Kaiyuan Fourth Level (Seeking Recommendations)

Back home.

Su Yu held the glass bottle in his hand, containing three drops of essence blood.

While essence blood from the Qianjun Realm was practically nothing to powerful individuals, to Su Yu, it represented a significant fortune. Each drop cost 50,000 Anping Coins.

If he hadn't been short on cash, he wouldn't have been willing to spend his merit points.

Su Yu knew the importance of merit points without his teachers needing to remind him. They weren't something money could always buy. Of course, if it was more than 50,000 points, Su Yu might reconsider, as buying essence blood was only 50,000 per drop.

"Speaking of which, I'm a bit wealthier than my dad. After all these years, he's only saved about 300,000..."

Su Yu suddenly chuckled. 300,000 might not even be as valuable as his 18 merit points.

However, his dad did have merit points. He had used some for cultivation in the past, and the remaining ones... his dad hadn't said, but Su Yu roughly knew where they went. He had given them away when he retired.

This wasn't something Su Long had said, but it was a common practice.

Many retired soldiers in the neighborhood had given their merit points to their comrades when they left, because those comrades still had to fight and needed them more.

Mutual support, mutual trust – this was the way of humanity's warriors.

If there wasn't a 50-year age limit for veteran conscription, even more veterans would likely have left this time. Many retired close to 50, and after retirement, they might not have another chance to return.

Without dwelling on these thoughts, the illustrated booklet reappeared in Su Yu's mind.

The pages quickly turned to the Iron Winged Bird page.

"Essence blood activation... activate what? A skill or a cultivation art?"

Su Yu pondered for a moment and quickly made his decision: a cultivation art.

The Essence Gathering Art!

Skills were most likely for instantly boosting power, burst skills. He didn't have an opponent right now, so it would be a waste.

Of course, if he had enough essence blood, he could try it. Since he didn't know the effects, randomly activating a skill could be dangerous.

"How many drops does it take? I wonder if one drop is enough?"

With this thought, Su Yu willed it, activating the cultivation art!

One drop of essence blood was swallowed, disappearing instantly.

This time, it wasn't as painful as before. It was absorbed almost the moment it entered his mouth.

"Buzz!"

The golden page in his mind vibrated slightly. The next moment, the cultivation art activation section changed.

"Basic Yuan Art: Essence Gathering (Activated, lasts for 1 hour)"

"One hour?"

Su Yu cursed inwardly. At this moment, he felt all his acupoints open, rapidly absorbing the surrounding Yuan Qi. His nine acupoints seemed to have been temporarily unblocked.

This was the function of the illustrated booklet!

Normally, someone in the Kaiyuan Realm couldn't do this. Without unblocking the nine acupoints, they couldn't sense Yuan Qi or actively absorb it.

But now, Su Yu felt it. With a mere thought, he could absorb the surrounding Yuan Qi.

The Yuan Qi in Nanyuan was insufficient, but that was relative to the Wanshi Realm. For someone in the higher levels of the Qianjun Realm, or for Su Yu, a cultivator in the Kaiyuan Realm, the Yuan Qi was more than enough.

"Creak!"

His physical body began absorbing Yuan Qi for the first time, like something extremely hungry, desperately drawing it in to temper itself.

The nine acupoints emitted a faint glow. A large amount of Yuan Qi gathered around his head, tempering the nine acupoints.

Pain!

Su Yu felt pain. His mouth and nose were fine; they had already been tempered. But the other acupoints had not. At this moment, the Yuan Qi surged through these unblocked acupoints, causing him pain.

His ears were ringing, and tears streamed from his eyes.

The Yuan Qi was tempering his acupoints, helping him to unblock them.

"1 hour... that's too long!"

Su Yu, who had previously complained that one hour was too short, instantly betrayed himself. It was too long. If he endured this for an hour, wouldn't he explode?

This was probably the first time someone in the Kaiyuan Realm was actively cultivating by absorbing Yuan Qi.

Moreover, the Essence Gathering Art was a cultivation art of the Iron Winged Bird race. Without modification, it wasn't really suitable for humans. Su Yu felt that more pores on his back had opened, and his back was now madly absorbing Yuan Qi.

