Reaching an Agreement

The shops downstairs. Bedding, towels, a broom, toothbrush, toothpaste... When he finished shopping and tallied the bill, the price made him wince: nearly 3,000 dollars! Su Yu, who had not had much left to begin with, was instantly down to just 2,000 dollars. And that was with him picking ordinary items; had he gone for the pricier options, it would have cost him several merit points at least. As Su Yu finished shopping, Xia Huyou was wandering around the shop as well. Once Su Yu was done, Xia Huyou called over to the shopkeeper, "Send one set to each of those room numbers I gave you in a bit." "All right!" the shopkeeper readily agreed, chuckling. "Twenty-eight sets in total—got it!" Su Yu glanced at Xia Huyou. The fellow had just placed a bulk order, buying twenty-eight sets all at once, which had earned him a discount. After all, this was not the only shop around; there were three shops in the Character Cultivation Garden. "Help deliver his stuff up there too..." Xia Huyou pointed at Su Yu and beamed. "I won't charge you a procurement fee. Don't be so guarded, Su Yu. When you're away from home, you rely on friends. One more friend means one more path in life—why keep people at arm's length?" "No need. I can carry it up myself." "Aren't you going to eat? You'll have to come back downstairs in a moment anyway!" Xia Huyou laughed. "You're probably unfamiliar with this area, right? If you go eat alone and can't find a good place, you might get ripped off, which would cost you even more." Su Yu remained somewhat guarded. Without another word, he walked out of the shop and asked casually, "Are you very familiar with this place?" "It's all right. I've visited a few times before," Xia Huyou replied with a chuckle. "I'm from a collateral branch of the Xia family after all, and our clan has a few people studying here. I came over to hang out a few times in the past." "Aren't you busy?" Su Yu asked again. Why was this guy constantly tailing him? "Not at all. It's mealtime, so I need to eat. Balance work and rest—a man can't spend every second chasing profits, right?" Seeing Su Yu's expression, Xia Huyou grinned. "Don't worry, I'm not doing favors without reason. You're a top-high student, so networking makes sense. Like I said, more friends mean more paths. "The academy enrolled 1,892 students this year, with 145 ranked as high grade. Among them, twenty-six are top-high: twenty-three are in the Advanced area, two are in the Special area, and you're the only one staying in our Standard area. Isn't it totally normal to try getting on your good side?" Xia Huyou chuckled. "No love comes without reason. Relax, I'm not plotting anything against you. We're classmates, so making friends with someone talented might let me bask in reflected glory down the road. In business, we love to back dark horses while they're cold. Right now you're freezing cold, so kindling a little fire with you doesn't cost me much." Su Yu couldn't help but chuckle. Seeing this, Xia Huyou added, "As for me, I don't possess grand abilities, but I do offer several advantages you might find useful. First, I have broad information sources. If there's anything you don't know, just ask me. Common intel is free, while vital information only costs a modest fee. "Second, my family does business. If there are things you can't buy in the academy, you can come to me. "Third, if you want to trade merit points, you can trade with me. My prices are fair, and it's far safer than the black market. "Fourth, my family also lends money, and the interest isn't high. If you lack cash or merit points, you can come to me—provided you're worth the price." Xia Huyou smiled brilliantly. "So you see why I want to befriend you, right? Geniuses! When you do business with a genius, it's big business! Mediocre fools pinch pennies just to buy a single drop of yuanqi liquid, agonizing forever. But geniuses are different—they dare to buy god and demon blood essence!" Xia Huyou clicked his tongue. "A single drop of Tengkong Realm god and demon blood essence can sell for 1,000 merit points on the black market—terrifyingly high! And some wealthy folks don't just buy one drop; they casually snap up over a dozen drops, spending tens of thousands of merit points! "Now that is real business!" Xia Huyou looked at Su Yu, his smile widening. "You're a genius. How long will it take you to reach the Tengkong Realm? Will you need god and demon blood essence for body casting? Do you want to buy it? If you do, the academy has quotas