So Much Fun at the Civilization Academy

It had been past eleven at night when Su Yu entered the secret realm. By the time he came out, day had broken and it was past five in the morning. All sixty drops of blood essence were gone! Only at this moment did Su Yu truly understand the purpose of the Yuan Qi Secret Realm. Yuan Qi itself was actually secondary in his eyes. The key was that within the Yuan Qi Secret Realm, bottlenecks seemed nonexistent—as long as you broke through, you could keep breaking through! Once the blood essence was absorbed and consumed, opening an aperture, you could immediately absorb the next drop. Even the recovery of willpower was vastly faster. It truly was a wondrous place! Of course, that was on the premise that one could genuinely make continuous breakthroughs; in truth, the so-called lack of bottlenecks was merely Su Yu's own personal perception. Staying six hours had drained every drop of his blood essence. Six hundred merit points down the drain! He had studied the War God Art willpower text all night and outlined another divine character with it, leaving the text on the verge of ruin as well—that was three hundred merit points! Entering the secret realm cost one hundred merit points. Tallying it all up, Su Yu looked up at the sky and began to question his life. One thousand merit points! And that wasn't even at the official exchange rate! At the official rate, that would be 1,300 merit points, which could fetch 65 million on the black market. Enough to buy an entire apartment building in his home residential complex! No, two buildings! Last time, he had also spent over a thousand merit points! Between his two visits to the secret realm, Su Yu had burned through nearly three thousand merit points. Even a family that owned a gold mine couldn't sustain such consumption. A single Lingyun expert might not even be able to afford raising Su Yu; it would take a Shanhai! *** Su Yu was despondent, questioning his existence. Old Huang and his companion were also looking at him with strange expressions. He had stayed for six hours! Right now, they couldn't politely use willpower to probe the boy, but Su Yu had just emerged from seclusion, his apertures brimming with Yuan Qi to the point of nearly overflowing. Both elderly men were in the Lingyun Realm, and with a single glance, they could see at least fifty or sixty Yuan Qi whirlpools churning inside him! Fifty or sixty apertures! Seeing the boy preparing to leave with a face full of existential despair, Old Huang couldn't resist asking, "Su Yu, how was your cultivation?" "Just so-so..." Su Yu managed a strained smile. All told, he had spent nearly three thousand merit points to open a total of sixty-one apertures! Stage Five Qianjun! Opening a single aperture had ended up costing him nearly fifty merit points. It was terrifying! He still had forty-seven apertures left to open. Didn't that mean he needed over two thousand more merit points? Whose child burned through five or six thousand merit points in the Qianjun Realm?! And that wasn't even counting divine characters! It was literally devouring money! His cultivation was fast, but devouring money at this rate was more than Su Yu could bear. Two months' worth of prepared cultivation resources, wiped out in a single night! If he had a Shanhai Realm father, that would be one thing, but Su Yu didn't. If this kept up, what was he going to do in a few days? He only had 246 merit points left now. Su Yu felt like he could barely survive. "Just so-so?" Old Huang wanted nothing more than to smack him. *You call this just so-so?* *What the hell kind of 'so-so' is that?* Feeling helpless, Old Huang gave a light cough. "Your current state is too obvious. Anyone can tell at a glance that you've made major breakthroughs. I'll help you mask it—no need to be polite!" With that, divine light flashed in his eyes! Willpower covered Su Yu like a dome, sealing off the Yuan Qi leaking from his body! Su Yu blinked, momentarily failing to react, but still thanked him. "Thank you, Teacher!" "Don't mention it!" Old Huang smiled, looking a bit smug. *I'm helping you conceal your realm, aren't I?* *And while doing so... purely coincidentally, of course, I get to satisfy my curiosity. I'm really curious how many apertures you've opened, you little brat.* Su Yu felt a bit uneasy. This old man's smile looked rather sly. Not lingering any longer, Su Yu was actually glad Old Huang had sealed his leaking Yuan Qi; otherwise, it wouldn't be good if people spotted it on the way back. He departed. The moment he left, Old Huang slammed his hand down on the counter! *Smack!