Chapter 6: Iron-winged Bird's Reappearance
Xia Trade Company. A trade company founded by the ruling family of Great Xia, the Xia Trade Company was the largest trade company in the prefecture. A five-storey building at Nanyuan's commercial district housed the Nanyuan branch of Xia Trade Company.
The first floor engaged in the sale of pills, the second floor engaged in the sale of weapons, the third floor engaged in the sale of cultivation methods, the fourth floor engaged in the sale of the various products related to the myriad races, and the fifth floor engaged in high value transactions.
...
Su Yu went straight to the Xia Trade Company after leaving his home. He had visited the place with his father before. After all, Su Long was a Great Strength cultivator. Due to the low density of ambient source qi in Nanyuan City, he needed the assistance of external cultivation resources to continue cultivating.
The fourth floor was further divided into several sections such as the Unknown Cultivation Method Section, Demon Flesh Section, Broken Tool Section, Natural Treasure Section, and so on. Of course, since this was only a branch of a small city like Nanyuan, most of the products being sold were at the level of the Great Strength Realm. Rarely any products at the level of Infinite Strength Realm could be found here.
Demon Flesh Section.
A beautiful and well-trained young woman flashed Su Yu a warm smile and asked, "How may I help you, sir?"
"Iron-winged bird blood."
"Iron-winged bird..." The woman gave it a thought before asking, "Regular blood or blood essence?"
An iron-winged bird was massive, so it would have a large amount of blood in its body. But only several drops of blood essence could be extracted from one iron-winged bird. The rest of the harvest would be regular blood that did not have much uses, unlike the blood essence that was quite useful.
Su Yu did not know what he needed either. After a slight hesitation, he said, "Can you show me both?"
"Sure thing!"
The woman did not question him. Iron-winged birds weren't a rare race. They were commonly utilized by the various races at the Allheaven Battlefield as an air force. If Su Yu was looking for the blood of a more powerful flying race instead, he might not be able to find any in Nanyuan. Shortly after, a male employee took out two glass bottles from a glass shelf and offered it to them.
"This is the regular blood and this is the blood essence. Both originated from a Great Strength iron-winged bird."
Looking at Su Yu who was staring intently at the bottles, the woman smiled and explained, "If you require the blood of an Infinite Strength iron-winged bird, you won't be able to find it at the Nanyuan branch. You can only find some at the capital."
"This will do."
Su Yu wouldn't be able to make use of the blood from an Infinite Strength iron-winged bird. Even if he could use it, he wouldn't be willing to spend the money for it.
"What's the price?"
"Five thousand dollars for a bottle of regular blood. It's very cheap. As for the blood essence, it is slightly higher in price. After all, less than ten drops of blood essence can be extracted from an adult iron-winged bird. We're selling them at fifty thousand dollars a drop."
Su Yu frowned. That was expensive.
"Great Strength combatants are basically cannon fodder at the Allheaven Battlefield. A large number of them will die every single day. Why is one drop of blood essence from a cannon fodder so expensive?"
The woman maintained the same smile on her face and said, "You're right, sir. But transporting the blood essence from the Allheaven Battlefield to Great Xia is an extremely expensive endeavor. We need to deal with numerous procedures such as extracting, conserving, selling, taxation, and so on. Fifty thousand per drop is really not that expensive, all things considered."
"The blood essence of a Great Strength iron-winged bird is naturally not worth much at the Allheaven Battlefield. It is common enough that you might even be able to randomly stumble upon some if you're lucky enough. However, this is not the Allheaven Battlefield."
Su Yu sank into silence. She was right. Blood essence of Great Strength beasts was of little value at the Allheaven Battlefield. More importantly, who would have the time to go around harvesting blood essence during a battle? And even if one could harvest some, how would one deliver the blood essence back?
Only a trade company like the Great Xia Trade Company with a powerful backing was capable of transporting materials obtained from the battlefield back to Great Xia. With the amount of effort required for transportation, it was understandable that the materials would be expensive.
"Give me a bottle of regular blood...and a drop of blood essence!"
It was very difficult for Su Yu to part with his wealth. He was fortunate that his father wasn't around. Otherwise, he would probably suffer an intense whooping from his father for wasting so much money for some blood.
"Sure thing! Card or cash?"
"Card!"
Su Yu's expression remained the same, but inwardly, he was feeling terrible. 55,000 dollars had been spent in total! Just like that, about one sixth of the money his father had spent so many years saving was gone.
"This is only a guess. If the blood doesn't work...then this would be a massive loss."
At that thought, Su Yu hurriedly asked, "By the way, do you buy back the blood you sold here?"
The woman blanked out slightly before replying with a smile, "Yes, we do. A thousand per bottle of regular blood and ten thousand per drop of blood essence."
"I-- "
Su Yu had the urge to curse. What a greedy business! Even if the Great Xia Trade Company was owned by Xia Longwu's family, he still couldn't resist cursing it. Buying back at one fifth the price? What a scam! Su Yu decided to let it go. The employees here were only doing what they were told. It was not like they were the decision makers. It was pointless to argue with them.
After swiping his card, Su Yu was given a box with two glass bottles inside. In one of the bottles, a drop of golden blood could be seen. It was as though the drop of blood was constantly swirling in the bottle, and if one looked carefully, one could even see the vague image of a soaring iron-winged bird in the drop of blood.
So that was the so-called blood essence!
The blood essence of these demonic races could more or less be helpful for one's cultivation when consumed. For example, the blood essence of an iron-winged bird would enhance the physical body of a Great Strength cultivator upon consumption.
For the human race, only after progressing beyond the Source Opening Realm would one be considered a proper cultivator. The realm after the Source Opening Realm was the Great Strength Realm, a realm focusing on the cultivation of one's physical body.
Blood essence might be helpful for Great Strength cultivators, but it was useless for Source Opening cultivators. In fact, it might even be harmful for those in the Source Opening Realm. The cases of bodies exploding after bathing in the blood of divines and devils wouldn't have happened otherwise.
Before opening the nine acupoints, one would be unable to circulate the source qi within one's body. Blind accumulation without circulation was the same as consuming poison. A natural treasure like the Heavenly Source Fruit was born out of pure heavenly source qi, so it was rather mild in effect, unlike regular source qi that was much harsher to digest.
While Su Yu was deep in thought, the woman reminded him, "Sir, if you're not at the Great Strength Realm yet, you can't use the iron-winged bird blood essence. It would be too dangerous."
"I know. Thanks." Su Yu casually asked, "Do you have Heavenly Source Fruits here?"
"What?" The woman blanked out before quickly recovering. "My apologies. We don't. In fact, I've never heard of that fruit before."
Su Yu did not mind. There were countless races in existence, and that was also the case for the natural treasures that could be found in the various realms. It would be unfair to expect a salesperson to know about every single treasure in existence. For them, it would be good enough to know about the products they were selling.
"What about source qi liquid?"
"We don't have that as well. Source qi liquid is quite hard to store as it can dissipate very easily. The cost of storage is too high," said the salesperson. "You can get some at the capital. In fact, we used to sell it here a few years ago. However, sales were low due to the high pricing, so we stopped restocking."
"Oh? What's the price of source qi liquid?"
"At the capital, you can get them for 100,000 per drop, but I'm not sure if the price has changed recently." The salesperson went on to suggest, "Sir, are you trying to accelerate your Source Opening cultivation? In truth, we have many treasures and pills here that might be helpful for that. For example, we have fire suckling blood, source opening pill..."
