Fanning the Flames

Outlining the "Yin" divine character was indeed quite useful to Su Yu at the moment. He had no desire to reveal his Qianjun Ninth Layer cultivation so quickly. It would be much better after waiting a while! As for the two overseers in the secret realm, Su Yu did not worry much about them. Neither belonged to the Single Divine Character Faction, and when he broke through to the Qianjun Fifth Layer last time, no word of it had leaked out. ... September 25th. Su Yu received the Brightlight Bird blood essence—one hundred drops, worth eight hundred merit points. He also received ten drops of Qianjun Realm Soul Devouring Worm blood essence, costing thirty merit points. As for the Mountain-Breaking Ox blood essence, he still had to wait another two days. According to Xia Huyou, he was transferring stock; the trading volume of Mountain-Breaking Ox blood essence had been immense lately, so he was having it brought in directly from the All-Heavens Battlefield... Su Yu was left utterly speechless! The guy could conduct business all the way to the All-Heavens Battlefield—what else could Su Yu possibly say? He would just have to wait! Perhaps when the blood essence arrived, it would still be fresh and warm, though that meant the Mountain-Breaking Oxen were in for some bad luck. Having spent 830 merit points, Su Yu was left with 10,870 merit points. Su Yu requested leave again! Ever since entering the advanced class, his frequency of taking leave had been remarkably high. As for his duties as class monitor... there were barely any tasks anyway. The advanced class had few students, and people frequently skipped attendance. If Liu Hong wanted to make trouble for him over this, Su Yu hardly cared. As for any evaluation remark claiming he was "incompetent to shoulder heavy burdens"... Su Yu had come around to accepting that. His primary focus was making himself stronger! Without sufficient strength, even the best evaluation was useless. Once he was strong enough, he could naturally find ways to sweep away all these obstacles. ... The Research Center. Su Yu swallowed a drop of Wanshi Realm Brightlight Bird blood essence. The illustrated booklet absorbed it, and a few changes surfaced on its pages. "Brightlight Bird (Wanshi Second Layer): Racial Skill: Radiance (Activated with blood essence) Basic Yuan Art: Yuan Purifying Art (Activated with blood essence)" Su Yu swallowed another drop of blood essence and activated the basic yuan art. This time, quite a few apertures were opened. Unlike activating other yuan arts in the past, the moment the Yuan Purifying Art began operating, surrounding yuanqi was drawn in by Su Yu, yet the yuanqi within his apertures was actually diminishing! The newly entered yuanqi was not absorbed by Su Yu's apertures; instead, it continuously washed through them. The original yuanqi within his apertures was slowly purged. As the apertures were washed, they grew increasingly bright! "It really works!" A look of delight appeared on Su Yu's face. It was actually effective! Although he had previously suspected that this Yuan Purifying Art could purify yuanqi, actually putting it to use and seeing it purge the impurities brought him immense joy! The purer the yuanqi, the easier it was to mobilize, and the stronger and faster its explosive power would be! Moreover, Su Yu now understood that the purer the yuanqi, the easier it was to merge apertures. Turbid, chaotic yuanqi would create mutual repulsion during aperture merging. "Brightlight Bird..." Su Yu was overjoyed. Indeed, there were no useless races and no useless yuan arts—it all depended on how one used them. Using the Yuan Purifying Art in combat made it trash, but using it to purify yuanqi made it an invaluable treasure. He swallowed several drops of blood essence in succession, constantly purifying his yuanqi. Su Yu also grew curious about the Brightlight Bird's innate skill—Radiance? Could it be a skill used for glowing? Although he understood some details regarding the Brightlight Bird, he knew next to nothing about its innate skill; books did not seem to cover it. "Could it be for healing?" Su Yu held a bit of faint anticipation. It sounded like something used for healing. If so, he couldn't help but think of Zheng Yunhui. That fellow possessed a healing divine character, and even after suffering terrible injuries, activating that divine character healed him in an instant. Without wasting time, Su Yu immediately