Tengkong on the Horizon

Inside the laboratory, Su Yu brought over Little Round Ball Number Two. He repeated the same routine: feeding it, then drawing its blood. Sure enough, this race was just like that. Give them food, and everything went smoothly. When it came to drawing blood, the cub was extraordinarily docile without making any fuss. Of course, once the blood was drawn, it looked at Su Yu expectantly. It had probably compared notes with Number One and felt that a single sweet was not enough—it wanted two. Su Yu popped in another fake apple to replenish its nutrients. Otherwise, if the silly fatty found out he had taken an extra drop of blood essence, she might throw a fit. Having secured the second drop of blood essence, Su Yu wasted no time and hurried back to the cultivation room. He swallowed the blood essence and activated the innate skill. Seventy-Two Castings! The instant the innate skill activated, Su Yu sensed it with great care. Inside his body, one hundred and fifty-two apertures radiated faint energy. It was not Heaven Yuan Qi, just an ordinary dispersion of yuan qi. Soon, the energy vanished. There was no helping it; the Kaiyuan Realm cub was simply too weak. Yet Su Yu was in no mood to dwell on that, completely plunged into shock. This Iron-Eater Beast race... their innate skill opened one hundred and fifty-two apertures?! Holy crap! Divine Transformation, the innate skill of the Primordial God Race, also opened one hundred and fifty-two apertures. Of course, Divine Transformation was an offensive technique, whereas the Iron-Eater Beast's was a body-casting talent. Even so, both stood at the absolute pinnacle! Su Yu was utterly astounded. What did this signify? It meant that the Iron-Eater Beasts were actually on the same tier as the Primordial God Race and the Primordial Demon Race! "An ancient race..." Su Yu muttered. The Iron-Eater Beasts were undoubtedly an ancient race. And so was the little fur ball! These ancient races possessed strength and innate talent no weaker than those of the Primordial God Race or the Primordial Demon Race. At least, that was true for both the little fur ball and these Iron-Eater Beasts. It was just that each had chosen a different path of development! The little fur ball specialized in targeting the sea of will and divine characters. The Iron-Eater Beasts excelled in a peerless body-casting method and sheer defensive power. The god race's Divine Transformation was an incomparably formidable offensive combat technique, and Demon Descent of the Primordial Demon Race was an offensive technique as well. In Su Yu's eyes, all these races belonged to roughly the same echelon! "The power of one hundred and fifty-two apertures, drawing Heaven Yuan Qi through them to cast the body... They've been automatically casting their bodies from childhood. It would be strange if they weren't terrifyingly strong!" Su Yu clicked his tongue in wonder. Seventy-Two Castings. Judging purely by the physical body, an Iron-Eater Beast at the same stage should be stronger than gods and demons. However, their other innate skills probably were not top-tier, and were likely inferior to those of the Primordial Demon Race and the Primordial God Race. Even though the cub was too weak and its blood essence lacked sufficient power, Su Yu had already memorized the one hundred and fifty-two apertures opened by the skill. By circulating his energy according to the Iron-Eater Beast race's method, casting his body seventy-two times should be entirely feasible. "I can give it a preliminary try..." Recalling the sensation from moments ago, Su Yu began circulating the body-casting method. One hundred and fifty-two apertures began devouring energy, drawing in yuan qi. But because he was not using Heaven Yuan Qi, completing a single casting at this pace would take an unknown length of time. Without hesitation, Su Yu swiftly brought out some Heaven Yuan Qi and began absorbing it. Once he completed the first casting, he would officially step into the Tengkong Realm. Of course, completing a single casting was no simple matter. Casting the body meant reforging the entire body's sinews, bones, flesh, and blood. Only when the whole body underwent a complete metamorphosis would it count as one casting. Heaven Yuan Qi was consumed in vast quantities. The Heaven Yuan Qi he had extracted from his previously purchased blood essence vanished rapidly. Meanwhile, the pores across Su Yu's skin gradually began to contract. A faint golden hue surfaced across his flesh. Su Yu's eyes flickered slightly. He directed the Heaven Yuan Qi toward his right hand, intending to test casting just his hand first to see how much its power would increase. His stored Heaven Yuan Qi dwindled lower and lower. On Su Yu's right hand, the skin began to gleam with a golden radiance. After quite a while, Su Yu halted. Frowning slightly, he realized that casting the body was exceptionally slow. To complete a single casting would take at least a month or so! Yet he aimed for Seventy-Two Castings. The further along he went, the slower it