassing if the kid knew it was him!

He wouldn't admit to it no matter what!

"It's me, Teacher Liu. Mind doing me a favor?"

"What favor?"

"I cultivate for a short time at your place, and you cover for me. What do you think?"

"No thanks."

Liu Hong was speechless. What was the kid thinking?

Did the kid think that they were close or something?

"Teacher Liu, what if I issue this as a mission of the Single Eradication Club? Have you not discovered the mission assignment system of the club after this long? You can get single eradication points from missions. And these points are very valuable. The Single Eradication Club is the source of my current strength.

"Since you're a newbie, you probably still don't have access to it. But I can assign you private missions and pay you with single eradication points. After all, I have been in the club for quite a while. I have some points saved."

Liu Hong asked, "Didn't you say that you are the founder?"

"That was a random lie. How could you believe that? I'm just an errand boy. So do you accept the mission or not? You will be paid 10 single eradication points. You might think that 10 points are nothing, but I'll be honest. With 100 points, you can purchase an earth-grade cultivation method. With 1,000 points, you can purchase a heaven-grade cultivation method. Don't underestimate the value of 10 points."

Liu Hong said nothing.

Su Yu said, "Teacher Liu, you are probably leaving this grotto as a Cloudbreach. At that level, Zhou Pingsheng will be your biggest obstacle. And I'm targeting Zhou Pingsheng and Zhou Mingren, not you. My growth won't harm your own benefits, right?"

Liu Hong remained silent.

Su Yu continued his persuasion, "Have you checked the public channel through the talisman, Teacher? A newbie was forced to call someone grandpa before getting the answer for a simple question. I'm telling the truth. That really did happen. And the answer given was true. I asked my grandteacher the same thing before. If you don't believe me, you can check with some other peak Mountainseas..."

Finally, Liu Hong started growing uneasy. Was the kid saying that on purpose? Was the kid aware that he was the newbie in question? No, right?

"Su Yu, what are you trying to say?"

"Divine and devil characters are not suitable for a human's advancement into the Sunmoon Realm. They might even sever the path forward. Unless you're strong enough that you can blast right through all obstacles, this will pose an issue to you as well. But not even my grandteacher can do so. He can only counteract the negative effects of divine and devil characters with his powerful character technique.

"Not everyone has the courage to destroy their own characters. But even if you have the courage, destroying too many of your characters might cause your sea of willpower to collapse.

"If Teacher Liu agrees to work with me, you can use the 10 single eradication points to purchase a backlash-free character removal service for one character. Maybe you'll say that you can also detonate the character you want to destroy for a boost of power and kill an enemy.

"I also believe that you have the courage to do so. But what about your main character? Are you going to detonate your main character as well? The backlash will be severe. Are you not afraid of destroying your sea of willpower in the process? I promise you that I'm telling the truth. With one favor, I can help you remove one character with no backlash."

"..."

Liu Hong was alarmed.

Character removal?

Without backlash?

Was this real?

That was a truly amazing offer, with the premise that divine and devil characters were really harmful for his cultivation. That was something that he still couldn't verify for now.

Su Yu was right. He had the courage to detonate his other characters. He only needed to receive some injuries. He could even take the chance to get rid of an enemy or two. He wouldn't mind doing so.

But the detonation of a main character would be a lot more harmful to himself.

Sunmoon Realm...

Was he ambitious enough to aim for that level of cultivation?

Every genius had such ambition.

Sunmoon, followed by Invincible. Which genius wouldn't want to achieve those realms?

If he didn't have such ambition, there wouldn't be a need for him to keep strengthening his foundation and gathering strength during his lower cultivation levels.

Sure, the Sunmoon Realm was still quite far away, but after this grotto trip, he would be a Cloudbreach. And if his characters were problematic, it would naturally be smart for him to make his preparations as early as possible.

If he waited until the Mountainsea Realm when all of his characters were much more powerful, he would have to spare a lot more effort to form new characters and grow them to a similar level of strength. Additionally, destroying his characters at that level would also result in a stronger backlash.

Thus, if he could confirm that divine and devil characters were really problematic, he should solve this issue as soon as possible.

After some hesitation, he said, "Give me a few minutes."

...

Liu Hong stopped sending more messages after that.

Su Yu was in no rush. He waited patiently. He still had the option of working with someone else. In fact, he could always choose to continue his guerilla warfare. In any case, Zhou Pingsheng wouldn't be able to find him so easily.

The only disadvantage of doing so was the lack of cover, slightly increasing the risk of discovery.

...

Meanwhile, Liu Hong was flying at a rapid pace. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novel⟡fire.net

After searching around the grotto, he finally found someone.

He wasted no time and went straight to the point, "I'm buying some information from you. Give me a price."

"What is it?"

Xia Huyou looked at Liu Hong with surprise.

Why was this fellow buying information at this time? Was he trying to find Su Yu as well?

Liu Hong said, "Are divine and devil characters harmful for a human's advancement into the Sunmoon Realm? You're from the Xia Family. You should know something. Don't give me fake information. The products of Xia Family are always expensive, but all their products are authentic."

Xia Huyou looked at Liu Hong with sympathy. What a pitiful fellow. This Liu Hong was also the student of a peak Mountainsea. But he didn't even know about something like this.

This was already common knowledge among all Mountainseas. As a member of the Xia Family, he was naturally aware of that as well.

"500 merit points."

Xia Huyou quoted an outrageous price. He even gave an explanation for the price, "There are a lot of rumors floating around. Some people believe that this is true. Some people think that this is false. You're not really here to learn about these rumors. Instead, you're here to learn about the Xia Family's stand on this issue, right? And this is definitely worth 500 merit points. It's not like you can believe what others say anyway."

Chapter 472: Curious Coincidence (2)

Liu Hong nodded. That was right. What he wanted was the opinion of the true masters of Great Xia. As for the others, including Zhou Mingren, he couldn't fully trust them. The Xia Family would generally not stoop so low that they would lie about something like this.

