The Iron-Eater and Baidao Pavilion

Su Yu took the matter of heavenly origin qi to heart and began reading texts of will, preparing to outline a divine character capable of preserving it. He was also studying texts of will related to spatial divine characters, particularly the martial technique *Space-Time*. If anything had the greatest promise of producing a spatial divine character, it was almost certainly this technique. An Invincible-tier martial technique! Regarding Feng Qi, Su Yu had paid another visit to Director Hou. Director Hou agreed to help, but since he could not confirm Feng Qi's exact whereabouts, he could only promise his best efforts without any ironclad guarantees. Su Yu, for his part, had not come empty-handed. He gave Hou a cultivation method. While not exceptionally profound, it possessed one distinct advantage: it was designed for healing along the warrior path. Whether Director Hou gifted it to someone else or kept it for personal use, Su Yu did not mind. …… February 12. Nearly a month had passed since Su Yu entered the Great Ming Civilization Academy. After a month of nonstop bustling, Su Yu finally found a bit of free time. He stepped out of the research institute to find that spring had arrived. Su Yu dragged Wu Lan out with him. She was an even bigger shut-in than he was; at least Su Yu had ventured out a few times, while she had barely set foot outside once. Lately, he hadn't needed much help from her, and whatever she was busying herself researching, Su Yu hadn't pried. "Where are we going?" Wu Lan glanced left and right. She had been reluctant to leave at first, but seeing the academy's flowers in full bloom brightened her mood considerably. Su Yu smiled and said, "Running an errand. First, we'll track down the Ninth Prince of the Great Ming Prefecture, and then we'll check out Baidao Pavilion!" "The Ninth Prince? Zhu Hongliang? What do you want with him? He doesn't even seem as capable as Fatty Xia!" Wu Lan dismissed the idea, finding Zhu Hongliang unimpressive compared to Xia Huyou. "Fatty Xia..." Su Yu laughed. "Isn't Xia Huyou less fat than him?" Wu Lan burst into giggles. Su Yu chuckled as well, adding as they walked, "I heard he has a demon beast—a Shanhai demon with defense so absurd that not even a Sun Moon can hack it to death. Let's go see it!" He was genuinely intrigued by Zhu Hongliang's great demon. Su Yu had examined both god and demon cultivation arts. Thirty-six castings was already formidable. Yet instinctively, he felt the Iron-Eater's body casting art might be even stronger! Surviving attacks an entire realm above its own without dying was one thing, but rumor had it the creature hadn't even been injured and had casually kept on eating. That was truly impressive. Every craft had its specialists. Perhaps the Iron-Eater race was simply naturally suited for body casting. Wasn't the purpose of the album to gather the greatest strengths of all races? To unite them in a single body! That was Su Yu's own understanding. Reaching the peak in every single path might take time, but the future it promised was boundless. Strolling through the academy and watching the relaxed, leisurely students around them, Su Yu felt a twinge of envy. A bunch of salted fish! Lazing out in the sun whenever they had free time—what a comfortable life. After asking for directions and enduring a few bewildered stares as if he were an exotic creature, Su Yu finally located the Beast Taming College, where Zhu Hongliang studied. …… The moment he set foot in the Beast Taming College's territory, Su Yu saw firsthand what lively truly meant! "Pummel him!" "Hit it!" "Piss on him!" "……" Ahead, a crowd had gathered, with people shouting excitedly from the outer ring. Every one of them was worked up. Su Yu and Wu Lan walked over. Su Yu tapped the shoulder of someone at the back. "Classmate, what's going on in there?" "Can't you look for your—" The student turned, caught sight of Su Yu, and instantly shrank back with an awkward grin. It was the ruthless Su Yu himself! He had nearly offended the guy! "Ahem, nothing much! Bai Junsheng came to challenge Zhu Hongliang's Shanhai demon, and they're fighting right now!" Su Yu had already spotted the scene. Fighting? Fighting, my foot! He saw the chubby, rounded demon beast squatting on the ground, chewing on a stalk of emerald bamboo. Beside it stood Zhu Hongliang, looking triumphant and cocky. In front of the beast, Bai Junsheng was hammering away with furious punches. Yet no matter how hard he pounded, the beast didn't react in the slightest. Occasionally, it would lift its head and cast a curious glance at him, as if silently complaining: *Why is your massage so weak?