Worried Sick

Time slipped by, day after day. *** On July 15th, Su Yu received his admission notice from the Great Xia Civilization Academy. At home. Su Yu glanced over it and couldn't help cursing under his breath, his good mood instantly ruined. "Enrollment and registration fee: 10,000. Accommodation fee: 3,000. Student uniform fee: 5,000. Textbook fee: 2,000. Total: 20,000." "Student accommodations are adjustable; first-class students may reside in the Character Cultivation Garden, with an annual accommodation fee of 50,000 (or payable in merit points)." Reading the notice's instructions, Su Yu felt thoroughly depressed. In cash, he currently had just over twenty thousand. Just enrolling was going to cost twenty thousand! Of course, one didn't have to stay in the standard dormitories; one could stay in the Character Cultivation Garden, but that required fifty thousand or payment in merit points. Once he paid all this money, wouldn't he starve to death at the academy? "Dad... the money you left behind really isn't enough!" Su Yu sighed mournfully. His dad had left far too little. If he hadn't been able to earn on his own, he would have starved in the streets long ago. As for the Character Cultivation Garden, Su Yu certainly wouldn't stay there right now. He didn't even have enough merit points for himself, so why waste them on luxury housing? "This Great Xia Civilization Academy... reeks of nothing but money!" Su Yu muttered a curse. They charged for absolutely everything—what did they need so much money for? Nearly half a month had passed since he opened the first aperture of the War God Art. The blood essence he exchanged for last time was practically depleted, and he had used another drop of yuanqi liquid, leaving him with only a single drop. One drop of yuanqi liquid, 30 merit points, and a little over twenty thousand cash—that was his entire fortune. With half a month left before school started, he still needed to exchange for more blood essence and perhaps even more yuanqi liquid. By the time enrollment arrived, he might have spent every last bit. He would truly be arriving in the Great Xia Prefecture empty-handed! "Sigh!" Sighing aside, even a specially recruited genius had to pay tuition. The privileges of a genius had already been granted: a hundred merit points and two chances to enter a secret realm, things money couldn't buy. If one actually had to pay cash for those, several million or even tens of millions wouldn't suffice. The Great Xia Civilization Academy probably never imagined that a genius recruit would be agonizing over registration fees. "I need to make another trip to the academy today to trade for some more blood essence and yuanqi liquid." Over the past half-month, Su Yu had cultivated regardless of expense, and by now, he had already opened the third aperture of the War God Art. Over the next half-month, he needed to exchange for more resources and continue cultivating. Converting resources into strength so that he would have the capital to earn more once he reached the Great Xia Prefecture—Su Yu understood that logic well. *** At the resource depot. Gritting his teeth, Su Yu said in a low voice, "Teacher, please exchange for fifteen drops of Ironwing Bird blood essence and three drops of yuanqi liquid." "The Ironwing Bird blood essence is no problem, but the yuanqi liquid..." The teacher at the resource desk shook his head. "Our academy originally had none of that in stock. The single drop you exchanged for last time was borrowed from Instructor Liu. Su Yu, Instructor Liu hasn't sent over any yuanqi liquid lately." Su Yu frowned slightly. He had almost forgotten that the academy lacked Tengkong Realm experts—well, Liu Wenyan was one, but he seemed to be busy cultivating himself lately and likely had neither the time nor energy to supply the academy with yuanqi liquid. In the past, yuanqi liquid could only be purchased in the Great Xia Prefecture. Nanyuan was too small, with far too few Tengkong experts. Yet it was impossible for Su Yu to travel to the Great Xia Prefecture just to buy it right now. After thinking for a moment, Su Yu asked, "Teacher, if I go to the Nanyuan City Lord Manor right now, can I exchange for yuanqi liquid there?" The City Lord was also a Tengkong expert, and Su Yu's previous three drops had been supplied by him. "If your merit rank is sufficient, that is possible, but they might not have reserves either..." The teacher thought it over and said, "If you truly want to trade, I suggest you try the Longwu Guards. The decurion of the Longwu Guards is also a Tengkong