The Growing Mutual Aid Society

In the fragment chamber, Su Yu had no idea that his grandmaster was about to return. He assumed his grandmaster was lost. Who knew when he would come back? Su Yu simply treated it as if his grandmaster were in seclusion. Having not seen the man for months, he wouldn't even recognize him if they met. Cultivate! Unceasing cultivation! The sixty drops of Five Elements race blood essence were consumed drop by drop, and divine apertures were opened one after another. In terms of willpower, there was little growth. It was all used to temper his divine apertures, keeping his reservoir at around seventy percent fullness. This continued until late into the night on the seventh. Su Yu let out a long breath. It was gone. Three thousand merit points' worth of Five Elements race blood essence was gone just like that. It had only been a day and a night. With sixty drops of blood essence, he had opened twenty divine apertures—an average of three drops per aperture. The speed was not slow at all, but just like his yuan qi acupoints, there were quite a few impurities, leaving the apertures somewhat dim. Su Yu felt they needed purifying. Brightlight Bird blood essence could purify yuan qi, but it could not purify willpower. He had no idea how to purify willpower yet; Su Yu had not found a suitable yuan art or cultural art for that, so he would have to test things out one by one later on. The twenty divine apertures had not yet formed a complete system, but they could already actively absorb some willpower, which was currently slowly strengthening Su Yu's willpower. "Opening divine apertures really makes a difference!" Su Yu marveled for a moment. Very good, very strong. With divine apertures opened, his senses had grown much sharper. He had opened so many physical acupoints that his mind often failed to keep up with his body's instincts, but with divine apertures opened, this disjointed feeling diminished significantly. He felt he could be even faster! The martial technique *Time* opened acupoints in the legs primarily for speed! Fast as the passing of time! Fast enough to shatter mountains and seas and suppress the sun and moon. "The Five Elements blood essence is gone... I can only slowly open the other divine apertures, or ask Xia Huyou if he has any more..." The Five Elements races were not numerous. Normally, killing a Wanshi of the Five Elements races yielded only ten drops of blood essence. Su Yu had consumed seventy drops in total—having used ten drops earlier—which was equivalent to indirectly killing seven Five Elements lives. Of course, Su Yu figured far more Mountain-Breaking Oxen had indirectly died by his hands. All in all, it was nearly a thousand drops—nearly a hundred Mountain-Breaking Oxen dead! He wondered if the Mountain-Breaking Ox race on the All-Heavens Battlefield was missing a hundred-ox unit directly under their command. "I also need to open some more acupoints to cultivate the *Soul Devour Art*." The Soul Devour Art required thirty-six acupoints, but many overlapped with ones he already had; after all, Su Yu had opened quite a few acupoints. Opening twelve more would allow him to use the Soul Devour Art. ... Before meeting Xia Huyou, Su Yu paid a visit to Shenghong Teahouse. Second floor. The usual spot. Hu Zongqi was waiting for Su Yu. When the door opened, Hu Zongqi smiled. "You're truly a household name in the academy now!" By now, it was the dead of night. The teahouse was already closed. Su Yu glanced toward the stairs, and Hu Zongqi laughed. "I bought this place out. The manager is a relative of my Hu family—a distant relative. Seeing how pitiful his situation was, I found him a job." Su Yu gave a slight nod and said, "That's good. I'm not afraid for myself, but I've offended a lot of people. If you get too close to me, it's easy to get dragged into trouble." Hu Zongqi smiled and nodded. He naturally understood this; otherwise, he wouldn't have bought out the teahouse. The two entered a private room. Su Yu didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point. "Did you hear some news? Why did you suddenly want to meet?" "Yeah." Hu Zongqi nodded and lowered his voice. "Several Elders from the Single Divine Character Faction have disappeared from the academy; only Principal Zhou is still around. It happened yesterday afternoon. Last night, Elder Li returned, seemingly injured." "Disappeared?" Su Yu was surprised. And someone was injured? What happened? This wasn't a battlefield; this was Great Xia Prefecture! Su Yu turned solemn. "What's the situation? Tell me the details." Hu Zongqi whispered, "I don't actually know the details, and even my second granduncle isn't too clear on it. More than just