Pass It Down

Bai Feng could hardly believe this was real! Fifty years ago, his teacher had begun researching innate skill extraction—or rather, even earlier than that, the Fifth Head had already been researching it. Yet after all these years, the results remained limited. Many innate skills could not be extracted at all. Once blood essence above the Tengkong Realm was separated, not a single innate skill could be derived from it. Countless drops of blood essence had been consumed, and boundless resources squandered. Only in the past two years had there been any modest progress. Yet now, someone was telling him that he possessed a divine character capable of absorbing blood essence and unleashing its innate skill... *Do you take me for an idiot?!* Bai Feng glared intently at Su Yu, grinding his teeth. "When will you reach the Tengkong Realm?" "Huh?" "When will you reach Tengkong!" Bai Feng snapped furiously. "I need to see your divine character!" He simply refused to believe it! It was impossible! Without reaching Tengkong, divine characters could not be viewed by others, making it impossible for Bai Feng to verify. Only once the kid reached Tengkong would he be able to see it. Bai Feng added, "You weren't lying to me just now, were you?" "No, I wasn't," Su Yu said cautiously. "It's true, Teacher. Why don't you give me a drop of Ironwing Bird blood essence, and I'll unleash it right here to show you..." "Ironwing Bird blood essence... Does it have to be that specific kind? Or does any blood essence work?" Bai Feng barely managed to calm down! Until he saw it with his own eyes, he wouldn't believe it was true. Unless... Su Yu slapped him in the face with proof on the spot! "So far, I've only discovered it works with the Ironwing Bird..." Su Yu explained cautiously. "I haven't absorbed much blood essence overall. Last time, the 'Blood' divine character wanted to absorb blood, so I merely gave it a try. I never expected it would turn out like that, and I didn't dare mention it to anyone..." "Keeping quiet was the right call!" Bai Feng said in a deep voice, having regained his composure. "If this is real, it's going to be immense trouble! Once you reach Tengkong, someone might set their sights on this divine character of yours! "Remember, you're not allowed to mention this to anyone else! Not a single soul! "Including... Forget it. For now, this stays strictly between you and me!" Bai Feng added, "If you ever need to use it in the future, just say... just say it's special blood essence I gave you!" With that, Bai Feng stood up. "I'm going to fetch some Ironwing Bird blood essence. You're going to test it for me right here!" "All right!" Seeing his ferocious expression, Su Yu didn't dare say another word. ... A dozen or so minutes later, Bai Feng returned. His face was stern, wearing an expression as if the entire world owed him money. Tossing a drop of Qianjun Realm blood essence to Su Yu, he said coldly, "Consume it and attack me! Use the innate skill within the blood essence to attack me!" Su Yu wasted no time. Old Bai looked thoroughly irascible right now. Swallowing the blood essence, he activated the album. Su Yu's arm swelled once more as acupoints temporarily opened one after another. The Tear martial technique instantly erupted! *Boom!* Su Yu lunged forward, grabbing Bai Feng's arm. With a ripping tear, the sleeve over Bai Feng's arm was shredded to pieces, though Bai Feng's arm remained completely unharmed. Bai Feng neither resisted nor counterattacked. He simply let Su Yu strike! Looking at his shredded clothes and sensing the distinctly foreign martial technique, Bai Feng stood dazed, his soul adrift. *How can this be?!* It truly was the Ironwing Bird's innate skill! Just swallowing it down was enough to... unleash the innate skill? Why? One had to understand that the blood essence they currently used to unleash innate skills had undergone specialized processing. Though both were called blood essence, setting aside the astronomical research expenses, just processing a single drop of specialized blood essence required at least ten drops of identical raw blood essence. Yet Su Yu... had unleashed it directly! Why? Was the 'Blood' divine character truly so formidable? While Bai Feng stood in a daze, Su Yu stubbornly locked horns with his arm, striking over a dozen times in succession without breaching the defense of his flesh in the slightest. Despair welled up in Su Yu! How could this be? Was the Tengkong Realm truly powerful to such an extent? The next instant, Bai Feng snapped back to reality. With an annoyed huff, he shoved Su Yu back a dozen meters with a slap. "I'm in the Tengkong Realm, having undergone multiple body castings! Back then, I cast my body using... blood