Su Yu Meets Xiao'er

"A tournament?" Inside the Wen Tan Research Center, Su Yu looked surprised. There was such a thing? Hong Tan nodded. "Out of five slots, four must be given to others, and one goes to your senior sister. As for you... that old bastard Zhou Mingren refused to give you one. When did you offend him?" Hong Tan was actually puzzled as well. For a student not even at Tengkong, Zhou Mingren had actually taken it to heart and adamantly refused to grant Su Yu a slot! Su Yu didn't rush to answer. Instead, he asked, "Grandmaster, what about my teacher?" Could Bai Feng not go in? "What your teacher needs right now isn't an increase in willpower, but re-outlining his divine characters to recover his condition. Boosting his willpower won't help him much..." Before he could finish, Bai Feng grumbled resentfully, "I think it would be very meaningful!" "..." Hong Tan glared at him. "What would you even go in for? If you weren't injured and still had your divine characters, going in could have pushed you to the ninth level of Tengkong. If you go in now, can you reach the ninth level?" "Even if I can't, it would still nourish my willpower!" Bai Feng protested sulkily. "Teacher, how about asking Elder Wu for one back? What does she need a slot for anyway!" "Nonsense!" Hong Tan said, exasperated. "One slot isn't even enough for her own people, and you ask what she needs it for? If not for standing up for us, would Zhou Mingren have dared to withhold a slot from her?" The four slots had been divided among four elders. As for whether Wu Yuehua and the others could obtain other slots, Hong Tan couldn't control that, nor was there anything he could do. Hong Tan continued in irritation, "If you hadn't messed around, then in two years when you advanced to Lingyun and went to the Star Astral Mansion, you could have brought back more Heavenly River Sand, and we could have found a way to open it ourselves! Now... you want to go in? In your dreams!" "That's still a long way off!" Bai Feng muttered dismissively. There were still more than two years left. Could he really not recover by then? "What do you mean 'a long way off'!" Hong Tan snapped angrily. "According to schedule, the roster must be finalized by the middle of the year after next, which leaves barely more than a year in reality! In the second half of that year, you'll undergo centralized training, and then you'll have to head to the All-Heavens Battlefield. In a little over a year, how much can you recover?" Bai Feng shrugged. How would he know? We'll see! "Xia Yuwen's injuries aren't any lighter than mine..." "He has the Xia family backing him, and the divine characters he damaged weren't his primary ones! You think he's worse off than you?" "..." The two squabbled for a few moments. Su Yu ignored them, lost in his own thoughts. "Grandmaster, can all non-Tengkong students across the entire academy participate?" "Yes." Hong Tan sighed. "Don't bother fighting for it, just give it up! The academy is full of older students who haven't advanced to Tengkong. Besides, it's not all that grand—isn't it just a bit of willpower? Later on, I'll give you private coaching and purify some willpower for you. The effect is the same, and the purity will be even higher!" The volume just wouldn't be very large. Still, for someone not yet at Tengkong, how much could he possibly absorb anyway? Hong Tan explained, "At the time, there was no need to make a scene with them over a single slot. After all, they're the ones paying to open it, and we only benefited from the fact that the mystic realm isn't theirs; otherwise, not a single one of us would get in. Your divine apertures aren't open yet, so you wouldn't absorb that much anyway. You've seen your teacher's laboratory—the willpower there is purer. Later, I'll help you gather more willpower!" Bai Feng chuckled as well. "Kid, you're not getting a bad deal! Going inside is really nothing special. Since your grandmaster is preparing it for you, the willpower will definitely be much purer. He is an expert close to the Sun and Moon Realm after all, so that's plenty good!" He also felt there was no reason for Su Yu to compete in any tournament. It sounded like trouble from the start! The Single Divine Character Faction would surely