My Heart Is Gradually Turning Black

"Weapon forging..." Walking out of the laboratory, Su Yu continued to toy with the civilization weapon embryo in his hand. It felt soft and pliable. Could this thing really pack lethal power? It was top-tier Yellow rank, which, by standard classification, could be used all the way up to the peak of the Character Nurturing stage. Converted into warrior realms, that meant anywhere below the Tengkong Realm—both Qianjun and Wanshi—could make use of it. "It definitely wasn't cheap!" Su Yu was far from stupid. Civilization weapons were worth over five times more than martial weapons, sometimes even ten times more. Zhao Li had stated that himself. Su Yu had spent over a hundred thousand on his standard mid-tier Yellow-rank blade. A top-tier Yellow-rank martial weapon would run at least a million! A civilization weapon of the same grade would easily be worth ten million! Converted on the black market, that was two hundred merit points! "At least a hundred merit points or more!" Su Yu had a rough idea. He didn't know whether this embryo was on the cheaper or pricier end, but either way, it wasn't cheap. It was worth more than everything he owned. At the moment, he had only thirty merit points left to his name. *** Returning to the research center, Su Yu felt somewhat hesitant. Should he really toss it into that blood essence pool? Nothing would go wrong, right? After thinking it over, Su Yu decided it would be better to ask Bai Feng. If something actually went wrong, he couldn't shoulder the responsibility. It wasn't that he didn't trust Zhao Li, but the research center wasn't his, after all. He had to clarify things first. *** Despite getting back late, Su Yu still insisted on cultivating two complete circulation cycles. It was past four in the morning when he finally went to sleep, thoroughly exhausted. Early the next morning, Bai Feng emerged sporting dark circles under his eyes. He stared blankly at Su Yu, who had just gotten out of bed, and asked after a long pause, "Got any food?" "..." Su Yu had been about to ask him the exact same thing! Of this master and disciple pair, one was a cultivation fanatic and the other a research obsessive. Bai Feng had practically lived in the lab these past few days. Su Yu seriously suspected that if the man weren't in the Tengkong Realm, he would have dropped dead from exhaustion long ago! "Instructor, I'll go out and buy something..." Su Yu did some mental calculations. Maybe he should just buy several dozen buckets of instant noodles and be done with it! Bai Feng waved weakly. "Forget it, I won't eat. I have to go back down and continue the experiments in a bit. Good disciple, we really have no money left. I've been too busy lately—can you think of a way to earn some merit points?" "..." Su Yu was dumbfounded! *You're the instructor!* *You're a Tengkong expert!* *I'm just a Kaiyuan student, and you want me to earn money to support you? What are you thinking?!* Bai Feng gave a light cough. "Don't look at me like that. Don't you have that number? Give her a call, say we're on the verge of starving to death, and borrow a few merit points. Shouldn't be a big problem." Su Yu couldn't contain his curiosity. "Instructor, whose number is that anyway?" "You don't know?" "Right..." Bai Feng's brain was practically fried. He said offhandedly, "You probably should call her Martial Mother. Or wait, maybe Grand-Martial-Aunt-Mother? Is that how you'd address her?" He stared blankly into space. Nothing wrong with that title, right? Su Yu froze for a moment, startled. "Instructor Liu's lover?" "Lover?!" Bai Feng snapped awake instantly! Cold sweat broke out on his forehead as he hurriedly said, "Just a joke! Don't talk nonsense! What lover? She's a friend of my martial uncle's—an old friend!" Su Yu was speechless. Why was he so terrified? Could she eat him alive or something? Bai Feng ignored him and said hurriedly, "Never mind, forget borrowing. I'll figure something out later. After all, we're still keeping a little piggy bank... Cough, cough, just a joke, don't take it seriously! We really are broke!" Seeing his disjointed rambling, Su Yu knew he was truly exhausted. "Instructor, why don't you rest for a few days?" "No need, my health is great!" Bai Feng chuckled cheerfully. "The research is making rapid progress, how could I possibly rest now? By the way, did you have something to ask me? Ask while I have a moment. If you want to