One Method After Another

Zhao Li's research institute. Su Yu was here once more. Zhao Li wasted no words. The moment Su Yu stepped in, he shut the door and activated the restrictions to prevent prying eyes. "Speak, what is it?" One did not visit the temple without a reason! Su Yu would never come unless he needed something, and Zhao Li actually appreciated that. What would be the point of coming here for no reason? To butter him up? What a waste of time. Whose time wasn't precious? If you had free time, wouldn't reading or cultivating be better? "Teacher, may I ask what realm your physical body is at?" "Lingyun. Why?" Zhao Li answered casually. "The warrior's path: Tengkong cleanses the marrow and transforms the bones, while Lingyun undergoes nine yuanqi transformations. I am currently at the eighth transformation of yuanqi, which counts as the Lingyun Eighth Layer." His physical body was at the Lingyun Eighth Layer, but Civilization Masters generally did not care much about that. To the outside world, he was still known as a Lingyun Seventh Layer. "Teacher, then won't you be fusing apertures into the Shanhai Realm very soon?" Su Yu asked in surprise. "Why haven't you put more effort into your physical body and directly stepped into Shanhai through physical cultivation?" Zhao Li snapped, "Where would I get the time or energy! Do you think everyone is like me, keeping their physical body and willpower roughly equal? I've only reached the eighth transformation of yuanqi in my physical body because I've been stuck at Lingyun for years. Back when my willpower hit the Lingyun Ninth Layer, my physical body had barely entered Lingyun." He continued, "Besides, I didn't care about the physical body in my younger days and fused too few apertures. I broke into Wanshi after fusing just eight apertures into one. Now, my apertures haven't united into one. Without that unification, in such a scattered state, there is almost no hope of fusing into the single aperture required for Shanhai." Su Yu had already guessed as much and had asked on purpose. Leaning in with an air of mystery, he said, "Teacher, I have a way for you to enter Shanhai—through the physical body!" "Hmm?" Zhao Li looked at him, stroking his beard. "You figured out the divine apertures for primordial spirit?" "No." "Then how?" "I created an aperture fusion art!" Su Yu grinned proudly. "The Primordial Spirit Research Institute has been open for barely a week, and results are already out! An aperture fusion art is born!" Zhao Li showed no interest and said helplessly, "I already know how to fuse apertures. Plenty of people know aperture fusion arts." "It's not that garbage commonly seen on the market." Indeed, that stuff was garbage. It accelerated things by a tiny fraction, but in exchange, you had to open extra apertures. It was hardly worth the trouble; the time spent opening those extra apertures could have easily made up for whatever time was saved, rendering it essentially pointless. That was why so many people had no interest in the common aperture fusion arts on the market. Zhao Li stared at him. What a boast! He had studied some of the techniques on the market himself, and while their results were modest, they still offered some acceleration. This kid actually looked down on them? Furthermore, even those techniques were only called 'common'; in truth, ordinary cultivators had no chance of ever learning them. Su Yu had only gotten his hands on them through Hu Qiusheng, courtesy of the Hu family's vast resources. "Really, Teacher! I synthesized dozens of aperture fusion arts and deduced it myself. It is the only aperture fusion art in the world today that opens thirty-six apertures, and every single aperture is useful—not a single one is superfluous!" Su Yu was exceedingly proud of himself! This was the first time he had ever deduced an entire cultivation art on his own. Even if it was pieced together from existing knowledge, that was still real skill, wasn't it? Zhao Li was speechless. "Is that true? How effective is it?" "Haven't tried it yet." "..." Zhao Li felt deeply exhausted. You haven't even fucking tried it, yet you're here bragging to me?! Brag my foot! I could pull out a whole pile of thirty-six-aperture techniques right now and claim they're for fusing apertures—would you believe me? If the boy weren't usually reliable, Zhao Li would have beaten him out the door with a stick! "Really..." Seeing his disbelief, Su Yu quickly added, "This