An Old Acquaintance in a Foreign Land

"You're here. Come, take a look at the research institute!" Hu Xiansheng was torn, his expression a tangled knot of conflicting emotions. Su Yu smiled. Beside him, Huang Feng said bluntly, "Dean, what's sold is sold! What's there to be so attached to? After all these years of research and countless funds wasted, cutting your losses now is a good thing. If not for this mess, you might have reached Sunmoon long ago!" "You don't understand..." "I really don't!" Huang Feng retorted without courtesy. "Out of all the things in the world you could research, you just had to pick this one. Did you think it made you look impressive?" "..." Su Yu looked between the two of them in surprise. What was going on here? An instructor talking back to the dean like this? Hu Xiansheng glanced at Su Yu and said wistfully, "What are you staring at? She's my student. Stop gawking—all four Lingyun and eight Tengkong in the academy's Multiple Divine Characters Faction are my students!" "..." Holy crap! Su Yu was shocked. No way? All of them are your students? Seeing Su Yu's astonishment, Huang Feng explained, "The dean has lived a long time—three hundred years old. We truly are all his students." "..." He had no words for that. Hu Xiansheng didn't mind. After all these years, he was long used to this lawless bunch of students. He sighed, "The Great Ming Prefecture's Multiple Divine Characters Faction was always a white elephant. Back then, I was all alone. It was only under the influence of the Great Xia Prefecture's first Head of Academy that I established the faction here. Later on, the first head died, the third head died, the fifth head died... and I couldn't be bothered to involve myself in those affairs anymore." Su Yu was rendered speechless! A figure from the era of the first Head of Academy, yet only at the seventh stage of Shanhai... Well, cough, cough, it was hard to say anything about that. As if reading his mind, Hu Xiansheng said gloomily, "Cultivation realm doesn't mean everything. My primary domain is space; even a Sunmoon might not be able to catch up to me. As long as a Civilization Master can run, that's enough. Preserving your life comes first. We aren't warriors. Kid, don't go around thinking the Great Xia Prefecture is so magnificent. No matter how magnificent they were, those fellows are all dead, while I'm still alive!" "Come on, let's go inside and take a look!" Hu Xiansheng couldn't be bothered to say more. With a casual wave of his hand, ripples seemed to rise and fall in the air before vanishing the next moment. "This is the first-layer Sunmoon grand formation. It prevents eavesdropping. It doesn't block Invincibles—if an Invincible really came, nothing could stop them anyway. Defending against Sunmoon is enough." With that, he activated another layer of the formation. "This is the second layer. It prevents infiltration. Even if a Sunmoon arrives, their presence will be detected, triggering an immediate alarm." "This is the third layer, a genuine offensive grand formation. A Shanhai who tries to force their way in is doomed to be battered to death, and even a Sunmoon would need time to breach it." He activated the three layers of grand formations in succession, leaving Su Yu inwardly shaken. Although he had known about these formations beforehand, seeing them now still filled him with awe. They were far stronger than the defensive formations at the Wen Tan Research Center, and naturally far superior to the array he had set up at the Primordial Spirit Research Institute. Only beyond the three formations did an entrance appear. "This door isn't an ordinary door either..." Hu Xiansheng explained, "I forged it myself, so consider it a bonus gift to you. It's quite extraordinary as well—something I developed over many years. In truth, it's a teleportation formation. Of course, it isn't meant for transporting people; it's meant for killing people. If a Sunmoon breaks in without paying attention and strikes this door with a punch, they'll be swiftly swallowed by space and shredded to death..." Hu Xiansheng chuckled. "Under normal circumstances, after breaching three grand formations, intruders let their guard down. They won't bother opening the door properly—they'll definitely smash through with brute force. When that happens, it'll give them more than they can chew." Su Yu asked in surprise, "Dean, is the Great Ming Prefecture that