Su Yu rolled his eyes. Did she really think that he was some clueless fool? Sure, those things were helpful, but they were only a tiny bit helpful. If one's original cultivation speed was quantified at a hundred points, then using these things would probably increase the speed by one point. He was already aware of those methods, but only a fool would waste their money on them.
After spending tens of thousands on those methods, he would probably only gain an equivalent of one extra day of cultivation after a whole month. It wasn't like he was so rich that he didn't know what to do with his money.
Naturally, there were still people that would buy those things. Otherwise, production would have ceased a long time ago. In fact, those things were actually quite popular as they weren't too expensive if bought in small quantities.
Su Yu did not ask more and left with his box. He had successfully obtained the blood he was there for. However, he did not know if it would be useful. He could still resell the blood if it proved useless provided that he still had some left. Granted, he would suffer a great loss doing so, but that was still better than losing his entire investment.
...
Back at the neighborhood, below the apartment.
Chen Hao was waiting downstairs for Su Yu. When he saw that Su Yu was also returning home so early in the morning, he asked curiously, "Yu, where did you go?"
"I went shopping."
"Oh. Let's go to school-- "
"No."
"..."
Indignation spread across Chen Hao's face. "No?"
Wasn't Su Yu the one who had insisted on going to school the day before? Why had he changed his mind?
"I'm going to self-study at home." Su Yu smiled. "Go ahead. Remember to cultivate well at school. Try to reach the fourth-stage as soon as possible."
Like Su Yu, Chen Hao was also a third-stage Source Opening cultivator. Unfortunately, Chen Hao was incapable of entering the cultural research and scientific research academies. If he failed to enter a war academy as well, he would be forced to enter an internal affairs academy.
"I-- "
Su Yu stopped Chen Hao from nagging and expended quite a lot of effort before he finally managed to convince Chen Hao to leave.
...
In the living room.
Su Yu was staring at the two bottles of blood with a deep frown. He had the blood with him. But how was he supposed to use them?
"Should I swallow them? The blood of a beast at the Great Strength Realm won't cause my body to explode, but it will still harm my body. Or should I wait for the iron-winged bird to appear in my dream again? But it had only appeared once over a period of over ten years. Am I supposed to wait ten more years for a second appearance?"
Su Yu was troubled. He had been full of excitement before purchasing the blood. It hadn't been easy for him to get a clue about his dreams. He had already decided to even swallow the blood if he had to, but now that he had the blood in hand, he started hesitating. If the blood really ended up injuring him, it would hurt badly.
"Or should I be smearing the blood over my skin?"
Su Yu immediately gave it a try. There shouldn't be any problem as long as he didn't swallow the blood. Opening the bottle of regular blood, he dipped a finger inside before smearing the blood on the back of his hand. Then, he sat there waiting.
A few minutes later, Su Yu started frowning. Nothing was happening. The blood smeared on his skin was slowly drying out. This blood was five thousand dollars per bottle. If one consumed a tiny amount of it on a daily basis, it would help with improving one's health. It would be too much of a waste to just let the blood dry away.
"If this isn't working...maybe I should try consuming some?"
He licked the blood on the back of his hand and sat waiting once again. Alas, nothing happened as well.
"Is the regular blood not doing anything or am I using it wrong? Or have I completely misinterpreted the dream?"
Su Yu was vexed. He had spent tens of thousands of dollars for this. Had he been too rash? But he had been tortured by those dreams for way too many years. He wanted nothing more than to solve the issue immediately. Tens of thousands of dollars was a price he was willing to pay if it would really work.
Staring at the drop of blood essence, Su Yu couldn't bring himself to use it. He only had a single drop of these. The drop of blood was as hard as a precious stone. He couldn't even split it into smaller portions. He would have to directly swallow it as smearing it against his skin would not be an option here.
"Do I really need to swallow it? I'm only at the Source Opening Realm. If I take it, I'll either die or suffer grievous injuries. I already have very little hope of reaching the fourth-stage. If I hurt myself here, my cultivation level might even drop lower than it already is."
Su Yu couldn't make up his mind. Due to the years of torture he had suffered, he had developed a calm and steadfast personality. He wasn't the type of person to take risks. If it wasn't for the fact that his father had joined the battlefield, he wouldn't even think of joining a war academy. The dreams had tortured him for too many years. He wanted badly to solve the mystery behind his dreams.
"Just one drop...that probably won't kill. Should I try it? What's the worst that could happen? If I really get myself injured by this, I can just not enter a war academy. It's not like I stand much chance with my third-stage cultivation level anyway. And for cultural research academies, it wouldn't matter even if I'm only at the first-stage."
Su Yu stared at the golden blood before him. It appeared rather bright to his eyes. After some hesitation, he poured the drop of blood out. It was as solid as a stone and was actually rather heavy. He tried squeezing the drop of blood, but nothing changed.
"Should I wait one more day and see what happens after another dream? Maybe a different monster would need the iron-winged bird's blood as well? Or the iron-winged bird's blood would only work today?"
Every day around midnight, he would dream of a different monster. If he missed the window to use this drop of blood, just how long would he have to wait for the same bird to reappear? The bird might not even appear anymore in his life. Or maybe it would take decades to reappear. He grew so anxious that his breathing grew heavier. Fınd the newest release on novel·fire.net
"In that case, I'll give it a try! At worst, I'll suffer some injuries and just enter a cultural research academy instead of a war academy! I'll focus on studying the myriad races at the cultural research academy. A day will come when I eventually solve the mystery behind my dreams!"
His chances of entering a war academy were low anyway. The prospect of solving his dreams was attractive enough that he was willing to risk his rather low chance of admittance into a war academy. Clenching his teeth, he finally reached a decision.
Also, solving the mystery behind his dreams might even bring him an unexpected reward. With the blood essence in one hand and his communicator in his other hand, he quickly typed a message: Come to my house. I've something to tell you. If I'm not answering the door, break in!
The message was sent to Chen Hao. If he really ended up injured or losing his consciousness before he could seek help, Chen Hao would be around to send him to the hospital. After doing that, Su Yu clenched his teeth and swallowed the drop of blood. At worst, he would suffer some injuries. Was he someone who was afraid of pain?
"Ahhh!"
A miserable wail rang out the moment that thought crossed Su Yu's mind. He nearly teared up from the pain.
Boom!
Next, a boom erupted within his mind as he fainted.
"Moonlight!"
The massive iron-winged bird reappeared. This scene was so similar to the scene from the previous night yet dissimilar at the same time. This was something that had never happened before. The monsters from his dreams had never appeared twice. Today, that had happened! The iron-winged bird had reappeared!
Chapter 7: Book Activation
"Moonlight!"
The massive iron-winged bird shrieked. This time, the dream was much clearer. Su Yu was able to see the appearance of the bird clearly. What was different about this dream was the existence of a massive drop of golden blood hovering in the air. That was the blood essence he had consumed.
The iron-winged bird that was originally busy chasing after Su Yu seemed distracted. When it laid its eyes on the golden blood, the bird blanked out. It stopped chasing Su Yu and started flying toward the golden blood instead. It flew rapidly and instantly reached its target. After a shriek, it swallowed the drop of blood.
Boom!
Resplendent radiance erupted from the iron-winged bird, making it look like a bright sun that illuminated the entire dreamland. Sure enough, the blood essence was useful! Su Yu waited in anticipation. What would happen next? The iron-winged bird suddenly started enlarging uncontrollably, looking like it was about to burst apart.
