Bullying an Honest Man!

With his days packed with classes, Su Yu planned to put in extra hours cultivating at night. Entering the fragment chamber six times a day had been the goal he set earlier. Each session in the fragment chamber took half an hour, and recovering his yuanqi and willpower took over an hour, adding up to two hours per cycle. Clearly, six sessions were a bit too much for Su Yu to manage right now. That would be twelve hours! By the time he finished dinner and returned, it was already seven in the evening. Twelve hours would leave him no time to sleep at all. "I still have to get some sleep. Otherwise, it'd be utterly humiliating if a proud ninth-layer Kaiyuan dropped dead from exhaustion!" "If I sleep four hours a day and wake up at seven tomorrow morning, then four sessions it is!" Reluctantly, Su Yu scaled back the time he spent entering the fragment chamber, but he really did need to budget his hours. After attending the foundation classes today, he had realized he lacked far too much basic knowledge. Liu Hong hadn't truly swindled him on that front. He didn't come from a prominent clan, and what Liu Wenyan had taught him was merely foundational. Once brought to the academy, that foundation was sorely lacking. "Two fewer sessions a day... Each session is worth at least ten merit points, so that's twenty fewer merit points a day. With twenty-five days until the fight with Lin Yao, that's a loss of five hundred merit points, which means Liu Hong's faction still owes me two hundred merit points..." Su Yu tallied it up. Perfectly reasonable! Liu Hong still owed him two hundred merit points! Each cultivation session really did save him ten merit points. And that didn't even factor in the cost of stalling his cultivation progress! Su Yu stepped into the fragment chamber, fending off the onslaught of willpower while continuing his meticulous calculations. "I'm a very generous person. Unless someone truly crosses the line, I won't hold a grudge. Two hundred merit points is quite a sum—slaying two Tengkong Realm experts would only yield two hundred merit points, after all..." "Liu Hong, two hundred merit points!" ... Out in the hallway, Bai Feng happened to walk past. Hearing these words, he was completely baffled. Since when did Liu Hong owe you two hundred merit points? How come I didn't know about this? Are the two of you making deals behind my back? Does Liu Hong himself even know? Wait, could Liu Hong be trying to corrupt you with money? Our faction might be broke, but we can't let ourselves be corrupted by money! ... Su Yu had no idea what Bai Feng was imagining. He had now discovered that a two-hour cycle might not even be enough. He had actually held out for forty minutes this time; he was lasting longer and longer in the fragment chamber! "Looks like I'll be able to enter the second tier soon!" The fragment chamber was divided into zones, and the second tier was essentially meant for Character Cultivation. Su Yu was still some distance from Character Cultivation, but he felt he might be able to attempt entering that zone ahead of schedule. He had realized that although his willpower was modest in quantity, it was exceptionally resilient and difficult to crush. After holding out for forty minutes, Su Yu headed to the filtration chamber. This time, he once again lavishly consumed a drop of Wanshi blood essence for cultivation. Only two drops remained, but fortunately, Xia Huyou's shipment would arrive soon. As for the five drops of yuanqi liquid he had traded for, he didn't plan on using them right now. They would be perfect for replenishing consumed yuanqi during combat. If he unleashed the power of the Wanshi Realm, his yuanqi would drain extremely fast, making yuanqi liquid indispensable. After consuming a drop of Wanshi blood essence, Su Yu felt he wasn't far from opening his eighth acupoint. Once the eighth acupoint opened, he would have met the requirements to break through directly if he were cultivating the standard edition of the War God Art! "Dad only cultivated the Qianjun Art, which opens thirty-six acupoints, and I'm already about to open eight. Does that mean... maybe I'll catch up to Dad in acupoints very soon?" "If I reach Qianjun seventh layer and open eighty-four acupoints, could I beat Dad in a fight?" Su Yu couldn't help daydreaming again. He missed his father a little! He wondered how things were on the All-Heavens Battlefield, whether his father had been sent to the front lines lately, and whether he had been injured... His impatient cultivation and desperate, sleepless grind were fueled by a small, hidden hope in his heart. He wanted to reach the Tengkong Realm as soon as possible and get to the All-Heavens Battlefield. Did that worrisome old man of his know how much his son missed him? Was cultivation not painful? Was sleep not sweet? Back when his father was around, Su Yu had never pushed himself this hard. But now that his father was no longer by his side, situated in the most perilous place in existence, Su Yu was genuinely worried sick about him. ... Night fell. The All-Heavens Battlefield. Su Long leaned against the city wall, grinning foolishly. Beside