Chapter 495: I Never Trick My Friends (1)
Despite his feelings, there was no running away from a debt to the Xia Family.
With the rules established, they naturally needed to follow the rules. Just look at how even Hong Tan was prepared to sell the research center.
Su Yu said nothing else. After assigning everyone their respective tasks, he proceeded to work on his plans.
...
He completely ignored the Foreign Students Faculty.
However, the foreign students did not stop.
Not long after Xia Qing's fight with Zhu Hong, someone else from the Foreign Students Faculty challenged the ranking. This time, that person did not claim to be Su Yu's friend. Nevertheless, a single character student was challenged and beaten up quite badly.
But with the previous example set by Xia Qing, everyone assumed that this foreign student was also Su Yu's friend.
This was a rather smart plan.
As their opening move, Xia Qing made the purpose of her fight clear.
For the second move, they no longer needed to say anything, or it would look like they were being too deliberate. And since the single character faction was their target both times, it became obvious to the masses that they were acting on behalf of Su Yu.
The truly smart ones naturally knew the truth, but the clueless ones would believe everything they were seeing.
...
Mental Tempering Garden.
Su Yu couldn't be bothered to do anything about the Foreign Students Faculty. That was not an issue for him. As for his loss of reputation...that was something that would be resolved very soon.
His current priority was to get his research center up and running before producing a method to fuse acupoints faster.
Special zone.
Su Yu knocked on a certain door unhesitatingly. The door swung open, revealing Wu Lan behind it. Before she could speak, Su Yu said, "I am here to invite you to the Source Soul Research Center. Do not believe whatever rumor you hear. I don't even know those foreign students, while both of us are old friends. Are you going to trust those outsiders instead of an old friend like me?"
Wu Lan stared at Su Yu in stupefaction.
Su Yu said, "My research center is in dire need of high-end talents. I remember that during the Nanyuan exam, you had taken first place for the culture test with 33 mastered languages..."
Slowly, the stupefied expression of Wu Lan turned into a smug expression.
Yes. She had taken first place in the culture test. Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on NoveI~Fire.net
"That was because not all the languages I knew were tested. In truth, I already knew 36 languages back then!"
Wu Lan looked proud. Su Yu was nothing. In terms of language, Su Yu was basically her little brother. She was over 100 marks ahead of him in the culture test!
Su Yu smiled, "That was why I called you a high-end talent. Over the months, you must have mastered even more languages, right?"
"Yeah." Wu Lan proudly said, "I am very talented and my memory is excellent. After reaching the Mental Tempering Stage, my learning speed has increased even further. Now, I have mastered 52 languages."
The Mental Tempering Stage was indeed capable of increasing one's learning speed. Even someone as busy as Su Yu had pushed the number of mastered languages to 38 after half a year. Prior to that, he had only mastered 22 languages.
Thus, Wu Lan's feat really wasn't too special in comparison, but that was only because she had to split her focus to her cultivation instead of focusing on languages like during her time as a secondary school student.
"Incredible!" Su Yu said, "The research center requires a talented individual like you. We are sincerely inviting you to join. We also have other talented members. For example, Hu Qiusheng. He has mastered 77 languages and read over 1,000 cultivation manuals. We have Jiang Mu who has read over 10,000 volumes of different historical records. We also have Xia Huyou, an expert on the myriad races..."
Su Yu then asked, "Are you interested? Do you know what we're researching? Have you heard of the source soul acupoint?"
Su Yu's eyes lit up as he said, "The moment we discover the location of this acupoint, all our names will be etched in the annals of history. People like us will be forever remembered by all humanity."
Wu Lan stared at him blankly. After a long while, she asked, "C-can I join?"
"Yes." Su Yu flashed a gentle smile and said, "I am in great need of talented individuals, especially high-end talents like you. Join us! We will work together for the future of humanity!"
"..."
Staring at Su Yu, Wu Lan suddenly felt like there was a bright halo around Su Yu.
No, she wasn't hallucinating.
He seemed to be...really shining?
Wu Lan stared blankly as Su Yu maintained his gentle smile while leaking some of his pure source qi to make his entire body shine. With the setting sun as the backdrop, he looked incredibly majestic.
"Wu Lan, once again, I am inviting you to join us. Are you willing to join?"
Wu Lan hesitated slightly before saying, "But...what is my task there?"
Su Yu solemnly said, "You will become the leader of the Breakthrough Team! Under your leadership, the Breakthrough Team will be in charge of overcoming the difficulties we will encounter during our research. People like my senior sister will be working under you!"
"Senior Sister Wu Jia...working under me?"
"Yeah." Su Yu nodded and seriously said, "I am giving you this position because I know how responsible a person you are. I also know that you're a hardworking person. You once worked on jobs involving the research and derivation of new cultivation methods, so you actually have prior experience in this aspect."
"Of course."
Wu Lan nodded. That was actually true. Once again, a smug expression appeared on her face. Su Yu was right. She was indeed experienced in this aspect.
So she was going to lead the Breakthrough Team? Generally, only the most incredible of researchers could hold such a position. Was she even qualified for it?
A tiny bit of worry seeped into her mind as she asked, "What is the difficulty we are currently facing?"
Note her choice of words. She was already using the word "we".
Su Yu turned excited. It would seem like she had agreed.
Of course, he wouldn't let his emotions show. Instead, he said, "Our first difficulty is a small inconvenience. We need to make a catalog of the various racial abilities and foundation cultivation methods of the myriad races. We need to give a simple description of the racial abilities and cultivation methods of each race listed in this catalog.
"This won't be too difficult. We can gather some information from the library, along with a summary of these races, their abilities, and their cultivation methods. But the library does not have enough information.
"We need a more complete database with proper classification of all races, their abilities, and their cultivation methods. This will be a massive undertaking. The human race has never stopped collecting information about the myriad races, but previously, our classification has always been based on the strength of the races instead of their abilities and cultivation methods."
Su Yu shook his head, "This is an illogical way of doing things."
Wu Lan blanked out. How was that illogical? Wasn't that the easiest way for everyone to learn more about these races?
Su Yu explained, "We are researching the cultivation methods, characters, acupoints, and apertures of the myriad races. Different topics of research will require different classifications. Thus, we need to reorganize the information available to us. This is a very important task. And it is now yours. Can you do it?"
Su Yu added, "We need it to be done as quickly as possible. And we need our database to be as complete as possible. The other sources of information are still too lacking for us. With the sheer number of races in existence, gathering and organizing all this information would be very troublesome. Even so, I still need this to be done quickly."
Wu Lan started to feel pressured. She hurriedly asked, "When do you need the task to be completed?"
"It's better if it can be done within one week." Su Yu solemnly said, "And this is only the start. If we mess it up at the start, we will only be faced with even more difficulties in the future. I do not wish to get stuck doing the same research for decades without any result. I wish to get some results as early as possible."
Wu Lan felt even more pressure. Gathering and organizing the information of thousands of races in one week into new classifications. That was...too difficult. Sure enough, being the leader of the Breakthrough Team was no easy job.
Wu Lan solemnly asked, "Can you recruit more helpers?"
Su Yu shook his head, "Wu Lan, this research concerns the secrets of humanity. Don't take this lightly just because we are mere youngsters. We can only allow those we trust to take part in our research. People like you. People like me. As for the other people in the academy...I don't know who I can trust."
Su Yu said, "Therefore, only I, you, my senior sister, and Hu Qiusheng will join hands for this task. We will help you, so you don't need to feel too pressured."
Wu Lan nodded, but she still felt greatly pressured.
True. This was top secret. They couldn't let just anyone know about it.
Su Yu said, "I need to make something else clear. Our research center is currently very poor. We lack the starting fund. Thus, we are all paying out of our pockets to start this project. I am in charge of purchasing a defensive formation worth tens of thousands of merit points for the research center.
