Qianjun

Days slipped by, one after another, and no one came to bother Su Yu again. It was widely assumed that the Mountain-Breaking Ox blood essence was as good as lost, and that Lin Yao would be the one to claim it. Since that was the case, why bother making trouble for Su Yu? Even Liu Hong had barely shown his face lately, whether off cultivating or occupied with other matters. *** August 28. Su Yu had been at the academy for nearly a month. Wen Tan Research Center, filtration chamber. The yuanqi around Su Yu surged violently. An instant later, an aperture rumbled and burst open! The twelfth aperture! The final aperture of the first tier of the advanced War God Art was officially open! "It worked!" Su Yu was thrilled! Twenty-eight days. Before coming to the academy, he had opened only five apertures. Over these twenty-eight days, he had opened seven more, averaging one every four days. Dense yuanqi, combined with the continuous use of Wanshi blood essence to activate the illustrated book, had drained almost everything he owned before he finally completed the blood essence activations required for the first tier. At this moment, Su Yu could already be considered in the Qianjun Realm. Yet one final step remained! Linking the twelve apertures with the nine apertures from the Kaiyuan Realm, circulating yuanqi through all twenty-one apertures—only then would he truly step into Qianjun. *It feels fast, but in truth, it's still a bit slow...* Su Yu suddenly felt dissatisfied. The nine tiers of Qianjun required a total of one hundred and eight apertures. He still had ninety-six left to open. At a rate of one every four days, it would take him at least a year just to reach Qianjun Tier 9. To anyone else, of course, such speed would be shockingly fast. Yet Su Yu knew that in the War Academy, there were genius students capable of advancing to Wanshi within a single year. That meant he had not pulled ahead of those geniuses at all! *I have the help of the illustrated book, but those guys have vast amounts of yuanqi liquid, and they started out stronger than me to begin with. Their breakthrough to Wanshi might not be any slower than mine...* It was still a bit too slow! Pushing the thought aside for now, Su Yu dashed down to the first-floor hall and pressed a call button. A moment later, Bai Feng came up. *** Bai Feng had turned into a complete shut-in lately. He had not even shaved his stubble, looking somewhat scruffy. Catching sight of Su Yu, he stared blankly for a second, then his expression shifted. "You finished opening the apertures?" "Yes!" Su Yu said with delight, "Teacher, I've opened the twelfth aperture!" "Not bad!" Bai Feng looked pleased as well. "Seems my teaching this past month paid off. You didn't waste my guidance, reaching Qianjun in just a month. That's even faster than I expected!" "..." Su Yu had a dozen retorts lined up, but held his tongue. He had half a mind to ask what Bai Feng meant by 'my teaching paid off.' Then again, being able to advance so quickly had a great deal to do with the research center. Fine, he would let Bai Feng take credit for the teaching. "Don't link the apertures and formally advance just yet..." Bai Feng quickly added, "Didn't you receive an entry pass to the 'Yuan' Character Treasure Realm as an enrollment reward? Su Yu, were you planning to use it when pushing from Qianjun to Wanshi, or when breaking through from Character Cultivation into Tengkong?" Su Yu had learned quite a few things over the past few days. After thinking it over, he replied, "Teacher, seize the day!" Seize the day! He did not want to stockpile resources slowly; he only wanted to be stronger *now*! Being stronger now meant obtaining more resources sooner. As for secret realm opportunities, there would always be chances to earn more later. Bai Feng smiled and nodded. "Good, that's the spirit! The Yuanqi Secret Realm will be of immense help to you. Come, let's go make your formal breakthrough in the Yuanqi Secret Realm. Bring the Mountain-Breaking Ox blood essence along—we'll use it directly to cast your foundation. Once inside, you might even have a shot at opening another twelve apertures right away..." "Teacher, the Mountain-Breaking Ox blood essence..." He wanted to point out that it was a wager. If he lost, failing to produce it would be a huge problem. "I know!" Bai Feng said offhandedly, "If you lose, that just proves you're useless, good for nothing. Without the blood essence, you'll have to find your own way to settle it. Worst comes to worst, you default on the debt, humiliate yourself, get a few demerits on your academy record, or get expelled if things get really dire..." Su Yu was speechless. *You make it sound so easy!