isn't the first draft; it's an improved version. I've tested many variations. The best one from the previous version opened thirty-two apertures, had great fusion effects, and could suppress nearly two-thirds of the repulsive force!" "Really?" Zhao Li remained skeptical. Suppress two-thirds of the repulsive force? "Suppressing two-thirds... No such technique exists in the Human Realm, nor among the all-races. Of course, certain races possess innate talents for this, naturally having low aperture repulsion, such as the Sky Dragon race..." In Zhao Li's eyes, that was an innate racial talent. Even the Sky Dragons themselves viewed it that way. It had nothing to do with cultivation arts; it didn't count as one, and they possessed no such technique. Yet the golden album was truly terrifying: it had converted that innate talent into a cultivation art. That required an unfathomably profound understanding of the Sky Dragon race, perhaps equivalent to dissecting tens of thousands of Sky Dragons to make such discoveries. Sometimes Su Yu even wondered if the album's previous owner had dissected the myriad races countless times. How else could it analyze and deduce so much? Seeing Zhao Li's doubt, Su Yu wasted no more words and swiftly brought out a booklet. "It hasn't formed a complete systematic cultivation art yet, but it directly outlines the cultivation method. Teacher, the circulation path and the way the apertures link together were deduced by me. Could you look over it for me?" "Sure!" Zhao Li didn't dawdle. He went straight into the depths of the research institute and brought out a puppet a moment later. Su Yu froze slightly. Zhao Li said offhandedly, "I destroyed that model from last time. Models involving the sea of will are difficult to simulate, but yuan apertures are somewhat simpler. Over the past few days, I crafted a model equipped with multiple yuan apertures..." As he spoke, he fed several drops of yuanqi liquid into the top of the model's head and quickly said, "Point out the yuan apertures. I have all the common ones on here. Circulate according to your method, and I'll see how it performs." Su Yu was amazed! Impressive! Even this was possible? Without hesitating, he quickly began selecting from the specially marked yuan apertures on the model. "Teacher, how many yuan apertures did you build into this model?" "Three hundred and twelve," Zhao Li replied. "That extracts every single yuan aperture from all the cultivation arts I know of. This is the total number of yuan apertures mastered by the Civilization Academy, because I have read almost every technique the academy possesses." The further along cultivation arts progressed, the more overlapping apertures they shared. Across all the arts in the Civilization Academy, only 312 yuan apertures could be extracted. Yet Su Yu had already opened more than 300 yuan apertures by now. That was because many of his apertures had been opened through the techniques of the myriad races, differing significantly from human ones. Su Yu did not rush to point them out. Instead, he inspected the model, feeling a slight pleasant surprise. The overlap with his own apertures was huge, but he noticed at least twenty apertures he had never opened before. "Teacher, exactly how many yuan apertures are there in the human body?" Zhao Li said casually, "Either 360, 720, or 1,080... Whether it comes to cultivating, opening apertures, or forging cultural weapons, thirty-six is generally considered the peak of a grade. This wasn't decided arbitrarily; it is a rule arrived at after countless people tested it, representing the rule best suited to the human race." Zhao Li smiled and added, "The Great Xia Civilization Academy has a heritage spanning hundreds of years and ranks among the strongest academies in the Human Realm, yet we have only gathered 312 apertures. That means the total number in the human body is very likely 360. Of course, we cannot rule out the possibility that our knowledge is limited and many remain undiscovered." "Teacher, what do you think would happen if I opened 360 apertures?" Su Yu still had several unopened apertures, including those from the third tier of *Time*. Adding the ones he had just spotted on the model and those discovered through the Aperture Melding art, opening another forty was entirely feasible. Combined with the 308 he had already opened, he would end up with nearly 350 apertures. Su Yu suddenly mused, "You know, Teacher, after deducing