find me later, just ring that bell, otherwise I might stay in there for a while without coming out..." He was genuinely busy! Having finally found a lead, Bai Feng wished he could stay locked inside all day without ever leaving, preferably without having to eat. "I do have something..." Su Yu quickly said, "I have a Yellow-rank civilization weapon embryo on hand. I was thinking of placing it in the filtration chamber to nurture it. Master, do you think that's all right?" "Hmm?" Bai Feng snapped completely alert! "That old ghost Zhao Li gave it to you?" "Instructor Zhao gave it to me, yes." "Let me see!" Without hesitation, Su Yu handed the small blade over. The moment it was in Bai Feng's hand, his willpower surged, instantly revealing thirty-six golden patterns across the blade! Bai Feng was shocked. "Holy crap, the absolute peak of Yellow rank! That old ghost really spared no expense!" With that, he couldn't help but look at Su Yu. "How on earth did you hook up with him? That old ghost has a terrible temper, and geniuses mean nothing to him. A few years ago, he even cursed Marquis Xia out of his lab, swearing he'd beat him every time he saw him. The guy is ridiculously insolent! How did you hit it off with him?" "What?" Su Yu was stunned. "He... Isn't Marquis Xia... isn't he the Manor Lord's uncle, the son of the King of Great Xia?" "So what!" Bai Feng said nonchalantly, "Old Ghost Zhao is a master forgemaster. Although he hasn't reached the level of forging Earth-rank civilization weapons yet, there's only one person in the entire Great Xia Prefecture who can forge them, and the Manor Lord treats that person like royalty. That person is top dog, and Zhao Li is right behind him—he has to be treated like royalty too!" Afraid Su Yu might get ideas, Bai Feng quickly added, "Even though he holds high status, that old ghost's temper is vile. Marquis Xia approached him to forge a few civilization weapons once, and that old ghost nearly hammered him to death! Just stay far away from him, or you might end up beaten to death!" "..." Su Yu was speechless. Did he take him for a three-year-old child to be coaxed like that? "Instructor, let's talk about serious business!" "Cough, cough!" Bai Feng gave a dry laugh and quickly moved on. "Setting that aside, this civilization weapon is already top-tier Yellow rank and of outstanding quality. It was definitely forged by Old Ghost Zhao himself, not by those half-baked forgemasters. Even when those people forge top-tier Yellow-rank weapons, they usually only manage thirty-three or thirty-four golden patterns. "This thing is an embryo with excellent growth potential, with hope of advancing to the Profound rank later on. It's quite valuable. How about... we sell it?" "..." Su Yu remained completely dumbfounded. He noticed Bai Feng had been rather unhinged and shameless lately! *Do you really have the nerve to sell my civilization weapon?* "Hahaha..." Bai Feng laughed awkwardly. "Just kidding. You can toss it into the blood essence pool and take it out once you reach the Character Nurturing stage. That old ghost has been eyeing our blood essence pool forever, but I couldn't be bothered to entertain him! Last time, he actually tried to offer five thousand merit points to get in. Keep dreaming!" Su Yu couldn't resist asking, "Instructor, isn't our blood essence pool mostly unused anyway? If it's five thousand merit points, and we're short on funds..." He wanted to put in a good word for Zhao Li. Bai Feng shook his head. "It's not about that... Forget it, you wouldn't understand even if I explained! Besides, if that guy came in carrying his half-finished Earth-rank civilization weapon, the pool would be ruined. Five thousand merit points couldn't begin to cover the cost! What's more, it's not even guaranteed that his Earth-rank weapon could be nurtured successfully. It would be too wasteful!" "Instructor Zhao really forged an Earth-rank civilization weapon?" "Doesn't count. It's only a half-finished product; practically speaking, it can't even be used right now," Bai Feng said with regret. "It's quite a pity! The guy poured his entire fortune into forging that Earth-rank weapon, only to botch it. He failed to advance as a result too. Such a shame..." "Instructor, are Earth-rank civilization weapons that precious?" "Of course!" Bai Feng said solemnly, "There are plenty of Civilization Masters in the Great Xia Prefecture, and quite a few in the Shanhai Realm. In