Leaving the City to Find Teacher

Inside the ancient city. Su Yu continued slaughtering dead spirits, offing anyone who couldn't endure any longer and fled their ancient houses along the way. He didn't gain much else, but he collected quite a few ancient city tokens. He still wasn't sure what these tokens were actually good for. Of course, they offered a degree of restraint against death qi and dead spirits. High-grade tokens could even command weaker dead spirits, but when Su Yu tested it, the effect was mediocre. At the moment, he held a sixteenth-ring ancient city token, which could only repel Lingyun Realm dead spirits and was useless against Shanhai Realm ones. As for tokens from within the sixteenth ring, Su Yu didn't have a single one. He wondered whether higher-grade tokens worked better. Every so often, the three Sun Moon dead spirits would appear, looking increasingly frantic and enraged. Whenever they failed to detect the culprit behind the dead spirits' slaughter, they smashed through ancient houses all over, blanketing the entire ancient city in death qi. The ancient city grew deathly quiet. Even the ancient city residents were nowhere to be seen. When residents stayed hidden inside, dead spirits wouldn't bother them, but the moment they stepped outside, the berserk dead spirits were very likely to attack. In this vast ancient city, Su Yu was probably the only truly living person out on the streets. Su Yu wandered around for a while without spotting a single other living creature. Not many had chosen to become residents either. Clearly, those fellows were all waiting—waiting for the ancient city to reopen. So long as no new Sun Moon dead spirits emerged, the reopening schedule wouldn't be affected. As for Su Yu, it was difficult for him to kill those Shanhai dead spirits right now. It wasn't that he couldn't, but killing an early-stage Shanhai dead spirit would likely summon a mid-stage one, and only by killing a late-stage one might a Sun Moon dead spirit appear. He lacked the strength to kill a late-stage Shanhai dead spirit right now. Even an ambush would be difficult unless he went all out, erupted with full force, and consumed drop after drop of blood essence. Doing that, however, would cause too much commotion. He was also worried about being seen—for instance, was that City Lord watching him from the shadows? As for the shouts echoing outside the walls, he had vaguely caught them, though not clearly. Those words had been aimed at the City Lord, so he only caught faint murmurs, but knowing people had arrived was enough. Su Yu continued wandering the streets. His mind was busy turning things over. Sun Moon Realm experts had likely arrived. He wasn't sure if any Invincibles would come. Sun Moons were fine, but if an Invincible showed up... even disguised as a dead spirit, he would hardly be able to hide his identity. *I can't provoke an Invincible into coming!* Su Yu muttered to himself. His current disguise relied partly on death qi and partly on his divine characters and other tricks. Sun Moon cultivators couldn't see through it, but high-stage Sun Moons might if they came into close contact with him. And before an Invincible, he wouldn't be able to hide at all. Therefore, it was best not to draw an Invincible here; that would spell huge trouble. *If the city lockdown exceeds three days, it might lure an Invincible. So... I'd better stop killing Shanhai dead spirits to avoid spawning Sun Moon dead spirits and prolonging the lockdown.* Su Yu weighed the pros and cons. Some things were within his power, but shouldn't be done. The lockdown's duration was one of them. At least let those Sun Moons harbor some hope that once the gates opened in three days, their geniuses would most likely survive. That way, the Sun Moons wouldn't feel compelled to force their way in. *Is there a way to pit-kill those Sun Moons too?