expert. Their unit is small, so he ought to have some reserves." "But I don't even know where the Longwu Guards are stationed." The teacher smiled. "That's not difficult. Nanyuan is preparing to escort your batch of freshmen to the Great Xia Prefecture for enrollment, and the Longwu Guards will be protecting you along the way. They should be coordinating at the City Lord Manor over these next couple of days. Go take a look; you might run into Decurion Xia." "Thank you, Teacher." Su Yu expressed his thanks and exchanged for the fifteen drops of blood essence. Not only did he need them, but his 'Blood' little bro had recently begun awakening and absorbing blood essence again. With fifteen drops, across ten cultivation sessions, the 'Blood' character would absorb at least two. The remainder would serve as a reserve in case he encountered danger. *My 'Thunder' little bro is still the best!* Su Yu sighed inwardly. The 'Blood' divine character absorbed blood essence, which cost a fortune. The 'Thunder' divine character didn't cost a cent. As for draining a bit of his willpower, that was free, so Su Yu didn't mind it much. In truth, if another Civilization Master learned what he was thinking, they would probably curse him to death. Absorbing a bit of blood essence to strengthen itself? What was wrong with that? That was a model divine character of the highest order! Characters like the 'Thunder' divine character that drained willpower were the ones that gave Civilization Masters massive headaches. Nurturing such divine characters constantly drained enormous amounts of willpower that was difficult to replenish. Yet here was Su Yu, actually complaining about the 'Blood' character—truly taking his blessings for granted. *** Nearly half an hour later, outside the Nanyuan City Lord Manor. Su Yu waited for a while before finally spotting Xia Bing. "Lord Xia..." Su Yu called out first. Xia Bing turned to look at him, surprised. "You're looking for me?" "Lord Xia!" Without beating around the bush, Su Yu got straight to the point. "The academy has no yuanqi liquid left to exchange. The teacher suggested I inquire with the Longwu Guards. Do you happen to have any in reserve?" "Yuanqi liquid..." Xia Bing looked at him, a sharp light flashing across his eyes. The next moment, he said in surprise, "You've already opened other apertures... so quickly?" No wonder he needed yuanqi liquid! This kid had actually opened additional apertures already. Su Yu said with an honest smile, "Didn't the City Lord reward me with some yuanqi liquid recently? I used it to try cultivating and opening apertures. But the consumption was too immense, and the liquid ran out." "That's normal," Xia Bing nodded. "Nanyuan's yuanqi is thin, making cultivation difficult to begin with, and opening apertures consumes the most yuanqi. The Longwu Guards do have supplies, but under normal circumstances, they aren't available to outsiders... I cannot grant you access to the military exchange system." "Tell you what: I have some personal reserves. You can just exchange with me using standard merit points." While the Longwu Guards were stationed here, the Great Xia Prefecture supplied them with yuanqi liquid. However, those were military resources, not open for public distribution. Xia Bing trading from his personal stock to Su Yu was completely fine; he was a Tengkong expert himself and could condense it on his own. "Thank you, my Lord!" Su Yu hurriedly thanked him. Without Xia Bing's help, he truly wouldn't have been able to obtain yuanqi liquid in Nanyuan. He had already checked the City Lord Manor earlier, and they had none to spare. Xia Bing didn't mind. "You are cultivating the *War God Art*?" "Yes." "To open apertures so quickly with the War God Art means your progress is quite decent." Xia Bing explained, "The Longwu Guards generally focus on the *War God Art*, while the Demon Suppression Army focuses on the foundation battle arts." The foundation battle arts referred to the series based on the *Qianjun Art*. "If you cultivate the War God Art and truly wish to progress faster, besides your Civilization Academy's willpower texts, you could actually go to the Longwu Guards or the War Academy to seek guidance from someone." Xia Bing advised, "Guards on duty naturally won't be able to instruct you, but off-duty personnel are seasoned veterans with years of cultivation under their belts. They can help you avoid many detours." "Yes, I'll keep that in mind. Thank you for the advice, my Lord." "Don't mention it." Walking along, Xia Bing said, "The items are at my residence; I