City of Wisdom

The next day, January 16th. There was a morning meeting—a meeting for the Multiple Divine Characters College, essentially an internal department gathering since there were not many people in the first place. Counting Su Yu, the faction had fifty-six people. Adding Wu Lan brought the total to fifty-seven. The Multiple Divine Characters College was by no means small, boasting numerous buildings of its own. This meeting was being held in the Battle Technique Hall. When Su Yu and Wu Lan arrived, they almost thought they had walked into the wrong place. The Battle Technique Hall was fully furnished with tables, chairs, and benches. Melon seeds and candies were laid out in abundance. The aroma of fine wine could be smelled all the way from outside! Stepping through the doors, they saw people cracking melon seeds, gossiping, eating melon, munching sweets, teasing pet birds, playing with dogs... everything imaginable was happening. There were only several dozen people present, yet the din was no quieter than a crowd of hundreds. Some were even composing poetry and matching couplets. Seeing Su Yu and Wu Lan walk in, one student bobbed his head rhythmically and chuckled, "Two figures cross through the door, two heads and four arms in view! Never before seen in daily life, a closer look startles the soul..." Su Yu said nothing and did not interrupt, simply walking inside. *These people are truly idle!* Over by the front, Huang Feng was chatting with someone. Spotting Su Yu, she waved and called out, "Su Yu, come sit over here! That side is for the students!" Did Su Yu count as a student? Hardly. How could a junior researcher count as a mere student? Su Yu glanced sideways at Wu Lan and was about to speak when she said offhandedly, "Go ahead. I'll get acquainted with the students here and see if there are any geniuses. If they're just trash, I won't bother!" Her voice was quite loud. She was as uninhibited and brazen as ever. If someone was a genius, they could converse. If they were useless, she wouldn't waste her breath. As for those who were even more gifted than her, she usually ignored them too, simply because feeling outdone wounded her pride unless she knew she could catch up. Su Yu smiled, nodded, and walked toward the faculty side. Many students were watching him, whispering among themselves. "Is that Su Yu?" "He looks rather refined. How could he have killed so many people?" "He's ferocious. Everyone, be careful." "I heard he specializes in killing geniuses—slaughters them on sight. We're all geniuses here, so watch your backs..." "..." Su Yu did not bother paying them any mind. The students of the Great Ming Prefecture had loose lips and loved to chatter; they could strike up a conversation with just about anyone. Reaching the front, he found one large table. Including Huang Feng, there were ten people seated around it. Four Lingyun and eight Tengkong—by right, there should have been twelve researchers, but two were missing. This was the entirety of the teaching staff for the Multiple Divine Characters branch, in addition to the dean. Huang Feng smiled warmly. "Su Yu, let me introduce you!" With that, she introduced the other nine people to him: six men and three women, all of whom appeared relatively young. However, a few of them were likely quite advanced in years. Soon, Huang Feng made a point of introducing a young man and woman, both very youthful and attractive. "You should pay special attention to these two!" Huang Feng said with a smile, "These are the dean's two youngest students, having enrolled only a few years ago. This is Junior Brother Hou Liang, the youngest son of Department Head Hou from the Yuqiang Department! And this junior sister is Yun Zhi, the daughter of the Eldest Princess." The Eldest Princess was Zhu Tiandao's eldest daughter. Zhu Tiandao had two daughters, making this Yun Zhi his granddaughter. The young man was at the sixth layer of Tengkong, while the young woman was even stronger at the seventh layer. They were the two most outstanding figures to emerge from the Multiple Divine Characters line in recent years. Neither was very old, both still under thirty, belonging roughly to Bai Feng's generation. Hou Liang wore a pleasant smile and said, "Greetings, Junior Brother Su!" He did not call him 'classmate.' Hou Liang was currently an assistant researcher, and Su Yu was a full junior researcher, so he did not treat Su Yu like a student. "Hello, Junior Brother Su!" Yun Zhi also