dangerous?" "It's decent enough." Hu Xiansheng smiled, and Huang Feng explained, "It's not that the Great Ming Prefecture is dangerous. The key issue is that Great Ming doesn't possess the same deterrent aura as the Great Xia Prefecture. There are quite a few All-Races Cult members active here, and their courage is considerable—sometimes they even dare infiltrate Tiandu Prefecture. On top of that, there are all sorts of eccentric research projects going on in Great Ming, and many cultists have their eyes on our results. For critical research, one must naturally be careful." Su Yu nodded. So that was why. The All-Races Cult! They truly were brazen, daring to sneak even into Tiandu Prefecture. In the Great Xia Prefecture, one wouldn't see cultists within the inner city. Of course, ordinary sleepers didn't count, but nobody dared strike within Great Xia's core. The inner city was a forbidden zone. Even making a move in the outskirts required tremendous caution. Hu Xiansheng unlocked the door, and Su Yu followed him into the main hall... but the moment he stepped inside, he was stunned. It wasn't the rooms, corridors, halls, or living quarters he had envisioned... Past the door was an enormous courtyard! Vast beyond imagination! Looking up, one could see the sky, complete with blue heavens and white clouds. What caught the eye was an ornamental rockery surrounded by flowing water. The gentle, trickling sound of water breathed vitality into the immense courtyard. There was none of that stifling, lifeless gloom! Hu Xiansheng took it in stride, while Huang Feng, noticing Su Yu staring up at the sky, chuckled and said, "Don't stare. That isn't the real sky—well, it is the real sky, but it's an optical illusion projected inside. We're still indoors, but using refractive divine characters and divine talismans, the outdoor sky is captured and projected inward. You can even adjust it; when night comes, you can set it to daytime, or turn it back to night." Su Yu's eyes flickered. Put that way, the technique wasn't particularly difficult, but in the Great Xia Prefecture, no one ever used such methods to renovate their research institutes. All of them were utterly grim and lifeless. The first floor was just a first floor, and the sky here was an illusion, yet it felt strikingly real. The perceived space had expanded immensely! The ground floor featured rockeries, flowing streams, blue sky, and white clouds, along with several fluffy beastlings scampering about. At that moment, the little fur ball suddenly popped out and dashed over to frolic with them. Hu Xiansheng glanced over, somewhat surprised. "What kind of creature is that?" "A pet." "Heh!" Hu Xiansheng scoffed. A pet? He had nearly failed to detect the little thing's presence! "If you don't want to say, forget it. The first floor is a leisure area, and so is the sixth floor. The environment on the sixth floor is even better than this. You can invite a few friends up there to chat about everything under the sun, drink wine and tea, or alter the four seasons at will—spring, summer, autumn, winter. If you want snow, there's snow; if you want rain, there's rain..." Su Yu kept quiet. A six-story research institute, and two whole floors were dedicated to this sort of indulgence? Truly, if this were in Great Xia, Marquis Xia would have confiscated your entire estate! No one squandered resources like this! Then, when they reached the second floor... he was completely at a loss for words! Damn! It was a multifunctional entertainment zone: a dining area, a bar counter, a wine cabinet, a television, bedrooms, bathrooms—everything one could possibly need! Hu Xiansheng said with a face full of reluctance, "I usually lived on the second floor. It's all yours now. The second floor counts as private space; if you bring guests up to the third floor or above, you can take the express lift over there. The second floor can be locked down directly so no one peeks inside." Su Yu remained silent. This man truly knew how to enjoy life. Following along, they soon ascended to the third floor. Floors three, four, and five were where the actual research labs were located. Yet even these research facilities were out of the ordinary. The third floor was filled with bookshelves and partitioned cubicles. There were also reading rooms, projection rooms... Hu Xiansheng introduced them as they walked: "Here, you can consult a vast amount of materials. When you