* Bai Junsheng was drenched in sweat and red-faced with frustration. After Su Yu watched for a moment, Bai Junsheng suddenly cursed, "Screw this! Zhu Hongliang, if you have the guts, fight me one-on-one! What kind of skill is hiding behind this meat shield?" "It's my tamed beast, and I'm a beast tamer! If I don't use my beast, am I supposed to brawl with you with my own hands?" "Exactly!" The surrounding students erupted in laughter. "Bai Junsheng, is our Beast Taming faction supposed to fight hand-to-hand like you divine character students? What would be the point of having a Beast Taming faction then!" "Right! Bai Junsheng, you've already reached Tengkong in the physical path, yet you can't even break a single hair on Hanpangzi. What are you even fighting for?" "Yeah, nobody expected you to win! If you could snap just one of Hanpangzi's hairs, that would count as an achievement!" "Hahaha, he can't even break a single strand!" "……" The crowd roared with laughter. Bai Junsheng had broken through to Tengkong in his physical body, but at a civilization academy, people didn't care much about physical cultivation. In the civilization path, he was still in the Yangxing Realm, making him an ordinary Yangxing student. Naturally, the crowd showed no mercy in mocking him. Lacking the dignified bearing of a Tengkong expert, Bai Junsheng fumed, "If you're all so capable, you try! This Hanpangzi's hide is so thick, who could possibly make a dent?" As he spoke, the bamboo-chewing Iron-Eater glanced up at him, then turned its back and continued munching. Its posture practically said: *Beat this granddaddy's back and don't stop!* Bai Junsheng's face turned black as coal! Pointless! Beating Zhu Hongliang himself was always satisfying, but ever since Bai Junsheng broke through to Tengkong, Zhu Hongliang refused to duel him directly, hiding behind this Iron-Eater every time. His fists were swollen from punching, yet he hadn't managed to harm a single hair on the beast. It was terrifying! …… Outside the crowd, Su Yu studied the Iron-Eater for a while. Wu Lan's eyes lit up with delight. "It looks so fun! Way more fun than the little fur ball!" Women, hah! Su Yu was speechless. Fun? As he stared at the beast, he felt not the slightest amusement—only a deep tremor of unease. So strong! It wasn't as if he had never seen Shanhai demons before; the One-Eyed demon and the others were all at that level. Yet this Iron-Eater gave him an intensely dangerous impression, belying its cuddly appearance. In his sea of will, the divine character "Calamity" pulsed rhythmically. Danger! By now, Su Yu had discovered a unique trait of the "Calamity" character: it could intimidate enemies, but it could also warn him of looming danger and tribulations! The creature before him radiated genuine peril. Zhu Hongliang tamed this thing? Nonsense! More like this thing had tamed Zhu Hongliang! The Zhu family certainly knew how to play. This beast was almost certainly a Dao Protector assigned to Zhu Hongliang by Zhu Tiandao, just like Xia Wen and Xia Wu guarding Xia Huyou. In terms of raw strength, those two Xia protectors might not even match this great demon. While Su Yu was examining the Iron-Eater, the creature turned its head and glanced back at him. With a dismissive look, it ignored him and went back to chewing bamboo. At that moment, Zhu Hongliang spotted Su Yu and greeted him with a broad grin. "Su Yu! What brings you here? Looking for me?" Hearing the name, Bai Junsheng looked over and opened his mouth, but clamped it shut immediately. He had wanted to shout "Eldest Nephew," but thought better of it, fearing a beating. Su Yu clearly despised that title. In Bai Junsheng's view, Su Yu was simply in denial—if Su Yu called his cousin Teacher, calling him Martial Uncle was only right! The other students also turned around upon hearing Su Yu's name. Seeing Su Yu in person, their curious, gawking gazes focused on him once again. Su