Signs of Chaos

At that moment, the Great Ming Civilization Academy was in an uproar. Big news! The newly arrived deputy head had been crippled before he even walked through the gates and had already been carted off. How pitiful. "How tragic!" Wu Lan, who was eating, heard the chatter outside and voiced her sympathy. It really was pitiful. A deputy head had to be at least peak Shanhai, yet his leg had been snapped by a beast trap. If that wasn't tragic, what was? Not only was it tragic, but it was also utterly humiliating. Su Yu, on the other hand, felt no pity at all. He only marveled at how audacious the Great Ming Prefecture was. They hadn't given the Quest Realm a shred of face. A snapped leg from a beast trap? Who would believe that? Anyone who believed it was an idiot! *The Quest Realm...* Su Yu was rather puzzled. What was the Quest Realm trying to pull? Wasn't the Quest Realm a holy land founded by the Invincibles? Figures like King Daming were the mainstream powers within it. Did the Quest Realm really have the nerve to stick its nose into Old Zhu's turf? Had they gone mad, or did they think that because King Daming wasn't the top leader there, they didn't need to show him respect? King Daxia was technically the second-in-command of the War God Hall. The top leader of the War God Hall was King Daqin. Yet no one ever saw the War God Hall daring to stir up trouble in the Great Xia Prefecture. In fact, they were obedient to a fault. Envoys from the War God Hall behaved meekly in Great Xia, barely making a peep. Why were civilization masters so prone to causing a ruckus? Su Yu didn't dwell on it further. The visitor hadn't necessarily come for him anyway. He had certainly caused quite a stir, but his actual combat power had limits. In many people's eyes, without innate blood essence, Su Yu was a monster, but at best, he could fight seventh- or eighth-stage Tengkong at the absolute limit. A monster he might be, but there was no reason to constantly dispatch experts just to keep tabs on him. Who knew who the man had really come for? Unfortunately for the newcomer, the moment he arrived, Old Zhu and company had thoroughly wrecked him. No wonder the Great Ming Prefecture enjoyed peace and prosperity—they gave those looking for trouble no room to breathe at all! ... After finishing their meal, they headed downstairs. The students were still talking animatedly. Today had brought three huge pieces of news: first, the giant spherical bear beast had given birth to cubs; second, Su Yu had enrolled in the academy; and third, the new deputy head had broken his leg. It was rare to have so much big news at once, and the Great Ming students were abuzz with excitement, discussing it non-stop. Listening to the boisterous clamor, Wu Lan asked in confusion, "Don't they cultivate or attend classes?" Why did everyone seem so idle? "This is a form of cultivation too..." Su Yu smiled and pointed at a senior sister who was tending flowers nearby. "If I'm not mistaken, her divine character is related to plants and flowers. She looks harmless, but give her enough time to lay out a domain of vegetation, and her lethality won't be weak at all!" By now, Su Yu had gradually begun to understand. The civilization masters of the Great Ming Prefecture weren't slacking off; they simply practiced in different ways. He twitched his lips and pointed toward a student fishing in the distance. "That one over there is truly tempering his willpower. There's a fairly strong demon beast in the water acting as his sparring partner. That's cultivation too." "And do you see that instructor riding the wheels of wind and fire? Those wheels are divine characters—a conglomerate of several divine characters, manifested long ago. He's probably testing their effectiveness and looking to improve the combination." As soon as the words left Su Yu's mouth, the old man riding the wheels of wind and fire glanced over, grinned, and appeared before him in a flash. "Su Yu, genius of the Multiple Divine Characters Faction! You must have deep insights into divine character fusion. If you don't mind, you're welcome to exchange ideas with this old man anytime." Su Yu smiled. "Certainly! Teacher, how many divine characters make up your wheels of wind and fire?" "Three: Wind, Fire, and Speed." The old man chuckled. "The speed is decent, and the lethality is alright, but I always feel like something is missing. Even the fusion isn't entirely seamless; there's always a bit of internal friction." He muttered to himself, "I thought that over time, they would harmonize naturally. But it's been ages, and they still haven't settled into harmony." Su Yu offered with a smile, "Wind fuels fire, but fire does nothing to fuel wind. It lacks balance! A 'Speed' divine character cannot serve as a stabilizer. Teacher, your best option would be to outline another divine