The Top Student Works Hard

In the office. "Kaiyuan fifth stage already?" Liu Wenyan held his teacup and looked Su Yu up and down in surprise. His perception had not been quite so clear before, but now that his willpower had manifested, looking at Su Yu made the truth obvious. Ordinary people could neither see nor sense the nine Kaiyuan apertures. A Civilization Master, however, could distinctly perceive nine points of light. Five of Su Yu's points were lit, which meant he had reached the Kaiyuan fifth stage. "Yes," Su Yu nodded. "I was only at the fourth stage yesterday, but after Instructor Bai transcribed the *Kaiyuan Art*, reading it gave me a thorough grasp of the nine apertures, and I broke straight into the fifth stage." "That is your good fortune." Liu Wenyan voiced no doubts and chuckled. "Bai Feng made it look effortless, but with his cultivation, transcribing the entire *Kaiyuan Art* consumed an enormous amount of willpower. Had he lacked a deep foundation, an ordinary cultivator at the Tengkong seventh stage could hardly have finished writing it. "Even in the Civilization Academies, instructors rarely write willpower texts. The willpower expenditure is simply too vast and difficult to restore, and they still need to nourish their own divine characters. Under normal circumstances, they are reluctant to burn through so much willpower, which is why their classes are so costly—the students' merit points are compensation for that sacrifice." Liu Wenyan paused, then smiled. "The fifth stage of Kaiyuan... It seems your talent for the physical path isn't bad after all. "Still, the speed of your progress through Kaiyuan isn't genuinely important." Liu Wenyan truly did not care much about this. The Kaiyuan Realm, a Kaiyuan genius—what of it? Even if someone opened their apertures at nine years old, what difference did it make? The day a Civilization Master achieved will manifestation was the day they stepped into Tengkong. That was where the real divide lay. "I didn't ask you yesterday, but was it you who killed that fellow from the All-Races Sect?" "Yes." Su Yu did not deny it. In front of Liu Wenyan, he saw no point in lying. "Well done. When the time comes to strike, strike without hesitation!" Liu Wenyan said with a light smile. "You swallowed blood essence and unleashed its power to kill him, correct?" "Teacher, you can sense that?" Su Yu asked, startled. "Of course. Did you think you could hide it from a Civilization Master?" Liu Wenyan gave a short laugh, but his expression soon turned stern. "Your physical body is too weak. The Kaiyuan Realm is no place to swallow blood essence for cultivation, nor is it meant for reckless bursts of power. You were acting foolishly! "Desperate times call for desperate measures. You were in mortal danger back then, and it was a failure of protection on our part as teachers, so I won't fault you for swallowing blood essence at that moment. "From now on, however, you are strictly forbidden from swallowing blood essence to cultivate!" Liu Wenyan's voice grew grave. "Do not ruin your entire future for the sake of temporary speed! Blood essence can strengthen the body and accelerate your cultivation, but your apertures are not yet fully open. With the nine apertures blocked, stagnant blood essence will accumulate in your flesh. Do you have any idea how disastrous that could be? "When the day comes for your will to manifest, if your body holds an accumulation of foreign blood essence from myriad races, it will build up resistance and clash violently when you cast your body, severely compromising its strength!" Liu Wenyan's tone could not have been more serious. "Remember this: no more swallowing blood essence to cultivate. Stop gambling on a stroke of luck. You won't walk away unscathed every single time!" "Understood!" Su Yu answered hurriedly. In truth, the blood essence had not been absorbed by his body at all; the album had consumed it, leaving only a faint trace of its aura behind. Liu Wenyan was merely picking up on that residual trace, which posed no threat to Su Yu whatsoever. Naturally, there was no need to explain all that to Liu Wenyan. "Good." Liu Wenyan's smile returned. "There are still a little over two months before the academy examinations. While your admission is practically guaranteed, that doesn't mean you can waste this time. Bai Feng wasn't wrong when he said you might be a genius in Nanyuan, but merely average in the Great Xia Prefecture. "However... that was before!" Liu Wenyan chuckled. "Back then, my will had not yet manifested, so there were things I couldn't teach you and ways I couldn't help you. Now, that has changed. For the next two months, you will train primarily under me." Su Yu hesitated, wanting to speak, before finally whispering, "Teacher... just me alone?" "Yes." "Teacher... my