Truly Pitiful!

Having sought out Zhou Hao and reached an agreement with him, the date had arrived at the nineteenth. The twentieth would be the day of the competition. And it wasn't until he met Xia Huyou on the nineteenth that Su Yu learned what had happened earlier. ... Without chatting much with Xia Huyou, Su Yu quickly headed over to the Library Pavilion. Library Pavilion, top floor. Over the past two days, Wu Jia hadn't really gone outside; Chen Yong had been teaching her the blood essence eruption method. When Su Yu arrived, Chen Yong smiled, beckoned him to sit down, and chuckled. "Out of seclusion? How did your cultivation of the Heaven-Cleaving Blade go?" "Martial Uncle, I've succeeded." Chen Yong paused briefly, then soon sighed softly. "A genius! Studying divine characters has actually slowed down your progress. Otherwise, if you had focused entirely on the path of the physical body, you'd probably have hopes of reaching Tengkong by now!" Completing the cultivation of the Heaven-Cleaving Blade in just a few days—what was this if not a genius? Chen Yong marveled; Su Yu's talent was truly extraordinary. Su Yu smiled. "It's the same either way, really. Besides, if I hadn't joined the Multiple Divine Characters lineage, I wouldn't have had these opportunities, let alone come into contact with the Xia family and received their legacy." Secret realms, merit points, the Heaven-Cleaving Blade... Had he not joined the Multiple Divine Characters Faction, obtaining these would have been difficult. Without selling false research notes that one time, where would he have gotten merit points, and how could he have entered secret realms every day? And those false notes were believable only because they were rooted in the Multiple Divine Characters Faction's research. Chen Yong chuckled and said no more on the matter. To the side, Wu Jia asked curiously, "Junior Brother, have you reached Wanshi yet?" "Not yet." "Not yet!" Wu Jia was slightly disappointed, but also felt a bit relieved. She beamed. "I'm almost there. In the past two days, I outlined another divine character. That makes eight!" Su Yu smiled. "Senior Sister is amazing!" The divine character battle technique Wu Jia was outlining wasn't particularly powerful, using exactly ten divine characters as its foundation. Although Bai Feng had now developed the splitting method, Chen Yong had still advised Wu Jia to outline all ten divine characters before advancing. That way, all ten would receive an upgrade simultaneously. Outlining divine characters now would certainly take less time than advancing them later on. Wu Jia was delighted at first, but then grew a bit dejected. "Even though I've gotten stronger, at best I could only fight my way to around seventieth on the Top 100 Rankings. And that was based on before; everyone else is improving, so my ranking might drop even further." Everyone was growing stronger! She had been injured for two months, costing her two months of cultivation. Even if she had been ranked in the seventies before, and had now gotten slightly stronger, she might not necessarily maintain that standing. Su Yu comforted her, "It's fine. You'll catch up very soon, Senior Sister. By the way, Martial Uncle, have you passed Grandmaster's Heaven-Shaking Scripture to Senior Sister?" Chen Yong gave him a deep look and smiled faintly. "Techniques are not to be passed on lightly. Su Yu, you must think this through!" Chen Yong was well aware in his heart whether that technique truly belonged to Hong Tan or Su Yu. Cultivation techniques were not to be passed on lightly! Even for the Xia family, the eighteen-aperture cultural art they obtained wasn't taught to just anyone; it was reserved solely for direct descendants. Previously, not even Xia Chan had been taught it. Only after Xia Huyou obtained the thirty-six-aperture cultural art was the eighteen-aperture technique passed on to Xia Chan, which showed just how precious such cultural arts were. Chen Yong knew about the technique, but he hadn't pressed for details, nor had he asked Hong Tan to pass it to Wu Jia. If this were an ancestral heritage passed down through generations, that would be one thing, but the key point was that it wasn't. Su Yu smiled. "Martial Uncle, techniques are meant to be cultivated! Doesn't Senior Sister have a slot to enter the secret realm? With this, she might be able to open dozens of divine apertures right inside the secret realm!" The Sea of