those few vanished; quite a few other Elders are missing as well. "The academy has forty-two Elders in total, thirty-six of whom are in the Shanhai Realm, not counting Principal Wan. Right now, eight have gone to the All-Heavens Battlefield... Counting Elder Hong, that's nine." Nine on the All-Heavens Battlefield—about a quarter, not too many. Hu Zongqi continued, "Of the remaining twenty-seven Shanhai Elders, eight are in seclusion. The Shanhai Elders truly active in the academy only number nineteen, or twenty if you include the principal!" Su Yu nodded again. Hu Zongqi gave a brief overview and soon added, "And yesterday, of those twenty Shanhai, at least six left at the same time! My second granduncle told me. I've been visiting him often lately, and because of your situation, I stayed around a bit longer." Six Shanhai leaving at the same time! Had something major happened? What major event? Did it have anything to do with him? Su Yu shook his head. He was overthinking. What could it have to do with him? Could so many Elders leaving be to wipe out the All-Races Sect? "Besides knowing they left, is there anything else?" Hu Zongqi thought for a moment before saying, "I really don't know the specifics. But when they left... no, when Elder Li came back injured, my second granduncle heard about it and suddenly said something: 'Why is that guy even coming back? It's going to be an eventful, turbulent time again...'" "Coming back?" Su Yu murmured. Who was coming back? Evidently, Hu Youhui knew something and knew the person he mentioned. Someone was coming back? Who? Before Su Yu could figure it out, Hu Zongqi continued, "It might be related to you guys, which is why I'm telling you." Su Yu looked at him, slightly puzzled. True enough—if it had nothing to do with him, Hu Zongqi wouldn't have sought him out to mention it. "Related to us? The Multiple Divine Characters Faction?" "Right!" Hu Zongqi nodded. "I probed around with my second granduncle, but he didn't say much. He just said there was no point bringing up people who were expelled. I thought about it—expelled... could it be related to those people from your Multiple Divine Characters Faction who were expelled fifty years ago?" Su Yu's expression changed slightly. Expelled! That word sounded far too familiar. Liu Wenyan! Su Yu frowned. Was he talking about Teacher Liu? That couldn't be; Teacher Liu had always been in Nanyuan and never mentioned coming back. However, when he called last night, the call hadn't gone through. At that thought, Su Yu's mind stirred. "Wait a moment!" With that, Su Yu took out his communication device and quickly dialed a number. After a long wait—it was already late at night—someone finally answered, sounding a bit annoyed. "Who is it?" "Uncle Chen!" Su Yu breathed a sigh of relief. As long as it connected. He quickly said, "Uncle Chen, it's me, Su Yu!" "Ah Yu!" On the other end, Chen Qinghe woke up completely. Surprised, he hurriedly asked, "Ah Yu, is something wrong?" In the middle of the night, Su Yu suddenly called. What happened? "Uncle Chen, earlier I tried calling my teacher, but it wouldn't go through. You're in Nanyuan—is my teacher all right?" "You mean Instructor Liu?" "Yes." "He's fine, doing well. But he hasn't been at the academy these past couple of days, has he?" Chen Qinghe wasn't entirely sure. He thought for a moment and said, "It seems he wasn't there. Yesterday, one of my subordinates told me Principal Wang drove his beat-up jalopy out of the city, and Instructor Liu seemed to be with him. I don't know if they left the city." "Left the city? Do you know where they went?" "I'm not sure about that. Maybe to Tianshui to purchase supplies?" Chen Qinghe smiled. "How about I ask around for you? I have friends over at the academy. I can check for you. Is it urgent?" "Then I'll trouble you, Uncle Chen!" "Don't mention it!" The call ended. In the middle of the night, Chen Qinghe thought about it and dialed a number to inquire. ... A few minutes later, Su Yu's communicator rang. "Ah Yu, I asked. Principal Wang and Instructor Liu both took leave—a long leave. Other instructors are covering their classes for now. It's not clear what they went to do." "I understand. Thank you, Uncle Chen. Sorry to trouble you!" "..." After exchanging a few polite words, Su Yu hung up. Teacher Liu was no longer in Nanyuan! Su Yu frowned. The Single Divine Character Faction's Elders had suddenly left, and someone had returned wounded. Clearly, a battle had taken place. Could it be... Surely not? Would these people be so bold as to make a move inside Great Xia Prefecture? Teacher Liu was merely a weakling who had just reached Tengkong. Would an Elder make a move against him personally? Would