Chapter 29: Beyond Skysoar (1)
School dormitory.
The school-provided dormitory was a large apartment unit with four bedrooms and two living rooms. Liu Wenyan could ignore Bai Feng, but that wasn't the case for the principal or Nanyuan itself. None of them could afford to slight a researcher, even if the researcher in question was only an assistant.
Thus, Bai Feng's temporary residence was even better than what the regular instructors were provided with. Inside the living room, Bai Feng was seated on the couch. Standing respectfully before him were Su Yu and Liu Yue, waiting silently while Bai Feng watched the television.
Plop!
The television was showing a scene of numerous people being dragged out and executed. The day before, the Martial Dragon Guards and city guards of the capital had been deployed. Tens of thousands of cult members were killed and over three thousand were captured.
Great Xia had a ruthless policy where any captured cult member would be executed without trial so long as their identity was confirmed. The executions were being shown live on television. Three thousand might not sound like a big number, but the executions had been ongoing for more than ten minutes and it was far from over.
.
Liu Yue was finding the scene hard to witness as she averted her gaze from the television. Su Yu was also feeling rather uncomfortable. He did not feel any pity toward the cult members, but he felt sick after seeing so much blood despite the fact that he had personally killed two cult members the day before.
Bai Feng seemed to be enjoying himself. While leisurely drinking his tea, he commented, "There are numerous sects in the Myriad Race Cult, and the Divine Skywing Sect can be considered one of the larger ones. Their sect master was a super expert as well. However, they suffered a complete defeat in Great Xia. Their sect master was killed alongside almost all their elite members. Looks like Great Xia has earned big this time."
Both Su Yu and Liu Yue were confused. Earned big?
"You don't understand?" Bai Feng smiled, "It's simple. The elites are dead. The sect master is dead. Who's the killer? How many people are there in Great Xia that actually have the ability to kill the sect master? Since the sect master has the guts to come, something must have given him the confidence. Nobody will be willing to seek death. What was his source of confidence? The other sect masters in the cult? No. His backers must have arrived. That was why he had the courage to enter Great Xia."
Su Yu's eyes flickered as he asked, "Teacher Bai, you mean that someone from the divine skywing race was here?"
"Exactly. They must be here. And since the sect master has been killed, how about those from the divine skywing race? If they were really killed, wouldn't it be profitable for whoever the killer was?"
Bai Feng laughed and said, "Things are going to get troublesome for the prefect."
"Troublesome?"
"Yes. Just you wait. The various war academies and cultural research academies will be bothering him for the flesh and blood of the divine skywing race. I wonder if our principal is back. He needs to get something good for the academy as well. The prefect is going to be rich. Blood essence, flesh, weapons, and cultivation methods of the divine race...tsk tsk. He is definitely getting rich."
"The prefect is probably going crazy right this moment. It is probably very lively right now in the capital."
Putting it like that, Su Yu and Liu Yue naturally understood what Bai Feng meant. The two had a look of longing on their faces. They weren't really envious of those treasures, but they were simply getting excited hearing about so many valuable treasures.
"Teacher Bai, are the intruders from the divine skywing race strong?"
Bai Feng looked at the two and smiled, "Of course they're strong. I'm a frank person, so don't mind me. For people of Nanyuan, the Skysoar Realm is the ultimate height. But for the capital, the Skysoar Realm is merely halfway to the top. Or to be precise, that is only the first step toward becoming a true expert.
"Those from a small city would never be able to imagine just how strong a true expert can be. Of course, there is no need for them to know. For people like them, Skysoar and the realm beyond is practically the same as experts of that level can wipe them out with a wave of a hand. Thıs content belongs to novel~fire~net
"For a cultivator, the Source Opening, Great Strength, and Infinite Strength Realms are the foundational stage, one where you strengthen your body so that your body won't implode from taking in too much source qi. Only by reaching the Skysoar Realm would your voice hold weight in the academies, the armies, the sects, the various realms, and the battlefield. Only by reaching that level can one start being regarded as an expert."
Su Yu's eyes were shining. He had seen too little of the world. Nanyuan was too small. His world had been too small.
"Teacher Bai, I know there are still more realms beyond the Skysoar Realm. I heard from my father that the 10000-man commanders are all in the Cloudbreach Realm. Is that the realm one level above the Skysoar Realm?"
"Yes." Bai Feng took a sip from his tea and calmly said, "How far can a Skysoar cultivator fly? How high can a Skysoar cultivator reach? That is only the first step into becoming an expert. Only when you can breach the clouds and travel beyond it would you be truly considered an expert. At that point, even if you're facing countless Infinite Strength and Great Strength cultivators, what can they do to you?
"I'll walk on clouds, high above the ground. No matter how strong your arms are, how powerful your armies are, can you reach me? On the Allheaven Battlefield, almost everyone capable of leading an army of ten thousand is a Cloudbreach cultivator. At the Cloudbreach Realm, you can even be a 1000-man commander in the Martial Dragon Guards."
"In the Martial Dragon Guards, a stronger squad leader would be in the Skysoar Realm while a weaker one would be at the ninth-stage Infinite Strength Realm. Their 100-man commanders are basically all Skysoar cultivators, and most of them are at the middle-stage or higher. The Martial Dragon Guards have five 1000-man commanders. Three of them are at the Cloudbreach Realm while the other two are at the ninth-stage Skysoar Realm."
Su Yu swallowed. They were so powerful? How about their deputy general, then? There was no need to talk about the general as he was Great Xia's prefect. But how about the deputy general?
Bai Feng glanced at him and smiled, "And above the Cloudbreach Realm is the Mountainsea Realm. Capable of hacking mountains and severing oceans, a Mountainsea cultivator can shake the world with every move. That is an incomparably powerful realm where with one strike, you will be able to collapse mountains and evaporate oceans."
"And beyond the Mountainsea Realm?" Su Yu asked. "I have heard the terms apex experts and invincible experts being thrown around before. Are these people in the Mountainsea Realm?"
"No. A Mountainsea cultivator is capable of ruling a region. Even at the Allheaven Battlefield, someone like that is qualified to lead an army. With one command, a hundred thousand soldiers will do their bidding. Someone like that can be a general or a deputy general of a powerful army. The deputy general of the Martial Dragon Guards is one such person.
"Only above the Mountainsea Realm will one be known as an apex expert or an invincible expert. That is too far away from you. You only need to know that those realms exist, but you don't need to ask too much about them. You will come to learn all that at the capital. There is no point in learning too much about apex and invincible experts. That is a realm far beyond us.
"You're not even a Great Strength cultivator yet. Are you going to become an invincible expert within one day after learning about it? You only need to know that they're strong. Very strong. That would be enough. Most of the prefects are apex experts, and most of the prefecture founders are invincible experts. That is all you need to know."
Su Yu felt his lips go dry. For the very first time, he felt very clearly how small Nanyuan was, and how low the sky above Nanyuan was. Here, an Infinite Strength cultivator was an expert and a Skysoar cultivator was invincible. As for the realms beyond such as the Cloudbreach and Mountainsea Realms, he had never even heard of the existence of such experts in Nanyuan.
At the Cloudbreach Realm, one could be a 10000-man commander on the Allheaven Battlefield. At the Mountainsea Realm, one could dominate a region on the Allheaven Battlefield and gain command of an entire army. And beyond that were the apex experts and the invincible experts.
Looking at the expression of the two kids before him, Bai Feng smiled joyfully. He loved looking at such shocked expressions. He had a somewhat unhealthy interest in generating such expressions.
In truth, there wasn't a need for him to tell them all that as they would end up learning the same at the capital. However, he had still decided to tell them. That was because he had been somewhat upset with how much Liu Wenyan had belittled him. Did this little genius called Su Yu really knew how high the sky was?
After a short while, Su Yu heaved a long breath and calmed himself down. When Bai Feng saw that, he praised inwardly that this kid had a decent mindset. As a kid who had yet to see the world, it was rather incredible for him to be able to calm down so quickly.
