Striking Across the Void

Just as Su Yu was preparing to head out, Wen Zhong called out from downstairs, "Junior Brother Su, someone is here to see you!" "Who?" "Don't know him." Outside the door, Wen Zhong stole a glance at Marquis Xia... In truth, he knew exactly who it was, but right now, he simply chose not to know. If he acknowledged him, wouldn't he have to salute and invite the man inside? It was only natural for someone from Great Ming Prefecture not to recognize Marquis Xia of Great Xia Prefecture. ... Su Yu came downstairs, stepped outside, and saw Marquis Xia. He smiled. "Marquis, it has been a long time!" Su Yu cupped his hands and bowed meticulously. "Why so polite?" Marquis Xia chuckled. "Back then, you used to call me Grandpa." Su Yu smiled. "Indeed. Back then, I thought I might spend my entire life in Great Xia Prefecture, fighting across the realm for Great Xia, fighting for the Xia family, fighting for humanity, for my friends... In the end, I realized that I was just young and foolish!" Marquis Xia fell silent. After a brief pause, Marquis Xia smiled. "Aren't you going to invite me inside to sit down? Let me see how this new research institute of yours is doing." "Forget it, it's far too messy inside!" Su Yu smiled. "I wouldn't want to offend the Marquis's eyes. I know full well why you've come, Marquis. I haven't placed any restrictions on Great Xia Prefecture's military, nor on the common people. I only restricted the three academies. Why must you stand up on behalf of a few academies, Marquis?" Marquis Xia sighed. "If I don't stand up for them, I'm afraid those three academies won't have a single student left next year." "Didn't they bring that upon themselves?" Su Yu smiled. "What does the Marquis think?" Marquis Xia looked at him for a while before finally speaking. "Fine, let's skip the pleasantries. Name your conditions. Let's see if they can be met. If they can, I'll do my best to see them through. If they can't, well, I came here anyway, and if the civilization academies go under, there's nothing I can do about it." Su Yu said calmly, "First, pardon my two teachers. They may remain on the All-Heavens Battlefield, but they must be declared innocent!" "Second, Martial Uncle Feng Qi's life must be preserved. If he dies, there will be nothing further to discuss!" "Third, if that Shan Xiong wants to enter the Great Xia Civilization Academy, fine, but he must fight a life-and-death battle against me. Win or lose, he can enter!" "Fourth, regarding that Yuan Qingdong, I know you have no leverage over him. That doesn't matter. He must publicly apologize to me and Martial Uncle Feng Qi. In addition, when disseminating arts in Great Xia Prefecture, an extra one million merit points will be charged. Yuan Qingdong must pay it. If he doesn't, no art will be taught!" "Fifth, Governor Xia once slew multiple experts of the Tianyi God race. I want an intact divine corpse from that race—completely intact, including everything!" "Sixth, members of the Single Divine Character Faction in Great Xia Prefecture who wish to learn my arts will be charged according to the rates of the Myriad Characters Scripture: two hundred merit points for the upper volume and five hundred for the lower volume. Don't ask why. There is no why—they know why themselves!" "Seventh, all revenue generated from Great Xia Prefecture must belong entirely to me. The academies, the prefecture, and the Quest Realm may not withhold a single coin. How to negotiate that is up to you, Marquis!" "Eighth, I want Great Xia Prefecture to exchange the Sea of Consciousness Mystic Realm for it!" Through all the previous demands, Marquis Xia had kept quiet. When Su Yu reached the eighth condition, Marquis Xia rubbed his temples and laughed. "Right, you little brat had no intention of making things easy for me from the start. Fine, I'll pass these terms along, but... the odds are slim." Su Yu said calmly, "Then there is no need to talk. The three academies can do as they please! If they can't survive, their students can just enroll in the Longwu War Academy or the regular War Academy; it makes no difference. Those three civilization academies were never much to begin with, so having their heritage cut off serves them right! Furthermore, the highest version of the aperture fusion method will not be taught to the three academies!" "From now