character—one that bolsters the wind. Otherwise, once the fire grows too fierce and suppresses the wind, this balance will collapse sooner or later." "What you say makes sense..." The old man sighed. "But we aren't from the Multiple Divine Characters Faction. Once we add more divine characters, even if we can form a combination, controlling combined characters consumes an enormous amount of mental focus. Who among us doesn't have a few divine characters? A divine character battle technique binds the characters into an organic whole, whereas we must actively control them with our willpower. That drains a tremendous amount of energy. Three divine characters, as I see it, is the limit for maximizing power right now..." Su Yu nodded. That was true. Without a divine character battle technique template, people could still combine characters, but a forced combination wasn't true fusion. That was neither the Multiple Divine Characters Fusion faction nor a battle technique. Without a unified template, the divine characters naturally repelled one another, requiring the cultivator to suppress that repulsion with brute will to force them together. "Little Student Su, when you have time, let's talk some more. This old man will be on his way!" The old man didn't linger and quickly departed. Wu Lan gave Su Yu an odd look. "Is he from the Single Divine Character Faction?" *You actually talked with him!* Su Yu laughed. "It's fine. My grievance isn't with everyone in the Single Divine Character Faction, only certain individuals. Here in Great Ming, there's no conflict of interest or hatred between us. Normal exchanges are harmless." As they walked, Su Yu said, "Our next task isn't the divine aperture merging method, but the primordial spirit apertures!" His eyes flickered as he added, "The primordial spirit apertures definitely exist!" He was quite certain of this. Back when he opened 180 divine apertures, he had indeed caught a faint sensation. Yet something had been lacking. What was missing? He lacked enough origin apertures. Because they hadn't formed a complete combination, the primordial spirit apertures had failed to appear. Currently, Su Yu had opened 346 origin apertures, fourteen short of the complete set. That 346 was all that Great Xia possessed. Great Xia's combat prowess was mighty and it had numerous cultivation methods, yet even it hadn't gathered them all. He wondered if Great Ming had the remaining methods to complete all 360 origin apertures. With that thought in mind, Su Yu said, "Wu Lan, you'll need to tackle the hard research next. There are heaps of books and cultivation methods on the third floor. You need to check, search, and study them one by one to help me find apertures beyond the 346 known to Great Xia..." Wu Lan didn't find this a chore at all. Instead, she grew thrilled—finally, real work to do! "All right!" Then she asked, "Just me?" Working alone was a bit boring, and there would be no one for her to order around. Su Yu smiled. "No, there's more. Take Suanni and the Mountain-Boring Ox with you to work. Both of them speak the human tongue. Since their strength isn't up to much, they might as well work..." Wu Lan nodded, though she couldn't help feeling that his phrasing was somewhat ambiguous. What did he mean by "their strength isn't up to much, so they might as well work"? Was he talking about her, or those two demon beasts? "What about you, then?" "I need to open divine apertures first." Su Yu explained, "Origin apertures open quickly, but divine apertures are slow. I need to get some divine apertures open." Not only that, but he also needed to experiment with various cultivation methods to see if he could discover any unique origin apertures. He hadn't placed all his hopes on finding every missing aperture simply through Great Ming's existing records. He had to open all his origin apertures and divine apertures as quickly as possible, outline a batch of divine characters, and step into the Tengkong Realm. ... Neither Su Yu nor Wu Lan wasted any time. Returning to the institute, Su Yu did some basic tidying up, tossed out Old Hu's eccentric junk, and began making preparations. Busy until late into the night, Su Yu finally began cultivating. Opening divine apertures, reading books, and outlining divine characters. Unfortunately, there was no Sea of Consciousness Mystic Realm here, nor was there a Fragment Chamber. Tomorrow, he would have to inquire about how civilization masters in Great Ming quickly increased their willpower. That night, Su Yu stayed on the first floor while Wu Lan took the second. Also that night, the entire institute was deathly quiet. The Water Person, Shadow, Suanni, the Mountain-Boring Ox, and even the little fur ball were all prostrated in cultivation. The "Fire" divine character was ignited, plunging every person and beast within the institute into a state of sudden enlightenment. Things that had baffled them in the past now brought flashes of clarity during cultivation. Bottlenecks that had once seemed impassable now revealed faint glimpses of a way forward. Demon beasts like Suanni had suffered damage to their foundations, making recovery seem utterly hopeless, but tonight, bathed in the firelight, they felt as though they were being reborn through flames. ... That night, Su Yu kept the divine character ignited as he studied texts of will. *A text of will is essentially a spiritual imprint, preserving some of its creator's insights and heritage...