this new aperture fusion art, I started wondering: if thirty-six can form a cycle, could 360 form a grand cycle? In my view, if I open 360 apertures, they might naturally form a grand system, a grand circulation. At that point, I could deduce a brand-new cultivation art—a mighty art opening 360 apertures that surpasses everything!" Zhao Li was speechless for a good while before saying, "You can cultivate that technique all by yourself. Remember, no one can test or experiment with it for you, because from ancient times to the present day, there might not be a single person who has ever opened 360 apertures!" Who the fuck would open that many apertures?! First of all, you might not even know where they were located. If Su Yu hadn't used the techniques of the myriad races, even mastering every single art in the Great Xia Civilization Academy would only have allowed him to open 312 apertures. Second, even if you knew them, you wouldn't be able to open them all. It was far too difficult; you would die of old age before finishing. Third, no genius would ever do such a thing—only a lunatic would! With so many apertures opened, what would you do when fusing into a single aperture at Shanhai? The repulsive force might skyrocket uncontrollably. How could you ever step into Shanhai then? Su Yu didn't mind. Having already opened so many, what difference did a few more make? "Well, I'll test it out later. But since I haven't gathered all 360 yet, I'll hold off for now." Su Yu was in no rush. Once he resolved the difficulty of fusing apertures, he could simply continue opening them after reaching Wanshi. Dropping the subject, he quickly highlighted thirty-six red dots on the model and explained the circulation route to Zhao Li. Controlling the model, Zhao Li remarked, "This is only a model after all. Running it will at most prove that circulating this art won't kill someone, but whether it's truly effective is hard to say. I've looked over your deduction, and on the whole, it seems feasible with no apparent contradictions. A perfect cultivation art gives you an immediate feeling of smoothness and harmony, without jarring flaws. That is an expert's intuition." Even as he spoke, the model's apertures suddenly began to operate! A low hum resonated! The thirty-six apertures lit up one by one as yuanqi was consumed. One, three, seven... All the way until thirty-five were lit... Bang! The simulated aperture exploded! It blew up! Su Yu froze in place. Zhao Li glanced at him. "Don't go recklessly testing new arts in the future, or you'll explode just like that!" The technique was still incomplete. Exploding at thirty-five apertures meant there was an issue with the circulation. Even so, being able to run through thirty-four apertures already made Zhao Li view him in a completely different light. A genius—an absolute, peerless genius! How much knowledge did Su Yu even possess? How many cultivation arts had he read? For a technique he deduced himself to run all the way to thirty-five apertures before failing was already astonishing beyond measure. Zhao Li kept his face blank only to keep Su Yu's ego from swelling. From the start, he had never expected smooth sailing on the first try. Deducing a complete technique in one go—one that opened thirty-six apertures and suppressed aperture repulsion, no less? Fuck, did you think you were a god? Exploding was entirely normal! By the thirty-fourth aperture, Zhao Li had nearly yanked his own beard out; if it hadn't blown up, he would have gone mad. Fortunately, it finally blew! Su Yu frowned, stepping forward to examine the damage. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly: *Zhou Hao really dodged a bullet!* Indeed, Zhou Hao's life had been spared. Su Yu had never planned on testing it on himself in the first place! He had originally intended to hand it straight to Zhou Hao for testing, feeling quite pleased with his deduction. If Zhao Li hadn't helped him deduce the divine aperture method last time, Su Yu wouldn't even have thought of seeking assistance. One could only say Zhou Hao was blessed with good luck for this flaw to be caught beforehand. Zhou Hao really ought to thank Su Yu for his sense of responsibility, and thank Zhao Li for his model. Su Yu gave himself a mental pat on the back! How responsible of him to look out for his test subject's safety. "Teacher, when it circulated to this point, there was some repulsion. What do you think caused it...?" Zhao Li was in no