target Su Yu, so there was no need to get involved. Best to just stand them up and let them play by themselves! Hong Tan didn't take it seriously either, saying with a smile, "Come with me to the City Lord Manor this afternoon to see if we can get the Heaven Cleaving Saber. Forget about the tournament. Stay home and cultivate well. Reaching Wanshi and Tengkong is what matters; nothing else is necessary. Outline a few more divine characters. Even if you can dismantle battle techniques, outlining more divine characters before Tengkong is still a good thing." Su Yu scratched his head and gave an ingenuous smile. "Grandmaster, the willpower in the Sea of Consciousness Mystic Realm... is it the kind where there's an immense amount, like an endless sea?" "It depends on how many resources were burned..." "Then if you gather some for me, will it be a lot?" "..." Hong Tan rolled his eyes. Of course it wouldn't be a lot. We have no money, so a token amount will do—you can't absorb much anyway. Brat, now you're getting picky! Su Yu grinned bashfully. "Grandmaster, I absorb willpower very quickly. If it's too little, it won't be nearly enough!" "Fast? How fast?" Hong Tan looked skeptical. Su Yu offered an innocent smile. "That willpower in Teacher's laboratory... I can probably finish absorbing it in about half an hour." "..." Hong Tan stared at him, and Bai Feng stared at him too. Bai Feng stared and stared, then suddenly barked, "You little bastard, did you steal some? Last time I felt the willpower inside suddenly drop—was that your doing?" Su Yu coughed dryly. "No, Teacher, I'd never do that! You probably absorbed it yourself without realizing." "Bullshit!" Bai Feng cursed. Who was he trying to fool? "Did you have another miraculous harvest and come up with some basic cultural art?" "..." Su Yu looked at him, and Bai Feng looked back, adopting a calm, deadpan expression. "What! What are you looking at! You can produce a Heaven-tier cultivation method today, a Heaven-tier martial technique tomorrow, the Soul-Devouring Art the day after, and innate blood essence the day after that... If you come up with a basic cultural art, would I be surprised?" Fuck! You think I'd be surprised? Let me tell you, keep dreaming! I saw right through you! If you have the guts, advance to Tengkong right this second to show me; otherwise, whatever you say won't move me one bit! Hong Tan looked at Bai Feng, then at Su Yu. He felt both of them were out of their minds. Seeing how calm Bai Feng was, Su Yu was at a loss for words. After a moment, he nodded. "Teacher, you're amazing, so smart! Yes, I know a basic cultural art!" "How many divine apertures does it open?" Bai Feng remained composed, asking placidly, "Nine? Eighteen? Or twenty-seven..." "Thirty-six!" Su Yu replied. Holy fuck! Bai Feng yelled internally, but maintained his calm facade. "Not bad, quite decent, though still a bit worse than the Myriad Characters Scripture!" Hong Tan remained silent, shooting Bai Feng a look. Keep posturing! Go on, keep pretending! The Myriad Characters Scripture could only be cultivated at the Tengkong Realm, opening seventy-two divine apertures—could that even be compared to a basic cultural art? Bai Feng ignored him and continued, "How many divine apertures have you opened? Four, eight, or..." "All thirty-six are open!" Su Yu had actually opened forty, but saying too much wouldn't be good. If he said forty, where did the other four come from? That would be hard to explain! Thirty-six was enough! "Cough, cough, cough..." Bai Feng suddenly erupted into violent coughing. He wanted to spit blood—yes, he truly was about to vomit blood! He was terrified! Holy shit! He had only opened thirty-two apertures himself! Yes, exactly, only thirty-two divine apertures, which was why he was at the eighth level of Tengkong. Opening thirty-six meant the ninth level of Tengkong. Of course, Su Yu was different. His willpower stage hadn't caught up, and although he had tier-two divine characters, they hadn't reached the peak of tier two, so even if Su Yu entered Tengkong right now, he wouldn't count as ninth-level Tengkong. However, as long as his willpower rose and his divine character tiers caught up, he would instantly be at the ninth level of Tengkong! This was the