Hit and Run

Su Yu paid no attention to what was happening outside. His vision blurred, and he appeared in a new domain. Not far away, Xia Chan turned her head and looked at him with a frown. The two had been transported together, having entered at the exact same time. Su Yu broke into a simple, honest smile. At that moment, the willpower in the mystic realm was dense, but not yet overwhelming, as not everyone outside had been transported in yet and the Sea of Consciousness Mystic Realm had not truly opened. What was here now was merely the willpower that had accumulated over normal times. Paying no heed to Xia Chan, Su Yu looked around. The place was quite vast. He could not see the horizon in any direction! No other figures were visible in his field of view either, leaving him with no idea just how massive this mystic realm was. The yuanqi secret realm was already huge; Su Yu had entered it multiple times, yet he still only lingered in the Qianjun and Wanshi zones. After observing for a moment, Su Yu turned on his heel and ran. Xia Chan frowned slightly and called out, "You only entered with me on purpose because you feared being targeted by Zhou Pingsheng. Why are you running off now?" "I'm going to look around elsewhere so I don't disturb your cultivation, Classmate Xia!" Su Yu called back with an honest expression, turning his head as he sprinted away! Entering with you was just to pull the wool over people's eyes. I'm going to find my own place to hide and cultivate! As he ran, he looked back and shouted again, "Classmate Xia, you won't sell me out, will you? Brother Huyou is my brother—we're practically family!" Xia Chan let out a cold snort and could not be bothered to reply! Su Yu smiled and quickly vanished from her sight. ... Once he had run far enough that Xia Chan could no longer see him, Su Yu hurriedly changed directions and ran to the side. He took several more turns, carefully avoiding everyone while staying alert to his surroundings. In his mind, he also used the perception jade to sense the area and check whether anyone was monitoring him. At the same time, a transmission talisman appeared in his hand. "Brother Zhang, how about helping me out?" "With what?" "Where are you? I'll come find you and hide behind you while I cultivate. We'll count it in mutual aid points—how about 500 mutual aid points? You can exchange that for the opening methods of five divine apertures!" "..." As soon as those words were sent, Zhang Hao quickly replied, "Deal!" Su Yu let out a sigh of relief! The members of the Mutual Aid Society were dependable after all. Moreover, Zhang Hao was a genius of the Divine Talisman Department, so not even Zhou Pingsheng would dare probe him rashly, lest it cause a misunderstanding. As for people like Xia Huyou, forget it. If he could think of seeking them out, Zhou Pingsheng would surely think of it too. Zhou Pingsheng might even be keeping an eye on them right now! Seeking out Zhang Hao was different; that fellow had no idea Su Yu had any connection with Zhang Hao. ... Five or six minutes later, Su Yu and Zhang Hao met. There were not many physical barriers in this mystic realm. The ground was composed of light, buoyant, cloud-like matter, making it impossible to conceal one's tracks or dig a hole to hide in. However, there were several small mounds in the realm. Using these as landmarks, the two determined their positions and converged. By this point, the willpower in the mystic realm was growing denser and denser! And it was extraordinarily pure! Meeting Zhang Hao, Su Yu checked the perception jade once more. Fortunately, it had not changed color; evidently, no one was paying attention to this area. "Brother Zhang!" Su Yu cupped his hands and wasted no time, swiftly tossing a jade talisman to him. "The opening methods for five divine apertures. Brother Zhang can take this opportunity to try opening them!" "Many thanks!" Zhang Hao beamed with a broad smile! What great luck! It was only a small favor, yet it had netted him the opening methods for five divine apertures, leaving him thoroughly satisfied. Su Yu glanced at the small mound behind them and said quickly, "Brother Zhang, in a moment I'll hide beneath your robes to cultivate. Once you claim this small mound, I'm afraid you'll have to play the villain for once!" "Brother Su jokes!" Zhang Hao chuckled. "With a place this huge and only several dozen people, everyone can find somewhere to