essence from a clan ranked in the top ten! If a Kaiyuan... no, if an attack barely at the sixth stage of Qianjun managed to breach my defenses, then I'd truly be a piece of trash!" What was this kid thinking?! If the sixth stage of Qianjun could break his physical defenses, he wouldn't be Bai Feng. Su Yu felt dejected! Bai Feng felt dejected as well! Master and disciple were both utterly demoralized. For a time, the silence between them was terrifying. ... After an unknown stretch of time, Bai Feng rubbed his cheeks and took a deep breath. "Kid, you can use Ironwing Bird blood essence, and others... might be possible too! Of course, your strength is still low, so you can't go experimenting with blood essence recklessly, or things could easily go wrong. "Innate skills... "Innate skills!" Bai Feng muttered under his breath, his eyes rapidly lighting up. "We don't have money right now, but that's fine. Once I have money, I'll buy endless blood essence! You'll test them all for me, one by one, and unleash their innate skills! "You... you little brat, don't you dare think of leaving! "Damn it, if you dare leave, that's betraying the lineage, and I'll purge you myself. You'd better think carefully!" Bai Feng paced in circles around the living area, mumbling to himself like a madman! He truly was bordering on madness. What on earth was going on with this Su Yu? No, he had to help Su Yu advance rapidly to the Tengkong Realm! The innate skill extraction project had gone on for far too many years. It had never yielded major breakthroughs, proved nearly impossible to apply above Tengkong, and offered zero clues regarding human innate skills. Su Yu... was the ultimate experimental subject! "A divine character?" "A special divine character capable of carrying innate skills..." "Then what traits does it need? What kind of divine character must it be?" At that moment, an epiphany seemed to strike him. He murmured, "We shouldn't have focused solely on the blood essence; it has to be paired with a divine character! It's a matched set! Yes, innate skills might be transplantable onto divine characters! "The fusion of traits... Can't an innate skill be treated as a divine character's trait?" Bai Feng felt a sudden wave of enlightenment! Over the years, it wasn't that they hadn't considered this, but every experiment had failed. Divine characters weren't cheap vegetables; where would they find so many to waste? Thus, they had ultimately abandoned the link between divine characters and innate skills, focusing exclusively on blood essence. Yet now... now he felt he had found the path forward! "Teacher... I think I might actually succeed!" Bai Feng muttered to himself, then turned to look at Su Yu—whose scalp was tingling with dread—and beamed. His smile was extraordinarily radiant! According to Su Yu's philosophy, anyone who smiled that radiantly deserved a beating to death! "Little A-Yu!" Bai Feng's address was so sickeningly sweet that goosebumps erupted across Su Yu's skin. "Cultivate well, all right? Don't tire yourself out. We might be poor, but your master here will find ways to secure resources for you... You must cultivate diligently!" Bai Feng grinned brilliantly. "From now on, if anyone bullies you, tell your master, and I'll go beat them to death! If I can't beat them to death, I'll call my master—your grandmaster—to beat them to death! Don't be afraid! "Hahaha!" Bai Feng suddenly burst into wild laughter. Today, his emotional rollercoaster had been far more violent than Su Yu's. ... Half an hour later. Bai Feng had barely regained his composure. Looking at Su Yu again, he let out a breath and said, "I was just recalling some matters regarding the experiments and lost my composure a bit. You didn't see anything you shouldn't have, did you, kid?" Su Yu smiled bitterly and shook his head. Even if he had seen something, he had to pretend he hadn't! Bai Feng had practically gone mad just now; Su Yu had nearly been scared out of his wits, thinking Bai Feng had suffered a willpower backlash and lost his mind. Such things had happened before! Zhou Hui had mentioned that people in that state would kill. Was Bai Feng really on the verge of madness? Should he keep his distance from him in the future? It felt entirely too dangerous! Bai Feng bared his teeth, quickly suppressing the impulse to dissect Su Yu, and chuckled. "Don't be afraid, your master is fine! Su Yu, work hard on your cultivation and strive to enter the Top 100 Rankings by the end of the year. When the time comes, blast them with this blood essence technique! How could that be considered relying on external aid? That's our research achievement!" Bai Feng grinned. "Of course, don't make it too obvious. It's best not to swallow