Chapter 35 - 35

Chapter 527: Ruckus (2)

While news regarding the cultivation method was being spread everywhere.

Heart Cultivating Pavilion. A new meeting between all the elders was being held.

Elder Sun slammed his palm onto the table in fury and said, "Has Su Yu forgotten that he has obtained this research center from the academy? He should have reported his research results to the faculty and the academy first. He shouldn't have sold it privately, even if the buyer is the Xia Family! According to the rules, the academy should enjoy the right of first refusal. We are not trying to steal his research results. But he has indeed broken the rules." For origınal chapters go to novel fire.net

A few elders nodded upon hearing that. They were not picking a fight for no reason. This was indeed the academy rules.

After all, one had received the research center from the academy. And one was still a member of the academy. It was reasonable that the academy should get the priority to purchase any research results instead of outsiders, even if the outsider was the Xia Family.

This was why Elder Sun was furious. Of course, he was also furious due to the impact of this cultivation method on Su Yu's reputation. Even the multiple character faction might rise again due to this.

Prior to this, Su Yu's reputation had actually been partially destroyed. He was known as a student who was consorting with the myriad races. But with this cultivation method, none of that mattered anymore.

That was especially true for those from the war academies. For now, they had yet to witness the result of cultivating this method. The moment they saw the result, Su Yu would turn into a living legend for many warriors.

The single character faction's plan to destroy his reputation had completely failed.

These days, Su Yu had remained completely silent, providing no explanation regarding the scandal involving him and the myriad races. Elder Sun had been very happy to see that, believing that they had successfully suppressed Su Yu.

But in the blink of an eye, Su Yu had turned into a model cultural researcher. If this continued, the multiple character faction might really rise from the dead.

Looking at Wan Tiansheng, Elder Sun solemnly said, "I know that everyone is currently praising Su Yu for his incredible talent. He is a rising star in the field of research. But rules are rules. Principal, you need to be fair."

Wan Tiansheng nodded. He was about to speak when someone else said, "Old Sun, why are you so agitated? In the future, be sure to read the rules properly before you cry about something. According to the academy rules, the first priority will go to the members of the research center, not the academy. And Xia Huyou is a member of that research center. There is no point in trying to hide this anymore, right? Xia Huyou is the son of Prefect Xia. He represents the Xia Family.

"Su Yu had given the Xia Family the first offer to purchase his research result. And the Xia Family had purchased it. No rules were broken in the process."

Elder Qi grinned and continued, "Even if the cultivation method was sold to the Wu Family, the Zheng Family, or the Hu Family, it would still be within the rules. The members of the research center have a higher level of priority than the academy itself. I hope you can understand this."

Elder Sun's face turned stiff, but he recovered immediately and said, "Xia Huyou and the others do not hold any ownership over the research center."

"You're wrong." Elder Qi said, "Su Yu's starting fund and resources had all been provided by these people. Hong Tan's debt of 300,000 had been transferred to Su Yu after he was made the leader of the multiple character faction. He is basically a faction master at this point. Although that faction doesn't exist officially anymore, he has still taken on the debt. Since those people are the investors, they are basically the co-owners. You can't deny that. Thus, no rules have been broken.

"Old Sun, stop being so selfish all the time. As a Mountainsea, you keep picking fights with a student. Are you not embarrassed? If you're unhappy about something, go look for Hong Tan. Su Yu probably knows the academy rules better than you. Without any confidence, would he do something like this? What a clown."

Elder Qi continued, "Why don't you ask Vice Principal Xia. Is there anything wrong with selling it to the Xia Family?"

"..."

Xia Changqing was somewhat speechless. Asking him about it?

Fuck!

What in the world should he say?

Should he say that it was wrong?

That would only pit him against Marquis Xia. That cousin of his was a very troublesome individual. But if he agreed with Elder Qi, he would end up slapping Elder Sun's face.

A different person said with a smile, "Elder Sun, stop causing trouble. Currently, Su Yu allows even those from the single character faction to learn this method. If you provoke him too much, he could place a ban on the single character faction. And you would take the full blame. Don't forget that learning a cultivation method without permission is against the law. Are you so sure that nobody from your single character faction is interested in learning it?"

The moment that was said, the expressions of a few elders changed. Elder Sun furiously said, "How can this be so? Using his authority over a cultivation method to control what the other students can do? Is he intending to revolt?"

"..."

Nobody said anything. Some sneered. Some looked at him coldly.

After a while, Wan Tiansheng said, "Don't put it like that. The cultivation method is his. Even if the Xia Family has purchased the rights to the cultivation method, as the creator, he still has some say. If he places a ban on the single character faction, you can denounce or hate him, but you don't have the authority to stop him from doing what he wants with the cultivation method.

"Sun Xiang, stop creating enemies for your single character faction. Do you really want to make things even more difficult for your faction? Don't forget that the single character faction is spread across the various prefectures. If you cause a ban, the other branches would target their hatred to both Su Yu and you. Are you sure you want to take the blame? Maybe their hatred toward you might even surpass their hatred toward Su Yu."

Elder Sun's expression changed. That was true. If a ban was really placed, he might receive more blame than Su Yu. Their branch of single character faction might turn into a pariah of all the other single character faction branches.

Wan Tiansheng declared, "This matter ends here. If you had allocated even a tiny bit of starting funds to Su Yu when he first started the research center, we would have been able to obtain some rights over that cultivation method. But all of you know what happened. The only thing Su Yu received from the academy was the empty shell of a research center. Something like that has no value. He could easily move out of it if we try to push him. Do you think he would have a hard time looking for a new host now? Are you trying to force their research center out of the academy?"

Yu Hong was still unhappy. She said, "Principal, the academy has not received any benefit whatsoever from the dissemination of this cultivation method..."

Wan Tiansheng glanced at her and indifferently said, "You're letting your feelings cloud your judgment. His research has improved the academy's reputation. Also, that cultivation method is also being taught in the academy. These are the benefits we have received. This has benefited not only the academy but Great Xia and the entirety of Human Realm as well. Just because something has not benefited the single character faction does not mean that it hasn't benefited the academy. Don't assume that the single character faction represents the entire academy."

He looked at the other elders and calmly said, "What do all of you think?"

Elder Qi smiled and said, "The principal is right."

"Yeah. The dissemination of this cultivation method has benefited everyone. That would naturally benefit the academy as well. The more famous the Source Soul Research Center becomes, the more famous our academy will become."

Yu Hong and Elder Sun exchanged glances before shutting their mouths. If they kept arguing, they would really isolate the single character faction from the other upper echelons of the academy. They might even end up offending the Xia Family.

They had intended to use this as an excuse to rope in some elders and suppress Su Yu. But the public opinion had changed. This was a dangerous signal.

Elder Sun previously believed that since Su Yu had sold the cultivation method to the Xia Family, everyone in the academy would agree to hold him accountable. But Elder Qi had spoken for Su Yu. Even Wan Tiansheng seemed somewhat biased.

At this point, it was useless to say anything else. They could only blame themselves for refusing to allocate Su Yu's research center any startup funding. This was actually very rare. Most research centers would receive a certain amount of support upon their founding.

But Su Yu had received nothing. They should have allocated him something. Even if he refused, they could have forcefully transferred some money to him. He would have no way of refusing that. If he refused that, it would only serve as proof that he had been planning to go behind the academy all along.

But since they had not approved any startup funding for him, they could say none of that. Elder Sun and the others stopped arguing. They would only invite more hostility that way.

Even though they could move on from the topic, Elder Sun still had a different issue to raise. He said, "As for Su Yu's application to become a full researcher, I believe that we need to consider it carefully. Yes, he has produced the acupoint fusion method. But how do we know that this is really his work? It has been less than 10 days. I believe all of you are suspicious about that..."

He would not allow Su Yu to become a researcher. If that happened, the multiple character faction's reputation would improve. Additionally, Su Yu would be able to start taking students under his wing after his promotion.

Perhaps before long, they would be able to gain more than 10 members and restart their faction. That would render everything the single character faction had done to deregister them into a joke.

"We'll talk about this again at the end of the year."

Wan Tiansheng did not care about that topic. He said, "The Talent Fostering Bureau would also be involved in the approval. You don't need to worry about this, Elder Sun. You should worry about your own business first."