our academy alone—well, I don't know the exact overall number, but there are currently forty-two elders. Thirty-six are in the Shanhai Realm, and six are ninth-stage Lingyun veterans. "Among those thirty-six elders, fewer than ten possess Earth-rank civilization weapons! "There is someone in the Great Xia Prefecture who can forge them, but forging an Earth-rank civilization weapon takes over twenty hours of continuous work in a single sitting. The willpower consumption is immense, and the failure rate is terrifyingly high. Managing two successes out of ten attempts is already considered good. "In a month, that master starts work once at most, and sometimes he simply doesn't work while cultivating. Forging seven or eight times a year is already a lot. With good luck, two Earth-rank weapons might be produced in a year; with bad luck... just one, or none at all!" Bai Feng sighed. "And our academy isn't the entire Great Xia Prefecture. There's also Jiutian Academy, and the Civilization Masters in the military. Tell me, how many could possibly end up allocated to our side in the end?" Over so many years, having around ten was already impressive. Bai Feng added, "Furthermore, civilization weapons aren't standardized; they can't be passed down..." Speaking of this gave Bai Feng a headache. "Think about it: everyone's divine characters are different, so how could they be passed down? The truth is, there are still a few Earth-rank civilization weapons left behind by fallen experts in the academy's Treasure Pavilion, but the issue is that nobody can use them! "If you actually try to wield one, an Earth-rank weapon feels less handy than a Profound-rank one!" Su Yu nodded repeatedly. At this moment, he finally understood just how precious Earth-rank civilization weapons were. In the entire Civilization Academy, fewer than ten elders possessed one. "Does Grandmaster have one?" "He does!" Bai Feng nodded and chuckled. "Of course. After all, your grandmaster is an eighth-stage Shanhai peak expert. How could he not have one? Such items are generally in the hands of high-stage Shanhai experts. Those in the middle or lower stages can forget about it—you couldn't buy one even with money!" It truly counted as a strategic resource, the kind money simply couldn't buy. "Go ahead and toss your weapon in to nurture it. It's only Yellow rank anyway, so it won't consume much blood essence..." With that, Bai Feng added, "If you're genuinely interested in weapon forging, wait until you reach the Tengkong Realm. At your current stage, I don't recommend learning it. It wastes far too much time. Once you reach the Character Nurturing stage later on, who knows how busy you'll be—even busier than you are now!" Su Yu could feel it! It was truly busy! Just look at Bai Feng, practically driven crazy now, holing up in the lab without leaving. No wonder people said it was hard to run into researchers in the academy—it would be a miracle if you did. *** Leaving behind a few parting remarks, Bai Feng scurried off. Su Yu still had classes to attend and had no time to ask further questions. He tossed the civilization weapon into the blood essence pool and departed. *** Attending lectures, cultivating, and even auditing courses from the Forging faction... Su Yu's schedule was packed to the brim! Genius wasn't born of empty boasting; it was built through hard study! At this moment, Su Yu understood that deeply. In the academy, the monstrous talents were almost never seen, and top-high tier students were practically invisible as well. Those who actually had the leisure to wander around the academy were half-baked slackers squandering their time! Over the next few days, Su Yu saw neither Wu Lan nor Xia Chan, nor did he cross paths with Hu Zongqi or the petite Liu Ke, whom he had met upon enrollment. Just starting school, everyone was immensely busy! Busy to the point of utter disorientation! *** While Su Yu followed his strict daily routine... In the special dorms. Lin Yao opened the door with visible irritation, barking in annoyance, "Who is it?! Didn't you see the 'Do Not Disturb - Cultivating' sign?" He hadn't stepped outside for days! He was striving to open apertures and awaiting the opportunity to break through into the Qianjun Realm; where would he find the time to wander around? The door opened, revealing Chen Qi standing before him with a gloomy face. "Junior Brother Lin, quite diligent with your cultivation, aren't you? I've come by several times and never managed to catch you!" "Oh, Senior Brother Chen!" Lin Yao felt rather impatient. *Disturbing someone's cultivation is terribly unethical, don't you know that?