they? Pondering this, Su Yu barely kept his composure on the surface and said in a low voice, "Thank you! Zongqi, I really appreciate you passing this information to me!" "Don't mention it!" Hu Zongqi smiled. "It's the least I could do, as long as the information helps! Su Yu, don't be too anxious either. To be frank, with our strength... being anxious won't accomplish anything. If there really is trouble right now, staying in the academy is best. If you go outside, I worry you'll be in danger." Inside the academy, Wan Tiansheng was present, so nothing catastrophic could happen. Outside the academy, inside the city was relatively safe, but outside the city walls, anything went! "I understand!" Su Yu nodded slightly. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Help me look into Zhai Feng's situation, as well as Qiu Yun, who is ranked twenty-fourth..." In the Single Divine Character Faction, Zhou Mingren's lineage had four people on the Top 100 Rankings. Apart from Huang Qifeng, there were three others. Zhai Feng was previously ranked ninth and was the strongest, and the other was Qiu Yun; both were disciples of Zhou Pingsheng. There was one more, a disciple of Hu Wensheng and senior brother to Chen Qi, but he was very low-profile and rarely seen. "Them?" Hu Zongqi asked in surprise, "Su Yu, you... you haven't broken through to Wanshi, have you?" "No." Su Yu smiled and shook his head. "Just help me dig into their specifics. Sometimes outside information can't be trusted." He had no way to deal with matters outside the academy, nor could he control them. However... if something really had happened to Teacher Liu, he could make them look thoroughly disgraced inside the academy! Zhai Feng, ranked ninth, possessed combat power approaching Tengkong, so Su Yu was no match for him. But Qiu Yun, ranked twenty-fourth—that was another story! Once he opened a few more acupoints, utilized the Soul Devour Art, and factored in his many opened divine apertures, it wasn't impossible to beat her senseless! He didn't want to implicate anyone or vent his anger indiscriminately, but if the Single Divine Character Faction took the initiative to cause trouble, he wouldn't mind beating them until they learned their lesson! Inside the academy, he feared nothing. With that thought, Su Yu suddenly said, "Could you also check if any disciples of the other Elders are on the Top 100 Rankings? Sorry to trouble you. Some of my previous information is outdated, and I'm not up to date right now." "That's easy!" Hu Zongqi nodded, feeling a quiet shock. Su Yu, who had enrolled at the same time as him, was actually setting his sights on students in the top thirty now. It was truly terrifying! His progress was simply too fast! Su Yu also turned his attention to him and asked, "Have you cultivated the Yuan-Purifying Art?" "I have!" Hu Zongqi nodded, but quickly added, "As a secondary art. My main cultivation is still the War God Art. I went into the mystic realm once before and broke through to Qianjun. Right now, I've only opened eighteen acupoints, though I did open a few for the Yuan-Purifying Art..." Opening eighteen acupoints meant he hadn't even reached the second level of Qianjun. He was quite weak. However, for a freshman who had been enrolled for less than three months, that was already very impressive. Not everyone entered the academy already at Qianjun, nor was everyone Su Yu. "Your acupoint opening is too slow..." Su Yu commented, leaving Hu Zongqi somewhat embarrassed. Su Yu had no intention of putting him down. After thinking about it, he said, "In our circle, even if we can't be super strong, we can't be too weak either! If you're too weak, no one will take you seriously, and you won't be able to enter higher circles or gather important information. You can't rely on your second granduncle forever." Hu Zongqi said sheepishly, "I... I just open acupoints slowly..." "That's fine." Su Yu pondered for a moment before saying, "Once you learn the Yuan-Purifying Art, you can cleanse your acupoints. So in the early stages, frantically devouring blood essence to cultivate isn't a problem! Unlike others, where devouring too much blood essence destabilizes their foundation, you can consume blood essence and pills freely. Taking a lot won't hurt—don't forget what the Yuan-Purifying Art does!" Hu Zongqi nodded, too embarrassed to mention that this required money, and the cost was enormous. "Tomorrow or the day after, I'll challenge the Top 100 Rankings. Just go to Xia Huyou and bet on my victory! For every match I challenge, you bet on it—bet as much as you have! If you believe in me, then bet..." Hu Zongqi said with a bitter smile, "I do believe in you, but everyone else