blood essence in front of others; just swallow it secretly. If anyone asks, say it's specialized blood essence given to you by me, crafted by our Multiple Divine Characters Faction!" Su Yu nodded. "However, personal strength is the foundation, your realm is the core, so reach Tengkong as early as possible!" Bai Feng's smile grew even wider. "When you're about to reach Tengkong, you must remember to tell your teacher! Absolutely do not go running around! Before reaching Tengkong, do not take on dangerous missions under any circumstances. If you run into danger, flee immediately. If that fails, blow your whistle... "Ahem, if that fails, call for us! Your martial uncle and I are still at the academy, free as can be, ready at your beck and call!" With that, Bai Feng swiftly fished out a jade pendant. "This is a summoning divine talisman. Shatter it, and I'll sense it and rush to you immediately! "Later, I'll get you some defensive divine talismans too..." Mid-sentence, Bai Feng's expression froze. He was genuinely out of money! *No, I have to go shake down Liu Hong for a sum, or the coming days will be unlivable.* Moreover, this kid Su Yu had to reach Tengkong as quickly as possible. Only being able to look without being able to use... ahem, without being able to study it, was far too regrettable, far too tantalizing. Taking a deep breath, Bai Feng resumed his smile. "Cultivate well. Your master won't disturb you anymore. Once I secure enough blood essence, you'll test them all for me, and your master will teach you how to utilize innate skills." At this moment, Bai Feng called himself "master" with every breath, making Su Yu's scalp turn numb. It was sickeningly affectionate! He had goosebumps all over! Bai Feng then added, "By the way, as for that class monitor position, if you don't feel like doing it, just drop it! It's a waste of time! If Liu Hong dares complain, I'll go cleave him in two!" *Wasting my precious disciple's time!* Right now, there was no need for tempering. All he wanted was for this kid to reach Tengkong immediately! Su Yu, however, shook his head and said seriously, "Teacher, since I've taken the role of class monitor, I will carry it out properly! Unless Instructor Liu Hong relieves me of it, I'll keep doing it until I enter the advanced class!" He now viewed this as pressure, but also as motivation. At worst, he would just sleep a few fewer hours each night. Thinking of this, Su Yu immediately said, "Teacher, I'd like to move into the research center to live. Would that be all right?" "Yes, absolutely!" Bai Feng beamed. "Nothing could be better. It's safe here, and cultivation can remain confidential—no one will know. Excellent, come live here!" "Thank you, Teacher. I'll go cultivate now." Being stared at constantly by Bai Feng was more than Su Yu could take, so he hastily beat a retreat. Better to go cultivate! Ever since he mentioned the blood essence, Bai Feng had been staring at him as though looking at merit points, making Su Yu deeply uncomfortable. ... Once Su Yu was out of sight, Bai Feng drew several deep breaths before finally composing himself. After a moment's thought, he dialed a number again. "Martial Uncle..." "You still haven't given up? Do you truly have a death wish?" Bai Feng looked thoroughly exasperated and rushed to say, "No, Martial Uncle, listen to me, that's not what I mean. I wanted to ask... regarding Su Yu, did you really not give him anything?" "What do you mean?" "Just... ahem, that divine character passed down by Grandmaster..." "Piss off! You still dare bring it up!" Liu Wenyan raged. "Bai Feng, it seems you really won't give up! Fine, today I'll send someone to pay you a visit. Don't think I have no ways to deal with you!" "Martial Uncle, Martial Uncle, don't hang up, listen to me!" Bai Feng urged frantically. "Truly, I'm asking in all seriousness. Did you give that divine character to Su Yu or not?" "No! Put it out of your mind. Unless I die, I won't give it to anyone!" "Really?" "Try uttering another useless word!" Bai Feng still harbored doubts and pressed on, "Martial Uncle, you truly didn't give it to him?" "I'll have someone beat you to death right now... Have you set your sights on Su Yu?" Bai Feng cried out in grievance, "No! Martial Uncle, Su Yu isn't normal! This kid... in any case, this kid is bizarre. He can absorb blood to cultivate..." "Absorb blood to cultivate?" Liu Wenyan said, surprised. "Didn't you outline his 'Blood' divine character for him? Isn't it normal for it to have that trait? Why are you asking me?" "..." Bai Feng offered a bitter smile. If he were that incredible, how could he not know it himself? Was that merely absorbing blood to cultivate? That was... that was... hard to describe, but in