him, the centurion surnamed Liu couldn't help scolding him at the sight. "Grinning like an idiot again. Su Long, has something gone wrong with your head lately?" Su Long couldn't be bothered to respond, but after a moment's thought, he said with pride, "What do you know! I've been bottling this up for days. I didn't want to brag, but today I simply have to! Listen well: my son is Nanyuan's top scholar in both the civil and martial tracks!" "Remember this, hear it clearly: top scholar in both civil and martial! First place in the Civilization Academy exam, first place in the War Academy exam! Over a dozen academies were fighting over who got to recruit my son, hahaha!" Su Long had held it in and endured, but now he finally couldn't hold back any longer! His laughter rang out so loudly that over a hundred nearby soldiers heard it. In the distance, the patrolling chiliarch couldn't help shaking his head with a laugh. That guy... that was enough already! He brought up his son every single day—the top scholar of Nanyuan... who knew if it was even true! "Old Su, keep your voice down! It might not be wartime, but keep a low profile!" The chiliarch shouted a reprimand, and Su Long quickly replied with a laugh, "Right, right, I'll keep it down! Chiliarch, my son is the top scholar in both civil and martial tracks, did you hear? When we get some time off in a few days, dinner's on me... Old Liu's excluded though; buying him food is a waste!" "..." The centurion surnamed Liu was speechless, scoffing in disbelief, "Su Long, stop bragging. Your son, a top scholar?" "It's the truth!" Su Long grew anxious and somewhat exasperated. "He really is the top scholar! I knew you bastards wouldn't believe me, which is why I wasn't going to mention it. But this news came straight from the Longwu Guards; it can't be fake! Not only is he the top scholar, but as soon as my son entered the Civilization Academy—no, before he even set foot inside, a Civilization Master took him on as a student!" "Really?" Everyone's interest was piqued! The centurion surnamed Liu said in disbelief, "A Civilization Master took him as an apprentice?" "Of course it's real!" Su Long said proudly, "He's a Civilization Master named Bai Feng, supposed to be very impressive..." Just as he finished speaking, a figure suddenly materialized before his eyes! Around them, waves of willpower instantly erupted before rapidly withdrawing. The next moment, an elderly man appeared in front of Su Long and asked with a puzzled look, "Who did you just say?" Su Long was startled! A powerhouse! "Enem—" "Don't shout!" The old man snapped testily, "They know I'm here. I'm not an enemy!" Su Long and the others glanced around. Sure enough, the chiliarch not far away looked over, saw the old man wave his hand, bowed slightly, and stepped back. Su Long breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness, that scared the life out of him! "My lord..." "Cut the chatter. Who did you just say took an apprentice?" "Huh?" Su Long was momentarily stunned, but quickly said, "Bai Feng. My lord... do you know him?" "Know him?" The old man ground his teeth. "I'd recognize him even if he turned to ash! That good-for-nothing dares to take an apprentice? He actually had the gall to take an apprentice!" The old man seemed furious! What was wrong with that bastard?! I, your teacher, barely left, and you went and took an apprentice? Did you even ask me? Who gave you the authority to recruit an apprentice for our faction?! Don't you know there needs to be background checks, assessments? Waiting until after I left to take an apprentice—what's that supposed to mean? Hearing the old man curse Bai Feng, Su Long hesitated. Although he desperately wanted to curse back, he thought better of it. His son's teacher was practically like a brother to him, wasn't he? Now that his brother was being cursed at, he really wanted to stand up for him. But this man was clearly an important figure. Better to back down—a wise man doesn't fight against impossible odds. Besides, he hadn't actually met Bai Feng yet anyway. "You said your son was Nanyuan's top scholar?" "Yes!" "Do you know Liu Wenyan?" "I do, he was my son's instructor..." "I see!" The old man's anger cooled somewhat. It seemed there shouldn't be much of an issue; senior brother had likely recommended him. Since when did senior brother take an interest in recommending students to the Multi-Divine Character Faction? He glanced at Su Long, noting his advanced age. Barely into the Wanshi Realm! In his eyes, that was utter mediocrity... Could a fellow like this really produce a genius son? It was hard to believe! Well, appearances could be deceiving; perhaps the kid had simply mutated! "I have business to attend to and can't linger. Since your son joined Bai Feng's tutelage... that makes him somewhat connected to me as well..." With that, the old man rummaged inside his robes for a moment, then casually tossed over a bottle of blood essence. "Fate has brought us together. We'll meet again if the opportunity arises!" Leaving those words behind, the old man's figure flickered and vanished into thin air. ... A moment later. The old man appeared atop