All Was Calm

Over the next few days, all was calm.

Su Yu had broken through to the Kaiyuan Fourth Stage, but he told no one. He continued cultivating the "Kaiyuan Jue," consolidating his Kaiyuan Fourth Stage.

Consuming essence blood came with some aftereffects. Of course, most of it had been absorbed by the atlas. After two or three days, Su Yu's body returned to normal, and he no longer felt bloated and sore.

Only one drop of Iron Winged Bird Essence Blood remained, and Su Yu did not continue using it. Otherwise, he would be advancing too quickly.

Who knew whether his next cultivation of the "Essence Gathering Art" would directly push him into the Kaiyuan Fifth Stage? That would be far too monstrous.

At the very least... he had to wait half a month, right?

Su Yu was not in a hurry. There were still more than two months until the higher academy assessment. If he broke through one stage every half month, he might reach the Kaiyuan Ninth Stage by the time of the assessment.

"Yu, you're still not going to the academy today?"

"I am!"

"It's so nice that you don't have to go. Why can't you help me ask for leave too..."

Chen Hao spoke without thinking, then froze. He asked strangely, "You're going to school?"

This guy had not attended class for several days. Even when he went, he left quickly. Chen Hao had been green with envy, so why was he heading to the academy again today?

Su Yu could not be bothered with him. As they walked, he said, "There are still more than two months before the assessment. I'm going to find an instructor and see whether I can learn a few more Myriad Races Languages."

"You're still learning more?"

Chen Hao clicked his tongue. What a monster.

But he quickly thought of something and grinned. "Yu, I used to think it was amazing that you had learned eighteen Myriad Races Languages. Now I've discovered someone at our academy who's even more impressive than you!"

"Do you know Liu Yue from Class One? I heard that woman is even more monstrous than you. Yesterday, she went to take the certification exam for her twentieth Myriad Races Language. That's incredible!"

Su Yu raised his brows. "Liu Yue? Twenty languages?"

Naturally, he knew Liu Yue. He had often seen her in the library. Last time, it was Liu Yue who had pointed him toward the Kaiyuan acceleration method, though it had not been much use.

He knew Liu Yue had mastered quite a few Myriad Races Languages. She was even more diligent than Su Yu. Most times he went to the library, he would run into her.

But twenty...

Su Yu claimed not to care much if someone was better than him, but he still felt somewhat bitter.

Although the academy had always had quite a few people who had mastered many Myriad Races Languages, at most they had only been about on par with him, right?

He had never heard that Liu Yue had mastered so many before. Moreover, Liu Yue was not even Liu Wenyan's student.

One had to know that among those at the academy who studied Myriad Races Languages and mastered many of them, nearly all had been taught by Liu Wenyan. Who had Liu Yue learned from?

Su Yu did not ask further. The two still walked to the academy.

There were vehicles on the road, and buses were not expensive, but unless they lived too far away, most students chose to walk. This also counted as a form of cultivation.

Along the way, they occasionally saw traffic supervisors in uniform.

Seeing those familiar uniforms, Su Yu felt a pang of longing.

His father had been gone for five days. He wondered how he was doing on the Battlefields of the Heavens.

Besides the traffic supervisors in blue uniforms, they also encountered Jifeng Hall patrol teams in black uniforms twice along the way.

Jifeng Hall was mainly responsible for safeguarding security within the realm.

"Haozi, has Jifeng Hall been patrolling everywhere these past few days?"

"Yeah."

Hearing Su Yu's question, Chen Hao, who had been looking around everywhere, immediately said, "Didn't they say the Ten Thousand Races Cult has been active in Great Xia Prefecture? That's why Jifeng Hall has stepped up its patrols these past few days."

"Hehe, Yu, have you watched TV these past few days? The Prefecture Lord sent the Dragon Martial Guard to patrol all over the place and captured many of those Ten Thousand Races Cult bastards. They've been beheading people every day—already several hundred heads have rolled!"

Naturally, Su Yu had watched it. He frowned slightly. "That's strange!"

"What's strange?"

Chen Hao chuckled. "It's not like beheadings have never happened before."

"That's not what I mean."

Su Yu frowned. "Those beasts from the Ten Thousand Races Cult never rise early without profit. Every time they become active, it's to stir up chaos. But this time, they came to Great Xia Prefecture—have you heard of any unrest? All they've done is get their heads chopped off. Did these people come to Great Xia Prefecture just to die?"

He found it rather strange. These past few days, the television had reported nothing but beheadings, yet the Ten Thousand Races Cult seemed not to have caused any turmoil at all.

Could the Dragon Martial Guard simply be too formidable, detecting every movement ahead of time?

That was possible too. Su Yu shook his head slightly. These matters were not for him to worry about.

Still, that was for the best. If so, the Ten Thousand Races Cult probably had no mind to assassinate Instructor Liu.

The two chatted as they walked, and soon, Nanyuan Middle Academy came into view.

At the same time.

Outside Nanyuan Middle Academy.

On the top floor of a high-rise building, a middle-aged man withdrew his gaze and stopped watching Nanyuan Middle Academy.

Turning around, he looked at a woman cooking and moved his lips slightly. "Nanyuan Middle Academy has a total of 3,200 students and 210 instructors. The students are all in the Kaiyuan Realm, while the instructors are all in the Qianjun Realm. Academy Head Wang Shu is at Wanshi Second Layer."

"There are fifty guards. Among them, one is at the Thousand Jun Ninth Stage, and six are at the Qianjun Seventh Level or above. Among the instructors, twenty-eight are at the Qianjun Seventh Level or above, for a total of thirty-five high-level Qianjun cultivators."

