A Battle of Wits and Courage

Inside the living room, silence fell once more. Liu Hong glanced sideways at Su Yu, suddenly chuckled, and said, "Su Yu, I've seen plenty of newcomers, but few are as intriguing as you. Your plan before was actually very well done. Even I almost fell for it..." "Thank you for the praise, Teacher!" Su Yu smiled back. It was just a smiling contest—who was afraid of whom? To be fair, his recent habit of smiling really had something to do with Liu Hong; he had picked it up from him. Wear a smile on your face while secretly scheming whatever wickedness you want in your heart. That was what Liu Hong had demonstrated in his very first class. Su Yu hadn't forgotten how brightly this fellow had smiled back then, winning the favor of so many girls. Liu Hong looked at him, feeling somewhat unsettled. Unable to hold back, he gave a light cough. "Uh... stop smiling. It makes me uncomfortable, like I'm looking in a mirror. Back when I was young, I really was quite similar to you." Su Yu wanted to laugh, but held it in. *Consider your wish granted!* Liu Hong sighed with feeling, looked back at Su Yu, and slowly asked, "Su Yu, you came to find me this time because you want those merit points back?" Since things had reached this stage, Su Yu naturally wouldn't hide it and said directly, "I wouldn't dare ask for all of it. After all, Teacher Liu also took on some risk. If you give me half, I'll be very satisfied!" Saying that, he added, "If Teacher really needs them, even a third would be fine... I don't really mind, but I just feel it's unfair. After all, I sacrificed quite a lot for this plan!" Liu Hong let out a chuckle. He didn't speak, seeming lost in thought. After pondering for a while, he kept his eyes on Su Yu and remained silent. After who knew how long, he suddenly remarked, "You're better than Bai Feng!" "..." Su Yu didn't know how to respond to that. He couldn't. "What? Scared?" "Teacher must be joking. My teacher is one of the peerless geniuses of our time. Defeating a ninth-stage Tengkong with a single strike while only at the seventh stage isn't something I can compare to." "Hahaha!" Liu Hong laughed heartily, thoroughly amused. "You're really not an honest person!" After laughing for a bit, Liu Hong seemed to have figured something out. He let out a soft breath. "Su Yu, if you don't mind, listen to a few words from me." "Please go ahead, Teacher!" Su Yu maintained a respectful posture. His attitude had to be good. Even if he desperately wished he could stab the man to death right now, he had to keep smiling. *Smile while stabbing him to death!* "I come from a minor clan. The family isn't too powerful, but it has some strength. I wasn't born of the main line, only from a concubine..." Liu Hong sank into his memories. After a long while, he said slowly, "When I was young, my life was as bitter as yours, perhaps even more bitter! Do you know what it means to be born of a concubine?" Su Yu frowned, thought about it, and said, "Raised by a stepmother?" "..." Liu Hong desperately wanted to roast him for that. After a while, caught between laughter and tears, he nodded. "Close enough! That's the gist of it. My mother was my father's concubine. Those brothers of mine—they were called brothers, but in truth, they treated me worse than an outsider. My father and grandfather only valued the legitimate sons. As for me and Liu He... living under someone else's roof, our treatment was no different from servants!" Su Yu frowned. "Prefect Xia once said that the Great Xia Prefecture would no longer practice concubinage. Why..." "The Prefect is the Prefect; he just says what he pleases!" Liu Hong said blandly. "In this era, men go off to war, and countless die every year. There are more women than men. They aren't strong and don't engage in production. If we truly practiced monogamy like Prefect Xia said, many women would be left with no one to rely on. "Prefect Xia is a person who sometimes isn't suited to governing. He just acts on whatever pops into his head." After offering that criticism, Liu Hong quickly continued, "Let me finish. "I was born of a concubine, so even though I had talent as a child, the clan didn't value me much. The reason I was able to embark on the path of a Civilization Master was that I met a good person..." Liu Hong fell into recollection again. "Sixteen years ago, back when I was still in an intermediate academy, I met an old man. He was the enlightenment teacher on my path of civilization. He taught me All-Races languages, guided me through the beginning of divine characters, and taught me so, so many things! "It was he who gave me the foundation to enter the Civilization Academy, giving me the qualifications to walk to where I am today. In my heart, he is my true mentor, someone who gave me a second life!" Listening to this, Su Yu felt a faint sense of familiarity. *Why... does this sound like he's talking about me?