* Su Yu fell into deep thought. Pull off one massive heist and bolt before an Invincible really arrived. If he truly wiped out several Sun Moons with his own schemes, his position at the top of the Heaven Ranking would be rock-solid, and he would reap astronomical rewards. After that, knocking him off the leaderboard would be next to impossible. Pit-killing Sun Moons, though? Hard! Immensely hard! Su Yu shook his head faintly. Forget it; no point in taking such risks. Once he grew stronger, he could kill them sooner or later. There was no need to gamble his life. Still, as for the geniuses trapped inside the city, he would take out as many as he could find. Speaking of which, after killing one earlier, he had been rewarded with a wisp of Heaven Yuan Qi again. Trashy though it was, something was better than nothing. His consumption of Heaven Yuan Qi was staggering. By now, he had fewer than three hundred portions left. When he first arrived, he had nearly five hundred. "Are they all just going to hole up inside and never come out?" Su Yu sighed. Seriously, what a bunch. Back before the lockdown, when dead spirits were swarming everywhere, none of them had wanted to leave, insisting on staying to watch the show. Why were they all hiding inside like shut-ins now? Where was Modona? Where was Daocheng? Where was An Mintian? Where was Tianduo? Why were all these top geniuses hiding away? Su Yu sneered inwardly, casually ignoring the fact that he had hidden away before he gained the ability to transform into a dead spirit. *That was a strategic withdrawal; it doesn't count.* Double standards—who didn't know how to play that game? Without killing people, there were no benefits. Killing dead spirits yielded virtually nothing either. If killing dead spirits granted benefits or heavenly rewards, Su Yu would have slaughtered them all long ago. Yet killing them yielded almost nothing besides ancient city tokens, leaving him thoroughly exasperated. Of course, dead spirit blood essence was fairly precious. Unfortunately, it seemed useless to him. He couldn't extract Heaven Yuan Qi from it. While normal blood essence worked, dead spirit blood essence didn't. Quite simply, dead spirits lacked body tempering methods, making extraction impossible. Su Yu extracted Heaven Yuan Qi using the body tempering methods of various races; he couldn't just draw it out thin air. Even so, by slaughtering massive numbers of dead spirits, his recently formed "Death" divine character had made some progress, and his primary "Kill" character had reached the fourth tier, its edges polished smoother and rounder. The breathing technique ran continuously, tempering his physical body. At this rate, in a few days, his twenty-third cast might be complete. Su Yu aimed to complete seventy-two casts on the All-Heavens Battlefield. It had only been a few days, and he was barely a third of the way there. He didn't want to return to the Human Realm so soon. *Completing seventy-two casts won't be easy at all!* The later the stage, the harder it became. Each cast consumed massive resources, growing increasingly difficult. Su Yu had clearly underestimated the hardship of body casting before. Continuing along the street, Su Yu passed an occupied ancient house. The crack of the door parted ever so slightly. Su Yu had his saber ready. Who had lost their patience and wanted to scout out the situation? If the door stayed shut, he couldn't get in. Once it opened, he could stride right in and hack them down! Saber at the ready... a tiger head poked through. Su Yu was just about to strike when he paused. *Wait... that looks familiar. Isn't that Qin Fang's flying tiger mount?!* The massive tiger craned its head, looking around. It spotted Su Yu, but sensing he wasn't particularly strong, it ignored him and kept scouting cautiously. Its expression held dread, fear, and sheer helplessness, looking identical to the little fur ball whenever Su Yu forced it to act as bait. Su Yu was speechless. Now he understood! It was indeed Qin Fang's mount. Apparently, Qin Fang didn't dare risk his own neck, so he made the tiger poke its head out first. Sure enough, after a brief wait, Qin Fang, wearing a black helmet, poked his head out as well. He seemed to breathe a sigh of relief! Thank goodness, no powerful dead spirits. He couldn't take staying inside the house much longer either. The death qi was too dense. While Sun Moon dead spirits couldn't breach houses in the inner rings, the death qi inside was overwhelming. He was having a terrible time. Heading to the outer ring meant Sun Moon dead spirits could bash through the walls and kill him; staying in the inner ring meant breathing pure death qi until he felt like digging a hole and burying himself. Cracking the door open for a breath of air, he cursed under his breath! The death qi outside was just as dense, no better than inside, but at least the visibility was clearer. Being cooped up indoors was driving him mad. Catching sight of Su Yu, Qin Fang cursed again! "Stupid dead spirit!" These idiot dead spirits were infuriating. You couldn't kill them, couldn't fight them, they were drenched in death qi, killing them yielded nothing, and doing so only brought relentless pursuit. What a nuisance. Su Yu shot him a look. That black armor looked like an Earth armament. Wearing Earth-rank armor, the guy certainly had deep pockets. Unfortunately, the Earth armament had already suffered considerable corrosion, mottled with gray spots as death qi seeped through. No wonder Qin Fang was poking his head out to scout; he probably couldn't take it anymore and wanted to flee. Yet the city was sealed. Where could he run? The outer ring had less death qi, but it wasn't safe. Once Sun Moon dead spirits caught scent of living flesh, they would charge right over. *Should I toss this guy some Heaven Yuan Qi?