As for Liu Yue, she was getting slightly excited, but she was also mostly calm. Bai Feng did not pay her much attention as he could see that she was already aware of all that. The little excitement she displayed was only due to her desire for strength. The only person who was truly clueless here was Su Yu.
It wasn't his fault. He was born here and he grew up here. He had not taken a step out of the city during his eighteen years of life. Su Long had taken great care of Su Yu, but Su Long himself was only a Great Strength cultivator. Someone like him wouldn't really know that much about the world either. Liu Wenyan had no reason to tell Su Yu things that did not concern him. And this information wouldn't even be available in books, so Su Yu truly knew nothing about the higher cultivation realms.
"It will be a very long time before you reach that realm. You don't have much time with me. Are you sure you want to waste your time on this topic?"
Bai Feng did not bother inviting the two to sit. He smiled and continued, "I'll be here for two days. Before I leave, you can ask me anything. I'll tell you what I can. This is a rare opportunity for you."
Su Yu asked, "Teacher Bai, what exactly is willpower? How do I cultivate it? How do I measure it? How do I determine if mine is strong or weak?"
"Willpower..." Bai Feng glanced at Su Yu and said, "You're actually quite decent in terms of willpower. Of course, you haven't properly sensed or cultivated it before, so you aren't able to measure it. Martial Uncle has been trying to get you to join the cultural research academy because he sensed the strength of your willpower. He does not wish to see you walk down a wrong path. As far as I am concerned, willpower is similar to physical power. Each of them is a type of power. One materializes externally, and one materializes internally..."
He picked up a black glass and covered the top of the glass with his hand. "Physical power is akin to this glass. If I hit you with it, can you feel the pain?"
Su Yu nodded.
"Physical power operates similarly. If I hit you, you'll be hurt. You can directly feel it. You can also see it at work. How much it hurts depends on the quality of the glass. The harder, bigger, or heavier it is, the more pain you'll feel. As for willpower, it is the power within the glass. You can't sense it, but the act of cultivating willpower is the same as filling the glass with water."
He started pouring water into the glass.
"The state before the glass is full is akin to the state before willpower materialization. Even with your glass full, you still can't do anything with it. That was the state your instructor was in previously. His glass was full, but not overflowing yet. When the water is full enough to overflow, you will achieve willpower materialization."
Bai Feng continued pouring water into the glass, to the point water was overflowing out of it. More and more water overflowed out of the glass.
"Sure, when you see the water overflowing bit by bit, you will think that it's nothing compared to physical strength. But what if there is a lot more water overflowing out of the glass?"
Chapter 30: Beyond Skysoar (2)
More and more water was poured into the glass, and more overflowed out of it.
Boom!
Su Yu felt like he could see the water turning into a river. The water surged, flooding the room, flooding the school, and the river turned into a deluge, forming an ocean, and eventually reaching the sky itself.
Boom!
Cities were submerged and mountains collapsed.
At that moment, Bai Feng's voice rang out, "This is the strength of willpower. It can turn water into ice, it can also gather water into rivers or oceans. Like physical power, it is only a type of power you can use. However, it is also a unique power with no boundless possibilities. Presently, for physical cultivation, there is actually an end. Of course, the end is still far beyond us.
"In truth, one would start cultivating both powers upon reaching the Skysoar Realm. For us, we will first let our water overflow before wrapping our water around the glass and strengthen it. A physical cultivator will first turn the porcelain glass into a stone glass before pouring water into the glass.
"If you ask me which is the better path, I can tell you that both are the same. It merely depends on your choice and talent. Just pick the easier path for you."
The scene before Su Yu's eyes blurred before vanishing. The sight of Bai Feng with the glass of water entered his gaze.
He gasped for breath before asking, "What if I can't fill the glass? What if like Instructor Liu, my glass is full but I can't get it to overflow? Will my willpower be completely useless?"
"Strictly speaking, that's not true. At the very least, your thoughts will be sharper and you will have more energy than before. Also, if you're not even capable of willpower materialization, it doesn't matter what path you take. You will never be able to become an expert. Do you think there is a big difference between a Great Strength cultivator and an Infinite Strength cultivator?"
"Can we measure the willpower's strength before it overflows?"
"Yes." Bai Feng explained, "Upon reaching a certain point, you can sense it yourself. Of course, experts who have materialized their willpower will be able to see it clearly. Take you for an example. Your glass is about one tenth full. I can clearly see it. But you won't be able to sense it yourself."
"When will I be able to start sensing it?"
"When it's half full. At that point, you'll be able to sense it clearly. That power is within you, but you won't be able to do anything with it. We call that stage the Mental Tempering Stage. That is not a realm, but you can also see it as something similar to the Source Opening, Great Strength, and Infinite Strength Realms. That is a very difficult stage to live through. Your patience will be tested. You can feel the power yet can't use it. Will you be anxious?
"You clearly feel that you have enough power to face an Infinite Strength cultivator, yet even a Great Strength cultivator can defeat you with one hit. Will you be anxious? Your glass is full. You're so close to overflowing. Yet you still have to suffer the beating of a Great Strength cultivator. Will you be anxious?
"But no matter how anxious you are, your willpower refuses to overflow. Will you be angry? It doesn't even matter how angry you are. Many people fail to get through this stage. They give up and switch into physical cultivation instead. People like that can be found everywhere. That is simply too infuriating a stage." ᴛhis chapter is ᴜpdated by novel fire.net
Bai Feng laughed and said, "I look forward to that day. To see you angry yet helpless. You need to know that at that point, the academy will do one thing. During your Mental Tempering Stage, they will allow the students of the war academies to visit for a study exchange. But that is merely an excuse to have them beat you up. You will be tortured. You will be insulted. You will be infuriated."
Su Yu was dumbstruck. Even Liu Yue couldn't help but to softly ask, "Teacher Bai, why is the academy doing that?"
"The answer is simple. To provoke you. Only if you can remain calm and truly know yourself will you be able to achieve willpower materialization. Of course, the tempering process is a double-edged sword. Some students will go mad and give up from sheer anger. But those capable of surviving this stage had all done rather well for themselves."
Bai Feng laughed happily, "This is the grand performance of cultural research academies. Upon joining, you can go and see how your seniors are tortured. It is a truly miserable process. Those from the war academies love nothing more than to brag about the big names from the cultural research academies they once tortured back in the days. Those big names are probably already at the Mountainsea Realm while the war academy students are still at the Infinite Strength Realm.
"They will tell stories of how who-and-who have been beaten until they piss themselves. Many people think that these war academy students are bragging, but they are actually telling the truth."
Su Yu couldn't resist asking, "Teacher Bai, is this what all cultural researchers will go through? What about you?"
"Me?" Bai Feng said nonchalantly, "That wasn't the case for me. I was too strong. I was already exceptionally strong during the Mental Tempering Stage."
Su Yu immediately realized that he had asked the wrong question, so he smiled awkwardly and stopped pursuing the matter. He hadn't suffered the same fate? That did not seem possible. This Bai Feng had probably been beaten to the point he cried as well. Su Yu was very surprised to learn that there was actually such a stage for cultural researchers. His horizons had been widened.
"As for the cultivation of willpower..." Bai Feng switched the topic. "Read. Learn. Of course, you need to do more than reading ordinary books or learning ordinary characters. You have both learned different languages before.
"But what is the purpose of learning all those languages? The languages aren't anything special, but some texts with cultivation methods and martial techniques are filled with willpower. Reading those texts is the same as clashing against the willpower within them. The more powerful the cultivation method, the stronger the author of the text would be, and the harder it would be for you to withstand the text's willpower. Reading such texts is actually a type of test."
"In the academy, by the time you gain the ability to read a Great Strength original text, it means that your willpower has grown enough to contend against Great Strength cultivators. And when you reach the point where you can read Skysoar texts, you'll be ready for willpower materialization. The Mental Tempering Stage starts around the time you start reading Infinite Strength original texts."