cultivate. If someone really wants to make trouble for me, I'm no pushover! Still, it must be uncomfortable for Brother Su. Do you really have to hide beneath my robe?" "I have no choice. That fellow is deliberately targeting me. Once he came in, he was bound to look for me!" As Su Yu spoke, he and Zhang Hao walked up the small mound together. A Civilization Master's robes proved useful at that moment. Zhang Hao sat down cross-legged, spreading out his wide robes around him. Su Yu slipped straight underneath, hiding behind him with his head pressed against Zhang Hao's back... Zhang Hao felt a bit awkward. Su Yu chuckled softly and whispered, "Brother Zhang, in a moment I'll draw over a massive amount of willpower. Don't worry about such small matters—opening more divine apertures is what truly counts!" Zhang Hao's heart stirred. That made sense. Su Yu must have opened quite a few divine apertures; if Su Yu did not absorb it all and left some for him, it would actually aid his own cultivation. "Understood. Don't worry, even a Lingyun expert wouldn't dare probe me rashly!" With that, Zhang Hao's blood and qi surged, and his willpower erupted. It formed a small pillar of cloudy mist! This signaled to outsiders that this spot was taken and claimed by him. Anyone who dared interfere would make an enemy of him. Su Yu did not waste words either. He swiftly activated his divine apertures, instantly drawing a massive surge of surrounding willpower toward them! Zhang Hao was shaken. Just how many divine apertures had Su Yu opened? Not daring to delay, Zhang Hao immediately began cultivating, whispering, "Be quick and draw in more. If anyone notices an anomaly later, they'll just assume this place naturally has denser willpower than elsewhere!" "All right!" Without another word, Su Yu opened forty-four divine apertures simultaneously, pulling vast quantities of willpower toward him. His forty-four divine apertures greedily absorbed everything. Su Yu did not take it all, leaving a portion for Zhang Hao. Zhang Hao was currently opening his first divine aperture, which Su Yu had given him last time. This time, Su Yu had given him five more. If all went smoothly, Zhang Hao was confident he could open all six divine apertures. Meanwhile, the surrounding willpower grew thicker and thicker! After a few minutes, Su Yu suddenly tapped Zhang Hao with a finger. Zhang Hao's heart jolted, and he barked, "This place is occupied! The mystic realm is vast—do not disrupt my cultivation. I am Zhang Hao of the Divine Talisman Department. Let's not pick a fight and forge a mortal grudge!" As soon as he spoke, a figure approached from the distance. Hu Wensheng walked through the air, his brow slightly furrowed. He had felt the dense willpower here and came to cultivate, not expecting someone to have claimed it already. Zhang Hao, a new student? While Hu Wensheng was still pondering, Zhang Hao kept his expression steady and called out, "Teaching Assistant Hu, I discovered this place where willpower converges first. Do you intend to contest it with me?" Hu Wensheng frowned. Saying nothing more, he turned and left. Snatching a spot claimed by a student was unseemly enough, not to mention Zhang Hao had an elder for a master and a grandfather at the Lingyun Ninth Layer. He was not someone to be trifled with. Once Hu Wensheng departed, Zhang Hao breathed a slight sigh of relief. He was inwardly amazed! What was Su Yu's deal? How could he have sensed that in advance? Was it a divine character, or something else? Pushing the thought aside, he quickly absorbed the willpower. It was so dense that in nearly the blink of an eye, the divine aperture he had spent days trying to unlock finally opened completely! Boom! A roar echoed in his mind. Just like when Su Yu had opened his divine apertures, Zhang Hao experienced the sensation of his soul stepping out of his body. The next instant, everything returned to normal, and he was overjoyed! It really could be opened! It had truly succeeded! Before succeeding, he had harbored some worry that it might not be genuine or might fail to open, but now not a shred of doubt remained. Both of them rapidly absorbed the willpower as the immense energy surged toward them like a tide! ... Meanwhile. The others had also begun cultivating one after another. Zhou Pingsheng was walking through the air, looking in all directions. Soon, Zhou Pingsheng landed. Ahead, Xia Huyou was in the