"Teacher Zhao Ming is in charge of purchasing some devices and research materials for the research center. That won't be cheap, either. Hu Qiusheng and Jiang Mu are in charge of purchasing a large amount of cultivation manuals, books, diagrams, and so on to build up the research center's library..."
Su Yu sighed, "If you wish to join, you need to contribute as well. I have ordered copies of many books at the library. A payment of 300 merit points is required. If you're willing to join, you may pay for that..."
"300 merit points?" Wu Lan blinked before nodding, "Sure. The start is always the hardest, no matter what you do. I understand this."
"Thanks!" Su Yu said, "Every contribution will be recorded. I will repay all of you when the time comes. You don't need to feel embarrassed about that. A debt is meant to be paid. Or perhaps I can allow all of you to have priority over our research results. Everything you have contributed today can be used to claim our future results and benefits."
Wu Lan nodded and said nothing else. 300 merit points...that wasn't a small sum of money, but it wasn't too big either. She was rich enough to afford that.
"Let's not waste time. Wu Lan, I still need to take care of something else. Do you want to start immediately? Can you go to the library and pay up before returning with the copied books?"
"Now?"
Wu Lan looked at the sky. It was getting dark. She had yet to have her dinner.
Chapter 496: I Never Trick My Friends (2)
Su Yu nodded, "Yes. Every second matters. Time is precious. We can't afford to waste even a single second."
"Fine..." Wu Lan nodded, "I'll be going to the library first, then. Do you want me to transport the books back to the research center after paying?"
"Yeah." Su Yu handed her a key and said, "This is the key to the research center. Don't lose it. The research center might be quite empty for now, but this is our future base of operations. This will be a very important place for the entire human race."
He then looked around Wu Lan's villa before smiling, "The environment there is somewhat harsh and dry. I don't know if you can get used to it. To help yourself adapt better, maybe you should get some people to move your furniture over? After all, we will probably be living there for a long period of time after this."
Wu Lan's villa was very well decorated with elegant furniture. It was clear that she had used her own money to decorate this villa. He definitely couldn't let all these go to waste! At present, there wasn't even a single chair in the research center yet. And furniture wasn't free. Thus, the best option would be to move Wu Lan's furniture over.
Wu Lan indifferently said, "It's fine. I can just buy some daily necessities before going over. That will be enough for me..."
"That's a waste of money!" Su Yu sternly said, "Our research center is lacking money. Don't waste your money on things you don't need. Don't forget that this villa belongs to the academy. Only the research center is truly ours. You will be staying there frequently as well. As for this villa, just treat it as a temporary resting place. Don't waste your furniture. Find a few people and move your stuff over."
"Fine."
Wu Lan nodded in agreement. She thought that Su Yu was really stingy, but when she thought about it, the research center was new. They still needed a lot of money. It was understandable for him to be frugal.
"I'll get someone to move the furniture."
"Thank you!" Su Yu said, "Alright. I have something else I need to do. See you. Good luck!"
"..."
Looking at the rapidly departing back of Su Yu, Wu Lan blanked out slightly.
She was the...leader of the Breakthrough Team?
Slowly, she started growing excited.
She was the leader of the Breakthrough Team!
The source soul acupoint research was very important to humanity. And she was the vanguard in charge of breaking through all difficulties they might encounter during the research!
People like Wu Jia would need to obey her! They would all be her underlings! Was this...too much trust from Su Yu? She tightened her grip on the key. Just like that, he had handed over something this important to her.
After a moment, she hollered at the distant guard, "Uncle Wang, get a few guys to help move my stuff..."
She was moving! She needed to purchase some information from the library later. She had officially stepped onto the path of research! Before long, the guards arrived to help her move.
A short while later, Lin Qing arrived to visit Wu Lan. When she saw the furniture and bundles being moved out of the villa, she was stunned. What happened? Was Wu Lan moving?
"Lan, what are you doing?"
Wu Lan looked at Lin Qing and said, "Sister Qing, I'm going to take office in a research center."
"Research center?"
"Yeah."
"Which research center?"
"It's a secret."
"..."
Lin Qing was completely speechless. Who would want to recruit a mere student into their research center? But suddenly, she thought of something and asked, "The newly established Source Soul Research Center?"
"How do you know this?" Wu Lan was astonished.
Meanwhile, Lin Qing rolled her eyes. Apart from that research center, who else would recruit Wu Lan?
"Even if you're going, you don't need to move all your things over, right?"
"Sister Qing, you don't understand." Joy and smugness mixed on Wu Lan's face as she said, "I am going over to become the leader of the Breakthrough Team. I have a heavy burden on my shoulders. I will be very busy soon. I don't have the time to come back here anymore. Alright, Sister Qing. I need to take care of something at the library. See you."
Wu Lan stopped her conversation with Lin Qing. She could not afford to waste even a single second!
"Uncle Wang, just move my stuff to the newly opened Source Soul Research Center. Get a few more people to come with me to the library. I need to move some stuff from the library as well..."
While speaking, Wu Lan started heading toward the library. A sense of honor and glory enveloped her heart. She was now one of the founders of a research center.
In the past, her elder sister and the others would never allow her to participate in their family affairs. But now, she had finally found the chance to take charge of her life. It was time for her to go independent!
Su Yu had actually handed her such an important position. She needed to work hard.
...
Looking at the rapidly departing Wu Lan, Lin Qing was dumbfounded.
She left?
Looking at the empty villa, Lin Qing was somewhat speechless. Just because she was joining a research center, Wu Lan had emptied her villa? Content orıginally comes from NoveI-Fire.ɴet
Leader of the Breakthrough Team? How many members did the Source Soul Research Center even have? There was no Breakthrough Team in that research center!
"Don't tell me...that she was swindled by Su Yu?"
Lin Qing felt a headache coming. This was troublesome. And her teacher wasn't around. Her teacher was at the Allheaven Battlefield. Was she supposed to look for Elder Wu? But she needed to tell the elder in case Wu Lan had really been swindled by Su Yu. From Wu Lan's actions, it was clear she was intending to stay long term in the research center.
...
Naturally, Su Yu was unaware of any of that.
After dealing with Wu Lan, he rushed to his next target.
Zheng Yunhui.
Yes, this was his next target.
Zheng Yunhui's residence.
Right after Su Yu was invited inside, he said, "Do you want to fuse acupoints quickly and enter the Infinite Strength Realm before blasting through that realm? If you want, loan me some money. I need 12,000 merit points to buy a defensive formation. You are rich. You earned a lot during our previous cooperation."
This was the real reason why Su Yu was here. Zheng Yunhui had earned a lot of money when they worked together previously.
Otherwise, he could have gone to Xia Huyou for money instead. But since Zheng Yunhui was so rich, he would make a nice target.
Zheng Yunhui was completely dumbfounded. Holy shit. This person had asked for over 10,000 merit points right after entering his house. Was this proper?
They were talking about merit points, not anping dollars!
Su Yu solemnly said, "If you trust me, do it. If not, forget it. I, Su Yu, will never let my friends suffer losses. But I also won't let my enemies profit off me."
When he saw that Zheng Yunhui wasn't replying immediately, he turned around and left unhesitatingly.
Zheng Yunhui hurriedly said, "Wait! Explain to me. What's happening?"
Was this yet another path to riches?
Rapid advancement into the Infinite Strength Realm? What? To speak the truth, he had earned a lot during his first cooperation with Su Yu. Thus, he was actually willing to work with Su Yu again.
In fact, he had been grumbling recently about how Su Yu had not roped in him for the previous tournament. Sure, the members of the tournament were supposed to be assigned randomly, but if he had known how strong Su Yu was, he would have tried working with Su Yu. That way, he would be able to get an additional slot for free.
Now that Su Yu was offering cooperation again, he naturally wished to learn more. Perhaps this was an endeavor he could join.
