Terrifying Creatures!

Liu Hong's instigation infuriated Su Yu, but there was nothing he could do to stop others from competing for first place. In truth, Su Yu wasn't entirely confident he could win the Divine Character Competition. The main issue was still his low willpower fullness. Even now, his willpower fullness had only just recovered to 55%. People like Zheng Yunhui sat at around 85% fullness. Earlier, he had acquired ten drops of Soul Devouring Worm blood essence from Xia Huyou. Su Yu had originally assumed the Soul Devour Art might expand willpower and serve as a cultivation method for it, but after testing it once, he realized he had been mistaken. It wasn't meant for cultivating willpower! That thing was used to corrode and devour willpower. *The Soul Devour Art isn't suitable for sparring, unless I'm facing an actual enemy...* Su Yu murmured inward. That technique caused real damage to willpower; using it in a friendly match would be downright vicious. Against an enemy, however, it was actually quite formidable. ... The day's classes passed while Su Yu was lost in thought. When class ended, Wu Lan—who hadn't spoken to him for days—marched past him with an arrogant, tsundere strut! Before this, she had avoided Su Yu entirely. Su Yu hadn't understood why at first, but as she walked past him, her willpower surged with constant tremors... Su Yu was rendered speechless! Turns out she had come just to show off her willpower! Wu Lan's willpower fullness was indeed higher than his. After all, she had entered the Yangxing Realm before the Higher Academy Examination, and right now, she was likely hovering near 70%. *Did you really need to go out of your way to show it off?* Su Yu was exasperated. This idiot truly acted like a little kid. He had also figured out why she used to run the moment she saw him: she hadn't reached the Qianjun Third Layer, so her self-esteem had taken a hit. Now she was here seeking validation! With that thought in mind, a smile surfaced on his face. Seeing her strut past once more with a smug expression, Su Yu smiled and asked, "Wu Lan, what's your willpower fullness at?" Wu Lan was instantly overjoyed! He finally asked! "Just hit 70%!" Wu Lan forced a casual facade and remarked nonchalantly, "The growth is too slow, though. I'll try to reach 80% fullness next month!" With a smile on his face, Su Yu gave her a thumbs-up and exclaimed in admiration, "Impressive! I'm only at 55%. Wu Lan, you're actually so much higher than me!" Wu Lan was thoroughly gratified! She couldn't be happier! *I finally have one area where I'm better than this guy!* Feigning composure and trying her best to appear calm—though her voice trembled slightly—she replied, "It's nothing special, but you're not doing too badly either! Watch out tomorrow if you run into me in the Divine Character Competition or the monthly exam!" Su Yu smiled and nodded. With her head held high, Wu Lan was in fantastic spirits. No longer hung up on past grievances, she asked, "You've been in the Qianjun Third Layer for so many days now. How many more apertures have you opened?" Su Yu did a quick calculation; he had probably opened 72 apertures by now. At that moment, several other classmates had not yet left, and quite a few pricked up their ears to listen. How many more apertures had Su Yu opened? Had he reached the Qianjun Fourth Layer? Zheng Yunhui and a few others knew he had entered the Qianjun Fifth Layer, but that had been nine days ago. By now, Su Yu might or might not have reached the Qianjun Sixth Layer. Su Yu thought for a moment and held up six fingers. Naming the number of apertures would be too high to gesture easily. Six meant he had advanced six layers! He wasn't lying! An honest person didn't lie; he always told the truth. "Six..." Wu Lan muttered under her breath. Not bad. Su Yu had been at the Qianjun Third Layer on the first of the month. Opening six apertures over the span of a month wasn't slow—in fact, it was quite fast. Still, hearing "six," a smile spread across Wu Lan's face. She was genuinely delighted! She still had hope of catching up! Wu Lan said with a touch of pride, "That's very good, Su Yu! Keep working hard, or I'll catch up to you soon. After breaking through to the Qianjun Second Layer, my cultivation speed picked up dramatically. I've already opened three apertures over the past few days!" Su Yu had opened forty-two apertures in total, while she had opened twenty-seven. The gap wasn't that big after all! Su Yu smiled. *That's what you think; I never said that.