In fact, the Xia Family did not tend to lie unless absolutely necessary. For example, if they had to lie to preserve their rule, they would probably do so.

"100 merit points..."

Xia Huyou shut his eyes and ignored that offer. Did this fellow think that he was a beggar? Liu Hong was feeling very helpless. In truth, he had a vague guess as to the true identity of this fellow. He had not asked anyone about it, but he was able to guess something. And if his guess was right, then this was definitely not someone who would lack money.

Thus, he steeled himself and nodded, "Fine. 500 merit points." Fınd the newest release on N()velFire.net

"Pay up."

Xia Huyou immediately took out his merit card to finalize the deal. Liu Hong was somewhat speechless. Did he look like someone who would renege on his debt after obtaining the information?

Would he even dare to renege on a debt to the Xia Family? But he still obediently paid up. A wide grin bloomed on Xia Huyou's face. He was feeling very good after sealing yet another business transaction.

"What you know is true. Sure, we don't have a definite confirmation. But many experts, including people like Marquis Xia, Principal Wan, Administrator Hu, and others have reached a common consensus: All the divine and devil characters formed during the past 50 years are probably problematic.

"Of course, there is a second theory floating around. Some people are saying that the problem lies in human characters. Human characters used to be powerful, but for some reason, all human characters have weakened, perhaps from a curse.

"People are still trying to verify the second theory, but there is a common consensus that you might be weaker cultivating human characters, but you will have a much easier time during your advancement into the Sunmoon Realm."

Liu Hong frowned and asked, "So those without human characters won't be able to enter the Sunmoon Realm?"

Xia Huyou said, "This is a second question. I should charge you for it, but forget it. You can have the information for free. It's not impossible, even without human characters. Those who are talented enough will be able to eventually complete the advancement. Elder Hong Tan is one such person. But he's relying on his powerful character technique to counteract the repelling force of the non-human characters.

"Do you have something like that? But even with a character technique, is Elder Hong Tan a Sunmoon already? Without the repelling force, he would have reached the Sunmoon Realm long ago."

Liu Hong nodded in understanding before leaving.

...

A short while later, Su Yu received a reply.

"You can come to my place, but be careful. Don't let anyone see you. 10 single eradication points are too little. Make it 30 points. You can also not pay me and guarantee me three character removals instead."

Su Yu smiled. Did that fellow just go somewhere to verify the information?

That fellow had been silent for a while before suddenly agreeing.

"Sure."

Su Yu did not mind. Three removals? That wasn't an issue. In fact, he would welcome it. After all, his grandteacher's furball still needed to be fed. And Liu Hong would serve to provide some hot and steamy character to feed that furball. His grandteacher would probably be happy to see this as well.

After receiving Liu Hong's location, Su Yu headed over.

...

A few minutes later, Su Yu arrived.

The willpower density in the area was very high.

Liu Hong scanned around before exhaling in relief. He then raised his brow and said, "You're only a Mental Tempering Stage student. The entire grotto is the same for you. It's quite pointless for you to cultivate at my place."

He truly believed that Su Yu's action was pointless. This could easily bring him trouble.

Su Yu smiled, "Teacher Liu, do you really think that I'm a normal Mental Tempering Stage student?"

Liu Hong frowned.

Su Yu said, "I have the multiple character faction and the Single Eradication Club behind me. Do you really think that I don't have something like a foundation cultural art?"

Liu Hong's eyes flickered. The kid knew something like that?

That...might actually be true.

Did the Xia Family have something like that? Probably. Had the kid obtained a foundation cultural art from the Xia Family?

Su Yu said, "I'll have to trouble you to cover for me, Teacher. Since you're someone on the cusp of reaching the Cloudbreach Realm, I believe Zhou Pingsheng won't come here rashly. And if he decides to come, you'll be able to detect him promptly."

Liu Hong said nothing. Zhou Pingsheng had gone over to Hu Wensheng's place. Thus, he wasn't too worried about Zhou Pingsheng. Instead of hiding like before, Su Yu sat down cross-legged right in the open.

Instead of using all 55 of his apertures, he used only around 20 of them to absorb willpower and strengthen himself.

Someone from the Xia Family already had access to his version of cultural art with 36 apertures. It would be better to keep his possession of cultural art a secret for now, but it also wouldn't be such a big deal anymore if it were exposed.

Even with only 20 apertures, he was able to absorb willpower at a decent speed. At the very least, this was a place where he could openly absorb willpower instead of hiding around cautiously. Liu Hong was already a peak Skysoar. Thus, he wouldn't need to absorb that much willpower, as he would mainly be nurturing his existing characters. At this level of cultivation, opening more apertures wasn't something he needed to do.

As Su Yu started his cultivation, Liu Hong spread his willpower out to create an illusion around them. At the same time, he started observing Su Yu. When he saw Su Yu's absorption speed, he cursed inwardly.

Fuck!

The kid really knew a cultural art. Not only that, the kid had also opened quite a lot of apertures! This absorption speed was already comparable to a third or fourth-stage Skysoar!

More importantly, this was only a Mental Tempering Stage student yet he had already opened more apertures than some early Skysoars. With this speed, he had opened at least 20 apertures.

"Is this the inheritance of the multiple character faction?" He couldn't resist asking.

Su Yu replied, "Nope. It's from the Single Eradication Club."

"Is the Single Eradication Club real?"

"Believe whatever you want."

"Why did you recruit me?"

"Because you're one of us. Also, annoying Elder Sun was really fun. I can get them to start doubting everyone around them."

"..."

Liu Hong did not know what to say. He asked, "Are you not afraid of exposing the existence of this club?"

"Nope." Su Yu nonchalantly said, "This isn't a big secret. This organization has existed for a long time. Its target is not only the single character faction of our academy, but the single character faction of the entire Human Realm. Do you understand now? What can a mere Faculty Head Zhou do to the club?"

Liu Hong was alarmed. Was that true?

"Are the people chatting in the public channel really experts?"

