Beyond Tengkong

Faculty dormitory. A four-bedroom, two-living-room apartment—quite spacious. Liu Wenyan could afford to disregard Bai Feng, but the principal could not, nor could Nanyuan. No one could disregard a researcher, even one with "assistant" tacked onto his title. Thus, Bai Feng’s temporary lodgings were not inferior to any instructor’s; if anything, they were better. Bai Feng sat on the sofa, while Su Yu and Liu Yue stood obediently to the side like primary school pupils, waiting for him to finish watching television. *Splurt!* Rows upon rows of people were dragged out and decapitated! Yesterday, the Longwu Guards of the Great Xia Prefecture had mobilized alongside the Prefectural Army, killing thousands of All-Races Sect members and capturing over three thousand more, totaling nearly ten thousand enemy casualties. The Great Xia Prefecture maintained an iron-blooded policy: once caught, there was no need for a trial. Confirm their identity, and one word followed—kill! Today, the executions were being broadcast live on television. Over three thousand people might not sound like many, but the decapitations had already been going on for over ten minutes, and they were still nowhere near finished. Liu Yue did not dare watch too much, averting her eyes from the screen. Su Yu also felt vaguely nauseated. It was not out of sympathy, but simply because watching so many heads spurting blood made his stomach churn, even though he had just killed two people himself yesterday. Bai Feng, however, watched with keen relish. Sipping his tea, he commented with a smile, "The All-Races Sect has numerous branches, but the Tianyi God Sect counts as one of the stronger ones. Its sect master was an apex powerhouse, yet coming to the Great Xia Prefecture this time proved to be his utter ruin. The sect master perished, and their elite followers were practically wiped clean." "Looks like the Great Xia Prefecture struck it rich this time." Su Yu and Liu Yue did not quite grasp his meaning. Struck it rich? "Don't get it?" Bai Feng smiled. "Isn't it obvious? The elites are wiped out, and the sect master is dead. Who killed him? How many people in the Great Xia Prefecture can kill him? If he dared to make such a massive disturbance here, he had to have had absolute confidence that he wouldn't die. No one deliberately seeks death. "That being the case, he must have had assurance. What was his assurance? Could it have been the sect masters of other All-Races Sect factions? No, his backing must have arrived in person. Only then would he have had the gall to cause havoc in the Great Xia Prefecture!" Su Yu's eyes flickered, and he murmured, "Instructor Bai, do you mean... someone from the Tianyi God Race came?" "Exactly. They definitely came. And since the sect master is dead, did that fellow from the Tianyi God Race survive?" "If he's dead, wouldn't you say it's a massive windfall?" Bai Feng chuckled. "Our prefect is probably in for quite a headache now." "A headache?" "Indeed, a headache! Just you wait and see. Every major war academy, including the Civilization Academy, will probably swarm him, applying for the Tianyi God Race's flesh, blood, and other treasures." Bai Feng laughed heartily. "I wonder if our academy's principal has returned yet. He needs to secure some good things as fast as possible. What a fortune! God race blood essence, god race flesh, god race weapons, god race cultivation arts... Tsk, tsk. If this isn't getting rich, what is? "The prefect is probably about to be driven mad by the clamor. Right now, I'd bet the Great Xia Prefecture is in absolute uproar." Put that way, Su Yu and Liu Yue naturally understood. Both wore expressions of longing—not because they truly expected to obtain such treasures, but simply hearing about them made their blood boil. Blood essence and physical bodies of gods and demons—these were supreme treasures! "Instructor Bai, was the one who came from the Tianyi God Race extremely powerful?" "Naturally!" Bai Feng looked at the pair and smiled. "I tend to be blunt, so don't take offense. To you folks in Nanyuan, Tengkong is the ceiling, the very heavens. But to the Great Xia Prefecture, Tengkong is merely the backbone, the starting baseline of a true powerhouse. "People from small places can never imagine in their entire lives just how strong a real powerhouse is. In truth, there's no need for them to know either, because in their eyes, Tengkong and what lies above Tengkong are all the same—capable of wiping them out with a wave of the hand. "In terms of cultivation, Kaiyuan, Qianjun, and Wanshi form the foundation. It is physical tempering so that you aren't torn apart by origin qi. Only upon reaching Tengkong do you earn the right to speak in the academies, in the grand legions, within sects, on the All-Heavens Battlefield, across the oceanic realms, and in the sacred sanctuaries