Su Yu's expression changed. With a rumble, the iron-winged bird exploded into countless golden dots of light that spread everywhere in the air. The dreamland started collapsing, and even Su Yu's body was torn apart due to the explosion. At the final moment before the dreamland collapsed completely, a massive book appeared in the air.
The pages of the book started flipping over rapidly. All the pages were blank. Eventually, the flipping stopped at one blank page and the golden dots dove into it, instantly litting that page up. An illustration of an iron-winged bird appeared on the blank page. That was the point the dream ended and Su Yu woke up in reality.
...
"Hiss!"
His head was hurting so much he wondered if it was going to burst apart. In fact, his entire body was hurting, as though he had really been blasted apart in reality. His eyes flickered in excitement as he seemed to have finally deciphered his dream. At that moment, a faintly discernible book could be seen in his mind. That was the same book that had appeared in the dream.
"From dream to reality..."
Su Yu's expression turned solemn. After so many years of torture, he should be happy to finally decipher his dreams. But why would something from a dream appear outside of it? The book that had absorbed the iron-winged bird's blood essence had actually appeared in his mind. Was that an image or was there really a book within his head?
As Su Yu gazed inwardly at the book, he tried controlling the book with his mind. The pages of the book started flipping. Before long, he arrived at the page that had been illuminated by the iron-winged bird.
Iron-winged bird (Seventh-stage Great Strength Realm)
Racial abilities: Tier-1 Rip (activate with blood essence), Ironwing Slash (activate with blood essence)
Foundation source art: Source Swallowing (activate with blood essence)
There were only a few words on the page. Those weren't written in the human language. Rather, they were written in the iron-winged bird language. If Su Yu had not learned the language before, he would not be able to read this page.
"Seventh-stage Great Strength, racial ability, foundation source art..."
Su Yu frowned. What was that book? Looking at the contents of the page, was he supposed to consume more blood essence for activation? Activate? What was he supposed to activate? Those abilities?
Seventh-stage Great Strength probably referred to the strength of the iron-winged bird the blood essence had been extracted from. That was easily understandable. ?But what about the rest of the words? What did they mean?
Numerous thoughts crossed Su Yu's mind.
"Will I be able to unlock the abilities of the iron-winged bird race as long as I have enough blood essence? But will I even be able to use the activated abilities? Even if I can, how strong will those abilities be when activated by me? Will it be at the level of third-stage Source Opening or seventh-stage Great Strength? How long will the abilities stay activated? Are there any side effects? Where did this book come from?"
Su Yu's eyes flickered as he sank into thought. These dreams had started over ten years ago. Was it possible that this book had stayed in his mind for that long as well? If so, who was the one who had planted the book in his mind? Was there some sort of conspiracy?
There were countless races in existence. Could this be a scheme by one of them with the intention of using him to sow chaos among humanity? He couldn't help considering that possibility.
After all, there were some extremely treacherous races out there. In fact, something like that had happened in the Human Realm before. There was one incident where numerous human experts fell into the machinations of the enemy and were eventually enticed into becoming the members of the Myriad Race Cult.
"But humanity has a population of tens of billions. I am as ordinary as a human can get. Even if they have to plot and scheme, is there a need to use the plan on me? Especially a plan that would take over ten years?"
Su Yu still couldn't find a proper explanation for the book in his mind. He couldn't resist giving it a try. Also, that was quite a thick book. He had only activated a single page so far. Was it possible that he could activate the other pages as well?
While deep in thought, Su Yu suddenly sensed a burst of undulations. He blanked out as he realized that the undulations were coming from the book. The book was actually conversing with him. However, the conversation wasn't made through words. Instead, the answer was somehow being mentally projected into his mind.
"Yes, I can activate the other pages. As long as it is a race that I've dreamed about, I can activate the corresponding page with the correct blood essence. But I'm only at the Source Opening Realm. I need to take my body into consideration when consuming blood essence."
In fact, Su Yu was feeling like his body was on the verge of exploding right this moment. It was extremely painful. After all, he had consumed the blood essence of a seventh-stage Great Strength iron-winged bird. If it had been the blood of an Infinite Strength Realm bird instead, Su Yu would have probably been crippled if not killed by now.
"I see," muttered Su Yu to himself. He finally understood. Over the years, he had been dreaming of a different race every night.
As for the book in its mind, it wasn't something that had appeared due to the iron-winged bird's blood essence. Rather, as long as he had the blood essence of any race he had dreamed of, he would be able to activate the book. Google seaʀᴄh novel•fire.net
Unfortunately, Su Yu had not been able to recognize the races that he had dreamed of in the past. Additionally, he was only a third-stage Source Opening cultivator. He wouldn't randomly swallow a drop of blood essence for no reason at his cultivation level.
If he hadn't been able to understand the words of the iron-winged bird in his dream, he wouldn't have taken this risk either. After all, doing this at his cultivation was dangerous enough to kill him if he was careless or unlucky.
"Foundation source art: Source Swallowing..."
Suddenly, Su Yu noticed the third row of the words in the page. The Source Swallowing Technique was the foundation art of the iron-winged bird race. It only had one usage: source qi absorption.
"Source Swallowing Technique...activate with blood essence?"
Su Yu's eyes lit up, "What does this mean? Will I be able to activate this technique with blood essence and start absorbing source qi with it? But those in the Source Opening Realm aren't supposed to be able to actively absorb source qi. They can only cultivate passively."
He did not care much about the racial abilities. Rip and Ironwing Slash were the basic abilities of the iron-winged bird race. That was something the human race was aware of. Blood essence activation might allow Su Yu to learn those abilities, and he might even be able to use them at the level of a seventh-stage Great Strength bird. Even so, he still didn't care much about those abilities.
His attention was completely on the Source Swallowing Technique. That technique could be activated with blood essence as well. What did that mean? Before the Great Strength Realm, humans were not able to actively absorb source qi. The Source Opening Codex could only help humans gather a tiny bit of source qi and slightly increase the ambient source qi density around them, increasing the efficiency of their passive cultivation.
"Source Swallowing Technique..."
Su Yu couldn't help but to grow excited. If he could really activate the Source Swallowing Technique, did that not mean that he would be able to actively absorb source qi at the Source Opening Realm?
It took a long time for a human to open the nine acupoints. The main reason for that was their inability to actively absorb source qi. That was because humans were not born with interlinked acupoints. What would happen if a human gained the ability to actively absorb source qi at the Source Opening Realm?
"But...I still don't know if there are any side effects. How efficient will the active absorption be? And how many drops of blood essence would I need to activate the technique? If I only use one drop, how long will the technique stay active? How good would the technique be? This shit is very expensive. I'll need to spend fifty thousand per drop. If each drop would last only several minutes, it wouldn't be worth it."
Numerous possibilities appeared in Su Yu's mind. Additionally, there were also the other pages in the book that would also require activation with more drops of blood essence. How was he supposed to get his hands on so many drops of blood essence? There were too many things to consider. Su Yu suddenly felt like he did not have enough mental capacity to think about all that.
"Perhaps...I should test it out. Also, where did this book come from? Should I ask the teachers about it?"
After some thought, Su Yu rejected that notion. Even if that book was really planted by someone else, his teachers wouldn't know anything. They were too weak compared to someone capable of such a feat. After all, the book had remained undetected for over ten years. Even those at the Skysoar Realm might not be able to do anything about it, never mind those at the Great Strength and Infinite Strength Realms.
