The Dawn of Anping

Great Ming Prefecture. The Civilization Academy. Inside the Wave Listening Pavilion teahouse. When Zhu Tiandao departed, Su Yu and the others also finished watching the grand spectacle, every one of them looking as if they hadn't had quite enough. There were quite a few people gathered here! At that moment, the image displayed before them showed Zhu Tiandao heading back. Hu Xiansheng waved his hand dismissively to close the projection and chuckled. "Show's over. Now we just wait for the manor lord to get back. This gadget guzzles quite a bit of energy, and there's nothing interesting to watch on the road anyway. No need to waste it." Su Yu nodded slightly and remarked with a hint of regret, "Why couldn't we see the Invincibles clearly?" "The projection captures energy, maps it, and transmits it back. You can't capture an Invincible with that," Hu Xiansheng explained with a hearty laugh. "Count your blessings! Those two Invincibles almost certainly noticed us peeping and simply didn't bother to call us out. Otherwise, you wouldn't have seen a single thing!" Beside them, Niu Baidao smiled and chimed in, "Oh, they definitely noticed! They just ignored us. This time, our manor lord essentially won a total victory. The two Invincibles also showed some intent to set things right... though their stance is still not explicit enough." Su Yu didn't dwell on that too much and replied with a smile, "It's good enough. They agreed to almost everything the manor lord asked for. I can see it clearly now—aside from being vague when it comes to that particular Invincible, everything else went well." An Invincible had made a move, yet King Dahan only said they would conduct a thorough investigation next time! Next time... not this time. That was likely the only condition among Zhu Tiandao's demands that hadn't received a promise of fulfillment. After repeated covert strikes, King Dahan and the others still could not bring themselves to take a stand, choosing instead to defer it to the future. Niu Baidao nodded slightly. "In fact, that is only normal. King Dahan is just King Dahan. He cannot represent all the others, nor can he make any binding promises to you. Even if he is displeased, unless he can convince the majority of the Invincibles, there isn't much he can do." He continued, "At the very least, in terms of the overarching moral high ground, things are moving in a positive direction. You heard what King Dahan said earlier—he labeled that person a malignant tumor, rather than leaving it ambiguous as personal enmity. That is King Dahan's official verdict. He currently presides over the Quest Realm, so his words can represent the definition set by the Quest Realm itself." He looked at Su Yu and smiled. "This is actually a very favorable trend. You have to understand that before this... even if people suspected such a person existed, on one hand nobody spoke of it, and on the other, it was difficult to define what that person actually was! A traitor? A race-betrayer? Or just someone settling a personal grudge?" Su Yu nodded slightly. "You mean that guy is now officially certified as a tumor?" "Exactly!" Niu Baidao smiled. "This is the power of the general trend! Originally, even if that person were discovered, someone might try to mediate or play favorites. But now that the individual has been defined as a tumor, if they are discovered and evidence is found, people like King Dahan will step in, and some who were originally neutral will lean toward excising the tumor... That is suppression through the general trend!" Su Yu nodded again and smiled. "Understood! I see your point, Principal. Before, that person was an Invincible, while their targets were people like us who had no Invincibles behind them. In the eyes of the Invincibles, our worth couldn't compare to theirs! But now, King Dahan and his peers have shifted their stance somewhat, which is indeed a good thing." Niu Baidao chuckled. "It's good that you understand. Dealing with an Invincible isn't something that can be achieved overnight. Today was actually a tremendous success. Otherwise, even if you found evidence and really wanted to confront an Invincible, they might have friends who would step forward, show themselves, and protect them. But when that person is pushed to the opposite side of humanity, viewed by everyone as a tumor and a traitor, that is victory!" Su Yu understood and nodded. Niu Baidao had mentioned this to him before. Using the general trend to pressure opponents, ultimately turning those who stood against you into public enemies of humanity! Evidently, he had already taken the first successful step. On the Great Ming Prefecture's side, Zhu Tiandao stepping forward, coupled with Su Yu's release of multiple cultivation arts, had caused King Dahan to lean in their favor, leading to that opening declaration. Su Yu didn't expect those Invincibles to do much on his behalf, but if one day the enemy's identity was truly exposed and it came time to kill them, the key was that those Invincibles wouldn't step forward to intervene. Of course, when it came to