smiled politely without saying much else. Su Yu nodded slightly and exchanged pleasantries. He was already aware of these two. The Eight Steeds of Tiandu Prefecture. He had inquired a bit about this group before. Both of them were included on the list, alongside fat Zhu Hongliang, the beast-in-clothing Bai Junsheng, and a few others from the War Academy. All of them were academy students, whereas someone like Zhu Hongwen was not included among them. The so-called Eight Steeds were simply eight scions of prominent clans who possessed respectable strength and considerable fame. He hadn't expected two of them to belong to the Multiple Divine Characters College. Of course, there was another person Su Yu knew: the Zhu family's Eighth Princess, Zhu Qingyan, was also among them. Zhu Hongliang and Zhu Qingyan were both at the Civilization Academy as well, though not in the Multiple Divine Characters faction. One was in the Beast Taming faction, while the other was in the Puppet Crafting faction. Su Yu was a man of few words, but the others at the table were looking at him with great interest. The oldest among them, an elderly man who was also the strongest at the ninth layer of Lingyun, smiled and spoke up: "Junior Brother Su, now that you've come to the Great Ming Prefecture, there's no need to be reserved. To be honest, we are all very intrigued by the cultivation arts you've published one after another. The Soul Devour Art, the Aperture Fusion Art, and the Yuan-Purifying Art are all fascinating. I took a look at them, and they all bear the faint traces of various arts from the all races." The old man's name was Wen Zhong. He had followed Hu Xiansheng for many years and was approaching three hundred years of age. Being so advanced in years, merging all his apertures into one for the Shanhai Realm was likely beyond his reach, making his prospects for advancement slim. Wen Zhong, however, did not seem overly troubled by this. He smiled and continued, "From my analysis, the Yuan-Purifying Art and the Soul Devour Art were most likely adapted and converted from the arts of specific individual races. But with the Aperture Fusion Art, I saw traces of many different arts!" The old man marveled, "To be frank, if given the time to deduce and adapt the Soul Devour Art and the Yuan-Purifying Art, even if I had undertaken the task myself over several years, I believe I could have produced something similar. But the Aperture Fusion Art is truly exquisite. The first version was merely decent, but in the second version, I saw traces of the Red Frog race, the Flying Eagle race, the human Fusion Art, and arts from several other races..." He paused, looking puzzled. "Yet the core framework does not seem to come from any of those. Instead, it feels converted from the art of an exceedingly powerful race. Exactly which race that is, I haven't been able to deduce for the life of me..." The old man hesitated. "It feels somewhat like the innate talent of a certain powerhouse race, yet I can't be sure. The Heavenly Dragon race... That race is innately formidable and easily melds apertures. But this shouldn't be an innate skill, should it?" He fell into deep contemplation, while inside, Su Yu was thoroughly shaken! He had met a master! A true expert! Indeed, his Aperture Fusion Art was a synthesis of many different racial arts. However, those were all-races arts whose apertures were completely distinct from human apertures. After his thorough adaptation and disguise, even Su Yu himself would have had a hard time identifying their origins. Yet this Wen Zhong had deduced so much, even catching a glimpse of the Heavenly Dragon race's shadow. One had to realize that only two versions were circulating publicly on the market, neither of which was the supreme version. Of course, both versions had been simplified by Su Yu, and the second version was indeed derived from the Heavenly Dragon race's innate aperture melding art. This Wen Zhong possessed truly extraordinary breadth of knowledge! "Teacher..." Just as Su Yu began to speak, Wen Zhong regained his composure and chuckled. "No, please, just call me Senior Brother. In the pursuit of research, each person has their own specialization. You are someone with genuine achievements of your own, so let us interact as peers. Some come to the Dao earlier and others later, but all of us strive for the same work. There is no need for superior and inferior." Su Yu took a deep breath and dispensed with empty courtesies. "Senior