on, none of my arts will be disseminated to the three academies!" "Including the Yuan-Purifying Art acquired by the Zheng family and the Soul Devour Art acquired by the Xia family—none of them may be taught to the three civilization academies!" Su Yu said indifferently, "Not only that, if the Multiple Divine Characters Faction makes the disassembly art public in the future, it will also be barred from the three academies!" His current arts did not have much impact on experts above the Tengkong Realm in the three academies. Yet... what about his future arts? What about the disassembly art? Marquis Xia's expression shifted slightly. "Are you dead set on forcing the three academies to shut down?" "Yes!" Su Yu said calmly, "That is precisely my intention! Over the years, your indulgence has only fueled their arrogance. Some people started with cautious testing, but when they saw that you dared not act, they grew bolder and bolder! In that case, since you chose inaction, why should I bother currying favor with them?" Having said that, Su Yu added, "That Yuan Qingdong was appointed deputy head—am I supposed to hand him achievements on a silver platter? What a joke! Not only in Great Xia Prefecture, but across all prefectures where my arts are disseminated, I have a requirement... No share of the profits may go to the Quest Realm. Even if the other prefectures withhold that portion for themselves, the Quest Realm gets nothing, because they chose inaction!" "Kid, there are quite a few Invincibles in the Quest Realm..." Su Yu replied calmly, "I know. The Marquis's reminder is well-taken, but allowing the other prefectures to keep that share for themselves is more than enough! What makes the Quest Realm terrifying is its Invincibles, not their descendants! Why should I fear the descendants of Invincibles? What can they do to me? I am letting the various prefectures withhold the share that originally belonged to the Quest Realm. If the Quest Realm cannot collect it, that is their own incompetence. If they have the guts, let them demand it from the prefectures themselves. This will be a private agreement carried out by each prefecture, having nothing to do with me!" "Claiming it has nothing to do with you won't work..." Su Yu chuckled, cutting him off. "I only need it to have nothing to do with me in name. Do they want the money or not? If they demand it, they offend the prefectures; if they don't, they take the loss. What does that have to do with me? If they vent their anger on me, they are simply picking a fight, and King Daming will stand up for me!" Marquis Xia was left speechless. After a moment, he said, "Fine. In any case, I'm only responsible for passing on the message. But demanding a million merit points from Yuan Qingdong is pure nonsense, and a public apology is completely out of the question..." Su Yu smiled. "It's best that it's impossible. If it were possible, I wouldn't have brought it up! I want him to slap his own face. Will he do it? If he doesn't, will the three academies hate me more, or will they hate him more? It doesn't matter if they hate me; I'm not in Great Xia Prefecture anyway. But if they hate him... Even if he isn't afraid, let's see how he manages to survive in Great Xia Prefecture!" Marquis Xia chuckled. "He belongs to the Yuan family, and the Yuan family has an Invincible." "Nothing to do with me." Su Yu smiled. "To put it bluntly, if an Invincible causes trouble for me over someone like him, that means they were already an enemy to begin with! King Daming can suppress them!" With King Daming constantly on his lips, Marquis Xia felt utterly helpless. "King Daming will really intervene? Aren't you afraid..." Su Yu smiled. "Of course he will. Why wouldn't he? What's wrong with intervening? The benefits I bring him far outweigh the cost of stepping in. It's just like what you once taught Brother Huyou, Marquis—if I offended the Zhou family, it didn't matter, because the Xia family wasn't afraid, so long as the profits I brought were substantial enough! You said so yourself back then, Marquis, so why do you think it impossible today? Or do you believe, Marquis, that I cannot bring about that much value?" Marquis Xia nodded slightly and gave a wry smile. "Fair point!" With a sigh, he added, "Now that we've reached this point, let me offer some hindsight. Longwu wants you to return to