"How am I supposed to know?"

Su Yu shrugged and said, "I'm just a small fry. Good thing I'm a genius and also the current spokesperson for the multiple character faction. That was why I was recruited. Do you really think I know everything?"

"Is it possible that there are Myriad Race Cult spies in the club?"

"Why should I care about that?" Su Yu indifferently said, "As long as they don't mess with me, why should I care?"

Liu Hong was rendered speechless.

After a long while, he asked, "Why is it that I can't see the trade and mission listings?"

"What stupid question is that? When I gave you the talisman, I labeled you as a member of the single character faction. You need to be audited and investigated before being fully brought in. You have only been granted partial access to our network."

"..."

Once again, Liu Hong was rendered speechless.

But after a while, he couldn't resist asking again, "You're absorbing a lot of willpower. Are you not afraid of bursting apart?"

"I'm still very far from that." Su Yu said, "My cultural art can open 36 apertures. I still have about a dozen apertures to open. I also need to nurture my characters, strengthen my sea of willpower, and grow my willpower cultivation. I have plenty of places to spend the absorbed willpower on."

Liu Hong cursed inwardly.

Fuck!

Fuck!

36 apertures?

What did that signify? The moment the kid advanced into the Skysoar Realm, he would instantly jump to the ninth stage!

Sure, a cultural art with 36 apertures could only be cultivated up until the Skysoar Realm, but he could simply switch to the Myriad Text Sutra for his future cultivation. Despite the switch, he would absolutely become a Skysoar with a far stronger foundation.

Did the cultural art come from the Single Eradication Club? A foundation cultural art was no longer helpful for Liu Hong. He was shocked to learn of its existence, but he wasn't really too bothered about it. He was going to enter the Cloudbreach Realm soon. He would start opening his 37th aperture. Something with only 36 apertures wouldn't be useful for him.

As for obtaining the foundation cultural art to help his own students, well, he wasn't too interested in doing that. It was clear that this cultural art wouldn't be given out that easily. He might even end up provoking an Invincible if he didn't handle things appropriately. A foundation cultural art was valuable enough that something like that could happen.

"How long are you going to cultivate here? Zhou Pingsheng is going to start his patrol again. If he sees us, I won't be able to explain myself."

"I'll leave the moment he comes. What are you afraid of, Teacher? I'm not worried at all. After today, it will be my grandteacher's turn to maintain the grotto. At that time, Zhou Pingsheng will no longer be able to do anything to me."

Su Yu appeared completely relaxed. This didn't feel as great as absorbing at his full speed, but he didn't need to worry about attracting unwanted attention here. As a peak Skysoar, Liu Hong was able to cover up his presence well.

In the blink of an eye, half an hour passed.

Suddenly, Su Yu's willpower shook.

Liu Hong was alarmed. He cursed inwardly.

That was a new aperture!

That was way too fast!

Just how long had it been? Sure enough, opening apertures at the Mental Tempering Stage was akin to cheating. This was much faster than what a Skysoar would be capable of.

After another hour, Su Yu's willpower shook yet again. Another aperture had opened.

As far as Liu Hong was concerned, Su Yu had opened over 20 apertures.

Chapter 473: Curious Coincidence (3)

In truth, Su Yu had opened a total of 57 apertures thus far. If he was cultivating alone, he would be able to open one aperture every half an hour. But it was tiring to constantly run around. He would rather cultivate slightly slower in exchange for not having to worry about that. Inwardly, Su Yu was still slightly unhappy, but he forced himself to accept it.

At this point, he slightly increased his absorption speed.

Liu Hong had been keeping watch while Zhou Pingsheng was nowhere to be seen. This allowed Su Yu to cultivate in peace.

Before long, Liu Hong said, "With 30 single eradication points, you can cultivate here for 3 hours. Remember to leave when your time is up."

Su Yu was unhappy to hear that.

He was having a great time. Why was this fellow chasing him away?

He had only been in the grotto for 8 hours. He still needed to wait for 16 hours before it was his grandteacher's turn to run the grotto.

"Six hours! If Zhou Pingsheng comes before that, I'll leave early."

"You..."

Liu Hong cursed inwardly.

"Be sure to hide yourself well. Don't bring trouble to me. Su Yu, screwing me up won't benefit you either."

After saying that, he started cultivating as well.

But he didn't dare to use too much of his strength. With both him and Su Yu cultivating here, if he used all his strength, the flow of willpower in the area would be far more intense than what a peak Skysoar like him was supposed to be able to generate.

...

At the same time.

Zhou Pingsheng was raging.

During the two hours he had spent observing Xia Yuwen and Hu Wensheng, the odd incidents had stopped.

Damn it!

Damn it!

The culprit was definitely one of these two!

Why would the incidents stop the moment he started paying attention to them otherwise? And it was very likely that Hu Wensheng was the culprit.

Treacherous snake!

Alas, Zhou Pingsheng had no proof. Damn it!

Not far away, Hu Wensheng frowned and asked, "Senior Brother Zhou, why are you here again?"

Zhou Pingsheng had passed by the area around seven or eight times in the span of two hours.

Hu Wensheng said with an upset tone, "Senior Brother, don't tell me that you think Su Yu is hiding here."

Zhou Pingsheng was being too excessive. Why would he help hide Su Yu?

It was fine for Zhou Pingsheng to pass by once or twice. But this was so frequent that it angered Hu Wensheng. Was Zhou Pingsheng here to cultivate or mess with Su Yu? Or perhaps this fellow was here to monitor him?

Zhou Pingsheng smiled and said, "You misunderstand me, Junior Brother. Su Yu is too treacherous. I'm still looking for him. I have been able to detect traces of him nearby multiple times, but I just can't find him."

Hu Wensheng cursed inwardly. What a piece of trash. Eight hours had passed. And the grotto wasn't even that big of a place. He couldn't even find a mere Mental Tempering Stage student? Just how had this fool reached the seventh-stage Cloudbreach Realm?