* Even with his annoyance, they were still members of the same faction, and Hu Wensheng was the previous generation's frontrunner, even if he had lost to Bai Feng. Lin Yao retained a modicum of politeness and offered a forced smile. "Is something the matter, Senior Brother?" "There is!" With a darkened expression, Chen Qi said, "Junior Brother Lin, that batch of Mountain-Breaking Ox blood essence—I'm sure you know who it belonged to. Originally, that was mine..." Lin Yao instantly realized what he wanted to say! Frowning slightly, he replied, "Senior Brother, you said it yourself: 'originally.' It isn't anymore. Right now, it belongs to Su Yu!" "I'm currently negotiating with Su Yu to buy it back..." Chen Qi said with rising anger, "Junior Brother, what you're doing is hardly proper! Forcing Su Yu to duel you—is that fair? You're at the Character Nurturing stage, and he hasn't even reached it..." "I forced him?" Lin Yao was momentarily taken aback. Su Yu had agreed to it himself, all right? No, Su Yu had brought it up first! Still, he didn't dwell on it and retorted with displeasure, "Senior Brother, if he makes the top three in the monthly assessment and challenges me himself, that is permitted by academy rules. It has nothing to do with me. Fair or unfair, it was his own choice." "If you hadn't pressured him, would he have challenged you?" Chen Qi fumed, "Junior Brother Lin, snatching what someone else desires is no good deed! What's more, you haven't reached the Qianjun Realm yet, so you still have plenty of time to lay your foundation. Do you really have to fight with me over this?" Lin Yao held his head high with a trace of arrogance, retorting coldly, "Senior Brother, that makes no sense! Since it's no longer yours, does it concern you if I win it from Su Yu?" "You..." "Senior Brother, I'm not Su Yu!" Lin Yao said coldly. "Instructor Hu is currently in closed-door cultivation, so it would be wise for Senior Brother to keep a low profile. My instructor isn't in seclusion right now!" "You!" Chen Qi was furious! *How dare you use Liu Hong to threaten me?!* "Good, very good!" Chen Qi's anger boiled over. Over the past few days, the more he thought about it, the angrier he became. It was bad enough that Su Yu had rejected him, but while he had been planning to use other means to make Su Yu hold onto the blood essence for a while, someone from his own faction had stepped in and beaten him to the punch! Seeing that he couldn't persuade Lin Yao, Chen Qi turned on his heel and stormed off! *Lin Yao, just you wait!* *** Watching him leave, Lin Yao sneered with disdain. *I'm earning this blood essence with my own ability, so why should I yield it to you?* *Did you think I'd be afraid of you?* He slammed the door, not bothering to pay him any further mind! *** Chen Qi seethed with anger as he walked. He had never entertained the possibility that Su Yu could win! Su Yu was bound to lose the blood essence! Once it fell into Lin Yao's hands, he would never be able to get it back. After all, they belonged to the same faction; the tactics he could use against Su Yu wouldn't fly against Lin Yao. *I have to get my hands on it before Lin Yao does!* *A challenge...* *I'm an advanced class student too. If Su Yu really reaches the top three and can challenge Lin Yao, why can't he challenge me?* The academy certainly had its rules. Yet within those rules, there were always ways to maneuver. There was more than one advanced class! And more than one cohort! By rights, Su Yu should only challenge advanced class students from the current intake, but the academy rules didn't explicitly specify which year—they simply said 'advanced class'! *If Su Yu challenges me... only then will I have a chance to secure it...* *I heard that in his challenge with Lin Yao, if he wins, Lin Yao has to give him three hundred merit points... Even if Lin Yao pressured him, if Su Yu hadn't been tempted himself, no one could have forced him to agree!* *Which means Su Yu agreed of his own accord, otherwise the challenge wouldn't exist!* *Merit points!