The Mysterious Sea of Will

The news spread like wildfire. Lin Yao had declared yesterday that he would engage in self-study and hadn't shown up for the general lecture. Even though word of the matter was circulating everywhere, Lin Yao himself remained in the dark. Not knowing, he naturally didn't come forward to clarify anything. As a result, the students took his silence as tacit admission—and assumed he was completely disregarding the intermediate class's indignation. This infuriated everyone even more! Arrogant! In that moment, words like rampant, brazen, and arrogant all became synonyms for Lin Yao. *** As for Su Yu, he kept a very low profile. He said nothing. Even when classmates fumed on his behalf, he quickly calmed them down, making it seem as though it wasn't him who was being bullied, but rather those very classmates. "Public persona is crucial!" Su Yu pondered this as he attended class. Now, in the eyes of his peers, he was honest and dependable. Lin Yao, meanwhile, was universally reviled. Although such reputations were sometimes of little practical use and offered no tangible benefits, didn't they minimize enemies and ward off unnecessary trouble? Wasn't that great? Everyone loving and respecting one another, trading courtesy for courtesy—how harmonious! "Next, as long as I beat Lin Yao to a pulp, anyone disgruntled or eyeing my blood essence will back down. Even if they don't give up entirely, it'll be hard for them to pull any dirty tricks." Of course, the prerequisite and foundation for all this was his top-high evaluation and the title of class monitor. Very good! Thank you, Liu Hong! At this moment, Su Yu truly appreciated the perks of being class monitor. As the representative of the intermediate class, everyone gravitated toward him. So long as he wasn't overly arrogant or obnoxious, even those in class who didn't fully agree with Su Yu wouldn't step forward to oppose him. *** That day, Su Yu listened attentively in class, arrived early and left late, helped sweep and clean, and coordinated with the instructors about the next day's schedule. In the eyes of both students and instructors, Su Yu was an honest, dependable class monitor. Honest and dependable, yet possessed of his own principles. He refused to let his classmates stand up for him, insisting on fighting evil forces like Lin Yao to the bitter end! Su Yu claimed that as a ninth-layer Kaiyuan, he wasn't afraid of Lin Yao! Even if Lin Yao had reached Character Nurturing, he still dared to throw a punch at such villainous forces! He had boundaries, principles, tenacity; he feared no tyrant and dared to resist... At this moment, Su Yu stood tall and heroic in the eyes of his classmates! Had he merely cowered and yielded, then no matter how honest he was, this was a civilization academy after all—an institution of cultivation. The students might not say anything right now, but later on they would inevitably look down on him to some degree. Yet Su Yu dared to fight back! Such fighting spirit earned him genuine admiration! Thus, no one tried to dissuade Su Yu from accepting the challenge anymore. Instead, they cheered him on, rooting for him to crush Lin Yao and show these bullies that intermediate class students were not to be trifled with! Collective honor! Never had the intermediate class students been so united. Their class monitor had to win! As for finishing in the top three of the monthly assessment, no one doubted it. Even if the class monitor couldn't reach it on his own, they would ensure he made top three! *** When the afternoon classes concluded and dinner was finished, Su Yu prepared to return to the research center. Walking past the vicinity of the Heart Cultivation Pavilion, Su Yu spotted someone. Xia Chan! He had seen her once before; this was only the second time he had encountered her at the academy. Xia Chan seemed to be heading toward the Heart Cultivation Pavilion. Her teacher was Zhou Mingren, who resided over by the pavilion. As if sensing something, Xia Chan glanced back. Seeing Su Yu, she seemed to search her memory for a moment before recognizing him and halting her steps. Once Su Yu had closed the distance somewhat, Xia Chan suddenly said, "Defeat Lin Yao!" Su Yu was slightly taken aback. Xia Chan said calmly, "Defeat him! Let me see just how strong a genius from Nanyuan truly is! Before I came to the academy, someone told me that Nanyuan's top-high surpasses so-called monstrous geniuses!" "I