"You're a smart man, so I won't be wasting time talking about nonsensical things. I'm only here because I trust you. Buy me a defensive formation and consider that a loan to me. I will compensate you at a later date. That's not a small amount of money, but money is really not that hard to earn for me.
"I already sold the Soul Devouring Art to the Xia Family. But I still have many other cultivation methods, such as Pure Source Art. In all honesty, if I want to, I can sell it for a good price as well. Give me three months. If I can't find the money to pay you back at that time, you can have the Pure Source Art. Your Zheng Family will even be given the right to teach the Pure Source Art to anyone you want. What do you think?"
Zheng Yunhui's eyes lit up. He asked, "That's the cultivation method to purify source qi, right? How many acupoints?"
"36."
"Not bad at all."
As an auxiliary cultivation method, it would be less valuable if it required more acupoints. A number such as 36 was still within the acceptable range. After thinking about it, Zheng Yunhui concluded that this was a deal worth accepting.
"How good is this cultivation method?"
"Look at me."
Su Yu activated his acupoints, instantly turning him into a man shrouded in blinding radiance.
Zheng Yunhui took a few steps back. He already knew that Su Yu's source qi was pure, but this was a shocking sight to behold.
"Sure." Zheng Yunhui gave his answer, "You need a defensive formation, right? That's not cheap. With a price of over 10,000 merit points, are you trying to get something that can prevent the spying of Sunmoons? Do you need an offensive formation as well? That way, you can also protect yourself against any attacks on the research center."
"If you have the money for it, sure."
Zheng Yunhui made a short calculation before saying, "I'll give you a fair price. I will spend 12,000 merit points for a defensive formation and 8,000 merit points for an offensive formation capable of dealing with a Mountainsea. Naturally, a Mountainsea can still break through the formation after a prolonged attack, but we're in the academy. The attacker will be detected by the academy not long after the attack. These formations are mainly there to prevent people from sneaking in. You will owe me 20,000 merit points in total. If you can't pay me back in three months, the Pure Source Art will be mine. Do you agree?"
"Sure."
This fellow was indeed rich. He had made quite a lot during their previous cooperation. And now, he was finally taking out the money he had made previously.
Zheng Yunhui said, "What about the rapid advancement method you mentioned earlier?"
"That's top secret for now. The research is in progress. We'll talk again after the research is done."
Zheng Yunhui was getting more and more tempted. He asked, "Can I join your research center as well? Don't worry. I won't spy on your secrets. I only want to help here and there..."
"Sure."
Su Yu agreed readily. He was naturally fine with that. With this fellow joining, he would be able to look for this fellow again the next time he was in need of money.
There was a saying that when one's debt reaches a certain level, one would no longer worry about it. And Su Yu was embracing that concept, going completely crazy in increasing the size of his debt.
He now owed Marquis Xia 300,000 merit points, Zheng Yunhui 20,000 merit points, and some other people such as Zhao Ming, Xia Huyou, and Wu Lan. He already owed a lot of money. Why would he care if he owed more people money?
Chapter 497: I Never Trick My Friends (3)
After dealing with both Wu Lan and Zheng Yunhui, Su Yu exhaled in relief.
It was all done.
A formation had been obtained, the information he required for his research center had also been obtained, and he had even found himself free laborers. His next priority was to look for suitable races and open their respective pages in his book. He could also start combing his book for suitable cultivation methods.
With more people, he was able to get more things done.
With more people, he would have access to more languages. And with that, he would know more about the various races, allowing him to be more specific on the pages he wanted to activate in his book.
He should also start making his plans for the Divine Skywing Sect's buried treasure. He was in a lot of debt, after all. He needed to get himself some money. Of course, he wouldn't go anywhere before reaching the Infinite Strength Realm. Thus, he would still remain in the academy for now.
He was walking while thinking. Suddenly, he overheard some whispering students again. The topic of their conversation was related to him.
He sneered inwardly. Xia Qing...Foreign Students Faculty.
How audacious.
Did they believe that he was a pushover?
He had ignored them once, but they were targeting him again and again?
After checking the time and noting that it was getting late, Su Yu started heading toward the Foreign Students Faculty. It was time for him to catch up with his dear friend, Xia Qing. That way, his future invitation to her to go out on a mission with him wouldn't seem too sudden.
...
Foreign Students Faculty.
With a cloak that covered his face, Su Yu finally found Xia Qing's residence after asking around.
When he arrived outside, he knocked on the door.
Xia Qing opened the door. The two old men were nowhere to be seen. Evidently, Xia Qing was aware that the visitor was Su Yu. She thought that Su Yu would be there to question her about her actions, but that didn't happen.
The moment the door was opened, Su Yu grumbled, "Princess Xia, you shouldn't have told everyone that we are friends. Sigh. Now that everyone knows about it, even visiting you has become a very troublesome task."
Xia Qing blanked out slightly before she apologized, "I'm sorry. I did not expect this as well. I had thought that the humans won't be so prejudiced against their allies. I'm really sorry, Student Su."
"Just call me Su Yu." Su Yu took off his cloak and smiled helplessly before asking, "Can we have a chat inside? I don't want anyone to see me here. Things have been very troublesome for me during the past few days."
"Please come in!"
Xia Qing hurriedly stepped aside, allowing Su Yu to enter. Su Yu glanced at the tail that she was hiding behind her before moving his gaze away. This was his first time looking at Xia Qing's face. She looked weak and delicate.
Naturally, Su Yu was completely unmoved by her delicate appearance. He never judged a person from the outside. After entering, he saw that the house was very luxurious. The environment inside was very good.
After inviting Su Yu to take a seat, Xia Qing was about to pour him a cup of tea when he stood up and said, "I'll do it myself, Princess. You're being too polite. I don't blame you. I understand why you did that. You were only trying to help me. But what was up with that Niu Zheng who had also challenged a single character faction student today?"
"I'm to blame for that." Xia Qing had a look of self-reproach as she said, "Previously, I told everyone that you are the only human who is kind to us. You treat us with no prejudice. I don't know if that was the reason, but eventually, Niu Zhen decided to fight for you as well. Su Yu, if you think that this is improper, I'll have a talk with him."
"It's fine." Su Yu sneered, "The academy is filled with fools. Everyone believes every single rumor they hear. If the human race views all foreign races with prejudice, can we still survive? Can we stand against the myriad races all by ourselves? Those shortsighted fools! We naturally need some allies on our side! Principal Wan is aware of that. I am aware of that as well! In fact, anyone with a brain understands this. We can't become enemies with every foreign race in existence."
Xia Qing hurriedly said, "Su Yu, thank you for your voice of confidence." Chapters fırst released on N()velFire.net
Su Yu smiled, "Don't worry, and don't misunderstand the human race because of what you see. Some people are fools, but the truly smart ones understand that Principal Wan is right. Just ignore the fools when they wag their tongues about.
"I'm here today to remind you to settle down for now. I will be fine, but you guys...will have a hard time after offending the single character faction."
Su Yu said, "The myriad race students are here to befriend the human race, not make enemies. In all honesty, I would be happy to see all the single character faction members dead. But that isn't something I can do. And I don't want to drag you guys into my troubles. Instead, you should befriend them. They are quite powerful in the academy and even the Human Realm as a whole. Offending them won't bring you any benefits."
Su Yu spoke in a self-mocking tone, "Fifty years ago, the multiple character faction was in power. But things are different now. I'm only telling you this because I consider you a friend. Otherwise, I would be more than happy to see you and the single character faction tear at each other. I am not a good person. If we are strangers, I will happily enjoy the show. But I can't do this. I always return any respect shown to me tenfold.
"Therefore, do not act on your emotions, Princess Qing. I really can't do much to help you guys. If required, you can always apologize to the single character faction. I won't blame you. I also won't stop being your friend just because of that. Do not ruin the plans of your race just for a friend of yours."
Xia Qing was quite surprised. With a gentle expression, she asked, "Brother Su, you mean that...I was wrong?"