midst of cultivating. Seeing Zhou Pingsheng, he frowned and grumbled, "Don't mess with me. I'm from the Xia family. If you disrupt my cultivation, the Xia family will come looking for you!" Zhou Pingsheng remained silent. He glanced around and saw no sign of Su Yu. Frowning slightly, he stepped into the air and departed once more. Once he was gone, Xia Huyou muttered a few complaints. Having nothing better to do, was he? Still, Su Yu was probably in real trouble. Although the mystic realm was not small, it was not overwhelmingly vast either. If Zhou Pingsheng continued searching like this, Su Yu would be discovered sooner or later. Once targeted by Zhou Pingsheng, Su Yu could forget about cultivating in peace. Zhou Pingsheng was already at the Lingyun Seventh Layer; cultivating here offered him limited gains anyway. Evidently, he had abandoned his own cultivation entirely just to deal with Su Yu! ... Soon, Zhou Pingsheng landed in another spot. Several people were here as well. Wu Jia was currently less than five meters away from Wan Mingze. She glanced at Zhou Pingsheng, snorted, and continued cultivating with her eyes closed. Her junior brother had told her to pay no mind to these people! If Zhou Pingsheng dared cause trouble, she would simply sit right next to Wan Mingze and cultivate. In any case, she had only just begun opening divine apertures and did not require an immense amount of willpower. Even if disrupted, the impact would not be severe. Wan Mingze opened his eyes and looked toward Zhou Pingsheng, frowning slightly before quickly resuming a gentle smile. He said calmly, "Teacher Zhou, since you've entered the mystic realm, you should cherish this opportunity, absorb more willpower, and advance to the Shanhai Realm as soon as possible..." Zhou Pingsheng's gaze sharpened, and he said indifferently, "Student Wan need not trouble himself on my account!" With that, he stepped into the air and left! Wu Jia... though he disliked her, she was merely incidental. If not to target Chen Yong, he would not have bothered with her at all. Su Yu was the truly irritating one! And his talent was far too formidable! If Su Yu were allowed to absorb a massive amount of willpower, that would be the real trouble. Zhou Pingsheng rose into the air and surveyed his surroundings. Soon, he spotted several places where willpower was churning violently. He ignored them; those were likely other Tengkong or Lingyun cultivators practicing. He checked the other directions where willpower flowed one by one, finding his student Zhai Feng, finding others, and eventually even finding Xia Chan, yet still seeing no trace of Su Yu. "Junior Sister Xia, Su Yu entered alongside you. Did you see where he went?" Zhou Pingsheng asked. Xia Chan frowned slightly, opened her eyes, and said, "I don't know. Senior Brother Zhou, now that you're inside, cultivate properly. Relying on suppressing others to secure your own standing is utterly low." Zhou Pingsheng snorted coldly in his heart! Low? You're a member of the Xia family, so of course you can say that. If I don't suppress Su Yu, who will ever think highly of me? He had already lost all face; he did not care if he lost a bit more. Of his four disciples, only one had managed to enter this time. The others were either severely injured or barred from entering with their privileges stripped. How could he accept this lying down? Nearly an hour had already passed. Zhou Pingsheng cursed inwardly! Where was the boy? The mystic realm was not small, but it was not limitless either. Where had that brat run off to? He hesitated no longer. Could Su Yu have gone to cultivate near one of the Tengkong or Lingyun cultivators? ... Nearly another half hour passed. Zhou Pingsheng checked several more locations until he arrived at another spot where willpower was churning. As soon as he drew near, he heard someone bark, "This is the cultivation grounds of Zhang Hao from the Divine Talisman Department! I discovered this place. Do not try to seize it—go find your own, or we forge a mortal grudge!" From a distance, Zhou Pingsheng spotted Zhang Hao and frowned slightly. The boy's senses were sharp! This kid had extraordinary luck. While the concentration of willpower here was not the absolute highest in the realm, it was among the best. The other prime spots were held by Tengkong or Lingyun experts, yet a mere Yangxing cultivator had claimed such a good location. Paying no heed to