All Born Troublemakers

The hammer pounded against his willpower, compressing and purifying it. His willpower, originally at seventy percent fullness, gradually shrank a bit, but Su Yu did not feel it weakening; instead, it was becoming increasingly resilient. Bearing six divine characters posed no strain either, feeling even easier than before. The apertures required for the Soul Devour Art were also being opened, one after another in rapid succession. The Soul Devour Art only required opening thirty-six apertures in total. Because Su Yu had already opened so many, the overlap was extremely high. At this point, he only needed to open fifteen more apertures. With one hundred drops of late Wanshi Mountain-Breaking Ox blood essence, roughly two drops were enough to burst open a single aperture. The progress was blistering! In the blink of an eye, fifteen apertures opened. With that, Su Yu had opened 168 apertures. Once the thirty-six apertures belonging to the Soul Devour Art were successfully linked, the yuanqi within them underwent a sudden shift in the next moment—from its former placidity, it seemed to ignite in the blink of an eye! Guiding this ignited yuanqi with his willpower, Su Yu caused it to latch onto the perimeter of his willpower in an instant, taking the form of a black flame. Burning and corroding! This was the Soul Devour Art! The yuanqi within the thirty-six apertures was completely exhausted, but Su Yu did not mind. After a moment's thought, he manifested his cultural weapon. Channeling his willpower into it, a wisp of black flame invisible to others coated the cultural weapon as well. "Soul Devour Art!" Su Yu's eyes flickered. It actually had not harmed his own willpower. Did this thing distinguish friend from foe? Could his own yuanqi not burn his own willpower? Pondering this, Su Yu decided to test it. Just now, he had exerted conscious control. Now, controlling his apertures, he allowed the black flame formed of mutated yuanqi to lightly brush against his own willpower. "Ah!" A sharp cry of pain escaped his lips! Clutching his head, Su Yu let out a miserable shriek. He was no stranger to hardship and had endured great agony before. Yet right now, he felt an excruciating wave of torment! Agony beyond compare! It felt as if a fire were incinerating his very brain! "This..." Su Yu was shaken. It seemed even more potent than when he had activated it using blood essence last time. *Could it be related to my yuanqi?* He had opened many apertures, and his yuanqi was purer and of higher quality—far superior to the meager energy contained in blood essence. Though still in the Qianjun Realm, the yuanqi of all thirty-six apertures had undergone mutation, making it scarcely inferior to that of an ordinary ninth-layer Qianjun. Now that it had entirely transformed into black flame, its power was even greater! That single scorch felt more agonizing than being slain in his dreams, nearly on par with being struck by Zhao Li's hammer. "That hurts!" Lingering fear seized Su Yu. If anyone got burned by this, would they really still have the will to fight? Taking a deep breath, Su Yu tested it again, coating the small hammer with a layer of black flame. He struck out with the hammer! The hammer could shift between ethereal and solid. Slamming out intangibly, it caused barely any ripples of yuanqi, though the drain on Su Yu's willpower was considerable. "I wonder how effective it'll be against others." This counted as a trump card! Scorching the opponent's willpower, closing in instantly, and unleashing Mountain-Sea Shatterer—a single kick would likely be enough to finish them off! "I've opened 168 apertures, and my yuanqi is terrifically profound. But these 168 apertures haven't formed a complete system yet—not unless all the apertures merge into one someday!" Merging all apertures into one was probably exclusive to the Shanhai Realm. According to Martial Uncle, one would merge apertures again only upon reaching Shanhai. With Mountain-Breaking Ox blood essence still left over, Su Yu pondered whether to open the apertures for the second level of Time or to open apertures for another art. For instance, the Yuan-Purifying Art, so he would not have to use Brightlight Bird blood essence every time to cleanse his apertures. "Even if I learn the second level of Time, I might not be able to execute it. Better to open the apertures for the Yuan-Purifying Art first, avoiding the need for blood essence every time. Besides, it doesn't require opening many apertures." It was also a thirty-six-aperture technique with a high degree of overlap. He only needed to open twelve more. Once they were successfully opened, Su Yu would have opened a grand total of 180 apertures. Su Yu had also noticed that the more apertures he opened, the higher the overlap became, and the fewer new apertures subsequent techniques required. For instance, the Yuan-Purifying Art now only needed twelve new apertures, with a full