Better Left Unprobed

"Eighteen divine characters..." Bai Feng and Chen Yong were still chatting. After a moment, Bai Feng thought of something and spoke up. "Senior Brother, let him look at a few original texts of the myriad races. This kid has outlined three divine characters, and all three are Human Race characters! He outlines Human Race characters quickly enough, but I'm truly worried his comprehension speed for myriad races characters might lag behind..." "All Human Race divine characters?" This was the first time Chen Yong had heard of this. Surprised, he asked, "He hasn't looked at myriad races divine characters before?" "He looked at fragments, so he didn't comprehend any." "Then it's fine." Chen Yong didn't mind much. Without reading a complete original text of the myriad races, a fragment didn't prove anything; that was completely normal. Turning to Su Yu, he smiled. "Don't feel pressured. This is a good thing! Eighteen divine characters may be a lot, but having more brings its own advantages, and it won't delay your breakthrough to the Tengkong Realm by too long." He truly wasn't very worried. How long had Su Yu even known Bai Feng? All told, he had already outlined three divine characters, and that was before reaching the Yangxing Realm. After reaching the Yangxing Realm, willpower improved, making outlining divine characters somewhat easier. At Su Yu's pace, even if he outlined one a month, a year and a half would suffice. Of course, it would grow harder in the later stages; the sea of will would bear heavy pressure, and nurturing divine characters also consumed a great deal of willpower. "This Initial Fusion Pavilion houses select original texts of the myriad races that offer the chance to condense divine characters of powerful races!" Chen Yong pointed toward the bookshelves in the room and said with a smile, "Among these are original manuals from major, powerful races such as the God Race, the Demon Race, the Dragon Race, and the Giant Race. They offer the potential to outline powerful divine characters. Su Yu, you may stay here and read them continuously from now on." "Of course, the prerequisite is that you have mastered that race's language and understand the underlying meanings." Chen Yong added, "If you don't know a race's script, reading it is useless. Without even understanding its meaning, you won't be able to outline it successfully." Su Yu nodded, feeling a twinge of excitement. *Forget it, stop dwelling on it!* *It's just ninety-nine divine characters. What do I have to be afraid of?* *If I learn one per read, that's only ninety-six times. No fear!* Looking around at the room full of original texts of the myriad races, Su Yu felt elated. It seemed the Multiple Divine Characters Faction still possessed considerable heritage; they had so many original texts preserved here. Seeing his excitement, Bai Feng warned, "Don't go expending them recklessly for me. The Initial Fusion Pavilion is our final trump card, and everything we have left at the bottom of the chest is stored right here. What's more... strictly speaking, they don't even belong to us anymore. Many of these are unique copies. There is only one book like it; if it's ruined, nothing will be left for those who come after." Chen Yong nodded as well. "Your master is right. Many here are out-of-print originals. Quite a few people have read them in the past, and some might shatter after another reading. Of course, reading one once or twice is fine, but if you still cannot outline a divine character after three to five attempts, abandon that book." Chen Yong sighed. "It's not that we're unwilling to give you more chances, but if you read them too many times and ruin them, some precious divine characters might never appear again!" "I understand!" Su Yu hurriedly nodded. "Rest assured, Teacher, Martial Uncle. If I can't outline one, I won't force it!" Bai Feng smiled and pointed to the shelves. "There are descriptions on each of them detailing what divine characters might be outlined from reading them. Focus primarily on the offensive types; skip the defensive ones for now." He then added, "You will stay here for three days. For three days, read whatever you like! In three days, I'll come pick you up. You can visit this place at most once every three months..." Bai Feng adopted a serious tone. "At other times, we must rely on ourselves. The original texts of the myriad races preserved here are limited. If people come too often, they would be exhausted in a few years, and they never would have been passed down to this day." Su