swallowed a drop of blood essence and activated Radiance. ... A moment later, Su Yu felt a touch of disappointment. It wasn't for healing! Instead, it was a mind-clearing ability. Su Yu sensed it for a moment; it seemed capable of restoring his sobriety when his consciousness was muddled. It was a specialized skill! It was still quite useful. For instance, if he were heavily injured and slipping into unconsciousness, activating Radiance might not heal his physical wounds, but it could at least keep him lucid. "What about against illusions?" Su Yu muttered to himself. If he were trapped in an illusion, could the Radiance innate skill allow him to see through it? Unfortunately, his own illusions had no effect on himself, or he could have tested it out. Without testing the skill further, Su Yu resumed running the Yuan Purifying Art to cleanse his yuanqi. The turbid yuanqi was expelled bit by bit, and the once-dim apertures shone with dazzling brilliance after being washed clean! Su Yu felt as though he could command his yuanqi with effortless familiarity, like the back of his hand. Opening too many apertures previously had left him with a feeling of sluggish obstruction, but now that had vanished completely. A gentle glow gradually radiated from Su Yu's body! It carried an air of sacred purity! If Su Yu walked out right now, draped in glowing light like a descending saint, who would ever believe he was a bad person... not that he was one in the first place! ... One day passed, then two. Outside of a secret realm, the consumption of blood essence was not so rapid. For two consecutive days, Su Yu used Brightlight Bird blood essence to purify his apertures. By the evening of the third day, September 27th, Su Yu had consumed all the Brightlight Bird blood essence, and his apertures had been washed thoroughly from start to finish. The moment the cleansing concluded, Su Yu's entire body shuddered! Brilliant light burst forth! At this moment, Su Yu was truly dazzling beyond measure. Across his body, 118 apertures shone with magnificent radiance! Among them, 108 were War God Art apertures, one was a Thunder Yuan Saber aperture, and nine were basic apertures. At this instant, all 118 apertures blazed with brilliant illumination, resplendent as a saint descending into the mortal realm! Su Yu shook his body, shaking off dust and loose hairs that fell to the floor. Spotless and pure! His gaze was exceptionally clear and bright! Su Yu grinned, showing teeth as white as jade, his smile appearing even warmer and more radiant. "Far too eye-catching!" Su Yu gave a wry smile. Walking outside like this would make him a living target. He hadn't expected that multiple purifications would turn him into something like this—he felt as though he were on the verge of becoming translucent. "Fortunately, thank goodness I gained an extra divine character!" At this moment, Su Yu truly rejoiced at having outlined the "Yin" divine character. The next instant, the apertures dimmed one after another. Only when every aperture across his entire body ceased flickering with light did Su Yu let out a soft sigh of relief. He had finally concealed the anomaly! "This is much better. As long as I keep it active, that won't happen again. Still, I wonder how long it will last?" Su Yu disliked unnecessary trouble! For now, the concealment was solid, but the moment he mobilized his apertures, the force would surely shatter that concealing barrier. Was he supposed to turn into a glowing man whenever he fought? "It's already the 27th..." Su Yu muttered to himself. Tomorrow would be the 28th. When was the last time he fed the monsters down below? The 22nd? "It's only been five days!" Su Yu mumbled. It wasn't that he had forgotten; he was simply too lazy to feed them. Besides, those fellows had been fine after over ten days before. Starving them to death wouldn't be that easy. Bai Feng hadn't taken it seriously either, making Su Yu all the bolder. If they weren't starved a bit, they wouldn't know what suffering meant. Look at how starving the Suanni last time had yielded a Heaven-rank cultivation art. Starving them for a few more days might coax out even more good things. They were all gluttons for punishment! If he weren't unable to beat them, he would beat them three times a day. Su Yu felt that doing so would definitely dig up more treasures. ... He walked downstairs. Bai Feng, usually elusive as a divine dragon showing its head but