would become. At this rate, it would take him five or six years just to finish casting his physical body. "It's still a matter of insufficient Heaven Yuan Qi... If the entire secret room were flooded with Heaven Yuan Qi, allowing me to live in that environment, I should be able to finish the first casting very quickly." Each completion boosted overall strength by ten percent. That was where the might of body casting lay. Su Yu made a rough estimate: sinews, bones, flesh, and blood—even with ample Heaven Yuan Qi, finishing one casting in under ten to fifteen days would be difficult. Seventy-two castings would take at least two to three years. Yet the growth in strength... Su Yu inhaled sharply. Seventy-Two Castings. If every single casting truly yielded a ten percent increase, what did that entail? His current strength came from just nine fused apertures, yet it was comparable to eighteen hundred apertures in the Qianjun Realm. Casting the body seventy-two times meant multiplying by 1.1 to the seventy-second power... Su Yu's mind worked rapidly, arriving at a jaw-dropping number: roughly 955 times! In other words, by the time he finished casting his body, his strength would surge to the equivalent of 1.72 million apertures?! Su Yu swallowed hard and muttered, "Let's say a Primordial God or Demon opens 144 apertures. At the ninth stage of the Wanshi Realm, with 16 apertures fused into one, their final strength is roughly 400 apertures. In the Tengkong Realm, thirty-six castings would multiply their power by roughly thirty-one times, bringing them to about 12,400 apertures! And the Lingyun Nine Transformations... how much strength does each yuan qi transformation grant?" Su Yu calculated the figures in disbelief. Could it really be that terrifying? After Seventy-Two Castings, his strength would be roughly two hundred times that of an ordinary peer from the Primordial God Race or Primordial Demon Race at the same stage. His foundation was simply too immense! He had opened three hundred and sixty apertures! If he truly achieved Seventy-Two Castings, it would be utterly monstrous. Crushing peers from the Primordial God and Demon races would be effortless. Multiplying one's strength by two hundred times did not merely mean fighting two hundred opponents at once! "I don't yet know how much each transformation of the Lingyun Realm adds..." Regardless, according to Su Yu's calculations, the very strongest gods and demons would reach a strength of around ten thousand apertures at the ninth stage of the Tengkong Realm. That was already formidable enough, and Su Yu was still far from it right now. He only possessed eighteen hundred apertures of strength! The disparity was massive! He then calculated the figures for a Tengkong cultivator who had opened thirty-six apertures and undergone nine castings. That was roughly the weakest sort of Tengkong cultivator. Anyone with fewer than thirty-six apertures could hardly reach the Tengkong Realm in the first place. Doing the math made Su Yu wince. Theoretically, when such a person reached the ninth stage of the Tengkong Realm, they would only possess the power of about one hundred and twenty apertures. In reality, they might be slightly stronger since weaker foundations were easier to boost, but at most, it would cap out at two hundred apertures. In other words, the weakest ninth-stage Tengkong cultivator possessed a mere two hundred apertures of strength. Meanwhile, the strongest ninth-stage Tengkong cultivators of the Primordial God and Primordial Demon races possessed a staggering 12,400 apertures of strength! The gap! A disparity of more than sixty times! No wonder everyone said gods and demons were terrifying! "A ninth-stage Tengkong with only two hundred apertures of strength... I've never actually met one. Do they really exist?" Su Yu fell into deep thought. Could such a Tengkong cultivator truly exist? That was far too pitiful! Right now, he could probably swat one to death with a single slap! His explosive power was nine times greater than theirs; it would be a miracle if he couldn't kill them with a single blow! At the same time, he had slightly underestimated the gods and demons. Naturally, there were strong and weak individuals among them as well. Even within the Primordial God and Demon races, not everyone could open one hundred and forty-four apertures, fuse sixteen into one, and undergo thirty-six body castings. Theoretically, only the absolute top ninth-stage Tengkong experts of their races could unleash over ten thousand apertures of strength. As for Su Yu, he would likely need to complete around twenty body castings to match them. With eight castings per minor stage, that meant reaching the third stage of the Tengkong Realm! "By this calculation, I need to reach the third stage of Tengkong before I can truly fight top-tier ninth-stage Tengkong gods and demons!" "Do the Primordial God and Demon races even have individuals like that?" He was not entirely sure! In any case, once he reached the third stage of the Tengkong Realm, he would truly be invincible within the realm! He would sweep through the Tengkong Realm across the all-heavens! To think the disparity among peers across the all-heavens and myriad races was this vast. At this moment, Su Yu deeply understood why small races found it so hard to rise. With such a chasm, how could they ever rise? A Tengkong cultivator with thirty-six apertures was shockingly weak. Su Yu had never thought about it carefully before. Thinking through it today, he felt a wave of pity. *My dad hasn't broken through to Tengkong with the Xia family's help, has he?