* *But how would I give it to him?* It wouldn't do to let Qin Fang die here, but in his current guise, handing it over wasn't easy. The Qin family probably didn't have much Heaven Yuan Qi either. The Human Realm had few sacred grounds for Heaven Yuan Qi, far fewer than the gods, demons, immortals, or even the beasts. Hundreds of years ago, to rapidly strengthen itself, the human race had depleted several sacred grounds down to their roots. Draining the pond to catch the fish had been an unavoidable necessity, leaving the Human Realm with only two sacred grounds today: the War God Hall and the Quest Realm. Neither place was particularly large, and both were tightly controlled, reserved for supplying Heaven Yuan Fruits and body tempering opportunities to geniuses. Qin Fang likely hadn't brought much Heaven Yuan Qi when he set out. The Immortal race, on the other hand, carried plenty. Take Jiu Xuan, for example. Despite her heavy consumption, when Su Yu killed her, he found ten whole Heaven Yuan Fruits in her storage ring, which was no small amount. And that fairy maiden had already consumed quite a few before dying. While Qin Fang was having a miserable time, his flying tiger had it even worse—the white tiger had practically turned black. It seemed fairly strong, at least seventh or eighth-stage Lingyun. Flying tigers belonged to one of the top hundred races; Su Yu didn't know whether Qin Fang had tamed it himself or if the Qin family had secured it for him. "What are you looking at, idiot!" While Qin Fang was keeping watch, seeing the dead spirit opposite staring straight at him, he couldn't help barking, "Idiot dead spirit, look at your own damn granddaddy!" Su Yu paused. *You're cursing me?* Fine! *I was considering tossing you some Heaven Yuan Qi, but it looks like you'll hold out just fine until the end. In that case, don't even dream of it!* Su Yu looked away and strolled off. Qin Fang was stunned. *Wait, it walked away?* *Cursing dead spirits actually works?* Never mind. Without dwelling on it, he kept watch a little longer, sighed, and slammed the door shut with a snap. The death qi outside was just as thick and far more dangerous. Better to stay cooped up inside. Life was simply unlivable. Had that bastard Su Yu managed to escape yet or not? *** Su Yu continued wandering in frustration until he reached the end of the inner ring's wall. The ancient city had only nine gates, all aligned on one side; there was no outer wall here. At this point, Su Yu wanted to leave. He would test the traversal talisman first. If it didn't work, that would be trouble. Besides, he wanted to see if stepping outside would lead to encounters with powerful foes, and whether there might be a chance to pit-kill them. Taking out a traversal talisman, he faced the solid city wall. Unless destroyed by brute force, the wall was impenetrable. And using brute force risked summoning unfathomably powerful dead spirits. "I won't run into some powerhouse waiting on the other side when I pop out, will I?" Su Yu felt a prickle of worry, but shrugged it off. If he did, chalk it up to bad luck. He didn't believe his luck was bad; on the contrary, he felt his fortune was excellent. Luck was an ethereal concept, but many believed in it. Activating the traversal talisman, Su Yu's figure blurred. In the next instant, he vanished from the spot, disappearing from the ancient city. Back hall of the Prefecture Lord Manor. The stone statue opened its eyes, utterly satisfied. *Finally, the little pest is gone!* Any longer, and it would have been driven mad. *Slaughtering dead spirits all over the damn place again!