* *Liu Wenyan!* He felt somewhat dazed. Liu Hong continued, "Under that old man's tutelage, my results were outstanding, and I was admitted to the Civilization Academy! On the very day I got accepted... the old man passed away. I was in deep grief and regret, to the point where I almost gave up on enrolling..." Liu Hong looked pained, his eyes turning slightly red as he sighed. "Before he died, he told me not to give up and to keep going! He told me to fulfill his dying wish, to go to the Great Xia Civilization Academy and complete his unfinished work! "Back then, I didn't understand..." A bitter look covered Liu Hong's face. "It wasn't until I entered the academy and muddled my way into the Single Divine Character Faction... that suddenly, one day, another old man found me. He told me that my mentor was his dearest friend, one of the most important members of his faction, and one of their leading figures back then! "The old man who came to find me was shocked that I had joined the Single Divine Character Faction. Soon, he made a decision to have me withdraw. But by then, I was no longer a newcomer who knew nothing. I knew... his situation was dire! His faction was having an excruciatingly hard time!" Su Yu's heart stirred, feeling an odd sensation. "So, I told him that I wanted to stay in the Single Divine Character Faction. I wanted to become a nail driven into the Single Divine Character Faction on behalf of his faction! "The old man refused. He was an upright and honorable gentleman who disdained such methods. But I was different. I had suffered, and I had endured losses. The old man was too open and magnanimous. A gentleman like him can do research, but he isn't suited to expanding a faction! "His faction was being suppressed, battered down, and was on the brink of extinction!" Liu Hong gritted his teeth. "His faction was also my mentor's faction! My teacher's unfinished work and his dying wish were both to let this faction grow strong once more and reclaim its former glory! "No matter what, I couldn't just stand by and watch this faction get wiped out, its legacy severed, and my teacher's final hope extinguished!" "..." Su Yu's expression shifted repeatedly as he stared at him. Liu Hong regained his composure. "So, from that moment on, I took root in the Single Divine Character Faction. I had to become strong. Only with strength would I have a voice! Only with strength could I fight for more resources! Only with strength could I protect that faction! "Right now, I'm at the eighth stage of the Tengkong Realm. I need to reach the Lingyun Realm, as quickly as possible. Tengkong is nothing. Only by reaching Lingyun, or even Shanhai, can one truly enter the upper echelons!" Liu Hong looked at Su Yu, his eyes burning with intensity. "Su Yu, I need to get stronger! I need more merit points! Do you... understand what I mean?" Su Yu's expression was exceedingly strange. After a long pause, he asked in a low voice, "You mean... an undercover agent?" Liu Hong sighed lightly. "You're a clever person. If it were Bai Feng or Chen Yong, I wouldn't tell them in this lifetime. But you're different. In you, I see hope!" Liu Hong smiled bitterly. "An undercover agent... maybe! I've almost forgotten that identity myself. You guessed right—the old man who came looking for me at the academy back then was your grandmaster, Elder Hong Tan! "And the mentor who taught me back at the academy was one of the people driven out fifty years ago. Just like your teacher Liu Wenyan in Nanyuan, he was an exile. Only, he wasn't as fortunate as Old Liu. He never reached the Tengkong Realm in his entire life and simply passed away, leaving behind countless regrets!" Liu Hong gave a self-deprecating laugh. "To be honest, over these years, I've even felt somewhat hopeless. I wanted to give up, forget all of this, and just walk the path of the Single Divine Character Faction. Here, I also have a Shanhai Realm teacher. Shanhai... is extraordinarily powerful! Meanwhile, my mentor wasn't even at Tengkong! He only taught me for a few years. Did I really need to fulfill his dying wish? "Could a mediocre person like me achieve a goal that even that batch of geniuses from fifty years ago failed to accomplish?" Liu Hong's bitterness deepened. "Seeing you today, I felt like I was looking at myself back then—foolish, filled with grand ambitions, wanting to accomplish everything. But in truth... in the end, we will still realize just how insignificant we are!" "..." At this moment, Su Yu was shaken beyond measure! *An undercover agent?