* *Please, no!* *Open more apertures!* Even after nine castings, a thirty-six-aperture Tengkong cultivator would be pitifully weak. Right now, Su Yu could crush one with a single finger! *** While Su Yu was feeling pity for his father... The All-Heavens Battlefield. The Demon Suppression Army. Su Long's thousand-man guard had not been assigned any missions lately and was resting in the rear. Everyone in the unit understood that this was meant to keep Su Long off the front lines. The news had completely spread. Su Long's son, Su Yu, had fled the Great Xia Prefecture and entered the Great Ming Prefecture. Furthermore, the Great Xia Prefecture had issued orders to guarantee Su Long's safety. Under such circumstances, they naturally could not let him remain on the front lines. High-ranking figures from the Demon Suppression Army had already come to discuss whether Su Long would step back to the eastern combat zone—the rear base camp of the human race—to take up a logistics post. Inside the tent. As always, Su Long was laughing heartily and chatting with his comrades. "I told you all my son was incredible, but none of you believed me. Do you believe me now?" "We believe you..." Their tones were somewhat complicated. They believed him, all right. Yet his son... had fled to the Great Ming Prefecture. After laughing for a while, Su Long stopped boasting. He fell silent for a moment before speaking up. "Brothers, I'm getting ready to leave! I'm heading to the base camp in the rear to work! Staying here will only hold everyone back and burden the Demon Suppression Army! Right now, the army even has to assign experts just to protect me..." With that, Su Long grinned. "I don't have that much face! I'm not going to cause trouble for everyone. The commander said that with me here, you won't be safe either. Forget it, I'd hate for you all to suffer on my account. My son is famous across the myriad races now—truly impressive!" "He's made a name for himself, but it's made things troublesome for his old man. That brat never lets anyone rest easy, dragging his father into the mess!" Su Long sighed. A veteran chuckled and said, "Look at you, still bragging even now! Your son is incredible, not you! Old Su, go on then. It's not like we'll never see each other again! You're going to the base camp, not back to the Great Xia Prefecture, right?" "I'm not going back!" Su Long shook his head. "If I go back, I might just cause trouble for my son. At the base camp, King Daqin and the others might come inspect the place from time to time, making it much safer. But going back to the Human Realm, back to Great Xia... who knows if it's safe or not?" He curled his lip. He was not stupid. If he truly returned to the Great Xia Prefecture, it might be even less safe than staying here. Unless he went to the Great Ming Prefecture to seek shelter with his son, but thinking about that... felt awkward. Forget it, he would just go to the base camp and handle some odd jobs. "Originally, I wanted to earn a future on the front lines, forge a path for my son... Now it seems there's no need! I'm getting older, so heading back is fine too." Su Long chuckled. "Once I'm gone, don't miss me too much! I feel like I'm close to reaching Tengkong. Once I break through, the next time I inspect the front lines, you'll all have to call me 'My Lord'!" "Hurry up and get lost!" Old Liu, who was always bantering with him, laughed. "Get as far away as you can! With you around, I was worried someone would take my head one of these days! It's good that you're leaving. Don't worry, whatever scum you didn't get to kill, we'll kill for you." With that, Old Liu teased, "Old Su, you're pretty pragmatic. Now that your son is famous, you don't bring up having him marry my daughter anymore!" Su Long rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Marry your daughter, my foot! My son has caught the eye of King Daming's Zhu family. Why would he look at your daughter... keep dreaming!" He cursed with a laugh, but then sighed and murmured, "It's better to keep your distance from my son. That boy is nothing but trouble; your daughter wouldn't be able to handle it." The kid had already brought down Sun Moon Realm experts! If he truly took a wife, she would either have to be powerful herself or come from a formidable background. Otherwise, she would suffer endlessly. Old Liu chuckled, taking no offense. He knew deep down that matters were far more complicated than they seemed. Old Su's son might seem renowned, but things might not end well