* Nearby, Zheng Yunhui curled his lip. Su Yu meant he had opened six apertures since then, right? He had already opened sixty-six before, which meant he had truly reached the Qianjun Sixth Layer? This kid's progress was ridiculously fast. Zheng Yunhui wasn't the only one thinking this; Xia Huyou and a few others made the same deduction. Su Yu had probably reached the Qianjun Sixth Layer. The guy truly possessed immense talent for the physical path—only a few days had passed, and he was already at the Qianjun Sixth Layer. Feeling like she had gained the upper hand, Wu Lan's mood brightened considerably. Feeling pleased with herself, she said proudly, "Su Yu, when I take first place in the Divine Character Competition tomorrow, if you want that scroll, just beg me, and I'll give it to you!" Su Yu was always so arrogant! When she took first place tomorrow, would he beg her or not? Su Yu opened his mouth, and after a long pause, he replied dryly, "All right, then I'll congratulate you in advance on taking first place!" *What is this woman thinking?!* *If you can take first place, I'll write my family name upside down!* *How can someone lack this much self-awareness?* Women truly were emotional creatures, devoid of rationality. Wouldn't it be better to look at things rationally? The others held back their laughter, none of them speaking up. Better not speak, or they'd get snapped at. Whatever Wu Lan thought was her own business. ... Outside the classroom. Xia Huyou caught up and whispered, "Do you have a shot at winning it back?" "No." Su Yu shook his head, thought for a moment, and said, "If all else fails, I'll just have to buy it back. Something my grandmaster cherished can't be left wandering outside. At worst, I'll spend a bit more money, though I'm worried they'll make extortionate demands. If I don't win it tomorrow, I'll have to trouble you." He had already considered that if he couldn't win, he would definitely buy it back. His only worry was being extorted! Everyone knew it belonged to his faction, so holding out for a high price was only natural. Su Yu lowered his voice and said, "If I really don't take first place, you and I will bid against each other. You understand what I mean?" Xia Huyou smiled and nodded. Simple! Su Yu would make an offer that the other party would reject, and then Xia Huyou would step in with an offer to secure it at a reasonable price. Seeing that he understood, Su Yu gave a slight nod and said no more. He still needed a few backup plans! *A lot of people know Xia Huyou is close to me, so he's actually not ideal. If I truly lose, I'll go to Lin Yao!* Su Yu cast a sidelong glance at Lin Yao, who was already walking away. Going to him would be perfect! He would have that guy buy it on his behalf! Everyone knew he had a feud with Lin Yao. Lin Yao was Liu Hong's student and part of the Single Divine Character Faction. If he went to buy it... the Single Divine Character Faction wouldn't raise any obstacles, since it was just a depleted text of will. *I'm so smart!* Su Yu praised himself inwardly, feeling a touch of helplessness. In the end, his willpower was just too low; otherwise, why would he need to resort to such underhanded methods? With that thought, Su Yu looked back at Xia Huyou. "Huyou, the myriad races are vast and varied. Do you know a lot about them?" "Of course!" Xia Huyou chuckled. "I'm a businessman, and a businessman prides himself on being knowledgeable and well-traveled. Why? Is there something you're unclear about? As long as it's not a major secret, it's free. I'm generous when it comes to business!" Su Yu smiled. "Nothing major. I just wanted to ask if there are any races that are born Civilization Masters—those who can cultivate willpower from childhood, unlike us, who have to wait until the Tengkong Realm before cultivating the Myriad Characters Scripture." "There actually are!" Xia Huyou nodded. "Ordinary people don't know about them because such races are exceedingly rare! For example, the Primordial God Race can do it, but almost all Primordial Gods are born at the Tengkong Realm anyway, so it doesn't really matter. It's similar to us, just with a much higher starting point." Su Yu frowned and nodded slightly. "Aside from the God Race, there are also