hurry. Running up to thirty-four apertures meant the technique was mostly viable. The remaining issues weren't insurmountable. After inspecting it, Zhao Li adjusted the way several apertures linked together, quickly installed a replacement for the burst aperture, and said, "Try again. Also, if you need one of these models, take one back with you. Don't recklessly test new arts next time; it's too easy for things to go wrong." "Thank you, Teacher." Su Yu didn't ask about the price; it certainly wouldn't be cheap. Zhao Li had no money because he genuinely lacked merit points, but the old man possessed a wealth of treasures and heaps of precious materials. If he ever chose to sell off the contents of his warehouse, there was no telling how much wealth it would fetch. While experimenting with the revised circulation path, Su Yu asked, "Teacher, if this succeeds, you can try it out. Out of these thirty-six apertures, how many have you opened?" "Twenty-four." Zhao Li took a look and quickly answered, "Opening twelve more apertures at Lingyun is extremely difficult. At my stage, opening one a month is already considered good progress. It would take at least a year." "That doesn't matter! Teacher, tell me which twenty-four you've opened. I've mastered seventy or eighty aperture-fusing techniques! Aside from this untested one, I've tried all the rest myself without any issues. See which one suits you..." "..." Zhao Li was struck speechless! Fuck! How many aperture fusion arts have you mastered? Seventy or eighty? And they all work? Does the entire world even have that many aperture fusion arts?! "You've tried them all?" "Yes." "And you're still alive?" "..." Su Yu was helpless. What kind of question was that? Of course I'm alive. He understood his teacher's concern, but he only used techniques he was completely confident in. Backed by the golden album, the techniques of the myriad races were safe; not once had an issue arisen so far. "Teacher, let's first go over which apertures you've mastered..." Bang! It exploded again! This time, it blew up at thirty-three apertures. Ignoring Su Yu, Zhao Li stepped forward to inspect it, muttering, "One aperture was connected incorrectly. You brat, you're genuinely lucky you haven't blown yourself to pieces by now!" Su Yu marveled once more: *Zhou Hao really has great luck. You avoided getting blown up yet again!* Modifying the circulation route, Zhao Li said, "These are the twenty-four apertures I've opened. Take a look and see which technique suits me..." He casually pointed out the twenty-four apertures. Su Yu looked them over—hey, not bad at all! The Red Frog race's Aperture Harmonizing Art could work! The Aperture Harmonizing Art opened twenty-two apertures, but Su Yu had only extracted eighteen that matched Zhao Li's eighteen apertures. The remaining four were useless apertures that Su Yu felt could be omitted without issue. Of course, that required re-evaluating the technique. But slimming it down from twenty-two to eighteen by cutting out useless apertures was something even Hu Qiusheng could manage; Zhao Li shouldn't have much trouble with a blueprint already in hand. "Teacher, I'll provide you with a technique!" Rather than having Zhao Li continue deducing immediately, Su Yu pointed out twenty-two apertures—eighteen of which matched the earlier thirty-six—and explained swiftly, "Teacher, this is a technique I deduced earlier that opens twenty-two apertures. Later, I realized several of them were superfluous... Of course, these twenty-two form a complete system, so removing four means we need to deduce the circulation route anew!" With that, Su Yu asked Zhao Li to run the technique on the model. The twenty-two apertures circulated with complete smoothness. Su Yu went a step further, lighting the apertures within his own physical body to test it firsthand. "Teacher, look. Once these twenty-two apertures are lit and circulated, they truly suppress the repulsive force, and quite well too—suppressing at least one-third of it! You can give it a try!" Lost in thought, Zhao Li ignored him and quickly deduced the route based on the original twenty-two apertures, attempting to eliminate four of them. Then, looking deeply at Su Yu, he exhaled and said, "You are a genius!" A true genius! He had tested it, and removing those four apertures really might work. What did that signify? It meant Su Yu was able to pinpoint four potentially redundant apertures out of twenty-two—a feat