a mountain peak, muttering, "Didn't find what I was looking for, and lost a bottle of blood essence to boot. Bai Feng, you useless piece of trash, just wait until I get back to deal with you!" With that, the old man's form blurred again, vanishing from the spot in an instant. The next moment, several figures arrived. Several middle-aged men in Civilization Master robes hurried over. One of them asked in confusion, "Why did Master Hong come over here?" "No idea. I heard he was chasing some newly emerged race, one none of us have ever seen. Where did Master Hong hear about it?" "Who knows!" Another laughed. "That Wanshi soldier just now... did his son really join Master Hong's faction?" "Most likely, or Master Hong wouldn't have given him a gift. Interesting. That fellow Bai Feng actually took an apprentice. I wonder if there'll be a good show to watch back at the academy..." "Don't dwell on it; we won't be heading back anytime soon! Leave them be. They can fight their battles, and we'll do our duties. Once on the All-Heavens Battlefield, who cares which faction you belong to? Here, we're all one and the same. A bit of infighting back home isn't bad either; without some conflict, they'd all turn into useless trash!" The Civilization Masters chatted for a brief moment before vanishing as well. ... By the city wall. Su Long stood in a daze. What was that all about? Giving him a gift out of nowhere? The centurion surnamed Liu was equally stunned. "Is your son really the top scholar?" "Of course!" Su Long scratched his head, then quickly said, "That old man... ahem, that lord, knows my son's teacher? They're on the same side? Someone that powerful—that means my son's teacher must be incredible too!" With that, he grinned from ear to ear. "Look, look! Didn't I tell you I wasn't bragging? You refused to believe me, and now someone came in person to prove it! Surnamed Liu, keep your daughter to yourself; my son isn't interested. At the Civilization Academy, who knows how many girls are chasing after him!" This time, the centurion surnamed Liu was genuinely shaken. Forcing a snort, he grumbled, "What's so great about that? Just because the teacher is strong doesn't mean your son is. Come back and boast when your son becomes a Civilization Master!" Over in the distance, the chiliarch hadn't walked over, but he had overheard their conversation. He, too, was rather surprised. Who would have thought! He had always assumed Su Long was just bragging, but his son truly had entered the Civilization Academy and even apprenticed under a Civilization Master. He knew very well how selective Civilization Masters were when taking disciples! It seemed the kid really was a genius. He didn't recognize that Civilization Master from just now, but the instant the man arrived, the army's Civilization Masters had tensed up to the extreme before relaxing a blink later. Clearly, they knew him, which meant he was likely a prominent figure. "This guy Su Long... sure knows quite a few big shots!" The chiliarch didn't know whether to laugh or cry. *Even I don't know as many as you do.* *This fellow is getting up there in years, so why did he insist on coming here? I'll have to look out for him more in the future.* Even as he thought this, he felt a measure of respect. Arriving at the ninth layer of Qianjun, pushing fifty, and still unable to let go of his old comrades after all these years... Thinking about it sometimes left an ache in the heart. ... On August 7th, Su Yu rose as early as ever. Waiting downstairs at the male dormitory, he didn't go knocking on doors one by one this time. Gradually, people trickled down the stairs. Upon seeing Su Yu, students greeted him whether they were from the intermediate class or not. Someone teased with a chuckle, "Big Class Monitor Su, you're so conscientious—aren't you worried monitors from other classes will complain you're making trouble for them...?" Su Yu replied with an earnest, simple smile, "Sorry, I didn't mean anything like that. My family is poor, and my teacher said that if I don't take responsibility, he'll dock my monthly merit point reward. I can't bear to lose it. A single merit point matters a lot to me. If I've offended anyone, I'm truly sorry!" "Just joking!" The speaker laughed heartily. "Big Class Monitor Su, to be honest, it's only because you're from Nanyuan. If you were from the Great Xia Prefecture's main city, you wouldn't even give us the time of day! It's great this way. Look at those geniuses living in the advanced and special districts—you never see a single one of them. Being able to see Big Class Monitor Su every day feels pretty nice!" Su Yu laughed self-deprecatingly. "I'd love to live there too, but I can't afford it! Once I earn enough merit points, I'll move over there too, and then you won't have to see me anymore!" "Hahaha!" Everyone burst out laughing, finding Su Yu quite endearing! ... Soon, everyone had assembled, and the large group set off together once more. Young people always had a certain sense of collective pride. Seeing students from other classes walking in scattered ones and twos while their own group marched together in a grand pack gave them a