Entering the Secret Realm for the Third Time

September 22nd. A new day began. When Su Yu arrived at the classroom that morning, he noticed something quite amusing. Following his usual habit, he walked toward Wu Lan, only for her to turn and bolt! With that aggrieved look on her face, anyone unaware would think Su Yu had done something terrible to her. The moment Wu Lan saw Su Yu, she grabbed her schoolbag and sprinted all the way to the back row, clearly intent on staying as far away from him as possible. It seemed she had suffered quite a heavy blow this time. ... Su Yu chuckled and paid it no mind. Another funny thing was that when Lin Yao saw Su Yu, he wore a warm, enthusiastic smile. Of course, to cover things up, Lin Yao still held back quite a bit. His look seemed to say, "You know, I know, but nobody else knows," leaving Su Yu rather speechless. Did this fellow really think he had secretly joined the Single Divine Character Faction? Those were not the only changes. Just as Su Yu sat down, someone took the seat next to him. Jia Mingzhen! This chubby boy was not tall and looked amiable, but Su Yu was exceedingly wary of him. During the monthly exam last time, this guy had acted extraordinarily arrogant. He had gone into the testing grounds eating food, wiping his greasy hands all over Xia Chan. Everyone had seen it, and no one dared underestimate him. Su Yu had barely spoken to him before. Now that Jia Mingzhen was sitting beside him, Su Yu put on a friendly smile and spoke up, "Classmate Jia, is something the matter?" "Nothing at all!" Seeing Su Yu smile, Jia Mingzhen smiled too. This kid really looked like a good person! And yet... he was definitely no saint. Over at the Single Divine Character Faction, they were still cracking their brains trying to formulate innate blood essence; several researchers from their faction had probably banged their heads against the wall over the past two days. Su Yu smiled and said nothing further. Jia Mingzhen could not sit still, however. Chuckling, he asked, "Su Yu, I heard you defeated Zheng Yunhui? Hurt him so badly that he hasn't come to class for days?" "..." In an instant, the eyes of the entire class converged on them! The expressions of Xia Chan, Wan Mingze, and several others shifted slightly. Su Yu had severely wounded Zheng Yunhui? Was that real or fake? Su Yu's heart gave a slight jolt. While his match against Zheng Yunhui was not completely secret, the only people who knew about it should have been high-ranking figures in the academy. The Single Divine Character Faction knew, the Xia family knew, and certain major black market dealers knew. How did this guy find out? Though shocked inside, Su Yu showed nothing on his face. Looking somewhat puzzled, he said, "Classmate Jia, have you been listening to baseless rumors again?" With that, Su Yu raised his voice, "Everyone must be careful not to spread rumors. Lately, I feel the atmosphere in the academy hasn't been great. Yesterday, someone even spread rumors that my teacher was beaten to death... Utter nonsense!" Su Yu sounded rather indignant! "My teacher didn't care about that sort of rumor, but otherwise... I, Su Yu, would have investigated it to the end! Is spreading rumors about someone dying fun? We are all reserve Civilization Masters; how could we indulge in such nonsense? Classmate Jia, the same goes for you..." Su Yu said earnestly, "That's how rumors get started. You heard? Heard from whom? Don't go around spreading things without evidence! Don't say sensational things just to attract attention—that's not how a rigorous Civilization Master behaves!" Jia Mingzhen froze for a second. *Oh, impressive! You're actually turning around and biting me!* Jia Mingzhen chuckled. "Then why hasn't Zheng Yunhui shown up for class for several days in a row..." Before he could finish, his expression shifted. The next moment, Zheng Yunhui walked in with a radiant glow on his face, full of energy, moving with vigorous, commanding strides. Seeing him, Su Yu was startled. Recovered already? So fast! Even his own injuries had not fully healed, yet this fellow had been hurt far more severely than him. How had he recovered already? Quickly regaining his calm, Su Yu called out, "Classmate Zheng Yunhui, someone claimed you were severely injured by me, that I defeated you and left you unable to attend class. How come you're here?" "..." Zheng Yunhui paused for a moment. He glanced at Jia Mingzhen beside Su Yu and said in outrage, "Which bastard made up rumors about me? Tired of living?! Me, lose to you?" Zheng Yunhui looked completely disgruntled! Glaring at Jia Mingzhen, he snorted and shouted, "Those hypocrites spreading rumors behind my back, stop acting innocent! What are you trying to do? If you're not convinced, get on the stage and fight me—I'll beat you until you call me daddy!" "..." Jia Mingzhen's face darkened. *Fine, playing a double act with me, are you?