The matter of the myriad races students could wait.
Su Yu did not care about their schemes, nor anyone else's for that matter. As for his enemies, if he could kill them, he would; if he couldn't, he would let them be for now and kill them later once he was able.
That was what Wan Tiansheng had said!
Just as Su Yu arrived at the research institute's entrance, he spotted Zhang Hao.
Zhang Hao saw him as well. He gave a faint smile before quickly resuming a cold expression, casually tossing a merit card to Su Yu. "From last time!"
Catching it, Su Yu smiled. "Care to come in and sit for a bit?"
"No need!"
With that, Zhang Hao turned and walked away.
Su Yu chuckled, not minding in the least. If Zhang Hao wanted to put on an act, let him. Whether Zhang Hao acted hostile or not made little difference. Still, this wasn't bad—perhaps someone would try to recruit him.
As he entered the research institute, Su Yu checked the balance on the card.
Syncing it with his own merit card, Su Yu looked at the total and felt a surge of delight.
Ten thousand merit points!
The Zhang family might have even rounded it up for him.
The bounty for five Tengkong realm cultivators was only 1,200 merit points, plus the 5,000 the Zhang family had promised. Could ransacking their assets really have yielded another 3,800 points?
Perhaps it did. In that case, those Tengkong cultivators hadn't been completely broke.
On average, each of them had possessed seven or eight hundred points in savings.
...
Walking inside.
Xia Huyou was surprisingly still here, playing cards with Zheng Yunhui and a few others.
Su Yu was speechless.
Wasn't tomorrow the prefecture founding celebration?
As the son of the Prefecture Master, did this guy truly have nothing to do?
And Zheng Yunhui and the others—weren't they a little too idle?
"Why are you guys still playing cards?"
Zheng Yunhui chuckled. "Just taking a breather. Balance work and rest! Besides, there hasn't been much to do lately. It's still way too early to deduce the primordial spirit apertures..."
Ever since creating the aperture fusion art, Su Yu hadn't assigned any new tasks.
Right now, nobody was particularly busy.
Of course, Wu Lan and Wu Jia were quite busy. Ever since receiving Su Yu's praise—and even being granted naming rights for the cultivation technique—the two of them had been compiling information on the myriad races.
Following Su Yu's requirements, they were categorizing everything by cultivation technique type, which was a massive project. The others, however, were not nearly as occupied.
Su Yu shook his head, too exasperated to argue, and asked, "Fatty, how many merit points do I owe you?"
"Not much... We're like family, don't stand on ceremony."
Su Yu rolled his eyes. "Whatever I owe, I'm paying back. If I don't, are you hoping I'll end up mortgaging the thirty-six-aperture fusion art to you?"
"..."
Xia Huyou offered a dry laugh. Spot on.
Smart kid!
It was just like Zheng Yunhui, who never asked for payment or brought up Su Yu's debt. He was waiting. Su Yu had promised three months; nearly one month had passed, and in two months, Zheng Yunhui would be coming to collect the Yuan-Purifying Art.
"Fine, fine. Now that you're rich, you want to clear your debts!"
Xia Huyou sighed with a twinge of sorrow. Don't pay me back, please!
He wasn't thrilled about being repaid.
Su Yu being in debt was a good thing! When he was in debt, look what happened: the aperture fusion art went to the Xia family, the Yuan-Purifying Art would soon go to the Zheng family, and the Soul-Devouring Art had previously gone to the Xia family too.
With Su Yu in debt, business was easy to negotiate.
If he didn't owe anything, negotiations would be tough.
"How much?"
"Nine thousand points!"
Wasting no words, Su Yu tossed the newly received merit card straight over. "From the remaining thousand points, pay Wu Lan what she's owed, and give whatever is left to Hu Qiusheng."
"You're being far too formal..."
Xia Huyou gave a dry laugh, while Zheng Yunhui secretly gloated. He didn't pay me back—excellent.
Ignoring them, Su Yu considered for a moment and said, "Last time, Xia Yuwen gave five thousand merit points. Zhou Hao used roughly three thousand, leaving two thousand. Fatty, procure about two thousand points' worth of blood essence for me... I'll write up a list for you later."
