Pure Malice

*Yi God Art—Qianjun Chapter* and *Blood-Condensing Saber*. One cultivation method and one martial skill—these were the secret manuals Su Yu had obtained this time. Su Yu cast a glance at *Blood-Condensing Saber* before setting it aside. This kind of martial skill was of very low rank; the academies all had copies, so there was no need to look closely at it. Cultivation methods and martial skills were divided into four tiers: Heaven, Earth, Mystic, and Yellow. Each tier was further subdivided into four grades: top, high, middle, and low. Four tiers and sixteen grades—this was how the techniques and martial skills of the myriad races were classified. Su Yu skimmed *Blood-Condensing Saber*; it was Yellow Tier, middle grade. While not utter garbage, it was certainly nothing impressive. There were plenty of them at the secondary academy, so he couldn't be bothered to examine it further. However, even though he only possessed the Qianjun Chapter of *Yi God Art*, Su Yu studied this cultivation method for a long time. Bai Feng had called *Yi God Art* garbage, but that was because he looked at it from a different perspective and standing. How could a cultivation method that tempted powerhouses of the All-Races Sect—one that could give rise to a major faction within the sect—truly be garbage? "Mystic Tier, top grade!" That was the rank of this method, though Su Yu only possessed the Qianjun Chapter. While methods were nominally classified into Heaven, Earth, Mystic, and Yellow, this classification actually encompassed the arts of the myriad races across the heavens. Su Yu wasn't clear on the exact details, but it seemed many invincible powerhouses of the human race also only cultivated Earth Tier or Mystic Tier methods. Over three hundred years ago, when the Anping Calendar began, humanity hadn't had so many powerful methods to choose from. "*Yi God Art*..." Su Yu read through it again and again. It was a method for forging the physical body, a method for absorbing origin qi to temper the flesh. *The human body relies primarily on physical apertures to connect with origin qi and temper the body. The more apertures opened, the more origin qi can be absorbed, and the more origin qi can be stored.* *The nine Kaiyuan apertures serve as the foundation. Building upon them, one opens additional apertures in the Qianjun Realm, drawing in origin qi to temper the body.* *The Qianjun Chapter of Yi God Art opens seventy-two apertures. Once all seventy-two apertures are opened and filled with origin qi, one reaches the Qianjun ninth stage!* This was not Su Yu's first time coming across a Qianjun Realm cultivation method. Earlier on, he had already encountered the military's basic Qianjun method—*Qianjun Art*. It was very simple and quite rudimentary. Most people in the military cultivated it. It wasn't that there were no better methods available, but rather that cultivating those superior methods required sufficient origin qi and a powerful physical body to support opening more apertures. Ordinary cultivators, even if handed a Heaven Tier method, had no way of cultivating it successfully. Origin qi was lacking; at the very least, the origin qi in the Human Realm was insufficient to sustain their cultivation. And if their bodies weren't strong enough and their foundations weren't solid, opening too many apertures would place an unbearable burden on them, causing their bodies to collapse and burst from origin qi overload. *Qianjun Art* could open thirty-six apertures and was considered a top-grade Human Tier method. That was already quite good; it rapidly boosted a soldier's combat power, allowed relatively faster advancement, and required fewer resources. Some people didn't lack stronger methods, yet ultimately switched to *Qianjun Art* because it was easier to advance and prolong their lifespans with it. *Yi God Art* opened seventy-two apertures to cultivate and store origin qi in the Qianjun Realm, making it a fairly powerful method. Opening apertures was not something done at random. *Yi God Art* gave a detailed explanation of the opening process for the seventy-two apertures, the sequence in which they should be opened, and the origin qi circulation they ultimately formed. Recklessly opening apertures would easily destabilize this circulation; at best, one's origin qi would scatter, and at worst, one's body would explode and cause death. Su Yu studied it for a long time and finally concluded that it was indeed far more profound and ingenious than *Qianjun Art*. Upon cultivating to the Qianjun ninth stage, one would be considerably stronger than someone who cultivated *Qianjun Art*, possessing greater strength and a sturdier body. As for whether one could slay a soldier of the same realm on the battlefield, that depended on combat experience and willpower; having greater strength and a stronger body did not guarantee victory. "Opening seventy-two apertures makes it quite a good item." Su Yu hadn't actually considered cultivating it, but knowledge was transferable. Reading more and encountering more would only enrich his own foundation. He delved into the languages of the myriad races, and this actually fell within his scope of study as well. For example, the locations of the seventy-two apertures in *Yi God Art*: he hadn't known them before, but now he did. If he ran into Tianyi God Sect