A Different Great Xia Prefecture

This day, Su Yu followed Liu Wenyan.

He wasn't in a hurry. This wasn't the first time he'd followed Liu Wenyan; he often trailed behind him when studying the languages of the Myriad Races.

Su Yu continued to do his own thing: cultivating, reading, studying… he just stopped using his vital blood to activate the Essence Gathering Art for cultivation.

In secret, members of the Dragon Martial Guard were protecting him.

Su Yu hadn't seen them, nor had they appeared, but Su Yu was still quite curious and yearned for the Dragon Martial Guard.

He heard that the Dragon Martial Guard were very strong, so strong that even his own father couldn't get in.

Just how strong were they?

While Su Yu was curious, Liu Wenyan, as usual, drank tea, read books, and lectured.

"You want to join the Dragon Martial Guard?"

Seeing Su Yu glance outside a few times, as if looking for the Dragon Martial Guard experts from before, Liu Wenyan couldn't help but ask with a smile.

Su Yu felt a little embarrassed and said in a low voice, "I'm just curious about what the Great Xia Prefecture's strongest military force is like."

"The Dragon Martial Guard…"

Liu Wenyan sighed with emotion. "The Dragon Martial Guard… has existed for many years. The Prefecture Lord's name is derived from the Dragon Martial Guard. The Dragon Martial Guard came first, then the Prefecture Lord, and then the Dragon Martial War College. However, the current generation of the Dragon Martial Guard can be called the strongest in history!"

"The Dragon Martial Guard doesn't have too many people; after all, they are elites. There are only about 5,000 people in total."

"Only that few?"

The information about the Dragon Martial Guard was not publicly available. This was the first time Su Yu learned that the Great Xia Prefecture's strongest military force had so few people.

Were 5,000 people a lot?

Too few!

Terrifyingly few!

Considering that the Nanyuan City Guard alone had over a thousand people, and the City Guards within Great Xia Prefecture exceeded 50,000.

The Great Xia Prefecture Army also had over 100,000 people!

Yet, the Dragon Martial Guard, which surpassed them all, had less than ten thousand people!

"The Dragon Martial Guard are elites, they don't need that many people. Quality over quantity,"

Liu Wenyan chuckled. "The Dragon Martial Guard outwardly claims to have ten thousand men, but in reality, they don't. However, their strength is indeed formidable. Ten men form a squad, a hundred men form a unit, and a thousand men are invincible…"

"Invincible?"

Su Yu murmured. Liu Wenyan chuckled, "It's just a slogan, don't take it too seriously, but they are indeed very strong! Basically, the soldiers are all in the Wanshi Realm, the squad leaders are either at the ninth level of Wanshi or in the Soaring Realm, and most of the centurions are at the high levels of Soaring."

Su Yu gasped!

They were indeed very strong!

With 5,000 people, there would be at least 50 centurions, all at the seventh level of Soaring or higher?

Even the Lord of Nanyuan City wasn't this strong.

What about the chiliarchs above the centurions?

Wouldn't they be even stronger?

Perhaps even surpassing the Soaring Realm?

And how strong were the deputy generals and generals of the Dragon Martial Guard?

Su Yu knew that Xia Longwu was the general of the Dragon Martial Guard.

The fact that the soldiers were basically all in the Wanshi Realm was also terrifying. It was worth noting that in the Battlefields of the Heavens, the Demon Suppression Army was not a weak force. His own father, who was at the seventh level of Qianjun back then, could become a captain. His status was actually similar to that of a Dragon Martial Guard squad leader.

One at the seventh level of Qianjun, and the other at the weakest ninth level of Wanshi. It was no wonder the Dragon Martial Guard didn't accept his father.

Liu Wenyan smiled and continued, "A ten-man squad is stationed here in Nanyuan. The guy who spoke earlier was one of their squad leaders."

"Is he strong?"

"Quite strong, ninth level of Wanshi."

Su Yu gasped again. "A squad leader is already at the ninth level of Wanshi?"