slaying an Invincible, he wouldn't be the one doing it. On the Xia family's side, King Daxia had once promised to step in. On the Zhu family's side, he could check King Daming's intentions later. If both of them intervened, then unless the opponent was at the level of King Dazhou, with the number-two figures of both Sacred Lands joining forces, no other Invincible would be able to make waves! Putting those thoughts aside, Su Yu was in high spirits. Zhu Tiandao truly was an absolute master at browbeating others... or rather, arguing with righteous vigor. He hadn't seen what happened on Zhu Guangshen's side, but what he had witnessed was more than enough. He had seen everything that transpired in the grand hall. It had already exceeded his expectations! Feeling optimistic, Su Yu asked with anticipation, "Principal, will the Eight Great Families really take action to deal with the Six-Winged God Cult?" "Since they promised, of course they will!" Niu Baidao replied promptly, "One month might not be enough, but within three months, there will definitely be results! Of course, if the targets have already fled or gone into hiding, even the Eight Great Families might not catch them. There's no helping that. When a Sun Moon goes into hiding in the vast expanse of the Human Realm, it's very difficult to track them down." Su Yu felt helpless. His martial uncle had gone missing! Lately, even he couldn't get in touch with him! Never mind, he could only place his hopes on Director Hou and the others to find him. It should be fine, right? Calculating the situation in his mind, everything looked quite good for now. After slaying a batch of Sun Moon and Shanhai cultivators, the All-Races Cult would probably start lying low and contracting their operations, not daring to cause more trouble anytime soon. As for the Single Divine Character Faction... Su Yu vaguely sensed that they might be backed by the Eight Great Families, or at least a few of them. With Zhu Tiandao kicking up such a massive fuss, they would have to rein themselves in considerably. The internal pressure within the Human Realm would largely dissipate, at least for the current stage. As for external threats... as long as he didn't head to the All-Heavens Battlefield, he should be fine. Recalling King Dahan's words, he asked again, "Principal, can an Invincible's relic site really allow someone to attain the Dao and become an Invincible without anyone noticing?" "Yes." Su Yu grew thoughtful. "Then after that one Dao attainment, the relic site becomes useless?" "Pretty much." Niu Baidao smiled. "Attaining the Dao absorbs a tremendous amount of energy. Under normal circumstances, an Invincible's relic site cannot endure it and will eventually explode. Even if it doesn't completely blow up, some of the rule formations will be damaged, preventing anyone else from attaining the Dao there." Su Yu came to a realization. "So King Dahan said the myriad races would target me, and told me to interact less with Manor Lord Xia, because he worried I might hand the relic site over to Manor Lord Xia so he could secretly attain the Dao?" "Mhm." The others all looked at him with strange expressions. Did he really have a relic site? Where was it? Of course, the idea that Su Yu had a relic site was virtually a consensus by now. Without one, no matter how genius Su Yu was, it would have been difficult to publish so many powerful cultivation arts in such rapid succession. Su Yu kept his mouth shut. I don't have a damn thing! "Manor Lord Xia probably wouldn't attain the Dao in a relic site..." Su Yu didn't say much more, offering only that single remark. Even if there were a relic site, Xia Longwu might not choose to attain the Dao that way. Would someone as drenched in bloodthirst as Xia Longwu be willing to attain the Dao on the sly? Chances were he was deliberately trying to lure the foreign Invincibles over so he could have a proper bloodbath with them. Of course, secretly attaining the Dao would actually be quite sensible in Su Yu's eyes, but unfortunately, he really didn't possess any relic site. Attaining the Dao in a relic site... in the All-Heavens... in a minor realm... Curious, Su Yu asked, "Does the place where one attains the Dao make a big difference?" "A huge difference!" Niu Baidao truly seemed to know everything. He smiled and said, "Normally, it's divided into attaining the Dao in a minor realm, in one's native realm, or in the All-Heavens! Attaining the Dao in a minor realm means that due to the heavenly and earthly rules, the rules bestow very little upon you during your ascension. Moreover, you become bound to that minor realm. If the minor realm is destroyed, you will be heavily wounded or even fall from your realm! Meanwhile, attaining the Dao in your native realm, such as the Human Realm, makes your combat strength within the Human Realm stronger than in other domains. As for attaining the Dao in the All-Heavens, there are no restrictions, and the prospects for growth are much better..." He continued, "Here in the Human Realm, almost all the founding manor lords attained the Dao in