* The three Sun Moon dead spirits had been on the verge of exploding. Relying on his ability to convert death qi, that brat had been utterly relentless, bold beyond reason. Those three Sun Moon dead spirits had little intellect, but if he provoked a genuinely formidable Sun Moon dead spirit, did the kid really think dead spirits were fools? When that happened, even wrapped in death qi, they would tear him apart! And if he were killed, endless trouble would follow. A certain entity's imprint lurked in that brat's heart, and a creature of the God-Devouring race resided in his sea of will. An Eternal-level war would inevitably break out. *Good riddance!* The stone statue closed its eyes. *I'm already petrified; stop giving me headaches.* *** Outside the ancient city. Su Yu's vision blurred, and he found himself standing beyond the walls. Directly before him was the exterior masonry, and past that lay the territory of the Desire Sea Plain. The death qi vanished! Compared to the interior of the city, the Desire Sea Plain felt like a paradise. Su Yu drew a long breath, reversing his origin apertures to restore his origin qi. Activating his "Change" divine character, he swiftly altered his appearance. To stay low-key, he transformed into a member of the Shadow race. That way, no one would think twice about him acting sneaky. Engaging his breathing technique and the Longevity Art, he consumed several portions of Heaven Yuan Qi. Soon, he spat out a mouthful of black blood. Death qi surged out, corroding a patch of barren ground before dissipating in the blink of an eye. Death qi apparently couldn't persist for long in the outside world. No wonder ancient city residents rarely ventured out; stepping outside was probably excruciating for them. Glancing around, he saw this wasn't the main gate, and no one was nearby. Disguised as a Shadow race native, Su Yu allowed his silhouette to turn ethereal. He couldn't run toward the main gate alone—that would be too conspicuous. If a bunch of Sun Moons were gathered there, staring at him, how awkward would that be? With such a massive incident unfolding in the ancient city, surely spectators were gathering? Who didn't love watching a good spectacle these days? He would find a crowd of onlookers and blend right in. That way, he wouldn't stand out. Now that he knew the traversal talismans worked, Su Yu had nothing to fear; he still had two left. *** Su Yu sprinted in the opposite direction, putting distance between himself and the city gate. Soon, he had covered dozens of li. At this point, he could easily walk away and leave everyone waiting at the ancient city. But Su Yu wasn't content to leave just like that. In the All-Heavens Battlefield, one went wherever danger lay; going where it was safe brought no rewards. The greater the danger, the greater the fortune. Just as he was thinking this, the voice transmission talisman that had been blocked inside the ancient city suddenly vibrated slightly. Su Yu blinked. *A voice transmission?* A talisman couldn't transmit all the way from the Human Realm. On the All-Heavens Battlefield, only a handful of people knew his frequency: his father, Liu Wenyan, and... that was it. Were one of those two looking for him? Su Yu hastily took out the talisman. *** At that exact moment. Out on the Desire Sea Plain, Liu Wenyan stood dumbfounded. *I just fired off a random message on a whim, and it actually went through?!* What kind of ghost story was this? Had the kid been killed and his corpse carried outside? Pulling out a ranking list to check, Su Yu's name was still there. He wasn't dead! If he wasn't dead, wasn't he trapped inside the ancient city? Wasn't the ancient city sealed shut by death qi? How could a transmission succeed?! How bizarre! Voice transmissions on the All-Heavens Battlefield often depended on luck. Inside certain unique locations, transmissions were practically impossible. Since it had connected, it meant the recipient had received it. Truly strange! *** While Liu Wenyan was bewildered, Su Yu didn't think much of it. Glancing at the message, which merely asked how he was doing, he replied, "I'm fine!" Teacher Liu probably didn't know his situation. After all, the man was just an ordinary Tengkong Realm cultivator, rather pitiable. No longer counted as a young genius, he probably didn't even have access to the ranking lists. The Vanguard Camp wouldn't bother passing around gossip either. Teacher Liu might still be fighting cannon fodder on the front lines. Right then, the talisman vibrated again. "Brat, the saber technique I taught you back then—eight strikes were real, one was fake!" Su Yu paused. *Is he giving me a secret code?