sheer importance of a basic cultural art! As for the Myriad Characters Scripture, it could be cultivated later. For a ninth-level Tengkong who had already opened thirty-six divine apertures, cultivating the Myriad Characters Scripture would be far simpler, making it easy to open another thirty-six before entering the Lingyun Realm with the scripture! A basic cultural art could not bring Su Yu into Lingyun unless it opened more than thirty-six divine apertures. …… To the side, Hong Tan didn't utter a peep. A cold observer! I am a quasi-Sun and Moon expert! I must remain calm! I am very calm. Just a student opening thirty-six divine apertures—what does that amount to! Not only did I open seventy-two, I also fused them. Not only did I fuse them, I have only a single divine aperture now—are you scared yet? I am a quasi-Sun and Moon! What is Sun and Moon? All divine apertures united into one, shining resplendently like the sun and moon, reaching out to pluck the stars and seize the moon—that is Sun and Moon. The path of the physical body is the same: origin apertures unified into one, apertures turning into sun and moon, flesh capable of rebirth from a single drop of blood—that is a physical Sun and Moon. A mere student... is nothing! Hong Tan wore a serene expression, even calmer than Bai Feng, though inside he was wondering whether he should step outside for a bit and come back after they finished talking. After coughing violently for a while, Bai Feng had his back patted by Su Yu. Once his coughing fit ended, Bai Feng turned back to look at Su Yu, looking thoroughly melancholy! Truly desolate! "Where did that come from?" "I deduced it myself. Didn't you say last time that I should deduce it on my own, and if I did, you'd take me as your master... Cough, cough, of course, Teacher was joking, and I wouldn't take it seriously!" "You... deduced it?" Bai Feng was past the point of being able to complain. Don't mess with me! "Thank you, Teacher, for providing me with the 'Blood' character!" Bai Feng stared at him in dead silence. Grandson, if you say that's my divine character one more time, I'll beat you to death right now! Even injured, beating you to death wouldn't be very hard for me. The "Blood" character! Who the hell are you trying to fool! From the side, Hong Tan couldn't hold back anymore. "You deduced it yourself?" Did you take me for an idiot? You could deduce something like that? Su Yu gave a dry laugh. "Not entirely. Teacher helped me deduce it too, and the materials Grandmaster left behind were also a huge help. Oh, and the Water Person in the detention area helped me a lot, along with Teacher Liu's past guidance, which gave me great insights. That's how I was able to deduce the Water Origin Art suitable for human cultivation." "Opening thirty-six divine apertures?" "Yes." "Are you sure you yourself opened thirty-six divine apertures?" "Mm." Hong Tan looked at Bai Feng, then at Su Yu, then back at Bai Feng... After a long silence, he sighed. "I'm old, but I'm slightly better off than King Daxia—I haven't gone senile yet. I've realized that since I came back this time, both of you have been treating me like a senile old fool to hoodwink!" Two unfilial scoundrels! These two bastards were treating him like an utter idiot! One effortlessly deduced the innate divine character and a method to dismantle divine character battle techniques. The other deduced a basic cultural art that opened thirty-six divine apertures, along with a Soul-Devouring Art specifically designed to damage willpower. Judging by your research results, was I just a piece of trash? In several decades, all I managed to produce was divine character fusion and innate blood essence? In just a few months, your achievements outshine what I spent decades on? Hong Tan glanced at Su Yu and said wearily, "Do you know how many divine apertures there are in the human body?" Su Yu was at a loss for words. He didn't know. "Do you know how divine apertures are classified?" He didn't know. "Do you know how divine apertures fuse into one?" He didn't know that either! Su Yu looked completely innocent! "You know nothing about any of this, yet you claim you deduced a cultural art. Do you really take your grandmaster for an idiot?" Hong Tan was thoroughly