Su Yu finally understood. Suddenly, a white bone fragment appeared in Bai Feng's hand.
"This is a Great Strength cultivation method. Of course, it is incomplete. Such texts can be commonly found at the Allheaven Battlefield. The academy has a lot of these as well. You will be focusing on these texts as new students of the academy. You can try taking a look at it. The willpower in this incomplete text is weak. If you can actually see the characters on it, it means that your willpower is nearly one fifth full."
Bai Feng had just claimed that Su Yu's willpower was only one tenth full. But now, he was showing something that could only be read with one fifth full willpower. Su Yu did not think too much. He accepted the white bone fragment and started looking at it.
Bai Feng guided him, "You only need to focus on it."
Su Yu nodded and placed all his focus on the bone fragment. Slowly, the bone fragment before his eyes changed. It started glowing faintly, and from it, he could see some indistinct characters. Curious, he placed even more focus on the fragment.
Boom!
.
Right that moment, he felt like his brain had been hammered. With a painful wail, Su Yu tossed the glowing bone fragment away.
Bai Feng saw that coming. He smiled and said, "Even reading is an activity you need to pay a price to do. This is how we cultivate. This is how cultural research academies work. Do not think that studying at the academy will be the same as Nanyuan Secondary School where you only need to read some books in foreign languages. There is nothing special about that.
"Each reading session is a clash of willpower. And each session will temper your willpower. Naturally, you can't read too much in a day. Once or twice will be enough or you'll drive yourself mad. In fact, the academy has no lack of madmen. Many students have driven themselves mad reading something beyond their ability."
...
Su Yu felt like his head was going to burst apart. He was hurting so much he nearly teared up. After about ten seconds, he opened his eyes and breathed heavily while slowly regaining his calm. This pain was similar to the sensation he would feel each time he was killed in his dreams. After so many years, he was already used to such a sensation. The pain had merely been too abrupt.
Bai Feng was just about to say that it was fine to cry. In fact, that was actually normal among the students of their academy. But he immediately swallowed his words before they could leave his mouth. He looked at Su Yu with his eyebrow raised. He was certain that Su Yu's willpower was only one tenth full. And yet this fellow had withstood the pain just like that?
Impossible!
The willpower in that bone fragment was twice as strong as Su Yu's willpower. That would subject him to at least half an hour of pain. Bai Feng blinked, impressed with what he was seeing. No wonder his martial uncle looked so highly upon this kid. Perhaps this kid's talent wasn't anything special, but he was most certainly a tenacious person. At times, tenacity was more important than talent in cultivation.
While grimacing with pain, Su Yu said, "Teacher Bai, how about the willpower of a regular person?"
"One percent full." Bai Feng cleared his mind of his thoughts and smiled, "That is the level of a regular person. They have no talent in terms of willpower cultivation. Your talent is decent. As for Liu Yue, her willpower is slightly better than yours. About fifteen percent, I would say."
Su Yu smiled awkwardly. So it turned out that Liu Yue was better than him as well. Bai Feng did not say anything more. He could actually see that this wasn't Liu Yue's first time reading one of these incomplete texts. That was why her willpower was stronger. But in truth, Su Yu was going to catch up soon.
To the side, Liu Yue had remained silent. However, she was also looking at Su Yu in astonishment. She had read one of these original texts before, so she knew how painful one's first experience would be. During her first session, she had spent half an hour crying and another half day of sleeping before recovering.
As for Su Yu...was he a beast? Or perhaps this fellow was...slow? He couldn't feel fear? In fact, after her first session, she was so afraid that she almost gave up her second session. But this Su Yu...was actually picking the bone fragment up with a look of longing, as though he wanted to read it again!
Bai Feng couldn't help but to laugh. Previously, he didn't care much about these two. But now, his interest in Su Yu was growing. With a smile, he said, "You can have it. But remember to not read it more than twice per day. You won't be able to withstand more than that. When you find yourself capable of clearly seeing the characters on it, your willpower would be twenty percent full. You will be one step closer to willpower materialization. This is merely an incomplete copy. There are three pages per copy. When your willpower is forty percent full, you would be able to read all three pages in full."
"By the time you gain the ability to read the full Infinite Strength text, you would reach the Mental Tempering Stage."
Bai Feng had decided to give the bone fragment to Su Yu. This thing was quite valuable, but for him, it was nothing. Su Yu was unaware of the bone fragment's value, but that wasn't the case for Liu Yue. She looked rather envious. Her family was among the richest in Nanyuan, but a single original text would be sold at a price of no less than a hundred thousand dollars at the Xia Trade Company.
They had both arrived together, and she was obviously the stronger one. However, Bai Feng had decided to give Su Yu the bone fragment instead. From that, it was obvious Bai Feng was more interested in Su Yu.
Chapter 31: You Are Mine (1)
Bai Feng's words had opened a brand new world for Su Yu. He had too many questions to ask and too many things to say.
But Bai Feng did not give him the chance to ask more. "Are you going to continue asking these questions? Martial Uncle did not send you here to ask these simple questions. These are the things you can learn just by entering the academy."
Su Yu blanked out. True, the lesson of an assistant researcher had a fee of five merit points per hour. Wouldn't it be a waste for him to ask all those questions?
Beside him, Liu Yue grew slightly excited as she softly asked, "Teacher Bai, c-can you help us with Divine Character formation?"
Su Yu was confused. What did that mean? Liu Wenyan had not told him about that before. He had no idea what Liu Wenyan was talking about. Bai Feng smiled.
"Looks like you know about this. How about you, Su Yu? Has Martial Uncle not taught you this before?"
"No." Su Yu softly said, "Teacher Bai, Divine Character formation...what does that mean?"
Bai Feng said, "Divine Character is a term. It has nothing to do with the divine race. Rather, this is a term referring to written characters of the myriad languages with unique powers in them.
"People like us are known as cultural researchers. You saw how we fought before. But that wasn't our strongest form. Of course, your instructor has freshly broken through, so he's still not very familiar with some aspects of being a cultural researcher."
Evidently, that was why Liu Wenyan had opted to use a straightforward method during the combat yesterday: willpower manipulation.
"Divine Character formation is the most important subject in the academy. With your willpower, you can form the character you want, gain control over it, and raise it. One day, perhaps after willpower materialization, you will be able to complete the formation of your Divine Character. At that point, a single character can cause the world to tremble.
"There are numerous Divine Characters in existence. Or to be precise, any character in existence can become your Divine Character. You need to comprehend the meaning of the character, comprehend it with your very heart, accept it, nourish it, embrace it, even if there is a possibility that you might not be able to use it in your entire life.
"A cultural researcher without his own Divine Character is not a qualified cultural researcher. Among cultural researchers, such individuals are weaklings." Looking at Su Yu, Bai Feng smiled, "Are you confused?"
"Somewhat." Su Yu felt awkward. He had not been aware of any of that.
"After entering the academy, most of your classes, including your language classes, will be taught by the other students of the academy. That is how they earn their merit points. As for the Divine Character formation class, it can only be taught by actual cultural researchers.
"Your instructor might have told you before. It isn't cheap to get us to teach. This is the main reason. You'll understand after I show you something."
Immediately after, Su Yu felt the air around him turning heavy. An incorporeal power erupted from Bai Feng's body. A familiar character slowly took shape in the air. That was a character of the divine language. Su Yu had learned the divine language before, so he knew this character. It was as though someone invisible was writing the character in thin air. One stroke at a time, the character took form.
Gather!
Su Yu recognized it. That was the character "gather" written in the divine language. The character hovered in the air, shining with a gentle glow. This wasn't the Divine Character that Bai Feng had been nurturing. Rather, it was something he had created on the spot. Gale erupted all around them.
Whoosh!
The air trembled as the furniture around them shook, as though an earthquake was happening.