Yu smiled casually, not minding the attention. "Your Highness, could we find a quiet place to chat?" "Sure! Hanpangzi, let's go!" He called out to the Iron-Eater. The beast kept eating, lumbered to its feet, and ambled alongside him toward Su Yu. Bai Junsheng tried to tag along, but Zhu Hongliang shooed him away with a barrage of sarcastic remarks. …… A short while later, Su Yu and Zhu Hongliang arrived at a small pavilion. The academy had plenty of such resting spots. The Iron-Eater plopped down and resumed eating. Wu Lan, remarkably bold, wandered over to poke and play with the creature. Su Yu glanced her way, and Zhu Hongliang chuckled. "Don't worry, Hanpangzi doesn't hurt people. Of course, nobody can hurt it either." Su Yu nodded, turned toward the Iron-Eater, and said with a smile, "Senior, can you speak the Common Language?" "It can't!" Zhu Hongliang said helplessly, "Hanpangzi is pretty dumb. No matter how much I teach it, it doesn't learn. I gave up. It understands us, but it's just too lazy to talk. I don't even know if it really can't speak or just refuses to." More likely, it just couldn't be bothered to talk to you! Su Yu suspected that the Zhu family had subdued the beast, and it simply didn't care to converse with Zhu Hongliang, content to serve quietly as a Dao Protector. Not dwelling on it, Zhu Hongliang smiled. "Su Yu, what did you need me for?" Su Yu considered his words and said, "The Iron-Eater race possesses invincible defense. I'm approaching the point of physical breakthrough to Tengkong, so I wanted to see how your race casts its body." "That's useless. Even if you knew their cultivation art, you couldn't use it. Body casting depends on apertures, and their apertures aren't in the same places as ours." "That's fine, just for reference." Su Yu smiled and looked back at the Iron-Eater, which hadn't stopped eating for a second. "Senior, are you in the Shanhai Realm?" The Iron-Eater cut its eyes at him, then turned its back. *Up to no good. Ignored!* Su Yu was speechless. *Am I really that unlikable? People usually love me!* Putting on an even warmer, gentler smile, Su Yu said, "Senior, does your race have any younger generation members here in the Great Ming Prefecture? Would it be convenient to lend me a drop of blood essence for research? Of course, I wouldn't take it for free. How about exchanging it for blood essence from the Primordial God Race or Primordial Demon Race?" Beside them, Zhu Hongliang gulped. *I want that! Even I don't have that!* "If that's not enough, I can add more..." Zhu Hongliang had to cut in. "Nope. He's the only one of his kind here. There aren't any other little Iron-Eaters." Su Yu felt a pang of regret. He couldn't absorb the blood essence of a Shanhai demon directly, so it seemed he would have to abandon the idea. Just then, Wu Lan, who had vanished into the bushes at some point, emerged carrying a tiny, round, roly-poly creature. She squealed in delight, "Su Yu, what is this? I've never seen one before! It's so cute!" Su Yu glanced over and froze. Zhu Hongliang looked too and remarked offhandedly, "Huh? One of Big Round Ball's cubs? How'd it wander over here..." He looked completely indifferent. Su Yu, however, recalled the news from the day he first entered the academy—everyone had rushed off to watch Big Round Ball give birth. She had birthed three cubs! That day, it had been massive news, completely overshadowing Su Yu's arrival and the incident where a vice head had their legs broken before even entering the gates. Su Yu felt a daze coming over him, and what made him even more dazed... at first glance, the cub looked instinctively familiar. He turned his gaze toward the Iron-Eater. The Iron-Eater happened to be staring back at Su Yu. Their eyes locked! Su Yu's jaw dropped. *Holy crap!* He had thought there was a resemblance a moment ago. Looking at the tiny thing Wu Lan was holding, then at the Iron-Eater, and back to the little bear cub... *No way!* *Yours?!* The Iron-Eater stared at Su Yu with wide eyes, and Su Yu stared back. A silent exchange passed between them. Seeming unable to endure Su Yu's gaze, the Iron-Eater lowered its head and went back to eating. *Stop guessing! I deny everything! How could a majestic divine Iron-Eater like me hook up with that Big Round Ball?