for him. Feeling a pang of emotion, the group chatted and joked for a while longer. Su Long said no more, picked up the bundle he had prepared long ago, and rose to his feet with a sigh. "Brothers, I'm heading to the rear to handle logistics for you!" "After toiling for less than a year, I'm back to running odd jobs..." He had arrived with hot-blooded passion, but as he left, he felt somewhat empty inside. Everyone rose and saw him out of the tent. Outside, Deputy General Chen Long was already waiting. Su Long said nothing more, merely waving to those seeing him off. "I'm off! Whenever you brothers head back to rest, look me up anytime. I'll treat you well!" "Take care of yourselves, and stay safe!" After saying his goodbyes, Su Long strode away. Once they had left the thousand-man guard behind, Chen Long spoke softly from his side. "Brother Su..." "Don't call me brother!" Su Long grunted. "You're a deputy general, and I'm a thousand-man commander. You outrank me by several levels. Why are you calling me brother?" Chen Long said helplessly, "Brother, transferring you to the rear is also to protect you, to put my nephew's mind at ease. You're on the front lines, and news in the Great Xia Prefecture isn't secret. Right now, the myriad races have their eyes on you. They'd love nothing more than to kill you—not only to provoke Su Yu, but also to put Great Xia in a dilemma over whether to execute the Sun Moon experts of the Single Divine Character Faction." The Great Xia Prefecture had stated that if Su Long died, they would execute experts of the Single Divine Character Faction. If he truly died, would they actually do it? If he was killed by the myriad races, executing Sun Moon experts of the Single Divine Character Faction was easy for Marquis Xia to say, but carrying it out would be an earth-shattering ordeal! When that happened, Great Xia would be in a bind, the Single Divine Character Faction would be cornered, and Su Yu would go mad... Su Long replied crossly, "I know that. Why else would I head back? Isn't it just to avoid making things difficult for that little rascal of mine? You're well-informed; how is the kid doing right now?" "Everything is well!" "That's good. Why does that boy have to cause so much trouble? Wouldn't it be better if he just behaved and gave everyone some peace of mind..." Su Long lamented, and only after a long pause did he ask, "Xiao Chen, tell me... honestly, is the Xia family holding me as a hostage, keeping me around to control my son?" Chen Long said hurriedly, "Not at all, Brother. Don't overthink it." Su Long remained sullen and said nothing. After a long silence, he grumbled again, "What's the use of talent without enough strength? Just shouting with your mouth won't defeat anyone! I don't even know how strong that boy is right now—he probably isn't even a match for me..." He felt utterly exhausted! Chen Long hesitated for a moment before whispering, "Brother, that nephew of mine... has killed a seventh-stage Lingyun." *Aren't you feeling even slightly guilty saying that?* Su Long dismissed it casually. "I know. I heard people say he used some innate blood essence to do it. Isn't he still below Tengkong? I'm already at the sixth stage of Wanshi..." Chen Long smiled wryly again. "Brother, he's opened hundreds of apertures!" Even if he had not reached Tengkong, he was not someone you could handle. "He's my son! Even if he reaches the Shanhai Realm, would he dare strike back if I hit him?" Su Long shot him a sidelong glance and grumbled, "Aren't you a Shanhai expert? If I hit you, would you hit back?" "..." Speechless! Chen Long offered a bitter smile and fell silent. "You're pretty capable yourself. When I left, you were in the Qianjun Realm. Now, eighteen years later, you've reached Shanhai!" Su Long felt a twinge of regret. "I'm having second thoughts now. If I hadn't left back then, if I hadn't gone back home, could I have reached Shanhai after eighteen years here? If I were a Shanhai... damn it, if those bastards dared bully my boy, I'd slaughter them one by one!" "It's not too late for you to cultivate now, Brother..." "Nonsense!" Su Long cursed a few more times before quickly adding, "I need to reach Tengkong as soon as possible! I know my boy; ever since he was little, he's never been one to take a loss lying down. Sooner or later, he'll return to Great Xia! If I don't cultivate and get stronger, when that brat comes charging into the All-Heavens Battlefield to drag his father away, it'll be utterly humiliating if his old man can't even keep up!" "Brother... it won't come to that..." "Pfft, what do you know?" Su Long could not be bothered to argue. *Who knows my son better than me?* *He's been rotten to the core since childhood!* *He bears immense grudges!