* *Did they really think he didn't know what kind of people they were?* Jia Mingzhen smiled, narrowed his eyes at Zheng Yunhui, and said, "Zheng Yunhui, are you cursing at me?" "Did I name you?" Zheng Yunhui sneered. "Whoever makes up rumors about me, that's who I'm cursing!" "I'm the one who said it. What can you do about it?" Jia Mingzhen admitted it outright, completely indifferent. With a disdainful look, he said, "I just mentioned what I heard from someone else. What, am I not even allowed to speak? I never look for trouble, but I'm not afraid of it either! Don't act all arrogant with me. Want to spar on stage? I'm ready anytime!" At once, the entire class's attention was drawn over! A spectacle to watch! Jia Mingzhen, who had performed best during last month's exam, against the formidable Zheng Yunhui! At that moment, even Su Yu grew interested. He actually wanted to test how strong Jia Mingzhen really was. Having Zheng Yunhui get on stage to spar with him was truly ideal! Just as he was thinking that, he heard Zheng Yunhui sneer, "What right do you have to compare yourself with me? I'm charging into the Top 100 Rankings next month! Just because you did well in the last exam, don't think you're on my level! Talk after you make the Top 100 Rankings. If you can't even get on, you're just trash—what are you comparing with me? Hitting you would only dirty my noble hands!" "..." Jia Mingzhen was so infuriated he wanted to swear! Dirty his noble hands? How could this kid be so punchable?! Zheng Yunhui was no fool either. Jia Mingzhen had effortlessly taken first place in the civilization chronicle assessment; who knew what his actual background and abilities were? Why should he act as someone else's stepping stone? Better to have Jia Mingzhen try to fight his way into the Top 100 Rankings first. Once he made it in, they could talk, and he could observe his strength along the way. Meanwhile, the others no longer had the heart to focus on that banter. Wan Mingze asked in surprise, "Yunhui, you're aiming for the Top 100 Rankings next month?" "What of it?" Zheng Yunhui chuckled. "Eighth stage of the Qianjun Realm, willpower saturation over eighty-five percent—isn't that enough? We of the Zheng family do things straightforwardly. When we want to charge, we charge. Does hiding like a bunch of old turtles feel good?" Wan Mingze offered a strained smile and said, "Yunhui, we don't have strength like yours." Zheng Yunhui laughed heartily. "Is that so? Is Principal Wan's family so weak? Worse than us from the War Academy? That's truly a bit embarrassing!" Wan Mingze frowned, remarking coolly, "You are currently a member of the Civilization Academy!" "Yeah, so what?" Zheng Yunhui smiled. "I'm in the Civilization Academy, but my whole family is from the War Academy—got a problem with that? I'm also going to be the first student of this intake to break into the Top 100 Rankings—got a problem with that? I'm going to suppress you—got a problem with that?" Wan Mingze's brow furrowed tightly. He gave Zheng Yunhui a deep, long look before saying impassively, "Yunhui, since you're so confident, wait until you actually get on the Top 100 Rankings first!" "That goes without saying!" Zheng Yunhui replied offhandedly, "If I can't get on, am I supposed to count on you guys?" ... The moment this fellow arrived, he snapped at one person after another, his attitude extraordinarily arrogant. Yet his strength was undeniable. The classroom fell eerily quiet. The others did not get involved, and none of the geniuses said another word. Jia Mingzhen cursed inwardly at what a slippery bastard he was! When he challenged him to a duel, the guy claimed he was not qualified. *Just you wait; see if I don't throw a sack over your head tonight!* At this point, few were paying attention to Su Yu anymore. Su Yu smiled inwardly, glancing out of the corner of his eye at Jia Mingzhen. He was secretly amazed; that fellow had looked genuinely eager to duel Zheng Yunhui just now. Zheng Yunhui had just laid out his own strength! Even so, Jia Mingzhen had still been eager to fight, acting as though he would beat him to death. What did that mean? Was he even stronger than Zheng Yunhui? *Zheng Yunhui's true combat power is comparable to the first or second stage of the Wanshi Realm on the warrior path. Could this guy be even stronger than that?