* What eight real strikes?! Nonsense! "Four strikes were real, five were fake. Teacher, do you need something from me? Just spit it out. Are you out of money?" *** On the Desire Sea Plain. Liu Wenyan grew even more bewildered! It really was the kid. Wait, aren't you supposed to be in Tianmie Ancient City? "You're in the ancient city?" "Ah, Teacher, you heard!" "Are you still in the ancient city right now?" "Teacher, do I know twenty-eight languages?" Liu Wenyan was speechless. *Now you're questioning my identity? Damn it, I'm the one who shouldn't believe you're Su Yu!* "Eighteen languages, cut the crap! Are you still in the ancient city right now?" "Nope!" Having confirmed he was indeed talking to Liu Wenyan, Su Yu quickly replied, "I left the city!" "Left the city?!" Liu Wenyan's expression twisted into something utterly bizarre. The entire All-Heavens Battlefield had been stirred into an uproar because of you, everyone is rushing over to surround and kill you, and you're telling me you aren't even there?! Didn't they say the city was sealed? How did you get out? Liu Wenyan's mind was pure mush! He was completely dazed. Word had it that numerous Sun Moons had gathered—how had this kid slipped out?! "You're outside the city?" "Yep!" "You're unhurt?" "Of course. Teacher, what could possibly happen to me?" Liu Wenyan felt mentally exhausted. *You're fine. If you're fine... then what the hell were you stirring up trouble for?!* "If you're fine... uh... can you come near Heaven-Severing Valley..." "What happened?" "Something happened to me!" Liu Wenyan practically wanted to roar. "I'm near Heaven-Severing Valley, separated from your grand-uncle, and now a few punks have targeted me for an ambush. Are you anywhere nearby?" "..." Stunned! Su Yu was completely dumbfounded. His teacher had come to Heaven-Severing Valley... to rescue him? And to top it off, he had gotten separated from Uncle Liu and was currently being ambushed? Su Yu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He roughly understood the situation. In a crisis, Liu Wenyan could erupt with Sun Moon combat power. Hearing Su Yu was in danger, he had rushed over to help. But on the Desire Sea Plain, erupting with excessive power was risky and could invite disaster. Yet at the peak of the Tengkong Realm, his baseline strength might not be enough to handle certain threats. How tragic! Still, a warm flicker of gratitude touched Su Yu's heart. At a time like this, hardly anyone was willing to risk their life to save him, yet Teacher Liu had come. Even if the man seemed utterly unreliable—losing Uncle Liu and getting himself ambushed—he had still come. If he went all out, he counted as a Sun Moon combatant, which was useful. He just didn't know how far Liu Wenyan had progressed in absorbing that divine character. How much control did he currently have over the Fifth Generation's divine character? *** At this moment, Liu Wenyan was deeply embarrassed and helpless. He wasn't afraid of the fellows preparing to ambush him, but fighting them risked exposing his identity, and once exposed outside human territory, he would be in grave danger. The Desire Sea Plain was treacherous terrain! He had set out with Uncle Liu, only for the old man to vanish halfway. Unable to contact him, Uncle Liu had likely been caught in some localized trouble, leaving Liu Wenyan to wait. And now, the person he had set out to rescue was already outside! Damn it! *You've slaughtered heavily injured peak Shanhai experts—coming to rescue me shouldn't be much trouble, right?* Liu Wenyan felt awkward and melancholy. Ah, life! Just a year ago, he was a grand Tengkong expert, while Su Yu was a tiny kid in the Kaiyuan and Yangxing Realms. Now, in the blink of an eye, the first thing the kid asked upon receiving his message was whether he needed money... It was a blow to his pride! He, Liu Wenyan, a brilliant genius of his generation—would he ever lack money? What a joke! Then again... had the kid struck it rich again from killing so many people? Finding a spot near Heaven-Severing Valley, Liu Wenyan sat down. Forget it, he would just wait for the kid to bail him out. How embarrassing. If he had known the boy could escape on his own, he never would have come. Sitting there, he indulged in a bout of self-pity. Pitiable! How had Liu Wenyan fallen to such a state? Inside his sea of will, that divine character remained dormant. Who knew when he would fully digest it? It was time for him to advance to the Lingyun Realm. His progress was far too slow! Around him, several shadowy figures had appeared at some point, circling warily. Was this white-haired old man human? He didn't feel particularly strong—Tengkong Realm, perhaps peak Tengkong—yet... he gave them an unsettling