The Book Opens

"Moonlight!" The massive Ironwing Bird screeched, appearing clearer than in any previous dream. Now, every detail of its form was visible. Yet this dream was different. Floating in the dreamscape was an enormous droplet of golden blood—the blood essence of an Ironwing Bird. The bird, originally hunting Su Yu down, seemed drawn toward it. In the next moment, its eyes shifted to the golden blood, glazed with confusion. Soon, the Ironwing Bird abandoned its pursuit of Su Yu and flew toward the golden blood suspended in the air. Flapping faster and faster, it reached the golden blood in the blink of an eye. With another screech, it swallowed the blood essence whole. *Boom!* At that moment, the Ironwing Bird blazed like a radiant golden sun, bursting with dazzling light that illuminated the entire dreamscape. Su Yu watched with bated breath. What would happen next? The blood essence really worked! Just as the thought crossed his mind, the Ironwing Bird suddenly swelled in size, growing larger and larger, as if on the verge of exploding. Su Yu's expression changed. Sure enough, with an earth-shattering roar, the dream began to collapse. The Ironwing Bird shattered into countless golden motes of light, vanishing in an instant, while the force of the blast tore Su Yu to pieces as well. In the final instant before the dream ended, a book that blotted out the sky abruptly appeared. The pages flipped rapidly, each one a vast expanse of blank white. Soon, it stopped on a page, and the golden motes of light from the Ironwing Bird merged into it, instantly illuminating the parchment. An illustration of the Ironwing Bird materialized upon it. With that, the dream ended, and Su Yu snapped awake. ... "*Hiss!*" Pain. A splitting headache, his whole body throbbing as if he truly had been blown to pieces. Su Yu sat up. His eyes flickered with uncertainty. The nightmare had been broken. At this moment, a faint, translucent booklet hovered in his mind. It was the very book from the dream! "The dream became reality..." Su Yu's expression turned grave. After so many years, breaking the recurring nightmare should have been cause for celebration, but why had it materialized in reality? The book that absorbed the bird's light was actually floating inside his mind right now. Was it merely an illusion, or was there an actual book residing within his head? Su Yu visualized the book in his mind. With a single thought, the pages began to turn, quickly stopping on the page illuminated by the Ironwing Bird. "Ironwing Bird (Qianjun Realm, Seventh Stage): Racial Skills: Rip Level 1 (Activated by Blood Essence), Ironwing Slash (Activated by Blood Essence) Basic Yuan Art: Yuan Absorption (Activated by Blood Essence)" There were only three short lines of text, and they were not written in the human tongue, but in the language of the Ironwing Birds. Had Su Yu not studied it, he wouldn't have understood a single word. "Seventh stage of the Qianjun Realm... Racial Skills, Basic Yuan Art..." Su Yu frowned. What was this book? Judging from the literal phrasing, 'Activated by Blood Essence' meant he needed to absorb more blood essence to activate them. But activate what? Activate the skills? As for the seventh stage of the Qianjun Realm, that was likely because the absorbed blood essence had belonged to a seventh-stage Ironwing Bird. That part was simple enough to understand. What about the rest? Thoughts raced through Su Yu's head. *Does this mean that as long as I have enough blood essence, I can unlock the Ironwing Bird's skills?* *Once activated, can I actually use them?* *Even if I can, how much power would I unleash? The strength of the third stage of the Kaiyuan Realm, or the seventh stage of the Qianjun Realm?* *How long would it last? Would there be side effects?* *And where did this book come from in the first place?* His eyes darted around. The dreams had started over ten years ago. Had this book been inside his head all that time? Who put it there? Was there a conspiracy behind it? There were countless powerful races among the myriad races of the heavens. Could this be a scheme by one of them to use him to sow chaos within human society? Su Yu couldn't help but consider the possibility. Some of the myriad races were exceptionally sinister. Such things had happened to humanity before: many experts had been ambushed, bewitched, and corrupted by alien races, ultimately becoming members of the All-Races Sect. *Still, humanity has a population of over ten billion. I'm just an ordinary person. Even if they wanted to corrupt someone, would they spend over ten years plotting around me?