* Su Yu made a mental note of it. As for himself, his current strength was indeed still inferior to Zheng Yunhui's. Of course, when unleashing blood essence, his burst power reached the Wanshi Realm, but he was still lacking in other areas, though divine characters could compensate somewhat. All things considered, Su Yu estimated that he possessed an all-around combat ability roughly equivalent to the first stage of the Wanshi Realm. Being able to burst with the offensive power of the third stage of the Wanshi Realm did not mean one was equivalent to a full-fledged third-stage Wanshi cultivator. *My dad only seems to be at the first stage of the Wanshi Realm...* Su Yu suddenly laughed a little. If his father were still at home and the two of them fought, it was hard to say who would win or lose. He could already imagine his father's stunned expression! ... The brief confrontation dissolved when the instructor entered the room. The earlier news that Su Yu had severely wounded Zheng Yunhui naturally turned into a rumor, and no one took it seriously anymore. Zheng Yunhui was lively and energetic, even preparing to charge into the Top 100 Rankings next month; he showed no sign of being severely injured! ... He endured until class ended. Su Yu hurried out, walked downstairs, and found a corner. Soon enough, Xia Huyou strolled over. "Su Yu, you have no idea how hard it was for me to gather all these things for you..." Xia Huyou complained incessantly, "Last night, I ran seven or eight trips through the night, scouring the black market and the Xia Commercial Firm. In the end, I had to beg left and right just to pull everything together for you. The greasing fees alone cost several hundred merit points..." "Cut the crap!" Su Yu had no patience for his sob stories. Taking a small chest from him, he looked around, opened it to inspect the contents, and felt a surge of excitement inside. So many bottles! "Five hundred drops of Mountain-Breaking Ox blood essence at the Wanshi Realm—five thousand merit points!" "Three hundred and ninety-nine other types of blood essence. There was no way to get everything all at once, so these are all at the Qianjun Realm. Because some had very small quantities and others had special uses, the total cost came to 920 merit points. I rounded it down to 900 for you!" Without missing a beat, Xia Huyou continued, "As for willpower texts, I couldn't find that many cheap ones right away, so I gathered twenty for you. Some cost more than a hundred points, bringing the total to 2,300 merit points." "Altogether, that's 8,200 points!" After finishing, Xia Huyou added, "Do you still want to collect the rest? If so, give me another two or three days!" "Keep collecting them. No rush—a few days from now is fine!" Su Yu inspected the goods, though not as strictly as the first time. Having worked with Xia Huyou for a while, he had built a degree of trust in him. Besides, this fellow generally did not take deposits from him, doing cash-on-delivery instead, which reduced Su Yu's risk considerably. After paying 8,200 merit points, Su Yu had 11,800 left. Eight thousand two hundred merit points translated to over four hundred million coins on the black market! All exchanged for this small chest of items in his hands! It was only because cultivators did not care much about ordinary currency; otherwise, normal people's lives would have been completely thrown into disarray long ago. Su Yu had never imagined that one day, he would throw away hundreds of millions just to buy a small chest of goods. If his father found out, he would probably collapse. And he was only at the Qianjun Realm! Not only did Su Yu feel the pinch, but even someone from a major clan like Xia Huyou could not help remarking, "Su Yu, take it easy. Earning money isn't that simple! Even if you go to the All-Heavens Battlefield, killing an early-stage Tengkong cultivator every single day will only net you around a hundred merit points." This fortune had been pooled together by numerous Shanhai and Lingyun experts from the Single Divine Character Faction; it did not belong to a single person. The Single Divine Character Faction was wealthy only because they possessed many powerhouses. Eight thousand two hundred merit points was an amount that even an individual Lingyun expert in the academy would struggle to produce right now! For instance, Chen Yong, the director of the Cangshu Pavilion at the seventh stage of the Lingyun Realm, could not take out that much. Neither could Zhao Li! Nor could Hu Youhui, the Lingyun realm powerhouse who had accompanied Zhao Li to receive the new students back then! Not just them, but even the Lingyun experts of the All-Races Sect who had ambushed the student convoy could not produce such a sum; otherwise, they would not have taken the risk to attack the convoy in the first place. Powerhouses were raised on mountains of resources! Whenever they got a bit of funds, they spent it all! Did Chen Yong have no money? Did Zhao Li have no money? They both had wealth! If they were willing to sell their cultural weapons and cultivation arts, or