Wan Tiansheng's attitude seemed rather abnormal today. Elder Sun frowned. In the past, Wan Tiansheng would not involve himself in these internal conflicts. But today, the principal had shut him down several times.

"Principal..."

"This meeting ends here." Wan Tiansheng impatiently said, "You guys have been calling for meetings again and again for something insignificant. For some matters concerning some students, a bunch of Mountainseas have repeatedly wasted everyone's time. For these meetings, some people have to leave seclusion while some have to put their research on pause. All that for the sake of discussing these trivial matters?

"Sun Xiang, Yu Hong, if the two of you have so much free time, use it to teach your students properly. Nothing is a stronger statement than actually producing several outstanding students of your own. That way, you wouldn't need to personally deal with some students again and again anymore."

For Mountainseas to personally get involved in a fight between students was indeed embarrassing. Elder Sun and the others sank into silence. Inwardly, they were cursing. If their students could compete against Su Yu, would they still need to do all this? The issue was that their students weren't Su Yu's match.

...

The meeting ended.

Elder Sun and company left silently.

While walking, Elder Sun said, "If this continues, all our hard work from before will go to waste."

The other elders had nothing to say.

Elder Sun said, "At the top, we can't suppress Hong Tan. At the middle, we can't suppress Chen Yong and Bai Feng. And now, we can't even touch Su Yu and Wu Jia anymore. So what if we have more people? With only a few people, they are turning us into clowns. What can we even achieve in the future with such a terrible performance?"

They didn't know what to feel.

"Old Zhou was absent from the meeting."

Elder Sun asked, "What is he thinking?"

Yu Hong said, "He has entered seclusion to break through into the Sunmoon Realm. If he really manages to break through, it would benefit us as well."

"Hong Tan is also in seclusion. We have to take this seriously. If Hong Tan manages to break through while Old Zhou fails, they will gain an advantage over us. Thus, we have to deal with Su Yu ourselves."

Zhou Mingren's seclusion was a good thing for them. At the very least, he had to remain in the same realm as Hong Tan. Otherwise, things would be even more troublesome after Hong Tan ended his seclusion.

Elder Sun sighed and started using voice transmission, "We need to deal with Su Yu. Since we can't make a move ourselves, let's make use of the Foreign Students Faculty instead. It would be even better if they could end him once and for all. Tell them to think of a way to solve this issue. For those weak races, they won't be able to become the allies of humanity without paying a price. If they complete the job, we can introduce some single character faction Sunmoons to them."

The human race was a powerful race. In the eyes of Elder Sun and the others, those weak races weren't even qualified to become their allies.

Some of these races were only led by Mountainseas. The single character faction could eliminate a few of these races just by themselves. That was referring to the single character faction of only Great Xia.

Both Yu Hong and Elder Li remained silent.

They walked in silence. They had been suppressing the multiple character faction for so many years. But because of Su Yu, almost all their previous efforts had gone to waste. They were finding it hard to accept this.

Chapter 528: Changes in the Academy (1)

Source Qi Secret Grotto.

Near the Skysoar Zone.

Su Yu had finished opening all the acupoints required by the acupoint fusion method and was in the middle of fusing acupoints.

Three days had passed.

He finally completed the fusion he had started previously. His body shook as 16 acupoints fully fused together. The completion of this fusion signified that he had achieved a perfect advancement into the Infinite Strength Realm.

The fused acupoint shone brightly. His vitality surged, his bones cracked, and his source qi erupted. His vitality and source qi coursed through his body like a raging river and cleansed his entire body.

Infinite Strength Realm!

It was the 20th of November.

Less than 4 months after joining the academy, Su Yu had stepped into the Infinite Strength Realm by fusing 16 acupoints. He threw a punch.

Rumble!

After fusing his acupoints, his offensive force had increased significantly. His physical body and vitality had grown stronger than before.

"I've reached the Infinite Strength Realm!"

Su Yu exhaled.

This single fused acupoint was as strong as 40 basic acupoints of a regular Great Strength cultivator. Thus, he was unleashing the power of 40 acupoints with only 16 acupoints. The fusion had more than doubled the might of his acupoints.

Even someone who had fused only 10 basic acupoints would be able to unleash the prowess of 20 basic acupoints. This advancement had increased Su Yu's offensive strength greatly. He had advanced as a true Infinite Strength cultivator.

Someone cultivating a heaven-grade cultivation method was able to contend against someone cultivating an earth-grade cultivation method who was three stages higher.

And someone cultivating an earth-grade cultivation method was able to contend against a profound-grade method cultivator who was three stages higher. This was the same for the cultivators of a profound-grade method and a yellow-grade method.

In other words, Su Yu was now strong enough to defeat his father even if his father was nine stages above him. And that was only considering his cultivation method, ignoring his techniques and willpower. In reality, Su Yu was much stronger than even some warriors who had cultivated heaven-grade cultivation methods. He also had a lot more tricks up his sleeve.

"Even if Dad manages to reach the Skysoar Realm, he wouldn't be my match. Without using my willpower, I'm about as strong as a third or fourth-stage Skysoar."

This was the difference between a genius and an ordinary person. The gap between them would be very big despite having the same cultivation level.

And Su Yu was a genius among geniuses. Someone like Xia Huyou who similarly cultivated the top-tier Sky Sundering Saber would not be Su Yu's match if he did not have too many tricks up his sleeve. But Su Yu believed that as the son of the prefect, Xia Huyou would definitely have some trump cards.

A majority of the geniuses in the academy cultivated earth-grade cultivation methods. As for the regular students, most cultivated profound-grade cultivation methods. Su Yu could probably defeat a regular student six stages above him in cultivation. Due to the sheer number of acupoints he had opened, his combat strength was quite impressive. As for someone like Zhou Hao, he was basically the perfect example of a genius warrior.

"Infinite Strength..."

Su Yu focused on his own body. His body had grown stronger, but he was still someone with a body of flesh and blood. Nevertheless, he could feel a new addition to his body: a natural layer of protective membrane.

This was the Infinite Strength Realm.

A realm where one would gain a massive increase in strength.

At the Skysoar Realm, one would continue strengthening one's body for future cultivation. At the Cloudbreach Realm, one would start transforming one's source qi. Like the tiers of willpower, source qi could also be classified into different tiers. After the nine transformations, one would step into the Mountainsea Realm, gaining an even bigger increase in strength.

"Time to fuse more acupoints!"

Su Yu had opened 318 acupoints in total. He was in no rush to open more. For now, he was focused on fusing more acupoints. It would be even better if he could fuse 144 basic acupoints into 9 fused acupoints and enter the ninth-stage Infinite Strength Realm.

If he could do so, with only 144 acupoints, he would be able to unleash the strength of 360 acupoints. And including the further boost his cultivation method would give him, he could even unleash the strength of over 400 acupoints. That was the offensive strength of having a proper cultivation method.

Su Yu had other acupoints as well, but he wasn't able to utilize the strength of all those acupoints at the same time due to the lack of a cultivation method that could utilize all of them.

Nevertheless, with the prowess of 400 acupoints, if he was faced with a Skysoar without an impressive cultivation method, he could even skip an entire realm and defeat that opponent.

In other words, at the ninth-stage Infinite Strength Realm, he would be able to defeat a ninth-stage Skysoar cultivating only a yellow-grade method. This was the perfect example of the gap between a genius and a regular cultivator.

"Sigh. My dad sure is pitiful."

Once again, Su Yu lamented the terrible cultivation method his father was cultivating.

Top-tier yellow-grade cultivation method.

Even at the Skysoar Realm, his father would probably be defeated by him with one punch—cough, cough.

The difference between levels of cultivation method would be clearer the higher one's cultivation level was. Fortunately, he had not advanced with an earth-grade method. Otherwise, it would probably be much harder for him to take care of the other geniuses.

"Even at my current level, I'm already as strong as a regular SKysoar."

Su Yu was able to accurately judge the level of his strength. This was thanks to his experience killing the third-stage Skysoar from the Zhang Family. He continued fusing acupoints while thinking. He was planning his future path of cultivation. Regardless of his path, certain things were paramount: enough strength and a good backer. But he required time to acquire all that.

"I'm afraid the single character faction won't be able to stay patient anymore."