dad... isn't your long-lost son, is he?" "..." Liu Wenyan didn't know whether to laugh or get angry. "You want me as your grandfather? Dream on!" Liu Wenyan jabbed a finger at him, then chuckled helplessly. "You, stop overthinking things. Here in Nanyuan, both you and Liu Yue have good talent. But Liu Yue has family guidance, family support, and ample resources, which is why she is currently stronger than you. "You, on the other hand, have nothing, and your father has gone off to the All-Heavens Battlefield. In these five years at the secondary academy, I have practically watched you grow up. "I don't claim to be entirely impartial or selfless. Strictly speaking, the others at the academy have limited prospects. You might go further than them, and the human race... needs experts." Liu Wenyan spoke candidly. "Because I believe you could become strong in the future, I am willing to offer what help I can to smooth your path. Naturally, that is on the condition that you prove worthy of my favor. If you were arrogant and conceited, I would simply stand by and say nothing." "Thank you, Teacher!" Su Yu thanked him from the bottom of his heart. During his five years at Nanyuan Secondary Academy, Liu Wenyan had given him immense help. His mastery of the myriad races' languages—learning eighteen tongues in total—had only been possible through Liu Wenyan's guidance. Over these five years, from an ignorant boy to someone about to enter a Civilization Academy, Liu Wenyan had played an indispensable role in his life. "Save your thanks. When you truly grow strong one day, just remember... kill more enemies on the battlefield. That will be the greatest return you can offer me!" Liu Wenyan rose, dropping the topic. "Come with me. Over the next few days, you need to learn a few more languages, and your willpower needs to increase. You are far too weak right now." Without a word, Su Yu quietly followed Liu Wenyan out the door. *** Xia Trading Company. Warehouse. Accompanied by a steward of the trading company, the two walked into a massive storage hall. When Su Yu saw what lay inside, he was stunned. "Today is your first lesson: identifying corpses!" "This is the central warehouse of the Xia Trading Company in Nanyuan. It holds one hundred and thirty-two demon corpses, most of which were slain on the All-Heavens Battlefield and hauled straight back without processing. Your task today is to spend the whole day in here identifying them!" Liu Wenyan tossed him a small notebook. "Record their data: height, width, weight, bone count..." Su Yu stared blankly, feeling a wave of nausea rise in his throat. The stench of blood was suffocating! A whole day? "Go on in. You'll stay here by yourself today. And don't mess around with these corpses—they're extremely valuable, and you can't afford to pay for damages." Liu Wenyan added, "Tonight, I expect to see the data you've recorded. For any unknown species, I want to see your own deductions. Even if you're making it up, write something down!" "Teacher... all by myself?" Su Yu wore a bitter expression. It wasn't that he was truly terrified, but in such an enormous warehouse with this nauseating stench of blood, was it really appropriate to dump an eighteen-year-old kid here alone? "All by yourself!" Liu Wenyan replied coolly, "Can't you even endure this much? On the All-Heavens Battlefield, soldiers sometimes have to lie in ambush among piles of corpses for days. If you can't stomach this, you don't belong on the battlefield, because going there would just be throwing your life away." "I... understand!" Su Yu pressed no further. If he was on his own, so be it. It was actually fine; there were many demon corpses here he had never seen before, and perhaps he might even identify some of the monsters from his dreams. "Close the doors!" Liu Wenyan stepped out of the warehouse. A moment later, the staff of the Xia Trading Company shut the massive, heavy metal doors. *** Once the doors were shut, the steward, who had remained quiet until now, asked with a chuckle, "Elder Liu, is this your direct disciple?" "Yes." Liu Wenyan did not elaborate, and the steward did not press. It was an obvious question anyway. Had the boy not been his direct disciple, Liu Wenyan would never have paid a heavy price to convince the Xia Trading Company to open its warehouse for a mere student. The central warehouse of the Xia Trading Company was not a place just anyone could enter. "Elder Liu, he is still a newcomer who has never been to the battlefield and is quite young. After a whole day, I'm afraid he might have nightmares for days on end. Should we turn on the lights to make it easier on him?" The main lights were off, leaving only a few dim safety lanterns for illumination, making the warehouse feel all the more eerie. "No need. Civilization Masters frequently