Earlier, he had unlocked quite a few profile illustrations in his atlas, but lacked the blood essence to activate their cultivation methods.
Not too many—roughly ninety species.
Two thousand merit points, with no restrictions on grade, should be enough to purchase them.
When he had money, he spent it; Su Yu couldn't be bothered to hoard it.
Spending thousands or tens of thousands of merit points at a time, he spent more generously than most Shanhai realm experts.
"Also, the Xia family has begun promoting the aperture fusion art. According to our agreement, I get one merit point per person trained. Don't forget my dividend!"
Xia Huyou hurriedly replied, "Of course, that's guaranteed! But normally it's settled once a year. If you're in urgent need of points, you can draw an advance from me and we'll settle the whole balance when the time comes."
"Fine!"
After a brief chat, Jiang Mu, who had remained quiet, spoke up: "Su Yu, have you reached the Wanshi Realm?"
"Fourth stage of Wanshi."
The others exchanged looks of disbelief. So fast!
In the blink of an eye, he was already at the fourth stage!
"Xia Huyou, what about you?"
"Me..." Xia Huyou laughed dryly. "Just entered Wanshi! Barely reached it!"
Su Yu didn't believe him for a second. Just reached it, my foot.
Earlier, this guy was already close to fusing his first aperture. Still, Xia Huyou might not have opened all thirty-six apertures yet and had to open them first, so adding it up... he really might have just entered Wanshi.
Oh well. Even if he had just stepped into Wanshi, it wouldn't take Xia Huyou long to reach the ninth stage.
Not bothering to dwell on their progress, Su Yu asked, "For tomorrow's founding celebration, is King Daxia returning?"
"He should be."
Xia Huyou pondered and said wistfully, "With Great-Grandfather coming back, who knows if he'll bring back any treasures this year. During the three-hundredth anniversary celebration, Great-Grandfather cleaved off a piece of space from the Golden Roc Realm and brought it back, creating a secret realm for the Great Xia War Academy. I wonder if there'll be anything like that this year."
Su Yu recalled hearing about this before. Thinking back, Liu Wenyan had mentioned it.
No wonder it sounded familiar!
King Daxia had cleaved away a spatial fragment from the Golden Roc Realm with a single blade strike and carried it back—an absolute madman of a powerhouse.
Hearing this, Su Yu felt a glimmer of anticipation.
For the 350th anniversary, surely King Daxia would bring back something good?
Even just broadening his horizons would be worthwhile!
As they chatted, Hu Qiusheng came downstairs. Still looking elegant and scholarly, he wore a rather helpless expression. Seeing Su Yu, he smiled wryly. "Su Yu, could you assign me a separate laboratory or reference room? The two upstairs... think I'm in their way."
Sigh!
A genius and refined scholar like me, actually looked down upon by those two.
Su Yu was caught between tears and laughter. He nodded. "There are a few rooms on the second floor. Pick whichever empty one you like. The research institute has plenty of vacant rooms right now."
"Thank you, then."
Hu Qiusheng expressed his thanks, thought for a moment, and said, "Su Yu, after all, we are Civilization Masters. I know your next plan is to work on the primordial spirit apertures, but... I feel that primordial spirit apertures won't be that simple. To prepare ahead of time, I actually think our next project should be an auxiliary technique for fusing divine apertures!"
Hu Qiusheng said earnestly, "Reasoning by analogy, since you managed to develop such a high-grade yuan aperture fusion technique, a divine aperture fusion technique might not be impossible! Divine aperture fusion is only useful upon reaching the Shanhai Realm, but I suggest we add another project right now rather than waiting until we actually reach Shanhai to start researching it. By then, it'll be too late."
Hearing this, the eyes of the others instantly lit up!
Xia Huyou tossed down his cards and stood up immediately. "Su Yu, I suggest giving it a shot too! We can only count on you for the primordial spirit apertures, but for a divine aperture fusion technique, we can all pitch in and try deducing it using the same approach as the aperture fusion art!"