In their position, he would probably fail to stay patient as well. They had suppressed the multiple character faction for many years only for someone like Su Yu to appear and ruin their plans. It would be even weirder if they could stay calm.

"Most of the people in the single character faction are parasites. But Great Xia and Principal Xia can't find the determination to remove them. Perhaps they are still hopeful that these people can be brought back to the right path. But as far as I'm concerned, these people are hopeless."

He didn't know what Wan Tiansheng and the Xia Family were thinking exactly. Maybe they weren't willing to lose the strength of several Mountainseas. Or maybe they were worried about the counterattack of the entire single character faction of the Human Realm.

But in Su Yu's mind, these people were parasites.

One's perspective would differ based on one's position.

And this was Su Yu's perspective, especially now that he had a true trump card: Bai Feng's disassembly method.

That was an ultimate trump card that could instantly grant him victory. It would be much more effective than any new cultivation methods and techniques Su Yu could produce. With the disassembly method, one would be able to disassemble his character technique and freely fill their characters into the disassemble technique. Something like this was actually much more useful than a few new cultivation methods and techniques.

New cultivation methods might be helpful for newer cultivators. But for a lot of veteran cultivators, new cultivation methods wouldn't be as helpful as the disassembly method as they already had their own cultivation methods.

Su Yu was confident that if the disassembly method was really disseminated, the multiple character faction would instantly rise to the top again.

"Teacher is the true research genius. What a pity..."

What a pity that the academy had not noticed his teacher's genius. Great Xia's government seemed to have noticed. For example, people like Ji Hong had tried to recruit Bai Feng. Bai Feng was the one who had rejected the offer.

Su Yu was contemplating the correct timing to utilize this ultimate trump card.

"After eliminating some of my enemies, when some people start protesting and claiming that I am weakening the overall strength of humanity...This would be the perfect timing to release the disassembly method."

According to his estimation, right after killing some of his enemies, he would be criticized by a lot of people. At that time, the disassembly method would shut their mouths.

"But I need time and strength."

Su Yu did not care about the thoughts of Wan Tiansheng and the others. These people had their own plans, but Su Yu had his own plans as well.

"My only fear is...that Invincible personally making a move against me."

Su Yu frowned. He sighed. The only thing the multiple character faction lacked was their very own Invincible. Things wouldn't have been so difficult otherwise.

For now, he was still incapable of attracting that traitor's attention. But if he started eliminating the single character faction, he might be subjected to that person's attack. Even some myriad race experts would start trying to get him killed out of fear for his future threat.

According to Wan Tiansheng, the multiple character faction might be the key to producing a true human cultural researcher Invincible. And such a person could be the key to activating the Human Realm's suppressive force. And that wasn't something the myriad races could tolerate.

"This is so troublesome."

Su Yu knew that he could actually ignore all these matters. He was not the only person in the multiple character faction. But he was more than willing to reduce the pressure Liu Wenyan and the others were shouldering. This update ıs available on novęlfire.net

After a while, he tossed all those thoughts out of his mind and focused on his cultivation.

Even his previous plan of challenging the top 100 had been put aside.

Di Feng could keep waiting for a while.

Su Yu knew what Di Feng was planning by refusing to break through. Or to be precise, it was Zhou Pingsheng's plan. Thus, Su Yu was more than happy to let Di Feng wait longer. Di Feng was probably waiting impatiently for his challenge.

...

Day after day passed.

Slowly, the end of November arrived.

Top 100 Ranking.

Challenges would stop on the 25th of each month.

On the 25th of November, the challengers were getting some final matches in. After that day, challenges would stop until the next month. This year, the ranking had changed drastically with the appearance of the new students.

Standing in the ring was Zheng Yunhui, who had reached the Infinite Strength Realm. He had not switched his cultivation method. Rather, he cultivated the best version of the acupoint fusion method before stepping into the Infinite Strength Realm after fusing 12 acupoints.

With a punch, his vitality surged and his source qi erupted, sending an older student flying out of the ring. Shock spread through the crowd around the ring.

Yes, he was strong. But there was one issue. This was the Top 100 Ranking, not the Infinite Strength Ranking of the war academy. This Zheng Yunhui was totally a barbarian from a war academy. He had been fighting with his physical strength in every match. Thus, a lot of people were unwilling to accept his victory.

Zheng Yunhui naturally did not care about all that. He smiled and said, "It sure feels good to grow so quickly. I'm already in the 79th place."

Yes. He was now a top 80 student.

For a new student, this was an incredible achievement.

Zhao Ming was not interested in entertaining Zheng Yunhui. He said, "Get off the ring if you're not fighting anymore."

This was the 25th. The challenge ring would be very busy today. He did not have the time to entertain this fellow. Zheng Yunhui left the ring with a happy smile on his face. Reaching the 79th place was enough for him.

"Next."

With Zhao Ming's announcement, Zhou Hao leaped into the ring. Without looking at anyone, he spoke in a stuffy tone, "91st."

A lot of people were alarmed to see Zhou Hao. This was his second time on this ring. He had not entered the top 100 ring after the beatdown he received from Su Yu. Today, he was here again. And a lot of people here had witnessed his fight against Zhan Hai previously.

He was very strong. They reckoned that nobody below the top 30 would be his match. The student ranked 91st knew that he wouldn't be Zhou Hao's match, but he still intended to try fighting.

Right after Zhao Ming announced the start of the match.

Like a ferocious tiger, Zhou Hao pounced forward. His vitality burst out, suppressing the characters and willpower of his opponent.

Boom!

With one punch, the student ranked 91st flew out of the ring before landing on the ground with broken ribs.

Too strong.

Zhou Hao wasted no time and said, "81st."

An uproar erupted from the crowd. This guy was clearly here to sweep through the ranking. Sure, this was a frequent occurrence during the end of each month. But it somehow felt different when the person doing so was Zhou Hao. It felt a lot scarier.

He had easily defeated the 91st ranked student with one punch.

Silence descended.

Zhou Hao frowned and said, "If the student isn't here, I'll be challenging the 82nd ranked student."

...

"Not here as well? Student ranked 83rd."

"..."

Finally, someone lost his temper and leaped into the ring with a snort.

"Zhou Hao, you're only a—"

"Referee, can we start?"

Zhou Hao ignored his opponent. He was uninterested in any conversation. He only wanted to fight more matches and earn some money. He wasn't as good at earning money as Su Yu. He only knew that the higher he could climb, the more merit points he could get.

"Start!"

The same scene repeated itself. Zhou Hao relied only on his powerful vitality and source qi that could crush anything. After all, his willpower was too weak to be relied on. With one punch, his opponent flew out and collapsed on the ground.

Yet another easy victory.

Zhou Hao continued his climb. After seven consecutive victories, he reached the 31st place. Satisfied, he left the ring.

Seven matches.

Seven victories.

The previous 31st ranked student had received 13 continuous punches from Zhou Hao before he was sent flying away with broken ribs.

Chapter 529: Changes in the Academy (2)

Among the crowd.

Wan Mingze and a few students were standing together with complicated expressions.

Looking at Hu Qiusheng, Wan Mingze said, "He has advanced with the Thousand Mountain Art. This is already a ferocious cultivation method. Coupled with his viciousness, nobody below the ninth-stage Infinite Strength Realm can put up a fight against him."

Hu Qiusheng merely smiled. Wan Mingze asked, "So have you learned Su Yu's fusion method?"

"Yeah."

"How is it?"

"Not bad."

Hu Qiusheng asked, "How about you? Mingze, some of the things you want to do require reputation and followers. It's pointless for you to keep hiding yourself. If you continue this way, do you think you will be able to gain followers and supporters who will walk alongside you when you try to achieve that unattainable goal?"

"When I first entered the academy, I thought that our batch would probably produce only a few top 100 students. But...it seems like this batch is going to flip the sky itself over."

This batch was too crazy. A lot of them were actually capable of entering the top 100 already. Some were merely still concealing themselves. For example, he had no idea how strong Xia Huyou was exactly.

If Wan Mingze continued acting like this, he would not be able to gain the support he required. Regardless of whether it was a war academy or a cultural research academy, the students and teachers would only support and follow the strong. Sure, one's family would be helpful, but it honestly wasn't that useful either.

If family alone could decide everything, all the students would have fallen under Xia Chan's influence by now. After all, the Xia Family was stronger than the Wan Family.