Yu nodded again. Three days—three days was quite a lot! Letting him read original texts of the myriad races for three days was already immensely generous. Think about it: even attending a public lecture taught by a Tengkong Realm researcher cost at least five merit points per session, and a class lasted at most two hours at best. Here, he could stay for seventy-two hours. Converted to value, that was worth at least one hundred eighty merit points. He could come once every three months, four times a year—just reading the original texts would be worth seven or eight hundred merit points. "Then we'll head out first!" Chen Yong smiled and said, "Read in peace here. After entering the Yangxing Realm, our lineage's primary goal is to outline as many divine characters as possible. Once you've outlined a few, we'll teach you how to fuse their traits into the battle technique framework. Don't tamper with it rashly on your own for now." Chen Yong added a reminder, "Also, it's best if the divine characters form a cohesive system..." Su Yu looked puzzled. "That means divine characters from the same race are best!" Chen Yong chuckled. "For example, having only God Race divine characters yields better synergy than interspersing God and Demon characters. Of course, that depends on the individual, and it isn't necessarily stronger for everyone. Furthermore, divine characters from races like the God Race and Demon Race are more potent than those from minor races. If you have a choice, it is best to choose characters from these powerful races." ... Chen Yong continued advising Su Yu for a while, and Su Yu committed every word to memory. These were insights born from senior cultivators' experience, not necessarily recorded in books. After all, the difference wasn't absolute; if written down dogmatically, some people might obsess over pursuing same-race divine characters and end up delaying their cultivation. ... Bai Feng and Chen Yong left. They didn't leave any food, but they did leave behind several drops of yuanqi liquid for Su Yu—just enough so he wouldn't starve. Su Yu felt he had made a great bargain anyway; yuanqi liquid was so valuable! "Ninety-nine..." Su Yu muttered. Only now did he have time to examine his sea of will. Seeing that miniature saber, he felt an urge to cough up blood. *So many!* *What a trap!* And that golden booklet... Su Yu frowned. What on earth was that thing? Leaving aside how it absorbed blood essence from the myriad races, when he outlined a divine character battle technique, that damn thing actually stepped in to make trouble! Was it manipulated by someone, or acting autonomously? Su Yu's brow furrowed with unease, but at this moment, there was nothing he could do about it! *No wasting time—read!* Su Yu looked at the shelves packed with books, his face glowing with joy as he cast aside his displeasure. Reading was the priority! "Sharpness-type original texts of the myriad races!" Su Yu spotted the label on a bookshelf. The explanation noted that if one obtained a divine character from this shelf's books, there was a high probability it would possess the sharpness trait. It was only a high probability, not a guarantee. "Blade Ant Race cultivation manual..." Su Yu glanced over it. Beside each booklet was an introduction written in the Human Race language detailing which race it belonged to, preventing someone from reading indiscriminately without knowing the language, exhausting the book's willpower, and wasting resources. Su Yu scanned the shelf and soon spotted a booklet for a race he was familiar with. "Demon Scorpion Race: Sharp tail stinger; ranked 368th on the Myriad Races Rankings; innate skill 'Tail Sting'; characterized by armor penetration, piercing, and venomous slaying. Studying Demon Scorpion martial arts and cultivation manuals facilitates outlining divine characters with traits such as sharpness and piercing..." The description was detailed. Su Yu excitedly picked up the hide booklet, probed his willpower into it, and began observing the Demon Scorpion cultivation manual. ... While Su Yu was engrossed in his reading. City Lord Manor. In a small garden, atop a pavilion in the middle of a lake. A square table was set out, surrounded by several figures. The chubby Marquis Xia, pinching some tea leaves, leaned back in a large chair and said lazily, "Longwu really doesn't know how to enjoy life. This lake pavilion has great sunlight, a wonderful setting, and fresh air—it's the best spot for drinking tea, yet he actually left it abandoned. Good thing I came; otherwise, this place