Fleecing the Academy

This was Su Yu's third time entering the Yuan Qi Secret Realm. After a brief spell of dizziness, he found himself in the familiar location—the crude little circle and the battered signpost. In the dead of night, the Qianjun area was deserted. Su Yu took a moment to acclimate himself. Savoring the dense yuanqi, a faint smile crossed his lips as he strode outward. Today, he had no intention of staying inside that tiny circle. ... Stepping past the sign marked "Qianjun Area," the pressure outside indeed mounted. The yuanqi was even more concentrated! It flooded incessantly into his apertures, filling those that were hollow and depleted. Once they were completely engorged, the apertures would throb with pain, and the visitor would be forced to leave. This was the exact reason cultivators inside could never stay for long. Su Yu walked along. The vast secret realm was dead silent, empty, and utterly tranquil. Only after putting nearly a thousand meters between himself and the Qianjun area did Su Yu come to a halt. The pressure had grown quite heavy! Standing here, he felt his absorption rate of yuanqi had surged by at least fifty percent compared to before. Any further ahead would likely be the Wanshi area. All around him stretched an endless expanse of white—all pure yuanqi, showing signs of misting over. Su Yu was inwardly astonished. Deep within, the yuanqi might have already liquefied! Liquefied yuanqi was yuanqi liquid. "Right here!" Su Yu glanced around. No one was in sight. He had no idea how many people were currently inside the Yuan Qi Secret Realm, though there likely weren't many. After all, entering cost a fortune, and it was the dead of night. Having confirmed that no one was nearby, Su Yu sat cross-legged on the ground and began to cultivate. Rather than swallowing blood essence right off the bat, Su Yu opened his chest, revealing several medicinal pills intended for healing wounds. Xia Huyou had thrown them in. Of course, the wool inevitably came off the sheep's back—the cost had certainly been factored into the price. Swallowing a pill, he felt it quickly dissolve inside him. Su Yu could distinctly perceive his fractured bones rapidly mending; the effects were remarkable. A cooling sensation also began to seep into the several faintly aching wounds from before, gradually easing the pain away. "As expected, once you're rich, getting injured is no big deal." "As for Senior Sister..." Su Yu thought of the senior sister he had never met. Reasonably speaking, no matter how poor Chen Yong was, he shouldn't be so destitute that he couldn't even afford healing pills. Especially considering Su Yu had just handed over a massive sum of merit points, and judging by his martial uncle's demeanor, the man was hardly stingy. Otherwise, Chen Yong wouldn't have gifted him an Annihilation Beast skull earlier. Just how severe were her injuries that she needed three full months to recover? "Huang Qifeng!" Muttering the name once more under his breath, Su Yu cast aside these stray thoughts and formally commenced his cultivation. He was in no rush to consume the other blood essences. He possessed only a single drop of each; even if they held unique properties that unlocked new atlas pages, he had no use for them right now. Opening apertures came first. A drop of Mountain-Breaking Ox blood essence went down his throat! It was instantly absorbed by the atlas. The Body Strengthening Art activated once more, opening over a hundred temporary apertures that greedily drew in yuanqi to scour and flush all his apertures. "Just how many apertures does the human body have?" Looking at the temporary apertures opened by the Body Strengthening Art, Su Yu was deeply curious. Exactly how many apertures were there in the human body? Furthermore, the Body Strengthening Art was an art belonging to the Mountain-Breaking Oxen. Logically, its apertures should differ from those of humans. Yet the Body Strengthening Art he cultivated was perfectly suited to him and to humanity. Did that mean... the cultivation art had actually been adapted? "If this art has been adapted..." Su Yu mused to himself: Wouldn't that mean it could be passed down to the human race? Whenever the human race captured arts from the myriad races, countless Civilization Masters had to analyze, explore, and decipher them, ultimately finding ways to adapt