At that thought, Hu Qiusheng's eyes flickered as he said, "Xia Chan is probably going to enter the Infinite Strength Realm soon."

Xia Chan had been at the ninth-stage Great Strength Realm for quite a while. And she had disappeared since a few days ago. She had probably obtained the best version of the acupoint fusion method. According to the Xia Family's agreement with Su Yu, those from the main branch were allowed to learn this method.

Hu Qiusheng looked at Wan Mingze and said, "Mingze, previously, everyone believed in you because of your strength. But you have not been showcasing more of your strength. If this continues, even those who have been believing in you might start wavering."

Wan Mingze was ranked 86th in the top 100. It wasn't a low rank, but it wasn't high either. In the previous years, this would be sufficient. After all, very few new students could even enter the top 100.

But this was clearly not enough for the new students of the latest batch. The opening of the Willpower Grotto had also benefited some new students. People like Su Meng, Wu Lan, Zhang Hao, and Lin Yao had all entered the grotto. Even someone like Lin Yao was growing rapidly after entering the grotto.

The new students were growing stronger and stronger. Hu Qiusheng suspected that during the next month, dozens of new students would probably enter the top 100 as well.

As for the older students, those in the top 100 weren't weak, but some of them had already advanced into the Skysoar Realm while the ones who were stuck weren't really too talented compared to the super geniuses.

Those that were truly strong like Zhan Hai had slowly advanced and departed the ranking one after another. As for Jiang Mu, he had only remained below the Skysoar Realm because he aimed to make his advancement after fusing the maximum number of acupoints he could.

Wan Mingze nodded, "I have underestimated the various geniuses of the world. Qiusheng, are you not planning to take a step further as well?"

Hu Qiusheng smiled, "You want to see my real strength? Sure. I'll do this for you. Mingze, if you want to fight for something, you should stop hiding. Further concealment will really delay your plans..."

He then stepped into the ring. Without hiding anything, he released the aura of a peak Mental Tempering Stage and first-stage Infinite Strength cultivator. Once again, the crowd was alarmed.

It was yet another new student.

...

The challenge matches continued. For some reason, the challenge matches today were much more intense than before.

One top 100 student after another arrived.

At the end of November, the new students were finally showing their true strength.

They were finally climbing the ranking. This included those who had never challenged the ranking before. Even Jia Mingzhen and company had followed the trend and challenged the ranking.

This forced the House of Hundred to prepare additional rings to accommodate the students.

Surprisingly, Xia Huyou was there as well. After reaching the Infinite Strength Realm, he finally decided to challenge the top 100. Everyone realized that these young geniuses would enter a period of abrupt growth starting today.

If they couldn't establish themselves right now, the ranking would be harder to climb in the future. If they couldn't showcase their talent now, it would be much harder to distinguish themselves in the future.

Jia Mingzhen's group, Hu Qiusheng, Wan Mingze, Zhang Hao, Su Meng, Zhao Shiji, Zheng Yunhui, Xia Chan, Xia Huyou...

At the end of the day, 23 new names had entered the top 100.

This shocked the entire academy.

Even Wu Lan had arrived at the last minute to challenge the ranking. Her opponent was Lin Qing, who had painstakingly remained in the 99th position. After a long battle, Wu Lan suffered a minor defeat after nearly kicking Lin Qing out of the ring.

Lin Qing was not weak. But Wu Lan had grown a lot in the Willpower Grotto. However, her physical cultivation was quite shallow. She might know the acupoint fusion method, but it still wasn't too useful for her right now. If she was able to enter the Infinite Strength Realm, with the best version of the fusion method, she would be able to grow at an incredible speed as well.

One new student after another opted to reveal their strength. Wan Mingze stopped holding back, fighting all the way to the 32nd place before stopping. The new students had swept through the ranking.

But the strongest among them was Su Yu, who was ranked 30th. He had been absent from the challenge matches for quite a while.

Directly below him were Zhou Hao and Wan Mingze, followed by Hu Qiusheng at the 44th place.

Several new students had entered the top 50. The older students were feeling more and more pressured.

Jia Mingzhen's group was not the only ones taking advantage of the chaos to challenge the ranking. Some foreign students had also challenged the ranking. And seven of them were able to enter the ranking.

Including the human new students, a total of 30 new students had entered the ranking.

Wu Qi's student, Lin Qing, had worked very hard and fought in numerous matches. After half a year of hard work, she had only reached the 99th place from the 100th place. And it wasn't like she hadn't grown at all. She had been growing steadily, but even after dozens of matches, she was still unable to go higher than that. It didn't matter how strong she grew. There was always somebody stronger above her.

As for the original top 100 students, the ones who were previously ranked at the bottom had all been kicked out. None of them were able to return to the ranking.

...

Late at night.

The day of challenges came to an end.

Heart Cultivating Pavilion.

35th floor, Wan Tiansheng's residence.

After sneaking in, Jia Mingzhen sighed and said, "Old Wan, I don't think there is a need for us to pretend to be new students anymore. Apart from Su Yu, a few other vicious new students have emerged. We didn't even get the chance to do anything to motivate the students before the new students started running crazy."

Were they still needed to motivate the students?

Nope.

Those students were already motivated enough. Just look at all the challenges today. Over 20 new students had entered the ranking in the span of a single day. This was too terrifying. Something like this had never happened before.

"Old Wan, are you sure those brutes from the war academy would still dare to challenge us this year? Our new students this year are really quite vicious. I'm worried that those warriors would lose all confidence in cultivation from the beating they would receive during the exchange."

According to the agreement, the war academy students were supposed to come during the next month. And they were only a few days away from the next month.

Would they still dare to come?

Were they not afraid of being stomped on?

Wan Tiansheng's eyes did not leave his book as he indifferently said, "Do you think there are only freaks in our academy? The war academy has also accepted a few impressive individuals. They even have a few students at the seventh and eighth-stage Infinite Strength Realm. I heard there might even be a new student at the ninth-stage Infinite Strength Realm. That student cultivates an 108-acupoint method, but he's not weak at all. Even Zhou Hao might not be able to defeat him."

"That's hard to say. Don't forget about people like Su Yu. Would any of these students be his match?"

"Old Wan, do we still need to continue pretending to be students? It's really quite pointless. By the way, we did manage to get in touch with some cultists as you asked. After selling some stuff, the cultists contacted me. But most of them are low-level members. Some of these people don't even know they are working for the cult."

These low-level members were basically common thugs meant to run errands for the high-level members. These people wouldn't be able to provide much information upon capture.

"That can only mean that you're incompetent."

"..."

Jia Mingzhen was speechless. "How am I incompetent? If you're so competent, why don't you go catch some cultists yourself?"

"Do you think I can't find any?"

"In that case, why did you tell us to go undercover?"

"I'm not interested in those nobodies." Wan Tiansheng nonchalantly said, "There is at least one Cloudbreach in our academy who is a cultist. Or maybe there's a Mountainsea cultist."

"Hmm?" Jia Mingzhen's face turned solemn, "Really? Has their influence spread this far?"

"Yeah." Wan Tiansheng smiled, "But that's not surprising. We have a lot of Mountainsea and Cloudbreach cultivators in the academy so I'm busy investigating them.

"I have been suspecting this for quite a while. The attack on Nanyuan had happened at such a perfect timing when Hong Tan and the others were occupied. How could a regular person know the whereabouts of Mountainseas like Hong Tan? Content orıginally comes from novel⦿fire.net

"As for the recent attack on Su Yu...Zhang Wu had confessed before his death that they had received information from someone in the academy. Sure Su Yu's departure wasn't a big secret. But someone capable of contacting five Skysoars is definitely not a nobody."

Jia Mingzhen hesitated slightly before saying, "Is it possible that there was an information hub outside? Perhaps a cult expert had transmitted the message to them after being notified by the hub."

"That's unlikely. Any information regarding geniuses like Su Yu would not go through a hub. Of course, there is no denying that anything is possible."

With a soft voice, Wan Tiansheng continued, "Old Jia, it has been so many years. I have allowed outsiders to spread their influence into the academy and turned a blind eye to the unceasing internal conflicts. There are advantages and disadvantages to this approach. It is still not the time to evaluate these actions of mine. Those from the future generation will naturally do that for us.

