Sharpening the Blade Does Not Delay the Woodcutter

Wen Tan Research Center. Completely deserted. Su Yu stepped into the research center and didn't pause, heading straight toward the detention area. It was time to feed them something. A full half-month had passed. If he didn't feed them soon, the great demons downstairs really would starve to death. Bai Feng was away and Hong Tan was gone; unlike before, when those two might drop by to extract some blood and toss them a bite to eat in passing. …… The detention area. It was terrifyingly quiet, frighteningly deathly still. When the screech of the iron door opening rang out, the previously silent cages stirred into commotion in an instant. "Lord Su, I am willing to serve you!" A shrill voice rang out immediately—it was the voice of the Fire Crow. Su Yu's chuckle drifted down. "Not starved to death yet? Looks like you demons have quite some endurance!" With that, Su Yu descended the stairs. Shadow's figure materialized. This time, it didn't play coy or mince words, speaking directly: "What do you want us to do for you? What must we give, and what will we get in the end?" "Wait your turn," Su Yu said indifferently. "Wait until I've finished talking with the Shanhai great demons, then we'll talk!" Having spoken, Su Yu walked past the metal cages and headed straight for the corridor behind them. At those words, a shock rippled through the great demons' hearts. Shanhai great demons! They had actually known there were Shanhai great demons here, but they had all assumed they were long dead. They hadn't expected them to still be alive. Several? Just how many were still alive? Shadow hurriedly called out, "Su Yu, the Shanhai Realm is strong, but Shanhai demons are also easily targeted..." "Noisy!" Su Yu turned his head and snapped, "Do I need you lecturing me?" With a cold snort, Su Yu stepped directly into the corridor. Unlike the metal cages in the main hall, this area was lined with individual cells. Built along both sides of the passage, the cells were completely sealed, without any visible entrances or exits. Normally, not even sound could travel through. Naturally, Su Yu had received the key from Hong Tan. Now, Su Yu's willpower rippled slightly, and small apertures opened in several of the cells. Inside, all was pitch-black; nothing could be seen. Not a sound emerged. Su Yu didn't mind, saying directly, "I am Su Yu, inheritor of the Multiple Divine Characters Faction! My grandmaster should have already come to terms with you seniors. If the need arises, I will come to you. Serve me for three years, and I will see you safely away..." "Three years?!" An intensely piercing voice reverberated straight through Su Yu's mind, sending violent ripples through his sea of will! And that was with the cell's suppression still in effect! Even so, Su Yu's willpower churned violently. Su Yu remained unfazed, remarking calmly, "What of three years? Is that long? To Shanhai great demons, three years is merely the snap of a finger. To trade that for your eventual return to the All-Heavens, is that not worth it? Only under the pretext of being my grandmaster's mounts can you return! Otherwise, so what if you're in the Shanhai Realm? Could you freely roam the Human Realm?" The great demon that had just spoken seemed somewhat surprised. "You are not in the Yangxing Realm?" Hong Tan had said his granddisciple was at Yangxing, yet it felt otherwise. When it had spoken just now, its voice had carried a ferocious willpower attack. Although the cell suppressed them, to a Yangxing cultivator, that strike should have been more than enough to inflict heavy injuries! A show of strength! A warning blow for Su Yu! Yet as it turned out, Su Yu was completely unaffected and continued speaking without missing a beat. "I am," Su Yu said calmly. "If you can't even tell whether I'm at Yangxing or not, it makes me somewhat doubt your eyesight and your strength!" At that moment, from the small opening of one of the cells, an eye appeared! The eye was unfathomably deep! Its gaze fell upon Su Yu, as though trying to see right through him. Within Su Yu's sea of will, the Perception Jade instantly shifted color, turning crimson. Crimson signified that willpower or a divine character from the Shanhai Realm was probing him. Su Yu was somewhat surprised, chuckling, "To still be able to probe me under such heavy suppression—worthy of the Shanhai Realm." With that, he asked, "How should I address you, Senior?" "Senior?" The great demon whose eye observed Su Yu said with chilling detachment, "Spare me the hypocrisy. Senior? What a ridiculous title! Hong Tan viewed us as nothing more than machines to produce blood essence; he never once treated us as living beings..." "Lending our