didn't bring them with me. Follow me. In a few days, you will all head to the Great Xia Prefecture together. Along the way, we and the City Guards will escort you." Su Yu couldn't help asking, "Lord Xia, is the road very dangerous?" "Somewhat," Xia Bing explained. "You should know that the All-Races Sect is active in the Great Xia Prefecture right now. Even though many of them were killed last time, there's no guarantee that none are lurking in hiding. That's one thing. The other is to watch out for beasts that have awakened into demons natively. Those creatures are quite troublesome as well." "Natively awakened demons..." Su Yu had heard of them, though he had never seen one. Curiously, he asked, "I read in books that because some places in the Human Realm have dense yuanqi, native beasts can also become demons. But usually, they aren't very strong. Do they attack humans?" "It depends," Xia Bing smiled. "Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. These demons act purely on impulse. Their intellect simply isn't fully developed, so they will occasionally attack anyone trespassing on their territory without conscious reason." "We conduct sweeps every year, but new demons emerge every year as well. That is why an escort is necessary along the route; after all, none of you have much combat power." Xia Bing said helplessly, "It is precisely because of this that traveling between cities is somewhat inconvenient. Merchant caravans must travel in large groups, and the roads along the route are frequently ruined. These creatures can never be completely eradicated; we can only purge them regularly. After all, we can't wipe out every beast in existence, can we?" Su Yu nodded. That made sense. The Human Realm could hardly be left with only the human race. Xia Bing added, "The land is relatively manageable with regular sweeps, but the maritime regions are a nightmare! Because sea beasts are far more numerous and much harder to purge, demon tides frequently erupt across the major seas. Most students trained by the Sea Domain War Academy end up joining the naval battle corps." Chen Hao had previously considered applying to the Sea Domain War Academy because the admission score threshold was lower. The maritime battlefields were not on the All-Heavens Battlefield, but within the Human Realm itself. The human race possessed the strength to suppress them; the trouble was that the creatures were impossible to exterminate completely. Of course, Su Yu suspected that the authorities deliberately maintained it as a training ground for troops or as a resource harvesting point; otherwise, if a few Invincible experts intervened, the seas could probably be pacified swiftly. "Lord Xia, it won't be too dangerous on our journey, right?" "Normally, no—unless the All-Races Sect attacks in force, but that's practically impossible." Su Yu felt a chill run down his spine and hastily said, "Lord Xia, perhaps it's best not to say such things." Whenever someone claimed something was "normally unlikely" or "practically impossible," it had a nasty habit of coming true. Having read extensively, Su Yu knew that people who said that were quintessential jinxes. Xia Bing clearly caught his meaning. Chuckling, he didn't say more. Soon, they arrived at a small courtyard. Su Yu was surprised. This was the Longwu Guards' post? It seemed barely any distance from his own home. "This is our station..." Xia Bing read his thoughts and smiled. "Don't worry, we'll be relocating soon anyway. With few Longwu Guards stationed in Nanyuan, we relocate every few days to keep the All-Races Sect from tracking our movements." "Wait here; I'll go inside and get the items for you." Not daring to barge in, Su Yu waited outside the door. A moment later, Xia Bing emerged and tossed over a bottle. Su Yu caught it quickly and pulled out his merit card. The merit card wasn't manufactured by the Civilization Academy, but by the Scientific Research Academy. Though called a card, it was actually a small device resembling a pocket calculator. Su Yu docked his card with Xia Bing's and entered his passcode. The display showed that he still had 15 merit points left, which he promptly transferred entirely to Xia Bing. Xia Bing glanced at the screen and couldn't help saying, "You spent it all?" Did this kid eat merit points for breakfast? Even he knew that this kid had earned 40 merit points from the assessment, another 10 as a mission reward, plus quite a few from the previous All-Races languages academy assessment, not to mention Chen Hao's 3-point reward... All told, the kid should have