"For now, I intend to clean the academy of all filth. Get ready for war. We need to be prepared to enter the Allheaven Battlefield at a moment's notice."

Jia Mingzhen frowned. What was the meaning of those words?

Wan Tiansheng did not look at Jia Mingzhen. He continued muttering, "War is near. I can feel that a war will erupt soon. The human race has been getting too comfortable over the past few decades. They forgot themselves and spent too much time enjoying life and scheming against each other. But now, more and more people are seeing this."

"The War Shrine and Knowledge Seeking Realm are allowing these people to continue their internal struggles, but they are also trying to reach a consensus. For example, the time to unify humanity might have arrived.

"We might be able to unify our front line in our current state, but the various prefectures are not able to truly fight as one."

If humanity was able to unify, their strength would grow. After cleansing all their internal filth, humanity might even be strong enough to withstand the joint attack of the divines and devils. They would suffer disastrous losses even if they could ultimately defeat humanity.

Jia Mingzhen frowned and said, "You mean..."

Wan Tiansheng smiled, "I only told you guys to pretend to be students to test the water. But you guys are somewhat disappointing. I wanted you guys to join the cult and perhaps gain enough influence to make the cult yours. The death of the Blood Fire Sect master was the perfect chance.

"Just look at what happened after the destruction of the Divine Skywing Sect. Xue'e, a mere Cloudbreach, has the guts to start recruiting people for a new cult. Why hadn't you guys done the same?"

"Is Xue'e not dead?" Jia Mingzhen was shocked. That Xue'e was someone who was being hunted by Mountainseas. How was he still alive?

"Yeah." Wan Tiansheng smiled, "He's very good at hiding. Nobody knows where he's hiding. Great Xia is big. How are we supposed to find him?"

Jia Mingzhen nodded, "So you want us to found our own sects..."

"Do as you wish."

Jia Mingzhen was speechless. What did that even mean?

He moved on from the topic and said, "By the way, the conflict between the single and multiple character factions seem to have calmed down. But I feel like this is merely a calm before the storm. Old Wan, if this continues, they might not stop until one side is fully exterminated. Are you really going to ignore them?"

With a dark tone, Wan Tiansheng said, "Let them be. They are free to fight until one side remains. The victor shall unify all character cultivators. Otherwise, with the current split of humanity, how can they focus on resisting the myriad races? Losing one side might seem like a great loss, but our overall strength might grow instead."

A smaller but united human race could very well be stronger than a bigger but split human race. This was Wan Tiansheng's belief.

Jia Mingzhen couldn't help but say, "We should have stopped them long ago. It's now too late..."

"Yeah. It's too late. The hatred between them is too deep."

Wan Tiansheng smiled, "Even if we had acted earlier to suppress the fight, it would be pointless. The hatred would simmer and grow like a tumor. Let the chaos erupt. That way, the human race would understand the price of internal strife. After learning that, there would naturally be fewer internal conflicts in the future.

"Also, the external pressure on humanity is not strong enough. The myriad races are too crafty. They are deliberately reducing the pressure on us and have us slowly exhaust our own strength internally."

This was basically the same as slowly boiling a frog alive. The human race had always been able to unify when the outside pressure was large enough. That had happened over 300 years ago.

Since then, there had not been any large-scale invasions. The long period of peace had caused a lot of people to forget that humanity was still in a war, a war that had persisted for over 300 years.

The divines and devils had not given up on taking over the Human Realm.

Jia Mingzhen helplessly said, "It's easy to say that...but...I honestly have no faith that humanity can truly unite. The divines and devils are no fools. They are more than happy to see us killing each other. Why would they do anything to wake us up?

"Just look at the Myriad Race Cult. That's one of the schemes of the myriad races. Without lifting a finger, they can get us to fight among ourselves. After a few hundred years, the people are starting to hate the cult more than the myriad races themselves."

The myriad races would always take a harsh stance against humans with iron-blooded policy. Meanwhile, they had been leaving the more tolerant humans alone. For example, Great Zhou's armies would rarely encounter any large-scale battles in the Allheaven Battlefield while Great Xia's armies would get into large-scale battles frequently.

Wan Tiansheng was not interested in continuing the topic. He said, "Su Yu might leave the academy in the near future. Keep a close watch on him. The others might not be able to move undetected, but you guys have been hidden for so long. You should be able to follow him in the dark. With the appearance of the fusion method, his value has increased sharply. They might even send Mountainseas against him."

That was actually very likely. There was no doubt that Su Yu's value had increased yet again for the cult. There were advantages and disadvantages to releasing the fusion method.

Jia Mingzhen nodded, "Sure. I'll take note."

He then left as noiselessly as he had when he arrived.

Chapter 530: Out Of Seclusion, Hint (1)

Something seemed to have changed within the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy and Great Xia itself. But at the same time, it also seemed like nothing had changed.

The commoners continued living their lives in peace. The Myriad Race Cult continued creating random incidents every now and then. The Martial Dragon Guards continued harvesting cultist heads at the Myriad Race Pit. And Marquis Xia continued doing his business.

Everything was as it was before.

Xia Longwu's seclusion seemed pointless. Yet it also seemed needed. After all, his seclusion had reduced the number of wars the Great Xia was involved in.

Wan Tiansheng had received greater power in Great Xia, yet it also felt like he had not done much with his newfound power.

But some people were aware that the principal was silently changing some things.

He was slowly influencing some things, purging some things, and reversing some things.

But all that required time.

...

Wan Tiansheng remained hidden from the public eye. Xia Longwu remained in his seclusion. Under Marquis Xia's lead, Great Xia was no longer involved in war after war. The number of battles their armies had to engage in had reduced significantly.

As a merchant, profit was his priority. In the eyes of many people, under Marquis Xia's lead, Great Xia seemed to have turned kinder toward its populace.

The masses no longer needed to hear about battles on the frontline. They no longer needed to mourn the loss of their soldiers. They no longer needed to bury their dead soldiers en masse.

It didn't matter if a conflict was internal or external. For many people, everything was fine as long as people could stay alive. As for the decline in their fighting spirit, that wasn't something most people would notice.

...

A golden age of peace and prosperity.

That was the first impression Su Yu got of Great Xia after leaving seclusion. Everyone in the academy seemed to be in an excellent mood. Old Nie, who was in charge of guarding the grotto, seemed to be in a great mood as well.

"Senior Nie, why am I hearing cheers outside?"

Su Yu was astonished. In his eyes, Great Xia and the academy were definitely not peaceful places. This was a dog-eat-dog world. What was happening today?

Old Nie smiled, "Kid, you were away for over 10 days. Have you forgotten the date today?"

"Date?" Shortly after, he replied, "It's the 3rd of December."

"Yeah." Old Nie smiled, "Have you forgotten what's happening tomorrow?"

"Oh." Su Yu recalled something and nodded, "I remember now. It's the anniversary of Great Xia's founding. This is the 350th year after the founding of Great Xia. No wonder people are celebrating."

"It's good that you remember this." Old Nie said, "Back then, Great Qin was the first prefecture to be founded. Great Qin King had started the era of prefectures, answering the call of the masses for a peaceful era. That was the first year of the Anping Calendar.

"At the end of the same year, Great Xia King founded Great Xia, sheltering millions upon millions of people. Tomorrow is the 350th annivesary of Great Xia. Everyone is in a festive mood."

Su Yu smiled, "This is indeed worthy of a celebration. I have nearly forgotten about it."

That was actually a major celebration in the prefecture. Back then, their predecessors had fought bitterly to start a new era under the invasion of the myriad races, starting an era of peace and establishing the 36 prefectures. Countless humans received the protection of these founders.

Great Xia King was the hero king of Great Xia.

Su Yu had been too busy recently so he had completely forgotten about this matter. Hearing about the anniversary, his mood turned cheerful as he said, "Would we be seeing Great Xia King tomorrow? In the past, I was only able to see him on TV. Am I finally going to see him in the flesh?"

"Yeah." Old Nie said, "He might even pay a visit to our academy tomorrow, but we don't know for sure. We might be able to see him if we're lucky. Also, the day after, the war academy will be coming for a student exchange. Are you participating in that activity?"

"I'm not sure." Su Yu didn't really care about that. He was more interested in Great Xia King. He asked, "Teacher, would Great Xia King really visit our academy?"

"Maybe."

