Entering the Research Center for the First Time

Room 609. Su Yu panted heavily, his body still throbbing with an aching swelling. Patches of blood had seeped through, staining his clothes. Yet he paid them no mind, his face brimming with delight. "Ironwing Bird: Wanshi second layer" "Racial Skills: Tear Level 2 (activated via blood essence), Iron Wing Slash (activated via blood essence)" "Advanced Yuan Art: Yuan Absorption Wanshi Chapter (activated via blood essence)" Just those few brief lines, yet they brought Su Yu boundless joy. It truly had advanced! Su Yu had not been certain it would advance. Previously, what he had unlocked was the Qianjun seventh layer. He had consumed quite a few drops of blood essence since then—including some that were likely Qianjun ninth layer—yet it had never advanced. From the looks of it now, advancing required overwriting it with blood essence from a higher major realm. Having unlocked Wanshi second layer today, there was probably no hope of unlocking Wanshi eighth or ninth layer within the Wanshi stage for the Ironwing Bird; the next advancement would be the Tengkong Realm. Su Yu let out a soft breath. It worked! Above all, the advancement of the basic yuan art into the Wanshi Chapter meant that if he cultivated using blood essence again, his cultivation speed would rival the rate at which a Wanshi second-layer cultivator devoured yuanqi. For someone in the Kaiyuan Realm, his efficiency would practically be multiplied tenfold! "The racial skills improved too!" Scanning the descriptions of the racial skills, Su Yu rejoiced inwardly. This meant the next time he unleashed it, he would unleash the lethality of a Wanshi second-layer expert. Of course, it was best not to test it now. Back when he unleashed Qianjun seventh-layer power, his arms had throbbed with swelling pain, to say nothing of the Wanshi Realm. Unless pressed to the absolute limit, using it harmed both enemy and self. After resting a while, he got up and washed himself clean. Washing the blood from his body, he changed into fresh clothes. After pondering for a moment, Su Yu decided to try cultivating with Wanshi blood essence again. He still had four drops left; he might as well see what kind of cultivation effect a Wanshi Realm drop would produce. ... Swallowing another drop of blood essence was far easier than unlocking the page. The blood's energy was entirely absorbed by the booklet. The next moment, points of light flickered within Su Yu's body as acupoints opened and yuanqi converged. The Wanshi-stage Yuan Absorption Art opened over fifty acupoints. As a Profound-rank technique, the acupoints opened at this moment were only temporarily unsealed to aid Su Yu in drawing in yuanqi. The yuanqi gathered at terrifying speed! The absorption speed meant to sustain a Wanshi Realm cultivator's training was not something a mere Kaiyuan Realm cultivator could easily bear. In almost a single instant, Su Yu felt completely saturated! This was also tied to the abundant yuanqi in the Great Xia Prefecture; back in Nanyuan, it might not have been this fast. Yet here in Great Xia, and especially in a sacred cultivation ground like the Great Xia Civilization Academy, yuanqi was dense, and cultivation progressed at astonishing speed. Su Yu's face flushed red, yet he did not halt the intake of yuanqi. Open acupoints! Previously, he had already opened six acupoints: five belonging to the War God Art, and one belonging to the Thunder Yuan Saber. Now, Su Yu did not open more acupoints for the Thunder Yuan Saber, choosing instead to continuously temper the acupoints of the War God Art. Vast amounts of yuanqi poured into him! Light pulsed continuously in the sixth acupoint of the War God Art's first stage. Surrounding yuanqi was steadily drawn in! At this rate, Su Yu hardly needed any yuanqi liquid as a supplement. The ambient yuanqi in the area alone was plenty for a Kaiyuan cultivator like him to temper acupoints. Boom! A muffled reverberation echoed in his sea of consciousness. The next moment, the sixth acupoint popped open! The speed was astonishing! Even Su Yu was shocked. It was too fast. The cultivation speed of the Wanshi Realm was several times faster than that of the Qianjun Realm, and when manifested in a Kaiyuan Realm cultivator like him, the difference showed to the absolute utmost. Combined with the fact that Su Yu had already been working on the sixth acupoint beforehand, it took under ten minutes to complete opening it this time. "Keep going!" Su Yu checked the time—the effect still lasted one hour. He couldn't let it go to waste! A single drop of Wanshi blood essence carried an official price of five merit points. Only through Xia Huyou could he get a discount; he could not afford to squander it. Unlocking the page had just cost one drop, and using another now left him with only three. ... Su Yu continuously devoured