"Good grief... this is for tempering wings!"

"I'm not going to grow wings, am I?"

Su Yu felt a bit helpless. The Iron Winged Bird was a bird race, and its wings were a great weapon. Naturally, it would temper its wings. The key was that he wasn't a bird.

Now that the Essence Gathering Art was activated, his meridians were circulating. Although the illustrated booklet had modified it to be suitable for the human body, it was still somewhat unsuitable for Su Yu. He felt that the Yuan Qi absorbed by his back was even greater than that absorbed by his nine acupoints.

"Rumble!"

Just then, Su Yu's left ear began to roar.

Su Yu paused slightly, then instead of being alarmed, he was delighted. Was this... his fourth acupoint about to be unblocked?

The first three acupoints are easy to open, but the fourth and fifth, the ear acupoints, are a bit more difficult.

The sixth and seventh, the eye acupoints, are even harder!

The Shenque and Baihui acupoints are what stump most people. Those who haven't become cultivators almost all fail at these two stages.

"The left ear acupoint is opening!"

Su Yu was overjoyed. The rumbling sound in his ears was so pleasant!

He had calculated that it would take him at least half a year to reach Kaiyuan Fourth Level. He never expected that just by cultivating the Essence Gathering Art once, he would be on the verge of completing it.

Of course, this was also related to his current weakness.

The difficulty in opening acupoints lies in the fact that cultivators in the Kaiyuan Realm cannot actively absorb Yuan Qi, only passively refine it. Once they can switch from passive to active absorption, opening the Kaiyuan Realm is not difficult.

Cultivators in the Kaiyuan Realm do not become physically stronger. Their physical fitness improves slightly, their sense of taste becomes more acute, and their sense of smell, hearing, and eyesight all enhance. This is what Kaiyuan is.

Of course, these enhancements alone are sufficient.

Only when one reaches Kaiyuan Eighth Level and opens the Shenque acupoint can cultivators practice some basic martial arts for self-defense, preparing them to become formal cultivators.

Rumble!

The rumbling in his ears continued. Su Yu's ears contracted and expanded, his eardrums vibrated, and Yuan Qi swirled around him.

It's almost done!

The surrounding Yuan Qi continuously poured into his left ear. Su Yu, who couldn't see Yuan Qi before, could now see it like a swirling mist. This was Yuan Qi, and it was the first time he could clearly feel its existence.

"No... I can't take it anymore!"

Su Yu's head was buzzing, not because opening the acupoint was overwhelming, but because it was his first time actively refining. His physical body was too weak and couldn't endure it.

"Boom!"

Just then, a thunderous sound echoed in his left ear. Su Yu's mind relaxed; he had completed it.

He immediately stopped cultivating the Kaiyuan Jue, unable to persist any longer!

Half an hour later, Su Yu had recovered.

He felt a bit regretful. He had only cultivated for less than half an hour; the rest of the time was wasted. The opening lasted for an hour, but the remaining time didn't accumulate. It reset to zero when the hour was up, which was a shame.

"But this is already great. I've actually reached Kaiyuan Fourth Level!"

Su Yu was secretly delighted. He hadn't held out much hope, but he had actually reached Kaiyuan Fourth Level before the assessment.

In the entire Nanyuan Middle Academy, only about a dozen students were at Kaiyuan Fourth Level.

There were hundreds at Kaiyuan Third Level, so being at Third Level wasn't much, but Fourth Level was quite good.

According to everyone, he could now be considered proficient in both literary and martial arts.

He was on par with geniuses!

"Is this the effect of the illustrated book? It's amazing... but..."

Su Yu frowned slightly. This was for Kaiyuan, and the effect seemed good. However, once he reached Qianjun Realm and could cultivate actively, the Essence Gathering Art wasn't a human race's cultivation technique. Its effects might not be as good as human race's own techniques.

"Never mind, I can't be too greedy. Besides... what if there are God and Demon cultivation techniques..."

Su Yu's eyes flickered. What if he could open the God and Demon pages someday?