Old Nie was also unsure.

Su Yu was getting slightly excited. He had great respect for a hero who had sheltered countless people like Great Xia King.

Over 300 years ago, the Human Realm was invaded. Countless people were slaughtered and rivers of blood flowed. At that time, one Invincible after another emerged from the mountains, the ruins, and the secret grottos. After decades of war and countless sacrifices, they finally repelled the invaders.

That one victory had granted the Human Realm over 300 years of peace. Some of the heroic founders were no longer alive. Some had been killed, some had succumbed to their injuries during the war, and some had vanished after entering some danger zones.

Su Yu thought about all that blankly before he suddenly smiled, "I'll ask Xia Huyou about this..."

Would that fellow's great grandfather visit the academy? Su Yu felt like he was a fanboy who was trying to see his idol. He did not hold similar admiration toward the likes of Wan Tiansheng and Marquis Xia.

Sure, these people were very important as well, but they were nothing compared to Great Xia King who had founded Great Xia amid countless hardships over 300 years ago.

This was the first time Old Nie had ever seen Su Yu behaving like this. With an amused smile, he said, "Not even Xia Huyou might have the answer. Nobody can predict the movement of a super expert like that. In fact, even Marquis Xia would not know for sure. Stop thinking about all that. What's your current cultivation level?"

"Acceptable, I guess. I'm now at the fourth-stage Infinite Strength Realm." Su Yu frowned, "As I grow stronger, the effect of the acupoint fusion method will weaken. I had originally estimated that I would reach the fifth stage in half a month..."

"..."

Old Nie shut his mouth. He didn't feel like talking anymore.

Half a month to reach the fifth stage?

One stage every three days?

Screw him!

This fellow had fused 48 acupoints in half a month. Of course, the number was probably lower since he had probably fused some before the seclusion. Even so, he was probably fusing around 3 acupoints per day. Was he still not happy with this?

He speechlessly said, "Your acupoint fusion method..."

Su Yu smiled, "Didn't I tell Teacher Zhao about this? Both you and Senior Huang can learn this method. You know this, right?"

"Thanks for that. But we have yet to open those acupoints. I'm afraid we will need some time. But kid...you sure are generous."

Old Nie was naturally aware of that. Zhao Ming was actually a part of their neutral faction as well. Su Yu had not given them the method directly, but he had told Zhao Ming that Old Huang and Old Nie could be taught the method.

Old Nie exclaimed in admiration, "That is truly an amazing method. Even with a heaven-grade cultivation method, you were able to gain a stage every three days. That was too fast. Wouldn't you reach the ninth stage if you stayed another month in seclusion?"

Su Yu nodded with a smile. Probably.

"Why did you end your seclusion?" Old Nie joked, "You better not regret coming out. You need to pay 200 merit points the next time you enter, you know?"

Finally, the kid had reached the Infinite Strength Realm! He swore the damn kid had remained as a fake Great Strength cultivator just to milk the grotto's cheap entry fee.

Su Yu smiled, "I need to take a walk. Furthermore..."

He frowned, "I keep having a feeling that 320 acupoints are incomplete. Something is missing. You don't know this, Teacher, but I felt a sense of imbalance after fusing my acupoints."

"Hmm?"

Old Nie asked in surprise, "What do you mean?"

He had decided to pretend he had not heard the part about 320 acupoints.

Su Yu frowned and said, "It's a feeling deep inside me. My body is telling me that my acupoint fusion is wrong. Well, not exactly wrong, but it feels unnatural. The fused acupoints are stronger while the basic acupoints are weaker. There is no balance."

With a helpless tone, Su Yu explained, "Maybe this is because I have opened too many acupoints. With some fused and unfused acupoints in my body, when I try to use the power of my acupoints, it doesn't feel smooth. I have a feeling that with 360 acupoints, even if it's not the perfect cycle, it would be a comparatively perfect cycle."

After a short silence, Su Yu continued, "Thus, I think I'll stop fusing acupoints for now. I need to open 360 acupoints first before advancing with 40 acupoints fused per stage."

At this point, some excitement seeped into his voice as he said, "Teacher, with 40 acupoints per stage, I would definitely be much stronger than I am. At that time, one of my acupoints would be as strong as four basic Great Strength acupoints. With 360 acupoints, at the ninth-stage Infinite Strength Realm, I would be able to unleash the strength of 1,440 acupoints. I would be able to blast a ninth-stage Skysoar apart with one punch."

"..."

Old Nie was tired. He was really tired of this kid. Was this kid planning to become the strongest Infinite Strength cultivator since the beginning of time?

Opening 360 acupoints and fusing 40 acupoints per stage? Could he still be called an Infinite Strength cultivator? Blasting a Skysoar apart with a punch? At that point, even weaker Cloudbreach cultivators might be blasted apart with one punch.

"Su Yu, there is balance in everything. You don't want to bite off more than you can chew..." ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ novel{f}ire.net

"Teacher, I'm only 40 acupoints short. I want to give this a try!" Su Yu smiled, "Perhaps I could discover something related to the source soul acupoint by doing this."

He really wanted to give this a try. He had already opened 320 acupoints. What was 40 more? Of course, the premise for that was the discovery of all the acupoints.

He was already aware of the locations of 346 acupoints after going through Xia Clan's collection he had obtained from Xia Huyou. All those acupoints had been marked on a replica for his study.

Not even the Xia Family had discovered 360 acupoints. They had only discovered 322 acupoints in total. Many of their acupoints overlapped with what the academy had discovered.

Su Yu was able to discover the location of 346 acupoints after combing through the records of the academy and the Xia Family. He was only 14 acupoints away from discovering 360 acupoints.

With so many acupoints opened, he was actually capable of using almost all cultivation methods and techniques he knew. The moment he found something he couldn't use directly, that would mean that he had discovered some new acupoints.

Thus, he would be more than happy to find some cultivation methods that he couldn't yet use. Alas...he seemed to have gone through almost all the cultivation methods available in Great Xia.

What a pity.

At this point, one could say that Su Yu was an omnipotent warrior. He only needed to learn the circulation pathway of any cultivation method and technique to instantly grasp it. This was very incredible.

Chapter 531: Out Of Seclusion, Hint (2)

Old Nie was speechless. After a long while, he asked, "How many acupoints have you discovered?"

"346."

"Kid..."

He looked at Su Yu with an odd gaze. The kid had actually discovered 34 more acupoints than the academy. This signified that the kid definitely knew some extinct or secret cultivation methods. No, the kid definitely knew a lot of them. The 34 extra acupoints might have been gathered from numerous cultivation methods. Follow current novels on novel·fıre·net

This kid was truly quite terrifying.

Against an opponent like Su Yu, when you thought that he was a Sky Sunder Saber user, he would surprise you with the Thousand Mountain Art. When you thought that he was a Thousand Mountain Art user, he would surprise you with the War God Art...

Different cultivation methods would have different circulation pathways and acupoints. Thus, they would also have different methods of execution.

You might think that he was stronger when punching, but he would tell you that he was better at kicking.

Someone like Su Yu would basically be a cultivator with no weakness. This was how terrifying someone with 320 acupoints was.

"Do you mind telling me the 346 acupoints? I'll try to look around for any acupoints that you do not yet know."

Su Yu hurriedly expressed his gratitude. As for the matter of leaking his known acupoints...what was the big deal? The academy had never hidden the fact that they knew 312 acupoints. Nor had the Xia Family hidden that they knew 322 acupoints. But could you open those acupoints?

A normal person, no, even a freak like Hu Qiusheng, no, even a super freak in physical cultivation like Zhou Hao, would take 3 days to open 1 acupoint. To open 360 acupoints, he would need to take 3 or 4 years.

And Zhou Hao was probably one of the fastest acupoint cultivators alive. People with a slightly inferior level of talent would require four to five years. And those with even weaker talent might be stuck for decades or even an entire life. Who would actually try to open so many acupoints?

After looking at Su Yu's acupoint chart, Old Nie had a look of grief. The kid was already aware of all the acupoints he knew. This felt terrible. He was unable to provide the kid with anything new.

"I think it would be very difficult for you to get 360 acupoints."

Old Nie shook his head. It would be extremely difficult. Su Yu did not seem too worried. He had already opened almost 100 pages in his golden book. But a lot of the abilities and cultivation methods on those pages were left untested. At worst, he would test them out one by one.