of the mortal world. Only then can you truly be considered to have set foot on the path of the strong." Su Yu's eyes shone brightly. This stemmed from a lack of exposure; Nanyuan was too small, its sky far too low! "Instructor Bai, I know there are realms above Tengkong. My father once told me that when he served in the Demon Suppression Army, a myriarch was in the Lingyun Realm. Is Lingyun the realm directly above Tengkong?" "Yes." Bai Feng took a sip of tea and said placidly, "How far can a Tengkong fly? How high? Tengkong is ultimately just the starting point of the strong. Stepping upon clouds and soaring above the firmament—only then can you truly claim to be a powerhouse! No matter how many Wanshi or Qianjun cultivators there are, what can they do to you? "I stride upon the clouds without touching the ground, thousands of feet in the air. No matter how formidable your arm strength or how powerful your military formation, can you shoot me down from the sky? "On the All-Heavens Battlefield, nearly all myriarchs commanding ten thousand troops are in the Lingyun Realm! "With the Lingyun Realm, if you joined the Longwu Guards, serving as a commander of a thousand would be more than well within your reach! "In the Longwu Guards, the strongest squad leaders are at the Tengkong Realm, while the weaker ones are at the ninth stage of Wanshi. Centurions are almost all at the Tengkong Realm, generally at the middle stage or higher—the fourth stage and above. As for commanders of a thousand, the Longwu Guards have five of them: three are in the Lingyun Realm, and two are at the ninth stage of Tengkong!" Su Yu swallowed hard. That strong? Then what about the vice commanders of the Longwu Guards? The grand commander was the Prefect of Great Xia himself, so there was no need to ask, but how powerful were the vice commanders? Glancing at him from the corner of his eye, Bai Feng chuckled softly. "Above Lingyun lies the Shanhai Realm! Cleaving mountains and severing seas, their every move shakes the surrounding world! With a single strike, mountains collapse and oceans run dry—impossibly, unimaginably strong!" "Then above the Shanhai Realm..." Su Yu asked hurriedly, "I've heard of pinnacle powerhouses and invincible powerhouses. Are they in the Shanhai Realm?" "No." Bai Feng said with a grin, "Shanhai Realm experts garrison entire regions. Even on the All-Heavens Battlefield, they can command an independent army. At a single command, a hundred thousand march, deterring formidable foes! They can serve as grand commanders, or as vice commanders of supreme legions—like the vice commanders of the Longwu Guards, who are Shanhai Realm powerhouses! "Above the Shanhai Realm—only that is the Pinnacle, only that is the Invincible! "Those are far too distant from you. It's enough that you know they exist; there's no need to pry further. Once you reach the Great Xia Prefecture, you'll learn all of this anyway. As for Pinnacle and Invincible, that is outside our sphere. What use is there in knowing? "Aiming as high as the heavens while your fate is as thin as paper—you haven't even entered the Qianjun Realm. Even if you knew, could you become invincible in a single day? "All you need to know is that they are strong, inconceivably strong! Eight or nine out of ten prefects are powerhouses of the Pinnacle Realm, and the founders of the various prefectures were almost all Invincible powerhouses. That is more than enough." Su Yu's throat felt dry. For the first time, he realized that the sky over Nanyuan... was truly low! Wanshi was considered strong, and Tengkong was viewed as invincible. Yet above those lay Lingyun and Shanhai. He had never heard of Nanyuan possessing such experts. At the Lingyun Realm, one could command ten thousand on the All-Heavens Battlefield. At the Shanhai Realm, one could garrison a whole territory, command an army, and rule as a hegemon on the All-Heavens Battlefield. And above them, there were still Pinnacle and Invincible! Watching their expressions, Bai Feng smiled, thoroughly amused. He had a somewhat wicked penchant for witnessing their shock. There was no real need to delve so deeply into these matters, as they would naturally learn them upon reaching the Great Xia Prefecture. Yet he had spoken anyway because being put down by Liu Wenyan had left him disgruntled. Did Su Yu... this little genius from Nanyuan, truly know how high the heavens were? The next moment, Su Yu exhaled a long breath, suppressing his swirling thoughts and barely regaining his composure. Bai Feng cast a glance at him, thinking to himself, *Not bad temperament.