"Since you can't find him, why not give up and find a good spot to cultivate instead?"

Despite his anger, he still decided to advise Zhou Pingsheng to find a place to cultivate instead of wasting time.

But after hearing those words, Zhou Pingsheng was further infuriated. This fellow was trying to send him away? If he did that, this fellow would be able to continue creating trouble everywhere before framing him for it!

No way!

He said nothing and left silently, but he lingered not far away. He sat down cross-legged and pretended to cultivate while monitoring Hu Wensheng in silence. After a while, he snorted inwardly and left for real.

Hu Wensheng noticed that. He frowned speechlessly.

Was this person crazy?

After suffering some losses in the hands of Su Yu, this fellow had been somewhat erratic. Just look at how this fellow had spent a few hours monitoring him. Someone who didn't know them might even wonder if his name was actually Su Yu, not Hu Wensheng.

He decided to throw that matter out of his mind and resume his cultivation.

...

At the same time.

Liu Hong suddenly said, "Leave! That fellow is approaching!"

Su Yu was alarmed. His Perception Jade had yet to detect anything yet Liu Hong had already noticed Zhou Pingsheng's approach?

He said nothing and hurriedly left. There was no need for Liu Hong to lie about this. It would seem like it was time for him to resume his guerilla warfare.

While running, Su Yu complained inwardly. Why was that fellow running around again? He would have no choice but to start emptying random locations of willpower again. As for framing Hu Wensheng as the culprit...it had really not crossed his mind. He was unaware that Zhou Pingsheng was suspecting Hu Wensheng as the culprit.

...

Before long, Su Yu was gone.

Shortly after, Zhou Pingsheng arrived. After giving Liu Hong a glance, he said nothing and turned around to leave. At this time, Liu Hong smiled and said, "Senior Brother, I think I heard some people shouting earlier. I was too busy to care. What happened?"

Zhou Pingsheng wanted to ignore Liu Hong, but after thinking about it, he decided to answer. With a sneer, he said, "Some people just can't sit still. When they see that I'm losing favor, they're starting to kick me while I'm down. But that person has affected the entire grotto. I truly want to see how that person is going to frame me after leaving the grotto."

Liu Hong was completely dumbstruck. He didn't understand what Zhou Pingsheng was talking about. Wasn't Zhou Pingsheng hunting for Su Yu? How did someone else get involved?

And it was clear that Zhou Pingsheng wasn't talking about him or the other Mental Tempering Stage students. In the entire grotto, only Xia Yuwen and Hu Wensheng could catch his attention.

After a short thought, Liu Hong concluded that Zhou Pingsheng was probably talking about Hu Wensheng.

Hu Wensheng had done something to affect the entire grotto?

What?

Right that moment, an intense willpower undulation appeared far away.

Liu Hong's heart thumped. That was...Su Yu?

Holy shit!

That fellow's absorption speed was way too terrifying. Even from so far away, he could sense an entire area instantly emptied of willpower.

He thought that Zhou Pingsheng would rush over to give chase, but instead, Zhou Pingsheng hurriedly flew toward Hu Wensheng.

While flying, Zhou Pingsheng was sneering. The incident had resumed so soon after he left! Gotcha, Hu Wensheng!

Meanwhile, Liu Hong was blinking in stupefaction.

Holy shit!

He finally understood!

Zhou Pingsheng thought that Hu Wensheng was the person emptying random areas in the grotto of willpower.

He promptly contacted Su Yu and said, "I have a piece of information to sell you for 1,000 merit points."

"What is it?"

"Pay up. 1,000 merit points."

"I got no merit points. What about single eradication points? You can use it to buy stuff in the club."

"How would I know if you're scamming me?"

"Fine. Forget it."

"..."

But after thinking about it, Liu Hong smiled. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ novel-fire.net

Sure!

He would deliver this information even for free!

This was too interesting.

Zhou Pingsheng was actually suspecting Hu Wensheng. An internal conflict was about to break out among Zhou Mingren's students.

Liu Hong had only been able to obtain a promotion in the faction after Zhou Pingsheng angered the elders. But with Hu Wensheng's reappearance as a Cloudbreach, Zhou Mingren would definitely pass the authority to him instead. After all, his own student would be much more trustworthy than an outsider.

But now, Zhou Pingsheng was suspecting Hu Wensheng! This was too amusing!

"Zhou Pingsheng suspects that Hu Wensheng is the person running around emptying random areas of willpower. He must have been monitoring Hu Wensheng for quite a while. Right after he left Hu Wensheng, you ran off to empty an area of willpower. So now, he has returned to Hu Wensheng's place. You understand what's going on, right?"

Su Yu instantly understood what was happening.

He was quite dumbstruck. Zhou Pingsheng was suspecting...Hu Wensheng?

Interesting. This was too interesting.

"That idiot..."

Su Yu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He had not expected something like this to happen. But since that was the case, perhaps he could take advantage of this.

He could very well provoke an internal turmoil between Zhou Mingren's students.

Let them suspect each other.

That would make things fun.

"Alright. I'll return to your place to cultivate. Later, maybe you can invite Zhou Pingsheng over and have some chat with him. That way, he won't suspect you and I will have the chance to create even more trouble. Teacher Liu, after reaching the Cloudbreach Realm, you can even consider fighting for the position of faction master..."

Liu Hong snorted disdainfully.

Was this wimpy kid trying to instigate him?

Did he care about that position?

What a joke.

What was so great about that position? He wanted a job where he could be paid without doing anything. But as the faction master, alongside the power, he would also gain a lot of responsibilities. And the moment anything bad happened, he would be made the scapegoat.

And that wasn't even the crux of the issue. The biggest issue was the fact that the multiple character faction was in the middle of hitting back against them. Two Mountainseas had died not long ago. He wasn't suicidal enough to become the next faction master.

Only someone as dumb as Zhou Pingsheng would want that position. Then again, before gaining enough strength, the support and favor of his faction would still be very important.