When converting a non-human cultivation method to a human cultivation method, some special acupoints could be discovered. These were the acupoints that were rarely used by the human race. In fact, this was how he had discovered a lot of his acupoints.

But this method would be expensive. So be it. It was just some money. He reckoned he would receive the merit points promised to him by the Zhang Family after this. He had not asked for the money before entering seclusion. At worst, he would give all the money to Xia Huyou and buy more blood essence.

After a short chat, Su Yu prepared to leave. At this time, Old Nie said, "Su Yu, what if the human body has more than 360 acupoints? What if the 360 acupoints you eventually find belong to different systems?"

Su Yu sank into thought with a frown. After a short moment, he decisively said, "I'll give up. I can't waste my time looking for 360 more acupoints. In truth, I have a feeling that 360 is the maximum number. If there are more, I would have discovered more than this by now."

He probably knew even more cultivation methods than the Xia Family. He was probably near the maximum number at this point. Would he even be able to find more? It was the same case for the apertures he knew. Old Nie nodded and said nothing else.

...

After bidding Old Nie farewell, Su Yu exhaled deeply and left.

He was finally a fourth-stage Infinite Strength cultivator.

He had fused 64 acupoints, allowing him to unleash the strength of 160 acupoints with those 64 acupoints. Including the remaining 80 acupoints of the Sky Sundering Saber that he had yet to fuse and the acupoints of his auxiliary techniques, he would be able to unleash the strength of over 300 acupoints at once.

One could say that he was probably unrivaled within the Infinite Strength Realm. And this unrivaled was applicable even when compared to the freaks. For Su Yu, it was honestly pointless to compare himself to ordinary students.

"Acupoint fusion, willpower text..."

He would do things one step at a time. If he really couldn't find 360 acupoints, he would shift his focus to willpower texts. Of course, acupoint fusion would grant him a faster increase in strength. And his overall aim was to focus on whichever path that would grant him a faster growth.

As of late, he had not progressed much in his aperture cultivation. He had only opened 106 apertures. Over a month after leaving the Willpower Grotto, he had only opened a few new apertures.

"Why do I feel like a fake cultural researcher?

Su Yu gave himself a mocking smile. Everyone else was focusing on willpower, but he had been focusing on his acupoints. He threw that thought to the back of his mind and walked out of the Grotto District. He was greeted by a brightly lit academy.

Festive lanterns and banners could be seen everywhere.

The prefecture's anniversary was tomorrow. He wondered how his father was doing. His father had left in April. It had already been seven months since then. How were his teachers doing? They had been away for over a month. They had probably entered the Allheaven Battlefield by now.

"I should send the acupoint fusion method to my teachers as well. But what a pity that..."

He couldn't trust anyone. If the method was leaked during delivery, it would be very troublesome.

Perhaps he should find some time to take a trip to the Allheaven Battlefield and see his father. He was now as strong as some Skysoars already. He would probably be fine even if he went to the Allheaven Battlefield as long as he stayed within the human race's territory there.

As he walked, his eyes suddenly flickered. A group of cloaked individuals had appeared ahead of him.

"What a coincidence, Brother Su!"

It was Xia Qing's voice. Acting like this was a chance encounter, she joyfully introduced, "Everyone, this is Brother Su, the strongest newcomer in our academy. I have been wanting to introduce him to all of you for a while, but everyone has been too busy to meet up so I have never found the chance to do so. This is such a great coincidence."

She said to Su Yu, "Brother Su, these are some of the students from the Foreign Students Faculty..."

"Nice to meet you!" Su Yu had a friendly smile as he said, "You are all guests from afar. Please forgive me for slighting you. If I had known that we would meet here today, I would have prepared a place for us to sit down and have some tea instead of standing here in the middle of the road."

Xia Qing smiled, "If Brother Su doesn't mind, we can sit down together now and grab some tea."

A vexed look suddenly appeared on her face as she said, "Wait, forget that. This would be bad for you if anyone sees this. Because of me, you were embroiled in a big scandal previously. Since there are so many people around, we might attract even more trouble for you."

She even took a few steps back after saying that, trying to show that she really wasn't that close to Su Yu. But she was doing it in a way that made them look even more guilty because of how deliberate it seemed.

Su Yu was somewhat speechless. Did they think that he was brainless?

This was the entrance of the Grotto District. This was a very busy area. Just by having a chat with him here, he would not be able to clean his reputation. It would only be taken as proof that his relationship was indeed good with the foreign students. What was the point of adding this little act on top of that?

Wasn't it tiring to keep acting all the time? It was likely that they had been waiting for more information from him. Had they finally run out of patience? He had thrown a bait out at them not long ago without reeling them in. Were they getting impatient?

Su Yu smiled and said, "Don't mind those ignorant fools. They can think what they want. I don't care if they misunderstand me. And this isn't even a misunderstanding. I stand by my words. We can't make all races our enemies. Even if the human race is strong, we can't do so. No matter how strong we are, we won't last long if everyone else joins hands against us."

Su Yu solemnly said, "Previously, someone tried to instigate me to challenge the foreign students in the top 100 to clear my name. Heh. These people are ridiculous."

Su Yu shook his head, "Why do they insist on pushing our allies away? Either they harbor evil intentions or they are stupid."

One of the cloaked individuals clapped and said, "Brother Su is indeed worthy of being a genius. Just this wisdom alone is something many people lack. To speak the truth, we honestly feel very helpless. We came here to strengthen our relationship with the human race. But when we arrived...we found that we weren't welcomed."

The speaker was a man. Or to be precise, it was a male beast. This fellow was hidden behind his cloak and mask, so Su Yu was unsure which race this person came from. It would also be impolite for him to blatantly scan this person.

Noticing the doubt on Su Yu's face, that person said, "Please forgive me, Brother Su. I forgot to introduce myself. I am Mo He, from the iron antelope race."

Su Yu hurriedly said, "So it's a brother from the iron antelope race! Nice to meet you!"

He was only being polite. That was only a small race. Su Yu couldn't even remember if their king was a Mountainsea or a Sunmoon. In any case, they were below the top 1,000 races. Any race in the top 1,000 would have at least a Sunmoon as the king.

Those outside of that would either have Sunmoons or Mountainseas as kings.

As for races ruled by Cloudbreach cultivators...those races had probably been exterminated long ago so there was no point in looking for one. Such a race could barely be found in the Allheaven Battlefield. Even if there were such races around, they would not dare to stay connected to the Allheaven Battlefield. These races would probably seal their tunnel right after discovering the Allheaven Battlefield.

The other individuals started introducing themselves as well. There was a fox and a bull among them. Oh, and there was also a race Su Yu was very familiar with, the iron-winged bird race.

Yes.

There was an iron-winged bird among them.

Su Yu was quite speechless when he saw that fellow. Did that fellow know that previously, when he was too poor to use mountainbreak bull blood essence, he had been using the blood essence of that fellow's race for his daily cultivation?

This was a curious meeting as the iron-winged bird race was supposed to be a hostile race. The human race wouldn't be trading their blood essence so openly otherwise. What the hell was that?

They had actually accepted students from the iron-winged bird race as well? Was this proper? Wouldn't these students go crazy when they saw the blood of their people being openly sold at the market?

Su Yu really couldn't understand what Old Wan was thinking. It would be more understandable to bring in races like the cloud tigers. Their blood essence was also being sold in secret, but at least it wasn't being done openly.

Chapter 532: Out Of Seclusion, Hint (3)

As they talked, more and more people walked past them.

And a lot of people noticed Su Yu and the foreign students.

Su Yu didn't seem to care. When Xia Qing and company saw that, they exhaled in relief. This fellow seemed really sincere in befriending them. He did not care about how others look at him.

After a short while, Xia Qing finally took the initiative to ask, "Brother Su, previously, you told me that you wished to solicit the assistance of our dao protectors. We are family so if you really need our help, don't hesitate to voice it. There are so many of us here today. Some of us must be able to help you."

Su Yu hurriedly said, "Not at all. There is no such thing."

He then looked at Xia Qing with a frown, seemingly trying to hint that she shouldn't be talking about this. Behind her mask, Xia Qing's eyes flickered. Inwardly, she was delighted. She understood what Su Yu was trying to say. He couldn't trust the others. But that was also showing that he trusted her.