* If he suffered a loss, he would bottle it up, and the moment he had the ability, he would definitely find an excuse to settle the score. He had heard that this recent turmoil was tied to his teacher, to Old Liu... Su Long felt helpless. That Old Liu looked like such a dignified, respectable scholar, so how had he stirred up so much trouble? He had taught his son for five years. Knowing his son's temperament, how could he not stand up for him once he had the strength? It was only a matter of time! *That brat might really be stronger than me now. I need to reach Tengkong quickly. Once I'm in Tengkong, can he still beat me?* Su Long muttered inwardly. He had to reach Tengkong as fast as possible. Otherwise, he would have no face left! *** Great Ming Prefecture. Su Yu returned the three little round balls, each having consumed quite a bit of Heaven Yuan Qi. The silly fatty seemed very satisfied. Although she suspected Su Yu might have done something untoward, and her second cub seemed to have lost a bit of blood, she couldn't be bothered to argue with him after seeing that two of her cubs had grown noticeably plumper. She only felt pity for the third cub, which was quite a bit skinnier than the other two. Why hadn't Su Yu given the third one something to eat as well? So stingy! Su Yu had no time to worry about any of that, nor did he care what the silly fatty was thinking. For now, she was of no further use to him! At this moment, Su Yu was eagerly awaiting the arrival of Xia Huyou and the others. He needed to extract Heaven Yuan Qi and advance his physical body! *** Amidst his eager anticipation... February 17th. The delegation from the Great Xia Prefecture arrived! Great Ming Civilization Academy, Moon-Gazing Pavilion. Top floor. Marquis Xia had arrived once again. Accompanying him were Xia Huyou and three academy elders representing three major academies! The representative from the Great Xia Civilization Academy was someone familiar: Elder Qi. Su Yu was unfamiliar with the elders from the other two academies, though they were obviously not from the Single Divine Character Faction—no one wanted to cause unnecessary friction. Standing before these elders today, Su Yu did not bother with excessive pleasantries. He bowed slightly to show respect for their strength, then, without looking at the three elders, spoke directly: "Regarding the eight conditions I presented to the Marquis earlier, there are several you failed to fulfill. I asked you to preserve Martial Uncle Feng Qi's life, but you failed to do so." Marquis Xia smiled. "Feng Qi is alive, isn't he?" He continued, "We have pardoned the crimes of Bai Feng and the others. Shan Xiong will not enter the Great Xia Civilization Academy. Yuan Qingdong apologized, and when the academy raised the merit point exchange rate, Yuan Qingdong agreed to cover part of the subsidy. You will be given a divine corpse, and the Quest Realm will no longer withhold your revenue..." "All things considered, the only condition we couldn't agree to was the Sea of Consciousness Mystic Realm!" From the side, Elder Qi chimed in, "Su Yu, about this Sea of Consciousness Mystic Realm... you know the circumstances. It was left behind by the first Head, and it's the very foundation of the Great Xia Civilization Academy. If we were to hand it over just for a cultivation technique... the Great Xia Civilization Academy wouldn't be able to survive." Elder Qi quickly added, "Even if not for our sake, consider the others. You have friends, teachers, and loved ones in the academy as well..." Su Yu's expression remained calm. "Elder Qi is right! I don't wish to make things difficult for anyone. In that case, we won't speak of the Sea of Consciousness Mystic Realm. But as for Martial Uncle Feng Qi, the Great Xia Prefecture only sent Yuan Qingdong to rescue him?" He looked toward Marquis Xia, who smiled and said, "I know what you mean. Rest assured, General Zhao went secretly as well. Unfortunately, he hasn't been able to locate him recently; otherwise, Feng Qi would certainly have been brought back by now." "General Zhao went?" "Could that be false?" Marquis Xia continued, "Old Zhao is quite formidable. Since he went personally, if they find Feng Qi, his safety is guaranteed!" Su Yu thought it over and nodded. "Good! Furthermore, that Shan Xiong will no longer enter the Great Xia Civilization Academy?" "Yes!" Marquis Xia chuckled. "I don't know the exact details, but I heard that fellow halted in the Great Shang Prefecture to enter closed-door cultivation for a breakthrough... Previously, he had already reached the seventh stage of Tengkong. Once he emerges this time, he will likely be at the eighth or even ninth stage!" Even Marquis Xia sounded somewhat impressed. "That kid managed to sweep through all the prefectures; he is no weakling. Don't assume he's afraid of you! To be frank, he isn't inferior to Xia Yuwen and the others back in their prime—he might even be slightly stronger!" Su Yu did not pay it much mind. Before opening three hundred and sixty apertures, he might not have been a match for Shan Xiong. But now... he was about to cast his body. Let Shan Xiong dare come try him! Saying no more on the matter, Su Yu nodded. "Then it may be disseminated to the three prefectures! Where is the divine corpse?" Marquis Xia tossed over a storage ring. "It's inside, but you'd best not take it out right