"Sure. You can come here for now. I'll console Senior Brother Zhou and have a chat with him later..."

Liu Hong smiled. Well, he had some time to kill anyway. It wouldn't harm him to do something this trivial.

He had already reached the very limit of the Skysoar Realm. He could actually step into the Cloudbreach Realm at any time. But there was no need to do so. It would be too eye-catching for him to break through the grotto. He much preferred to stay low key.

Speaking of, was Su Yu hiding some of his apertures? The kid had definitely opened more than 20. From the speed he had observed, the kid had probably opened at least 30 apertures.

No wonder Zhou Pingsheng would suspect Hu Wensheng. Liu Hong himself would have probably reached the same conclusion.

Previously, he had suggested his faction to have several Skysoars surround and absorb all the willpower around Su Yu. But if they really did that, perhaps those Skysoars wouldn't even be able to absorb willpower as fast as Su Yu.

"That kid...has matured."

Su Yu had indeed matured somewhat.

And the kid was practically guaranteed a smooth path to the ninth stage the moment he entered the Skysoar Realm. At that point, the kid would turn into an extremely terrifying competitor.

The kid could very well be one of his competitors during the struggle for the slots two years later.

"The conflict between the multiple and single character factions..."

Liu Hong laughed. That was none of his business.

Suddenly, he thought of his teacher again. His teacher was still stuck in seclusion even now. Was his teacher also suffering from the intense repelling force of the non-human characters? Could the club solve this issue?

It was very unlikely for his teacher to step into the Sunmoon Realm. But what if they could remove a few of his problematic characters? Would that help? Even though that would result in a weaker Sunmoon with a few missing characters, a Sunmoon was still a Sunmoon.

"Single Eradication Club...single eradication points...backlash-free character removal!"

His teacher was already near the end of his lifespan. If he had to destroy his own characters, the backlash would definitely kill him. But what if he could remove the characters without the backlash? The removal might be completely safe!

Single Eradication Club!

Suddenly, the club seemed a lot more important to Liu Hong.

Were there really experts in this club?

Most likely.

After all, Su Yu had obtained even something like a foundation cultural art from the club. That was an art with 36 apertures. The backer of the club would either be an Invincible or the family members of an Invincible.

It was also possible that the Xia Family was the actual backer of the club.

Just where had Su Yu obtained all those heaven-grade methods and techniques of his? Previously, Hong Tan had taken credit for that. But Liu Hong did not believe that. What bullshit.

If those were really the inheritances of the multiple character faction, Bai Feng would have cultivated all those techniques as well. Clearly, Su Yu was the only one in the faction with all those techniques.

But Su Yu came from Nanyuan. With his background, he had either obtained those techniques from Liu Wenyan or some other fortuitous encounter. But Su Yu hadn't been too eye-catching during his time in Nanyuan. It was possible that he had obtained all those opportunities after entering the academy and joining the Single Eradication Club.

"He should have joined the club after entering the academy."

That was Liu Hong's conclusion. If Su Yu had obtained those heaven-grade methods and techniques long ago, why would he purchase the War God Art back then? Why would he fight Zheng Yunhui for a single Skybreak Technique? Sure, that was a scam, but still, there was no need for him to even cross Zheng Yunhui, right?

"Single Eradication Club!"

Liu Hong inhaled deeply. Interesting. Perhaps this invitation to the club was not a trap. Rather, it was the start of his rise to power.

"Lin Yao...that silly kid has probably joined the club as well. It's obvious from how he has been behaving."

Liu Hong decided to wait and see. He needed to observe Lin Yao's progress. If even someone like Lin Yao could benefit from the club, he would be able to benefit even more.

Excellent. This would be the start of his rise!

Chapter 474: Fear Not, Grandteacher Will Cover This Up! (1)

"Senior Brother Zhou!"

Zhou Pingsheng was surprised to see Liu Hong appearing before him.

"Junior Brother Liu, why are you here?" Liu Hong sighed, "About the matter you told me, I noticed something off as well. Senior Brother, listen to me. You should just change your plan and cultivate silently instead."

Liu Hong earnestly said, "Senior Brother, we can start cultivating together starting now. After leaving the grotto, I can serve as your witness if everyone starts accusing you of something you haven't done. This is the only thing your little junior brother can do for you. I can't afford to offend anyone or do anything for you."

Liu Hong looked exceptionally sincere. He was basically saying that he couldn't offend Hu Wensheng or do much for Zhou Pingsheng. The only thing he could do was provide an alibi for Zhou Pingsheng.

At that moment, Zhou Pingsheng's emotions turned complicated. At this very moment, at a low point of his life, an outsider like Liu Hong was actually the only person willing to stand up for him.

Liu Hong said, "Senior Brother, you're already a seventh-stage Cloudbreach. In all honesty, it is pointless to get into these pointless squabbles at this time. When you reach the Mountainsea Realm, some things will naturally fall into your hands even if you reject them."

"Just take this chance to cultivate more and try to reach the Mountainsea Realm as soon as possible. You're near the eighth-stage Cloudbreach Realm. Why waste your time in the grotto?"

Liu Hong had a look of regret as he said, "You're already the mortal enemy of the multiple character faction. They are going to continue targeting you. And to be honest, internally, our people won't really care about it unless it affects them personally."

He shook his head with a sigh and said, "If you keep this up, your reputation will be completely ruined. The people in this grotto are all the important seedlings of the various factions. Do you want to offend all these people, Senior Brother? Even if you're not the culprit, would any of them believe you? Would anyone listen to you?" Get full chapters from noᴠelfire.net

Liu Hong helplessly said, "Senior Brother, listen to me. You really need to stop now. I can start cultivating with you from now. I don't know about the things that have happened before this, but from now on, we can stick together. We can even get a few junior brothers to cultivate with us as well. At that time, they can no longer blame you if the incidents keep happening."

Zhou Pingsheng's eyes flickered as he nodded, "You make sense. But I can't accept this. I'm not reconciled to this. Some people...are already being too excessive!"

