Heaven-Rank Martial Technique

Returning to the Research Center, Bai Feng was nowhere to be seen; it was unclear whether he had gone down to the third underground level or stepped out. Su Yu went on to cultivate on his own. Although he was wealthy now and could visit secret realms, daily cultivation remained indispensable. In addition, he needed to read more books. Busy fighting Zheng Yunhui over the past few days, he had taken several days off and missed quite a few classes. Nowadays, Su Yu had grown somewhat accustomed to reading while enduring willpower attacks. Of course, he was reading ordinary books. Reading willpower texts at this time could easily shock his sea of will and cause turbulence. As he read on and on... Su Yu smiled. "The Shadow race resides in the Dark Shadow Realm, leaving shadows without a trace..." The Shadow race! Su Yu chuckled. Was this a reminder for him? Indeed, those fellows had been starved for so many days; it was about time they became obedient. After cultivating for a while, Su Yu expended a considerable amount of willpower, his entire body soaked in sweat. Without cleaning himself up, his complexion looked rather pale. He muttered, "I should change into that set of clothes from last time and splash on some blood... Forget it, that'd be too obvious!" Talking to himself for a bit, Su Yu smiled, stood up, and walked outside. …… "So hungry!" "Dying!" "……" The Suanni's murmurs continued, and soon its large ears twitched slightly. Its eyes instantly lit up! He was here! At that moment, rustling stirred from the other cages as well. A moment later, Su Yu walked in. Pale-faced, limping, with annoyance written across his face, he glared at the Suanni gazing at him eagerly and snapped, "What are you staring at? Are you the reincarnation of a starved ghost?" Seeing his appearance, the demons—all experts above the Tengkong Realm—could tell he was injured. Injured? Did he clash with that formidable enemy he mentioned last time? No wonder he hadn't come for so many days; he had gone to deal with an enemy! The shadow spoke eerily, "Su Yu, if you hadn't come, you would've starved us all to death. Careful that Hong Tan doesn't settle scores with you when he returns!" Su Yu retorted impatiently, "If you're dead, you're dead. Accidents happen everywhere! Threatening me? You won't get any yuanqi liquid this time! Since you're strong anyway, endure it. It's only half a year; it won't starve you to death!" Su Yu wore an irritable expression. Over on the side, the White Civet spoke softly, "Did little brother suffer a loss? Who bullied you? Do you want big sister to help you vent your anger?" Su Yu sneered, "You're mere captives, cut the crap with me! I feel bad, but that guy feels even worse! He only relied on his great clan background and abundant resources. Otherwise, would he even be worthy of standing beside me?" Hearing this, the captives immediately understood his thoughts—he was complaining about unfairness. The Suanni's large eyes rolled, and dropping all pretense, it urgently said, "Su Yu, they're from great clans. The resources, martial techniques, and secret arts they have are things you can't compare to. Even if your talent is good, you can't catch up to them!" With that, it complained a bit, "Every time you suffer frustration outside, you forget to feed us. If this goes on, we'll starve to death, and the loss will be yours! "Su Yu, give me a few extra drops of yuanqi liquid this time, and I'll give you a treasure!" Su Yu glanced at it, sneered, and couldn't be bothered to respond. Seeing this, the Suanni grew frantic and hurriedly said, "A real treasure! A Heaven-rank martial technique—you can trade a few drops of yuanqi liquid for it!" Su Yu's heart stirred slightly, but a scornful smirk remained on his face. "You have one? Trying to con me? Scheming against me so I cultivate it and blow myself up?" "No!" The Suanni was anxious too. "This is a martial technique I obtained in Xingyu Mansion, from your human race! Used by a genius from your human race's War God Hall..." Su Yu looked it up and down and chuckled, "Where is it then? Don't tell me you're going to recite it from memory. Do you think I'd believe you?" The Suanni hurriedly said, "No need to recite it, the thing is right here with you! When I was captured, all my possessions were confiscated, and that thing was among them!" Su Yu said crossly, "Bullshit, then it's in my grandmaster's hands. What does that have to do with me!" The Suanni quickly explained, "Your grandmaster didn't pay attention to it. Plus, that Heaven-rank martial technique from the War God Hall is a secret transmission, so it's hard for outsiders to see anything special about it. He just tossed it aside as