A Glimpse of the Future

Cangshu Pavilion. When Su Yu entered Cangshu Pavilion once more, the guards at the entrance looked at him the same way the guard team leader at Yangxing Garden had looked at Jiang Mu, a Top 100 student. With respect! Yes, absolute respect. The gates swung open immediately, and several guards stepped aside to let Su Yu pass smoothly. This was the Civilization Academy! No, this was the All-Heavens and Myriad Realms! With strength, talent, and ability, one could walk tall anywhere! Su Yu held no grudge over being turned away on his first visit. He nodded slightly to the guards with a gentle smile. At the academy, the guards were merely carrying out orders. As a Civilization Master, he would occasionally need their help anyway. For instance, when heading out on minor missions or handling various tasks, one was permitted to mobilize a contingent of guards. ... Tenth floor. The moment Su Yu reached the floor, a cloyingly sweet voice reached his ears: "Junior Brother!" Su Yu shuddered, finding it intensely awkward. Wu Jia walked out, her eyes still slightly red. Suddenly, she lunged forward, grabbed Su Yu in a tight embrace, and vigorously tousled his hair, sobbing, "Junior Brother, you're the best!" "..." Helpless, Su Yu wriggled free from his senior sister's clutches and said with a wry smile, "Senior Sister, is Martial Uncle here?" "He is!" Wu Jia was a little displeased that he had slipped away, giving only a perfunctory reply before asking with boundless curiosity, "Junior Brother, how did you get so powerful?" "*Cough, cough.* Teacher taught me well!" "..." Wu Jia was dumbfounded. *Martial Uncle taught you well?* *Liar!* *Martial Uncle is completely unreliable, okay?!* "Jiajia, Su Yu, come inside!" Chen Yong called out from within. As for Su Yu's claim, hearing it was enough; no one took it seriously. His own teacher probably didn't even know his true realm, yet he dared to claim his teacher had taught him well. Fooling outsiders was one thing, but fooling his senior sister was simply shameless! ... In the large living room. Chen Yong looked at Su Yu with a rather complicated expression. After a long silence, he said, "Jiajia, go brew a pot of tea. Your junior brother is thirsty." "Okay!" Wu Jia trotted out with a grin. Once she was gone, Chen Yong regained his composure, let out a breath, and said, "There's big trouble!" Su Yu nodded. Chen Yong smiled. "Judging by your look, you've understood something. Let's hear it." "Principal Wan came down far too heavily!" Su Yu said calmly. "Even if Elder Zheng truly intended to strike me, he hadn't actually done so yet. To gravely wound a Shanhai Realm elder—nearly killing him—simply because of that motive... If Principal Wan acted like this normally, the Civilization Academy would have collapsed decades ago!" "Exactly!" Chen Yong nodded. "What else?" "I think there might be underlying reasons we aren't aware of," Su Yu assessed. "Perhaps to intimidate the Single Divine Character Faction, make an example of someone to warn the rest, or because they offended Principal Wan in some way, maybe even crossing an intolerable bottom line." Chen Yong nodded again and chuckled. "Perhaps. But in truth, there's another possibility: he might be lending support to the Multiple Divine Characters Faction." "Why?" Su Yu asked, puzzled. Decades had passed without any support for them, so why start now? "The reason..." Chen Yong pondered for a moment before saying, "There might be a few reasons. The principal came to see me once before, and it had something to do with you. Naturally, I couldn't be bothered to deal with him, so I told him to seek you out himself when he gets around to it." Chen Yong was reluctant to get involved; it depended on Su Yu's own wishes, and he would not impose any subjective bias on him. With that, Chen Yong smiled. "It wasn't just about you, either. The principal also wants us to open the Divine Character Battle Technique Wall to the public to some extent, treating it as a secret realm!" Su Yu couldn't help but curse under his breath, "What is he thinking! Why doesn't he make the other factions bring out their treasured resources to share? We hardly have any family heirlooms left as it is, and he wants us to share even this with others?" Chen Yong pressed his hand down, smiling. "I didn't agree. I told him to take it up with your grandmaster; I can't make that call." Chen Yong didn't dwell on the matter. He offered a reminder: "In any case, be careful. Gravely injuring Huang Qifeng is trivial, but Zheng Yuming was severely injured as a result and sentenced to exile on the All-Heavens Battlefield, forbidden to return until he slays a Shanhai. He might never return for the rest of his life!" A Shanhai potentially unable to return for the rest of his