possessed well over 70 merit points. And it was already gone? For someone in the Kaiyuan Realm to blow through so many merit points in such a short time was more lavish than a Qianjun cultivator. To earn 70 merit points, how many Qianjun enemies would one have to kill? More than twenty high-stage Qianjun combatants! Su Yu said awkwardly, "I've had to nurture my divine characters lately, so the consumption has been rather fast." "Divine characters..." Xia Bing was taken aback for a second before nodding in understanding. He sighed, "True enough. You Civilization Masters have to nurture divine characters! Once you reach the academy, your expenses will be even greater—attending lectures, borrowing original cultivation manuals... Given your family's situation... it will likely be difficult to sustain." "When you arrive at the Great Xia Prefecture, the Longwu Guards, the Prefectural Army, and the Wind Arrest Hall all maintain a public mission hall that posts daily tasks. If you want to earn some merit, you can check them out. Of course, your academy has its own as well." Saying that, Xia Bing added, "Just don't take on missions to the All-Heavens Battlefield. It's far too dangerous; after all, you are only students." "Understood. Thank you for the guidance, my Lord." Su Yu thanked him once more. Xia Bing was remarkably approachable today, quite unlike his usual aloof demeanor. Su Yu didn't intend to ask why, assuming it was due to his own outstanding talent. Yet before he could ask, Xia Bing brought it up himself. "Regarding your father... Although the All-Heavens Battlefield has been relatively calm lately, minor skirmishes have been constant. When your father led his hundred-man squad on a mission earlier, he suffered minor injuries, but nothing serious." "Word came from the Great Xia Prefecture that the status of the soldiers from Nanyuan would be compiled and reported back to Nanyuan City. Your father was quite worried about you and wanted to transfer some of his merit points to you through the military system so you wouldn't run short after enrollment..." Su Yu's expression changed slightly. "My dad was injured?" "It's nothing serious, just minor wounds—very common on the battlefield," Xia Bing explained. "Don't worry. If something truly happened, worrying wouldn't help anyway. There have been no major battles lately, just minor skirmishes. I just came from the City Lord Manor to coordinate the interface between the military's merit system and your civil registry." "Your father had some spoils of war recently, and his merit rewards will be issued soon. As per his request, we were going to transfer them to you through the merit system..." Su Yu's expression grew cloudy and uncertain. "I don't need them! Leave them for my dad. He needs them to increase his own strength on the battlefield... By the way, my Lord, can our merit points be transferred to one another?" "Yes, between family members there are no restrictions," Xia Bing said. "It's very common for soldiers on the battlefield to transfer their merit points to their families. Of course, they don't count toward your cumulative merit rank." "Your father was also worried you'd lack merit points once you reached the academy..." "I don't need them." Su Yu took a deep breath. "My dad might not even earn as much as I do. Besides, what I earn comes easily, while he has to kill enemies for his... Lord Xia, could you please pass word to my father that I'm doing very well and have more merit points than I know what to do with?" "I can pass that along through the Demon Suppression Army, but your father might not receive it right away. Their encampments move constantly, so even if he gets it, it will likely take a long time." Su Yu nodded silently. His father was injured! Perhaps it wasn't severe, but he had arrived at the All-Heavens Battlefield only a short time ago. Transferring merit points to him... was he afraid he wouldn't come back? In the past, Su Long had always given his merit points to his old brothers-in-arms on the front lines. This time, he had transferred them to his son. Perhaps Su Long truly feared he wouldn't make it back, and worried that without any income, his son wouldn't even be able to finish his studies. No wonder Xia Bing was so cordial today instead of cold and distant. Perhaps it wasn't because of Su Yu's talent, but out of respect for his father's conduct on the battlefield. "Just a Wanshi cultivator, running around blindly making trouble!" Su Yu muttered sullenly under his breath, feeling a mix of frustration and anger. Xia Bing heard him, his lips twitching slightly, but said nothing. *You haven't even reached Qianjun yet, and here you are looking down on your old man.