* Plenty of people had been wondering who the father of Big Round Ball's cubs was. It couldn't possibly admit it. "Awoo!" The chubby little beast in Wu Lan's hands let out a soft yelp, squirmed free from her grip, and tumbled to the ground. Less than a month old, it wobbled unsteadily toward the Iron-Eater. Reaching the Iron-Eater's side, it clambered onto the larger beast's body, scrambled for a moment, and attempted to chew on the Iron-Eater's bamboo stalk. Zhu Hongliang hadn't paid much attention at first, but now his eyes blinked rapidly. What was going on? You could hit Hanpangzi all you wanted and it wouldn't care, but if you tried to steal its food, it would fly into a rage. What was happening today? Su Yu stared at Zhu Hongliang, speechless for a long time. "Did you... not notice anything?" "……" Zhu Hongliang fell silent. After a pause, he muttered gloomily, "Wait... I've only seen Little Round Ball a couple of times. Before, it didn't look similar at all. But after not seeing it for a few days... why does it look different? Those circles around its eyes... why the hell are they dark?!" They hadn't been there before! Zhu Hongliang looked resentfully at the Iron-Eater. The little ball was still wrestling for the bamboo, while the Iron-Eater said nothing, placidly eating its own meal. "Hanpangzi... can you really not hide it anymore?" Zhu Hongliang grumbled, "This... is getting a bit too obvious! You've got... peculiar tastes! You actually fell for Big Round Ball? No wonder you kept sneaking off during that time!" The Iron-Eater continued eating, completely ignoring him as if deaf. "Stop pretending! You're still trying to hide it? The dark eye circles are already showing! Damn it, once everyone finds out in a few days, the whole academy will be laughing at you—and laughing at me!" Zhu Hongliang wailed, "Everyone's still guessing who the father is, and holy crap, it's you!" The Iron-Eater turned its head, looked at him, then down at the little ball climbing over it. Blinking, it shook its head. Total denial! The next instant, its paw brushed across the little creature's face. In the blink of an eye, the faint dark circles vanished without a trace! *No evidence now, huh!* Su Yu nearly burst out laughing! Zhu Hongliang slapped his forehead in exasperation. "There are two more! You might fool people for a moment, but can you fool them forever? Hanpangzi, you're something else!" Su Yu stifled his laughter, but as he looked at the little ball, his eyes flickered. Could this little guy's blood essence contain a body casting art? Was it an innate skill, or a foundational technique? If it was an innate skill, that would be extraordinary. If it was a body casting technique, would this little cub even know it? If not, could it even be passed down through blood essence? As he pondered, a chill suddenly ran down his spine. Looking up, he saw the Iron-Eater glaring at him, its expression shifting into something distinctly ferocious. Su Yu hurried to say, "Senior, don't be nervous! I bear no ill intent!" After a brief hesitation, Su Yu said aloud, "Senior, may I ask a question? Is your race's formidable physical strength an innate skill, or the result of subsequent body casting? If it's a body casting art, could you impart a portion of it to me? Of course, I won't let you suffer any loss. Name any condition you wish..." Pausing, he glanced at the bear cub and added, "This little guy was born in the Human Realm. In the Human Realm, creatures grow from weak to strong rather than being born powerful. They lack certain things—like the nourishment of heavenly origin qi... If you agree, Senior, we can negotiate. For instance... I can provide some heavenly origin qi for this little one. Otherwise, its future prospects might fall far short of yours." At these words, the Iron-Eater's gaze shifted slightly. It looked at Su Yu without making a sound. Zhu Hongliang gasped in surprise. "You have heavenly origin fruit? You're loaded! Even I only had one when I was little, and my grandfather acted like it took ten years off his life. Honestly, it's not super expensive—the listed price is only two or three thousand merit points... The real problem is that there simply aren't any!" He sighed. The fruit wasn't impossibly costly, but it was exceptionally rare. In truth, spending two to three thousand merit points just to lay a foundation in the Kaiyuan Realm was already staggering. Major clans usually kept a few in reserve. The Zhu family might still have some, but they had to hoard them. The fruit provided massive benefits to the younger generation and couldn't be used frivolously. As for feeding them to a few Iron-Eater cubs—that was out of the question. Unless, of course, the Iron-Eater went and demanded them. The Iron-Eater looked at Su Yu, then down at the little ball still climbing on its back. A moment later, a muffled voice echoed directly in Su Yu's mind: *Heavenly origin qi... you have it?