days—this was an exceedingly grave matter. Yet Su Yu remained unfazed, looking somewhat perplexed instead. "What's wrong with going to the All-Heavens Battlefield and not being able to return? Do we cultivate to become strong just to seal ourselves in secluded cultivation within the academy? Shouldn't most of the strong be out fighting while the weaker ones stay behind to teach?" The fact that so many Shanhai lingered in the academy was precisely what puzzled Su Yu. Why keep so many powerhouses inside the Human Realm? On the All-Heavens Battlefield, Qianjun and Wanshi were locked in desperate slaughter, yet the human race's powerhouses were absent. Su Yu found this truly incomprehensible. Chen Yong sighed. "There are many reasons. First, if all the powerhouses went to the All-Heavens Battlefield, the scale of the war would escalate! It would shift from being primarily Tengkong-level clashes to battles dominated by Lingyun and Shanhai. "Second, the All-Heavens Battlefield is merely the first line of defense. We must guard against being wiped out in a single stroke, which would sever our legacy entirely. "Third, the interior of the Human Realm is hardly tranquil. A portion of powerhouses must stay behind just in case." He continued, "In fact, there is another reason: Civilization Academies send fewer people to the battlefield than War Academies because, to varying degrees, we all have important research projects that need to be carried out." Chen Yong explained, "Certain projects are critical and require powerhouses to oversee and decipher them." "Projects?" Su Yu thought of Bai Feng and asked in confusion, "Then what projects does the Single Divine Character Faction have? With so many powerhouses among them, I haven't heard of any remarkable projects underway." "They have them!" Chen Yong said with a smile. "Don't underestimate the Single Divine Character Faction. For them to grow so formidable, they must have extraordinary strengths! You fought Zheng Hong earlier, didn't you? What did you feel?" Su Yu pondered for a moment, hesitating before saying, "Wind, Forest, Fire, Mountain... a systematic structure?" "Exactly!" Chen Yong nodded. "The Single Divine Character Faction today is entirely different from the past. Back then, the divine characters they focused on formed no coherent system, and some cultivated only a single divine character. Nowadays, they've evolved. Cultivating a coordinated system of divine characters is an evolution within their faction..." Chen Yong added, "In truth, even within the Single Divine Character Faction, there are disagreements. Should one cultivate a single character, several disparate characters, or an interconnected system of characters? All of these are subject to debate!" Su Yu nodded. *So that's how it is.* Chen Yong continued, "That isn't all. They are actually researching quite a few things. For example, Vice Principal Zhou Mingren has spent years researching methods to permanently preserve willpower texts, which is rather important. "You know how human willpower texts work. Sometimes, even if left unused, the willpower within naturally dissipates over time..." Su Yu nodded vigorously, lamenting, "That's true! Back in Nanyuan, Teacher Liu gave me a copy of *Thunder Origin Blade*, but only the first four strikes contained willpower. The rest had already dissipated..." Chen Yong froze. The early parts remained, but the later parts dissipated? *Are you kidding me?!* The later strikes were stronger and carried more willpower. Even if dissipation occurred, the earlier portions would scatter first. How could the later sections vanish beforehand? Calculating quickly in his mind, he roughly guessed what had happened. Chen Yong was caught between tears and laughter. Unable to expose his own martial uncle, he covered his slight embarrassment and said, "Yes, it easily dissipates. Because human willpower characters cannot be preserved for long, it often leads to waste. Vice Principal Zhou Mingren is researching this very issue, and I've heard he's close to a breakthrough. Once successful, human willpower texts will endure for years just like those of the myriad races, allowing our powerhouses to preserve more texts for posterity." Su Yu nodded. That indeed served a purpose. "Zheng Hong's teacher, Elder Sun, is also researching a critical project," Chen Yong said. "The development of a basic cultural art—one that Qianjun and Wanshi can cultivate. A tremendous amount of energy and resources has been poured into it!" Su Yu's heart stirred. "Martial Uncle, hasn't the Quest Realm developed a basic cultural art after all these years?" "That..." Chen Yong shook his head. "I'm not sure! There are some things even I don't know much about. By all logic, having invested so much effort and resources over the