* *This guy belongs to the Multiple Divine Characters Faction?* He had an experience almost identical to his own: taught by a genius of the Multiple Divine Characters Faction back in an intermediate academy, then entering the academy, only to mistakenly join the Single Divine Character Faction instead of Multiple Divine Characters. Hong Tan had discovered him, yet he refused to leave, choosing instead to lurk within the Single Divine Character Faction! Su Yu's mouth felt dry. "You... what proof do you have..." "Proof?" Liu Hong laughed. "Why would I deceive you with this? If you want proof..." Liu Hong hesitated for a moment, then said softly, "When you picked up Sky-Breaking Slash, did you really think I was scheming against you? Using something worth thousands of merit points just to scheme against a tiny student like you?" Su Yu's body shook slightly! "I was just finding an excuse to intentionally give it to you!" Liu Hong sighed. "Not only that, but I've secretly blocked a lot of trouble for you. Otherwise, as soon as you reached the Yangxing Realm, people would have come looking for trouble. I had Liu He step forward, claiming he would teach you a lesson, and that stopped everyone else! "Your senior sister Wu Jia was severely injured, and I was worried you would follow in her footsteps, so I've been constantly holding them back from making a move on you! "Does that fool Bai Feng know how to manage anything? At the research center, I've actually been supplying him with a batch of resources every month. Yet he remained completely clueless, always thinking it was a grant from the academy—what an idiot!" Liu Hong looked at Su Yu and smiled. "If all this still isn't enough, let me say a few more things. Inside the Wen Tan Research Center, there's a Suanni, a Fire Crow..." He listed every single living demon beast kept inside, then chuckled. "Old Hong told me all this during our chats back then. If not for that, since nobody is allowed inside your grounds, how could I possibly know?" Su Yu swallowed hard, staring at him blankly. *One of our own?* *Holy crap!* Liu Hong sighed softly. "Don't look at me like that. In truth, sometimes I forget my original intention. Calling it lurking is fine, but I've also lost my way a little. Perhaps... the Single Divine Character Faction really is more suitable for me. The current state of the Multiple Divine Characters Faction is truly beyond words. "Until you enrolled!" His eyes lit up with excitement. "Suddenly, I saw hope. Suddenly, I felt that after lying dormant for so many years, the Multiple Divine Characters Faction ought to have some vitality! You've brought me far too many surprises!" Feeling awkward, Su Yu forced himself to remain calm, his throat dry as he asked, "Uh... Teacher, are you really... really..." "It's normal to be suspicious. It's right not to trust anyone easily!" Liu Hong smiled. "I appreciate that about you. Those bastards from the All-Races Sect are even better at deceiving people! In truth, whether it's true or not... why bother making it so clear?" He sighed with deep emotion. "Let me speak from the bottom of my heart. If... the Multiple Divine Characters Faction truly can't hold on and cannot be revived, then... for the rest of my life, I will just be a member of the Single Divine Character Faction. I need to survive, too. Su Yu, you might think I'm shameless... but I have to live!" Su Yu was silent. After a long while, he said in a low voice, "Teacher, I can understand." "I hope so!" Liu Hong smiled. "In truth, I don't care about others' opinions. It's enough to live as myself! Today was truly just an emotional outburst. Seeing you was like seeing my former self—we're too alike. Old Liu... he probably holds high hopes for you, just like my mentor did for me!" Su Yu nodded slightly, involuntarily thinking of Liu Wenyan. A trace of yearning surfaced in his eyes. Liu Hong glanced sideways at him and smiled. "Do well! You did very well this time. Also, outside, I won't admit to any of this. It will all be your rumors. Everything between us will remain exactly as it was before!" Having said that, he spoke seriously, "Of the eighty thousand merit points, I took forty thousand, and the rest went to Zheng Yunhui! I was worried that if you took too much, it would draw attention. Of course, I also had my own selfish motive. I want to advance to Lingyun as soon as possible, and I need an item that is quite costly... "Now that you've come looking, I, Liu Hong, still have to keep a bit of selfishness. Su Yu, I'll give you ten thousand merit points. The remaining thirty thousand I need to purchase that treasure to help me breakthrough! Only when I reach Lingyun will I have enough say to change certain things!" At that moment, Su Yu almost wanted to say, *Forget it!