A Different Great Xia Prefecture

For the rest of the day, Su Yu stayed by Liu Wenyan's side. He was in no hurry. This was hardly the first time he had followed Liu Wenyan around; in the past, whenever he studied All-Races languages, he had often shadowed the old instructor. Su Yu continued with his own routine—cultivating, reading, studying... He simply refrained from using blood essence to activate the Yuan Absorption Art. From the shadows, an operative of the Longwu Guards kept watch over him. Su Yu never caught sight of the guard, nor did the guard ever show himself, yet Su Yu could not help feeling a degree of curiosity and longing toward the Longwu Guards. He had heard that the Longwu Guards were exceptionally powerful—so powerful that even his own father had not met their entry threshold. Just how strong were they? While Su Yu pondered in curiosity, Liu Wenyan spent the day as usual, sipping tea, reading books, and offering instruction. *** "Longing to join the Longwu Guards?" Noticing Su Yu glancing outside several times as if trying to spot the hidden expert from earlier, Liu Wenyan could not resist asking with a smile. Feeling slightly embarrassed, Su Yu answered in a low voice, "I'm just curious about what the foremost army of the Great Xia Prefecture is really like." "The Longwu Guards..." Liu Wenyan sighed with a touch of emotion. "The Longwu Guards... have existed for many years. The Prefecture Master's name actually originated from them. First came the Longwu Guards, then came the Prefecture Master, and then came the Longwu War Academy. However, this current generation of the Longwu Guards can be hailed as the strongest in history! "They aren't very numerous. After all, they are the elite of the elite, numbering only around five thousand in total." "Only that many?" Information regarding the Longwu Guards was kept strictly confidential from the public, so this was the first time Su Yu learned that the greatest military force in the Great Xia Prefecture consisted of so few. Was five thousand a lot? It was minuscule! Terrifyingly few! One had to realize that the City Guards of Nanyuan City alone numbered over a thousand, and the City Guards across the entire Great Xia Prefecture exceeded fifty thousand. Even the Great Xia Prefecture Army exceeded one hundred thousand! Yet the Longwu Guards, who stood above them all, did not even reach ten thousand! "The Longwu Guards are elite troops; they don't need excessive numbers. In war, quality trumps quantity." Liu Wenyan smiled and said, "To the outside world, they claim to number ten thousand, but in truth, they do not. Their strength, however, is formidable indeed. Ten form a squad, a hundred form a legion, and a thousand are invincible..." "Invincible?" Su Yu murmured. Liu Wenyan chuckled softly. "Merely a slogan, don't take it too literally. But they are truly fearsome! Almost every ordinary soldier is in the Wanshi Realm. A squad leader is either at the Wanshi Ninth Layer or in the Tengkong Realm, and most centurions are at the upper stages of the Tengkong Realm." Su Yu clicked his tongue in awe! That was genuinely terrifying! With five thousand soldiers, there had to be at least fifty centurions, all at or above the Tengkong Seventh Layer? Even the city master of Nanyuan City was not that strong. And what about the chiliarchs above the centurions? Wouldn't they be even more powerful? Could they perhaps surpass the Tengkong Realm entirely? And how strong was the deputy commander of the Longwu Guards? As for their commander-in-chief, that was Xia Longwu—a fact Su Yu knew full well. Even the common soldiers were mostly in the Wanshi Realm, which was staggering. In the All-Heavens Battlefield, the Demon Suppression Army was by no means weak, yet back then, his father had become a squad leader at only the Qianjun Seventh Layer, a status comparable to a squad leader in the Longwu Guards. One was at the Qianjun Seventh Layer, while the other was at least at the Wanshi Ninth Layer. No wonder the Longwu Guards had refused to accept his father. Liu Wenyan smiled and continued, "A ten-man squad is currently stationed in Nanyuan. The fellow who spoke earlier was one of their corporals." "Is he strong?" "Extremely. Wanshi Ninth Layer." Su Yu clicked his tongue once more. "A mere corporal is at the Wanshi Ninth Layer?" "Though he is called a corporal, this stationed squad is among their stronger units. In a slightly weaker squad, he could easily serve as a squad leader." Liu Wenyan added with a smile, "No need to envy them. Qianjun and Wanshi are merely the foundation; the Tengkong Realm is where the true journey begins. Even on the All-Heavens Battlefield, those in the Tengkong Realm aren't cannon fodder—they are elite forces! "Once your will manifests and you step into the Tengkong Realm, you will understand." Anticipation gleamed in Su Yu's eyes. "I wonder how many years it will take..." "..." Liu Wenyan was caught between tears and laughter. *A few years?