twenty-four already overlapping. A thought arose in his mind once more: Just how many apertures did the human body have to open? If every single one were opened, could they ultimately achieve a state where all apertures unified into one? *** While Su Yu was cultivating, time quietly slipped by. In the secondary city district, at the rear mountain of the Great Xia Prefecture 18th Middle School. A lone grave stood at the foot of the mountain, looking desolate and lonely. In front of the grave, Liu Wenyan showed little overt sorrow, only a faint weariness and melancholy. Zhang Ruoling had once been a proud figure, boasting that he would trample Shanhai beneath his feet, shatter the Sun and Moon, and step into the Invincible Realm. Yet today, he lay buried here with merely the strength of the Character Cultivation Realm. Had Zhou Mingren not claimed he would dig up this grave, how many people would even remember him? "Ruoling... rest well." Sighing with emotion, Liu Wenyan poured out a cup of unrefined wine. *Nine years ago, I couldn't come send you off. I hope you don't mind. People of our generation don't need to dwell on such trivialities anyway.* Liu Wenyan had already stayed here for several hours and said all there was to say. By now, pulses of willpower were surfacing all around. Looking in all directions, Liu Wenyan said slowly, "The man is dead. Must you really go this far? Who among us won't have their day to die? If Ruoling had willingly left behind his divine character, that would be one thing. But since he didn't, does that mean his grave should be dug up? Everyone, ask yourselves: when you die, if someone thinks your bones could be forged into weapons and your blood condensed into blood essence, should your graves be unearthed as well?" "Even when taking a life, there is a line one doesn't cross. Even if it were a scoundrel from the All-Races Sect, death ends it all—are you going to devour their corpse as well?" Liu Wenyan said softly, "We haven't meddled in these matters for decades. Why must you push us?" At this moment, someone said faintly, "Digging up a grave is indeed improper. Even as a fellow member of the Single Divine Character Faction, this old man must say that the grave should not be desecrated! Zhou Mingren's conduct is beneath his status and invites rightful censure!" Liu Wenyan smiled. "Is that Elder Tang of Jiutian?" "It is I!" From the darkness, the old man replied faintly, "The internal affairs of the Great Xia Civilization Academy shouldn't involve us. Digging up Zhang Ruoling's grave was merely Zhou Mingren's own proposal. In coming here, this old man harbors no intention of targeting anyone. But now that you, Liu Wenyan, have returned, I have come merely to ask you a single question!" "Elder Tang, speak your mind." "Back then, was the so-called research data on ascending to the Invincible Realm real or fake? Of course, you, Liu Wenyan, were crippled and showed no sign of reaching Invincible, so I am more inclined to believe it was fake—that it never existed, or that you failed to discover it. However, back then, many died reinforcing the Fifth Generation, including several experts from the Single Divine Character Faction and experts from my Jiutian Academy. Before the Fifth Generation departed, he vowed with absolute certainty that he could prove his Dao and reach the Invincible Realm. In the end, he failed, costing numerous lives in the process..." Pausing, Elder Tang said faintly, "Whether it was real or fake, an explanation must be given! If there is no research data, could the Fifth Generation's divine character at least be shown to us? Our predecessors cannot have died in vain—all because of the Fifth Generation's lie!" Liu Wenyan chuckled. "Understood. In the end, it's still about the divine character. You also believe that if one truly wants to advance to the Invincible Realm, the key lies in the divine character, correct?" "Correct!" Elder Tang made no attempt to conceal it, speaking bluntly: "All these years, everyone has been waiting for a miracle! Some of us even held out hope that you would succeed. But you didn't. Since you've researched it for fifty years without making any headway, Liu Wenyan, why be so selfish as to hoard it for yourself and deny anyone else a chance?" With that, his tone rose: "There is nothing wrong with passing down what the Fifth Generation left behind to you! But let me ask you: do those who died in battle for the Fifth Generation's sake have no right whatsoever to share in it?" Liu Wenyan seemed somewhat at a loss for words and sighed, "They have the right." "Back then, my senior brother defied all objections to follow the Fifth Generation and fell in battle on the All-Heavens Battlefield. Do I, Tang Yunfei, have the right to view the divine character left by the Fifth Generation?" "Well..." "Liu Wenyan, stop making excuses!" Elder Tang's voice turned cold. "You are already capable of manifesting your divine characters. You are