* Su Yu's eyes lit up! As expected, how could a Shanhai demon not know the Common Language? In fact, this wasn't even the Common Language—it was the human tongue! Who knew how many years this Iron-Eater had lived among humans? Of course it knew how to speak! It simply couldn't be bothered to talk to Zhu Hongliang. Su Yu quickly transmitted back: *Senior, is your race's physical might an innate skill or a body casting art?* *An innate skill. The innate skill is the body casting art, and the body casting art is the innate skill. My race has no need to cast bodies!* Su Yu was inwardly startled. So that was how it worked! The body casting art was an innate skill! Incredible! *Senior, this little guy is still young and weak. Extracting a drop of blood essence will certainly drain its vitality... However, precisely because it's so young, losing a drop won't cause irreparable harm and can easily be replenished! Heavenly origin qi will definitely restore it and even strengthen its foundation. From what I understand, an Iron-Eater should be born in the Qianjun or even Wanshi Realm, yet this little one is still in the Kaiyuan Realm... its opening apertures are blocked!* The Iron-Eater remained silent. They were indeed blocked! The Human Realm lacked heavenly origin qi. Back in the territory of the divine Iron-Eaters, there was an area rich with heavenly origin qi where cubs were always birthed, allowing them to naturally open all nine apertures upon birth. Here, that was impossible. After a hesitation, the Iron-Eater's voice sounded in Su Yu's mind again: *How much will you give? All three cubs must have their opening apertures cleared. Blood essence... I'll give you a drop of mine. The cub is too small; its blood essence is useless, even for body casting.* *No, Senior, your blood essence is too powerful. I cannot dissect it. I need to conduct research, which requires separating the blood essence...* Su Yu quickly added, *Rest assured, Senior. With sufficient heavenly origin qi, any loss will be fully restored. If this little one contributes a drop of blood essence, I can provide even more heavenly origin qi for it!* *Bring it out for me to see!* "……" Su Yu was caught flat-footed. He didn't have any on hand right now; how could he produce it? *Senior, I didn't bring it with me today. How about this: in a few days, I'll bring it to trade with you... What do you think?* The Iron-Eater looked down at the little ball and transmitted, *You insist on the cub's? You'd pass up Shanhai blood essence for Kaiyuan blood essence?* The Iron-Eater couldn't fathom this human. As for dissecting it... if you can't do it yourself, find someone else to dissect it for you. It had heard of the multiple divine character faction crafting innate blood essence, but couldn't they use Shanhai blood essence? Come to think of it, it seemed true—it had never heard of that faction producing Shanhai-tier innate blood essence. Su Yu hurriedly transmitted, *Senior, rest easy. As long as there is enough heavenly origin qi, losing a single drop of blood essence won't cause lasting harm. As a Shanhai expert, you surely know I speak the truth.* Under normal circumstances, losing one or two drops of blood essence was no big deal. At worst, it caused temporary depletion that several months of rest would cure. If it were truly lethal, the Suanni and the others would have perished long ago! Of course, consecutive extractions had damaged those beasts' foundations, and they were only slowly recovering now. *Fine then... But if you dare trick me...