Zhang Hao, Zhou Pingsheng probed the surroundings with his willpower. Although one could not dig holes here, he now suspected Su Yu might have obtained some concealment divine character, so wherever he went, he wanted to probe around to see if he could uncover Su Yu's presence. After searching, he found nothing. Zhou Pingsheng had no choice but to ask, "Have you seen Su Yu?" "No!" Zhang Hao frowned and snapped impolitely, "Director Zhou, you are disrupting my cultivation! Looking for Su Yu is your business. My master paid good money for my spot, and I found a prime location. Are you deliberately using excuses to disrupt me?" "You..." Zhou Pingsheng grew slightly incensed. Complete nonsense! He had not even planned to cultivate! Zhang Hao said coldly, "Then Director Zhou may leave. Cultivation is private; I do not wish to be watched. My Zhang family may lack a Shanhai expert, but we are not pushovers either!" "Hmph!" Zhou Pingsheng snorted, displeased. However, he said nothing more and flew away through the air. Suspicion lingered in his mind. Where was Su Yu? Damn it! It was as though the boy had vanished the moment he entered! ... Once he was gone, Su Yu checked the perception jade. Fortunately, Zhou Pingsheng was indeed no longer nearby—or at least, he was no longer probing the area. "Brother Zhang, the willpower here is getting denser and denser. I have to leave soon!" In this brief window, Su Yu had already opened three divine apertures. His speed was astonishing! However, he had gathered so much willpower in this location that they could not absorb it fast enough. If this continued, Zhou Pingsheng would notice something amiss sooner or later. "He wouldn't dare probe me..." Zhang Hao's lips parted slightly, but Su Yu whispered, "It's too dense; it will draw attention. I'll cultivate for another half hour to draw in more willpower. Brother Zhang, you'd better aim to open all six apertures this time." Including the first one, Zhang Hao had now opened two divine apertures. Hearing this, he said no more and quietly resumed cultivating. Su Yu also quickly devoured the willpower. With forty-seven divine apertures fully opened, his absorption speed was blazing fast. It was not a bit slower than that of an ordinary first- or second-layer Lingyun cultivator! Moreover, he was only at the Yangxing stage, where opening apertures was simpler. At that moment, his fourth divine aperture was being unlocked; on average, he could open an aperture every half hour. In the distance, a faint silhouette of Zhou Pingsheng could still be seen heading off to check the next location. Su Yu peered out from beneath the robe, staring into the distance, and smiled. Since you don't dare conduct an unrestricted willpower sweep, catching me won't be that simple! In a moment, I'll go mess with you first! His transmission talisman flickered. Su Yu confirmed Zhai Feng's location and prepared to go mess with him shortly—he would drain the willpower around Zhai Feng and run! Nearly another half hour passed, and the forty-eighth aperture opened successfully. Su Yu wasted no time and said quickly, "Brother Zhang, I'm heading out. If that fellow returns later, you can stand up and curse him... I'm afraid he might suspect you!" "All right!" Zhang Hao said no more, watching as Su Yu swiftly departed. Su Yu seemed cloaked in shadow, skimming close to the ground as subtle illusions manifested around him. The "Yin" divine character concealed and locked his apertures. The "Blood" divine character generated an illusion, mirroring the surroundings. Unless someone swept the area completely with willpower, discovering Su Yu would be exceedingly difficult. Su Yu sprinted in one direction, vanishing from the spot in the blink of an eye. About ten minutes later. Zhou Pingsheng flew back, frowning as he looked at Zhang Hao in the distance. That fellow Su Yu was highly talented; he would definitely seek out a place rich in willpower. The other spots were occupied by their own people, while Zhang Hao here was only at Yangxing. Could Su Yu be hiding here? "Zhang Hao..." Zhang Hao opened his eyes, his expression dark as he gritted his teeth. "Director Zhou, are you doing this on purpose? Are you deliberately trying to make me suffer qi deviation? Things happen once or twice, but never thrice! This is the second time. If you come again, I will not let this rest with you! My master and my grandfather will never let this go!" Zhou