* "Holy crap!" "..." Old Nie stared at him blankly. "What are you doing?" "Sixty-one!" Old Huang swallowed hard, unable to contain his shock! "How many?" "Sixty-one!" Old Huang said in utter astonishment, "Before entering, that kid had opened forty at the absolute most! It's only been a few days since he opened thirty-six. Even if I assume one aperture every two days, he would have had forty at most. This kid... he opened over twenty apertures this time!" *Crack!* Old Nie kicked and smashed the counter, calmly drew his foot back, and said placidly, "Not bad." "Cut the crap! Stop pretending!" Old Huang cursed, "You call opening twenty apertures in one go 'not bad'? Did your son ever have that ability, or did your father?" "Are you insulting me?" Old Nie's eyes turned dangerous! "I am not!" Old Huang refused to admit it, quickly saying, "Seriously, this kid isn't normal! I smelled a thick scent of blood essence. Did you smell it?" "I did!" Old Nie didn't bother arguing further and said, "Mountain-Breaking Ox blood essence, and it seems to be Wanshi-level, in no small quantity! In fact, the moment he arrived, I sensed it. This kid came prepared! He's been constantly devouring blood essence to cultivate!" "A Qianjun devouring Wanshi blood essence?" Old Huang gasped. "That works? Can his physical body withstand it? Wait, no, he did withstand it! Not only that, he devoured a massive amount. With such a strong scent of blood essence, is it a physical mutation, a bloodline inheritance, or the effect of a divine character?" Old Nie shook his head. That was impossible to judge. Unless Su Yu revealed it himself, who could tell? In any case, Su Yu had certainly devoured a great deal of blood essence to cultivate! A massive amount—at least several dozen drops of Wanshi blood essence. "Stage Five Qianjun just like that..." Old Huang didn't say more, merely remarking with deep feeling, "Stage Five Qianjun already! Can his martial skills keep up?" "Shouldn't be a big problem." Old Nie looked suspicious. "On his person... why did I sense quite a few willpower texts? One of them... felt somewhat like it was written by a Shanhai Realm expert!" Pausing, he added uncertainly, "A bit like... a Shanhai-inscribed *Sky-Breaking Slash*. That feeling was very familiar; it should be *Sky-Breaking Slash*." "Written by Hong Tan?" "Doesn't feel like it. It's not Hong Tan's aura. Besides, Hong Tan isn't even at the academy right now." The two old men exchanged a look, and both suddenly recalled something. It was said that someone had lost a willpower text not long ago! It couldn't be such a coincidence that this kid had picked it up, could it? "The waters run deep!" Old Huang sighed, saying no more. These waters truly ran deep. An item lost by the Single Divine Character Faction was now in Su Yu's hands. A stroke of luck, a coincidence? Or... was someone setting up a game? *** At the very same time. Yangxing Garden, Premium Area. With a loud bang, a table was struck! Zheng Yunhui glared, shouting, "Say that again! Who took my *Sky-Breaking Slash*?" Liu He snapped irritably, "Why are you losing your temper at me? I didn't take it! I just happened to overhear my brother mention that when Su Yu fought Chen Qi last time, the killing intent Su Yu unleashed was unusual. That wasn't an ordinary Sky-Breaking Slash; it carried the resonance of a Shanhai inheritance..." Zheng Yunhui's eyes widened. He thought back to that day, when he had also been present. Recalling that bone-chilling killing intent now, Zheng Yunhui ground his teeth. "So it really is likely mine? That bastard... wait, I bought it from your brother, so he has to compensate me!" Liu He sneered in derision. "The black market has long had a rule: once the academy conducts a sweep and goods are lost, neither side pursues it! Losing it was your own bad luck. The fact that I'm telling you it might be in Su Yu's hands is already doing right by you!" With that, Liu He stood up. "Anyway, I've told you. Figure out a way yourself! By the way, if you want it back, you'd better hurry. If you're too late and the willpower dissipates, the thing will be useless. Don't blame me for not warning you!" Zheng Yunhui snorted and cursed, "Cut the act! Liu He, are you trying to instigate a grudge between me and Su Yu?" Liu He replied contemptuously, "Instigate? Do I need to? I just dislike him, so I'm telling you openly to go start a grudge with him. When did I ever need to instigate anything? I'm plainly telling you to go pick a fight—you call that instigation?" "..." Zheng Yunhui wanted to curse him out! *Damn it!