possible only with an exceptionally profound understanding of cultivation arts and apertures. Su Yu smiled. "You flatter me, Teacher!" Zhao Li paid him no mind. The twenty-two-aperture technique had likely been acquired by Su Yu through some lucky encounter; there was no way Su Yu had deduced it from scratch. However, stripping away the four apertures was certainly Su Yu's own doing, even if he hadn't yet deduced a complete circulation system for it. Zhao Li finally understood: the techniques Su Yu could run smoothly were generally complete, and he only brought the incomplete ones here for guidance. With eighteen apertures and an existing foundation, Zhao Li quickly completed the deduction. A moment later, he tested it on the model—flawless circulation! Wasting no time, Zhao Li was about to test it on himself when Su Yu laughed and said, "Teacher, let me test it! You are at the Lingyun Realm; if an aperture bursts, it will take years to recover. I'm different. If one bursts, a few months of rest will fix it right up!" Before Zhao Li could speak, Su Yu began circulating the eighteen-aperture art. Soon, the eighteen apertures lit up! A moment later, a suppressive force emerged! Grinning broadly, Su Yu said, "Teacher is still the greatest—success on the first deduction! It works, and the effect feels about the same as before, suppressing roughly one-third of the repulsive force. Teacher, how about we name this technique Zhao's Aperture Fusion Art?" Even if he disseminated an aperture fusion art to the public, Su Yu wouldn't necessarily release the Dual Wu Aperture Fusion Art right away. Suppressing one-third of the repulsive force already made this the best technique among dozens he had examined, and it only opened eighteen apertures; with overlapping ones, a cultivator would only need to open a few extra. A technique capable of suppressing one-third of the repulsive force was already of immeasurable value! Zhao Li glared at him, ignored the banter, and tried circulating the eighteen apertures within his own body. A moment later, he let out a long sigh! He was old! Truly old! It was effective—remarkably effective. It genuinely suppressed the repulsive force between apertures. He was at the Lingyun Realm; while the suppression didn't quite reach a full one-third, it wasn't far off. Su Yu continued, "Teacher, I also have a technique that can suppress about two-thirds of the repulsive force..." Zhao Li stared at him with sheer exasperation. Just how many fucking techniques have you mastered?! They even come in tiers! One that suppresses a third, one that suppresses two-thirds... So by your logic, that fully deduced thirty-six-aperture one might suppress all the repulsive force? Stop joking around! My heart is too old to handle this. The one Su Yu mentioned that suppressed two-thirds was the Sky Dragon race's Aperture Melding art. Ignoring him, Zhao Li tested the effects once more before sighing softly. "Don't go spreading these around recklessly. I suggest you only share this eighteen-aperture one. As for anything more, forget it... If word gets out, do you still expect to live in peace?" Damn it, your Primordial Spirit Research Institute has been open for barely a week, and you've already churned out dozens of aperture fusion arts. How are other people supposed to survive? Su Yu scratched his head. "Teacher, but for my complete version, I need to find someone to test it as my experimental subject. Otherwise, I wouldn't dare try it myself! It has to be passed on to someone. I was thinking of approaching that Zhou Hao..." "Xia Yuwen's student?" "Yes." Zhao Li pondered for a moment. "He is indeed a good test subject. Having opened over 144 apertures, if his *Thousand Mountains Art* can overcome the repulsion issue, that fellow will surely soar to the skies!" Zhao Li was notoriously picky when judging people. For him to speak of Zhou Hao this way showed the young man possessed staggering talent. "If you want to pass him the art, I won't stop you... Just think it through carefully! Are you leaving it to fate, trying to recruit him, or what?" Su Yu laughed. "I don't care too much about that. So long as he doesn't leak it everywhere or turn around and bite the hand that fed him, that's enough..." Zhao Li nodded, then remarked, "I sense a bit of monster qi on you. Have you been hanging around demons lately?" "Not demons. A Water Person from the Five Elements Race and a fellow from the Shadow race are protecting me. I left