Pingsheng frowned. After a moment of silence, he said, "A misunderstanding. I saw the willpower here was too dense and worried something might go wrong with you!" With that, his body shuddered, and his willpower erupted, dispersing the willpower in the area. The space rippled slightly, causing Zhang Hao's body to shake. The next moment, Zhang Hao flew into a fury: "Zhou Pingsheng, unless you kill me right now, once we leave this mystic realm, I am not finished with you!" He stumbled, nearly falling over. Zhou Pingsheng's eyes flickered, and he chuckled. "A misunderstanding. My apologies. I truly was worried something might happen to you, which would have been troublesome." With that, he drew in surrounding willpower, causing a large amount to gather once again. Zhou Pingsheng did not absorb it himself, saying with a smile, "Student Zhang, don't be angry. It was all a misunderstanding just now!" With those words, he took to the air and vanished from the spot once more. Zhang Hao snorted coldly and soon resumed sitting cross-legged to cultivate. In the distance, Zhou Pingsheng frowned. Not here. Where on earth was that brat hiding? "Go check Wu Jia..." Just as the thought crossed his mind, an enraged roar suddenly sounded in the distance! Zhou Pingsheng rushed toward the sound! ... A moment later, Zhou Pingsheng arrived. He saw his student Zhai Feng with blood leaking from the corner of his mouth, roaring incessantly. "What happened?" "Master!" Zhai Feng collected himself and said furiously, "Master, the willpower around me suddenly vanished! I was in the middle of cultivating, and caught off guard, I suffered a backlash!" "Suddenly vanished?" Zhou Pingsheng frowned and inspected the surroundings. Indeed, a vacuum of willpower had just occurred here. His disciple had been absorbing and nourishing his own willpower, so when it emptied all at once, he naturally suffered some impact. The backlash was not overly severe, but it had disrupted his cultivation. This was roughly what Zhou Pingsheng had planned to do to disrupt Su Yu. "Who did it?" Zhou Pingsheng's brow furrowed tightly! Who had done this? Was it intentional, or an accident? Or had something gone wrong with the Shanhai experts maintaining the realm outside, causing a localized vacuum? He checked the area and frowned. "Continue cultivating. I'll go take a look!" "Master... did you find Su Yu?" Zhou Pingsheng ignored him! Find him my foot! Who knew where that fellow was hiding! ... Meanwhile. Outside, among the Shanhai experts maintaining the mystic realm, Elder Sun suddenly cursed! Which bastard was running around absorbing everything haphazardly! It was likely a high-layer Tengkong or a Lingyun cultivator darting around, draining willpower at random. Previously, several spots had been steadily absorbing large amounts of willpower, so they had steadily supplied large amounts to those areas. Yet just now, the absorption in one area suddenly weakened drastically, while an enormous suction abruptly emerged from another. It instantly emptied the willpower in that area! Coincidentally, that was the zone he was responsible for maintaining, nearly causing an imbalance in the willpower and jeopardizing the mystic realm's stability. Elder Sun cursed, irritated to no end. Who was it? Zhou Pingsheng? Or Xia Yuwen, or Hu Wensheng? This absorption was both rapid and powerful! It was likely a Lingyun, or perhaps a peak Tengkong—could it be Liu Hong? Infuriating! What were these bastards doing in there! Just as he was thinking this, another massive suction suddenly erupted from yet another area, completely draining the willpower from that sector in an instant. Elder Sun was furious. His body shook slightly, nearly causing him to lose his composure, and he fumed, "Weren't they warned before entering to stay in one place and not run around?" Damn it! It was very likely Zhou Pingsheng's doing! All to deal with Su Yu! Su Yu was probably running everywhere, and Zhou Pingsheng was chasing after him, siphoning everything. Damn it! Did that idiot not realize that siphoning like this made maintenance difficult for them? Couldn't he just set up a barrier of willpower around Su Yu to keep him from running around? He wouldn't be laying a hand on Su Yu; if Su Yu insisted on running into the perimeter he set, that would be Su Yu's own problem! You idiot, you're infuriating this old man! Over to the side, Zhou Mingren acted quickly to stabilize the