"Sitting here thinking won't change anything. It's better for me to perform some tests."
Just as Su Yu was busy thinking, a loud noise erupted from the door. Next, Chen Hao burst through the door waving his school bag while roaring, "I've notified the Windcatcher Department! Feel free to stay if you're not afraid of death! We have experts all around the apartment! You better piss off if you know what's good for you!"
"..."
Su Yu was speechless. After Chen Hao's shout, noises started coming from the apartment units upstairs and downstairs. Before long, someone living upstairs shouted, "What's going on? Are the animals from the Myriad Race Cult here? Audacious! Surround them!"
"..."
Su Yu stopped blanking out and hurriedly shouted, "It's fine! It's fine! Grandpa Zhou, it's Chen Hao playing a joke on me! I'm sorry!"
Soon, an old man rushed over with a cleaver in hand. After pushing Chen Hao who was standing before the door aside and checking that Su Yu was fine, he breathed out in relief and said, "I thought the bastards from the Myriad Race Cult were here. Your father is not around anymore, so you need to be careful. Feel free to look for us if you encounter any trouble."
Then, he slapped Chen Hao on the back of his head.
"You! Who told you to start shouting? Don't go around shouting for no reason. What if we think you're lying the next time you ask for help when the Myriad Race Cult bastards are really here? Wouldn't that be terrible?"
The old man was furious. However, his anger was only directed toward Chen Hao.
"Kid, if you dare to raise a false alarm again, I'll have your father drag you downstairs and hang you naked before whooping your ass."
Chen Hao had a sullen expression. He really wanted to explain that this wasn't his idea. It was Su Yu's idea! That fellow had suddenly sent such a message to him. How could he not be worried? This really wasn't his fault!
Su Yu stood up. His body was still in pain, but it was bearable. A majority of the blood essence had probably been absorbed by the book. Thus, his body had only absorbed a tiny bit of the blood's power and was only suffering from some pain instead of actual injuries.
He ignored his pain and hurriedly apologized to Grandpa Zhou. Grandpa Zhou had a gratified smile on his face as he listened to Su Yu. At the end, he did not forget to give Chen Hao's head another slap.
Just look at you! Why are you so different from this Su kid? Compared to him, you're so dumb!
Chen Hao felt like crying.
Su Yu was also feeling helpless. He remembered something and hurriedly asked, "Did you contact the Windcatcher Department?"
"No. I was bluffing," Chen Hao replied sulkily. He wasn't sure if something had really happened, so he hadn't actually notified the Windcatcher Department.
"Good." Su Yu breathed out in relief.
Chen Hao said unhappily, "What's so good about that? Also, why did you send me a message like that? I thought something bad happened to you!"
When the crowd of grandpas and grandmas that had gathered outside saw that everything was fine, they left.
Su Yu breathed out in relief and dragged Chen Hao back into his home. After shutting the door, he said, "I was feeling dizzy earlier so I was afraid I would faint. That was why I sent you that message. Didn't I tell you to knock first?"
"Oh, you're fine?" Chen Hao did not pursue the matter. Instead, he asked worriedly, "Did you starve yourself? Uncle Su is gone so you're out of food? You should come eat at my place in the future! My dad even told me to invite you over the other day. I didn't tell you because I was worried that you would be embarrassed..."
Su Yu did not know whether to laugh or cry. Was he stupid enough to starve himself? Nevertheless, he was still moved. This fellow could be noisy and simple-minded at times, but he was still a good friend to have.
"I'm fine. I spent too long cultivating the Source Opening Codex last night so I was feeling unwell in the morning. I'm fine now."
"That's good to hear." Chen Hao was relieved. "So are you going to school today? Why don't you call in sick. While you're at it, tell the school that I'm accompanying you for a checkup and get a leave of absence for me as well."
"..."
Su Yu was no longer feeling as moved. He had nothing to say to this fellow. So it turned out that Chen Hao wanted to skip class but did not have the guts to do it. Therefore, he was trying to get Su Yu to get a leave of absence for him instead.
"Piss off!" Su Yu scolded with a laugh. "I'm not skipping today. I have something to do at school."
"You're going to school today?" Chen Hao found himself confused. Why was this fellow changing his mind all the time? He was the one who had refused to go previously. But now, he wanted to go? Was this how the brains of all smart people worked? They would change their mind all the time?
Su Yu couldn't be bothered to explain himself. He wanted to see if there were any ways he could get some iron-winged bird blood from the school. Or maybe he could find a cheaper source of blood essence from school. After all, the Xia Trade Company was too greedy! At fifty thousand per drop, there wasn't much he could do with the small amount of money Su Long left behind.
Chapter 8: Spark of Civilization
At Nanyuan Secondary School, Chen Hao went to class as he couldn't afford to skip any lessons while Su Yu went straight to the Resource Department.
...
"Su Yu, you want to trade for some iron-winged bird blood essence?" The managing teacher of the Resource Department asked in astonishment, "The blood essence of a Great Strength bird would only be helpful for those at the Great Strength Realm. For Source Opening cultivators, it would be poisonous instead of helpful. What do you need the blood for?"
"Can I trade for it, Teacher Zhang?" Su Yu asked with a smile, "You know I've been researching the myriad races. The iron-winged bird is one of the races I have been researching, so I hope to get some of their blood to assist in my research. However, the blood essence is really too expensive. That's why I'm trying my luck here."
"Yes, you can. You've been certified for eighteen different languages over the years. Apart from the three compulsory languages, you've been rewarded fifteen merit points for the other fifteen languages. You've also been awarded three points for reaching the third-stage Source Opening Realm, adding up to a total of eighteen merit points."
After checking the records, the managing teacher continued, "However, you had spent six points at the library, so you have twelve points left."
"Yeah, I know." Su Yu smiled, "How many drops of iron-winged bird blood essence can I get with my remaining twelve points?"
"You're trading your merit points for blood essence? It's really not worth it. You won't be able to do much with the blood essence."
The teacher couldn't help advising Su Yu, "A Great Strength iron-winged bird is too strong for you even if they are at the bottom of the barrel at the Allheaven Battlefield. Your merit points can be used in your future academy as well. You can even get valuable resources from the academy with your points. While you're still in secondary school, you can earn these points easily. Just mastering one language is enough to get you one point. But that won't be the case in the academy.
"It's really not worth using your points for something like this. At the academy, you can obtain restricted knowledge, high-tier cultivation methods, and even access to some limited courses with your points. In fact, the points can even be used in the army..."
"Yeah, I know all that. But I really have no other choice here." Su Yu smiled helplessly. He knew all that. He could only fault himself for not having enough money.
Sure, he had the money to buy even five drops of blood essence if he wanted, but that would empty his bank account. He still needed to keep some money for his daily expenses. As he wouldn't be able to make a living as a Source Opening cultivator, he also had to account for his expenses in his future academy.
The so-called merit point was a different sort of currency. It was one of the most valuable currency systems in use apart from the anping dollar. The anping dollar could be used to purchase a lot of things. However, it was also restricted from purchasing a lot of things. Thıs content belongs to n͟o͟v͟e͟l͟f͟i͟r͟e͟.net
High-tier strategic resources, high-tier cultivation methods, and some limited inheritances could only be purchased with merit points. The merit point system was basically an unit of measurement for one's contribution to humanity. Without proper contribution to humanity, you would still be limited in what you could purchase regardless of how wealthy you were.