speechless! Hong Tan rolled his eyes. Su Yu seemed to understand and instantly had an epiphany. "I understand!" What did you understand? "Congratulations, Grandmaster, on deducing the Water Origin Art basic cultural art that opens thirty-six divine apertures! Grandmaster is mighty!" Su Yu hastily offered his congratulations! Hong Tan nearly spat a mouthful of old blood! That's what you understood? I... fuck! Exhausted, Hong Tan thought for a moment and asked, "Does anyone else know?" "No... Wait, Manor Lord Xia's son, Xia Huyou, took the method for opening thirty-five apertures. I didn't give him the last one." "Xia Longwu's son?" "Mm." To the side, Bai Feng exclaimed in surprise, "You know Xia Longwu's son?" "That fat kid, the little fatty Xia Huyou. You've seen him before, Teacher." "He's Xia Longwu's son?" Bai Feng was stunned, his worldview shattered! Holy crap! If you told anyone, no one would believe it. If you said he was Marquis Xia's son, I might barely believe it. Hong Tan felt even more helpless and fumed, "Is that the main point?" Could neither of these two identify the priority? The point was that this kid actually deduced a cultural art that opened thirty-six divine apertures! What the fuck were they gossiping about Xia Longwu's son for? Had he never seen him before? Wasn't he just a little fatty? Among the Great Xia family, which one hadn't he seen? He had even seen King Daxia! What on earth were these two caring about? Why were their thought processes so completely different from his? After scolding them for a bit and seeing that both had gone silent, Hong Tan grumbled, "Xia Huyou, right? Come to think of it, he does look a bit like Fatty Xia. Xia Longwu probably suspected it himself, which is why he tossed the kid to Fatty Xia to raise... Hahaha..." "..." Su Yu and Bai Feng exchanged a look, speechless. The old man was laughing so heartily! He actually dared to say something like that—wasn't he afraid of being beaten to death by the Xia family? "Cough, cough, cough!" Hong Tan quickly composed himself, striving to maintain his dignity, and briskly said, "Hand the technique over to me later, and don't spread it around anymore! I'll rebrand it for you. What 'Water Origin Art'? Pure nonsense! It's called the Thirty-Six Divine Shocking Heaven Scripture, researched and developed bit by bit by me, your grandmaster, over fifty painstaking years!" Su Yu hastily piled on a fawning smile. "Yes, exactly so!" Speechless, Hong Tan waved his hand. "Get out!" Su Yu laughed dryly and hurried out. Once he was gone, Hong Tan adopted a solemn expression. "What's the real story?" Bai Feng gave a brief explanation, then added, "He probably has his own opportunities—maybe he obtained some divine character inheritance or memory fragments. Over the years, I've extracted plenty of memory fragments myself. It's quite possible he obtained some complete memory fragment!" "Memory fragments?" Hong Tan pondered for a while before saying, "I'll ask Senior Brother. If he obtained it by chance, then fine. My only fear is... it wasn't an accident! Don't forget, we have an Invincible rival..." Bai Feng said helplessly, "I didn't know about that before—who told you to keep it a secret? Personally, I think it's highly unlikely he was planted by that rival." "Enough chatter. Caution never hurts!" Hong Tan looked grave. Without saying more, and knowing it wasn't safe to discuss over communications, he stepped directly out of the research center and headed straight for Liu Wenyan's residence. A top genius endowed with fortunate encounters who joined the declining Multiple Divine Characters Faction—Hong Tan couldn't help being cautious, lest he had been planted by an adversary. If that really were the case... it was too late to stop it now. That foolish disciple of his had blabbed about everything, including dismantling divine character battle techniques, innate divine characters, divine character fusion... These were all top secrets! Yet now, was there anything in the research center that Su Yu didn't know? Hong Tan sighed. This disciple of his was simply too trusting! …… No. 18 High School, back mountain. "A ruin's inheritance?" "That's my guess!" Liu Wenyan smiled. "Don't worry too much. If an adversary really planted him, your senior