their native realm. Among those who ascended later, some attained it in the All-Heavens, and a few... actually did so in minor realms!" Niu Baidao shook his head. "Attaining the Dao in a minor realm is actually the worst and most troublesome path. Once that minor realm is breached, you're in deep trouble! You generally can't enter realms that already have Invincibles, and even if you do, you can't attain the Dao there because they won't permit it. A realm without Invincibles means the realm is weak and easily conquered. Once it falls, you're finished!" Su Yu nodded. "So that means, at the very least, one must attain the Dao in the Human Realm... Since the founding manor lords all attained the Dao in the Human Realm, if the Human Realm were ever destroyed..." "That is practically impossible!" Niu Baidao chuckled. "The Human Realm is vast and exceptionally stable. Even if the day comes when the myriad races breach our defenses, the likelihood of them destroying the Human Realm is slim. Of course, anything is possible, which is why the founding manor lords almost never bring up the topic of migration, whereas some of the Invincibles who ascended later have mentioned whether humanity should migrate if the pressure becomes unbearable." Su Yu absorbed the information, feeling he had gained quite a few unexpected insights. So there were such vast differences among Invincibles. Attaining the Dao in a minor realm was far simpler, but far more dangerous. One could easily perish! If the realm were breached, you were done for. Niu Baidao dropped the topic of Invincibles and said with a smile, "Just focus on cultivating in peace. After this commotion, the All-Races Cult won't dare infiltrate the Great Ming Prefecture again. Blood flowed like rivers today; if they still dare come, they'd have to be completely insane!" "A lot of Sun Moon experts have died from the All-Races Cult. Principal, why does it feel like they have even more Sun Moons than our Great Ming Prefecture?" How many Sun Moon cultivators did Great Ming have? Su Yu didn't know the exact figure, but he only knew of seven or eight. Over the past year, quite a few had died from the All-Races Cult, hadn't they? From the Blood Fire Cult alone, three had perished! Niu Baidao laughed. "Not that many. It only feels like a lot to you! The manor lord exaggerated a bit. For instance, the Tianyi God race experts who ambushed Manor Lord Xia last time had only infiltrated temporarily, and the Blood Fire Demon the manor lord killed previously had also snuck in recently. As for actual human traitors at the Sun Moon Realm who were killed... there haven't been many." Su Yu did the math and realized that was true. Among the Sun Moon human traitors, Xia Longwu had killed two—one from the Tianyi God Cult and one from the Blood Fire Cult. And Zhu Tiandao had slain five this time around. As for Jin Yuhui, he didn't really count as a cultist. Seven! Over the past year, seven Sun Moon human traitors had been executed. That was still quite a significant number! Niu Baidao added, "The All-Races Cult has existed for over three hundred years, and with the heavy support of the myriad races, a number of them have reached the Sun Moon Realm. But to say there are an overwhelming number is inaccurate. We roughly estimated before that there might be an average of one per prefecture, making around thirty or so Sun Moon experts across the entire All-Races Cult." "Compared to the major human prefectures, their strength is far inferior!" "To give you an idea, Great Ming alone has more than ten Sun Moons, and the other major prefectures have plenty as well. The two Sacred Lands have even more, and there are quite a few Sun Moons stationed across the three major sea regions..." Add to that the All-Heavens Battlefield, and the Human Realm actually possessed a substantial number of Sun Moons. At this point, he continued, "However, over the past fifty years, not many Sun Moons have emerged. On the surface, there are only seven right now... wait, counting Jin Yuhui, that's eight. Actually, that's still not right, since Wan Tiansheng, Ji Hong, Hong Tan, and Zhou Mingren might all break through soon... All told, around a dozen or so." Niu Baidao smiled. "These past fifty years have yielded relatively few Sun Moons, yet even then, over a dozen have appeared. Think about it: the Human Realm has accumulated strength for over three hundred years, and more than three centuries ago, numerous Sun Moons emerged. That era was a golden age; almost all of us old fogies reached Sun Moon during that time. That's why humanity has quite a few Sun Moons; it's just that many of them suffered injuries back then and are now in seclusion." Over three hundred years ago! The person before him was a true living antique. Su Yu's interest was piqued immediately. "Principal, did you fight the myriad races inside the Human Realm back then? How did you all advance in realm?" Caressing his beard, Niu Baidao smiled. "Back then, the channels to the All-Heavens had just opened. At first, the Human Realm didn't really have a systematic method of cultivation. But