A Conversation Between Xia and Liu

The group chatted for a while before the conversation drew to a close. Bai Feng's research project was growing increasingly massive, to the point that even Hong Tan could not offer much support. At this moment, Hong Tan's primary objective was to advance to the Sun Moon Realm, not to cripple and discard his divine characters. Once Wu Jia came downstairs, the others tacitly acted as though the earlier discussion had never happened. It was not that they distrusted Wu Jia, but rather that she was too weak; knowing too much would do her no good. As for Su Yu... in Bai Feng's eyes, the kid deserved to feel some pressure! After a few more exchanges, Su Yu asked, "Grandmaster, can I go visit Teacher Liu?" "Don't go for now," Hong Tan said in a low voice. "For the time being, do not make it look like you are too close with my senior brother. It won't be good for you. There are still people watching him from the shadows, especially right now!" "Understood," Su Yu replied with a hint of regret. "Teacher, can Teacher Liu really recover?" "We'll do our best!" Bai Feng made no guarantees. This time, Liu Wenyan had shattered several divine characters to achieve the terrifying might of splitting a Sun Moon cultivator with an axe. As for whether he could actually recover, who knew? They could only give it a try! Once he recovered, Liu Wenyan would soon be able to step into the Sun Moon Realm. As for the Invincible Realm, that was still a bit difficult for now. Hong Tan said solemnly, "Su Yu, remember this! The Single Divine Character Faction is nothing to worry about. If not for certain concerns, they wouldn't be worth mentioning at all! Our enemy isn't the Single Divine Character Faction. They are merely a bunch of fools blinded by self-interest!" "Our real enemies are lurking in the shadows, on the All-Heavens Battlefield!" He looked at Su Yu. "When clashing with those new students, there's no need to be too ruthless. Of course, if they take the initiative to harm you, there's no need to hold back either!" Bai Feng chimed in as well. "Don't harbor too much resentment, or you'll easily act on impulse! The way you handled things before was great. Against people like Chen Qi and Liu He, raise your hand high but let it fall lightly. Against someone like Huang Qifeng, deliver a thunderous blow to awe everyone around!" "Simply put, kill those who ought to be killed, and spare those who can be spared!" Su Yu could not help glancing at the two of them, finding it a bit strange. Was it really that obvious? Hong Tan chuckled faintly. "The resentment swirling around you is almost coalescing into a divine character. That's not a good thing! In my eyes, Zhou Mingren and his ilk are nothing more than our shields. They block certain experts from turning their attention here. Let them think they're getting the upper hand; in reality, it helps us preserve ourselves!" "Shields?" Su Yu paused slightly. Hong Tan smiled and said, "Aren't they?" "They've shielded us for fifty years!" Hong Tan remarked indifferently, "Things have just changed a bit lately. In the past, they weren't this ruthless. Who knows if it's due to some upheaval in the Zhou family, or if holding power for too long has truly made them senile!" Su Yu grew pensive. That actually seemed to make some sense. He did not dwell on that, however; instead, he began to wonder: should he... create a shield of his own? Yes, set one up for himself! Here in the academy, should he find someone who could suppress him? That way, he would not be so conspicuous. I, Su Yu, suffer losses all the time. Don't just look at how much I've gained; in truth, I get the short end of the stick constantly. In this moment, a person suddenly popped into his mind: Liu Hong! Liu Hong, how about you suppress me a bit? Make the Single Divine Character Faction think I'm having a miserable time. Sure, I took substantial advantage of other people, but then you, Liu Hong, suppressed me so hard I was practically driven to suicide! Being overly aggressive wasn't necessarily a good thing. When one lacked sufficient strength, it would only invite endless trouble upon oneself. Feeling as though he understood what the two meant, Su Yu said with a solemn expression, "Thank you, Grandmaster, Teacher, for your guidance!" Guidance? What did we guide you on? Hong Tan felt exasperated. I was just telling you not to harbor so much resentment so it doesn't hold back your cultivation... Well, whatever, maybe my grand-disciple actually understood that much, which isn't bad either. Bai Feng shot Su Yu a look. What on earth did this student of his understand? We didn't mean anything else! They had genuinely noticed the resentment lingering about Su Yu. It was likely an involuntary subconscious bitterness stemming from the previous battle; in such a state, one could easily become paranoid and obsessive. ... Bai Feng was still injured, so the group did not continue chatting. Su Yu briefly mentioned the Sea of Consciousness Mystic Realm before heading upstairs to cultivate, while Chen Yong and Wu Jia returned to the Cangshu Pavilion. ... The Multiple Divine Characters Faction began to rest and recuperate. Inside