* *This kid actually took it seriously! When I said three to five years before, that was for supreme prodigies. You're decent, but you're not at that level yet. With good luck, you might achieve it in ten years. With bad luck... you'll end up like me, stuck outside this gate for the rest of your life.* Even so, ten years was still far faster than conventional physical cultivation. After chatting a bit longer, Su Yu consulted him on several questions regarding All-Races languages. After a moment of thought, Su Yu asked, "Teacher, is there really no way to advance rapidly through the Kaiyuan Realm? Aside from those risky methods, are there no other means to make fast progress? Why is it that so many students who enter higher academies at the Kaiyuan Fourth Layer manage to step into the Qianjun Realm so quickly? "From the Kaiyuan Fourth Layer to the Qianjun First Layer spans six entire layers. Going from the fourth layer to the fifth should take at least half a year, shouldn't it? "Even if every subsequent layer took half a year, that would still require at least three years before entering the Qianjun Realm. Yet I heard that many students in the War Academy step into the Qianjun Realm in about a year." This had always puzzled Su Yu, but in the past, instructors had only smiled and told the students that they would understand once they reached a higher academy. Taking this opportunity, Su Yu hoped to learn more, especially since his own progress might soon accelerate dramatically. Assuming Su Yu would soon enter the Civilization Academy anyway, Liu Wenyan saw no need to hide the truth this time. He chuckled and asked, "You've probably come across a term in certain books—the academy secret realm." "Yes!" "That is the reason." Adopting a testing tone, Liu Wenyan asked, "Across the myriad realms of the heavens, why do the experts of all races insist on opening up the All-Heavens Battlefield outside their respective realms?" "Suppression!" Su Yu answered without hesitation. "Every realm has a different environment—gravity, air, the concentration of yuan qi... all differ. If the God Race enters the Demon Realm, they might face suppression, unable to exert even thirty percent of their total power, and vice versa. That is why these mighty races dare not recklessly invade another race's domain." "Correct. Hence, the All-Heavens Battlefield came to be." As Liu Wenyan spoke, a sharp chill entered his gaze. "Then do you know why the Human Race was dragged into this, and why we became the target of so many races?" "Because... humanity is weak? And they want to invade us?" Su Yu hesitated. That was what the textbooks claimed, but his father had told him otherwise in the past: humanity was not weak; humanity was remarkably strong. "Weak? We are far from weak!" Liu Wenyan gave the exact same answer, saying impassively, "How could humanity be weak! If we were truly weak, we would have been crushed on the All-Heavens Battlefield long ago! Among the myriad races, even if humanity does not rank in the top three, we comfortably rank within the top ten. We are formidable!" "Then..." Su Yu grew even more perplexed. "Then why does humanity have so many enemies?" "Because of the Human Realm!" Liu Wenyan laughed. "Someone will explain this to you once you enter a higher academy. Of course, it isn't any grand secret. The Human Realm is special. You know that other realms impose restrictions, making it exceedingly difficult for one major race to invade another. But the Human Realm... has no restrictions." "What?" "No restrictions!" Liu Wenyan sighed. "That is the crux of the matter. Thus, the Human Realm has become a fat piece of meat in everyone's eyes—a strategic prize! The Human Realm places virtually no suppression upon foreign races. Just think about it: the myriad races expend tremendous effort trying to invade other realms, only to suffer catastrophic drops in battle power upon entry... yet the Human Realm stands entirely undefended against them. How could it not become their target? "Tens of billions of humans to feed upon, natural yuan qi, vast territory, heavenly treasures, devouring the world itself... the benefits are endless! "Since other realms are difficult to conquer, they naturally choose to strike humanity! "It isn't that we are weak... it's that the Human Realm itself... is somewhat unreliable..." Liu Wenyan used the word with a trace of helplessness: unreliable. Other realms possessed natural suppression, yet humanity's realm had none, leaving itself defenseless against the myriad worlds. What else could they do? "Why is that?" Learning of this for the first time, Su Yu was completely stunned. *Why?