trash..." Su Yu was speechless. Was the thing even still around then? Are you kidding me! Seeing this, the Suanni added, "However, that manual was woven from top-quality dragon silkworm silk, so it wasn't completely useless trash. I remember Hong Tan intended to use it as material to write a willpower text back then..." Su Yu blinked, and the Suanni continued, "Really, it must still be around. By now, the willpower text he wrote should be ruined, but the original copy of that Heaven-rank martial technique is definitely still there. After all, a willpower text written by someone in the Shanhai Realm wouldn't be casually tossed away even if ruined! What's more, it's woven from dragon silkworm silk." "Willpower text..." Su Yu frowned. "Still in the Research Center?" "Then I wouldn't know. It should be around. I remember Hong Tan liked it very much and often took it out to look at it..." The moment it finished, the shadow chimed in, "Are you talking about that *Seeking the Secluded in Mountains and Seas Scroll*?" Su Yu blinked again. Why did that sound familiar! The next moment, he remembered. The Divine Character Competition! The first-place prize was precisely this! *Seeking the Secluded in Mountains and Seas Scroll*! Su Yu had almost forgotten about it. At this moment, his expression shifted uncontrollably. There was a Heaven-rank martial technique inside that thing? "How could that be? My grandmaster was at the peak of the eighth stage of the Shanhai Realm. Wouldn't he see there was something else inside?" Su Yu didn't believe it! The Suanni hurriedly said, "Truly, it must have been the private collection of an Invincible king! It was sealed by that person. If I hadn't unsealed it by accident after obtaining it back then, I wouldn't have known it was a martial technique secret art either..." "You unsealed it?" The Suanni chuckled sheepishly. "I couldn't cultivate it. The difference between it and our cultivation methods was too great!" "How do you unseal it?" "Very simple. Just devour some Dragon Silkworm blood essence!" The Suanni explained, "I didn't know at first either, until once I killed a Dragon Silkworm and wrapped its corpse with that thing to bring back, which led to this accidental discovery!" Su Yu's eyes flickered! A Heaven-rank martial technique! He didn't possess any Heaven-rank martial technique. At this stage, his strongest martial technique was *Sky-Breaking Slash*, which was a companion martial technique to an Earth-rank cultivation method. However, *Sky-Breaking Slash* was only Earth rank, and not even top tier—it could only be considered high Earth rank. The first six forms opened 96 apertures. "A Heaven-rank martial technique—what tier?" "Middle Heaven rank!" The Suanni immediately answered, "In your human terms, once cultivated to the ninth stage of Qianjun, it's sufficient to unleash the power of 132 apertures, nearly reaching high Heaven rank!" "The martial technique... what type is it?" "Leg techniques!" The Suanni continued, "It mainly opens leg apertures. Its lethality is extremely formidable, and it also boosts speed. It's a superb martial technique, good for both killing enemies and escaping. If not for the fact that I couldn't cultivate it, with this, ordinary Shanhai experts might not have even caught up to me!" Su Yu's eyes gleamed as he asked, "If that's the case, how did you kill a human genius who cultivated such a technique?" "He probably hadn't mastered it completely!" The Suanni explained further, "Otherwise, he wouldn't have needed to carry it with him. Moreover, that item is quite special. Human willpower texts generally don't last very long, yet that one was constantly brimming with willpower. It might be a willpower text written by an Invincible expert." Su Yu's eyes shone brightly! "You mean it's not simply a manual, but a willpower text?" "Of course!" The Suanni breathed a sigh of relief. As long as he was interested, that was good. "Who carries manuals around all the time? We're all experts, so having a photographic memory is a given! Only willpower texts are worth carrying along." A middle Heaven-rank martial technique, and a willpower text at that, possibly even written by an Invincible expert! Su Yu took a deep breath and asked again, "You said someone from the War God Hall was carrying it. Would an Invincible expert from the War God Hall write willpower texts?" He seemed to realize something! The Suanni said nonchalantly, "What's strange about that? Experts from the War God Hall might have originally cultivated the warrior path, but once they reach the Invincible Realm and find no further path forward, taking up divine characters as a supplementary path is completely normal." There was nothing strange about that! Su