"Of course not!" Looking at her pitiful expression, Su Yu hurriedly explained, "That's not what I meant. I am very grateful for what you did for me. But I am only telling you all this because we are friends. Otherwise, I wouldn't have bothered. I could have stepped forth and denied all involvement with you."
Su Yu smiled bitterly, "But...I was taught by my father that I should be ruthless toward enemies and sincere toward friends. Princess Qing, even if you don't care about your well-being, you need to think about your race. The cloud tiger race isn't too strong. This is the truth. You will have a hard time after offending the single character faction."
Xia Qing had a terrified expression as she said, "Will they start targeting us?"
"That's hard to say. Those people are absolute villains."
Su Yu clenched his teeth in anger as he said, "Princess Qing, you let go of your emotions and apologize to them."
Xia Qing hesitated and said, "How about you? Have I...brought you trouble?"
"Nope." Su Yu smiled, "This is a small issue. If even something like this can bring me trouble, then I won't be able to live this long. I have merely been too busy to deal with them."
"You're busy with the Source Soul Research Center?"
"You know that as well?"
"Yeah. Everyone is talking about that." Xia Qing smiled, "It's a pity that I'm an outsider. Otherwise, I could have helped you with it as well..."
"Forget about it." Su Yu shook his head, "We still can't recruit any outsiders. Princess Qing, I am a blunt person. Don't mind me. We're at the starting phase. If I recruit a foreign student into the research center, I will be in even more trouble."
"I understand. Don't worry, Brother Su. I am just feeling regret that I can't help you. Brother Su is one of the few genius humans willing to think for outsiders like us..."
Su Yu said, "In truth, most people know the truth as well. They are simply unwilling to make their stand. There is no need for you to get involved in this. If I really need your help, I won't hesitate to ask for it. We'll see. By the way, can I ask you something?"
Su Yu's tone turned awkward as he asked, "Can your dao protectors leave the academy?"
"Huh?"
Su Yu said, "I might need to take a trip outside the academy soon. But my teacher is not around, my grandteacher is in seclusion, and my martial uncle can't leave. To speak the truth, I don't even dare to leave the academy nowadays because I have too many enemies. But I have something urgent to deal with outside the academy. Princess Qing, if your dao protectors can leave the academy, can you consider having them escort me on this trip?"
Xia Qing's heart thumped.
"This...it should not be possible. The dao protectors are supposed to stay in the academy. They can only leave the academy if they're leaving with us."
"I see. Forget about it, then." Su Yu shook his head regretfully.
Xia Qing smiled, "Brother Su, have you encountered something troublesome? If you really need my help, I can go with you. That way, I can take my dao protectors along with us..."
"Forget it." Su Yu shook his head, "It's too dangerous outside the academy. The dao protectors are strong enough to not have to worry that much. But Princess Qing, I'm being honest here. If you leave and something bad happens to you, I won't be able to answer for it. Not only will this ruin humanity's relationship with the cloud tiger race, I also won't be able to forgive myself."
He stood up and said, "Princess Qing, this is all I have to say. Brothers and sisters of the myriad races, there is no need to worry about it. The human race definitely needs allies. All the smart ones understand this. A little bit of misunderstanding right now doesn't matter. It is only a matter of time before everyone understands you."
"Yeah." Xia Qing nodded her head heavily. When Su Yu stood up to leave, she said, "Brother Su, if you really encounter something difficult, don't hesitate to look for me."
"I'll think about it." Su Yu waved his hand, "I'll try to solve it myself first. I am not the type of person that would bring my friends trouble. If the dao protectors can leave independently, I will be grateful for the help. But since that's not possible, forget about it. I'll think of something else."
"Oh..."
Numerous thoughts appeared in Xia Qing's mind. Su Yu wanted to leave. Why? He even needed some experts to go with him? She wanted to ask more, but Su Yu was already leaving after putting his cloak back on.
After Su Yu left, two old men appeared behind her.
"Princess..." One of them asked with a soft voice, "What is...Su Yu trying to do?"
Xia Qing smiled, "It doesn't matter if he's faking this or not. It is clear that he doesn't wish to offend us. He's here to extend an olive branch, hoping that we will stop creating trouble for him."
The two old men nodded.
That wasn't Xia Qing's focus. With a frown, she said, "He's leaving the academy. He even needs the protection of some experts. What is he planning to do?"
"Princess, we can't leave. Neither Principal Wan nor the Great Xia would agree to that."
Xia Qing smiled, "Who says you can't leave? We are allowed to accept missions and leave the academy as well. Of course, we need to be in a team with at least one human to do so. At that time, you will be able to leave openly."
The two hurriedly said, "That won't do, Princess. Su Yu has too many enemies. It's too dangerous to go out with him. He wouldn't have tried to borrow some experts otherwise..."
"That's why I'm so curious." Xia Qing's eyes flickered as she said, "He knows it's dangerous, yet he insists on leaving. Isn't this curious? Grandpas, I am wondering if Su Yu has actually obtained an inheritance from a ruin. Just look at how fast he has been growing."
The other two were shocked by those words.
"He is probably in a rush to leave and receive the remaining part of the inheritance. However, it is too dangerous, so he wishes to solicit some help."
Xia Qing licked her lips, "Grandpas, isn't these ruins the reason why the myriad races are so interested in the Human Realm?"
Ruins!
Su Yu might be heading to one of these ruins!
Silence descended.
If that was really the case, then this could be a massive opportunity for them.
Chapter 498: Leaving Openly (1)
After walking out of the Foreign Students Faculty, Su Yu smiled.
The fish had taken the bait.
Dearest friend, be sure to leave the academy with me when you receive the invitation in the future.
"One Mountainsea and one Cloudbreach."
This was Su Yu's judgment after observing the changes of his Perception Jade. There should be two of them. And one was actually a Mountainsea.
The cloud tiger race wasn't strong. He heard that even the leader of the entire race was only a peak Mountainsea. But they had actually dispatched a Mountainsea to protect a princess. This was actually very generous. He had to ask around after this to know more about the cloud tigers.
"Xia Qing, Niu Zhen..."
Su Yu started wondering if he should invite Xia Qing alone or invite more foreign students with him? But he also needed to be careful lest he invite more people than he could handle. Or he could simply solicit the help of the beasts in his grandteacher's prison.
Mountainsea beasts!
But based on their previous talk, those fellows intended to leave after helping him once. He would naturally not agree to that. If they would only move once, he wouldn't use them against these foreign students, as that would be a waste.
He tossed the matter out of his mind for now. He would slowly reel Xia Qing in before planning his next move.
...
Source Soul Research Center.
It was late at night.
The research center had transformed completely. Instead of the empty and desolate building it was before, it was now filled with furniture and decorations. Couches, television, tea table, dining table...anything one could think of could be found there.
Initially, they didn't have enough furniture to decorate the whole research center when Wu Lan was the only one who had moved her stuff over. But subsequently, Wu Jia ran to the books depository and nearly emptied Chen Yong's residence before the research center was transformed into such a comfortable and warm place.
Food and drink were served on the dining table.
Su Yu stood up, raised his glass of wine, and said, "I am only a Mental Tempering Stage student. I thought that nobody would believe in my research. With how impoverished I am, I thought that nobody would be willing to work alongside me. But so many friends have actually supported me. I will not waste your time with a pointless speech. Thank you, everyone. It is true that only during hardships will you see who your true friends are."
Hu Qiusheng and the others raised their glasses as well. Xia Huyou smiled and said, "This is a good occasion. Also, since this is a research center started by Su Yu, I am optimistic about the future of this research center."
"May your words come true." Su Yu smiled, "I also hope that everyone can work hard together and produce some results as early as possible."
He looked at everyone and said, "The source soul acupoint is a very important research topic. And the acupoint is only a general direction of our research. To determine if this acupoint exists, we still need to overcome numerous difficulties."