the Heart Cultivation Pavilion, Wan Tiansheng had returned to normal, his expression no longer furious. ... On the Xia family's side, the Longwu Guards marched out to scour and sweep away All-Races Sect strongholds everywhere, while Marquis Xia continued cheerfully playing the merchant. As for the Single Divine Character Faction, not a whisper of movement came from them either. Everything seemed to have returned to calm. The battle from the night before felt as though it had never happened. ... Outside Great Xia Civilization Academy. No. 18 Middle School. The back mountain. Inside a small cottage, Liu Wenyan was meeting with someone. The cottage was not large, and only two people sat within it at present. Liu Wenyan looked frail and elderly, whereas the man seated cross-legged opposite him was tall and imposing, naturally commanding authority without displaying anger. There was little difference in age between the two; Liu Wenyan was only in his early seventies, and the other man was nearly seventy as well. The tea sat untouched. Xia Longwu looked at him for a while before calmly asking, "Do you feel resentment?" Liu Wenyan smiled. "What kind of question is that? What do I have to resent?" "Regarding the Liu family... I failed to protect them!" Xia Longwu said calmly, "Back then, I arranged a marriage alliance between Huyou and the Liu family because I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to have the Liu family relocate to Great Xia Prefecture. But before that could happen, nearly everyone in the Liu family was wiped out." A look of reminiscence showed in Liu Wenyan's eyes, and he softly said, "You went through a lot of trouble! My elder brother's temperament was simply like that. I warned him long ago that being associated with me would bring no good, that he had no need to protect me, and even less need to contact me..." He shook his head with a sigh. "It's just that those children were dragged into it. As for my brother falling in battle, I actually foresaw it to an extent." Xia Longwu said gravely, "I investigated afterward and found nothing out of the ordinary! It was just a standard encounter in battle! But the more normal it looks, the more abnormal it truly is! The Liu family's encampment was raided multiple times; that was far too coincidental!" "Back when your grandniece was born, a portion of the Liu family was preparing to return and withdraw to the Human Realm, yet they encountered enemies along the way once again..." Liu Wenyan nodded and sighed. "This divine character my master left behind is the root of the disaster! If not for King Daxia, I wouldn't have lived to this day." Xia Longwu said in a deep voice, "What secret does that divine character truly hold? A single eternal divine character shouldn't be worth all this, unless it truly contains some hope of advancing to the Invincible Realm. Have you seen that hope?" "No." Liu Wenyan smiled. "If I had seen it, I wouldn't be in the state I'm in now." Saying that, he smiled and added, "You, on the other hand, have progressed quickly. It looks like you're about to advance to the Invincible Realm!" "Only through the physical body!" Xia Longwu replied calmly, "Advancement through the physical path still comes with a limit on lifespan. Moreover, if one's willpower isn't strong enough and one encounters an enemy Civilization Master, falling in battle is still possible." "What about the path of civilization?" Liu Wenyan inquired. Many people had forgotten that Xia Longwu had not graduated from Great Xia War Academy, but from Great Xia Civilization Academy. His teacher was... Wan Tiansheng! A true Civilization Master! "The path of civilization... is stuck at the peak of the Shanhai Realm." "That is a bit weak!" Liu Wenyan gave this assessment, and Xia Longwu did not deny it. He nodded and said, "It is on the weaker side; I haven't even been able to step into the Sun Moon Realm. There's an issue with the divine characters. The Quest Realm has likely noticed it as well, but currently, the problem isn't easy to resolve." A whole batch of talents would have to be crippled! This issue was extremely grave! The only thing the Quest Realm could do right now was proceed batch by batch, one by one. They could not make broad public announcements, as that could easily spark turmoil among Civilization Masters. "The Quest Realm..." Liu Wenyan frowned. "What is the Quest Realm's stance right now, really?" Xia Longwu stayed silent for a moment before speaking: "Their stance is that it's a personal grievance, so it's not appropriate to intervene! Furthermore, even if that person truly exists, the Fifth Generation is already dead. In terms of value, you cannot compare to that person!" Liu Wenyan chuckled softly. "Indeed, that much is obvious! Dead men... hold no value! Cripples also lack corresponding worth! Aren't they afraid of what happened to my master repeating itself?" "They should have made some preparations by now," Xia Longwu stated. "If that fellow dares to show his head again, he'll be uncovered sooner or later! However, they won't conduct a sweeping investigation. You... are the bait. The bait for fishing!" Xia Longwu said softly, "In fact, long ago, they had