* *The people at the Civilization Academy are truly shameless!* *Doing dirty deeds, yet making them sound so dignified, aboveboard, and completely justified!* He had thought Liu He would make excuses, but the guy hadn't bothered to defend himself at all. Instead, he had bluntly admitted that he was sending Zheng Yunhui to cause trouble for Su Yu! Liu He got up to leave, remarking as he walked, "An item worth 1,500 merit points—even if your Zheng family is wealthy, you can't squander money like that! Besides, sometimes having money doesn't guarantee you can buy a Shanhai Realm willpower text!" "Get lost!" Zheng Yunhui cursed! Liu He turned back to look at him and smiled. "Quite arrogant. I like it! Zheng Yunhui, get onto the Top 100 Rankings soon, and I'll beat you so badly your grandfather won't recognize you. You dare... act arrogant with me?" Zheng Yunhui's face darkened! *Damn it, what a psycho!* He constantly felt that no one on the Civilization Academy's side was normal! Jia Mingzhen, Xia Chan, Wan Mingze, Hu Qiusheng in his class... None of them seemed normal at all! Even that Su Yu, and that Xia Huyou... In short, ever since coming to the Civilization Academy, he had found that people here weren't quite right, looking like a bunch of lunatics. No wonder his grandfather always said the Civilization Academy was a gathering place for madmen. A bunch of lunatics! And this Liu He too—weren't you telling me to go cause trouble for Su Yu? Why turn around and threaten me instead? Zheng Yunhui felt exhausted. A wise man didn't fight when the odds were against him, so a moment later, he said in a low voice, "Please get lost! Damn it, wait until I make the Top 100 Rankings before acting arrogant! At worst, I'll just forfeit and drop off the rankings. What could you do to me then? Damned poser!" "..." Liu He paused slightly. Zheng Yunhui said crossly, "Still not leaving? Threatening me with the Top 100 Rankings! So what? I get on, I drop off, I get on again, I drop off again... what can you do about it?" "I stay on for one day, you challenge me, and I forfeit immediately. What are you going to do?" "You're a senior student acting so arrogant against a freshman—what a joke!" "Wait until my physical body reaches Wanshi, and I'll beat the crap out of you!" "..." Liu He suddenly felt that he truly had no way to deal with this guy. Smiling wryly, he gritted his teeth and turned to leave! Fine, you win! This guy was completely shameless; what could he do? Once he was gone, Zheng Yunhui spat and scratched his head. "Go ask Su Yu for it?" "Will he give it to me?" It didn't seem very likely. Still, that guy Su Yu seemed relatively easy to talk to. Maybe he should give it a try? After all, he had paid one thousand merit points. Not getting it back left a bitter taste in his mouth. Just as Liu He had said, no matter how rich the Zheng family was, one thousand merit points wasn't something to throw away for fun. Besides, a Shanhai Realm *Sky-Breaking Slash* was genuinely hard to come by. "If I wait any longer and that kid exhausts all its willpower, it'll be useless." Zheng Yunhui felt helpless. Even knowing Liu He harbored ill intentions, he still had to go ask for it. He couldn't not go; nobody wanted to see one thousand merit points go down the drain. *** After emerging from the secret realm area, Su Yu returned to the Research Center, rested briefly, and prepared to head to class. Just as he stepped out the door, he suddenly remembered something! He hadn't fed the captives in the detention area! "How many days has it been since I fed them?" Su Yu blinked. It seemed he hadn't fed them even once! The day he had emerged from seclusion was the fourth, and today was already the ninth. "Forget it. It's only been a few days anyway. I'll feed them when I get back this afternoon." He had truly been too busy lately. Not only had he neglected this task, but aside from visiting Zhao Li once last month, he hadn't been back since. His martial grand-uncle had told him to build a good relationship... but where would Su Yu find the time? Opening apertures, outlining divine characters, attending foundational classes... If it weren't for being short on money, Su Yu would have loved to hole up in the Research Center and cultivate in seclusion for a few months. Lost in thought, he had just stepped out of the research base when someone appeared in front of him. Recognizing the person, Su Yu nodded and said, "Morning, Classmate Zheng!" "Just call me Zheng Yunhui!" Zheng Yunhui didn't beat around the bush, speaking bluntly. "Su Yu, there's something I want to ask you." "Go ahead." "Earlier, I bought a Shanhai Realm *Sky-Breaking Slash* willpower text on the black market..." Su Yu's heart gave a thump! *Damn it!