You Don't Understand the World of Geniuses

"Looks like I’ve offended someone..." Su Yu pondered as he walked. He had definitely offended Chen Qi this time. Chen Qi claimed Su Yu had ruined his future, but strictly speaking, that was untrue. Or rather... hadn't Hu Wensheng ruined it? Hu Wensheng had simply been too confident! Of course, Hu Wensheng was the one who had gathered those resources. Su Yu guessed Hu Wensheng had probably spent his own merit points, so it couldn't really be called Hu Wensheng ruining Chen Qi's future either. All one could say was that in cultivation, luck often played a major role. Chen Qi wanted to buy them back, and in his shoes, Su Yu might have thought the same. But taking out his anger on Su Yu just because he couldn't buy them back struck Su Yu as uncalled for. "If it were me..." Su Yu considered it for a moment, then muttered, "If it were me, I'd swallow my pride and go beat Bai Feng to death later!" When it came down to it, Chen Qi ought to be causing trouble for Bai Feng. If Old Bai hadn't gone and challenged Hu Wensheng, none of this would have happened. Hu Wensheng had lost face, and Chen Qi had lost the blood essence meant for his foundation. Who else should he target if not Bai Feng? "Bullying the weak and fearing the strong!" "Human nature!" Su Yu didn't actually look down on him for it. Since Chen Qi clearly couldn't beat Bai Feng, he naturally went after a softer target to squeeze. Knowing full well he was no match for Bai Feng, if Chen Qi insisted on seeking revenge against Bai Feng right now, then Chen Qi really would have cultivated his brains away. "It's no big deal. The path of cultivation is bound to make enemies!" Su Yu was used to it. Back at Nanyuan Academy, when Liu Wenyan favored him, plenty of students had been resentful, jealous, or envious. He still remembered how Zhou Chong had spoken sour words, only to get beaten up several times by Chen Hao at his instigation. Su Yu was hardly a magnanimous person. He wouldn't bite his lip, act all innocent, and stop visiting Liu Wenyan just because people were jealous. On the contrary, he had treated Liu Wenyan with utmost respect over the years, not above catering to who held the power. As he was lost in thought, someone suddenly leaped out beside him! "Su Yu, who did you offend?" "Are you playing a ghost?" Su Yu cursed. Seeing Xia Huyou, he felt rather speechless. They were right outside Building 3—why had this guy suddenly popped out? Xia Huyou chuckled. "Classes start tomorrow, so I knew you'd be coming back. I was waiting specifically for you!" "Waiting for me for what?" "To do business, of course!" Xia Huyou smiled craftily. "Su Yu, did you get the blood essence? It's Mountain-Breaking Ox blood essence! How about selling it to me?" Su Yu's gaze flickered. It seemed quite a few people had their eyes on that stuff. "What price?" Xia Huyou gave a flattering smile. "Three merit points per drop..." "Get lost!" "Five points!" Xia Huyou hastily said. "Five merit points a drop! That matches the price of Wanshi Realm blood essence! Su Yu, selling it gets you five hundred merit points!" "Are you getting lost or not?" Too lazy to bother with him, Su Yu headed straight upstairs. Xia Huyou grew anxious and hurriedly called out, "Su Yu, don't be like that! How about this: eight merit points! Eight merit points a drop! Really, that's a high price! Of course, if you're willing to sell them all together in bulk, I'll offer even more! Ten points—truly, I can't go higher. Any higher and nobody will buy it. It'd be too expensive! Very few students can produce a thousand merit points on their own; they all have to rely on their families..." Su Yu turned to look at him, thought for a moment, and asked, "Is Mountain-Breaking Ox blood essence that valuable?" "It's not that it's valuable, but that it's rare, and it happens to be used for Qianjun Realm foundation establishment. In truth, ordinary people don't care about Qianjun foundation establishment. It's mainly sought after by geniuses..." Xia Huyou grinned. "Geniuses, you know, want every single step to be better than everyone else's! Ordinary students just grab any random Qianjun blood essence for foundation establishment, and don't they get by just fine? But establishing your foundation with Top Hundred blood essence makes the physical body a bit stronger and opening acupoints a bit easier, which is why geniuses chase after it so fiercely. "Although the Mountain-Breaking Ox race only recently made it into the Top Hundred Races, they've always possessed formidable physical bodies. That kind of blood essence is the most suitable for Qianjun foundation establishment." Xia Huyou explained, "Those in the Wanshi Realm