* Still, after considering it, Su Yu did not refuse. If he used it, he used it! Though if he really did lose... he still felt a lingering sliver of worry. Seeing his concern, Bai Feng laughed. "Don't worry, it's no big deal. If worst comes to worst, I'll figure out a way for you. Mountain-Breaking Ox blood essence is rare, but that doesn't mean it's impossible to get. Other people might not be able to get it, but Shanhai Realm experts certainly can. "Those brats you mentioned couldn't buy any because their status isn't high enough. Look at the true monsters—do any of them ever worry about things like this?" Bai Feng chuckled. "I can't speak for everyone, but the great families definitely have stockpiles! Many of the Shanhai Realm experts in the academy have reserves as well. Those kids couldn't get their hands on it simply because they lack the standing. Their backgrounds are decent, but not to the point where a Shanhai Realm expert would give them face... "Liu Hong couldn't be bothered to fight for his student, and Hu Wensheng already secured one portion that he then lost. Since he's going into secluded cultivation, he naturally won't go ask his teacher for another one. Understand now?" Enlightened, Su Yu nodded. "Understood. So you can buy or borrow some from someone, Teacher?" "Not me..." Bai Feng wanted to say Wu Yuehua. On second thought, he dropped it. If the kid really lost and had no blood essence to pay up, he could go find Wu Yuehua himself. Bai Feng certainly wasn't going—he couldn't afford to lose that face. If the kid went to borrow it, it probably wouldn't be an issue. As the two walked outside, Su Yu asked, "Teacher, can I enter the secret realm discreetly? I'm worried Chen Qi and the others might find out and cause trouble." "Discreetly?" Bai Feng chuckled. "You want to keep a card hidden, kid? Honestly, the trump card of using blood essence to erupt is more than enough. But since you asked... then discreet it is!" With that, Bai Feng suddenly turned back inside. A moment later, he returned with a black robe and tossed it to Su Yu. "Here. Put it on, cover your face. Discreet enough for you?" Su Yu was at a loss for words. *Are you kidding me?* He had meant taking a special passage or something, not dressing up like this! Besides, walking right beside Bai Feng, any idiot would know who it was! "Hahaha, don't worry about it!" Bai Feng waved it off dismissively. "Those brats don't have the means to track who enters the secret realms unless their teachers tell them. Hu Wensheng is in seclusion, and Liu Hong entered a secret realm himself to prepare for a breakthrough. Who has time to bother with you?" "Teacher Liu Hong entered a secret realm?" "Yes!" Bai Feng ground his teeth. "Otherwise..." Otherwise, why would he be so broke! That bastard entering a secret realm right now was definitely to avoid him. Shameless! They had agreed to fleece people together, yet he had run off! They had agreed that Liu Hong would suppress Bai Feng's student and hand over money, yet the man had vanished. If Liu Hong didn't suppress Su Yu, the kid would soon reach Qianjun and Character Cultivation. Without money, how was Bai Feng supposed to nurture him! Indeed, Su Yu was close to Character Cultivation as well. On his first day at the research center, he had reached 35% willpower fullness. Afterward, due to limited cultivation time and the slower progress typical of later stages, he had not experienced another 5% jump in a single day. Even so, across more than twenty days, Su Yu had been making steady progress. By now, his fullness had reached 48%. Qianjun today, and possibly Character Cultivation in a couple of days. Within ten days at the latest, this kid had a real shot at entering Character Cultivation. Pondering this, Bai Feng looked at Su Yu and said, "Reach Qianjun first. Once you enter the Character Cultivation stage, you'll need to outline divine characters again. You've been laying down foundations these past days—have you thought about what types of divine characters you want to outline? By the way, have you prepared the willpower texts?" "..." Su Yu stared blankly. *Teacher, earlier you said you'd prepare them for me!* Feeling awkward under his gaze, Bai Feng gave a dry cough. "During the Character Cultivation stage, observing Qianjun and Wanshi original texts is enough to outline divine characters. I don't usually keep such low-grade originals around. I did save a few Tengkong-stage originals for you, though..." *Do you think I believe that?* *You're just completely broke, aren't you!