not its tail, was actually eating in the living room! "Teacher!" Su Yu felt a spark of delight. Not having seen him for several days, he had missed him somewhat. Bai Feng ate his instant noodles while looking up at Su Yu, his eyes blinking amidst his scruffy beard. He remarked oddly, "Why do you seem a bit different?" Unadorned and pure! Those words surfaced in Bai Feng's mind. This kid used to look a bit impetuous, but why did he now carry a spotless, unadorned aura? Seeing such qualities associated with Su Yu struck him as rather bizarre. Su Yu smiled. Bai Feng was momentarily dazed—this kid's smile... was remarkably handsome! Had he stayed in seclusion for so long that even men started looking good to him? What the devil! Should he go out and flirt with some pretty girl? "Teacher!" Su Yu flashed a grin, exposing his white teeth. "Nothing is different. I've just been reading a lot lately, and 'a mind steeped in books naturally radiates grace'! Perhaps that's all it is!" "Hey, you brat, praise you once and you start heaping praise on yourself!" Bai Feng laughed in spite of himself. "'A mind steeped in books naturally radiates grace'? How many books have you even read? Which researcher in the Civilization Academy hasn't read more books than you? You dare put on airs in front of me!" With that, Bai Feng's body trembled slightly. His white robe fluttered, and his beard was instantly shaved clean. He stood up, flicked his long sleeve, and said blandly, "Your teacher is the one who radiates grace. You're still too green!" "..." Su Yu was speechless. Did he really have to compete over this too? "Teacher... um, wipe that noodle off your mouth..." Bai Feng fell silent, his dignified aura vanishing in an instant. He sat back down and resumed eating, grumbling slightly, "Knowing your teacher hasn't eaten, you should stock the fridge with more good food. Every time I come out there's only instant noodles. Don't you know how to care for your teacher?" Helpless, Su Yu sat down across from him. "Teacher, why don't you marry a martial mother to cook for us?" "..." Bai Feng glared at him! This kid really dared to dream! Thinking about it, though, he chuckled. "To be fair, that's what I said to your grandmaster back in the day. Too bad your grandmaster never married. Otherwise, someone would be cooking for us right now. Kid, why don't you find someone?" "No way. Teacher Liu said women hinder cultivation!" Su Yu said earnestly, "Teacher Liu is a bachelor, Grandmaster is too, you are too, and Martial Uncle seems to be one as well. So I think the Multiple Divine Characters Faction is simply suited for bachelorhood. They really hinder our cultivation, otherwise why would our entire faction be single?" "..." Bai Feng suddenly found himself at a loss for words! Damn it, that makes way too much sense. I hadn't even thought about it until you brought it up! Why... is our entire faction single? As Bai Feng ate his instant noodles, he contemplated life. After a long pause, he suddenly said, "I'm starting to understand why the Multiple Divine Characters Faction declined! There are too many single bastards, which means no descendants! Look at the Single Divine Character Faction—this one has sons, that one has grandsons, a whole nest of bastards! If they birth a hundred, just one making a name for himself is enough. They don't even need to recruit from the outside!" As Bai Feng spoke, he became thoroughly convinced! No wonder they had declined! The main issue was having too many bachelors. Otherwise, with a large crop of descendants, any random genius would have resolved plenty of troubles. Su Yu pondered it and suddenly felt that it was quite reasonable. "Teacher, why don't you find us a martial mother?" "Scram!" Bai Feng snapped irritably. "In the entire academy, who is worthy of me, Bai Feng?" "What about Wu Lan's older sister?" "Tch!" Bai Feng sneered dismissively. "She's a madwoman. Your master would never look her way!" With that, he changed the subject directly. "Stop the nonsense. How has your cultivation been going lately?" "Not bad!" "Did you outline any new divine characters?" "One." "Really?" Bai Feng was startled. He had actually succeeded? "Is it the Demon Scorpion Race's 'Qiang'?" "No, foreign races' divine characters are very hard to outline. It's the human race's 'Zhan'." Su Yu had never mentioned outlining the "Zhan" character to him. Of course, he had used it before, so Chen Yong knew, but as for