"It's said to be a squad leader, but this squad stationed here is considered relatively strong. In a weaker squad, he would have no problem being a squad leader."

Liu Wenyan chuckled again. "Don't be envious. Qianjun and Wanshi are just the basics. Soaring is the real starting point. Even in the Battlefields of the Heavens, those in the Soaring Realm are not cannon fodder, but elite soldiers!"

"When your will manifests and you step into the Soaring Realm, you'll understand then."

Su Yu looked forward, "I wonder how many years it will take…"

"…"

Liu Wenyan was speechless, half-laughing and half-crying. Years?

You little brat, you're actually taking it seriously. I said three to five years before, but that was for top-tier geniuses. Although you're good, you haven't reached that level yet. With good luck, it might take ten years to succeed, but with bad luck… it would be like me, stuck outside this threshold for life.

However, even ten years would be much faster than conventional physical cultivation.

The two chatted for a bit, and Su Yu then asked some questions about the Myriad Races' languages.

After thinking for a moment, Su Yu asked, "Teacher, is there really no way to quickly advance in the Kaiyuan Realm? Besides those risky methods, are there no other ways to improve quickly? Then why can many students at Kaiyuan Fourth Level enter higher academies and quickly reach the Qianjun Realm?"

"From Kaiyuan Fourth Level to Qianjun First Level, there's a difference of six realms. From Kaiyuan Fourth Level to Fifth Level, it takes half a year, right?"

"Even if each subsequent realm takes half a year, that's at least three years before I can reach the Qianjun Realm. But I heard that many students at the War Academy reach the Qianjun Realm in about a year."

This was something Su Yu had always wanted to ask, but the instructors would always just smile and tell them they'd know once they got to a higher academy.

Taking advantage of the opportunity this time, Su Yu wanted to understand more, as his progress might be very rapid from now on.

Liu Wenyan probably felt that Su Yu would soon be entering the Civilization Academy, so he didn't hold back this time and said with a smile, "You should have seen a term in some books – Academy Secret Realm."

"Mm!"

"That's the reason."

Liu Wenyan, with a hint of a test in his eyes, asked, "Across all the heavens and myriad worlds, with experts from countless races, why did they have to establish the Battlefields of the Heavens outside of their own realms?"

"Suppression!"

Su Yu answered without hesitation, "The environments of different realms are different, with variations in gravity, air, and elemental energy concentration... When the God Race goes to the Demon Race, they might be suppressed, unable to unleash even thirty percent of their strength. The same applies in reverse, so these powerful races dare not rashly attack another race."

"Correct, and that's why the Battlefields of the Heavens exist."

Liu Wenyan said, his gaze turning somewhat sharp, "Then do you know why the Human Race was drawn into this conflict and became the target of attack for many races?"

"Humans... are weak? They want to invade humanity?"

Su Yu hesitated. This was what the books said, but his father had previously said it wasn't like that; humanity was not weak, but quite powerful.

"Weak? Not weak!"

Liu Wenyan gave the same answer, stating calmly, "How could humanity be weak! If they were truly weak, they would have been defeated long ago on the Battlefields of the Heavens! Among the Myriad Races, if humanity doesn't rank in the top three, they can certainly enter the top ten. Very strong!"

"Then..."

Su Yu was a bit confused, "Then why does humanity have so many enemies?"

"Because of the Human Realm!"

Liu Wenyan smiled, "Someone will tell you about this when you get to the higher academy. Of course, it's not really a big secret. Because the Human Realm is special, you know that other realms have restrictions, making it difficult for a major race to invade another major race. But the Human Realm... has no restrictions."

"Huh?"

"No restrictions!" Liu Wenyan sighed. "This is the key. So, the Human Realm has become a big piece of fat in everyone's eyes, even a strategic location! The Human Realm doesn't impose many restrictions on foreign races. Think about it, all the Myriad Races are desperately trying to invade other realms, but their combat power is greatly diminished upon entering. Yet, the Human Realm is unguarded for them. Can you see why it wouldn't become a target for the Myriad Races?"