them for human use. Every single art demanded a massive amount of time to decode. The apertures of the myriad races and those of humans might have different names and locations; adapting a human technique from an alien art was extraordinarily difficult. "If I get the chance, I should get my hands on an authentic copy of the Body Strengthening Art or the Yuan Absorption Art to take a look." Presently, the atlas directly opened the apertures for him; he had never seen the original manuals. They might not be quite the same as what the atlas unlocked. With these thoughts in mind, Su Yu unfurled the Sky-Breaking Slash once more. The Sky-Breaking Slash had six stances, the first three being Wall Break, Life Take, and Yuan Shatter. The first three stances utilized forty-eight apertures and were suitable for the Qianjun Realm. The third stance, Yuan Shatter, was a fascinating move. It unified the yuanqi of forty-eight apertures to pierce a plane through a single point, driving yuanqi into the enemy's apertures to shatter their yuanqi and slay them! "Isn't this what Teacher used back then?" Su Yu suddenly recalled that when Bai Feng had gone to Nanyuan and slain an All-Races Sect expert in the Tengkong Realm, the opponent's apertures had shattered, their yuanqi leaking out before they were easily killed! Back then, he hadn't understood it. Looking back now, he vaguely began to see the truth. What Bai Feng had used was Yuan Shatter! Of course, that was predicated on his relatively deep understanding of the Heavenly Archer Cult's God Archer Art, allowing him to know which aperture was weak and drive yuanqi into it to instantly shatter the opponent's yuanqi alignment. "So that's how it is!" While studying the Sky-Breaking Slash, Su Yu swiftly began tempering his apertures. Having previously opened sixty-six apertures, he soon saw the sixty-seventh begin to flicker with light. A few minutes later, with a rumbling sound, the sixty-seventh aperture opened. Beyond the Qianjun area, opening apertures was noticeably faster. The surrounding yuanqi surged toward him unceasingly, whipping up a small vortex of yuanqi where he sat. ... Just as Su Yu was cultivating. Roughly a thousand meters away from him, in the Wanshi area. A young man was also seated cross-legged, absorbing yuanqi at an astonishing pace. He possessed handsome features, a prominent bridge to his nose, and a rather cold, sharp look in his eyes. At that moment, his brow furrowed slightly as he turned his head in Su Yu's direction. "Someone's there?" The young man murmured to himself, giving it little further thought. He merely found it odd. Had someone come over from the Qianjun side? He had specifically chosen the dead of night to cultivate so he would face fewer distractions. It seemed plenty of people shared his mindset. "They'll leave soon enough. No need to bother." The young man muttered. Since the person had come from the Qianjun area, there was no need to pay them much mind. They would probably depart within an hour or so. Besides, there was a fair distance between them, so it was hardly worth fretting over. ... At this moment, Su Yu had not yet sensed the other party's presence. The yuanqi was simply too dense, and his willpower was not yet strong enough, which interfered with his perception. Ten minutes later, Su Yu began swallowing a second drop of blood essence. The Body Strengthening Art activated once again, and his speed of devouring yuanqi was not a whit slower than that of the young man in the Wanshi area. As for the divine character Old Huang had reminded him about, Su Yu was in no rush. He would open his apertures first; comprehending the divine character could wait. In any case, he intended to linger for quite a while this time. With five hundred drops of blood essence, he had barely scratched the surface. A few minutes later, having swallowed another drop of blood essence, Su Yu felt signs that his sixty-eighth aperture was on the verge of opening, and a look of delight surfaced on his face. ... Inside the secret realm cabin. Time ticked away. In the blink of an eye, an hour had passed since Su Yu entered. At that moment, Old Huang suddenly spoke up. "Now that I think about it, over in the Wanshi area, Zhan Hai has been inside for quite some time, hasn't he?" Old Nie nodded slightly. "He's been in for two hours." Old Huang sighed with feeling. "That