"We are all cultivators. This dinner will be our opening feast. And after the feast, it is time for us to work hard." Su Yu smiled, "I will be looking forward to our celebratory feast. And I hope the celebratory feast won't be too far in the future. Alright, I'll stop wasting your time. Jiang Mu, Hu Qiusheng, Xia Huyou, Wu Jia, Zheng Yunhui, and me. There are seven of us. None of us is a Skysoar. Even Jiang Mu, the strongest among us, is only an eighth-stage Infinite Strength cultivator. I would like to stress that our cultivation is still very important despite our focus on research."
The others nodded.
Su Yu smiled, "Therefore, I will give everyone a little problem to solve. Our first project is to derive an auxiliary cultivation method that can assist with acupoint fusion. Consider this our opening act."
"..."
They all stared at him with stupefaction.
Holy shit!
Stop messing around!
He called that a little problem?
With a stunned expression, Xia Huyou asked, "You mean we should first derive a cultivation method that can help with acupoint fusion? A method that can reduce or remove the repelling force between acupoints?"
"Yeah."
"Su Yu..." Xia Huyou had a worried expression as he said, "Don't mess around. This is something even those big shots are researching. Simply put, this is a subject that is as difficult as the discovery of the source soul acupoint. And you're calling it our opening act?"
"Those big shots are amazing in terms of strength. But cultivation level has nothing to do with research." Su Yu calmly said, "My teacher is a research genius. I am a research genius as well. I'll be honest. The ability blood essence production method the multiple character faction has researched for many years is much more important than you know. The extraction of racial abilities, as you all know, is a part of our research."
The others nodded. They were aware of that.
With a flat tone, Su Yu said, "How idiotic. Since we are capable of extracting racial abilities, we can definitely derive the cultivation methods of those races. Even the Soul Devouring Art had been derived through the ability we extracted from blood essence."
Su Yu's body started shining, making him look like a sage.
Like a preacher, he said, "Right now, all of you are in charge of gathering any information you can related to acupoint fusion. I need a lot of information and cultivation methods for the research.
"I also need a batch of blood essence from different races for ability extraction. I might also need to extract some memories for these cultivation methods.
"The source soul acupoint will definitely be able to help a lot of people. But it might not be too helpful for us. But the acupoint fusion method will help us once created! In fact, it will remain helpful to us even at the Mountainsea Realm!"
Su Yu looked at the others and solemnly said, "I am confident that we can accomplish this. How about you guys? If you don't have the confidence, forget it. You can still withdraw now. I will return all the money you spent when joining. Get full chapters from novelFirｅ.net
"Including Teacher Zhao, the eight of us are the founders of the Source Soul Research Center. I hereby announce that all of you will be allowed unrestricted access to any good thing we manage to produce. Of course, you will still be required to keep what you know to yourself. If you can't agree to this, you may leave now."
Xia Huyou nodded, "That is reasonable. No researcher can accept having their hard work leaked. If something like that were allowed, all research centers would have shut down long ago. Research centers also need to make some profit."
That was normal. Nobody would release their research results for free unless it was research that had been sponsored by the government or some other parties.
Hu Qiusheng said, "Su Yu, are you sure this is our first project? In all honesty, the Human Realm has risen to power for many years. And a lot of people have attempted something similar before. Some have even managed to make some progress, but nobody has ever succeeded in coming up with a conclusive plan to solve the issue of acupoint fusion. If this is such a simple issue to solve, Infinite Strength cultivators wouldn't be so rare today."
Su Yu raised his hand and said, "Don't question it. In our research center, we are allowed to voice our opinions. But you are only allowed to voice your opinions while in the middle of a project. Do not question anything when we are deciding on a project. You can simply opt not to take part in that particular project if you disagree with it."
Su Yu looked at the group and said, "Anyone not interested in this project can exclude themselves and focus on a different project instead."
Wu Lan snorted, "Of course I'm joining. If you're incapable, you should shut up and stop trying to demoralize the others."
"..."
Hu Qiusheng was speechless. He really had to admire Su Yu for somehow managing to recruit this fellow. Just look at how spirited she was. Looking at her expression, he was sure that if anyone tried telling her she couldn't participate in this project now, she would fall out with that person.
Su Yu smiled, "If none of you wish to withdraw, this will officially be our next project. Xia Huyou will be in charge of providing the blood essence we need. Wu Lan, you're in charge of compiling and checking the various sources of information for what we need. Hu Qiusheng, you are in charge of the various relevant cultivation methods. It doesn't matter if those are human or myriad race cultivation methods.
"Jiang Mu, you are in charge of gathering some travelogs and memoirs. Some information might be excluded from the official records, but you can find this information in travelogs and memoirs."
"How about me?" Wu Jia asked.
Su Yu smiled, "Senior Sister, you will have to assist Wu Lan. Her task might be too heavy for one person to do."
Wu Jia seemed somewhat unwilling, but since this was her junior brother's request, she ultimately agreed. Wu Lan was overjoyed. Sure enough, she was the team leader here. Even Wu Jia needed to listen to her now.
Zheng Yunhui asked bashfully, "How about me?"
"You..." Su Yu smiled, "You have an easy job. Go pick fights. That's your favorite thing to do, right?"
"Pick fights?"
"Yeah."
"Pick fights with the single character faction?"
"No." Su Yu said, "Can you create some trouble for the foreign students in the top 100? Don't let them have an easy time. Sway public opinion and make things hard for them. That is very easy to do in Great Xia. Stroke everyone's hatred against them to the point that they would celebrate the deaths of those fellows."
"..."
Zheng Yunhui and the others blanked out. What was the point of that?
Su Yu smiled, "Why are you looking at me? Are you not good at this? In my opinion, you're exceptionally good at this. Don't look at me like this. You're doing this for the research center. The foreign students are troubling the leader of this research center. That is the same as troubling the research center. It will delay the progress of our research."
But the others continued staring at him. Wu Lan had an odd expression on her face as she wondered what Su Yu was trying to do.
Su Yu couldn't be bothered to explain more. He checked the time and said, "Get working. From today onward, you will work day and night. The faster we can produce this acupoint fusion method, the better it is. All of us will benefit from it."
The others looked at each other in dismay. This was their first day here, yet they already needed to start slaving away. How miserable.
Su Yu ignored their expressions. When they were done collecting and compiling all the information, it would be his turn to start experimenting one by one.
He casually tossed out a copy of the Pure Source Art and said, "All of you can consider cultivating this in your free time. Also, if we fail to produce a result in three months, the rights to this art will go to the Zheng Family. As the creator of this art, I naturally retain full rights to this art even after the Zheng Family obtains the rights for it. Zheng Yunhui, do you agree?"
Zheng Yunhui was overjoyed. He hurriedly answered, "Of course I agree."
That was a precious treasure. If the Zheng Family could get it, they would earn more than ten or twenty thousand merit points. Instead, they could generate wealth that would last generations with it.
Su Yu was completely unbothered. The Pure Source Art was merely a basic cultivation method. He had plenty of such cultivation methods. And it would also be good for it to be spread around. That way, he wouldn't look too conspicuous anymore as the sole cultivator of this method.
When Su Yu stood up to leave, Xia Huyou hurriedly asked, "Where are you going?"
They were all going to work. What about Su Yu?
"I'm busy. There is something I need to handle. Just do your job. Why are you questioning your leader?"
Since everyone was part of the same group now, he was no longer as polite when speaking to them. They should stop asking questions they shouldn't ask! They should learn to respect their leader!
Xia Huyou was feeling very gloomy. He was the prefect's son, not this fellow's son. This bastard was really treating him like a mere employee now.
...
After Su Yu left, Wu Lan spoke up in excitement, "Come on! Let's start working! We need to break through our first difficulty!"
"..."
The others were speechless. This fellow was so vigorous even when she was working for free. They couldn't help but admire Su Yu. After all, he had successfully found himself a group of free workers who needed to pay him instead of the other way around.