years, they should have produced some results. Perhaps it's incomplete, or perhaps it isn't disseminated. Who can say?" He explained, "As you know, the human race is vast, and not everyone has good intentions. High-value legacies are closely guarded for fear that leaks might reach the myriad races." "Throwing out the baby with the bathwater!" Su Yu disagreed. "They could charge a fee for dissemination, just like with the *War God Art*. How can progress be made if everything is completely sealed off?" "That isn't our place to meddle with!" Chen Yong laughed. "And let's not just talk about others. Even our Wen Tan Research Center would have to weigh the pros and cons carefully before sharing anything if we made a major breakthrough." At that thought, Su Yu nodded. True enough! Double standards were unacceptable. When people spent countless years and vast fortunes on something, it was only natural for them to refuse when someone simply demanded it with open hands. It all came down to interests! Seeing that he understood, Chen Yong smiled. "For now, none of this concerns us." He paused and looked at Su Yu. "Your primary task right now is still cultivation—reach the Tengkong Realm as soon as possible! In addition..." He hesitated before speaking again. "If there are things that are inconvenient to speak of, it doesn't matter. Civilization Masters—or rather, cultivators in general—all have their own secrets. But try to place some trust in your teacher." He looked directly at Su Yu. "I have no desire to seize your achievements, but... don't leave lingering trouble for yourself! Especially regarding the innate blood essence from last time, the Soul-Devouring Insect blood essence. I know Bai Feng couldn't possibly have produced such a result, or he would have told me long ago. "In the past, innate blood essence only involved physical transformations, so most Civilization Masters didn't pay it much heed. But the moment it involves changes to willpower, the situation becomes entirely different! "Previously, it was very difficult for warriors to harm a Civilization Master's willpower unless the power gap was overwhelming. In battles between Civilization Masters and warriors at Tengkong or above, the Civilization Master almost always held the upper hand! "However, if blood essence that can directly damage willpower truly emerges, the implications of that breakthrough are colossal!" Chen Yong said gravely, "You must understand that on the All-Heavens Battlefield, Civilization Masters are used as anchor powerhouses! The value of a Shanhai Realm Civilization Master vastly exceeds that of a Shanhai Realm warrior! "Mysterious, mercurial, unpredictable, with an endless array of techniques... that is a Civilization Master! "Yet all of that is built upon the foundation of willpower. Su Yu, imagine the sheer value of blood essence capable of injuring willpower!" Taking a deep breath, he said solemnly, "Right now, the news is still circulating within a small circle. I've already advised the principal to lock down the information! But it's only a matter of time before it leaks. The principal's intention is to hand the technology over to the academy for compensation, and the academy will pass it to the Great Xia Prefecture and the Quest Realm! They will conduct the in-depth research, which will disperse the risk and prevent us from being singled out!" Su Yu's heart skipped a beat! "Martial Uncle... are you saying... the matter of the Soul-Devouring Insect blood essence is that serious?" He had known before that it would be far more troublesome than earlier instances, but now it sounded even worse! "Yes!" Chen Yong nodded. "In the past, we only extracted innate skills of the warrior path, which are merely basic martial skills and carry limited impact. But now, even an innate skill affecting willpower can be extracted. The severity has multiplied!" He added, "Of course, your safety can be guaranteed inside the academy. But once you step outside... there will be immense trouble! Therefore, the best solution is to hand over the technique for compensation and research it jointly." Su Yu frowned. "Does that mean any high-value research breakthrough inevitably brings trouble?" "That depends on strength, backing, and confidentiality!" Chen Yong looked at Su Yu with a slight headache. This kid had done a lot of good, but he had also stirred up quite a mess. The Soul-Devouring Insect blood essence was a significant hazard. Chen Yong wasn't afraid of anything, and Bai Feng was entirely safe as well, but Su Yu... Unless Su Yu stayed inside the academy indefinitely, stepping outside meant danger. "I'm only a student. I don't know the technique..." Chen Yong said faintly, "You claimed that before, but ever since you sold the data, everyone assumes you know!" "..." Su Yu was thoroughly embarrassed! *I dug my own grave!