strength to you is nothing more than a transaction!" "The price of this transaction is freedom, and life!" This great demon spoke bluntly: do not try to act familiar; there was no need. This was purely a transaction of life and freedom. Su Yu smiled. "Still, I must call you something." "Call me One-Eye!" "One-Eye?" Su Yu raised a brow. That was likely just a casual name, and he didn't pay it too much mind. Inwardly, he wondered: Could it be from the Cyclops Race? Or the Demonic Pupil Race? Hong Tan hadn't specified this either. "Since you put it that way, Senior, I won't stand on ceremony. One-Eye it is!" With that, Su Yu smiled and added, "Will the other two seniors not leave their names?" There were three Shanhai great demons here in total. One-Eye was one, but what about the other two? Up until now, only One-Eye had been speaking. Silence. A moment later, a sinister chuckle emanated from one of the cells. "Call me Blood Moon!" "Blood Moon?" Su Yu raised an eyebrow and smiled. "All right. And the other?" "Giant Mountain!" The last one spoke, its voice fading quickly into silence. One-Eye paid them no mind and spoke once more: "Hong Tan promised that we would act once, giving our all, regardless of life and death! Not three years. Little brat, your appetite is far too grand. A mere Yangxing cultivator dreaming of making Shanhai experts serve you for three years is pure delusion!" One-Eye followed up, "We will strike once, regardless of the enemy, and give everything to ensure your safety. Afterward, you must send us back to the All-Heavens Battlefield. That was Hong Tan's promise!" Su Yu smiled. "Once? Let me consider it. Why don't you tell me your strength? If you're only at Shanhai First or Second Layer... then I have no need for you at all." One-Eye gave a cold laugh. "Shanhai Sixth Layer, though weakened now. Being able to muster the strength of Shanhai Fourth Layer is already fortunate!" Giant Mountain: "Shanhai Fifth Layer!" Blood Moon: "Shanhai Fourth Layer!" Su Yu nodded. None were weak. "Are those your past levels of strength, or what you can muster now?" "Now!" Su Yu understood. In other words, they had likely been at Shanhai Fifth or Sixth Layer in the past, but after being imprisoned for so many years, their power had deteriorated. Grandmaster really is formidable! He had captured a bunch of living Shanhai demons and brought them back. These three were likely just the survivors; quite a few had probably died. "Understood. If the three of you join forces, can you handle a Shanhai Seventh Layer?" One-Eye sneered, "If we risk our lives, naturally we can. But we may not be able to guarantee your survival!" "That's good enough!" Su Yu didn't dwell on it. After a moment of thought, he said, "You are all experts and smart individuals, so I won't waste words. If I die, none of you can hope to leave the Human Realm alive. It's inevitable that you harbor resentment, but just don't deliberately cause trouble when the time comes." Su Yu smiled. "Do you need anything? Yuanqi liquid or the like? If you need it, I can bring some over later to help you recover your strength." The great demons ignored him; evidently, they didn't need it. The Shanhai Realm was already immensely powerful. In the Human Realm, they were truly high-tier powerhouses, and in an academy, they were top-notch experts. In some smaller races, they could even be clan patriarchs. To them, yuanqi liquid was dispensable. Nor could Su Yu provide enough anyway. The deterioration of their strength was primarily due to having had too much blood essence drained from them, which was not something simple yuanqi liquid could remedy. "Never mind, then..." Su Yu said no more. Activating the key, he resealed the cells. …… Soon, Su Yu emerged from the corridor. At that moment, six great demons were watching him... No, seven! There was also a small cage where a tiny furball flew toward Su Yu. The instant it touched the cage, arcs of lightning crackled, shocking the little furball into squealing cries. The Suanni had heard the squeals as well and asked curiously, "Su Yu, what race is this? I've never seen it before. It can't even speak the common tongue!" This newcomer couldn't even speak the common tongue, making communication difficult for the great demons. Its strength didn't seem like much, either. Su Yu chuckled faintly. "God-Devouring Race. They specialize in eating brains. Be careful, or you might get eaten!" The Suanni scoffed, unconcerned. Su Yu said no more on the matter and got straight to the point: "You all know what I'm after! You aren't as valuable as the Shanhai Realm. Tengkong and Lingyun don't possess the standing to negotiate like Shanhai demons do. I speak, you listen. If you can accept it, do so; if