He couldn't accept this. Hu Wensheng had left seclusion suddenly to take advantage of his recent downfall. He was not willing to accept that. He had done a lot for the single character faction!

What had Hu Wensheng done for the faction?

Nothing!

He had cultivated in peace until the Skysoar Realm before being defeated by Bai Feng. Then, he cultivated in peace until the Cloudbreach Realm. But right after leaving seclusion, he was rewarded with a slot into this grotto?

Zhou Pingsheng was the one who had gathered a large portion of the riversand used to open this grotto! Not only was Hu Wensheng benefiting from his hard work, that fellow was also trying to kick him while he was down! How hateful!

Zhou Pingsheng looked at Liu Hong. He knew that Liu Hong was definitely not a good person. This Liu Hong was probably doing this after feeling a sense of crisis from Hu Wensheng's appearance.

After all, Liu Hong had benefited after he lost the trust of the faction. But with Hu Wensheng's return, Liu Hong's position was in danger as well. Thus, he knew very well that both him and Liu Hong were on the same boat.

Liu Hong was not helping him out of kindness. Instead, Liu Hong was doing this to resist Hu Wensheng. Knowing all that, he believed that Liu Hong was sincere in helping him this time. Who would be willing to help you without a reason? This was understandable.

Liu Hong's action wasn't surprising at all.

"Junior Brother Liu..."

Liu Hong stopped from talking and solemnly said, "Senior Brother, Where there's life there's hope. You have plenty of time to do what you want in the future. For now, you need to settle down or you might even end up offending the elders! We can take it slow! If you continue roaming around, it would be too difficult to prove your innocence!"

He lowered his voice, "We can take a few people with us and find a place to cultivate together. We can even get Hu Wensheng's student, Guo Shengquan, with us. With that, he can accuse everyone of lying, but can he say the same about his own student?"

Liu Hong sneered, "Hu Wensheng is getting really ambitious. He should look at himself in the mirror. Over these years, he had only faced Bai Feng once. And that one encounter had resulted in an utter defeat. Meanwhile, I have been able to compete against Bai Feng for so many years. A few years ago, he had even called me incompetent for failing to defeat Bai Feng. Would you believe that?"

He was furious.

Zhou Pingsheng could fully empathize with him.

Sure, he was one of those who had called Liu Hong incompetent as well. But in hindsight, was Liu Hong really so incompetent?

No.

In fact, Liu Hong was incredible.

A normal person would have been completely defeated by now. Meanwhile, Liu Hong had been able to let Bai Feng suffer several small losses. That was actually very impressive. Just look at Hu Wensheng. He had only clashed against Bai Feng once and look what happened. Was he not ashamed of himself? He actually dared to compete against them with that shameful performance?

"You're right, Junior Brother." Zhou Pingsheng nodded, "Sure. Let's get a few people and cultivate together."

"Senior Brother, let's take the Skysoars with us." Liu Hong's eyes flickered as he said, "Let him go crazy. He probably won't approach the spots claimed by the Skysoars. He will run around creating trouble while we will be staying with all the Skysoars. Excluding us, only him and Xia Yuwen will be able to do something like that. At that time, would people suspect him or Xia Yuwen?"

Liu Hong continued giving more ideas.

Inwardly, he was greatly amused.

Time for a great show to unfold!

He would gather all Skysoars together and let Su Yu run wild. As long as the kid didn't provoke Hu Wensheng and Xia Yuwen, the two would probably ignore him.

As for Zhou Pingsheng, he would definitely place all the blame on Hu Wensheng. Meanwhile, Hu Wensheng would conclude that Zhou Pingsheng was the culprit.

Even if they were able to prove that Zhou Pingsheng had been staying with so many other cultivators while all those incidents were happening, Hu Wensheng was the type of person that would insist that Zhou Pingsheng had bought them all out instead of changing his mind.

In short, this was not something that could be cleared up. The only way they could clear things up was if they could prove that either Xia Yuwen or Su Yu was the culprit.

But if even Liu Hong himself was finding it hard to believe that Su Yu was the culprit, would the others even believe it? Also, that damn kid had probably hidden even more of his strength. So the kid was probably capable of creating an even bigger ruckus.

According to Zhou Pingsheng, the absorption speed that had emptied the random areas of willpower had reached the level of a Cloudbreach. But earlier, Su Yu had only revealed the absorption speed of a fourth-stage Skysoar in his presence.

Liu Hong was curious, but he couldn't be bothered to say more to the damn kid. He only needed to focus on removing Zhou Pingsheng and giving Su Yu the space to create more trouble.

As a mere spectator, he was more than happy to create more drama. In any case, as a peak Skysoar who wasn' trying to break through in the grotto, he had quite a lot of free time. He only needed to nurture some characters while he was in the grotto.

...

Liu Hong was quite efficient when he decided to get something done. He had really managed to instigate Zhou Pingsheng to gather a group of people and cultivate together.

This group would serve as his alibi.

Of course, he had not made that point clear when gathering those people up. But with those people around him, they could no longer blame him when another spot was emptied of willpower.

...

Before long, Su Yu received an update from Liu Hong.

He looked dumbstruck.

It was...that easy?

Holy shit!

So in this decently sized grotto, only Hu Wensheng and Xia Yuwen were left isolated from the other Skysoar and Cloudbreach cultivators. But those two had been staying at the same spot for a long time. It didn't look like they were going to move around anytime soon. Did that not mean that the entire grotto was now his playground?

Su Yu was completely unbothered about anyone below the Skysoar Realm. Why should he put much thought into those weaklings?

"I thought I have to wait until tomorrow before I can cultivate properly, but looks like I can go crazy right now."

Su Yu was overjoyed.

He had already opened 58 apertures. And it had been nearly 12 hours since the opening of the grotto. During this period of time, he had opened 14 apertures. Since he needed to keep running around, his speed had slowed down considerably. Even so, opening 14 apertures in only half a day was actually a terrifying feat.