sense of danger. Should they kill the old fellow? Liu Wenyan pretended not to notice. He recognized their origins: the Heaven Wolf race, fond of hunting in packs. Their strength was decent—five Heaven Wolves in total, three at the Tengkong Realm and two at the Lingyun Realm. If he truly wanted to kill them, he could. It was just that unleashing great power risked drawing unwanted attention. As for Su Yu... he should be able to handle them, right? He didn't know how far away the kid was. If he was outside the city, Tianmie Ancient City wasn't terribly far from here. He would wait a bit longer! Liu Wenyan sat atop a small dirt mound, completely unruffled, still pondering how on earth Su Yu had slipped out. The Heaven Wolves were equally puzzled by the situation. Growing increasingly wary, they wondered: why wasn't this old man running? The encirclement drew tighter and tighter. *** Before long, Su Yu arrived, speeding through the terrain until he was slightly winded. Soon, he spotted Liu Wenyan sitting on the distant hillock. *Exhausting!* *Teacher is really something. Instead of staying in the Vanguard Camp, he insisted on rushing over here. What could possibly happen to me?* *And now he's surrounded by a pack of wild wolves.* Not bothering with pleasantries, Su Yu swept his sensing jade over the area: five Heaven Wolves. The three Tengkong ones could be ignored; of the two Lingyun wolves, one was first-stage and the other third-stage. After killing so many Shanhai experts, Lingyun cultivators barely registered. Unless they were on Modona's level, other Lingyun cultivators were mere fodder. Su Yu moved like lightning, flashing across the distance. Brandishing a massive hammer, he materialized instantly beside the third-stage Lingyun Heaven Wolf. Before the wolf's shocked gaze, he brought the hammer crashing down! *Thud!* The wolf's sea of will shattered instantly. Dead! Indeed, Su Yu's willpower was far stronger now, and having learned the vibration force and techniques from the stone statue, a single hammer strike directly shattered the creature's sea of will. Without a backward glance, wind whipped beneath Su Yu's feet as he swept around in a swift circle. Four hammer strikes landed in rapid succession! Four more Heaven Wolves were snuffed out. Liu Wenyan watched from the hillock, filled with emotion. Killing Lingyun cultivators like slaughtering chickens—this kid had truly grown powerful. This was the first time he had seen Su Yu display his strength. In his memory, Su Yu was still the boy who had to risk his life just to kill a single All-Races Cult member. Though he knew the boy had grown strong, he had never witnessed it firsthand. Today, he saw it. Fierce! Effortless! He could have killed those five Heaven Wolves too, but to do it so easily, he would have had to unleash the Fifth Generation's divine character. Relying solely on his own peak Tengkong cultivation, he was confident he could kill them, but certainly not with such casual ease. "Teacher!" Su Yu stowed the five wolf corpses. Finding no heavenly rewards, he didn't care much. Smiling, he refrained from revealing his true face, maintaining the guise of an ordinary human as he looked at Liu Wenyan with genuine joy. "Not bad!" Liu Wenyan rose, nodding faintly with a calm smile. "I was merely testing your strength. Looks like you're doing alright!" Su Yu grinned foolishly. Same as always. Whatever you say, Teacher. "Where's Grandpa Liu?" "Lost him!" Liu Wenyan sighed helplessly. "Don't bring it up." "Don't worry, we agreed beforehand that if we got separated, he'd wait for me in Liu City." Liu Wenyan sized him up. Though Su Yu had changed his appearance, Liu Wenyan didn't mind. After inspecting him, he asked, "Did anyone see you leave?" "No." Liu Wenyan nodded slightly. "Good. I didn't expect you to get out ahead of time!" He then smiled. "Heading back to the East Rift Valley?" "I don't want to go back yet." Su Yu shook his head. "If you hadn't called, Teacher, I was actually planning to check out the city gates to see who wants me dead. Even if I can't kill them now, I want to memorize their faces!" To settle scores later! "Figured as much!" Liu Wenyan wasn't surprised. If Su Yu simply slunk away, he wouldn't be Su Yu. He knew how petty Su Yu could be. Back then, the boy had frequently egged Chen Hao into causing mischief; it wasn't as if Liu Wenyan hadn't noticed. "Did you suffer any losses?" "None!" Su Yu grinned. "Those guys? Make me suffer? I slaughtered a huge batch of them! It's just annoying that the rest are hiding inside the ancient houses where I can't reach them." "It's better that you couldn't!" Liu Wenyan scolded playfully. "If you really killed them all, you might have drawn out an Invincible! I know some of those fellows over there are descendants of Invincibles. Kill a few more, and an Invincible will descend!" "Don't rush to kill everyone at once!" Su Yu nodded. *Alright, you have a point.