and above don't need it, and non-geniuses in the Qianjun Realm don't need it either. So it only targets a specific group. Combined with the fact that Qianjun Realm beasts from the Top Hundred Races are rare, it seems exceptionally valuable." He smiled slyly. "You understand the logic. Geniuses have money! Even if their families lack money, there are people backing them with investments. Take you, for example. You don't have money either, but isn't your teacher investing in you? It's the same principle!" Items aimed at geniuses were simply worth more! In this world, broad applicability didn't matter. If it worked well for geniuses, it was expensive—because they had money, and even if they didn't, someone was willing to pay for them! It was equivalent to a luxury good in the eyes of ordinary people. Even without it, one could still live life, and not necessarily worse than anyone else. Su Yu nodded and asked no more. Seeing him resume walking upstairs, Xia Huyou hurried after him. "Su Yu, are you selling or not? You're only in the Kaiyuan Realm anyway, so foundation establishment is still far off. You can establish your foundation all the way up to the ninth layer. Why not sell it? A full hundred drops at once is very rare, enough to establish a complete foundation in one go. You could slowly collect some on ordinary days..." Su Yu glared at him, somewhat annoyed. "It isn't mine. It belongs to Teacher Bai Feng!" "Same difference!" Xia Huyou chuckled. "Someone is offering a high price to buy right now. Su Yu, how about you sell it to me now? I guarantee that within a year, I'll collect the full set and return a hundred drops to you, plus three hundred merit points! What do you think? "Just consider it a loan to me... I'll pay you interest!" Su Yu felt tired. It seemed this stuff was being targeted by an awful lot of people! This fat guy was a merchant, so Su Yu didn't feel like holding it against him. Chen Qi had basically meant the same thing earlier, but he wasn't doing business; he was determined to get it back. There was a difference between the two. "One year?" Su Yu looked at him, knitting his brows. "Do you think I'll still be in the Qianjun Realm in a year?" Xia Huyou froze. "Do you think that in a year, I won't be in the Wanshi Realm?" Xia Huyou blinked. After a long pause, he said sheepishly, "Well... well... Wanshi is pretty difficult." "If even Liu He could reach Wanshi in a year, why can't I?" Su Yu stared at him and gave a soft snort. "If by then you haven't managed to collect that blood essence, what will I do? Besides, if I want to establish my foundation with this right from the start, do you really think I'm that far from Qianjun?" As he spoke, even Su Yu began to feel as though that blood essence was prepared for him. Once he finished speaking, he reconsidered... What if it wasn't? Su Yu felt a bit sheepish. If it wasn't, then he was overthinking things and making a huge joke of himself. Everyone thought that way right now. Bai Feng wouldn't actually withhold it from him, would he? How awkward! Should he... go flatter him tomorrow? If Bai Feng really didn't give it to him, Su Yu couldn't say much either. Bai Feng had already delivered on all the benefits Su Yu had asked for before; this blood essence wasn't something Bai Feng was obligated to hand over. Su Yu felt somewhat uneasy. He better not offend a bunch of people only to end up with nothing, wasting all this mental effort for nothing! Xia Huyou didn't overthink it. If Bai Feng didn't give it to Su Yu, who else would he give it to? It was only Qianjun blood essence. To Bai Feng, Mountain-Breaking Ox blood essence and Fire Swine blood essence were the same—both were Qianjun blood essence, and Fire Swine blood essence might even be more useful. So if he didn't give it to Su Yu, he would give it to some other genius; he certainly wouldn't use it as ordinary blood essence. Paying no mind to Su Yu's inner thoughts, Xia Huyou lowered his voice. "Su Yu, how many acupoints have you opened?" "Hm?" "You should be cultivating the War God Art, right? Everyone cultivates that. How many acupoints have you opened now?" Su Yu glanced at him and smiled. "Five merit points, and I'll sell you the answer!" This fat guy traded intelligence, after all! "Come on, didn't I answer all your questions earlier without charging a cent?" Xia Huyou grinned naively. "We're friends. If you tell me, I won't tell anyone else." "Are you sure?" "Ahem!" Xia Huyou whispered, "Then five merit points it is, but I can trade it! Some people want to inquire about you. If you give me accurate information, I'll go sell it, and you can't object! Also, it has to be genuine, or you'll ruin my reputation!" Su Yu thought it