Great Xia Prefecture. Whoever you wish to execute, you may execute. Any interest?" Su Yu said nothing. Marquis Xia sighed. "I knew you wouldn't agree." Su Yu replied calmly, "It's not that I won't agree; it's that there is no need! Since the Xia family wants to ensure the Governor achieves the Invincible Realm, you should see it through to the end! Otherwise, trying to please both sides will leave you pleasing neither, and the losses will outweigh the gains! Huyou and I are friends, and he has helped me a great deal. As for Governor Xia... I used to admire him greatly. There are things I am well aware of. Back then, when I took the blood essence of the Heavenly Archer Cult Master, he probably knew as well... Consider that a favor I owed him. This time, I will repay Governor Xia! Yuan Qingdong probably won't be able to provide what I want, but in the end, the Xia family will likely find a way to trade that million merit points for an opportunity..." Su Yu said solemnly, "Then trade it! Once that exchange is done, I will no longer owe Governor Xia anything. From then on, aside from my personal friendship with Brother Huyou, everything between me and the Xia family... will be strictly business!" A drop of kindness returned with a gushing spring. That was Su Yu's creed. Xia Longwu had tacitly permitted him to take the blood essence of the Heavenly Archer Cult Master back then. That was a favor, which had provided Su Yu the capital to later set traps and lure enemies into falling for them. As for Yuan Qingdong... an apology was merely a painless punishment, and demanding a million merit points was just talk. If he used this opportunity to settle the debt of gratitude owed to Xia Longwu, they would be even! He owed nothing to anyone else. As for Xia Huyou, that was strictly personal friendship, unrelated to the Xia family. Marquis Xia remained quiet for a moment, then nodded. "I will convey this to Longwu!" Looking deeply at Su Yu, Marquis Xia smiled. "You seem to have matured quite a bit." Su Yu smiled. "I get by. As for subsequent arts and other matters, we can talk next time. I expect you and I will have plenty of dealings in the future, Marquis!" "So confident?" Marquis Xia chuckled. "Do you already have something ready, just waiting to be made public?" "Not yet." Su Yu smiled. "However, the atmosphere in Great Ming Prefecture is excellent, and there are many geniuses here. I believe that with everyone's help, I will soon make immense gains!" "Great Ming Prefecture..." Marquis Xia murmured softly and nodded. "Very well, Great Ming Prefecture is indeed not bad." With that, he turned to leave. After a moment's thought, Su Yu called out, "Back then, Head Wan promised me that no one above the Shanhai Realm would act against me. Yet that day, Head Wan never appeared. He broke his word!" Marquis Xia turned his head and smiled. "Aren't you still alive?" Su Yu knitted his brows. "Since you're alive, don't take it too seriously. You didn't die, so what is there to fear?" He smiled, but Su Yu's brow remained furrowed. "I still don't understand. He has put on such an act, and everyone knows he is pretending. Does it truly serve any purpose?" Marquis Xia pondered for a moment, then shook his head. "I don't know. As for what act he is putting on, do you really know what his true strength is? Who knows! When it comes to Wan Tiansheng... all I can say is that he remains silent only to shock the world when he finally makes a move! I don't know what he plans to do, but I know one thing for certain... in the future, he probably won't come to a good end!" With a bitter chuckle, he added, "No good end. If you don't believe me, just wait and see. In any case, I have a premonition... that fellow is bound to go mad sooner or later. Kid, don't worry about him. The day he makes his move, the world will shake!" "Slaughtering an Invincible?" Marquis Xia waved his hand. "Enough, there's no point talking about it; it's merely my speculation. Slaying an Invincible... might not even be the half of it. He went mad long ago. The Great Xia Civilization Academy is his shackle, and the rules are his cage—a cage that restrains him. When the Great Xia Civilization Academy ceases to be what it once was, and the rules cease to be rules... he will be unleashed." Marquis Xia chuckled. "Some people are courting their own deaths by breaking those