knows how formidable you are too. A betting pool won't take off!" "That's for the earlier matches. Tell me, if I challenge Qiu Yun, could a betting pool take off?" "Yes!" This time Hu Zongqi nodded, growing a little excited. "How confident are you?" "Do you believe in me?" "I do!" Hu Zongqi nodded, then chuckled. "Then I won't ask how confident you are. Just be careful. Over at the academy, from what I've heard my second granduncle say, things are definitely going to get chaotic soon. Not overwhelmingly chaotic, of course, but unrest is guaranteed. At a time like this, without strength, you truly have no right to speak." "Yeah. If you win merit points, exchange them for blood essence and pills, then enter the Yuan Qi Mystic Realm to cultivate..." "I can't get in!" Hu Zongqi gave a wry smile. "I only got one chance because I was admitted with High-Medium evaluation. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to enter—I don't have enough accumulated merit points." "..." Su Yu wanted to grumble, but let it go. He had forgotten about that. Indeed, few freshmen could enter. "Mystic realms..." Su Yu rubbed his chin. The Yuan Qi Mystic Realm was crucial—at least for students who hadn't reached Tengkong, it was extraordinarily important! Cultivating inside the mystic realm was ten times faster than outside! Even when consuming blood essence, there were bottlenecks and limits outside. Only inside the mystic realm could one devour and cultivate with complete abandon. "I'll think of a way!" Su Yu said in a low voice, "Let's see if I can get you in to cultivate without needing accumulated merit points." "Su Yu, that..." Hu Zongqi said uneasily, "Can that really work?" "I'll give it a try!" Su Yu wasn't certain either, but trying wouldn't hurt. If it really worked, it would also show Hu Zongqi that his abilities and influence were substantial! ... Without conversing further with Hu Zongqi, Su Yu soon walked downstairs. Seeing the elderly manager guarding the entrance, he smiled and nodded. Seeing how gentle Su Yu was, the elderly manager felt a tremor in his heart. Once Hu Zongqi came downstairs as well, the manager whispered, "Second Young Master, that gentleman... really carries the air of a big shot!" Hu Zongqi laughed wryly. "Uncle San, stop calling me 'Young Master,' it sounds terrible! As for him... you're right. As long as he makes it through, he'll be a true big shot! That strength of his... sigh!" He could hardly believe it! Every day was completely different! It had only been a few days, and he was already planning to challenge Qiu Yun, who was ranked twenty-fourth? It was truly terrifying! "Uncle San... do something for me." "Second Young Master, please speak..." "I told you not to—forget it!" Hu Zongqi dropped it and spoke rapidly: "Find someone to sell off all my properties in Tianshui. Tell my mom her son got into trouble outside and needs money to settle it. Tell her not to hoard her savings anymore and lend them to me first..." "Second Young Master, this..." Hu Zongqi exhaled. "I have to take a gamble! Uncle San, at home, I was just a playboy! It couldn't be helped—my brother is capable, a genius. What about me? I'm decent enough, High-Medium evaluation, entered the Civilization Academy. But once here, what do I amount to? A piece of trash! "If I don't seize the opportunity, what will I do? Muddle along for a few decades, reach Tengkong, and then return to Tianshui to take up an official post? How boring is that!" Hu Zongqi chuckled. "Pour money into boosting my strength first. As for the future... if I end up failing, there won't be a future anyway. If I succeed, I won't be lacking money later!" "Understood!" The old man nodded, whispering, "Second Young Master is actually very talented. You've already reached Qianjun..." Hu Zongqi didn't even want to respond. Qianjun? What did that amount to? Sure, in under three months, he reached Qianjun, and the second level wasn't far off. But... try comparing that to Su Yu! He couldn't even see the tail end of the Top 100 Rankings! Out of so many geniuses, Su Yu hadn't approached anyone else; he had approached him... He knew Su Yu had his own considerations and secrets, knowing that if someone was too strong or had too influential a background, Su Yu wouldn't be able to keep them in check. He understood all of that. The crucial point was that even if he was weak, he couldn't be too weak. Otherwise, if Su Yu advanced too quickly, he would deem Hu Zongqi worthless. Didn't Su Yu remain quiet when he admitted he was only at the first level of Qianjun? Hu Zongqi gritted his teeth. He couldn't let go of this powerful backer. His second granduncle wasn't his actual grandfather; could he rely on him for