...
Su Yu was not idle when the others were working. He was conversing with someone through the voice transmission talisman.
"Zongji, have you found a mission to the Myriad Race Pit?"
"Yeah. But this is a bad mission." Hu Zongji replied, "A few days later, a researcher from the Pillmaking Faculty will be leading a group to the Myriad Race Pit. There, they will be extracting some death qi to refine some poisonous pills. The reward is not too attractive. You can only get three merit points for joining. For that much money, you will be required to look for corpses with dense death qi..."
"I thought we're not supposed to research human bodies?"
"He's not researching human bodies. He's only extracting death qi. That is allowed."
"I see..." Su Yu said, "Register my name for the mission...wait, scratch that. Wait for now."
Wouldn't his name be too attention-grabbing? But he had to go personally. Not everyone could extract blood essence from corpses, and even fewer people could extract memory fragments from blood essence. And that was something he had to do on the spot.
There would be checkpoints along the way, so he would not be able to bring anything forbidden out of the Myriad Race Pit. He tapped on his thigh as he sank into thought. There was no avoiding going there personally.
If he stayed low key, he might be able to hide his true goal there. But it would be better if he could find a good excuse to join the mission. If he joined the mission for a meager reward of three merit points, even a fool would know that he had a different goal.
"But apart from corpses, there is nothing in the Myriad Race Pit..."
After thinking about it, Su Yu headed toward the Missions Department. It wasn't feasible to accept this mission. Maybe he could issue a mission and lead his own team there instead.
Chapter 499: Leaving Openly (2)
Missions Department.
When Su Yu walked through the door, he saw that the main lobby was quite busy.
Teachers and students alike could be seen in the lobby.
The lobby had been split into different sections based on cultivation levels. Su Yu went straight to the Mental Tempering Stage section. There, he was instantly recognized. He even saw some intermediate class students. One of them called out, "Class Monitor!"
Su Yu looked over and smiled, "Chen Ming, you're here?"
A lot of people had noticed Su Yu. They were curious. Why was he here? There weren't a lot of missions for those at the Mental Tempering Stage. And for a genius like Su Yu, the minor missions here were simply not worth the time.
Chen Ming smiled and said, "I'm here to pick up a mission and earn some pocket money. Class Monitor, what are you doing here? You won't be able to find a suitable mission here."
Su Yu said, "I'm not here to pick up missions. I'm here to issue a mission. You know about my kill character, right? Recently, I keep having a feeling that the killing intent of the character is not strong enough. I need a suitable place to temper my character. I'm trying to figure out if there is a suitable location for that purpose..."
"The Devil Battling Field is perfect!"
"That's too expensive. I can't afford it. And my total earned merit has not reached 200 points anyway."
Someone else said, "In Great Xia, there aren't a lot of places to temper characters requiring killing intent. You either need a battlefield or a place with a lot of corpses..."
"Yeah!" Su Yu nodded. With a troubled expression, he said, "I'm looking for such a place. Chen Ming, I have been staying indoors to heal up for a while. Have you heard of a suitable place before?"
Chen Ming looked awkward. He did not know of such a place. Beside him, a different person said, "What a coincidence. I know of a place that is very suitable for what you need. Have you heard about the Myriad Race Pit?"
"What?"
"It's the place of execution for all cultists captured by Great Xia. With so many corpses there, that place is filled with killing intent and death qi..."
Su Yu asked in astonishment, "They left the corpses to rot after execution instead of burning them?"
"Yeah. Those corpses will be piled there to sow fear into the hearts of the other cultists."
Su Yu said in astonishment, "Isn't that...somewhat inhuman?" This update ıs available on novel[f]ire.net
The other student rolled his eyes and said, "Student Su, those are enemies. Traitors. Why should we be humane toward them? You are too kind. That's why there have been so many rumors about you recently...Everyone is saying that you're colluding with the myriad race students..."
That attracted even more attention.
Everyone was curious about what Su Yu had to say.
Su Yu frowned and nodded, "I understand, Senior Brother. I have heard the rumors, but I really don't feel like explaining myself. To speak the truth, I'm not the type of person to provoke others without being provoked first.
"Yes, I do know Xia Qing. When we stumbled upon each other in the past, she was very polite. I naturally had to return the politeness. Since she is living in the Human Realm, I believe that there is no harm in becoming her friend. If it's an enemy, such as a cultist, I won't hesitate to kill them."
"As for the matter of her fighting for me..." Su Yu laughed, "I don't know what happened. Whatever. I don't care. In any case, it's not like the single character faction is my friend. I don't know what they foreign students are trying to do. Maybe they are helping me sincerely. Maybe they are doing it out of malice. I will accept their gesture as a payment for teaching the single character faction a lesson."
The student sighed and said, "Junior Brother Su, you're too young. If you stay silent, everyone will take it as an admission of guilt. You might encounter more trouble in the future. A lot of the people in the military are against befriending the myriad races. You might be fine in the academy, but your life will be difficult when you join the army after graduation."
Su Yu said, "I don't intentionally pick fights with anyone. I honestly don't care about what others think of me. I have nothing to fear since I know that I haven't done anything wrong."
He moved on from the topic and asked, "Senior Brother, can you tell me more about the Myriad Race Pit?"
"Sure."
"..."
The senior was very cordial. He personally did not believe that Su Yu was a friend of the foreign students. It was more likely that they were trying to screw him over. Who would do something like this to their friend?
But Su Yu was still too naive. He actually believed that the foreign students did not harbor any malice toward him. As far as this senior student was concerned, the foreign students were clearly harboring ill intent toward him.
This Su Yu was simply too prideful. That was the issue with all these young geniuses. They wouldn't learn before suffering any losses.
After a short explanation, Su Yu exclaimed, "So there's actually such a place in Great Xia? That is indeed a good place to nurture some killing intent. Senior Brother Wang, what do I need to do if I want to visit that place?"
"It won't be hard. Just apply for it. As long as the academy agrees, you should be able to issue a mission for it. And when the academy approves, you will be able to enter that place. But generally, you need a minimum of three members before you are allowed to set out on a mission."
Su Yu nodded. After a thought, he said, "Chen Ming, Senior Brother Wang, will the two of you be available? Is it possible for the two of you to go with me? I'll...be paying each of you five merit points for this mission!
"I don't know a lot of people in the academy. And to speak the truth, if it's anyone else, I'm afraid that I would end up scammed. I am familiar with Chen Ming. And Senior Brother Wang has kindly told me about this place. If that isn't enough, I can pay more..."
When the other surrounding students heard that, their hearts thumped.
Fuck!
Five merit points? Was Su Yu stupid? If he was going to do something so stupid, he should have given them the same offer as well! In fact, they would even agree to a payment of three merit points! This would be an easy mission. They only needed to fill the headcount and take a trip with him.
Senior Brother Wang looked embarrassed as he said, "No, Junior Brother Su. That's too much. Generally, you only need to pay two or three merit points for such missions. You don't even need to leave the capital for it and there is no danger. In fact, you can even get someone to join with only one merit point. But you probably need to offer two merit points for people to enter a nasty environment like the Myriad Race Pit."
Su Yu smiled, "It's fine. I don't like to take advantage of others. Senior Brother Wang has been so generous with giving me information earlier. Without you, I wouldn't have found out about this place. This is actually saving a lot of my time."
Su Yu checked the time and said, "I doubt we can do it today. Let's make it tomorrow. What do you think about it? I'll issue the mission later. I only need two students, and each will be paid five merit points. It won't take long. We can return after I'm done nurturing my kill character."
Both Senior Brother Wang and Chen Ming felt embarrassed as the offer was too generous. But they did not reject it. That was five merit points! Since it was coming from a mission, it would even be added to their total earned merit!
All that for a short trip out of the academy. Su Yu was...truly a generous person!