Su Yu pondered for a moment and said, "Opening divine apertures is difficult. Even if we deduce a divine aperture fusion art, if it requires opening thirty-six divine apertures... almost nobody will be able to cultivate it..."
Of course, he himself could.
Even if such a technique were created, it wouldn't be universally applicable, though Su Yu didn't particularly care about universal applicability.
With that thought, Su Yu nodded. "Then everyone can do some preliminary preparations. There's no rush anyway. However, divine aperture fusion techniques are exceedingly rare, leaving us with very little reference material. This will likely be immensely difficult!"
Humanity possessed quite a few yuan aperture fusion techniques, which offered some degree of reference.
Techniques for fusing divine apertures, however, were scarce and exceedingly difficult to obtain.
"Let's give it a try!"
All of them were eager. After all, this was their true foundation. Not that the warrior path was bad, but the people present were primarily Civilization Masters. Even Zheng Yunhui, whom everyone called a brute, wanted to raise his Civilization Master rank.
With a higher Civilization Master rank, one's divine characters would be stronger. For example, his healing divine character: reaching the second tier or third tier was practically equivalent to regrowing flesh and bone ahead of time. No matter how severe the injury, a powerful healing divine character could treat it, effectively granting multiple extra lives.
Seeing Su Yu agree, everyone was overjoyed.
Now that Su Yu had agreed to tackle it, everyone felt the chances of success were great.
Just then, a voice shouted from upstairs, "I'm still going to be the task force leader!"
"..."
Su Yu chuckled. "We're only in the preparatory stages—what task force? For now, our focus is gathering materials and data, including information and blood essence from races that specialize in willpower... Gathering all this takes time, and these things are much rarer and harder to acquire than before. Take it slow."
He wasn't in a hurry.
Fusing divine apertures wasn't needed until the Shanhai Realm, and he was still a long way from Shanhai.
Dismissing Wu Lan, Su Yu waved to Xia Huyou. "Fatty..."
"Still calling me that!"
Xia Huyou grumbled in irritation. He'd ignored him several times, yet Su Yu kept calling him that!
"Ahem, Huyou, let's talk business."
"That's more like it!"
Only then did Xia Huyou feel satisfied, grinning as he followed Su Yu into the adjacent tea room.
...
Inside the tea room.
Su Yu poured a cup of tea for Xia Huyou and another for himself. He sipped his tea, lost in thought.
Xia Huyou wasn't in any rush either, waiting quietly.
After a moment, Su Yu set down his teacup. "The wind howls loudest around the tallest tree! Now that the aperture fusion art is out, in the eyes of my rivals, I, Su Yu, am a thorn in their side, a needle in their eye!"
Xia Huyou nodded slightly, implicitly agreeing.
"What do you think the Single Divine Character Faction's stance is right now? Are they looking at the big picture of humanity, viewing me, Su Yu, as beneficial to elevating the strength of the entire human race? Or are they looking from their private factional interests, fearing that I will lead the resurgence of the Multiple Divine Characters Faction... restoring it to how it was fifty years ago, or even worse, completely suppressing their line of inheritance?"
Xia Huyou remained silent.
Su Yu looked at him.
After a brief silence, Xia Huyou gave a wry smile. "Isn't the answer obvious? Su Yu, there's no need to ask. Frankly speaking, looking at things from the broader perspective of humanity... very few people possess such foresight and breadth of mind. That includes yourself. Let me ask you: when you look at things, do you prioritize humanity's overall interests?"
Su Yu smiled. "No. I consider myself first, then the big picture."
"There you have it!" Xia Huyou said helplessly. "So asking is pointless. The Single Divine Character Faction will definitely consider themselves first, then their faction, and only then anything else."
Su Yu nodded. "So do they want to kill me?"
"Don't worry. Inside the academy, inside the Great Xia Prefecture, they wouldn't dare..."
Su Yu said calmly, "What if I step outside? What if someone from their faction makes a move against me? Of course, I'm not afraid, nor do I think I'll die. But if someone from their faction attacks me, how will the Great Xia Prefecture respond?"
"In the wild?"
"Yes!"
Xia Huyou fell silent. "Within the borders of the Great Xia Prefecture?"