strong sense of pride, and they spoke in much louder voices. They had confidence, they had face! Look at how united their intermediate class in the Divine Character College was! Of course, a certain uncooperative fellow had already been ostracized by them! Kong Sheng hadn't shown up today, having left on his own early in the morning. Nobody cared, not even his roommates. They had only known each other for a few days, so if he wanted to leave, let him! Word had it that he was planning to move out and into the Character Cultivation Garden. No one objected to Su Yu living in the Character Cultivation Garden, but bringing up Kong Sheng now drew sneers from several students. "A low-medium student running off to live with those geniuses—he's just asking to be humiliated! Doesn't he feel embarrassed at all?" "Exactly!" Listening to this, Su Yu acted as if he hadn't heard a thing. *I can be very petty.* *Who told Kong Sheng to provoke me back then? It's good that they're shunning you. The only reason I haven't settled scores with you myself is that you're too weak for me to even bother!* *Later on, I'll just instigate someone to give you a few beatings...* As Su Yu thought about this, he suddenly let out a self-mocking laugh. *I'm starting to act like a villain!* Forming cliques, isolating peers, secretly inciting others, suppressing dissent... Just as he was pondering this, a familiar figure came marching over from the distance! One look at that arrogant, swaggering gait, and Su Yu recognized her without even needing to see her face. Wu Lan! As proud as ever, Wu Lan held her head high with an air of looking down upon all living things. Stepping up to Su Yu, she asked in a crisp voice, "Su Yu, why did you accept Lin Yao's challenge? I haven't even defeated you yet. If he beats you, wouldn't that make it seem like I, Wu Lan, am inferior to Lin Yao?" "..." Su Yu paused briefly. What kind of logic was that? The next instant, Su Yu put on a smile that quickly turned somewhat bitter. "You know about that too?" "Of course! That guy went around bragging in the special district. How could I not know?" "I had no choice..." Su Yu said with distress, "You probably know about what happened two days ago. My teacher obtained a batch of blood essence, and they all came looking for me. When I refused to give it to them... they pressured me to accept their challenge, threatening to keep giving me grief if I didn't..." "A bunch of scumbags!" Wu Lan suddenly cursed, visibly furious. "Just like that Chen whatever! That useless trash came looking for me before, and to think Lin Yao, that other piece of trash, is involved too. I'm going to settle scores with them right now. I haven't even challenged you yet—what right do they have to challenge you!" "..." Su Yu silently applauded her logic! Perfect sense! If you haven't challenged me yet, what right do they have? Then again, what grudge or grievance did the two of them even have? Why was she fixated on him all the time?! "Forget it!" Su Yu hurriedly stopped her. "Forget it, this is a personal grudge between him and me. Don't get involved. Besides... I'm not afraid of him! My strength might be ordinary, but I won't cower before anyone. I don't look for trouble, but I don't fear it either!" Su Yu declared with righteous resolve, "Since he insists on challenging me, I accept! Even if I'm no match for him, it doesn't matter. Those of us from small towns might lack many things, but we don't fear tyranny! Even if I lose, I'll show him that I, Su Yu, am no pushover!" "Well said, Monitor!" The next moment, someone shouted indignantly, "Lin Yao, right? I know of him—a top-high student from the Lin family! Back in intermediate academy, he was already insufferably arrogant!" "And now that he's reached the advanced academy, he's still acting this rampant!" "I know him too, strutting around with his nose in the air. Damn it, if it weren't for his Lin family background, what is he? He wouldn't even be fit to carry the monitor's shoes!" "If the monitor had his family's resources, he would have reached Qianjun and Character Cultivation long ago. That guy is just relying on wealth and power to bully people!" "Exactly! Monitor, ignore him!" "..." The students chimed in one after another, cursing Lin Yao into the dirt! A scoundrel! What right did he have to be so arrogant?! All he knew was how to bully others! The class monitor was such a good person—from a small town, humble, always smiling so pleasantly, never offending anyone. Yet simply because his teacher had obtained some blood essence, these people kept harassing him! And this hadn't come from Su Yu; Wu Lan had brought it up. Otherwise, the monitor would have kept it to himself! Being bullied and hiding it from everyone—the more the students thought about it, the angrier they became! The next moment, a female student among the girls called out angrily, "Monitor, don't be afraid of him! A challenge, is it? My older sister is in the advanced class. She got knocked off the Top 100 Rankings recently and happens to be looking for a sparring partner. I'll have my sister teach him a lesson!" "My uncle is a senior instructor right here in our Divine Character College! If Lin Yao wants to bully people, I'll have my uncle dock his points so he fails his course assessment!" "What's so great about that Lin Yao anyway?!" "Right! My grandmother is an intermediate researcher. What's he got to strut about? My grandmother isn't afraid of his family!" "..." Su Yu clicked his tongue in secret awe! *Good grief, hidden dragons and crouching tigers everywhere!