a lifetime? No matter how difficult things were for Su Yu's side, they still had an eighth-tier Shanhai backing them up! Just the Yuan-Purifying Art alone was an extraordinary treasure to him. If word of it got out, it would be an incredible treasure too. Purifying yuan qi—aside from top aristocratic families, how many possessed such a thing? ... Su Yu paid no mind to Hu Zongqi's thoughts. Whether Hu Zongqi could keep up with him didn't really matter; being able to leverage his help right now was enough. For instance, information channels—things Su Yu didn't know would naturally be brought to him. "I need to rope in more people!" His circle was still too small. Once he could pull in people with access to higher circles, he could keep his channels open, know more, and better understand the wider situation. ... Half an hour later. Yangxing Garden, by a rockery. In pitch darkness, Lin Yao asked curiously, "Brother Su, why did we come here in the dead of night?" Then, looking somewhat excited, he added, "Brother Su, my teacher's status went up! Because of that, my senior brother and I benefited as well—we get an extra thirty merit points in rewards each month!" Su Yu froze for a moment. His status went up? Give me a break! After how badly I screwed Liu Hong over, he was actually fine? Thinking about it, all he could say was that Liu Hong was truly cunning; he probably dumped the blame onto Zhou Pingsheng. Without dwelling on it, Su Yu smiled and said, "Congratulations! This was all within our expectations, including that Elder being heavily injured... Heh, if he hadn't been heavily injured, how could Teacher Liu have gotten the chance to showcase himself? Handling the aftermath of the Top 100 Rankings earlier was also meant to create an opportunity for Teacher Liu!" "I guessed as much!" Lin Yao was a bit excited. "I guessed that you and Teacher were just putting on a show, intentionally acting like enemies and speaking ill of Teacher just so the head of the academy would trust Teacher more! I guessed it all!" Good for you! Damn it, I just made that up on the spot, and you actually claimed you guessed it. Lin Yao, that brain of yours... is truly nimble. "Right now, Teacher Liu and I can't be too close..." Su Yu said, then spoke solemnly: "By the way, your grandfather is also an expert of the Single Divine Character Faction. With Elder Zheng heavily injured... will that affect your grandfather...?" "No problem!" Lin Yao said dismissively, "We aren't in the same clique as them! We belong to Elder Fang's faction. Principal Zhou's group has always been used to being overbearing... Of course, my grandfather's relationship with Principal Zhou is decent enough, but he doesn't really take sides; he just muddles through." "That's good, so as not to damage harmony." Su Yu smiled and nodded, whispering, "Brother Lin, to be honest, Teacher Liu and I, along with many others, want to change certain things! But our strength isn't sufficient yet, so we can only act in secret! Brother Lin, you're Teacher Liu's student, and we've gotten to know each other through battle. I acknowledge your character... But tell me, if one day we decide to overturn certain existing structures, will you still stand firmly on our side?" Lin Yao frowned slightly and said in a low voice, "Brother Su, you aren't planning to overthrow the entire Single Divine Character Faction, are you?" "That's out of the question; we don't have that kind of strength." Lin Yao pondered for a while, thought it through, and said, "I'm not completely selfless either. As long as it doesn't harm my grandfather, it doesn't have much to do with me. If Teacher wins and you win, frankly speaking, whatever happens to the others has nothing to do with me!" Su Yu smiled, nodded, and lowered his voice. "Then I now officially invite you to join the Mutual Aid Society! Don't ask how many members there are, don't ask who is in it. Your only contact is me; everything else is confidential!" With that, he briefly explained the situation of the Mutual Aid Society. Lin Yao asked excitedly, "Mutual Aid Society... Is... is Teacher also a member?" "I told you, don't ask who is in it, and don't ask how many!" Su Yu said sternly, "Right now, it's just a small circle. It cannot be leaked, nor can it be made public! That includes Teacher Liu—do not ask him if he's a member of the Mutual Aid Society, and he won't know you joined either! "No information from the Mutual Aid Society may be leaked. Otherwise, you'll be kicked out!" Lin Yao hurriedly nodded and whispered, "Understood! Then what can I do?" "Pass information, gather intelligence. Isn't your grandfather a Lingyun Realm expert? He also has a good relationship with Principal Zhou, so