now. It's from the Sun Moon Realm! Not just any Sun Moon, but the eighth stage! Otherwise, they wouldn't have had the courage to ambush Longwu. Until you reach the Sun Moon Realm, you'd better not harbor any ideas about this corpse..." "Thank you for the reminder, Marquis!" Su Yu briefly probed inside with his willpower. The moment his willpower brushed against it, it was instantly shattered. He only caught a glimpse of a corpse with its head lying to the side before his willpower was pulverized! Incredibly powerful! Even in death, it possessed terrifying might. Indeed, it was not something he could mess with right now. However, once he reached the Shanhai Realm, or the peak of Shanhai, he should be able to make use of it, right? If his body casting was strong enough, he might even be able to use it after the Lingyun Nine Transformations. Swallowing a drop of blood essence to unleash eighth-stage Sun Moon strength... Tsk tsk! Su Yu indulged in the fantasy for a moment before composing himself and dropping the topic. With that settled, Su Yu spoke again: "One more thing: the revenue share for the Aperture Fusion Art. As agreed with the Marquis previously, for every person who learns it, I receive one merit point. The Marquis has no objections, I presume?" "Of course not, that's only fair!" Marquis Xia chuckled. "The Great Ming Prefecture mentioned this earlier as well. As of now, a total of 1.26 million people have exchanged for the two versions of the Aperture Fusion Art, which comes out to 1.26 million merit points..." At these words, all three elders gasped inwardly. What an immense fortune! 1.26 million merit points—the Great Xia Civilization Academy, with nearly a hundred thousand people young and old, had an annual budget of roughly that amount. Of course, many of the elderly members had long stopped receiving a single cent. Su Yu had effortlessly earned enough to cover the annual expenses of tens of thousands of people in the Great Xia Civilization Academy! On second thought, the Marquis had earned even more! At least ten times Su Yu's share! That was even more terrifying! A single cultivation technique could sometimes generate staggering profits, especially warrior techniques, which often brought in far more than civilization master techniques! The target audience was simply too vast! Su Yu was not surprised. He was also a big spender. Earlier, after killing all those experts, he had earned several hundred thousand merit points, only to turn around and spend 350,000 on a research institute. In fact, if not for the Spatial Cleaving Chamber, he would have taken a loss on that 350,000. Factoring that in, he had actually profited. However, he would not be able to use that chamber anytime soon. Su Yu cut straight to the point: "Will the Marquis transfer the funds now, or... right now?" "..." Marquis Xia chuckled helplessly. "Su Yu, how about this? Since you're about to cast your body, what if the Xia family offers you a chance to cast your body in the War God Hall—a once-in-fifty-years opportunity..." "No need!" Su Yu saw through his intention and said directly, "Save it for Brother Huyou! Manor Lord Zhu offered to give me one for free, and I turned him down!" Marquis Xia froze slightly! Holy crap! Zhu Tiandao had really gone all out! Su Yu smiled. "Marquis, just pay the merit points directly; I don't need any other resources! Of course, if you're willing to sell me the Sea of Consciousness Mystic Realm or the Yuan Qi Mystic Realm, I'll credit you a million merit points!" Marquis Xia said no more, immediately taking out his card to transfer the funds! What a joke! The Yuan Qi Mystic Realm alone charged one to two hundred merit points per entry, bringing in nearly a million merit points a year. It was a staggering figure! Granted, maintaining it required significant costs, but the Great Xia Civilization Academy currently relied on these mystic realms to subsidize its operations. Selling them off was out of the question. Not every Sun Moon divine character could form such a mystic realm! 1.26 million merit points, not a single point short. Su Yu did not bother verifying whether 1.26 million people had truly learned it. The Xia family kept the records; he had no way of checking anyway. "We're settled!" Su Yu said no more and stood up. "Marquis, I'll take my leave. Also, regarding my three mounts..." "They were brought along this time. I had people send them ahead to the Great Ming Prefecture." "Then I've troubled the Marquis!" Su Yu bowed slightly to the elders. "Elders, my apologies, but I have matters to attend to!" Without lingering, he turned and left. Behind him, Xia Huyou laughed heartily. "Su Yu, it wasn't easy for me to come all this way. How about we chat for a bit?" "Sure!" Su Yu didn't look back, and Xia Huyou quickly caught up. Once they were gone, Elder Qi sighed. "What a pity!" Marquis Xia said indifferently, "What's done is done; there's no need to mention it again. He has plenty of freedom here anyway. Zhu Tiandao is truly willing to pay a heavy price—giving away a body-casting opportunity