over and said slowly, "Fine, but you have to tell me who buys my information from you!" "That won't do. Client confidentiality has rules!" Xia Huyou immediately refused! He added solemnly, "Su Yu, client confidentiality is crucial. It can't be breached! Once you sell out your clients, business is dead! We merchants value credibility above all. Haggling over prices is fine, but secretly trading client information? Once word gets out, the business is finished! "Think about it: if I could tell you today, wouldn't I be able to tell someone else your details tomorrow? If I told others what cultivation arts you bought, wouldn't you get targeted? Some things are strictly between buyer and seller. That's why our Xia family has stayed in business for hundreds of years without falling..." Su Yu scoffed. "Isn't it because of your monopoly?" "Look at what you're saying!" Xia Huyou replied awkwardly. "That's part of it, but even with a monopoly, it's not like other prefectures don't have merchant guilds in our Great Xia Prefecture. Why don't people go to them? Isn't it because of our integrity? Our prices might be slightly higher, but the key is reliability. Don't you agree?" Su Yu considered it and nodded. Truth be told, hearing the fat guy put it that way did give off a reliable impression. Of course, one couldn't take a merchant's words completely seriously—just take them with a grain of salt. "Then I'll sell it to you for ten merit points. You can sell my information to the outside world, and I guarantee it's authentic. But... you should know I'm in a period of rapid progress. The information I give you now is real, but in a few days, it might not be!" "I understand that!" Xia Huyou beamed. "Everyone treats it as a reference anyway. Who takes it as absolute gospel? Tell me, ten points it is. Quite a few people are interested in you right now. Who told your teacher to display such terrifying might today? It's worth the price!" "I've opened seven acupoints. Just a bit shy of completing the first layer of the standard edition!" "Holy crap!" Xia Huyou was startled. Seven acupoints opened already? This guy was way too fast! He had heard that during the assessment, Su Yu had only broken through to the ninth layer of the Kaiyuan Realm that very day. Xia Huyou calculated: the assessment was at the end of June, and now it was early August. Just over a month! Not only had he perfected the Kaiyuan Realm, but he had also opened seven new acupoints. On average, he opened an acupoint every five days! No wonder! No wonder this guy was so confident that in a year, he might no longer be in the Qianjun Realm! He had previously been self-taught outside the academy. Now that he was in the academy, with ample resources and abundant yuan qi, the advanced edition of the War God Art required 108 acupoints, leaving him 101 acupoints away. Acupoint opening speed in the Qianjun Realm was generally consistent. After all, as one's strength increased, opening acupoints in the later stages became slightly harder, but greater strength also accelerated cultivation speed. *At his previous speed, he has a shot at reaching Wanshi in five hundred days...* *Now that he's entered the academy, it might be even faster!* Xia Huyou formed a judgment instantly, also understanding why Su Yu had been unwilling to trade the blood essence, even when offered a high price. Because the guy genuinely had the confidence to reach Wanshi within a year! *Moreover, he still has two chances to enter secret realms... which will also speed up his cultivation!* Xia Huyou's gaze changed completely. The next moment, he wore an ingratiating smile. "Su Yu, don't sell that blood essence. Absolutely do not sell it! That stuff is rare. If you sell it now, you might not have the chance to acquire so much again. A hundred drops requires killing at least ten Mountain-Breaking Oxen. Where would you find that many Qianjun Mountain-Breaking Oxen to kill? "Assistant Instructor Hu Wensheng could get so many because their faction has a lot of people and wide connections. Your faction can't do that; you have virtually no connections on the All-Heavens Battlefield and can't buy it at all. Even our Xia Trading Company can't acquire much Top Hundred Qianjun blood essence each year..." Xia Huyou chuckled. "Reach Qianjun as quickly as you can, establish your foundation, and display your might... I feel like I'm going to make a fortune down the line!" "..." Su Yu glanced at him, speechlessly. *I get stronger, and you make money? What does that even mean?