brother wouldn't be so foolish as to fall for it! Besides, if that were truly the case, there'd be no need to plant an agent. Since he'd already know everything he needed to know, that fellow would have thrown all caution to the wind and wiped us out directly!" "Senior Brother, so that means there's no problem with him?" Liu Wenyan nodded. "In all probability, there's no issue! The slim chance is that something was wrong with the ruin, and we just need to make sure his body hasn't been possessed by some ghastly entity." "You mean a willpower soul?" "Right!" Liu Wenyan nodded with a smile. "Though such things are exceedingly rare! Usually, their consciousness is completely muddled anyway. After all, who knows how many years have passed since the ruin was active? Even if remnant souls were left behind back then, they would generally be ruined by now. In Su Yu's case, that shouldn't be it. He probably accidentally obtained some past visual recordings from the ruin or something of the sort. "He did mention a few times back then that he dreamed of monsters trying to kill him. I suspect if there really is a ruin in Nanyuan, it was likely some kind of research laboratory, similar to today's Beast Taming Faction, where plenty of demonic beasts were bred." Su Yu had entered the intermediate academy at age thirteen, and from that point on, Liu Wenyan had taught him. At thirteen, Su Yu hadn't thought about as many things as he did now. Meeting the knowledgeable Liu Wenyan, filled with admiration, he had asked about his doubts and experiences. Su Yu studying the languages of the myriad races had also been recommended by Liu Wenyan, so that he could acquire foundational knowledge and identify the demonic beast races pursuing him. Therefore, Liu Wenyan knew quite a bit about Su Yu. If he truly were a willpower remnant soul, he wouldn't be foolish enough to expose his identity like this. "I understand!" Hong Tan exhaled. "As long as he isn't a spy! Right, Su Yu asked me earlier whether Liu Hong was someone I planted. Senior Brother, did you plant him?" "Who?" "Liu Hong, a genius teaching assistant at the academy, a prodigy of the Single Divine Character Faction, and a student of Old Zhao. He previously studied at No. 18 High School and claimed to be Zhang Ruoling's disciple." "Ruoling's disciple?" Liu Wenyan thought about it, then shook his head with a laugh. "Impossible! If he had taken a disciple, he would have told me!" "Then he's a swindler!" Hong Tan said, exasperated. "These days, all kinds of people exist! A genius of the Single Divine Character Faction scamming a student by claiming he was planted by me—that dog bastard really has some nerve!" Liu Wenyan chuckled. "If he dared to say it, you might as well play along! Liu Hong... I have a faint impression of him. Bai Feng seemed to have mentioned him to me before, also a genius... Old Zhao's disciple... Old Zhao..." Speaking of Elder Zhao, Liu Wenyan shook his head. "Back in the day, he was a veteran of our Master's generation. Our relationship wasn't particularly close, but it wasn't bad either. How was your relationship with him in recent years?" "Decent enough; we stayed out of each other's way. That old man is single-mindedly obsessed with reaching Sun and Moon. In the past, he even wanted to surpass Zhou Mingren, though he didn't care about empty fame. A pity, Sun and Moon is too difficult to break into. I'm afraid... his end is drawing near!" "His lifespan shouldn't be ending so soon, right?" Liu Wenyan frowned. Hong Tan sighed. "He failed to break through to Sun and Moon several times, suffering severe backlash, which brought his limit close! If he had proceeded step by step, he would still have plenty of time." "A pity!" Shaking his head, Liu Wenyan soon said, "As for these student squabbles, let them fight it out themselves. If they don't experience schemes and conspiracies firsthand, how will they ever know how to deal with them? Leave it be, and let's see how Su Yu handles it!" "Understood!" Hong Tan nodded, then looked at him and asked, "Senior Brother, do you have any other guidance for me?" "Guidance... guidance my ass!" Liu Wenyan cursed with a laugh. "Hurry into secluded cultivation and reach Sun and Moon! Don't leave the academy until you do! Right, is