no longer who you were back then!" Liu Wenyan gave a wry smile. "Honestly, sigh... I wondered why no one came to my aid back in Nanyuan, forcing me into the Tengkong Realm. So this was waiting for me all along." Not far away, Wu Yuehua sneered, "Those people certainly picked the perfect moment. Neither too early nor too late. He Qi and the rest of us were either away on business or in secluded cultivation. It just so happened that during those few days, Nanyuan was attacked! And that useless trash Bai Feng traveled so slowly—what good was rushing over after the fact?!" Elder Tang murmured, "Are you implying that we colluded with the All-Races Sect? Everyone, you overestimate us! Sacrificing several Sun-Moon experts just to force Liu Wenyan to manifest his divine characters? It was heaven's mandate, fate itself, that ordained Liu Wenyan would manifest at that time! Even the heavens could no longer tolerate it. In the past, he claimed he couldn't manifest them, that the divine character was locked within and couldn't be extracted. What about today? Still using that excuse?" Fifty years ago, Liu Wenyan had integrated the divine character into his sea of will, only to fail. Instead of growing stronger, he had ended up gravely wounded and on the verge of death. Later, when people approached him demanding the divine character to study it, Liu Wenyan claimed he hadn't manifested his willpower, making it impossible to bring the divine character forth. Fifty years later, Liu Wenyan had finally succeeded in manifesting it! A full fifty years! Forcing him to return to the Great Xia Prefecture had also happened only after his manifestation. Wu Yuehua and the others couldn't help but suspect: was Liu Wenyan's manifestation that day truly an accident or just a coincidence? Yet, just as Tang Yunfei said, that day had involved several Sun-Moon experts from the Skywing God Sect and the Skywing God race, all slain in the Great Xia Prefecture by Xia Longwu! Who could command multiple Sun-Moon experts to risk their lives entering the Great Xia Prefecture merely to force Liu Wenyan to manifest? Perhaps... it really was a coincidence? Liu Wenyan did not care about that and said helplessly, "Elder Tang, you actually hit the nail on the head. Manifesting my willpower is fine, but the divine character... I can't! Truly, I can't. In my sea of will, my divine characters are an utter mess, all encircling that single divine character and confined. Even if I wanted to manifest it, I couldn't..." "Heh..." A sneer sounded! The same excuse again! "Then should we wait until you reach the Invincible Realm before having you try manifesting it?" "That works!" Liu Wenyan laughed. "Why don't you all wait a bit longer? I'm being serious—perhaps only upon reaching Invincible can it truly be manifested!" "Bullshit! Liu Wenyan, you were once considered an outstanding hero, but now you spout sheer nonsense and have abandoned the last shred of your dignity. Fifty years ago, not only was your body crippled, but your heart was crippled as well!" The words had barely fallen when a massive cauldron crashed out with a thunderous boom! Tang Yunfei had been prepared. He thrust out his sword, and with a resounding crash, deflected the cauldron. "Wu Yuehua..." Before he could finish, his expression twisted drastically! His face instantly turned pitch-black! Flesh rotted, divine characters shuddered, and the clothes on his body burned to ashes in an instant. Plumes of black and green smoke billowed from him. Suddenly, whooshing sounds erupted from all directions as expert after expert shot away, fleeing the area. Wu Yuehua said nothing, recalling her cauldron with a soft huff! *This old woman is from the Divine Dan Faction! You dare clash with me over techniques? Keep clashing, and I'll poison you turtles' grandsons to death!* In the darkness, Tang Yunfei's face was soot-black. Letting out a low grunt, a gleam of white light shimmered across his body. Gradually, the black receded, and his rotting flesh slowly healed. Face somewhat pale, he said in a low voice, "Liu Wenyan, is this your answer to us?" Liu Wenyan wore a helpless look. "I truly can't manifest it. If you don't believe me, what do you want me to do? You'd have to kill me and see if you can strip it from my sea of will. Otherwise... my hands are tied." With that, Liu Wenyan smiled. "How about this: get Zhou Mingren to drop his designs on Ruoling. I'll relocate Ruoling's grave to Nanyuan, and I'll go back to staying in Nanyuan. When the day comes that I can manifest it, I'll let you all take a look..." Liu Wenyan sighed softly. "I hold great reverence for those who died following my master back then. If their descendants truly want to see my master's divine character, I'm willing to let them. But I, Liu Wenyan, do not lie: it truly is impossible right now. Otherwise, I would have shown it to you long ago, if only to stop that person from the Great Zhou Prefecture from constantly watching