Consciousness Mystic Realm was a golden opportunity! Miss it, and she might not have another chance or the time to open so many divine apertures. Chen Yong drew a soft breath. "You know how precious this technique is. The Xia family readily offered a top-tier technique like the Heaven-Cleaving Blade precisely for the sake of this art. Otherwise, Marquis Xia wouldn't have casually imparted it to you." This cultural art was roughly equal in value to the Heaven-Cleaving Blade. Su Yu smiled. "It's precisely because I traded it to the Xia family that I dared think of letting Senior Sister learn it; otherwise, I wouldn't dare. Now that the Xia family provides cover, even if someone discovers it, anyone coveting it will have to consider the consequences!" The technique had been traded to the Xia family. Since the Xia family knew it, Su Yu and his side knowing it was justifiable. Otherwise, one had to beware of being targeted! Wu Jia looked completely baffled. "What Heaven-Shaking Scripture?" Chen Yong said softly, "A basic cultural art that opens thirty-six divine apertures, a technique comparable to a top Heaven-rank manual! It was acquired by your junior brother through a stroke of fortune and isn't part of our lineage's heritage. Now, your junior brother wants to pass it on to you..." Su Yu hurriedly said, "Martial Uncle, it was created by Grandmaster and Teacher..." "..." Chen Yong gave a helpless chuckle and dropped the pretense. Looking at Wu Jia, he said, "Your junior brother doesn't want you to miss this opportunity. If you learn this technique before entering the Sea of Consciousness Mystic Realm, with enough luck, you might open all thirty-six divine apertures... Once you enter Tengkong, you could quickly advance to the ninth tier of Tengkong! At the ninth tier, after supplementing your training with the Myriad Characters Scripture and building up your foundation for a time, you'll have hopes of reaching Lingyun!" This was the sheer potency of a basic cultural art! Opening divine apertures during Character Nurturing was far easier. If one opened thirty-six divine apertures during this period, as long as willpower and divine characters kept pace, that would instantly amount to ninth-tier Tengkong. Although these basic cultural arts lacked subsequent chapters, it didn't matter. Once you had opened thirty-six divine apertures, switching over to cultivate the Myriad Characters Scripture made opening further apertures far faster. Moreover, possessing ninth-tier Tengkong combat strength ahead of time was invaluable for staying alive. Finally, cultivating the Myriad Characters Scripture to continue opening apertures would make you stronger than other Civilization Masters of the same rank. Any basic cultural art was an invaluable treasure. Wu Jia stared at Su Yu in shock. Her junior brother actually had such a miraculous opportunity! Of course she knew what a basic cultural art was, but... her junior brother had one, and he was even offering to teach it to her... The next moment, Wu Jia suddenly slapped Su Yu's head and scolded, "Junior Brother, have you lost your mind?! You traded this to someone for a martial technique? Martial arts aren't worth anywhere near that much—the Xia family took huge advantage of you!" Pained by the thought, Wu Jia said, "You should have cultivated it in secret without letting anyone know, and then stepped right into ninth-tier Tengkong! By then, an Invincible Realm expert might even have tried to recruit you..." Su Yu laughed. "Senior Sister, what good would being recruited by an Invincible Realm expert do? King Daxia is Invincible—was I supposed to trade the technique to get King Daxia to take me as a disciple?" "Yes! King Daxia would definitely agree!" Su Yu chuckled. "Senior Sister, there's no need. What's the point of trading a technique just for the title of a disciple? It would only make people look down on me!" Wu Jia said dejectedly, "But you're so talented! Master has always said you're incredibly gifted. In the Multiple Divine Characters Faction, you're constantly bullied. You'd be better off finding an Invincible and leaving the faction altogether! Your senior sister has wanted to leave for a long time. Too bad... I couldn't bear to leave Master; otherwise, I wouldn't have joined the Multiple Divine Characters Faction in the first place!" Chen Yong gave a wry smile. "You silly girl, your master is standing right here!" Wu Jia grumbled, "Master, I'm