the repulsive force very severe? No one has entered Sun and Moon in years..." People like Zhou Mingren and Jin Yuhui should have reached Sun and Moon years ago under normal circumstances. The same went for Elder Zhao, who was in secluded cultivation. Unfortunately, none of them had succeeded. Otherwise, the Great Xia Manor alone would have gained at least three to five more Sun and Moon experts, and the entire Human Realm would have had seventy to eighty Civilization Masters with hope of breaking through to Sun and Moon, rather than seeing the number of Sun and Moon experts actually decrease. Over all these years, the only Civilization Master to genuinely enter Sun and Moon seemed to be Director Ji. As for General Zhao, that was the warrior path. Chief Hu had reached Sun and Moon early on; otherwise, he wouldn't have become Chief Steward. And Wan Tiansheng... he might have broken through fifty years ago, so Liu Wenyan couldn't even be bothered to count him. Marquis Xia had only advanced not long ago, but his advancement had also been in the physical body, while his standing on the path of a Civilization Master remained unclear. "The repulsive force is immense!" Hong Tan nodded. "Fortunately, with divine character battle techniques, I forcefully fused the divine characters. Even though there is repulsive force, it can still be suppressed. Only our Multiple Divine Characters Faction can manage it; for the Single Divine Character Faction, entering Sun and Moon is as difficult as ascending to heaven!" "How confident are you?" "Pretty confident, but there's no hope for the Invincible Realm. Of course, it's still too early to talk about that." "We'll see later!" Liu Wenyan nodded. It was indeed too early. "Don't bother with anything else these days. Help me comb through my divine characters, and bring Bai Feng along. After I leave, enter secluded cultivation and break through to Sun and Moon!" "Understood!" Hong Tan nodded, transmitting his voice, "Once Senior Brother heads to the battlefield, will that fellow make a move on you?" "Not likely. There are many Invincibles on the battlefield..." "Senior Brother, you can't be careless! Don't forget what happened to Big Brother Liu!" Hong Tan's expression turned grim. The Liu family was a cautionary tale. They had been stationed directly on the All-Heavens Battlefield, only to end up destroyed, with their home broken and kin dead—and that happened right under the noses of Invincibles! Liu Wenyan closed his eyes. After a moment of silence, he opened them and said, "I know, I won't be careless! My elder brother and the others weren't me, after all! The attention focused on me is much greater. An Invincible cannot oversee the entire All-Heavens Battlefield, but the Vanguard Camp is the focal point of their attention, and I am the center of that focus. Paradoxically, that makes me safer." "That's true, but..." Hong Tan was still worried. "The mortality rate in the Vanguard Camp is extremely high. It's full of criminals—essentially a cannon fodder camp, a suicide squad. In Senior Brother's condition... and Bai Feng as well... Sigh!" It gave him a headache just thinking about it! Liu Wenyan chuckled. "It's fine. I'm assigned to the Shanhai Camp, and Bai Feng is assigned to the Tengkong Camp..." "Shanhai Camp?" Hong Tan's face changed instantly. "Why were you assigned to the Shanhai Camp!" "Nonsense. I unleashed the might of Sun and Moon and slew a ninth-level Shanhai. Naturally, they have to count me as Shanhai—did you expect them to count me as Tengkong? Bai Feng is genuinely at Tengkong, so they won't put him in the Lingyun Camp." "Then... Senior Brother, I'll go with you..." "No need!" Liu Wenyan said with a smile, "Stay right here. The Great Xia Manor is relatively safe, and the academy is even safer. I'm not taking anyone from here. My eldest uncle is still alive; he will accompany me." "Eldest Uncle Liu is still... alive?" Hong Tan looked astonished! Liu Wenyan gave a slight nod. "Back then, he was critically wounded and on the verge of death, but he didn't die. I found someone to save him. This time, Eldest Uncle will accompany me. Even though he dropped from Sun and Moon to eighth-level Shanhai, that's still plenty." "Eldest Uncle... dropped a realm?" "Mm. Just