Yu nodded slightly. So that was it. "*Seeking the Secluded in Mountains and Seas Scroll*!" Su Yu muttered, then cast an unfriendly glare at it. "That thing was lost long ago! You bastard, why didn't you say so earlier instead of waiting until now!" The Suanni felt wronged! Damn it, we're enemies, why would I tell you? Besides, even if I'd said it earlier, it wouldn't have been your turn to get it. "Lost..." The Suanni was skeptical. "Hong Tan liked that calligraphy piece very much. How could it be lost?" Su Yu was frustrated too. How would I know! Either way, it truly was lost! Of course, it was currently in the academy's hands, or rather Liu Hong's hands? He didn't know! Anyway, last time they said it was being used as a prize. By the way, when was the Divine Character Competition again? Su Yu had truly forgotten! He hadn't cared much about this competition before and had forgotten to ask about it. At this moment, Su Yu recalled this matter. "The competition..." Casually tossing another three drops of yuanqi liquid to the Suanni, Su Yu snapped, "I'll go find a way to look for it. If I can't find it... I won't come back for three months!" The Suanni felt exhausted. Is this my fault too? If you don't come, we really will starve to death. Su Yu ignored it, feeding them one by one. Once he finished feeding them and was about to leave, an unpleasant shriek suddenly reached his ears: "Su Yu, I'm not dead yet! It was bad enough that you forgot me last time, but you're going to forget me this time too?" "……" Su Yu froze, glanced around, and next moment spotted a pitch-black thing! "Fire Crow!" Su Yu blinked and only spoke after a while: "You're not dead yet? Why haven't you made a peep! You have even less presence than Water Person!" The Fire Crow felt immensely wronged! It was just a bit dark in color! Damn it, when this kid came last time, he ignored it, and again this time. If it didn't speak up, it would starve to death. Su Yu patted his forehead and said helplessly, "Seems like it. There are six living creatures here, and I've always thought there were five. Your presence is way too low!" Water Person was at least Number One. Never mind that you're Number Six, but the key is that you're black, small, and don't make a sound. Who would remember you're alive! Tossing a drop of yuanqi liquid over, the Fire Crow said dissatisfiedly, "What about last time's?" "Get lost, take it or leave it!" Su Yu said impatiently, "Last time you didn't make a sound yourself. If you don't make a sound, I assume you're dead. Blaming me?" Not bothering to pay it any more mind, Su Yu looked around and warned, "All of you behave yourselves and don't cause trouble! If I get that Heaven-rank cultivation method and defeat my rival, I'll get you some good food. If not... I'll have to go into seclusion for bitter cultivation. If you starve to death, don't say I didn't warn you!" The demons felt helpless. So if you can't defeat your rival, we just wait to starve to death? The shadow had no choice but to speak up: "If you still can't defeat him, you can chat with us more. After all, we've lived for many years and can offer you some pointers." Su Yu scoffed. Walking upward, he said, "Don't think about duping me; I'm not that stupid! Suanni, if you've done a service this time, I'll bring you some meat later!" The Suanni wanted to cry. You've finally caught on! Very good, this is a promising start. Right now, it only wanted to remind Su Yu: don't forget, in three days it'll be feeding time again, absolutely don't forget! …… Back on the surface. A flash of delight crossed Su Yu's eyes. A Heaven-rank cultivation method! And a martial technique at that! This was good stuff! *Seeking the Secluded in Mountains and Seas Scroll*... Su Yu pondered for a moment, pressing the button to notify the laboratory, but nobody appeared. Thinking it over, he placed a call to Bai Feng. As soon as it connected, Su Yu heard Bai Feng's laughter: "Little Ah Yu, looking for Teacher for something? Miss Teacher?" "……" A shiver ran down Su Yu's spine. What was wrong with this guy now? …… At the same time. Liu Hong was also completely speechless. This bastard was so damn sickening! He cursed internally as well. Having just sent off the disciple, this bastard actually ran over to freeload again. Had he known earlier, he wouldn't have cooperated with this bastard. Now, he was stuck on a pirate ship. Thinking about how he had invested a huge sum into this master and disciple pair made his heart ache. Yet on second thought, without this master and disciple, he wouldn't have obtained these things this time either, which brought him slight solace. "Teacher, I have something I want to ask you. Is that *Seeking the Secluded in