Every single point spent and earned would be recorded. For example, even after spending all eighteen of his merit points, Su Yu's original earned merit would still remain at eighteen points. Any new points earned would be added on top of it instead of his leftover merit points.
At a hundred original earned merit, Su Yu would obtain an even higher level of clearance. That was a system put in place to stop wealthy individuals from purchasing merit points with money and gaining access to high-clearance resources with their wealth alone. For example, a tycoon who had purchased tens of thousands of merit points would still be limited in what they could purchase without sufficient original earned merit.
The resource managing teacher sighed and said, "Fine, I won't stop you. But it is still too early for you to conduct these researches. There isn't much Nanyuan Secondary School could do to support your research. When you're in an academy, you will be able to apply for a subsidy for your research. You might even receive sponsorships. The iron-winged birds are too common so they're not worth researching. If you ask me, it's better to research something else instead..."
Su Yu smiled, "You know what teacher? I agree. Are there any ox-faced fish blood essence here?"
"..."
The teacher replied awkwardly, "Well, we don't have that here. Those fellows reside in the Mount Root Realm and are rarely found at the Allheaven Battlefield. Furthermore, they wouldn't enter the Allheaven Battlefield before reaching the Infinite Strength Realm or even the Skysoar Realm. You can find their blood in the cultural research academies, but not here."
What was the point of saying all that then?
Su Yu was able to recognize a few of the races that had appeared in his dreams before. The ox-faced fish was one of them. However, the weakest ox-faced fish on the Allheaven Battlefield was at the Infinite Strength Realm. If he consumed an Infinite Strength blood essence at his current cultivation, his body would probably burst apart even with the book absorbing the majority of the blood essence's energy.
As for the blood essence of the races he was unsure about, he wouldn't dare consume them. The moment he consumed the blood essence of a wrong race, his body would probably suffer as his book wouldn't be absorbing the blood essence of a race that had yet to appear in his dream. Thus, the iron-winged bird was still the safest choice for him currently.
"Teacher, I'll just get some iron-winged bird blood essence."
"How many drops do you want? You need to spend one merit point per drop. It's really not worth it..." ?The teacher persuaded, "You might feel like these merit points aren't that valuable, what with the exchange rate of fifty-thousand dollars per point, but there are things that can't be measured with money alone. You know what I mean."
"Thank you for the reminder, teacher." Su Yu nodded before immediately adding, "I'll get three drops for now. I'll come back if I need more."
"You--" The teacher felt helpless seeing how stubborn Su Yu was. He could only get a staff to retrieve the said blood essence. While waiting for the staff to return, he said, "The school is aware that your father went to the Allheaven Battlefield two days ago. Be careful when you're home alone. Those fellows from the Myriad Race Cult are currently active in Great Xia. I'm sure you're aware of that."
"Yeah, I know. But their activity in Great Xia won't affect me, right?"
"How can you say that?" The teacher chided, "You never know what could happen! Those animals from the Myriad Race Cult do not primarily aim for experts or genius cultivators. Rather, they generally target the sages.
"Sure, you're no sage, but you're one of the few students in Nanyuan Secondary School with a guaranteed spot in the cultural research academies. There is a limit to the amount of damage a combat expert can cause. However, there is no limit to what a sage can do. Humanity has survived for hundreds of years at the Allheaven Battlefield by relying not only on the experts alone, but also on the sages supporting us behind the front line.
"In fact, you wouldn't be considered a top-tier researcher of a cultural research academy if you haven't been a target of assassination before. These researchers are in charge of analyzing the cultivation methods of the myriad races and studying their civilizations, allowing humanity to increase the number of experts in their ranks and gain the strength to face the myriad races..."
Reverence seeped into the teacher's face as he continued, "The contributions they make behind the scenes are no less than what those combat experts are capable of. Unfortunately, a lot of these researchers lack the required strength. Thus, even staying behind the front line, they are commonly targeted by the Myriad Race Cult. Assassinations are a common occurrence for them.
"All the disturbances caused by the Myriad Race Cult are not for the sake of assassinating our combat experts. Instead, those researchers are the primary targets. You have yet to join a cultural research academy and have yet to master a lot of languages. But taking your age into consideration, you're a far more attractive target than the students who are talented in terms of combat. In fact, even the cultivation geniuses at fourth or fifth-stage Source Opening Realm might not be worth the time of the Myriad Race Cult members.
"How long would someone in the Source Opening Realm take to reach the Skysoar Realm? In comparison, a sage would require only a decade or two to fully decipher a cultivation method and identify its weakness before coming up with efficient ways to counter the users of said cultivation method. Such an individual is far more dangerous than a Skysoar Realm expert."
Su Yu smiled helplessly. That was too much of an exaggeration, right? He might have mastered eighteen languages, but that was a very small number compared to the number of races in existence. Also, he had only mastered the more common ones.
"Don't look down on the threat of the Myriad Race Cult. Be careful and watch your back. Be sure to seek help when you encounter danger. We have increased the security measures within Nanyuan. Even the Windcatcher Department and the Martial Dragon Guards stationed here have been deployed. In the event of danger, just start shouting. It will only take dozens of seconds for help to arrive."
Seeing how serious the teacher was, Su Yu nodded and said, "Don't worry, teacher. I know. Nanyuan is a small city. Those fellows might not come here after all. And if they do come here, in all honesty, I doubt I'll be their priority."
"Yeah, you're right." The teacher smiled. "But you should still be careful, especially when you're with Instructor Liu."
"Huh?" Su Yu was confused. "Instructor Liu..."
"No, don't get this wrong. Instructor Liu is the best instructor in Nanyuan Secondary School. Most of our students who have managed to enter the cultural research academies were taught by him.
"If the Myriad Race Cult is really here, Instructor Liu will be their biggest target. Instead of the mayor or the school principal, he will be the first person to be assassinated. Instructor Liu is a spark, a spark of civilization. At the very least, that's the case for Nanyuan. That's why you need to watch your back when you're with him."
Su Yu's expression changed, "Teacher, would Instructor Liu be fine?"
"Don't worry about him. The school principal is personally protecting Instructor Liu. Even the Martial Dragon Guards are protecting him in secret. A team has also been sent over from the Windcatcher Department. I'm only reminding you to be careful while you're on your way to Instructor Liu's place."
Su Yu was relieved to hear that. This Instructor Liu was his main teacher, the person who had taught him the majority of the eighteen languages he knew. As mentioned by the resource managing teacher, Instructor Liu might not be anything special in the entirety of Great Xia, but for a small city like Nanyuan and for Nanyuan Secondary School, he was worthy of being called a spark of civilization.
He had been teaching for many years. Over a hundred of his former students had managed to join the various cultural research academies. Of these students, about half of them had been able to graduate from the academies, each occupying an important position in Great Xia.
These lower level individuals weren't anything special compared to the top experts, but they were also what humanity relied on for its continued existence. If the Myriad Race Cult was really in Nanyuan, it would definitely be more likely for Instructor Liu to be their target instead of the mayor.
Finally, the staff arrived with the requested iron-winged bird's blood essence. Three drops! After the purchase, Su Yu only had nine merit points left. His heart ached at the thought of spending his points like this. After all, he had only spent six points over the years to obtain countless information from the library. It was a truly luxurious act to be spending three points in one go.
Accepting the bottle of blood essence, Su Yu asked, "Teacher, has Instructor Liu been coming to the school these few days?"
"Yes, he's coming in as usual. He was told to stay at the mayor's place until the danger is over, but he refused."