* Su Yu remained puzzled, but excitement soon began to stir within him. Should he test it out? Moreover, the book seemed extraordinarily thick. Right now, only a single page had been opened. Did that mean other pages could be unlocked as well? Just as he was pondering this, a faint ripple brushed against his consciousness. Su Yu came to a sudden realization. The ripple originated from the page itself. It wasn't words, but a form of mental guidance. *It can be unlocked. Any race I've dreamed of can be unlocked once I find the corresponding blood essence. However, I'm only in the Kaiyuan Realm, so when swallowing blood essence, I must consider my physical tolerance...* Su Yu understood now. For instance, his body felt like it was on the verge of bursting right now, racked with pain, and that was just from a seventh-stage Qianjun Ironwing Bird's blood essence. Had it been blood essence from the Wanshi Realm, he would likely be dead or crippled. "I see!" Su Yu muttered to himself. Pieces began falling into place. All those years of dreams—each dream represented a different race. The book opening wasn't because Ironwing Bird blood essence was uniquely powerful; rather, any blood essence matching a race he had dreamed of would do the trick. However, in the past, he hadn't recognized those alien creatures, and besides, why would an ordinary Kaiyuan third-stage cultivator ever swallow blood essence? If he hadn't understood the bird's words this time, he wouldn't have taken the risk either. A single misstep could have cost him his life. "Basic Yuan Art, Yuan Absorption..." Putting those thoughts aside for a moment, Su Yu focused on the third line. The Yuan Absorption Art was the foundational technique of the Ironwing Bird race, its sole function being to absorb a portion of yuanqi. "Yuan Absorption Art... Activated by Blood Essence?" Su Yu's eyes gleamed. *What does that mean? Could I use blood essence to activate the Yuan Absorption Art and actually absorb yuanqi?* *Cultivators in the Kaiyuan Realm can't actively absorb yuanqi. We can only wait passively for it to temper our bodies.* He hadn't paid much mind to the racial skills. Rip and Ironwing Slash were just basic Ironwing Bird abilities, already cataloged by humans. Unlocking them with blood essence might teach them to him or grant him the power of a seventh-stage Qianjun cultivator, but that didn't interest him nearly as much. The Yuan Absorption Art, however, was another matter entirely. Before reaching the Qianjun Realm, humans could not actively absorb yuanqi. The sole purpose of the Kaiyuan Art was to gather yuanqi in the surrounding air, making it denser so that passive tempering would last longer and yield slightly better results. "Yuan Absorption Art..." Su Yu felt a surge of uncontrollable excitement. If he could activate the Yuan Absorption Art, would that mean he could actively draw in yuanqi while still in the Kaiyuan Realm? The nine stages of the Kaiyuan Realm took a long time primarily because cultivators couldn't actively guide yuanqi into their bodies, as their physical acupoints had yet to form a connected system. What if he could actively absorb it? *Still... the consequences remain to be seen.* *What happens if I absorb yuanqi this way? And how much blood essence does it take to activate? If one drop is enough, how long will it last?* *How efficient is it?* *This stuff is expensive—fifty thousand coins a drop. If one drop only lasts a few minutes, it wouldn't be worth wasting the money at all.* Countless thoughts flashed through Su Yu's mind. Furthermore, unlocking pages for other races would require their blood essence as well. Where was he supposed to get so much of it? With so many loose ends, Su Yu felt his head spinning. *Maybe... I should test it out.* *And where did this thing really come from? Should I ask the instructors?* After a moment's consideration, he quickly dismissed the idea. Even if someone had planted it inside him, the instructors wouldn't know anything about it. Their cultivation was too low; this was beyond their reach. For this thing to remain undetected inside him for over a decade, let alone Qianjun or Wanshi experts, even Tengkong Realm cultivators might not be able to sense it. *Sitting here theorizing won't solve anything. It's best to test it myself.