* At this moment, Chen Qi felt he had figured it out! That guy Su Yu was a pauper, and so was his instructor. For the sake of merit points, it was no wonder he had accepted Lin Yao's challenge. After all, even if he lost, he would only forfeit the Mountain-Breaking Ox blood essence, but he would still receive Dragon Silkworm blood essence and a hundred merit points. *If he loses, he barely loses anything; if he wins, he gets three hundred merit points for nothing. No wonder Su Yu agreed so readily!* *** That evening, Su Yu ran into Chen Qi, whom he hadn't seen for days. Su Yu frowned. He disliked trouble, and this guy was sticking around like a persistent ghost! Before Chen Qi could speak, Su Yu cut him off: "Not selling. I've already promised Lin Yao that I'll give it to him if I lose. Even if I wanted to sell it now, I couldn't, otherwise I wouldn't have the face to stay in the academy!" "I know!" Chen Qi frowned and said, "Su Yu, hear me out. How about we cooperate on this?" "Hmm?" "I'll ensure you defeat Lin Yao so you can claim three hundred merit points. Afterward, you challenge me and take a dive, and I'll give you another thousand merit points! A full one thousand three hundred merit points! No matter where you go, with that amount, you can buy plenty of blood essence—at most, it'll just cost you a little time!" "Defeat Lin Yao?" "That's right. Did you think you could actually win?" Chen Qi said impassively. "It's impossible. I just went to see Lin Yao; he's not far from the Qianjun Realm. I also know he has mastered a Profound-rank martial skill, and his divine character is developed to an impressive degree. You are no match for him... "He even has a civilization weapon in hand. He has long reached the Character Nurturing stage, and with a civilization weapon, you stand no chance against him at all. He can even exchange blows with Wanshi experts." Su Yu asked in surprise, "Then how am I supposed to win?" "Naturally, I have my ways!" Chen Qi said darkly, "If you win, not only will you gain fame, but you'll also walk away with one thousand three hundred merit points. With so many merit points, if you're willing to settle for slightly inferior blood essence to lay your foundation, you could still keep over a thousand merit points—enough for you to cultivate all the way to the Wanshi Realm or even higher!" Su Yu raised an eyebrow. "I want to defeat him fair and square. Otherwise, even if I win, it would be shameful!" "Pedantic!" Chen Qi said in irritation, "Then I'll add another hundred merit points. That is my absolute limit! One thousand four hundred merit points for nothing..." "It's not for nothing; you want to take my blood essence!" Su Yu was exasperated. *Do you think I'm an idiot, trying to play word games with me?* Growing somewhat exasperated, Chen Qi asked, "Then tell me, what do you want? Do you truly believe you can win? If you lose to Lin Yao, all you get is Dragon Silkworm blood essence and a hundred merit points. While Dragon Silkworm blood essence is precious, give me a month, and I'll find a way to acquire Dragon Silkworm blood essence for you, plus four hundred merit points. How about that?" Dragon Silkworm blood essence was rare and precious as well, but once the Mountain-Breaking Ox blood essence was ruled out, any other blood essence from the top hundred races was roughly comparable. That expanded the options considerably, making equivalent blood essence far easier to acquire than the Mountain-Breaking Ox variety. Su Yu hesitated slightly and asked, "Really?" "Of course!" "And what if I refuse?" "Refuse?" Chen Qi said coldly. "Then you had better never reach the Character Nurturing stage or step into the Qianjun Realm. Otherwise... just wait and see! Su Yu, I've already shown you ample face by offering above market value, and I'm even willing to help you defeat Lin Yao. You've rejected me time and again—do you think I have no temper?" Su Yu grumbled inwardly. *I have plenty of temper too! You just don't know it yet!