* *Thank goodness I stayed low-key and didn't provoke any of you. Otherwise... it would be far too easy to offend the wrong people.* Thinking about it, it made sense. Though they were in the intermediate class and hadn't entered Character Cultivation, that didn't mean their families lacked background. They might have slightly lower talent or fewer resources, but that didn't mean they had no connections. Look at that—even a grandmother who was an intermediate researcher had popped up! That had to be at least the Lingyun Realm, and certainly not a newly advanced one either! No wonder she wasn't afraid of the Lin family! Wu Lan was utterly dumbfounded as well! So many people wanted to help Su Yu? What kind of divine character had Su Yu cast on them? Su Yu quickly spoke up. "Thank you, everyone! Thank you all for speaking up for justice! But please don't step forward on my behalf. I don't like owing favors. Coming from a small place, that's what I dread the most. I'd rather take a beating myself than cause trouble for everyone. In Nanyuan, we believe that a drop of kindness should be repaid with a gushing spring, and I simply can't afford to repay you all. Please, don't do this!" "Monitor, what's there to repay? We just can't stand seeing him bully people!" Someone said in righteous outrage, "Did we intermediate class students provoke them? Are the advanced class students so amazing? There are plenty of advanced class students who never even graduate—what's so special about them!" "Exactly!" At this moment, hundreds of students were denouncing Lin Yao! That guy was a coward who preyed on the weak, an absolute scoundrel bullying their honest class monitor. Damn it, he deserved to be beaten to death! Some students even suggested throwing a sack over his head at night and bashing his skull in! Amidst the clamor, Su Yu spent quite a while comforting and calming everyone down before they finally quieted. By now, Wu Lan had already slipped away! She couldn't stomach the scene. Had these people gone mad? Singing Su Yu's praises non-stop, to the point where even she was treated like a villain, with everyone shooting unfriendly glares her way. Granted, most of those glares came from the girls. The boys' gazes, on the other hand... well, disgusting! ... With so many students making a fuss, word spread quickly. Before long, the news traveled. Inside a small classroom for the advanced class. The students were minding their own business, rarely chatting with one another. Right at that moment, someone rushed in frantically and bellowed as soon as he crossed the threshold, "That disgraceful Lin Yao went and challenged Su Yu from the intermediate class! Has he gone mad craving blood essence?!" "Damn it, does he even deserve to be called a top-high genius? A Character Cultivator bullying a student who hasn't even cultivated character—it's shameful to be associated with him!" "Now the entire academy knows that our Divine Character College produced a piece of trash top-high student who bullies the weak, deliberately picking on someone inferior just to seize the blood essence Assistant Researcher Bai won last time!" "Damn it, the rest of us are being dragged down with him! People are saying our year's advanced class students only know how to bully the weak and prey on someone from a backwater town!" "..." In the classroom, some students had already heard about it, while others had only just learned. At this point, someone coldly snorted and said in displeasure, "Lin Yao is Lin Yao; what does that have to do with us? If he's a piece of trash, that's his own business. The next time I see him, he'd better keep his distance, or he'll see how I deal with him!" "Lin Yao really showed ugly greed this time. How humiliating!" "He could at least wait until the guy reaches Character Cultivation before challenging him. Challenging Su Yu before he's even cultivated character... I'm jealous of Su Yu getting that Mountain-Breaking Ox blood essence too, but I never said I'd go rob him... Disgusting. Don't say this piece of trash is from our class; I don't know him!" "Exactly!" "..." Several students voiced their thoughts, while the others remained silent, though none had anything good to say about Lin Yao. You could at least wait until Su Yu reached Character Cultivation before challenging him! Truly disgusting! Geniuses were proud creatures—who among them lacked pride? Thanks to Lin Yao's stunt, it now looked as if all these geniuses only knew how to pick on the weak. In truth, none of them had any interest in doing so; who would stoop to bullying a nobody and lose face like that? As for Su Yu proactively challenging Lin Yao... Stop joking. No one would ever believe that! It had to be Lin Yao coveting the kid's Mountain-Breaking Ox blood essence!