deal with corpses. If he cannot even pass this test, how will he face the future?" Liu Wenyan said with a faint smile, "Mighty Civilization Masters travel directly to the All-Heavens Battlefield to capture gods and demons, bringing them back for study. Since he has chosen this path, he must get used to it." The steward smiled and refrained from commenting. Becoming a Civilization Master... it was far too early to speak of that. Countless people remained stuck at the Character Cultivation stage their entire lives; not everyone earned the title of Civilization Master. As for capturing gods and demons... how many in the entire Great Xia Prefecture were capable of that? Liu Wenyan clearly held this student in extraordinarily high regard—perhaps too high. Still, the steward was in no position to argue. The old man's willpower had manifested, formally making him a Civilization Master. The Xia Trading Company might not care much about a newly advanced Civilization Master, but Liu Wenyan also had a junior martial brother working as a senior researcher at the Great Xia Civilization Academy. That was a connection that demanded respect, and certainly not someone a local branch steward in Nanyuan could afford to offend. *** "This is a Fire Swine. Height: 3.1 meters. Length: 7.2 meters. Specializes in breathing fire and ramming attacks. Cannon-fodder race on the All-Heavens Battlefield, primarily in the Qianjun Realm..." Facing a colossal corpse, Su Yu began taking notes. Liu Wenyan had assumed he would be terrified, disgusted, and paralyzed with fear. In reality, Su Yu did not find it all that horrifying. It was merely pungent; the stench of blood in the warehouse was so thick it was hard to breathe. "As for the weight..." Su Yu calculated the volume, recalled the density of Fire Swine meat, factored in the proportion of bone, and made a rough estimate between twenty and twenty-five tons. In other words, forty to fifty thousand jin! That was the weight of a single Fire Swine! A terrifying size and mass. It was no wonder that even though these cannon-fodder creatures were only in the Qianjun Realm, their charging attacks were devastating. A squad of Qianjun cultivators caught unprepared could easily be smashed to pieces by a stampeding Fire Swine. *Hmm?* While running his calculations, Su Yu frowned slightly. The "Blood" character in his mind was beginning to churn. *You want to drink blood?* Su Yu bared his teeth. *This isn't ours! Even if the blood essence has been extracted, ordinary blood still has value. Stealing from others is wrong, understand?* In truth, these corpses retained very little blood. Their blood essence had already been drawn, leaving behind little ordinary blood, most of which had been integrated during the extraction process. Yet no matter how little remained, it was not his. His teacher had brought him here to broaden his horizons; if things went missing, Liu Wenyan would have to take the blame, which was out of the question. "To think you can drink blood..." Su Yu muttered under his breath. The little "Blood" character seemed somewhat disgruntled. It was a "Blood" divine character, so wasn't drinking blood perfectly natural? "Does drinking blood make you stronger?" Su Yu wasn't entirely sure, but he couldn't let it absorb the blood here, or it would be impossible to explain. "Stop acting up. Once I have money, I'll buy some myself. Ordinary blood isn't that expensive." Last time, a bottle of ordinary Ironwing Bird blood had cost five thousand coins, though the volume had been small. In bulk, it would actually be far cheaper, with substantial discounts. The catch was that nobody bought ordinary blood in bulk unless... Su Yu's eyes flickered. Blood essence was ultimately refined from ordinary blood. He couldn't resist murmuring, "Hey, little guy, can you refine blood essence?" If it could, that would be an incredible way to make a fortune. Some Civilization Masters possessed the ability to refine blood essence, and the fee for refining a single drop was substantial. A single drop of Qianjun Realm blood essence was sold by the Xia Trading Company for fifty thousand coins! In truth, the raw material cost was negligible; the main expenses lay in storage, transport, refinement, and labor. As for the initial cost... on the All-Heavens Battlefield, a hundred thousand coins could buy dozens or even hundreds of Qianjun demon beasts from the military. Out there, such creatures were practically trash; the soldiers had more than they could ever eat. The lion's share of the expense came later: refinement fees and shipping costs. Hauling Qianjun demon beasts back from the All-Heavens Battlefield was rarely cost-effective unless done in massive bulk; otherwise, selling a drop for fifty thousand coins was a losing proposition. Of course, the military had its