would soon have turned into a bird's nest." Not far away, an elderly man surnamed Hu smiled and shook his head, continuing to sip his tea without chiming in. Over on the other side, Wan Tiansheng was feeding the fish in the lake, rippling the water from time to time, and chuckled. "When it comes to enjoyment, the Marquis is naturally an expert." "Of course!" Marquis Xia chuckled. "I earned so much money—why shouldn't I enjoy it? I've made up my mind: in a few days, I'm going to replace this lake water with yuanqi liquid!" With that, he looked toward Wan Tiansheng and chuckled, "Is your 'Yuan' Character Secret Realm for sale? I'll buy it just to serve as my lake water generator!" "..." Wan Tiansheng laughed softly. "If the Marquis wishes to take it, help yourself!" "Really?" "Really." Wan Tiansheng smiled faintly. "It's merely a yuanqi secret realm. If the Marquis is willing to trade the Xia Trading Company for it, I have no objections whatsoever." "Heh!" Marquis Xia scoffed in disdain. *Dream on.* *Do I look like an idiot?* Too lazy to pursue the topic, Marquis Xia took a sip of tea and continued, "Speak. What did you come looking for me for out of the blue?" "It's about Xia Huyou..." "Tch!" Marquis Xia wore a face full of disdain. "Do whatever you want. If you have the guts, kill him; if not... toss him around however you like! Expecting me to spend a single copper is completely out of the question! If you came for that, get lost right now!" Wan Tiansheng laughed, and Advisor Hu shook his head with a smile. Plucking a feather from Marquis Xia was never an easy feat. Wan Tiansheng dropped the banter and said, "I came today for two matters. "First, I'm looking for Xia Yunqi. Where is he right now?" As soon as those words fell, Marquis Xia's expression shifted slightly, and he sat up straight. Over on the side, Advisor Hu's expression flickered as well as he looked at Wan Tiansheng. "Why are you looking for him?" Marquis Xia frowned. "Ever since you expelled him, he has been wandering the world. What's the point of looking for him? "What, are you still eyeing that divine character of his?" "No." Wan Tiansheng shook his head. "You know me. I have no interest in laying a hand on their divine characters; it's pointless. Nor do I need it!" "Then why..." Wan Tiansheng said earnestly, "I simply want to ask how his cultivation has progressed over all these years. I visited Liu Wenyan and inquired, but he refused to see me, and even when he did, he just glowered and told me to get lost..." Wan Tiansheng sighed. "Moreover, his case is not broadly applicable. I want to ask about Xia Yunqi's situation. I want to know whether the Multiple Divine Characters Faction's choice back then was truly right or wrong. "If it is feasible..." Marquis Xia cut him off directly. "So what if it's feasible? Wan Tiansheng, you're not thinking of summoning them back, are you?" "No!" Wan Tiansheng shook his head. "Fifty years have passed, and the Multiple Divine Characters Faction has fallen completely into decline. Yet I often wonder whether they still have any hope left. Back then, they were so resolute, betting everything on a single throw... did they truly discover something? Could one of them truly produce an Invincible? "Originally, I had almost lost hope... But recently, a new student from Nanyuan entered the academy, and I noticed something different. So I wanted to see again whether there really might still be a chance..." "A chance?" Over there, Advisor Hu said softly, "I fear there won't be one. Of course, I cannot be certain either. Back then, that group of madmen staked everything on one throw. I don't understand why they chose to do that—they ruined themselves, ruined Liu Wenyan and the others, and ruined my sister." Advisor Hu felt a pang of sorrow and sighed, "Ever since Ping'er was expelled, she won't even see me anymore. I also want to ask: was it truly worth it? Exhausting the very marrow of the Multiple Divine Characters Faction just to chase an infinitesimally slim hope... Sigh!" A sigh, a lament! An emotion beyond words. Liu Wenyan, Xia Yunqi, Hu Ping, Zhao Mingyue... the favored darlings of heaven in that generation were now all past seventy years old. In their youth, in the prime of life. In their youth, radiant and dazzling! Now, they were all decrepit and old. If they did not reach the Tengkong Realm soon, they likely didn't have many years left to live. Wan Tiansheng cut short his wistful musings, speaking in a deep voice, "Cut the pointless lamenting! I genuinely want to know their status. Back then, one expert