* He was merely a child who had never seen the wider world; steadying himself so quickly was no small feat. As for Liu Yue, though excited, she had already calmed down. Bai Feng did not spare her much attention. He could tell she had long known about these things; her excitement was merely a flicker of ambition. The truly ignorant one had been Su Yu. Because he had been born in Nanyuan, raised here, and had never stepped outside for eighteen years. Su Long had protected him very well, but Su Long was only in the Qianjun Realm himself, so his horizons were naturally limited. Liu Wenyan had never discussed these matters with Su Yu, and Su Yu could hardly glean them from textbooks, so he had truly been kept in the dark. "All of that is still far from you. Time is precious; are you sure you want to squander it on this?" Bai Feng did not invite them to sit, leaving them standing as he smiled. "I will stay here for two days. From now on, whatever you want to ask or understand, go ahead. If I can share it, I will. Opportunities like this don't come often." Su Yu spoke up in a hurry: "Instructor Bai, what exactly is willpower? How does one cultivate it? How is it evaluated? What defines strength, and what defines weakness?" "Willpower..." Bai Feng looked at him and smiled. "Yours actually isn't weak. Of course, you've never specifically sensed it, cultivated it, or paid attention to it, so you haven't been able to perceive it. The reason Martial Uncle urged you toward the Civilization Academy was because he sensed it and didn't want you to take the wrong path. "In my view, willpower and physical strength are quite similar—both are forms of power, except one manifests externally while the other resides internally..." Saying that, Bai Feng picked up a black cup and covered the rim with his hand, explaining, "Physical strength is essentially the cup itself. If I smash this cup against you, will you feel pain?" Su Yu nodded. "That is physical strength. When I hit you with it, it hurts. You can perceive it directly, and you can see it. How much pain it inflicts depends on the cup's nature—the harder, larger, and heavier it is, the more agony you suffer. "Willpower, on the other hand, is the force within the cup. Right now, you cannot feel it. When we cultivate willpower, we are pouring water into the cup." With a gesture, he drew water from thin air, pouring it into the cup. "When the water inside hasn't filled the cup, willpower remains unmanifested. Even if it reaches the rim, it is still completely useless. That was the state your teacher, Martial Uncle Liu, was in previously. His cup was full of water, but it had not spilled over. "When willpower manifests, spilling over the rim, that is manifestation!" At that moment, the cup filled to the brim and began to overflow. More and more water poured forth! Under Bai Feng's control, the water surged relentlessly, gushing outward. "At this point, when just a tiny bit spills over, you might feel it's nothing impressive—inferior even to physical might. But what if it's not just a tiny bit?" The water grew increasingly vast! *Rumble!* An illusion seized Su Yu. He saw the water swell into a river, surging forward, flooding the room, submerging the academy. Rivers, floods, ocean waves—towering, world-engulfing tsunamis! *Boom!* Heaven and earth seemed to shatter; cities sank, and mountain ranges collapsed. Bai Feng's voice echoed in his ear. "This is willpower. It can transform from water into ice, or gather into rivers and seas. In essence, it is just like physical strength—merely another application of power. "However, it possesses a unique nature: there is no visible end to it! "Physical cultivation, at least as far as we can currently tell, has a limit—though of course, we cannot see that limit right now. "Upon reaching the Tengkong Realm, both paths are actually cultivated. But for us, the water spills over first, coating the cup to temper the body. In the physical path, on the other hand, the cup is transformed from porcelain into stone before they frantically pour water inside. "If you ask me which path is better, they are fundamentally equal. It depends on your choice and talent; walk whichever path is easier for you." Su Yu's vision blurred, and everything vanished. Bai Feng was still holding the cup in his hand. Su Yu caught his breath and asked, "Then if it never fills, or if it reaches the rim without overflowing like my teacher's, does that mean it's utterly useless?" "You can't say that. At the very least, your mind is clearer and your vitality more abundant." Bai Feng smiled. "If you don't even have the ability to achieve manifestation, it doesn't matter which path you cultivate; you're destined never to become a true powerhouse. In that case, does Qianjun or Wanshi really make that much of a difference?" "Before it fills up, can you gauge how strong or weak it is?" "You can," Bai Feng explained. "Once you reach a certain level, you can actually sense it yourself. Powerhouses who have achieved manifestation can certainly observe it as well. Take you, for example: your cup is currently filled to roughly one-tenth. I can sense