their suspicions. It was my grandfather who insisted on protecting you, and my second uncle who fought tooth and nail to keep you safe. Otherwise, you would have been cast out as bait to fish with long ago!" "I figured as much!" Liu Wenyan nodded. "Back when I was exiled to Nanyuan, I already suspected it! I was actually surprised that I remained unharmed the entire time. Later, I guessed that King Daxia had probably intervened!" "Thank King Daxia for me..." "No need to be polite!" Xia Longwu said in a low tone, "Just wait a little longer! Wait until I succeed in advancing! Sooner or later, we will dig that person out! As for the Quest Realm and the War God Hall, I know what those old fellows are thinking. They want to ferret him out, but their stance isn't very resolute! The main issue is that King Dazhou's attitude remains ambiguous..." "King Dazhou..." Liu Wenyan hesitated. "Could it be him?" "Hard to say!" Xia Longwu was not certain either. He shook his head. "I know King Dazhou's philosophy: ideally, peaceful coexistence, minding our own business! Lately, his main goal hasn't been slaying enemies on the battlefield, but establishing a defensive system for humanity and reactivating the suppression power of the Human Realm!" Xia Longwu sighed. "I don't oppose it; I also believe reactivating humanity's suppression power is a good approach! It could snuff out the desire of many races to invade! But this effort has dragged on for years without results. At a time like this, I believe what is needed is martial deterrence!" He did not oppose King Dazhou's ideals or goals. Reactivating the Human Realm's suppression power so that the Human Realm, like other domains, could suppress outsiders was a great approach and a way to resolve the war. However, there was still no real progress. King Dazhou did not wish to pursue that traitor partly out of this consideration: stall for now, and deal with it after he had activated the Human Realm's suppression power, so as to avoid anyone causing trouble for him during this stage! Yet Xia Longwu did not agree with this, nor did King Daxia. But King Dazhou was one of the overlords of the Quest Realm; since he held this intent, how could the Quest Realm throw its own ranks into disarray at this juncture? They could only acquiesce. "King Dazhou..." Liu Wenyan smiled. "He isn't wrong! If an investigation truly throws everyone into panic, that might not be a good thing either! If he really can reactivate the Human Realm's suppression power, I'll even have to praise him for a job well done! But... regarding my Liu family and my master, I cannot pretend nothing happened!" "If the day comes where I discover it was him... I won't show any mercy either!" Xia Longwu gave a slight chuckle. "The prerequisite is that you advance to the Invincible Realm! Otherwise, empty words are useless! Besides, regarding my teacher... I have some suspicions..." "Suspicions about what?" "I suspect he found something out, or his strength has already reached the Invincible Realm. This time, my teacher was fueling the flames behind the scenes; I noticed it!" Xia Longwu, who appeared reckless and iron-blooded in the eyes of outsiders, revealed his perceptive side at this moment. "Invincible?" Liu Wenyan said in astonishment. "Impossible! He also walks the path of multiple divine characters; there's no way he could have successfully advanced!" "Then he must have succeeded through the physical path!" Xia Longwu could not be sure either. He shook his head. "It's hard to judge the specifics. A man like my teacher keeps things bottled up and won't say a word. At the very least, he's at the peak of the Sun Moon Realm!" "Does he... want to find that person?" "I don't know." Xia Longwu pondered for a moment before saying, "I suspect Teacher has his own plans. He strongly advocates cultivating friendly ties with the myriad races. At one point, I even suspected he was the cult master of the Primordial Divine Sect!" "Hm?" Liu Wenyan's expression shifted slightly. "Are you sure?" "Not sure, just a suspicion!" Xia Longwu said in a deep voice, "Right now, there's one thing I'm very worried about. Teacher is a madman. He looks calm, but he values rules above all else. As long as you don't break the rules, he's easy to talk to; once you violate them, he becomes impossible! The ambush and slaying of the Fifth Generation and the destruction of the Multiple Divine Characters Faction crossed his ultimate line. I'm deeply worried Teacher might act recklessly, or even... take the initiative to draw the myriad races into attacking humanity!" "This..." Liu Wenyan was stunned. "He... has that guy lost his mind?! Even if he has reached the Invincible Realm, once he actually does that, those people will never let him off!" Xia Longwu sighed, "Indeed. That's why I kept him suppressed for many years! But now... I might not be able to suppress him any longer! Put it this way: earlier, when several Sun Moon cultivators from the Tianyi Divine Sect and the Tianyi God Race invaded Great Xia Prefecture, and when Nanyuan was attacked, I suspect all of it might have been Teacher's orchestrations! Deliberately creating pressure for me to push me into the