mystic realm, equally at a loss for words. You couldn't even handle a small task like this properly! Idiot! Not far off, Hong Tan chuckled. "Need a hand? My strength is decent; keeping it going for a day or two won't be an issue!" The others ignored him. Unless they truly could not sustain it, they would never let anyone else take over. ... Inside the mystic realm. Su Yu drained the willpower around another student of the Single Divine Character Faction, feeling thoroughly pleased with himself. Not bad! It would take some time for willpower to gather here again. Not daring to linger, he quickly fled. Soon, he spotted an acquaintance. "Brother Lin!" Su Yu called out softly. Lin Yao started, glancing around, and with a blur before his eyes, Su Yu appeared. "I'm hiding with you for a bit!" Su Yu said swiftly, "I need to digest. Just focus on cultivating..." With that, Su Yu slipped beneath his robes like a water snake, pressing directly against Lin Yao's back. "Act natural. If Zhou Pingsheng comes, don't make a sound!" "All right!" Lin Yao was terrified. Brother Su was bold indeed; if they were discovered... wouldn't he be finished too? Lin Yao looked utterly helpless! Meanwhile, Su Yu quickly whispered something to him. Lin Yao's eyes flickered, and his heart leapt with excitement! The opening method for a divine aperture? Is... is this real? He did not dare waste time and hurriedly attempted to cultivate it! Whether real or fake, he would try it first. As for whether it was fake and might blow his head off... that shouldn't happen, right? Having just absorbed willpower from two locations, Su Yu had not had time to digest it. Now, instead of absorbing external willpower, he focused entirely on cultivation. After digesting for about half an hour, his forty-ninth divine aperture opened. "Brother Lin, I'm draining the willpower here. Just scream loudly after I leave..." With that, Su Yu said no more. He quickly drained all the willpower from the area! In the blink of an eye, he fled the scene! Lin Yao waited until Su Yu had been gone for a moment before suddenly letting out a loud roar! After a short while, Zhou Pingsheng rushed over and asked with a frown, "Something happened to you too?" This was the third location! Who did it? Su Yu? Impossible, how could he manage that! If not Su Yu, then who? Lin Yao looked deeply depressed. "Director Zhou, I have no idea. I was cultivating fine, and then the willpower here suddenly vanished, nearly injuring me!" "Did you see anyone?" "No." Lin Yao wished he could chat longer, grumbling, "Director, what is going on? Didn't they say the willpower here was endless? How could it suddenly disappear!" "..." Zhou Pingsheng cursed inwardly! How should I know! Was it Su Yu? If it was him, how could he have pulled it off? If it wasn't him, could three consecutive incidents all be accidents? Damn it! Zhou Pingsheng cursed silently. What in the world was happening! After some thought, he said nothing more, unleashing his willpower once again to draw surrounding energy over. This was a student of the Single Divine Character Faction; though not his own disciple, he collaborated quite well with Liu Hong. Besides, Liu Hong was currently in charge of all matters below the Tengkong Realm, and Zhou Pingsheng still needed him to help secure resources for his students. Without further words, he left swiftly. He would stop running all over the place and wait for the hare to come to the tree! He would go wait near the next student from the Single Divine Character Faction! ... Meanwhile. Outside. Elder Sun was truly enraged! Zhou Pingsheng? It was definitely him! That bastard! Every time, the willpower was drained completely, and then in the blink of an eye, the surrounding willpower was drawn over to replenish it. Such large-scale extraction was definitely Zhou Pingsheng's handiwork. That brute! Do you have any idea what price we paid to open this mystic realm? And you're in there wreaking havoc! Zhou Mingren was speechless as well. What on earth was Zhou Pingsheng doing? Nearby, even Elder Qi could no longer watch, frowning as he said, "Opening a mystic realm is no easy feat—don't let it go to waste. If you can't manage, we can step up and help sustain it! This is utter nonsense!" What kind of farce was this! They had people cultivating inside as well. They had paid a price for this! At this rate, if the Shanhai experts failed to maintain it and the mystic