* Xia Huyou kept chuckling. Once they reached the top of the stairs, he hurriedly said, "I'll transfer the ten merit points to you. I'm the most honest merchant around! Su Yu, if you want to buy information on others, you can come to me. For instance, the geniuses of this class—I have information on quite a few of them." "No need!" It wasn't as if Su Yu had money burning a hole in his pocket; he had no use for that right now. He'd deal with that later! Having earned ten merit points, he was in a good mood. Xia Huyou truly was a wealthy tycoon. Selling a bit of his own information had netted him the price of an early Wanshi Realm drop in the blink of an eye. Quite a bargain. Calculating it like that, his remaining merit points totaled 120! However, he needed to purchase more Wanshi Realm blood essence as well. Out of the five drops, he had already used two. Of the remaining three, he needed to keep at least one as a backup, just in case. "Xia Huyou, procure another batch of early Wanshi Ironwing Bird blood essence for me!" "More?" Xia Huyou was somewhat surprised. What did he need so much early Wanshi blood essence for? And all from Ironwing Birds, no less! "You want to know?" "Ahem, never mind. How much do you want?" Su Yu calculated. No need to stockpile too much, just enough for a month's cultivation. Using one drop a day meant thirty drops! That was a bit extravagant! Previously, he had planned on using one drop every three days. Now, however, he suddenly felt a sense of urgency. The pressure was immense! Bai Feng wanted him to rank in the top ten in next month's monthly assessment. Remembering this, Su Yu asked, "When is the next monthly assessment?" "The monthly assessment is on the thirtieth of every month!" Xia Huyou answered readily. "The results come out on the first. The bottom ten face penalties, and three consecutive bottom-ten finishes lead to expulsion. Of course, that has nothing to do with us! There are rewards for the top ten, which you can fight for. You're in the intermediate class, and I don't think anyone in the intermediate class can compete with you. The monstrous geniuses are all in the advanced class." Su Yu paused. That... seemed right! Those in the intermediate class hadn't reached Character Cultivation. Could... anyone compete with him? He fell into deep thought! Bai Feng had probably forgotten that reaching Character Cultivation meant moving to the advanced class. In telling him to take top ten in the intermediate class, had Bai Feng overlooked a prerequisite? In other words, the high-tier and monstrous geniuses were almost all in the advanced class! He, Su Yu, might be the only high-tier student there! Seeing Su Yu in contemplation, Xia Huyou understood what he was thinking and added, "Combat strength isn't very important; the intermediate class primarily tests fundamentals. Combat strength only matters in the advanced class, so you might not necessarily take first place. But the top ten shouldn't be a problem." He was worried Su Yu would cause trouble for him if he failed to take first! Being at the ninth layer of Kaiyuan was good, but it didn't account for a high percentage of the assessment. "Understood!" Su Yu nodded and said, "Setting that aside, buy thirty drops of Ironwing Bird blood essence for me!" Xia Huyou's eyes lit up! A big deal! "The official price is 150 merit points. Since we're friends, I'll charge you 120... Prices have really gone up lately! In the past, I could sell it to you for 90 merit points, but right now it's truly impossible—the crackdown has been severe!" He knew Su Yu still had 110 merit points, and adding the 10 points he had just given him made exactly 120 points. Just enough! Bleed Su Yu dry! That was how business was done! Su Yu glared at him. Black-hearted merchant! This bastard had definitely calculated how many merit points Su Yu had before quoting 120 points; otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence?! "Ninety points, that's my limit!" "Brother, I beg of you, brother, I really can't buy it at that price!" Xia Huyou said with a miserable face. "At least leave me a bit for travel expenses. How about 115 points? Truly, I can't go lower!" "Then we'll talk about it later!" Su Yu decided to shop around and ask others. For instance, Zhou Hui, the senior sister he had met when he first arrived at the academy. Thirty drops of blood essence was a substantial deal; he'd see what she had to say. Of course, if the prices were similar, he would naturally go with Xia Huyou for reliability. The Xia family had deep pockets, while Senior Sister Zhou Hui was too poor. Su Yu had always been afraid she might not resist the temptation to pocket his merit points. Never tempt a poor person who lacked tens of thousands with tens of millions! That wasn't a test; it was inciting someone to commit a crime. "Brother, don't do this! 110 points! Really, nobody will give you a lower quote than me, safety guaranteed! It truly cannot go any lower!" "We'll talk later. I need to rest!" Su Yu ignored him, intending to ask around first. This guy looked reliable, but who knew how ruthless he was under the surface? ... *Bang!