and merit rank restrictions. But if you come to me... hehe, won't that make for a massive deal?" Su Yu was astonished. "You can even buy and sell god and demon blood essence?" "Ahem..." Xia Huyou laughed. "Not right now, I lack the clearance. But no rush—you'll need time to reach Tengkong too, won't you? By then, maybe I'll have the clearance. Even if I don't, I can introduce you to someone and take a small finder's fee. The Xia family can handle this sort of business. "Ordinary people can't, but as long as someone vouches for you, there won't be any issue! So long as you aren't one of those bastards from the All-Races Sect, it's not a big problem." Su Yu couldn't help viewing him in a new light! He truly seemed capable! A collateral branch of the Xia family... no matter how distant, was still of the Xia family. In the Great Xia Prefecture, the Xia family were the true rulers—not uncrowned kings, but fully crowned sovereigns! Su Yu found himself unable to dislike him. The fellow spoke so openly that he actually gave off an air of trustworthiness. "You said earlier that there are 145 high-grade students in the academy. How many monstrous geniuses are there?" "Well..." Xia Huyou beamed. "That's confidential. Even the academy won't reveal it publicly unless they expose themselves. Of course, my network is wide, so I know a bit—but that requires a fee." "How much?" "We don't talk cash here. Merit points—fifty points!" Xia Huyou laughed. "Don't think it's expensive. To put it bluntly, if you sold this information to the All-Races Sect, you could easily demand a thousand merit points! Of course, whoever does that is asking to be killed! But you get the point: this intel is extremely important. At least before they reach the Tengkong Realm, this data holds immense value." Su Yu nodded slightly. "Can't afford it. Forget I asked." "Don't be like that!" Xia Huyou chuckled. "I can give you the rough headcount: there should be eight. Mind you, I said 'should be'; I don't know the exact details. But if you want names, strengths, backgrounds, divine characters, traits... then you really have to pay!" Su Yu nodded. After thinking it over, he asked, "Then can I ask a few more questions?" "Ask away. Minor intel is easy." "Before coming here, Assistant Researcher Bai Feng mentioned taking me on as his student. Do you think apprenticing under Teacher Bai Feng is a good fit?" "Well..." Xia Huyou laughed sheepishly. "Hard to say. I've heard about your situation. It depends on what you want." Su Yu said calmly, "I don't have grand expectations. I just want to know how much help he can provide me. Teacher Zhao Li of the Forging faction also said the same thing, so I'd like to compare them and see who is more worth siding with." "..." Xia Huyou looked at him in surprise. "Researcher Zhao wants to take you in too?" "Yes." "Then you... really have some skill!" Xia Huyou gave a thumbs-up. "That old man hasn't taken a student in ages. Never mind his average cultivation—he has a terrible temper, and as one of the cornerstone figures of the Forging faction, his status is by no means low." Xia Huyou hesitated briefly before saying, "Since you asked, I'll briefly share what I know. "As for Bai Feng, his strength isn't that high—at least not compared to the older generation. Having high talent is his own business, nothing to do with you. Bai Feng's lineage doesn't possess many resources either. The strongest among them is likely Bai Feng's teacher, Master Hong! "However, Bai Feng's lineage might suit you better..." Xia Huyou explained. "Their lineage walks the path of divine character fusion, focusing primarily on divine characters, and they aren't limited to individual divine characters. A fused set of divine characters can be exceedingly powerful! "Not only that, their lineage also places great emphasis on physical body cultivation. They possess formidable combat power even during the Character Cultivation stage. Because they have many divine characters, their requirements for the physical body are quite high..." Su Yu frowned slightly. Was that true? Teacher Liu technically belonged to this lineage as well, yet his physical body didn't seem particularly powerful, having remained in the Qianjun Realm until recently. He didn't interrupt. Xia Huyou continued, "Still, the most important aspect of their lineage isn't any of that. It's a project Master Hong has been researching for years—developing certain special innate abilities of the human race... You wouldn't understand right now, and to be