at the Quest Realm just like that... The Xia family couldn't afford to match that!" Even if the Xia family had wanted to give it away, they couldn't. Earlier, Marquis Xia had merely been testing the waters. Their Xia family's spot had already been given to someone else—Huang Teng of the Great Xia War Academy. The Xia family had chosen to invest in Huang Teng! Since the Xia family had their own investment, it was only natural for the Zhu family to invest in Su Yu. The elders said nothing more. During this visit, Su Yu's attitude had been crystal clear: strictly business, no personal ties. After a silence, Elder Qi added, "It's a pity Old Zhao refused to come..." Marquis Xia snapped, "What kind of rotten idea was that? Who suggested bringing him along? It's best that he didn't come! If that old man had shown up and lost his temper, he might have gone back, hoisted the Yuan Qi Mystic Realm on his back, and come right over to partner with Su Yu! Would you take responsibility for that?" "..." Elder Qi looked embarrassed. That made entirely too much sense. It was indeed a good thing he hadn't come! If Old Zhao had pulled something like that, the Xia family would have exploded with rage, while the Zhu family would have laughed themselves silly. *** Outside. Su Yu said nothing and headed straight toward the research institute. Trading outside was inappropriate. They would talk once they got back! Xia Huyou looked around, avoiding the topic of blood essence for now. As he walked, he remarked, "Damn, the environment here is incredible. The Great Xia Prefecture should take notes. In a place like this, one would even feel like chasing girls!" Su Yu ignored him, walking for a bit before asking, "Still no news about my martial uncle?" "None." "Troublesome!" Su Yu sighed helplessly. Fortunately, General Zhao and Director Hou were both searching for him. With two Sun Moon experts on the case, they would surely notice if any major battle broke out. Soon, they entered the research institute. Xia Huyou gasped. "This place is a research institute? It looks more like a luxury club!" "Shut up!" Su Yu cursed. "Cut the crap. Where are the goods?" "Knowing you're wealthy now, I gathered 113,000 points worth of Mountain-Breaking Ox blood essence for you! On top of that, I put together 87,000 points worth of Cloud Tiger blood essence, totaling 200,000 points. How does that sound?" "Works for me!" Su Yu nodded. The fellow was remarkably efficient. "Does your second granduncle know about this?" "Of course! With an amount this huge, where else could I get it without him knowing?" Xia Huyou quickly added, "Don't worry, I told him I was trading with Zhu Hongliang. Whether he believes me or not is out of my hands!" He smiled. "It's no big deal!" Su Yu said nothing more. The chances of hiding it from Marquis Xia were slim to begin with. The volume was simply too massive! Taking the storage ring, Su Yu was about to speak when Xia Huyou grinned. "Storage rings aren't cheap either. Throw in an extra ten thousand merit points and I'll sell it to you..." *Get lost!* *Not buying!" Su Yu ignored him, directly taking out the bottles of blood essence one by one and tossing the ring back to him. He transferred two hundred thousand merit points and quickly said, "Tell me about Lan Tian. Skip the rest—how do I identify him?" "It's very hard to identify him unless he attacks. But once he makes a move, his strength is exposed... It's that simple!" "..." *Screw you!* Xia Huyou offered a dry laugh. "That's just how it is. Of course, there's an interval when he attacks. He sealed himself; otherwise, he couldn't hide from powerful experts. Unsealing himself takes a bit of time! My second granduncle estimates it takes at least three seconds. During that window, you can deduce his identity. Otherwise, he can only unleash Lingyun-level strength at most..." "He's only exposed when he attacks? He won't be exposed if he doesn't?" "Not necessarily. An Invincible expert could identify him through meticulous scanning, but... which Invincible goes around scanning every single person? If someone noticed, the Invincible would have a hard time explaining themselves." Su Yu nodded. That was true enough. What a headache! "All right, you can head back..." Pausing, Su Yu thought for a moment and brought out an item. "Give this to Senior Hu Hao. His physical body was shattered during the rescue, making reconstruction difficult. This is the Primordial Spirit Aperture Opening Art. Only he is allowed to read and cultivate it—no peeking!" "Am I that kind of person?" Xia Huyou was speechless. "Besides, you said it would be released publicly soon. What's the rush for me?" Su Yu said calmly, "Even if it's released, it won't necessarily be shared with the Great Xia Prefecture!" "..." *Damn it!