Brother Wen, you are entirely correct. The Aperture Fusion Art was indeed primarily a work of adaptation. I am merely an integrator, not an original creator..." Wen Zhong laughed. "Do not belittle yourself! There are countless apertures and countless arts—do you think the rest of us are blind to them? Of course not! But why hasn't anyone else been able to synthesize a new and practical art from them? Every single aperture has its own unique function; it all comes down to whether you can discover it. Take the same thirty-six apertures: running yuan qi through them in different pathways produces completely different arts with entirely different effects. You cannot say that just because two arts share the same apertures, the one you created is a copy of mine, can you?" Huang Feng laughed. "Senior Brother Wen, you're straying from the topic." Wen Zhong chuckled and brushed it off, looking back at Su Yu. "I heard that your original purpose in founding the Primordial Spirit Research Institute was to study primordial spirit apertures, correct?" Su Yu nodded. Wen Zhong smiled. "Then you and I can exchange notes. Over the years, I've actually been researching that as well. Do you know of Bai Tianhao?" "I do. My teacher's ancestor." "Indeed, Bai Feng..." Wen Zhong smiled. "Bai Feng is also a genius. Years ago, I even considered taking him as my student, but he didn't care for the offer. He preferred to go where the Fifth Generation had stood, hoping to walk a distinct path of his own..." "Senior Brother Wen, you refer to him as the Fifth Generation as well?" Su Yu was surprised. Wen Zhong chuckled. "All Multiple Divine Characters branches under heaven belong to one family; everything originated from the Great Xia Prefecture. The First Generation founded the Multiple Divine Characters line, the Third Generation brought it to glory, and the Fifth Generation cemented its peak... Of course, if you strictly count the Multiple Divine Characters lineage alone, the Fifth Generation was actually only the Third Generation." He did not elaborate further on that, quickly continuing, "As long as you know of Bai Tianhao, that's enough. In his final battle before his death, Bai Tianhao erupted with astonishing might, slaying a seventh-layer Shanhai while only at the ninth layer of Lingyun. I've studied that battle for many years..." Wen Zhong pondered for a moment. "In truth, there is one point that has always puzzled me. According to your theory, a primordial spirit aperture is a threshold between origin apertures and divine apertures—a transitional boundary aperture. However... Bai Tianhao was a warrior!" Su Yu furrowed his brow. Wen Zhong said with a smile, "Back when you first proposed this concept, the term 'primordial spirit aperture' did not exist yet. The name I originally gave it was the 'Zhoutian Aperture'!" Su Yu's eyes flickered. "Does Senior Brother mean that it is a systemic aperture formed by all three hundred and sixty origin apertures, rather than the primordial spirit aperture I spoke of?" "Precisely!" Wen Zhong nodded, his excitement mounting. "Yet I find your theory quite plausible as well. Moreover, Bai Tianhao did not actually open all three hundred and sixty origin apertures. Could his Zhoutian Aperture have been triggered by opening one hundred and eighty apertures? Or perhaps two hundred and seventy?" "..." The two quickly dove into a fervent discussion. Seeing them converse with such fiery intensity, the others at the table found themselves completely unable to interject. Another middle-aged man at the table sent a voice transmission to Huang Feng: *Senior Sister, Senior Brother Wen has really gotten into it with this kid. Do you think he actually has what it takes?* Huang Feng replied via transmission with a chuckle: *He certainly does. You can tell just by listening. I haven't seen or understood Su Yu's other abilities, but his understanding of origin apertures is beyond what you or I can match. What's more, he has opened an extraordinary number of apertures himself. From what I can tell, at least three hundred and twenty or more. A person like him is truly a practitioner, whereas we are merely theoreticians.* *Not only that, Su Yu cites those arts effortlessly. That kid has studied no fewer than eight hundred or a thousand cultivation methods.