saying this precisely because you're here! Junior Brother is so amazing, yet here with us, he gets suppressed every single day. If he were anywhere else, he'd have been treated like a treasured treasure long ago!" Chen Yong was speechless, feeling rather helpless. Su Yu laughed. "Senior Sister, being in the Multiple Divine Characters Faction is wonderful! With so few people, no one competes with us for resources. When something happens, someone immediately stands up for us, because Martial Uncle and Grandmaster have so few disciples left that they have no choice but to back us up! Look at how miserable the Single Divine Character Faction is. With so many disciples, if a few get beaten to death, their seniors have to weigh the consequences and decide if it's worth intervening. After all, with so many people, losing a few doesn't matter." "That makes sense!" Wu Jia thought it over and nodded, completely forgetting about the technique issue. Su Yu felt a slight headache, so he didn't prolong the topic, instead handing a jade talisman to Chen Yong. Chen Yong took the talisman, glanced at Su Yu, and let out a soft sigh, saying nothing more. Su Yu didn't dwell on it either, asking, "Martial Uncle, is Zhou Pingsheng still the vice curator?" "Yes." "I heard earlier that his students, Zhai Feng and the rest, were spouting nonsense outside... There was no need for Martial Uncle to lower yourself to their level. Those people have no ability and can only wag their tongues—and they aren't even good at that!" Su Yu said disappointedly, "I originally planned to teach them a lesson during tomorrow's competition. What a pity the Court of Inspectors suddenly handed down a punishment. It's a light, meaningless slap on the wrist. People like them never learn from pain, and it ended up disrupting my plans." At those words, Wu Jia was just about to speak when Chen Yong smiled and said, "They're just students. A minor punishment to serve as a warning is enough!" "Right. How would students dare provoke Martial Uncle? It must have been that Zhou Pingsheng's doing. Anyone can see that fellow is no good. It's a shame he escaped this time!" Su Yu looked at Chen Yong, who remained completely unfazed. Su Yu added, "Still, that fellow is utterly useless. Last time, I even swindled several tens of thousands of merit points out of him. A complete trash like him doesn't need Martial Uncle to lift a finger—sooner or later, I'll teach him a lesson myself!" Chen Yong gave him a long, searching look. Su Yu smiled honestly and said, "Don't worry, Martial Uncle. Someone like him is far too obsessed with power, reputation, and profit! Now that he has neither fame nor gain, if I'm not mistaken, he's probably blaming the heavens and the earth, but never himself!" Chen Yong frowned slightly. Su Yu continued, "Even if someone like him dies, it will be by his own hand. Sooner or later, he'll torment himself to death!" Chen Yong looked at Su Yu once more. After a long pause, he chuckled softly. "You're right." Su Yu smiled as well. "So there's no need for Martial Uncle to waste effort on someone like him. There aren't many of us left in the Multiple Divine Characters Faction; it's simply not worth it." "You..." Chen Yong glanced at his disciple, who still looked rather bewildered, and smiled. Su Yu was very intelligent, but... Chen Yong still preferred his own disciple. When a person was too clever and thought too much, life became exhausting. The future of the Multiple Divine Characters Faction certainly rested on this kid's shoulders, but when it came to closeness, his silly disciple was naturally closer and far more fulfilling to teach. He couldn't help but pity his junior brother Bai Feng! Having taken on such a disciple, Bai Feng probably felt the urge to vomit blood every time they talked. Dropping the matter, Chen Yong changed the subject. "Are you sure you want to take part in tomorrow's competition?" "Yes." Su Yu nodded. "Liu Hong came up with some randomized five-person team battle, seemingly intending to drag me down..." Chen Yong frowned. "He plans to cheat?" "Most likely." "How bold!" Chen Yong said coldly, "I'll go tomorrow as well to see how he cheats!" Su Yu smiled. "There's no need to be angry, Martial Uncle. Exposing him wouldn't necessarily be a good thing. Many students have pinned their hopes on this opportunity! If it's exposed, the Single Divine Character Faction could simply cancel the tournament at