get tired while researching, you can head directly into the projection room to project and enlarge the contents. There's an audio playback system that reads them aloud, so you can just close your eyes and listen. "There are 118 bookshelves in total, all accumulated over my lifetime. I couldn't be bothered to move them away. Each shelf holds different categories of books. Cherish them properly—don't make a mess and ruin them..." Su Yu nodded. This was genuinely good stuff. He happened to be in dire need of such materials! "Dean, are there foundational cultivation methods and the like?" "There are!" Hu Xiansheng pointed casually. "They're all over there. They aren't worth much—just handwritten transcriptions, not texts of will. I used to have quite a few texts of will, but I sold them all later on." Alright, even transcriptions were fine; Su Yu didn't mind too much. Reading books here would be pure enjoyment. Thinking back to the Primordial Spirit Research Institute he had set up, where the archives room resembled a doghouse... there was simply no comparison. Comparisons truly were odious. Looking at the plush leather sofas in the reading room, the remarkably bright and spacious windows offering a pleasing view of the ground floor's bridges and flowing water—and then comparing that to the Civilization Masters in the Great Xia Prefecture... What a pitiful bunch of country bumpkins! When those people read books, they practically pressed their eyeballs against the pages. Here, an illumination system crafted from divine talismans cast a bright yet gentle glow. Sigh, no point comparing anymore; the research institutes in Great Xia were practically pigsties! ... Soon, they arrived on the fourth floor. Reaching the fourth floor, Hu Xiansheng grew excited. "This is the primary laboratory! Several areas here are exceptionally precious and vital. First: the Spatial Cleaving Chamber!" As he spoke, he opened a laboratory fronted by a sealed heavy door. The moment it swung open, Su Yu felt a pull of suction. Ignoring him, Hu Xiansheng pointed at several fragments drifting inside the room. "Don't look down on these things. They are spatial fragments! Including certain grotto-heavens—do you know? The reason grotto-heavens form in the first place is that they contain spatial fragments, allowing them to form self-contained spaces. The Great Ming Prefecture doesn't have many powerful grotto-heavens, but it has plenty of minor grotto-heavens. Do you know why?" "It's related to this?" Su Yu was surprised. Hu Xiansheng nodded. "Your Great Xia Prefecture has civilization chronicles, right?" "Yes. Shanhai experts can leave divine characters behind, preserved inside civilization chronicles." "The Great Ming Prefecture rarely produces civilization chronicles..." Hu Xiansheng said smugly. "In fact, it's not as if we have no output. For instance, helping people modify grotto-heavens brings in quite a handsome income. Whenever someone has Shanhai divine characters suitable for conversion into grotto-heavens, they generally come to me. I slice spatial fragments and help remodel them into grotto-heavens that people can enter!" Su Yu froze for a moment, his eyes instantly lighting up. "Dean, with this capability, how did you still..." Go bankrupt? He didn't voice those words aloud! Yet he was genuinely astonished. This was merely a secondary venture alongside Hu Xiansheng's primary research, but even as a sideline, charging several hundred or thousand merit points to renovate a grotto-heaven should have been easy, right? How could he possibly have gone broke? Hu Xiansheng looked embarrassed, while Huang Feng said bluntly, "Don't dream so grandly. How many Shanhai are there in the Great Ming Prefecture? How many die each year? There aren't that many opportunities for renovation! The divine characters of Tengkong and Lingyun won't work; their resilience is too low to be expanded into grotto-heavens. Only Shanhai characters will do. Think about it: how many Civilization Masters die in Great Ming each year? How many grotto-heavens can be remodeled in a year? Charging ten thousand merit points once is already considered a lot, and an opportunity only comes once every three to five years. How could that ever be enough?" Su Yu understood. Even so, he asked in wonder, "Couldn't you expand the business to other prefectures? I doubt anyone would complain about having too many grotto-heavens." Hu Xiansheng gave a