* Su Yu knew full well that Bai Feng was probably out of money. Ever since that unseen martial uncle had gotten into trouble, Bai Feng had gone out several times. Su Yu guessed he had been pawning off possessions. By now, aside from this research lab, he probably had nothing left. Su Yu didn't press the matter. Without putting on the robe, he tossed it aside and walked out alongside Bai Feng, asking, "Teacher, I still have two Qianjun Realm original texts of the myriad races, but none for the Wanshi Realm. After reaching Character Cultivation, is it fine to read Qianjun Realm originals?" "Of course!" Bai Feng said with a smile, "It's just that once you reach Character Cultivation, your willpower becomes stronger, so the number of times you can read a Qianjun Realm original before it shatters will decrease. Reading it only a few times makes it hard to outline a divine character. That's why people generally read originals matching their realm... "In your case, you might as well read them more often over the next few days. Don't wait until you actually enter Character Cultivation, or else if you don't gain anything after a few reads, the original will be wasted." "Then can I read Tengkong originals?" "Haven't you tried it yourself? Originals that are too powerful are unreadable for you—it's just a blank expanse of white, exactly like being in the fragment chamber. A waste of resources!" "Understood!" Chatting along the way, master and disciple soon left the research facility. Su Yu had visited the Secret Realm Area once before, but only looked around the periphery without entering. *** Ten-odd minutes later. Led by Bai Feng, Su Yu entered the Secret Realm Area. Su Yu looked around curiously. There were very few people here, but the surroundings were pleasant, filled with lush green trees. Aside from the greenery, only small houses nestled among the foliage could be seen, dotted across the entire park. Soon, Bai Feng brought Su Yu to the entrance of one of the small houses. Stepping inside, the interior was not large, but several people were already there. Su Yu instinctively extended his senses. In the next instant, several glaring points of light jolted his willpower! So powerful! They felt even stronger than his teacher! Lingyun Realm? "Bai Feng, is this how you teach your students? Can willpower be thrown around casually to probe people?" While Su Yu was still reeling from shock, an elderly man in the room barked a reprimand—aimed not at Su Yu, but at Bai Feng. Bai Feng coughed dryly and smiled sheepishly. "He's young and curious. Please don't take offense, elders!" Turning to Su Yu, he said, "Don't probe around recklessly. Anyone at or above the Tengkong Realm possesses sensory perception; the moment you probe, they'll notice." "I'm sorry, instructors, I didn't mean to..." Su Yu hastily apologized. In the room, there were currently two old men, two middle-aged men, and two young men. Six people! Not counting Su Yu and Bai Feng, of course. In the modest room, eight people made it rather crowded. Feeling awkward, Bai Feng complained, "The academy really ought to expand these secret realm waiting areas. It's so small—what happens when more people show up?" "Are you paying?" The old man who had reprimanded him snapped irritably, "Right now the principal would rather not part with a single copper, let alone pay for an expansion. You should be grateful you aren't waiting out in the open! Usually, hardly anyone comes. Today, of all days, all of you had to show up at once..." Evidently, the two old men were the caretakers here. The others, like Bai Feng, were instructors bringing their students. Glancing at Su Yu, the old man nodded. "Entering the secret realm to break through to Qianjun?" Su Yu nodded quickly. "Wait a moment. There's still someone in the Qianjun area. You can go in once they come out." Bai Feng chimed in, "Why not just go in together? The secret realm is huge; what's wrong with a few more people?" Secret realms could indeed be entered simultaneously; otherwise, Chen Qi wouldn't have looked for someone to ambush Su Yu inside in the first place. The old man replied indifferently, "It's different. Just wait!" "..." While they talked, Su Yu looked around the small house in confusion. Where was the secret realm? Where was the promised realm? Why couldn't he see it? This was just a plain little cabin, somewhat resembling the convenience kiosks found on street corners. The two old men sat behind a counter, while Bai Feng and the others stood on the outside. Behind the two elders, there appeared to be a doorway. Was the secret realm inside there? Ignoring Su Yu, the old man turned back to the two middle-aged men. "Same goes for you two. All of you are here to break through to Qianjun. The three of them will enter together shortly. Once inside, each of you find a spot to break through, and don't disturb one another! "Also, after breaking through, the moment you feel a repulsive force, come out immediately. Don't blame me for not warning you if you get blasted to death by yuanqi surges. Don't get too greedy, or you'll be courting your own death!" With that, the old man recalled something and asked, "Bai Feng, what's your student's name?" "Su Yu!" "Let me check..." The old man swiped a few times on a device in front of him, then looked at Su Yu. "Are you sure you want to use it now? This is an enrollment reward. It can be used for Qianjun, Wanshi, or even from Character Cultivation to Tengkong. Different areas come with