shackles. Sooner or later, they will taste the bitter consequences!" With that, he took a few steps forward, then suddenly turned back. "Over the next year or two, cultivate more and make yourself stronger! A few years from now, things might not be so peaceful! The origin of all chaos will undoubtedly stem from Great Xia Prefecture!" His words carried profound meaning. Su Yu frowned, remaining silent. The origin of all chaos will undoubtedly stem from Great Xia Prefecture! Who was he referring to? Xia Longwu? Wan Tiansheng? King Daxia? Or Liu Wenyan's circle? ... Watching Marquis Xia depart, Su Yu fell silent for a long time. Before long, Zhu Tiandao arrived, laughing boisterously. "Su Yu, you're rich! Besides getting rich, I have another piece of good news for you. In the death row camp, after blowing up dozens of backsides, they finally discovered an aperture! I wonder if it's the one you need." "..." That sounded horribly awkward! What did he mean by blowing up dozens of backsides? Su Yu was speechless, though he understood that they had likely produced a result through their experiments. He asked hurriedly, "Governor, did they discover any other origin apertures?" "Nope." Su Yu felt a hint of disappointment, but discovering even one was good enough—that left only two remaining. "Governor, I'd like to go take a look..." "Come with me!" Zhu Tiandao spoke as they walked. "Additionally, Qin Zhen of Great Qin Prefecture wants to talk to you, mainly about disseminating the aperture fusion method—the highest-tier version!" "Sure!" Su Yu nodded directly. "I know of Great Qin Prefecture. For the frontline legions on the All-Heavens Battlefield, the price can be made cheaper. If it's disseminated within the military, it can even be free..." Zhu Tiandao gave him a resentful look. "Isn't that inappropriate? That's blatant favoritism! We haven't even disseminated it in Great Ming Prefecture yet." Su Yu said nonchalantly, "Great Ming Prefecture isn't on the frontline." Well, that was impossible to refute. Su Yu said earnestly, "I hold great admiration for the military on the All-Heavens Battlefield. I've also heard that King Daqin personally sits in command at the frontlines. The military hasn't descended into chaos to this day, and the disputes among the various prefectures haven't affected the frontlines. King Daqin deserves immense credit for that! Overall, the War God Hall has done far more than the Quest Realm. The War God Hall is primarily responsible for fighting external wars, and on that front, at least order has been maintained!" That humanity's rear could enjoy peace was largely thanks to the War God Hall's competence. The frontline legions had never fallen into disarray! Everything remained orderly: garrisoning, guarding, counterattacking, advancing... all adhered to strict discipline. Much of this relied on King Daqin's iron-fisted rule and authority. Disrupt the frontline, and you die! As the first Invincible to establish a prefecture, while he could not completely suppress all other Invincibles, he could at least deter a great number of them. Regardless of faction, at the frontlines, everyone still had to obey King Daqin. Hearing Su Yu say this, Zhu Tiandao chuckled. "That's true enough. King Daqin... is cold-blooded, but he makes an ideal supreme commander! Don't expect him to stand up for anyone or take sides—that's impossible. That's just his personality: anyone who stirs up trouble gets killed. Xia Longwu is actually somewhat like him, just not quite as powerful! If King Daqin ever steps down and Xia Longwu succeeds in attaining the Dao, the frontline commander might very well be Xia Longwu..." "Governor Xia..." Su Yu shook his head. "On the contrary, I don't think he's suited to be the supreme commander. Even though I've never interacted with him personally, I can sense that Governor Xia is a man of passion, like a wandering chivalrous hero. When it comes to drinking wine and slaying enemies, Governor Xia excels. But as a supreme commander... I feel he lacks sufficient composure." "Look at you, offering critiques on a peak Sun Moon expert." Zhu Tiandao chuckled. "Don't get too arrogant now." "That's not it at all," Su Yu smiled. "I only speak like this in front of you, Governor. Ever since I was a child, I watched Governor Xia execute criminals, and my father idolized him endlessly, which made