Senior Brother Wang had complicated emotions. He had merely given Su Yu some advice out of pity. But Su Yu was indeed generous and magnanimous. It was unfortunate that he was too honest.
He should have immediately denied any involvement with the Foreign Students Faculty. If he allowed the rumors to keep flying around, his reputation would be ruined.
Su Yu was astonishingly talented in cultivation, but he was too easygoing about these matters.
Su Yu wasted no time and issued the mission immediately. He was charged one merit point by the academy for issuing a mission. He couldn't help but grumble inwardly about how greedy the academy was.
All in all, he would have to spend 11 merit points for this trip.
The two accepted the mission after it was issued. Sure, others could accept it as well, but it was clear that Su Yu only intended to accept the two of them. Thus, nobody would humiliate themselves and accept a mission where they were unwanted. They could only stand at the side with envy.
...
When all that was done, Su Yu said, "Let's meet outside the Source Soul Research Center tomorrow. We will leave in the morning and try to return before the night. Half a day should be enough for me."
He then increased the volume of his voice and said, "I am leaving to nurture my character. I will remain within the bounds of the capital. If anything happens to me, the single character faction is definitely the murderer. I hope the academy will punish the culprits when that happens."
"..."
A lot of people heard that.
Those from the single character faction felt like punching someone in the face.
Screw him!
Who had so much free time to think of killing him all the time? Did that fellow really think that the Xia Family was completely harmless? He wasn't even going to leave the capital. The Myriad Race Pit was located right within the capital. Sure, it was in the suburbs, but it was still within the city itself.
Who would take the risk of killing him in the capital? Only the cult would do something like that, and only the most suicidal of them. Su Yu did not care. He was intentionally creating a fuss. He didn't want to try too hard to hide his whereabouts as that would only make things more suspicious.
While walking out of the building, Su Yu said, "Tell Di Feng to piss off from the first place. Is he even worthy of that position? Just wait until I'm done nurturing my kill character. I will beat him up so badly he pisses his pants."
With that announcement, everyone knew that Su Yu was leaving to nurture his kill character in preparation for a fight with Di Feng.
Yes, Di Feng was the current first ranked student. After Zhan Hai's departure, Di Feng had challenged the second ranked student. But that student happened to be away from the academy, so Di Feng was able to win without a fight. With that, he ascended to first place.
As for Jiang Mu, he had not challenged anyone, so he remained in third place. The eyes of the single character faction students flickered. After Su Yu left, they rushed away as well. They were running over to notify Di Feng about this.
Su Yu was leaving for the Myriad Race Pit to nurture an exceptionally murderous kill character. If he was successful, such a character would be incomparably powerful with its dense baleful aura.
In a room.
Someone laughed and said, "Wang Zhishan, you sure got lucky. You were able to easily pick up a mission worth five merit points just from a random conversation. Remember to buy us a meal tonight."
Wang Zhishan grinned happily and said, "Sure! Su Yu is truly a generous person. I'll be honest. I only spoke to him because I couldn't stand by idly and watch while he was being slandered. Don't forget the incident where he lost over 8,000 times. All of us have benefited from that. But now, the Foreign Students Faculty are actually...hmph. Su Yu is the type of person who will be kind to everyone who is not an enemy. Do you really believe that Xia Qing is his friend?"
Chen Ming chimed in, "That's how Class Monitor Su is. If you don't provoke him, he will be very kind. The class monitor has merely shown the foreign students the same politeness he shows everyone. Those people are probably trying to destroy his reputation. It's either that or this is Xia Qing's stupid idea. In any case, I won't believe that Class Monitor Su is colluding with them."
After receiving some benefits from Su Yu, these two were working very hard to clean Su Yu's reputation. The others smiled and offered no retort.
What was the point of saying all this? Some people were too stubborn to change their minds, while others were deliberately pretending to believe the rumors for their own benefit. Explaining to these people was pointless. Eventually, they moved on to the topic of the Myriad Race Pit.
"The baleful qi at the Myriad Race Pit is too thick. Wang Zhishan, you guys need to be careful there. Don't let the baleful qi destabilize your sea of willpower."
"Will Su Yu challenge Di Feng after returning?"
"No idea. I don't think Di Feng is his match."
"Su Yu enjoys keeping to himself. He has only fought a few challenge matches so far, and each of those matches has been one where he was forced to fight..."
"By the way, the war academy fellows are coming next month. Are they going to provoke Su Yu? Of our new students, Su Yu is definitely not weak. Those fellows better not be stupid and provoke him."
"That's what I hope they do. That would make things interesting. The people from our academy have always been the ones to take a beating during these exchanges. If those war academy brutes dare to run their mouths this year, Su Yu will wipe the floor with them."
"..."
They talked about all sorts of topics. None of them were particularly concerned about Su Yu's visit to the Myriad Race Pit. After all, Su Yu didn't even know about the pit before this. Wang Zhishan was the one who had told him about that place. Nobody would suspect anything. And there was no denying that the pit was a good place to nurture a murderous character.
...
At the same time.
Di Feng had been notified of Su Yu's words. He snorted coldly.
"Myriad Race Pit...nurturing his character..."
Was Su Yu planning to challenge him after that?
Beside him, Huang Qifeng asked, "Senior Brother Di, should we stop him?"
"Why should we do that?" Di Feng coldly said, "I have been worried that he would keep running from me. Looks like he's really lacking confidence. He wouldn't dare to face me before increasing his strength. If we stop him and cause him to keep hiding, am I supposed to keep waiting for him?"
Zhou Pingsheng wouldn't allow him to advance before taking care of Su Yu. That was his mission. After defeating Su Yu, he would naturally be allowed to advance. Thus, Di Feng would be more than happy to see Su Yu challenge him.
"Let him go. Myriad Race pit...to nurture his killing intent? Does he think that I have never killed someone before?"
Di Feng snorted coldly. It wasn't like he hadn't killed anyone before. He had even killed a Skysoar before! Did Su Yu think that he could be dealt with using a tiny bit of killing intent? That fellow was underestimating him too much!
Huang Qifeng asked, "Senior Brother Di, is it possible that there's a ploy behind this trip of his?"
"..."
Di Feng looked at Huang Qifeng speechlessly.
Ploy his ass!
As a scheming rat, Huang Qifeng would naturally view everything with suspicion. That Su Yu was openly leaving to nurture his character. And he had only learned about the pit right before issuing the mission. How was that a ploy? Was this Huang Qifeng stupid?
He didn't even deign to give a reply. With Zheng Yuming's departure, he was the new leader of the younger generation. There was no need for him to show too much respect for Huang Qifeng.
Chapter 500: Subdue (1)
Late at night.
Source Soul Research Center. It was brightly lit.
In the data room, Wu Lan, Wu Jia, and Hu Qiusheng were busy going through one book after another.
They were extremely busy, but this was also very enjoyable. This felt very fulfilling. They were working hard together on a grand undertaking. Naturally, Wu Lan was probably the only person with that thought, but the others were working just as hard as her.
"I found one!" Wu Lan suddenly exclaimed in joy and said, "Senior Sister, note this down. According to this book, the celestial dragon race was born as Great Strength cultivators with 144 acupoints opened. It will take between six months to a year to fuse their acupoints and reach the Infinite Strength Realm. There must be a reason for them to finish fusing 144 acupoints so fast."
A yawning Wu Jia walked over to record it down. She was quite impressed. Wu Lan had been reading until now. Was she not tired? Wu Jia herself was so tired she felt like she was going to die. At this point, the mere sight of a book was enough to give her a strong desire to sleep.
"Celestial dragon race..." While recording the information, Wu Jia yawned. She said, "We already found 18 races with potentially useful cultivation methods. As for the human race, there are 37 potentially useful cultivation methods that can suppress the repelling force of acupoints. But there is no way for us to get the cultivation methods of the 18 races...We will need Junior Brother Hu's help with this."