spend every day writing willpower texts for others, they could bring in handsome sums of merit points. But doing so would delay their own cultivation. Yet someone like Su Yu, spending money at such a rate while still in the Qianjun Realm, was truly a rare sight. Even Xia Huyou did not spend so terrifyingly. Su Yu let out a soft breath, nodded, and smiled. "I know my limits! But... I need time to grow stronger faster! I'd like to take it slow too, but some people aren't willing to give me that time." "That's up to you; I'm just giving a reminder." Xia Huyou laughed. "I'd love nothing more than for you to spend tens of thousands at a time. But doing business is about a steady, long-term flow. Draining the pond to catch all the fish is for short-term deals; for long-term business, we have to look out for our clients' pockets too." Su Yu smiled. "You certainly know how to do business. By the way, has Zheng Yunhui approached you yet?" "Not yet." Xia Huyou was in no rush, smiling as he replied, "The Zheng family is a clan of martial experts. They don't lack ordinary goods and have channels to get them! But... sooner or later, he'll have to come begging me. After all, they aren't a family of Civilization Masters!" Su Yu nodded slightly. "By the way, during the monthly exam on the thirtieth, they're holding a Divine Character Competition?" "What about it?" Xia Huyou lowered his voice. "Is it because of that calligraphy scroll from Grandmaster Hong Tan?" Su Yu did not hide it either. Nodding slightly, he said with resignation, "My teacher said I must win it back! That thing... though not exceedingly valuable, carries immense significance. It can't remain out there!" With that, he asked with some confusion, "Those people are really bold, daring to steal my grandmaster's belongings..." "Steal?" Xia Huyou paused. "What did Assistant Bai say?" Su Yu gave a meaningful smile. "My teacher said he took it out before to let someone appreciate it, but when he came back, it was gone. He said it was probably stolen!" "Do you believe that?" Xia Huyou grinned from ear to ear, and Su Yu smiled as well. "I do! I have to believe it! If I don't, my teacher won't be gentle with me, because his teacher won't be gentle with him. I can't take the blame, so I have to believe it!" "Hahaha!" Xia Huyou could not help bursting into laughter! Then he chuckled, "I see plenty of trouble in your future. It's not just this one item; there are quite a few! Of course, ordinary ones don't matter, but once items of commemorative value are shown, everyone knows they belong to Grandmaster Hong Tan. I reckon you'll run into this kind of thing again!" Su Yu felt helpless too. Faced with a teacher like his, what could he do? Clearly, it had not been stolen; Bai Feng had taken it out and sold it himself! Su Yu understood. Last time, Bai Feng had mentioned selling some things, to the point that the research center was nearly empty. Su Yu just had not realized that he had even sold off his grandmaster's possessions! He felt somewhat between tears and laughter. This was quite similar to himself; back in Nanyuan, when he was short on money, he had also considered selling his house. It was just that he could not sell it, whereas Bai Feng really could! After chatting a bit more, Su Yu asked casually, "How does this Divine Character Competition work? Is it hard to win?" "It's quite difficult!" Xia Huyou turned serious. "This isn't just an affair for our Divine Character College; it's a contest among all new students in the entire academy! The Divine Character College might be strong, but calling it invincible would be an exaggeration. The Willpower College, Divine Pill College, and Divine Talisman College all have formidable figures." "In a divine character competition, what they test is naturally divine characters, along with willpower—the two are linked." "The academy has a miraculous small secret realm. It's essentially like a civilization chronicle, but with even better effects!" Xia Huyou explained, "Inside a civilization chronicle, as you've seen, you can materialize divine characters. It's the same in that small secret realm! Not only that, but you can also see the divine characters materialized by others, competing, clashing, and fighting with divine characters inside the realm. No physical bodies are involved; victory is decided purely by willpower and divine characters." "That's why it's called a Divine Character Competition, not a Top 100 Competition!" Su Yu was surprised. "It's held inside a secret realm? Then can the teachers see the divine characters we materialize?" "No!" Xia Huyou explained, "Only the two opponents can see each other. That secret realm is very small... effectively, it's just a civilization chronicle. You stand at one end, your opponent at the other, both