keeping his life was fortunate enough. With him by my side, it will draw more attention, making it harder for anyone to plot against me!" Liu Wenyan smiled. "Even if I die fighting in battle, it's better than dying by foul play." "Senior Brother... I..." Hong Tan gritted his teeth. "If I can reach the Invincible Realm, I won't spare those bastards!" "Talk about that after you reach Sun and Moon!" Liu Wenyan said with an easy smile. "Now that I've stepped out, the focus is on me. For now, you're relatively safe. I'll buy as much time as I can until you all grow strong! Yunqi and the others aren't ready yet; their fusion isn't complete. Look after them here and help them comb through their divine characters." "What about the graves of Ruoling and the others?" "It's fine. The Xia family is still here. Grave-robbing... mentioning it once was bad enough. People didn't know before, but if they try it again now, do you think the Xia family would still tacitly permit it?" He then added indifferently, "Besides, even if they dug them up, do you really know if the divine characters are still there?" "Hm?" Liu Wenyan smiled. "Don't ask. It's better not knowing. The Multiple Divine Characters Faction won't go extinct so easily! Most of our old brothers died back then, but that doesn't mean our lineage was truly severed—they just can't show their faces! I have a name list in my mind. If I die... I'll take it with me! Let them live in incognito anonymity for the rest of their lives!" "Senior Brother... their lineage isn't severed?" Hong Tan looked ecstatic, weeping tears of joy, but grief immediately surged in his heart once again! Since when did successors of the Multiple Divine Characters Faction have to conceal their names and live in hiding? If Master were still alive, he would probably die of rage on the spot! "Stop acting like a child!" Liu Wenyan stood up and kicked him, his smile vanishing. "Of course it's not severed! Over the past fifty years, everyone has been struggling. I've been struggling, and so have you. But we aren't dead yet, and that alone is a victory! "It's not as if nobody in the Quest Realm and War God Hall cares about us either; they just can't easily come forward, as they don't want to fall out completely with King Dazhou!" Liu Wenyan said calmly, "I don't care what King Dazhou's thoughts are. If he isn't behind it, fine. If he is... sooner or later, this debt will be settled with him!" "Sigh!" Hong Tan sighed, reigning in his emotions. "Then I won't say any more. Later, I'll take Su Yu to find Fatty Xia to ask for the Heaven Cleaving Saber. I just don't know if Fatty Xia will give it..." "He will!" Liu Wenyan chuckled. "It's nothing more than demanding a bit of money. Just give it to him! That fellow has that exact habit—even when he gives you something, he has to take something back, or he won't feel comfortable..." "I have no money!" Liu Wenyan was exasperated. What a pauper! "Go borrow from Wu Yuehua..." "I already owe her way too much!" "You..." Liu Wenyan got a headache. "Then borrow from Hu Ping and Zhao Mingyue! Chief Hu and General Zhao are wealthy. Borrow whatever you can, and repay them when you have money!" "All right then!" Hong Tan said emotionally, "Fortunately, we still have a few senior sister-in-laws, or we'd starve to death." "Get lost!" Liu Wenyan cursed with an annoyed look. He had no idea how this useless fellow had lived these past decades—on the verge of Sun and Moon, yet living so miserably! Hong Tan was speechless too. There was nothing he could do. He was poor, so what choice did he have? Penniless and bare-handed, to cultivate to the brink of Sun and Moon had consumed unimaginable resources, and he had earned every bit of it himself without relying on anyone, with no one to rely on. On top of that, he had supported Chen Yong, supported Bai Feng, supported the research center... He was truly pitiable! He frequently had to venture to the All-Heavens Battlefield to kill demonic beasts to supplement household expenses. It was easy for Senior Brother to talk! If I had several female confidantes, I wouldn't bother striving either—would I still need to run off to the All-Heavens Battlefield all the time? How miserable! Liu Wenyan recalled this as well. "It hasn't been easy