* *The rightful owner came looking!* He hadn't told anyone about picking that thing up; at most, his teacher had guessed a little. How did Zheng Yunhui find out? "Liu He told me!" As if knowing what Su Yu wanted to ask, Zheng Yunhui didn't hide it either, having no interest in keeping secrets for Liu He. He said directly, "He said it's with you. Su Yu, is that true?" Su Yu considered it. Denying it seemed pointless, so he smiled faintly and said, "Yes, by a stroke of luck, I did obtain a copy of *Sky-Breaking Slash*. But Classmate Zheng, frankly speaking, that item didn't have a name on it, wasn't redeemed from the academy, and has no official record. You say it's yours, but surely you don't expect me to just hand it over, do you? That would be too naive. No matter how foolish I might be, I wouldn't do that, right?" Su Yu said earnestly, "Put yourself in my shoes: if you picked up such an item, would you return it to someone else? If there were official records proving it belonged to you, that would be one thing, but right now there aren't!" Zheng Yunhui felt depressed. He had known it! Just as Su Yu said, the item hadn't come from a legitimate source and had no official record. Once lost, it was lost; finding Su Yu was useless. After thinking for a moment, Zheng Yunhui said, "Earlier, I put down 1,000 merit points, and the asking price was 1,500. Su Yu, you've probably read it several times by now. If you return it to me, I'll pay you the remaining 500 merit points! Honestly speaking, reading that kind of thing a few times is enough. Reading it too much... isn't actually of much use." "Five hundred merit points?" Su Yu hesitated briefly, then said slowly, "How about this: I lend it to you to read once, and you give me 100 merit points. What do you think?" "..." Zheng Yunhui was stunned. *What a genius!* *Damn it, this kid actually knows how to do business!* Charging him 100 merit points just to look at it once... Su Yu continued, "For 500 merit points, you can read it five times. You said reading it a few times is enough, so five times should be plenty, right? That way, you gain something, I gain something, and if you manage to learn it all in three readings, you even save 200 merit points. You come out ahead. What do you think?" "I come out ahead?" Zheng Yunhui shook his head. *How am I the one coming out ahead?* *I pay you money to look at my own stuff, and then... I come out ahead?* *What kind of logic is that?!* *He makes it sound so convincing, as if I really earned 200 merit points!* Speechless for a while, Zheng Yunhui finally said, "Su Yu, how about this: I won't ask for it back, and letting me read it a few times is fine. But don't say 100 points, that's too expensive! Ten merit points per reading. I'm only in the Yangxing Realm; a Shanhai Realm willpower text won't wear out that easily. Reading it a dozen or twenty times won't cause much loss. What do you think?" Su Yu looked at him in surprise. Had this guy really given up just like that? Seeing his surprise, Zheng Yunhui didn't mind and smiled. "That arrogant jerk Liu He wants to use me as a weapon, so why should I play into his hands? My goal is to study the Shanhai-level Sky-Breaking Slash, not to cause trouble! If you let me read it, we can negotiate nicely. If you don't... well, I can't do anything about it, but a grudge between us would certainly be forged!" Zheng Yunhui smiled. "If you let me read it, you get some profit, you don't give that Liu guy what he wants, and maybe you even make a friend in me. What do you say?" Just as Su Yu was about to speak, Zheng Yunhui added, "My grandfather is Zheng Ping!" "..." Su Yu looked blank. Zheng Yunhui was speechless. *You don't know?