it quite clearly, though you cannot perceive it yet." "Then when will I be able to perceive it?" "When it is half full. At that point, you'll feel it very distinctly. That power will reside inside your body, yet you won't be able to apply it or unleash it. We call this stage Character Cultivation!" Bai Feng smiled knowingly. "Character Cultivation isn't considered a formal realm, though you can think of it as parallel to Kaiyuan, Qianjun, or Wanshi! This period is excruciatingly difficult to endure! It cultivates your disposition. When you can feel the power within you but have no way to use it, wouldn't you feel anxious? "When you clearly believe you could duel a Wanshi cultivator, yet a Qianjun knocks you flying with a single slap, wouldn't you feel anxious? "When you're beaten bloody by a Qianjun, and your water is already at the bottle's rim—one step away from Tengkong—wouldn't you be infuriated? "Yet no matter how anxious or furious you get, it simply won't spill over. Wouldn't your temper flare? "Throwing a tantrum is useless. At that stage, countless people break down, losing their composure and sinking into despair. Countless switch over to the physical path, simply because it's so maddening!" Bai Feng chuckled. "I'm really looking forward to that day—watching you two look so enraged yet completely helpless! You should know, whenever that time arrives, the academy always does something: during your Character Cultivation stage, students from the war academies will come over for an 'exchange'... which basically means thrashing you! "Abusing you! "Humiliating you! "Infuriating you to death!" Su Yu was dumbfounded. Liu Yue could not help but ask softly, "Instructor Bai, why would the academy do that?" "Simple: to stimulate you! Only if you can steady your mind and recognize the essence of your true self do you stand a chance of achieving manifestation. It's a double-edged sword. It might drive students insane, infuriate them to death, or make them abandon this path entirely. But for those who endure, the results are invariably good." Bai Feng laughed merrily. "This is the grand spectacle of the Civilization Academy. Once you enroll, you can watch your senior apprentices get pummeled—it's utterly miserable! Students from the war academies love bragging, 'Back then, I beat so-and-so black and blue, and now he's a Shanhai Realm powerhouse while I'm still at Wanshi...' "'Back then, I beat a future Shanhai Realm expert until he ran with his tail between his legs, bawling his eyes out...' Many think it's just bragging, but it isn't; it's the absolute truth." Su Yu could not resist asking, "Instructor Bai, must everyone go through this? Then did you..." "Me?" Bai Feng said with supreme composure, "Not me. Because I was too strong. Even during Character Cultivation, I was formidable." The moment the question left his mouth, Su Yu realized it was improper. He gave an awkward laugh and did not pursue it. *Never happened to you?* He found that hard to believe; Bai Feng had probably been beaten to tears as well. Still, learning that the Civilization Academy had such a side to it was truly an eye-opener for Su Yu. "As for the cultivation of willpower..." Bai Feng shifted the topic, continuing, "Reading! Studying! Of course, not reading ordinary books or studying mundane scripts. You've both studied myriad-race languages; you know what I mean. "Why study myriad-race languages? "The languages themselves aren't extraordinary, but the mediums that record the cultivation arts and martial techniques of the myriad races are imbued with willpower. Reading such books is, in reality, a clash of wills! "The stronger the art and the stronger the author, the more taxing the resistance becomes. In fact, this can also serve as a test. "At the Civilization Academy, when you can read the original text of a Qianjun Realm technique, it means your willpower can contest a physical cultivator of the Qianjun Realm. Once you can read an original Tengkong Realm technique, it signifies you are ready to achieve manifestation! "Reading an original Wanshi text roughly corresponds to the Character Cultivation stage, marking its beginning." Su Yu now understood completely. Right at that moment, a fragment of white bone suddenly appeared in Bai Feng's hand. "This is a book of the myriad races recording a Qianjun cultivation art. Of course, it's merely a remnant page, just a single piece. The All-Heavens Battlefield has no shortage of these, nor does the Civilization Academy. When you first enter the academy, you'll mainly study these fragments. "You can take a look now. The fragment's power is very weak. If you can make out the characters, it means you're close to filling twenty percent of your cup." Bai Feng had just said Su Yu's accumulation was only at ten percent, yet what he handed him required twenty percent. Su Yu did not think too deeply about it. Taking the white bone fragment, he studied it in his hands. Bai Feng instructed, "Look with your mind. Just concentrate." Su Yu nodded, focusing all his attention and examining it intently. Gradually, the bone fragment seemed to change before his eyes, emitting a faint glow. Faint traces of characters appeared upon its surface. Curious, Su Yu concentrated even harder, wanting to see clearly. *Boom!