"Possibly not."
Starfall Mountain, strictly speaking, was on the border, or arguably within the territory of the Great Ming Prefecture.
Xia Huyou frowned, his tone solemn. "Then that will be tricky. Frankly, if someone from the Single Divine Character Faction dares to attack you within the prefectural capital... of course, it depends on their status. If their status is significant, a thorough investigation will definitely follow! If their status is minor... we'd still investigate to ensure it wasn't a provocation orchestrated by the All-Races Cult. But outside the capital, or outside the Great Xia Prefecture altogether... historically, such conflicts in the wild aren't strictly regulated..."
Su Yu asked in a deep voice, "In other words, if we clash in the wild, the Great Xia Prefecture generally looks the other way?"
"Pretty much!"
Xia Huyou explained, "Unless the All-Races Cult is involved, when humans kill each other... to put it bluntly, wherever there are people, there is conflict. If everyone bottled up their grudges and held back, humanity would have achieved a utopian society long ago! Especially since we're cultivators—it's impossible to live completely free of grudges and grievances. Sometimes the prefectures intentionally turn a blind eye, deliberately letting things slide."
Su Yu sank into thought.
After a moment, he spoke: "So you're saying, in an encounter in the wild, it all comes down to personal ability?"
"You could say that. After all... the Great Xia Prefecture can't manage everything. Of course, if there is concrete evidence, the Great Xia Prefecture will intervene. If someone attacks you without cause, and you bring proof to the Great Xia Prefecture, they will investigate."
"And if I have evidence that the other party actively tried to kill me, how will the Great Xia Prefecture handle it?"
Xia Huyou thought for a moment and answered quickly, "The perpetrator will definitely die. But as for implicating others... that's hard! Unless there's clear evidence showing someone ordered it. Murdering a genius student is a severe crime."
Having said that, he looked at Su Yu earnestly. "Do you want to head out and lure the snake from its hole to settle this once and for all? Su Yu, don't take that risk—it's not worth it. I know what you're thinking. The Single Divine Character Faction is already drawing criticism from many sides; if they don't watch themselves, they'll bring trouble and burn their own fingers sooner or later. There's no need for you to take risks. Even if they really send someone to kill you... the one who strikes will surely die, but implicating anyone else will be very difficult..."
Su Yu knitted his brows. "Very difficult? If that's the case, then I'll never be able to step outside. What if they simply dispatch a Lingyun realm cultivator to kill me once and for all, willing to discard a single Lingyun?"
Xia Huyou nodded.
In the wild, that was how it worked.
Of course, inside the academy was a different story.
After thinking it over, he still said, "They shouldn't go that far. After all, your faction has powerhouses too. Don't they understand? If you die, all pretenses will be shattered, all boundaries discarded. Elder Hong is still around. If he cuts loose and starts killing indiscriminately, how many could stop him? Does their faction plan to hide inside the academy forever?"
Xia Huyou felt things wouldn't escalate to that extent.
Su Yu, however, felt it unwise to overestimate their restraint. He said plainly, "Perhaps you're right, but I don't believe in pinning my hopes on their goodwill. They might think they can kill me without anyone knowing, since there would be no evidence..."
Xia Huyou looked at him with a solemn expression, only speaking after a long pause: "You mean..."
Su Yu said calmly, "Lure the snake from its hole! Even if I can't implicate their leadership, I'll make them feel the pain! If someone comes to kill me and I kill them instead, there's no problem with that, right?"
"None."
"Remains... do they hold great temptation for everyone?"
Xia Huyou didn't answer.
Great temptation?
Tremendous!
Whenever ancient remains or ruins appeared, it sparked fierce clashes like tigers battling dragons, because ancient remains often represented the birth of a Sunmoon or even an Invincible cultivator.
That was the nature of an ancient legacy.
Who wouldn't want to claim such remains?
Seeing his silence, Su Yu continued, "If I possessed an ancient ruin..."
"You're going to expose it?"
Xia Huyou asked in shock, "You... why don't you ask the Xia family to help you excavate it? The Xia family would abide by the rules."