kid possesses astonishing talent as well! Who knows when he'll choose to break through to the Tengkong Realm. His ambition is far from small—he wants to step into Tengkong through his physical body first before achieving Tengkong through willpower, stacking body casting on top." Old Nie said flatly, "Such things cannot be forced. Blindly suppressing one's breakthrough timing isn't necessarily a good thing. Bai Feng and his peers never did that, yet aren't they just as formidable? Delaying the manifestation of one's willpower merely to make the physical body a bit stronger might not be worth the cost." Old Huang nodded and said no more on the subject. He hadn't brought up Zhan Hai for that reason, but rather out of a bit of gossip. "Tell me, who do you think will come out first—Zhan Hai or Su Yu?" "Probably about the same time." Old Nie smiled. "Zhan Hai is at Wanshi Ninth Layer, after all. Although he devours yuanqi faster, he has opened many apertures and his body is robust, enabling him to absorb far more yuanqi. Su Yu is currently in a phase of rapid progress; opening a few apertures extends his duration a little. They'll likely emerge around the same time." Old Huang also chuckled. "I'm inclined to think Su Yu might last even longer! Actually, the duration doesn't matter much. What I'm wondering is whether Su Yu will ever get the chance to clash with Zhan Hai. Zhan Hai is very close to Tengkong and won't hold the top spot on the Top 100 Rankings for much longer. Do you think Su Yu has any hope of fighting him while he's still on the rankings?" "None!" Old Nie gave a flat, negative answer. "Zhan Hai will definitely advance within half a year at most! Even if his body hasn't reached Tengkong by then, he'll have no choice but to break through! Su Yu... is advancing rapidly. Half a year from now, I wouldn't be surprised if he reaches Qianjun Ninth Layer with a willpower fullness degree above seventy percent." "I wouldn't doubt him breaking into the top seventy, or even top sixty, of the Top 100 Rankings." This was exceptionally high praise! Half a year from now, Su Yu would have been at the academy for less than eight months. For Old Nie to believe he could fight his way into the top sixty or seventy was high praise indeed. Anyone who could break into the Top 100 Rankings within their first year was a monstrous genius. Normally, they would only hang around the very bottom. For Su Yu to reach the top sixty or seventy in under eight months was an assessment built on his two previous monstrous feats. Yet the top sixty or seventy was still an immense distance from first place! Zhan Hai had fought against the Tengkong Realm without suffering defeat. Su Yu was still far behind him! "Top sixty or seventy?" Old Huang chuckled. "I think the top fifty is within reach! With the true combat prowess of a middle-stage Wanshi, one stands a chance at making the top fifty. With his divine characters and willpower combined with innate blood essence, Su Yu already possesses roughly the combat strength of Wanshi First Layer." "That's purely due to the innate blood essence!" Old Nie shook his head. "Unless he develops even stronger innate blood essence, otherwise... it won't be of much use. Once Su Yu reaches the Wanshi Realm, it will become rather underwhelming." The two chatted for a while, and in the end, Old Huang came around to Old Nie's perspective. Su Yu and Zhan Hai would likely never have the chance to clash. Half a year from now, Zhan Hai would certainly be in the Tengkong Realm. As for Su Yu... making the top fifty would already make him a peerless prodigy. ... "Sixteen drops of blood essence consumed, and I've only opened five apertures?" By this point, Su Yu had been cultivating for over an hour, and he felt somewhat dissatisfied. The yuanqi here was richer, yet burning through sixteen drops of blood essence had yielded only five apertures. He was still one aperture shy of Qianjun Sixth Layer. "Keep going!" Taking a deep breath, Su Yu resumed consuming blood essence as his seventy-second aperture shone with brilliant light. After an unknown amount of time, a boom resonated within him—the seventy-second aperture was open! A torrential wave of yuanqi surged in. His seventy-two apertures began linking together; the twelve apertures of the Sixth Layer started forming a unified combination, a complete circuit with those