not, keep your mouths shut." Su Yu stated crisply, "I can release you to serve me! The duration is five years. I have no use for treacherous hypocrites. If you don't intend to obey, you had better not agree—otherwise, stepping out will only mean death!" Su Yu smiled. "Think it over carefully. This is likely your last chance." With that, Su Yu tossed a few drops of yuanqi liquid to the great demons at random, turned around, and began walking away. As he walked, he said, "I will be breaking into the Wanshi Realm soon, and it won't take long. Once I enter Wanshi, ordinary Tengkong experts might not even match me. As for you... Lingyun is fine, but as for Tengkong... if you haven't decided by then, I don't think there will be any need for a decision at all." The moment he finished speaking, the Fire Crow squawked shrilly, "Lord Su, I agree..." Su Yu turned his head and smiled. "Fire Crow, your attitude is great, but you're a bit too weak... Next time. When I come next time, I'll release you." The Fire Crow didn't know whether to cry or laugh. How desolate! It had offered to submit long ago, but he had constantly ignored it. So all this time, he had simply looked down on its weak strength! Where was the justice in that? Fortunately, Su Yu had given a definite answer: he would release it next time he came. "Thank you, My Lord!" Just as the Fire Crow finished screeching, the White Li hurriedly chimed in, "I am willing to pledge my loyalty to My Lord!" Su Yu laughed. "Untruthful. I don't need loyalty, just obedience. As for you, I'll observe a bit longer!" With that, Su Yu was gone, and the heavy door slammed shut. The great demons fell silent. A moment later, Shadow sighed. "Five years... is better than being locked up here until death!" Clearly, it had made its decision. Their spirit, energy, and will were completely drained! Su Yu's progress was ridiculously rapid. He had only enrolled a few months ago, and now he didn't even care about Tengkong experts. If things continued like this, even Lingyun cultivators wouldn't have the qualifications to negotiate with him. …… Second floor, filtration chamber. Su Yu put the great demons out of his mind and ceased pondering them. The pressing priority was still advancing his strength. Not entering Tengkong did not mean his strength had to stagnate. He still had plenty of room for improvement! His physical body was still in Qianjun, and his divine apertures were not fully opened yet. He was still far from truly being invincible beneath Tengkong. Across his whole body, 302 apertures were open. Over these past few days, Su Yu had opened several more apertures. Right now, Su Yu ignored the other apertures. The 144 apertures of the Heaven-Cleaving Blade gleamed with light, 16 per layer, each forming a small circuit. Advancing to Wanshi meant merging the apertures of the same tier together into one, signifying that the peak had been reached. Su Yu attempted to shift, manipulate, and draw two apertures together. It was no small challenge! The apertures moved very slowly! The Yuan-Purifying Art circulated continuously, purifying the yuanqi. The more impure the yuanqi within an aperture, the harder it was to merge; the purer it was, the easier the merge. Su Yu was well aware of this principle. As for the apertures for the third layer of Time that allowed one to battle an Invincible, Su Yu was in no rush to open them for now. If worse came to worst, he could open them upon reaching Wanshi, though that would be slightly harder. After over half an hour, two of the sixteen apertures in the first layer drew closer, but they were still a long way from merging. Su Yu wasn't discouraged and kept shifting them. His willpower was formidable and his yuanqi abundant. Though moving them was strenuous, he could sustain the effort for a prolonged period. One hour, two hours... After a full five hours, the two apertures finally drew close. The next moment, the two apertures began to overlap, and a powerful repulsive force surged forth, resisting Su Yu's attempt to fuse them. Willpower erupted! Yuanqi erupted! Suppressing the repulsive force between the two apertures! He forcibly drove the two apertures together, yet the repulsive force grew stronger and stronger. This was precisely where the difficulty of aperture merging lay. As Su Yu merged them, his mind turned over various possibilities. Merging apertures generates immense repulsion. Even pure yuanqi struggles to cancel it out... Is there a cultivation art that can counteract this repulsive force? He pondered. Across the myriad realms of the heavens, various arts and techniques were boundless. Right now, he was wondering whether there was a cultivation technique that temporarily merged apertures to unleash even