* Indeed, claiming ignorance earlier had been fine, but after obtaining and selling the manufacturing data, who would believe he didn't know how it worked? Strictly speaking, Su Yu had brought this crisis upon himself. Had he not staged that entire spectacle last time, even if he produced Soul-Devouring Insect blood essence, people would simply assume a junior student knew nothing. Unfortunately, there were no 'what-ifs'! After a moment of silence, Su Yu asked, "Martial Uncle, do you mean we must develop this technique now and ideally hand it over? But even so, we'll still possess the technique. Won't people still target us?" "It merely reduces the risk!" Chen Yong smiled. "When more people know it, we lose our exclusivity! Furthermore, once it is proven that the item is difficult to manufacture, excessively costly, or only applicable at the Qianjun Realm, its perceived value will plummet." Su Yu raised an eyebrow. "So we only need to produce an extraction method for the Qianjun Realm, while subsequent methods appear impossibly difficult or nonexistent. That way, the risk is minimized to the extreme?" "Precisely!" Su Yu understood! He asked again, "Martial Uncle, does our research center have the confidence to develop such a technique?" Chen Yong looked at him with a knowing smile. Having spoken this far, if they still didn't understand each other's meaning, they would be fools. "There is hope. I am not adept in this area, but your teacher is. The key technique for extracting innate skills from blood essence was developed by him. Since he can extract other innate skills, he can surely extract the Soul-Devouring Insect's innate skill, provided we gain a deeper understanding of how the insect unleashes it..." Su Yu grasped the point entirely! He nodded. The Soul-Devouring Insect's innate skill, Soul Devour, was virtually one and the same as the Soul Devour Art—an overlapping martial technique. It remained fundamentally a martial skill, albeit one touching upon willpower. The apertures opened by the Soul Devour Art were physical apertures, not divine apertures. Therefore, it wasn't nearly as profound as the outside world imagined, unlike the Five Elements Art. *In fact, as long as we provide a method adapted for humans to cultivate the Soul Devour Art, the problem will cease to be a problem!* Su Yu thought to himself. It wasn't completely unmanageable. Of course, it was best not to provide the cultivation art itself, but rather just the innate skill—the kind activated by consuming blood essence. That would draw far less attention. ... After chatting with Chen Yong for a while, Wu Jia returned with the tea. She kept staring intently at Su Yu, making him thoroughly helpless, and Chen Yong felt just as helpless watching them. Yet on second thought, Chen Yong couldn't help but chuckle. If those two actually ended up together... it would make quite a story. He couldn't be bothered to interfere. Neither Wu Jia nor Su Yu likely harbored such thoughts. Wu Jia was merely feeling touched and curious at the moment; true romance was highly improbable. His scatterbrained disciple didn't understand the first thing about it. After exchanging a few more words and cautioning Su Yu to keep a low profile recently, Chen Yong said no more. As for Zheng Yuming's affair, it was no longer Su Yu's concern. Before leaving, Su Yu pondered for a moment and asked, "Martial Uncle, for your year-end evaluation, is it mandatory that Senior Sister enters the Top 100 Rankings?" "Don't worry too much about that..." How could Su Yu not worry?! He said urgently, "Martial Uncle, we cannot lose Cangshu Pavilion! Our Divine Character Battle Technique Wall is still here!" "That can be relocated..." "Martial Uncle!" Su Yu refused to accept that! He declared with righteous indignation, "For generations, our Multiple Divine Characters Faction has outlined divine character battle techniques here in Cangshu Pavilion! If we lose our headquarters in our generation, how can we face our predecessors? Besides, without Cangshu Pavilion, outlining divine characters will be troublesome for us in the future. We cannot lose it!" "..." Chen Yong looked at him and laughed. Why did this kid seem even more anxious than he was? "Martial Uncle, Senior Sister will definitely make it into the Top 100. If worse comes to worst, I'll beat all those Single Divine Character Faction bastards off the rankings..." "Don't fool around!" Chen Yong said hastily. "It's too dangerous. They have top-ten students who can battle Tengkong Realm experts! As for Jiajia..." Chen Yong thought it over and said, "If push comes to shove, toward the end of December—around the twenty-fifth when the Top 100 challenges are nearing their close—we can have Jiajia