* *The stronger the creator, the more abundant and clear the insights left behind. A single character within may embody the core of the entire text of will, allowing others to observe and outline it...* The more books he read, the deeper his comprehension grew. Things that had once seemed obscure and mysterious now appeared straightforward. *And that is why innate divine characters exist!* At this moment, Su Yu gained new insights into innate divine characters. Innate divine characters were born from one's own profound realizations. Born from deep sentiment, the character forms naturally! Characters like "Calamity" and "Fire" were both like this: born from deep reflection and self-realization, giving rise to innate divine characters. The "Fire" character had the effects of enlightenment and heritage, but what about the "Calamity" character? Su Yu gave it a try, and an aura of calamity rose up. Nearby, the little fur ball squirmed uncomfortably and shifted a bit farther away from Su Yu. The Water Person and Shadow exchanged a glance, their hearts quivering slightly. What kind of divine character was this? Faintly, it filled them with an overwhelming dread, as if the end of days was upon them! A feeling of impending doom! Opening his eyes to look at them, Su Yu had a faint revelation. The "Calamity" divine character wasn't an offensive character either, but a supplementary one meant to awe and intimidate. Or rather, it could be seen as an aura of pressure—the impending pressure of a great calamity! Even if an opponent was stronger than him, once he activated this divine character, they would feel panic, fear, and even the sense that death was imminent. It might even scare off some foes. Those with weak wills could easily be frightened away. *This divine character is still too weak. Once it reaches Sunmoon, unleashing it against Sunmoon experts—who already have acute instincts for danger—might intimidate them into fleeing in panic.* Sunmoon experts possessed an extremely sharp sense for impending crises. Naturally, if an opponent was too strong, one might not perceive it in time—like that fifth-stage Sunmoon demon god who had been duped by Zhu Tiandao and subsequently lost his life. The "Calamity" character was meant to magnify that sense of crisis. Magnifying it countless times! As Su Yu channeled it now, it even affected the Water Person and Shadow to an extent. Although the impact wasn't enormous, if they were to fight him, they would harbor misgivings and apprehension, which would impede their combat prowess. In battle, losing confidence and conviction in victory was a fatal mistake. ... While Su Yu was cultivating, upstairs, Wu Lan was also hard at work cultivating. She felt that opening apertures seemed easier today; she didn't even need a text of will to make smooth progress. Not overthinking it, she continued her cultivation, mindful that she had work to do tomorrow. ... At the same time. On a pavilion not far from the new Primordial Spirit Research Institute, Hu Xiansheng and Niu Baidao were admiring the moon. Gazing at the distant six-story building, Hu Xiansheng sighed with profound emotion. "A pity about my research institute. Bought right out from under me by that kid. Who knows when I'll ever get it back." Ruddy-faced, Niu Baidao sipped his wine, nibbled on dishes, and chuckled. "Why overthink it? Your grand spatial shift array doesn't look like it'll see any hope anytime soon." With that, suns and moons seemed to rotate within his eyes as he looked toward the small building, clicking his tongue in praise. "Every generation brings forth its geniuses. The moment that kid moved into the institute, I saw a crimson sun descend, flames rising in all directions..." "A disaster?" Hu Xiansheng asked. Niu Baidao snapped, "Nonsense! What I saw was a red sun, flames—not a disaster, but an opportunity! Tomorrow, I'll have him pick a few old fellows to help him with his work. The mansion master said he possesses an innate, inherited Flame of Civilization. I didn't believe it before, but now I do. Several old fogies in the academy are too old and on the brink of death. We've been friends for centuries; I can't bear to watch them die. Sending them over might offer them a way out." Hu Xiansheng, who