* No wonder the warfare on the All-Heavens Battlefield was growing increasingly dire! No wonder humanity seemed to have so many hostile races opposing them—an abnormally high number. He had assumed it was because humanity was weak, making them easy prey. Yet both his father and his teacher stated otherwise: humanity was strong, ranking at least within the top ten. A powerful race within the top ten had become everyone's thorn in the side. He hadn't understood before, but now he did. Because the Human Realm had opened its arms wide to them, how could those races not be excited? It was like a peerless beauty stripping bare and calling out to you—could you resist going? "Why?" Liu Wenyan gave a wry smile. "There are two theories. First, the core of the Human Realm was damaged, causing the realm's suppressive power to vanish. "Second, legend says that in ancient times, peerless human experts arose and suppressed the myriad realms of the heavens. All worlds came to pay homage, and the Human Realm, as the center of the universe, welcomed visitors from all four corners. Back then, the Human Realm naturally had no need for defenses; only weak races required such barriers for self-preservation." Su Yu was shaken. "Is that true?" "Just a legend. It might just be people putting gold on their own faces, but that's what some say." Liu Wenyan smiled. "None of that matters, because we cannot change it. The reality sits right before us. "You can learn more about that on your own in the future. As for why cultivation is so fast in higher academies—it is precisely because of the academy secret realms. These secret realms are essentially small pocket worlds, fragments of space cleaved away from worlds or regions rich in yuan qi..." Su Yu was baffled. Cleaving fragments of space? "To put it simply, take the War Academy's secret realm in the Great Xia Prefecture. Back in the day, the King of Great Xia charged into the Golden Roc Realm, swung his blade outside their world, cleaved off a pocket of space, and brought it back." Su Yu was stunned speechless. Plundered... and brought back? No, he had cleaved through a world with a single blade strike, severed a piece of space, and brought it back directly. Was that even... human? "The Golden Roc Realm possesses rich yuan qi, and it is even infused with a measure of heavenly yuan qi. As long as the preliminary preparations are completed, cultivating inside allows one to advance at blistering speed. That is why students in higher academies can rapidly enter the Qianjun Realm." Still reeling from shock, Su Yu could not help asking, "Does humanity not have any regions rich in yuan qi, or heavenly yuan qi of our own...?" "Of course we do!" Liu Wenyan smiled. "Naturally we have them. But... the Human Realm already has a massive population, and the space of our own world cannot be severed recklessly, or it might cause the realm to collapse. Since others want to come take advantage of humanity, we naturally strike back—an eye for an eye!" As Liu Wenyan spoke, a grim coldness settled over his face. "Over the years, it isn't as though humanity hasn't launched counteroffensives. We've annihilated many minor races and minor realms, seized their world cores, and even dragged entire realms back to the Human Realm, creating sacred cultivation grounds for humanity! "Taking blows without striking back is hardly our style. Major races are difficult to destroy, but when minor races dare invade humanity, they are courting death!" For once, this scholarly gentleman revealed a chilling trace of murderous intent. "Where do you think the research materials in the Civilization Academy came from? You really think they were all captured on the All-Heavens Battlefield? You're overthinking it. They were plundered by charging directly into their worlds!" Su Yu's expression shifted continuously. Only after a long while did he manage to say, "Dominating! I thought humanity was constantly taking beatings. I never expected that we weren't just taking blows without hitting back." "Naturally!" Liu Wenyan chuckled. "If we didn't strike with ruthless force, we would have been carved up like meat by the myriad races long ago. Striking hard deters one