greater destructive power. He seemed to have heard of such arts before. If such an art existed to temporarily bring apertures together, wouldn't that mean it neutralized the repulsive force? If one practiced such a method, could the repulsive force between apertures be eliminated? What price would have to be paid? Humanity had countless Civilization Masters and warriors over the years; had no one ever considered creating a technique to negate this repulsion? Were there specific apertures that, once formed into a circulation, could suppress or weaken this repulsive force? "If the human race doesn't have it, do the other races?" Su Yu sank into thought. If the myriad races had it, that would be his opportunity. Otherwise, according to his estimation, merging two apertures into one would take at least three days. Merging sixteen apertures would take forty-five days. It would likely become progressively harder, perhaps taking two months! Two months to merge sixteen apertures and reach Wanshi First Layer! And there were eight more layers after that! If every layer took two months, wouldn't that take eighteen months—a full year and a half! Merging sixteen apertures to enter Wanshi in a year and a half, yet Su Yu still found it too slow. If Xia Huyou knew of this, he would probably want to kill himself out of frustration. Xia Huyou had already spent three months merging apertures, and had only merged fourteen. Even now, he had not entered Wanshi! To reach sixteen merged apertures, Xia Huyou estimated he would need at least another month or two—nearly half a year in total to officially enter the Wanshi Realm. After entering Wanshi, cultivating to the ninth layer with sixteen apertures merged at every layer, Xia Huyou had allotted himself three years, along with consuming various treasures. After three years, once he reached the peak of Wanshi Ninth Layer, he would then consider physically advancing to Tengkong. This was a time for laying foundations, so Xia Huyou wasn't overly rushed. In fact, he estimated that Su Yu would take even longer than him. Yet Su Yu's own estimate was a year and a half. If I could deduce a cultivation art that weakens this repulsion, the significance of such a technique would be monumental! Even greater than a basic cultural art! It would allow all martial artists walking the physical path to advance into Wanshi more smoothly and easily. Crucially, those cultivators who could previously only merge three or four apertures would now easily merge six or seven, or seven or eight! They would become true Wanshi cultivators, rather than staying at "Five Shi" or "Six Shi." Not only that, but Shanhai cultivators also merge apertures. It would be of immense help even at the Shanhai Realm! Did such a method exist? Su Yu didn't know. He was young, after all, and had seen too little of the world. His Album of Ten Thousand Races had unlocked quite a few pages, but there were race languages he couldn't read, so he didn't dare test them blindly. Working alone won't do! I have to get the research institute up and running and recruit more people to help translate or gather materials for me, so I don't have to keep asking Xia Huyou and the others every time... Asking too many questions meant leaking too much information. If you relied on just one person, that person would have complete grasp over your information. The research institute truly had to be established. Even if some individuals harbored ill intentions, it wouldn't matter much. He could compartmentalize their research. Leaking a few bits and pieces wouldn't hurt as long as he didn't reveal everything, and he would keep the core issues firmly in his own hands. Su Yu continued merging his apertures, his pace slowing further and further. The two apertures were now forcefully brought together. Merging apertures required Su Yu to constantly suppress them until the repulsive force dissipated and the two apertures fused into one; only then would the merge be considered complete. With two merged into one, the explosive power of a single aperture was noticeably greater than before. A true Wanshi merged ten apertures into one; at that point, ten apertures merged into a single aperture possessed power comparable to roughly twenty Qianjun apertures. Doubled! A Wanshi practitioner who merged ten apertures into one would, upon reaching Wanshi Ninth Layer, have nine merged apertures. The power of those ninety apertures would rival 180 Qianjun apertures. If they cultivated the War God Art, which opened 108 apertures, the remaining 18 apertures could also unleash power, resulting in a total explosive force of 198 apertures. That was the strength of a true Wanshi Ninth Layer! As for Su Yu, though he had opened over three hundred