* Chen Qi was genuinely anxious now. Casting aside all pretenses, he directly threatened Su Yu; otherwise, he truly wouldn't be able to recover that Mountain-Breaking Ox blood essence! After a moment's thought, Su Yu gritted his teeth and said, "Fine, since you put it that way... I'll challenge you after I challenge Lin Yao. But the terms will be similar to Lin Yao's: if you win, the blood essence is yours, and you give me a hundred drops of blood essence from another top hundred race plus four hundred merit points! "If you lose... you give me a thousand merit points!" "Hmm?" Chen Qi frowned, saying coldly, "That last condition won't be necessary..." Su Yu sneered. "Maybe I'll win! You just want me to challenge you. If I win, I don't have to give you the blood essence, and I get to take a thousand merit points. Only then is it worth taking the gamble. Otherwise... why should I bother with you? Do you really think you can threaten me? Believe it or not, I'll go straight to Instructor Bai and tell him you launched a sneak attack on me!" "You..." Chen Qi's temper flared. After a long pause, he said in a low voice, "You want to pull the same trick you used on Lin Yao to ruin my reputation?" Su Yu replied nonchalantly, "Do you even have a reputation left to ruin? The moment I challenge you, your reputation is gone anyway. Do you still care about that? As a seventh-stage Qianjun, fighting me is already completely humiliating for you!" "Then sell it to me directly..." "No way!" "..." Chen Qi felt like exploding with rage! This guy was completely impervious to reason! Moreover, he had a massive gambling streak and was excessively greedy. The only reason he agreed to the challenge so readily was because the merit points were abundant enough—risking nothing in defeat while standing to make a fortune in victory! Chen Qi realized he had finally grasped Su Yu's mindset. An utterly greedy pauper! With a massive gambling addiction! Always dreaming of windfalls! "Fine!" Practically grinding his teeth, Chen Qi forced himself to agree! Losing... was impossible! At the seventh stage of the Qianjun Realm and the Character Nurturing stage, he was even preparing to make a run at the Top 100 Rankings. Even against Lin Yao, he could win with ease, let alone against Su Yu. Without another word, Su Yu stepped around him and walked away. Seventh-stage Qianjun, Character Nurturing stage... truly strong! *Still, I'm no weakling either!* *Downing a drop of Wanshi blood essence will grant me the explosive power of the Wanshi Realm directly. With a sudden burst, I refuse to believe I don't have a shot!* Chen Qi was clinging to him like a ghost; if he didn't deal with him, there would be endless trouble ahead. Wu Lan had mentioned before that this guy had even approached her, trying to get her to scheme against him. *Earlier, I didn't dare unleash Wanshi-level power, but the instructor told me to just claim he gave me the blood essence... With him backing me up, what do I have to fear?!* *Liu Hong and Hu Wensheng are from the same faction, and they're all loaded. If I don't fleece you guys, who else would I fleece?!* *Every single one of them casually tosses around a thousand merit points...* Su Yu could hardly believe it. His instructor was a seventh-stage Tengkong expert who had defeated someone at the ninth stage of Tengkong, yet he had never seen him possess such wealth. How did these Kaiyuan and Qianjun students seem richer than Bai Feng? Little did he know, these students were all prodigies backed by prominent clans. To ensure they laid the finest foundations, their families spared no expense. All of them had Lingyun experts in their families. While over a thousand merit points was no small sum, for a Lingyun expert with decades of accumulation, coming up with a thousand merit points was hardly impossible. If Bai Feng hadn't poured so much energy and resources into his research lab, with a Shanhai master and his own formidable strength, acquiring a thousand merit points wouldn't have been difficult either. *Chen Qi plans to screw over Lin Yao, assuming I'm guaranteed to lose...* At that thought, Su Yu suddenly smiled! The next moment, he pulled out his communication device and dialed a number... *** Half an hour later. In a small grove within the academy, Xia Huyou looked at Su Yu curiously. "Su Yu, what did you call me out for in the middle of the night?" "To sell you some information!" "What?" "One hundred merit points!" "What kind of information?" Xia Huyou asked excitedly. "Research data from the lab?" "Get lost!" Su Yu snapped in annoyance. This guy was always daydreaming! "Someone is plotting to harm Lin Yao..." "Huh?" Xia Huyou was stunned. "If you're talking about yourself, forget it. You're already scamming him..." "It's not me!" Su Yu retorted in exasperation. *What kind of talk is that? When have I ever scammed anyone?!