some people obtained inheritances and founded sects deep in the mountains and old forests. Overall, there were cultivators, but they were all very weak... When the channels opened—sigh, damn it all, I was one step too slow!" He recalled with regret, "At that time, the channels had just opened, and the gods and demons hadn't arrived yet. Relic sites appeared, and people in the Human Realm fought over them amongst ourselves. There was a relic site near me, but that old scoundrel King Daming beat me to it. That guy was just a rough laborer, yet he ran so damn fast... What a pity! The first batch of relic sites to open were all extraordinarily powerful. Once those fellows went inside, the sites sealed shut and vanished. Meanwhile, the rest of us were left high and dry, forced to search for weaker sites or cultivate using fragmented inheritances that emerged alongside the opening of the channels. "A few years later, the myriad races entered the Human Realm." Niu Baidao shook his head. "In the beginning, those bastards acted so sanctimonious, putting on airs as celestial visitors who had come to make friends. They wandered the Human Realm, befriending humans and inquiring about the locations of relic sites... At that time, though humans were wary and vigilant, those beings looked so otherworldly and truly seemed intent on making friends. They even taught common folk how to cultivate, including some of today's divine character cultivation arts. Tell me, after a few years of that, wouldn't everyone let their guard down? "In the end, it didn't take long for them to reveal their true colors! They covertly assassinated human geniuses and seized newly discovered relic sites. Once exposed, they stopped pretending altogether and began slaughtering people to plunder sites and treasures..." Niu Baidao sighed with emotion. "Back then, we also began fighting back. We were pushed back step by step, fighting nonstop battles with slaughter everywhere. But the one reason humanity managed to survive was that the myriad races weren't united either. To seize the relic sites, the foreign races were killing one another too, which gave us room to breathe." Niu Baidao chuckled. "With the Human Realm's vital energy recovering and connecting to the All-Heavens, and having obtained various inheritances, we cultivated very rapidly. Before long, Sun Moon and Shanhai cultivators emerged and began clashing with the myriad races. But then, the enemy's Invincibles arrived..." He shook his head. "Once the Invincibles arrived, humanity was reduced to ants. We were slaughtered into a total rout. Corpses truly littered the fields back then, genius after genius falling... Fortunately, that didn't last long before Invincibles emerged on our side, breaking out of seclusion from the relic sites to join the battle! Figures like King Daqin were powerhouses forged through the slaughter of that era. All at once, numerous Invincibles burst onto the scene, waging continuous war for several decades. The Human Realm was devastated, nine out of ten homes left empty amidst countless massacres... Later, King Daqin and the others simply charged out of the Human Realm to launch surprise attacks on races with Invincibles and slaughter minor races, forcing some of their Invincibles to withdraw... After that, only a few mighty races remained. "Later still, King Daqin, King Dazhou, and the others completely abandoned the defense of humanity. Nine Invincibles slipped into the God Realm and wreaked absolute havoc there..." Niu Baidao laughed heartily. "Think about it: nine unconstrained Invincibles charging into the God Realm, slaughtering indiscriminately—how massive was the fallout? Back then, corpses carpeted the God Realm as well, forcing the god race's powerhouses in the Human Realm to retreat. In the end, both sides chose a mutual withdrawal and compromise..." Though conveyed in just a few sentences, the story stirred Su Yu's blood. "Humanity once charged into the God Realm?" "Of course!" Niu Baidao laughed aloud. "Even I went! I had already reached the Sun Moon Realm back then, and I went along once. It was pure slaughter. In that era, the only way to stop killing was through greater killing! King Daqin and the others knew that if the fighting continued inside the Human Realm, humanity would probably go extinct. Only by trading slaughter for slaughter did they force those Invincibles to back down. Back then, it was a contest of ruthlessness to see who could kill more and kill faster... until the enemy felt the agony, until they broke down. Whoever couldn't take it was the one who lost!" Su Yu nodded. That had truly been the only option at the time. If the fighting had persisted within the Human Realm, even if the realm itself wasn't destroyed, ordinary mortals would have been completely wiped out. "What about now...?" "Now?" Niu Baidao shook his head. "Now, every realm heavily garrisons their entrance passages, making it difficult to charge in like that. Besides, back then the gods and demons were at odds and riddled with infighting. It's different today; charging around slaughtering