honest, I don't know too much about it either. You'll find out eventually." Xia Huyou lowered his voice. "Assistant Researcher Bai Feng is only seventh-layer Tengkong, yet even Xia Yuwen of the Xia family said that fellow is... troublesome! He's been hiding his trump cards all along, possibly tied to Master Hong's research project. Once he brings them to light, he might actually stand a chance against Xia Yuwen! "If you choose their lineage, you might gain massive benefits—or, of course, you might end up with nothing at all." Xia Huyou chuckled as he spoke. "Still, I don't think you really have much of a choice. Teacher Zhao's side is fine, but anyone else... Unless you go to the Divine Pill faction, your best bet is apprenticing under Bai Feng. Your enlightenment teacher was Master Liu Wenyan. If you had no talent, it wouldn't matter. But since you're talented, you are Master Liu's disciple. Coming here without joining Bai Feng and his group would invite trouble." Su Yu exhaled softly and murmured, "Master Liu... Was Teacher Liu very famous at the Great Xia Civilization Academy back then?" "You could say that," Xia Huyou said with a smile. "I don't know the exact details, just some gossip. Anyway, back when Master Liu was at the academy, he clashed with a lot of people, and those folks have now risen to high positions! Just think—it's been fifty years! Imagine how much has changed! "The current Principal Wan, as well as Vice Principal Zhou... word has it they had their friction with Master Liu back then." Su Yu frowned and nodded, choosing not to press further on the topic. He asked, "What about Teacher Zhao Li's side?" "The Forging faction..." Xia Huyou pondered for a moment. "To be honest, it suits you quite well. Teacher Zhao is protective of his own, and the Forging faction doesn't lack resources. At least for low-medium grade students, resources are plentiful. But the prospects are limited. Over here at the academy, the Forging faction has only one Shanhai Realm expert, and that elder hasn't emerged from secluded cultivation in many years. "If you were a medium-grade student, or low-high, I'd recommend you seek out Teacher Zhao. But since you're top-high, I'd still advise you to go with Assistant Researcher Bai Feng." Xia Huyou added seriously, "Of course, that's just my personal opinion! I only know this much from hearing family members mention it a few times. Beyond that, I don't know much either." Su Yu nodded and voiced his thanks. After hesitating a moment, he asked again, "There's infighting here at the academy—to what extent does it go?" "You mean, will people die?" "Yes!" Xia Huyou laughed. "Inside the academy, no. Outside... hard to say! It really is difficult to tell. At least nobody's ever been caught red-handed, but sometimes people leave campus and die. Who knows what happened? Asking about this won't do much good—just be extra cautious yourself." "So within the academy, safety is guaranteed?" "Of course!" Xia Huyou said solemnly. "This is the Great Xia Civilization Academy. If the Great Xia Prefecture didn't have the Manor Head, its strength might not even match this place! If a civilization academy passed down for several centuries couldn't even guarantee the on-campus safety of its students, it might as well shut down! "Here, tripping people up is fine, scheming is fine, and aboveboard challenges are fine. But if you try to secretly murder someone... hehe, you're the one who'll end up dead!" Hearing that, Su Yu felt much more at ease. At least his life was secure. Curious, Xia Huyou asked, "Su Yu, have you made up your mind?" "We'll see." Su Yu didn't answer directly, asking instead, "How soon do we take masters?" "Three to five days. Get adjusted first, and then you can take a master." Xia Huyou chuckled. "Don't be nervous. In the academy, as long as you maintain your standing in the monthly exams, quarterly exams, and end-of-term exams, you'll be fine. Academy life isn't as brutal as people imagine." "Exams?" "Yes, exams," Xia Huyou cautioned. "Don't take them lightly. You're a top-high student, so you receive a monthly subsidy of three merit points. Doing poorly once is fine, but twice and you get demoted a grade; three times, and you're fined merit points; four times, and you might get expelled..." "What are we tested on?" "All-Races languages, divine characters, willpower... that sort of thing," Xia Huyou said casually. "They're all standard evaluations, though the requirements vary depending on student grade. You're top-high, so if you