* "Are you buying or not? If you sell it to Lin Yao, not only do you earn a favor, but you can also make a profit. That guy is wealthy; he can definitely come up with a hundred merit points..." "That depends on who's plotting against him..." Xia Huyou said speechlessly. "If you're going to name the All-Races Sect or your instructor, don't bother. Saying that would be useless. Unless it's someone he would never suspect, and it's genuine... otherwise, this information isn't worth a dime!" "Someone he'd never suspect!" Chen Qi and Lin Yao were on the same side; would Lin Yao ever believe Chen Qi was plotting against him? Su Yu didn't know! Either way, the information was worth something. "Tell me who it is first. Don't worry, I operate fairly with young and old alike. If it's truly valuable, I'll definitely pay up. If it's worthless, I'll keep it confidential and never leak it!" "Chen Qi!" "..." Xia Huyou thought he was hallucinating. "Who?" "Chen Qi!" "Holy crap, turning on one of his own?" Xia Huyou was dumbfounded, then said in shock, "For the blood essence?" "Right!" "Holy crap, he actually dares to pull that? Chen Qi has some serious guts! Isn't he afraid of... Wait, actually, he doesn't need to be afraid. It's not like he's killing him. That blood essence was his to begin with; if he manages to take it, even Liu Hong won't be able to say anything..." As he spoke, he couldn't help but look at Su Yu, clicking his tongue in marvel. "Su Yu, you really have a black heart! Fleecing the east side, fleecing the west side, and now you even want a bite out of a middleman like me. With an appetite like that... aren't you afraid of bursting your stomach? Did you strike some kind of deal with Chen Qi?" Su Yu said calmly, "You were the one who said that you have to be ruthless once you enter the academy. They crossed me first, so why shouldn't I hit back?" "You're something else!" Xia Huyou gave him a thumbs-up in admiration! This guy was truly ruthless. He had provoked Lin Yao on one side, hooked up with Chen Qi on the other, and then turned right around to sell Chen Qi out! Even though he would end up offending everyone in the end, was he afraid? He had already offended them anyway, and they weren't in the same faction to begin with. On the other hand, his two enemies were bound to turn against each other and become bitter rivals from now on! Flipping the clouds and rain with a flick of his wrist! Impressive! Xia Huyou clicked his tongue repeatedly, then chuckled. "All right, a hundred points it is. When I squeeze it out of Lin Yao, I probably won't make a profit, but securing a favor from Lin Yao—a top-high student, after all—is well worth it!" "Thanks. Don't mention that I told you, otherwise Lin Yao definitely won't believe it!" "Naturally, I'm not stupid!" Xia Huyou laughed. "Rest assured, not even Chen Qi will guess you were the one who spilled it—unless you completely play him. Tell me, how are you planning to screw him over?" "Can't say. You'll find out next month!" He couldn't reveal that information right now, and Chen Qi wouldn't either. If it got out, any fool would know something fishy was going on! And if it got out, things with Lin Yao might fall through. "Next month..." Xia Huyou didn't press further, but he pondered it inwardly. *I'll find out next month.* *Chen Qi wants to screw over Lin Yao... Does he want Lin Yao to lose to Su Yu?* *What could he possibly gain from that?* *It's all for the blood essence... Could this guy Su Yu have made a bet with Chen Qi, just like he did with Lin Yao?* *Holy crap, where does this guy get the confidence to take on someone at the seventh stage of Qianjun?* At this moment, Xia Huyou felt the need to get a deeper understanding of Su Yu. It felt like this guy had hidden trump cards and boundless confidence; he hadn't put Lin Yao in his eyes at all, otherwise he wouldn't be selling this intelligence! *** Su Yu couldn't care less what Xia Huyou was thinking. On his way back, he couldn't help but laugh out loud. Three hundred points, one thousand points, one hundred points... *Damn, there are way too many rich people in this academy!* One thousand four hundred merit points—just like that, secured? Insane! Even his instructor wasn't as rich as he was! Earlier, his instructor had told him to go borrow money. Now that he had secured one thousand four hundred merit points... maybe he should lend a bit to his instructor? *Maybe I can lend him some and claim I took out a loan, and charge him interest... After all, I can't spend over a thousand points all at once...* Su Yu fell into deep contemplation, planning how best to put those one thousand four hundred merit points to use.