dry cough. "I can't cleave spatial fragments on my own outside this setup, nor are these things easy to transport. People have to bring their divine characters to me. More importantly, once remodeled into a grotto-heaven, it isn't easy to move. Why do you think grotto-heavens are always fixed in specific locations? Within Tiandu Prefecture, one can ask powerful experts to assist in shifting them, but outside Tiandu, how could they possibly be moved?" "Then why not build similar laboratories in other prefectures, or simply sell the technique..." Hu Xiansheng interrupted, "That would still require me to oversee it personally. Far too troublesome. Besides, getting rich off this was never my dream." Fair enough! A dean with ideals—even if he was dead broke to the point of bankruptcy. Su Yu took a few extra looks at the laboratory. This place was truly a treasure, truly formidable. Hu Xiansheng suddenly warned, "These spatial fragments exist in fixed quantities; they can't be harvested casually. Don't cut recklessly. If you cut too many and space fails to heal automatically, it will form a black hole that swallows everything. Under normal circumstances, a small spatial fragment forms every three months, which can be cleaved once before waiting three months for recovery. Don't mess around. If the black hole expands and swallows the entire academy or even the Great Ming Prefecture, you'll be courting death!" Su Yu said in surprise, "This thing possesses tremendous destructive power, doesn't it? It could easily be used as a weapon!" "Don't always think about killing and fighting. The speed is far too slow; forming a black hole takes quite a while. If you dragged it to the All-Heavens Battlefield, an Invincible would notice within a few days and slap you to death!" Su Yu understood. Next was the fifth floor. The fifth floor was vast. It contained a divine character extraction chamber, a preservation room saturated with willpower similar to Bai Feng's back then, an automated yuan qi production chamber, a modeling room, a small-scale teleportation chamber... Only one word fit: high-end! Having reached this point, Su Yu had truly broadened his horizons. Then they reached the sixth floor, which was even more impressive. It was divided into four pavilions: Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. The Spring Breeze Pavilion: a gentle spring breeze brushed the face, willows swayed, flowers blossomed, and the sky was cerulean... The Summer Sun Pavilion: sandy beaches, seawater, swimming pool... The Autumn Mood Pavilion: fluttering leaves, a setting sun... The Winter Snow Pavilion: drifting snowflakes, a pavilion set in the middle of a lake, chatting around a warm stove at night... What kind of research institute was this? It was an amusement paradise. Different zones were even equipped with varying background music and populated with small animals to add charm... Su Yu was completely won over! He was thoroughly impressed! The Civilization Masters of the Great Ming Prefecture truly knew how to enjoy life. He had initially assumed Great Ming's Multiple Divine Characters Faction was languishing in misery, only to realize now that their lives were unimaginably comfortable. While Civilization Masters in other prefectures fought to the death, these people were savoring existence. One might think Great Ming's Civilization Masters neglected their proper duties, yet they lived a hundred times more freely and comfortably. The only drawback was their lower overall strength, which was also the Great Ming Prefecture's greatest vulnerability! Too peaceful and comfortable! Lacking the necessary sense of crisis! Once a massive war broke out, as long as it didn't breach the Human Realm, it might be fine. But if it breached the Human Realm, the Great Xia Prefecture could instantly mobilize and transform into a fortress of war, whereas the Great Ming Prefecture... that would likely be difficult, extremely difficult! ... Having received 350,000 merit points, Hu Xiansheng departed, looking back with every three steps. He truly couldn't bear to let it go! Su Yu paid him no mind. At this moment, he was left with only 20,000 merit points and 70,000 contribution points. Money came quickly, but it vanished just as fast. Spending 350,000 merit points in one go! Huang Feng took it in stride. Sold was sold; she didn't care much. Before leaving, she said, "The term starts today, but there's nothing