any case, it was extraordinary! As for the innate skills, after some thought, he chose not to mention them. Even he had the urge to dissect Su Yu; if more people knew, everyone might want to slice the kid open. Besides, this phone call... might not be secure! Who knew which bastard might be eavesdropping! "Martial Uncle, since Grandmaster's divine character wasn't passed down to Su Yu, does that mean whatever achievements he has are entirely through his own ability?" "Of course!" Liu Wenyan seemed to catch the undertone of the words. No longer furious, he calmed down and asked, "Is he all right?" "He's fine!" Bai Feng exhaled. "Better than fine! Just a bit poor. Martial Uncle, I'm out of money too. Why don't... ahem, why don't you... ahem... put in a word with that person and borrow tens of thousands of merit points for us?" "Do you want to die?" "Martial Uncle, we're truly out of money. We've gone completely broke—aside from a laboratory, we have nothing left..." Bai Feng sounded utterly aggrieved! They were genuinely drained! This time, it wasn't him squandering it; it was to rescue Eldest Senior Brother. That guy was being targeted, so Bai Feng had to fill the hole for him. They had to sell off all their possessions! He wouldn't even be able to afford meals soon! "Everything is gone?" "Everything!" Liu Wenyan sank into thought. A moment later, he said slowly, "Being targeted?" "Yeah." "The one surnamed Wan, or the one surnamed Zhou?" "The one surnamed Zhou!" "That fellow has always needed a thrashing!" Liu Wenyan snapped irritably. "Back then, I couldn't stand the sight of him! That disciple of his... what was his name, Yuming? I beat him hundreds of times. I hear he's in the Shanhai Realm now too. And you bunch of useless trash haven't produced a single Shanhai. You deserve to be bullied!" "..." Bai Feng had no rebuttal. He was still young, not even thirty yet—could Martial Uncle stop beating him down all the time? After venting a bit, Liu Wenyan added, "Ignore him! If that doesn't work, find a way to deal with him. Go beat up the Tengkong cultivators under him one by one, and have your senior brother beat up the Lingyun cultivators one by one, until he yields! If he dares intervene, I'll call people in for you. That fool Hong Tan actually ran off at a time like this—you deserve to get pushed around!" "Martial Uncle... that... there are too many to beat," Bai Feng said helplessly. "Their Single Divine Character Faction has thousands of people. If we beat them up one by one, we won't have time to cultivate, let alone do research." "Whose fault is it that you're all so useless, growing weaker over the years!" Liu Wenyan was merciless, bluntly snapping, "Yes, it was our fault back then for bringing catastrophe upon the Multiple Divine Characters Faction! But didn't we leave with nothing? Resources, willpower texts, blood essence, secret realms... we left everything behind. Wan Tiansheng promised he wouldn't deliberately target you anymore. If you're still this useless, you're blaming me?" Liu Wenyan's anger flared as he spoke. "When I left, the Multiple Divine Characters Faction still had over a hundred people. Fifty years later, where are they? Gone? If you aren't trash, who is? Damn it, both you and your teacher are idiots!" Bai Feng's head throbbed. Helpless, he said, "Martial Uncle, we didn't want this either, but our faction is truly difficult! It naturally consumes resources and demands immense talent..." "Nonsense! If either you or your senior brother could enter Shanhai, you'd have everything!" Liu Wenyan retorted relentlessly. "If that useless Hong Tan could step above Shanhai, would any of this crap be happening? If your senior brother reached Shanhai, would they dare act like this? Isn't it because they think you're useless—only consuming money without producing anything, completely incapable of self-reflection? "If you show people no value, why should anyone help you?" Liu Wenyan scoffed with dissatisfaction. "After fifty years, Hong Tan is actually still stuck at the eighth stage of Shanhai. That's far below my expectations. Even if he couldn't get above Shanhai, he should have reached the ninth stage. As expected, he was the most useless among us back then. All the geniuses ran into disaster, leaving that trash in charge! "If even one of Zhao Mingyue or Xia Yunqi were still around, things would never have fallen to this state!" Bai Feng remained silent, his mind drifting. Sometimes, his teacher said the exact same thing! If even one of them had remained, how could the Multiple Divine Characters Faction have fallen so low? In that glorious era, those geniuses illuminated the Human Realm. A group of individuals beneath the Tengkong Realm had influenced the