"Chu!"
Bai Feng roared. That was how "gather" was pronounced in the divine language. Right that moment, Su Yu sensed something different. Liu Yue might not be able to sense it, but he could. He could sense the gathering of source qi around the character! As he had actively absorbed source qi before, he could sense the difference in the air even though those in the Source Opening Realm weren't supposed to do so
Whoosh!
The air trembled. Suddenly, Liu Yue cried out in surprise. The air around them had been emptied of source qi. In the blink of an eye, a drop of milky white liquid had appeared before Bai Feng.
"Source qi liquid!"
Liu Yue was greatly shocked. Su Yu had never seen any source qi liquid before. But after hearing Liu Yue's words, he was stunned as well.
Source qi liquid!
Something worth a hundred thousand dollars per drop, something a Skysoar cultivator needed three days to form. Something like that had been formed in mere moments right in front of him.
"Nanyuan's source qi density is too low, so this can't be considered a proper source qi liquid. It is probably only half as efficient." Bai Feng exhaled lightly, looking somewhat tired. "This isn't my own Divine Character. Everyone has limited energy, so it is impossible for one person to nurture too many Divine Characters. This is something I've just drawn out as a demonstration.
"What you saw, the gathering of source qi, is one of the unique functions of Divine Characters. When you discover the unique properties of a character, you can start trying to form it as well. Naturally, the same characters will work differently when formed by different people. I can use this character to gather source qi. Some other person might be able to use it to kill. This is what it means to be a cultural researcher."
With a smile on his face, Bai Feng moved the drop of source qi liquid into a bottle with a wave of his hand before casually tossing the bottle over to Su Yu.
Su Yu was caught by complete surprise. He felt both excited and uneasy as he said, "T-teacher Bai, this is too expensive..."
Even though this drop of source qi liquid wasn't as good as a proper drop, it was still half as effective as a regular drop. With the price of a hundred thousand per drop, this drop with reduced efficiency would probably be worth fifty or sixty thousand dollars.
"Take it. It's something I casually made anyway." Bai Feng did not seem to mind. "This drop was made with the source qi of Nanyuan. If I dare take it away, Martial Uncle will probably be unhappy. So you can have it. This isn't a big deal for me. The liquid is only helpful for you since you're in the Source Opening Realm. At my cultivation level, that one drop can't do anything."
Bai Feng moved on from the topic and said, "Liu Yue wants to learn Divine Character formation, but that is actually beyond your ability. You still don't know the myriad languages well enough.
"You might think you know a lot after mastering ten or twenty languages. But you have not seen an original text before. You have not seen the true appearances of these characters, and neither have you seen the characters written by actual experts. That is why you haven't been able to discover the power behind these characters despite your years of study.
"A different character will give you a different feeling when written by a different person. Therefore, each character will also give you a different inspiration. Perhaps you won't feel anything special reading an original text written by a Great Strength cultivator. But when you read something written by a Mountainsea cultivator, you might find the same text containing boundless knowledge in it."
Bai Feng's expression turned stern, "When fully nourished, Divine Characters formed by willpower may even manifest in the world, turning into godly weapons.
"In the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy, 180 years ago when the third principal passed away, he left the character "battle" written in the devil language behind. That character transformed into a unique grotto of the academy: the Devil Battling Field."
"Devil Battling Field!" Liu Yue exclaimed in shock. Beside her, Su Yu was feeling very useless. He was angry at himself for knowing nothing.
Bai Feng solemnly said, "Exactly. That is a treasure of the academy, something the various war academies long to enter. A single character has transformed into a pocket realm suitable for those below the Skysoar Realm to cultivate in.
"Practical combat experience can be gained inside. In the Devil Battling Field, numerous devil soldiers will appear. War formations, experts, and all sorts of combat scenarios can be experienced. In there, you can fight them like they are the actual devils. You can make use of your intelligence and your strength to fight and spill their blood, preparing yourself for your future entry into the Allheaven Battlefield.
"115 years ago, the fourth principal of the academy passed away. He left behind the character "source" written in the divine language, forming another grotto: Source Qi Secret Grotto. That grotto is similar in function with the character "gather" I wrote before. However, that grotto can exist forever, unlike my character that will only exist temporarily.
"In the Source Qi Secret Grotto, you can experience dense source qi, increasing your cultivation speed. The academy has a lot of such grottos. Some have been given to the war academies in Great Xia, and some were kept for themselves."
A look of reverence covered Bai Feng's face as he softly said, "One person will only have so much energy to spare. Most people will focus on one Divine Character that is most suitable for them. The ultimate goal would be to materialize the character in the real world, granting it eternal existence. Content orıginally comes from novel_fіre.net
"Of course, you will learn all this in the academy. But since you've asked about this, I won't be holding back. Like I promised, you can ask me anything.
"Today, I'll teach you how to form a Divine Character. Naturally, just knowing how to write a character does not equal the ability to form it as a Divine Character. Prior to willpower materialization, Divine Character formation isn't a simple affair. You will be writing the character in your mind instead of actually writing it on paper."
Su Yu's eyes lit up. Divine Character formation! No wonder his instructor had told him that Bai Feng's class was worth a lot. So this was the reason. Even without Bai Feng telling him, he would be able to guess how difficult it was to form a Divine Character. A large amount of willpower would be exhausted. He could see that Bai Feng's face was still slightly pale from the Divine Character he had formed earlier. Clearly, that hadn't been an easy process for him.
"Your willpower is still weak. You won't be able to form a full character. Just form a partial character and meditate on it while slowly improving it. You've learned many different languages. But the most important language for you will still be the human language. That is the language you know best. Thus, we will begin with human language. Since you've never seen the version of these characters that were written by human experts, I'll do it for you today."
With a wave of Bai Feng's hand, a sheet of paper appeared. Without any pen in hand, he stared at the paper before letting out a long breath. "Truly powerful characters are all embedded with willpower. Thus, not anyone can write these characters. Some people can't even write them even after entering the Skysoar Realm. You're probably most familiar with the Source Opening Codex. Today, I'll write a copy of the Source Opening Codex."
Bai Feng reached out, but he did not actually touch the paper. Rather, he started writing in the air. The tip of his finger glowed with a bright golden light. Once again, Su Yu sensed source qi gathering. He could even sense the movement of willpower. Bai Feng's expression was solemn, wielding his finger like a sword.
There are nine acupoints in the Source Opening Realm...
At the first sentence, the paper started showing signs of disintegration. It did not seem capable of withstanding the power of these characters. Golden light erupted from Bai Feng's palm. The light covered the paper, stabilizing it.
"Without a strong carrier, powerful characters can't be recorded. But since this is only a demonstration, I will reduce the power used. If you wish to record powerful cultivation methods or characters in the future, remember that you'll need special carriers. This is also something you'll learn in the future."
As Bai Feng wrote, he started sweating while smoke started coming out of the top of his head, as though his brain was on fire.
"Don't look at me. Look at the characters I'm writing!"
Liu Yue hurriedly nodded and said to Su Yu, "Each willpower character written by a cultural researcher is invaluable."
Su Yu also nodded and hurriedly looked down. He understood just how precious this opportunity was. One character after another appeared on the paper, forming one sentence after another. When Su Yu focused on the paper, the world around him started spinning.
Different. This was completely different from the regular copies of Source Opening Codex he had read before. Instead of characters, he could see a human. Someone was there, cultivating the Source Opening Codex, and that someone was Bai Feng. He was opening his nine acupoints.
Chapter 32: You Are Mine (2)
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Outside the room.
Liu Wenyan had a smile as he muttered to himself, "This kid can be quite generous."
Writing a long willpower text was still not something he was capable of doing. If he could do so, he would have done it himself. Even after achieving willpower materialization, he still couldn't do so. He was incomparable to Bai Feng. Bai Feng was capable of writing the entire Source Opening Codex with willpower. As for Liu Wenyan, he would probably run out of willpower after the first chapter.