scheduled. Tomorrow, head to the Teaching Area to attend the college assembly and meet your future classmates and instructors. In addition, the academy assigns various missions; see if you want to take some on to help the college complete its quotas. There are corresponding rewards for all of them." "Understood. Thank you, Instructor Huang." "Don't mention it!" Huang Feng smiled. "It's a good thing you bought the institute. If you hadn't, the dean would have run himself into the ground with it. Now that his obsession is severed, he ought to focus on cultivating. If he doesn't enter the Sunmoon Realm soon, he might not have that many years left to live..." Su Yu nodded and, after a thought, asked, "So the Multiple Divine Characters Faction currently has no Sunmoon in Great Ming?" "None!" Huang Feng smiled. "The Great Xia Prefecture's Multiple Divine Characters Faction is the strongest; other prefectures are weaker. Great Xia is the origin. Even the dean studied there in his youth, following the first Head of Academy before the faction spread outward..." Now even Great Xia had fallen to such a state, let alone other places. Huang Feng added a reminder, "I know you came from Great Xia and care deeply about the dispute between the Single and Multiple Divine Characters Factions. Here... I hope you can adjust your mindset. Don't go looking for trouble with the Single Divine Character Faction. There's no need. If you don't provoke them, they won't bother with you either. Moreover, whether you want to fight your way back to Great Xia or not, the urgent task right now is to improve yourself. Your strength, insight, and capabilities all need to grow—that is the foundation!" Su Yu hurriedly replied, "Thank you for the reminder, Instructor. I understand my priorities!" Huang Feng nodded and turned to leave. Reaching the doorway, she paused and looked back. "One more thing. Great Ming is peaceful, but some students may wish for change. If you recruit followers, some might choose to align with you. However... I hope you think carefully and take responsibility for their futures and their lives! Great Ming may have its flaws, but here, they live peaceful, comfortable, and long lives. We know there are many problems with this, but we still hope such days can last a little longer!" Su Yu assumed a solemn expression and nodded. "Rest assured, Instructor. I will exercise discretion!" Huang Feng smiled. "Then do your best! If you need anything else, you can find me anytime." ... After seeing Huang Feng off, Su Yu sat down on a stone stool on the ground floor, listening to the trickling water and gazing up at the sky. He smiled. It really was a fine place! With a flick of his hand, the Water Person emerged, and the Shadow materialized as well. Su Yu said with a smile, "Check around to see if anyone left any hidden backdoors. This place... will be our base camp from now on!" Over by the rockery, the little fur ball was still frolicking with a few small rabbits. Su Yu ignored it and soon added, "This afternoon, I'll go fetch the Suanni and the Mountain-Boring Ox. Having them guard the door will be good, even if their strength is a bit lacking." The Shadow said in a low voice, "My Lord, regarding the Great Xia Prefecture... do you still intend to return?" Su Yu did not answer. The Water Person and the Shadow fell silent as well. After a brief pause, Su Yu spoke: "You don't need to worry about such matters. Once I reach the Shanhai Realm, I won't need you anymore. When that time comes, I'll set you free. Consider it my promise and reward!" "My Lord speaks too heavily!" Su Yu said calmly, "No need for polite words. Nobody doesn't want to go home. No matter how fine a foreign land may be, it isn't your own home! Originally, when my grandmaster captured you, both of you bore crimes. Over these years, your imprisonment and the extraction of your blood can be considered atonement! Whether there is resentment or grudges held in your hearts, once I reach Shanhai, the slate will be wiped clean!" "Thank you, My Lord!" The two expressed their gratitude. Su Yu smiled and said no more. ... Meanwhile. Outside the city gates of Tiandu Prefecture. A dust-covered figure appeared, riding atop an earth dragon beast. Her face was smudged with gray grime. Looking up at the three large characters reading "Tiandu Prefecture," she murmured, "I'm here!" Tiandu Prefecture, I've arrived. My luck wasn't bad; there wasn't