for you all these years. Just surviving was no small feat. Where did you get your cultivation resources?" "Me?" Hong Tan gave a dry laugh. "By selling blood essence!" "Hm?" "In the detention area, I raised several Shanhai-tier great demons and regularly drew their blood to sell. I'm the biggest black market dealer in the Great Xia Manor, specializing in Shanhai blood essence. Senior Brother, I had no choice—if I didn't sell blood, I couldn't survive!" "How many?" "Just three. Right now they're almost dying on me. Sigh, such a shame. I haven't drawn blood in days; I'll have to see if they can recover!" Utterly speechless! If Su Yu and Bai Feng had been present right now, their jaws would have hit the floor. Behind the cages in the detention area, there were indeed several rooms, but they were always quiet. Neither Su Yu nor Bai Feng could enter, nor had they ever gone over there. Bai Feng had previously speculated whether there were Shanhai great demons inside... as it turned out, there really were! The most mysterious black market dealer in the Great Xia Manor, the one specializing in selling Shanhai blood essence—Hong Tan! Liu Wenyan was also at a loss for words, only managing after a long pause, "Just don't overdo it. Even when killing someone, a head falls to the ground and that's it; the demon race is the same. If it really comes down to it, just slaughter them with a blade. Don't drain their blood all day to sell!" "Understood!" Hong Tan gave a dry laugh. "I was forced by circumstance—too poor." Liu Wenyan waved his hand, too tired to say more. Without another word, Hong Tan left swiftly. …… In the afternoon. Daxia City Lord Manor. Grand, magnificent! This was Su Yu's first time visiting the Daxia City Lord Manor, the core domain of the Great Xia Manor. Legendary figures had emerged from this place one after another. King Daxia, Xia Longwu, Marquis Xia, as well as the previous Manor Lord—Xia Longwu's father, who had also been a top-tier powerhouse and died in battle on the All-Heavens Battlefield. Su Yu arrived with reverence in his heart! The reputation of the Xia family within the Great Xia Manor was quite good, apart from Marquis Xia's slightly tainted fame. Even then, Marquis Xia usually only fleeced wealthy, prestigious clans. He couldn't be bothered with the poor—there wasn't much skin to flay from them anyway, so he rarely engaged in such petty theft. Led by Hong Tan, Su Yu entered a grand hall to await Marquis Xia's arrival. He had seen Marquis Xia once before, on the day of the massive battle, but they hadn't conversed or spoken. His impression of Marquis Xia remained grounded in legends. A black-hearted merchant! A bloodsucking skinflint! A dishonest profiteer! He frequently did shady deeds, but with the Xia family to back him up, there were usually no consequences. It was rumored that Marquis Xia washed his hands and gargled with origin qi liquid, used cultural weapons as carpets, burned divine talismans for warmth, ate divine pills like fava beans, and used original cultivation manuals of the myriad races to wipe his backside... However, no one ever claimed Marquis Xia was powerful—yet Su Yu had witnessed it last time. He was exceedingly strong! He had clashed with the divine character avatar of a top powerhouse and won! Right, he seemed to be called Xia Xiao'er! At that very moment, a fat man stood right behind Su Yu with an unsightly grimace on his face. Xia Xiao'er! Brat, do you have any idea? For a Character Nurturing fledgling like you, whatever you think inside—if it relates to me, I can sense it! I am at the Sun and Moon Realm, do you understand? Thud! At their very first official meeting, Su Yu fainted! He was ambushed! A Sun and Moon expert ambushed him! Knocked him out cold! Hong Tan's eyes nearly rolled out of his head. Holy shit, you're a Sun and Moon expert, yet you ambushed a Character Nurturing student! I'm truly in awe of you—how can you be so shameless! Su Yu lay pitifully collapsed on the ground. Unheeded! Marquis Xia cursed with a dark face, "Did you bring this bastard? If you hadn't brought him, I would have buried him alive tonight!" Insolent brat! Xia Xiao'er... that is the disgrace of my entire life! If I weren't unable to beat my old man, I would've beaten him up too!