I believe he knows a lot. Whatever you feel can be disclosed, tell me. If it can't be disclosed, forget it." With that, Su Yu added, "Of course, nothing is free of charge! In the Mutual Aid Society, we believe in fair and equitable exchange. Whatever intelligence you bring, we'll have someone evaluate its worth, and in the end, you can exchange it for things you want." "Things I want?" Lin Yao hesitated. "My cultivation resources are sufficient for now..." Su Yu shook his head. "Brother Lin, you're satisfied too easily! Where did that overbearing attitude go when you demanded Mountain-Breaking Ox blood essence from me before? Weren't you aiming for the Top 100 Rankings? What now? Are you just giving up that easily? So many people in our class made it onto the Top 100 Rankings, and you don't care at all?" Lin Yao was slightly taken aback. "I feel like ever since you made peace with me, you seem to have lost your fighting spirit. If I had known, it would have been better if you stayed my enemy! Brother Lin, don't forget: you're from the Single Divine Character Faction, and I'm from the Multiple Divine Characters Faction. From now on, you and I are still enemies, rivals! Wishing you could flay me alive—that is the real Lin Yao!" Lin Yao's expression turned solemn. He pondered for a moment, nodded, and said earnestly, "I stand corrected! I got a little carried away, thinking that since Brother Su wasn't an enemy, what was the point of competing... Now... I know I was wrong!" "That's the spirit!" Su Yu whispered, "We have plenty of good things: arts to purify yuan qi, including the Soul Devour Art I mentioned earlier, blood essence with innate skills, even arts to strengthen the physical body, various characters of willpower... countless things! How could there be nothing you need? Only our own people have the chance to obtain all of this!" Lin Yao swallowed and asked softly, "Can these things be passed on?" "Why not? They were created and researched by our own people, not obtained through outside channels!" Created by their own people! Lin Yao was shocked. Just how many people had joined this Mutual Aid Society? And how many experts were in it? The Multiple Divine Characters Faction probably had quite a few, and there should be some from the Single Divine Character Faction as well. What about other factions? Lin Yao was stunned. Nine times out of ten, his teacher had joined it! There were probably others who had joined as well, like... that Xia Huyou from the Xia family? He felt he had joined an extraordinary organization! Perhaps hidden within the academy was an astounding faction that even the principal didn't know about! Thinking about it, he felt quite thrilled. Su Yu suddenly dealt him a blow: "Brother Lin, your strength is too weak! You entered the Qianjun Realm on September first, and right now you're only at the second level of Qianjun, not even the third. This won't do!" "Well..." Lin Yao felt sheepish. That was already very fast, wasn't it? "The Mutual Aid Society has an art called the *Yuan-Purifying Art*, specifically designed to purge impurities from acupoints. I've used it myself. You've seen my condition and know how strong I am. Once you master this, you can devour massive amounts of blood essence and pills to advance, then purge the impurities. It'll make your cultivation speed skyrocket—without hindering your breakthrough to Wanshi!" Lin Yao's eyes lit up. "The kind you used?" "Yes!" "How many merit points to exchange for it?" "Not merit points—internal mutual aid points. They work like merit points, but you have to make contributions to earn mutual aid points..." As Su Yu spoke, he paused for a second. *Damn it, why does this feel a bit like I'm running an All-Races Sect cult?* He quickly brushed the thought aside. He wasn't working against humanity; it was just for self-preservation. Who cared? "Just ten mutual aid points. For insiders, these basic arts aren't expensive, whereas we wouldn't sell them outside even for a thousand merit points!" "Just ten points?" Lin Yao was dumbfounded. This Mutual Aid Society... was freaking amazing! No wonder Su Yu progressed so quickly. This was way too cheap! "Then... can just any information be exchanged for mutual aid points?" Lin Yao grew anxious and hurriedly said, "I know a piece of news, but I don't know if it can be exchanged for mutual aid points." "Tell me about it." "It's like this. A few months ago, the Heavenly Archer Cult launched an attack on Great Xia Prefecture, and their cult master was slain by the prefectural governor! The high-ranking members of the Heavenly Archer Cult were wiped out in one fell swoop, but nobody found their treasury. I heard my grandfather say that the Longwu