in all directions like we did back then won't work anymore. "Moreover, the gods and demons have slowed their offensive pace over the years. Haven't you noticed that major wars have become less frequent? Well, you wouldn't know—more than three hundred years ago, major battles happened every single day. Even after peace was negotiated, the All-Heavens Battlefield remained a constant bloodbath. During that period, Invincibles clashed regularly, whereas it's much rarer now." He smiled and continued, "In truth, it was mainly because we terrified the minor races! Back then, we killed many of their powerhouses. In several races with Invincibles, their Invincibles fell, scaring those minor races into submission. Once the gods and demons lost external aid and their own Invincibles weren't completely unified, humanity was finally able to secure a firm foothold." Su Yu was thrilled to hear this. "We breached many minor realms back then?" "Mhm, we shattered seven or eight minor realms alone!" Niu Baidao chuckled. "Back then, minor realms exploded, shaking the All-Heavens!" He added, "Actually, the eventual arrival of peace had something to do with the Immortal race. The Invincibles of the Immortal race later stepped forward as peacemakers, urging everyone to coexist peacefully and stop the slaughter. The Immortal race is quite powerful; in terms of the number of Invincibles alone, they have no fewer than the gods or demons. With them standing on humanity's side, a war was impossible to fight." Su Yu was surprised. Had the Immortal race really helped bring an end to the war? Nearby, Hu Xiansheng heard this and interrupted, "Don't go thinking of the Immortal race as benevolent. Their situation back then was that their old ancestor was in seclusion and couldn't emerge. The alliance of gods and demons was stronger than them, so the Immortal race's interests in the Human Realm had zero protection. The gods and demons had seized several relic sites and entered before them, leaving the Immortals with hardly any benefits. Unwilling to see the gods and demons grow stronger, they stepped in as mediators. And humanity paid no small price for it!" Niu Baidao didn't deny it and smiled. "We did pay a price. Back then, several relic sites opened and were subsequently handed over to the Immortal race. Several of their geniuses obtained substantial benefits inside, and later two or three Invincibles emerged from among them..." Niu Baidao sighed. "Still, when under someone else's roof, one has to bow one's head. The Human Realm desperately needed stable development back then, and too many people had died. In the end, the Invincibles accepted the Immortal race's help and paid the price, which brought about more than three hundred years of subsequent peace." Hu Xiansheng cut in again, "The Immortal race is no good either. After devouring their fill, they wanted even more. Later, a group from the Immortal race came to humanity for exchanges, but they committed plenty of robberies and murders. At first, everyone endured it because we were treated as second-class... Later, King Daqin and the others proved they were no soft targets. Once the situation stabilized and the gods and demons withdrew, they used the explosion of a relic site to blast over a thousand Immortals to death..." "Cough, cough!" Niu Baidao gave a dry cough and interrupted, "What nonsense are you spouting? That relic site exploded naturally, and they died from their own recklessness! What does that have to do with us? Old Hu, stop talking nonsense. We and the Immortal race are technically allies now!" Hu Xiansheng curled his lip. Fine, whatever you say. Su Yu couldn't help but chuckle. So there were so many twists and turns behind it all. Humanity rarely mentioned the Immortal race. People mostly spoke of the gods and demons, but now it seemed the Immortal race wasn't necessarily a friend either. No wonder Qin Zhen had mentioned killing Immortal maidens last time... It turned out that wasn't the first time humanity had done so. Now he had a basic understanding of the situation among the major powerful races. The gods and demons were outright enemies, while the Immortal race... for now, humanity wouldn't provoke them, but they certainly weren't true allies either. Su Yu didn't pursue the topic further. For now, he was in no position to meddle in such affairs. His most urgent task was still cultivation. Body-forging! Zhu Tiandao had bought him plenty of time this time around and secured a relatively peaceful environment. He couldn't afford to waste it. Just as that thought crossed his mind, Niu Baidao recalled something and asked, "As a Civilization Master, can you advance to the Lingyun Realm yet?" Su Yu shook his head. "My willpower tier isn't high enough; it's only at the high tier of the second rank. Besides... even if I could break through to Lingyun now, I wouldn't have any real advantage. At this stage, I need to outline and strengthen more divine characters. Right now, I have very few third-rank divine characters. In addition, my divine apertures haven't been expanded, so they're actually