challenge you and take your ranking. That would secure her spot on the Top 100 Rankings and bypass the evaluation..." "But I'm ranked seventy-first..." Su Yu glanced at Wu Jia. She couldn't challenge him directly. Unless... his ranking dropped! Wu Jia grew slightly dejected. Looking unhappy, she mumbled, "Master, having Junior Brother yield his spot to me... how embarrassing! And it would require Junior Brother's ranking to fall below ninetieth. Wouldn't that hold him back?" Chen Yong was equally helpless. He smiled wryly. "That's why I said if we lose it, so be it. There's no need to ruin your future over the position of head librarian." Aside from that method, the only alternative was for Su Yu to beat every single powerhouse in the Single Divine Character Faction into submission! Beat them until they dared not challenge the rankings! Beat those knocked off the list until they didn't dare challenge Wu Jia. But the difficulty of that... was monumental! Su Yu's eyes flickered slightly. "Martial Uncle, Senior Sister suffered injuries to her willpower and divine character. If she could actively cultivate a basic cultural art, would she recover quickly?" Chen Yong nodded with a bitter smile. "Indeed. But she hasn't reached the Tengkong Realm, so there is nothing I can do! The *Myriad Characters Classic* can only be cultivated at the Tengkong Realm. If she were at Tengkong, such injuries would heal in no time. The divine apertures opened by the *Myriad Characters Classic* can only be located and opened at Tengkong; they cannot be unsealed at Qianjun or Wanshi. "Right now, far from recovering, any attempt to cultivate willpower triggers turbulence in her willpower sea due to willpower resistance. She had no choice but to halt willpower cultivation entirely and focus on her physical body." At the Yangxing Realm, one could only cultivate willpower passively through resistance. Since Wu Jia's willpower was damaged, cultivating only aggravated the injury, leaving her with no choice but to wait quietly for it to heal on its own. *The Five Elements Art...* Su Yu murmured inwardly. That art could be cultivated at the Yangxing Realm, and rather than relying on resistance, it actively absorbed willpower. If Wu Jia cultivated it, she would have a chance at rapid recovery. Yet... Su Yu hesitated. If it leaked... this was not a physical cultivation art, but a willpower art—a Yangxing willpower cultivation method nonexistent in the academy. If word got out, the fallout would be a hundred times more severe than the Soul-Devouring Insect blood essence! It would be immense trouble! And Su Yu dreaded trouble! To be blunt, he wasn't intimately close with Wu Jia. Taking such a massive risk for her... Defeating Huang Qifeng was something he had had full confidence in handling. Cultivation arts, however, invited disaster far too easily! *Let's wait and see!* Su Yu made up his mind. He would cultivate it himself first. The art might not suit everyone anyway, and currently, there was no systematic manual—only his own knowledge of opening the divine apertures. It might work for him, but not necessarily for Wu Jia. ... Su Yu left Cangshu Pavilion. Along the way, several students took the initiative to yield the path to him. Such was the status of a Top 100 student! Su Yu remained gentle and humble, returning smiles to all who gave way without declining their courtesy. This was a privilege of Top 100 students; refusing it would place him in opposition to the established tier of ranked students. One could be modest, but there was no need to antagonize the existing privileged circle. Excessive humility and lowliness were unnecessary, looking fake and hypocritical. Even though... some people thought of him that way already! Su Yu would never admit it! *I'm no hypocrite, I'm an honest man!* ... Returning to the research center, Su Yu finally relaxed his guarded heart. He felt at ease! Yet he also felt a touch of wistfulness. A great deal had occurred today, with several events exceeding his expectations. Just as he was calculating today's gains and losses, his vision suddenly blurred! The next instant, he seemed to have entered an entirely different world. A pavilion! A solitary figure! "Su Yu, if you have time, why not come to Xiuxin Pavilion for a chat?" Su Yu was stunned! *I'm inside the research center!* *This is the domain of an eighth-layer Shanhai powerhouse, yet someone infiltrated it silently?