Su Yu chuckled. Even the Xia family was convinced he had an ancient ruin. He suspected many others shared that suspicion.
People had probably already gone to Nanyuan searching for it.
The temptation of an ancient ruin was immense!
Still shocked, Xia Huyou added, "Su Yu, you... there's no need for this! If an ancient ruin is really exposed, it will lure out countless people. Even if it's within the Great Xia Prefecture, the Xia family won't find it easy to manage. According to protocol, once made public, many powerhouses will come to compete for it."
He believed Su Yu was planning to take a reckless gamble—exposing the existence of an ancient ruin to bait the Single Divine Character Faction into attacking him. That was far too dangerous.
Even if he managed to deal with the Single Divine Character Faction in the end, exposing an ancient ruin would bring massive trouble.
Once word got out, Su Yu would have no peace.
Of course, that was secondary; more importantly, the ruin might be snatched away by others.
Did Su Yu truly believe he could protect it?
Even if the Xia family stepped in, they might still have to share a slice of the pie with others.
Su Yu was speechless. What ancient ruin?
He had never seen any ancient ruin!
There were no ruins, though there was a treasure vault—the one belonging to the Tianyi God Cult.
Too lazy to explain in detail, Su Yu simply said, "I'll only spread the word within a small circle. Do you think those people will make a move against me? An ancient ruin is a secret. Once they learn of it, they probably won't spread the news, right? Even if they do, it'll take time. Once a little time passes and it's proven not to be an ancient ruin, the matter will be settled."
"You're..."
Xia Huyou frowned. "You're deliberately fishing! Su Yu, if you do this, first, you might not be able to fend them off, and second, if you really kill those people, the rest of them will never let it go!"
"It was never going to end anyway," Su Yu snorted. "Do you think they and I could ever live in peace? They want to take advantage of my current weakness to resolve me once and for all! Likewise, I want to take advantage of my weakness—while they don't take me too seriously—to deal them a heavy blow!"
Being weak had its advantages.
They wouldn't overestimate him.
If Su Yu were already in the Tengkong or Lingyun Realm, with his monstrous talent, legions of Shanhai or even Sunmoon experts might come after him.
Right now... at most, a Shanhai cultivator would show up.
Xia Huyou finally grasped his intention.
Exhaling softly, he said, "You want to go fishing. The problem is, aren't you afraid of hooking a fish so big it swallows you whole? Also, you're trying to sound out the Xia family's stance, aren't you?"
"That's right."
Xia Huyou fell silent. After a long moment, he said, "The Xia family's stance is very simple: whoever breaks the rules will be dealt with! Regardless of whether you did it intentionally, if they break the rules, they must pay the price. The same applies to you. That is the Xia family's stance on upholding order in the Great Xia Prefecture. Even though I dislike them—with all their flirting and colluding with the Great Zhou Prefecture—I have to swallow my irritation, because they haven't openly aligned with the Great Zhou Prefecture... In fact, even if they have, that's their prerogative. If the Great Xia Prefecture can't retain its talent and people leave, there's nothing we can do or say. At most, the Xia family will hold a minor grudge."
"We're all human. Movement of personnel among the prefectures is normal, and we can't make a fuss about it. Do you understand?"
Su Yu nodded.
He quickly asked, "Then tell me, if word truly spreads of an ancient ruin, will the Single Divine Character Faction deploy Shanhai realm experts?"
"Yes!" Xia Huyou answered affirmatively. "Without question!"
"How many do you think?"
"That's... hard to say. At least two or so."
Su Yu looked thoughtful and nodded. "Understood."
"Su Yu..." Xia Huyou looked at him. "If you ask me, you're currently in an explosive growth phase. You should focus on keeping a low profile. Certain matters will reach a resolution sooner or later."
"Seize the day!"
Su Yu said calmly, "Now is the best time. When I truly grow powerful, the enemies I face won't be these people anymore! I don't want someone stabbing me in the back at a critical moment. Likewise, they're afraid I'll stab them in the back too!"