immersing your willpower inside. The two of you can see each other's situation, but no one outside can see anything." "With so many people, do they go one by one?" Su Yu did the math; there were nearly two thousand new students! "You're overthinking it!" Xia Huyou smiled. "Only the advanced class students participate, so there aren't many! The intermediate classes haven't even reached the Yangxing Realm; what would they compete in? Our class accounts for half of them already. In total, there are only around two hundred people!" "It won't take long either. A single match can take a few dozen seconds at best, or one to two minutes at most. Two hundred people split into a hundred pairs can wrap up in about two hours." "Then the winners face off. At most, the whole thing will be decided in three or four hours." Su Yu nodded slightly. That meant it would not take very long. Xia Huyou added, "Don't just keep your eyes on our class; the other classes have strong people too. In an actual physical fight, they might not beat us, but when it comes purely to divine characters, some of those fellows are no pushovers!" Su Yu let out a soft breath and nodded. He could not afford to lose! He had to win! His divine characters were not weak, but his willpower was truly not that strong. Even though his willpower had great endurance, its raw intensity was limited; he had only just reached the Yangxing Realm. He still needed to raise it higher! Since physical combat was forbidden, opening more apertures this time would not help him in the competition. "Huyou, is there any way to rapidly increase willpower?" "..." Xia Huyou was speechless. *Are you calling yourself slow?* *You reached the Yangxing Realm so fast, and you still think you're slow?* "There is: don't nourish divine characters, and it will rise very fast!" "..." Fine, Su Yu held his tongue. Nonsense. If he did not nourish divine characters, what kind of Civilization Master would he be? Of course, many students in the Willpower College genuinely did not nourish divine characters, waiting until they reached the Tengkong Realm. Yet for the Multiple Divine Characters Faction, that was completely impossible! Once in the Tengkong Realm, one could no longer lay the foundation for a divine character battle technique, rendering the technique useless. By that point, how could they still be considered part of the Multiple Divine Characters Faction? Su Yu thought for a moment and asked again, "Then are there no natural treasures that can increase willpower?" "There are!" Xia Huyou smiled amiably. "But I advise against using them; the foundation will be too hollow! To be frank, at our stage, the main goal is to build a solid foundation. Even if your willpower reaches ninety-nine percent right now, if a gentle breeze can snuff it out, what's the point?" "All right, then!" Su Yu gave up helplessly. Forget it; he would cultivate honestly! Over the past few days, he had made some progress. From dropping to fifty percent previously, his willpower had risen back to around fifty-two percent. Strictly speaking, that was not slow at all; Su Yu was simply never satisfied. ... Saying no more, Su Yu left with his goods. Returning to the Research Center, no one was in sight. He did not know whether Bai Feng was in the laboratory or not. After tidying up, Su Yu cultivated for a while, waiting until night fell before stepping out the door. To the secret realm! Five hundred drops of Mountain-Breaking Ox blood essence, and 399 drops of other blood essences—he was going to make a massive push this time! "It's just that people keep entering the secret realm, which is a bit troublesome!" Su Yu had a headache. He intended to go all out, but having people constantly coming in was problematic. Once he activated the album, if someone walked in during his absorption and noticed his abnormality, how could he explain it? "Unless... I leave that small inner circle!" Su Yu muttered inwardly. He could head toward the outer perimeter. In other areas, there might be Wanshi or Tengkong cultivators, but... he would not necessarily run into them. The main issue was that he could not handle zones where the pressure was too overwhelming. "I can cultivate in the intermediate zone between the Wanshi and Qianjun areas. For Wanshi cultivators, the yuanqi there isn't dense enough; for Qianjun cultivators, it's too much!" Having made up his mind, Su Yu dwelled on it no further. He had to go to the secret realm! Cultivating outside the secret realm just did not feel as smooth. ... The Secret Realm Area. The Yuan Character Secret Realm. As usual, there were very few people—hardly anyone at all. At this late hour of the night, only the two elderly gatekeepers remained. The moment Su Yu approached, Old Huang snapped awake and opened his