In truth, the Source Opening Codex wasn't even a long book. He might have nurtured his willpower well over the years, to the point his willpower was no weaker than a regular third-stage Skysoar cultivator, but this still wasn't a feat he could accomplish.
Bai Feng was a sixth-stage Skysoar cultivator that was on the cusp of reaching the seventh-stage. Not even the academy had many people like him among the younger generation below forty. Liu Wenyan was only trying his luck when he sent his students Bai Feng's way. He had not expected Bai Feng to actually be willing to exhaust his willpower on the two little geniuses of Nanyuan.
That wasn't something he had requested from Bai Feng. He could shamelessly request for Bai Feng's slots and guidance for his students, but writing willpower text or teaching Divine Character formation wasn't something he had requested of Bai Feng. That was a request that he would need to pay a price for.
"Su Yu, Liu Yue, treasure this opportunity," muttered Liu Wenyan to himself before leaving.
...
Inside the room.
Su Yu was incomparably excited. This was the very first time he had ever seen someone cultivate the Source Opening Codex so clearly. He could see everything going on inside and outside one's body while cultivating the codex. That was how a lesson should have been. In comparison, the lessons of his secondary school seemed so lacking. Was this the strength of a cultural researcher?
Su Yu had a feeling that after this lesson, if he activated the Source Swallowing Technique with a drop of blood essence again, his efficiency would be thirty percent higher than before. It was no wonder the cultural research academies were capable of researching so many different cultivation methods. If this was their method of teaching, learning would be so much easier.
"Don't only look at the cultivation. Look at the characters. Look at the power within the characters. If you can find a character that you feel is suitable for you, try to meditate on it and draw an outline of the character in your mind. Try to find your first Divine Character. Since I'm writing this text right in front of you, the willpower within the text is at an active state. This will be the best time to sense these characters."
What Bai Feng left unsaid was the fact that even in the academy, not everyone would have a chance to witness an expert writing a willpower text. Most of the time, their students would only be studying the original copies of the cultivation methods of the myriad races in search of a Divine Character suitable for them.
Also, Divine Character formation was something one could only do after reaching the Mental Tempering Stage. When first entering the academy, Su Yu and Liu Yue would not be doing much cultivation. Rather, they would need to learn even more languages. Thus, Divine Character formation was something they would only encounter a few years down the road.
Su Yu stopped his mind from wandering about and focused on the characters. Every single character was jumping about before his eyes. It was as though they were all filled with power, and he was incapable of capturing any one of them.
The sight was dazzling and caused Su Yu a great headache. He endured the pain and forced himself to continue reading. Beside him, Liu Yue was sweating all over and her face was pale. A short while later, she stopped reading with a downtrodden expression. After withdrawing, she could still sense the power brimming from the characters, but she could no longer feel them as clearly as before.
"I...failed."
Liu Yue sighed inwardly, but she wasn't too disappointed. Her willpower was too weak. It wasn't surprising that she would fail her first attempt at forming a Divine Character. When she turned aside, she saw that Su Yu was also sweating badly. However, he was still immersed in the characters. The sight of that stunned Liu Yue. He could still continue?
Bai Feng was still writing more characters, and his face was slightly pale as well. Even so, he had a smile on his face. How tenacious! He had only decided to start writing the Source Opening Codex on the spot because of Su Yu, not Liu Yue. In fact, he was starting to wonder if he had stumbled upon a true genius here. Su Yu's talent wasn't anything special, but that tenacity was impressive.
"Don't waste any time. Look for the character that calls out the most to you and capture it with your willpower."
Liu Yue's body shook when she heard that. Teacher Bai was helping Su Yu with his foundation building, building a foundation for his Divine Character! Was Teacher Bai confident that Su Yu could actually succeed? This was Su Yu's first attempt! Could he succeed at his first try? Impossible! For most people, the first attempt was merely a practice run. How could someone...
At the same time, Su Yu could feel the urgency in Bai Feng's voice. It did not seem like Bai Feng could keep this up for long. Su Yu did not have the time to think more. Countless characters were fluttering about before his eyes. His gaze landed on one of them, and clenching his teeth, he did as told. Capturing the character with his willpower was merely the act of imagining himself capturing the character.
"Catch it! Faster! I don't know if I'll get more chances like this, but this is a free attempt! The next attempt at the academy won't be free! Catch it! Go!" Thıs text ıs hosted at novᴇlfire.net
Su Yu was sweating all over, but he couldn't feel anything. His full attention was on capturing the character. He couldn't let this opportunity go to waste. Right as Bai Feng was about to finish writing the final character, with a hum, the paper trembled. Bai Feng looked up and his expression changed.
Strengthen your blood, refine your muscles and bones...
The character "blood" in that sentence had dimmed, unlike the other characters that were still glowing.
"He...succeeded?"
Bai Feng was stunned as he looked at Su Yu. This kid succeeded in his first attempt? He would admit that he had intended to test Su Yu out after finding out that this kid was actually quite talented. He even went as far as writing a Source Opening Codex for the kid.
He was also hopeful that Su Yu would succeed. But he had certainly not expected that Su Yu would really succeed. Was the heavens playing a joke on him? He was a genius who had entered the academy with twenty percent full willpower. He had been able to read incomplete Great Strength original texts from the moment he entered the academy.
Even so, he had taken half a year to obtain his first Divine Character. His teacher had personally written six willpower texts for him. Only then did he succeed. And even with that, he was viewed as a super genius. But this kid here, with only ten percent full willpower, had succeeded at his first attempt? Was this still a human? How did a small city like Nanyuan produce a monster like this?
"The fuck?" Bai Feng cursed inwardly. The look in his eyes changed as he realized that he had stumbled upon a super genius. This could be a super genius personally trained by him!
"Holy shit! Nobody is aware of this! His willpower is only ten percent full. That is nothing at the capital. Nobody knows that he has already gotten his first Divine Character and finished building his foundation."
Bai Feng's eyes flickered as numerous thoughts rose in his mind. Meanwhile, Su Yu had sunk into deep meditation. After a while, Bai Feng looked at Liu Yue with a smile and said, "You may leave first. You must be tired. Go back and take a rest. You can return tomorrow."
"Thank you, Teacher Bai." Liu Yue was indeed tired. She couldn't help looking at Su Yu. Bai Feng smiled and said, "This is his first time reading a willpower text. He has not recovered from it. He only needs some rest."
Liu Yue was unable to see that Su Yu had successfully captured his first Divine Character. She did not think much and was only amazed at how Su Yu seemed impervious to pain. After thanking Bai Feng, she left. The moment she left, Bai Feng looked at Su Yu with a wide smile on his face.
"I'm rich! Holy shit! I actually found a little monster capable of capturing a Divine Character at first try in this shitty city? Should I get Teacher to accept him as a student in advance? No, that won't do. This is my discovery! I'm also a researcher!
"Holy shit! What if I take him as my student? Would that be enough to make me a full researcher? Of course, this kid needs to rapidly reach the Mental Tempering Stage for that to happen. Even better if he can reach the willpower materialization stage. Nobody will care if a sixth-stage Skysoar cultivator like me accepts a ten percent willpower nobody as my student. Yes, I can definitely do it. Holy shit. I'm so smart! I'm rich!"
Bai Feng was laughing madly. Fortunately, Su Yu couldn't see his current appearance. What a surprising discovery. This kid was going to be his! This kid would be his ticket into becoming a full researcher!
Chapter 33: You're Too Mediocre
"Blood!"
In Su Yu's mind, the indistinct character was struggling violently to get free of his control. He used all his strength to control and suppress the character. The character constantly moved within his mental space. He wasn't sure if this was actually a mental space. In any case, it was something deep within him. However, now wasn't the time to think about all that.
He had to focus on controlling the character. That character would be his from now on! His willpower was trying to suppress the character. At least that was what the impression he got from the mental exhaustion he was feeling, a similar sensation to what he would experience in his dreams.