enjoy top-tier benefits, you have to perform well. If you don't... you'll suffer, and your master will suffer too." "Understood." *** While chatting, the two arrived at the cafeteria. Su Yu converted 1 merit point, ordered a few dishes at random, and had 300 dollars deducted, leaving just 9,700 dollars in his account. It could be summed up in one word: a scam! Su Yu treated this meal not out of foolish extravagance, but because he wanted to ask Xia Huyou more questions. The guy knew a great deal; coming from a great clan made all the difference, whereas Su Yu was completely in the dark. Toward the end of their meal, full and content, Xia Huyou smiled and said, "Su Yu, I ate your food, but I won't take it for nothing! Here's a piece of advice: to survive in the academy, you have to be ruthless!" "Hm?" "Don't hide everything away—it's pointless!" Xia Huyou said seriously. "If you keep everything hidden, who cares whether you're playing the pig to eat the tiger? Unless you don't care about academy resources, don't care about a teacher's favor, and don't care about preferential treatment! "Otherwise, you have to show what you're made of! "Don't fear offending people!" Xia Huyou chuckled. "What's there to be afraid of? In the academy, do they dare kill you? If they don't, then seize every opportunity you can grasp and grow strong as quickly as possible. The stronger you are, the more people value you! If you get so strong that you reach Tengkong in half a year, even the Principal will have his eyes on you. Whoever dares touch you would be seeking death! "But if you stay low-key and weak, who will give a damn whether you live or die?" Xia Huyou shook his head. "To put it bluntly, with a hundred thousand people in the academy, how many experts are there? Why should they care about you? If you aren't a genius and offer no value, wouldn't they rather groom their own sons and grandsons? What bloody use is grooming you?" He smiled again and continued, "So do well on the exams! If someone causes trouble for you, hit back! If you can't beat them, play the weakling for a while, and the moment you can beat them, retaliate immediately. Don't take too long, or nobody will care to wait for you! "There's nothing wrong with being arrogant. Who isn't arrogant?" Xia Huyou beamed. "In recent years, the most arrogant class was Bai Feng's! Xia Yuwen, Hu Wensheng, Wu Qi, Bai Feng, Liu Hong... almost all of them belonged to that class! "Why did that class produce so many powerhouses? "They fought for it!" Xia Huyou said with a hint of excitement, "You have no idea how arrogant those people were when they were students! When Xia Yuwen was about to step into Tengkong, he challenged the top ten of the Top 100 Rankings. He fought from second to tenth, then from tenth back to second, teaching every single one of them a lesson in turn! "In the end, he had them all come at him at once. He took serious injuries, but he beat them into utter submission! "Don't you know Bai Feng? He was wildly arrogant back then too. His fame at the War Academy was greater than their own geniuses! During the Character Cultivation stage, he was beaten up by a genius from the War Academy, so he went looking for trouble with that guy every single year. One year, that fellow wasn't around, and Bai Feng assumed he was hiding in fear, so he insisted on challenging their Wanshi Rankings students. He fought from rank two all the way to rank one hundred over three days, completely beating the War Academy into submission!" Xia Huyou chuckled mischievously. "Principal Zheng threw a fit that time and purged the War Academy's Wanshi Rankings, preferring to leave spots empty rather than let trash stay on the list! As a result, the Wanshi Rankings dropped from one hundred students to twenty-five, and it was only fully replenished two years ago." Su Yu was rather surprised. "Teacher Bai Feng had a past like that?" In his eyes, Bai Feng had always seemed nonchalant and free-spirited, unruffled by events and somewhat indifferent to fame and fortune. He hadn't looked like a hot-blooded rogue who would pull a blade at the drop of a hat—yet he had such history. "It's true, though it was years ago. Back then, they were around our age—wildly rampant. If you aren't wild, who's going to care about you? "You've heard of Wu Qi, right?" Xia Huyou whispered. "She was even more ferocious than Bai Feng! She's younger than Bai Feng and entered the academy younger than him too. People looked down on her back then, claiming she was just a showpiece groomed