nearing the Eternal Realm, three Sun and Moon Realm experts, and seven Shanhai Realm experts selected eleven geniuses as their inheritors, passing down their primary divine characters. "Liu Wenyan inherited that man's divine character, while Zhao Mingyue, Hu Ping, and Xia Yunqi inherited the primary divine characters of the three Sun and Moon Realm experts... "With the lives of eleven powerful figures paid as the price, were the divine characters passed down this way of any use at all?" Wan Tiansheng said solemnly, "Of the eleven geniuses, several have died, leaving six still alive. Is this research viable or not? We have waited for many years without an answer. I'm not the only one pressing for it; several other academies are pressing for it as well, demanding a clear answer. Several Shanhai Realm elders are nearing their limits, their lifespans coming to an end. If there truly are results, publish them promptly. "Is it only the primary divine characters of the Multiple Divine Characters Faction that work, or does it work for others as well?" Wan Tiansheng added seriously, "Even the Quest Realm has asked multiple times..." Marquis Xia said somewhat impatiently, "Ask, ask, ask—why ask me? How would I know! Finding Yunqi won't do you much good either; he won't tell you. Of course, him not telling you means results haven't appeared yet, or there are simply no results at all!" With that, Marquis Xia muttered, "Even if you ask, it's useless. Even if results emerged, they might not bother giving you the time of day! Look at how you ran the Multiple Divine Characters Faction into the ground, practically driving them to extinction. It's already fortunate they haven't come looking to settle scores with you." Wan Tiansheng snapped irritably, "What does that have to do with me! I merely stayed out of it; I never suppressed them. It was that fool Hong Tan who failed to pull his own weight! As a Shanhai Realm expert, he insisted on obsessing over innate skills, neither competing nor fighting for anything. How is that my fault? He acts like a hands-off manager; am I supposed to shove resources into his hands? He holds the title of Vice Principal of the Divine Character College in name, but what of it? How many times a year does he even show his face?" Wan Tiansheng's tone grew harsh. "I will not take the blame for this! Among the thirty-six elders, the Divine Pill and Divine Talisman factions—several elders support him, plus himself, plus a group of old elders from back then who backed him. Out of thirty-six elders, at least ten supported him! Hong Tan is useless on his own; stop always dumping this black pot on my head!" He added, "Zhou Mingren's side produced several Shanhai Realm experts, but they fought for that themselves. Back then, the Single Divine Character Faction only had four Shanhai Realm experts, and now they have eight. Are you expecting me to step in and suppress those eight elders?" Marquis Xia shrugged, completely indifferent. "Don't tell me; I don't care to hear it! Your academy's business is your own! Yunqi truly isn't around, and I don't know where he is either. Didn't you have two matters? What's the second?" Wan Tiansheng ignored him and looked toward Advisor Hu. "Hu Ping refuses to see anyone as well?" "Don't you dare go harassing her!" Old Hu snapped bluntly, "If you dare harass her, I'm not finished with you!" Wan Tiansheng was somewhat speechless. "You people... I genuinely have serious business with them! Did I say I was going to harm them? Did you not understand what I meant? Many Shanhai Realm—and even... Sun and Moon Realm old-timers are nearing the end of their ropes! "Whether divine characters should be passed down as civilization chronicles for people to admire, or condensed and passed down to geniuses to bolster the Human Race's strength—this is a momentous matter, not a trivial one!" Marquis Xia chuckled. "I know, but... frankly speaking, even if it works, after fifty years, I don't think it was worth it! With the talent of Liu Wenyan and the others, in fifty years of cultivating on their own, they might have reached the Shanhai or even Sun and Moon Realm by now. Was this truly necessary?" Marquis Xia shook his head. "Back then, those people were injured, some even on the brink of death, and had no choice! On top of that, having witnessed the Fifth Head's power and seen a glimmer of reaching the Invincible Realm, they acted recklessly and madly, paying with their own lives to pass down their divine characters..." At this point, he shook his head. "I still don't think there's much