Guards searched for it before, but found nothing." Lin Yao rapidly continued, "Then my grandfather said there's actually still hope of finding it—the prefectural governor just disdained searching for it. The cult master's corpse was dumped into the All-Races Pit. My grandfather said that by extracting a drop of blood essence and finding an expert capable of dissecting the memory imprint within the blood essence, one might be able to view those memories... Of course, very few experts can dissect that, and those truly capable wouldn't care about such things..." Lin Yao asked nervously, "Can this be exchanged for mutual aid points? I feel it might not be very useful, but since it involves big shots, maybe the big shots in the society would be interested?" Su Yu was caught off guard. There was such a thing? Besides, did this guy Lin Yao really think there were big shots in the Mutual Aid Society? "Uh... is extracting memory imprints really that difficult?" He was a bit surprised. Was it hard? Bai Feng knew how! And he was learning it himself! "Very difficult!" Lin Yao nodded. "My grandfather said there are very few experts who excel at dissecting memory imprints. Even the prefectural governor isn't skilled in it, or he would have done it long ago. A few of our academy principals might know how, but they'd be embarrassed to run over there, steal the corpse, and extract the blood essence..." Embarrassed? Su Yu muttered inwardly. Principal Wan always seemed pretty shameless—would he feel embarrassed? He probably had some reservations. After all, extracting human blood essence—even from members of the All-Races Sect—wasn't something one could do openly. Of course, if Xia Longwu knew how, he wouldn't have had such reservations. "I understand. I'll have someone evaluate this intelligence. If it's useful, the mutual aid points definitely won't be lacking. I think exchanging it for a copy of the Yuan-Purifying Art shouldn't be a problem. Of course, even if you exchange for it, it cannot be leaked or made known to anyone else, understand?" "Don't worry, I understand!" Lin Yao nodded solemnly. How could he not understand? Techniques could not be lightly transmitted! If you carelessly spread cultivation techniques created by big shots, people would die. That sort of thing had happened far too many times. ... Having handled Lin Yao and obtained a piece of news of uncertain value, Su Yu exhaled a long breath. The Mutual Aid Society now had three people. Not bad! All were upper-tier geniuses. Even Hu Zongqi had a High-Medium evaluation, which was honestly not weak—it was just somewhat weak compared to Su Yu. "Teacher Liu..." Unable to reach Liu Wenyan, and with the Single Divine Character Faction possibly targeting him, Su Yu cursed inwardly. He didn't know whether he should tell Martial Uncle and Teacher. Martial Uncle hadn't reached Shanhai after all, and he still had to guard the Archive. If he left... sigh! Their strength was just too weak! Martial Uncle hadn't even reached Shanhai—what a shame. "What does it take to go from Lingyun to Shanhai? Cultivation techniques or something else? If nothing else works, I can provide some techniques!" Su Yu lacked many things, but he did not lack cultivation techniques—especially techniques suitable for humans to cultivate. He really had plenty of those. All in all, he had opened over eighty pages of the booklet. Martial Uncle seemed to have been stuck at Lingyun for quite a few years; who knew what the exact situation was? If he stepped into Shanhai, the Multiple Divine Characters Faction's strength would be much greater. Becoming an Elder would at least give him significant influence within the academy. "And Teacher Zhao..." Su Yu exhaled again and continued running around without pause. First, go see Xia Huyou. By the time he finished, dawn would almost be breaking. Tomorrow would be the eighth, time to go visit Teacher Zhao. If possible, have him strike him with the hammer several dozen more times. Along the way, he could ask whether Teacher Zhao could open a back door to let him into the Yuan Qi Mystic Realm. Teacher Zhao's father had left behind that Yuan Qi Mystic Realm—could there really be no privileges? Privileges not used became void upon expiration! Su Yu thought with a tinge of regret: perhaps... I can discuss it with Teacher. Since the Multiple Divine Characters Faction has been disbanded anyway, what if I just become Teacher Zhao's apprentice? Of course, I could still study the Multiple Divine Characters Faction on the side. We're still family, no need to get angry; whatever benefits I get, I can share some with you. That way, the Yuan Qi Mystic Realm would belong to our family! How wonderful would that be!