Bai Feng... Su Yu really hadn't told him! Bai Feng hadn't asked either! Su Yu had nearly forgotten whether he had mentioned it to Bai Feng, but as it turned out, he truly hadn't. Bai Feng wore a look of astonishment. "'Zhan'? Not bad! Just hearing the name makes it obvious it's combat-oriented, very good! You actually outlined another one, and it's human?" "Yes." "It seems your affinity with human divine characters is truly exceptional. Which text of will did you comprehend it from?" "The Qianjun chapter of the War God Art you wrote for me." "..." Bai Feng was struck dumb! Damn it all, you could even comprehend a divine character from something I wrote, yet I couldn't do it myself? Am I only suited to writing texts of will for others? "In that case, you have four divine characters, and one of them is at Tier-2..." Su Yu said meekly, "Teacher, two are at Tier-2. Don't you remember?" "Hm?" Bai Feng froze again, looking at Su Yu. Really? Two? "Wasn't it only the 'Sha' character?" "There's also the 'Xue' character!" "..." Bai Feng felt he might be going senile! Did you ever mention that? Why don't I recall it at all! All I remember is asking if the 'Sha' character broke through last time, and you said yes, and then... there was no 'then'! He thought back carefully. Su Yu hadn't mentioned afterward that the 'Xue' character had advanced as well, had he? "Right... I forgot. That bastard Liu Hong brought it up once..." Bai Feng muttered internally, realizing he had forgotten about it. This kid had actually advanced both! When he returned earlier to discuss the Seeking the Secluded in Mountains and Seas Scroll, he had forgotten to ask about this matter as well. Feeling slightly embarrassed, Bai Feng gave a dry cough. It seemed he really hadn't paid enough attention to this kid. The main reason was that this kid changed every few days; every time he emerged from seclusion, the kid's strength had shifted, and he could barely keep up with the pace. "Four divine characters, two at Tier-2..." Bai Feng murmured, then asked, "How many apertures have you opened?" "A few more..." "Oh!" Bai Feng felt relieved and didn't press further. He remembered he had only entered seclusion a few days ago, stepping into the laboratory on the 22nd, less than a week prior. No matter how fast Su Yu was, he couldn't possibly have reached the Qianjun Sixth Layer in just a few days, right? Seeing that he didn't ask, Su Yu refrained from saying more. His apertures were glowing too brightly today anyway; better to wait and talk about it later. With them shining like that, it would be difficult to explain. "Right, last time... cough, I heard... your martial uncle say that when you fought Zheng Yunhui, you seemed to use the Expanding Will Art. What was that about?" "I didn't!" Su Yu shook his head. "I don't know it, and Teacher Zhao never taught me. But last time I asked Teacher Zhao to forge a cultural weapon for me, he seemed to hammer my head a few times. Afterward, I noticed my willpower was stronger than before, while my fullness percentage dropped a bit. Teacher, couldn't you tell?" Bai Feng cursed internally! I'm not an omniscient god—am I supposed to stare into your sea of will? He had indeed sensed a slight drop in fullness, but it hadn't dropped by much. Moreover, when he saw Su Yu last time, the fellow was nursing injuries, so he assumed it was due to being wounded. Why would he have thought deeper about it? "Hammering your head a few times deepened your willpower?" Bai Feng was somewhat baffled. What kind of technique was that? Was that how the Expanding Will Art worked? Should I go ask Old Ghost Zhao to hammer my head a few times too? His willpower wasn't weak, but that was only relative. Once he used the Dragon Slaying Sword, it would be emptied in two or three strikes; going all out, a single strike might finish him off. Should he go get hammered as well? Feeling dazed, Bai Feng looked at Su Yu for a while longer. Somewhat helpless, he stopped agonizing over it and said, "In the Divine Character Competition in a few days, you must win and bring back the Seeking the Secluded in Mountains and Seas Scroll! Losing other things doesn't matter much, and this scroll isn't inherently vital either, but having it offered up as a public prize—if you don't win it back, it will be a complete disgrace." Su Yu nodded solemnly! "I definitely will!" "Rest assured, Teacher!" Of course he had to win! If he didn't, a Heaven-rank