* "My grandfather is the Principal of the Great Xia War Academy!" Understanding dawned on Su Yu, and he was somewhat surprised. He truly hadn't recognized him. He only knew that Xia Chan was from the Xia family, as the Xia family was simply too famous in the Great Xia Prefecture! As for the others... he had guessed Wan Mingze might be related to Principal Wan, but hadn't paid much attention to the rest, since there was more than one Zheng family in the Great Xia Prefecture. A Principal! The Great Xia War Academy! That was certainly a formidable figure! After pondering, Su Yu said, "Thirty points per reading. If you're willing, we collaborate; if not, forget it! This item is a consumable. Ten points a reading... you're underestimating the Shanhai Realm too much! And there's a limit: at most five readings, and each time must be under my watch right here. I'll be standing right next to you, otherwise if you snatch it and run, I'd have no recourse!" "Deal!" Zheng Yunhui proved remarkably agreeable! Seeing how agreeable he was, Su Yu thought for a moment and raised an eyebrow. "Zheng Yunhui, are you short on money?" "What?" "Are you short on merit points?" Zheng Yunhui looked at him strangely and said helplessly, "Who isn't? You don't honestly think people like us have limitless money, do you? No matter how powerful our elders are, they won't provide for us without limit! The money I used to buy that item was my entire budget for the Qianjun Realm. Until I reach Wanshi, my grandfather won't give me another cent!" Su Yu said, "Let me tell you something... Liu Hong might have deliberately discarded your item so that I would pick it up!" Su Yu had pieced many things together by now, and he ground his teeth. "The reason I found that item was somewhat connected to Liu Hong. He deliberately muttered near me about where a copy had been lost, which was how I discovered it! And now he sends his younger brother to find you, insisting the item is with me—it's definitely intentional!" Growing increasingly certain, Su Yu said through gritted teeth, "He deliberately wants us to fight! Of course, he's a rival to our faction, so that part isn't surprising. But you... your item was discarded by him on purpose. Do you believe me?" Zheng Yunhui raised an eyebrow. Discarded on purpose? "He... doing that, does he not want to run his black market business anymore?" Zheng Yunhui asked in surprise, "The black market relies on reputation too. Besides, the academy sweep last time was indeed an accident..." "He definitely just took advantage of the situation and did it conveniently!" Su Yu stated with conviction, "Absolutely!" "Then what's your point?" "Scam it back!" Su Yu gritted his teeth. "We recoup your losses right out of Liu Hong's pocket!" Zheng Yunhui's interest was instantly piqued. "Recoup it? That's a thousand merit points. How do we get it back?" "Walk and talk!" As Su Yu walked, he said, "Didn't he tell you to cause trouble for me? Then go ahead and do it! We'll set up a private duel between us and find a way to get him to place a bet. What do you think?" "Huh?" Hearing this, Zheng Yunhui was excited at first, but then came to his senses and shook his head. "There are too many uncertainties. Besides, Liu Hong might not bet at all! Even if he does, he might not place the bet himself, and you wouldn't know whom he sent to place it, nor would he necessarily bet that much... Researchers have a gambling streak, but student duels are just child's play to them. Liu Hong might not even look twice at it!" Su Yu had only conceived the idea in a sudden flash of inspiration. Hearing this, he also nodded. Indeed, there were too many uncertain factors. Yet he truly wanted to scam Liu Hong once! That guy was constantly working against him! It was infuriating! At that moment, Zheng Yunhui suddenly smiled. "If you really want to scam Liu Hong, there actually is a way!" "What is it?" "For an expert like Liu Hong, you have to target his weakness! I know for a fact that Liu Hong has been keeping his eye on your Wen Tan Research Center..." Saying that, Zheng Yunhui smiled slyly. "Su Yu, how about this: we hold a private duel that nobody else knows about, with *Sky-Breaking Slash* as the stake, along with some research data from your center... I mean fake data, of course. We'll see if we can scam Liu Hong with it and sell the data to him!" Realization dawned on Su Yu, and he hesitated. "You mean, I lose, hand the data to you, and then you sell it to Liu Hong?" "That's the gist of it!" Zheng Yunhui chuckled. "Of course, Liu Hong might not believe it. After all, you've only just joined the research center and hold a low status; you might not have access to any confidential data, and he won't necessarily trust either of us." Su Yu scratched his head, muttering, "True, my status is still low, so he might not believe it... With my current strength, what confidential data could I possibly access..." With that, Su Yu raised his brows. "What if... my teacher cooperates with me? Tomorrow, my teacher announces that I can officially join the project research at the Wen Tan Research Center. Then I'll have the credentials to access confidential data!" "Huh?" Zheng Yunhui looked at him in disbelief. *Your teacher cooperates with you?