* Huang Feng held a rather high opinion of Su Yu. He was certainly no incompetent fool. While it was hard to say regarding other fields, when it came strictly to the warrior path, he was an undeniable expert. For a Civilization Master, mastery in a single domain was more than enough. Where could one find a truly flawless individual? And Su Yu was still so young! As Su Yu was conversing with Wen Zhong, a laugh rang out from outside the doorway: "Everyone's here!" A moment later, Hu Xiansheng walked through the entrance. "Greetings, Dean!" "Good morning, Dean!" "..." The students called out their greetings one after another. At the table, the others chorused either "Dean" or "Teacher." Rather than a college, this place was practically Hu Xiansheng's personal martial hall, as all the Tengkong and Lingyun researchers had been taught by him! "Everyone, take your seats!" Hu Xiansheng chuckled warmly. "This year, our college has gained two new geniuses. A truly joyous occasion! There is no need to introduce Su Yu—everyone already knows him! And over there is Wu Lan, a genius student from the Great Xia Prefecture, the other 'Wu' from the Double Wu Aperture Fusion Art..." Sitting in the hall, Wu Lan listened with a faint pang of guilt. That old man smiled with such a sly, vulgar look! Hu Xiansheng cracked a few more jokes before turning serious. "The new semester has begun. The first purpose of this meeting was to introduce these two geniuses! The second purpose is that everyone needs to put in some real effort. If we don't work hard, we are going to go bankrupt!" Hu Xiansheng sighed. "We all have to pull together! Everyone still needs to challenge the Hundred Dao Pavilion, or our college won't have any funds left! What's the point of relying on that measly annual grant? Work hard, and it will be good for you and good for me. Wouldn't it be wonderful to build up the Multiple Divine Characters College together?" Su Yu said nothing, but Hu Xiansheng looked over at him and smiled. "Su Yu, you know about the Hundred Dao Pavilion, don't you?" Su Yu nodded. "During the founding of the prefecture, King Daming gathered numerous Civilization Masters at the academy head's request to forge an assessment tower! It is utterly miraculous, far more precious than a secret realm. The Great Ming Prefecture does not maintain a Top 100 Rankings; instead, it has the Hundred Dao Pavilion Rankings. It evaluates candidates not solely on combat strength, but on rankings across the hundred arts and hundred daos!" Hu Xiansheng laughed. "Precisely! That is the very embodiment of fairness. Otherwise, how could Civilization Masters with weak combat capabilities make a name for themselves? How could they rise to prominence and obtain sufficient resources? Would that be fair? Those who refine pills are tested on pill refinement; those who tame beasts are tested on beast taming... The Hundred Dao Pavilion was forged upon this very foundation!" "This applies to students, and it applies equally to teachers!" "The Hundred Dao Pavilion has a total of one hundred floors. Those in the Yangxing Realm can enter the first twenty floors, Tengkong can reach forty, Lingyun can reach sixty, Shanhai can reach eighty, and Sunmoon can reach the hundredth floor..." Hu Xiansheng chuckled. "If a Tengkong instructor cannot reach the twenty-first floor, they receive no annual benefits, no rewards, no salary, and no merit points! If they reach the twenty-first floor, they receive two hundred and ten merit points for that year. Following this progression, reaching the thirtieth floor earns three hundred points. Starting from the thirty-first floor, each additional floor adds fifty points, so reaching the fortieth floor yields eight hundred merit points a year!" "This is what you earn individually, and the academy will match that amount by allocating an equivalent sum of merit points to our college. That is where our college's extra funding comes from." "Naturally, there are many other rules that you can look over. As a newcomer, you can start testing yourself from the first floor. Every floor you clear comes with certain rewards—those are bonuses. For instance, as a new arrival, clearing the tenth floor might earn you additional prizes..." Su Yu nodded. He had seen this information before, though having only arrived at the academy the previous day, he hadn't had the time to try it out. Hu Xiansheng smiled. "The Hundred Dao Pavilion tests students, tests instructors, and tests me as well! Take me, for instance: as a seventh-layer Shanhai, the Shanhai bracket covers floors sixty through eighty. Being in the high-tier Shanhai realm, I must reach at least