Human race cultivation techniques were powerful, but God and Demon cultivation techniques were even more so. The human race had acquired many cultivation techniques, but few from the God and Demon races, and most of them were low-level. High-level ones were almost nonexistent.

There was a chance to kill them, but the probability of acquiring their cultivation techniques while killing them was too low.

"Are there Gods and Demons in my dreams?"

His dreams in the past were too vague, and coupled with his young age, Su Yu couldn't remember.

He wasn't sure if there were.

If there were, could he cultivate God and Demon techniques?

"It's too early to think about these things. The Essence Gathering Art is already very good. It can help me quickly get past the Kaiyuan hurdle."

Su Yu suppressed his thoughts, feeling joyful in his heart.

Kaiyuan Fourth Level!

There were no significant changes to his body, but being tempered by Yuan Qi had strengthened him somewhat. The key wasn't this, but his hearing.

His left ear twitched slightly, and soon, he could hear some faint rustling sounds from upstairs.

Although not very clear, it was much better than before.

Previously, due to the good soundproofing, he could barely hear anything. Small movements were impossible to detect. But now... his hearing had become stronger.

For cultivators, seeing in all directions and hearing everything are basic abilities.

Without completing the Kaiyuan Realm, it was almost impossible to achieve this.

"Very good!"

Although it cost him 1 drop of vital blood, being able to increase a level with 1 merit point made him willing to repeat it ten or a hundred times.

"There are two more drops, how about... trying to activate the skill!"

Su Yu's eyes flickered. He wanted to see how powerful it was, how long it lasted, and what the consequences would be for his body.

If he didn't figure it out, using it rashly would be irresponsible to himself.

The Iron Winged Bird had two racial skills: Tear and Iron Wing Slash.

Tear activated at level one, which meant that Iron Winged Birds of different tiers might have racial skills of different levels. This was also normal.

As for Iron Wing Slash, Su Yu, who didn't have wings, wasn't considering it. Tear, however, was something he could try.

"Let's just try it!"

However, his home was small, and there were many people nearby. There were elderly people in the Qianjun Realm upstairs and downstairs. It wasn't convenient to test it at home.

After thinking about it, Su Yu took his vital blood and quickly left the house.

More than ten minutes later, at the training dojo.

After paying 100 Anping Coins, Su Yu rented a training room for an hour. There were quite a few such training dojos in the city, as there were many cultivators in the Qianjun Realm.

"Activate!"

Upon consuming the vital blood, countless images flashed in his mind – images of the Iron Winged Bird tearing apart prey with its sharp claws.

Su Yu felt his hands swell instantly!

Then, as his Yuan Qi compressed, his hands, while swollen and aching, were also filled with immense power!

"This... this is the Tear skill?"

Su Yu was shocked. For the first time, he felt his own power. He was strong, but he couldn't judge exactly how strong, as he was only at the fourth level of Kaiyuan Realm.

His arms were incredibly sore. Su Yu didn't dare to delay and quickly attacked the mannequin in front of him.

Boom!

He grabbed the mannequin's throat with one hand, his fingers like sharp eagle claws. Su Yu tightened his grip, and a booming sound echoed. This mannequin was specifically designed for cultivators' combat training and was made of very sturdy material. As his throat was gripped tightly, it produced a resounding boom.

Su Yu crossed his left and right hands, attacking the mannequin relentlessly. Each strike seemed to carry a tearing effect.

Gradually, a faint crack appeared on the mannequin's throat.

After five or six minutes, Su Yu's eyes flickered. The strength in his arms seemed to be fading, slowly weakening.

Bang!

"Hiss!"

Su Yu gasped, the strength vanishing instantly. He had grabbed the mannequin with one hand, and his fingernails were about to split. The pain was unbearable.

"I %&￥"

Su Yu cursed under his breath. It disappeared as soon as it appeared. He, a Kaiyuan Realm cultivator, had attacked the mannequin with all his might. It was no wonder it hurt.

He picked up his communicator and quickly glanced at it. Su Yu made a judgment.

"Duration is 5 minutes, consuming 1 drop of vital blood. It's not a simple attack, but one with a tearing effect. This should be the effect of the racial skill, not just a power attack..."