cultists again, he could target those apertures specifically, disrupting their origin qi circulation system. This was why cultivation methods were not to be leaked lightly. The seventy-two apertures were the foundation of their strength, but they were also their weaknesses. Not every aperture was a weak point, but if certain key apertures were disrupted, it would lead to a gruesome outcome like that Tengkong fourth stage hall master's—origin qi scattering, causing a backlash that resulted in instant death. That was the reason Bai Feng had been able to slay him so easily. Bai Feng had taken less than ten seconds to kill Hall Master Chen, and half of that time was spent talking. The rest of the time was spent destroying the man's crucial apertures, which was why he killed him so quickly. If it had been a fight based purely on martial prowess, even if Bai Feng could have killed him, it definitely wouldn't have been that easy. Of course, the Tengkong Realm version of *Yi God Art* was far more complex, opening many more apertures, and many of the Qianjun Realm weaknesses ceased to be weaknesses. This meant Bai Feng had also studied the *Yi God Art—Tengkong Chapter* very deeply. Su Yu studied it for nearly two hours before putting the manual down. He couldn't cultivate Qianjun Realm methods right now; this was merely research. If one were powerful enough, one might even deduce the methods of the Tianyi God Race through analogy—though naturally, that wasn't something Su Yu could achieve, nor was it even something Bai Feng could pull off. "Cultivation methods and martial skills aren't of much use to me at this stage. But the blood essence, on the other hand..." Su Yu also inspected the three drops of blood essence. Blood essence retained a trace of remnant will from the living creature—an image—which made it possible to roughly identify the species. "One drop of Ironwing Bird blood essence, one drop of Fire Swine blood essence, and the remaining one should be Bloodthirsty Rabbit blood essence." All three drops of blood essence belonged to common races. There was no God or Devil blood, nor any blood essence from powerful races... Which made total sense! Where would a Qianjun Realm All-Races Sect cultist get powerful blood essence? These common types of blood essence were the mainstay they used to aid their cultivation. Blood essence provided rich origin qi and strengthened the physical body, offering tremendous help to the Qianjun Realm. Humans in the Qianjun Realm primarily cultivated using blood essence and medicinal pills. Even though none of them were rare treasures, these three drops of blood essence would fetch at least 150,000 at the Xia Trading Company. "Not bad at all. The blood essence is worth 150,000, the body-tempering pills are worth 150,000, plus the 10 gold coins—that's 400,000 Anping coins!" Su Yu was quite satisfied. Wealth came from taking risks. Although this had been rather dangerous, his gains exceeded 400,000. If he turned in the secret manuals, there would actually be some reward as well. Even if humanity already possessed these methods, they would still offer a reward, because having them proved he had slain an All-Races Sect cultist. Tallying it all up, his net worth instantly surpassed 700,000. Su Yu grinned. If his dad found out, he wondered if the old man would feel inadequate—his son had earned more in a single day than his eighteen years of savings. ... That night, Su Yu began dreaming again. The dreams were continuing. On the day the Ironwing Bird blood essence activated the album, Su Yu actually hadn't dreamed. But starting from the next day, the dreams had resumed. However, at present, Su Yu didn't dream every single day; over the past few days, it was sometimes every other day, or even once every two days. The dreams weren't activating non-stop. Su Yu suspected that the earlier dreams had already brought out most of the races. The ones appearing now were probably some of the remaining races, updating his illustrated guide every few days. There were many common races Su Yu hadn't seen or didn't remember. He had a slight suspicion: perhaps these weak races had to wait for later activation because they were too weak, so the dream had shoved them to the back, as the album itself might have forgotten them. Su Yu had a vague impression of the creature he dreamed of that night. It somewhat resembled the Whirl-Turtle recorded in the *Illustrated Guide to the Myriad Races*. As for whether it really was one, he could buy a drop of Whirl-Turtle blood essence to test it. But after considering it, Su Yu felt that activating the Whirl-Turtle page right now probably wouldn't be very useful. He would wait and see later; devouring blood essence back-to-back was still putting a strain on his body. Lu fish, Ironwing Bird, Whirl-Turtle—these were the three races Su Yu had identified. This meant the races he was seeing were starting to become common, and it also showed that Su Yu's knowledge was growing. If he hadn't read extensively, it would have been very difficult to identify these races from subtle details and vague silhouettes. ... Nanyuan Secondary Academy. On the way, Su Yu had already learned yesterday's outcome from Chen Hao. He felt a slight trace of worry, but the matter was already set in stone. That fellow Chen Hao wanted to attend the War Academy, and Su Yu