weaker than those of some ninth-tier Tengkong cultivators..." Su Yu smiled. "It will take at least six months to a year to solidify the Tengkong stage before I can comfortably step into Lingyun." He made it sound completely effortless! Hu Xiansheng and the others were filled with emotion. In a year's time, this kid would likely be a genuine Lingyun expert. Hu Xiansheng suddenly asked, "You're nineteen now?" Silence fell! Total silence! Only then did Niu Baidao remember that this kid was only nineteen. That meant he would reach the Lingyun Realm around age twenty! Su Yu laughed. "I'm merely standing on the shoulders of giants. It's nothing special." The others couldn't be bothered to comment further. Soon, Niu Baidao stood up and said, "If you need any help with body-forging or anything else, you can come to us. As for other things, we can't offer much assistance anyway. Why do students graduate as soon as they reach Tengkong? Because once you hit Tengkong, the academy really can't help you with much! In addition, now that you've officially entered Tengkong, your senior researcher title... will likely be conferred soon. You can start accepting students. A senior researcher has no restrictions on taking disciples, though usually it's best not to take too many. The academy will provide a stipend for each student you accept..." Hu Xiansheng muttered dryly, "He needs a stipend?" Are you kidding me?! This kid is rolling in wealth, and you think he cares about your stipend? Who gives a damn about those measly crumbs! Su Yu smiled, paying it no mind, and replied, "I'll see. Having just entered Tengkong, I have plenty on my plate and lack the energy and time. In the near future, I might need to research a few things. Principal Niu, could I trouble you to help me contact my teacher, Bai Feng? I hope he can return." He truly hoped Bai Feng could come back. Su Yu wasn't particularly familiar with the character disassembly art. He needed to fill divine characters. He might be able to handle it himself, but at his current stage, he couldn't fill in Shanhai characters. Furthermore, candidates for the Star Astral Mansion would be selected at the end of the year. He heard it was a tremendous opportunity and hoped Bai Feng could return in time for it. As for his teacher's current cultivation, he didn't know which tier he had recovered to. Even if he had recovered to the eighth or ninth tier of Tengkong, Su Yu felt quite sympathetic—in terms of raw realm, I might reach Lingyun in a few months! Not to mention combat strength! How pitiful! If nothing else, once his teacher returned, even if Su Yu couldn't help much with divine characters, he could still supply an abundance of Heaven Yuan Qi for body-forging to at least bolster his teacher's physical vessel. Niu Baidao knew about the divine character battle technique disassembly art. His eyes flickered slightly at the words, and he nodded. "Alright, I will communicate with the Great Xia Prefecture and the All-Heavens Battlefield to bring Bai Feng back if possible!" And by bringing him back, he naturally meant to Great Ming! Having a talent like Bai Feng slaying enemies on the battlefield was simply too wasteful! ... Once everyone left, Su Yu stood up, a smile spreading across his face. His mood grew increasingly bright! The Zhu family... Zhu Tiandao... Regardless of their motives or intentions, it didn't matter. At least for now, the Zhu family had provided him with an extraordinary opportunity and protected his safety. In Great Ming, he would have ample time and opportunity to accomplish what he set out to do. How comfortable! He didn't have to worry about a thing, and it felt fantastic. "It would be even better if Teacher can come back!" Su Yu murmured softly. Coming back to Great Ming to expand the Multiple Divine Characters Faction would actually be far easier than in Great Xia. There was no need to stay fixated on Great Xia. ... At the same time. On the All-Heavens Battlefield, in the Vanguard Camp. Bai Feng was cursing under his breath! Lately, everything had been so annoying! He couldn't conduct experiments, couldn't beat the enemies he fought, found it difficult to outline divine characters, lacked sufficient resources, and still had to report for roll call from nine to five every day. It was driving him insane. "Sigh!" "Look at the life I'm living. Next time I go back, that kid Su Yu couldn't have reached Tengkong already, could he?" The more he thought about it, the more melancholic he became! And what about Master? Had he reached the Sun Moon Realm yet? He hadn't received any news from Master in ages! The same went for Senior Brother. Ever since he sent that letter last time, there had been no further word, leaving him clueless about the situation back home. "Forget it, I won't think about it anymore. Su Yu is probably deep in hot water himself right now. Securing a pardon for our crimes likely pushed him to his limits. Who knows how pitiful his situation is right now!" He silently felt a wave of pity for the boy. With that kid's foul temper, he was probably enduring hardships every single day.