the seventy-first floor. Otherwise, I can forget about getting a single penny from the academy!" Curious, Su Yu asked, "Dean, is this Hundred Dao Pavilion very difficult?" "Well... that's hard to say. Everyone's experience is different." Hu Xiansheng smiled. "For example, a beast tamer inside the pavilion might encounter trials suited to their specialty, such as taming beasts. The Hundred Dao Pavilion can be considered an illusion realm, yet it isn't entirely one; it exists in a state between virtual and real. It is an exceedingly precious artifact—strictly speaking, a peak Heaven-rank civil weapon, and the single most valuable treasure in our Great Ming Civilization Academy, if not the entire Great Ming Prefecture!" "Some people are by no means weak, but once inside, the pavilion may make certain judgments. For example, if you are a divine character master who specializes in combat, it might force you into slaughter, and that becomes troublesome. Clearing those floors is very difficult, as the standards for divine character masters are quite demanding. On the other hand, if you are an alchemist, even if you are only in the Yangxing Realm, you might be able to refine pills all the way past the twentieth floor..." Su Yu nodded in understanding. What a miraculous treasure! It seemed considerably fairer than the Great Xia Prefecture's Top 100 Rankings. Naturally, the emphasis on pure combat appeared to have been diminished. While the Great Xia Prefecture also maintained some alchemy rankings, almost no one outside the specific college ever paid attention to them. "Dean, does that mean if no one from a college challenges the Hundred Dao Pavilion, the college receives almost no extra income for the entire year?" "Correct!" Hu Xiansheng smiled ruefully. "That's why our Multiple Divine Characters College receives such a meager allocation. For example, this semester's allocation of thirty thousand merit points was actually calculated as an aggregate reward based on last semester!" Their forty-four students typically hovered between a few floors and a dozen or so. Averaging ten floors per person amounted to only a hundred merit points each, meaning forty-four students yielded a mere four thousand four hundred points in rewards. For Tengkong cultivators, floors below thirty gave ten points each, while those above thirty gave fifty points each. For Lingyun cultivators, floors below fifty gave fifty points each, and floors fifty through seventy gave one hundred points each. Calculated this way, those Lingyun experts actually earned quite a substantial annual income. If someone could climb to the Lingyun limit of the sixtieth floor, floors thirty-one through fifty yielded fifty points each, while floors fifty-one through sixty yielded one hundred points each—adding up to two thousand points, plus the three hundred points from the first thirty floors, giving an annual income of two thousand three hundred merit points. The Great Ming Prefecture was indeed quite generous in its support of the Civilization Academy. By comparison, an expert like Chen Yong in the Great Xia Prefecture received no such extra allocations and earned very few merit points each year. *It seems I'll need to study the rules of the Hundred Dao Pavilion carefully when I get back. Earning a bit will help; I can't just sit around depleting my reserves,* Su Yu thought to himself. Hu Xiansheng did not dwell further on the subject, continuing, "Everyone must challenge the Hundred Dao Pavilion—it is mandatory. If you don't climb the tower, no one will have an income, and you can't just rely on your families! In addition, there are the missions assigned by the academy. Do your best to complete whatever you can to earn some merit points..." At these words, someone below grew anxious. "Dean, can't we fight for some lighter tasks? Every year, the missions assigned to us are outrageously difficult—either clearing wild beasts in the wilderness or capturing All-Races Cultists... Those are jobs for warriors! Why should we be doing them? Look at the other colleges! Their tasks are so relaxing: maintaining roadways, tending flowerbeds, supplying brewed wine, servicing mount beasts... countless times easier than ours!" A chorus of complaints broke out! *We want those tasks too!