don't believe it, but I still want to see just how strong a Nanyuan genius is!" "Get out of the intermediate class quickly. It's far too boring there, devoid of competition. Next month, come to the advanced class! That is the academy's true center. All your squabbling here is just petty bickering, utterly meaningless. In a while, we're going to the Myriad Races Academy to challenge the elites of the myriad races! If you come, you can take part!" Su Yu was somewhat surprised and asked, "Go to the Myriad Races Academy?" Xia Chan's expression was chilly, her voice arrogant and cold. "Why not? Anyone below Tengkong is fair game! Character Nurturing equates to Wanshi. The claim that Character Nurturing has no combat power is a joke! For a Civilization Master, battling Wanshi at Character Nurturing and emerging victorious is what makes a true Civilization Master!" Su Yu looked at her for a moment and said nothing. In that moment, he suddenly thought of Wu Lan. Wu Lan and Xia Chan seemed somewhat alike; both were proud. In reality, Su Yu quickly discerned the difference between them. Wu Lan's pride was superficial, shaped by her upbringing. She was still naive and somewhat silly, completely ignorant of what true pride meant. Xia Chan's pride, on the other hand, was rooted in her very bones. It wasn't merely pride; it was an aloof, icy haughtiness! An aura of "who else but me!" A thought suddenly popped into Su Yu's head: he could probably make Wu Lan cry with a single punch, but if he punched Xia Chan—even if he made her vomit blood—she wouldn't cry. Instead, she would grit her teeth and fight on to the death! At the thought of punching them until they cried or spat blood... Su Yu suddenly shook his head. Seriously, why was he thinking like that? Even if women were stumbling blocks, thinking out of nowhere about beating girls to tears made him feel like a downright terrible person. Seeing him shake his head, Xia Chan assumed he was disagreeing with her words and let out a disdainful scoff. "If you don't believe me, come and try! If you can't even beat Lin Yao, you're not qualified to be among us!" "'Us'?" "Yes, us!" Her "us" didn't even include Lin Yao. Evidently, she meant the group of monstrous geniuses. Eight monstrous geniuses had enrolled this year! So far, Su Yu had only seen Xia Chan. He hadn't met any of the others and had no idea what manner of individuals they were. Scoring over 1,000 points on the entrance assessment! Even Su Yu had to admit that was impressive! Back then, at the ninth layer of Kaiyuan with two divine characters, he hadn't even reached 900 points. Even if he were retested now, he still might not score 1,000. The issue with the civilization chronicle had been real. Su Yu's top-high talent was also real. However, taking Section Chief Sun's offer back then and passing himself off as a monstrous genius would have been completely fake. Su Yu suddenly grew curious. Though feeling it rather inappropriate, he still took the liberty of asking, "Um... may I ask just how strong you monstrous geniuses actually are?" A faint smile appeared on Xia Chan's face, vanishing in a flash. "A piece of trash like Lin Yao... I can crush him in a single move!" Su Yu drew in a sharp breath. Crush him in a single move! He believed Xia Chan wasn't bragging; there was no need for her to. If it were him, he definitely couldn't do that right now—unless he cheated. Relying solely on his ninth-layer Kaiyuan cultivation and divine character illusion, since Lin Yao was at Character Nurturing, the illusion might not have much effect. Lin Yao was also at the ninth layer of Kaiyuan with no fewer opened apertures than Su Yu, so Su Yu truly couldn't achieve that! There was a real gap between them! Su Yu let out a soft breath. At this moment, he suddenly felt a stir of anticipation about entering the advanced class. "Thank you. I will defeat him!" Su Yu nodded solemnly. Defeating Lin Yao was an absolute necessity. Besides, there were still three hundred merit points waiting for him to reap. Xia Chan said nothing more, turning and walking away. She had only stopped to speak with Su Yu because someone had said that Nanyuan's top-high genius would only be stronger than them, never weaker. She was proud, and equally conceited! She didn't believe she was any worse than Su Yu! So she hoped to wait until Su Yu stood on the same platform to compete with them, rather than engaging in petty skirmishes down below! *** Back at the research center, Su Yu sat on the sofa and pondered for a while. *Examine oneself three times a day!