yuanqi, tempering his acupoints. In Building 3, yuanqi converged toward him. This was no residential block in Nanyuan. The people living here were high-grade geniuses, the reserves of the Civilization Masters. Gradually, several individuals sensed the shifting currents of yuanqi. Possessing strong willpower, they swiftly detected the ambient yuanqi being pulled away. Those with broader knowledge could even vaguely deduce that a Wanshi Realm cultivator was at work. It wasn't that Building 3 had no Wanshi cultivators; the building guards were all in the Wanshi Realm. Under normal circumstances, however, they would not cultivate here and consume the local yuanqi. Although the area had rich yuanqi, Wanshi Realm cultivation drew in energy too quickly, easily hogging it and preventing students from cultivating. Before long, Chen Feng, the leader of the guard team, sensed the abnormality. After inspecting around, he quickly made his way up to the sixth floor. Moments later, he came to a stop outside Room 609. He made no sound and did not knock. He simply waited quietly. Only after the yuanqi fluctuations inside subsided did Chen Feng knock on the door. Su Yu opened the door, his face somewhat pale. Chen Feng looked at him with a hint of surprise in his eyes and asked slowly, "Student Su Yu, were you cultivating just now?" Su Yu nodded. "I'd suggest... merely a suggestion, that you move to the High-grade District, or even the Special-grade District!" Chen Feng said earnestly, "In the Regular District, there are over a hundred people in a single building. While the academy's yuanqi is fairly abundant and sufficient to sustain the daily cultivation of those in the Qianjun Realm, once the absorption speed exceeds that of the Qianjun Realm, things get problematic. It interferes with other students..." Chen Feng continued, "Not only that, but it's not ideal for you either. Cultivating here means you'll have to supplement with yuanqi liquid later on. The High-grade District has much richer yuanqi, plenty to support Wanshi Realm cultivation, while the Special-grade District can easily support cultivating in the Tengkong Realm." The zoning of Character Cultivation Garden had been designed with these geniuses in mind in the first place. Chen Feng didn't probe into details. While it was astonishing for a top-high genius to absorb yuanqi at a Wanshi standard, it was not unheard of. Some geniuses possessed peculiar divine characters that could even help gather yuanqi. The academy housed the "Yuan" character secret realm. The character "Yuan" possessed the trait of gathering yuanqi; left behind by the Fourth Academy Head, it was now one of the Great Xia Civilization Academy's most important secret realms. In the world of Civilization Masters, anything was possible. When Wan Tiansheng had cast a glance earlier and noticed the anomaly, he too had attributed it to a divine character. Divine characters were things that outsiders could not see unless you displayed them yourself, making it nearly impossible to determine what traits they possessed. Su Yu showed an apologetic expression; he really had been a bit careless. This wasn't Nanyuan! There were many experts and geniuses here; when he accelerated his yuanqi absorption, they would naturally sense it. "I'm sorry!" Apologizing, Su Yu said with a mild headache, "Captain Chen, I'll be more mindful. My divine character takes several days to recover before it can be used again. On ordinary days, the energy here is enough to sustain my cultivation, so I won't move for now." Moving cost money! He hadn't expected that Wanshi-speed cultivation would cause an issue in the Regular District. Still, he wouldn't activate blood essence every single day. Mainly because he couldn't afford to! Using it once every few days at an hour when no one was cultivating shouldn't cause too much disturbance, right? Yet Su Yu vaguely understood that he probably wouldn't be living here for long. Once he reached the Qianjun Realm, he might truly have to relocate. Otherwise, having everyone sense his presence every time he cultivated wouldn't do him any good either. The yuanqi still wasn't dense enough! Su Yu sighed inwardly. Moving would mean an expense of another ten merit points—and who knew if they would even refund his money for this room! Only now did Su Yu realize how naive his initial thoughts had been. If he were still staying in the standard dormitories right now, cultivating would be completely out of the question—with such rapid yuanqi absorption, his entire dorm room would be staring right at him. Chen Feng was very friendly; the Academy Guards were always cordial to geniuses like Su Yu. Hearing his reply, Chen Feng smiled. "Alright. Moving or not was merely a suggestion on my part. The High-grade District is more suitable for geniuses like you, and since they're detached villas, you won't be