cultivation art would be snatched away by someone else. Furthermore, it might have been left behind by an Invincible Realm expert, titled Eternal. The concept of Eternal made Su Yu thrill with excitement just thinking about it. Seeing the kid brimming with fighting spirit, Bai Feng dropped the topic. In a fairly good mood, he smiled and said, "I haven't had time to teach you lately, so just continue cultivating step-by-step! My research here is about to bear fruit. Kid, do you know? I seem to be close to discovering the location of innate divine characters!" Bai Feng said with mounting excitement, "Don't rush to finalize your primary divine character. Once I discover the innate divine character and develop it, using an innate divine character as your primary one will definitely be stronger than your current ones..." "Teacher, that's a human divine character!" "It doesn't matter!" Bai Feng said happily, "Other human divine characters might be weak, but an innate divine character definitely won't be! Of course, wait a bit longer. My research has hit a bottleneck; it would be best to wait for your grandmaster to return so we can research it together! If we succeed, hahaha, our Multiple Divine Characters Faction will rise immediately!" An innate divine character! If nothing else, using this as an introductory supreme art would draw countless eager applicants, wouldn't it? Naturally, the specific circumstances would have to be assessed when the time came. Su Yu nodded, also feeling a touch of anticipation. An innate divine character! What was the human race's innate skill? If it truly could be developed, that would be extraordinary! Bai Feng devoured his food while laughing. Su Yu couldn't help but marvel; when it came to research, Bai Feng truly poured his heart and soul into it. Were it himself, would he possess such perseverance? After eating for a while, Bai Feng let out a satisfied burp and laughed. "Then I'll head back down first. Don't forget the feeding! And next time you outline a divine character, remember to warn me!" He realized that his immunity had grown vastly stronger! Su Yu had outlined another divine character, and two of his divine characters had advanced, yet Bai Feng hadn't felt overly shocked. He had become somewhat accustomed to it! Not being shocked this time actually felt a bit unnatural. "My reaction was quite ordinary—good, that saves me from losing my composure every single time!" Bai Feng felt amused internally. It was good this way. The next time he emerged from seclusion, even if this kid reached the Qianjun Seventh Layer and outlined another divine character, he wouldn't be surprised at all. He could already picture it! Chuckling inwardly, Bai Feng wasted no more words with Su Yu and quickly retreated underground. ... Su Yu shook his head. His teacher... now felt like a complete and utter homebody. Never leaving his quarters, stepping beyond neither the front door nor the inner gate. Fortunately, he, the student, was reliable; otherwise, things would have collapsed long ago. ... On September 28th, Su Yu went to class again. The presence of the shadow barrier saved him a great deal of trouble. With the monthly exam approaching, the atmosphere in the class grew progressively tense. The advanced class's monthly exams were not identical each time. Last month had been their very first month after enrollment, so the exam had been relatively mild. Moving forward, however, the monthly exams would not be so gentle. ... September 29th. Su Yu saw Liu Hong, whom he hadn't seen in days. Entering the room, Liu Hong wasted no time and quickly announced, "A few announcements!" "First, the Divine Character Competition begins tomorrow!" "Second, the monthly exam also begins tomorrow!" "Third, on the 3rd of each month, the Top 100 Rankings are recalculated. Once the calculations conclude on the 3rd, you may challenge students on the Top 100 Rankings!" Liu Hong turned his gaze toward Su Yu, Zheng Yunhui, and a few others, finally looking at Jia Mingzhen and his group. He smiled and said, "Those of you who feel confident can give it a try!" "The monthly exam will take place in the afternoon, while the Divine Character Competition will be held in the morning, saving you from lacking the energy to participate after the monthly exam." "Students from the advanced classes of every academy will take part in the Divine Character Competition. Naturally, this is a freshmen competition!" "For first