* Reflecting on everything he did today, whether there were any oversights, whether it would invite trouble, and whether it benefited his cultivation. "Smart people can probably see through most of what I guided..." "No matter. Since they're smart, even if they see through it, they won't say it out loud. Seeing the truth without speaking it—exposing it brings them no benefit anyway. It's not the smart ones I'm guarding against, but the fools!" People who parroted whatever others said were the truly terrifying ones! Those with no mind of their own, swallowing whatever they were told—such people were the real headache. Su Yu's shaping of public opinion wasn't even an intentional manipulation, merely a measure to avoid trouble. "Like that idiot Wu Lan... Judging by her attitude, if it were said that I actively issued a challenge and it wasn't to her, she might have challenged me today!" Su Yu chuckled and shook his head. Whether challenging or being challenged, everything was for self-interest, for profit, and for cultivation. Whether the Top 100 Rankings or fighting Lin Yao, it was all planned for his future. It wasn't merely about showing off or being combative! Smart people fought with an objective; only fools fought for momentary gratification. Just like Xia Chan and the others—picking trouble with the Myriad Races Academy wasn't about seeking petty dominance, but about honing and strengthening themselves. *** After self-reflecting, Su Yu proceeded with his day's cultivation. Tonight, he planned to open his eighth aperture! Out of five drops of blood essence, he had used three, leaving two. However, after class, Xia Huyou had delivered the blood essence he ordered. Su Yu was now a wealthy man—thirty-two drops of Wanshi blood essence! *** Over an hour later. Su Yu clenched his fists in delight. The opening of the eighth aperture had gone smoothly enough—it was complete! It had been exactly one week since he arrived at the academy, and he had opened two apertures. Sure enough, coming to the Great Xia Prefecture had been the right choice. In Nanyuan, given the local yuanqi environment and the difficulty of acquiring merit points, he couldn't have dreamed of opening two apertures so quickly. "Four apertures left until Qianjun!" "Then there's the Thunder Yuan Saber. The second slash opens twelve apertures, corresponding to the early Qianjun Realm, cultivable across the first three layers." "The third slash, Thunderburst, opens sixteen apertures, corresponding to the mid Qianjun Realm, cultivable across the first six layers." Su Yu had already learned the second slash. The third slash opened sixteen apertures, which required opening four more apertures. And among those four apertures, only one overlapped with the remaining four of the advanced War God Art. In other words, if he wanted to master the third slash, he would need to open an additional three apertures. "As for the martial skill corresponding to the War God Art, I haven't asked about it up until now, nor has anyone mentioned it. Is there no matching martial skill, or what?" Su Yu found it curious. Bai Feng hadn't mentioned it, nor had anyone else, and he had forgotten to ask last time. If there was a matching martial skill, he wouldn't need to open extra apertures, which would save a massive amount of time. The first layer of the War God Art opened twelve apertures. If there was a corresponding martial skill, the apertures it required would fall within those twelve, allowing him to use the martial skill directly—what a time saver that would be. After some thought, Su Yu decided to go ask Bai Feng. He should be in the research center; Su Yu had already spotted an instant noodle cup he left in the living quarters. *** After waiting in the living quarters for nearly an hour, Su Yu finally caught sight of an unkempt Bai Feng with disheveled hair. Though Bai Feng looked exhausted, his spirits were exceedingly high! His eyes shone brilliantly! Seeing Su Yu, an irrepressible grin spread across his face, and he laughed heartily. "Good apprentice, finished cultivating?" "..." Unaccustomed to such overwhelming warmth, Su Yu spoke up, "Teacher, did your research yield results?" "Hahaha!" Bai Feng laughed boisterously. "Just a tiny bit, but right now... I'm a bit short on materials. Short on blood essence, short on divine characters!" Bai Feng