* *Why do you make it sound like your teacher takes orders from you!* He knew about Bai Feng—arrogant and unruly, definitely not someone to mess with. His grandfather had previously told him that once he grew strong enough, the first person he should trouble was Bai Feng, because that fellow was utterly obnoxious and had provoked the War Academy in the past! Ignoring his reaction, Su Yu said, "If my teacher plays along, wouldn't the credibility be very high?" "Naturally, but Teaching Assistant Bai..." Su Yu smiled. "I'll convince my teacher. After all, they're rivals—he'll definitely be thrilled to scam Liu Hong! Of course, if we really pull it off, we'll split the money with my teacher too, three ways!" As Su Yu spoke, his own excitement grew. He laughed, "If my teacher went to deceive him, he'd definitely be suspicious! If I went to deceive him, he'd be on guard against me too! But if you go... he won't necessarily suspect you!" "A set of research data sold to him for five thousand merit points, and you'll make back your capital!" "Besides, he was the one who scammed you first, deliberately discarding your item to make you cause trouble for me. That guy has the blackest heart among all the academy's teaching assistants—completely devoid of character, a smiling tiger..." After cursing him a bit, Su Yu added, "Of course, rashly using research center data as a wager has plenty of loopholes... unless... I'm forced to take a desperate risk! For instance, if you put up something exceptionally valuable as your stake, prompting me to take the gamble!" Zheng Yunhui's eyes flickered. "Come to think of it, I really do have something! My grandfather is one of the strongest experts in the Great Xia Prefecture! A few years ago, he slew a Lingyun Realm expert of the god race on the battlefield and obtained ten drops of Lingyun blood essence! How about this: I'll use three drops of Lingyun blood essence to bet against you. Your single copy of *Sky-Breaking Slash* isn't valuable enough on its own, but adding some research data makes it an even match!" "God race blood essence!" Su Yu cursed inwardly. *What a filthy rich tycoon!* *He truly has money!* "Don't look at me like that. It's my grandfather's, not mine. But I can borrow it. It's the real deal, and once borrowed for this purpose, no one would dare snatch it. To rob my grandfather's belongings in the Great Xia Prefecture... unless your Principal... wait, our Principal casts aside all shame and personally comes to rob it!" Zheng Yunhui grew excited as well, whispering, "I'll wager genuine goods against you. Once the god race blood is brought out, he'll have no choice but to believe it! We shouldn't make it a huge spectacle either—keep it discreet and cautious, a wager known only to the two of us. Then we find a way to let him find out. The more secretive, the better... after all, the stakes can't see the light of day." Su Yu was also shocked by how bold this guy was, daring to bring out such a treasure! At that thought, he couldn't help saying, "Why make it so complicated... Why don't we just sell the Lingyun blood essence directly to him on the black market? Then your grandfather charges in, claiming Liu Hong stole his blood essence, beats him half to death, and takes the blood essence back..." Zheng Yunhui stared at him, dumbfounded. *Holy crap, you're ruthless!* "This isn't the War Academy..." In other words, if this were the War Academy, that trick would actually work! Black market transactions were illegal. Principal Zheng could jump out, thrash him, confiscate the blood essence, and with a slightly black heart, frame him with a crime, leaving Liu Hong in deep trouble! "Trading the blood essence is out of the question. That stuff is too taboo and easily draws unwanted attention. Plus, it's the real deal—if it enters the black market and genuinely gets lost, I'd have nowhere to plead my case. People would die, and my grandfather would beat me to death!" "As long as I keep it in my hands, it's fine; anyone who tries to snatch it would be labeled an All-Races Sect bastard... but entering the black market is a no-go!" Zheng Yunhui rejected the proposal. This kid Su Yu had quite a vicious streak! "Let's stick to what we just discussed..." Zheng Yunhui said with mounting excitement. "I have to admit, scamming a Tengkong expert gets my blood pumping. If we really