* Hu Xiansheng sighed. "Aren't we divine character masters? And the strongest combat-oriented ones at that, from the Multiple Divine Characters branch! The academy's intention is to ensure that we retain some combat capability. The Single Divine Character Faction gets plenty of combat missions as well." At the table and down in the hall, Su Yu and Wu Lan looked at each other in bewilderment. Were those missions really difficult? Hardly, right? The tasks assigned to students were surely just simple capture and pursuit missions. They were common enough in the Great Xia Prefecture, though Su Yu had never taken them, with the sole exception of his final mission to clear beasts in Nanyuan. Yet listening to these students, they seemed to consider such tasks immensely daunting, preferring instead daily chores like servicing mount beasts. As Su Yu was still marveling in disbelief, Huang Feng sent him a voice transmission: *Junior Brother, don't mind them. Our academy has very few combat missions; most are supportive tasks that align with one's divine characters.* Su Yu smiled and nodded. Different paths had their own specialties; perhaps they had a point. Civilization Masters were difficult to nurture; having a master alchemist fight on the front lines was indeed an inefficient use of talent—even if the only master alchemist he knew personally, Wu Yuehua, seemed to be a battle-crazed maniac. Hu Xiansheng was unbothered by the clamor. He quickly distributed a jade talisman to everyone and smiled. "These contain our missions for this semester. Everyone must complete theirs before the term ends! Only when all tasks are finished can we rest easy; otherwise, the academy will criticize us!" "Completing the missions comes with rewards too, so don't wear such bitter faces!" With that finished, Hu Xiansheng looked over at Su Yu and chuckled. "Su Yu, your Primordial Spirit Research Institute has just opened. Do you need to recruit some helping hands from the college?" He was hoping to create some earning opportunities for the students, as many were struggling to support their own cultivation. Su Yu smiled. "Not for the time being. If the need arises, I will post missions!" "Very well then!" Hu Xiansheng looked somewhat disappointed. *Not a single feather out of this iron rooster!* This kid had so much wealth, yet he was still so stingy. "Then that's all for today's opening meeting. Everyone is dismissed!" "Su Yu, stay behind for a moment!" Su Yu was a bit surprised, but he nodded. He glanced over at Wu Lan, but she didn't bother waiting for him and strode off on her own. Su Yu chuckled softly; at least he didn't need to worry about her. ... Once everyone else had departed, Hu Xiansheng spoke up: "It's like this. Didn't you tell the Mansion Master before that you needed some knowledgeable hands to help you? The academy currently has quite a few senior figures. Would you like to select a few of them to conduct research with you?" Su Yu thought it over and asked, "Does Senior Brother Wen count?" "..." Hu Xiansheng was speechless. "Wen Zhong? He is at the ninth layer of Lingyun, possessing considerable strength..." "Senior Brother Wen's strength is indeed formidable, but he is getting on in years and may not have much hope of reaching Shanhai. If my Divine Aperture Fusion Art succeeds, Senior Brother might be the first to reap the benefits and break through to Shanhai. What do you think, Dean?" Hu Xiansheng fell into deep thought. Su Yu continued, "Just now, I spoke with Senior Brother for a bit and realized he has researched both origin apertures and divine apertures very deeply. However, he spent far too much time on those studies and neglected melding his own apertures. Now that he is advanced in age, if this continues, it won't be many years before he passes away!" Hu Xiansheng sighed. "True enough. Wen Zhong actually has a solid foundation and fine aptitude. He has followed me for several centuries, yet he has consistently failed to enter Shanhai. Now his physical body has grown frail, and his sea of will has gradually deteriorated with the passage of time. If this continues, Shanhai will remain beyond his reach, and he may pass away in a few decades!" At this thought, he looked at Su Yu. "Can you help him enter Shanhai?" "I don't know," Su Yu said calmly. "I am only in the Yangxing Realm, and the method for fusing divine apertures is merely a concept that hasn't undergone full development yet. I cannot make any guarantees!" Hu Xiansheng recalled Su Yu's Flame of Civilization. After a brief hesitation, he nodded. "Fine, I will speak to Wen Zhong. Over these years, he has gradually hit a bottleneck. Ever since he developed the Fusion Art some years back, he hasn't produced any new research..." Su Yu froze. *What was that?