entire human race! It had been magnificent! Alas, when the Fifth Head fell in battle, that glory came to an end. With top-tier combat power lost, and a cluster of immature geniuses lingering beneath Tengkong without advancing... the academy could no longer tolerate it, and neither could the Great Xia Prefecture. More and more geniuses had poured into the Multiple Divine Characters Faction. Even after the Fifth Head was gone, those prodigies were still there. Liu Wenyan, Zhao Mingyue, Xia Yunqi—they were all present, still shining across the Human Realm, slaying Tengkong cultivators while merely in Character Cultivation. Everyone had anticipated the day they reached Tengkong, wondering whether they would advance nine stages in a single day, battling the Lingyun Realm... or even Shanhai! People had anticipated them stepping above Shanhai, expecting one or several Invincible experts to emerge from their ranks! Proclaiming themselves kings! Becoming invincible sovereigns! And yet... in the end, it all came to an end. Whenever he thought of this, Bai Feng's blood surged. Talented and monstrous as he was, compared to the legends of that generation, he was still far behind. At the very least, he currently lacked the confidence to fight Lingyun cultivators. Therefore, even though Liu Wenyan's cultivation was weak, Bai Feng still held him in deep reverence. When he was cursed like a grandson back in Nanyuan, he hadn't dared utter a word in protest. Thinking of this, Bai Feng's voice choked up slightly. "Martial Uncle... can you really not be cured?" "...Hm?" Unaccustomed to such tenderness, Liu Wenyan snapped, "What do you mean, cured? Are you saying I'm sick?" "No, that's not what I meant..." Embarrassed, Bai Feng sighed. "Martial Uncle, why not... discard that divine character? Perhaps without its interference, you could recreate your past glory!" "Piss off!" Liu Wenyan barked. "I knew you were still scheming after this divine character! Let me tell you, unless I die, I will never discard it! This is the life's blood of my teacher, your grandmaster! "Moreover... it is the life's blood of our entire generation!" Liu Wenyan's tone turned solemn. "In that generation, one hundred and sixteen geniuses of the Multiple Divine Characters Faction were expelled. I remember every single one! Many have died—from old age, illness, battle... Barely any survivors remain! "I'm warning you, if you eye this divine character again, I will truly show you no mercy!" "I'm not!" Bai Feng gave a bitter smile. He truly wasn't, nor did he dare. *Do you think I'm like you?* *Am I not afraid?* He had worked so hard to cultivate to the seventh stage of Tengkong; he had no desire to become a cripple. That would be far too tragic. "Good that you aren't!" Having said that, Liu Wenyan continued, "Hold on. Endure day by day. We may have no hope... but those who come after us might! This path cannot be severed. Even if we must linger on our last breath, we must survive, and we must pass it down. I refuse to believe the Multiple Divine Characters Faction will fall into utter ruin in our hands!" Bai Feng was speechless. The call disconnected. Bai Feng vigorously rubbed his cheeks. Again and again! Hold on! In front of Su Yu, he had spoken tough, claiming they were the villains, but in truth... their days were growing more miserable by the day! "Su Yu... I hope you can change something." Swallowing blood essence to unleash innate skills. Outlining a divine character after a single glance! *You kid were born to join our Multiple Divine Characters Faction!* Turning toward the upper floor, he sensed the aura above. The kid had already resumed cultivating. A smile surfaced on Bai Feng's face. Able to endure hardship, resilient, and immensely talented... If someone like that didn't succeed, justice simply didn't exist in this world! "The glory of fifty years ago is something we can no longer realize. What about you?" ... Meanwhile. In Nanyuan. After agonizing for a while, Liu Wenyan dialed a number. Before the other side could speak, he said hurriedly, "Bai Feng and the others can barely hold on. Help them out!" "You're asking a favor of me again?" "Cut the crap! Who's asking you for a favor? You're helping Bai Feng and his lot, not me. Help them or don't, I'm hanging up!" With a click, he severed the connection. Liu Wenyan let out a long breath. *That's how it should be. I didn't beg anyone; she's helping on her own accord. Yes, that's right. And it's not me she's helping, but Bai Feng and the others!* ... Great Xia Civilization Academy. In a spacious courtyard within the Heart Cultivation Pavilion, Wu Yuehua hung up the phone with a laugh. "Suffering just to save face. Sooner or later, I'll have you crying and begging me!"