* The Iron-Eater glanced at Su Yu without speaking aloud. With a sharp crack, the bamboo stalk in its hand drove straight into the ground. The hard earth was pierced through as easily as tofu. Su Yu gave a dry laugh. Zhu Hongliang hadn't heard the transmission, but he saw the action and couldn't help asking, "Hanpangzi, are you talking to Su Yu?" Silence! The Iron-Eater ignored him. Zhu Hongliang complained bitterly, "I'm your master, not him! You can talk, can't you?" "Damn it, playing dumb again! Believe it or not, I'll expose you! I'll tell everyone you hooked up with Big Round Ball!" The Iron-Eater cast him a sidelong glance, completely unfazed. It pulled out the bamboo stalk and resumed eating. *Go ahead and tell them. Let's see who's more embarrassed!* Zhu Hongliang was at a loss. He had only been bluffing. How could he spread such a humiliating scandal? Helpless, he looked at Su Yu. "Did Hanpangzi speak? Did you two make some kind of deal?" Su Yu smiled. "Not at all. Your Highness is overthinking it!" Zhu Hongliang snorted. *Who are you kidding!* Meanwhile, Wu Lan ignored both of them and dove back into the bushes. Moments later, she returned carrying a second little ball, beaming with delight. "Chubby Number Two! Su Yu, this is so fun. Why don't we stop keeping the Suanni and raise this instead?" "The Suanni's armor is way too prickly, but this little ball is so fluffy and adorable!" "……" *Raise it? Careful its father doesn't rip you to shreds!* Su Yu glanced at the Iron-Eater. The beast made no sound and paid no heed, continuing to eat. A moment later, however, its paw casually and "accidentally" wiped away the dark circles on Chubby Number Two as well! There was still a Number Three. Su Yu figured it wouldn't be long before the evidence was erased from that one too! He didn't dwell on it, feeling quite pleased inside. Heavenly origin qi... he had to get his hands on it and trade for a drop of Iron-Eater blood essence. An innate skill that doubled as a body casting art—this was his first time encountering such a thing, and it was bound to be extraordinary. His only worry was... whether the little ball was purebred! Would it still work if it wasn't pure? Big Round Ball was clearly not an Iron-Eater. Without dwelling further, since he didn't have the goods yet, more talk was useless. But now that the Iron-Eater had agreed, the path was clear. If worse came to worst, he could find a way to trade for some heavenly origin fruits; the major clans ought to have some. After chatting idly with Zhu Hongliang for a bit—Zhu Hongliang was still wallowing in grief over Hanpangzi giving him the cold shoulder—Wu Lan brought back the third little ball. After playing with them for a short while, she heartlessly tossed all three cubs aside, having had her fill of fun. As for her earlier suggestion of raising one, she had completely forgotten about it. Turning to Su Yu, she asked, "Su Yu, are we still going to Baidao Pavilion?" "We are!" Su Yu answered. Looking at the three abandoned cubs, he sighed inwardly. The little fur ball received the exact same treatment: picked up to play with whenever she remembered, then tossed aside once she got bored. What a heartless woman! Beside them, Zhu Hongliang pushed his sorrow aside and asked eagerly, "Su Yu, you're going to challenge Baidao Pavilion?" "Just going to take a look." "How many floors do you think you can clear?" Zhu Hongliang's interest was piqued instantly. "The Yangxing limit is Floor 20, and Tengkong is Floor 40. I've cleared Floor 19 while still in Yangxing. Pretty impressive, huh?" "You haven't reached the limit?" Zhu Hongliang grinned. "Just a bit short of the limit, but getting close. My path is beast taming, and Floor 20 is a trap. It forces me to face a berserk early Tengkong demon beast alone, and I only pass if I subdue it! It's supposed to be beast taming, yet I still have to fight. If you don't beat the creature down first, it's almost impossible to tame!" "Beast taming?" Su Yu nodded slightly. That was indeed difficult! At Floor 20, asking a Yangxing beast tamer to subdue a berserk Tengkong demon beast was an enormous test. Clearing it would put one squarely in the monstrous genius tier—perhaps even beyond monstrous, fighting across major realms relative to the beast taming path. That was equivalent to a divine character master slaying a Tengkong while in Yangxing! Su Yu's interest flared. "Then let's go check it out. Are divine character masters tested primarily