by the Wu family... Hehe, that woman is vicious!" Xia Huyou looked around apprehensively before whispering, "You know Liu Hong, right? Once he provoked her, and right in front of dozens of teachers, she broke his leg—bone sticking out and all! From then on, Liu Hong was terrified whenever he saw her, behaving like an obedient puppy in her presence. "And that was nothing. That woman... tsk tsk, she didn't break through to Tengkong here at the academy; she broke through on the All-Heavens Battlefield! She ran into a Demon Race fellow out on trial, and the two fought to the death for half a day. That woman... I heard, just heard, mind you—she bit that Demon elite to death with her bare teeth and drank all his blood. Utterly savage!" Xia Huyou said with lingering dread, "She used Demon blood for her body casting! The Wu family had prepared God Race blood for her, but they found a large amount of Demon blood essence in her body—from what she drank herself! Left with no choice, they had to switch to Demon blood for her body casting! "I heard from the Longwu Guards that when they found her, she was on the verge of death, and the Demon elite's throat had been bitten clean through!" Su Yu's expression grew serious at once! Before this, he hadn't thought much of them. With Wu Lan as a preceding example, he had developed a bit of prejudice against scions of prestigious clans, thinking they were all somewhat silly. But hearing Xia Huyou's account gave Su Yu a chill. That ruthless? To bite a Demon elite to death with her bare teeth—how vicious was that? Even he couldn't claim he was capable of that. Killing was one thing, but that didn't mean any manner of killing was palatable. "I'm telling you this so you understand that their class wasn't just talk," Xia Huyou said with a grin. "And you should know, our class is even more cutthroat! In past years, there were never so many monstrous geniuses enrolling at once—two or three in a year was considered good, but this year, I know of eight already! "As for top-high students, there are twenty-six this year. Last year there were only twelve—it has more than doubled!" Xia Huyou clicked his tongue. "That's why I'm determined to keep my head down. With my mid-high rating, I could have swaggered a bit last year, but this year I really don't dare." "Then why are you egging me on?" Su Yu snorted irritably. "What are you afraid of? You're top-high!" Xia Huyou laughed. "You're nearly at Qianjun. You might break through in a few days. Aside from senior students, barely any freshmen are in the Qianjun Realm. Character Cultivation is great and all, but if your divine characters aren't strong, Character Cultivation doesn't provide much combat power. "Take me, for example. I'm also at Character Cultivation and have fully outlined a divine character, but my character is only good for cleaning. In a fight... I'd probably get beaten to death." He probed, "Your divine character must be an offensive one, right?" Su Yu smiled. "More or less, though it's not strongly offensive. It's more auxiliary—I have to cut the enemy before it can drain blood." "Oh, a blood-draining trait..." Xia Huyou made a mental note. Su Yu looked at him, surprised. "Don't you have my file?" "I do, but the records from Nanyuan are vague, and the exam records are confidential. As for everyone else's information, I gathered it over time. We only met today, so how would I know?" Information was collected bit by bit. And see? Today he had gathered a scrap: Su Yu, divine character trait: blood-draining! Su Yu lowered his voice. "Um... if I sell my own information to you, is it worth anything?" "Huh?" "My divine character has more than one trait. If I sell you more, will you pay?" "..." A ruthless bastard! Xia Huyou's gaze changed completely—he had run into a true ruthless bastard. He'd even sell himself for money! "Well... if it's real... it should be... worth something..." "Then how about 5 merit points per trait I tell you?" "This... that's... too expensive... How about 1 point?" "Forget it. Too little, not selling." Su Yu dropped it. Xia Huyou wiped nonexistent sweat from his brow. He really hadn't seen this coming; the guy had seemed clueless before, only to suddenly reveal this side of himself. Truly ruthless. "Aren't you afraid... people will find out and target you?" "It'll happen sooner or later anyway. These things can't be hidden forever. As long as I keep growing stronger, any targeting will be a joke." "Fair enough..." Xia Huyou nodded, his smile growing three parts