* Su Yu closed the door to his room. Outside, Xia Huyou looked thoroughly dejected, whispering, "One hundred points! If anyone offers lower, you go buy from them! I guarantee nobody in the entire academy has lower prices than me!" Su Yu did not reply. Xia Huyou left reluctantly! What a shame! Neither of tonight's big deals had gone through! He hadn't bought the Mountain-Breaking Ox blood essence, nor had he finalized Su Yu's procurement order. He felt as though he had lost a hundred million! ... Back in his own dormitory, Xia Huyou pulled out his communication talisman and quickly dialed a number, saying with a grin, "Brother, interested in information on Su Yu? "Fresh out of the oven, absolute first-hand info! "What? A newly enrolled freshman, nothing worth knowing? Hey, brother, geniuses change every month, even every day. Do you really think information from months ago can be trusted? "How about this: I'll give you the information, and if you think it's useless, you don't have to pay. I, Xia Huyou, value my reputation! If you find it useful, ten merit points. If you feel ripped off, come smash up my place!" "..." After communicating with the person on the other end for a while, Xia Huyou showed a delighted expression. A profit! Selling it to one person for ten points, he could sell this information to at least ten people. Of course, selling it too many times would make it worthless. Those guys shared information among themselves, after all! Regardless, he could make a tidy sum this time. "Thank you, Su Yu! Thank you, Bai Feng!" Xia Huyou chuckled and expressed his gratitude. If Bai Feng hadn't flared up today, hardly anyone would even care about Su Yu's faction. Now, plenty of people were interested in both Bai Feng and Su Yu. He couldn't trade Bai Feng's information, terrified of being beaten to death by Bai Feng. Su Yu's, however—since people couldn't buy Bai Feng's, buying Su Yu's worked just fine! After expressing his gratitude, Xia Huyou calculated that he needed to get even closer to Su Yu. Now that Bai Feng had suddenly struck and unleashed tremendous power, many eyes in the academy were focused on them. This master-disciple pair would be his cash cows in the future! "Ninety points... at worst, I'll procure a batch of blood essence for him at ninety points!" Xia Huyou steeled his resolve. He would treat it as an early investment; it was bound to pay off. ... At the same time. Character Cultivation Garden, Special Grade Area. Xia Chan frowned as she opened the door. Chen Qi stepped inside cautiously, took a deep breath, and began, "Xia... Martial Aunt Xia." It felt awkward addressing her that way! Xia Chan was Vice Head Zhou's student, effectively Hu Wensheng's junior sister, so he had to call her Martial Aunt. Of course, if they belonged to different factions, there would be no need for that; each could address the other casually. "Is something the matter?" Xia Chan responded rather coldly, not caring in the slightest that his cultivation was higher than hers. "Martial Aunt Xia, you should know about what happened today. Su Yu took the Mountain-Breaking Ox blood essence that belonged to me..." Xia Chan frowned. "Senior Brother Hu lost that in a wager!" Chen Qi gritted his teeth and said in a low voice, "I know, but if Bai Feng hadn't deliberately picked a fight, Master wouldn't have lost that blood essence..." "What are you trying to say by coming to me?" "I... I know Su Yu still has a chance to enter the Yuan Character Secret Realm. If he breaks through, he will definitely go to the Yuan Character Secret Realm then. I no longer have any chances to enter. Martial Aunt Xia... could you help me prevent him from breaking through to Qianjun? Otherwise... he will definitely consume that blood essence!" Chen Qi added hurriedly, "Of course, I won't let Martial Aunt Xia do this for nothing..." Xia Chan shut the door in his face! With a loud bang, she shut him outside. Childish! Did she lack those meager benefits? Why should she help Chen Qi? "Martial Aunt Xia, please help me just this once! Or even if he enters Character Cultivation first—once he enters Character Cultivation, I'll have a chance to take those things back. Once he reaches Character Cultivation, I can go find trouble with him. But we can't let him reach Qianjun first and use up that blood essence directly..." Chen Qi was growing anxious. If Su Yu reached Character Cultivation, he would welcome it with open arms. In the academy, physical