The character constantly resisted, and Su Yu tried his very best to suppress it. After an indeterminate amount of time, the character seemed to have given up. It stopped moving.
"Do you submit?"
Su Yu questioned in his mind. He had mentally beaten this character up. He believed that he had finally tamed it. Thus, he asked the character if it would submit. The character actually responded. It did not seem willing to submit and started struggling again.
"I'll whoop your ass!"
Boom! Boom!
Su Yu felt like he was fighting in a dream. In the past, he had never been able to defeat the monsters in his dreams. This time, it was different. He had a feeling that he could win. So it turned out that this was a matter of giving his opponent a beatdown. This was his very first time encountering something weaker than him in his dream. In his past dreams, he would always be the weakest person in them. This time, the blood character had taken on the role of the weakest.
"I'll whoop your ass!"
After a while, the character stopped moving again.
"Do you submit?"
Boom!
It moved again!
Once again, it was beaten until it stopped.
"Do you submit?"
Boom!
"..."
That went on numerous times before finally, the character stopped moving and remained after he asked if it was willing to submit. It appeared completely exhausted. It had submitted!
...
In the room, Bai Feng's gaze was fixed on Su Yu. The more he waited, the more astonished he was. Was this kid still at it? This session was basically a foundation building session for Su Yu, and it should have ended by now. Why was this kid still at it? Bai Feng continued waiting patiently. After a long while, Su Yu woke up.
When he opened his eyes, Bai Feng entered his gaze. He hurriedly said, "Teacher Bai, I fell asleep..."
"You didn't." Bai Feng did not give further explanation. "So how much of the character did you manage to keep?" The most update n0vels are published on novelFirｅ.net
"What?" Su Yu asked blankly.
"During your first capture attempt, you lack experience and willpower. You won't be able to keep the entire character in your mind. How much of the blood character did you manage to keep?"
Su Yu was still confused. What did he mean?
"How many strokes of the character are clear?" Bai Feng was speechless. Was that so hard to understand?
"There are six strokes in the character 'blood'. How many strokes did you manage to keep? Even if it's only one, it doesn't matter. As long as you can keep a part of the character in your mind, your foundation building can be considered a success."
Su Yu finally understood. How many strokes did he manage to keep in his mind? Was there a need to capture a character stroke by stroke? Wasn't he supposed to capture the entire character? He sank into hesitation, wondering if he had misunderstood something. Or perhaps he had failed to keep anything in his mind? After all, the character in his mind did not seem incomplete.
When Bai Feng saw that Su Yu wasn't saying anything, he said, "Don't be discouraged. Even if you only managed to keep a stroke or half a stroke, it is a good result. For a beginner like you, forming a Divine Character is extremely difficult."
"Even if this willpower text is a weakened version written by me, with your level of willpower, you will need at least three months or half a year to complete the character. But as long as the foundation is there, you'll be fine. Moving on, you can slowly complete it."
Bai Feng had a smile on his face. He was in a good mood, so he didn't mind telling Su Yu more.
"After completing a Divine Character, even before willpower materialization, you will still be able to enjoy some benefits from your Divine Character. The character 'blood' you picked has been picked by others before, but each person would get a different use out of the same character. Some can use it to devour the enemy's blood during battles. Some can use it to condense the blood essence of the myriad races. In truth, many of the blood essence you see in the market are condensed by users of the blood character.
"Of course, the world is a massive. Anything is possible. A single character might be utilized in an entirely different manner than what the character means. When you complete the character in the future, you can start sensing and discovering its usages."
Su Yu listened attentively while trying to sense the character in his mind. So how was he supposed to utilize this little brother he had just subdued? If one could only sense the character after completing it, then he must have completed it already, right?
In Su Yu's mind, the blood character trembled. Next, he received some vague impressions. Bai Feng was still speaking when the scene before him blurred and changed into a charging iron-winged bird.
"Moonlight!"
A brutal roar echoed, causing Bai Feng to blank out slightly. Someone as strong as him could destroy this illusion as easily as breathing. But he didn't do so. He allowed the illusion to play out, letting the iron-winged bird charge at him.
He was stupefied.
He was dumbstruck.
He then flickered and rammed through the door before appearing directly in front of Liu Wenyan. Liu Wenyan stared at him blankly. What was this fellow doing?
"Martial Uncle, are you playing a joke on me?"
Liu Wenyan blinked his eyes before he immediately raged. This fellow had suddenly appeared before him, giving him a scare. Who the hell was playing a joke here?
"Are you asking for a beating?"
Bai Feng stared at Liu Wenyan and concluded that his martial uncle had nothing to do with the illusion. He was only checking if Liu Wenyan was playing a joke on him since the alternative was something impossible.
That illusion was too weak. It wouldn't be able to do anything to him. He could see that it was an illusion with one look. If it wasn't Liu Wenyan, was it Su Yu? What joke was that? He absolutely refused to believe that. He could force himself to believe that Su Yu had successfully established his Divine Character foundation as he had personally witnessed that.
But was he supposed to believe that not only had Su Yu established his foundation, but he had also completed a Divine Character? Bai Feng could not believe this! He couldn't! He would find it acceptable if Su Yu was already at the Mental Tempering Stage. After all, a genius was allowed to be special.
But was he supposed to believe that someone with only ten percent willpower had successfully completed a Divine Character? Did that not mean that Bai Feng's willpower text was trash? How had Su Yu captured and completed a character from the willpower text so easily otherwise?
"Hey!" Liu Wenyan shouted with a dark expression, "Bai Feng, are you here to challenge this old man?"
Bai Feng was snapped out of his thoughts. He was about to speak when he recalled something. With a smile, he said, "Martial Uncle, that was a joke! A joke! I was teaching Su Yu today, right? I think his talent is mediocre, and he'll probably be nothing more than an ordinary student in the academy. But since he is your student..."
Bai Feng pretended to hesitate before saying, "You're my martial uncle. I'm afraid that he won't be accepted as anyone's personal student after entering the academy. I might only be an assistant researcher, but I am still qualified to accept personal students. Why don't you let him follow me around for a bit."
"You?" An odd expression covered Liu Wenyan's face. He completely forgot what Bai Feng did and asked curiously, "You're accepting a personal student?"
"Having him follow me around is better than letting him be an ordinary student, right?"
Liu Wenyan asked sternly, "Are you serious?"
"Yeah. He is mediocre, but he's quite a tenacious one. He was able to read the willpower text for quite a long time earlier. Maybe he can do decently for himself in the future."
Liu Wenyan smiled happily, "You can be sure of that. That kid is really not that special in terms of talent, but he is indeed tenacious. He is also way more patient than others his age. He can spend a few days awake just to study a language. He is willing to work hard and suffer hardships."
"Over the years, the school has nurtured other students that are more talented than him. But I never really place much importance on them. But this kid really has the potential to grow into an expert if he is given the chance."
Toward the end, Liu Wenyan sighed. He was afraid that Su Yu wouldn't be given such a chance.
When he recalled what Bai Feng suggested, he smiled and asked, "Are you really taking him as your personal student? You're an assistant researcher. Before turning into a full researcher, you won't be able to accept more than two personal students, right?"
"Yeah, but I've never accepted any students before. There are geniuses in the academy wishing to become my student. But in all honesty, I've seen a lot of geniuses. How many of them are actually better than me? Some of them are even getting quite creative. When they see my potential, they have their parents pull all sorts of tricks to send them my way.
"There are also some teachers and senior researchers that have tried to send their people my way to get close to Teacher through me. But none of them managed to catch my eye. Su Yu is different. I like his attitude. I only need someone hardworking. He's not a super genius, but he's not the worst either. Furthermore, he's your student. Since fate has allowed us to meet here in Nanyuan, there's no harm in me taking him as a student. What do you think, Martial Uncle?"