* Xia Huyou was left at a loss for words. Su Yu ignored him, taking out a tightly wrapped package and thrusting it into Xia Huyou's hands. "Give these to Senior Hu Hao as well. They'll help with casting his body..." With that, he brought out another storage ring and handed it over. "These are for my senior sister. No stealing or peeking—give them to her!" He then took out a merit card. "Here is ten thousand merit points. Pass this to my senior sister as well." After that, he paused, thought for a moment, and produced yet another storage ring. "These are top-tier weapon-casting materials. Deliver them to Teacher Zhao Li on my behalf!" "..." Xia Huyou's teeth ached! Just how many good things did this guy have? He had only been in the Great Ming Prefecture for a few days, so how had he struck it so insanely rich?! "Anything else?" "Nope!" Su Yu gave him an odd look. "What else could there be? Did you expect me to give you something?" "Shouldn't you?" Xia Huyou chuckled. "I came thousands of li to deliver goods to you, after all..." "Fair point!" Su Yu nodded, thought it over, and asked, "Do you want a thirty-six-casting body-refining technique?" "..." Holy crap! He actually had one?! Thirty-six castings... Xia Huyou said helplessly, "Thirty-six castings consumes far too many resources. I don't have that much god and demon blood essence, and my holy land quota is gone—my old man gave it to Huang Teng. I was just bluffing you earlier!" "The Xia family didn't save an opportunity for you?" Su Yu was surprised. Xia Huyou sighed. "I'm a civilization master! Huang Teng is a warrior! Body casting is crucial for warriors, so giving it to him is fine!" He added, "Huang Teng is extremely strong. His body casting might also reach thirty-six times; I'm not entirely sure, but he's formidable regardless. My great-grandfather and King Daqin both possess thirty-six-casting methods!" With that, he glanced at Su Yu. It was normal for them to have one, but for Su Yu to have one was utterly bizarre! Su Yu couldn't be bothered to explain. After a moment's thought, he tossed the remaining drops of Primordial God and Demon blood essence from his storage ring to Xia Huyou. "Consider this your travel fee. I might need another batch of blood essence later on!" Xia Huyou casually opened the vial to look. The next instant, an overwhelmingly powerful aura erupted, catching him off guard! Su Yu unleashed his own aura, instantly suppressing it! He said indifferently, "Lingyun-level blood from the Primordial God and Demon races. Selling a single drop for two to three thousand merit points won't be an issue. There's some left over; you might find it useful for casting your body." Xia Huyou stared at him blankly. "Holy crap, did you switch personalities? When did you become this generous?" Giving this away just like that? *Aren't you going to cast your own body?* "I have plenty. In the Great Ming Prefecture, I lack for nothing!" "..." Utterly speechless! Xia Huyou said enviously, "If I'd known, I would have come to the Great Ming Prefecture myself. I wonder if Xia Longwu's son defecting to Great Ming would fetch this many benefits!" "You're welcome to try." "Forget it, I like being alive. My father would kill me." Xia Huyou offered a wry smile. "Fine, I'll take it. I'll deliver the rest of the items for you. Anything else?" "Nothing else. Just try your best to keep acquiring Mountain-Breaking Ox blood essence for me. I need a massive amount!" "Understood! The Mountain-Breaking Ox race... is probably going to weep!" Shaking his head, Xia Huyou turned to leave. Reaching the doorway, he paused and looked back. "My stance remains the same: personally, I'm on your side. But I'm a Xia, and I eat the Xia family's rice. If you truly return to the Great Xia Prefecture one day and the Xia family decides to take action, I'll be the one causing you trouble!" Su Yu smiled. "Feel free. But... you're too weak! As you are right now, I could swat you to death with one slap!" Fine then! Xia Huyou had no comeback. Feeling rather slighted, he left with a sheepish expression. Meanwhile, Su Yu broke into a grin, in high spirits. Looking at the storage ring packed with blood essence, he couldn't suppress his excitement. *Tengkong, here I come!* Two hundred thousand merit points! No matter—he was wealthy now, with 1.06 million remaining. What did he have to fear? Two hundred thousand points should easily extract enough Heaven Yuan Qi to match roughly two hundred Heaven Yuan Fruits, right? Perhaps even more! Could he complete twenty body castings? If he could, he would step into the third stage of Tengkong, an entity capable of sweeping through all Tengkong cultivators across the heavens! At this moment, Su Yu cast everything else aside, diving into the laboratory without any intention of emerging! He would deal with everything else once the extraction was finished! Vaguely, it felt as though he had forgotten something. Oh well, it probably wasn't important. If he forgot, so be it! *** At that very moment. Great Ming Prefecture. Three great demons looked at Zhu Tiandao, then looked at one another. One-Eye and the others were trembling with fear. *Why hasn't Su Yu come to pick us up?* *Leaving us to face this person... we're terrified!* They still remembered him slaughtering Sun Moon demon gods not long ago. *Just when is he going to come get us?!*