realm collapsed, the other students would be ejected, and sustaining severe injuries would be entirely likely. Failing to gain any benefits while ending up injured would be a true disaster. Elder Sun and the others said nothing. Zhou Mingren drew a light breath and said, "There's no need for now. We can hold it!" If they held it themselves, they could still supply more willpower to their own Tengkong and Lingyun cultivators. Once others stepped in and the burden was shared evenly, the mystic realm would stabilize, but the gains for their Tengkong and Lingyun members would diminish. ... Just then, someone inside the mystic realm suddenly began cursing loudly at the top of their lungs: "Fuck! Compensate me! Who did this?" Xia Huyou roared in fury, "Who's trying to screw me over? Or did the Single Divine Character Faction do this on purpose!" "Where did my willpower go?" A moment later, Zhou Pingsheng arrived. Xia Huyou raged, "You did this on purpose, didn't you? It's definitely you! You've been running all over the place—it had to be you! To flush out Su Yu, you deliberately drained the willpower near us, didn't you?" Xia Huyou was fuming. "I paid good money for this—5,000 merits bought from Governor Xia Changqing! If you don't give me an explanation, just wait until I demand compensation from you all!" Zhou Pingsheng cursed silently! Compensate your ancestors! What does this have to do with me? Was this my doing? "Xia Huyou, stop spouting nonsense!" Xia Huyou did not care in the slightest, snapping, "Just wait to pay up! If this happens again, I'll go straight to the authorities and sue you for fraud, for selling fake spots! If you keep running around causing trouble, I'll sue you! Don't think that just because I'm not of the main Xia lineage, you can push me around!" Zhou Pingsheng was incensed, anger simmering inside him. I told you it wasn't me! You insolent wretch! Still, this fellow's identity... was somewhat complicated. His master had warned him not to provoke anyone from the Xia family within the academy—anyone at all! Despite his fury, he said nothing harsh, merely defending himself: "It has nothing to do with me. The mystic realm might be unstable; after all, it hasn't been opened for many years!" "Hmph!" Xia Huyou angrily resumed his cultivation, then snapped in irritation, "I don't care whether it was you or not. I paid money! The willpower here was dense just now, but now it's gone. Hurry up and gather it back, or I'll head out right now and report you for consumer fraud!" "..." Zhou Pingsheng was infuriated. He snorted, but after a moment's thought, he still gathered the willpower back. Even Xia Huyou's area had run into trouble! What was going on? And these disturbances did not stop. It was not just one place, nor was it only where people were present; many unoccupied areas had massive amounts of willpower swiftly siphoned away as well. Vacuums formed instantly across the realm! ... Su Yu understood a principle well: when doing bad things, one must not make the targeting too obvious. His father had told him that! One had to learn counter-surveillance! As for how to interpret that, that was Su Yu's business. Targeting only the Single Divine Character Faction was too obvious. By targeting more people—regardless of whether they belonged to the faction or not—it became an issue with the Single Divine Character Faction's activation of the realm, not his doing. Besides, under normal circumstances, only a Lingyun cultivator could accomplish something like this. And the three Lingyun cultivators this time were all from the Single Divine Character Faction or affiliated with them, with Zhou Pingsheng running all over the place... If not him, who else could it be? Even if it wasn't him, it had to be him! One had to remember that many people had paid for their spots—the elders had paid good money! The academy had also subsidized 10,000 merits! If everyone cultivated poorly or had plenty of complaints, hehe, wouldn't the academy and those elders demand compensation from them? Knowing those people, spending money was painful enough already. Once they left, they might genuinely demand compensation. Su Yu continued absorbing and digesting willpower, opening his fifty-second divine aperture. Absorbing it felt incredible! He absorbed completely without restraint! Vacuums appeared everywhere! The Single Divine Character Faction was affected, and other students were disrupted as