* Yet his heart suddenly jolted! *No!* *I need merit points, too. Wait, he says he's an undercover agent... is he really?* Su Yu struggled internally; he wasn't sure. Yet certain facts seemed to indicate that Liu Hong might truly not be his enemy. Take Sky-Breaking Slash, for instance—even though it dragged in Zheng Yunhui, it was genuinely valuable. Su Yu wrestled with his thoughts for a moment, looking at Liu Hong with a hint of uncertainty and confusion. *Should I believe him?* As if knowing he was struggling, Liu Hong smiled and said, "Like I said, once I finish saying these words, I'll forget them! You don't need to take them too seriously. I hope you won't end up as another Liu Hong. Su Yu, live the way you want to live!" "Teacher..." Su Yu struggled, saying in a low voice, "Um... I need merit points too. My... my strength is too low, and my father is still on the All-Heavens Battlefield waiting for me to find him..." "I understand!" Liu Hong nodded slightly and smiled. "You need merit points, but it's easier for me to earn them. How about this: I'll give you fifteen thousand. I really do need the rest to buy that treasure. Su Yu, once I succeed in my breakthrough, I'll pay you back. I'll return the remaining twenty-five thousand to you. How about that?" *Fifteen thousand!* Su Yu thought about it. That was already quite a lot. Added to what he already had, that would be twenty thousand points! Even though he wasn't entirely certain, Su Yu felt that even if what Liu Hong said was fake, fifteen thousand was pretty much the ceiling. If he demanded more, what if Liu Hong had a falling out with him? Nodding with mixed emotions, Su Yu exhaled and said, "All right, Teacher Liu. Then... then I'll take it. I really do need this..." "Completely understandable!" Liu Hong chuckled, pulling out a merit card from his robes. "This is an unregistered old merit card. You can withdraw merit points from it. Exactly fifteen thousand points..." Feeling somewhat awkward, Su Yu took the card. Hesitating slightly, he gave a sheepish grin. "Um... um... do you mind if I check the balance?" "..." Liu Hong felt exhausted inside. *I've already laid it bare to this extent, and this little bastard is still so cautious.* "Go ahead. You... you're very good!" Liu Hong smiled. "Being vigilant is a good thing!" Feeling sheepish, Su Yu said nothing more and directly tapped the card to check it. Fortunately, it really was fifteen thousand points. After checking, the two fell into silence once more. A moment later, Liu Hong smiled. "Head back. Forget everything that happened tonight! From now on, things will remain just as they were. In front of outsiders, I won't treat you any differently. Liu He will still find trouble for you, and I will still suppress your faction! "The same goes for you!" Liu Hong said gravely, "Act as if nothing ever happened. Especially, do not say a word to that idiot Bai Feng. That guy... isn't right in the head!" Liu Hong added helplessly, "It's not that I look down on him, but if he finds out, he'll probably ruin my grand plans, and he'll ruin yours as well. He's only good at stirring up trouble!" "Understood!" Su Yu acknowledged, stood up, and walked toward the door. Reaching the doorway, he hesitated, turned around, and asked, "Teacher Liu, that mentor of yours... could you tell me his name? Dying in obscurity at an intermediate academy... what a tragedy for our Multiple Divine Characters Faction!" "You little brat..." Liu Hong chuckled, not minding at all, and said, "Zhang Ruoling! An instructor at the Great Xia Eighteenth Intermediate Academy, which is considered an intermediate academy on the outskirts of Great Xia Prefecture. He passed away nine years ago. You... you're doing well!" Su Yu gave a dry laugh and took his leave. He still had to verify it! Otherwise, he wouldn't dare believe it completely! …… Once Su Yu had left, Liu Hong let out a soft breath. After a while, he snickered, "Fascinating. That brat... damn it, trying to hoodwink you, I almost fooled myself!" He sighed in admiration. *I really don't have it easy!