place, the reward is as I mentioned before: the Seeking the Secluded in Mountains and Seas Scroll." "For second place, one Will-Solidifying Pill, which helps stabilize your willpower. During cultivation, it makes your willpower more stable and allows you to persist longer." "For third place, one divine talisman, an offensive talisman with the lethality of the early Wanshi Realm!" "..." The rewards for the top three were all very good. However, strictly speaking, the reward for first place might not necessarily surpass second or third place. Even so, because it was left behind by a Shanhai Realm expert—and an eighth-layer Shanhai expert at that—everyone held some interest in it. Quite a few people had also caught wind of the background, and they turned to look at Su Yu one after another. Su Yu didn't hold back either, declaring directly, "That was left behind by my grandmaster and stolen away. Tomorrow, I will definitely claim the Seeking the Secluded in Mountains and Seas Scroll. Unworthy though I may be, I will go all out tomorrow and show no mercy. Fellow classmates are free to compete with me, but I will not hold back!" The room fell silent. Su Yu had always been easy to talk to in class, but this time, it was clear he meant business! To the side, someone suddenly chuckled. "I'm pretty interested in it too." Su Yu turned to look, his gaze cold and sharp. Jia Mingzhen chuckled. "On second thought, never mind. Can't be bothered to fight over it. It's not very useful, rather like chicken ribs, so I won't get involved. The Divine Character Competition is truly boring!" Su Yu furrowed his brows. What did that mean? Jia Mingzhen chuckled, lowering his head to eat, ignoring him. Nonsense, I can't even go! The Divine Character Competition utilized a miniature secret realm capable of withstanding only Yangxing-level divine characters. If he went in... heh, the secret realm might explode! That divine character secret realm wasn't an eternal divine character; it had merely been left behind by a peak Shanhai expert, lacking that supreme quality. He was also at the Shanhai Realm. Once his willpower seeped in, it could burst the secret realm. Otherwise, he truly would have liked to cause some trouble for Su Yu this time and dampen his spirits for the thrill of it! Up on the podium, Liu Hong glanced at him. Jia Mingzhen wasn't participating? He had thought the fellow would definitely take part! How interesting. Was he hiding his strength, or was there another reason? As for Su Yu... there was no need to bait him this time; Su Yu wouldn't hold back, so tomorrow would definitely provide a good show. Still, this kid's willpower wasn't overly formidable; he might not truly be able to win tomorrow. Thinking of this, Liu Hong didn't mind fanning the flames a bit more. He smiled and said, "By the way, regarding this Seeking the Secluded in Mountains and Seas Scroll, a certain researcher is also very fond of it. Regrettably, it was put forward as a prize, leaving that person quite disappointed. Earlier, I heard someone say he is willing to offer three hundred merit points to purchase this scroll! Three hundred merit points... is no small sum. Work hard, everyone. If you find the right buyer, selling it for five hundred points is entirely possible!" The moment these words were spoken, the looks in the eyes of many students in the classroom changed! Five hundred merit points! To them, even those from prominent families, five hundred merit points was a massive sum! It could buy dozens of drops of Wanshi Realm blood essence. It could buy several original copies from the Wanshi Realm. It could even buy several texts of will written on the spot by Tengkong Realm experts! Except for a few major clans, it was not easy for minor families to produce so many merit points! Amidst the crowd, Su Yu's expression shifted slightly. He swept a glance at Liu Hong and cursed violently in his heart! A mole? Damn it, even if you are a mole, I'm still going to settle scores with you! Five hundred merit points wasn't important to him right now; what mattered was the Heaven-rank cultivation art! "You're dead meat. Your eldest disciple, Yang Sha... he's the next one in line for misfortune!" Su Yu cursed furiously inside. Originally, many people probably hadn't cared, perhaps even thinking second or third place was better. But now, five hundred merit points was more than enough to buy both the second and third place prizes combined!