hope. Besides, those decrepit Shanhai and Sun and Moon elders today never experienced that battle back then. They never saw the Fifth Head's glory, nor how he erupted to slay an Invincible. Even if they condense their divine characters, it won't necessarily be the same." Wan Tiansheng nodded slightly and sighed. "That is precisely my concern! If so, even if Liu Wenyan and the others truly reach the Invincible Realm, it would merely be an exception, not the norm. I still want to forge a stable path to the Sun and Moon Realm, to the Eternal Realm." He then said with a headache, "The academy hasn't produced a single Sun and Moon Realm expert in fifty years, and I have no idea what went wrong. Fatty Xia..." "Hm?" Marquis Xia's expression darkened! "Ahem, Marquis!" Wan Tiansheng cleared his throat and continued, "The strength of the Civilization Academy is also the strength of the Great Xia Prefecture. There are things you cannot simply sit back and watch! "We can discuss Xia Yunqi's matter later! The second reason I came today is to borrow something from you." "No money!" Marquis Xia stated flatly. "No money, no resources, no god-demon blood, nothing! If you want to borrow a life, I have one—you want it?" Wan Tiansheng choked for a moment, but having grown accustomed to it, he continued on his own, "I would like to borrow the Sky-Reaching Mirror!" Wan Tiansheng said earnestly, "I want to take a close look at why the academy hasn't produced any Sun and Moon Realm experts. Is it because the Multiple Divine Characters Faction declined? Not necessarily; before this, the Single Divine Character Faction produced Sun and Moon experts too! Yet now, even the Single Divine Character Faction cannot produce Sun and Moon Realm experts. Why?" Wan Tiansheng truly found it baffling and frowned. "Several elders are stuck at the ninth level of the Shanhai Realm. Not only on our side, but similar situations are occurring in other academies as well. Has something gone wrong... with the path of divine characters?" Wan Tiansheng rubbed his temples in frustration. "Earlier, I compiled statistics across the various prefectures, as well as the Quest Realm! In the past fifty years, only seven Sun and Moon Realm experts have emerged. Seven! "Only seven!" Wan Tiansheng said in a low voice, "Those who exhausted their lifespans, died in battle, or fell to cultivation deviations... the Sun and Moon Realm experts who died number nine! In other words, over these fifty years, the net growth of Sun and Moon Realm divine character masters has been negative—two fewer!" Marquis Xia nodded. "I knew that long ago. On the divine character master side, there truly is negative growth! But... counting you, wouldn't that make it only one fewer? By the way, what level of the Sun and Moon Realm are you at now?" "I'm still Shanhai..." Wan Tiansheng sighed wistfully. "I've been stuck in the Shanhai Realm for too many years." "Oh!" Marquis Xia said nonchalantly. "Then I misremembered. Shanhai it is. Still, I wonder who secretly hunted down that God Race Sun and Moon expert who dropped dead thirty-six years ago, nearly provoking the God Race into an invasion. I heard some traces were left at the scene, and everyone outside claimed my father killed him. The old man was so wronged—he didn't do it!" Marquis Xia shrugged. "The guy who did the killing knew the Heaven Opening Blade. Odd, don't you think? The old man didn't pass it down to many people. None of them were from the Xia family, so that leaves hardly anyone. Could Liu Wenyan have killed him? Impressive—that guy can actually kill Sun and Moon Realm experts now!" Wan Tiansheng smiled. "Perhaps the King of Great Xia forgot..." "Right, taking advantage of my father's senility to claim he doesn't remember things, are you?" Marquis Xia glared at him irritably. "Stop putting on an act. What's the point of playing dumb with me? Go on being Sun and Moon; what does it have to do with me!" Too lazy to expose him further, Marquis Xia said in a grave voice, "Using the Sky-Reaching Mirror... Wan Tiansheng, it's not that I won't lend it to you! This isn't just an affair of the Great Xia Prefecture; it involves an upheaval affecting all divine character masters, perhaps all Civilization Masters. What could you possibly divine? Be careful you don't lose your life in the process!" Wan Tiansheng sighed. "I have to see, or I won't be at peace! Though the Sky-Reaching Mirror cannot truly reach heaven, it can perceive the past and peer into the future. I want to see... whether Civilization Masters are truly destined for