much danger along the way. Despite everyone saying the journey was perilous, didn't I make it here all the same? As she approached the city gate, many people glanced at this travel-worn figure. What remote wilderness had she crawled out of? She was completely caked in dirt! "Halt! Where is your transit pass?" A city guardsman shouted. Atop the earth dragon beast, the dirty Wu Lan rummaged around and tossed out a credential. "Big brother, how do I get to Great Ming Civilization Academy?" The soldier glanced at the credential and was slightly surprised. A transfer student? "Enter the city, go straight for about ten kilometers, then turn left. Once you're there, ask around. It's very close to Great Ming Civilization Academy." "Thanks!" Wu Lan reached out to beckon the pass back into her hand, flashed a grin, and urged the earth dragon beast into a gallop, vanishing from sight in the blink of an eye. The soldier was astonished. Did she travel here from the Great Xia Prefecture all on her own? What tremendous courage! The journey was extremely perilous! The next moment, a figure materialized before him—a glamorous, radiant young woman. The woman had been frowning, but her brow soon smoothed out as she offered a faint smile. "Can you contact Zhu Hongwen? I am Wu Qi of the Wu family from the Great Xia Prefecture!" "Wu Qi!" The soldier seemed to have heard the name before, his eyes shifting. A moment later, a Lingyun expert hurried over, laughing from afar. "It's Eldest Miss Wu! What wind blows Researcher Wu here?" Wu Qi said with a calm smile, "Just passing through. I have some business I'd like to discuss with Zhu Hongwen." "Miss Wu, please!" The man was exceedingly courteous—the prodigy of the Wu family! He had already heard wind of her deeds: on the All-Heavens Battlefield, she had slain three Lingyun opponents with a single sword, instantly making a name for herself across the front. She had battled a Lingyun third-stage expert of the god race single-handedly without falling into a disadvantage, even gaining the upper hand. And she had only just entered the Lingyun Realm herself. Such a figure had actually come to the Great Ming Prefecture! A short while later, outside the palace gates of the Great Ming Zhu family's City Lord Manor, Zhu Tiandao's eldest grandson, Zhu Hongwen, stepped outside in person. Looking at Wu Qi with a beaming smile, he exclaimed, "Wu Qi! You're a rare guest indeed. For you to come looking for me makes me truly flattered!" In the Great Xia Prefecture, Wu Qi's generation was also known as the Golden Generation. Huang Teng from the War Academy; Wu Qi, Xia Yuwen, Bai Feng from the Civilization Academy... All of them were renowned prodigies whose reputations spread across multiple prefectures. Although Xia Yuwen had been defeated by Bai Feng and had kept a low profile recently, he was by no means weak. He was a formidable expert who had carved out his fame through slaughter, having slain several Lingyun experts on the All-Heavens Battlefield. Bai Feng went without saying. His reputation hadn't been particularly prominent before, but after defeating Xia Yuwen across cultivation realms, his fame had skyrocketed. As for Wu Qi, she had already gained renown across the realm during her Yangxing stage. She had once slaughtered a demon prodigy single-handedly on the All-Heavens Battlefield, drinking demon blood to forge a body of gods and demons. Now, having returned to the All-Heavens Battlefield, slaying Lingyun and fighting god race experts one-on-one, her reputation had reached even greater heights. Of course, the most famous among them remained Huang Teng. A monstrous anomaly! Already at the fourth stage of Lingyun, he had recently slain a seventh-stage Lingyun powerhouse—and not one from a weak race, but a prodigy from the god race. His name had spread across the entire All-Heavens Battlefield, earning him the title of 'the second Xia Longwu.' Rumors circulated that the Xia family intended to groom Huang Teng, and that he might very well succeed as the next general commander of the Demon Subduing Army. For Huang Teng, who had graduated only a few years ago, this was nothing short of miraculous! Although Zhu Hongwen was Zhu Tiandao's eldest grandson and the scion of an Invincible, seeing Wu Qi now, he harbored not the slightest trace of condescension. He treated her with utmost seriousness! A top prodigy from the Great Xia Prefecture could virtually sweep