* "This is what you call wisdom!" "Who knows when Elder Hong will return? By the time he finds out, I'll already be in the Lingyun Realm, the merit points will be spent, and the whole matter will have blown over... hehe..." Liu Hong smiled smugly! He truly admired himself! With this lie, only someone like Su Yu could have resisted it so long. If it had been his foolish disciple, the boy would have bought it immediately. Want merit points? He probably would have emptied his own pockets to contribute merit points for his breakthrough! "Fifteen thousand, huh!" Muttering that, he still felt a bit of a sting. If he hadn't spun this lie, he wouldn't have been able to dismiss Su Yu without offering at least twenty thousand. At least he had saved five thousand points! Furthermore, this way, that kid Su Yu wouldn't keep fixing his eyes on him. To be honest, having almost been schemed against by Su Yu this time, he still had lingering fears. Damn it, that kid had been aiming straight for him. He had wanted to bankrupt him! "Hehe, go ahead and check. Elder Hong isn't here, so everything you find will be true. Tsk!" Liu Hong laughed again, admiring his own brilliance! The Eighteenth Intermediate Academy truly existed, his enrollment record truly existed, the exiled old man named Zhang Ruoling truly existed, and he had truly died nine years ago... All of that was true! As for what was fake... naturally, the man was never his mentor! Liu Hong curled his lip. He did come from a minor clan, after all. No matter how mediocre the Liu Family was, hiring a few All-Races languages tutors for their children was no problem. If a great clan were truly that stingy, how could it produce any talent? The clan had its own private academy; his time at the intermediate academy had just been coasting along! …… Outside the villa. Walking along the path, Su Yu was still pondering the question. Was it true or fake? Right now, he wasn't certain at all! *Do Teacher and Martial Uncle not know either?* *Only Grandmaster knows?* Su Yu had a headache. Liu Hong's words had left him in a tangled dilemma. If he truly was one of their own... what then? Out of the eighty thousand merit points this time, he took twenty thousand, Liu Hong took twenty-five thousand, Martial Uncle took fourteen thousand, and Zheng Yunhui took nineteen thousand plus the cultivation materials Liu Hong bought for him, totaling twenty-one thousand. In truth, Su Yu had taken the most—counting Chen Yong's share, it came to thirty-four thousand merit points! Yet Liu Hong had also taken a big bite. If he wasn't one of their own, Su Yu would settle the score sooner or later. But if he was one of their own... even though Liu Hong told him to act as if he knew nothing upon meeting, how could he truly treat it as nothing? Enduring humiliation and carrying the heavy burden while lurking inside the Single Divine Character Faction... could anyone truly ignore that? …… Returning to the research center, Su Yu wasted no words, heading straight for a small study in the living quarters. After rummaging through some records, Su Yu quickly found a roster! "Zhang Ruoling... exiled in Anping Calendar year 300, joined the Great Xia Eighteenth Intermediate Academy as an All-Races languages instructor... Anping Calendar year 341, died of illness in bed..." There really was such a person! Soon, Su Yu pulled out his communicator, dialed a number, and asked directly, "Which intermediate academy did Liu Hong graduate from?" "Hold on, let me check for you..." A moment later, Xia Huyou replied, "Great Xia Eighteenth Intermediate Academy. What's up?" "Is he born of a concubine in the Liu Family?" "Yes!" Su Yu asked no further. Asking more might expose Liu Hong's identity if it was real. "What happened?" Xia Huyou asked with piqued interest. "Did you find out something? Also, what really went down today? Su Yu, are we brothers or not? Can't you say a bit more?" Su Yu laughed. "Nothing much, just earned a little petty cash. Huyou, if you want to do business with me, keep your mouth shut. Otherwise... this business might not happen!" Xia Huyou grew somewhat excited. "Of course! Do you need goods right now?" He was thrilled! A big business deal was about to arrive! He had originally thought he'd have to wait until Su Yu entered the Top 100 Rankings, or even reached Tengkong, before doing massive deals with him. But now... it seemed it might happen right away! Xia Huyou snickered inwardly. No matter how many merit points Su Yu earned, wouldn't they all end up in his hands eventually? Now that was a true merchant! In business, investing early in obscure potentials was truly the kingly way to get rich. Once that person rose, you'd never have to worry about food and drink! "We'll talk tomorrow. It's inconvenient right now!" "Understood!" Hanging up the communicator, Xia Huyou chuckled and pumped his fist. *Rich!* And that kid Zheng Yunhui had money too!