me worship him as a child as well. I'm merely sharing a few personal impressions, that's all." ... The two chatted as they walked, bringing up no other matters. Soon, in Great Ming Prefecture's death row camp, Su Yu met the man who had successfully opened the aperture—a Tengkong Realm cultivator. He was in quite a miserable state! Su Yu could tell that the man had probably opened the wrong aperture several times, causing a certain area to rupture. Even now, the flesh remained mangled and bloody. That it hadn't been blown completely to shreds was already a stroke of luck, yet in the end, he had actually managed to open an aperture. Su Yu confirmed that he had not opened this one before! He named this aperture the Sky-Piercing Aperture. One aperture that could pierce the heavens—thinking about it, it made a lot of sense. If a sword were thrust through this aperture and skewered straight through, wouldn't it pierce right to the sky? Su Yu sensed it with his willpower, pinpointing the aperture's exact location. Without further ado, he sat down cross-legged on the spot and began opening it. "..." Zhu Tiandao looked on, utterly speechless. It was an aperture, after all; how long would you need just sitting there cross-legged? Yet by now, Su Yu had already opened 357 apertures. The Body Strengthening Art was exceptionally suited for opening apertures. Gulping down origin qi liquid as though it cost nothing, after roughly an hour or so, Su Yu opened his eyes—the aperture had opened! Zhu Tiandao was completely dumbfounded! What the hell! You opened an aperture in an hour? Dammit, he had watched the kid open it with his own eyes! How could it be so fast? Su Yu did not elaborate, merely smiling. "Thank you, Governor! With this aperture opened, I feel a faint, distinct difference..." Divine light flickered in Su Yu's eyes. "Governor, the final two apertures are likely extraordinarily mysterious. I believe I need certain items to aid me. I require blood essence from the Primordial Demon Race and the Primordial God Race. Does Great Ming Prefecture have any in stock?" "None!" Zhu Tiandao laughed. "Truly, none. If I had any, I would certainly give it to you! There aren't many members of the Primordial God Race and Primordial Demon Race to begin with. Truth be told, even when our people manage to kill them, they usually self-detonate. Besides, we rarely clash with them directly. Great Qin Prefecture might have some; you can meet Qin Zhen and discuss it. Moreover, you ought to start preparing to advance your physical body into the Tengkong Realm. The blood essence of the Primordial Demon Race and Primordial God Race yields the finest results for body tempering..." He added, "Great Ming Prefecture also has god race blood essence—from the Heavenly Eye God Race. If you need it, I can provide it to you, but their physical strength is rather average. It's sufficient for ordinary monstrous talents, but for you... I don't think it's good enough!" Standing nearby, the warden in charge of the death row camp clicked his tongue inwardly upon hearing this. Just listen to that! What did it mean for people to have vastly different destinies? This was it! Blood essence from the Heavenly Eye God Race was deemed unworthy of Su Yu by the Governor! Yet thinking about how Su Yu had slain a Lingyun expert while still in the Yangxing Realm... fine, perhaps it truly was unworthy. Putting his research aside, Su Yu himself was a peerless monstrous talent. It was just that people seemed to have forgotten that lately! Right under everyone's noses, they had forgotten he was a martial genius who had slain a Lingyun in the Yangxing Realm, remembering only the impressive arts he had devised. ... A short while later. Su Yu met Qin Zhen, the head of Great Qin Prefecture, in a teahouse. He possessed a commanding presence that inspired awe without wrath! Massive in stature and brimming with murderous aura, truth be told, the moment Su Yu laid eyes on Qin Zhen, he was reminded of Xia Longwu. The two were very similar—not in appearance, but in temperament. Su Yu had never met Xia Longwu in person, but he had seen him on television and in the legacy projection of the Heaven Cleaving Saber. Comparing the two, they were strikingly alike! Seeing Su Yu, Qin Zhen dispensed with pleasantries, paying no heed to Zhu Tiandao's presence as he stated directly, "A real