me..." Liu Wenyan shrugged. "You have to blame the Great Xia King for this. Back then, when he brought back my master's divine character, he handed it directly to me without a second word, saying it would shatter if it wasn't integrated immediately. I had no other choice at the time, so I absorbed it into my sea of will right away... But I don't feel like killing myself just so you can take a look. Isn't that how we ended up at this stalemate?" "The Great Xia King actually saw it back then. Why don't you all go ask him?" "You... humph!" Tang Yunfei snorted coldly, thoroughly displeased. Ask the Great Xia King? Ask his ass! In his view, Liu Wenyan simply did not want to show it to them. At this moment, He Qi chimed in quizzically, "Tang Yunfei, back then you severed all ties with your senior brother. Where do you get off claiming the right to view this divine character? By your logic, everyone in the world has the right to see it. Why don't you bring out all your divine characters for everyone to inspect?" Liu Wenyan pressed a hand down, scolding, "He Qi, where are your manners? Elder Tang is a senior, an elder of our martial uncle's generation. Severing ties with Martial Uncle Cao was his private family matter—how can we say he has no right to see it? He has every right! Even so, Elder Tang, there is a question stuck in my throat like a fishbone, and I must speak it. Tell me, after Martial Uncle Cao died, how could you drive his descendants out of Jiutian Academy and seize so much of his property? That hardly seems appropriate." Tang Yunfei said coldly, "Nonsense! In life, Senior Brother followed the Fifth Generation and offended a great many people. After his death, to avoid being oppressed, his descendants specially sought me out to resolve the dispute on their behalf. The belongings Senior Brother left behind were given away by me to various parties. How could someone who relies on hearsay like you possibly understand?" Liu Wenyan smiled and nodded. "Then consider it my mistake for not knowing the facts! Oh, right, wasn't Jin Yuhui, the head of your Jiutian Academy, originally an expert of the Single Divine Character Dao? Why is the outside world now claiming that your academy head is one of the founders of the divine character fusion path? I'd really like to know: how did the Multiple Divine Characters Dao in your academy vanish, and where did the divine character battle technique wall go?" Tang Yunfei said indifferently, "Is divine character fusion exclusive to the Multiple Divine Characters Faction?" "Actually, yes, it really was!" Liu Wenyan chuckled. "Fifty years ago, it was always our exclusive domain. The only reason your Single Divine Character Dao learned how to do it was because my junior brother's Wen Tan Research Center pioneered the fusion department, giving your Single Divine Character Dao the opportunity to fuse and establish your own systemic theory. Are you going to deny that now?" Tang Yunfei scoffed, "Was Hong Tan the only one researching the fusion system?" "Refusing to admit it, then?" Liu Wenyan sighed helplessly. "Whatever. There's no point arguing endlessly with a pack of scoundrels! Why must your Jiutian Academy insist on meddling in this? Do you really think that bringing us down will make Jiutian number one in the Great Xia Prefecture? Defeat Wan Tiansheng first before talking about being number one." Liu Wenyan could not be bothered to pay him any more heed and said with a smile, "If anyone else keeps babbling, beat them to death. I'll chat with Ruoling a bit and wait for Zhou Mingren to arrive. Honestly, that old bastard doesn't do human things. At his ripe old age, he insists on doing things that would curse his sons to be born without an asshole. Does Zhou Mingren have a son?" "No." "Childless and heirless!" Liu Wenyan remarked with deep feeling. "It's fine for bachelors like us, but I recall he has a wife. And even then, no son? Forget it, forget it—it truly is karmic retribution!" "..." No one took the bait. The present Liu Wenyan had only grown increasingly shameless. *** Just as they were talking, a conflict broke out along the perimeter! "What are you doing? Why are you blocking me?" "I'm here to see my martial uncle, and you're blocking me?" "Is this road owned by your family?" "What's the meaning of this? A good dog doesn't block the way—piss off, hurry up!" Bai Feng's scolding rang out, loaded with rage and impatience. Glaring at the two fellows blocking his path, he snapped, "I'm warning you, don't get in my way! When I get mad, I scare even myself!" "We Civilization Masters abide by rules. Whatever we do, we mind our image! I'm telling you, don't force me to lose my composure!" The two blocking the road were a man and a woman—one at the ninth layer of Tengkong, the other at the second layer of Lingyun. Right now, both looked at Bai Feng with ill-intentioned glares. "Bai Feng, this isn't a place for you to throw your weight around!" The man was