"I see. I'll pay him a visit."
Su Yu had intended to return home immediately and give the blood essence a try, but he changed his mind. He wanted to visit Instructor Liu and ask the instructor some questions.
Chapter 9: The Capabilities of Cultural Research Academies (1)
Instructor's Office.
Liu Wenyan, a man over sixty years old, was writing as he spoke without looking up, "Principal, you don't have to follow me around. We're in school. I'll be fine."
Sitting nearby, the principal, also a man of over sixty years old, smiled and replied, "It's not like I'm disturbing you. Why are you chasing me away?"
"You're disturbing me by merely breathing."
"..."
The principal did not know whether to laugh or cry. Liu Wenyan continued speaking, "Also, you're a fresh Infinite Strength cultivator. You're too weak. What can you even do here?"
"I—"
The principal was speechless. Was he really that weak? Yeah, maybe. A brand new Infinite Strength Realm at over sixty years old was really nothing special. However, this was Nanyuan, the smallest of the twenty-eight cities within Great Xia.
He wasn't even the mayor. He was only the principal of a secondary school. There was no need for him to be too strong. A real expert would either be at the capital or the Allheaven Battlefield. In Nanyuan, he could actually be considered strong.
"Hey, you think I enjoy doing this?" complained the old principal. "I'm only here because you're too important, you old bag of bones. Over the past twenty years, a total of 320 students from Nanyuan had managed to enter the various cultural research academies. On average, there were about sixteen of them per year. Half of them were taught by you. Isn't it obvious that you would stick out like a sore thumb for those fellows from the Myriad Race Cult?"
"You're exaggerating." Liu Wenyan laughed. "This is a small city. There is a limit to the number of students we can send to the academies. The number of students we have are nothing compared to the other cities in Great Xia. Why would the Myriad Race Cult waste their time on me?"
"You never know. In any case, you're more important than me. I'm a weak Infinite Strength cultivator. They won't even spare me a glance."
The principal might be speaking with a joking tone, but that was the truth. An Infinite Strength cultivator wasn't weak, but it still wasn't strong enough to be of much use at a place like the Allheaven Battlefield.
The Myriad Race Cult would still have to sacrifice a few members to kill an Infinite Strength cultivator behind the front line. It was simply not worth it, especially when the target was an old man over sixty years old.
Suddenly, the principal's ears moved as he smiled and said, "Su Yu is here. This kid is much better than his father."
"Don't belittle Su Long. What did he do? He only rejected your offer to become a guard at the school. Do you have to hold a grudge over that?"
Liu Wenyan also smiled. He finally looked up and said, "Su Long still has his passion. I've long noticed that he was unwilling to live out the rest of his life as a retiree. He had been trying to join the Martial Dragon Guards and was only forced to give up after being rejected."
The principal snorted and said, "It's clear he stood no chance of joining them. A ninth-stage Great Strength cultivator below thirty might still be able to join, but him? At his age? Maybe he would stand a better chance if he was a ninth-stage Infinite Strength cultivator instead."
"Even so, he's much better than you. If he can survive the Allheaven Battlefield, he'll probably return as an Infinite Strength cultivator in a few years." Liu Wenyan continued, "Su Yu is decent as well. He might not be a super genius, but he will still be able to join the ranks of the regular researchers contributing to the survival of humanity after entering the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy. Both of them are much better than you and me..."
The principal nodded with a sigh, "If I hadn't harmed my foundation at the Allheaven Battlefield back then, I wouldn't have retired from the army and become a principal here. This is such a boring job."
"Rejoice that you were able to return alive. Very few soldiers at the Allheaven Battlefield could keep their foundations unharmed. At a dangerous place like that, they will have to forcefully rise beyond the seventh-stage Great Strength Realm or they would be too weak to even serve as cannon fodder."
Liu Wenyan couldn't help but to sigh. A majority of the soldiers at the Allheaven Battlefield would have no hope of reaching the Skysoar Realm. There was nothing they could do about it.
That was a hellish place with desperate battles occurring at all times. New soldiers would die in only a few days unless they forcefully break through in their cultivation. Cultivation foundation would be the last thing on their minds when their lives were on the line. The more talented individuals would be recruited into the various war academies, leaving the less talented ones to struggle for survival in the army.
While the two were speaking, Su Yu stepped into the office. A bright smile instantly appeared on Liu Wenyan's face. Su Yu was a student he was very satisfied with. This young man was a hardworking and patient student. He might not be a super genius, but humanity needed more than geniuses to prosper. Good seedlings willing to advance one step at a time like this were also important to have.
"Instructor, principal," greeted Su Yu after entering the office.
"Su Yu, you're here."
Liu Wenyan smiled, looking much friendlier when he was facing Su Yu. A wide smile was plastered on his face as he said, "You father has left for the Allheaven Battlefield. Are you having any trouble living alone?"
"No. I'm doing fine." Su Yu shifted his tone and asked in a worried tone, "Instructor, I heard that the Myriad Race Cult will be here at Nanyuan--"
"Don't worry." Liu Wenyan did not seem to care. "We don't know if they'll be here for sure. Even if they're really here, what can they do? To make a move against me, they'll have to prepare to suffer a large number of casualties. It's not worth it."
Liu Wenyan stood up and looked outside the window. He still had the same smile on his face as he said, "When encountering major events, stay calm. Su Yu, what I like most about you is your ability to stay calm and unruffled when encountering trouble. That is your advantage over others. Do not let a small issue like this disturb your state of mind."
The principal smiled and walked out, leaving the two to their conversation.
...
The moment the principal left, Liu Wenyan stopped smiling. He gestured at Su Yu to sit down. Curious, Su Yu did as told without asking anything.
"Su Yu, I heard you registered for the war academies?"
"Yes."
"You want to join a war academy, right?"
Su Yu blanked out slightly. He quickly explained, "No, I was only applying just in case--"
"Stop lying to me. I'm not stupid. You're trying to enter the Allheaven Battlefield because your father has gone there, right?"
Su Yu sank into silence.
Liu Wenyan smiled and said, "Foolish. Even after joining a war academy, how long will it take for you to reach a sufficient level of cultivation to protect your father?"
Su Yu sank into silence. He had thought of that before. However, he had been avoiding the question. In any case, with the book in his mind, things were no longer so certain.
"Can you name some super experts of our human race?"
"Great Xia King, Great Zhou King, Great Ming King..."
Liu Wenyan nodded and said, "How about those that have only emerged after the start of the Anping Calendar?"
Before Su Yu could answer, Liu Wenyan said with a smile, "The most well-known among them are probably the prefects of the various prefectures and the commanders of the various armies. But do you know that thirty percent of these people came from the cultural research academies?"
Su Yu was stunned. Thirty percent of them came from cultural research academies? Weren't the cultural research academies in charge of…
Liu Wenyan seemed to know what he was thinking. "Do you think that everyone from the cultural research academies are like me? Someone that only knows some languages with incredibly weak combat strength? You're wrong!"
Liu Wenyan's face turned solemn, "I've never told you this before because you're not yet at the point where you need to know all that. In truth, there are a lot of combat experts in the cultural research academies as well. In fact, some of their top experts are even stronger than those from the war academies.
"As the researchers of the myriad races, how can we be weak? If we're really that weak, how are we supposed to comprehend the more complicated cultivation methods of those races?"
Liu Wenyan had a burning gaze. "I'm merely a useless failure of a student from a cultural research academy. Do you think that I'm really as weak as I look?"