worst. They've already given slots to some elders anyway. If that happens, the Single Divine Character Faction would draw resentment, but we would be in even worse trouble—those students would probably loathe us!" There was no point in blowing this up. If pushed too far, the Single Divine Character Faction could return the academy's ten thousand merit points and cancel the tournament outright; after all, the elders had already received their slots. If worst came to worst, they could allocate more slots to the elders under the table. But the students of the academy wouldn't direct their hatred at Liu Hong; they would direct it at Su Yu and his side. Such was human nature! If things escalated, that would be the outcome. As for Liu Hong, he wouldn't suffer any real loss anyway. Chen Yong frowned. "Then don't participate!" "That won't do!" Su Yu chuckled. "I have to get in; I can't let them take advantage! Don't worry, Martial Uncle, I have a fair degree of confidence. But there is something I need your help with right now." "Speak." "I want to send the Fire Crow over to Teacher Zhao Li. Neither Master nor Grandmaster is at the research center, so could you help me transport it?" "The Fire Crow?" "Yes. It offered to use its natal flame to temper my cultural weapon. I don't really trust it, so it's best to have Teacher Zhao present—he's a master of crafting cultural weapons." "That... can be done!" Chen Yong was somewhat surprised. "The Fire Crow is actually willing to temper your cultural weapon with its natal flame? That's a massive loss for it. How did you convince it?" "I reasoned with it and talked about the future. It was moved by my sincerity." "..." Chen Yong pretended not to hear that. Pure nonsense! ... Half an hour later. Wen Tan Research Center, detention area. Looking completely nonchalant, Chen Yong directly unlocked metal cage number six. Before the Fire Crow could make a move, Chen Yong reached out with his large hand and clamped down on it. Creaks and cracks sounded as the Fire Crow's tongue stuck out; Chen Yong forcibly squeezed it into a small ball of flesh. Holding the ball of flesh in his hand, Chen Yong glanced at the Water Person in cage number one and said calmly, "Give me some water essence!" The Water Person remained silent. Chen Yong said no more, directly opening cage number one and saying indifferently, "Will you hand it over yourself, or should I take it?" "Chen Yong..." The Water Person's gentle voice sounded. "If I give more, my cultivation will drop..." "Too much nonsense!" Chen Yong snorted softly and reached into the cage. The next moment, inside the cage, the Water Person struggled violently, willpower erupting! Su Yu's vision blurred as he felt a towering tidal wave surging forth! Yet it was only a fleeting blur. In the blink of an eye, everything conjured by the Water Person's willpower was wiped out instantly! Chen Yong held a mass resembling modeling clay in his hand. Without a word, he squeezed hard, and gradually, a droplet of clear, transparent liquid emerged! With a flick of his wrist, Chen Yong tossed the clay-like mass back into the cage and locked it shut. Across the detention area, the other great demons trembled in terror! Inside cage number one, the Water Person barely regained its form, once again taking on the shape of a person made of water. However, it was no longer radiant; it had dimmed considerably, shifting from crystalline clarity to the appearance of murky dark water. "Chen Yong... after so many years, you still haven't advanced... You can truly endure!" The Water Person's voice was gentle, laced with an indescribable tone. At the seventh tier of Lingyun, even weakened as it was, it shouldn't have been entirely devoid of combat strength. Yet Chen Yong had squeezed it casually with one hand, forcing out its water essence. Ignoring it, Chen Yong turned to Su Yu and said with a smile, "The Fire Crow is tempering your cultural weapon, but you might not be able to withstand its natal flame. Water essence is a good thing—all the Five Elements essences are good things. With water essence present, your sea of will won't be troubled by the flame." "Thank you, Martial Uncle!" "Don't mention it!" Chen Yong smiled and continued, "These demons are weak creatures; don't take them too seriously. If they don't cooperate, just kill them. I saw that you intended to tame them, but there's really no need! Master keeps several Shanhai Realm great demons