some in the Demon Race. In fact, the Immortal Race has the most Civilization Masters, and they have such races too, but their starting points are all extremely high." Xia Huyou smiled. "You probably want to ask about races that can cultivate willpower at the Qianjun or Wanshi Realm, right? You're even eyeing their cultivation arts, aren't you? A lot of people have that idea. Unfortunately, even if you obtained their cultivation arts, they wouldn't be suitable for humans. Otherwise, our experts would have seized and modified them long ago." Su Yu smiled and nodded. "Actually, I'm asking because I want to see if their blood essence would help increase willpower..." Xia Huyou's eyes lit up. "Now that you mention it, it really does offer a tiny bit of help—though it's very minor, of course! I know of a race that can cultivate willpower before even reaching the Yangxing Realm." "Which one?" "The Five Elements Race!" Xia Huyou explained, "The Five Elements Race are natural Civilization Masters! Metal, wood, water, fire, earth—they can use them all. Wind escape, fire attacks, water inundation, earth tunneling... each is an embodiment of divine characters..." Xia Huyou smiled. "The Five Elements Race isn't very numerous, and their strength isn't high at first, but their cultivation speed is remarkably fast—at the early stages, that is—because they possess cultivation arts tailored to them. However, they aren't suitable for humans because their physical structures are completely different. The disparity is too great!" "The Five Elements Race!" Su Yu muttered to himself. The Water Person was a Civilization Master? He truly hadn't known that! Did that mean the imprisoned Water Person, Shadow Person, and White Li were all Civilization Masters? "Is the blood essence of the Five Elements Race suitable for boosting willpower?" "It has a slight effect." Xia Huyou shook his head as he spoke. "It's not cost-effective! The Five Elements Race is rare, and weak ones are even rarer! Even if it offers a boost, it's only a tiny bit..." He added, "Besides, even if you got a few drops of blood essence, it wouldn't do much. Trying to get more would be far too difficult!" Su Yu didn't mind that at all. As long as he could unlock the album and the cultivation art, he could open those temporary apertures himself. At worst, he would just spend other types of blood essence to open them. He could master the cultivation art directly! A cultivation art perfectly adapted for humans! Take arts like the Body Strengthening Art—it wasn't that Su Yu couldn't learn them; he simply lacked the time to open the apertures. If the Mountain-Breaking Ox blood essence couldn't be supplied in the future, he could open the apertures for the Body Strengthening Art and actively cultivate that art instead, even without blood essence. Su Yu pondered for a moment and said, "Get me some blood essence from the Five Elements Race. A small amount will do. What's the price?" "The Five Elements Race is rarer than the God Race. Never mind whether I can get it—even if I can, the price won't be cheap!" Xia Huyou said solemnly, "Su Yu, it really isn't of much use. Of course, if you just want to study it, that's fine. How about this: there are five types in the Five Elements Race, and I'll get you one drop of blood essence for each type..." "I want Wanshi Realm!" Su Yu said, "You have Wanshi Realm, right?" "I'll figure out a way, but I can't guarantee whether it'll be early, mid, or late stage. Also, the price is genuinely high. Given how rare it is, even if I give it to you at cost, you won't get it for less than fifty merit points a drop!" Su Yu nodded slightly. That didn't matter to him. He only needed one drop to unlock the album page. Wait, he needed another drop to activate the cultivation art; otherwise, he wouldn't know which apertures needed to be opened. Su Yu immediately said, "Get me two drops of each type. Five hundred merit points. I won't haggle. Get them to me as soon as possible. Deal?" "Deal!" Xia Huyou chuckled and quickly added, "By the way, I had the Mountain-Breaking Ox blood essence transferred over. It's all mid Wanshi Realm. Do you want late stage? If you do, there's a batch of that too. There are only two hundred drops of the mid-stage..." "Two hundred drops for three thousand merit points?" Su Yu felt a headache coming on. Money was flowing out like water! Yet he had no choice but