through combat?" "Pretty much." Zhu Hongliang was eager as well. "Come on, let's go together! Su Yu, your combat strength is probably around Eighth or Ninth Layer Tengkong, right? In that case, you have a solid chance of reaching around Floor 35..." "Floor 35?" Su Yu smiled. "Hard to say. I heard every ten floors is a major hurdle. We'll see. My main goal is to test whether I can enter areas with rich willpower. Your Highness, which floors have the densest willpower?" "Well... generally, every multiple of ten is quite rich, and the higher you go, the denser it gets! Floor 20 is very dense. If I could take down that beast on Floor 20, I could stay there for two hours and absorb plenty of willpower, which makes opening divine apertures great." "Taking Floor 30 lets you stay for three hours, and the willpower is even richer—not inferior to Great Xia's Sea of Consciousness Mystic Realm. After all, that Sea of Consciousness Mystic Realm was only left behind by a peak Sun Moon expert, whereas this Baidao Pavilion was jointly crafted by my great-grandfather and several Invincible Civilization Masters!" A hint of pride colored his voice as he spoke. The Great Xia Prefecture possessed powerful mystic realms, while Great Ming didn't have nearly as many... There was no helping it; fewer Sun Moon Civilization Masters died here. What were they supposed to do, execute their own Sun Moons? They had to find solutions through other means! Great Xia having many wasn't something to brag about—it only meant too many of their powerful Civilization Masters had died. And Baidao Pavilion was Great Ming's crowning masterpiece! Su Yu smiled without replying further. Soon, they walked toward Baidao Pavilion. The structure was quite prominent, towering high into the sky and comparable to Great Xia's Xiuxin Pavilion. Could he reach Floor 40? That was the dividing line between Tengkong and Lingyun! Of course, if it purely tested willpower, it might prove somewhat difficult. It depended on how Baidao Pavilion conducted its evaluations. Su Yu had read numerous descriptions, but tests varied from person to person without a single definitive standard. Different Civilization Masters walked different paths, facing different trials and seeing different phenomena. After walking for a bit, they arrived before the tall tower. Rather than a pavilion, it resembled an immense pagoda! Beneath the tower, people bustled to and fro, quite lively. Unlike Great Xia's Top 100 Building, which typically saw only students, teachers here frequently came and went from Baidao Pavilion as well. This place could evaluate even Sun Moon experts. At the base stood an enormous crystal monument. On the very first line, there was only a single name! *Floor 100: Ye Batian!* Su Yu felt a sudden wave of emotion. The Fifth Generation Head—by lineage, his martial great-grandmaster—had left his mark here as well! Peerless and unique! At Floor 100, he stood completely alone. Beside him, Zhu Hongliang gazed at the name with reverence. "Ye Batian... the only Sun Moon ever to reach Floor 100! My great-grandfather and the other Invincibles don't run Baidao Pavilion. Aside from Ye Batian, no one has ever reached the top. My great-grandfather once said that anyone who can reach Floor 100 is effectively already an Invincible..." Su Yu sighed softly, then looked down at the second line. *Floor 99: Zhou Polong, Xia Chen* Su Yu paused slightly. He knew Zhou Polong, but Xia Chen... a member of the Xia family? He had never heard of him! He turned toward Zhu Hongliang, who noticed his look and asked, "What's up?" "Floor 99..." "Oh, Xia Chen and Zhou Polong? You should know both of them, right?" "I don't know Xia Chen..." Zhu Hongliang gave him an odd look before finally saying, "Well, I suppose that makes sense. Probably nobody mentions his personal name anymore. He's from the Xia family, essentially King Daxia's brother, though apparently not by blood... That's not important. He's what your Great Xia Prefecture calls the First Generation Head... the First Generation Head of the Civilization Academy!" "The creator of the Sea of Consciousness Mystic Realm!" "……" Su Yu was stunned! The First Generation Head! No wonder he didn't know the name. In Great Xia, people rarely used his personal name, referring to him instead by honorable