pull it off, Liu Hong will have to pawn his trousers, and he won't even be able to complain—trafficking research data is hardly a business you can bring into the open!" As for whether the plan was feasible... that remained uncertain, but there was hope. However, Zheng Yunhui quickly noted, "People might not buy into this plan, mainly because you're not strong enough. Even though you have Wanshi innate blood essence, frankly speaking, I'm no weakling. If you don't have the certainty of beating me yet dare to steal data, you'd have to be insane. Unless you give him the impression that you have a sure-win trump card..." "Otherwise, you'd just be ruining your own future!" Zheng Yunhui realized the flaw. "You're a genius; who would believe you'd throw away your future just to hand me data? That seems like a massive loophole!" Su Yu smiled. "Not necessarily. Why wouldn't I have a chance of beating you?" "Huh?" Zheng Yunhui laughed in spite of himself. "Relying on that blood essence? Honestly, that's not reliable. Let me put it this way: I'm at Stage Seven Qianjun, my Yangxing progress isn't low, and my divine characters are strong. You truly might not be my match!" Even with the blood essence included! Su Yu chuckled. "Don't be too confident. If even you don't believe I can beat you, then if I truly demonstrate a viable chance of winning, Liu Hong will naturally believe I dare to make the bet!" "What other trump cards do you have?" Su Yu smiled. "No rush. It's not quite enough right now. In a few days, I'll reveal it to Liu Hong first. As for you... just pretend you don't know anything!" Stage Five Qianjun was still a bit short. If he reached Stage Six or Seven Qianjun without anyone knowing except Liu Hong, and Liu Hong then learned of their wager, would he believe it? By then, the odds of success would be immense! Liu Hong would think Su Yu was guaranteed to win and thus dared to gamble with the data, making everything completely reasonable! When the time came, Su Yu would narrowly lose to Zheng Yunhui—wouldn't that be entirely natural? Zheng Yunhui remained somewhat skeptical! Of course, it didn't matter if it failed. He had only grown interested because Su Yu brought it up; otherwise, he had never expected to scam Liu Hong. The difference in their strength was simply too vast! "We'll talk about it later, then!" Zheng Yunhui smiled. "Starting today, though, we need to act hostile toward each other! As a member of the Zheng family, I need to show a fiery temper, just like my grandfather. Liu Hong scammed me precisely because he thought I had the same temper as my grandfather, didn't he?" The Zheng family members were all powder kegs ready to explode at the slightest spark! Zheng Yunhui was somewhat of an oddball among them; if he weren't an oddball, he wouldn't have come to the Civilization Academy. Zheng Yunhui added, "Let's walk separately. Once we get to class, I'll pick a fight with you. We'll let it brew for a while before deciding whether to scam Liu Hong. Even if we don't end up scamming him, playing rivals might draw out a few other characters!" Zheng Yunhui became increasingly thrilled. "This feeling... cooking up conspiracies behind the scenes feels fantastic! It makes me feel like we're the villains. The Civilization Academy... is awesome! I think being a villain here must be thrilling!" Back in the Zheng family, his talents had nowhere to shine—a family full of brutes who threw punches at every turn, utterly boring! The Civilization Academy was much better! Every classmate he met knew how to scheme; he loved it. Look at Su Yu, this seemingly honest kid—his methods for stabbing people in the back were one elaborate trick after another! Zheng Yunhui found that he had fallen in love with the Civilization Academy. It was extraordinarily thrilling, and the people here were so articulate! Even students dared to plot against teachers! At the War Academy... people only spoke with their fists! Zheng Yunhui departed in high spirits. He felt the Civilization Academy was where he would make a name for himself. Only here could he display his true talents and show everyone that the Zheng family wasn't entirely made of brutes! Watching him leave, Su Yu smiled, his interest piqued. The Civilization Academy was indeed very intriguing! That guy Zheng Yunhui... wasn't nearly as honest as he looked. He was built like a bear, and Su Yu had originally thought he was someone like Chen Hao. But the moment the guy proposed paying money to read the book, Su Yu had realized... he had misjudged him!