apertures, his explosive output was generally comparable to that. Explosive power was different from endurance. His primary system was the Heaven-Cleaving Blade, with an explosive output of 144 apertures, but paired with certain complementary techniques, that output became even more ferocious. As such, it was on par with a Wanshi Ninth Layer. This was why he could easily trounce those who weren't true Wanshi before. Many claimed to be Wanshi Ninth Layer, but with very few merged apertures, they naturally were no match for Su Yu. Against such pseudo-Wanshi cultivators, Su Yu wouldn't fear them even if they reached Tengkong. And if sixteen apertures were merged into one, the power of each aperture would more than double. With each aperture merged, the aperture's power increased by roughly ten percent. With sixteen apertures merged, compounding that increase made one aperture equivalent to two and a half. When 144 apertures merged into nine, they would ultimately unleash the force of over three hundred apertures. By then, Su Yu's strength would be monstrous. His explosive power would be double that of a true Wanshi; beating those who had only merged seven or eight apertures would be like thrashing toddlers. …… Sharpening the blade does not delay the woodcutter. Stupidly brute-forcing apertures together like this was not Su Yu's style. Taking two months just to enter Wanshi First Layer was not the outcome Su Yu wanted. He would rather spend two months searching for a shortcut, finding a superior method to merge apertures. The next day. November 6. Su Yu went to class once more, keeping a low profile as always. Along the way, he bumped into Wu Lan. Normally, though Wu Lan wasn't particularly polite upon seeing him, she wouldn't deliberately pick a fight under ordinary circumstances. Today, however, she gave him a frosty glare, turned right around, and marched off, as if terrified that walking beside him would bring her utter humiliation! Su Yu was speechless. He could roughly guess the reason! Nothing else: right now, he was someone who made friends with the myriad races—an outcast, a traitor. Everyone was shunning the myriad races, yet you were making friends with them. What was that supposed to mean? Su Yu didn't bother explaining and continued on toward the classroom. On the path, he overheard some gossip and whispers. By the time he reached the classroom, many classmates were engaged in murmuring discussions. Surprisingly, Xia Huyou was also present today. Catching sight of Su Yu, he called out loudly, "Su Yu, is that Xia Qing really your friend?" The fellow gave Su Yu a meaningful wink, clearly prompting him to offer a defense. Su Yu smiled. "If she says so, then so be it. There's no need to explain! Everyone in this class is a genius student with their own judgment. You don't need to explain things to smart people, and to fools... there is no explaining." Xia Huyou was rendered speechless. You're just going to let it go like that? True, some people realized that the myriad races might be framing Su Yu, but for Su Yu to brush it off so casually was far too indifferent. After all, now that the narrative had been stirred up, even the smart ones would ultimately choose silence. When everyone was boycotting Su Yu, anyone who spoke against the tide would be labeled Su Yu's accomplice. Su Yu ignored him and walked straight over to Hu Qiusheng, sitting down beside him. He smiled and said, "Brother Hu, you won't mind, will you? Should I be keeping my distance from you at a time like this?" Hu Qiusheng chuckled softly. "Mocking me, are you? Pay no mind to that idle chatter. Not everyone is blind to the fact that the Myriad Races Academy wants to stir up trouble. You're partly to blame yourself for not being vigilant last time and having contact with her..." With that, he smiled. "It wasn't me who spread the word, so don't get the wrong idea." "I didn't suspect you," Su Yu chuckled. "That tigress directed and acted out the whole show herself. Let her play however she likes; just ignore her." Lowering his voice, Su Yu continued, "Regarding the research institute, I want to get it established as soon as possible. Brother Hu, are you still interested in joining?" "Of course!" "Then I'll submit the application shortly!" Su Yu let out a breath. "Get the institute set up first. Last time, Elder Sun mentioned providing me with territory and a venue. We should put the framework together first." "That requires a Tengkong cultivator. On your end..." Su Yu smiled. "I'll talk to someone. It's just lending their name to the registration; it shouldn't be too difficult." Hu Qiusheng remarked meaningfully, "At a time like this, someone might not be willing to lend their name to you. Do you understand?" "And