"Huh?" Su Yu opened his mouth to speak but hesitated. That was quite a shameless statement. After all, the instructor was only a seventh-stage Great Strength cultivator. That was simply too weak.
"Do you want to say that I'm only a seventh-stage Great Strength cultivator and I'm simply too weak?"
Su Yu blinked, feeling like he had been seen through by his instructor.
"Yes, I can somewhat see what you're thinking."
Su Yu was instantly stunned.
"Shocked?" Liu Wenyan smiled. "You're too weak. Before me, you're completely defenseless. Take note to hide your thoughts better in the future. I'm telling you all this because I don't want you to only think about your short-term gains and give up on the cultural research academies."
Liu Wenyan's expression turned stern as he said, "I intended for you to learn all that after joining a cultural research academy. But now, I need to let you know in advance so that you don't make the wrong choice.
"There are countless paths one can take in cultivation. Different races would walk different paths. But it all comes down to the acts of absorbing source qi, refining one's body, and strengthening one's self."
"To strengthen one's self, there are two paths. Physical and willpower, also known as mental power. Willpower is a vague concept. It is very hard to grow strong walking that path. Thus, most people will grow their physical body first and only start cultivating their willpower upon reaching a certain level of strength."
"That isn't the case for us." A smile bloomed on Liu Wenyan's face. "People like us have gained an open mind and powerful willpower through our study of the many different languages. Thus, we walk a different path. First, we strengthen our willpower. Then, we strengthen our physical body. With a formidable willpower, physical strengthening would be a simple task."
"That's not to say this is an easy path to take." Liu Wenyan's face turned strict again. "When your willpower is strong enough, you'll be able to strengthen your body and allow it to absorb more source qi without being harmed. However, this path requires time and a much larger amount of resources. Some cultural researchers are capable of advancing from the Great Strength Realm to the Skysoar Realm or even a higher realm within a single day upon reaching the stage where their willpower glows as bright as the sun."
"All paths lead to the same destination. The final goal of both cultural research academies and war academies is the same: to strengthen the individual and the human race! The body is easy to train, but willpower is extremely difficult to cultivate. The path of willpower cultivation is much harder to walk. That's why this information is not widespread among the public. We want to prevent the masses from overestimating themselves and walk the wrong path."
Looking at the surprised Su Yu, Liu Wenyan smiled and asked, "Surprised? It's not surprising at all. You're someone who has studied the myriad races as well. Although you still don't know much about them, you should still know a little. For example, the nightmare race whose language you know, is a race of illusory people that can hardly be seen with one's naked eyes.
"It is said that they have the ability to easily invade your dreams, but that's not the case. They are merely creating an illusory world with their willpower before drawing your mind in. That is why they are such a powerful race. Strictly speaking, the cultivation of cultural researchers is similar to theirs."
Su Yu was totally stunned. He softly asked, "Instructor, are you saying that...it is possible to gain strength through the path of cultural research?"
"It's more than possible. It would be a faster path." Liu Wenyan explained, "First, forge your willpower. Then, forge your body. Some geniuses in the cultural research academies are able to achieve willpower materialization after only three to five years in the academy and strengthen their bodies to reach the Skysoar Realm within a single day. Their subsequent progress in cultivation will also be much faster than physical cultivators.
"How about those from the war academies? How long will they take to reach the Skysoar Realm? Even a genius there will need many years of bitter training to reach that level. Of course, our path of cultivation is much harder than theirs. Therefore, there are less of us around. Only thirty percent of our super experts are from cultural research academies. From this, you can see how difficult it is to walk this path."
Still trying to absorb all the information thrown his way, Su Yu asked, "So willpower can be cultivated?"
"Yes."
"It's not something everyone can do?" Thɪs chapter is updated by N()velFire.net
"Correct. There are requirements for willpower cultivation. In fact, the requirements are higher than what you need for physical cultivation. Willpower is basically the same as mental power. It is something that can't be discerned or measured early on. In fact, the number of myriad race languages mastered can be used as a sort measuring stick for one's potential in willpower cultivation.
"For a lot of people, the reason they couldn't master too many languages is because of their weak willpower, not because they are not hardworking enough. You're able to master eighteen different languages. Why can't more of your peers do so?
"Were they simply lazy? No. Some of them have actually worked hard, maybe even harder than you. But they just can't seem to master those languages. If they push themselves, they will find themselves suffering from an intense headache. That's all because of their weak willpower. They have no choice but to focus on their physical body first before working on their willpower."
Su Yu heaved a long breath and said, "In that case, does my talent lie in willpower cultivation instead of physical body?"
"You can say so. That's why the myriad races are so wary of cultural researchers. That's also why the Myriad Race Cult will generally target our cultural researchers instead of physical cultivators. Before reaching a level where you can strengthen your body with your willpower, you're still very weak. This is the time when you're the most vulnerable."
Chapter 10: The Capabilities of Cultural Research Academies (2)
Su Yu was finding it hard to accept all that. This was the first time he had ever heard that cultural research was also a path of cultivation.
"In fact, I would have gone looking for you even if you're not here today. I won't stop you from looking for your father at the Allheaven Battlefield. In fact, I'm glad to hear that. Human nature. Yes, that's how human nature works, and that's what humanity relies on to stand tall against the myriad races. However, you can't be rash. You must stay calm.
"The number of students accepted into cultural research academies each year is smaller than those accepted into war academies. It might also appear as if the cultural research academies have lower requirements, but in truth, the requirements are higher. Do you really think that the cultural research academies are only a gathering place for a bunch of bookworms?"
Liu Wenyan's smile grew wider as he said, "No. We're not only capable of researching behind the front line, but we can also enter the battlefield and slaughter our enemies. Those among us who could enter the battlefield would be at least a Skysoar Realm expert. Great Strength? Infinite Strength? Those are merely the realms where you refine your body with source qi. Us cultural researchers can finish that process in one day!"
"..."
Su Yu froze. After a while, he finally asked, "Instructor, y-you're a Skysoar cultivator?"
"No," Liu Wenyan replied indifferently.
"So you're stronger than that?"
"No." Liu Wenyan had the same indifferent appearance.
Su Yu blanked out. What exactly was his instructor trying to say?
"I told you. Only upon willpower materialization will one be able to refine one's body. I'm not at that stage yet."
That single statement made everything Liu Wenyan had spoken earlier seem like a joke. He...had yet to materialize his willpower. He was really only a Great Strength cultivator. Su Yu looked up at his instructor in astonishment.
Old man, how can you say all that with a straight face? You're almost seventy for fuck's sake! You have yet to materialize your willpower yourself but you're here telling me a cultural researcher can reach that stage in three to five years? There should be a limit even if you want to brag!
"Don't look at me like that." Liu Wenyan replied calmly, "I was merely a failure of a student at the academy back then. I'm not one of their genius students. I've been wasting my life away after graduation, so it's normal for me to be incapable of willpower materialization. If it's really that easy, the number of human experts coming from cultural research academies wouldn't be as low as thirty percent. Instead, it would be something like ninety percent.
"Cultivation is not an easy feat regardless of the path you take. However, I still believe that the path of willpower is the faster and more promising one. If you want to grow strong quickly, this is your only option. The path of willpower."
Su Yu sank into a long silence before saying, "Instructor, are there cultivation methods meant for willpower?"
"Yes." Liu Wenyan suddenly coughed awkwardly. "But we don't have any in Nanyuan. You'll get them after entering an academy."