"The flesh and blood of billions of humans, the world's elemental energy, the vast world, rare treasures, devouring worlds... the benefits are too many!"

"Since other realms are difficult to attack, it's natural to attack humanity!"

"It's not that we are weak... it's that the Human Realm... is unreliable..."

Liu Wenyan uttered a word, sounding somewhat helpless. Unreliable.

Other realms have suppression effects, but we don't. We are unguarded to the myriad worlds, what can be done?

"Why?"

Su Yu was hearing this for the first time and was stunned. Why?

No wonder the battles on the Battlefields of the Heavens were becoming increasingly severe!

No wonder humanity seemed to have so many enemies, an abnormal amount. He had thought they were targeted because humanity was weak.

But now, both his father and teacher said that wasn't the case; humanity was very strong, at least ranking in the top ten.

A powerful race ranking in the top ten, yet becoming a thorn in everyone's side. He didn't understand before, but now he did. It was because the Human Realm was wide open to them, and how could those races not be excited?

It was like a peerless beauty stripping naked and calling out to you, could you not go?

"Why?"

Liu Wenyan said with a wry smile, "There are two explanations. First, the core of the Human Realm was damaged, so the realm's suppression effect disappeared."

"Second, legend has it that in ancient times, there were peerless experts among humanity who suppressed all the heavens and myriad worlds, and all realms paid homage. At that time, the Human Realm, as the center of all realms, welcomed those from all directions. Naturally, the Human Realm didn't need to guard itself; weak races needed that for self-preservation."

Su Yu was shocked, "Really?"

"It's just a legend. It might not be true, perhaps they were just flattering themselves. Anyway, someone said that."

Liu Wenyan smiled, "These are not important, because they cannot be changed. The facts are here."

"You will understand these things yourself later. Didn't you ask why training in higher academies is so fast? It's because of the Academy Secret Realms. The so-called Academy Secret Realms are actually small worlds, fragments of space intercepted from places or worlds with dense elemental energy..."

Su Yu was a bit bewildered. Intercepted fragments of space?

"To put it simply, for example, the Academy Secret Realm of the Great Xia Prefecture's War Academy was actually a small piece of space that King Daxia cleaved off from the Golden Peng Realm when he killed his way in and brought back."

Su Yu was stunned.

Brought back... after cleaving open a world with a single strike, cleaving off a small piece of space and directly bringing it back... was this even human?

"The Golden Peng Realm has dense elemental energy, and it's also filled with some Heavenly Elemental Energy. So, as long as some preliminary work is done, the cultivation speed within it will be very fast. This is why higher academies can quickly reach the Qianjun Realm."

Su Yu was somewhat shocked and couldn't help but ask, "Then doesn't humanity itself have places with abundant elemental energy, or Heavenly Elemental Energy..."

"Yes, we do!"

Liu Wenyan chuckled, "Of course, but... the Human Realm is already crowded, and we can't just arbitrarily carve out space from our own world, otherwise, it could lead to world collapse. Since they want to come to the Human Realm to take advantage, we should naturally strike back and return aggression with aggression!"

As Liu Wenyan spoke, his expression turned cold, "In recent years, the Human Race hasn't just passively taken hits. We've counterattacked, wiped out many small races and small worlds, seized their World Hearts, and even directly reclaimed entire realms for humanity, creating Human Sacred Lands!"

"Just taking hits and not fighting back is not our style. Great races are hard to destroy, but even small races dare to invade the Human Realm? They're asking for death!"

This scholar, uncharacteristically, showed a hint of murderous intent.

"Where do you think some of the information in the Civilization Academy comes from? Do you really think it was captured on the Battlefields of the Heavens? You're thinking too much. We kill our way in and snatch it directly!"

Su Yu's expression shifted. After a long pause, he said, "Impressive! I thought the Human Race was always on the defensive. I didn't realize we weren't just taking hits without retaliating."

"Of course!"