before them. Under the tempering of the Body Strengthening Art, Su Yu felt his flesh tighten even further. That sensation of mounting density made him feel as though his entire frame had been subtly compacted. Qianjun Sixth Layer! Less than two months after entering the academy, he had finally reached the peak of middle-stage Qianjun. "Qianjun Seventh Layer... keep going!" Su Yu was thoroughly invigorated. Having spent fewer than twenty drops of blood essence, the consumption was not excessively heavy. Time to keep opening apertures! However, going from Qianjun Sixth Layer to Seventh Layer was a transition from the middle stage to the late stage. This time, Su Yu clearly felt that his blood essence was being depleted faster, its duration shortened while the rate of yuanqi consumption accelerated. ... In the Wanshi area. The young man, Zhan Hai, opened his eyes once more. He felt the yuanqi on his side being pulled away, and his brow furrowed. Still hasn't left? Not only had the person not left, but the commotion over there was growing louder, faintly siphoning away the yuanqi from his vicinity. "Who's over there?" Such efficiency and speed were certainly not typical of an ordinary Qianjun cultivator. It might be someone at Qianjun Ninth Layer, or perhaps a fellow preparing to break through into Wanshi. If it was a student under thirty, they were almost certainly listed on the Top 100 Rankings. Of course, if they were over thirty, it was hard to say. "Forget it, I won't bicker with you!" Zhan Hai rose directly to his feet and moved further away. That person might be advancing to Wanshi, and he couldn't be bothered to interfere. So long as they didn't disturb him, he would simply move farther off and let them have the yuanqi here! ... Not long after Zhan Hai moved away, Su Yu suddenly opened his eyes. "The yuanqi density here isn't low, but... I feel like I can handle more. Should I head somewhere with an even higher concentration?" With the Body Strengthening Art active, his cultivation speed was on par with the Wanshi Realm. Outside the Wanshi area, although the yuanqi was rich, it was still a bit too slow for Su Yu. With that in mind, Su Yu stood up and advanced once more. After walking two to three hundred meters, he sat down cross-legged and resumed his cultivation. Swallowing blood essence, opening apertures, cultivating, reading... In this state, Su Yu's strength steadily climbed as his blood essence steadily depleted. ... Three hours later. Su Yu had shifted forward yet another stretch, while Zhan Hai had also retreated toward the Tengkong area. He was beginning to loathe that fellow. Suspecting that the Qianjun guy had broken through to Wanshi and was persistently inching into the Wanshi area, Zhan Hai had grown thoroughly annoyed, leaving him no choice but to push toward the Tengkong boundary. *I'm all the way over here; don't tell me you can still follow?* Zhan Hai cursed inwardly! *I'm practically at the Tengkong domain. Even if you broke through to Wanshi, you've only just arrived. Come on, try coming here!* *Was entering here easy?* *Two hundred merit points is no small sum!* *That bastard... once I head out, I'm going to ask who was disturbing me, and I'll give them a piece of my mind!* ... Five hours later. Having ventured into the semi-Tengkong zone, Zhan Hai's rate of absorbing yuanqi had spiked, and he was now reaching his limit. He prepared to exit. He began walking back! As he walked, he sensed that familiar yuanqi vortex once more. "Still here?" Zhan Hai was genuinely taken aback. Just how long had it been? That guy was still inside? Earlier, when he hadn't detected any yuanqi fluctuations in that spot, he had assumed the person had already left. To think they were still around! Gradually, he drew near the Wanshi area. And by this point, Su Yu had unconsciously drifted into the Wanshi area as well. Suddenly, Su Yu's ears twitched. He instantly halted his absorption of yuanqi and raised his head to look into the distance. Within the white expanse, a human silhouette slowly emerged. Su Yu grew vigilant! The next instant, Su Yu made up his mind and hurriedly made an arrangement. A moment later, when the two were less than fifty meters apart, they could see each other clearly! Zhan Hai made no effort to conceal himself, walking straight forward. But when he laid eyes on Su Yu, he froze, rendered