Mountains and Seas Scroll* very important? Last time, that bastard Liu Hong said it was the first-place prize for this Divine Character Competition..." Beside him, Liu Hong suddenly sensed something was amiss! At that moment, Bai Feng's face changed! He looked toward Liu Hong with a gaze that could kill, gritting his teeth as he hurriedly said, "Take first place! Let's leave it at that for now, we'll talk when I get back!" Hanging up the call, he glared at Liu Hong with murder in his eyes! "Damn it, Liu Hong, are you courting death!" Liu Hong said exasperatedly, "What does that have to do with me! You sold it to the black market yourself, and people from the Single Divine Character Faction bought it. Everyone knows that was Elder Hong's belonging. You sold your master's things, and plenty of people know about it now. Using it as a prize wasn't my decision." Bai Feng gritted his teeth! Bastards! These bastards were truly scum. "Give the thing back to me. If not, Su Yu must take first place! If he can't get it back, I'm not finished with you!" "Bai Feng, you're being unreasonable!" Liu Hong smiled wryly. "If Su Yu can't get first place, what does that have to do with me? Besides, you sold it already, so are you still afraid of others finding out?" "Get lost!" Bai Feng cursed. Could that be the same thing? Selling it was a private matter known to only a few. Now that it was being used as a prize, everyone knew! Moreover, this was a slap in the face! Deliberate! Bai Feng felt dissatisfied and snorted, "Your Single Divine Character Faction is getting pettier and pettier. Aren't you disgusted with yourselves?" As for the scroll itself, it truly wasn't much of a treasure. It was woven from dragon silkworm silk, true, but a willpower text had already been written on it once, and it could no longer hold another willpower text. It was very fragile, its value vastly depreciated. If not for bearing Hong Tan's name, it would only sell for twenty to thirty merit points. With Hong Tan's name and the reputation of being a Shanhai Realm willpower text, a ruined willpower text being worth a hundred merit points was already pushing it. If not for that, it wouldn't have been offered as the freshman Divine Character Competition prize. It was mainly famous! A hundred merit points wasn't a small amount, but ordinary people wouldn't spend that money to buy it. Liu Hong smiled faintly. "Whether it's disgusting or not, I don't know, but as long as you're uncomfortable, then that's right! Still, I don't think you need to worry. Su Yu's divine characters have already reached tier 2; taking first place shouldn't be hard, right?" "Hmph!" Bai Feng snorted. "Do you take me for a fool? The Divine Character Competition also depends on willpower. His willpower isn't strong..." "That's hard to say. His willpower might not be strong, but it's very mellow. Having cultivated *Expanding Will Art*, when he fought Zheng Yunhui earlier, even Zheng Yunhui couldn't match him, and in the end, he was schemed against by Su Yu's tier-2 illusion and almost lost..." These words contained too much information. For a moment, though Bai Feng remained outwardly composed, waves churned in his heart. Earlier, when Liu Hong mentioned tier-2 divine characters, he had assumed this fellow knew the "Kill" character had advanced, so he hadn't cared much. Yet... tier-2 illusion? *Expanding Will Art*? What was all this! He understood every word Liu Hong said, but strung together, they left him bewildered. *The "Blood" character advanced? Su Yu also cultivated Expanding Will Art?* *He almost defeated Zheng Yunhui!* Bai Feng felt as though he had only been in seclusion for a few days, yet years seemed to have passed! Without pressing for details—he would ask Su Yu about this upon returning—Bai Feng glanced at Liu Hong and suddenly scoffed contemptuously, "Idiot! Weren't you trying to suppress my disciple? I thought you had some clever tricks, but they're all underhanded petty schemes. To me, it looks like he's doing better and better!" "……" Liu Hong was at a loss for words, only saying after a while, "I'm in no rush. I suddenly realized he's more valuable than you!" Liu Hong laughed, "I'm wondering if things will get very interesting once he reaches Tengkong! You, Bai Feng, are just so-so, but Su Yu... he has far more potential. If he reaches Tengkong, perhaps the entire Single Divine Character Faction will take notice! At that time, if I can suppress him, it'll better prove my worth!" Bai Feng cursed silently! Looking down on whom?! "Cut the crap. Give me 10,000 merit points, I have a use for them..." Liu Hong: "……" He just silently stared at Bai Feng, and after a while, stood up. "I'm going to turn myself in to Dean Zhou! I