in the Lingyun Realm. Looking at Bai Feng with icy eyes, he said, "Are you sure you want to meddle? Hiding in the academy is far better than coming here to die!" Bai Feng paused, looking at them uncertainly. "You... you're actually planning to kill people?" He glanced around, looking astonished. "This is the Great Xia Prefecture, and you want to kill people?" Turning in all directions, he yelled, "Is there no law anymore?! Where are the Xia family people? Did they all die off? No one cares about this? They just said they want to kill me!" From the distance, someone said coldly, "Bai Feng, do you want the Longwu Guards to strike you? This place has already been designated a combat zone. Do as you please; we have no interest in babysitting you. Destroy a plot of land: 1,000 merit points. Kill a Tengkong: slay 10 enemies on the battlefield to atone!" It was that simple! If you want to fight, go play amongst yourselves. The Xia family will not interfere. Bai Feng hastily grinned. "Misunderstanding, complete misunderstanding! I thought the Xia family could no longer govern the Great Xia Prefecture. My apologies, my apologies! My mouth ran away with me, I'll watch it next time, I wouldn't dare do it again! Please don't take it to heart..." The Longwu Guards were speechless. This guy... forget it, not worth bothering with him. For a first offense, forgiven! Bai Feng straightened his robes, set down the instruments and equipment he had been carrying on his back, and looked at the two before him. He said gently, "Let me through. I'll live and die together with my martial uncle—how about that? Stop blocking the path. What's the point?" The man ignored him, his eyes flickering toward the items on the ground. "Bai Feng, as your senior, I advise you to go back and quietly do your research. Could this be..." He stared at the bundle. Could this be the research data and apparatus for the Soul Devour Art? Or data and equipment for innate blood essence? What was Bai Feng doing bringing these things here? Bai Feng said warily, "What are you doing? I already said I'm here to live and die with my martial uncle. Are you trying to surround them? What's the point? If things really escalate, no one will look good. You two are just a Tengkong and a Lingyun, basically errand runners here. Why get so involved..." The man paid him no heed, reaching out a hand to grab the bundle! Bai Feng looked dumbfounded. "Robbing me?!" Without paying attention to the bundle, he looked back toward the Longwu Guards and shouted, "Even robbery is allowed here?!" By now, the man's hand had already gripped the bundle! Since the Xia family had designated this a combat zone, ordinary rules no longer applied! "You made the first move!" Bai Feng roared. Suddenly, a longsword struck down with blistering speed! The man had anticipated this. With a cold snort, he reached out a hand to snatch the longsword, golden light glinting on his hand as a divine character merged into his arm. He grabbed the longsword firmly! He felt a trace of surprise—it did not seem very strong. Bai Feng's Dragon Slaying Sword had even crushed Hu Wensheng, so why was this so weak? Just as the thought crossed his mind, his junior sister beside him shrieked in anger! Before the man could react, a slender rapier pierced right through his skull. Catching the falling bundle with a casual grab, Bai Feng glanced at the woman lunging toward him and grinned. "Senior Sister, don't mess around. I haven't killed anyone in years, especially women. Don't make trouble!" With that, shouldering the bundle and ignoring the woman, he dashed straight toward the center, yelling, "Martial Uncle, Elder Wu, help! Someone wants to kill me!" "..." Everyone in the surroundings was stunned! Bai Feng... just killed him like that? He killed a Lingyun expert! How had he done it? How dared he kill him?! That was a Lingyun expert of the Great Xia Civilization Academy! Dying just like that at Bai Feng's hands? Only after Bai Feng had sprinted a long distance did the man behind him collapse with a thud, his eyes filled with dazed confusion! Dead! Ahead of him, Bai Feng acted as though nothing had happened, shouting, "Help! They tried to kill me, so I just mounted a normal counterattack! Don't blame me!" At this moment, Liu Wenyan and his group had no time to coddle him; all of them wore solemn expressions! What in the world?! Two Dragon Slaying Swords! One had been caught by the opponent, while the other had not—and a Lingyun expert had just been slain by Bai Feng! "Two Dragon Slaying Swords?" At this moment, it wasn't just Liu Wenyan and his companions who were shocked; the experts lurking in all directions were dumbfounded! Where had two Dragon Slaying Swords come from? Both appeared genuine! Yet there was a difference: one Dragon Slaying Sword seemed to have fewer fused divine characters, while the other had more. What was going on? Both were real! Just that one was stronger and the other weaker! As for