Liu Wenyan glanced at Bai Feng and said, "Although he's not too talented. But I still hope that he can walk too far. If you're going to only go through the motions instead of properly teaching him, forget it. I know this is a good opportunity for him, but I would rather he keep waiting than getting a teacher that isn't serious about teaching him.
"With his character, I believe that someone will notice him after a few years. If you're really serious about teaching him, I won't mind him being your personal student. This is his opportunity. I won't stop him. I'll only congratulate him."
Liu Wenyan had a solemn expression. Su Yu was a genius in Nanyuan, but in the capital, his level of talent was nothing. Liu Wenyan still believed that Su Yu had the potential to become an expert one day. He only needed to stay in the academy for a few years and he would gain the chance to soar to the skies in one bound. He did not wish to see Bai Feng waste Su Yu's talent. Even if it would be a great opportunity for Su Yu to become Bai Feng's student, if Bai Feng wasn't serious, Liu Wenyan would stop it from happening.
"Don't worry, Martial Uncle." Bai Feng smiled, "Either I don't accept any student or accept students and teach them properly. If he can do well, as his teacher, I will gain some benefits as well. Perhaps I can even advance into a full researcher earlier."
"According to the academy rules, I need to either break through into the Cloudbreach Realm or teach a couple of outstanding students if I want to advance into a full researcher. I've always been too lazy to teach and only aimed to reach the Cloudbreach Realm as soon as possible. But if Su Yu is good enough, who knows? He might be able to help me turn full researcher earlier."
Liu Wenyan had a wide smile, "Teach properly. That will definitely happen. I believe in him."
"Do you agree then, Martial Uncle?"
"About that...I don't mind. You have to ask him, though."
Bai Feng had a fawning smile, "You're closer to him, Martial Uncle. Just talk more to him and let him know that it isn't his loss to become my student. I'm only an assistant researcher, so he might actually reject my offer. There are a lot of examples of such arrogant youngsters out there. These small city geniuses, in particular, always think that they're the best in the world."
"He won't." Liu Wenyan said, "I'll talk to him."
"I'll have to trouble you, Martial Uncle." Bai Feng nodded. He flickered and vanished from Liu Wenyan's gaze.
After Bai Feng left, Liu Wenyan burst out laughing. He laughed so hard that he was trembling. That kid...was really not bad at all. He was even able to catch Bai Feng's attention.
Who was Bai Feng? Assistant researcher, a genius sixth-stage Skysoar Realm cultivator. His teacher was a senior researcher, a super expert at the Mountainsea Realm. Bai Feng himself was on the cusp of advancing into the seventh-stage.
Bai Feng was probably five to eight years away from reaching the Cloudbreach Realm. In any case, he would definitely be able to enter that realm within ten years. He would become a Cloudbreach cultivator younger before forty. He also had a chance to enter the Mountainsea Realm before sixty and the realm beyond before he was a hundred years old.
Would someone like that be as mediocre as Liu Wenyan had claimed him to be? Definitely not. Xia Longwu of Great Xia was known across the various realms as a super genius. Twenty years ago when he led the Devil Subduing Army, he was at the peak of the Mountainsea Realm.
At that time, Xia Longwu was about forty years old. With his strength and age, he was acknowledged by the myriad races as a super genius. Bai Feng might be slightly inferior to Xia Longwu, but even across the myriad realms, how many people could surpass Xia Longwu?
"Su Yu, this is your chance."
Liu Wenyan was in an excellent mood.
Chapter 34: Fifth-Stage Source Opening (1)
Bai Feng was in an even better mood. His martial uncle was too gullible. Of course, at this point, everyone would believe that Su Yu was the lucky one to be accepted as his student instead of the other way around.
He was Bai Feng. Instead of accepting a genius from the academy as his student, he had accepted a mediocre student from a small secondary school instead. Anyone would believe that Su Yu should be honored to be accepted as Bai Feng's student. Once again, Bai Feng returned to the living room. He didn't even spare the broken door a glance.
Su Yu was still waiting. He was both confused and uneasy. What happened earlier? Why did Bai Feng leave? Was there an enemy spying on them?
"Cough." With a cough, Bai Feng flew over and landed on the ground. He looked at Su Yu and smiled, "I have something to handle earlier. It's done. By the way, from your expression, did you successfully complete your Divine Character earlier?"
"I...think so." Su Yu softly said, "I'm not sure. But there is indeed a complete "blood" character in my mind."
"Mhm. Not bad. I felt it. Your Divine Character seems capable of creating illusions. This is a form of willpower interruption." He focused his gaze on Su Yu and continued, "Your willpower is not strong enough, so your illusion is weak. After willpower materialization, the iron-winged bird in your illusion might even fool a Skysoar cultivator. At that point, it will be quite useful.
"I told you previously that I was already very strong at the Mental Tempering Stage. Do you know why? I wasn't lying. I was really very strong then. That was because I had already completed a Divine Character at the time. At that point, I had managed to deliver quite a beating to many war academy students.
"You've also completed a Divine Character. Although it is still weak, this is still an opportunity for you. Of course, never forget how weak your Divine Character is at this stage."
Bai Feng's expression turned solemn, "This is a willpower text I've written without any preparation. The carrier is weak, and it relies purely on my willpower to take form. It is not written with the blood essence of powerful races. In comparison with a proper willpower text, this version here is simply weak. Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on NoveIＦire.net
"In fact, I wouldn't even call it a Skysoar willpower text. At most, it's an incomplete text. Therefore, even if you were able to draw out a complete character from that text, it won't be too useful. Compared to a true genius, you're far too lacking."
Bai Feng sighed, "There are some geniuses in the academy who have already entered the Mental Tempering Stage. I'm talking about new students, by the way. They were already able to draw out complete Divine Characters at the time of joining, with some of those characters being written in the divine or the devil languages.
"At the Mental Tempering Stage, some of them were capable of reading original Infinite Strength Realm texts of the divine and devil races. In other words, their complete Divine Characters have the ability to kill ninth-stage Infinite Strength cultivators.
"The Mental Tempering Stage isn't necessarily a stage where you have no combat strength. Of course, that is only applicable for true geniuses. Mediocre talents will not be able to complete a Divine Character at the Mental Tempering Stage. There is no need to even talk about such untalented people.
"The world is big. There are countless geniuses, but how many of them can actually reach the peak? The students being beaten by the war academy students each year are actually the mediocre ones. True geniuses will only advance smoothly and sweep away all obstacles."
Bai Feng kept emphasizing how powerful and amazing those true geniuses were.
"In Great Zhou Cultural Research Academy, there was a student last year who managed to achieve willpower materialization after only half a year in the academy. That person controlled nine complete Divine Characters. With the blood of the divine race, he subsequently advanced to the third-stage Skysoar Realm within a single day.
"After the breakthrough, he entered the Allheaven Battlefield and slaughtered a fifth-stage Skysoar cultivator. The Great Zhou Cultural Research Academy is already discussing the possibility of giving him an early appointment as an assistant researcher. That is how a genius looks like."
Bai Feng was calm. He wasn't lying. However, he did intentionally exclude some facts from his narration. For example, that person's grandfather was actually a senior researcher. That person's grandmother was also a senior researcher. His father was a Cloudbreach expert from a war academy and his mother was a genius researcher from a scientific research academy.
Bai Feng told himself that none of that was important. Yes, definitely not important. If Su Yu was unhappy about it, he could try to find some senior researchers to be his grandparents or parents. If he could really do so, he would be able to earn Bai Feng's heartfelt admiration.
Su Yu was greatly shocked.
"How...old is he?"
"Nineteen. A year older than you."
Su Yu was alarmed. Was the sky outside Nanyuan really that much higher?
"Of course, there are very few people like him around. Do not be discouraged." Bai Feng was afraid that Su Yu would sink into despair so he said, "That's a genius. You're not. But as long as you're willing to work hard, you can reach that height as well. Do not be in a rush to reach there. Us cultural researchers normally stay low-profile until the day comes for us to shake the entire world with our appearance."