utterly speechless. Su Yu currently had his head wrapped in a long robe, looking for all the world like a thief, leaving Zhan Hai thoroughly dumbfounded. Who on earth was this? Having not yet stepped into Tengkong, his willpower was not strong enough to force a probe. Even if he were in Tengkong, probing someone unprovoked was an act of provocation, so he naturally wouldn't stir up trouble without cause. He merely felt disgruntled. He had wanted to see who had been pestering him the entire time. And what did he get? A masked fellow. "I am Zhan Hai!" Zhan Hai introduced himself directly. Looking at Su Yu, he frowned slightly. "Which student on the Top 100 Rankings might you be, my friend?" Although the other party's face was wrapped up, they gave him the impression of being quite young, which meant they were likely a ranked student. Su Yu remained silent. Zhan Hai... he knew that name. Ranked first on the Top 100 Rankings! Seeing that he didn't respond, Zhan Hai didn't press the matter, merely remarking with a furrowed brow, "Classmate, next time you cultivate, pick a spot and stay put. Don't go shifting around all the time. Don't you know that constantly moving around disrupts other people's cultivation?" Feeling somewhat awkward—he truly hadn't known anyone else was there—Su Yu replied in a muffled voice, "Understood. Thank you for the reminder!" Zhan Hai was even more speechless! Still hiding his identity! *Afraid I'll retaliate against you?* Forget it, he couldn't be bothered to argue. Without another word, he walked directly toward a portal nearby and stepped out. Once he was gone, Su Yu let out a sigh of relief. His identity probably hadn't been discovered, right? Not that being exposed was the end of the world, but running over to the Wanshi area to cultivate wouldn't sound great if word got out. ... Inside the secret realm cabin. When Zhan Hai stepped through the portal, Old Huang and Old Nie wore peculiar expressions. It seemed he hadn't outlasted that kid after all. They had assumed Su Yu would come out first! Of course, with their differing cultivation realms, their speeds of absorbing yuanqi varied, so there was nothing truly strange about it—except that Su Yu was remarkably resilient. Stepping out of the portal, Zhan Hai looked toward the two old men. Being well-acquainted with them, he spoke up immediately. "Old Huang, who was that person who entered the Qianjun area earlier? They broke through to Wanshi, right? Next time someone is about to break through, just send them straight to the Wanshi area to save them from constantly drifting into it. That way, you can collect an extra hundred merit points too." "..." The two old men exchanged a look, the same thought popping into both their heads: *What kind of nonsense is this kid spouting!* *The fellow is only at Qianjun Fifth Layer, where would a Wanshi breakthrough come from!* "Old Huang..." Old Huang, astonished inside, cut in, "He went into the Wanshi area?" "Yeah!" Zhan Hai said helplessly, "I wanted to temper myself more in the Wanshi area, but that guy kept inching closer to me, forcing me to push further ahead. That's why I had to cut my stay short." By now, dawn was just beginning to break. Zhan Hai laughed. "I ran into him, and he even covered his face. That fellow... was he afraid I'd cause trouble for him?" He was relatively relaxed when speaking with the two elders. On the verge of Tengkong and ranked first on the Top 100 Rankings, his status was no lower than that of some assistant instructors. Old Huang gave a light cough. *He even covered his face... Well, that makes sense. The kid is only at Qianjun Fifth Layer, yet he wandered off into the Wanshi area. Good grief, if he hadn't masked up and Zhan Hai had recognized him, that would've been truly shocking.