couldn't just stand by and watch the opportunity slip away. That was why he had let Chen Hao claim the credit, giving Chen Hao a shot at entering the War Academy. With some trepidation, Su Yu had just stepped into the classroom when an instructor called him away. ... Inside the instructor office. The instructor had already left. At that moment, only Liu Wenyan and a young man were in the office—the young man being Bai Feng. Liu Wenyan was reading a book, and Bai Feng was reading one too. Holding a hefty tome, Bai Feng was squatting off to the side, reading with relish—squatting, not sitting. He seemed to have reached some brilliant passage, a bright grin on his face, looking not at all like a powerhouse who could easily slaughter a Tengkong fourth stage expert. When Su Yu entered, neither greeted him. Su Yu offered a greeting, then stood off to the side, waiting with a touch of nervousness, unsure why his teacher had summoned him. Having stepped into the Tengkong Realm, Liu Wenyan's willpower had grown even stronger. Sweeping his senses secretly over Su Yu at that moment, he nodded inwardly. He truly was at the Kaiyuan fourth stage. Previously, his will hadn't manifested, so he hadn't sensed it. Not only was he at the Kaiyuan fourth stage, but sensing a little closer, there were faint ripples of origin qi around the right ear aperture; it even felt like he was close to the Kaiyuan fifth stage. After a moment of silence, Liu Wenyan looked up and asked blandly, "Have you been spending all your time cultivating these past days?" "Yes." "Have you been reading?" "I've slacked off a bit." Su Yu felt somewhat awkward. "Ever since my father left these past few days, I've been a bit worried, so I focused most of my energy on cultivation." "Being prepared for danger in times of peace is good, and cultivating diligently is also good. But..." Liu Wenyan said displeasedly, "Reading books is also cultivation! 'Devour ten thousand scrolls, and in a single day step into the Tengkong Realm.' Cultivating—I won't stop you; you should cultivate. But you cannot abandon your reading. "When you signed up for the War Academy earlier, I knew what you were thinking. But as I said before, if you only walk the path of the physical body, how long will it take you to reach the Tengkong Realm? "Yet if you are knowledgeable and read ten thousand scrolls, it is an entirely different story. "You've seen this person here: Bai Feng, assistant researcher at the Civilization Academy, twenty-eight years old. He has been in the Civilization Academy for nine years. Looking purely at his physical body and willpower, he is at the Tengkong sixth stage, but his actual combat strength is even higher because of his formidable willpower... An ordinary Tengkong seventh stage might not be able to beat him." Liu Wenyan said solemnly, "He is merely one among the Civilization Academy's many mediocre talents. If even he could cultivate to this level in nine years, you will only be stronger than him!" Bai Feng: "..." Bai Feng, who was reading, looked up and glanced at Liu Wenyan. After thinking it over, he lowered his head and continued reading. *Say whatever you want. What can I say when an elder uses me to discipline his student?* *Me, a mediocre talent?* *If I'm mediocre, how did I become a researcher?* *Granted, I'm not in the most monstrous tier at the Civilization Academy, but I'm still among the absolute top!* *Reaching the Tengkong sixth stage before thirty, with hopes of stepping into an even higher realm in the next two years—this is called mediocre?* *Does Uncle-Master have some kind of misunderstanding about mediocrity?* Su Yu hurriedly said, "Don't worry, Teacher. From now on, I will give equal weight to both. I've read for so many years; I won't give it up now." "It's good that you understand." Liu Wenyan said earnestly, "You cultivate quickly. You didn't take it to heart before, but now that you have, you've swiftly reached the Kaiyuan fourth stage, even nearly the fifth. Perhaps this has given you the illusion that you're more suited for the War Academy and the path of the physical body... "But let me tell you, even if you go to the War Academy and reach the Kaiyuan ninth stage in one year, won't it take three years for the Qianjun ninth stage? Won't it take five years for the Wanshi ninth stage? "And that's considering you a pretty decent genius—having a chance to step into the Tengkong Realm in nine years. "Yet you must understand just how vast the gap is between the Tengkong first stage and the Tengkong sixth stage. After that, you might stay stuck in the Tengkong Realm for decades. "You are merely at the Kaiyuan fourth stage. Don't deceive yourself into thinking you are truly amazing, truly a genius! We are just a small city like Nanyuan. If Nanyuan can produce fourth and fifth stages, what do you think other cities have? "What do you think the Great Xia Prefecture has?" Off to the side, Bai Feng chuckled and said, "I took a look at the other cities. The reported lists include several Kaiyuan seventh stage geniuses. Of course, the Kaiyuan seventh stage is already out of reach for Nanyuan, but in the Great Xia prefectural city, there are plenty at the Kaiyuan seventh stage, and even some at the eighth stage!" The Kaiyuan eighth stage opened the Zique aperture, marking the formal cultivation of martial skills. Origin qi could barely be used in a coherent flow, giving cultivators a certain level of combat power at this stage. "There are even some at the Kaiyuan ninth stage who only need to connect the nine apertures to step into the Qianjun Realm. Naturally, those guys haven't broken through to Qianjun yet; they're waiting to enter the academy before advancing." This time, Liu Wenyan didn't interrupt him. Looking at Su Yu, he sighed and said, "It's not that I'm forcing you to apply for the Civilization Academy. I just want you to understand that your talent does not lie in the path of the physical body. Even if you do have talent, you... are still lagging far behind. "The path of the physical body consumes a massive amount of natural treasures. It takes blood essence, pills, battles, weapons... 