Bai Feng, he couldn't care less. Killing someone? Dead was dead! He had killed plenty of people and was hardly a novice. In a designated combat zone, killing someone was simply fair game. As for whether they were human or all-races... that didn't matter. What mattered was that they were enemies, and that was enough. "Insolent fool!" A furious roar rang out, and in the next moment, a massive mountain bore down to suppress him! Bai Feng had killed someone the moment he arrived—this lunatic was utterly out of his mind! All around, people were reeling in shock. Shocked by Bai Feng's methods, shocked by his ruthless brutality. Without a word of preamble, he had slain a man with a single thrust—and right before doing so, he had even taken the time to straighten his clothes! Was *this* his Civilization Master decorum? Not far away, Liu Wenyan had gone completely blank, unable to resist rubbing his temples! *Holy shit!* *Is this little bastard deliberately here to cause trouble for me?* *You kill someone the very second you arrive—are you itching for all of us to be besieged and slaughtered?* *Bastard!* Although Liu Wenyan himself had felt the urge several times to throw caution to the wind and strike down his foes, wasn't it because their side lacked the strength? Did this bastard not consider their surroundings at all?! Yet Bai Feng paid none of it any mind, yelling at the top of his lungs, "Martial Uncle, save me! Quick!" "..." Wu Yuehua and the others furrowed their brows in speechless exasperation, but they had no choice but to step in and intercept! With a deafening rumble, the mountain was repelled. Wu Yuehua was also knocked back a few steps! In the distance, Elder Sun walked through the air, his face livid. He roared, "Bai Feng, you bastard, how dare you go straight for the kill?!" Bai Feng turned his head and shouted, "Elder Sun, it's a misunderstanding, really! I genuinely didn't expect Senior Brother Zhang to be so weak! I only thrust out a single sword—he's at the second layer of Lingyun, for heaven's sake! Holy crap, poked to death in one strike! Isn't he way too weak?!" "..." Elder Sun's face was frightfully dark! Bastard! After killing someone, he still had the audacity to be this arrogant! Bai Feng cried out in mock grievance, then suddenly looked panicked: "Holy... holy crap, do I have to go to the All-Heavens Battlefield and kill ten second-layer Lingyuns to atone for this?" "I'm doomed!" "..." The surrounding experts watched him in silence, observing his performance! Outsiders were far more preoccupied with what this fellow had actually done just now—why did he have two Dragon Slaying Swords? Frowning at him, Liu Wenyan ignored the theatrics and transmitted his voice: "Why kill someone?" "I couldn't stand the sight of him anyway. Three years ago on the All-Heavens Battlefield, he tried to ambush me, but I sniffed him out beforehand. I didn't settle scores then, so killing him with one sword strike cleans the slate!" Bai Feng transmitted back rapidly, "Martial Uncle, what time do you think it is? You kill to establish authority! If we keep waiting, more and more of them will gather, thinking we don't dare do a thing. In this day and age, if you're not ruthless, how will they fear you? Tell Martial Aunt to kill people—kill a few Shanhai, and I guarantee everything will blow over and quiet down! Just see if they dare dig up the grave then!" "Kill enough of them, and they'll naturally scatter. They're just a rabble!" "Who has time to grind against them day in and day out? Kill a few more! None of them do anything useful anyway, and sending them to the All-Heavens Battlefield would only harm our own people!" With that, he added, "Kill until the Xia family has no choice but to step forward! Kill until the Zhou family has no choice but to step forward! Then the matter will be settled. Otherwise, at this rate, this grinding will drag on forever—it's been fifty years and people are still making trouble!" "Killing a Lingyun is useless, just pointless fussing. It won't scare them. Even killing a Shanhai won't do it—kill a Sun-Moon and everything will settle down!" Liu Wenyan replied helplessly. "The point is, can that useless master of yours kill a Sun-Moon?" "Probably not?" Bai Feng gave a sheepish grin. Most likely he could not. "Then isn't that that? The Sun-Moons haven't even shown themselves yet, so there's no one to kill even if we wanted to!" As Liu Wenyan spoke, Bai Feng had already scampered over. Behind him, Elder Sun looked down at his dead disciple with a face twisted in fury! Dead! Just like that, pierced to death by Bai Feng's sword! A Lingyun Realm expert! Meanwhile, from all directions, strands of willpower extended to inspect the corpse. Soon, everyone reached a verdict: his sea of will had indeed been shattered by a single sword strike, by Bai Feng's Dragon Slaying Sword! And the earlier sword that was caught had also been a Dragon Slaying Sword! At this moment, another elderly figure stepped forward through the air, looking at Bai Feng. Bai Feng glanced at him and whispered, "Martial Uncle, is that the grandfather of that genius from the Great Zhou Prefecture?" "Yes." "I heard he's preparing to challenge me. If I kill him with one sword strike, will this old man blow his top?" "..." Liu Wenyan was utterly helpless. *You're here specifically to stir up trouble, aren't you? Aren't you?!