Hu Qiusheng nodded before returning to his book. Thɪs chapter is updated by novel·fire·net
Suddenly, Jiang Mu said, "I remembered something! Record this down. I read from a book called the Myriad Realm Travel Notes. According to the book, the natural state of all living beings is the state of one acupoint. But after birth, that one acupoint would separate into numerous acupoints. Thus, the myriad races all pursue the act of fusing acupoints into one final acupoint. That is applicable for Sunmoons or even Invincibles."
He concluded, "According to this saying, these acupoints used to be one. But after separating from each other, they started repelling each other like magnets. That is the origin of the repelling force."
Wu Jia hurriedly recorded that and asked, "Does the book provide a way to remove that repelling force?"
Jiang Mu's words made a lot of sense. But at present, they simply did not have proof for anything. Natural state of one acupoint? Nobody could remember having one acupoint. And nobody had raised that speculation before. Perhaps only these random travelogs would mention such a speculation.
Jiang Mu tried to recall what he read and said, "I don't remember it too well. But...hmm...oh, the book also mentioned that since the acupoint has separated into so many acupoints that repelled each other akin to the two poles, we should look for the connecting point of the two poles..."
"What does that mean?"
Wu Jia was confused.
Hu Qiusheng wasn't confused. He said, "He meant that a single block has broken into pieces. So now, we need to find the corresponding piece before we can bring all the pieces back together..."
"I still don't understand."
Wu Jia muttered. At this time, Su Yu walked into the room. With a smile, he casually picked up a plank and broke it apart.
Then, he picked up two pieces that could be linked together and said, "It's basically the same as a jigsaw puzzle. Jiang Mu was basically saying that after the pieces separated from each other, you won't be able to solve the jigsaw puzzle by randomly putting the pieces together. Instead, the more pieces you put together, the harder it will be to complete the puzzle. You need to do things in order to slowly restore the original appearance of the puzzle. Only then can you restore the whole thing."
He then brought the broken pieces together before tossing the completed plank over to his senior sister.
He looked at Jiang Mu and said, "Jiang Mu, that is a very interesting speculation. It has given me a new idea related to the source soul acupoint. What if the one original acupoint has actually been broken into numerous acupoints and apertures? Would this source soul acupoint be the core of these broken pieces?"
Su Yu picked up another plank and grinded it into a circle. Then, he drew a red dot in the middle and said, "This is the core. Assume that this is the source soul acupoint we're looking for. One one side are the source acupoints and on the other side are the soul apertures.
"If both source acupoints and soul apertures are a part of this thing that has been separated into two poles, this source soul acupoint will be the connecting node, the core, and the key of the unification of all acupoints and apertures."
Hu Qiusheng's eyes lit up as he said, "Do you mean that in the future, this source soul acupoint might become the common path all cultural researchers and warriors take on their way to the Invincible Realm? Or to be precise, this is the path of unifying the two cultivation systems!"
Su Yu nodded, "That is possible. And if that is really true, a Sunmoon can first fuse all their acupoints into one and their apertures into one as well before finding the source soul acupoint. With the source soul acupoint, they can fuse the acupoint and aperture to step right into the Invincible Realm? At that point, perhaps the Invincibles will no longer be classified as warriors or cultural researchers."
The more Hu Qiusheng listened to this theory, the more believable it seemed to him. He said, "It is very possible that this is true. But we don't have a way to prove it. In fact, there are currently barely any cultivators around who have reached the Sunmoon Realm in both willpower and physical cultivation. Thus, nobody can prove this theory for us."
Su Yu smiled, "There is no rush."
It was still too early to worry about that.
Su Yu moved on from the topic and said, "Record all these discoveries and our discussion as well and seal the records. These will be our top secret records. Forget about the source soul acupoint for now. How's the progress with the acupoint fusion method?"
Wu Jia handed over the things she had recorded. After taking a look, Su Yu could only admit that numbers could also be a form of strength. That was impressive! In a single night, they had discovered so many races and cultivation methods that might help with acupoint fusion.
After thinking for a bit, Su Yu looked around and asked, "Where's Xia Huyou?"
"He was sleepy so he went to bed."
Wu Jia sounded somewhat resentful when she said that. Inwardly, she was grumbling that the fatty was too lazy. No wonder that fellow was so fat.
Su Yu smiled and called Xia Huyou with his communicator instead of using the voice transmission talisman.
A helpless voice rang out, "It's so late. Why are you not sleeping?"
"I have a list for you. Buy the blood essence of all the races on the list tomorrow. I don't need the blood essence to be at a high level. Great Strength or Infinite Strength blood essence will be acceptable."
"Will this be expensive?"
"I don't know. You can check the list to get an idea of the value."
Su Yu was telling the truth. He did not know the price for all the blood essence he wanted, but he was sure that it wouldn't be cheap. After all, even the celestial dragon race was on the list. That was a top 100 race. Or to be precise, that was a top 10 race. The dragon race was merely a collective way to address a group of draconic races. And as a whole, the dragon race was a top 10 race.
Meanwhile, the celestial dragon race was one of the three strongest sub-races in the dragon race. This was an extremely powerful race.
Su Yu wasn't even sure if they would be able to get some celestial dragon blood essence. In any case, he had never consumed the blood essence of this race before. And he couldn't recall if he had ever been killed by this race in his dreams before.
He already had the pages of some of the races on the list open. But due to a lack of blood essence, he had yet to activate their abilities. Thus, he still needed more blood essence. Additionally, he also needed to work on deciphering the pages he had activated.
After ending the call, he said to the others, "Everyone, check the racial abilities and cultivation methods of these races for me..."
He then complained, "It has been so many years. Why has nobody in the academy created a translating device that can translate the languages of the myriad races?"
If there was something like that, he would be able to easily find out more about the racial abilities and cultivation methods on the pages he had activated.
"For something unrelated to willpower or characters, you need someone from a scientific research academy to do it." Hu Qiusheng explained, "Our academy will generally not bother with the production of these devices. That is an entirely different field."
Su Yu grumbled, "But isn't a translating device something we need? There are so many races and languages out there. Are we supposed to rely on those old, pedantic scholars each time we need something translated?"
"Not really." Hu Qiusheng explained, "In truth, our academy simply doesn't view this matter with that much importance. According to the higher ups, it is better for cultivators to master those languages themselves. That will help with the learning process when one is cultivating the methods and techniques of those races. Relying on a translating device will not be the same as truly knowing the language. Some words will change in meaning after translation."
"When it comes to cultivation, inaccurate translation can be very dangerous. A single mistake might result in a massive error during cultivation."
Su Yu could understand that. Cultivating was very different from any other task. A slight mistake might result in the loss of lives.
In that case, it wasn't that the academy was too lazy to create such a device. Rather, they had their own considerations and worries about the accuracy of such automatic translation devices.
But Su Yu continued complaining, "Even if they don't translate cultivation methods, they can still have a translating device for some basic, everyday words, right? That shouldn't cause too big of an issue even if there is a translation mistake. For these everyday words, we only need to get the general gist of what the words mean. Is there something like that out there?"
"I think so?" Hu Qiusheng was unsure.
Jiang Mu answered, "Yes, there are. Do you need one? I can get one for you."
"That would be great!"
Su Yu was overjoyed. Was there really something like that out there? Awesome! A device like that would make things easier for him. At the very least, he would be able to translate the words on the pages he had activated.
As for the pages he had yet to open, well, there wasn't anything he could do about them for now. Once again, he was full of praise for the power of quantity. Just look at how a solution was offered right after he voiced a problem.
If he was working alone, just how long would it take for him to derive the cultivation methods he needed?
"Everyone has worked hard. You should take a rest now and continue tomorrow."
Wu Jia was relieved to hear that, but Wu Lan was unhappy. "Look at the time! The Breakthrough Team is in charge of blazing through difficulties. Are we supposed to bow to a small obstacle like sleep? Continue!"
"..."
Silence descended.