* "Principal?" "It is I." Wan Tiansheng's voice was ethereal as he smiled. "We could talk here as well, but... your willpower won't hold out for long. Drop by when you have time!" "Principal, I—" Before Su Yu could finish, his vision blurred once more. He snapped awake! He was still on the sofa, but his willpower was completely drained! Su Yu felt utterly exhausted! Yet his eyes held boundless shock. Wan Tiansheng had effortlessly bypassed the defenses laid down by Hong Tan, pulling Su Yu's willpower to his own location to converse with him. What kind of power was this? Too terrifying! Was this the disparity between an eighth-layer Shanhai and the peak of Shanhai? Beneath the shock, other thoughts raced through Su Yu's mind: *I must be careful!* *Too frightening!* It felt as though everything happening within the academy was under the principal's control. In that case... did he know about Su Yu's plots against the Single Divine Character Faction? Did he know about his private clique with Hu Zongqi? Did he know about his massive resource purchases from Xia Huyou? And most crucially of all, did he know about the album in his mind? At that moment, Su Yu suddenly felt completely exposed! Everything lay bare beneath another's watchful eyes! Swallowing hard, he thought: *I was inside the research center, yet he could drag me over. Can a secret realm block his willpower and vision?* *Probably not... Zhou Mingren was cultivating inside a secret realm earlier, yet he appeared almost instantly when Zheng Yuming was injured. That means even secret realms can't necessarily block their willpower scans!* *He wants to talk to me?* *Talk about what?* Su Yu's head ached. What was going on?! Why did he feel that Wan Tiansheng was no benevolent figure? Could it be that this man spent all his days in the academy solely to surveil everyone? *I must become stronger!* Su Yu cursed silently. He was still far too weak. So weak that even while resting in his own nest, someone could casually end his life. It was terrifying. ... Meanwhile. Inside Xiuxin Pavilion. Wan Tiansheng smiled, sipping his tea, and murmured, "The Multiple Divine Characters Faction... No, the human race's Divine Character Faction—will it rise through your hands?" He had seen it! He had caught a glimpse of the future! Perhaps it was not real, or perhaps it was merely one of tens of millions of possibilities, but he wanted to try. Within his eyes, the sun and moon seemed to revolve. His hair alternated between black and white, strands of silver falling from his scalp. With a casual wave of his hand, Wan Tiansheng pulverized the fallen hair into nothingness, murmuring softly, "A century of lifespan... was it worth it?" He shook his head and let the thought go. "Sun and Moon, Eternal..." Su Yu was merely a corner of the grand tapestry, not the focal point. His thoughts stretched far beyond! A moment later, his expression shifted slightly, and he spoke impassively: "I merely crippled his God-Demon divine character. Perhaps it is an opportunity for him. Old Zhou, there is no need to plead on his behalf! Rules must be upheld!" Outside the pavilion. Zhou Mingren's voice sounded low and heavy: "Yuming specializes in God-Demon divine characters! Crippling them and exiling him to the All-Heavens Battlefield is a death sentence!" Wan Tiansheng said calmly, "Destruction precedes creation. Having just entered Shanhai, he still has a chance! Had he reached the peak of Shanhai, crippling them would have extracted a catastrophic price!" "Fine. I will say no more on that. But I wish to request a divine character for Yuming!" Wan Tiansheng furrowed his brow. "That does not belong to me, nor does it belong to you!" "I know, but those people are already dead! Is it worth letting those divine characters remain buried underground alongside them forever?" Wan Tiansheng replied dispassionately, "I do not know; that was their own choice! Every cause yields its effect. Had they not been driven out back then, perhaps... the divine characters would have remained. Since they were exiled, there is nothing to be done! Zhou Mingren, if you desecrate their graves today for the sake of your disciple, do not blame me for standing idly by when the Multiple Divine Characters Faction rises again tomorrow to seek vengeance!" "I will bear the consequences myself!" Zhou Mingren said grimly, "Desecrating graves is not my desire! But Yuming has been crippled, and I cannot watch him march to his death. You are the principal; you decreed that he must slay a Shanhai, and I will abide by your rules! But as his teacher, I must seek a path of survival for him!" Wan Tiansheng remained silent. Zhou Mingren said no more, turned, and departed. After he left, Wan Tiansheng let out a soft sigh and shook his head slightly. Cause and effect! Today you dig graves; tomorrow... when those people return, they will naturally settle the score with you. "Liu Wenyan, Xia Yunqi..." Wan Tiansheng murmured their names. Was there still hope for their return? "Even your graves are about to be unearthed. Can you... still hold out?" Wan Tiansheng whispered, closing his eyes to cultivate, and spoke no further.