don't count on Elder Wu and the others. They usually have their own institutes and cannot lend their names to anyone else. That's a rule the academy established to prevent researchers from setting up messy institutes all over the place and wasting academy resources." Su Yu nodded and smiled. "No matter. There are people who won't mind just having their name attached." He had candidates in mind, and quite a few of them at that. That wasn't a problem! The real difficulty lay elsewhere. Su Yu quickly said, "I need to establish an archive. There are many things required—records, cultivation arts, and the like. Wen Tan Research Center has some, but they primarily concern divine characters. I want to gather other things, including information on the myriad races. Can you scrounge some up on your end?" Hu Qiusheng nodded. "Ordinary materials aren't worth much. Unless they involve confidential secrets, I can get a batch of copies from my family." "The more, the better!" Su Yu smiled. "I can give Brother Hu a share of equity!" The Hu family was a major clan. Best to tie them to his chariot first! Hu Qiusheng laughed. "Give me equity? Brother Su, let's leave that aside for now. At present, I only want to cultivate in peace and avoid getting entangled in too many matters..." Su Yu chuckled. "Then if results come out, don't regret it. Of course, as the first person to join the institute, you'll still get a cut of the benefits. But let me say upfront: right now, we're dirt poor and have nothing at all!" "Understood." Hu Qiusheng nodded, then smiled. "Should we invite Mingze and the others?" "I'll think about it." Su Yu gave no definitive answer. Wan Mingze... they would see about that later. There were a few people he could bring in, like Zheng Yunhui or Xia Huyou, to bolster their momentum. As for the rest, forget it; he wasn't counting on them for anything. As for the cultivation arts needed for aperture merging, he would look through records himself first. If he couldn't find anything, he would consult someone else. While he was pondering, Hu Qiusheng spoke again: "The War Academy has finalized their plan. They're coming to spar with us on the first of next month. Where do you stand on this?" "Not everyone has to spar, right?" "Not necessarily, but... you'll understand when the time comes. If you don't go up and just watch from below, you'll probably feel terribly stifled." Su Yu smiled. "Because the people on stage get beaten up?" Hu Qiusheng nodded helplessly. "Beaten up is putting it lightly—some get beaten to tears! Besides, those folks from the War Academy curse like sailors... utterly vulgar! To be frank, when people like us curse, we at least show some restraint. They don't give a damn; hurling curses at your ancestors is completely standard. Could you stomach that?" Su Yu chuckled. "Then I just won't go watch." "Even if you don't watch, they've already caught wind of you. Once on stage, they'll pick a few people to scream insults. If you don't step up, you're a coward—could you really hold back?" "..." Su Yu was speechless. There was even that trick? No wonder students from the Civilization Academy kept stepping onto the stage to get beaten up year after year despite knowing they'd lose. They would rather take a beating than let the other side run rampant. Even though after taking a beating, the other side became even more arrogant! "We'll see. If they dare curse at me... they'd better consider the consequences." Su Yu smiled. "Never mind that for now; it's still early. Over the next few days, let's get the institute off the ground and recruit people. We don't need raw strength—what we need are knowledgeable talents, like geniuses who have mastered hundreds of languages... or individuals with broad horizons. Strength is secondary!" "That's simple!" Hu Qiusheng nodded. "I'll give you a roster later. The academy generally keeps records of language proficiencies, as they all require assessment. You can look through it yourself, but whether you can recruit them is entirely up to you." "Deal!" Su Yu nodded. Because some people focused entirely on studying languages and the like, their personal strength was not formidable; some might not even be at the Yangxing Realm. Recruiting people like that wouldn't cost much. Yet they were precisely what Su Yu urgently needed. Though he had mastered several dozen languages himself, it was still far too few. The races of the heavens were too numerous; it was impossible for Su Yu to learn every language alone. Furthermore, with the rise of the common tongue, things were nothing like the past. Few people studied the languages of the myriad races nowadays, and the languages of some smaller races were on the verge of dying out completely.