them back at the institute." Su Yu understood priorities; he would never bring those two along when researching such secrets. "Good, that's fine then. Don't let others see everything... Also, don't come running to me every time you have a technique to refine. I'm not all-powerful!" The more he learned, the more terrified he became. If word of this kid's achievements got out, blood would flow. At this moment, Zhao Li wondered: having suppressed a portion of the repulsive force, opening twelve more apertures might only take half a year. Half a year from now, if he cultivated Su Yu's thirty-six-aperture fusion art, could he fuse the apertures he had left unfused in the past and step into the Shanhai Realm? A physical Shanhai! Zhao Li felt a wave of emotion. Perhaps... he truly could. Becoming a true Shanhai not through willpower, but through the warrior's path. Would anyone on the outside dare imagine it? He said no more and resumed deducing the thirty-six-aperture fusion art. Once, twice... Even though only a few apertures were missing, testing them still consumed an immense amount of time. After exploding more than a dozen times in succession, the apertures lit up one by one! One... thirty-five, thirty-six! When the entire cultivation art circulated in full, Su Yu was overjoyed, while Zhao Li was overcome with awe. At this moment, he truly believed this art was effective. Su Yu... might really have created a technique capable of suppressing nearly all repulsive force! For Tengkong and Lingyun cultivators, it might not suppress all of it, but the effect would undoubtedly be astounding! "What is this technique called?" "Dual Wu Aperture Fusion Art!" Zhao Li thought about it, then cursed with a laugh, "You fickle playboy!" "..." Su Yu was baffled. What did that mean? Zhao Li beamed broadly. "Still, not bad at all. Work hard, kid. Turning 'Dual Wu' into 'Triple Wu' would be quite nice! Let me tell you, Wu Yuehua's grandniece is wonderful; I like that girl very much. On the path of cultivation, you ultimately need to find a powerful partner who can walk beside you, fight alongside you, and roam the world with you..." The eldest daughter of the Wu family had that potential. Su Yu possessed astonishing talent, and so did she. By now, she had likely already stepped into the Lingyun Realm—and not as an ordinary Lingyun, but as a monstrous talent capable of battling cultivators of the Fourth or Fifth Layer of Lingyun. By the time Su Yu reached Lingyun, she would probably be approaching Shanhai, wouldn't she? Among Bai Feng's generation, she was the one Zhao Li favored most. Pairing her with Su Yu... would be truly wonderful. More importantly, the Wu family was immensely powerful! Wu Yuehua was already at the Shanhai Eighth Layer, and her mother was at the Sunmoon Realm! Zhao Li knew her mother, who was fiercely protective of her own. With a genuine Sunmoon backing him, Su Yu would have real protection. The Wu family's foundation was formidable. Once Wu Qi stepped into Shanhai... don't forget, Wu Qi still had a family: a father, a mother, grandparents, all living! The Wu family possessed other Shanhai experts as well. Su Yu had never thought about this, subconsciously overlooking it. He had forgotten that since Wu Yuehua possessed astonishing talent and could reach Shanhai, what about her brother—the grandfather of Wu Lan and Wu Qi? And with the two Wu sisters being so talented, what about their parents? The Wu family was a top-tier powerhouse clan in the Great Xia Prefecture. One Sunmoon, two Shanhai, three Lingyun... no, with Wu Qi, make that four Lingyun, and the other three Lingyun were all approaching Shanhai. That was a true titan of a clan! Zhao Li patted the still-bewildered Su Yu, filled with emotion. It was time the boy found a proper backing! A master was a master, and a grandmaster was a grandmaster, but a grandmaster didn't necessarily have only one granddisciple, nor did a master have only one disciple. A son-in-law, grandson-in-law, or great-grandson-in-law, however, might be the only one! Work hard, kid! Marry both daughters of the Wu family, and you'll hit the jackpot. Such a massive family estate... might end up entirely yours. You could walk with your chin held high wherever you went, and so long as you didn't provoke the Xia family, you could do as you pleased in the Great Xia Prefecture. That was why Wu Lan could look down her nose at everyone and remain untouched to this day. No one could afford