* "Forget it. I'm quite a bit older than that kid. I'm not one to bully the young. Let my disciple handle him. Honestly, what genius? What prodigy? Slain with a single sword strike—how boring!" Bai Feng laughed. Dropping his bundle, he smoothed his clothes once more, white robes fluttering. Looking up at the several elders in midair, he bared his teeth in a grin. "Stop staring! An accident—he was just too weak and got killed in one strike! How about this: anyone below the third layer of Lingyun can come at me at will! If I can't kill you with one sword strike, then you can kill me! Don't bully the young with superior age, though—the third layer of Lingyun is the limit. And let me tell you, you Shanhai elders, don't you dare bully me! Our family has Shanhai experts too. If you strike at me again, Elder He, Elder Wu, and the rest will go off and kill your descendants and disciples! We'd best all play by the rules!" "And another thing: I have a master too!" "Peak of the eighth layer of Shanhai, about to break through to the ninth layer! If you make a move on me, you'd better consider your sons, your grandsons, your daughters, the dogs and cats in your homes... Once an endless cycle of revenge starts, it'll never stop!" Bai Feng said cheerfully, "So let's all observe some etiquette and back off. Don't crowd so close, or I might just run back out and kill someone again!" In midair, Elder Sun and several others revealed themselves, glaring down at Bai Feng with eyes steeped in chill! Bai Feng could not have cared less. Pulling out his communication device, he dialed a number. The call connected quickly, and he said in an urgent rush, "Teacher! That old fart Sun Tao is bullying me and wants to kill me! You know where his home is, right? Don't bother coming back here—go wipe out his whole household first..." "Huh? Can't kill them? Why?" "It's not a combat zone, so you can't kill people?" "Oh, oh, oh, got it. Teacher, it wasn't you who killed them—the All-Races Sect did it, understand?" "Good that you understand. I'm hanging up now! They're dead set on killing me, and I've got my hands full here!" "..." Bai Feng hung up the communicator, looked up at the figures in the air, and shrugged. "Ahem... my teacher is on his way back. Let's not bully each other, okay?" Elder Sun's gaze was razor-sharp! "Bai Feng, I never imagined that in the Multiple Divine Characters Faction, you would be the one with the most vicious and underhanded strikes!" Bai Feng chuckled and mumbled, "Underhanded? It's fine, isn't it? Didn't I spare one? If you don't leave soon, I won't spare anyone!" Elder Sun gave him a deep look, descended, and gathered the dead disciple into his arms with an ache in his heart. Looking at the red-eyed female disciple beside him, he barked, "Retreat! Out of the combat zone!" With that, he turned and departed! In the sky, several Shanhai figures vanished one after another, and from all directions, many people began retreating. A madman! That bastard Bai Feng acted without any restraint whatsoever. Before they had even made a move, Bai Feng had struck first and killed someone! Bai Feng had claimed that anyone below the third layer of Lingyun could challenge him, but who could block that sword strike of his? And why on earth did this fellow possess two Dragon Slaying Swords? Bai Feng was inherently formidable. Hu Wensheng, a genius teaching assistant, did not shy away from ordinary first-layer Lingyuns, yet Bai Feng had defeated him with a single sword strike back when Bai Feng was only at the seventh layer of Tengkong. Now that he was at the eighth layer, ordinary first- or second-layer Lingyuns were simply no match for him to begin with. Monstrous geniuses were regarded as the strongest among their peers, but that title compared them to other geniuses, not ordinary students. In an instant, everyone in the vicinity withdrew from the area. Bai Feng curled his lip, turned to Liu Wenyan, and said with a beaming smile, "Martial Uncle, am I impressive or what? Weren't you uncomfortable being surrounded like that? I couldn't stand it the moment I arrived. Look, they've all retreated now. Until someone with real ability shows up, they won't dare come back." Wu Yuehua looked at him with an odd expression and said, "You truly don't care one bit for old ties within the academy..." "Old ties?" Bai Feng said speechlessly, "What ties? They vanished long ago! If there were any, would things have reached this point? With people like them, you have to beat them until they kneel and call you daddy! I