Looking at the mannequin, Su Yu saw the faint crack, which was slowly closing. This mannequin could also slowly heal damage, which was why the training dojo used this material to make them.

"It caused a tearing effect on the mannequin. My father, at the ninth level of Qianjun, can do this, and even more severely. With a single punch, at full power, he could create a small hole. My sustained attacks only created a crack..."

"The attack power is roughly equivalent to the sixth or seventh level of Qianjun, probably around the seventh level, as cultivators at the sixth level of Qianjun could barely cause any damage."

"So, it's related to the level of the Iron Winged Bird's activation. The illustrated book showed a Qianjun seventh-level Iron Winged Bird..."

"Qianjun seventh-level attack power, 1 drop of vital blood, lasts for 5 minutes..."

Su Yu's eyes flickered. This meant he now possessed such attack power.

Of course, attack power didn't equate to overall strength.

A true Qianjun seventh-level cultivator had a powerful physique, incredible speed, agile movements, and vast experience... In any case, he couldn't compare to any of that.

When purely attacking inanimate objects, he could be compared to a Qianjun seventh-level cultivator.

But if he truly encountered a Qianjun seventh-level cultivator who was prepared, they could kill Su Yu instantly. After all, he didn't have such a formidable physique; his hands were just filled with power.

"Let alone Qianjun seventh-level, even Qianjun third or fourth-level, as long as they are prepared, don't get close to me, and don't give me an opportunity, I would surely die if I encountered them. I'm completely no match for them; I can't even keep up."

Su Yu shook his head slightly. The feeling of infinite power he had just experienced was an illusion. In reality, this ability was somewhat of a double-edged sword.

It could only be used as a trump card. If it were exposed, it wouldn't pose much of a threat to Qianjun third-level or even weaker Qianjun Realm cultivators. They could simply run away and kill you after your power subsided.

"However... it's not without its benefits. The benefits are huge!"

Su Yu suddenly smiled. One couldn't be too greedy. This was already very impressive.

He, a Kaiyuan Realm cultivator, was, to put it bluntly, an ordinary person. Now, he could suddenly unleash Qianjun seventh-level attack power for 5 minutes. Wasn't that enough?

"It's just that the side effects are a bit severe..."

At this moment, Su Yu felt the side effects. Both his hands were swollen!

The pain was so intense it had gone numb, which was why he hadn't felt anything just now.

"Tear... this martial skill is too crude. The Iron Winged Bird's racial skill isn't very suitable for humans either. Human-researched martial skills are stronger than this. However, if one can learn the martial skills of powerful races, it would be very beneficial."

Su Yu's eyes flashed with brilliance. The Iron Winged Bird had been thoroughly studied, and there was nothing more to research there. But what about other races?

What if he could research the racial skills of other races...

"The Civilization Academy offers rewards for such research, right?"

"If I happen to discover something from the God and Demon Races one day, be it cultivation methods, martial skills, or even replicating their innate martial skills, wouldn't that be an incredibly huge contribution?" Su Yu swallowed, then suddenly laughed, "I feel like... the Civilization Academy is tailor-made for me! I could totally go to the Civilization Academy and sell martial skills..."

As he thought, Su Yu didn't take it seriously.

He was just a beginner. If he went to the Civilization Academy and suddenly researched a God or Demon innate skill, he wouldn't be a genius, but a monster.

Have you ever seen a god or demon?

Have you ever fought against them?

Have you learned their cultivation methods?

If you just researched it, who would believe you!

Su Yu amused himself for a while and then laughed again. He didn't waste the cultivation room. Although he couldn't activate skills anymore, practicing diligently himself was just as good. No point in wasting it.

Only cultivators at the Kaiyuan Eighth Level practice martial skills, because practicing them before reaching that level is essentially useless. However, Su Yu knew a few martial skills and began practicing them now.

He used to think the Eighth Level was far away, but now... was it really that far?

It was better to be prepared in advance. If he reached the Eighth Level and knew nothing, he would be a useless piece of trash with only a high realm but no corresponding strength.

PS: Requesting recommendation votes. The website has no recommendations since the book was just released. Please vote to see if we can get on the recommendation list. Thank you!