well. Su Yu could not care less! You can't blame me! If you want to blame someone, blame Zhou Pingsheng. If he hadn't targeted me, I would have stayed in one place and absorbed quietly without disturbing anyone. But he insisted on searching for me everywhere, so I had no choice but to do this. Drain a spot dry, then find a place to hide and cultivate for a bit. ... Gradually, the Shanhai experts outside truly began to struggle. Elder Sun raged, "That bastard!" He was genuinely cursing now! It was simply too infuriating! Yu Hong and Elder Li looked equally grim. What was going on in there? Couldn't they just stay in one place and cultivate properly? A hit here, a strike there—they were about to be run ragged! "It's only been four hours..." Hong Tan chuckled. It had only been four hours, yet these people could barely hold on. Could Su Yu be playing tricks? Even if Su Yu had opened thirty-six divine apertures, he shouldn't possess such destructive capability. Besides, after opening thirty-six apertures, if he had no further apertures to open, the amount of willpower he could absorb was limited. Once the apertures reached saturation, he wouldn't be able to cultivate further. ... The guerrilla warfare continued. An hour later. Su Yu ran back to Zhang Hao's location. He did not absorb willpower this time, instead hiding behind him to continue digesting. Having just drained five or six areas, he needed to digest properly. Zhou Pingsheng had already been here several times, so it was relatively safe for now. Half an hour later, Su Yu opened two more divine apertures. By now, he had opened fifty-four apertures. Five hours since entering, and he had opened ten divine apertures! Such was the power of a basic cultural art! At the Yangxing stage, opening divine apertures was at its easiest. Once at Tengkong, the difficulty would increase by at least fivefold. In other words, had Su Yu been at Tengkong, opening even two divine apertures in five hours would have been considered good fortune! "Brother Zhang, see you later!" Su Yu chuckled and quickly drained the surrounding willpower. Zhang Hao did not mind, and once Su Yu was gone, he roared, "Zhou Pingsheng! Are you doing this on purpose?" His furious voice echoed across the realm! "I will never let this rest with you!" In the distance, Zhou Pingsheng did not approach, his brow furrowed deeply. His willpower swiftly swept the surroundings! An accident? How could that be! What was really happening? Su Yu? No, Su Yu lacked such power. Was it Hu Wensheng, or Xia Yuwen? He looked toward those two locations. They were far away, but he could sense the dense willpower there. Zhou Pingsheng gritted his teeth and flew into the air toward them! He would keep an eye on those two! Bastards! Could it be Wensheng? Senior Brother Zheng was severely injured, and Zhou Pingsheng himself was besieged by trouble lately. Xia Chan had no chance of being favored, which meant Hu Wensheng, having advanced to Lingyun, was the most likely to gain their master's backing, as he was a direct disciple as well! During this excursion, Zhou Pingsheng had been running all over the place, and by now more than one person had cursed him! Could this have been Junior Brother Wensheng's goal all along? Damn it! Could it really be him? Although he felt the likelihood was low, that did not mean it was impossible. For gain and power, what wouldn't someone do? At first, he had suspected Su Yu, but by now, with this much willpower drained... if it was still Su Yu, that would be sheer nonsense! Su Yu was merely at the Yangxing stage. Even if he had opened dozens of divine apertures, he could not possibly absorb this much! It was simply too vast! Willpower was being drained everywhere, not just in one or two spots. As for where Su Yu was hiding... he no longer had the patience to care. That little bastard was probably hiding in some crevice, not daring to show his face. This mystic realm might not be massive, but it was not tiny either, and there were obstacles scattered about. Perhaps he had simply overlooked Su Yu. Right now, he only wanted to see whether this strange phenomenon would continue while he watched Hu Wensheng and Xia Yuwen! If it did, it meant it wasn't them. If it didn't... hmph! Then one of them was definitely trying to screw him over! A bunch of bastards! Kicking a man while he was down! Seeing that he was in trouble, they were deliberately piling on, weren't they?