* At that instant, it felt as though an iron hammer had slammed into his skull. Light flared from the bone fragment, and with a cry of pain, Su Yu dropped it immediately. Having anticipated this, Bai Feng chuckled. "Reading books comes at a price! This is our method of cultivation; this is the Civilization Academy. Don't think that going to the Civilization Academy is like staying in Nanyuan, where casually reading translated copies amounts to anything. "Every clash tempers your willpower. Of course, you shouldn't do it too many times in a day—once or twice is enough. Otherwise, you'll go mad. The Civilization Academy has no shortage of lunatics; plenty of people overestimate themselves and read originals beyond their capacity, which is why so many have lost their minds." ... Su Yu had a splitting headache! Tears nearly spilled from his eyes; the pain was excruciating! Yet... after about ten-odd seconds, Su Yu opened his eyes, panting as he regained his calm. It was just like the pain of being killed in his dreams! Having been slaughtered for so many years, he was already used to it. The pain had only been somewhat unbearable for that brief instant. Bai Feng was about to add, *It's fine if you cry for a while; it's not like only one or two new students have cried before...* However, the words caught in his throat. He glanced at Su Yu, raising an eyebrow slightly. He was certain that Su Yu's willpower was only ten percent full. How could this kid... have endured it just like that? How was that possible! The willpower on that bone fragment was twice as strong as Su Yu's; he should have writhed in agony for at least half an hour. Bai Feng blinked. *Not bad at all!* No wonder Martial Uncle thought so highly of this boy. From the looks of it, while his raw talent might not be overwhelmingly monstrous, his resilience was terrifying. In cultivating willpower, talent was sometimes secondary; resilience was what truly determined the future. Recovering, Su Yu grimaced and asked, "Instructor Bai, how strong is an ordinary person's willpower?" "One percent!" Suppressing his surprise, Bai Feng smiled. "That is the level of ordinary people, meaning they lack the talent for this path. You count as rather gifted. As for Liu Yue... she's slightly stronger than you, around fifteen percent." Su Yu felt somewhat sheepish. *So I'm not even as strong as Liu Yue.* Bai Feng smiled without elaborating. He had actually discerned that Liu Yue had previously examined original fragments of cultivation arts! That was why she was ahead of Su Yu, but in truth, Su Yu would catch up very quickly. To the side, Liu Yue remained silent, but her expression as she looked at Su Yu was rather strange. She had indeed read original texts before, so she knew full well how excruciating that initial clash was when one had never experienced it. The first time she had looked, she had wept for half an hour and slept for the better part of a day before recovering. Yet Su Yu... was this guy a beast? Or were his nerves simply dull? Did he have no sense of pain? After her first attempt, she had not wanted to look a second time out of dread and fear. Yet Su Yu... was now picking up the bone fragment again, his face filled with eagerness, as if wishing to look once more! Bai Feng could not help chuckling. Previously, he had not paid much heed to either of them, but now his interest in Su Yu was piqued. Smiling, he said, "It's yours! Look at it twice a day at most; don't overdo it, or you won't be able to bear it. When you can truly see the characters clearly, you will have reached twenty percent, taking another step toward Character Cultivation. "This is only one fragment. The complete text has three pages; once you can read all of them—and read them all in one sitting—you'll reach forty percent. "When you can read a Wanshi cultivation art, you will have entered the Character Cultivation stage." Bai Feng gifted the bone fragment to Su Yu. The item was quite valuable, though to him, it meant little. Su Yu did not know its worth, but Liu Yue did, and envy welled within her. Even for someone like her, whose family was considered wealthy in Nanyuan, an original bone fragment could not be purchased at the Xia Trading Company for anything under a hundred thousand. They had arrived together, and she was clearly the stronger of the two, yet Bai Feng had given it to Su Yu. From this alone, it was plain to see that Bai Feng found Su Yu far more intriguing.