to spend it! If he didn't spend it, he would have to cultivate slowly on his own. Having experienced the thrill of rapid progress, slowing down was something Su Yu might not even be able to get used to. Right now, he only had 10,870 merit points left on him. "I'll take the two hundred mid-stage drops. How many late-stage drops are there? What's the price?" "Twenty points a drop. Not expensive, right?" Xia Huyou grinned. "We're brothers, so I'm giving it to you at cost—the cost price from the All-Heavens Battlefield! I won't even charge you for shipping!" "Thanks!" Even though Su Yu considered this guy an unscrupulous merchant, the goods Xia Huyou sold him truly weren't overpriced. "How many late-stage drops do you have?" "One hundred drops. The rest were claimed by someone else." "Then I'll take all three hundred drops of Mountain-Breaking Ox blood essence. Five thousand merit points in total?" "Right!" Su Yu sighed! Five thousand merit points—it was killing him. He should be able to barely manage late Wanshi Realm blood essence now, right? With his Qianjun Ninth Layer strength, handling that trace of leaked energy shouldn't be too big of a problem. Xia Huyou added, "Also, I collected another twenty texts of will for you, worth 2,200 merit points. Do you still want them?" "..." Su Yu's teeth ached, but he nodded. "I want them!" "That makes 7,200 points!" Xia Huyou was overjoyed and continued, "Last time you asked me to help collect blood essence from different races, and over the past few days, I managed to gather the remaining four hundred kinds I could find. They're all Qianjun Realm, with a few at the Wanshi Realm. These aren't expensive—I'll just charge you a thousand merit points. Want them?" "I want them!" Su Yu's heart twinged! 8,200 points! His heart was truly throbbing with pain! Xia Huyou was thrilled as well and said in a low voice, "Come on, let's go pick up the goods right now! Su Yu, you're pretty much wiped out, aren't you? You got quite a large cut last time!" Su Yu didn't bother responding, too heartbroken to speak. Deducting that 8,200 points, he only had 2,670 merit points left. He still had to reserve some to buy the Seeking the Secluded in Mountains and Seas Scroll, and set aside some to buy the Five Elements Race blood essence. As for the one in the detention area, that captive was a Lingyun Realm creature; even if it were given to Su Yu, he couldn't use it. Twenty thousand merit points had been squandered just like that! Of course, the items were all here. For instance, the forty texts of will—none of them were cheap. If Su Yu lacked ambition, he could already try to advance to the Wanshi Realm right now. ... After picking up the goods from Xia Huyou, Su Yu crept back to the Research Center cautiously, like a thief, finally letting out a sigh of relief. In the academy, one still had to be careful when conducting black market business. Even though nothing had gone wrong over the past few days, getting caught would leave him with nothing. Three hundred drops of Mountain-Breaking Ox blood essence: two hundred mid Wanshi Realm and one hundred late Wanshi Realm. Their effects should be considerably stronger than the early-stage ones. He had also obtained another twenty texts of will, along with four hundred different types of blood essence from other races. Su Yu was in no rush to use them right now; otherwise, his yuanqi would become impure again. *I actually need to buy some Brightlight Bird blood essence, too. Otherwise, devouring so many types of blood essence next time will make my yuanqi impure again. When I enter the secret realm next time, I have to bring Brightlight Bird blood essence with me to save a lot of time.* He didn't plan to use this blood essence now; it was preparation for his next trip into the secret realm. Furthermore, once he obtained a Heaven-tier martial technique, he would enter and cultivate it. Next time, he would either open the apertures for the Heaven-tier martial technique or open the apertures for the Five Elements Race cultivation art. He hadn't received the Five Elements Race blood essence yet, so there was no rush on that front. 