to provoke her! Even when she looked down on Hu Qiusheng and Wan Mingze, they had nothing to say; why bother offending her? Even Zhou Mingren had been rebuffed by her several times without uttering a complaint. If Wu Yuehua meddled in the affairs of the Multiple Divine Characters Faction, the Wu family couldn't easily intervene. But Wu Lan and Wu Qi were different; if anyone crossed them, the Wu family would step in. Su Yu had no mind for such things right now. Though he vaguely understood Zhao Li's implication, he couldn't be bothered to explain. All he felt was excitement: the technique was a success, and he could go test it on Zhou Hao! What women, what marrying into a family as a son-in-law... my father would beat me to death! When my father left, I mentioned marrying into a family, but that was just loose talk. Becoming a son-in-law to a titan clan... weak as my dad might be, he would still beat me half to death. Thinking of his father, Su Yu sighed inwardly. His father was so weak; looking back now, a single punch from Su Yu could... cough, better not think about it. A Wanshi expert who had opened only thirty-six apertures... Opening them casually would yield more than that! It was far too few! When he found time, he would have to visit his father and perhaps help him switch cultivation techniques. Now, it was time to find Zhou Hao. He could hardly wait to test this technique! Wanshi was right before his eyes! "Teacher, I'm heading out to speak with Zhou Hao..." Su Yu sprinted off like the wind, leaving Zhao Li chuckling helplessly. Without another word, Zhao Li smashed the puppet into dust with a single punch and incinerated every trace. Grunting, he inspected his surroundings and suddenly called out, "You with the surname Wan! Next time, stay the hell away from spying on my place! I had my restrictions on and you still pried. Did you really think I wouldn't notice?" A moment later, soft laughter echoed. "A misunderstanding." "Heh!" Zhao Li sneered. "That thing you planted in Su Yu's body—it's not like I failed to detect it! Why are you tracking his location?" "To protect him." "More like surveilling him!" "There is no need for that," Wan Tiansheng said with a faint laugh. "For geniuses, one must naturally offer greater protection. As long as he doesn't run wild or step into the domain of Invincibles, I can rescue him at any moment. Isn't that a good thing?" Zhao Li couldn't be bothered to argue. As he tidied up his tools, he asked abruptly, "What exactly have you been doing all these years? Ye Batian's death back then was bizarre, and you still dare to act recklessly?" Ye Batian! In other words, the Fifth Principal! A figure from roughly the same era as Zhao Li. As the son of the Fourth Principal, Zhao Li had maintained a fairly good relationship with the Fifth Principal. Wan Tiansheng's laughter remained tranquil. "I don't intend to do anything. Just nurturing students, drinking tea, tending flowers, easing into old age! Zhao Li, when will you fix that stubborn temper of yours? If that Earth-rank cultural weapon of yours truly needs repairing, I can help you fix it..." "No need!" Zhao Li sneered. "We don't walk the same path, and I don't need your charity! You have a wicked heart! If you give me charity today, tomorrow my family's yuanqi secret realm will belong to you. Not a chance! That belongs to me! The Great Xia Civilization Academy owes me an enormous debt! Sooner or later, I will make you all pay it back!" "For Su Yu's sake?" "None of your business!" Wan Tiansheng chuckled. "Fine, suit yourself! A stubborn mule, I truly don't know what goes on in your head. I am not that kind of person; I sincerely offered to help, yet you treat good intentions as ill will. Go on, keep suffocating at Lingyun then!" "Hmph!" Zhao Li couldn't be bothered with him. *Stuck at Lingyun? I might soon reach Shanhai through my physical body! When that time comes, I'll slap your face until it swells!* Forget it; that fellow was utterly shameless, so slapping him would achieve nothing anyway. After tidying up a while longer, Zhao Li snapped impatiently, "Haven't you scrammed yet!" Silence answered him. After a long pause, Zhao Li sighed helplessly. That old fellow was truly powerful. Zhao Li hadn't even sensed when he departed. He was still too weak! The Lingyun Realm... it used to feel decent enough, so why had he felt so old lately? Lingyun cultivators weren't considered weak on the All-Heavens Battlefield either!