Su Yu grinned. The grotto was now his personal playground! Before long, yet another area was emptied of willpower.

This time, Su Yu didn't even bother leaving anything behind. He turned the entire area into a void of willpower before heading to Zhang Hao's place to digest the willpower he had absorbed.

Half an hour later, he left to empty yet another area of willpower before returning to Zhang Hao.

...

Boom!

Outside the grotto.

A loud rumble rang out while creaking sounds started coming from the grotto portal. Zhou Mingren hurriedly stabilized the grotto in panic while the faces of Yu Hong and the others fell.

Elder Sun furiously said, "Bastard! Has he gone mad?"

They had paid a large cost to open this grotto!

They had done this to allow the members of their faction to grow, lending them the strength to once again establish their dominance in the academy. But right now, a damn bastard was constantly creating trouble in the grotto.

At present, there were three particular spots in the grotto with high willpower expenditure. However, the absorption speed at those three spots had remained stable thus far. Those spots were manageable as the people there had gradually increased their absorption speed instead of suddenly pushing their absorption speed to the peak.

That way, they could avoid suddenly emptying an area of willpower. But there was a certain asshole who had directly emptied random areas of willpower all over the grotto. This person had the absorption speed of a Cloudbreach, and because of this person's meddling, the balance of the grotto was being disrupted.

This had happened again and again, infuriating all the elders maintaining the grotto. They had spent resources worth over 100,000 merit points to open this grotto. For the sake of this grotto, the single character faction had pushed themselves into the brink of bankruptcy.

Knowing all that, this bastard was still running around creating trouble for them! They were furious!

Not far away, Hong Tan frowned, "Don't force yourself. If you're already at your limit, let me take over."

Zhou Mingren and the others ignored him.

Based on Zhou Mingren's observation, two Cloudbreach cultivators were steadily cultivating at two different spots while a few Skysoars had gathered at one spot to cultivate together. In that case, it was clear that Zhou Pingsheng was the person who had been creating trouble for them.

Damn it!

Damn that bastard!

But he stubbornly persisted. He was adamant on maintaining control over the grotto for as long as he could. If he allowed Hong Tan and the others to take over, the Skysoar and Cloudbreach cultivators of their faction would no longer be given special treatment in the grotto.

Chapter 475: Fear Not, Grandteacher Will Cover This Up! (2)

Su Yu was naturally unaware of the hard time he was giving Zhou Mingren and company.

14th hour, 16th hour...

Every half an hour, Su Yu would go out for a stroll.

And during each stroll, an area would be emptied of willpower.

By the time the 20th hour drew near, Su Yu had opened his 69th aperture.

It hadn't even been a day.

Su Yu was in a good mood.

This felt great.

In fact, it felt so good that he was starting to wish he could stay in this grotto full time.

Benefiting from the extra willpower leaking out of Su Yu, Zhang Hao had also progressed rapidly. He had opened five apertures. That left only one of the six apertures he had learned about unopened.

Su Yu did not spend more time at Zhang Hao's place. Shortly after, he found Wu Jia.

...

Wu Jia was in the midst of her cultivation.

Not far away, Wan Mingze could be seen.

When he saw Su Yu, he had an odd look on his eyes. Zhou Pingsheng had been hunting for Su Yu for so long to no avail. This fellow sure was good at hiding.

Su Yu wasn't even bothered to say anything to Wan Mingze. Instead, he looked at Wu Jia and smiled, "Senior Sister!"

"Junior Brother!"

Wu Jia opened her eyes. She was pleasantly surprised to see Su Yu here. She hurriedly asked, "Did that old dog find you?"

"Nope." Su Yu laughed, "I was running circles around him."

"But that's delaying your cultivation."

"I'm fine."

Su Yu walked over to her and said, "Senior Sister, stop bothering Brother Wan here. Let me take you out for a stroll."

Since he still wasn't sure if Wan Mingze was really a saint or merely a hypocrite, he decided that it would be better to maintain a safe distance from that fellow. Naturally, when trouble was coming his way, he would move here and lead the trouble Wan Mingze's way instead.

And when there was no trouble, he would stay further away from Wan Mingze. Seated not far away, Wan Mingze smiled. He didn't mind that he was being ignored. Looking at the departing duo, his expression changed slightly. The willpower around Su Yu was very dense.

This fellow had most likely learned a foundation cultural art.

He wondered how many apertures Su Yu had opened. Perhaps even Wu Jia was practicing something like that.

Wu Jia wasn't weak, but she wasn't strong enough to hide the flow of willpower around her when she was cultivating. And with her cultivating so near him, Wan Mingze was able to see that she had opened at least three apertures since entering the grotto.

...

While traveling.

Su Yu asked in a low voice, "Senior Sister, how many apertures have you opened?"

"Four." Wu Jia happily said, "Junior Brother, with these apertures, I will be able to quickly reach the second stage the moment I enter the Skysoar Realm."

"The second stage is boring. Absorb more willpower and open more apertures. This is a rare chance. You still have about two days here."

As they talked, they arrived at Xia Huyou's place.

He wasted no time and said, "I'll gather some willpower for you. As payment, take care of my senior sister. If something happens to her, I won't spare you!"

Xia Huyou was speechless.

Did he even need Su Yu to gather willpower for him?

He had already opened 25 apertures himself! Was Su Yu aware of that?

Was Su Yu not aware of how amazing he was?

Before this, he had opened around 18 apertures using the Xia Family's foundation cultural art. These days, he had been cultivating hard as well. He was actually quite talented. The high-middle evaluation he entered the academy with was bullshit. That was not the representation of his actual talent.

With 25 apertures, if he stepped into the Skysoar Realm, he would instantly become a seventh-stage Skysoar expert.

1 to 4 apertures would put one in the first stage, 18 to 24 apertures would put one in the sixth stage, 25 to 28 apertures would put one in the seventh stage, 29 to 32 apertures would put one in the eighth stage, and 33 to 36 apertures would put one in the ninth stage. At 36 apertures, one would be a peak Skysoar.