had been close friends with him for hundreds of years, spoke without reservation, frowning slightly. "The kid might not be willing! After enduring Sunmoon assassination attempts in Great Xia, he probably harbors suspicion toward everyone. Who are you planning to send?" "Let him pick them himself," Niu Baidao said with a smile. "Suspicious or not, I can see his ambitions are grand. He's bound to be short-handed, and those old fellows will be of some use." Hu Xiansheng nodded and said no more on the matter. Niu Baidao added, "You old fellow should focus more on cultivating too. I sense that a great upheaval isn't far off! The signs are already showing. Xia Longwu, Zhou Polong, Zhou Potian, Xia Xiao'er, our Mansion Master Zhu, Qin Zhen of the Great Qin Prefecture, Liu Wushen of the Great Han Prefecture... a whole cohort has reached the eighth or ninth stage of Sunmoon, not far from Dao Attainment. After centuries of accumulation, things are about to hit an explosive phase!" Hu Xiansheng hesitated. "Isn't it still early?" "Early? Not at all!" Niu Baidao said gravely. "These people will definitely seek Dao Attainment one after another, or perhaps even seize an opportunity to attempt it together! When that happens, catastrophe will descend! Right now, the various prefectures are engaging in mutual deception and intrigue just to seize their chance at Dao Attainment. Some will attempt it openly, while others prepare in secret. Those in the open face immense peril, while those in the shadows face even greater danger... It all comes down to who succeeds and who fails!" When that time came, not everyone could possibly succeed; a cohort of them would inevitably perish. Great chaos was approaching! Centuries of peace had accumulated a generation of peak Sunmoon figures, and at this juncture, an explosion was imminent. Hu Xiansheng nodded, thought for a moment, and asked, "What about you?" "Me?" Niu Baidao said helplessly. "I'm still far from it. Even now, I'm only at the seventh stage of Sunmoon. Living long is useless if talent falls short. How could I compare to those peerless paragons?" Xia Longwu was one, as were Zhou Polong and Zhou Potian, and Zhu Tiandao... All of them were peerless paragons! He counted as a genius, but not a paragon. After over three hundred years, he had only reached the seventh stage of Sunmoon—and more than three hundred years ago, the moment he founded the academy, he was already in the Shanhai Realm! In three hundred years, his progress had been sluggish. And that was the norm for most cultivators! Hu Xiansheng frowned. "Are you hiding your strength? Your Great Dream Incarnation Technique feels quite formidable. Have you divided yourself into multiple incarnations, keeping others hidden?" "Bullshit!" Niu Baidao snapped. "What hidden strength? Do you really think everyone is like that scheming bastard Wan Tiansheng?" "..." Hu Xiansheng chuckled and couldn't help saying, "Speaking of which, Wan Tiansheng truly knows how to bide his time. Just what is his true strength?" "Definitely no weaker than me, that's for sure!" Niu Baidao laughed. "That guy has always been a genius. He was already at peak Shanhai over fifty years ago, and he's not even that old. He reached peak Shanhai in his first thirty to forty years, and then made zero progress over the next fifty-plus years? Do you believe that?" Hu Xiansheng shook his head. Naturally, not a soul in the world would believe that! People being stuck at peak Shanhai for decades wasn't unheard of, but that didn't apply to Wan Tiansheng. He was an incomparable paragon! The close friend of the fifth head Ye Batian, an honored guest of King Daxia, a renowned figure in the Quest Realm—stuck at peak Shanhai? Who could possibly believe that? Hu Xiansheng said helplessly, "All his concealing and posturing is useless. The more he hides, the higher people estimate his power. My guess is he's probably at the eighth or ninth stage of Sunmoon. If he doesn't have that kind of strength, he's only inviting trouble for himself." Niu Baidao nodded, equally puzzled. "Honestly, I don't understand the guy either. Everyone knows he must have reached Sunmoon, yet he refuses to admit it. What's the point?" Hu Xiansheng joked, "Maybe he's already reached Invincible!" "Bullshit!" Niu Baidao scoffed. "Invincible my ass! If he truly reached Invincible, wouldn't I know? Wouldn't all the myriad races know? Before any expert attains Dao and becomes an Invincible, multicolored dawn light reflects across three thousand li, and auspicious omens descend from the heavens. The commotion is colossal; it can't be concealed from anyone, let alone the myriad races..." Sighing, he added, "Attaining Dao as an Invincible is the greatest headache of all! If only one could attain Dao quietly without anyone knowing, imagine how much trouble would be spared!" Hu Xiansheng shared