combat strength wasn't valued; only the strength of willpower mattered. If Su Yu reached Character Cultivation, Chen Qi was also at Character Cultivation and could openly cause trouble for him. Right now, he couldn't! Therefore, he needed Su Yu to reach Character Cultivation before reaching Qianjun. Otherwise, once Su Yu reached Qianjun, he would simply close his doors and consume the blood essence, leaving Chen Qi completely helpless! "Martial Aunt Xia, this is also Grandmaster's intention..." Chen Qi suddenly gritted his teeth and said, "Su Yu's faction has always been at odds with ours. Obstructing Su Yu aligns with Grandmaster's thoughts as well. We must take back what we lost, or else others will mock us..." Before he could finish, Xia Chan's cold voice came from inside: "Foolish! Childish! Once Su Yu reaches Qianjun and Character Cultivation, I will suppress him myself. What need is there for you to worry! If you want the Mountain-Breaking Ox blood essence, figure out a way yourself. An untalented mediocrity like you dares try to order me around? "Get lost!" Xia Chan barked coldly, her tone dripping with disdain! What a joke! As if she would be ordered around by this mediocrity! What was a monstrous genius? Someone confident in crushing everyone of the same realm and the same generation—only that was worthy of being called a monstrous genius! If one didn't even have that much confidence, what kind of genius were they? What did it matter if Su Yu reached Qianjun or Character Cultivation? If Su Yu couldn't even reach Qianjun or Character Cultivation, beating him would be utterly meaningless! What skill was there in bullying the weak? Body casting with Mountain-Breaking Ox blood essence? All the better! If he used ordinary blood essence for body casting, she wouldn't even deign to look at him. A moment later, Xia Chan spoke again: "Giving him the Mountain-Breaking Ox blood essence is just right. A mediocrity like you can just use any random blood essence, lest you waste Senior Brother Hu's good intentions!" "..." Chen Qi nearly cracked his teeth from clenching them so hard! This was intolerable! Saying nothing more, Chen Qi turned and left. He had assumed that for the sake of being in the same faction, Xia Chan would agree. He had even invoked Zhou Mingren, yet Xia Chan reacted with such an attitude! *Bitch! Sooner or later, I'll teach you a lesson!* Chen Qi cursed inwardly. Without her, he could still look for someone else! A short while later, he knocked on another door. In the end... he was driven right out! Wu Lan cursed loudly, "Get lost! You trash, you petty scoundrel, actually asking me to resort to underhanded tricks! I, Wu Lan, possess boundless talent. Even if I look down on Su Yu, I will crush him with true strength! You worthless piece of trash, get the hell away from me! "You've infuriated me! "Trash! Truly, trash can never step onto the grand stage! "How could a piece of trash like you ever understand the world of geniuses? If not for Assistant Instructor Hu's sake, I'd make you suffer serious consequences today! "..." Arrogant, overbearing! Cut from the very same cloth as Xia Chan! No, even more arrogant. Wu Lan was furious; Chen Qi was sullying her character. Was she that kind of person? Even if Su Yu reached Qianjun, so what? Would she be inferior to Su Yu? In a direct confrontation, she could beat Su Yu until he cried for his parents and apologized to her, regretting his past arrogance before her! With a snort, she slammed the door! Wu Lan couldn't even be bothered with Chen Qi, caring nothing for his fury. What right did a mere mediocrity have to interfere in the competition between geniuses? Get lost! People like him should be expelled from the academy—he ought to look in a mirror! In last year's assessment, he had only earned a mid-high rating, whereas she was a top-high rating! Closing the door, Wu Lan looked full of pride! The only ones worthy of catching her eye were top-high ratings and monstrous geniuses. Mid-high... wasn't worthy! ... Outside the door, Chen Qi's face burned with humiliation! He truly hadn't expected such an outcome! He... had been driven out! Cursed out roundly from head to toe! Hadn't they said Su Yu had thoroughly offended this woman back in Nanyuan? Chen Qi was furious, wishing he could slap this woman to death. She was even more detestable than Xia Chan; her words were utterly venomous! Xia Chan was at least in the Qianjun Realm, whereas this woman wasn't even in Qianjun yet. What right did she have to act so rampant... The next instant, he thought of Wu Qi, and of that terrifying legend... Chen Qi deflated. Forget it, he wouldn't argue with her; Wu Qi was someone he couldn't afford to provoke.