Of course, even after advancement, his character and willpower would still not be strong enough, so he wouldn't be considered a true seventh-stage Skysoar for some time. But with enough opened apertures, progress would be fast.

He was such an amazing cultivator. Yet Su Yu was looking down on him? Su Yu was offering to gather willpower for him?

Xia Huyou was confident that apart from those Skysoar and Cloudbreach cultivators, nobody in the grotto had opened more apertures than him. But immediately after, he stopped his monologue. Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on novel~fire~net

He suddenly felt like he had been slapped across his face. And Su Yu was the culprit.

A storm of willpower erupted around them as a large amount of willpower moved over from far away and converged around them.

Xia Huyou cursed inwardly.

Holy shit!

How many apertures had Su Yu opened to be capable of this?

36?

No. More than that!

He looked at Su Yu with an odd expression. This fellow was treating him like a fool! Was this his so-called 36 apertures? Just what was going on? Did Su Yu know more foundation cultural arts?

Sure, Xia Huyou had multiple foundation cultural arts as well.

With both arts, he could open 45 apertures if he wanted.

But the remaining 9 apertures were incompatible with the 36 apertures. Opening those apertures would only grant him a slight increase in the endurance and recovery of his willpower. His offensive prowess would remain the same.

He didn't know if Su Yu had a second cultural art, but he was certain that Su Yu had opened more than 36 apertures.

Meanwhile, Wu Jia appeared very indifferent. She had just opened a few apertures and was still incapable of sensing just how many apertures her junior brother had opened. The only thought she had was that her junior brother was amazing. Nothing else.

Xia Huyou gave Su Yu a deep look, but he said nothing. He was a smart person. He knew what to ask and what not to ask.

When Su Yu was about to leave, Xia Huyou finally spoke, "Are you interested in selling your second cultural art? I can trade it with my family's cultural art with 18 apertures..."

Su Yu grinned.

Instead of replying, he left.

Trade his ass.

That 18-aperture art was basically garbage. That garbage art probably overlapped with the arts he knew. Why would he want a piece of trash like that? He could probably achieve a complete overlap after opening all 180 apertures of the five arts.

He couldn't even be bothered to give a reply. With this fellow here, his senior sister would be fine. Xia Huyou was aware of his cultural art since Xia Huyou himself had also been given a cultural art by him. Thus, his senior sister could freely cultivate around him without worrying that someone would go after her cultural art.

...

Looking at the departing Su Yu, Xia Huyou had a look of regret on his face. He shot Wu Jia a glance.

But Wu Jia completely ignored him and sat down cross-legged to cultivate.

"Women."

Xia Huyou muttered to himself. Why was she ignoring him?

Why was she behaving like he owed them this favor? What the hell?

When he looked in Su Yu's direction once again, he clicked his tongue. That fellow was definitely going out to create trouble again.

More importantly, it was likely that very few people knew that Su Yu was the culprit behind the disappearing willpower. Him, Xia Huyou, was one of the few who knew the actual truth.

"I am probably not the only person helping him. He definitely has more helpers in this grotto."

Xia Huyou was getting curious. Who were these helpers? How had this fellow developed these connections?

Looking at the voice transmission talisman in his hand, Xia Huyou frowned. Previously, when Su Yu had given Chen Hao a voice transmission talisman, he had noticed that Su Yu had prepared a lot of these talismans. Anyone with a voice transmission talisman in hand could very well be this fellow's ally.

Incredible.

That fellow had developed his own group of helpers without anyone noticing.

"Chen Hao..."

Recalling that person, Xia Huyou curled his lips in annoyance. That was a scoundrel that looked like the most honest man ever. His second grandpa was right. You should never judge a book from its cover! Entering the cultural research academy had been a correct decision, after all.

He had decided to enter the cultural research academy because of the messy and chaotic internal competition. According to his second grandfather, at the war academy, one would be able to experience the brotherhood between comrades. But one would not be able to experience crafty plots and machinations. One would not be able to see the dark side of society.

That was not a good environment for growth.

After all, he was aiming to become the future prefect, not a general of the army. Even a general needed to know how to deal with plots and schemes. That was why the previous prefects had all graduated from the cultural research academy.

Yes, despite how they behaved, they were all graduates of the cultural research academy. Their experience during their time in the cultural research academy would prepare them for their future as the ruler of a prefecture.

The war academy was a place to produce soldiers. The cultural research academy, on the other hand, was a place to produce leaders.

"Su Yu..."

Xia Huyou muttered under his breath. What an incredible fellow. If he really managed to become the prefect, this would be a person he needed to rope in.

Su Yu was someone with intelligence, strength, and talent. In fact, Xia Huyou was starting to discover that Su Yu was suited for a lot of positions in the prefecture. But as the peer of such a person, it would be too embarrassing if a future prefect like him looked too mediocre in comparison. He might be able to explain why some other people were stronger than him. But there was no way he could explain why Su Yu, a boy from Nanyuan, was stronger than him.

"I have already fused 14 acupoints. Should I fuse 16 acupoints before advancing into the Infinite Strength Realm?"

Xia Huyou sighed. He could have entered the Infinite Strength Realm long ago if he was satisfied with only fusing 14 acupoints. But he cultivated the heaven-grade Sky Sundering Saber. With this cultivation method, at maximum, he could fuse 16 acupoints before his advancement.

But fusing acupoints was an extremely difficult task. As the future prefect, he would either not cultivate at all or do his very best and reach the limit of the Sky Sundering Saber like his father had before him.

"Su Yu is also cultivating the Sky Sundering Saber. I guess there's no rush. It won't be so easy for him to fuse his acupoints either. I still have plenty of time."

He only needed to ensure that he stayed ahead of Su Yu. At present, Su Yu had yet to fuse even a single acupoint while he had fused 14 acupoints. Catching up wouldn't be too easy. As for his apertures...well, he would aim to open more while he was in the grotto.