* *The Fusion Art?* He knew that art! Back when he was deducing the Aperture Fusion Art, he had studied it! The human race had two fairly good aperture fusion arts: one was named simply the Aperture Fusion Art, which opened fifteen apertures, while the other was called the Fusion Art, which opened twenty-four apertures! Strictly speaking, the Fusion Art was quite effective, comparable to Su Yu's very first version of the Aperture Fusion Art. However, Su Yu's first version required opening only eighteen apertures—six fewer than the Fusion Art—so once his new Aperture Fusion Art was released, people naturally preferred to cultivate his version. Yet that did not mean the Fusion Art was useless! Quite the contrary: Su Yu had drawn considerable inspiration from that technique. The circulation pathways and deductions for his later thirty-six-aperture version had drawn heavily upon it, as it was an art created specifically for humans and thus better aligned with human habits. Su Yu was genuinely stunned. He quickly produced a book from his storage ring. Flipping to the title page, he saw the name of the creator of the Fusion Art—Wen Zhong! Su Yu shuddered slightly. *No wonder the name sounded familiar!* *It was him all along!* This man was a genuine grandmaster in the field! Hu Xiansheng took no offense at his reaction and laughed. "What, did you think I was lying to you? Wen Zhong has spent all these years concentrating on the study of origin and divine apertures, making him a true expert in this domain. But once your Aperture Fusion Art came out, Wen Zhong gave up hope. In fact, prior to that, he had been trying to improve the Fusion Art. Unfortunately, before he could succeed, your version was released. I heard you have another thirty-six-aperture version—is that true?" "It is!" Hu Xiansheng pondered for a moment. "If you want Wen Zhong to work for you, it won't actually be difficult. It just depends on whether you're willing to part with it. If you let him study that version of the Aperture Fusion Art, he would gladly work for you for free until the day he dies!" To Wen Zhong, the Fusion Art was a creation born from a century of accumulated effort and blood. Yet the fruits of his century of labor were outmatched by something Su Yu had thrown together in a few days. Only now did Su Yu truly grasp the meaning behind Wen Zhong's earlier remarks. Regarding the first version, Wen Zhong had said that given enough time, he could have deduced it as well, calling it rather ordinary. Earlier, though Su Yu had held his tongue, he had felt the old man was merely speaking with the benefit of hindsight—anyone could claim they could deduce it after it had already been created. Now that he knew Wen Zhong was the creator of the Fusion Art, Su Yu had to admit the man hadn't been boasting in the slightest. Su Yu had even drawn inspiration from his work! "Deal!" Su Yu agreed without hesitation, speaking hurriedly: "Then I'll go talk to Senior Brother Wen later. Dean, please help put in a good word for me too; I'm worried Senior Brother Wen might be reluctant, given that he's an expert at the ninth layer of Lingyun." With that, a sudden thought struck him. "Dean, is Senior Brother Wen a pavilion elder?" "An honorary one!" Hu Xiansheng replied offhandedly with a grin. "He earned it through the Fusion Art. Back then, a large portion of the human race was using it, so he was credited with great merit and made an honorary pavilion elder... But once your Aperture Fusion Art came out, he was too embarrassed to show his face. That slap across the face was quite loud." Su Yu shook his head. "Senior Brother Wen possesses genuine capability. I am different; I merely stood on the shoulders of seniors like Senior Brother Wen and refined the work later on. There is still a vast difference!" Su Yu felt that Wen Zhong was truly an exceptional candidate. When developing arts in the Great Xia Prefecture, he had Teacher Zhao Li to assist with deductions. But here, Wen Zhong was an ideal partner—even more suitable than Zhao Li, because Zhao Li was not an expert in this particular field, whereas Wen Zhong was! Sure enough, although the Great Ming Prefecture had fewer pure combat powerhouses, Su Yu was discovering that this place truly lived up to its reputation as a city of wisdom and creativity. Here, he might well absorb more than enough nourishment to cultivate and strengthen himself.