said gleefully, "Little Yu, to tell you the truth, I've discovered that transplanting divine character traits is remarkably suited to my research!" Bai Feng's gaze grew increasingly fervent. "Truly! I couldn't figure it out before, but now I understand. An innate skill... it's a divine character trait! What's more, I feel extracting it from blood essence isn't optimal. It would be best to capture a few Civilization Masters from the myriad races and try extracting their divine characters..." "I believe all the myriad races might possess a special divine character... one meant specifically to host an innate skill!" "Maybe they don't even need to be Civilization Masters; warriors might have them too, only they haven't discovered it, and neither have we!" Saying this, Bai Feng suddenly muttered, "Yes, perhaps... everyone has a special divine character! A divine character that hosts an innate skill, only you haven't found it, I haven't found it, and nobody else has found it either!" "No, even if the myriad races haven't consciously discovered it, they use it instinctively—perhaps this divine character is activated right from the start!" "And we humans... we should have one too!" Bai Feng looked half-mad, murmuring as if delirious. "Humans have it, we definitely do! We considered it before; Teacher proposed that it's contained within blood essence, but why couldn't it be within the sea of will?" "Who decreed that innate skills must reside in blood essence? It could very well be in the sea of will! That place is the most mysterious of all; even we Civilization Masters haven't unraveled its mysteries!" "Blood essence is merely a manifestation! Because the myriad races use their innate skills over generations, it becomes imprinted into their blood essence, giving us a chance to extract it. But human blood essence—we've extracted from it before and never obtained an innate skill. What does that prove...?" At that moment, enlightenment dawned upon Bai Feng! He vigorously rubbed and ruffled Su Yu's head, completely unconsciously, oblivious to what he was doing. Su Yu struggled briefly before giving up. He shivered slightly! Going crazy again! He was terrified that if Bai Feng truly lost his mind one day, he might accidentally beat him to death. Civilization Masters were terrifying! Completely normal one second, barking mad the next. Muttering to himself, Bai Feng abruptly snapped out of it, turning his gaze toward Su Yu and saying in a deep voice, "Su Yu, you're my lucky star! No, you're the lucky star of our Multiple Divine Characters faction! What you said made me realize so many things. Our years of research might genuinely bear fruit now!" "Human innate skills are so difficult to unlock, which makes me think... the innate skills of humans are actually the strongest!" "The sea of will—it must be in the sea of will!" "Within the human sea of will, there must be a hidden divine character hosting an innate skill, one that we have simply never discovered!" "If we can unlock this divine character... human strength will skyrocket!" Bai Feng murmured, "It will. Think about it: a martial skill you don't need to cultivate, a martial skill that requires no opening of apertures, growing stronger automatically and adapting to you as your cultivation realm advances—tell me, wouldn't that be the strongest?" "Cultivating martial skills takes far too much time. But what if you could wield a powerful martial skill without spending any time at all?" "Not only powerful, but perfectly tailored to you. If you open 108 apertures, this skill might harness the power of all 108 apertures! That is what an innate skill truly is!" "Of course, that would be the pinnacle! For instance, the Ironwing Bird innate skill you use isn't actually that strong. The Tear skill only utilizes a portion of apertures, not all of them. Such an innate skill isn't considered strong among the myriad races!" Bai Feng took a deep breath. "Currently, the strongest innate skill among the myriad races is likely the Primordial God Race's *Divine Transformation*. According to records, Primordial Gods in the Qianjun Realm generally open between 108 and 144 apertures, while *Divine Transformation* can utilize between 116 and 152 apertures!" "Think about it: at the ninth layer of Qianjun with 144 opened apertures, unleashing a martial skill that employs 152 apertures—how terrifyingly powerful is that! Even a sixth-layer Wanshi cultivator, if their martial skills