advancement stage, forcing you to return... all of it could be his scheming." Liu Wenyan frowned. "He's insane!" "He isn't insane; he's completely lucid. His goal is to force that fellow out. If he can't force him out, he will forcibly plunge the Human Realm into catastrophe and unite the front!" Liu Wenyan frowned. "Is the situation really that urgent?" Xia Longwu thought for a moment and nodded. "Yes! The myriad races of gods and demons aren't making major moves right now because they are reportedly waiting—waiting for an opportunity, waiting for that fellow from the Primordial God Race to advance, or waiting for that fellow from the Primordial Demon Race to advance!" "Advance?" Liu Wenyan asked in shock. "Is there truly a path beyond Invincible?" "I don't know; I'm not Invincible. My grandfather doesn't know either; he can't see the path ahead, but he knows there must be a path!" Xia Longwu sighed. "The current calm is merely the calm before the storm!" "Is the Human Realm truly worth such efforts from them?" "It is!" Xia Longwu nodded. "At least in their eyes, it is worth it! Before the Great Extinction, the Human Realm truly possessed a period of glorious supremacy over the myriad realms! The ruins and relics discovered in the Human Realm today all testify to this! Back then, the Human Realm must have received tribute from the myriad realms, incomparably glorious!" "The Human Realm holds secrets—great secrets!" Xia Longwu said gravely, "My grandfather also said that the Human Realm definitely holds secrets! They might pertain to confidential secrets of the myriad races of the heavens, or even secrets that affect their very survival. That is why they will definitely invade the Human Realm!" "Secrets of survival?" Liu Wenyan frowned. "What could possibly affect the existence of the myriad races?" "I don't know," Xia Longwu smiled. "If we knew, we would have taken the opportunity to wipe out the myriad races and unify the myriad realms! However, the former glory of the Human Realm is beyond doubt. My grandfather and his peers were all beneficiaries of that legacy; those mystic realms and ruins allowed them to grow rapidly! Only because of that was the Human Realm spared from destruction during that era!" Over three hundred years ago, the All-Heavens Battlefield appeared, and the passages to the Human Realm opened wide. During that era, Invincible powerhouses emerged one after another, establishing the great prefectures. The speed of their growth was terrifyingly fast! Invincibles emerged one after another! None of this had appeared out of thin air. During that period, experts of the myriad races had already invaded the Human Realm, with some roaming the land to seize ruins. Yet amid the strife, human powerhouses rose rapidly, driving out the myriad races, slaying formidable foes, and ultimately defending the Human Realm, carving out a new battlefield outside its borders. Liu Wenyan nodded. "True. Those ruins indeed prove the Human Realm's former glory! The Multiple Divine Characters Faction's divine character battle techniques actually originated from the ruins as well. It's just a pity that none of the ruins back then yielded a method to advance to the Invincible Realm..." With that, he added, "In recent years, have no such ruins opened?" "A few have, but none were particularly impressive. Most were sacred cultivation grounds for the physical path; very few carried inheritances of the civilization path. Still, there have been some discoveries..." Xia Longwu's expression turned solemn. "Several ruins were explored, and all revealed a single problem! The inheritance of the civilization path before the Great Extinction was apparently centered around human divine characters!" Liu Wenyan nodded. "Bai Feng discovered this issue as well." "The Quest Realm has probably realized it too!" Xia Longwu sighed. "Right now, they're riding a tiger and can't get off! It's impossible to abolish everyone's divine characters, and human divine characters are indeed very weak—there is no doubt about that! The crucial point is the lack of a clear path forward. The Multiple Divine Characters Faction's divine character battle techniques might potentially resolve this, but not everyone can form a divine character battle technique..." At this moment, had Su Yu and Bai Feng been here, they would likely have been astonished by this conversation. It was not that humanity lacked experts who noticed the problem. Rather, they were already caught in an inescapable dilemma, one nearly impossible to reverse! Liu Wenyan frowned. "Then they should promote the Multiple Divine Characters Faction more broadly, rather than suppressing it!" "Behind the scenes, someone is definitely promoting it in secret!" Xia Longwu stated bluntly, "We just don't know about it! The descendants of certain powerhouses might already be doing so. Right now, it's merely an exploratory phase. As for suppressing the Multiple Divine Characters Faction, whether there is another plan behind it, I do not know, but King Dazhou's tacit approval has influenced the decisions of a portion of people." "King Dazhou!" Hearing King Dazhou mentioned again, Liu Wenyan sighed. "I hope it isn't him. Otherwise, if