2,670 merit points! The more Su Yu thought about it, the more his heart ached! Money flowed like water. In the blink of an eye, he had spent over ten thousand merit points. His consumption rate as a Qianjun cultivator was practically rivaling a Mountainsea Realm expert's. Of course, the money spent had produced results. Incredible speed! In just one month, he had gone from the Kaiyuan Ninth Layer to the Qianjun Ninth Layer—unparalleled speed. "That's equivalent to pouring in a billion coins!" Su Yu sighed! What a prodigal spender! He didn't even know if it was worth it. If he had focused solely on cultivating the physical body without studying texts of will, his expenditure would probably have been far less—easily cut in half. Unfortunately, dual cultivation and the desire for rapid progress in both meant money had to be spent. ... That night, Su Yu maintained his high-intensity cultivation. However, he went to sleep relatively early to prepare for the Divine Character Competition the following day. As for the monthly exam, it didn't really matter as long as he didn't end up in the bottom ten. ... September 30th. The weather was fine, the sunlight bright and clear. Su Yu walked out of the Research Center. Today's Divine Character Competition was not being held in the Teaching Area, but in the Secret Realm Area. That was because the small secret realm used for hosting the competition was located in this area. In the Secret Realm Area, aside from small houses, there were also larger buildings. The smaller a house was, the stronger the secret realm it represented, as it had fully integrated into space and required little architectural framing. A larger building, conversely, meant the secret realm wasn't as refined and took up more space. Secret Character Hall. This was where the Divine Character Competition would be held. Today, more than just instructors from the Divine Character College had arrived. Right now, before the students had even shown up, instructors and researchers were already arriving one after another in the main hall. The Divine Character College, Divine Pill College, Weapon Forging College, Beast Taming College... People from every college had arrived today. Although the other colleges didn't have many students—their total numbers combined were roughly equal to the Divine Character College, and some colleges' advanced classes had only a few individuals—the researchers rarely had a lively event to watch, so they had all come flocking over. At this moment, a researcher from the Willpower College teased with a smile, "Liu Hong, where did all the Lingyun experts of your Divine Character College go? To think they actually let you host the Divine Character Competition. Did they find some treasure and run off to dig it up?" Liu Hong let out a light laugh. "It's not any critical competition, just freshmen fooling around. There's no need to take it too seriously." "Is that so?" The speaker chuckled. "I heard Elder Hong has a granddisciple among them. Using the Seeking the Secluded in Mountains and Seas Scroll as bait—aren't you embarrassed?" Liu Hong smiled. "It's just a standard reward. Why read so much into it? A text of will left behind by a Mountainsea Realm expert is still a treasure even if its willpower has been drained, isn't it?" The researcher was about to banter some more when a figure stepped through the hall's entrance. Seeing the newcomer, Liu Hong froze slightly. Why had she come? Liu Hong wasn't the only one surprised; several Lingyun Realm experts who had remained quiet until now also showed hints of surprise. Over by the Divine Pill College, a middle-aged woman asked in astonishment, "Junior Sister Wu, why are you here?" Wu Qi's expression remained placid as she nodded slightly. "My sister is competing. I came to watch!" With that, she looked at Liu Hong and said coolly, "You're hosting this competition?" Liu Hong cleared his throat and nodded. "The review for formal researchers is coming up soon. Stop wasting your time on these things all day long!" Wu Qi stated flatly, "Didn't you say you'd suppress Bai Feng's student so he wouldn't qualify to advance? I heard Bai Feng's student ranked first in the last monthly exam, so you're purely wasting your time!" Liu Hong was speechless. Was it appropriate to say that in front of so many people? Wu Qi paid him no mind, unconcerned about whether others heard, and sat down directly. Seeing Liu Hong staring at her, she said coolly, "What are you looking at me for? Bai Feng hasn't caused you trouble, has he?" They had struck a deal back then: if Bai Feng caused him trouble, she would block Bai Feng for him. As for anything else... it