couldn't be bothered to get involved before, but while my senior brother can endure it, I sure as hell can't. When dealing with them, my way is one sword strike to settle it! Inside the academy, I defeat them; outside the academy, where killing is permitted, I kill them to settle it!" "You brat... you're pretty ruthless!" Wu Yuehua shook her head. Bai Feng said gloomily, "Don't just talk about me—that niece of yours isn't any softer than I am! The Multiple Divine Characters Faction is seen as a soft persimmon, so I had to toughen up a bit. My teacher always said I take after my grandmaster the most. Martial Uncle, right?" "..." Liu Wenyan sighed. "If your grandmaster had been half as ruthless as you, would we even be dealing with this bullshit?" *Your grandmaster wasn't anywhere near as ruthless as you!* *Your grandmaster was full of pride. Otherwise, how could the Single Divine Character Faction have stirred up trouble to this point?* *Of course, back when the Fifth Generation was around, no one dared bully them either.* Bai Feng did not mind. He beamed at Liu Wenyan as if gazing upon an incomparable beauty! Transmitting his voice, he said, "Martial Uncle, I've found a solution to your divine character suppression! I can let you advance to Invincible in a single day! Come on, let me look at your brain—no, look at your sea of will—no, look at your divine character... Martial Uncle, everyone's gone! Quick, quick, I can't wait!" As he spoke, Bai Feng pulled a mountain of instruments out of his bundle with a loud clatter. Then, darting in every direction, he dug up trees, earth, and rocks, instantly erecting a makeshift house right on the spot! "Martial Uncle, come on, get inside! Let me examine your brain... no, your divine character! I won't slice you open, rest assured! Hurry up, we don't have much time!" "..." Liu Wenyan and the others simply stared blankly as he built a house in seconds, assembled his equipment, and even threw together a wooden bed. Bai Feng's eyes burned with feverish intensity, waiting only for Liu Wenyan to lie down! Growing anxious, Bai Feng urged, "Elder Wu, provide some willpower shielding around us! Elder He, keep watch for me! Elder Fan, help me pin down my martial uncle—his divine character issue is very severe, let me see if I can treat it!" "..." Everyone stared at him in utter bewilderment. *This kid... hasn't gone truly insane, has he?* *** While Bai Feng was throwing his frantic fit, Su Yu emerged once again from the secret realm. Everything had gone smoothly. This time, he had not opened too many apertures—only those required for the Soul Devour Art and the Yuan-Purifying Art in succession, bringing his total opened apertures to 180! The yuanqi secret realm was not particularly suitable for cultivating divine apertures; ten drops of Five Elements race blood essence had only helped Su Yu open three divine apertures. Now, he had 180 physical apertures open, and merely twenty-three divine apertures. His willpower fullness, however, had dipped slightly, sitting around sixty-five percent at present. In his mind, the small hammer was pounding away enthusiastically, continuing its forging. "Time to stir up some trouble!" If he could relieve some pressure on his teacher on the outside, even tying down an elder from the Single Divine Character Faction so they could not leave, that would be ideal! The moment he stepped out of the secret realm, Su Yu erupted with his shadow barrier, shrouding himself completely. No peeking for Old Man Huang! Old Huang watched him with a look of utter exasperation. This kid was intentionally flaring his willpower just to block his view; it wasn't as if he intended to do anything anyway. "Su Yu, how was your cultivation?" "Not bad!" Su Yu chuckled foolishly. "Teacher, I'll be going now." "Do you need me to help mask your aura?" "No need. It's not like I'm doing anything shameful..." Su Yu grinned. "Thank you, Teacher. Oh, right, Teacher—in the future when I come, there's no need to specially close the secret realm, so we don't give people reason to gossip!" "I'll be visiting often!" Tossing out those words, Su Yu sprinted off. Watching him depart, Old Huang laughed despite himself. Beside him, Old Nie suddenly spoke: "His killing intent is boiling. The kid would rather hold off on advancing to the Wanshi Realm just to cultivate the Soul Devour Art. Who is he preparing to make a move on?" "Who else could it be?" Old Huang said nonchalantly, "Let them make a scene. It's best if they batter each other bloody in the end! The academy was overdue for a purging anyway. Over fifty years, the strong have multiplied, but hearts have scattered. Wan Tiansheng bears heavy responsibility for this. Let them purge—purging a batch of parasites will only make us stronger!" Old Nie nodded slightly and murmured, "The Multiple Divine Characters Faction... sigh!" With a sigh, neither of them spoke another word. The wind was rising, and the rain was about to fall.