in the inner chamber. If you truly want a mount, later I'll have Master tame a Shanhai demon for you. Those demons have been locked up for years, and Master was already planning to slaughter them for meat. If you're willing to take them in, they will likely submit." Su Yu was dumbfounded! There were Shanhai Realm great demons too?! Holy crap! Just what did his grandmaster do for a living?! Keeping Shanhai great demons in captivity—that was insanely badass! Inside the cages, the expressions of the other demons completely changed. When Su Yu had visited them earlier, they had still maintained some pride and reserve. But now, Chen Yong had come in person just to help Su Yu temper a cultural weapon, casually extracting a drop of water essence from the Water Person without a second thought, and was even talking about arranging a Shanhai mount for Su Yu... This... weren't they completely finished? At this moment, even a noble beast like the Suanni couldn't hold back anymore. The Suanni hurriedly called out, "Lord... Lord Chen, this lowly demon is willing to serve as Lord Su's mount!" Chen Yong glanced sideways at it, his eyes turning cold! "Do you think you're worthy?! Noisy creature!" Boom! A strike blasted directly into the cage. With a loud crash, the Suanni slammed into the metal bars, electricity searing bloody lacerations across its body. "A mere ninth-tier Tengkong dares think itself worthy to be my nephew-disciple's mount?" Chen Yong said coldly, "Know your place! You are nothing more than meat. On the All-Heavens Battlefield, let alone a Tengkong Suanni like you, I've slain several Lingyun Realm Suanni, even at the ninth tier!" "..." Su Yu stared blankly at Chen Yong. Really? But... hadn't Teacher Bai said Martial Uncle hadn't visited the All-Heavens Battlefield in years? And Martial Uncle was extraordinarily domineering today! Martial Uncle, your public persona is crumbling, you know that? Chen Yong said no more, carrying the ball of flesh that was the Fire Crow as he led Su Yu out. Once outside, he smiled. "With these demons, gentle persuasion isn't necessary. You must balance kindness with authority! If you want to tame them, your martial uncle won't stop you, but if you don't show them how terrifying we can be, beware of a backlash." "Thank you, Martial Uncle!" Su Yu expressed his gratitude. He could see that Chen Yong was helping him establish dominance, playing the bad cop while letting Su Yu play the good cop. As for how effective it would be, time would tell. ... In the detention area. The great demons fell silent. After a long time, the Shadow sighed. "Give up any illusions. Su Yu... is even more important than we thought. You should have understood Chen Yong's threat just now! Back when Bai Feng wanted to tame us, Chen Yong never stepped in. Today... Su Yu's importance is probably even higher than Bai Feng's." The other demons remained silent. The Water Person suddenly remarked, "Chen Yong still hasn't entered Shanhai. Years ago, he was already at the ninth tier of Lingyun! According to human cultivation techniques, the Myriad Characters Scripture merges at most eight divine apertures together to guarantee advancement. He should have achieved that long ago, so why hasn't he broken through?" The Myriad Characters Scripture opened seventy-two divine apertures, merging at most eight divine apertures together at each tier, which was the hallmark of a top-tier Shanhai. Could Chen Yong not have achieved that yet? Impossible! How many years had passed? Chen Yong wasn't the kind of Lingyun who had clawed his way up through slow grinding; he had been a legendary figure in his day, a top-tier genius of the Multiple Divine Characters Faction. The Suanni and Mountain-Boring Ox naturally didn't understand, but the Shadow spoke eerily, "Merging eight apertures into one to enter Shanhai... Entering Shanhai wouldn't be of much help to the Multiple Divine Characters Faction anyway, and it would easily draw scrutiny! Do you think this fellow might be doing it intentionally—merging seven apertures, but choosing not to break through, and instead continuing to merge the next seven apertures, and then the next seven apertures..." The Water Person understood its meaning! The White Li understood as well! The White Li exclaimed in shock, "Are you saying all his divine apertures have already been merged, but he deliberately left a single aperture unmerged to avoid advancing, simply biding his