warmer. "Brother Su, take good care of your little brother in the future. If you need any help, just come to me. I guarantee I'll take care of it without a hitch!" "Really?" "Of course!" "I want to trade for some Wanshi Realm all-races blood essence. Can you get that for me?" "Just Wanshi Realm? A small matter. Tell me, which kind do you want?" Su Yu immediately said, "Whirl-Turtle, Lu fish, or Ironwing Bird will do." "Lu fish is out!" Xia Huyou said, instantly getting a headache. "They're a neutral race and can't be hunted indiscriminately. If someone finds out, there'll be trouble! Ironwing Bird is easy—we can trade for that. As for Whirl-Turtle... I'll have to ask around first." "What about the price?" "Wanshi Realm is divided into early, middle, and late stages. Which stage do you need? Qianjun Realm Ironwing Bird blood isn't worth much; it's a flat rate of 1 merit point per drop. But for Wanshi Realm, early-stage costs 3 points, mid-stage costs 5 points, and late-stage costs 10 points! "As for Whirl-Turtle, that's even more expensive. It's not a common commodity like Ironwing Bird." "Early-stage is fine. If you can't get Whirl-Turtle, I'll take Ironwing Bird: five drops, plus five drops of yuanqi liquid, for 30 merit points!" "..." Xia Huyou bared his teeth at him. "Su Yu, your bargaining is vicious! Yuanqi liquid is 5 merit points a drop, and five drops of blood essence are 15 points—that's 40 points in total..." Su Yu shook his head. "I'm not stupid. Converting merit points to cash gets 50,000 dollars on the black market, so 30 merit points is 1.5 million! The official price of yuanqi liquid is only 100,000 per drop—500,000 for five drops. And Ironwing Bird blood essence, even at the Wanshi Realm, could it possibly be worth 200,000 a drop? There's just some risk involved. I don't want to take that risk, nor do I want to waste merit points exchanging at the academy. If you can do 30 points, we'll have chances to collaborate long-term. If not... I don't believe no one else in the academy can do it. It's not like these are restricted materials! "You'll make a profit. I'm not the type to deny someone their cut. At 30 merit points, don't tell me you can't get them without paying out of pocket!" Xia Huyou gave a thumbs-up and beamed. "Sharp brother! If you went to the academy, that'd cost 40 merit points. Coming to me... was the right move! Fine, I'll deliver them to you tomorrow. 30 merit points—done at that price!" Su Yu smiled. He had saved money! He had saved 10 merit points. If not for this guy, having just arrived at the academy, how could he dare trade with just anyone without fearing getting swindled or having his stash cleaned out? Going to Xia Huyou was because the fellow was smart and came from a great clan; he would know whether scamming someone over 30 merit points was worth it. Perhaps on the black market he could have traded at an even cheaper rate, but Su Yu couldn't afford to waste time, nor did he know the channels. As for turning to Zhou Hui, forget it—he genuinely worried she might fleece him for 30 merit points. Xia Huyou grinned broadly as well. See? This was the benefit of befriending a genius. A transaction volume of 30 merit points on their very first day! Those low-medium grade students pinched pennies, maybe trading a couple of points at a time. How could that compare to working with a genius—especially one without a backing clan? Those with backgrounds didn't lack such resources at home. Su Yu had only just enrolled; what about later? Xia Huyou's smile grew even more radiant. Flip 30 merit points on the black market, and 1.5 million was in hand. As for buying those goods, the price of yuanqi liquid was flexible. The official price was 100,000, but if he reached out to an acquaintance and had a Tengkong cultivator help out, 50,000 a drop was no problem. Ironwing Bird blood essence at the Wanshi Realm wasn't particularly expensive either; he was confident he could secure five drops for 500,000. All told, he could pocket half as profit. Of course, there was substantial risk involved, and it required connections. Not just anyone could pull off this business. With bad luck, during the laundering process, the merit points might end up changing their surname—to Wan! He was satisfied, and Su Yu was pleased as well. This was far better than expected. He had been prepared to exchange at the academy, but doing so would have wiped out all forty merit points in his possession! Now he still had ten merit points left, enough to get by for quite a while.