Su Yu looked at him and said earnestly, "Things have reached this point; all pretense was discarded long ago, and there is zero goodwill left. Xia Huyou, can't you see that? Ever since the last clash, it has become a fight to the death. The more it's suppressed, the more violently it will erupt! The Xia family wants to keep a lid on it, but do you think that's possible? My teacher killed their people, they want to kill my teacher, and they want to seize the fifth-generation divine character... It has reached an irreconcilable point. This cannot be resolved by suppression."
"Even so, you..." Xia Huyou still felt Su Yu was too weak and shouldn't get involved in this right now.
Su Yu shook his head. "I don't want to get involved, but I have to leave the academy. I can't hide in the academy forever, passively taking beatings! Enduring attack after attack, including the stirrings at the Myriad Races Academy earlier, and the All-Races Cult... Of course, that's just my speculation. From my perspective, after being attacked by the All-Races Cult, I suspect it's connected to them. Maybe the Single Divine Character Faction is colluding with the All-Races Cult."
Su Yu stopped there and quickly added, "I just wanted to know the Xia family's attitude. The Xia family's current attitude is not to get involved in conflicts in the wild. But if I obtain proof that powerhouses from their faction attacked me, the Xia family will sanction them within the Great Xia Prefecture, correct?"
"Correct!" Xia Huyou nodded.
That was inevitable!
If their faction's powerhouses attacked and attempted to assassinate Su Yu in the wild, the Xia family couldn't easily intervene without evidence. But with ironclad proof, they would definitely suppress certain individuals to uphold the Great Xia Prefecture's authority.
That was enough!
Su Yu never expected the Xia family to fight his battles for him. As long as the Xia family sanctioned them within the Great Xia Prefecture, his objective would be achieved.
"I understand. Let's leave it at that!"
Su Yu stood up. Xia Huyou said hurriedly, "If you're really going through with this... I can't represent the Xia family, but speaking for myself, I can offer you some support. The Xia family is neutral, but I personally have my bias!"
"What kind of support?" Su Yu smiled, looking at him. "How about backing me with a Sunmoon realm expert?"
"Cut it out!" Xia Huyou was speechless. Where on earth could he mobilize a Sunmoon? Besides, any movement by a Sunmoon drew widespread attention.
Xia Huyou took a deep breath. "I have two Shanhai realm bodyguards, powerhouses trained by the Xia family since youth. I can lend them to you—a personal loan—to protect you on your travels. That's the most I can do. If the other side really sends out Shanhai experts, they definitely won't appear right at the start; they won't even show their faces initially. Shanhai is Shanhai, Tengkong is Tengkong... Once you reach the Shanhai level, you're looking at elder-level figures. The moment they act, the scale of the conflict escalates completely!"
"That's all I can offer. As for the rest... it's up to you."
Su Yu nodded with a smile. "I know. If a Tengkong can kill me, they'll send a Tengkong—no need to deploy a Lingyun, lest someone trace it back and leave them trapped. If a Lingyun can kill me, they'll send a Lingyun. By the same logic, they'll prepare for the possibility of exposure and minimize the fallout! Only when even a Lingyun fails will a Shanhai step in... because once a Shanhai acts, the matter blows up and implicates the upper echelons, right?"
"Right!" Xia Huyou nodded. Since Su Yu had thought everything through, there wasn't much more he could say.
Su Yu said no more and quickly left the tea room.
After he left, Xia Huyou rubbed his cheeks, feeling rather weary.
Just as he had said, from his personal perspective, he hoped Su Yu would achieve greater growth and progress in safety.
Yet from the Xia family's standpoint, they couldn't lean too heavily to one side.
Just because Su Yu believed the Single Divine Character Faction was villainous didn't mean everyone saw it that way.
The Xia family had to remain impartial!
Lending Su Yu two Shanhai bodyguards was the absolute limit of what he could do.
"What a headache..." Xia Huyou muttered under his breath. Why couldn't these people just live in peace?
The myriad races... their strategy had proved effective. By not applying overwhelming pressure on the Human Realm, they had caused humanity to fall into constant internal strife. Xia Huyou gritted his teeth. It would almost be better if the myriad races attacked all at once, forcing humanity to unite against the enemy.
Chapter 244