* Just as Su Yu was thinking this, a loud bang came from the front door! In the next instant, Chen Hao charged in, brandishing his schoolbag and roaring at the top of his lungs, "I've already contacted the Wind Arrest Hall! If you value your life, you'd better clear out! There are experts living on every floor! Scram!" "..." Su Yu stared in stunned silence. Chen Hao swung his schoolbag so hard it whipped the air with a loud whoosh. Following his roar, movement stirred from both upstairs and downstairs. Before long, someone bellowed from upstairs, "What's going on?" "Are those beasts from the All-Races Sect here?" "How brazen!" "Surround them!" "..." Snapping out of his daze, Su Yu hurriedly yelled, "It's nothing! Nothing happened! Uncle Zhou, Chen Hao is just pulling a prank on me! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" Moments later, an elderly man rushed down through the air, brandishing a cleaver. Shoving Chen Hao aside, he looked over Su Yu. Seeing that the boy was unharmed, he let out a sigh of relief. "I thought those beasts from the All-Races Sect had come. Your dad just left, so be careful. If anything happens, give us a shout anytime!" With that, he delivered a sharp smack to the back of Chen Hao's head, leaving him dazed. "Dammit, who told you to yell like that? Don't go shouting for no reason! If people from the All-Races Sect actually showed up and we ignored it next time, wouldn't that get someone killed?" The old man was furious, though his anger was directed entirely at Chen Hao, not Su Yu. "Chen boy, if you dare sound a false alarm again, I'll have your old man drag you downstairs, strip you naked, hang you up, and whip you!" Chen Hao wore a miserable expression, wanting nothing more than to explain. *It wasn't me!* *It was Su Yu!* *The guy texted me out of nowhere telling me to kick down the door—how could I not jump to conclusions?* *I've been wronged!* Su Yu stood up. His body still ached, but it wasn't too bad; the majority of the blood essence's power seemed to have been absorbed by the book, leaving him sore but uninjured. Without time to dwell on that, Su Yu rushed to apologize. Uncle Zhou looked on approvingly, then couldn't resist smacking Chen Hao on the head once more. Look at that—how could the gap between him and the Su family's boy be so wide? Such a fool! Chen Hao wanted to cry, but had no tears to shed. Su Yu gave a wry smile, then quickly asked, "Did you really contact the Wind Arrest Hall?" "Nah, just bluffing!" Chen Hao muttered sulkily. He hadn't even known if something had truly gone wrong; why would he actually notify the Wind Arrest Hall? "That's good, then." Su Yu breathed a sigh of relief. Chen Hao grumbled, "Good, my foot! Why did you send me a text like that? I honestly thought you were in trouble." By now, seeing that nothing was amiss, the elderly neighbors from upstairs and downstairs had begun dispersing. Relieved, Su Yu pulled Chen Hao inside and shut the door behind them. "I felt dizzy earlier and worried I might pass out, which is why I messaged you. Didn't I tell you to knock first?" "Oh... are you all right?" Chen Hao let the matter drop, looking at him with concern. "You're not starving, are you? Now that Uncle Su is gone, have you had anything to eat?" "Why don't you come eat at my place from now on? My dad told me to invite you earlier, but I was worried you'd feel too proud to accept, so I didn't say anything..." Su Yu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. *Would I really let myself starve to death?* Still, he felt a warm touch of gratitude. Though this guy was a blabbermouth and a bit thick-headed, he genuinely cared about him as a friend. "I'm fine. I just spent too long cultivating the Kaiyuan Art last night, so I felt unwell when I woke up. I'm completely fine now." "That's a relief!" Chen Hao let out a sigh of relief, then quickly added, "Are you still going to school today? How about... you call the instructor and say you're sick, and that I'm accompanying you to the infirmary, so you can ask for leave on my behalf too?" "..." Any gratitude Su Yu had felt vanished into thin air. This guy was hopeless! He didn't dare skip class on his own, so he came up with the idea of having Su Yu cover for him. "Get lost!" With a laugh and a curse, Su Yu considered it for a moment. "I'm not taking the day off. I'm going to school. I happen to have some business at the academy." "You're going too?" Chen Hao looked bewildered. Why was he so fickle? Earlier he had said he wasn't going, and now he was. Were smart people always this erratic? Su Yu couldn't be bothered to explain. He was going to the academy to look for channels to obtain Ironwing Bird blood essence or other varieties—preferably at a cheaper price. Xia Trading Company was far too extortionate! Fifty thousand coins for a single drop. With the meager savings Su Yu had left, it wouldn't even be enough to wet his whistle.