his sentiment, sighing, "Indeed. And attaining Dao on the All-Heavens Battlefield yields the greatest strength—at the mouth of the myriad realms... But speak of the devil, Old Niu, do you suppose if someone found an Invincible ruin nowadays, could they attain Dao in secret?" "..." Niu Baidao chuckled. "You mean those fellows back then?" Over three hundred years ago, a group of Invincibles had attained Dao in secret. Naturally, all of them had succeeded within ancient ruins. Alas, over all these years, no ruins capable of supporting Dao Attainment to Invincible remained. At best, they could only support Sunmoon! Thinking of ruins, both men simultaneously thought of Su Yu. Looking toward the small building, Hu Xiansheng muttered, "Do you think he actually controls a ruin? If he does, could its inheritance reach the Invincible Realm? Could someone attain Dao within it?" If it was an Invincible-tier ruin, that would be monumental! If nothing else, whether it was the dawn light reflecting for thousands of li or the auspicious signs descending from the heavens, an extraordinarily powerful ruin could conceal them all. Niu Baidao shook his head. "Don't get your hopes up. Besides, if the ruin is under his control, outsiders will find it hard to enter unless they breach it by force. But if it's breached by force, even if one obtains the inheritance, the ruin will be damaged, and the phenomena of Dao Attainment won't be concealed anyway..." Hu Xiansheng suddenly chuckled softly. "Do you think the mansion master brought him here for his ruin? Wanting to attain Dao in secret?" "Don't think so ill of the mansion master... though he really isn't a good person." Niu Baidao joked, then quickly added, "Not likely. That's merely unconfirmed speculation." Dropping the subject, Niu Baidao quickly continued, "Enough of that. The situation right now is extremely convoluted. As for you, you'd better reach Sunmoon sooner rather than later. It's difficult for others, but not as hard for you—a divine character battle technique is the best key to entering Sunmoon. The myriad races are targeting the Multiple Divine Characters Faction, but you've been largely forgotten, which is your opportunity. If you were like Hong Tan and the others... that would truly be trouble." "I know." Hu Xiansheng didn't argue. Sipping his wine with squinted eyes, he sighed, "Centuries of peace have been wonderful. I only hope it can last a while longer. The Primordial Demon Race and the Primordial God Race have remained inactive, and that is the real threat. If they moved, the threat wouldn't be as terrifying." Those two strongest races had remained motionless for ages. The old ancestors of both races hadn't left seclusion in many years, making only fleeting appearances across three centuries. Niu Baidao nodded and added, "Not only that, have you noticed recently? On the All-Heavens Battlefield, several minor realms have opened up. Previously undiscovered, their opening now is another omen. An all-out war across the heavens is probably upon us!" "Minor realms? Are there major realms guarded by Invincibles?" "None discovered yet, but there surely are." Niu Baidao explained, "Not long ago, I made a trip to the All-Heavens Battlefield. Minor realms have opened in both the Northern and Western War Zones. In the Western War Zone, a connection formed to a minor realm, and the god race sent three Sunmoon experts in to explore... Every single one perished. There's at least a Sunmoon guarding it, possibly even stronger. Now even the god race doesn't dare explore it rashly." Three Sunmoon experts—even if suppressed, they still wielded peak Shanhai strength. On top of that, they had the vision and experience of Sunmoon cultivators, and working together, they were no weaker than an unsuppressed Sunmoon. Yet all three had died. The forces inside had struck ruthlessly and swiftly. Not one escaped! "What about our side?" "None on our side for now..." Niu Baidao smiled. "Though I feel it won't be long. Across the heavens, there are simply too many realms. The All-Heavens Battlefield only appeared a few hundred years ago, yet it quickly connected thousands of realms, large and small. This is a catastrophe for the myriad realms of the heavens!" Without the existence of the All-Heavens Battlefield, the realms wouldn't have been linked, but now, they were all interconnected. Hu Xiansheng didn't quite see it that way. "The All-Heavens Battlefield existed long before; there are plenty of ancient ruins there. It's more accurate to say that in earlier eras it was forgotten and sealed off, only to gradually revive in recent times! If I'm not mistaken, there must have been an era of immense glory during ancient times! The Human Realm might truly have been the master of the myriad realms, the core of everything, and the All-Heavens Battlefield might have been forged by