man should kill enemies! Come to Great Qin Prefecture, and I'll let you kill to your heart's content! What's the point of fussing around in the rear? Head to the frontline and battle the myriad races! There you'll find peerless powerhouses, matchless heroes, formidable god and demon foes, celestial maidens of the Immortal Race... Just kill them all!" Damn! Hearing "celestial maidens of the Immortal Race," Su Yu had assumed Qin Zhen was going to suggest capturing some and bringing them back. Hearing "just kill them all" nearly made him choke! Zhu Tiandao said helplessly, "Isn't him creating an art far more valuable than slaying a Sun Moon expert?" Qin Zhen thought about it and nodded. "That makes sense too! Coming to Great Qin Prefecture to stay in the rear works as well—in our military citadels and military towns! If the All-Races Cult shows up, kill them! If enemies arrive, kill them! Our security is number one under the heavens, far better than Great Ming Prefecture's. As for Great Xia Prefecture... before Xia Longwu reached the ninth tier of the Sun Moon Realm, Great Xia and Great Qin could still be compared. Now, Great Xia can't compare!" Su Yu smiled. "Thank you for your high regard, Governor Qin, but you must be joking. I'd still prefer to stay in Great Ming Prefecture." "Very well!" Qin Zhen said no more on the matter, getting straight to the point. "Name your price!" "I want the aperture fusion method, the highest version! Don't try to brush me off with garbage!" "I also want the Primordial Spirit Cultural Art. If there are higher versions, I want those too!" "Furthermore, give me any other arts that are useful. Name your price, speak freely!" Su Yu smiled. "No rush, Governor Qin. Let me ask first: how many origin apertures has Great Qin Prefecture mapped out?" With that, his body shuddered, and 358 apertures began to shimmer with brilliant light! "Governor Qin, are there any apertures I have yet to open?" "..." Qin Zhen stared at him for a long while before speaking. "You want to open the Heavenly Circuit apertures! A fine ambition! Back in our Great Qin Prefecture, there was a fellow who opened 321 apertures. It took him twenty-seven years. Later, he couldn't manage aperture fusion at all. After expending a massive amount of time, he finally dragged himself to the Lingyun Realm, but when it came to fusing an aperture, he hit a total dead end. He died of old age the year before last. You won't die of old age, will you?" "Died of old age?" Su Yu blinked. Qin Zhen chuckled. "Died of old age! But he was truly formidable. With the strength of the ninth tier of the Lingyun Realm, he slaughtered several Shanhai experts. When he was on the verge of dying of old age, I conferred with him, and he feigned a breakthrough to the Shanhai Realm to bait out a Sun Moon enemy. On his deathbed, he killed a Sun Moon expert—I dealt the fatal strike, and he severed the head. He died of old age right after, leaving this world with no regrets!" Su Yu said with longing, "Truly without regrets!" "Hahaha, exactly as I said! A real man ought to live like that! Alright, back to business. There are no additional apertures. I dare wager you've already reached the limit of humanity!" Su Yu felt a pang of regret; it seemed he would have to try other methods. "Great Qin Prefecture contributes immensely to humanity, and its people are all soldiers, so I won't ask for too much..." Su Yu said briskly, "The aperture fusion method can be provided, and the Primordial Spirit Cultural Art can be taught. However, I require a batch of blood essence—god and demon blood essence! Preferably at the Tengkong Realm, though some early Lingyun Realm blood essence would be fine too. Two or three drops of each will do... If possible, five drops would be even better!" Su Yu added, "However, there must be blood essence from the Primordial Demon Race and the Primordial God Race!" Qin Zhen raised an eyebrow, then nodded after a moment. "Done! But... give us a few days to go out and kill some! We don't have any right now; it's all been used up. Great Qin Prefecture doesn't hoard such resources; we convert them into combat strength immediately. Storing resources like that is pointless! Give us half a month, and I'll send men to hunt them down. We'll try our best to capture them alive for you!" "..." Su Yu was speechless. Holy crap! So you don't even