easily disturbed. With people coming and going here, it is somewhat inconvenient." After saying that, he politely added, "I see that you're cultivating the War God Art, Student Su. If there's anything you don't understand, feel free to come downstairs and ask me. We Academy Guards also cultivate the War God Art." Of course, what they cultivated was the standard version. Su Yu thanked him once more! Chen Feng did not disturb him further and soon headed back downstairs. Once he left, Su Yu glanced around. Several room doors were ajar, some people poking their heads out, while others were peering in Su Yu's direction. Upon seeing Su Yu, they smiled and nodded in greeting before closing their doors. No one voiced a complaint! The guy cultivated fast and drew in terrifying amounts of yuanqi—even an idiot knew what that signified: pure talent! Although it had disrupted their cultivation, this was only the first time, and the disturbance was minor. Anyone raising a fuss right now would just be asking for trouble. Of course, if Su Yu did this continuously over a long period, persisting in interrupting everyone's cultivation despite his talent, their attitudes wouldn't remain so accommodating. As the sole top-high genius in Building 3, Su Yu drew plenty of attention from everyone. Su Yu also nodded around with an apologetic expression and quickly shut his door. After his door closed, several students stepped out into the hallway, pointing toward Su Yu's room and whispering among themselves. Top-high geniuses truly were remarkable! Causing such a commotion on his very first day of cultivation. ... Inside the room, Su Yu felt somewhat helpless. It looked like he really would have to move! Yet tonight's cultivation had left him feeling thoroughly exhilarated! Abundant yuanqi, blazing speed. With the sixth acupoint opened, he felt the seventh wasn't far off either; he might be able to open it next time. Once he opened the eighth, the standard version of the War God Art would hit its limit, and he could choose to break through and become a Qianjun first-layer cultivator. Naturally, Su Yu was still waiting for the advanced version, which required opening twelve acupoints. "The Great Xia Prefecture..." "Nanyuan..." Su Yu sighed with emotion. The two places truly were worlds apart. Had he been in Nanyuan tonight, he would have had to consume at least one drop of yuanqi liquid. Yet here, in the Regular District, he hadn't even needed any. If no one else were around, this place could have sustained his continuous cultivation without a hitch. No wonder Wanshi cultivators were a dime a dozen in the Great Xia Prefecture! Even without much talent, a Qianjun cultivator spending a few decades wouldn't find it overly difficult to reach the Wanshi Realm. "If Dad had settled down in the Great Xia Prefecture, he probably would have reached the Wanshi Realm more than a decade ago." Su Yu thought of his father. Nanyuan had too little yuanqi; his dad had only broken through to Wanshi after arriving at the All-Heavens Battlefield. What a pity. ... The next morning, Su Yu rose bright and early. These two days were designated for new students to select their colleges, so classes had not begun yet, giving everyone plenty of time to attend to other matters. Su Yu put on the academy's official uniform. This had cost real money—five thousand dollars for just four sets of clothes. Having donned the academy uniform, Su Yu examined himself in the mirror. Not bad—it carried an air befitting a Civilization Master. The uniform was styled like a robe, which would probably be a bit clumsy for actual combat. Of course, that only applied to the physical martial path. For Civilization Masters, especially these students, it barely mattered. Hardly any Civilization Masters fought with their bare physical bodies! Unleashing divine characters, hurling divine talismans, flying civilization weapons, commanding demon beasts into battle... In any case, the chances of them getting into personal melee combat were slim. Admiring his attire for a second, Su Yu stepped out the door. ... The academy was massive. The Heart Cultivation Pavilion was quite a distance from the Character Cultivation Garden, and Bai Feng's research institute was over there. Su Yu walked for nearly twenty minutes before spotting a towering pavilion standing tall not far ahead. That was the Heart Cultivation Pavilion! The very foundation and prestige of the Civilization Academy! Most of the academy's senior researchers lived there. The Heart Cultivation Pavilion was not merely a single building, but an entire compound, though the central pavilion itself was the namesake structure where major conferences and critical affairs were deliberated. Su Yu cast an envious glance over. That was no place he could casually visit. Over there, Lingyun and Shanhai experts were everywhere, while those in the Tengkong