titles like the Academy's First Generation Head or the Founding Head. From the multiple divine character faction! A member of the Xia family? Su Yu was taken aback. The Xia family? Then again, quite a few members of the Xia family seemed tied to the multiple divine character faction. If he recalled correctly, both Xia Longwu and Marquis Xia had reportedly joined the faction at some point—though that was just an offhand remark Bai Feng had made, and Su Yu didn't know if it was true. The First Generation Head had cleared Floor 99? Baidao Pavilion had been built during the founding era, so it was natural for the First Generation Head to have challenged it. But Zhou Polong... could he truly compare to the First Generation Head? Su Yu felt another surge of cognitive dissonance. He had a poor impression of the Zhou family. He knew who Zhou Polong was, but in his mind, the man was far from comparable to the First Generation Head. Yet... Zhou Polong's name appeared right alongside the First Generation Head, second only to the Fifth Generation! "Is Floor 99 really that impressive?" Su Yu murmured. Zhu Hongliang bared his teeth. "Of course! It means reaching the absolute pinnacle of the Sun Moon Realm! Don't you see there are only two of them? The Fifth Generation Head was practically an Invincible in disguise! Put it this way: anyone who reaches Floor 95 or above is generally at Ninth Layer Sun Moon. My grandfather... Floor 95!" He sounded somewhat disheartened; his grandfather had only barely met the standard. Looking closer, Su Yu indeed spotted Zhu Tiandao's name. *Floor 95: ...Zhu Tiandao...* Sandwiched in the middle, Floor 95 had quite a few names, not just Zhu Tiandao. Su Yu was surprised. Zhu Tiandao was only on Floor 95? By comparison, Zhou Polong was remarkably formidable. Scanning downward, there were many names, growing more numerous the further down the list went. However, below Floor 80, each tier displayed a maximum of one hundred names. The crystal monument was vast, but a hundred names per floor wasn't too crowded. Zhu Hongliang chuckled. "This basically serves as our academy's Top 100 Rankings. Count the top hundred names below Floor 20, and that's the Yangxing Top 100!" Pointing at Floor 19, he grinned. "I'm on there, see? There are only eight people on Floor 20. Tengkong students who haven't reached Floor 21 don't count, and those who cleared Floor 21 move up, so right now there are only eight people listed there!" Indeed, at every multiple of ten, names were sparse. Particularly at 20, 40, and 60, only a handful appeared, representing those who had pushed that realm to its utmost limit. Su Yu exhaled, gazing at the names with a sense of awe. Ye Batian, Zhou Polong, Xia Chen... In this moment, he suddenly felt so close to these legendary figures, a feeling he had never experienced back in Great Xia. In the past, these figures had walked Baidao Pavilion just like this! This only underscored how extraordinary Baidao Pavilion truly was. Even someone like the Fifth Generation Head had come to challenge it. Su Yu realized he had underestimated Baidao Pavilion before; no wonder the people of Great Ming spoke of it with such immense pride. At that moment, Wu Lan exclaimed in surprise, "When did my sister come here? Her name is up on Floor 49! Is it someone with the same name?" Wu Qi, Floor 49! She had only recently entered Lingyun! A genius in the Great Xia Prefecture remained a genius even here. Floors above 50 were generally the domain of Seventh Layer Lingyun experts, yet Wu Qi was only at First or Second Layer Lingyun. Su Yu grew increasingly excited. Even Wu Qi had been willing to make the run; this place was truly remarkable. Wu Qi had likely challenged it during her last visit. Wu Lan was in the dark, but Su Yu knew. Hearing Wu Lan's question, Su Yu chuckled dryly. "Probably just someone with the same name!" There was only a name without specific details, so he decided not to tell her. No need to crush her self-esteem! Her sister had reached Floor 49, while could Wu Lan even reach Floor 19? Pathetic creature! Wu Lan nodded, taking him at his word. It made sense; her sister had just entered Lingyun and was currently fighting on the All-Heavens Battlefield, so she wouldn't have time to visit. Even if she did, she probably wouldn't reach Floor 49.