time like this?" The implication was terrifying! Wouldn't that mean that whenever Chen Yong wished, he could merge that very last remaining aperture at any moment? And instantly break into ninth-tier Shanhai with eight apertures merged at every tier! Because for every tier, he had already merged seven apertures. Logically, he could have advanced that way, but if he chose to remain at Lingyun, he could do so because the full set of apertures hadn't been completely merged yet. At that point, one could choose to break through with seven apertures merged, or choose not to break through at all. The Shadow sighed. "I don't know, but he really has been stuck at this level for a very long time. Even if it's not quite what I guessed, he must have merged more than just the apertures for first-tier Shanhai. He might be waiting. If that's the case, this man is the next peak Shanhai Realm powerhouse!" The White Li said in shock, "That's an insane degree of endurance! Moreover, staying stuck like that without merging the final aperture could easily cause problems like the collapse of his sea of will. He would be excessively powerful without expanding and upgrading his sea of will..." "Who knows." The Shadow didn't know the exact truth either; it had merely been speculating. It soon added, "If he really does advance straight to ninth-tier Shanhai in an instant, the erupting power will be immense, but it could easily shatter his physical body, crippling it entirely. Could this fellow be planning to abandon his physical body?" The great demons couldn't figure it out, and none of them spoke further. The Multiple Divine Characters Faction had too many monsters. Relatively speaking, Bai Feng was actually the worst among them, and also the easiest to deal with... Indeed, apart from when he was extracting their blood, Bai Feng was generally quite reasonable. Chen Yong was somber and inscrutable. Su Yu was scheming, constantly toying with them while never truly caring whether they lived or died. Hong Tan was even beyond mention—in his eyes, these great demons weren't living beings, merely crafting materials. The demons fell silent once more. Life was truly becoming more and more miserable! ... Zhao Li's research center. The Fire Crow began spewing fire. Under the watchful eyes of two Lingyun Realm cultivators, the Fire Crow trembled in terror. The oppressive aura emanating from these two Lingyun masters was not the least bit inferior to any Shanhai expert. The Fire Crow was on the verge of cursing out loud! Was this really necessary?! I'm just tempering a cultural weapon for you, yet you brought two Lingyun... no, two monsters comparable to Shanhai to keep watch over a single Tengkong demon like me! Am I really that terrifying and deceitful?! Zhao Li paid no heed to Chen Yong; he wasn't particularly fond of him. Ignoring him entirely, Zhao Li spoke to Su Yu, chuckling. "This Fire Crow creature is actually somewhat useful. Their race's natal flame is a fine fire for forging weapons. Pity... it's an innate racial ability, not a divine character. Outlining an individual Fire Crow divine character wouldn't be very useful." Curious, Su Yu asked, "What if one learned their innate ability? Would it be stronger than your flame, Teacher?" "That's hard to say. Fire is merely an aid, not an absolute requirement! But throughout the myriad realms, several types of flame are quite decent—for instance, the fire of the Fire Element race among the Five Elements race, the fire of the Fire Crow race, the fire of the Fire Dragon race... They are all fine flames for weapon forging!" Su Yu nodded slightly. He could try unlocking the Fire Crow race's innate ability himself later. It likely had to do with divine apertures! Forging weapons required such flame. He had previously promised to help Zhao Li forge that Earth-rank cultural weapon once he reached Lingyun. "Prepared for tomorrow's competition?" "Yes!" "This is pretty good, but the effect is rather vicious—it injures the target's sea of will. Unless dealing with a mortal enemy, don't use it. Once you do, you're sworn enemies! When willpower is scorched, it can slowly recover, but when the sea of will is burned, the damage strikes at the root, making it extremely difficult to treat!" Su Yu nodded; he was aware of this. "Teacher, is this Fire Crow of any use to you? If it is, I can leave it here to tend your forge fire..." "Forget it!" Zhao Li showed no interest and