own Civilization Masters who refined blood essence directly on the battlefield, but Qianjun Realm beasts held little value, so Civilization Masters rarely bothered. Su Yu hadn't understood much of this before, but now that he knew about Civilization Masters, piecing the clues together gave him a solid grasp of how it worked. "A blood-type divine character needs to absorb blood..." Su Yu sighed, feeling that bankruptcy loomed in his near future. If blood could nourish the divine character, wouldn't he have to buy it? He definitely would! Nourishing a divine character was crucial. If his willpower wasn't enough, he would have to find other ways to sustain it. It looked like he was going to be sorely lacking money down the road. All alone in the warehouse, Su Yu kept himself occupied examining the corpses, working until sweat dripped from his brow. These carcasses were massive. As a mere Kaiyuan cultivator, he could barely shift them, let alone lift them. When corpses were piled together, he had to haul them aside bit by bit just to get a clear look. Before long, Su Yu was smeared in gore, looking like a filthy bloody mess. The "Blood" character throbbed even harder, as if eager to emerge and drink, but Su Yu suppressed it firmly. *Looking for another beating, are you?* *** It was not until nightfall that the warehouse doors finally opened and Su Yu was let out. Outside, Liu Wenyan looked at his blood-streaked appearance and the booklet crammed full of tiny, dense notes, and a smile broke across his face. Very good! No whining, no half-hearted slacking. Truly impressive. "That will do for today. We continue tomorrow. You'll spend five days here, and then we'll change locations." After saying this, Liu Wenyan paused thoughtfully before continuing, "Earlier, Bai Feng had you attempt to outline a divine character. Of course, you cannot achieve that at your current stage, but you can get used to the process in advance and give it a try. "Outlining a divine character consumes a great deal of willpower. There is, however, a shortcut: using demon blood essence. Blood essence naturally carries willpower and yuanqi. By first drawing a character infused with divine charm externally and then outlining it with your willpower, you follow the standard method used by students at Civilization Academies. "I haven't taught you this before, but I will starting now. Every five days, you may collect a drop of blood essence suitable for outlining a divine character from me—provided you perform exceptionally well in your lessons!" Su Yu felt a flash of excitement, followed quickly by embarrassment. "Teacher, never mind. I don't need it." There was no way the academy would reimburse this blood essence. Liu Wenyan was clearly paying out of his own pocket. Even exchanging for it within the academy would cost at least one merit point. "I said only if you perform exceptionally well. Did you think I was giving it away for free?" Liu Wenyan scoffed. "Do you think it will be easy? Over the next two months, you'll be lucky if you can earn a single drop. What does one merit point matter to me?" Su Yu rubbed his nose sheepishly. He wanted to tell him that he had already completed the outline, but with the Xia Trading Company staff standing nearby, he held his tongue. He would see how things went; besides, his teacher was right that completing these tasks wouldn't be easy. Had he not grown accustomed to being slaughtered in his nightmares, the sheer volume of corpses and the overpowering stench of blood today would likely have overwhelmed him. "Let's go. Go home and get some proper rest tonight. Your workload will be heavy, so you can ease up on your Kaiyuan cultivation for now." "Yes, I understand. Don't worry, Teacher, I won't let it fall behind." "..." After exchanging a few more words, Su Yu headed home while Liu Wenyan returned to the academy. *** Day after day slipped by. During the day, Su Yu studied under Liu Wenyan. At night, his schedule was equally packed: cultivating Kaiyuan, studying the *Kaiyuan Art*, battling through his nightmares, and squeezing in time to learn the languages of the myriad races. He also began formal study of the original Qianjun bone fragment. Though he could not yet read the text, each clash of wills helped temper and elevate his willpower. Bai Feng had said twice a day at most. Su Yu... viewed it at least a dozen times a day. He saw nothing wrong with that. His head throbbed with a dull ache after each session, but the sensation faded quickly enough and caused no real harm. As for the "Blood" character's craving to drink blood, Su Yu was far too busy to attend to it. For now, he nourished it with his willpower; he could experiment further once he had more time on his hands. In the blink of an eye, an entire month went by. Time marched into the middle of May.