eyes. "This kid is here again! He only left a few days ago! How long are we betting on this time?" Old Nie said impassively, "Twenty-four hours. Didn't you say it yourself? If he can't make it, he's trash!" Old Huang laughed; that had just been talk in the heat of the moment. Could the kid really last twenty-four hours?! "This kid is even carrying a chest..." Old Huang remarked, raising an eyebrow. "Guess what's inside?" "Nonsense, blood essence—what else could it be!" Old Nie's eyes held a peculiar look as well. "Didn't they say his family background was ordinary? Where does he get so much blood essence?" Last time, they had caught a dense scent of blood essence on him! This time, he had outright brought a chest over! How much blood essence did he have to warrant carrying it in a chest? While they were talking, Su Yu walked through the entrance. Wearing his customary smile, he greeted them simply and honestly, "Greetings, teachers. Teachers, is there anyone inside?" Old Huang did not want to look at his smiling face. Scanning the chest a few times, he glanced back at Su Yu and said casually, "Got money again? The usual rule: one hundred merit points. Also, once you reach the Wanshi Realm, the price goes up, and your cumulative merit point rating must reach two hundred points as well!" Su Yu nodded, smiling naively as always. He was in no rush! He had plenty of time! Even if he cultivated to the ninth stage of the Qianjun Realm, he would not rush to break through. With so many apertures left, who knew when he would finish opening them? What was the hurry? Reaching that stage would only make entering the secret realm more troublesome! Seeing Su Yu remain composed, Old Huang could not be bothered to say much more. As he opened the gateway, he exhorted, "Don't just advance blindly. Opening apertures quickly is a good thing, but your other aspects must keep pace! If you only have many apertures without matching combat strength and martial techniques, you won't even make it onto the Top 100 Rankings." "Furthermore, you are a Civilization Master..." Old Huang reminded him once more, "Remember, for a Civilization Master, the physical body is not the key! If you truly want to cultivate the physical body, you might as well go to the War Academy. Why come to the Civilization Academy? The yuanqi secret realm is a realm formed by an eternal divine character!" Old Huang said solemnly, "Do you think an eternal divine character exists solely for you to temper your physical body? Gain more insights! Eternal divine characters are scarce even within the academy; they were all left behind by experts above the Shanhai Realm. You don't think those Tengkong cultivators enter the secret realm just to open apertures, do you?" Su Yu was slightly shaken! That seemed to make sense! Regaining his calm demeanor, Old Huang said flatly, "Divine characters are the foundation. An eternal divine character offers far more benefits to your divine characters than to your physical body; absorbing yuanqi is merely an incidental function. Don't waste your merit points entering the secret realm again and again!" Su Yu nodded and hurriedly thanked him, "Thank you for the guidance, teacher!" "No need to thank me. Comprehend it yourself!" Old Huang opened the portal and watched Su Yu leave. Once he had entered, Old Huang smiled. Beside him, Old Nie chuckled, "You... wouldn't it be better to let them figure it out on their own? Why give him a reminder!" Old Huang laughed heartily. "A little reminder makes him focus more on his divine characters, so he won't have time to open apertures. He'll come out sooner and save us some yuanqi!" "..." Old Nie chuckled! He knew Old Huang was just talking; he had spoken up because he was worried Su Yu would lose sight of what mattered. Still, the boy had only just reached the Yangxing Realm, so there was no rush. Even if he tried to comprehend something, he might not be able to glean anything. "Reaching the sixth stage of the Qianjun Realm should be effortless for him this time. Do you think he can reach the seventh stage?" "Not that fast, surely?" The two elders fell into discussion once more. Su Yu had opened sixty-six apertures by now; over the past two days, he had been recovering from injuries and had not had time to continue opening apertures. Opening eighty-four apertures was the threshold for the seventh stage of the Qianjun Realm. The further along one progressed, the harder and slower it became. Could Su Yu open eighteen apertures this time? Although the two were somewhat doubtful, when they thought about it, it was truly hard to say. This kid had entered twice before. The first time, he reached the third stage of the Qianjun Realm; the second time, the fifth stage. Who knew whether he could reach the seventh stage this time?