"Teacher Bai, I..."
"Oh yeah, don't tell anyone about your success in completing the Divine Character. You're at Nanyuan. This small city likes to make a big deal out of nothing. The moment the Myriad Race Cult found out about that, you'll be in trouble."
Bai Feng warned sternly, "Before gaining enough strength, keep a low profile. You're in a decent situation. You can at least be considered a first-rate genius in Nanyuan. Liu Yue is weaker than you.
"Two months later, the academy will begin its entrance exam. You won't have trouble entering. After the exam, you'll get a month of break. The academy will open in August. The academy will allow you to make a choice of either being freely assigned by the academy or picking a researcher as your teacher. You will then be required to get through the relevant tests depending on your choice. You may pick me.
"You're Martial Uncle's student. Since fate has brought us together, I'll make it easier for you during the test, allowing you to become my personal student. Of course, you're free to ask around before making your choice and see if it's worth becoming my student. I won't mind if you do decide to renounce this opportunity."
Bai Feng then folded the paper containing the Source Opening Codex he had written before. He tossed the paper at Su Yu and said, "Take this back and read it. Although it will have less power than before, it can still be helpful in tempering your willpower. You can even try capturing more Divine Characters from it.
"This is all I'm teaching you for now. Your basics are still very poor and your willpower is still too weak. I can only teach you more when your willpower grows stronger."
Su Yu did not know what to say. He seemed to have been accepted into the academy in advance. He had even been accepted as Bai Feng's student as well. So what did that mean? He was lucky? Or perhaps Bai Feng was merely going through the motions to please Instructor Liu?
He looked down at what he was holding in his hands. A drop of source qi liquid, an original Great Strength bone fragment, and a sixth-stage Skysoar Realm willpower text. Was he rich? Was money falling from the sky for him?
Su Yu was in a daze. He still hadn't realized that all those things weren't his true gain today. Rather, it was the Divine Character he had completed. Although it was still weak, he had still finished building his foundation for Divine Characters in his mind.
"Go back and rest. You've used a lot of willpower today. I'll be waiting for you at the academy. Of course, it won't be that easy to obtain my approval. I need your willpower to be twenty percent full by the time you enter the academy. You will need to have the ability to fully read a Great Strength Realm willpower text. Only then will you be qualified to be my student instead of a random odd-worker I keep around me.
"I can feel that I'll be breaking through into the seventh-stage Skysoar Realm soon. In three years, I'll attempt to enter the Cloudbreach Realm. At that time, if you're still so mediocre, I'm afraid you won't even be qualified to tell others that I'm your teacher."
Speaking with an indifferent tone, Bai Feng clasped his hands on his back, standing in an imposing manner.
"You're too mediocre. Today, you're given a chance. Whether you can grab it or not will depend on what you do."
Su Yu did not say anything. He clenched his fists tightly, asking himself if he was really that mediocre. Perhaps. Someone on the verge of becoming a seventh-stage Skysoar cultivator before reaching thirty was telling him that. He had no way of disputing someone like that.
"I'll work hard!" Su Yu muttered firmly before walking away.
Bai Feng maintained his posture, standing like an unfathomable expert until Su Yu left before he heaved a long breath and grinned.
"Holy shit! Holy shit! He completed a Divine Character! Holy shit! What's his deal? This is too unbelievable!"
He was in disbelief. He laughed to himself. This trip to Nanyuan had been really profitable for him.
"Kid, keep a low profile. Low profile. Don't you fucking dare go around showing off before entering the academy. Don't show off even after entering the academy. Just keep a low profile until you reach the Skysoar Realm."
Bai Feng muttered to himself. He recalled something and said, "No, this won't do. I need to go back to the academy and put this in the records. I've accepted this fellow out of respect for Martial Uncle. Whoever dares to snatch this student from me will face my wrath!
"No. Teacher knows me. Won't he suspect what I'm doing? What if he snatches my student? This is difficult. What should I do? Arghhh! Oh, right, I can persuade Teacher to leave before updating the records. Yes, that's the way. Haven't a new race appeared at the Allheaven Battlefield? Teacher must be interested in that. Please leave, Teacher. You can return after the new semester starts!"
Bai Feng kept muttering to himself impatiently, wishing that he could return to the academy immediately.
...
Great Xia Cultural Research Academy.
A refined middle-aged man was reading a book in a garden. Suddenly, he sneezed. With a frown, he muttered, "Is Senior Brother scolding me again? Sigh. Whatever, I don't mind."
The man smiled and shook his head before returning to his book.
...
Su Yu was in a daze while on his way home.
Reading a willpower text, capturing a Divine Character, and reading an original Great Strength bone fragment were all activities that required willpower. That was especially true for the capturing process. He was in meditation for a long time. By the time he left, it was already dark. However, he had gained a lot today.
Bai Feng had shown him a brand new world, allowing him to see just how big and wondrous the world outside Nanyuan was. Divine Character, willpower, original willpower texts, mental tempering, Cloudbreach, Mountainsea...
Numerous new terms filled Su Yu's brain. That was the real cultivation world. That was the real cultural research academy. Great Strength? Infinite Strength? The realms that seemed so high to him in the past did not seem so special anymore. Creating a world with a character. Suppressing the world with a character. A cultural researcher could also be strong enough to cause the heavens to tremble.
"I'm really weak. My willpower is only ten percent full."
He had always thought that he was quite talented, and he was even slightly prideful of his talent. Liu Wenyan's insistence that he join a cultural research academy had given him a misconception that it would be the academy's loss to not accept him as a student. But today, he realized how ridiculous that notion was.
"That genius from Great Zhou is probably one of the top geniuses in existence. That was why he could reach the third-stage Skysoar Realm in only six months. Bai Feng is probably trying to temper my ego using that person, but I can't deny that there will definitely be a lot of mental tempering students in Great Xia as well."
To reach the Mental Tempering Stage, one needed to be fifty percent full willpower. Su Yu's willpower was only one fifth of such individuals. There was a massive gap between him and them. One ought to know that he had been killed repeatedly in his dreams for many years. Because of that, he had thought that his willpower was decently strong.
While he walked, he continued sensing the blood character in his mind. He had used the character once earlier, so it was rather dim at the moment. Evidently, the previous usage had exhausted a decent amount of the character's strength.
"Divine Characters need to be nourished with willpower..."
Su Yu recalled Bai Feng's reminder. Slowly, he spread his senses over the character, attempting to nourish it with his willpower.
...
Su Yu returned to his quiet home. After sitting blankly for a while, he finally felt the intense hunger his body was suffering from. He had not eaten anything since breakfast. He had left for school in the morning. After a meditation session, it was already late afternoon. By the time he returned home, the sky was already dark. Thus, he was feeling extremely hungry. Not in the mood to cook, he prepared a simple meal of instant noodles before wolfing it down. After the meal, he entered his bedroom.
"Source Opening Codex, original Great Strength bone fragment, source qi liquid."
These were his gains today. They were quite significant. He had exhausted a large amount of willpower, so he did not intend to continue cultivating his willpower during the night. However, he could use the Source Opening Codex written by Bai Feng and the drop of source qi liquid to cultivate his body.
"After reading Bai Feng's Source Opening Codex, I feel like I don't even need to activate the book with blood essence to reach the fifth-stage."
The Source Swallowing Technique activated with blood essence was after all not something suitable for humans.
"What will happen if I activate the book and use the source qi liquid at the same time?"
Su Yu started wondering. Nanyuan did not have a high density of source qi. What if he increased the density of the source qi around him? Would cultivation be faster? He still had two drops of iron-winged bird blood essence. After his previous cultivation session, he could feel himself getting near the fifth-stage.
"I'll reach the fifth-stage first before using the source qi liquid."
After making his decision, Su Yu wasted no time and swallowed a drop of blood essence before activating the Source Swallowing Technique.