'Poverty breeds scholars, wealth builds martial artists!' "Su Yu, coming from ordinary origins, if you had no talent in cultural studies, I would be thrilled to see you enter the War Academy to fight for a chance! "But you have talent in this area. I hope you can go further, aim higher! "In the early stages, the Civilization Academy doesn't emphasize these material things, and the consumption isn't very large. Even if you have no money and no combat strength, you still have hope of reaching the Tengkong Realm. But at the War Academy... there would be very little hope!" Liu Wenyan looked at him and said softly, "Do you know why I don't try to persuade anyone else? Why I don't even persuade Liu Yue? Even if Liu Yue applied for the War Academy, I wouldn't try to stop her! Because her family is wealthy and can support her subsequent cultivation. "Su Yu, this is why I want you to walk the path of civilization. I hope you won't fade into mediocrity due to a lack of material resources. Even if you have talent... resources aren't handed out for free, and pies don't fall from the sky! "The War Academy is full of geniuses. You are not exceptional there, so your path will be much harder. I only hope your journey can be smoother." Su Yu nodded vigorously, genuinely moved. He knew these were heartfelt words from his teacher. For someone from the common class like him, certain things truly were hard to afford. If he set his sights on merely reaching Qianjun or Wanshi, it would naturally be fine. But if his goal was to swiftly reach the Tengkong Realm, his family background was clearly insufficient to support it. "Teacher, I understand. I didn't consider so much before; I didn't think that deeply about it. Moving forward, I will work hard." "It's good that you understand." Liu Wenyan smiled. "Over the next few days, have Bai Feng give you some guidance. If there's anything you don't know or don't understand, feel free to ask him. While he isn't exceptional at the Civilization Academy, he is more than qualified to guide you." Bai Feng: "..." Having been talked down to so many times by Liu Wenyan, Bai Feng was beginning to doubt himself. *Am I really not exceptional?* *I, Bai Feng, have quite a reputation at the Civilization Academy, and even across the Great Xia Prefecture, don't I?* *I'm someone with hopes of reaching beyond the Tengkong Realm, and reaching it before thirty at that! Not to mention, I'm one of the few assistant researchers under thirty...* *Why do I feel completely worthless here?* *Why?* Bai Feng was thoroughly exasperated. *Uncle-Master, when you call me mediocre, think about yourself—manifesting your will in your seventies! Why belittle yourself like that!* Glancing at Su Yu and seeing that the kid seemed to agree with Liu Wenyan, Bai Feng smirked. *Youngsters simply lack perspective.* *Once you enter the Civilization Academy, you'll know who your Brother Feng really is.* *You'll understand just how difficult it is to reach my level!* *Don't try to explain the size of an elephant to an ant; an ant's imagination is limited, unable to comprehend it.* *Only when standing at a certain height can an ant realize that an elephant's immensity is beyond imagination.* "I will be staying at Nanyuan Academy for the next two days. I'll leave in two days, so you can find me anytime." Leaving those words behind, Bai Feng grabbed his book and walked out with a chuckle. Once he had walked far enough, Liu Wenyan suddenly whispered, "Study well, and treasure these two days! Use your greatest wits to exploit him, to bleed him dry! Even if you can't truly drain him, this is the maximum amount of time I could secure for you. Even once you get to the Civilization Academy, you won't necessarily have an opportunity like this, understand?" "Understood!" Su Yu was slightly shaken. Did his teacher mean that even at the Civilization Academy, he might not get guidance from a researcher? "An assistant researcher's lectures cost five merit points per session!" "One session is one hour!" Liu Wenyan whispered, "Two days—forty-eight hours. Don't sleep; go learn! Once you're done, that's two hundred and forty merit points, an amount you might not earn in years. Go on, I believe in you!" "Thank you, Teacher!" At that moment, Su Yu's eyes lit up! Master and disciple exchanged a look, both smiling brilliantly. In the distance, Bai Feng suddenly felt a wave of pure malice crashing over him. Shivering, he turned around and couldn't help cursing under his breath. *Is Uncle-Master planning to screw me over?* *How could he possibly screw me over?*