and cultivation method are mediocre, could be slain in a single strike!" Su Yu couldn't help but say, "Teacher, do you mean their innate skill can even utilize the apertures from the nine Kaiyuan apertures, making it only one aperture short of the absolute limit?" "Correct!" Bai Feng nodded. "*Divine Transformation* is the ultimate innate skill. Generally speaking, only the Baihui aperture is left unused, linking seamlessly across every other aperture in the entire body. It is exceptionally formidable. Even more critically... one doesn't need to cultivate it; they are born with it!" Bai Feng sighed. "Think about it: if it required cultivation, first, no one could create such a perfect martial skill that precisely fits all your apertures and encompasses every single one. "Second, the moment extra apertures are needed, you have to open them. Some apertures are notoriously difficult to open, and you might not even be able to locate them. "Third, it takes time. It might take an immense amount of time just to learn." Bai Feng looked at Su Yu and said, "Now do you understand why we've always insisted on researching innate skills?" Su Yu nodded. "If we succeed and humans can truly unlock innate skills, it won't just save time—it will also save vast amounts of resources, raise the ceiling for all cultivators, and turn the weak into the strong." "Good that you understand!" Bai Feng said softly. "Many people might not be weak in cultivation realm, but their martial skills are mediocre. Once they reach the battlefield and encounter peers with formidable martial skills, they might be slain in two or three moves! "At a time like that, if they possessed an innate skill that required no cultivation whatsoever, tell me, how much would their combat power increase?" Su Yu asked hurriedly, "Then haven't humans researched this over the years?" "They have!" Bai Feng chuckled. "If not for that research, would the Wen Tan Research Center even exist? In fact, people in every academy have been conducting research, including the War Academies. Who doesn't yearn for humanity to possess an innate skill? "Unfortunately... after so many years, no one has succeeded!" Bai Feng took a deep breath. "I only just thought of this. The sea of will... perhaps the Quest Realm or the War God Temple thought of it before as well, but there must be immense hurdles. The sea of will is the most mysterious domain of all. How to develop the sea of will, how to locate this divine character hosting an innate skill... this might require a lifetime of research!" Su Yu felt a surge of excitement as well. If it could truly be researched and developed, it would be magnificent! However, thoughts were just thoughts; this matter was far too distant. Once Bai Feng had calmed down from his frenzied state, Su Yu spoke up, "Teacher, I wanted to ask: does the War God Art have matching martial skills?" "Matching martial skills?" Bai Feng had a realization and said, "Of course it does. However... the matching martial skills for the War God Art require a massive amount of merit points to exchange for. Martial skills are meant for killing, the things that truly elevate combat prowess. Let me think... I believe it's even more expensive than the War God Art cultivation method itself. Was it two hundred merit points, or something like that?" Su Yu asked hurriedly, "Is that for the complete version, or just the Qianjun Realm portion?" "Nonsense!" Bai Feng rolled his eyes. "The Qianjun Realm portion, of course! If you were at a War Academy, it would be cheaper—you could exchange for it with at most one hundred merit points. But at a Civilization Academy, since this was developed by the War God Temple and they don't get along with us, cultivating it costs us double!" "Then can I find someone from a War Academy to trade with?" "Of course not!" Bai Feng explained, "Unless their merit rank is exceptionally high, granting them the authorization to teach you, it's strictly forbidden. And such clearance at a War Academy requires at least an intermediate researcher or above—some intermediate researchers don't even have clearance, only advanced ones do. Do you know anyone like that?" "No!" Su Yu felt dejected. How could he know someone like that! "Find a way to save up and trade for it yourself. I have no money, so don't count on me for this..." Bai Feng dashed Su Yu's hopes on the spot. "Actually, it won't take that long. Your monthly reward for top-high is three