chuckled. "It's too useless—only seventh-tier Tengkong. Seventh-tier Lingyun would be decent, but seventh-tier Tengkong is just trash. On the All-Heavens Battlefield, I wouldn't even bother capturing something like this. Hong Tan must have been bored out of his mind!" The Fire Crow: "..." It shivered in fear! It wanted to cry! I am very useful! I'm not trash! But... but why do I also feel like I'm completely useless now? Even my fire-tending is being scoffed at! "M-My lords, I can fly... very fast... Lord Su can ride me through the skies..." Zhao Li gave it a side glance, not bothering to pay it any mind. He turned back to Su Yu. "Enter the Tengkong Realm as early as you can, and stop fooling around with those people! As for the Sea of Consciousness slot, if you truly want one, there's no need to compete—I'll go demand one for you..." Su Yu stared at him, dumbstruck. Zhao Li said indifferently, "If they don't give it to me, their faction won't be allowed into the yuanqi secret realm anymore! How big of a deal could it be?" "..." Chen Yong didn't even want to speak, feeling weary in his heart. Zhao Li wasn't exaggerating. If he truly went to demand one, would Zhou Mingren yield? He would! Even if it was for Su Yu, Zhou Mingren would have to pinch his nose and endure it! Su Yu also wore a helpless expression. You make it sound so simple and effortless, old man. Still, Su Yu hurriedly replied, "No need, Teacher. I'll get it myself!" If Zhao Li asked for it, that would expend personal favors. Once or twice, people might tolerate it. Do it too many times, and things would turn sour. Relying on the residual protection of the fourth-generation head, Zhao Li lived a very comfortable life now. But once he got entangled in the factional struggles, life would no longer be easy, and anything could happen. Zhao Li enjoyed an elevated status largely because he stayed out of academy politics and had voluntarily contributed the yuanqi secret realm to the academy; the academy owed him. Yet once he became directly involved, that transcendent standing would take a heavy blow. Hearing this, Zhao Li pressed no further. Soon enough, the Fire Crow's tempering was nearly finished. Zhao Li wasted no words. His iron hammer appeared again, shattering the Water Person's essence and coating it over the cultural weapon. He warned, "Whenever you want to use the fire, you can unseal this layer of water essence. Keep it sealed usually so it won't affect normal combat! Once unsealed, it will directly wound the opponent's sea of will! This is the essence of a seventh-tier Lingyun from the Water Element race; keeping it sealed for a few months won't be an issue. If fully unsealed, it delivers the burning power of a seventh-tier Tengkong, but it can only burst forth once!" "Treat this as a trump card, and use it at your discretion!" Su Yu hurriedly nodded and couldn't resist asking, "Teacher, if I encounter a Tengkong cultivator, does that mean I'd have a chance to kill them?" Zhao Li glanced at him and smiled faintly. "Below the seventh tier of Tengkong, there's hope; above the seventh tier, forget it! The Fire Crow's natal flame is only at the seventh tier of Tengkong. And below the seventh tier, it has to be a Civilization Master, not a warrior. Otherwise, even if a warrior's willpower is gravely injured, they could still land a thunderous counterstrike on you!" "Understood!" Su Yu nodded. It truly was a trump card. In that case, if he caught a third- or fourth-tier Tengkong Civilization Master by surprise, he might actually be able to slay them. One could never have too many trump cards! Su Yu was thoroughly satisfied! With this, even if he ran into experts capable of battling Tengkong cultivators, he wouldn't be afraid. He could even adjust the degree of the unsealing. And as for the Seal Saber... it finally lived up to its name! Su Yu remarked with deep feeling, "My Seal Saber finally lives up to its name!" "..." The two Lingyun experts remained silent. The Seal Saber—how did you have the nerve to give it that name! Was that thing actually used for sealing? Have some shame, will you! To the side, the Fire Crow was utterly drained and wore a miserable expression. After paying such a steep price, nobody even spared it a glance. How truly pitiful. It didn't even dare run away! This Great Xia Civilization Academy felt more and more dangerous by the day. Now, nobody even wanted it as a mount. What a pathetic creature it was!