through peers of the same realm in other prefectures. Wu Qi smiled faintly. "I didn't expect Prince Hongwen to still remember me. We met once eight years ago; bothering you now is somewhat improper of me!" "Please, don't say that..." Before he could finish, Wu Qi went straight to the point: "I came to escort my younger sister. That foolish girl doesn't understand how the world works and insisted on transferring to Great Ming Civilization Academy. She knows nothing of the dangers outside, assuming everywhere is as safe as home. I've come to ask a favor of Your Highness!" "Your sister transferred to Great Ming Civilization Academy?" Zhu Hongwen was astonished. That happened? Wu Qi massaged her temples. "Yes. The family couldn't persuade her otherwise, so we had no choice! She genuinely fancies herself a genius researcher, believing she was the one who created the aperture fusion technique. She thinks that with Su Yu here and separated from her, he won't be able to create new cultivation methods, so she volunteered to come rebuild the Primordial Spirit Research Institute..." Zhu Hongwen was surprised. "Your sister and Su Yu..." Wu Qi's expression darkened. "A normal classmate relationship. My sister is too naive and was bewitched by Su Yu. That bastard Su Yu..." What a scoundrel! Before leaving, he gave her sister a character technique that opened 72 apertures. He claimed that solving five difficult research problems counted as payment for one aperture, and that after she solved all three hundred-plus problems, it would cover her wages... He had run off without a care in the world, but her sister was stubborn as a mule! The moment Wu Lan realized she still owed over three hundred unsolved problems and that Su Yu couldn't do without her help, she insisted on running off to the Great Ming Prefecture! Wu Qi was on the verge of exploding with rage! Zhu Hongwen's gaze turned peculiar. The Wu family... was truly willing to invest. Wu Qi's younger sister had pursued him across thousands of li—was this... throwing herself at him? Though these thoughts ran through his mind, he smiled warmly and said, "I understand what you mean. Rest assured, since your sister has come to the Great Ming Prefecture, she is my guest. I will make proper arrangements to ensure no one bullies her." The Wu family was a top-tier clan. Sunmoon powerhouses, Shanhai experts, the prodigy Wu Qi... All of them were formidable! Countless ideas sprang into Zhu Hongwen's mind. If they could pull the entire Wu family into the Great Ming Prefecture, would an Invincible from Great Xia personally charge over and turn hostile? It was an enticing thought, but unfortunately he didn't dare attempt it. Of course, if the Wu family migrated of their own accord, there would be no problem. Wu Qi... what a prodigy. If she could be wed into the Zhu family... admittedly, that fleeting thought stirred in Zhu Hongwen's heart, but he didn't dare voice it. He had heard this woman was fiercely savage, killing without batting an eye, drinking demon blood... She had once ripped out an opponent's throat with her teeth; her ferocity was terrifying. Even he felt a little faint of heart! If she found out, she might hack him down with a sword! Wu Qi didn't care about what was going through his head and smiled. "Then I thank Your Highness! A little over a year from now, when Star House opens, should Your Highness need assistance, Wu Qi will certainly lend a hand!" "That would be wonderful! Thank you, thank you!" Zhu Hongwen expressed his gratitude. With a lethal powerhouse like Wu Qi assisting, entering Star House would come with far greater safety guarantees. Wu Qi smiled back, but as she gazed into the distance toward Great Ming Civilization Academy, her expression abruptly darkened! Su Yu! Just you wait! In a little over a year, if you enter Star House, just watch how I deal with you! I knew you weren't a good person all along, cut from the same cloth as Liu Hong. To think you actually seduced my sister and lured her all the way here! Running from Great Xia all the way to Great Ming! Leaving behind home and hearth for Great Ming—unless driven to utter desperation, what genius from an established clan would flee here? "Insolent jerk!" Wu Qi fumed inwardly, thoroughly exasperated. He only knew how to dangle bait to entice her sister—shameless rascal! Just like that Teacher Liu of his, who back then lured her grandaunt into a pit of thieves!