Her emotions turned somewhat complicated.

Su Yu was a genius student. He was a super genius who had created the fusion method. Even these foreign students were aware of that. They would be more than happy to befriend a talented individual like this.

Alas...befriending Su Yu would offend the single character faction. Who should they pick between Su Yu and the single character faction?

The Xia Family seemed somewhat biassed toward Su Yu, but it also seemed like Xia Huyou was the only person from the Xia Family who was close to Su Yu. Xia Yuwen, a strong competitor to be the next prefect, was hostile toward Su Yu.

Meanwhile, Xia Huyou was only a member of a branch family. Even Xia Chan, a member of the main branch, was also a member of the single character faction.

Thus, from Xia Qing's point of view, the single character faction enjoyed more support from the Xia Family. They wouldn't have been able to keep the multiple character faction suppressed for so many years otherwise. With complicated emotions, Xia Qing chatted with Su Yu for a while before taking her leave. Thɪs chapter is updated by novelFirｅ.net

Right after separating from Su Yu, the group sank into a short silence before one of them said, "Does Su Yu represent the multiple character faction? If the multiple character faction is supportive of an alliance..."

Xia Qing sighed, "If we receive their support, the single character faction would object to it. And without the single character faction's support, this alliance would be a joke."

Life was too hard for the minor races.

Xia Qing said, "In fact, the support of Su Yu and the multiple character faction isn't a good thing for us. They would only turn some people into our enemies."

They would rather not have Su Yu's support. His support would only make things harder for him. As far as she was concerned, anything Su Yu and the multiple character faction supported would most likely be faced with countless obstructions.

"Principal Wan supports us as well..."

"Principal Wan..." Xia Qing glanced in the Heart Cultivating Pavilion's direction and lowered her voice, "If we really have his support, there won't be so much hostility toward us in Great Xia. It is more likely that he is using us to ease the tension between the factions in the academy."

Wan Tiansheng might not be sincere in befriending them.

Xia Qing said, "Let's go back first before saying more."

This wasn't a safe place to have a conversation. They needed to be careful lest someone was eavesdropping on them. They rushed back to the Foreign Students Faculty in silence.

Xia Qing's villa.

The two old men had disappeared again. When the students arrived, they all removed their cloaks and revealed their true appearances. The student from the iron-winged bird had a pair of small wings on his back, the student from the minotaur race had a pair of horns, and so on.

As these students had yet to reach the Mountainsea Realm, they still weren't able to turn their bodies completely humanoid. Even their current partial humanoid transformation was being maintained by the use of medicines.

After taking off their cloaks, they felt much more comfortable. Niu Zhen, the student from the minotaur race, complained, "It's too uncomfortable out there. We are all here to ally ourselves with them. But these humans are showing no sincerity whatsoever. We have all been trapped in this small faculty for months. Even when we manage to leave the faculty, we would be under constant supervision..."

In fact, when they were outside earlier, they were still under supervision. They were very unhappy about this. They were here as allies, not hostages!

After complaining for a bit, he asked, "Princess Qing, has the single character faction contacted you?"

"Yeah."

"What did they say?"

Xia Qing frowned and replied, "They were very vague. Basically, they claimed that our friendship with Su Yu, regardless of whether it was an act, is making it difficult for them to give us some benefits."

Niu Zhen furiously said, "What nonsense is that? They were the ones who had hinted at us to befriend Su Yu. And they're now using this as an excuse to not give us anything? Are they toying with us?"

The other students also started complaining.

"What is the meaning of the single character faction? We did as they told, but they're playing this trick on us?"

Xia Qing sighed.

Among the group, a man with some fur on his face also sighed and grudgingly said, "All of you understand what they are really saying, right? They are using our relationship with Su Yu as an excuse. In that case...if Su Yu stops existing, that won't be an issue anymore, right?"

They sank into silence. As the representatives of their respective races in the Human Realm, none of them was a fool. The single character faction had not said anything clearly. They had merely been hinting about what they wanted.

Of course, if something did happen, the single character faction wouldn't take the blame. They had not suggested any such thing. They couldn't be blamed if these foreign students were the ones who had decided to interpret their words that way.

They had only said that Su Yu was their rival. These foreign students' relationship with Su Yu was making it hard for them to help these foreign students. And there was nothing wrong with that.

Niu Zhen, the minotaur, turned somewhat agitated and said, "Why don't we sever our relationship with Su Yu? It's not like we're really close to him. It's easy to end the relationship. Just get in an argument with him, or challenge him in a ring, or something else. There are plenty of ways to do that."

Xia Qing said, "In that case, the single character faction would simply say that we're putting on an act. Using a saying of the human race, this is not a strong enough display of sincerity if we want to work with them."

Niu Zhen clenched his teeth and said, "Princess Qing, we can't allow them to make use of us. This is really not an easy task. Who is Su Yu? He is the treasure of the multiple character faction and a genius of Great Xia. I'm suspecting that the single character faction would turn us into the scapegoat if we really do it."

"We're all from minor races. If anything happens here...we will receive no help. It's fine to make an enemy out of Su Yu. It's not like we would lose anything. But if we need to do that...I...really need to think about it."

This was too dangerous. It was obvious what the single character faction wanted. They wanted Su Yu dead. That was what the foreign students needed to do to prove their sincerity.

But the foreign students did not want to be the scapegoat. They might end up dead. Wasn't killing a human genius in the Human Realm the same as suicide?

They wouldn't even be given the chance to serve at the Vanguard Regiment. They would simply be executed. They would suffer a worse fate than the cultists as their corpses would probably be turned into food after the execution.

Xia Qing sighed, "You're right. We can't do it. This is suicide. Unless...they serve as the main force with our support. It is not possible for us to be the main force in this."

Sure, she coveted the supposed ruin Su Yu had. But she had never thought of killing Su Yu. If she could get the ruin, it could be blamed on fate and destiny.

Su Yu would probably choose to share instead of exposing the ruin to everyone. But killing Su Yu...would result in massive trouble for the cloud tiger race upon discovery. Their race might even end up exterminated.

"So what should we do now?"

They looked at Xia Qing and the person from the fox race. Were they going to give up, stay trapped in this faculty for a few years, and return empty-handed? They had paid such a large price to enter the Human Realm just to learn a few cultivation methods that they couldn't even use?

Xia Qing sank into silence. After a while, she said, "Unless they act as the main force, we can't do anything. If we act independently, it is very likely that they will abandon us. And its not like we even have the chance to pull something like that off for now anyway."

The young man from the fox race asked, "Xia Qing, what do you think about cooperating with Su Yu instead?"

Xia Qing frowned, "I know what you mean. Su Yu represents the multiple character faction. He is friendly toward us. Personally, I am more than willing to befriend him. But I have to think about my race. The divines, devils, and even the humans are unfriendly toward the multiple character faction. I am willing to take a gamble with my own future. But...are you willing to gamble with the future of your race?"

It wasn't that they couldn't see the benefit of investing in Su Yu. But the multiple character faction was not facing only the single character faction. They had external enemies as well. The divines and devils were very hostile toward the multiple character faction.

According to the two races, the fifth principal had killed too many of their experts. This was not something they could forgive. Even with the death of the fifth principal, the matter was not over.

In fact, the divines and devils had played a big role in the deaths of many multiple character faction members over the years. Thus, siding with Su Yu was basically the same as standing against the myriad races. They couldn't afford the consequences of that. They could befriend Su Yu privately, but they definitely couldn't do so for their respective races.

"Bai Ce..."

Xia Qing looked at the fox race youth and said, "Don't ruin everyone."

Bai Ce sighed and said, "I won't. Don't worry. I'm just worried that...the single character faction would damn us. Those people are not trustworthy at all. Xia Qing, you are the one who should be careful lest you damn all of us. The cloud tiger race might face extermination because of what you do here."

Xia Qing said nothing. The cloud tiger race...was in a difficult position. She needed to find them a backer.

The sky tiger race, a hegemon of the tiger race as a whole, was forcing them to join the war in the Allheaven Battlefield. Without a strong backer, the entire cloud tiger race might end up exterminated after a few wars.

Even Mountainseas could easily perish in the Allheaven Battlefield. Why would she have entered the Human Realm to live like a prisoner otherwise?