was wrong this time; I shouldn't have nurtured a tiger to court disaster! I'll go into seclusion for a year or two, and you guys can mess around all you want!" Damn it! Did you get addicted to ripping me off? Demanding ten thousand right off the bat—go die! Seeing this, Bai Feng didn't panic and chuckled, "Just kidding, 5,000 points! You earned twenty-five thousand..." Liu Hong froze slightly, then laughed out loud. "You know it was twenty-five thousand?" "Isn't it?" Bai Feng hesitated. "Was it not? Su Yu said so!" "That kid... interesting!" Liu Hong suddenly realized something and chuckled faintly, "How amusing!" At this moment, it suddenly struck him that Su Yu had probably known all along that he hadn't pocketed sixty thousand merit points, yet had deliberately talked as if Liu Hong had actually taken sixty thousand. With that, his eyes shifted slightly. "Su Yu took several tens of thousands of merit points, and he didn't share a bit with you?" "He only took twenty thousand!" Bai Feng raised an eyebrow and said calmly, "Of course I had a share. He gave me over ten thousand earlier, but I had to subsidize the deficit at Cangshu Pavilion so you guys wouldn't come looking for trouble..." Over ten thousand earlier! And now another twenty thousand! Liu Hong laughed and sighed, "Great! Truly great!" Little bastard, well played! Lying as though it were the gospel truth! *You only took five thousand, and if you took any more, you'd die a horrible death... You damn well deserve to die a horrible death!* To think I actually believed him! If Bai Feng hadn't blurted it out, he would still be kept in the dark. Bai Feng seemed to realize something, blinked, and chuckled the next moment, "Just kidding. We only took twenty thousand points, that's all there was in total, and the rest was taken by Zheng Yunhui!" "Get lost!" Liu Hong cursed furiously, "You took the lion's share and still cry poverty to me! Are you getting lost or not?" "That's what my disciple earned himself. You made a fortune, yet you have the nerve to be a total skinflint?" "Damn right I do!" Liu Hong was beside himself with fury! Why wouldn't he have the nerve? Su Yu even had the nerve to swear he'd die a horrible death, so what did Liu Hong have to be embarrassed about? …… Su Yu naturally remained unaware of Bai Feng and Liu Hong's bickering. At this moment, his mind was racing. A Heaven-rank martial technique! The Divine Character Competition! Originally, he hadn't cared much about it, but now he attached extreme importance to it. "First place..." Su Yu muttered. Even if he couldn't get first place, he had to obtain this item. As for how to get it, wouldn't that be easy? Right now, that item seemed of little value to everyone. If he showed that he would defend his grandmaster's dignity to the death and insisted on taking it back, paying some price would surely do the trick. "Whether I take first place or someone else does, I must get it back!" "A middle Heaven-rank martial technique..." Su Yu broke into a smile. At last, some gains. In his eyes, there was still plenty to harvest from those demons below, including blood essence, fur, cultivation methods, and more. "However, I must make myself stronger first!" Right now, Su Yu felt far from strong enough. If he couldn't even defeat Zheng Yunhui, how was he supposed to fight others? "Also, this Heaven-rank martial technique opens so many apertures. There can't be that much overlap with mine, so will I have to open separate apertures?" Su Yu fell into a dilemma. At this moment, he already regarded the cultivation method as his own. Opening 132 apertures—that was more than the War God Art. If he got it and couldn't cultivate it, what use would it be! "Secret realms, blood essence, cultivation!" Su Yu took a deep breath. Perhaps he could open more apertures. At worst, he would stay in the Qianjun Realm for a while longer. With more apertures opened, a solid foundation, and abundant yuanqi, what was wrong with being in Qianjun? Regardless, he wasn't in a hurry! His divine characters required outlining 99 characters; he was still far from it. Before outlining 99 divine characters, whether he entered the Wanshi Realm or not made little difference. "Tomorrow, as soon as Xia Huyou's blood essence arrives, I'll head to the secret realm to cultivate!" "I won't come out until the Divine Character Competition begins!" Su Yu made up his mind. He found that he had far too many things to do. Faintly, he felt that his ten thousand merit points might not last. Five hundred drops of blood essence wouldn't be much of a problem to help him cultivate the War God Art, but... what if he opened other apertures? "Turns out twenty thousand merit points don't go very far after all!"