Realm generally didn't even qualify to enter. Taking a slight detour, Su Yu soon reached the research base to the south. ... The academy had numerous research bases, and the one adjacent to the Heart Cultivation Pavilion was the Second Research Base, which housed more than one research institute. At the entrance, Academy Guards were stationed on watch as usual. Once Su Yu stated his identity and produced his student card, the guard scanned it and let him through. Entering the research base, he found relatively few people. Everyone, however, moved in a hurry, looking extraordinarily busy. By the roadside, several middle-aged instructors in uniform were conversing in low tones. Su Yu couldn't make head or tail of what they were discussing, but it sounded profoundly sophisticated! Searching at an unhurried pace, Su Yu soon spotted a rather dilapidated building. Wen Tan Research Center! Found it! Su Yu hurried over. There was no obstruction at the entrance. No guards were stationed here, but the heavy doors were firmly shut, looking as though no one had been around for a long time—Su Yu even caught sight of a layer of cobwebs. Su Yu was somewhat speechless. Could this place be completely deserted? Wasn't Bai Feng here? Just as he prepared to knock, the heavy iron door swung open. Bai Feng walked out, his face pale. Seeing Su Yu, he nodded slightly. "You're here. Come on in!" Not daring to speak out of turn, Su Yu followed him inside. The heavy door promptly shut behind them! Inside, it wasn't gloomy at all, but brightly lit. Past the entrance stretched a long corridor. Bai Feng yawned and said, "Next time you come, just swipe your card to enter. I've granted you access. I'll show you around in a bit. Some areas you won't have clearance for—don't go wandering in, or it'll cost you your life! "Don't let the fact that I'm the only one here fool you. Teacher spent decades setting this place up. If a Shanhai Realm expert barged in recklessly, even they would have more than they could chew! "The research center has six main zones in total... "The primary experimental area, the secondary experimental area, the containment area, the archives, the living quarters, and the warehouse..." Bai Feng seemed exhausted, speaking listlessly: "I've granted you access to three zones: the secondary experimental area, the living quarters, and the warehouse. You can't enter the other three. If you wander in and get killed by a divine character, don't say I didn't warn you... "The primary laboratory is where our project of many years is being conducted. You don't have the qualifications to participate yet. "The living quarters are where we usually stay. The warehouse... used to be packed to the brim, but now it's empty enough to race rats, so don't count on finding anything good. "The containment area... used to hold some vicious beasts and demons, but most of them are dead now. You can't go in there either; there are still a few demon beasts left, all above the Tengkong Realm. Watch yourself, or they'll tear you apart. "I don't need to explain the archives..." Bai Feng rattled off the casual introduction as they walked through the corridor. Su Yu listened quietly. An open hall now appeared before his eyes, complete with a television, sofa, dining table, and the like—evidently, this was the living quarters. "Teacher..." Su Yu asked softly, "Does this mean I can come to the research center often from now on?" "That's right!" "Then what will my duties be?" "Your duties..." Bai Feng turned his head with a grin. "Cleaning, tidying up the warehouse, helping out with some minor experiments. Do you know how to cook? If you do, you can cook meals—going out to eat takes too long!" "..." Su Yu was speechless. Were you looking for a student, or a maid?! "Don't look so indignant!" Bai Feng said lazily, "All newcomers go through this. Once you become a senior and new recruits arrive, all these chores fall to them! Genius or not, even a genius has to wait until they're strong before talking big! "If you aren't strong, you aren't shit. The academy has plenty of monstrous talents stuck at the peak of Character Cultivation; who would spare them a second glance?!" Su Yu held his tongue, waiting a moment before asking, "Teacher, I don't know how to cook. Cleaning is fine. But what can I learn here?" "What can you learn?" Bai Feng gave a half-smile. "You'll learn plenty! I won't teach you basic coursework—you can pick and attend those classes yourself! But here with me, you currently have only one mission: outline a divine character and enter Character Cultivation! "As for what you want to learn... lay a solid foundation for me first, and there'll naturally be things to learn! "For our faction, you must have enough divine characters. If you don't have enough, you can't learn anything! "However..." Bai Feng studied him, frowning slightly. "You've