have any in stock—you're going to hunt and kill them on the spot! Zhu Tiandao was also dumbfounded. "You have no inventory at all?" "None!" Qin Zhen laughed. "What's the point of inventory? Turn it into combat power, take it to the battlefield, and keep killing! Other things aside, blood essence is readily available once you kill people, so why hoard it? Su Yu, I hear your combat prowess isn't weak either. If you have time, come visit Great Qin Prefecture! The most renowned institution in Great Qin Prefecture is the Great Qin Military Academy. It counts as a war academy, but not an ordinary one—its students are all military powerhouses who fought their way back from the frontlines with ferocious military merits, entering the academy for advanced studies! Don't look down on a Wanshi Realm cultivator who has only opened thirty-six apertures; slaughtering a few Civilization Masters is as easy as killing chickens to them!" "..." Zhu Tiandao rolled his eyes. Go on, keep bragging! If you were truly that formidable, Great Qin Prefecture would have unified the myriad realms long ago! Su Yu smiled as well. "Alright, if I get the chance, I will definitely pay a visit!" Qin Zhen said no more, rising to his feet. "Then I'll head back now. Within half a month, the goods will be delivered to you! Having the aperture fusion method is already quite good, but my ambitions are even greater. Can you develop an aperture fusion method for seventy-two or one hundred and eight apertures that functions as a cultivation art, allowing Shanhai cultivators to fuse apertures directly? What you've created now works wonders for the Wanshi Realm, but it's not very friendly to the Shanhai Realm! If you can make Shanhai cultivators fuse apertures directly one day, their physical bodies will enter the Sun Moon Realm! That would be a truly world-shaking contribution!" The current thirty-six aperture fusion method was helpful for Shanhai cultivators fusing apertures, but the benefit was not particularly massive. For the Wanshi Realm, it was naturally of tremendous assistance! Yet Qin Zhen felt it wasn't enough! He wanted something even stronger! Something that could allow a Shanhai cultivator to fuse apertures directly and step into the Sun Moon Realm in the blink of an eye, becoming a Sun Moon mighty figure—that would be truly extraordinary! Su Yu did not know whether to laugh or cry, quickly replying, "I'll do my best. I haven't reached that level myself, so I don't have deep insights into it. Once I reach that stage, I'll be able to understand it much better!" "That's the truth. Strengthen yourself as soon as possible!" Qin Zhen laughed. "Stop fussing over minor matters! Stay out of Great Xia Prefecture's mess! I know about your teacher's situation. On the frontline, our Great Qin soldiers will keep an eye out for him. If you don't mind, you can have your teacher coordinate with us to bait some big fish. With Liu Wenyan's identity, once exposed, we might even bait out an Invincible..." "Cough, cough, cough!" Su Yu coughed dryly. Governor Qin, that's enough; you can leave now. Baiting fish? Baiting my foot! Qin Zhen chuckled. "Forget it then. Until we meet again! What a pity you're still a bit weak; otherwise, in a year or two, you could join in the excitement. What a shame. When the time comes, I'll let you see what an Invincible battle truly looks like. There's no need to spend all day fretting over trivial nonsense. Once you reach the Invincible Realm, free of all entanglements, no one will dare provoke you!" "I..." Before Su Yu could finish speaking, a silhouette flashed, and the man was gone! Su Yu was helpless; he hadn't even finished his sentence. Invincible? I want that too, but unfortunately, it takes time. Zhu Tiandao warned vigilantly, "Don't listen to his nonsense. There is no freedom whatsoever in Great Qin Prefecture! Everything is under military control! Highly inhumane!" Su Yu smiled. "Don't worry, Governor, I won't run away." Zhu Tiandao murmured suspiciously to himself, feeling like the kid looked ready to bolt at any moment! Totally unreliable! It seemed he really needed to find a woman to tie him down. He had only just tasted the sweetness of this arrangement; if Su Yu ran off now, wouldn't he end up just like Xia Xiao'er? ... The god and demon blood essence from Great Qin Prefecture would take half a month to arrive. By