different costs! "Don't waste it!" The old man advised, "Saving this chance until you reach the peak of Character Cultivation would be far more worthwhile than using it now!" Su Yu smiled naively. "Instructor, I haven't even reached Character Cultivation yet, so that's a long way off. I'll earn another chance to enter later on!" "Ambitious!" The old man chuckled. Meanwhile, the two young men in the room couldn't help but look at Su Yu. Su Yu? Su Yu from the Divine Character College? Noticing their gazes, Su Yu smiled and nodded at them. He didn't know them—the academy had too many students for him to recognize everyone—but they didn't seem hostile. There didn't appear to be any bad blood between Bai Feng and their instructors either, so there was no need to make enemies. Seeing the youngsters looking at one another, one of the middle-aged men with slightly longer hair smiled and said, "Bai Feng, I heard your student took the bait from Liu Hong's student and agreed to a spar after the monthly assessment. Think he can win?" Bai Feng said offhandedly, "Win or lose, who cares? If he wins, all the better. If he loses... I'll go make trouble for Liu Hong! Whatever his student took from me, he'll vomit right back up. Liu Hong can try hiding for the rest of his life if he has the guts!" "..." The others couldn't help but chuckle! Behind the counter, the two elders laughed as well. The one who had advised Su Yu earlier added, "Bai Feng, don't get too cocky! That Liu Hong kid entered Secret Realm No. 3 a few days ago. When he comes out, he might already be at Tengkong Tier 8 or even Tier 9..." "So what if he's Tier 9?" Bai Feng boasted boldly, "Hu Wensheng is Tier 9 too!" The others were rendered speechless. The long-haired middle-aged man chuckled. "Then we'll just wait to see you teach Liu Hong a lesson." "Does that even need my intervention?" Bai Feng grinned. "Su Yu handling his student will be enough. If he wins, why would I step in? Isn't he here to break through to Qianjun today specifically to deal with that guy?" Turning back to the elder, he asked, "Has Liu Hong's good-for-nothing student been here?" The old man smiled. "Not telling. If you want to check, pay the merit points to look it up yourself!" Bai Feng curled his lip. *As if I would! Who cares if he came or not!* Dropping the conversation, Bai Feng turned to Su Yu. "Once you're inside, don't wander off. There are markers. The Qianjun area is just a small section; beyond it are the Wanshi and Tengkong areas. You can't go there—the pressure will make you explode. "Once inside, absorb the yuanqi to cultivate, link your apertures, and step directly into the Qianjun Realm. After that, continue cultivating according to the second tier of the War God Art and open more apertures. The yuanqi is exceptionally dense, so your aperture-opening speed will be extremely fast..." Fulfilling his duty as a teacher, Bai Feng instructed, "When you feel you've reached your limit and can't open any more apertures, begin body casting with blood essence. Go drop by drop—swallow them directly, don't worry about anything else! "Once each drop is consumed, take another. Open apertures while absorbing the blood essence; it will automatically temper your physical body... "Normally, you won't need a hundred drops. A hundred drops is intended for someone around Qianjun Tier 9. For someone who just entered Qianjun, around fifty drops is usually enough. Geniuses might use a bit more, of course. Naturally, you're a genius, so take all the blood essence with you!" "..." Beside them, the two young men looked at Su Yu with envy. A hundred drops of Mountain-Breaking Ox blood essence—even they had heard about it. The middle-aged man who had spoken with Bai Feng couldn't resist asking, "Bai Feng, if you let him use the blood essence now, then..." He wanted to ask: *What if your student loses?* Bai Feng cut him off immediately. "He won't lose. And even if he does, it's not like I don't have any. What does Mountain-Breaking Ox blood essence count for? Our family has deep pockets and vast assets—would we lack something like that?" "..." *Keep bluffing!* The others chuckled inwardly. Who didn't know that Bai Feng was so broke he was practically ready to pawn his own pants! As for where Su Yu and Bai Feng would get more if they used it all up, the onlookers didn't care. Certain rules had to be observed in the academy. If you promised to pay, you had to pay; failing to do so could carry a heavy cost. Bai Feng ignored them and continued instructing Su Yu, "Endure as long as you can and absorb as much yuanqi as possible. The yuanqi here is of the purest kind, far purer than the yuanqi in our filtration chamber. The more you absorb, the more you gain! "Back in the day, when I came here to break through to Qianjun, I lasted for three hours..." "Cough, cough!" Behind the counter, both elders coughed in unison! Honestly, the two of them had been