"Also, Jifeng Hall currently has a squad of thirty secretly guarding the academy. There is one Wanshi Realm captain, while the rest are all high-level Qianjun cultivators."

"There are sixty-four high-level Qianjun cultivators in total, and two Wanshi Realm cultivators."

"The City Lord's Mansion is seven thousand meters from Nanyuan Middle Academy. With City Lord Wu Wenhai's Soaring Second Level cultivation, it would take him over two minutes to arrive."

The middle-aged man gave a simple rundown. In the kitchen, the woman cooking stir-fried as she used the sound of the wok to cover the movement of her lips. "Nanyuan Middle Academy is the best middle academy in Nanyuan City, and also the reserve force for the major higher academies..."

"This time, we are not acting alone. Six cities will act simultaneously, and the targets are all their local middle academies."

"Xia Longwu... hehe!"

A cold look appeared on the woman's face. "Xia Longwu is arrogant and conceited. He destroyed a few ordinary strongholds and thinks we are incapable of withstanding a single blow! This time, we'll make Xia Longwu stumble hard. Great Xia Prefecture... is nothing remarkable either!"

The middle-aged man did not respond to that. He continued, "A Dragon Martial Guard squad is stationed in Nanyuan as well. There are ten of them in total. Nine range from Wanshi Fourth Layer to Wanshi Ninth Layer, while squad leader Xia Bing is at Soaring Second Level. Their exact station has not yet been discovered. We must also guard against them suddenly appearing!"

"The Dragon Martial Guard!"

This time, the woman did not sneer. Her expression turned solemn. "Investigate. Find out where they are stationed!"

"But there are so few of them that we have no way to investigate clearly..."

"Then create chaos and lure them out."

The woman said coldly, "Send people outside the city to slaughter several small villages. With a blood case of such magnitude, the Dragon Martial Guard will definitely intervene."

The middle-aged man hesitated slightly. "Quite a few people have died recently. Those below are already wavering. If we send them to their deaths again..."

"They do not know they will be facing the Dragon Martial Guard. Send the people from the Bloodfire Faction. Those fools are not right in the head and love slaughter most of all. Let them scout the way!"

After saying that, the woman added, "Once the Dragon Martial Guard is lured away, we act! Gather the men and strike with one blow. Slaughter Nanyuan Middle Academy, then withdraw immediately!"

"This time... kill them all!"

Her expression was ice-cold. "Kill all the teachers and students from six middle academies. This year, there will not be many from those six cities who can enter higher academies. Xia Longwu can wait to vomit blood! He thinks we're merely making small disturbances... little does he know... how could our target possibly be a few insignificant instructors!"

The woman's face was utterly indifferent. Protecting Liu Wenyan?

Liu Wenyan was not their target!

What did killing one Liu Wenyan amount to?

Slaughtering Nanyuan Middle Academy—even if Great Xia Prefecture was powerful, the slaughter of six middle academies would leave it with sinews and bones badly damaged. It might not be apparent now, but after a few years, the effects would show.

The middle-aged man exhaled softly, somewhat worried. "You and I are both in the Soaring Realm, enough to deal with City Lord Wu Wenhai. But if Xia Bing arrives, we are no match for him."

The Dragon Martial Guard was Great Xia Prefecture's most elite force. Even a squad leader was formidable. Even if they were at the same level as him, there was an eighty or ninety percent chance they would not be his match.

"No matter!"

The woman sneered. "If they truly appear, someone will naturally deal with them!"

"Someone from above has come?"

"Do not ask what you should not ask!"

The woman cut him off and continued cooking. She had lurked here for a full six years. After this succeeded, it would be time for her to leave as well. She wondered whether, after returning to headquarters, she might have a chance to advance further.

As the two spoke, a little girl stumbled sleepily out of her room. "Mom, I smell something delicious. What are we having for breakfast?"

"Good girl, don't be impatient. It'll be ready soon."

The woman's voice was bright and cheerful, carrying a smile, but her eyes were as cold as frost.

Not the slightest emotion could be seen in them. This so-called daughter was merely a tool for lurking in hiding.

The man smiled as well, but his eyes were exactly the same as the woman's.

The little girl noticed nothing unusual and skipped into the bathroom. The moment she left, both the living room and kitchen fell silent.

After a moment, the man asked, "What about her?"

"Kill her!"

The woman did not hesitate in the slightest. "But not now. Kill her before we leave, then burn her blood to prevent powerful experts from tracing us through it. After all, she carries the bloodline we left behind."

Yes, their biological daughter.

But they had given birth to the child back then only to conceal their identities. Now that they were withdrawing, there was naturally no need for this burden and hidden danger.

For six years, the two had concealed themselves perfectly. No one had ever suspected them.

They had settled here for six years and even had a daughter. No one would have imagined that this steady, hardworking couple were both Soaring Realm experts—and followers of the Ten Thousand Races Cult.

"Tonight, contact the others and prepare to act. Remember, kill everyone. Withdraw in three minutes!"

"Alright!"

The middle-aged man answered so softly it was nearly inaudible. He turned to look out the window, toward Nanyuan Middle Academy not far away, and revealed a smile.

In a few days, Nanyuan Middle Academy would no longer exist.

What a pity. A group of spirited, vigorous youngsters.

Perhaps, after a number of years, several remarkable figures might have emerged among them. But now, they would have no such chance.

"Xia Longwu... Great Xia Prefecture has been peaceful for so many years. You probably never imagined this, did you?"

Thinking of the cult's grand operation this time, the man could not help but feel excited. After all these years, they had finally made Great Xia Prefecture their target. Xia Longwu believed the cult had merely been making small disturbances, never realizing that the cult's main forces had already shifted here.