* Still, Su Yu's worry was understandable. Xia Bing didn't linger on it and added, "Su Yu, if you are certain you don't need them, we won't process the transfer of your father's merit points. But heading to the Civilization Academy now... I still think you'd be best off accepting them." "How many did my dad accumulate?" "Fifty-three points." Su Yu frowned. So many! Indeed, it was an enormous amount. It meant Su Long had achieved merits equivalent to slaying five early-stage Wanshi Realm enemies to earn that much, and he had only been at the front for a short time. Of course, as a centurion, he had leadership merits that came with additional rewards. Regardless, accumulating 53 merit points in such a short window filled Su Yu with anxiety and dread. Was his old man fighting too recklessly? Could he have been dueling mid-to-late stage Wanshi enemies on the battlefield? "I don't want them. Let him keep them to exchange for resources to cultivate. It's only fifty-odd points anyway. If you can pass word to my dad... tell him I'm not short on money. Tell him I sold the family house recently... and plan to find a rich family in the Great Xia Prefecture to marry into!" "..." Xia Bing stared at him in speechless silence for a long while. *Brat, are you worried your dad won't die on the battlefield, so you're trying to anger him to death yourself?* Yet Xia Bing soon understood Su Yu's underlying feelings. He chuckled and said, "Fine, I'll pass the message along! I'll also convey that you placed first in the academy entrance examination so your father won't worry. If you run into trouble in the Great Xia Prefecture that doesn't violate laws or regulations, you can seek help from the local Military Dependents Office." "Yes, I know." Xia Bing said no more. He patted Su Yu on the shoulder and sighed with emotion. "Don't worry. The human race is invincible; nothing will happen! Your father will be proud of your achievements as well. People like us ask for nothing more than the health and safety of our families, and for our children to make a name for themselves." He was middle-aged himself, with a wife and children back home. Stationed here in Nanyuan, his family was not by his side. Looking at Su Yu, he couldn't help stepping into the role of a father. The Great Xia Prefecture had countless soldiers. While fathers fought fiercely on the battlefield, their greatest fear was that their descendants would turn out useless back home. For a child to be as outstanding as Su Yu was what every one of them longed to see. *** After parting ways with Xia Bing, Su Yu's mood remained somewhat heavy. Xia Bing was far too blunt! He shouldn't have mentioned the injury outright. Of course, knowing was better than being kept in the dark, but it only made Su Yu feel more anxious. His desire to grow stronger became all the more pressing! There was no telling when his old man would be swept into a major battle. Once a full-scale clash erupted, let alone a Wanshi cultivator, even a Tengkong expert might not survive. *If I follow the standard cultivation path, my speed won't be slow... but perhaps... I should unlock another page in the album!* The cultivation speed provided by the Qianjun seventh-layer Ironwing Bird was beginning to feel too slow for him now. *The strength of the blood essence used to unlock the page roughly corresponds to the realm reflected by the unlocked page... Right now, I can't unlock anything too powerful, but unlocking a page for the Wanshi first layer... or Qianjun ninth layer would accelerate my cultivation speed, and I should barely be able to withstand it.* Su Yu fell into deep thought. Among the countless monsters in his dreams, he had actually identified several corresponding species over the years; he just hadn't been entirely certain. Even for those he had confirmed, he couldn't find their blood essence. *The Lu fish and the Whirl-Turtle are confirmed, but Nanyuan has no blood essence for them. Once I arrive at the Great Xia Prefecture, I might be able to buy some.* Previously, having unlocked the Ironwing Bird page, Su Yu had felt it was enough. He hadn't wanted to take risks, preferring steady progress since his pace was already rapid. Yet Xia Bing's words had left him impatient. He needed to unlock a stronger monster album to accelerate his cultivation. The Qianjun seventh layer wasn't slow, but it could no longer satisfy him. *The crucial problem is... merit points and money!