was none of her concern. She had observed Liu Hong's divine character for a while, and the price was stepping in to deal with Bai Feng if he acted against Liu Hong. "Not for now..." Liu Hong spoke with a touch of helplessness. Why did he feel like her subordinate? This woman was growing increasingly overbearing! Beside them, the crowd simply ignored their conversation, acting as though they hadn't heard a thing. Soon, someone laughed and said, "Wu Qi, I heard Xia Yuwen has broken through to Lingyun and will soon return from the All-Heavens Battlefield. You should be close too, right?" Wu Qi said calmly, "Still a ways off, about half a year or so! In a little while, I'll be heading to the All-Heavens Battlefield as well." She then added, "Why weren't students from the myriad races allowed to participate in the Divine Character Competition? I actually wanted to see how they would perform." Liu Hong explained, "The myriad races' students vary in strength; some are already nearing the Tengkong Realm..." "Haven't they not reached the Tengkong Realm yet?" Wu Qi dismissed it dismissively and said nothing more, closing her eyes and ignoring him. Liu Hong felt helpless. Her sudden presence made him rather uncomfortable. ... Outside the secret realm. Su Yu and the other advanced-class students were arriving in succession. Just as Su Yu was about to enter, someone called out softly from behind: "Su Yu!" Su Yu turned his head and saw a familiar face, saying with slight surprise, "Liu Ke, you're here too?" This was a girl who had enrolled in the same batch at the start of term. She was short and timid. Was she participating in the Divine Character Competition as well? Liu Ke whispered, "Yes, our Divine Pill College is participating too. We didn't have many people to begin with, so we had to come." With that, Liu Ke looked at him curiously. "Su Yu, I heard about you defeating Chen Qi last time. You seem really strong now!" "Just average," Su Yu smiled. "It was just a spar, and external power was involved, so it doesn't really count." "Reaching Qianjun is already amazing. I'm only at the Kaiyuan Eighth Layer right now." Liu Ke spoke in a low voice. She had entered the academy at the Kaiyuan Sixth Layer and had reached the Eighth Layer in two months, which wasn't slow. Compared to Su Yu, though, it was slow indeed. As they were chatting, Wu Lan strode over, looked at Su Yu, and said smugly, "Su Yu, I hope we run into each other later. I'm going to defeat you!" With that, she spun on her heel and walked off! Liu Ke stared at her strangely. After a while, she whispered, "Did she... not see me?" Truly, Wu Lan had given her the impression that she hadn't seen her at all! Was her eyesight bad? If Liu Ke hadn't stepped aside, she would have practically been stepped on. Su Yu shrugged. "Don't feel bad. In her eyes, anyone who enrolled below the top-high tier is invisible—nonexistent. It's the same in our class; you're not the only one." Liu Ke was at a loss for words. To think there was someone like that... how amusing! Su Yu was stuck between tears and laughter. At least she hadn't pointed her nostrils at Liu Ke... wait, Liu Ke was very short, so she probably had seen her nostrils. Thinking of this, Su Yu whispered gossipy, "In our class, she has a nickname: 'Nostril Lady.' Next time, you can secretly call her that!" Liu Ke instantly backed away from Su Yu, her face full of wariness and disgust. How mean—to give a girl a nickname like that! He truly wasn't a good person! Liu Ke scampered away with quick, pitter-patter steps. Su Yu was completely baffled. What was that about? It wasn't even his invention! It seemed to have originated with Jia Mingzhen; Jia Mingzhen was the one who called her Nostril Lady! "Women truly are inexplicable!" Su Yu muttered to himself. The teacher had been right after all—women were an obstacle to cultivation. Look at that: he had been conversing normally, and she had run off without a word or even saying goodbye. How impolite! Just as he finished muttering, a cold snort sounded from beside him! Xia Chan wore a hostile glare! She strode away without sparing Su Yu a single glance. Su Yu looked utterly aggrieved. Inexplicable! What was she snorting at him for? Had he provoked her? What was going on?! First thing in the morning, he hadn't done a single thing, yet it felt as if he had somehow managed to offend three women all at once!