decline..." "It's not that dire!" Marquis Xia comforted him. "Those old fellows in the Quest Realm are still alive. Since when is it your turn to fret over this? Besides, this so-called peering into the future is a joke, just figurative talk. The future has countless possibilities; any Invincible can influence it. What you see is merely one calculated possibility. Expending too much lifespan just to look at that thing is no good idea." Over there, Old Hu chimed in, "Old Wan, drop it. The Sky-Reaching Mirror was merely formed from the fusion of several divine characters; it isn't some supreme treasure, just an analytical set of divine characters. The revelations it gives you aren't necessarily accurate. Rather than spending your efforts on this, you'd be better off slaying a few more experts of the myriad races to harvest blood essence." Wan Tiansheng smiled. "Just lend it to me; I want to see! Even if it's only one possibility, it will allow me to make targeted preparations. That includes the Myriad Races Academy—I also want to see a possible development of the future..." "Suit yourself!" Marquis Xia had given his warning, and knowing Wan Tiansheng had his own plans, he didn't press the matter further. He said, "That item isn't with me; it's with the old man. I'll have someone fetch it from the War God Temple later. I suspect they've already looked into it long ago. Looking again won't yield much difference. Just don't delay your breakthrough into the Invincible Realm." "Hm?" Wan Tiansheng gave a wry smile. "A peak Shanhai like me might not even reach Sun and Moon in this lifetime, let alone Invincible..." "Heh heh!" Marquis Xia offered an utterly insincere chuckle and said impatiently, "Leave. I can't stand looking at a scheming fellow like you. Just seeing you annoys me!" "When Xia Yunqi returns, let me know." "Got it. Now scram!" Marquis Xia was thoroughly annoyed. Truly exasperating—dealing with this guy was the worst, not a single honest word out of his mouth! ... Once Wan Tiansheng had left, Old Hu chuckled softly. "Marquis, has he truly entered the Sun and Moon Realm?" "What do you think?" "It's very likely. Still, I find it strange: why does he keep concealing it?" Old Hu knitted his brows slightly. "On the Human Race's side, it hasn't reached the point where one needs to hibernate and hide, has it? Principal Wan doing this serves no purpose and actually deprives him of many opportunities." Marquis Xia chuckled. "Who knows! Maybe he wants to plot against someone—perhaps even an Invincible! That guy... probably hasn't reached Invincible yet. Once he does, he'll likely bare his fangs!" "Invincible... of the Human Race, or the myriad races?" "How would I know!" Marquis Xia snapped impatiently, "Think for yourself! And you're supposed to be the Great Xia Prefecture's foremost strategist? You have to ask me about every little thing. Am I your father? Can't you use your own brain?" Old Hu: "..." If looks could kill, Marquis Xia would have died countless times by now! ... After Old Hu also departed in irritation, Marquis Xia stroked his plump, round chin and muttered, "Every single one of them—what are they doing? Who is that old ghost Wan trying to scheme against? Holding it in for so many years and refusing to admit it, even when the Quest Realm and War God Temple asked multiple times... Could he truly have not broken through?" At times, even he couldn't be sure! If not for certain inexplicable events, he would also think Wan Tiansheng was still in the Shanhai Realm; there was no reason to hide it. Unless... the old ghost had a grand scheme, a massive objective! It definitely had ties to an Invincible! Otherwise, there was truly no need to conceal it. Multiple Invincibles were still alive in the Quest Realm and War God Temple. Even if he broke through to Invincible, the myriad races wouldn't specifically target him alone. Back when they targeted the Fifth Head, the casualties were catastrophic, far from worth the cost—and Wan Tiansheng wasn't an invincible powerhouse among peers like the Fifth Head had been. "Can't figure it out!" Marquis Xia shook his head. If he couldn't figure it out, so be it; it had nothing to do with him anyway. Some matters were better left unprobed. Fifty years ago, when Liu Wenyan and the others were expelled, the few surviving powerhouses of the Multiple Divine Characters Faction hadn't uttered a peep. Who knew what agreement had been struck back then? "Forget it. As long as these fellows send a steady stream of experts into the military every year, who cares about the rest!"