* Su Yu had a massive headache. If he unlocked a Wanshi Realm monster album, did that mean he would have to use Wanshi Realm blood essence to cultivate from then on? *Wanshi Realm blood essence is vastly more expensive than Qianjun Realm essence!* *Perhaps... I really should accept the merit points my dad transferred... If his strength improves slowly, wouldn't that mean he wouldn't have to take part in the fiercest battles?* Su Yu shook his head, brushing off the foolish thought. On the battlefield, the weak only died faster. Of course, the same held true for the strong—unless one was truly invincible. "Dad, you really have me worried sick..." Su Yu sighed. As old as his father was, he still couldn't put anyone's mind at ease. It was an utter headache. *** On the All-Heavens Battlefield. Inside a certain military encampment. Su Long was lamenting to several soldiers under his command, "My boy is still young. He doesn't know how to cook, doesn't know how to wash clothes... Sigh, I'm worried sick over him. With me gone for so many days, I wonder if he's gone hungry. Now that he's been admitted to the Great Xia Civilization Academy, expenses will be huge too. I just hope he can bring back a daughter-in-law for me from the academy..." "Centurion, no news has even arrived from your son yet, and you already know he got into the Great Xia Civilization Academy?" A decurion joked. Su Long glared, saying indignantly, "Does that even need asking? If my son can't get in, nobody in Nanyuan can! It's a sure thing! I've already transferred the merit points from my recent exploit back to him. With those merit points, by the time I return home in a few years, he'll be at least Qianjun seventh or eighth layer!" Nearby, someone else teased, "Qianjun seventh or eighth layer? Why don't you just say your son will be in the Tengkong Realm in a few years? Doesn't graduating from the Civilization Academy make one a Tengkong cultivator? In a few years, when he joins our corps as an esteemed Civilization Master, you'll have to address him as 'my Lord' when you meet!" Su Long's face flushed crimson, and he retorted hotly, "What's wrong with Tengkong? You think it's impossible? My son is a genius! Maybe not in a few years, but what about ten or twenty years down the line? When you lot are still common grunts and he arrives as a Civilization Master, you'll all be his grandsons and have to bow and call him Lord Su!" "Hahaha! Right, and we'll call you Old Lord Su! Satisfied?" Su Long glared at the speaker, who was also a centurion. That fellow had a higher cultivation realm than him and was usually utterly obnoxious. Gritting his teeth, Su Long snapped, "Just you wait! Once my son becomes a Civilization Master, I'll slap every single one of your faces! You, Liu, don't you get cocky! My son wouldn't even look twice at your daughter. Think a Civilization Master will have trouble finding a wife?" The man beside him snorted. "You old bastard, you've had your eye on my daughter since the day you arrived, constantly trying to play matchmaker for your boy. Keep dreaming! My daughter is taking the Higher Academy Examination next year and is practically guaranteed a spot at the Great Xia War Academy. In a year or two, she'll be in the Qianjun or even Wanshi Realm. Take a look in the mirror, Su Long—how many people actually manage to graduate from the Civilization Academy..." Enraged, Su Long nearly challenged him to a duel on the spot! Who said one couldn't graduate from the Civilization Academy? Who claimed that! Though... it did seem rather difficult. Su Long felt a twinge of discouragement, but immediately snapped back against his own conscience, "Even if he doesn't graduate, he can still serve as an instructor at the Civilization Academy! It's safe! That's far better than your daughter fighting tooth and nail as a barbarian!" "Su Long, you looking for a fight?" "Bring it on, who's afraid of you! You dare talk down about my son? Today, I'll risk it all to beat the daylight out of an elder-disrespecting bastard like you!" "..." The two started brawling again. The surrounding soldiers watched with glee, thoroughly enjoying the spectacle. A fight was welcome entertainment anyway; with no battles lately, watching a good row was a fine way to pass the time. Yet as for Su Yu, everyone had formed an impression of him by now. A frail scholar! Pitiful boy, sickly and physically weak, likely a chronic invalid. Just look at how frantic Old Su was, asking around about everyone's daughters the moment he arrived at the regiment—was he truly that terrified his son would never find a wife?