Of course, the premise of getting a willpower cultivation method was to first accomplish willpower materialization. He left that unmentioned. Otherwise, Su Yu would probably start cursing at him.
"In fact, the process of studying the languages of the myriad races and their cultivation methods is an act of training your willpower. The effect is even more pronounced when studying the original texts..."
Liu Wenyan's expression turned stern again, "You need to know that the reading materials we have here are not the original texts. The original texts would actually contain the power or willpower of the corresponding race within. After studying and deciphering these reading materials, one would benefit greatly.
"Of course, working with these materials can also be dangerous. For example, one might lose their mind. Every single year, there would be some academy members losing their mind while studying these original texts. Remember to be careful when you start working on them in the future. The more powerful a cultivation method or the more important a document, the more powerful the willpower contained within would be. Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on n͟o͟v͟e͟l͟f͟i͟r͟e͟.net
"Because of that, it is rather easy to discern how important a document can be. The more powerful the willpower within, the more important the document would be. You can try visiting the Xia Trade Company. The ordinary looking cultivation methods are guaranteed to be trash. In fact, the things they sell there are all leftovers, useless things that are completely harmless to the general public."
Su Yu smiled helplessly. He knew it! Something good would not be left on the shelf for long.
Liu Wenyan smiled and said, "Tell me. Do you still intend to join a war academy? In a cultural research academy, you can still train your body. But in a war academy, you might not have the opportunity to train your willpower anymore. After all, the powerful original texts will only be available in the cultural research academies.
"As long as you have the required strength, such as reaching the Skysoar Realm, you'll be able to enter the Allheaven Battlefield at any time. Going there at the Infinite Strength Realm is the same as going as cannon fodder. What's the point? Or do you simply lack the confidence to grow strong as a willpower cultivator? In that case, it wouldn't matter which academy you join. You won't be able to grow strong."
...
Su Yu had never been certain of his decision to join a war academy. But now, he was even more uncertain. Should he still try joining a war academy? There did not seem to be a need to do so anymore. So it turned out that he could grow strong in a cultural research academy as well?
"Cultural research academy...original texts...willpower cultivation..."
Su Yu was deep in thought as he walked out of the office with the bottle of blood essence in hand. He still intended to try using the blood essence. It would naturally be even better if he could cultivate both his willpower and physical body at the same time. The Source Swallowing Technique might be the key to accelerating his physical cultivation.
"Cultural research academy..."
Su Yu came to a decision. Perhaps he should really join a cultural research academy. That had been his original goal anyway.
...
After Su Yu left, the principal entered the office while shaking his head. "Old man, you're scamming a student again."
"What do you mean?" Liu Wenyan was displeased.
"Willpower materialization...you've been cultivating for fifty years. Have you materialized your willpower?"
"That will happen soon!" Liu Wenyan declared confidently, "I'll reach the Skysoar Realm the moment I materialize my willpower. At that time, a puny fresh Infinite Strength cultivator like you will be nothing for me."
"You--" The principal was speechless. Fine, he would let the instructor have this. As for Su Yu, it was indeed better for him to join a cultural research academy. After all, cultivation in a war academy was far too dangerous.
This instructor had been using the same story to sway the mind of numerous students over the years. Each time a student started doubting their decision to join a cultural research academy, he would give them the same speech, sending them all to the various cultural research academies.
"The Great Xia Cultural Research Academy should really confer you an award. Without you, they would have missed out on a decent number of students every year..."
Liu Wenyan did not seem to mind. "I don't have an award, but they have been sending me a bonus of 200,000 dollars each year. That's enough for me."
"..."
The principal was left speechless. He couldn't resist scolding, "You must be a spy from Great Xia Cultural Research Academy!"
"Why are you saying it like that? I've never denied that. I've always been listed as a staff member of the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy. How can you call me a spy?"
Liu Wenyan laughed happily. The principal had nothing to say. Liu Wenyan was right. Most of these language instructors were sent directly from the cultural research academies. Even the rare instructors that weren't from the academies would find themselves quickly recruited.
That was all for the sake of making sure that the talented students wouldn't all join the war academies. After all, research was much less exciting than physical cultivation, and youngsters were all rather hot-blooded. It was important that they kept a closer eye on these youngsters.
Su Yu returned home with the glass bottle containing three drops of blood essence. The blood essence of a Great Strength Realm being might be worthless for experts, but it was extremely valuable for Su Yu. After all, each drop was worth fifty-thousand dollars. If it wasn't for his lack of money, he wouldn't have been willing to spend his merit points for this.
Even without the teacher's reminder, Su Yu still knew how important merit points were. That was something you might not be able to buy even with money. Of course, he certainly would entertain the thought of selling his points if someone offered him more than fifty-thousand per point.
"Thinking about it, I seem to be even richer than Dad? He was only able to save over 300,000 dollars after so many years..."
Su Yu laughed in amusement. The 300,000 dollars in his father's bank account might not even be as valuable as his eighteen merit points. However, his father was also someone with merit points. Some had been spent for cultivation. As for the remaining points, Su Yu knew what the points were used for even though his father had not talked about them. His father had probably given those points out during his retirement.
In fact, that was something a lot of retired veterans would do. Su Yu knew that many of the retired veterans in the neighborhood had done so. After all, their comrades that were still fighting on the battlefield would need those points more than them.
Helping each other, trusting each other. That was how the soldiers of humanity had always been. If not for the age restriction, there would probably be even more retired veterans returning to the army this time. A lot of the veterans were already approaching fifty during their retirement, so these people would not have the chance to return to the army for a second time.
Clearing his mind of all the random thoughts, Su Yu willed for the book to appear in his mind. As usual, the pages started flipping before stopping at the iron-winged bird's page.
"Blood essence activation...what should I activate? An ability or the cultivation method?"
After a short thought, Su Yu decided.
Source Swallowing Technique!
It was very likely that the abilities would provide him with an instant burst of strength. Without an actual opponent before him, it would be a waste to activate them. Of course, he wouldn't mind trying the abilities if he had enough blood essence. After all, it could be very dangerous to use the abilities without knowing their strength.
"How many drops per activation? Is one drop enough?"
As Su Yu willed in his mind to have the cultivation method activated, he swallowed a drop of blood essence. This time, he suffered no pain whatsoever. The blood essence was instantly absorbed by the book the moment it entered his mouth.
Hum!
The book in his mind trembled. Next, the words on the golden page changed.
Foundation source technique: Source Swallowing (activated for a duration of one hour)
"One hour?"
Su Yu cursed. He could feel all his pores opening up to rapidly absorb the ambient source qi around him. It felt as though all nine of his acupoints had been temporarily opened. That was the work of this book!
Someone at the Source Opening Realm wasn't supposed to be able to do so. Without opening the nine acupoints, one wouldn't be able to sense source qi. By extension, one wouldn't be able to actively absorb source qi either.
With the book, Su Yu had gained the ability to sense source qi. He could absorb the source qi all around him with a thought. The ambient source qi of Nanyuan was rather thin in density, but that was only relative to what an Infinite Strength cultivator needed. For Great Strength and Source Opening cultivators, what Nanyuan had was more than enough.
Crack!
This was the first time his body had ever actively absorbed source qi. Like a ravenous beast, his flesh started madly taking in the qi to temper and refine itself. A faint glow covered all nine of his acupoints while a large amount of source qi gathered around his head to temper his acupoints.