points, and class monitor is three points—that's already six merit points. Finishing in the top ten of the assessment also gives rewards; I think first place is ten points, right? Tenth place is one point. If you take first place every month, that's sixteen points..." Bai Feng chuckled. "At that rate, you can exchange for it within a year. It's really not that bad; for most people, reaching Qianjun within a year is already considered decent. Of course, you'll be much faster." Then Bai Feng added, "Besides, you earn plenty too, so don't fret. What's more, don't you already know a martial skill? Using the Thunder Yuan Saber for now is quite good!" Su Yu nodded, giving up on any expectation that his teacher would give it to him for free. "Teacher, then what about the Mountain-Breaking Ox blood essence you mentioned before..." "We'll talk about that once you reach Qianjun!" Su Yu gave a dry cough and said, "Teacher, I didn't see you yesterday and forgot to mention it, but I made a bet with someone. I wagered the Mountain-Breaking Ox blood essence. Of course, I'm guaranteed to win..." "Hu Wensheng's student?" "No, Teacher Liu Hong's student. A freshman, Lin Yao." "A monster?" "No." "Oh..." Bai Feng lost interest and said casually, "Go play on your own, then. If it's neither a monster nor a senior, and you can't even deal with a freshman, then you're too much of a piece of trash. If the Mountain-Breaking Ox blood essence is gone, then it's gone; you wouldn't be qualified to use it for foundation building anyway—it'd be a waste!" He genuinely didn't care! The item was indeed prepared for Su Yu. If Su Yu couldn't even defeat a non-monstrous freshman, then if he lost it, so be it. He would have lost it himself, so he could regret it himself later! After a moment's thought, Bai Feng added, "Right, Liu Hong's faction is wealthy. When making bets, remember to fleece them for more!" Bai Feng spoke as if stating the most obvious truth. "I know how he takes disciples—he only accepts wealthy scions! That guy is stingy to death, loath to spend a single copper on his students, wishing instead that his disciples would pay tribute to him every year..." "Then why does anyone apprentice under him?" Su Yu was somewhat surprised. What were Lin Yao and the others after, then? Bai Feng replied nonchalantly, "Why wouldn't they? Do you think if I wanted to take disciples without giving them money, no one would come? Do you think everyone is like you, brazen enough to ask me for money the moment we met? Disciples naturally have their own motives: they're after Liu Hong's connections, Liu Hong's reputation, Liu Hong's backing, or maybe... some are even after his body!" Bai Feng chuckled. "That guy isn't half-bad looking, and he's unmarried. Whichever family hooks him might gain a Lingyun cultivator a few years down the line. So what do you think they're after?" Su Yu couldn't help but laugh out loud. Then he looked at Bai Feng... Was someone after *his* body too? Bai Feng didn't mind in the slightest, chuckling as he said, "Don't look at me like that. There are plenty of people in the academy after me too—I just can't be bothered with them! Once you get famous in the future, it'll be the exact same; you won't lack for such people around you..." "Women are obstacles to cultivation!" Su Yu stated with utter seriousness, "Teacher Liu said women obstruct our path to growing stronger and serve as stumbling blocks on our cultivation journey. I won't do that!" "..." Bai Feng was suddenly rendered speechless! *Senior Martial Uncle, how on earth did you teach him?!* *You flirt with women all over the place yourself, yet you teach Su Yu to steer clear of women... What a shameless hypocrite!* Can't be bothered to argue further, Bai Feng smiled and said, "Never mind that. Just remember my words: Liu Hong is loaded, and his students are loaded too. Fleece them for every cent you can! Those fellows harbor ill will toward us and are our rivals anyway; you don't need to feel the slightest guilt about fleecing them!" "Understood." "That's all, then..." Having said his piece, Bai Feng prepared to head back into the laboratory. After a brief pause, he turned back and added, "Reach Character Nurturing as quickly as possible. Once you do, I'll allow you into the primary laboratory, and you can also go to the detention area. There... you can truly become a powerhouse!" Su Yu felt a thrill of anticipation. Becoming a powerhouse—that was his pursuit!