now, time had slipped into February. The conditions Su Yu laid out for Great Xia Prefecture quickly spread, and they were extraordinarily harsh! The Sea of Consciousness Mystic Realm, one million merit points, an intact god race corpse... On top of that, Yuan Qingdong, a Sun Moon expert, had to apologize to Su Yu. A public apology, no less! Because he had slandered Su Yu as a traitor. A traitor... what a joke. What kind of traitor would publicly share arts of this caliber? No one took the accusation seriously! Yet forcing a Sun Moon expert to apologize publicly, slap his own face, and pay Su Yu one million merit points as compensation... everyone speculated that Yuan Qingdong would never agree to such terms. In any case, the ones barred from the arts were the three academies. At worst, he could simply pack up and leave; he wasn't a local of Great Xia Prefecture anyway. Meanwhile, Su Yu made no public appearances to address the matter. However, faint rumors began to circulate: so long as Yuan Qingdong remained at the Great Xia Civilization Academy, any arts created by the Primordial Spirit Research Institute would impose certain restrictions on Great Xia's three academies. This was not the end; it was only the beginning! Word had it that the Spirit Fusion Method was currently being derived. Once deduced, it would be an earth-shattering achievement. Civilization Masters, from the Yangxing Realm all the way to Shanhai and Sun Moon, would receive tremendous benefits. Yet because of Yuan Qingdong, Great Xia's three academies might remain permanently blacklisted. With Su Yu rolling out several groundbreaking arts in rapid succession, plenty of people believed him when he said he was deducing the Spirit Fusion Method. If it truly came to fruition, the ones suffering would no longer be just the students! It would be every single Civilization Master! ... Great Xia Prefecture. Inside the deputy head's villa, Yuan Qingdong's aura flared for a fleeting instant, instantly shattering every piece of furniture in the room! His face was ash-gray with fury! Just moments ago, someone from the Xia family had arrived, asking if he would consider apologizing to settle the matter and avoid an unsightly escalation. If things blew up further, he might very well be stripped of his post! Having arrived less than half a month ago, he, a Sun Moon expert, might be dismissed! What a monumental humiliation! The Xia family would not kill him, and he hadn't committed any capital crime. But if the matter blew up and the three academies' interests were harmed, an Elder Council meeting would be convened. If two-thirds of the elders voted in favor of his dismissal, he would have no choice but to pack his bags and get lost! That was the authority of the elders! And now, that trend was already painfully obvious. If he did not quell this incident, he might become the very first Sun Moon deputy head in history to be sacked and kicked out! "Su Yu!" Yuan Qingdong snorted coldly. He had assumed that Su Yu's departure was a good thing. Who could have known that a single remark made during an Elder Council meeting would provoke a remote strike from Su Yu, hitting him so hard he was left reeling and disoriented! It was no wonder Yu Hong and the others had suffered defeat at his hands! Yuan Qingdong furrowed his brows. A moment later, his voice transmission talisman flickered. "The Quest Realm cannot exert pressure! Zhu Tiandao has counter-pressured the Quest Realm. Sky-Swallowing Ants have appeared within the territory, devouring in all directions. Zhu Tiandao's eldest son has rushed to the Quest Realm, and the Ascending Dragon Drum has been struck. King Dahan is about to emerge from seclusion. Settle the matter swiftly; in Great Xia Prefecture, stability must be prioritized above all else!" Hmph! A cold snort escaped his lips. When he first arrived, they certainly hadn't spoken like this! A bunch of bastards! When he came, hadn't they promised that they would shoulder everything? Damned bastards, the lot of them! It wasn't their faces being disgraced! Fury blazed within Yuan Qingdong. What did Su Yu refusing to disseminate his arts have to do with him? It was merely an excuse! Even without him, Su Yu might not have disseminated them in Great Xia Prefecture anyway. Yet now, dammit, he was the one who had to shoulder the entire blame! Infuriating!