something is wrong with Great Zhou Prefecture and something is wrong with him, we're in immense trouble. His combat prowess is formidable; even King Daxia might not be his match..." "He is indeed no match!" Xia Longwu had no reason to deny it. "My grandfather is definitely no match for him! King Dazhou also switched from being a Civilization Master to the physical path to advance. His physical body is no weaker than my grandfather's, having reached the level of rebirth from a single drop of blood long ago! Meanwhile, his path of divine characters is close to the Fifth Generation's level, perhaps even surpassing it. My grandfather isn't skilled in divine characters, and his willpower isn't as strong as his." "In the Human Realm, the only one who might be confident in suppressing him is probably King Daqin." Liu Wenyan sighed once more. "I truly hope it isn't him. Otherwise... sigh!" Both fell silent. This was the most terrifying possibility! If an Invincible expert of the Human Realm—and a top-tier powerhouse among Invincibles at that—had betrayed humanity, it would be an astronomical catastrophe. Perhaps others suspected King Dazhou as well, yet everyone played dumb. If it were anyone else, it would be manageable, but if it was King Dazhou, it would be catastrophic. Xia Longwu soon smiled. "That's the worst-case scenario. Perhaps things are better than expected. He really has no reason to do such a thing; after all, the one who died back then was his own brother, and their relationship was very close!" "Let's not talk about him!" Liu Wenyan did not want to dwell on it either; it was a headache. He quickly said, "I won't be staying here for more than a few days; I'll be heading to the All-Heavens Battlefield soon! Look after Hong Tan a bit. This junior brother of mine... isn't skilled at scheming, and he can still be impulsive at times. As for Principal Wan, I can't control what he does, so let him be!" "Don't worry!" "Right..." Liu Wenyan recalled something and said, "I also have a student who is now apprenticed to Bai Feng. Look after him as well. He likely has his own serendipity; when he was young, he often had nightmares, and his willpower fluctuated frequently. You can send someone to investigate whether there's a ruin in Nanyuan." "Nanyuan?" Xia Longwu asked in surprise, "There are ruins in Nanyuan?" "It's possible!" Liu Wenyan smiled. "Ruins can appear anywhere! He must have received some gifts from it. If ruins are found in Nanyuan, remember to bring him along to explore them. According to the rules, he's entitled to thirty percent—don't go embezzling his share!" Xia Longwu laughed in spite of himself. "I wouldn't stoop that low! I'll have someone look into it later. If there really is one, I'll give him his due. Ruins... newly discovered ruins are rare nowadays. If he inherits the legacy of a ruin, the kid might actually have hope of entering the Sun Moon Realm." Back then, the emergence of a batch of ruins created a vast number of Invincibles. Nowadays, newly explored ruins were inferior to the older ones, and inheritors of those ruins generally hit a ceiling at the Sun Moon Realm. Even so, a Sun Moon expert was top-tier strength! Stationed on the All-Heavens Battlefield, such a person was an overlord-level expert. The patriarchs of some minor races did not even have the Sun Moon Realm. That humanity was strong, had risen swiftly, and ranked among the top ten in the heavens—these ruins were key. This was also an important reason why many minor races jumped on the bandwagon to attack humanity! The two exchanged a few more words before Xia Longwu ceased speaking and vanished out of thin air from the room. Liu Wenyan said nothing. A moment later, Wu Yuehua entered the room, looking puzzled. "Did someone come just now? It felt like my consciousness was scrambled for a moment!" "Consciousness scrambled?" Liu Wenyan chuckled. "How could that be? You are at the eighth tier of the Shanhai Realm. Unless an Invincible came, or someone at the peak of the Sun Moon Realm, who could hide from you?" "True!" Thinking about it, Wu Yuehua felt that made sense, and quickly said, "Time for your medicine!" With that, she took out a massive medicinal pill, grabbed him, and shoved it toward his mouth! Liu Wenyan, who had just been chatting and laughing breezily with Xia Longwu, now had a face filled with utter despair! I'm not eating this damn thing! "I'm not eat—" "Be good. How could you not eat it? How will your injuries heal if you don't take it? I spent a fortune concocting this medicine; others couldn't get a taste even if they begged!" With that, she forcefully pried his mouth open! You have to eat it whether you want to or not! Liu Wenyan was utterly despondent. I think going to the All-Heavens Battlefield is better after all. This place is more dangerous than the All-Heavens Battlefield! Sure enough, just as a pill the size of a human head was shoved into him, Hu Ping walked in through the doorway and said calmly, "Mealtime!" Saying so, she presented a tray laden with dark culinary horrors! Liu Wenyan grew even more despairing! I'm going to the All-Heavens Battlefield! I can't stay in this damn place for another second!