* "Ahem, as for who it is, I won't say!" Old Huang laughed. "At any rate, his strength is inferior to yours, so there's no need to dwell on it." Zhan Hai smiled and offered, "How about I wait here and see when he comes out?" "Oh, don't waste your time. Go do whatever you need to do. Wouldn't waiting around here just be a waste of your day?" Zhan Hai smiled again, nodded, and without further ado, strode away. Evidently, the person was quite a prodigy. From Old Huang's tone, the fellow was likely to stay inside for a fair bit longer. He couldn't be bothered to inquire further; unless it concerned the Tengkong Realm, he didn't care all that much at present. Zhan Hai departed. The moment he left, Old Huang couldn't help blurt out, "That kid actually wandered into the Wanshi area! And he hasn't been squeezed out yet?" He was only at Qianjun Fifth Layer! Of course, after so much time, he was probably at Qianjun Sixth Layer by now. Old Nie was equally stunned. After his shock subsided, he said wistfully, "Next time he enters, why don't we... just toss him directly into the Wanshi area? That kid is sneaky. Entering through the Qianjun area costs only a hundred merit points, so he's basically pocketed a hundred-point profit." Old Huang said with a wry smile, "There's no such rule. He's only in Qianjun; what can you do?" "What a loss!" Old Nie sighed, then chuckled. "Now that he's entered the Wanshi area, he should be coming out soon. Let's wait a bit longer. Once he's out, we'll go grab something to eat." "Alright!" Old Huang nodded. Originally, one of them would have stepped out to fetch some food to eat back here, but since Su Yu hadn't emerged, waiting a little longer wouldn't hurt. And so, an hour passed, two hours, three hours... Until broad daylight arrived! Old Huang said helplessly, "Go get us some food. I'm hungry." "Wait a little longer. I refuse to believe this!" Old Nie grumbled, exasperated. "I'm determined to wait until he comes out. If I leave now and he steps out, wouldn't all this waiting have been for nothing?" "True enough!" The two resumed their vigil! If he wasn't coming out, neither of them was willing to leave for a meal; they were set on waiting for this little monster to appear! ... The sun rose high in the sky. By now, it had been a full ten hours since Su Yu entered. The two old men stared at each other. Should one of them go fetch some food to bring back while they waited? ... Twelve hours in. Old Huang muttered, "Should we be eating lunch now?" It seemed noon was nearly upon them! "If he doesn't come out, I'm not eating!" Old Nie said in a low growl, "Skipping a couple of meals won't starve me to death!" *Damn it all, I refuse to believe this!* *If you've got the guts, stay in there for a full twenty-four hours!* ... Sixteen hours in. Old Huang murmured, "Should we... turn on the yuanqi mirror? Could that kid have been crushed to death by the pressure inside before he had a chance to escape?" This defied all reason! How long had it been! By all rights, he should have come out long ago. He genuinely began to suspect whether the boy had been blown apart by the yuanqi pressure before he could scramble out. Just as the thought crossed his mind, a portal opened. Old Huang hurried over. The next moment, a figure emerged, leaving both elders sorely disappointed—it wasn't Su Yu, but rather the cultivator who had entered two hours prior. Old Huang asked urgently, "Is there still someone cultivating inside?" The emerging cultivator, also at the Wanshi Realm, nodded. "There's still one guy in there. He's seriously tough! Even from far away, you can feel the yuanqi being snatched up by him. That fellow... Old Huang, who is he?" "None of your business! Don't ask what you shouldn't!" Old Huang waved him off, then looked at Old Nie, utterly at a loss for words. Only after a long silence did he say, "Old Nie, let's go eat, shall we? We haven't eaten all day!" That kid was still cultivating! He had outlasted several Wanshi cultivators in a row! "Not eating!" Old Nie had locked horns with Su Yu. *This old man isn't going to eat. Hasn't Su Yu gone without food too?* *Let's see who breaks first. It'd serve that brat right if he starved to death!* Though such thoughts ran through their minds, they exchanged a glance, unable to conceal the astonishment in their eyes. That kid still hadn't come out. Just how many apertures had he opened this time? "Qianjun Seventh Layer..." The same realization dawned on both of them! Sixteen hours had passed. If someone claimed Su Yu hadn't reached Qianjun Seventh Layer, neither of them would believe it! Old Huang remarked dryly, "Next time, we ought to charge that kid a thousand merit points before letting him in. I feel like he's about to fleece the Yuan Qi Secret Realm down to the bare bone!" Staying this long for a mere hundred merit points, and in the Wanshi area to boot! They couldn't shake the feeling that the academy had taken a loss this time—a massive loss.