Liu Wenyan said with a smile, "If we didn't act ruthlessly, we would have become fat prey for the Myriad Races long ago. By acting ruthlessly, we deter some and win over others. This is the foundation of the Human Race's standing. Take Great Xia Prefecture, for example. King Daxia hasn't appeared for years. You don't think he's in seclusion, do you?"

"Isn't he?"

Su Yu was stunned. Wasn't he?

Wasn't that what they always said to the outside world?

"How could that be!"

Liu Wenyan stroked his beard, smiling brightly. "How could an invincible expert be in constant seclusion? King Daxia left a long time ago. His whereabouts are unknown, but it's rumored, only rumored... that King Daxia has infiltrated the God Race. We don't know if it's true."

"That's so fierce?"

Su Yu felt like he was listening to a thrilling story today!

"Then why don't they publicize it..."

"Publicize what?" Liu Wenyan said dismissively. "Spend a few years on the Battlefields of the Heavens, and you'll naturally understand. For those who don't go to the Battlefields of the Heavens, knowing it is useless. It's good to have a sense of crisis."

"It's not good to only report good news and not bad news. Without any sense of crisis, do you think the people in the rear would still cultivate so diligently?"

"In recent years, Human Race powerhouses have emerged continuously. This crisis awareness is not unrelated. Look how hard you are all working now."

It made sense, Su Yu thought. If the front lines were always filled with good news, would the people in the rear still work so hard?

However, this matter had its pros and cons. Su Yu couldn't make the final decision.

After chatting with Liu Wenyan for a long time, there was a period of quiet.

Su Yu continued to cultivate the Essence Gathering Art. He didn't know if the Ten Thousand Races Cult had come to Nanyuan City, but Su Yu wasn't worried. Since Great Xia Prefecture had made arrangements, the Ten Thousand Races Cult was nothing to fear.

The propaganda over the years had led everyone to believe that the Ten Thousand Races Cult was merely a clown, cowardly and despicable scum.

Great Xia Prefecture didn't pay much attention to the Ten Thousand Races Cult because they had the invincible Dragon Martial Guard, the powerful King Daxia, and the strong Prefecture Lord Xia Longwu. Therefore, no one thought the Ten Thousand Races Cult was anything significant.

Didn't they see those guys on TV getting their heads chopped off every day?

Su Yu also didn't pay much attention because he didn't understand the Ten Thousand Races Cult and hadn't encountered them. He only knew that those guys were traitors to the Human Race, and anyone who encountered them would kill them.

"Pfft!"

A young man with bloodshot eyes cursed as his sword pierced through an old man in the Qianjun Realm, "Has Great Xia Prefecture gone mad? Don't they know fear? Don't they feel dread? They were killed even when they were in the ninth level of Qianjun..."

Not far away, an old man with white hair said coldly, "It's been many years since we last came to Great Xia Prefecture. It's been completely brainwashed by Xia Longwu. They think the Ten Thousand Races Cult is nothing special, and they've forgotten its prestige!"

As he spoke, the old man couldn't help but curse inwardly!

The resistance from Great Xia Prefecture was terrifying. A group of people, knowing they were from the Ten Thousand Races Cult, not only didn't show fear but charged forward with roars.

Old men, middle-aged men, young men...

No one fled or scattered just because a few people died. Led by a few retired soldiers, even a small village could inflict significant damage on them.

The Ten Thousand Races Cult was encountering setbacks in Great Xia Prefecture, which made the old man slightly worried.

Could slaughtering a few medium-sized academies truly frighten Great Xia Prefecture?

Could it truly deter Great Xia Prefecture?

"I'm afraid... Great Xia Prefecture won't be scared but will go mad and hunt us down... That would be troublesome!"

The old man was worried but dared not speak it aloud.

Perhaps they had been too successful in other prefectures before. Killing a few geniuses had caused widespread panic, and the streets were deserted for days.

But that was in other prefectures; this was Great Xia Prefecture.

If a single village had such strong counterattack power, what about the entire Great Xia Prefecture?

"I hope... everything goes smoothly."