outlined two divine characters, which is already quite fast. I'm not especially worried about your divine characters; if you couldn't outline them quickly, I wouldn't have taken you as a student in the first place. But your willpower progress is far too slow! "If you keep outlining divine characters, I'm afraid your willpower won't be able to nurture them, and you'll end up stuck before Character Cultivation. At this stage, you don't need to outline any more divine characters. Your main goal is raising your willpower!" Su Yu nodded. That was indeed his shortcoming. His willpower was too weak! A 30% fullness rate wasn't terrible, but compared to high-grade geniuses, Su Yu fell short—high-grade candidates had generally reached the Character Cultivation stage already. Seeing that Su Yu took it to heart, Bai Feng smiled faintly. "Raising willpower before Character Cultivation is simple enough! Over in the secondary experimental area, there's an experimental waste yard with a filtration chamber and a fragment chamber. "The filtration chamber holds blood essence residue. The blood essence is mixed and the energy chaotic. If you want to cultivate, stick to the outer perimeter; don't go deep inside, or the chaotic energy will cause you to lose control. "The fragment chamber holds remnants left behind after original texts of the myriad races shattered. The willpower there is chaotic, making it quite suitable for boosting your willpower. Raising willpower primarily comes from willpower clashes. Of course, you won't see any complete texts there; it's mostly chaotic willpower honing you, making it an excellent place for newcomers to build up willpower!" Hearing the filtration chamber mentioned, Su Yu recalled what Zhao Li had said earlier. That place contained the remnants left after blood essence separation, which Zhao Li valued greatly. Yet Bai Feng clearly didn't think much of it. And the fragment chamber, filled with remnants of original texts of the myriad races... They had dedicated an entire chamber to them! Just how many original texts had they burned through? Truly wealthy and overbearing! He claimed to be broke, but he was actually filthy rich—who else piled up discarded original texts of the myriad races by the roomful? Bai Feng leaned back on the sofa and poured himself a cup of tea. Seeing Su Yu stand there motionlessly, he cursed inwardly: Not an ounce of tact! "Those are your current duties. Before the Character Cultivation stage, I don't really have much to teach you! During this period, the basic courses will suffice for your needs. Your workload will still be quite heavy: on one hand, you must attend foundational classes; on the other, you have to help out in the lab! "Clean the place up thoroughly; it hasn't been swept in months..." Taking a sip of cold tea that had sat out who knew how long, Bai Feng continued, "I won't make you work for nothing either. Every month, I'll compensate you with five merit points. You've been at the academy for a few days now, so you should know how hard it is to earn five merit points! As for places like the filtration chamber and fragment chamber, others might view them as sacred grounds, but to us, they're nothing special. Treat them as your entry-level training grounds and seize the opportunity." Having finished, Bai Feng stood up. "I've got things to handle and need to head out. Look around on your own. Remember: don't go anywhere you don't have clearance for! And don't bring outsiders in—if you bring someone and they end up dead, don't blame me! "If you get tired, find a room to rest. Many people used to live here, so the rooms have everything... If the bedding is moldy, deal with it yourself!" Tossing out those words, Bai Feng simply walked away! Su Yu was speechless! Still, with Bai Feng gone, he felt somewhat relieved. Having the place all to himself was actually better for a newcomer like him; he could look around freely without anyone making snide remarks. "Secondary experimental area, warehouse, living quarters..." These three areas were open to Su Yu. As for the living quarters... Su Yu looked around with resignation. These people looked so polished on the outside—what on earth were they doing behind closed doors? It was practically a pigsty! There was barely even a spot to set foot in the hall. Household trash was strewn everywhere! "Sigh!" Su Yu sighed. Bai Feng's dashing demeanor and refined elegance vanished completely at this moment, leaving behind only the impression of a slob! Even sloppier than himself! After his father left home, Su Yu had at least kept the house presentable. But Bai Feng and his people... it was utterly disgraceful! "If only I had Xia Huyou's ability..." Su Yu felt a pang of envy. His two little lackeys, Blood and Thunder, were totally useless here—they couldn't clean house at all, so he could only roll up his sleeves and do it himself!