* Liu Wenyan paused, then added, "Tell me your thoughts and what you need. Also, now that I see you're fine, don't rely on me. Your teacher will avoid showing himself if at all possible. If I reveal myself, I might draw powerful enemies, which would do more harm than good." He had only rushed over because Su Yu was facing mortal peril. Now that the boy was safe, it was best he didn't intervene. Su Yu nodded, not truly expecting Liu Wenyan's help anyway. This man carried more trouble on his back than Su Yu did! All of the Fifth Generation's enemies were now his. Su Yu pondered for a moment before saying, "I'll kill however many I can, and if I can't, I'll settle accounts another day. Teacher, do you think I have a chance of taking them down right now? I still have two talismans that let me pass through the ancient city..." Liu Wenyan understood now! No wonder he could get out! Without asking how he had obtained them, Liu Wenyan asked, "If you erupt with full power, what level can you reach?" "Around fourth or fifth-stage Shanhai!" Su Yu shook his head. "Actually, fourth or fifth-stage Shanhai is hard to define. Looking purely at the warrior path, over thirty thousand apertures of strength!" His base strength was approaching twenty thousand apertures, and by consuming blood essence, reaching thirty to forty thousand apertures of power was within his grasp. Combined with his willpower and divine characters, Su Yu was confident in dealing with a fifth-stage Shanhai cultivator. Liu Wenyan felt a bitter pang in his chest! *Damn it!* Cursing inwardly, he quickly feigned indifference. "Decent, but against a Sun Moon, it's virtually impossible! The Sun Moon Realm is terrifyingly strong. Even the weakest Sun Moon possesses over five hundred thousand apertures of strength. Reaching Sun Moon is a fundamental transformation, and those weak ones don't even count... For the Sun Moons of powerful races like the gods and demons, seven or eight hundred thousand, or even a million apertures, is standard. And the ones who arrived this time aren't ordinary Sun Moons either... Killing a Sun Moon is practically impossible for you." *So strong!* Su Yu marveled inwardly. *Incredible.* *I calculated that even after seventy-two casts, I would erupt with a little over a million apertures of strength at most. Does that mean even after finishing seventy-two casts, I still won't be considered exceptional among Sun Moons?* *What a pity. That means reaching the peak of the ninth stage of Tengkong still won't make fighting Sun Moons easy.* Su Yu sighed inwardly. He had assumed that after seventy-two casts, he could sweep through the Sun Moon Realm. It seemed he had gotten ahead of himself. A Tengkong fighting a Sun Moon was indeed an immense hurdle. However, Liu Wenyan soon chuckled. "Still, it's not entirely hopeless!" "Oh?" Stroking his chin and beard, Liu Wenyan smiled warmly. "Brat, if you truly want revenge, I won't stop you, but consider the consequences carefully!" Lowering his voice to a transmission, he said, "You know about my master, and you know he passed his divine character down to me! My concealment abilities are weak, but I can lend that divine character to you for a bit. You know how powerful my master's divine character is. If your sea of will can endure and accommodate it, I can lend it to you briefly. It can't be for too long, though, or your sea of will will burst. With a peak Sun Moon divine character at your disposal, killing whoever you want will become vastly easier!" Su Yu's eyes lit up. *That works too?!* "You can lend it?" "Lending ordinary ones is hard, but mine is different—it was borrowed in the first place... The key lies in your compatibility, resonance, and the strength of your sea of will. If you're too weak and it blows your head apart, don't blame me!" Su Yu's eyes gleamed with excitement. He would know once he tried. If he had a peak Sun Moon divine character at his command, even if it only yielded a single strike—say, a binding character to freeze a Sun Moon in place—he could bash them to death! Teacher Liu was still formidable in his older years! To think he could even lend divine characters—truly impressive!