the human race itself to conquer the myriad realms!" This was a common hypothesis among human experts. In truth, it wasn't mere guesswork. The god and demon races had existed for countless millennia with unbroken lineages, and there were scattered ancient records. Granted, the myriad realms had likely suffered a great devastation, so surviving records were sparse. Yet from what remained, it was clear that the human race of antiquity had been incomparably formidable. There was no doubt about that! One only had to look at the ruins! Certain ruins had instantly created dozens of Invincibles. In moments of crisis, humanity had suddenly produced tens of Invincibles—a clear sign that ancient blessings had not yet run dry. Niu Baidao said no more. Sipping their wine under the moonlight, both men fell into deep thought as they gazed at the small building in the distance. Centuries of peace in the Great Ming Prefecture did not mean everyone had forgotten the danger! Those who forget war invite peril! The battle of the heavens was growing more chaotic by the day. Ancient races were beginning to emerge, realms were connecting, and the All-Heavens Battlefield was destined to spiral into greater turmoil! Meanwhile, within the Human Realm, the myriad races targeted, bribed, and divided humanity, resulting in human Invincibles who were by no means of one mind. None bowed to another. Even the mighty King Daqin could not suppress the Human Realm, unite the land, and stand as one against the myriad races. If things continued this way—rife with internal strife and disunity—the Human Realm would likely have to endure tremendous bloodshed once the war across the heavens erupted before unity could finally be forged. ... Su Yu could not hear the conversation between Niu Baidao and Hu Xiansheng. At that moment, he was curiously sensing a divine character in his sea of consciousness. His tenth divine character had been successfully outlined. "Beast!" Su Yu probed its properties, then reached toward a small long-haired rabbit nearby. The next instant, the long-haired rabbit vanished, only to reappear a moment later. "I'm not even from the Beast Taming faction!" Su Yu chuckled wryly. How had he managed to outline this character? Could it be because he spent so much time around Suanni and the others, causing his subconscious to treat him like a beast tamer and manifesting a beast-taming space? This divine character was relatively common. It was unique to the Beast Taming faction, used exclusively to store mounts. Naturally, divine characters had tiers: a Tier-1 divine character could only house creatures below Tengkong, while a Tier-2 divine character was needed to store a Tengkong beast. To store Suanni and the Mountain-Boring Ox, he would need at least a peak Tier-2 divine character. "Not bad, either!" To call this divine character useless would be going too far. In certain situations, mounts could easily ruin things. Like when infiltrating or lying in wait... "A pity a single divine character can only hold one demon beast." Su Yu complained. How unfriendly! It would be best to outline a character capable of holding countless beasts. Of course, that was possible; for instance, once the "Beast" character reached the Sunmoon Realm—or even Shanhai—Su Yu could integrate spatial fragments into it, forging the character into something akin to a mystic realm. When that time came, it could accommodate whole hordes of demon beasts. For now, only Sunmoon cultivators could accomplish this on their own. Shanhai cultivators could only incorporate spatial fragments by utilizing specialized laboratory equipment. In other words, a Sunmoon beast tamer might command an entire army of demon beasts. As for other realms, the number of beasts one could tame depended strictly on how many storage-type divine characters one had outlined. "Still pretty good. Next time, I'll see about outlining a spatial divine character..." There were many types of spatial divine characters: storing items, traversing space, tearing space... Dean Hu's divine character was likely of the traversal type. Its offensive power might not be exceptional, but it was peerless for fleeing. Su Yu was actually quite interested in it! A traversal-type spatial divine character was tailor-made for an assassin—elusive and unpredictable, striking with lethal finality before instantly vanishing across thousands of li, impossible to catch. Ten divine characters! Su Yu exhaled. Ten divine characters could already be formed into a fairly potent divine character battle technique. Should he simply advance to Tengkong now? Smiling, Su Yu dismissed the thought. Without opening all 180 divine apertures, he refused to advance. Being slightly weaker now didn't matter so long as his future progress was swift. If all went smoothly, he wouldn't be staying in the Tengkong Realm for long anyway.