group while winning over another—that is the very foundation of humanity's survival. Take the Great Xia Prefecture, for instance. The King of Great Xia hasn't appeared for years; you don't actually think he's in seclusion, do you?" "Is he not?" Su Yu was dumbfounded. Was he not? Isn't that what was announced to the public? "How could that be!" Stroking his beard, Liu Wenyan smiled radiantly. "How could an invincible expert remain in seclusion endlessly? The King of Great Xia departed long ago. His exact whereabouts are unknown, but rumor has it—purely rumor, mind you—that he may have fought his way deep into the God Race's territory. Whether that's true or not, no one can say for sure." "He's that fierce?" Su Yu felt as if he were listening to a legendary tale today; it was utterly thrilling! "Then why isn't this publicized to the outside world...?" "Publicize what?" Liu Wenyan replied dismissively. "Spend a few years on the All-Heavens Battlefield, and you'll understand naturally. For those who never go, knowing wouldn't help anyway. A greater sense of crisis does them good. "If we only reported good news and suppressed the bad, leaving people without any sense of danger, do you think humans in the rear would still cultivate this diligently? "Over the years, human experts have emerged in an endless stream, and that has everything to do with this pervasive sense of crisis. Look at yourselves—see how hard you all work?" That sounded entirely reasonable. Su Yu thought about it and agreed: if only glorious victories were reported from the front lines, would the people in the rear still strive so hard? Still, such a policy had its pros and cons, and evaluating the balance was far beyond Su Yu's station. *** After their lengthy discussion, quiet returned to the room. Su Yu resumed cultivating the Kaiyuan Art. He did not know whether the All-Races Sect had actually arrived in Nanyuan City, but he was not overly worried. Since the Great Xia Prefecture had made arrangements, the All-Races Sect was nothing to fear. Years of propaganda had taught everyone that the All-Races Sect was merely a band of clowns, cowardly scoundrels clinging to life—a bunch of dregs. People in the Great Xia Prefecture paid little mind to the All-Races Sect. With the invincible Longwu Guards, the mighty King of Great Xia, and the formidable Prefecture Master Xia Longwu watching over them, no one believed the All-Races Sect amounted to anything. Hadn't everyone seen those cultists getting their heads chopped off on television every day? Su Yu had never paid them much attention either. He had no real understanding of the All-Races Sect and had never encountered them; he only knew they were traitors to humanity whom anyone was duty-bound to kill on sight. *** *Pfft!* A sword pierced clean through an elderly man in the Qianjun Realm. A red-eyed youth cursed under his breath, "Has the Great Xia Prefecture gone mad? Don't they know fear? Can't they feel terror? We even killed someone at the Qianjun Ninth Layer, yet..." Not far away, a white-haired elder said coldly, "Having stayed away from the Great Xia Prefecture for so many years, its people have long been brainwashed by Xia Longwu. They think the All-Races Sect is nothing, having forgotten the terror of our name!" Even as he spoke, the elder could not help cursing inwardly! The resistance in the Great Xia Prefecture was terrifying. When the locals realized they were facing the All-Races Sect, far from fleeing in panic, they had charged forward one after another with bloodcurdling roars. The elderly, the middle-aged, the young... No one fled or scattered just because a few people died. Led by a handful of retired veterans, even a tiny village could often inflict grievous casualties upon them. Nothing was going smoothly for the All-Races Sect in the Great Xia Prefecture, and that stirred a faint unease in the elder's heart. Could slaughtering a few secondary academies truly terrify the Great Xia Prefecture? Could it truly intimidate them? *What I fear most... is that instead of being frightened, the Great Xia Prefecture will hunt us down like madmen... That would spell disaster!* Though anxiety gnawed at him, the elder dared not voice it aloud. Perhaps their operations in other prefectures had gone too smoothly. Eliminating a few prodigies there had plunged the populace into panic, leaving the streets deserted for days. Yet those were other prefectures; this was the Great Xia Prefecture. If a single village possessed such fierce resolve to strike back, what about the entire Great Xia Prefecture? "May... everything proceed smoothly."