stationed here for decades; when Bai Feng had entered back then, they were the ones on duty! Have some shame. If you want to brag, brag at home. Isn't bragging right in front of the two of us inappropriate? Bai Feng paid them no mind and continued, "That time, I directly opened twelve additional apertures, instantly reaching Qianjun Tier 2 and advancing toward Tier 3. Open as many apertures as you can this time. I don't expect you to open twelve, but seven or eight would be good. It'll save time. Otherwise, at your usual rate, even if we didn't lack yuanqi liquid, it would take you over a month to open seven or eight apertures. That would be a waste of time..." Exhausting! The two elders felt exhausted, and so did the two middle-aged men. Could this Bai Feng stop blatantly bragging in front of students! When had he ever opened twelve apertures? When had he ever lasted three hours? Seeing his student look over at him, the long-haired middle-aged man cleared his throat. Understanding what his student was thinking, he smiled and said, "Three hours is considered monster-level, very impressive. Back then, I was slightly below him, lasting only two and a half hours. Try to endure for at least an hour this time. If you can't, don't force it—just pull out. After all, your teacher was one of the few top-high performers of that class..." Seeing this, the other middle-aged man smiled as well. "Does that mean I was slightly worse than both of you? I lasted a hundred and forty-five minutes. Looks like I was the worst of the three?" "..." The three men exchanged glances, everything understood without a word! Since the bragging had already started and neither wanted to expose the other, they might as well all puff themselves up a bit! All to motivate their students, right? Behind the counter, the two elders were speechless! Enough out of you three! Once Bai Feng finished bragging, you two started up as well. Do you really think we won't call you out? Don't tempt us into exposing you right now and making you lose face! Three hours, two hours... Bai Feng had indeed lasted a decent amount of time back then, an hour and a half, but he just had to double it. Who knew what was going through his head! Just as they were thinking this, a knock came from the door behind them. The elder waved a hand, and the door swung open. The next instant, a figure walked out. Su Yu and the others looked over, and their expressions immediately changed! "The Fox race?" Su Yu's brow furrowed! The two young men looked furious, while Bai Feng and the other instructors wore conflicted expressions! No wonder they hadn't been allowed in earlier! The person inside wasn't a human, but a demon of the myriad races! The figure emerging had a long tail and a face that was somewhat humanized, yet still bore distinct demonic traits—fox ears, and patches of fur that had not fully receded from its cheeks. It was clearly a demon of the Fox race! Noticing the hostile looks from Bai Feng and the others, the two elders cleared their throats. One of them rose to his feet and said, "I'll escort it out. Old Huang, you handle things here!" "Understood!" Without another word, the elder grabbed the silent Fox demon, and with a flash of movement, vanished from the room. Seeing Bai Feng and the others still lingering in silence, the elder addressed as Old Huang said in a low voice, "Don't dwell on it. The Myriad Races Academy has opened, and the Yuanqi Secret Realm isn't an essential secret realm. They paid a price, and the academy agreed to let them enter..." Bai Feng snorted, not bothering to say anything. The long-haired middle-aged man grumbled unhappily, "Right now it's only the foundational secret realms. Given more time, they might even open the higher-level secret realms to them!" Old Huang said flatly, "Telling me is useless—go talk to the principal! Are you going in or not? If you are, you can enter now. If not, go back!" "..." The group let out a collective sigh and dropped the subject. Bai Feng tossed a bottle to Su Yu, too dispirited to say much, simply waving his hand. Seeing a member of the demon race in an academy secret realm had soured everyone's mood. Su Yu and the other two youths remained quiet as they walked toward the open doorway. Su Yu's mind was still replaying what he had just seen. A demon of the myriad races! This was the first time he had truly seen one in person! *The Fox race... Sure enough, all those miscellaneous storybooks were full of lies! Who claimed the Fox race was beautiful? That was terrifyingly hideous!* Su Yu sneered internally. *Truly ugly!* *Growing fur all over the face!* Though he had only caught a brief glimpse, Su Yu made a mental note never to believe those pulp novels again. The myriad races were grotesque; where would any beauties come from? Covered in fur—whoever liked that could go admire them, but he certainly couldn't appreciate it. Not even as good-looking as Wu Lan!